Mechanical Properties Measurement of Sand Grains by Nanoindentation

Nanoindentation was conducted on sand grains to measure the Young’s modulus, hardness, and fracture toughness of individual sand grains. An inverse problem solving approach was used to determine the stress-strain relationship of sand by allowing finite element simulated load-displacement relationship to agree with measurement data. A cube-corner indenter tip was used to induce cracks emanating from the corners of the indenter tip to measure the fracture toughness. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) technique was used to determine the crystal structure of sand grains.