Characterization of the Grain-Level Mechanical Behavior of Eglin Sand by Nanoindentation

Characterization was made on the structure and grain-level mechanical behavior of Eglin sand (Quikrete #1961 sand quarried in Pensacola, FL). The as-received assorted sand was sorted to six grain sizes: 0.60 mm, 0.50 mm, 0.42 mm, 0.30 mm, 0.212 mm, and 0.15 mm. The sand chemical constituents and crystalline structures were determined using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The Young’s modulus and hardness were determined using nanoindentation with a Berkovich tip, and the fracture toughness was measured using a cube-corner tip. The median Young’s modulus, hardness and fracture toughness were determined as 90.4 GPa, 12.8 GPa and 2.32 MPa⋅m0.5, respectively. The mechanical properties were analyzed statistically and the parameters of the Weibull distribution were determined. The grains show highly ductile behavior under nanoindentation due to confinement by high pressure induced by Berkovich tip. An inverse problem solving approach using finite element method (FEM) with the consideration of the Ramberg-Osgood model was used to determine the stress–strain relationship for individual sand grains.