Search Results (9)

The mechanical properties of frozen fissured rock masses are crucial considerations for engineering in frozen earth. However, there has been little research on the mechanical properties of frozen fissured sandstone, including its strength, deformation, and geometric parameters. In this study, sandstone samples with three open en echelon fissures were observed using high-speed photography and acoustic emissions during uniaxial compression tests. The aim was to investigate sandstone’s strength, deformability, and failure process in order to elucidate the effects of freezing on its mechanical properties. In the frozen-saturated and dried states, the uniaxial compression strength (UCS) initially decreases and then increases with an increase in fissure inclination angle. Conversely, the UCS of samples in the saturated state continuously increases. The UCS follows a decreasing trend, as follows: frozen-saturated state > dried state > saturated state. The initial crack angle decreases as the fissure inclination increases in all states, irrespective of temperature and moisture conditions. However, the initial crack stress and time show an increasing trend. The uniaxial compression strength (UCS) of frozen fissured sandstone is influenced by four mechanisms: (1) ice provides support to the rock under compression, (2) ice fills microcracks, (3) unfrozen water films act as a cementing agent under tension or shearing loads, and (4) frost damage leads to softening of the rock. Full article

This article investigates the microscopic mechanism of crack initiation and propagation in three-dimensional embedded cracks in brittle materials containing circular holes. First, a method for the development of transparent, brittle materials is proposed. Second, UCS tests were conducted on transparent, brittle materials containing circular holes and internally embedded three-dimensional cracks. Finally, a numerical model was established in PFC3D to analyze the crack initiation and propagation mechanism. The results show that when α = 0° (α refers to the pre-existing crack inclination), the upper tip of the pre-existing crack appears as a tensile wing crack, and the lower tip of the pre-existing crack appears as a tensile–shear mixed crack. When α = 30°, no wing crack appears, and the tensile crack on the fracture surface only appears after the hole cracks. When α = 60 and 90°, a tensile wing crack and an anti-wing tensile–shear mixed crack appear at the upper tip of the pre-existing crack. A tensile wing crack appears at the lower tip of the pre-existing crack and appears “self-limiting”. During the propagation of wing cracks to the surface of the specimen, the transition sequence of the crack propagation mechanism is tensile through failure—tension-shear mixed failure—tensile failure. It can be seen that the interaction between the crack and hole has an important influence on the evolution mechanism of the crack and the failure mode of the specimen. Full article

Original fracture structures always present discontinuity in the real rock mass, and many invisible fractures hide inside the rock mass, which may cause serious engineering safety issues. To mimic the true 3D fracture structures through the experimental method, the gypsum rock-like samples containing both 2D through-type and 3D internal-type preset flaws are prepared, and multiple sets of inclination angles of the twin parallel flaws are set in the test. By applying the AE and DIC monitoring technologies during the uniaxial compression tests, the main results are as follows: (1) The flaw inclination angle presents a direct influence on the surface cracks distribution, maximum principal strain field, and the density of secondary failure in the middle rock; (2) AE events initially distribute around the internal 3D preset flaw, while the gradient inclination angle shows a slight impact on the events’ location before reaching the UCS status of samples; (3) mutations in b-values and S values can serve as evidence for predicting local damage, and the final failures quickly form at various scales and energy levels; (4) when the statistical analysis grid is divided sufficiently, the data window width and moving step length have little impact on the evaluation results, while the recommended bin width of event magnitude is 0.5 or 1.0. Full article

The size effect has a significant effect on the mechanical behavior of rock, thereby fundamentally influencing the stability of rock excavations. The main challenge associated with the experimental research on the size effect of fractured rock mass lies in the difficulty of specimen preparation to represent the influence of size and fracture on the mechanical behavior of the rock material. In order to preliminarily explore the feasibility of 3D printing technology in the field of rock mechanics, fractured rock specimens of different sizes and different fracture characteristics were produced using sand powder 3D printing technology. The uniaxial compression test was combined with the digital image correlation method (DIC) technology to study the influence of the size effect on the mechanical properties and deformation and failure of different fractured specimens. The research finds that: (1) The elastoplastic mechanical characteristics of the sand powder 3D printed specimens are similar to soft rock. Specimen size and fracture angle have significant effects on the mechanical properties of specimens. Under different fracture conditions, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and Elasticity Modulus of sand powder 3D specimens should be decreased with the increase of the specimen size, and the size effect has different influences on the specimens with different fracture characteristics. (2) Under different fracture conditions, the crack initiation position and failure mode of specimens of various sizes are affected by the fracture inclination to varying degrees. (3) The size effect of fractured rock mass is closely related to the defect level inside the rock mass. The size effect originates from the heterogeneity inside the material. The research results verify the feasibility of applying sand powder 3D printing technology to study the size effect of fractured rock masses and provide an innovative test method for the size effect test study. Preliminary exploration of the size effect of fractured rock masses provides a powerful reference for related research in this field. The study proves the feasibility of applying sand powder 3D printing technology in similar rock mechanics tests and contributes to understanding the size effect of a fractured rock mass. Full article

Rock is the main construction material of rock engineering, such as the engineering of mines and tunnels; in addition, its mechanical properties and failure laws are of great significance to the stability evaluation of rock engineering, especially under the conditions of coupled static–static stresses. In this study, granite specimens were manufactured with artificial flaws. Coupled static and dynamic loads tests were carried out with a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatus; and six typical levels of axial pre-stresses and three crack inclination angles were designed. Three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) was also applied to record and analyze the fracturing process and damage evolution of the specimens. The test results show that there was no compaction stage in the stress–strain curve under combined dynamic and static loading. The dynamic strength of the specimens increased first and then decreased with the increase in the static pressure; moreover, the specimens reached the maximum dynamic strength when the static pressure was 10% UCS. The dynamic strength decreased first and then increased with the increase in the crack inclination angle; and the lowest strength appeared when the inclination angle was 45°. The change in axial compression had a significant influence on the failure mode, and the failure mode gradually transformed from shear–tensile failure to shear failure with the increase in the pre-stress. The tensile strain was usually generated at the end of the fractures or near the rock bridge. When the axial pressure was small, the tensile strain zone parallel to the loading direction was easily generated; and when the axial pressure was large, a shear strain zone developed, extending along the diagonal direction. The research results can provide a theoretical reference for the correct understanding of the failure mechanisms of granite and its engineering stability under actual conditions. Full article

The exploitation and utilization of coal resources are not only prone to causing water table lowering, but also produce a large amount of CO₂ and coal-based solid waste. A scientific concept that employs the CO₂ and solid wastes to develop filling bodies and inject them into the mined-out area, to sequestrate CO₂ and mitigate the overburden migration and thus preserve the overlying aquifer, is proposed. Continuous extraction and continuous backfill (CECB) mining was selected as the mining method to meet the aforementioned objectives. Additionally, carbon dioxide mineralized filling body (CMFB) under ambient temperature and pressure was developed, with fly ash as aggregate, and CO₂ gas, silicate additives and cement as accessories. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and tensile strength of CMFB with various curing times and fly ash contents were tested indoors. A physical analogue simulation and FLAC^3D numerical calculation were then successively implemented on the premise of determining a similar material ratio of CMFB in analogue simulation and calibrating the parameters of the CMFB in numerical simulation. The deformation of aquifuge and water level lowering while using CECB and CMFB with various proportion of fly ash were obtained. When using the CMFB with 75% fly ash content and 28 d curing time, the maximum values of vertical displacement, horizontal displacement, inclination, horizontal deformation and curvature of aquiclude were 26 mm, 6.5 mm, 0.12 mm/m, 0.08 mm/m and 0.0015 mm/m², respectively, and the water table decreased 0.47 m. The results show that the CMFB with 75% fly ash is the most appropriate ratio to realize water preservation mining, CO₂ sequestration and harmless treatment of solid wastes, contributing to the green and sustainable development of coal areas. Full article

In this paper, uniaxial cyclic compression and shear test was carried out for lignite samples. The effects of inclination angle (θ) and upper limit of cyclic stress (σ_max) on mechanical properties of coal samples were analyzed, and the damage variables of coal samples were studied based on energy dissipation theory. The results show that the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of coal samples after uniaxial cyclic compression and shear tests decreases with the increase of the upper limit of cyclic stress and inclination angle. The shear stress component generated by the increase of inclination angle can effectively reduce the UCS and increase the damage degree of coal samples. With the increase of inclination angle, the failure mode of coal samples is changed from tensile failure (θ = 0°), the combined tensile failure and shear failure (θ = 5°) to shear failure (θ = 10°). The peak axial and radial strain of coal samples first increases rapidly and then stagnates. The peak volume strain rapid increases and then stagnates (θ = 0° and θ = 5°). When the inclination angle is 10°, the peak volume strain first decreases rapidly and then stagnates. Even if the upper limit of cyclic stress is lower than its UCS, it will still promote the propagation of micro cracks and the generation of new cracks and increase the internal damage of coal samples. With the increase of the cycle number, damage variables of coal samples after uniaxial cyclic compression and shear tests nonlinearly increase, and the growth rate decreases gradually. Full article

Comprehensive understanding of the effects of temperature and inclination angle on mechanical properties and fracture modes of rock is essential for the design of rock engineering under complex loads, such as the construction of nuclear waste repository, geothermal energy development and stability assessment of deep pillar. In this paper, a novel inclined uniaxial compression (inclined UCS) test system was introduced to carry out two series of inclined uniaxial compression tests on granite specimens under various inclination angles (0–20°) and treated temperatures (25–800 °C) at 5° inclination. Experimental results revealed that the peak compression stress and elastic modulus gradually decreased, while peak shear stress increased nonlinearly with the increasing inclination angle; the peak compression and shear stress as well as elastic modulus slightly increased from 25 to 200 °C, then gradually decreased onwards with the increasing temperature. The effect of temperature on peak axial strain was the same as that on peak shear displacement. Acoustic emission (AE) results suggested that the relationship between crack initiation stress, inclination angle and treated temperature followed a similar trend as that of the peak compression stress and elastic modulus. Particularly, the crack initiation (CI) stress threshold and shear stress corresponding to CI threshold under 800 °C were only 7.4% of that under 200 °C and revealed a severe heat damage phenomenon, which was consistent with the results of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with the appearance of a large number of thermal pores observed only under 800 °C. The failure modes tended to shear failure with the increasing inclination angle, indicating that the shear stress component can accelerate sliding instability of rocks. On the other hand, the failure patterns with different temperatures changed from combined splitting-shear failure (25–400 °C) to single shear failure (600 and 800 °C). The study results can provide an extremely important reference for underground thermal engineering construction under complex loading environment. Full article

Understanding the dynamic mechanical behaviors and microstructural properties of outburst-prone coal is significant for preventing coal and gas outbursts during underground mining. In this paper, the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) tests were completed to study the strength and micro-structures of outburst-prone coal subjected to compressive impact loading. Two suites of coals—outburst-prone and outburst-resistant—were selected as the experimental specimens. The characteristics of dynamic strength, failure processes, fragment distribution, and microstructure evolution were analyzed based on the obtained stress-strain curves, failed fragments, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) images. Results showed that the dynamic compressive strength inclined linearly with the applied strain rate approximately. The obtained dynamic stress-strain responses could be represented by a typical curve with stages of compression, linear elasticity, microcrack evolution, unstable crack propagation, and rapid rapture. When the loading rate was relatively low, fragments fell in tension. With an increase in loading rates, the fragments fell predominantly in shear. The equivalent particle size of coal fragments decreased with the applied strain rate. The Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of outburst-prone coal was smaller than that of resistant coal, resulting in its smaller equivalent particle size of coal fragments. Moreover, the impact loading accelerated the propagation of fractures within the specimen, which enhanced the connectivity within the porous coal. The outburst-prone coal with behaviors of low strength and sudden increase of permeability could easily initiate gas outbursts. Full article