An experimental investigation of failure mechanical behavior in cylindrical granite specimens containing two non-coplanar open fissures under different confining pressures

Fissures play a significant role in predicting the unstable failure of rock mass engineering.For deep rock underground engineering,rock mass containing pre-existing fissures is usually located in triaxial stress state.Therefore,not only pre-existing fissure but also confining pressure affects the failure mechanical behavior of rock material.In this research,the granite specimens containing two non-coplanar open fissures were investigated by a series of conventional triaxial compression tests.First,the effect of bridge angle and confining pressure on strength and deformation characteristics of granite specimens was evaluated.Results show that the triaxial compressive strength,failure axial strain,and crack damage threshold increased nonlinearly with confining pressure.Under high confining pressures,elastic modulus was insensitive to bridge angle.Then,an X-ray micro-CT scanning technique was used to analyze the internal fracture characteristics of granite specimens with respect to various bridge angles and confining pressures.Five typical crack coalescence modes were identified,namely,indirect coalescence,shear coalescence and three types of tensile coalescence.The reconstructed 3-D CT images indicated that under uniaxial or low confining pressures,the bridge angle had a significant effect on crack evolution behavior,while under high confining pressures,shear-dominated failures occurred with the development of anti-wing cracks.

The influence of climate and topography on chemical weathering of granitic regoliths in the monsoon region of China

Exploring the relationship between weathering and erosion is essential for understanding the evolution of landscapes and formation of soil under the influence of climate, tectonics, and topography. We measured the bulk chemistry of regoliths and calculated their weathering rates and intensity in three locations in China: Inner Mongolia in the mid-temperate semi-humid zone; Jiangxi Province, in the mid-subtropical humid zone; and Hainan Province, in the tropical humid zone. These profiles exhibited increased weathering with increasing temperature and precipitation.The low-gradient profile exhibited stronger weathering of saprolite than of soil, whereas the high-gradient profile showed a more constant weathering pattern. The regolith in the cold climate was the product of easily weatherable minerals, whereas weathering of K-feldspar and even secondary minerals occurred in hot and humid climates. The weathering of subtropical profiles was both supply-and kinetic-limited, controlled by weathering and erosion. The tropical profile experienced supply-limited weathering,indicating slow erosion and an intense weathering profile;the mid-temperate profile was not classifiable due to weak erosion and weathering. Long-term weathering fluxes of these profiles show that Si, Na, and K(or Mg) represent thebulk of the mass lost through weathering. This study underscores that weathering of granitic regolith is controlled by both climatic conditions and landscape.

Ra's Abdah of the north Eastern Desert of Egypt:the role of granitic dykes in the formation of radioactive mineralization,evidenced by zircon morphology and chemistry

Syenogranitic dykes in the north of Egypt's Eastern Desert are of geological and economic interest because of the presence of magmatic and supergene enrichment of radioactive mineralization. Zircon crystal morphology within the syenogranitic dykes allows precise definition of sub-alkaline series granites and crystallized at mean temperature of about 637 °C. The growth pattern of the zircons suggest magmatic and hydrothermal origins of radioactive mineralization. Hydrothermal processes are responsible for the formation of significant zircon overgrowth; high U-zircon margins might have occurred contemporaneously with the emplacement of syenogranitic dykes which show anomalous uranium(e U) and thorium(e Th) contents of up to 1386 and 7330 ppm, respectively.Zircon chemistry revealed a relative increase of Hf consistent with decreasing Zr content, suggesting the replacement of Zr by Hf during hydrothermal activity.Visible uranium mineralization is present and recognized by the presence of uranophane and autunite.

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and geological implications of granitoids from Sawuer Mountains in North Xinjiang,NW China

LA-ICP MS zircon U-Pb dating results of granites from Sawuer Mountains in North Xinjiang, NW China, are reported based on 1：50 000 regional geologic surveys. Zircon U-Pb dating shows that the granitoids have magmatic crystallization age of 320 ± 2 Ma. In addition, zircons with ages of 341 -358 Ma could be subdivided into two groups, i. e. , Group 1 with a weighted mean age of 342 ± 3 Ma and Group 2 with a weighted mean age of 354 ± 2 Ma. The petrology and geochemistry of granitoids from Sawuer Mountains suggest their mixed origin. The granite from Sawuer Mountains occurred in an extensional setting, most probably related to post-orogenic processes during the closure of the Peo-Asian Ocean ; namely, represent the tectonic setting shifted from compress to post-collisional setting.

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Early Cretaceous granodiorite porphyries in Hutouya,western Shandong and their implications for petrogenesis

Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age and whole-rock geochemistry data are presented for the Hutouya grano-diorite porphyries in Mengyin, western Shandong, to restrict its petrogenesis. The analyzed zircons exhibit os-cillatory growth zoning and core-rim textures in the cathodoluminescence images and have high Th/U ratios （0.04-1.66）,indicating its magmatic origin. The youngest group of magmatic zircon yields weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 132 ±2 Ma, which represents the forming age of the granodiorite porphyries, i. e., the Early Cretaceous. The oldest group of magmatic zircon 207Pb/206Pb ages ranges from 2 398 Ma to 2 370 Ma, yielding a weighted mean age of 2 389 ±23 Ma,suggesting that the basement of the North China Craton should exist in the research area. Geochemically, the samples are characterized by high Si02（70. 38% and 64. 87% ） , low MgO （0.60% and 1. 53% ） and Mg# values （42. 92 and 50. 42）. Moreover, they show enrichment of light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements （e. g. Rb, Ba and K） , depletion of heavy rare earth ele-ments and high field strength elements （e. g. Nb and Ta） , positive anomaly of Pb, and negative anomaly of Ti. These results, together with previously published data, indicate that the Hutouya granodiorite porphyries were derived from partial melting of a delaminated lower continental crust and subsequent interaction with the mantle peridotites. They are consistent with the period of lithospheric thinning beneath the eastern North China Craton and may be formed in an extensional tectonic environment.

Geochronology,geochemistry and Hf isotopic study of Early Carboniferous granodiorites in Taerqi region,central Daxing'anling and its tectonic implication

Zircon U-Pb age,whole rock geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic data are presented for Late Paleozoic granodiorites from the Taerqi region,central Daxing'anling to constrain its petrogenesis and tectonic implication.LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age data indicates that the Late Paleozoic granodiorites were emplaced with age of333.4 ± 2.2 Ma(Early Carboniferous).Geochemically,the granodiorite samples have Si O2= 60.54%-71.40%,Na2 O = 4.04%--4.66%,K2 O = 1.65%--4.27% and Mg O = 0.96%--3.53%,belonging to medium-K to high-K calc-alkaline I-type granites.They are slightly enriched in large ion lithophile elements(e.g.Rb,Th,U and K) and light rare earth elements,and depleted in high field strength elements(e.g.Nb,Ta and Ti),with εHf(t) values of 8.0--11.8 and Hf two-stage model ages of 586-829 Ma.All these geochemical features suggest that the primary magma was derived from partial melting of Neoproterozoic to Phanerozoic newly accreted lower crust.According to the geochemical data and regional geological investigations,the Early Carboniferous granodiorites formed in an island arc setting linked to the subduction of the Paleo-Asian Oceanic Plate beneath the Xing'an Terrane.This also implies that the Xing'an and Songliao terranes have not amalgamated before the Early Carboniferous.

Songjianghe biotite monzonitic granite zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemical significance

The authors studied geochronology and geochemical data of the Songjianghe biotite monzogranite in the southern Zhangguangcai Range in order to determine its formation age,magma source,and tectonic environment. The results indicate that the Songjianghe biotite monzogranite was formed in the Middle Jurassic with an age of 168. 2 ± 2. 0 Ma( MSWD = 0. 93). The monzogranite was characterized by high alkali and low Ca O and Mg O,belonging to high-potassium calc-alkaline,metaluminous I-type granite. The rock is enriched in large ion lithophile elements such as Rb,Ba,and K and strongly depleted high field strength elements such as P,Ti,Nb,and Ta. It is concluded that the Songjianghe biotite monzogranite was derived from partial melting of amphibolite facies metamorphism mafic lower-crust and its formation was controlled by the Pacific Plate subduction.

Mesozoic high-K granitic rocks from the eastern Dabie Mountains,Central China and their geological implications

The Mesozoic high-K granitic intrusions from the eastern Dabie Mountains, Central China, can be divided into three superunits namely the Yaohe, Penghe and Huangbai superunits. The Yaohe superunit is compositionally dominated by quartz monzonite extending as a band in NW direction which is differently foliated, contains numerous dioritic enclaves and has been dated as 174 Ma. The Penghe superunit, widely distributed in the field, varies in composition but is dominated by quartz monzonitic and granitic rocks, which is massive in structure, has well developed with dioritic enclaves and is aged in 125-127 Ma. The Huangbai superunit is mainly composed of granitic composition which is massive in structure, rarely contains dioritic enclaves and is aged in 120-111 Ma. These three superunits of granitic intrusions can also be clearly distinguished in geochemistry. They have recorded an orogenic process of the Dabie Mountains from the end of regional metamorphism to the overprinting of the circum-Pacific tectonic regime.

Geochemistry, geochronology, and petro-genesis of the early Paleozoic granitic plutons in the central-southern Jiangxi Province,China

This paper reports the systematic study on petrology, geochemistry, LA ICPMS zircons U-Pb dating, and in situ Hf isotope geology of the four plutons in the central-southern Jiangxi Province, an important part of the South China Block. In the outcrops, rocks are gradually changed from wall rock （slate or schist） to pluton （gneissic granite）; some residual blocks of sandy rock occur in the margin of pluton, and the foliations of residual blocks are parallel to those of both wail rock and gneissic granite. The thin-section observations show that the four plutons contain peraluminous minerals such as muscovite and sillimanite. The flattened and elongated feldspar and quartz grains are often visible in the gneissic granite, parallel to direction of lineation, suggesting that the granitic rock were subjected to a strong ductile sheafing. Geochemically, the A/CNK values from 13 granitic samples are between 1.03 and 1.37 with an average of 1.16, indicating that the granites are of strongly peraluminous plutons. The REE compositions of the 13 samples are similar, showing higher EREE contents, with enrichment in LREEs, depletion in Eu and REE patterns with relative LREE-enrichment and negligible Eu anomalies. They show enrichment in Rb, Th, U and depletion in Ba, Sr, Nb, Ti, belonging to a low Ba-Sr type of granite. Thus, the four bodies should be derived from the same magmatic source. Zircons used as U-Pb dating mostly exhibit euhedral shape and high Th/U values from 0.52 to 1.54 with an average of 1.08, suggesting that most zircons are of magmatic genesis. The zircons from four plutons yielded rather similar 206pb/238U vs. 207Tpb/235U concordia ages： 436.1±5.7 Ma for the Tangwan granite, 440.6±4 Ma for the Jiekou gneissic granite, 435.9±6.2 Ma for the Dongbao gneissic granite, and 441.9±3.1 Ma for the Jinxi K-granite, respectively, corresponding to Silurian Llandovery. Several xenocrysts yielded U-Pb ages around 700 Ma, implying that a breakup event took place during Neoproterozoic in the South China Block. In situ Lu-Hf isotopic analysis shows that all εHf（t） values of zircons are negative and have two-stage Hf model ages （TDM2） from 1.4 to 3.6 Ga, indicating that the Silurian granitic magma came from the re- cycle of Meso-Paleoproterozoic basement and even partly Archean rocks, and had not been effected by mantle magma. Re- searches on regional geology suggest that an intracontinental tectono-magmatic event took place during the early Paleozoic in the study areas, which is characterized by folding and thrusting, leading to crustal shortening and thickening, up to 20 km thickness. The high geothermal temperature from thickening crust and accumulation of producing high-heat radioactive elements gradually softened crustal rocks and caused a partial melting, forming peraluminous granitic magma. Under the post-orogenic extensional and de-pressure condition, these granitic magma rose and was emplaced in the upper crust, leading to development of S-type plutons

Granitoid magmatism in the Qinling orogen, central China and its bearing on orogenic evolution

The Qinling orogen is a typical composite orogen for understanding multi-stages of magmatism and orogenic processes. Many studies have been carried out on the magmatic rocks in the Qinling orogen but their petrogenesis is still controversial. This pa- per presents a review of all granitoid rocks based on previous and new studies of geochronology and geochemistry. Four dis- tinct periods of granitoid magmatism, Neoproterozoic （979-711 Ma）, Paleozoic （507-400 Ma）, Early Mesozoic （250-185 Ma） and Late Mesozoic （160-100 Ma）, have been recognized from the Qinling orogen according to zircon U-Pb ages, intrusion as- sociations and deformation, as well as regional geology. The Neoproterozoic granitic rocks consist of three stages at 979-911, 894-815 and 759-711 Ma, respectively, corresponding to strongly deformed S-type, weakly deformed I-type and A-type gran- itoids. They can be interpreted as magmatic occurrences in syn-collisional, post-collisional and extensional settings, respec- tively, in response to old continental terranes of the Neoproterozoic tectonomagmatic events in the old continents of China, such as South China and Tarim cratons. Although this continental terrane would be involved in the Phanerozoic Qinling orog- eny, the Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks are not the products of the Qinling orogenic processes. The Paleozoic magmatic rocks can be classified into three stages at 507-470, 460-422 and 415-400 Ma, respectively. The first-stage magmatism is temporal- ly associated with ultra-high pressure metamorphism in the North Qinling terrane. These magmatic rocks are interpreted as magmatic occurrences in subductional, syn-collisional and post-collisional settings, respectively. The Early Mesozoic mag- matic rocks occur in two stages at 252-185 and 225-200 Ma, respectively. The first-stage granitoids are mainly represented by I-type quartz diorites and granodiorites, and the second stage by granodiorites and monzogranites with the 1- to A-type charac- teristics and some with rapakivi textures. Their emplacement ages and geochemical parameters such as A/CNK, K2O/Na2O ra- tios and εNd（t） values do not show any polarity change in perpendicular to subduction/collision zone. Therefore, all these Early Mesozoic granitoids are unlikely the product of continental subduction as some researchers suggested. Instead, they are plausi- bly related to the subduction of the Mianlue Ocean and the subsequent collision between the South China Craton and the South Qinling terrane. The Late Mesozoic granitoids were emplaced mainly at two stages of 160-130 and 120-100 Ma, and charac- terized by the evolution from I- to I-A- and A-type granitoids. These characteristics are consistent with the granitoid magmatic evolution from contractional to extensional settings during the Jurassic/Cretaceous in eastern China. Accordingly, the Late Mesozoic granitoid rocks in the Qinling orogen probably have a similar petrogenetic mechanism to those of the huge magmatic belt along the western Pacific margin, i.e., intra-continent magmatism related to a far-field effect of the subduction of Paleo-Pacific plate.