Investigating the effects of water saturation on the crushability of rocks used in aggregate production.

Many studies investigate the effects of increased water content on the strength parameters of rocks. However, there is no study on the effects of water saturation on the crushability of rocks. While rock samples fail under static loading in strength tests, there are dynamic loads in the crushing process. Therefore, the effects of water saturation on the crushability of rocks cannot be expected to be the same as its effects on the other strength parameters. In this study, the effects of water saturation on the crushability of rocks in three different size ranges were investigated for nine different rock samples. First, rocks' physical-mechanical properties and brittleness indices were determined in dry and saturated conditions. Then, to determine the crushability indices (CI) and particle sizes (d50 and d80), test rocks were prepared in three different size ranges. All test rocks were crushed by a jaw crusher, respectively, and CI, d50, and d80 values were determined. The relationships between the strength parameters, brittleness indices, CI, and particle sizes of rocks obtained in dry and saturated conditions were statistically analyzed. The results revealed that the effects of water saturation on the crushability of rocks are different from its effects on the other mechanical behaviors of rocks. On the other hand, it was observed that the effect of water saturation is not the same in all size ranges, and although the crushability of rocks in the medium and fine size range increased, that of the rocks in the coarse size range decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]