Determination of critical state line(CSL)for silty-sandy iron ore tailings subjected to low-high confining pressures

The disposal of filtered tailings in high dry stacks can induce particle breakage,changing the material's behaviour during the structure's lifetime.The grading changes influence material properties at the critical state,and this is not mature for intermediate artificial soils(tailings)in a broad range of confining pressures.In this paper,it aims to describe the behaviour of iron ore tailings in a spectrum of confining pressures broader than the reported in previous studies.A series of consolidated drained(CD)triaxial tests was carried out with confining pressures ranging from 0.075 MPa to 120 MPa.These results show that the amount of breakage plays an essential role in the response of iron ore tailings.The existence of curved critical state line(CSL)in both specific volume(ν)-logarithm of mean effective stress(p′)and deviatoric stress(q)-mean effective stress(p′)planes,and different responses in the deviatoric stress-axial strain-volumetric strain curves were verified.An inverse S-shaped equation was proposed to represent the silty-sandy tailings'behaviour up to high pressures onν-lnp′plane.The proposed equation provides a basis for enhancing constitutive models and considers the evolution of the grading up to severe loading conditions.The adjustment considered three regions with different responses associated with particle breakage at different pressure levels.

Effects of confining pressure and pore pressure on multipole borehole acoustic field in fluid-saturated porous media

In-situ stress is a common stress in the exploration and development of oil reservoirs. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the propagation characteristics of borehole acoustic waves in fluid-saturated porous media under stress.Based on the acoustoelastic theory of fluid-saturated porous media, the field equation of fluid-saturated porous media under the conditions of confining pressure and pore pressure and the acoustic field formula of multipole source excitation in open hole are given. The influences of pore pressure and confining pressure on guided waves of multipole borehole acoustic field in fluid-saturated porous media are investigated. The numerical results show that the phase velocity and excitation intensity of guided wave increase significantly under the confining pressure. For a given confining pressure, the phase velocity of the guided wave decreases with pore pressure increasing. The excitation intensity of guided wave increases at low frequency and then decreases at high frequency with pore pressure increasing, except for that of Stoneley wave which decreases in the whole frequency range. These results will help us get an insight into the influences of confining pressure and pore pressure on the acoustic field of multipole source in borehole around fluid-saturated porous media.

Effects of confining pressure and temperature on strength and deformation behavior of frozen saline silty clay

Buildings are always affected by frost heave and thaw settlement in cold regions,even where saline soil is present.This paper describes the triaxial testing results of frozen silty clay with high salt content and examines the in-fluence of confining pressure and temperature on its mechanical characteristics.Conventional triaxial compression tests were conducted under different confining pressures(0.5–7.0 MPa)and temperatures(-6℃,-8℃,-10℃,and-12℃).The test results show that when the confining pressure is less than 1 MPa,the frozen saline silty clay is dominated by brittle behavior with the X-shaped dilatancy failure mode.As the confining pressure increases,the sample gradually transitions from brittle to plastic behavior.The strength of frozen saline silty clay rises first and then decreases with increasing confining pressure.The improved Duncan-Chang hyperbolic model can describe the stress-strain relationship of frozen saline silty clay.And the parabolic strength criterion can be used to describe the strength evolution of frozen saline silty clay.The function relation of strength parameters with temperature is obtained by fitting,and the results of the parabolic strength criterion are in good agreement with the experimental results,especially when confining pressure is less than 5 MPa.Therefore,the study has important guiding significance for design and construction when considering high salinity soil as an engineering material in cold regions.

Energy conversion of rocks in process of unloading confining pressure under different unloading paths

Based on energy theory and tests of rocks with initial confining pressures of 10, 20 and 30 MPa under different unloading paths, the processes of strain energy conversion were investigated. The absorbing strain energy for axial compression, the dissipating strain energy for plastic deformation and cracks propagation, the expending strain energy for circumferential deformation, and the storing and releasing elastic strain energy were considered. Unloading paths included the condition of fixing axial pressure and unloading axial pressure, increasing axial pressure and unloading confining pressure, as well as unloading axial pressure and confining pressure simultaneously. Results show that expending strain energy for circumferential deformation has mainly evolved from absorbing strain energy for axial compression in three unloading paths during unloading processes. Dissipating strain energy is significantly increased only near the peak point. The effect of initial confining pressure on strain energy is significantly higher than that of unloading path. The strain energy is linearly increased with increasing initial confining pressure. The unloading path and initial confining pressure also have great influence on the energy dissipation. The conversion rate of strain energy in three paths is increased with increasing initial confining pressure, and the effect of initial confining pressure on conversion rate of strain energy is related with the unloading paths.

Estimating shear strength of high-level pillars supported with cemented backfilling using the HoekeBrown strength criterion

Deep metal mines are often mined using the high-level pillars with subsequent cementation backfilling(HLSCB)mining method.At the design stage,it is therefore important to have a reasonable method for determining the shear strength of the high-level pillars(i.e.cohesion and internal friction angle)when they are supported by cemented backfilling.In this study,a formula was derived for the upper limit of the confining pressure σ3max on a high-level pillar supported by cemented backfilling in a deep metal mine.A new method of estimating the shear strength of such pillars was then proposed based on the Hoek eBrown failure criterion.Our analysis indicates that the horizontal stress σhh acting on the cemented backfill pillar can be simplified by expressing it as a constant value.A reasonable and effective value for σ3max can then be determined.The value of s3max predicted using the proposed method is generally less than 3 MPa.Within this range,the shear strength of the high-level pillar is accurately calculated using the equivalent MohreCoulomb theory.The proposed method can effectively avoid the calculation of inaccurate shear strength values for the high-level pillars when the original HoekeBrown criterion is used in the presence of large confining pressures,i.e.the situation in which the cohesion value is too large and the friction angle is too small can effectively be avoided.The proposed method is applied to a deep metal mine in China that is being excavated using the HLSCB method.The shear strength parameters of the high-level pillars obtained using the proposed method were input in the numerical simulations.The numerical results show that the recommended level heights and sizes of the high-level pillars and rooms in the mine are rational.

Effect of fractures on mechanical behavior of sand powder 3D printing rock analogue under triaxial compression

In practical engineering applications,rock mass are often found to be subjected to a triaxial stress state.Concurrently,defects like joints and fractures have a notable impact on the mechanical behavior of rock mass.Such defects are identified as crucial contributors to the failure and instability of the surrounding rock,subsequently impacting the engineering stability.The study aimed to investigate the impact of fracture geometry and confining pressure on the deformation,failure characteristics,and strength of specimens using sand powder 3D printing technology and conventional triaxial compression tests.The results indicate that the number of fractures present considerably influences the peak strength,axial peak strain and elastic modulus of the specimens.Confining pressure is an important factor affecting the failure pattern of the specimen,under which the specimen is more prone to shear failure,but the initiation,expansion and penetration processes of secondary cracks in different fracture specimens are different.This study confirmed the feasibility of using sand powder 3D printing specimens as soft rock analogs for triaxial compression research.The insights from this research are deemed essential for a deeper understanding of the mechanical behavior of fractured surrounding rocks when under triaxial stress state.

Engineering behaviour of in situ cored deep cement mixed marine deposits subjected to undrained and drained shearing

The deep cement mixing(DCM)is used to improve the capacity and reduce the settlement of the soft ground by forming cemented clay columns.The investigation on the mechanical behaviour of the DCM samples is limited to either laboratory-prepared samples or in-situ samples under unconfined compression.In this study,a series of drained and undrained triaxial shearing tests was performed on the in-situ cored DCM samples with high cement content to assess their mechanical behaviours.It is found that the drainage condition affects significantly the stiffness,peak and residual strengths of the DCM samples,which is mainly due to the state of excess pore water pressure at different strain levels,i.e.being positive before the peak deviatoric stress and negative after the peak deviatoric stress,in the undrained tests.The slope of the failure envelope changes obviously with the confining pressures,being steeper at lower stress levels and flatter at higher stress levels.The strength parameters,effective cohesion and friction angle obtained from lower stress levels(c′0 andφ′0)are 400 kPa and 58°,respectively,which are deemed to be true for design in most DCM applications where the in-situ stress levels are normally at lower values of 50-200 kPa.Additionally,the computed tomography(CT)scanning system was adopted to visualize the internal structures of DCM samples.It is found that the clay pockets existing inside the DCM samples due to uneven mixing affect markedly their stress-strain behaviour,which is one of the main reasons for the high variability of the DCM samples.

Seepage characteristics of a fractured silty mudstone under different confining pressures and temperatures

To investigate the influence of confining pressures and temperatures on the seepage characteristics of fractured rocks, seepage tests were conducted on a fractured silty mudstone using a self-developed experimental system, and the effects of different factors on coefficient of permeability were discussed. The results showed that the increasing confining pressure will gradually decrease the coefficient of permeability, and this process is divided into two stages: 1) the fast decrease stage, which corresponds to a confining pressure less than 30 kPa, and 2) the slow decrease stage, which corresponds to a confining pressure larger than 30 kPa. Unlike confining pressure, an increase in temperature will increase the coefficient of permeability. It is noted that fracture surface roughness will also affect the variation of coefficient of permeability to a certain extent. Among the three examined factors, the effect of confining pressure increases is dominant on fracture permeability coefficient. The relationship between the confining pressure and coefficient of permeability can be quantified by an exponential function.

Research on the influences of confining pressure and strain rate on NEPE propellant:Experimental assessment and constitutive model

In order to study the influences of confining pressure and strain rate on the mechanical properties of the Nitrate Ester Plasticized Polyether(NEPE)propellant,uniaxial tensile tests were conducted using the selfmade confining pressure system and material testing machine.The stress-strain responses of the NEPE propellant under different confining pressure conditions and strain rates were obtained and analyzed.The results show that confining pressure and strain rate have a remarkably influence on the mechanical responses of the NEPE propellant.As confining pressure increases(from 0 to 5.4 MPa),the maximum tensile stress and ultimate strain increase gradually.With the coupled effects of confining pressure and strain rate,the value of the maximum tensile stress and ultimate strain at 5.4 MPa and 0.0667 s^(-1)is 2.03 times and 2.19 times of their values under 0 MPa and 0.00333 s^(-1),respectively.Afterwards,the influence mechanism of confining pressure on the NEPE propellant was analyzed.Finally,based on the viscoelastic theory and continuous damage theory,a nonlinear constitutive model considering confining pressure and strain rate was developed.The damage was considered to be rate-dependent and pressuredependent.The constitutive model was validated by comparing experimental data with predictions of the constitutive model.The whole maximum stress errors of the model predictions are lower than 4%and the corresponding strain errors are lower than 7%.The results show that confining pressure can suppress the damage initiation and evolution of the NEPE propellant and the nonlinear constitutive model can describe the mechanical responses of the NEPE propellant under various confining pressure conditions and strain rates.This research can lay a theoretical foundation for analyzing the structural integrity of propellant grain accurately under working pressure loading.

Freeze-thaw damage mechanism of elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures at different confining pressures

As a frequently-used roadbed filler,soil-rock mixture is often in the environment of freeze-thaw cycles and different confining pressures.In order to study the freeze-thaw damage mechanism of elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures at different confining pressures,the concept of meso-interfacial freeze-thaw damage coefficient is put forward and the meso-interfacial damage phenomenon of soil-rock mixtures caused by the freeze-thaw cycle environment is concerned;a double-inclusion embedded model for elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures in freezing-thawing cycle is proposed.A large triaxial test was performed and the influences of confining pressure and experimental factors on elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures were obtained,and then the accuracy of the double-inclusion embedded model to predict the elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures in freezing-thawing cycle is verified.Experiment results showed that as to soil-rock mixtures,with the increase of confining pressure,the elastic modulus increases approximately linearly.The most crucial factors to affect the elastic modulus are rock content and compaction degree at the same confining pressure;the elastic modulus increases with the increase of rock content and compactness;as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases,the freeze-thaw damage coefficient of meso-structural interface and the elastic modulus decrease.

Mechanical property and permeability of raw coal containing methane under unloading confining pressure

Based on domestic-developed triaxial servo-controlled seepage equipment for thermal-hydrologicalmechanical coupling of coal containing methane,an experimental study was carried out to investigate mechanical property and gas permeability of raw coal,under the situation of conventional triaxial compression and unloading confining pressure tests in different gas pressure conditions.Triaxial unloading confining pressure process was reducing confining pressure while increasing axial pressure.The research results show that,compared with the peak intensity of conventional triaxial loading,the ultimate strength of coal samples of triaxial unloading confining pressure was lower,deformation under loading was far less than unloading,dilation caused by unloading was more obvious than loading.The change trend of volumetric strain would embody change of gas permeability of coal,the permeability first reduced along with volumetric strain increase,and then raised with volume strain decrease,furthermore,the change trends of permeability of coal before and after destruction were different in the stage of decreasing volume strain due to the effect of gas pressure.When gas pressure was greater,the effective confining pressure was smaller,and the radial deformation produced by unloading was greater.When the unloading failed confining pressure difference was smaller,coal would be easier to get unstable failure.

Mechanical properties of thermal aged HTPB composite solid propellant under confining pressure

With the purpose of investigating the effects of confining pressure and aging on the mechanical properties of Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene(HTPB)based composite solid propellant,tensile tests of thermal accelerated aged propellant samples under room temperature and different confining pressure conditions were performed through the use of a self-made confining pressure device and conventional testing machine.Afterwards,the maximum tensile stressσmand the corresponding strainεm for the propellant under different test conditions were obtained and analyzed.The results indicate that confining pressure and aging can significantly affect the mechanical properties of HTPB propellant,and the coupled effects are very complex.On the one hand,the stressσmincreases as a whole when confining pressure becomes higher or thermal aging time rises.Besides,this stress is more sensitive to aging with increasing confining pressure.There are almost three regions in the stress increments(σm P-σm0)/σm0and thermal aging time curves for HTPB propellant.The maximum value of the stress increment(σm P-σm0)/σm0for the propellant is about 98%at 7.0 MPa and 170 d.On the other hand,the strainεm decreases with increasing thermal aging time under the whole confining pressure conditions.However,the variation of this strain with confining pressure is more complex at various thermal aging time,which is different from that of unaged solid propellant in previous researches.In addition,this strain is slightly less sensitive to aging as the confining pressure increases.Furthermore,there is also a critical confining pressure in this investigation,whose value is between 0.15 MPa and 4.0 MPa.Beyond this critical pressure,the trends of the stressσmand the corresponding strainεm all change.Moreover,there are some critical thermal aging time for the stress increment(σm P-σm0)/σm0and strain increment(εm P-εm0)/εm0of HTPB propellant in this investigation,which are about at 35,50 and 170 d.Finally,based on the twin-shear strength theory,a new modified nonlinear strength criterion of thermal aged HTPB propellant under confining pressure was proposed.And the whole errors of fitted results are lower than 6%.Therefore,the proposed strength criterion can be selected as a failure criterion for the analysis the failure properties of aged HTPB propellant under different confining pressures,the structural integrity of solid propellant grain and the safety of solid rocket motor during ignition operation after long periods of storage.

Effects of confining pressure on deformation failure behavior of jointed rock

For a deeper understanding of the deformation failure behavior of jointed rock, numerical compression simulations are carried out on a rock specimen containing non-persistent joints under confining pressure with the bondedparticle model. The microscopic parameters which can reflect the macroscopic mechanical properties and failure behavior of artificial jointed specimens are firstly calibrated. Then, the influence of joint inclination and confining pressure on stress-strain curves, crack patterns, and contact force distributions of jointed rock are investigated. The simulation results show that both the compressive strength and elastic modulus of the specimens increase with increasing confining pressure, and these two mechanical parameters decrease first and then increase with the increase of joints inclination. The sensitivity of strength and elastic modulus to confining pressure is not the same in different joints inclinations, which has the least impact on specimens with α=90°. Under low confining pressure, the failure modes are controlled by the joint inclination. As the confining pressure increased, the initiation and propagation of tensile crack are gradually inhibited, and the failure mode is transferred from tensile failure to shear-compression failure. Finally, the reinforcement effect of prestressed bolt support on engineering fractured rock mass is discussed.

Anisotropic Rock Poroelasticity Evolution in Ultra-low Permeability Sandstones under Pore Pressure,Confining Pressure,and Temperature:Experiments with Biot's Coefficient

This study aimed to show anisotropic poroelasticity evolution in ultra-low permeability reservoirs under pore pressure,confining pressure,and temperature.Several groups of experiments examining Biot's coefficient under different conditions were carried out.Results showed that Biot's coefficient decreased with increased pore pressure,and the variation trend is linear,but the decreasing rate is variable between materials.Biot's coefficient increased with increased confining pressure;the variation trend is linear,but the increasing rate varies by material as well.Generally,Biot's coefficient remains stable with increased temperature.Lithology,clay mineral content,particle arrangement,and pore arrangement showed impacts on Biot's coefficient.For strong hydrophilic clay minerals,expansion in water could result in a strong surface adsorption reaction,which could result in an increased fluid bulk modulus and higher Biot's coefficient.For skeleton minerals with strong lipophilicity,such as quartz and feldspar,increased oil saturation will also result in an adsorption reaction,leading to increased fluid bulk modulus and a higher Biot's coefficient.The study's conclusions provide evidence of poroelasticity evolution of ultra-low permeability and help the enhancing oil recovery(EOR)process.

Tuning of band-gap of phononic crystals with initial confining pressure

The mechanism of the shift of the band-gap in phononic crystal （PC） with different initial confining pressures is studied experimentally and numerically. The experimental results and numerical analysis simultaneously indicate that the confining pressure can efficiently tune the location in and the width of the band-gap. The present work provides a basis for tuning the band-gap of phononic crystal in engineering applications.

Experimental Study of Confining Pressure Initiated by Tectonic Force

An experimental study of the confining pressure, i.e. additional hydrostatic pressure initiated by the tectonic force is presented. The experimental progress is that the σ 1 is gradually increasing from 0 in a limiting movement ( ε 1=0) in the σ 1 direction and the speed rate of the accelerating load is 0.4 MPa·s -1 in the lateral and level directions. When σ 2= σ 3<200 MPa, Δ σ l is nearly lacking, Δ σ l is increasing at a high speed only when the horizontal force reaches 250-380 MPa, and Δ σ l almost ceases to increase at the level force of 380 MPa. It is calculated that the tectonic force can produce the confining pressure which is gradually increasing with σ 2= σ 3 before it reaches 380 MPa in an experiment. It is supposed that the horizontal force is almost all transformed into the confining pressure with the increase of the creep deformation of rocks.

Effect of confining pressure on deformation and failure of rock at higher strain rate

Influence of confining pressure from 0 to 28 MPa, which acts on the two lateral edges of rock specimen in plane strain compression, on the shear failure processes and patterns as well as on the macroscopically mechanical responses were numerically modeled by use of FLAC. A material imperfection with lower strength in comparison with the intact rock, which is close to the lower-left corner of the specimen, was prescribed. In elastic stage, the adopted constitutive relation of rock was linear elastic; in strain-softening stage, a composite Mohr-Coulomb criterion with tension cut-off and a post-peak linear constitutive relation were adopted. The numerical results show that with an increase of confining pressure the peak strength of axial stress-axial strain curve and the corresponding axial strain linearly increase; the residual strength and the stress drop from the peak strength to the residual strength increase; the failure modes of rock transform form the multiple shear bands close to the loading end of the specimen （confining pressure=0-0.1 MPa）, to the conjugate shear bands （0.5-2.0 MPa）, and then to the single shear band （4-28 MPa）. Once the tip of the band reaches the loading end of the specimen, the direction of the band changes so that the reflection of the band occurs. At higher confining pressure, the new-formed shear band does not intersect the imperfection, bringing extreme difficulties in prediction of the failure of rock structure, such as rock burst. The present results enhance the understanding of the shear failure processes and patterns of rock specimen in higher confining pressure and higher loading strain rate.

Fluctuation pressure on a bio-membrane confined within a parabolic potential well

A compliant bio-membrane with a nominally fiat reference configuration is prone to random transverse deflections when placed in water, due primarily to the Brownian motion of the water molecules. On the average, these fluctuations result in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium between the entropic energy of the water and the total free en- ergy of the membrane. When the membrane is in close proximity to a parallel surface, that surface restricts the fluctuations of the membrane which, in turn, results in an increase in its free energy. The amount of that increase depends on the degree of confinement, and the resulting gradient in free energy with degree of confinement implies the existence of a confining pressure. In the present study, we assume that the confinement is in the form of a continuous parabolic po- tential well resisting fluctuation. Analysis leads to a closed form expression for the mean pressure resulting from this confinement, and the results are discussed within the broader context of results in this area. In particular, the results provide insights into the roles of membrane stiffness, number of degrees of freedom in the model of the membrane and other system parameters.

DEM simulation of confining pressure effects on crack opening displacement in hydraulic fracturing

Hydraulic fracture is one of the key methods in well stimulation to increase production of oil and gas.Crack Opening Displacement(COD) is of great importance in this method since it is in direct relation with permeability and production rate.In this paper COD is measured by a distinct element model which has been validated by an exact solution.A comprehensive study has been performed on confining pressure effect on COD which is neglected in the analytical solution.Numerical results showed that confining pressure considerably affects COD.A multi-parameter regression(considering effect of confining pressure,rock mass properties and fluid pressure) was performed on numerical results which resulted in an equation.The proposed equation considers the effect of confining pressure and its results are in good agreement with numerical results.

CONFINING PRESSURE EFFECT ON ACOUSTIC EMISSIONS IN ROCK FAILURE

Based on the phenomenon that acoustic emissions (AE) generated by rock mass increase suddenly because of underground excavation, time sequence of AE rate in rock failure has been discussed by using statistical damage theory. It has been demonstrated that how the influence of confining pressure on the deformation behavior and AE characteristics in rocks can be inferred from a simple mechanics model. The results show that loading confining pressure sharply brings out increasing of AE. On the other hand, few AE emits when confining pressure is loaded sharply, and AE occurs again when axial pressure keeps on increasing. These results have been well simulated with computer and show close correspondence with directly measured curves in experiments.