Intermittent disturbance mechanical behavior and fractional deterioration mechanical model of rock under complex true triaxial stress paths

Mechanical excavation,blasting,adjacent rockburst and fracture slip that occur during mining excavation impose dynamic loads on the rock mass,leading to further fracture of damaged surrounding rock in three-dimensional high-stress and even causing disasters.Therefore,a novel complex true triaxial static-dynamic combined loading method reflecting underground excavation damage and then frequent intermittent disturbance failure is proposed.True triaxial static compression and intermittent disturbance tests are carried out on monzogabbro.The effects of intermediate principal stress and amplitude on the strength characteristics,deformation characteristics,failure characteristics,and precursors of monzogabbro are analyzed,intermediate principal stress and amplitude increase monzogabbro strength and tensile fracture mechanism.Rapid increases in microseismic parameters during rock loading can be precursors for intermittent rock disturbance.Based on the experimental result,the new damage fractional elements and method with considering crack initiation stress and crack unstable stress as initiation and acceleration condition of intermittent disturbance irreversible deformation are proposed.A novel three-dimensional disturbance fractional deterioration model considering the intermediate principal stress effect and intermittent disturbance damage effect is established,and the model predicted results align well with the experimental results.The sensitivity of stress states and model parameters is further explored,and the intermittent disturbance behaviors at different f are predicted.This study provides valuable theoretical bases for the stability analysis of deep mining engineering under dynamic loads.

Microdynamic mechanical properties and fracture evolution mechanism of monzogabbro with a true triaxial multilevel disturbance method

The far-field microdynamic disturbance caused by the excavation of deep mineral resources and underground engineering can induce surrounding rock damage in high-stress conditions and even lead to disasters.However,the mechanical properties and damage/fracture evolution mechanisms of deep rock induced by microdynamic disturbance under three-dimensional stress states are unclear.Therefore,a true triaxial multilevel disturbance test method is proposed,which can completely simulate natural geostress,excavation stress redistribution(such as stress unloading,concentration and rotation),and subsequently the microdynamic disturbance triggering damaged rock failure.Based on a dynamic true triaxial test platform,true triaxial microdynamic disturbance tests under different frequency and amplitudes were carried out on monzogabbro.The results show that increasing amplitude or decreasing frequency diminishes the failure strength of monzogabbro.Deformation modulus gradually decreases during disturbance failure.As frequency and amplitude increase,the degradation rate of deformation modulus decreases slightly,disturbance dissipated energy increases significantly,and disturbance deformation anisotropy strengthens obviously.A damage model has been proposed to quantitatively characterize the disturbance-induced damage evolution at different frequency and amplitude under true triaxial stress.Before disturbance failure,the micro-tensile crack mechanism is dominant,and the micro-shear crack mechanism increases significantly at failure.With the increase of amplitude and frequency,the micro-shear crack mechanism increases.When approaching disturbance failure,the acoustic emission fractal dimension changes from a stable value to local large oscillation,and finally increases sharply to a high value at failure.Finally,the disturbance-induced failure mechanism of surrounding rock in deep engineering is clearly elucidated.

Shear failure behaviors and degradation mechanical model of rockmass under true triaxial multi-level loading and unloading shear tests

The redistribution of three-dimensional(3D)geostress during underground tunnel excavation can easily induce to shear failure along rockmass structural plane,potentially resulting in engineering disasters.However,the current understanding of rockmass shear behavior is mainly based on shear tests under2D stress without lateral stress,the shear fracture under 3D stress is unclear,and the relevant 3D shear fracture theory research is deficient.Therefore,this study conducted true triaxial cyclic loading and unloading shear tests on intact and bedded limestone under different normal stress σ_(n) and lateral stressσ_(p)to investigate the shear strength,deformation,and failure characteristics.The results indicate that under differentσ_(n)and σ_(p),the stress–strain hysteresis loop area gradually increases from nearly zero in the pre-peak stage,becomes most significant in the post-peak stage,and then becomes very small in the residual stage as the number of shear test cycles increases.The shear peak strength and failure surface roughness almost linearly increase with the increase inσ_(n),while they first increase and then gradually decrease asσ_(p)increases,with the maximum increases of 12.9%for strength and 15.1%for roughness.The shear residual strength almost linearly increases withσ_(n),but shows no significant change withσ_(p).Based on the acoustic emission characteristic parameters during the test process,the shear fracture process and microscopic failure mechanism were analyzed.As the shear stressτincreases,the acoustic emission activity,main frequency,and amplitude gradually increase,showing a significant rise during the cycle near the peak strength,while remaining almost unchanged in the residual stage.The true triaxial shear fracture process presents tensile-shear mixture failure characteristics dominated by microscopic tensile failure.Based on the test results,a 3D shear strength criterion considering the lateral stress effect was proposed,and the determination methods and evolution of the shear modulus G,cohesion c_(jp),friction angleφ_(jp),and dilation angleψjpduring rockmass shear fracture process were studied.Under differentσ_(n)andσ_(p),G first rapidly decreases and then tends to stabilize;cjp,φ_(jp),andψjpfirst increase rapidly to the maximum value,then decrease slowly,and finally remain basically unchanged.A 3D shear mechanics model considering the effects of lateral stress and shear parameter degradation was further established,and a corresponding numerical calculation program was developed based on3D discrete element software.The proposed model effectively simulates the shear failure evolution process of rockmass under true triaxial shear test,and is further applied to successfully reveal the failure characteristics of surrounding rocks with structural planes under different combinations of tunnel axis and geostress direction.

True triaxial behavior of sandy soils under both drained and undrained conditions:A discrete element perspective

An advanced discrete element servomechanism that can simultaneously and independently control the evolution equations of six stress and strain components without introducing severe stress concentration is implemented.Such a comprehensive series of discrete element method simulations of both drained and undrained behavior of transversely isotropic sandy soils are successfully conducted in the true triaxial setting.During the simulation process,the evolution patterns of the load-bearing structure of the granular specimen are tracked using a contact-normal-based fabric tensor.The simulation results show that sandy soils exhibit more significant non-coaxiality between the loading direction and the major principal direction of the fabric tensor under extension than under compression.Therefore,the fabric of the sandy soils under extension has a stronger tendency to evolve toward the loading direction than that under compression,causing a more significant disturbance to the load-bearing structure.Consequently,compared with the extension loading condition,the transversely isotropic specimen under compression exhibits a higher shear strength and stronger dilatancy under drained conditions and a stronger liquefaction resistance under undrained conditions.

Strength and deformation behaviour of coarse-grained soil by true triaxial tests

In order to investigate the influence of intermediate principal stress on the stress-strain and strength behaviour of a coarse-grained soil, a series of true triaxial tests were performed. The tests were conducted in a recently developed true triaxial apparatus with constant minor principal stress σ3 and constant value of intermediate principal stress ratio b=（σ2-σ3）/（σ1-σ3） （al is the vertical stress, and % is the horizontal stress）. It is found that the intermediate principal strain, ε2, increases from negative to positive value with the increase of parameter b from zero to unity under a constant minor principal stress. The minor principal strain, ε3, is always negative. This implies that the specimen exhibits an evident anisotropy. The relationship between b and friction angle obtained from the tests is different from that predicted by LADE-DUNCAN and MATSUOKA-NAKAI criteria. Based on the test results, an empirical equation of g（b） that is the shape function of the failure surface on re-plane was presented. The proposed equation is verified to be reasonable by comparing the predicted results using the equation with true triaxial test results of soils, such as coarse-grained soils in this study, sands and gravels in other studies.

Experimental study of the dynamic mechanical responses and failure characteristics of coal under true triaxial confinements

Investigations on the dynamic mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of coal under in-situ stress is essential for the prevention of dynamic disasters in deep coal mines.Thus,a modified true triaxial Hopkinson bar was employed to explore the dynamic mechanical behaviors of coal at different confining pressures(0–20 MPa)and strain rates(40–220 s^(-1)).The results show that the dynamic peak stress is positively correlated with lateral static pre-stressσy andσz,but negatively correlated with axial static prestressσx.At approximate strain rates,increasing the lateral static pre-stress facilitates increasing the dynamic peak stress,but the minimum lateral static pre-stress is the primary factor limiting a significant increase in dynamic peak stress of coal.Furthermore,the dynamic differential stress is linearly related to the logarithm of strain rate,and the peak strain varies linearly with strain rate.However,there is no significant correlation between confining pressure and peak strain.Moreover,X-ray CT images and photographic fracture observations of coal samples show the failure patterns under uniaxial and triaxial conditions are splitting failure and shear failure,respectively.The device provides a viable approach for fully comprehending the dynamic mechanical behaviors of rock-like material in complex stress conditions.

New artificial neural networks for true triaxial stress state analysis and demonstration of intermediate principal stress effects on intact rock strength

Simulations are conducted using five new artificial neural networks developed herein to demonstrate and investigate the behavior of rock material under polyaxial loading. The effects of the intermediate principal stress on the intact rock strength are investigated and compared with laboratory results from the literature. To normalize differences in laboratory testing conditions, the stress state is used as the objective parameter in the artificial neural network model predictions. The variations of major principal stress of rock material with intermediate principal stress, minor principal stress and stress state are investigated. The artificial neural network simulations show that for the rock types examined, none were independent of intermediate principal stress effects. In addition, the results of the artificial neural network models, in general agreement with observations made by others, show （a） a general trend of strength increasing and reaching a peak at some intermediate stress state factor, followed by a decline in strength for most rock types; （b） a post-peak strength behavior dependent on the minor principal stress, with respect to rock type; （c） sensitivity to the stress state, and to the interaction between the stress state and uniaxial compressive strength of the test data by the artificial neural networks models （two-way analysis of variance; 95% confidence interval）. Artificial neural network modeling, a self-learning approach to polyaxial stress simulation, can thus complement the commonly observed difficult task of conducting true triaxial laboratory tests, and/or other methods that attempt to improve two-dimensional （2D） failure criteria by incorporating intermediate principal stress effects.

Study on fracture propagation behavior in ultra-heavy oil reservoirs based on true triaxial experiments

As the ultra-heavy oil reservoirs developed by steam assisted gravity drainage(SAGD)in the Fengcheng oilfield,Xinjiang have problems such as huge steam usage,long preheating period,low production,and inaccessible reserve in local parts.Based on the rock mechanics and porosity/permeability characteristics of heavy oil reservoir and interlayer,a series of true triaxial experiments and CT tests considering the fracturing fluid injection rate,viscosity,perforation density and location of fracture initiation were conducted to disclose the propagation behavior of micro-and macro-fractures in the reservoirs and mudstone interlayers.These experiments show that fracturing in the heavy oil reservoirs only generates microfractures that cannot break the interlayer.In contrast,when fracturing in the interlayer,the higher the injection rate(greater than 0.6 m^3/min),the lower the viscosity,the easier it is to form macro-fractures in the interlayers,and the further the fractures will propagate into the reservoirs.Also,increasing perforation density tends to create complex macro-fracture network in the interbedded reservoirs and mudstone interlayers.The findings of this study can provide scientific guidance for the selection of fracturing layer and the optimization of parameters in the interlayer fracturing of heavy oil reservoirs.

Effects of aggregate size distribution and carbon nanotubes on the mechanical properties of cemented gangue backfill samples under true triaxial compression

The mechanical behavior of cemented gangue backfill materials(CGBMs)is closely related to particle size distribution(PSD)of aggregates and properties of cementitious materials.Consequently,the true triaxial compression tests,CT scanning,SEM,and EDS tests were conducted on cemented gangue backfill samples(CGBSs)with various carbon nanotube concentrations(P_(CNT))that satisfied fractal theory for the PSD of aggregates.The mechanical properties,energy dissipations,and failure mechanisms of the CGBSs under true triaxial compression were systematically analyzed.The results indicate that appropriate carbon nanotubes(CNTs)effectively enhance the mechanical properties and energy dissipations of CGBSs through micropore filling and microcrack bridging,and the optimal effect appears at P_(CNT)of 0.08wt%.Taking PSD fractal dimension(D)of 2.500 as an example,compared to that of CGBS without CNT,the peak strength(σ_(p)),axial peak strain(ε_(1,p)),elastic strain energy(Ue),and dissipated energy(U_(d))increased by 12.76%,29.60%,19.05%,and90.39%,respectively.However,excessive CNTs can reduce the mechanical properties of CGBSs due to CNT agglomeration,manifesting a decrease inρ_(p),ε_(1,p),and the volumetric strain increment(Δε_(v))when P_(CNT)increases from 0.08wt%to 0.12wt%.Moreover,the addition of CNTs improved the integrity of CGBS after macroscopic failure,and crack extension in CGBSs appeared in two modes:detour and pass through the aggregates.Theσ_(p)and U_(d)firstly increase and then decrease with increasing D,and porosity shows the opposite trend.Theε_(1,p)andΔε_(v)are negatively correlated with D,and CGBS with D=2.150 has the maximum deformation parameters(ε_(1,p)=0.05079,Δε_(v)=0.01990)due to the frictional slip effect caused by coarse aggregates.With increasing D,the failure modes of CGBSs are sequentially manifested as oblique shear failure,"Y-shaped"shear failure,and conjugate shear failure.

A generalized nonlinear three-dimensional Hoek‒Brown failure criterion

To understand the strengths of rocks under complex stress states,a generalized nonlinear threedimensional(3D)Hoek‒Brown failure(NGHB)criterion was proposed in this study.This criterion shares the same parameters with the generalized HB(GHB)criterion and inherits the parameter advantages of GHB.Two new parameters,b,and n,were introduced into the NGHB criterion that primarily controls the deviatoric plane shape of the NGHB criterion under triaxial tension and compression,respectively.The NGHB criterion can consider the influence of intermediate principal stress(IPS),where the deviatoric plane shape satisfies the smoothness requirements,while the HB criterion not.This criterion can degenerate into the two modified 3D HB criteria,the Priest criterion under triaxial compression condition and the HB criterion under triaxial compression and tension condition.This criterion was verified using true triaxial test data for different parameters,six types of rocks,and two kinds of in situ rock masses.For comparison,three existing 3D HB criteria were selected for performance comparison research.The result showed that the NGHB criterion gave better prediction performance than other criteria.The prediction errors of the strength of six types of rocks and two kinds of in situ rock masses were in the range of 2.0724%-3.5091%and 1.0144%-3.2321%,respectively.The proposed criterion lays a preliminary theoretical foundation for prediction of engineering rock mass strength under complex in situ stress conditions.

Strainburst process of marble in tunnel-excavation-induced stress path considering intermediate principal stress

Strainburst is one type of rockburst that generally occurs in deep tunnel.In this study,the strainburst behaviors of marble specimens were investigated under tunnel-excavation-induced stress condition,and two stress paths were designed,a commonly used stress path in true triaxial unloading rockburst tests and a new test path in which the intermediate principal stress was varied.During the tests,a high-speed camera was used to record the strainburst process,and an acoustic emission(AE)monitoring system was used to monitor the AE characteristics of failure.In these two stress paths,all the marble specimens exhibited strainbursts;however,when the intermediate principal stress was varied,the rockburst became more violent.The obtained results indicate that the intermediate principal stress has a significant effect on rockburst behavior of marble.Under a higher intermediate principal stress before the unloading,more elastic strain energy was accumulated in the specimen,and the cumulative AE energy was higher in the rockburst-induced failure,i.e.,more elastic strain energy was released during the failure.Therefore,more violent failure was observed:more rock fragments with a higher mass and larger size were ejected outward.

NMR-based damage characterisation of backfill material in host rock under dynamic loading

It is not uncommon that backfill material used in underground mining being exposed to repetitive dynamic stresses induced by blasting operations or rockburst events. Understanding the strength and fracture evolution of backfilled stopes is critical to maintain the long-term stope stability and ensure safe mining activities. This paper aims to study the damage evolution of the backfill material and its host rock behaviour under three-dimensional(3D) dynamic loading. Using a true-triaxial testing machine, multiple samples of backfill material enclosed by country rock were fabricated and tested under various dynamic loadings with different true-triaxial confining stress conditions. In addition, the nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) measurement was conducted on the samples before and after exerting static and dynamic loading to obtain their porosity distribution changes. The experiment results suggested that with the increase of the dynamic loading, the porosity of the backfill sample goes through a two-stage process,which shows a slightly linear decrease and then followed by an exponential increase. The research findings can help understand the damage mechanism and fracture development of backfilled stopes and its host rock in deep underground mines, which are constantly subject to the combination of 3D static confining stress and dynamic loading.

Acoustic emission precursors of static and dynamic instability for coarse-grained hard rock

To investigate the acoustic emission(AE)precursors of coarse-grained hard rock instability,an experimental study on the rockburst and slabbing process of granite was carried out using a true triaxial test system.The evolution of the AE signals was monitored and analyzed in terms of the AE hit rate,fractal dimension of the AE hit number,AE count rate,b-value,dominant frequency and microcrack type.The test results show that after rock slabbing occurs,the AE precursors that can be used to predict the final dynamic instability(rockburst)are as follows:indicators such as the AE hit rate and AE count rate suddenly increase and then suddenly decrease;the AE hit rate exhibits a“quiet period”;during the“quiet period”,a small number of high-amplitude and low-frequency hits occur,and the signals corresponding to shear fracture continue to increase.The AE precursors for the final static instability(spalling)are as follows:both the AE hit rate and the b-value continuously decrease,and intermittent sudden increases appear in the high-frequency hits or the AE count rate.