Mechanical properties and acoustic emission characteristics of thick hard roof sandstone in Shendong coal field

The mechanical properties and acoustic emission characteristics of thick hard roof sandstone were investigated. Samples were taken from the 30.87-m thick sandstone roof in a mine in the Shengdong coal field, China. Firstly, the composition and microscopic characteristics were analyzed by XRD and FE-SEM, respectively. Moreover, the indirect tensile test, uniaxial compression test, three axis compression experiment and AE test are carried out by using RMT-150C mechanics experiment system with DSS-8B AE test system. The experiment results indicate that the main framework particles of sandstone are quartz and feldspar, and mainly quartz. Cements are mainly pyrite, kaolinite, chlorite and zeolite cross needle, clinochlore, and clay minerals. The microstructure of sandstone is very dense, with few pores and high cementation degree. The tensile strength, compressive strength and elastic modulus of sandstone are 4.825, 85.313 MPa, 13.814 GPa, respectively, so the sandstone belongs to hard rock. The AE cumulative counts of sandstone can be divided into three phases： relatively flat growth period, rapid growth period and spurt period. The signal strength of AE waveform can be used as a warning signal. In the tensile fracture zone, the warning value is 0.4 mV, and in the compression shear failure zone, it is 4 mV. The numbers of cumulative counts of AE under different stress conditions have obvious difference. Moreover, the growth of cumulative counts of acoustic emission is more obvious when the stress is more than 60% of the peak stress.

Application of thermally stimulated acoustic emission method to assess the thermal resistance and related properties of coals

Traditional methods of coal thermal resistance characterization are informative but considerably timeconsuming and require utilization of a complex and expensive equipment. This limits the effectiveness of their application. In this paper, authors experimentally investigated potential application of thermally stimulated acoustic emission method for developing of relatively simple and rapid coals thermal resistance assessment method. Features of thermally stimulated acoustic emission of anthracite, lignites and bituminous coal samples subject to cyclic thermal loading have been experimentally investigated.For the first time, it has been shown that there exists a relationship of such patterns with structural parameters and properties of the coal samples, as well as their thermal resistance. The results indicate the possibility of applying the method of thermally stimulated acoustic emission to control processes of cryogenic disintegration and thermal resistance of fossil coals. The description of the equipment and methodological support needed for the implementation of this method have been provided.

Identifying the real fracture hidden in rock microcrack zone by acoustic emission energy

Identifying the real fracture of rock hidden in acoustic emission(AE)source clusters(AE-depicted microcrack zone)remains challenging and crucial.Here we revealed the AE energy(representing dissipated energy)distribution rule in the rock microcrack zone and proposed an AE-energy-based method for identifying the real fracture.(1)A set of fracture experiments were performed on granite using wedgeloading,and the fracture process was detected and recorded by AE.The microcrack zone associated with the energy dissipation was characterized by AE sources and energy distribution,utilizing our selfdeveloped AE analysis program(RockAE).(2)The accumulated AE energy,an index representing energy dissipation,across the AE-depicted microcrack zone followed the normal distribution model(the mean and variance relate to the real fracture path and the microcrack zone width).This result implies that the nucleation and coalescence of massive cracks(i.e.,real fracture generation process)are supposed to follow a normal distribution.(3)Then,we obtained the real fracture extension path by joining the peak positions of the AE energy normal distribution curve at different cross-sections of the microcrack zone.Consequently,we distinguished between the microcrack zone and the concealed real fracture within it.The deviation was validated as slight as 1–3 mm.

Characteristic stress variation and microcrack evolution of granite subjected to uniaxial compression using acoustic emission methods

The size of mineral grain has a significant impact on the initiation and propagation of microcracks within rocks.In this study,fine-,medium-,and coarse-grained granites were used to investigate microcrack evolution and characteristic stress under uniaxial compression using the acoustic emission(AE),digital image correlation(DIC),and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)measurements.The experimental results show that the characteristic stress of each granite decreased considerably with increasing grain sizes.The inflection points of the b-value occurred earlier with an increase in grain sizes,indicating that the larger grains promote the generation and propagation of microcracks.The distribution characteristics of the average frequency(AF)and the ratio of rise time to amplitude(RA)indicate that the proportion of shear microcracks increases with increasing grain size.The NMR results indicate that the porosity and the proportion of large pores increased with increasing grain size,which may intensify the microcrack evolution.Moreover,analysis of the DIC and AE event rates suggests that the high-displacement regions could serve as a criterion for the degree of microcrack propagation.The study found that granites with larger grains had a higher proportion of high-displacement regions,which can lead to larger-scale cracking or even spalling.These findings are not only beneficial to understand the pattern of microcrack evolution with different grain sizes,but also provide guidance for rock monitoring and instability assessment.

Mechanical anisotropy associated with beddings in shale under Brazilian test conditions:Insights from acoustic emission statistics

A comprehensive understanding of shale’s bedding anisotropy is crucial for shale-related engineering activities,such as hydraulic fracturing,drilling and underground excavation.In this study,seven Brazilian tests were conducted on shale samples at different bedding orientations with respect to the loading direction(0°,45°and 90°)and the disc end face(0°,45°and 90°).An acoustic emission(AE)system was employed to capture the evolution of damage and the temporal-spatial distribution of microcracks under splitting-tensile stress.The results show that the Brazilian tensile strength decreases with increasing bedding inclination with respect to the disc end face,while it increases with the angle between bedding and loading directions.Increasing the bedding inclination with respect to the end face facilitates the reduction in b value and enhances the shale’s resistance to microcrack growth during the loading process.Misalignment between the bedding orientation and the end face suppresses the growth of mixed tensile-shear microcracks,while reducing the bedding angle relative to the loading direction is beneficial for creating mixed tensile-shear and tensile cracks.The observed microscopic failure characteristics are attributed to the competing effects of bedding activation and breakage of shale matrix at different bedding inclinations.The temporal-spatial distribution of microcracks,characterized by AE statistics including the correlation dimension and spatial correlation length,illustrates that the fractal evolution of microcracks is independent of bedding anisotropy,whereas the spatial distribution shows a stronger correlation.The evolution features of correlation dimension and spatial correlation length could be potentially used as precursors for shale splitting failure.These findings may be useful for predicting rock mass instability and analyzing the causes of catastrophic rupture.

Shear band evolution and acoustic emission characteristics of sandstone containing non-persistent flaws

Direct shear tests were conducted on sandstone specimens under different constant normal stresses to study the coalescence of cracks between non-persistent flaws and the shear sliding characteristics of the shear-formed fault.Digital image correlation and acoustic emission(AE)techniques were used to monitor the evolution of shear bands at the rock bridge area and microcracking behaviors.The experimental results revealed that the shear stresses corresponding to the peak and sub-peak in the stressdisplacement curve are significantly affected by the normal stress.Strain localization bands emerged at both the tip of joints and the rock bridge,and their extension and interaction near the peak stress caused a surge in the AE hit rate and a significant decrease in the AE b value.Short and curvilinear strain bands were detected at low normal stress,while high normal stress generally led to more microcracking events and longer coplanar cracks at the rock bridge area.Furthermore,an increase in normal stress resulted in a higher AE count rate and more energetic AE events during friction sliding along the shearformed fault.It was observed that the elastic energy released during the crack coalescence at the prepeak stage was much greater than that released during friction sliding at the post-peak stage.More than 75%of AE events were located in the low-frequency band(0e100 kHz),and this proportion continued to rise with increasing normal stress.Moreover,more AE events of low AF value and high RA value were observed in specimens subjected to high normal stress,indicating that greater normal stress led to more microcracks of shear nature.

Enhancing microseismic/acoustic emission source localization accuracy with an outlier-robust kernel density estimation approach

Monitoring sensors in complex engineering environments often record abnormal data,leading to significant positioning errors.To reduce the influence of abnormal arrival times,we introduce an innovative,outlier-robust localization method that integrates kernel density estimation(KDE)with damping linear correction to enhance the precision of microseismic/acoustic emission(MS/AE)source positioning.Our approach systematically addresses abnormal arrival times through a three-step process:initial location by 4-arrival combinations,elimination of outliers based on three-dimensional KDE,and refinement using a linear correction with an adaptive damping factor.We validate our method through lead-breaking experiments,demonstrating over a 23%improvement in positioning accuracy with a maximum error of 9.12 mm(relative error of 15.80%)—outperforming 4 existing methods.Simulations under various system errors,outlier scales,and ratios substantiate our method’s superior performance.Field blasting experiments also confirm the practical applicability,with an average positioning error of 11.71 m(relative error of 7.59%),compared to 23.56,66.09,16.95,and 28.52 m for other methods.This research is significant as it enhances the robustness of MS/AE source localization when confronted with data anomalies.It also provides a practical solution for real-world engineering and safety monitoring applications.

Characteristic strength and acoustic emission properties of weakly cemented sandstone at different depths under uniaxial compression

As coal mining is extended from shallow to deep areas along the western coalfield,it is of great significance to study weakly cemented sandstone at different depths for underground mining engineering.Sandstones from depths of 101.5,203.2,317.3,406.9,509.9 and 589.8 m at the Buertai Coal Mine were collected.The characteristic strength,acoustic emission(AE),and energy evolution of sandstone during uniaxial compression tests were analyzed.The results show that the intermediate frequency(125-275 kHz)of shallow rock mainly occurs in the postpeak stage,while deep rock occurs in the prepeak stage.The initiation strength and damage strength of the sandstone at different depths range from 0.23 to 0.50 and 0.63 to 0.84 of peak strength(σ_(c)),respectively,decrease exponentially and are a power function with depth.The precursor strength ranges from 0.88σ_(c)to 0.99σ_(c),increases with depth before reaching a depth of 300 m,and tends to stabilize after 300 m.The ratio of the initiation strength to the damage strength(k)ranges from 0.25 to 0.62 and decreases exponentially with depth.The failure modes of sandstone at different depths are tension-dominated mixed tensile-shear failure.Shear failure mainly occurs at the unstable crack propagation stage.The count of the shear failure bands before the peak strength increases gradually,and increases first and then decreases after the peak strength with burial depth.The cumulative input energy,released elastic energy and dissipated energy increase with depth.The elastic release rate ranges from 0.46×10^(-3)to 198.57×10^(-3)J/(cm^(3)s)and increases exponentially with depth.

Experimental Investigation of Transmitting Properties of Acoustic Emission Signal and Its Application

The transmitting properties of acoustic emission(AE) signal is investigated in order to provide experimental basis for application of AE technique. In the paper, the influences of the geometric shape and material properties of the mediums and the bearing type on AE transmission are analyzed for providing the theoretic foundation for selecting the transmission route of AE signal and the fixing location of the AE sensor reasonably. According to the transmitting properties of AE, an apparatus of detecting AE signal for the tool breakage monitoring system has been set up. Its application results show that it is of benefit to improving the sensitivity of the tool breakage monitoring system.

Study of hydraulic fracture growth behavior in heterogeneous tight sandstone formations using CT scanning and acoustic emission monitoring

Tortuous hydraulic fractures(HFs) are likely to be created in heterogeneous formations such as conglomerates, which may cause sand plugging, ultimately resulting in poor stimulation efficiency. This study aims to explore HF growth behavior in conglomerate through laboratory fracturing experiments under true tri-axial stresses combined with computed tomography scanning and acoustic emission(AE) monitoring. The effects of gravel size, horizontal differential stress, and AE focal mechanisms were examined. Especially, the injection pressure and the AE response features during HF initiation and propagation in conglomerate were analyzed. Simple HFs with narrow microfractures are created in conglomerate when the gravels are considerably smaller than the specimen, whereas complex fractures are created when the gravels are similar in size to the specimen, even under high horizontal differential stresses. Breakdown pressure and AE rates are high when a HF is initiated from the high-strength gravel. A large pressure decline after the breakdown may indicate the creation of a planar and wide HF. Analyzing the focal mechanism indicates that the shear mechanism generally dominates with an increase in the HF complexity. Tensile events are likely to occur during HF initiation and are located around the wellbore. Shear events occur mainly around the nonplanar and complex matrix/gravel interfaces.

Laboratory acoustic emission study for earthquake generation process

Since the similarity in size distribution of earthquakes and acoustic emissions （AE） was found in the 1960s, many laboratory studies have been motivated by the need to provide tools for the prediction of mining failures and natural earthquakes. This paper aims, on the one hand, to draw an outline of laboratory AE studies in the last 50 years, which have addressed seismological problems. Topics include the power laws in which the similarity between AEs and earthquakes is involved and progress that has been made in AE technology and laboratory AE study. On the other hand, this study will highlight some key issues intensively discussed, especially in the last three decades, such as aspects related to the pre-failure damage evolution, fault nucleation and growth in brittle rocks and discuss factors governing these processes.

A laboratory acoustic emission experiment and numerical simulation of rock fracture driven by a high-pressure fluid source

In order to improve our understanding of rock fracture and fault instability driven by high-pressure fluid sources, the authors carried out rock fracture tests using granite under a confining pressure of 80 MPa with fluid injection in the laboratory. Furthermore, we tested a number of numerical models using the FLAC;modeling software to find the best model to represent the experimental results. The high-speed multichannel acoustic emission（AE） waveform recording system used in this study made it possible to examine the total fracture process through detailed monitoring of AE hypocenters and seismic velocity.The experimental results show that injecting high-pressure oil into the rock sample can induce AE activity at very low stress levels and can dramatically reduce the strength of the rock. The results of the numerical simulations show that major experimental results, including the strength, the temporal and spatial patterns of the AE events, and the role of the fluid can be represented fairly well by a model involving（1） randomly distributed defect elements to model pre-existing cracks,（2） random modification of rock properties to represent inhomogeneity introduced by different mineral grains, and（3）macroscopic inhomogeneity. Our study, which incorporates laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, indicates that such an approach is helpful in finding a better model not only for simulating experimental results but also for upscaling purposes.

Acoustic emission characterization of microcracking in laboratory-scale hydraulic fracturing tests

Understanding microcracking near coalesced fracture generation is critically important for hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoir characterization as well as damage evaluation in civil engineering structures. Dense and sometimes random microcracking near coalesced fracture formation alters the mechanical properties of the nearby virgin material. Individual microcrack characterization is also significant in quantifying the material changes near the fracture faces （i.e. damage）. Acoustic emission （AE） monitoring and analysis provide unique information regarding the microcracking process temporally, and infor- mation concerning the source characterization of individual microcracks can be extracted. In this context, laboratory hydraulic fracture tests were carried out while monitoring the AEs from several piezoelectric transducers. In-depth post-processing of the AE event data was performed for the purpose of under- standing the individual source mechanisms. Several source characterization techniques including moment tensor inversion, event parametric analysis, and volumetric deformation analysis were adopted. Post-test fracture characterization through coring, slicing and micro-computed tomographic imaging was performed to determine the coalesced fracture location and structure. Distinct differences in fracture characteristics were found spatially in relation to the openhole injection interval. Individual microcrack AE analysis showed substantial energy reduction emanating spatially from the injection interval. It was quantitatively observed that the recorded AE signals provided sufficient information to generalize the damage radiating spatially away from the injection wellbore.

Characteristics of acoustic emission signals in damp cracking coal rocks

A uniaxial load experiment on coal rocks at different stress rates was carried out, based on the characteristics of acoustic emission (AE) signals in cracking coal rocks, decomposition, de-noising and reconstruction for the AE signals through wavelet packet transform for solving the current problems created by the presence of noise in AE signals and the existing problems in AE signal processing. The results show that the various characteristics of AE signals in coal rocks cracking under different situations can be clearly reflected, after the AE signals are de-noised by the wavelet packet. Compared to dry coal rocks, the number of AE occurrences in damp coal rocks was significantly reduced, as well as the average amplitude. The number of AE occurrences in damp and dry coal rocks clearly increased with increases in the loading rate, but the largest amplitude of the AE signals in damp coal rocks has been reduced. There is no clear evidence of change in dry coal rocks.

Application of quantum neural networks in localization of acoustic emission

Due to defects of time-difference of arrival localization,which influences by speed differences of various model waveforms and waveform distortion in transmitting process,a neural network technique is introduced to calculate localization of the acoustic emission source.However,in back propagation（BP） neural network,the BP algorithm is a stochastic gradient algorithm virtually,the network may get into local minimum and the result of network training is dissatisfactory.It is a kind of genetic algorithms with the form of quantum chromosomes,the random observation which simulates the quantum collapse can bring diverse individuals,and the evolutionary operators characterized by a quantum mechanism are introduced to speed up convergence and avoid prematurity.Simulation results show that the modeling of neural network based on quantum genetic algorithm has fast convergent and higher localization accuracy,so it has a good application prospect and is worth researching further more.

Creep properties and resistivity-ultrasonic-AE responses of cemented gangue backfill column under high-stress area

To investigate the creep and instability properties of a cemented gangue backfill column under a highstress area,the uniaxial compression creep tests were conducted by single-step and multi-step loading of prismatic samples made of cemented gangue backfill material(CGBM)under the high stressstrength ratio.The creep damage was monitored using an electrical resistivity device,ultrasonic testing device,and acoustic emission(AE)instrument.The results showed that the CGBM sample has a creep hardening property.The creep failure strength(CFS)is slightly larger than the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),ranging in ratio from 108.9%to 116.5%.The instantaneous strain,creep strain,and creep rate increase with increasing stress-strength ratio in the single-step loading creep tests.The instantaneous strain and creep strain decrease first and then increase during the multi-step loading creep process.The axial creep strain of the CGBM column can be expressed by the viscoelastic-plastic creep model.Creep instability is caused by the accumulation of strain energy under multi-step loading and the continuous lateral expansion at the unconstrained middle position during the creep process.The creep stability of a CGBM column in a high-stress area can be monitored based on the variation of electrical resistivity,ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV),and AE signals.

Acoustic emission characteristics of rock under impact loading

Acoustic emission tests were performed using a split Hopkinson pressure bar system(SHPB) on 50-mm-diameter bars of granite, limestone, sandstone and skarn. The results show that the amplitude distribution of hits is not well centralized around 50 d B, and that some hits with large amplitudes, usually larger than 70 d B, occur in the early stages of each test, which is different from the findings from static and low-loading-rate tests. Furthermore, the dominant frequency range of the recorded acoustic emission waveforms is between 300 k Hz and 500 k Hz, and frequency components higher than 500 k Hz are not significant. The hit with the largest values of amplitude, counts, signal strength, and absolute energy in each test, displays a waveform with similar frequency characteristics and greater correlation with the waveform obtained from the elastic input bar of the split Hopkinson pressure bar system compared with the waveforms of the other hits. This indicates that the hit with the largest values of amplitude, counts, signal strength, and absolute energy is generated by elastic wave propagation instead of fracture within the rock specimen.

Implications for identification of principal stress directions from acoustic emission characteristics of granite under biaxial compression experiments

The rock fracture characteristics and principal stress directions are crucial for prevention of geological disasters.In this study,we carried out biaxial compression tests on cubic granite samples of 100 mm in side length with different intermediate principal stress gradients in combination with acoustic emission(AE)technique.Results show that the fracture characteristics of granite samples change from‘sudden and aggregated’to‘continuous and dispersed’with the increase of the intermediate principal stress.The effect of increasing intermediate principal stress on AE amplitude is not significant,but it increases the proportions of high-frequency AE signals and shear cracks,which in turn increases the possibility of unstable rock failure.The difference of stress in different directions causes the anisotropy of rock fracture and thus leads to the obvious anisotropic characteristics of wave velocity variations.The anisotropy of wave velocity variations with stress difference is probable to identify the principal stress directions.The AE characteristics and the anisotropy of wave velocity variations of granite under two-dimensional stress are not only beneficial complements for rock fracture characteristic and principal stress direction identification,but also can provide a new analysis method for stability monitoring in practical rock engineering.

Investigation of active vibration drilling using acoustic emission and cutting size analysis

This paper describes an investigation of active bit vibration on the penetration mechanisms and bit-rock interaction for drilling with a diamond impregnated coring bit. A series of drill-off tests(DOTs) were conducted where the drilling rate-of-penetration(ROP) was measured at a series of step-wise increasing static bit thrusts or weight-on-bits(WOBs). Two active DOTs were conducted by applying 60 Hz axial vibration at the bit-rock interface using an electromagnetic vibrating table mounted underneath the drilling samples, and a passive DOT was conducted where the bit was allowed to vibrate naturally with lower amplitude due to the compliance of the drilling sample mountings. During drilling, an acoustic emission(AE) system was used to record the AE signals generated by the diamond cutter penetration and the cuttings were collected for grain size analysis. The instrumented drilling system recorded the dynamic motions of the bit-rock interface using a laser displacement sensor, a load cell, and an LVDT(linear variable differential transformer) recorded the dynamic WOB and the ROP, respectively. Calibration with the drilling system showed that rotary speed was approximately the same at any given WOB, facilitating comparison of the results at the same WOB. Analysis of the experimental results shows that the ROP of the bit at any given WOB increased with higher amplitude of axial bit-rock vibration, and the drill cuttings increased in size with a higher ROP. Spectral analysis of the AEs indicated that the higher ROP and larger cutting size were correlated with a higher AE energy and a lower AE frequency. This indicated that larger fractures were being created to generate larger cutting size. Overall, these results indicate that a greater magnitude of axial bit-rock vibration produces larger fractures and generates larger cuttings which, at the same rotary speed, results in a higher ROP.

Study of electromagnetic and acoustic emission in creep experiments of water-containing rock samples

Based on biaxial shear creep tests conducted on rock samples with different water contents, we present the results of our study on the regularities of electromagnetic and acoustic emission during the process of creep experiments in which we have analyzed the contribution of water to the occurrence of electromagnetic radiation. The result shows that in the creep-fracturing course of rock samples, when the water content increases, the initial frequency and amplitude of electromagnetic and acoustic emission also increases, but at a decreasing growth rate caused by loading stress. This can be used as a criterion for the long-term stability of rock masses under conditions of repeated inundation and discharge of water.