Grading entropy and degradation of sands and rocks

J. Lőrincz¹, E. Imre², P. Q. Trang³, G. Telekes ¹ L. Nagy³, M. Gálos³, Á. Török³, S. Fityus⁴

¹Tengizchevroil, Farnborough, Hampshire, United Kingdom

² Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary

³ BME, Budapest, Hungary.

⁴ School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan Australia

Abstract. The connection between the grading entropy path and the directional properties of natural or spontaneous processes is investigated in the ongoing research. In this paper some earlier results are reanalysed to study the final state of the breakage process. The breakage tests can be divided into two categories, into the tests with continuous topology and into the tests where the continuous topological effects are repetitively broken during breakage. All test may result in some jumps of the normalised entropy path at the increase of the fraction number which is explained by to the discontinuity of the normalised entropy map which drifts the path onto the stable part of the normalised entropy diagram. All tests end here in a final grading curve with (near) fractal distribution, the discontinuous topology tests may reach to the theoretical ultimate state if the fraction number stabilises. The entropy path for a given initial grading curve and testing mode seems to be unique.

Keywords: grading entropy, breakage, sand, compaction