Strength of industrial sandstones modelled with the Discrete Element Method

Abstract Sandstone is one of the most popular building materials since the earliest times. It has various textures and colours as well as good technical parameters. Sandstones, having such wide applications, are subjected to various external factors during the period of use. So, it is of utmost importance to have a good knowledge of their strength parameters. We employed a numerical method called Discrete Element Method to examine in a non-invasive manner the mechanical strength of industrial sandstones, that are commonly used as broken stones in road construction, cladding material, paving stones, pavement tiles and so on. Various mechanical external factors were considered, such as breaking, compressional and abrasion forces or impact by external objects and vibrations. Fragmentation of the considered sandstones under compressional regime was a source of knowledge about energy storage inside the material and energy release, as well as appearance of fractures inside the matter and final sandstone fragmentation into crumbs.