Unloading responses of pre-flawed rock specimens under different unloading rates

Based on the stress redistribution analysis of rock mass during the deep underground excavation, the unloading process of pre-flawed rock material was simulated by distinct element method (DEM). The effects of unloading rate and flaw inclination angle on unloading strengths and cracking properties of pre-flawed rock specimens are numerically revealed. The results indicate that the unloading failure strength of pre-flawed specimen exhibits a power-function increase trend with the increase of unloading period. Moreover, combined with the stress state analysis on the flaws, it is found that the unloading failure strength increases with the increase of flaw inclination angle. The cracking distribution of pre-flawed specimens under the unloading condition closely depends on the flaw inclination angle, and three typical types of flaw coalescence are observed. Furthermore, at a faster unloading rate, the pre-flawed specimen experiences a sharper and quicker unloading failure process, resulting in more splitting cracks in the specimens.

Failure modes and slabbing mechanisms of hard rock with different height-to-width ratios under uniaxial compression

To determine the relationship between slabbing failure and the specimen height-to-width(H/W)ratio and to analyze the conditions,characteristics,and mechanism of slabbing failure in the laboratory,uniaxial compression tests were conducted using six groups of granite specimens.The entire failure process was recorded using strain gauges and high-speed cameras.The initiation and propagation of fractures in specimens were identified by analyzing the monitoring results of stress,strain,and acoustic emission.The experimental results show that changes in the specimen H/W ratio can transform the macro failure mode.When the H/W ratio is reduced to 0.5,the macro failure mode is dominated by slabbing.Low load-bearing ability is observed in specimens with slabbing failure,and the slabbing fractures are approximately parallel to the loading direction.Moreover,the fracture propagation characteristics and acoustic emission signals of slabbing failure specimens show typical tensile failure characteristics,indicating that slabbing failure is essentially a special tensile failure.