Damage evolution of rock-encased-backfill structure under stepwise cyclic triaxial loading

Rock-encased-backfill(RB)structures are common in underground mining,for example in the cut-andfill and stoping methods.To understand the effects of cyclic excavation and blasting activities on the damage of these RB structures,a series of triaxial stepwise-increasing-amplitude cyclic loading experiments was conducted with cylindrical RB specimens(rock on outside,backfill on inside)with different volume fractions of rock(VF=0.48,0.61,0.73,and 0.84),confining pressures(0,6,9,and 12 MPa),and cyclic loading rates(200,300,400,and 500 N/s).The damage evolution and meso-crack formation during the cyclic tests were analyzed with results from stress-strain hysteresis loops,acoustic emission events,and post-failure X-ray 3D fracture morphology.The results showed significant differences between cyclic and monotonic loadings of RB specimens,particularly with regard to the generation of shear microcracks,the development of stress memory and strain hardening,and the contact forces and associated friction that develops along the rock-backfill interface.One important finding is that as a function of the number of cycles,the elastic strain increases linearly and the dissipated energy increases exponentially.Also,compared with monotonic loading,the cyclic strain hardening characteristics are more sensitive to rising confining pressures during the initial compaction stage.Another finding is that compared with monotonic loading,more shear microcracks are generated during every reloading stage,but these microcracks tend to be dispersed and lessen the likelihood of large shear fracture formation.The transition from elastic to plastic behavior varies depending on the parameters of each test(confinement,volume fraction,and cyclic rate),and an interesting finding was that the transformation to plastic behavior is significantly lower under the conditions of 0.73 rock volume fraction,400 N/s cyclic loading rate,and 9 MPa confinement.All the findings have important practical implications on the ability of backfill to support underground excavations.

Strength characteristics and energy dissipation evolution of thawing silty clay during cyclic triaxial loading

Cyclic triaxial tests are conducted to analyze the evolution of strength parameters and energy dissipation of thawing silty clay under different stress paths.The effects of freezing temperature,thawing temperature and confining pressures on the stress-strain and strength characteristics of soil samples are studied through monotonic loading and cyclic loading tests by using high-and low-temperature triaxial apparatus.The variation of the total work,elastic deformation energy,dissipated energy,energy dissipation rate,residual strain,and damage variable during loading and unloading are discussed.The experimental results show that the samples have higher strain tolerance under high confining pressure,low freezing temperature,and low thawing temperature,and the same other conditions.The soil sample state and failure pattern can be judged by using the energy parameters measured in the experiment.

Fatigue Properties of Plain Concrete Under Triaxial Compressive Cyclic Loading

Experiments were made on plain concrete subjected to triaxial static loading and constant amplitude compressive fatigue loading with a constant lateral pressure in two directions. The initial confining pressure was 0, 0.1 f c , 0.25 f c and 0.4 f c , respectively, for the static test, and 0.1 f c and 0.25 f c for the fatigue test. Based on the triaxial compressive constitutive behavior of concrete, the inflexion of confining pressure evolution was chosen to be the fatigue damage criterion during the test. The rule of evolution of longitudinal maximum and minimum strains, longitudinal cyclic modulus and damage were recorded and analyzed. According to the Fardis Chen criterion model and the concept of equivalent fatigue life and equivalent stress level, a unified S N curve for multi axial compressive fatigue loading was proposed. Thus, the fatigue strength factors for different fatigue loading cases can be obtained. The present investigation provides information for the fatigue design of concrete structures.

Fatigue Properties of Plain Concrete under Triaxial Constant-Amplitude Tension-Compression Cyclic Loading

Fatigue tests were conducted on tapered plain concrete prism specimens under tri axial constant-amplitude tension-compression cyclic loading. The low stress of the cyclic loading was taken as 0.2f c and the upper stress ranged from 0. 20f t to 0.65f t. Three constant lateral pressures were 0.1f c, 0.2f c and 0.3f c respec tively. Based on the results, the th ree-stage evolution rule of the fatigue stiffness, maximum(minimum) longitudina l strain and damage were analyzed, and a unified S-N curve to calculate fati gue strength factors was worked out. The results show that the fatigue strength and fa tigue life under triaxial constant-amplitude tension-compression cyclic loadin g are smaller than those under uniaxial fatigue condition. Moreover, the secondary strain creep rate is related to the fatigue life, a formula for describing thei r relation was derived. The investigation of this paper can provide information for the fatigue design of concrete structures.

Experimental Study on Performance of Plain Concrete Due to Triaxial Variable-Amplitude Tension-Compression Cyclic Loading

An experimental study on performance of plain concrete under triaxial constant-amplitude and variable amplitude tension- compression cyclic loadings was carded out. The low level of the cyclic stress is 0. 2f and the upper level ranges between 0. 20f and 0. 55f., while the constant lateral pressure is 0. 3 f . The specimen failure mode, the three-stage evolution rule of the longitudinal strains and the damage evolution law under cyclic loading were analyzed. Furthermore, Miner＇s rule is proved not to be applicable to the cyclic loading conditions, hereby, a nonlinear cumulative damage model was established. Based on the model the remaining fatigue life was evaluated. The comparison whh the experiment resuhs shaws that the model is of better precision and applicability.

Evolution of mechanical parameters of Shuangjiangkou granite under different loading cycles and stress paths

Surrounding rocks at different locations are generally subjected to different stress paths during the process of deep hard rock excavation.In this study,to reveal the mechanical parameters of deep surrounding rock under different stress paths,a new cyclic loading and unloading test method for controlled true triaxial loading and unloading and principal stress direction interchange was proposed,and the evolution of mechanical parameters of Shuangjiangkou granite under different stress paths was studied,including the deformation modulus,elastic deformation increment ratios,fracture degree,cohesion and internal friction angle.Additionally,stress path coefficient was defined to characterize different stress paths,and the functional relationships among the stress path coefficient,rock fracture degree difference coefficient,cohesion and internal friction angle were obtained.The results show that during the true triaxial cyclic loading and unloading process,the deformation modulus and cohesion gradually decrease,while the internal friction angle gradually increases with increasing equivalent crack strain.The stress path coefficient is exponentially related to the rock fracture degree difference coefficient.As the stress path coefficient increases,the degrees of cohesion weakening and internal friction angle strengthening decrease linearly.During cyclic loading and unloading under true triaxial principal stress direction interchange,the direction of crack development changes,and the deformation modulus increases,while the cohesion and internal friction angle decrease slightly,indicating that the principal stress direction interchange has a strengthening effect on the surrounding rocks.Finally,the influences of the principal stress interchange direction on the stabilities of deep engineering excavation projects are discussed.

Experimental study on permanent deformation characteristics of coarse-grained soil under repeated dynamic loading

Practical assessment of subgrade settlement induced by train operation requires developing suitable models capable of describing permanent deformation characteristics of subgrade filling under repeated dynamic loading.In this paper,repeated load triaxial tests were performed on coarse-grained soil(CGS),and the axial permanent strain of CGS under different confining pressures and dynamic stress amplitudes was analysed.Permanent deformation behaviors of CGS were categorized based on the variation trend of permanent strain rate with accumulated permanent strain and the shakedown theory.A prediction model of permanent deformation considering stress state and number of load cycles was established,and the ranges of parameters for different types of dynamic behaviors were also divided.The results indicated that the variational trend of permanent strain rate with accumulated permanent strain can be used as a basis for classifying dynamic behaviors of CGS.The stress state(confining pressure and dynamic stress amplitude)has significant effects on the permanent strain rate.The accumulative characteristics of permanent deformation of CGS with the number of load cycles can be described by a power function,and the model parameters can reflect the influence of confining pressure and dynamic stress amplitude.The study’s results could help deepen understanding of the permanent deformation characteristics of CGS.

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.

Describing failure in geomaterials using second-order work approach

Geomaterials are known to be non-associated materials. Granular soils therefore exhibit a variety of failure modes, with diffuse or localized kinematical patterns. In fact, the notion of failure itself can be confusing with regard to granular soils, because it is not associated with an obvious phenomenology. In this study, we built a proper framework, using the second-order work theory, to describe some failure modes in geomaterials based on energy conservation. The occurrence of failure is defined by an abrupt increase in kinetic energy. The increase in kinetic energy from an equilibrium state, under incremental loading, is shown to be equal to the difference between the external second-order work,involving the external loading parameters, and the internal second-order work, involving the constitutive properties of the material. When a stress limit state is reached, a certain stress component passes through a maximum value and then may decrease. Under such a condition, if a certain additional external loading is applied, the system fails, sharply increasing the strain rate. The internal stress is no longer able to balance the external stress, leading to a dynamic response of the specimen. As an illustration, the theoretical framework was applied to the well-known undrained triaxial test for loose soils. The influence of the loading control mode was clearly highlighted. It is shown that the plastic limit theory appears to be a particular case of this more general second-order work theory. When the plastic limit condition is met, the internal second-order work is nil. A class of incremental external loadings causes the kinetic energy to increase dramatically, leading to the sudden collapse of the specimen, as observed in laboratory.

A Mechanical Model for Three-phase Permanent Deformation of Asphalt Mixture under Repeated Load

On basis of the Burgers model, a new model consisting of modified dashpot and Van Der Poel model was derived from rheological and viscoelastic theory. Subsequently, triaxial repeated load permanent deformation tests of AC16 asphalt mixtures were conducted to validate this new developed model. Parameters of new developed model were obtained by a nonlinear regression analysis of test data, and then permanent strains and flow number of each mixture were calculated. The experimental results prove that the new developed model can well describe three phases permanent deformation of asphalt mixture under repeated load and it can be used for pavement mechanical analysis and rutting prediction.

Characterisation, Analysis and Design of Hydrated Cement Treated Crushed Rock Base as a Road Base Material in Western Australia

Hydrated Cement Treated Crushed Rock Base （HCTCRB） is widely used as a base course in Western Australian pavements. HCTCRB has been designed and used as a basis for empirical approaches and in empirical practices. These methods are not all-encompassing enough to adequately explain the behaviour of HCTCRB in the field. Recent developments in mechanistic approaches have proven more reliable in the design and analysis of pavement, making it possible to more effectively document the characteristics of HCTCRB. The aim of this study was to carry out laboratory testing to assess the mechanical characteristics of HCTCRB. Conventional triaxial tests and repeated load triaxial tests （RLT tests） were performed. Factors affecting the performance of HCTCRB, namely hydration periods and the amount of added water were also investigated. It was found that the shear strength parameters of HCTCRB were 177 kPa for cohesion （c） and 42~ for the internal friction angle （~）. The hydration period, and the water added in this investigation affected the performance of HCTCRB. However, the related trends associated with such factors could not be assessed. All HCTCRB samples showed stress-dependency behaviour. Based on the stress stages of this experiment, the resilient modulus values of HCTCRB ranged from 300 MPa to 1100 MPa. CIRCLY, a computer program based on the multi-layer elastic theory was used in the mechanistic approach to pavement design and analysis, to determine the performance of a typical pavement model using HCTCRB as a base course layer. The mechanistic pavement design parameters for HCTCRB as a base course material were then introduced. The analysis suggests that the suitable depth for HCTCRB as a base layer for WA roads is at least 185 mm for the design equivalent standard axle （ESA） of 10 million.

Effect of Water Content and Grains Size Distribution on the Characteristic Resilient Young’s Modulus (<i>E_c</i>) Obtained Using Anisotropic Boyce Model on Gravelly Lateritic Soils from Tropical Africa (Burkina Faso and Senegal)

This research was carried out to determine the rheological parameters of lateritic soils in order to contribute to the improvement of the technical documents used for pavement design in tropical Africa. The study is based on the loading repeated of cyclic triaxial tests (LRT) performed at University Gustave Eiffel (formerly Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports de l’Aménagement et des Réseaux (IFSTTAR)) in Nantes with the application of the European standard EN 13286-7: 2004 [1]. The tests were performed at constant confinement stress and using the stepwise method to determine the resilient axial () and radial () deformation as a function of the axial and radial stresses. Four gravel lateritic soils from different sites selected in Burkina Faso and Senegal were the subject of this research for the triaxial tests. These materials have a maximum diameter of 20 mm and a percentage of fines less than 20%. The LRT tests were carried out on samples compacted at three moisture contents (wopm - 2%, wopm and wopm + 2%) and at 95% and 100% of optimal dry density (γdopm). Test results showed that the characteristic resilient Young’s modulus (Ec) of gravelly laterites soils depends on the compacted water content and the variation of the grains size distribution (sand (ø < 2 mm), motor (ø < 0.5 mm) and fines content (ø < 0.063 mm) obtained after (LRT). Materials with a high percent of fines (>20%), mortar and sand (Sindia and Lam-Lam) are more sensitive to variations in water content. The presence of water combined with the excess of fines leads to a decrease in modulus around 25% for Lam-Lam and 20.2% for Sindia. Materials containing a low percent of fines, mortar and sand (Badnogo and Dedougou) behave differently. And the resilient modulus increases about 225.67% for Badnogo and 312.24% for Dedougou with the rise of the water content for approximately unchanged the percentage of fines, mortar and sand. Granularity therefore has an indirect influence on the resilient modulus of the lateritic soils by controlling the effects of water on the entire system. Results of statistical analysis and coefficients of correlation (0.659 to 0.865) showed that the anisotropic Boyce’s model is suitable to predict the volumetric () and deviatoric strain () with stress path (Δq/Δp) of the lateritic soils. The predicted Er resilient Young’s modulus from anisotropic Boyce’s model varies according to the evolution of the bulk stress (). A correlation around 0.9 is obtained from the power law model.

Crushed rocks stabilized with organosilane and lignosulfonate in pavement unbound layers:Repeated load triaxial tests

The creation of the new“Ferry-Free Coastal Highway Route E39”in southwest Norway entails the production of a remarkable quantity of crushed rocks.These resources could be beneficially employed as aggregates in the unbound courses of the highway itself or other road pavements present nearby.Two innovative stabilizing agents,organosilane and lignosulfonate,can significantly enhance the key properties,namely,resilient modulus and resistance against permanent deformation,of the aggregates that are excessively weak in their natural state.The beneficial effect offered by the additives was thoroughly evaluated by performing repeated load triaxial tests.The study adopted the most common numerical models to describe these two key mechanical properties.The increase in the resilient modulus and reduction in the accumulated vertical permanent deformation show the beneficial impact of the additives.Furthermore,a finite element model was created to simulate the repeated load triaxial test by implementing nonlinear elastic and plastic constitutive relationships.

Experimental study of lightweight aggregate concrete under multiaxial stresses

Lightweight aggregate concrete cube specimens (100 mm×100 mm×100 mm) and plate specimens (100 mm×100 mm×50 mm) were tested under biaxial compression-compression (CC) and compression-tension (CT) load combinations. For comparison, normal concrete plate specimens (100 mm×100 mm×50 mm) were tested under the same load combinations. Based on the test results, a two-level strength criterion of lightweight aggregate concrete in both octahedral stress coordinate and principal stress coordinate was suggested. The lightweight aggregate concrete cube specimens (100 mm×100 mm×100 mm) were then tested under triaxial compression-compression-compression (CCC) load combination with corresponding tests on normal concrete cube specimens (100 mm×100 mm×100 mm). The effect of intermediate principal stress on triaxial compressive strength is further examined. A "plastic flow plateau" area was apparent in principal compressive stress-strain relationships of lightweight aggregate concrete but not in normal concrete. A quadratic formula was suggested for the expression of strength criterion under triaxial compression.

Performances of hydrated cement treated crushed rock base for Western Australian roads

The resilient modulus （RM） of hydrated cement treated crushed rock base （HCTCRB） affected by amount of hydration periods, compaction and dryback processes was presented using repeated load triaxial tests. The related trends of RM corresponding to the different hydration periods still cannot be concluded. Instead, It is found that the moisture content plays more major influence on the RM performance. Higher additional water during compaction of HCTCRB, even at its optimum moisture content and induced higher dry density, led to the inferior RM performance compared to the sample without water addition. The RM of damper samples can be improved through dryback process and superior to that of the sample without water addition at the same moisture content. However, the samples withut water addition during compaction deliver the comparable RM values even its dry density is lower than the other two types. These results indicate the significant influence of moisture content to the performances of HCTCRB with regardless of the dry density. Finally, the experimental results of HCT- CRB and parent material are evaluated with the K-O model and the model recommended by Austroads. These two models provide the excellent fit of the tested results with high degree of determination.