Experimental study on unloading induced shear performances of 3D saw-tooth rock fractures

A fractal model governing saw-tooth fractures was first introduced to replicate sandstone samples containing an inclined 3D penetrating rough fracture surface with various joint roughness coefficients(JRC).In conventional triaxial compression,the peak strength for fractured samples increased with both confining pressure and JRC.During the unloading confining pressure process,the normal stress of fractures declined but the shear stress increased,resulting in shear sliding of fractures.The shear displacement of fractures exponentially increased,and the positive normal displacement decreased gradually to negative values under coupling effects of shear contraction caused by normal stress and shear dilation due to climbing effects of fractures.Transition from quasi-static to dynamic sliding of the fractures was identified.The sliding resistance duration increased with confining pressure but decreased with JRC.After prepeak unloading,the fracture surfaces presented a more significant surface wear response and JRC values decreased by 1.70%–59.20%due to more remarkable asperity degradation compared with those after conventional triaxial compression.The theoretical model for shear strength of fractures was established through improving the Ladanyi&Archambault model by introducing the relations between normal stress and surface wear ratios of fractures,which agreed well with the experimental results.

Shear sliding of rough-walled fracture surfaces under unloading normal stress

Through high-precision engraving,self-affine sandstone joint surfaces with various joint roughness coefficients(JRC=3.21e12.16)were replicated and the shear sliding tests under unloading normal stress were conducted regarding various initial normal stresses(1e7 MPa)and numbers of shearing cycles(1 e5).The peak shear stress of fractures decreased with shear cycles due to progressively smooth surface morphologies,while increased with both JRC and initial normal stress and could be verified using the nonlinear Barton-Bandis failure criterion.The joint friction angle of fractures exponentially increased by 62.22%e64.87%with JRC while decreased by 22.1%e24.85%with shearing cycles.After unloading normal stress,the sliding initiation time of fractures increased with both JRC and initial normal stress due to more tortuous fracture morphologies and enhanced shearing resistance capacity.The surface resistance index(SRI)of fractures decreased by 4.35%e32.02%with increasing shearing cycles due to a more significant reduction of sliding initiation shear stress than that for sliding initiation normal stress,but increased by a factor of 0.41e1.64 with JRC.After sliding initiation,the shear displacement of fractures showed an increase in power function.By defining a sliding rate threshold of 5105 m/s,transition from“quasi-static”to“dynamic”sliding of fractures was identified,and the increase of sliding acceleration steepened with JRC while slowed down with shearing cycles.The normal displacement experienced a slight increase before shear sliding due to deformation recovery as the unloading stress was unloaded,and then enhanced shear dilation after sliding initiation due to climbing effects of surface asperities.Dilation was positively related to the shear sliding velocity of fractures.Wear characteristics of the fracture surfaces after shearing failure were evaluated using binary calculation,indicating an increasing shear area ratio by 45.24%e91.02%with normal stress.

The Frictional Coefficient of Bovine Knee Articular Cartilage

The normal displacement of articular cartilage was measured under load and in sliding, and the coefficient of friction during sliding was measured using a UMT-2 Multi-Specimen Test System. The maximum normal displacement under load and the start-up frictional coefficient have similar tendency of variation with loading time. The sliding speed does not significantly influence the frictional coefficient of articular cartilage.

Shear mechanical properties and frictional sliding responses of rough joint surfaces under dynamic normal displacement conditions

A comprehensive understanding of the dynamic frictional characteristics in rock joints under high normal load and strong confinement is essential for ensuring the safety of deep engineering construction and mitigating geological disasters.This study conducted shear experiments on rough rock joints under displacement-controlled dynamic normal loads,investigating the shear behaviors of joints across varying initial normal loads,normal loading frequencies,and normal loading amplitudes.Experimental results showed that the peak/valley shear force values increased with initial normal loads and normal loading frequencies but showed an initial increase followed by a decrease with normal loading amplitudes.Dynamic normal loading can either increase or decrease shear strength,while this study demonstrates that higher frequencies lead to enhanced friction.Increased initial normal loading and normal loading frequency result in a gradual decrease in joint roughness coefficient(JRC)values of joint surfaces after shearing.Positive correlations existed between frictional energy dissipation and peak shear forces,while post-shear joint surface roughness exhibited a negative correlation with peak shear forces through linear regression analysis.This study contributes to a better understanding of the sliding responses and shear mechanical characteristics of rock joints under dynamic disturbances.