Elastic properties of granular materials under uniaxial compaction cycles

Data on andesitic and basaltic sands are presented showing compressional sound velocity, density, and creep as functions of uniaxial loading through several compaction cycles. Maximum pressures over which acoustic measurements were made were in the range from 600 to 700 bars. The dynamic elastic modulus varies with pressure in a manner analogous to that of a static elastic modulus defined by small pressure perturbations on a typical compaction cycle. After several compaction cycles, two compressional elastic moduli apparently exist at low pressure (thus two modes of compressional wave propagation through the samples are indicated). The elastic moduli observations are briefly discussed in terms of a general expression for compressibility.