Experimental study on shear properties and resistivity change of soil-rock mixture

The deterioration of shear resistance in rock and soil masses has resulted in numerous severe natural disasters,highlighting the significance of long-term monitoring for disaster prevention and mitigation.This study explores the use of a non-destructive method to quickly and accurately evaluate the shear properties of soil-rock mixture.The shear stress,shear strain,and resistivity of the soil-rock mixture were tested simultaneously using a combination of direct shear and resistivity tests.The test results show that the resistivity of the soil-rock mixture gradually decreases with increasing shear strain.The resistivity of all specimens ranged approximately from 60 to 130Ω.m throughout the shear process.At the end of the shear test,the vertical failure resistivity showed an irregular“W”shape with increasing rock content.It exhibited a significant negative linear functional relationship with the shear strength.With reference to the determination of cohesion and internal friction angle on the shear strength envelope,the horizontal angle of the vertical failure resistivity-normal stress curve is defined as the resistivity angle,and the intercept of the curve is the resistivity at the initial moment of shear.It has been observed that the resistivity angle is negatively and linearly correlated with the internal friction angle.At the same time,there is a linear growth relationship between resistivity at the initial moment of shear and cohesion.It has been demonstrated that an increase in rock content contributes to a general escalation in both the average structure factor and average shape factor.Meanwhile,a decrease in the anisotropy coefficient has also been noted.These alterations are indicative of the extent of microstructural transformations occurring during the deformation process of the soil-rock mixture.The research results verify the feasibility of real-time deformation monitoring and characterization of shear strength parameters using resistivity.

Numerical analysis of the failure process of soil-rock mixtures through computed tomography and PFC3D models

Soil-rock mixture （SRM） is a unique type of geomaterial characterized by a heterogeneous composition and a complicated structure. It is intractable for the continuum-based soil and rock mechanics theories to accurately characterize and predict the SRM＇s mechanical properties. This study reports a novel numerical method incorporating microfocus computed tomography and PFC3D codes to probe the deformation and failure processes of SRM. The three-dimensional （3D） PFC models that represent the SRM＇s complex structures were built. By simulating the entire failure process in PFC3D, the SRM＇s strength, elastic modulus and crack growth were obtained. The influence of rock ratios on the SRM＇s strength, deformation and failure processes, as well as its internal mesoscale mechanism, were analyzed. By comparing simulation results with experimental data, it was verified that the 3D PFC models were in good agreement with SRM＇s real structure and the SRM＇s compression process, deformation and failure patterns; its intrinsic mesomechanism can be effectively analyzed based on such 3D PFC models.

Damage mechanism of soil-rock mixture after freeze-thaw cycles

As a widely distributed geological and engineering material,the soil-rock mixture always undergoes frequentative and short-term freeze-thaw cycles in some regions.Its internal structure is destroyed seriously,but the damage mechanism is not clear.Based on the damage factor,the damage research of properties of soil-rock mixture after different times of freeze-thaw cycles is investigated.Firstly,the size-distributed subgrade gravelly soil samples are prepared and undergo different times of freeze-thaw cycles periodically(0,3,6,10),and indoor large-scale triaxial tests are completed.Secondly,the degradation degree of elastic modulus is considered as a damage factor,and applied to macro damage analysis of soil-rock mixture.Finally,the mesoscopic simulation of the experiments is achieved by PFC3D,and the influence on strength between soil-rock particles caused by freeze-thaw cycles is analyzed.The results show that freeze-thaw cycles cause internal damage of samples by weakening the strength between mesoscopic soil-rock particles,and ultimately affect the macro properties.After freeze-thaw cycles,on the macro-scale,elastic modulus and shear strength of soil-rock mixture both decrease,and the decreasing degree is related to the times of cycles with the mathmatical quadratic form;on the meso-scale,freeze-thaw cycles mainly cause the degradation of the strength between soil-rock particles whose properties are different significantly.

Freeze-thaw damage mechanism of elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures at different confining pressures

As a frequently-used roadbed filler,soil-rock mixture is often in the environment of freeze-thaw cycles and different confining pressures.In order to study the freeze-thaw damage mechanism of elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures at different confining pressures,the concept of meso-interfacial freeze-thaw damage coefficient is put forward and the meso-interfacial damage phenomenon of soil-rock mixtures caused by the freeze-thaw cycle environment is concerned;a double-inclusion embedded model for elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures in freezing-thawing cycle is proposed.A large triaxial test was performed and the influences of confining pressure and experimental factors on elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures were obtained,and then the accuracy of the double-inclusion embedded model to predict the elastic modulus of soil-rock mixtures in freezing-thawing cycle is verified.Experiment results showed that as to soil-rock mixtures,with the increase of confining pressure,the elastic modulus increases approximately linearly.The most crucial factors to affect the elastic modulus are rock content and compaction degree at the same confining pressure;the elastic modulus increases with the increase of rock content and compactness;as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases,the freeze-thaw damage coefficient of meso-structural interface and the elastic modulus decrease.

Physical simulation test of soil-rock mixture from synthetic transparent soil

The waste dump of open-pit coal mine is remade of soil-rock mixture under the action of gravity,dynamic load of transportation equipment and earthquake,etc.By using artificial synthetic transparent soil,the developing process and migration law for soil-rock mixture are observed in the remade process.The mixture of fused quartz sand,liquid paraffin and n-tridecane is chosen as the material for synthetic transparent soil which is mixed with liquid paraffin and n-tridecane at a mass ratio of4.4at room temperature of17℃.Physical and mechanical properties of transparent soil are determined by physical test and compared with those in natural sandy soil.The results show that transparent soil and sandy soil have high similarity,in other words,transparent soil can be used for similar simulation experiments of soil-rock mixture.

Numerical analysis of soil-rock mixture's meso-mechanics based on biaxial test

Soil-rock mixture(S-RM)is a widely distributed geotechnical medium composed of "soil" and "rock block" different both in size and strength. Internal rock blocks form special and variable meso-structural characteristics of S-RM. The objective of this work was to study the control mechanism of meso-structural characteristics on mechanical properties of S-RM. For S-RM containing randomly generated polygonal rock blocks, a series of biaxial tests based on DEM were conducted. On the basis of research on the effects of rock blocks' breakability and sample lateral boundary type(rigid, flexible) on macroscopic mechanical behavior of S-RM, an expanded Mohr-Coulomb criterion in power function form was proposed to represent the strength envelop. At the mesoscopic level, the variations of meso-structure such as rotation of rock block, and the formation mechanism and evolution process of the shear band during tests were investigated. The results show that for S-RM with a high content of rock block, translation, rotating and breakage of rock blocks have crucial effects on mechanical behavior of S-RM. The formation and location of the shear band inside S-RM sample are also controlled by breakability and arrangement of rock blocks.

Study on mechanical properties of soil-rock mixture of various compactness subjected to freeze-thaw cycles

The soil-rock mixture,a collection of soil particles and rock blocks,is inherently heterogeneous and anisotropic due to significant particle size and material strength differences.This study conducts triaxial tests on soil-rock mixture samples of various compactness subjected to varying freeze-thaw cycles.A mesoscopic simulation is carried out by particle flow code(PFC)to analyze the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on the mechanical properties of soil and rock particles.The results show that the mechanical properties of the soil-rock mixture under freeze-thaw cycles are greatly affected by the initial compaction.In general,when the degree of compaction is higher,the influence of freeze-thaw cycles on the soil-rock mixture is greater.The stress-strain curves of the samples with different compactness demonstrate strain-softening behavior.The freeze-thaw cycles greatly influence the failure strength of the samples with a higher degree of compaction but have little impact on the samples with a lower degree of compaction.On the microscopic level,during freeze-thaw cycles,the pore volume in the highly compacted sample is too small to accommodate the volume expansion from ice crystal formation,causing significant strength loss among the soil and rock particles and deterioration of the macroscopic properties of the soil-rock mixture.

Generation of 3D random meso-structure of soil-rock mixture and its meso-structural mechanics based on numerical tests

The mesoscopic failure mechanism and the macro-mechanical characteristics of soil-rock mixture(S-RM) under external load are largely controlled by S-RM's meso-structural features. The objective of this work is to improve the three-dimensional technology for the generation of the random meso-structural models of S-RM, for randomly generating irregular rock blocks in S-RM with different shapes, sizes, and distributions according to the characteristics of the rock blocks' size distribution. Based on the new improved technology, a software system named as R-SRM3 D for generation and visualization of S-RM is developed. Using R-SRM3 D, a three-dimensional meso-structural model of S-RM is generated and used to study the meso-mechanical behavior through a series of true-triaxial numerical tests. From the numerical tests, the following conclusions are obtained. The meso-stress field of S-RM is influenced by the distribution of the internal rock blocks, and the macro-mechanical characteristics of S-RM are anisotropic in 3D; the intermediate principal stress and the soil-rock interface properties have significant influence on the macro strength of S-RM.

Experimental Study on Seepage Characteristics of a Soil-Rock Mixture in a Fault Zone

A mixture of fault gouge and rubble taken out from a fault zone is used to prepare a S-RM(Soil-Rock Mixture)sample with rock block proportions of 20%,30%,40%,50%,60%and 70%,respectively.A GDS triaxial test system is used accordingly to measure the seepage characteristics of such samples under different loading and unloading confining pressures in order to determine the variation law of the permeability coefficient.The test results show that:(1)The permeability coefficient of the S-RM samples decreases as the pressure increases,and the decrease rate of this coefficient in the initial stage of confining pressure loading is obviously higher than in the semi-late period;(2)The permeability coefficient at different confining pressure levels presents a common trend as the rock block proportion is increased,i.e.,it decreases first then it increases(the permeability coefficient of the sample with rock block proportion 40%being the smallest,70%the largest);(3)In the stage of confining pressure unloading,the recovery degree of the permeability coefficient grows with the increase of rock block proportion(the recovery rate of S-RM sample with rock block proportion 70%reaches 50.2%);(4)In the stage of confining pressure loading and unloading,the sensitivity of the permeability coefficient to the rock block proportion displays the inverse“Z”variation rule(when rock block proportion reaches 60%,the sensitivity is highest);(5)In the stage of confining pressure loading,the relationship between the permeability coefficient and confining pressure can be described by an exponential relationship.

Centrifuge and numerical modeling of h-type anti-slide pile reinforced soil-rock mixture slope

Due to the loose structure,high porosity and high permeability of soil-rock mixture slope,the slope is unstable and may cause huge economic losses and casualties.The h-type anti-slide pile is regarded as an effective means to prevent the instability of soilrock mixture slope.In this paper,a centrifuge model test was conducted to investigate the stress distribution of the h-type anti-slide pile and the evolution process of soil arching during the loading.A numerical simulation model was built based on the similar relationship between the centrifuge model and the prototype to investigate the influence factors of the pile spacing,anchored depth,and crossbeam stiffness,and some recommendations were proposed for its application.The results show that the bending moment distribution of the rear pile exhibits Wshaped,while for the front pile,its distribution resembles V-shaped.The soil arching evolution process during loading is gradually dissipated from bottom to top and from far to near.During the loading,the change of bending moment can be divided into three stages,namely,the stabilization stage,the slow growth stage,and the rapid growth stage.In engineering projects,the recommended values of the pile spacing,anchored depth,and crossbeam stiffness are 4.0d,2.0d,and 2.0EI,where d and EI are the diameter and bending stiffness of the h-type anti-slide pile respectively.

Mechanical Properties of Soil-Rock Mixture Filling in Fault Zone Based on Mesostructure

Soil-rock mixture(SRM)filling in fault zone is an inhomogeneous geomaterial,which is composed of soil and rock block.It controls the deformation and stability of the abutment and dam foundation,and threatens the long-term safety of high arch dams.To study the macroscopic and mesoscopic mechanical properties of SRM,the development of a viable mesoscopic numerical simulation method with a mesoscopic model generation technology,and a reasonable parametric model is crucially desired to overcome the limitations of experimental conditions,specimen dimensions,and experiment fund.To this end,this study presents a mesoscopic numerical method for simulating the mechanical behavior of SRM by proposing mesoscopic model generation technology based on its mesostructure features,and a rock parameter model considering size effect.The validity and rationality of the presented mesoscopic numerical method is experimentally verified by the triaxial compression tests with different rock block contents(RBC).The results indicate that the rock block can increase the strength of SRM,and it is proved that the random generation technique and the rock parameter model considering size effect are validated.Furthermore,there are multiple failure surfaces for inhomogeneous geomaterial of SRM,and the angle of the failure zone is no longer 45◦.The yielding zones of the specimen are more likely to occur in thin sections of soil matrix isolated by blocks with the failure path avoiding the rock block.The proposed numerical method is effective to investigate the meso-damage mechanism of SRM.

Soil-water characteristic surface model of soil-rock mixture

The relationship between the water content or saturation of unsaturated soils and its matrix suction is commonly described by the soilwater characteristic curve(SWCC).Currently,study on the SWCC model is focused on fine-grained soils like clay and silty soils,but the SWCC model for grinding soil-rock mixture(SRM)is less studied.Considering that the SRM is in a certain compaction state in the actual project,this study established a surface model with three variables of coupling compaction degree-substrate suction-moisture content based on the Cavalcante-Zornberg soil-water characteristic curve model.Then,the influence of each fitting parameter on the curve was analyzed.For the common SRM,the soil-water characteristic test was conducted.Moreover,the experimental measurements exhibit remarkable consistency with the mode surface.The analysis shows that the surface model intuitively describes the soil-water characteristics of grinding SRM,which can provide the SWCC of soils with bimodal pore characteristics under specific compaction degrees.Furthermore,it can reflect the influence of compaction degrees on the SWCC of rock-soil mass and has a certain prediction effect.The SWCC of SRM with various soil-rock ratios have a double-step shape.With the increase in compaction degree,the curves as a whole tend toward decreasing mass moisture content.The curve changes are mainly concentrated in the large pore section.

Pore evolution and shear characteristics of a soil-rock mixture upon freeze-thaw cycling

The changes in pore structure within soil-rock mixtures under freeze-thaw cycles in cold regions result in strength deterioration,leading to instability and slope failure.However,the existing studies mainly provided qualitative analysis of the changes in pore or strength of soil-rock mixture under freeze-thaw cycles.In contrast,few studies focused on the quantitative evaluation of pore change and the relationship between the freeze-thaw strength deterioration and pore change of soil-rock mixture.This study aims to explore the correlation between the micro-pore evolution characteristics and macro-mechanics of a soil-rock mixture after frequent freeze-thaw cycles during the construction and subsequent operation in a permafrost region.The pore characteristics of remolded soil samples with different rock contents(i.e.,25%,35%,45%,and 55%)subjected to various freeze-thaw cycles(i.e.,0,1,3,6,and 10)were quantitatively analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR).Shear tests of soil-rock samples under different normal pressures were carried out simultaneously to explore the correlation between the soil strength changes and pore characteristics.The results indicate that with an increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles,the cohesion of the soil-rock mixture generally decreases first,then increases,and finally decreases;however,the internal friction angle shows no apparent change.With the increase in rock content,the peak shear strength of the soil-rock mixture rises first and then decreases and peaks when the rock content is at 45%.When the rock content remains constant,as the number of freeze-thaw cycles rises,the shear strength of the sample reaches its peak after three freeze-thaw cycles.Studies have shown that with an increase in freeze-thaw cycles,the medium and large pores develop rapidly,especially for pores with a size of 0.2–20μm.Freeze-thaw cycling affects the internal pores of the soil-rock mixture by altering its skeleton and,therefore,impacts its macro-mechanical characteristics.

粒度分布对红层土石混合体强度及颗粒破碎的影响

红层土石混合体已广泛应用于川渝地区公路、铁路的路基填筑,研究其强度及颗粒破碎特征可为该地区路基快速安全施工提供理论支撑。针对现有粒度分布评价方法对土石混合体适用性的不足,提出中间粒径块石相对含量C_(m)指标并拟定4个水平,选择四川盆地红层土石混合体为材料,比选叠环剪和大型直剪试验后,结合筛分试验探讨粒度分布对红层土石混合体强度及颗粒破碎的影响规律。试验结果表明:叠环剪试验中剪切面非人为固定,剪切带影响域明显大于大型直剪试验,相同试验条件下土石混合体强度低于大型直剪试验,且法向应力越大,强度差值越大。C_(m)对红层土石混合体的强度及颗粒破碎特征影响显著。随C_(m)的增大,黏聚力先减小后增大,内摩擦角先增大后减小,抗剪强度先增大后减小,均在C_(m)=0.543时有最值,此时,颗粒间的摩擦和重定向排列对强度的增强效应明显大于咬合减弱的负面效应,剪应力有二次攀升。叠环剪试验后,大粒径、中间粒径块石含量降低,土体含量增高,小粒径块石含量在C_(m)≤0.343时降低,C_(m)≥0.343时增高;颗粒相对破碎率随法向应力和C_(m)的增大,均呈先降低后升高的规律,C_(m)=0.343时颗粒相对破碎率最低。

Numerical study of soil-rock mixture:Generation of random aggregate structure

The soil-rock mixture(SRM) is highly heterogeneous. Before carrying out numerical analysis,a structure model should be generated. A reliable way to obtain such structure is by generating random aggregate structure based on random sequential addition(RSA). The classical RSA is neither efficient nor robust since valid positions to place new inclusions are formulated by trial, which involves repetitive overlapping tests. In this paper, the algorithm of Entrance block between block A and B(EAB)is synergized with background mesh to redesign RSA so that permissible positions to place new inclusions can be predicted,resulting in dramatic improvement in efficiency and robustness.

Influence of water content and shear rate on the mechanical behavior of soil-rock mixtures

Soil-rock mixtures(S-RMs) are widely distributed in the nature. The mesoscopic deformation and failure mechanisms as well as the macro-mechanical behaviors of the S-RMs depend largely upon the rate of deformation, water content and particle sizes. In this research, a series of large-scale direct shear tests with different water contents and different grain-size distributions were conducted to study the influence of the aforementioned factors on the mechanical properties of the S-RMs. Due to the effect of the rock blocks' breakage in the S-RMs, the relationship between the shear strength and the vertical stress of S-RM follows a power law instead of a linear one. It is found that there exists a threshold value for the vertical stress during the shearing process,below which the soil strength is mainly determined by the inter-locking of particles and the re-arrangement of meso-structure,and otherwise large-sized rock blocks are gradually broken into smaller fragments, resulting in a decrease in the soil strength.The shear rate can also significantly influence the degree of particle breakage and the meso-structural rearrangement of the SRMs, namely, under low shear rate, the particles of the samples are fully broken resulting in enhanced macro-strength. As a result, the lower the shear rate, the higher the macroscopic strength. So under unsaturated conditions, the water content will affect the strength of the S-RMs by reducing the strength of rock blocks. As the water content increases, the soil strength decreases gradually, and assumes a moderate value when the water content reaches 8%. At the same water content, the soil strength increases with the sizes of large rock blocks. For the occlusion, breakage and structure re-arrangement of the oversized rock blocks inside S-RM, which have a huge influence on the mechanical characteristics of the samples.

Fracture evolution analysis of soil-rock mixture in contrast with soil by CT scanning under uniaxial compressive conditions

Soil-rock mixture(SRM),as a type of extremely heterogeneous geomaterial,is very common in nature and engineering.The fracture and damage of SRM often induce severe geological disasters.Hence,it is important to analyze the fracture evolution process of this material.In the present research,real-time computed tomography(CT)scanning was conducted on SRM and pure soil samples under uniaxial compressive experiments to investigate the influence of rocks on fracture evolution in SRM.The initiation of cracks,the original values of,and variations in,average density and heterogeneity in the soil matrix,the crack width evolution during loading,and the final failure modes were all studied.Cracks with a width greater than 0.1 mm will not arise until over 90%of ultimate stress is reached.In general,in SRM,areas where the initial average density of the soil matrix is smaller and the initial heterogeneity is greater,are much easier to crack,but the results for pure soil show the opposite effect.According to fracturing conditions shown in CT slices,fracturing and non-fracturing areas in the soil matrix were investigated.The average density of the soil matrix decreases in all areas under loading,except non-fracturing areas in SRM.For the whole sample,the increase in heterogeneity in the soil matrix of SRM is greater than that of pure soil;but for the fracturing areas,this increase in pure soil is greater.Besides,the average and standard deviations of crack width both follow logarithmic distributions with high correlation coefficients.

基于CT图像的土石混合体破裂-损伤的三维识别与分析

土石混合体是一种特殊的非连续非均匀地质材料,传统的岩土力学试验方法与分析理论难以直接用于分析其变形破坏行为。发展了一种基于CT扫描和图像处理技术的内部破裂与损伤的三维识别方法,利用自行开发的裂纹识别提取程序提取和分析了单轴压缩下不同含石率土石混合体变形破坏时的内部细观结构变化特征,建立了土石混合体破裂-损伤的三维重构模型,定量地分析了单轴压缩条件下土石混合体的内部损伤演化规律以及含石量的影响和作用。研究表明:该方法可以直观定量地表征土石混合体变形破坏的内部损伤特征与演化规律。石块对土石混合体损伤发展的影响与含石量密切相关,存在一个临界含石率。

水下土石混合体的原位大型水平推剪试验研究

以虎跳峡龙蟠右岸地区分布的土石混合体为依托,对土石混合体在浸水条件下的力学响应进行了大型原位水平推剪试验,取得一些成果。通过现场试验,提出在采用水平推剪试验获得土石混合体的强度参数时,为了结果的可靠性计算滑面应采用平均滑面。同时,将试验区天然状态下和浸水条件下的土石混合体强度参数进行对比,得出了土石混合体的各强度参数在浸水前后的变化规律。最后,对试验区土石混合体在浸水下的强度参数提出了合理的参考值。

基于数字图像分析及大型直剪试验的土石混合体块石含量与抗剪强度关系研究

随着现代岩土力学的发展及各类大规模工程建设的需要,土石混合体已经逐渐被作为一种有别于常规的土体及岩石的特殊岩土材料受到国内外研究者的高度关注。土石混合体内部的块石含量及粒度组成很大程度上控制了其相应的物理力学性质。基于现代数字图像处理技术,通过对土石混合体内部块石的形态分析,获取其相应的粒度组成及块石含量,并将其作为土石混合体大尺度直剪试验的制备试样的基础,为这类岩土体的试验研究开辟了新的思路。通过大尺度直剪试验的研究结果表明,土石混合体的内部块石含量特征在很大程度上控制了其变形破坏机制,其剪应力–水平位移曲线及垂直位移–水平位移曲线均较常规的土体及岩石有很大的差别。土石混合体的剪切带将随着块石含量的增加而变宽,其内摩擦角增量与块石含量(25%～70%)近似成线性增长的关系,黏聚力较相应土体有很大程度的降低,但当块石含量大于30%时,其黏聚力随着块石含量的增加而缓慢降低。