Responses of jointed rock masses subjected to impact loading

Impact-induced damage to jointed rock masses has important consequences in various mining and civil engineering applications. This paper reports a numerical investigation to address the responses of jointed rock masses subjected to impact loading. It also focuses on the static and dynamic properties of an intact rock derived from a series of laboratory tests on meta-sandstone samples from a quarry in Nova Scotia, Canada. A distinct element code(PFC2D) was used to generate a bonded particle model(BPM) to simulate both the static and dynamic properties of the intact rock. The calibrated BPM was then used to construct large-scale jointed rock mass samples by incorporating discrete joint networks of multiple joint intensities into the intact rock matrix represented by the BPM. Finally, the impact-induced damage inflicted by a rigid projectile particle on the jointed rock mass samples was determined through the use of the numerical model. The simulation results show that joints play an important role in the impactinduced rock mass damage where higher joint intensity results in more damage to the rock mass. This is mainly attributed to variations of stress wave propagation in jointed rock masses as compared to intact rock devoid of joints.

Catastrophe model and its experimental verification ofstatic loading rock system under impact load

According to the catastrophe model for impact buckling of static loading structures, a new catastrophe model for impact loading failure of a static loading rock system was established, and one dimension (1D) catastrophe model was analyzed. The analysis results indicate that the furcation collection where catastrophe may take place is not only decided by mechanical system itself but also relates to exterior loading, which is different from the results obtained under mono-static loading where the bifurcation collection is only determined by mechanics of the system itself and has nothing to do with exterior loading. In addition, the corresponding 1D coupled static-dynamic loading experiment is designed to verify the analysis results of catastrophe model. The test is done with Instron 1342 electro-servo controlled testing system, in which medium strain rate is caused by monotony rising dynamic load. The parameters are obtained combining theoretical model with experiment. The experimental and theoretical curves of critical dynamic load vs static load are rather coincided, thus the new model is proved to be correct.

Failure mechanism and coupled static-dynamic loading theory in deep hard rock mining: A review

Rock failure phenomena,such as rockburst,slabbing(or spalling) and zonal disintegration,related to deep underground excavation of hard rocks are frequently reported and pose a great threat to deep mining.Currently,the explanation for these failure phenomena using existing dynamic or static rock mechanics theory is not straightforward.In this study,new theory and testing method for deep underground rock mass under coupled static-dynamic loading are introduced.Two types of coupled loading modes,i.e.'critical static stress + slight disturbance' and 'elastic static stress + impact disturbance',are proposed,and associated test devices are developed.Rockburst phenomena of hard rocks under coupled static-dynamic loading are successfully reproduced in the laboratory,and the rockburst mechanism and related criteria are demonstrated.The results of true triaxial unloading compression tests on granite and red sandstone indicate that the unloading can induce slabbing when the confining pressure exceeds a certain threshold,and the slabbing failure strength is lower than the shear failure strength according to the conventional Mohr-Column criterion.Numerical results indicate that the rock unloading failure response under different in situ stresses and unloading rates can be characterized by an equivalent strain energy density.In addition,we present a new microseismic source location method without premeasuring the sound wave velocity in rock mass,which can efficiently and accurately locate the rock failure in hard rock mines.Also,a new idea for deep hard rock mining using a non-explosive continuous mining method is briefly introduced.

An automatic loading system for rock core testing with an industrial CT scanner

A new type of a loading and measuring system was developed for testing failure and deformation of rock core samples with an industrial CT （ICT） scanner.The loading and measuring system consisted of a loading system and a computer control system.The maximum servo-controlled force was 2 tonnes.The new system was a high-stiffness system with a small size.During ICT tests,rock core samples could be easily loaded in the axial direction.So the initiation,propagation,and coalescence of cracks in core samples were observed on ICT images.

Dynamic strength of rock with single planar joint under various loading rates at various angles of loads applied

Intact rock-like specimens and specimens that include a single, smooth planar joint at various angles are prepared for split Hopkinson pressure bar（SHPB） testing. A buffer pad between the striker bar and the incident bar of an SHPB apparatus is used to absorb some of the shock energy. This can generate loading rates of 20.2-4627.3 GPa/s, enabling dynamic peak stresses/strengths and associated failure patterns of the specimens to be investigated. The effects of the loading rate and angle of load applied on the dynamic peak stresses/strengths of the specimens are examined. Relevant experimental results demonstrate that the failure pattern of each specimen can be classified as four types： Type A, integrated with or without tiny flake-off; Type B, slide failure; Type C, fracture failure; and Type D, crushing failure. The dynamic peak stresses/strengths of the specimens that have similar failure patterns increase linearly with the loading rate, yielding high correlations that are evident on semi-logarithmic plots. The slope of the failure envelope is the smallest for slide failure, followed by crushing failure, and that of fracture failure is the largest. The magnitude of the plot slope of the dynamic peak stress against the loading rate for the specimens that are still integrated after testing is between that of slide failure and crushing failure. The angle of application has a limited effect on the dynamic peak stresses/strengths of the specimens regardless of the failure pattern, but it affects the bounds of the loading rates that yield each failure pattern, and thus influences the dynamic responses of the single jointed specimen. Slide failure occurs at the lowest loading rate of any failure, but can only occur in single jointed specimen that allows sliding.Crushing failure is typically associated with the largest loading rate, and fracture failure may occur when the loading rate is between the boundaries for slide failure and crushing failure.

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.

Generation of electromotive force in igneous rocks subjected to non-uniform loading

When one end of an air-dry igneous rock block was uniaxially loaded in laboratory, there appeared an electromotive force that made electric currents flow from the stressed volume to the unstressed volume. Quartz-free rocks such as gabbro also generated this force, stronger than quartz-bearing rocks such as granite. This indicates that the piezoelectric effect of quartz and the electrokinetic effect of pore water do not make a large contribution toward generating the electromotive force. We focus on peroxy bond that is one of the abundant lattice defects in igneous rock-forming minerals. When mechanical loading deforms the lattice structure around this defect and breaks its bond, its energy levels change and act like an accepter. As an electron is trapped at this defect from a neighbor 02- site, a positive hole is activated there. They attempt to diffuse toward the unstressed volume through the valence band and are simultaneously affected by the attractive electric force with the electrons trapped in peroxy bonds. This leads to a polarization in the stressed volume and the generation of electromotive force between the stressed and unstressed volumes. Similar electromotive force may be generated in the Earth＇s crust where inhomogeneous stress/strain is changing.

Effects of water intrusion and loading rate on mechanical properties of and crack propagation in coal–rock combinations

Tackling the problems of underground water storage in collieries in arid regions requires knowledge of the effect of water intrusion and loading rate on the mechanical properties of and crack development in coal–rock combinations. Fifty-four coal–rock combinations were prepared and split equally into groups containing different moisture contents(dry, natural moisture and saturated) to conduct acoustic emission testing under uniaxial compression with loading rates ranging from 0.1 mm/min to 0.6 mm/min. The results show that the peak stress and strength-softening modulus, elastic modulus, strain-softening modulus, and post-peak modulus partly decrease with increasing moisture content and loading rate. In contrast, peak strain increases with increasing moisture content and fluctuates with rising loading rate. More significantly, the relationship between stiffness and stress, combined with accumulated counts of acoustic emission, can be used to precisely predict all phases of crack propagation. This is helpful in studying the impact of moisture content and loading rate on crack propagation and accurately calculating mechanical properties. We also determined that the stress thresholds of crack closure, crack initiation, and crack damage do not vary with changes of moisture content and loading rate, constituting 15.22%, 32.20%, and 80.98% of peak stress, respectively. These outcomes assist in developing approaches to water storage in coal mines, determining the necessary width of waterproof coal–rock pillars, and methods of supporting water-enriched roadways, while also advances understanding the mechanical properties of coal–rock combinations and laws of crack propagation.

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.

Indirect Adaptive Robust Trajectory Tracking Control of Hard Rock TBM with Load Variation of Tunneling Face

Posture adjustment of open-type hard rock tunnel boring machine(TBM) can be achieved by properly adjusting the hydraulic pressure of gripper cylinder and torque cylinders. However, the time-varying inhomogeneous load acting on tunneling face of TBM and complex stratum working condition can cause the trajectory deviation. In this paper,the position and posture rectification kinematics and dynamics models of TBM have been established in order to track the trajectory. Moreover, there are uncertain parameters and uncertain loads from complex working conditions in the dynamic model. An indirect adaptive robust control strategy is applied to achieve precise position and posture trajectory tracking control. Simulation results show when the position deviation only occurs in Y-axis and the current orientation is parallel with the designed axis, the deviation can be corrected by controlling the pressure of gripper cylinder and the actual trajectory meets the designed axis when TBM is pushed forward 0.14 m in X-axis. If the deviation only occurs in Z-axis, then the deviation can be corrected by controlling torque cylinders. If the position deviation occurs both in Y-axis and Z-axis at the same time, the pressure of gripper cylinder and torque cylinders should be controlled at the same time to rectify the deviation. Simulation results are shown to illustrate the e ectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller. This research proposes an indirect adaptive robust controller that can track the planned tracking trajectory smoothly and rapidly.

Testing and modeling of cyclically loaded rock anchors

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration(NPRA) is planning for an upgrade of the E39 highway route at the westcoast of Norway. Fixed links shall replace ferries at seven fjord crossings. Wide spans and large depths at the crossings combined with challenging subsea topography and environmental loads call for an extension of existing practice. A variety of bridge concepts are evaluated in the feasibility study. The structures will experience significant loads from deadweight, traffic and environment. Anchoring of these forces is thus one of the challenges met in the project. Large-size subsea rock anchors are considered a viable alternative. These can be used for anchoring of floating structures but also with the purpose of increasing capacity of fixed structures. This paper presents first a thorough study of factors affecting rock anchor bond capacity. Laboratory testing of rock anchors subjected to cyclic loading is thereafter presented. Finally, the paper presents a model predicting the capacity of a rock anchor segment, in terms of a ribbed bar, subjected to a cyclic load history. The research assumes a failure mode occurring in the interface between the rock anchor and the surrounding grout. The constitutive behavior of the bonding interface is investigated for anchors subjected to cyclic one-way tensile loads. The model utilizes the static bond capacity curve as a basis, defining the ultimate bond sbuand the slip s1 at τ. A limited number of input parameters are required to apply the model. The model defines the bond-slip behavior with the belonging rock anchor capacity depending on the cyclic load level(τcy/τ), the cyclic load ratio(R= τcy/τcy), and the number of load cycles(N). The constitutive model is intended to model short anchor lengths representing an incremental length of a complete rock anchor.

A Review of Research on Catastrophic Formation and Evolutionary Mechanism of Deep High Stress Rock Mass under Impact Loading

With the exploitation of resources expanded to deep, the geological environment which is “three tenors one disturbance” of rock mass in great depth has been more complex, resulting in some new engineering geological disasters, such as rock burst, pressure bumping, large deformation of surrounding rock, brittle-ductile transition of rock and zonal disintegration of rock mass, which occur frequently in deep underground engineering rock mass. The impact load caused by collision, explosion, extrusion and outburst is the root cause of the dynamic instability of the deep rock mass. What should be emphasized is that high in-situ stress and blasting excavation disturbance complicate disaster developing mechanism of deep underground engineering rock mass and sharply increase the difficulty of controlling disaster. This paper is aimed at the research status and development trend, of which dynamic characteristics of deep high stress rock mass and its damage and failure effect each other under impact, and conduct analysis, in the later stage where I would discuss how to carry out the response law of the deep high-stress rock mass under the impact load and the mechanism of catastrophe developing, which is of great significance to build a model of instability and fracture evolution about deep rock mass under shock disturbance and to maintain its safety and stability.

Vibration Effect and Damage Evolution Characteristics of Tunnel Surrounding Rock Under Cyclic Blasting Loading

Model test studies based on the similarity theory were conducted to investigate vibration effect and damage evolution characteristics of tunnel surrounding rock under push-type cyclic blasting excavation.The model was constructed with a ratio of 1∶15.By simulating the tunnel excavation of push-type cyclic blasting,the influence of the blasting parameter change on vibration effect was explored.The damage degree of tunnel surrounding rock was evaluated by the change of the acoustic wave velocity at the same measuring point after blasting.The relationship between the damage evolution of surrounding rock and blasting times was established.The research results show that：（1）In the same geological environment,the number of delay initiation is larger,the main vibration frequency of blasting seismic wave is higher,and the attenuation of high frequency signal in the rock and soil is faster.The influence of number of delay initiation on blasting vibration effect cannot be ignored;（2）Under push-type cyclic blasting excavation,there were great differences in the decreasing rates of acoustic wave velocity of the measuring points which have the same distance to the blasting region at the same depth,and the blasting damage ranges of surrounding rock were typically anisotropic at both depth and breadth;（3）When blasting parameters were basically kept as the same,the growth trend of the cumulative acoustic wave velocity decreasing rate at the measuring point was nonlinear under different cycle blasting excavations;（4）There were nonlinear evolution characteristics between the blasting cumulative damage（D）of surrounding rock and blasting times（n）under push-type cyclic blasting loading,and different measuring points had corresponding blasting cumulative damage propagation models,respectively.The closer the measuring point was away from the explosion source,the faster the cumulative damage extension.Blasting cumulative damage effect of surrounding rock had typically nonlinear evolution properties and anisotropic characteristics.

The Experimental Simulation of Rocks on Load/Unload Response Ratio for Earthquake Prediction

The load/unload experiments on rock failure under pressure have been carried out in Material Test System (MTS) in the Laboratory for Non-linear Mechanics of Continuous Media (LNM), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and load/unload response ratio (LURR) values with strain as response (i.e. inverse elastic constant as response rate) have been obtained. The experimental results are in accordance with theoretical results and those in real earthquakes: LURR rises just before rock failure. So LURR can be used as the precursor of rock failure and earthquake prediction.

Experiments on mechanical properties of salt rocks under cyclic loading

The primary purpose of underground gas storages is to provide gas for seasonal consumptions or strategic reserve.The periodical operations of gas injection and extraction lead to cyclic loading on the walls and surrounding rocks of gas storages.To investigate the mechanical behaviors of different host rocks in bedded salt deposit,laboratory experiments were conducted on the samples of rock salt,thenardite,glauberite and gypsum.The mechanical properties of rock samples under monotonic and cyclic loadings were studied.Testing results show that,under monotonic loading,the uniaxial compressive stress（UCS） of glauberite is the largest（17.3 MPa）,while that of rock salt is the smallest（14.0 MPa）.The UCSs of thenardite and gypsum are 16.3 and 14.6 MPa,respectively.The maximum strain at the peak strength of rock salt（halite） is much greater than those of the other three rocks.The elastic moduli of halite,thenardite,glauberite and gypsum are 3.0,4.2,5.1 and 6.8 GPa,respectively.Under cyclic loading,the peak strengths of the rock specimens are deteriorated except for rock salt.The peak strengths of thenardite,glauberite and gypsum decrease by 33.7%,19.1% and 35.5%,respectively;and the strains of the three rocks at the peak strengths are almost the same.However,the strain of rock salt at the peak strength increases by 1.98%,twice more than that under monotonic loading.Under monotonic loading,deformation of the tested rock salt,thenardite and glauberite shows in an elastoplastic style.However,it changes to a ductile style under cyclic loading.Brittle deformation and failure are only observed for gypsum.The results should be helpful for engineering design and operation of gas storage in bedded salt deposit.

ANALYSIS OF THE LOCALIZATION OF DAMAGE AND THE COMPLETE STRESS-STRAIN RELATION FOR MESOSCOPIC HETEROGENEOUS BRITTLE ROCK SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSIVE LOADS

A micromechanics-based model is established. The model takes the interaction among sliding cracks into account, and it is able to quantify the effect of various parameters on the localization condition of damage and deformation for brittle rock subjected to compressive loads. The closed-form explicit expression for the complete stress-strain relation of rock containing microcracks subjected to compressive loads was obtained. It is showed that the complete stress-strain relation includes linear elasticity,nonlinear hardening,rapid stress drop and strain softening.The behavior of rapid stress drop and strain softening is due to localization of deformation and damage. Theoretical predictions have shown to be consistent with the experimental results.

Dynamic Failure Model of Thin Coal and Rock Mass under Uniform Impact Load

During the excavation of deep coal and rock mass, the radial stress of the free face changes from three-dimensional compression state to two-dimensional stress, bearing the combined action of dynamic disturbance and static load at the same time. With that, many mines suffer from dynamic disasters, such as coal and gas outburst, rock burst and rock caving during deep mining excavation, which is often accompanied by plate crack, spalling and other disasters, seriously affecting the stability of stope and roadway. Taking thin rectangular coal and rock mass as the research object, the dual equation of the free vibration was derived and the exact solution model of the free vibration was established with the use of Hamilton dual system. Based on the action characteristics of the uniform impact load, the effective mode of the forced vibration was obtained by using the Duhamel integral principle and the orthogonality of the mode function. Based on the third strength theory and the numerical simulation results, the dynamic damage process and development trend of coal and rock mass were analyzed under uniform impact load. It was concluded that the starting position of dynamic damage can be judged by the first order main mode, and the development direction and trend of the damage can be judged by the fifth and sixth order main modes. It was concluded that the vibration mode functions of coal and rock mass with four side fixed (C-C-C-C), the two sides fixed and simply supported on the other (S-C-S-C) are mainly composed of three modes that are the first order (dominant frequency), the fifth order and the sixth order, from which the dynamic damage mechanism is preliminarily studied.

ANALYSIS OF THE LOCALIZATION OF DAMAGE AND THE COMPLETE (STRESS-STRAIN) RELATION FOR MESOSCOPIC HETEROGENEOUS ROCK UNDER UNIAXIAL TENSILE LOADING

The mechanical behavior of rock under uniaxial tensile loading is different from that of rock under compressive loads. A micromechanics-based model was proposed for mesoscopic heterogeneous brittle rock undergoing irreversible changes of their microscopic structures due to microcrack growth. The complete stress-strain relation including linear elasticity, nonlinear hardening,rapid stress drop and strain softening was obtained. The influence of all microcracks with different sizes and orientations were introduced into the constitutive relation by using the probability density function describing the distribution of orientations and the probability density function describing the distribution of sizes. The influence of Weibull distribution describing the distribution of orientations and Rayleigh function describing the distribution of sizes on the constitutive relation were researched. Theoretical predictions have shown to be consistent with the experimental results.

Effect of loading point position on fracture mode of rock

Anti symmetric four point bending specimen with different loading point positions was used to study effect of loading point position on fracture mode of rock in order to explore a feasible method for achieving Mode Ⅱ fracture and determining Mode Ⅱ fracture toughness of rock, K ⅡC . Numerical and experimental results show that the distance between the inner and outer loading points, L 1+ L 2, has a great influence on stresses at notch tip and fracture mode. When L 1+ L 2>0.5 L or 0.1 L < L 1+ L 2<0.5 L , maximum principal stress σ 1 exceeds the tensile strength σ t. The ratio of τ max / σ 1 is relatively low or high and thus Mode Ⅰ or mixed mode fracture occurs. When L 1+ L 2< 0.1 L , σ 1 is smaller than σ t and the ratio of τ max / σ 1 is much higher, which facilitates the occurrence of Mode Ⅱ fracture.

Estimating Unconfined Compressive Strength of Sedimentary Rocks in United Arab Emirates from Point Load Strength Index

In this paper, three rock types including Sandstone, Mudstone, and Crystalline Gypsum were part of a laboratory study conducted to develop a dataset for predicting the unconfined compressive strength of UAE intact sedimentary rock specimens. Four hundred nineteen rock samples from various areas along the coastal region of the UAE were collected and tested for the development of this dataset and evaluation of models. From the statistical analysis of the data, regression equations were established among rock parameters and correlations were expressed and compared by the ones proposed in literature.