The inter-particle coefficient of friction at the contacts of Leighton Buzzard sand quartz minerals

A series of micro-mechanical tests was carried out in order to investigate the inter-particle coefficient of friction at the contacts of quartz minerals of Leighton Buzzard sand. For this purpose, a custom-built inter-particle loading apparatus was designed and constructed, the main features of which are described briefly in this paper. This apparatus is capable of performing shearing tests at the contacts of soil minerals of a particle–particle type in the range of very small displacements, from less than 1 μm to about 300 μm, and very small normal loads, between about less than 1 N and 15 N. The laboratory data showed that the effects of the normal force and the sliding velocity on the coefficient of dynamic friction are not significant, while dry and saturated surfaces had similar frictional characteristics. The steady state sliding was mobilized within a range of 0.5–3.0 μm of horizontal displacement, and the coefficient of static friction was very similar to the corresponding coefficient during constant shearing. Repeating the inter-particle shearing tests on the same particles and following the same shearing track indicated a small reduction in the inter-particle coefficient of friction after the first shearing, which is possibly related to plastic deformation and damage to the asperities.