Novel Insights into Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 6810

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: rock mechanics; fracture mechanics; tunnelling engineering; mining engineering; rock fragmentation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: rock dynamics; rock fracture mechanics; DIC; filled flaws; fracture properties

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Guest Editor
Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Interests: rock mechanics; rock fracture mechanics; multi-field coupling; geotechnical engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasing demand for various resources and energy, the scale and quantity of geotechnical engineering, such as mines, tunnels, hydropower stations, underground nuclear waste storage caverns, and oil storage caverns, are increasing rapidly, resulting in many complex engineering problems. These geotechnical engineering problems roughly include two aspects: one is the inducing mechanism and preventive measures of geotechnical engineering disasters, and the other one is the high-efficient excavation and breakage technology of highly-stressed hard rock, which not only pose a serious threat to personal lives and properties, but also affect the project construction efficiency, and even bring various eco-environmental problems. Both geological hazards and rock excavation problems are closely related to the mechanical properties, fracture mechanism, and stability of rock and rock masses. For this reason, scientists and engineers have proposed many advanced theories, technologies and methods based on rock mechanics, which have managed to prevent the instability and cracking of surrounding rock and improve the rock-breaking efficiency. However, as the underground excavation goes deeper, the failure mechanism of rock mass in complex environments becomes more complicated. Therefore, novel insights into rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering are essential to ensure the safety and efficiency of geotechnical engineering activities.

This Special Issue aims to encourage scholars to present new perspectives, advances, and challenges in rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering, and welcomes the latest scientific and technological achievements and cutting-edge testing technologies in the study of rock materials, with an exploration of their mechanical properties and fracture behavior under complex environments.

Prof. Dr. Diyuan Li
Dr. Quanqi Zhu
Prof. Dr. Pengzhi Pan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • rock mechanics
  • mechanical properties
  • deformation and fracture
  • constitutive model
  • laboratory test
  • theoretical analysis
  • numerical simulation
  • geotechnical engineering

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 7124 KiB  
Article
Physical Simulation of Brittle Rocks by 3D Printing Techniques Considering Cracking Behaviour and Permeability
by Xiaobao Zhao, Yang Liu, Chunjiang Zou, Lei He, Ping Che and Jianchun Li
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010344 - 29 Dec 2023
Viewed by 673
Abstract
Additive manufacturing, commonly named 3D printing, is more frequently studied and used due to its ability to replicate micro- and macroscopic structures in natural rocks and fabricate complex experimental samples. Previous studies in this field mainly focused on mechanical properties and cracking behaviour [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing, commonly named 3D printing, is more frequently studied and used due to its ability to replicate micro- and macroscopic structures in natural rocks and fabricate complex experimental samples. Previous studies in this field mainly focused on mechanical properties and cracking behaviour but less on permeability because of the difficulties in unifying these three aspects with modern 3D printing techniques. Since the plaster-based 3D printing (PP) samples are more brittle and are close to rocks, and the stereolithography (SLA) samples have a higher resolution without chemical reaction with water, the present study combined these two mainstream 3D printing methods to try to replicate both the mechanical and permeable behaviour of rocks. Stereolithography (SLA) resolution can replicate submillimetre pores and structures in natural rocks. The result is that the PP method can successfully print rocklike samples, and their strength and failure modes are significantly influenced by the printing dip angle and sintering temperature. The porosity and anisotropy of the permeability of the samples printed by the SLA method are compared with the prototype porous basalt, and the replication ability in pore structures and seepage is confirmed. In addition to the experimental study, the theoretical permeability of samples printed with various resolutions is also discussed. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of combining PP and SLA 3DP techniques for physically simulating natural porous rocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Insights into Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering)
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19 pages, 11969 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Floor Heave and Failure Process of Rock Samples under Biaxial Step Loading
by Diyuan Li, Zhen Peng, Quanqi Zhu, Jinyin Ma and Hao Gong
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12757; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312757 - 28 Nov 2023
Viewed by 581
Abstract
Floor heave is a typical tunnel issue in tunnelling engineering. To gain deep insights into the deformation mechanism and failure processes of floor heave at the bottom of a tunnel in layered rock, biaxial step-loading tests were conducted on rock samples (including schist [...] Read more.
Floor heave is a typical tunnel issue in tunnelling engineering. To gain deep insights into the deformation mechanism and failure processes of floor heave at the bottom of a tunnel in layered rock, biaxial step-loading tests were conducted on rock samples (including schist and sandstone) with and without prefabricated invert arches. The failure processes of the samples were observed by the three-dimensional digital image correlation technique (3D-DIC) during the test. The test results showed that the deformation evolution processes of the floor heave of the sample included the following steps: (1) crack initiation at the interlayer weak planes; (2) separation of the rock matrix into platy structures along the bedding planes and flexures; and (3) fracture and uplift of the platy structures in the middle part. As the stress redistributes on the bottom plate of the sample, and stress concentration zones shift toward locations far away from the arching surface, the deformation evolution shows a similar variation trend with the stress. Continuous buckling fracturing takes place progressively from the vicinity of the arch surface to certain distant regions. Based on the test results, the key location of internal surrounding rock deformation was determined, and the mechanism of floor heave was clarified. The schist sample SC-BI-10 began to experience floor heave at 1064.4 s, and the deformation curve (the relationship between Y and U) showed a convex shape in the range of 0–20 mm in the Y-coordinate. The displacement reached its maximum value at y = 11.7 mm, corresponding to the position where the rock slab was broken. In addition, the influence of the interlayer properties and cover depth of rocks on bottom uplift was also studied. The design of tunnel supports and the monitoring and prevention of floor heave can benefit from this study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Insights into Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering)
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17 pages, 3124 KiB  
Article
Evaluation Method for Determining Rock Brittleness in Consideration of Plastic Deformation in Pre-Peak and Failure Energy in Post-Peak
by Xiaopeng Yue, Tao Wen, Yuan Gao, Wenjun Jia, Yankun Wang and Mingyi Hu
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12711; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312711 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 570
Abstract
The assessment of rock brittleness holds significant importance for understanding and predicting the mechanical properties and engineering behavior of rocks. Due to the lack of a unified definition of rock brittleness, numerous evaluation methods for brittleness indexes have been proposed by scholars both [...] Read more.
The assessment of rock brittleness holds significant importance for understanding and predicting the mechanical properties and engineering behavior of rocks. Due to the lack of a unified definition of rock brittleness, numerous evaluation methods for brittleness indexes have been proposed by scholars both domestically and internationally in recent decades, resulting in diverse evaluation outcomes. In this study, we first summarize the existing rock brittleness evaluation methods and highlight their respective advantages and disadvantages. Subsequently, considering the pre-peak plastic deformation of the rock mass, the pre-peak brittleness index factor is introduced. Furthermore, taking into account the total energy consumed by the rock mass for failure after the peak, the post-peak brittleness index factor is proposed. These two components of the brittleness index describe the characteristics of different stages of the stress-strain curve, leading to the development of a novel brittleness index. The proposed method is then applied to evaluate the brittleness of both red-bed sandstone and cyan sandstone, revealing the variation of rock brittleness under different working conditions. Finally, three existing evaluation methods are selected to validate the rationality of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that for red-bed sandstone, the proposed brittleness index exhibits maximum values under natural conditions at all confining pressures. The four brittleness indexes consistently characterize the brittleness of red-bed sandstone under natural conditions. Under saturated conditions, the brittleness indexes exhibit different patterns of variation. For cyan sandstone, the three brittleness indexes—B7, B9, and Bnew—exhibit a similar trend in characterizing the brittleness of cyan sandstone under natural conditions and freezing-thawing conditions, while the trend of B17 is essentially opposite to that of the previous three indexes. The research findings provide guidance for the assessment of sandstone brittleness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Insights into Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering)
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14 pages, 3144 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Rock Brittleness Index under Dynamic Load
by Diyuan Li, Minggang Han and Quanqi Zhu
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4698; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084698 - 07 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3121
Abstract
Rock is a typical brittle material, and the evaluation of its brittleness index has important guiding significance for hard rock resource exploitation, unconventional oil and gas resource exploitation, mechanical driving efficiency, rock burst prediction, and dynamic disaster prevention and control. At present, brittleness [...] Read more.
Rock is a typical brittle material, and the evaluation of its brittleness index has important guiding significance for hard rock resource exploitation, unconventional oil and gas resource exploitation, mechanical driving efficiency, rock burst prediction, and dynamic disaster prevention and control. At present, brittleness index often measures the brittleness of rock under static load; thus, whether it is applicable to dynamic load is worth exploring. In this study, static and dynamic uniaxial compression tests and Brazilian splitting tests were carried out on five kinds of rocks, including fine granite, coarse granite, shale, marble, and sandstone, using the INSTRON−1346 test system and split−Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), respectively. The brittleness index values of different rocks under static and dynamic load were determined, and the changes in the brittleness of rocks under different loading methods and different strain rates were studied. The definition of brittleness and the applicability of existing brittleness indices were also discussed. It was found that the loading rate amplified the variation of the brittleness characteristics of rock. When static load changes to dynamic load, the brittleness of rocks increases, and the brittleness relationship between different rocks remains unchanged. The more brittle the rock is under static load, the greater the range of brittleness enhancement is under dynamic load. It was also found that the brittleness of sandstone had an obvious effect on the strain rate. The brittleness of rock increases with the increase in strain rate, and the greater the strain rate, the greater the brittleness enhancement degree. These research results can provide reference values for dynamic disaster prevention and safe construction of deep rock projects such as mines and tunnels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Insights into Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering)
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