Shear Energy Evolution and Fracture Behavior of Rock–Concrete Interfaces Under Different Stress-Level Conditions
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Energy Methodology and Test Program
2.1. Energy Calculation Methods
2.2. Test Materials and Sample Preparation
2.3. Test Systetm and Test Procedure
3. Analysis of Test Results
3.1. Characteristics of Shear Displacement–Shear Stress Variation
3.2. Energy Evolution Characteristics
3.2.1. Complete Energy Evolution Process Under Different Normal Stresses
- (1)
- Compaction stage (I): In this stage, the shear stress level of the sample is low. The total energy input into the sample, the elastic energy stored in the sample, and the energy dissipated by the sample to overcome the work done by the external load are all at a low level. To be specific, the total energy basically coincides with the dissipative energy and maintains a stable and slow increase, while the elastic energy is basically zero. This is mainly due to the shear densification in this stage, in which the input energy is mainly converted into dissipated energy for the closure of primary pores inside the sample. Note that the and curves begin to diverge at the end of this stage (point A) and the elastic energy slightly increases, which means the voids between interfaces are healed and a small amount of elastic energy is generated for storage.
- (2)
- Elastic deformation stage (II): After being compacted, the sample approaches a continuous medium, and shows obvious linear elastic characteristics. The total input energy density and elastic energy density are rapidly increasing, and basically maintain a parallel trend, while the dissipated energy density increases relatively slowly. This indicates that the energy absorbed by the sandstone–concrete specimens from the external environment is mainly stored in the specimens in the form of elastic strain energy.
- (3)
- Plastic stage (III): The shear stress–strain curve of the specimen shows nonlinear characteristics in this stage, and the specimen experiences irreversible plastic deformation. The energy absorbed by the sample is mainly converted into dissipated energy for the propagation of internal cracks and micro-fractures. The proportion of dissipated energy increases, while the proportion of elastic strain energy decreases. Moreover, the elastic strain energy reaches its maximum value at the stress peak (point C). And the value of at this point is considered as energy storage limit of the sample. It should be noted that the elastic strain energies at point C under different conditions are 8.4419 kJ/m3, 8.6534 kJ/m3, 8.8720 kJ/m3, and 9.7226 kJ/m3, respectively, showing an increasing trend with the normal stress. This indicates that the growth of normal stress improves the capacity of specimens for energy storage and increases the energy required for crack development and propagation, thus enhancing the specimen’s bearing capacity.
- (4)
- Failure stage (IV): The shear stress experiences a sudden drop and the micro-cracks inside the sample extend and coalesce into macroscopic cracks at point C, signifying that the sample has undergone structural instability and failure. The macroscopic cracks slide along the fracture surface, resulting in shear deformation. As the deformation increases, the total input energy continues to increase, while the stored elastic energy rapidly releases, and the dissipated energy density suddenly rises and then increases rapidly for crack aggregation, development, and coalescence. From the figures, the total input energy of specimens before failure for each case are 9.3122 kJ/m3, 12.6147 kJ/m3, 13.1233 kJ/m3, and 15.6145 kJ/m3, respectively. Compared to the case when is 0.2 MPa, the total energy U has increased by 35.46%, 40.93%, and 67.68%, respectively. It shows that as the normal stress increases, the input energy required for specimen failure keeps increasing.
- (5)
- Post-peak degradation stage (V): In this stage, as shear strain increases, shear stress begins to decrease, showing the characteristics of strain softening; the elastic energy density remains stable, while the dissipated energy and residual total energy show a parallel trend of steady growth. This is due to the slip friction between interfaces that causes the majority of the input energy to be converted into dissipated energy.
3.2.2. Energy Evolution Analysis Based on Shear Strength
3.3. Brittleness Evaluation Based on the Energy Evolution Mechanism
4. Analysis of AE Characteristics and Fracture Behavior
4.1. Analysis of b Value
4.2. Analysis of Crack Classification Characteristics
4.3. Temporal Distribution Characteristics of Micro-Fracture Types in Samples
4.4. Analysis of Full-Field Strain
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- The increase in normal stress inhibits the coalescence and penetration of micro-cracks within the sample, thereby enhancing the load-bearing capacity. The samples’ peak shear strength, residual strength, and shear displacement exhibit a linearly increasing relationship with normal stress.
- (2)
- The energy evolution features during the failure process are discussed in detail and the impact of normal stress on energy evolution is also revealed. An increase in normal stress can increase the energy storage limit of the sample, as well as the energy required for crack extension and penetration. In addition, the brittleness evaluation model indicates that the brittleness of the samples during direct shear tests shows a decreasing trend with the increase in the normal stress level.
- (3)
- The analysis results of the b values show three-stage changing characteristics as the deformation increases in the shear process for specimens under different conditions. The b value initially increases, then decreases, and finally fluctuates significantly at failure. And it is closely consistent with the specimen’s crack propagation scale, from small to large.
- (4)
- With an increase in normal stress, the failure type of the samples became predominantly shear failure, and the proportion of shear cracks increased from 42.76% to 53.44% while the proportion of tensile cracks decreased from 57.24% to 46.56%. On the eve of sample destabilization, the high-energy level fracture type gradually changes from tensile fracture to shear fracture with the increase in normal stress, and the proportion of shear fracture also increases.
- (5)
- In terms of fracture evolution behaviors, the development of wing-shaped cracks is strongly influenced by normal stress. As the normal stress level increases, the interface failure becomes more severe, the tensile principal strain in the wing-shaped strain concentration zone increases, and the sample’s shear deformation resistance is enhanced.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Nomenclature
AE amplitude | |
AE count/duration time | |
b value | |
brittleness index | |
AE count | |
additional energy | |
consumed elastic energy | |
residual elastic energy | |
total elastic energy | |
dissipated plastic energy in the pre-peak region | |
rupture energy | |
total dissipated energy | |
shear modulus | |
initial elastic modulus | |
unloading elastic modulus | |
AE threshold | |
rise time/amplitude | |
AE duration time | |
the rise time of AEs | |
total energy density | |
dissipated energy density | |
elastic energy density | |
maximum principal strain | |
strain value at any point | |
shear strain at peak shear stress | |
shear strain at residual shear stress | |
normal stress | |
maximum principal stress | |
stress value at any point | |
peak shear stress | |
residual shear stress | |
peak shear displacement |
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Ingredient | Ratio (kg/m3) |
---|---|
Cement | 461 |
Water | 175 |
Sand | 512 |
Coarse aggregate | 1252 |
(MPa) | (GPa) | (MPa) | (mm) | (MPa) |
---|---|---|---|---|
0.2 | 0.198 | 1.829 | 1.178 | 0.578 |
0.4 | 0.238 | 2.054 | 1.441 | 1.059 |
0.6 | 0.306 | 2.302 | 1.794 | 1.484 |
0.8 | 0.310 | 2.457 | 2.160 | 1.756 |
(MPa) | (kJ/m3) | (kJ/m3) | (kJ/m3) | (kJ/m3) |
---|---|---|---|---|
0.2 | 14.447 | 13.576 | 8.442 | 0.842 |
0.4 | 18.004 | 13.752 | 8.653 | 2.357 |
0.6 | 18.661 | 14.701 | 8.872 | 3.599 |
0.8 | 18.560 | 12.668 | 9.723 | 4.965 |
Normal Stress | Different Phases of Strain Evolution | Legend | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I | II | III | IV | ||
0.2 MPa | |||||
0.4 MPa | |||||
0.6 MPa | |||||
0.8 MPa |
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Liu, T.; Tang, M.; Cao, P.; Cui, M.; Dong, L. Shear Energy Evolution and Fracture Behavior of Rock–Concrete Interfaces Under Different Stress-Level Conditions. Materials 2025, 18, 795. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040795
Liu T, Tang M, Cao P, Cui M, Dong L. Shear Energy Evolution and Fracture Behavior of Rock–Concrete Interfaces Under Different Stress-Level Conditions. Materials. 2025; 18(4):795. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040795
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiu, Taoying, Min Tang, Ping Cao, Mengyuan Cui, and Longjun Dong. 2025. "Shear Energy Evolution and Fracture Behavior of Rock–Concrete Interfaces Under Different Stress-Level Conditions" Materials 18, no. 4: 795. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040795
APA StyleLiu, T., Tang, M., Cao, P., Cui, M., & Dong, L. (2025). Shear Energy Evolution and Fracture Behavior of Rock–Concrete Interfaces Under Different Stress-Level Conditions. Materials, 18(4), 795. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040795