A multifunctional rock testing system for rock failure analysis under different stress states: Development and application

The stress state in a rock mass is complex. Stress redistribution around underground excavation may lead to various failure modes, including compressive-shear, tensile-shear, and tensile failures. The ability to perform laboratory tests with these complex stress states is significant for establishing new strength criteria. The present paper introduces a new rock testing system with “tensile-compressive-shear”loading functions. The device includes bi-directional and double-range hydraulic cylinders, auxiliary loading equipment, and roller rows that can perform direct compressive-shear tests, direct tensile tests,and direct tensile-shear tests. The testing system provides maximum vertical and lateral loading forces of2000 k N and allows testing cubical rock specimens with dimensions of 0.5 m × 0.5 m × 0.5 m. The performance of the testing machine was evaluated by testing a rock-like material based on cement mortar under compressive-shear, tensile, and tensile-shear stress states. The failure process and deformation characteristics were monitored during loading using acoustic emission(AE) transient recorder,piezoelectric AE sensors, a high-speed camera, and a thermal infrared camera. The failure mechanism was investigated by analyzing AE counts, AE amplitude, strain, and temperature changes on the rock specimen surface. The test results confirmed that the testing system could successfully simulate the abovementioned stress path. The AE counts and amplitude responses were influenced by different failure modes. The temperature response during the compressive-shear test indicated the development of a high-temperature band on the rock specimen surface. In contrast, a negligible temperature change was observed during the tensile and tensile-shear tests. The newly developed multifunctional rock testing system allows laboratory tests under various failure modes. The monitoring results of multiple variables during rock failure tests provide valuable information on failure characteristics.

Experimental investigation on hard rock fragmentation of inserted tooth cutter using a newly designed indentation testing apparatus

This investigation aims to explore the effects of stress conditions and rock cutting rates on hard rock fragmentation through indentation tests on a newly designed triaxial testing apparatus.This apparatus was designed to realize a triaxial loading and indentation test of cylindrical specimens using inserted tooth cutter.The boreability and crushing efficiency of granite rock was investigated by analyzing the change rules of the thrusting force,penetration depth,characteristics of chippings and failure patterns.Several quantitative indexes were used to evaluate rock boreability in this investigation.The granite rock samples all had a chiselled pit and a crushed rock core.Under initial stress conditions,only flat-shape chippings were stripped from the rock surface when the thrusting force reached 20 kN.The rock cutting special energy had a close correlation with the initial stress conditions and inserted tooth shape.Moreover,a thrusting force prediction model was proposed in this paper.The contribution of this study is that for the first time the influence mechanism of the initial triaxial stress conditions on rock fragmentation is investigated using an inserted tooth and the newly designed testing apparatus.This study has a crucial importance for practical underground hard rock crushing in geoengineering.

Experimental study of polyurethane foam reinforced soil used as a rock-like material

In this study, p o ly u reth an e foam ty p e th e rm o se t polym erizing, d u e to chem ical reaction b e tw e e n itsliquid ingredients, w as teste d as b in d e r afte r solidifying and th e n a rock-like m aterial m ixing w ith asandy silt ty p e soil w as prep ared . The uniaxial com pressive stren g th s （UCSs） o f p o ly u reth an e foamreinforced soil specim ens w ere d e term in ed for different p o ly u reth an e ratios in th e m ixture. A dditionally,a series o f te sts o n slake durability, im pact value, freezing-th aw in g resistance, and ab rasio n resistance ofp o ly u reth an e reinforced soil （PRS） m ix tu re w as co n d u cted . The UCS values over 3 M Pa w ere m easuredfrom th e PRS specim ens. The testin g results show ed th a t tre a te d soil can econom ically b ecom e adesirable rock-like m aterial in term s o f slake d u ra b ility a n d resistances ag ain st freezing-thaw ing, im pacteffect an d abrasion. As a n o th e r ch aracteristic o f th e rock-like m aterial m ade w ith p o ly u reth an e foam,u n it volum e w eig h t w as found to be q uite low er th a n th o se o f n atu ral rock m aterials.

Mechanical properties of rock under coupled static-dynamic loads

Rock drilling machine,INSTRON testing system,and SHPB device are updated to investigate the characteristics of rocks at great depth,with high loads from overburden,tectonic stresses and dynamic impacts due to blasting and boring.It is verified that these testing systems can be used to study the mechanical properties of rock material under coupled static and dynamic loading condition and give useful guidance for the deep mining and underground cavern excavation.Various tests to determine the rock strength,fragmentation behavior,and energy absorption were conducted using the updated testing systems.It is shown that under coupled static-dynamic loads,if the axial prestress is lower than its elastic limit,the rock strength is higher than the individual static or dynamic strength.At the same axial prestress,rock strength under coupled loads rises with the increasing strain rates.Under coupled static and dynamic loads,rock is observed to fail with tensile mode.While shear failure may exist if axial prestress is high enough.In addition,it is shown that the percentage of small particles increases with the increasing axial prestress and impact load based on the analysis of the particle-size distribution of fragments.It is also suggested that the energy absorption ratio of a specimen varies with coupled loads,and the maximum energy absorption ratio for a rock can be obtained with an appropriate combination of static and dynamic loads.

Spalling failure of deep hard rock caverns

Spalling is a typical brittle failure phenomenon of hard rock in deep caverns under high geostress.In this study,key issues are systematically studied concerning the spalling failure of deep hard rock caverns.First,the prismatic rock specimens with small thicknesses(i.e.width×thickness×height:20 mm×50 mm×100 mm)are employed in our tests which not only successfully simulate the spalling failure of hard rock in the laboratory but also obtain a reasonable spalling strength similar to that of the rock mass.Then,a series of spalling experiments is carried out to investigate the mechanism of spalling failure of deep hard rock caverns.Our results show that the intermediate principal stress,weak dynamic disturbances,and rock microstructure have significant effects on the spalling failure.The spalling strength is approximately(0.3–0.8)UCS,where UCS is the uniaxial compressive strength of the cylindrical rock sample with a diameter of around 50 mm.The spalling strength increases first and then decreases with increasing intermediate principal stress.Moreover,an empirical spalling strength criterion and a numerical method of spalling failure are proposed.This numerical method can not only simulate the spalling failure zone formed by tangential compressive stress concentration after excavation under different intermediate principal stresses,but also successfully simulate the failure transition from tensile mode to shear mode associated with confinement change in deep hard rock caverns.Furthermore,an acoustic emission-based early warning method using neural network is proposed to predict the spalling failure.Finally,a technical roadmap for preventing and controlling spalling failure of deep hard rock caverns is presented after summarizing the successful experiences in a typical engineering case.

Uniaxial experimental study of the acoustic emission and deformation behavior of composite rock based on 3D digital image correlation(DIC)

In this paper, uniaxial compression tests were carried out on a series of composite rock specimens with different dip angles, which were made from two types of rock-like material with different strength. The acoustic emission technique was used to monitor the acoustic signal characteristics of composite rock specimens during the entire loading process. At the same time, an optical non-contact 3 D digital image correlation technique was used to study the evolution of axial strain field and the maximal strain field before and after the peak strength at different stress levels during the loading process. The effect of bedding plane inclination on the deformation and strength during uniaxial loading was analyzed. The methods of solving the elastic constants of hard and weak rock were described. The damage evolution process, deformation and failure mechanism, and failure mode during uniaxial loading were fully determined. The experimental results show that the θ = 0?–45?specimens had obvious plastic deformation during loading, and the brittleness of the θ = 60?–90?specimens gradually increased during the loading process. When the anisotropic angle θincreased from 0?to 90?, the peak strength, peak strain,and apparent elastic modulus all decreased initially and then increased. The failure mode of the composite rock specimen during uniaxial loading can be divided into three categories:tensile fracture across the discontinuities(θ = 0?–30?), slid-ing failure along the discontinuities(θ = 45?–75?), and tensile-split along the discontinuities(θ = 90?). The axial strain of the weak and hard rock layers in the composite rock specimen during the loading process was significantly different from that of the θ = 0?–45?specimens and was almost the same as that of the θ = 60?–90?specimens. As for the strain localization highlighted in the maximum principal strain field, the θ = 0?–30?specimens appeared in the rock matrix approximately parallel to the loading direction,while in the θ = 45?–90?specimens it appeared at the hard and weak rock layer interface.

Experimental research on hydrophilic characteristics of natural soft rock at high stress state

In order to study features of rock–water interaction, a self-developed experimental system called Intelligent Testing System for Water Absorption in Deep Soft Rocks(ITSWADSR) was utilized to analyze the hydrophilic behaviors of natural soft rock at high stress state. Combining X-ray diffraction and mercury injection test, main influencing factors on hydrophilic characteristics were studied. According to the results, it could be concluded as the following:(1) the effective porosity, and the content of illite, illite/smectite formation(S = 5%) and kaolinite have positive correlation with the water absorption capacity of rock; meanwhile, the initial moisture content, fractal dimension of effective pores, illite/smectite formation(S = 30%) and chlorite present negative correlation;(2) among the positive factors, the ascending order is kaolinite, illite/smectite formation(S = 5%) and illite;(3) the descending order among the negative factors are chlorite, illite/smectite formation(S = 30%) and fractal dimension of the effective pores;(4) influence of effective porosity on the pressurized water absorbing capacity of rock is minimal, while it is maximal in the process of no pressurized water absorption.

A swirling jet from a nozzle with tangential inlets and its characteristics in breaking-up rocks

In order to apply a swirling jet to a PDC drill bit, the nozzle performance influenced by nozzle inlet geometric parameters and rock breaking tests under submerged conditions were studied. Numerical simulation was used to study the influence of the nozzle structure on the swirling intensity and nozzle discharge coefficient. Simulation results indicate that spreading angle of the swirling jet is greater than that of＂ the non-swirling jet, and the swirling intensity of the jet is strongly influenced by the length of the nozzle body but weakly by the number of tangential inlets. Rock breaking tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the swirling jet. It is found that the swirling jet shows a lower threshold pressure to break the rock samples and could break rock more efficiently compared with the non-swirling jet.

A modified failure criterion for transversely isotropic rocks

A modified failure criterion is proposed to determine the strength of transversely isotropic rocks. Me-chanical properties of some metamorphic and sedimentary rocks including gneiss, slate, marble, schist, shale, sandstone and limestone, which show transversely isotropic behavior, were taken into consider-ation. Afterward, introduced triaxial rock strength criterion was modified for transversely isotropic rocks. Through modification process an index was obtained that can be considered as a strength reduction parameter due to rock strength anisotropy. Comparison of the parameter with previous anisotropy in-dexes in literature showed reasonable results for the studied rock samples. The modified criterion was compared to modified Hoek-Brown and Ramamurthy criteria for different transversely isotropic rocks. It can be concluded that the modified failure criterion proposed in this study can be used for predicting the strength of transversely isotropic rocks.

Rock Strength Estimation Using Several Tree-Based ML Techniques

The uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)of rock is an essential property of rock material in different relevant applications,such as rock slope,tunnel construction,and foundation.It takes enormous time and effort to obtain the UCS values directly in the laboratory.Accordingly,an indirect determination of UCS through conducting several rock index tests that are easy and fast to carry out is of interest and importance.This study presents powerful boosting trees evaluation framework,i.e.,adaptive boosting machine,extreme gradient boosting machine(XGBoost),and category gradient boosting machine,for estimating the UCS of sandstone.Schmidt hammer rebound number,P-wave velocity,and point load index were chosen as considered factors to forecast UCS values of sandstone samples.Taylor diagrams and five regression metrics,including coefficient of determination(R2),root mean square error,mean absolute error,variance account for,and A-20 index,were used to evaluate and compare the performance of these boosting trees.The results showed that the proposed boosting trees are able to provide a high level of prediction capacity for the prepared database.In particular,itwas worth noting that XGBoost is the best model to predict sandstone strength and it achieved 0.999 training R^(2) and 0.958 testing R^(2).The proposed model had more outstanding capability than neural network with optimization techniques during training and testing phases.The performed variable importance analysis reveals that the point load index has a significant influence on predicting UCS of sandstone.

Rock borehole shear tests in dam foundation of Xiangjiaba hydropower station

Xiangjiaba hydropowcr station is one of the complicated geological conditions of its dam foundation, parameters of rock masses are very important issues. To cascade power stations on the Jinsha River, China. Due to the evaluating the rock mass quality and determining the mechanical address these issues, several groups of rock borehole shear tests （RBSTs） were conducted on the black mudstone in the dam foundation of Xiangjiaba hydropower station in the second construction phase. Forty three groups of shear strengths of black mudstone samples were obtained from RBSTs, and the shear strength parameters （c and f） were calculated using the least squares method. In addition, the limitations and merits of RBST employed in the Xiangjiaba hydropower station were discussed. Test results indicate that the shear strength parameters obtained from RBST have a good correlation with the results from sotmd wave test in borehole. It is believed that RBST has a good adaptability and applicability in geotechnical engineering.

Non-Darcy flow seepage characteristics of saturated broken rocks under compression with lateral constraint

Using an MTS816.03 test system and self-designed seepage apparatus, seepage tests of saturated broken rocks were conducted, and the influence of lithology, axial stress, grain size distribution and loading rate on seepage characteristics was analyzed. The results show that： （1） Under the same axial stress （12 MPa）, the permeability of different lithologic samples increases in the order： gangue 〈 mudstone 〈 sandstone 〈 limestone. The permeability of gangue is 3 magnitudes lower than that of limestone. The absolute value of the non-Darcy coefficient β increases in the order： limestone 〈 sandstone 〈 mudstone 〈 gangue. The non-Darcy coefficient β of limestone, which is positive, is 5 magnitudes lower than that of gangue. （2） With increasing axial stress, the permeability of saturated broken sandstone decreases, and the absolute value of the non-Darcy coefficient β increases. After the axial stress exceeds 12 MPa, the curves of permeability and non-Darcy coefficient β all tend to be stable. （3） With increasing Talbol power exponent, the permeability increases, and the absolute value of the non-Darcy coefficient β decreases. （4） With increasing loading, the permeability increases, and the absolute value of the non-Darcy coefficient β decreases. When the loading rate is 0.5 kN/s, the non-Darcy coefficient β is positive.

Hydrophilic characteristics of soft rock in deep mines

A series of water absorption tests on dried soft rock have been conducted by the intelligent testing system for water absorption tests in deep soft rock, including tests of water absorption with and without pres- sure. The results show that the water absorbing capacity of rock with a certain pressure is larger than that of rock without pressure： however, the relationship between the water absorbing percentage and the time can be expressed by w（t） = a（l - e^-bt）. In hi-logarithmic coordinates, the hydrophilic relationship with time in tests with pressure could be characterized by linearity, while they present concave or convex in tests without pressure. Based on the hypothesis that each influential factor is irrelevant and they have a linear correlation with the water absorbing capacity, we calculated the weight coefficient of each factor according to experimental results under different conditions. The calculations demonstrate that the effec- tive porosity, content of smectite and kaolinite are all positively correlated with the water absorption capacity of rock; meanwhile, the fractal dimension of the effective pores presents a negative correlation with the water absorption capacity of rock. The water absorption capacity with pressure increases with increasing illite, chlorite and chlorite/smectite formation and a decrease in illite/smectite formation and the fractal dimension of the effective pores, while it is opposite in tests without pressure. The weight coefficient of smectite is smallest among positive factors, and the fractal dimension of the effective pores is the smallest amongst the negative factors.

New artificial neural networks for true triaxial stress state analysis and demonstration of intermediate principal stress effects on intact rock strength

Simulations are conducted using five new artificial neural networks developed herein to demonstrate and investigate the behavior of rock material under polyaxial loading. The effects of the intermediate principal stress on the intact rock strength are investigated and compared with laboratory results from the literature. To normalize differences in laboratory testing conditions, the stress state is used as the objective parameter in the artificial neural network model predictions. The variations of major principal stress of rock material with intermediate principal stress, minor principal stress and stress state are investigated. The artificial neural network simulations show that for the rock types examined, none were independent of intermediate principal stress effects. In addition, the results of the artificial neural network models, in general agreement with observations made by others, show （a） a general trend of strength increasing and reaching a peak at some intermediate stress state factor, followed by a decline in strength for most rock types; （b） a post-peak strength behavior dependent on the minor principal stress, with respect to rock type; （c） sensitivity to the stress state, and to the interaction between the stress state and uniaxial compressive strength of the test data by the artificial neural networks models （two-way analysis of variance; 95% confidence interval）. Artificial neural network modeling, a self-learning approach to polyaxial stress simulation, can thus complement the commonly observed difficult task of conducting true triaxial laboratory tests, and/or other methods that attempt to improve two-dimensional （2D） failure criteria by incorporating intermediate principal stress effects.

Model test study of frost heaving pressures in tunnels excavated in fractured rock mass in cold regions

Based on the similarity theory, taking the horseshoe, city-gate and round linings as examples, the value and distribution regularities of normal frost heaving pressures （hereinafter as frost heaving pressures） in tunnels excavated in fractured rock mass in cold regions under different constraints and freezing depths were studied by a test model. It was found that the larger the frozen depth, the larger the frost heaving pressure, and the stronger the top constraint, the larger the frost heaving pressure. For the horseshoe lining and city-gate lining, the top constraint has a greater effect on the frost heaving pressures on the arch and the inverted arch. For the round lining, the influences of the top constraint on the frost heaving pressure in all linings are almost the same. The frost heaving pressure is maximum on the city-gate lining and minimal on the round lining. The largest frost heaving pressure all occur near the foot of the inverted arch for the three kinds of lining. Thus, the test data basically coincide with the observed in situ data.

Predictive plots for conical pick performance using mechanical and elastoplastic properties of rocks

Conical picks are by far the most widely used drag type cutting tools employed on partial face rock excavation machines.The cutting force and specific energy are two important design parameters for the conical pick performance,and the rock cutting testing is considered as the promising tool for determining these parameters.In the absence of an instrumented cutting rig,researchers generally rely on empirical predictive plots.For this,this paper suggests predictive plots for estimating the cutting force and specific energy,in consideration of the cutting depth to define the cuttability with conical picks.In this context,rock cutting tests were carried out on six volcanic rock samples with varying cutting depths using the unrelieved and relieved cutting modes.The cutting force and specific energy were correlated with the uniaxial compressive strength,Brazilian tensile strength,elasticity modulus,and plasticity index.Predictive plots were proposed for different cutting depths in the unrelieved and relieved cutting modes and exponential relationships were obtained among the cuttability parameters,and mechanical and elastoplastic properties of rocks.

A statistical analysis of geomechanical data and its effect on rock mass numerical modeling:a case study

Geomechanical data are never sufficient in quantity or adequately precise and accurate for design purposes in mining and civil engineering.The objective of this paper is to show the variability of rock properties at the sampled point in the roadway's roof,and then,how the statistical processing of the available geomechanical data can affect the results of numerical modelling of the roadway's stability.Four cases were applied in the numerical analysis,using average values(the most common in geomechanical data analysis),average minus standard deviation,median,and average value minus statistical error.The study show that different approach to the same geomechanical data set can change the modelling results considerably.The case shows that average minus standard deviation is the most conservative and least risky.It gives the displacements and yielded elements zone in four times broader range comparing to the average values scenario,which is the least conservative option.The two other cases need to be studied further.The results obtained from them are placed between most favorable and most adverse values.Taking the average values corrected by statistical error for the numerical analysis seems to be the best solution.Moreover,the confidence level can be adjusted depending on the object importance and the assumed risk level.

Discussion on bearing capacity of soft rock ground based on in-situ load test

The suitability of five methods was discussed here,taking the typical results from in-situ load test of Renshou Mansion and Caifu Plaza in Yueyang City for example.It shows that bearing capacity can be obtained by the proportion load and limit load from p-s curve with the first and the second point of contraflexure easily.It is recommended that the accurate value of bearing capacity can be obtained by hyperbola fitting method and minimum curvature radius method theoretically.The rebound method is clear in principle,in which the elastoplasticity characteristic is thought about.Out of consideration for the unsteadiness and unobviousness of bearing capacity from relative settlement method,it can be only adopted as reference.So bearing capacity of soft rock ground should be determined by weathering condition of soft rock and curve type.

Geometrical textures of faults，evolution of physical field and instability characteristics

The spatial and temproal evolution of strain. fault displacement and acoustic emissions during deformation of fault systems with different geometrical textures are studied experimentally under biaxial compresison, and the characteristics of typical instability events are analysed. The results show that fault systems with different geometrical textures have different evolutional images of physical field during deformation. Based on the characteristics of physical field and the deformation mechanism, various types of instability - two types of stick-slip, fracturing type and mixed type instability can be recognized. Different types of instability differ clearly in their precursors, and the instability type is closely related with the geometrical texture and the deformation stage of the fault system. Therefore, it is very significant for earthquake prediction and precursor analysis to investigatethe geometrical textures of natural active faults.

Drag pick cutting tests: A comparison between experimental and theoretical results

This paper aims at reporting the results of a number of drag pick cutting tests on selected igneous rock samples to compare the experimentally determined maximum cutting force （FC） values with theoreti- cally estimated ones. First, a review on theoretical rock cutting models proposed for both chisel and conical picks was presented in detail. Experimental study consists of both chisel and conical pick cutting tests in unrelieved （single-pick） cutting mode with varying cutting depths. FC＇ values were determined from experimental results, and theoretical models were utilized to compute FC for all cutting conditions. Computed and experimentally determined F（ data were then compared for a referenced cutting depth. It is shown that the theoretical models might overestimate or underestimate FC＇ and cannot give reliable results. Finally, explanations for these mismatches were presented.