Unloading and successful treatment with bioresorbable stents during percutaneous coronary intervention:A case report

BACKGROUND With the development of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI),the number of interventional procedures without implantation,such as bioresorbable stents(BRS)and drug-coated balloons,has increased annually.Metal drug-eluting stent unloading is one of the most common clinical complications.Comparatively,BRS detachment is more concealed and harmful,but has yet to be reported in clinical research.In this study,we report a case of BRS unloading and successful rescue.This is a case of a 59-year-old male with the following medical history:“Type 2 diabetes mellitus”for 2 years,maintained with metformin extended-release tablets,1 g PO BID;“hypertension”for 20 years,with long-term use of metoprolol sustained-release tablets,47.5 mg PO QD;“hyperlipidemia”for 20 years,without regular medication.He was admitted to the emergency department of our hospital due to intermittent chest pain lasting 18 hours,on February 20,2022 at 15:35.Electrocardiogram results showed sinus rhythm,ST-segment elevation in leads I and avL,and poor R-wave progression in leads V1–3.High-sensitivity troponin I level was 4.59 ng/mL,indicating an acute high lateral wall myocardial infarction.The patient’s family requested treatment with BRS,without implanta-tion.During PCI,the BRS became unloaded but was successfully rescued.The patient was followed up for 2 years;he had no episodes of angina pectoris and was in generally good condition.CONCLUSION We describe a case of a 59-year-old male experienced BRS unloading and successful rescue.By analyzing images,the causes of BRS unloading and the treatment plan are discussed to provide insights for BRS release operations.We discuss preventive measures for BRS unloading.

Experimental study on the effect of unloading rate on gneiss rockburst

Rockburst are often encountered in tunnel construction due to the complex geological conditions.To study the influence of unloading rate on rockburst,gneiss rockburst experiments were conducted under three groups of unloading rates.A high-speed photography system and acoustic emission(AE)system were used to monitor the entire process of rockburst process in real-time.The results show that the intensity of gneiss rockburst decreases with decrease of unloading rate,which is manifested as the reduction of AE energy and fragments ejection velocity.The mechanisms are proposed to explain this effect:(i)The reduction of unloading rate changes the crack propagation mechanism in the process of rockburst.This makes the rockbursts change from the tensile failure mechanism at high unloading rate to the tension-shear mixed failure mechanism at low unloading rate,and more energy released in the form of shear crack propagation.Then,less strain energy is converted into kinetic energy of fragments ejection.(ii)Less plate cracking degree of gneiss has taken shape due to decrease of unloading rate,resulting in the destruction of rockburst incubation process.The enlightenments of reducing the unloading rate for the project are also described quantitatively.The rockburst magnitude is reduced from the medium magnitude at the unloading rate of 0.1 MPa/s to the slight magnitude at the unloading rate of 0.025 MPa/s,which was judged by the ejection velocity.

3D DEM simulation of hard rock fracture in deep tunnel excavation induced by changes in principal stress magnitude and orientation

To achieve the loading of the stress path of hard rock,the spherical discrete element model(DEM)and the new flexible membrane technology were utilized to realize the transient loading of three principal stresses with arbitrary magnitudes and orientations.Furthermore,based on the deep tunnel of China Jinping Underground Laboratory II(CJPL-II),the deformation and fracture evolution characteristics of deep hard rock induced by excavation stress path were analyzed,and the mechanisms of transient loading-unloading and stress rotation-induced fractures were revealed from a mesoscopic perspective.The results indicated that the stressestrain curve exhibits different trends and degrees of sudden changes when subjected to transient changes in principal stress,accompanied by sudden changes in strain rate.Stress rotation induces spatially directional deformation,resulting in fractures of different degrees and orientations,and increasing the degree of deformation anisotropy.The correlation between the degree of induced fracture and the unloading magnitude of minimum principal stress,as well as its initial level is significant and positive.The process of mechanical response during transient unloading exhibits clear nonlinearity and directivity.After transient unloading,both the minimum principal stress and minimum principal strain rate decrease sharply and then tend to stabilize.This occurs from the edge to the interior and from the direction of the minimum principal stress to the direction of the maximum principal stress on theε1-ε3 plane.Transient unloading will induce a tensile stress wave.The ability to induce fractures due to changes in principal stress magnitude,orientation and rotation paths gradually increases.The analysis indicates a positive correlation between the abrupt change amplitude of strain rate and the maximum unloading magnitude,which is determined by the magnitude and rotation of principal stress.A high tensile strain rate is more likely to induce fractures under low minimum principal stress.

Mechanical properties and energy evolution of Beishan shallow-layer granite under different unloading paths

Rock has mechanical characteristics and a fracture damage mechanism that are closely related to its loading history and loading path. The mechanical properties, fracture damage features, acoustic emission(AE) characteristics, and strain energy evolution of the Beishan shallow-layer granite used in triaxial unloading tests were investigated in this study. Three groups of triaxial tests, namely, conventional triaxial compression test(Group Ⅰ), maintaining deviatoric stress synchronously unloading confining pressure test(Group Ⅱ), and loading axial pressure synchronously unloading confining pressure test(Group Ⅲ), were carried out for the cylindrical granite specimens. AE monitoring device was utilized in these tests to determine the degree to which the AE waves and AE events reflected the degree of rock damage. In addition, the crack stress thresholds of the specimens were determined by volumetric strain method and AE parameter method, and strain energy evolution of the rock was explored in different damage stages. The results show that the shallow-layer granite experiences brittle failure during the triaxial loading test and unloading test, and the rock has a greater damage degree during the unloading test. The crack stress thresholds of these samples vary greatly between tests, but the threshold ratios of all samples are similar in the same crack damage stage. The Mogi-Coulomb strength criterion can better describe the unloading failure strength of the rock. The evolution of the AE parameter characteristics and strain energy differs between the specimens used in different stress path tests. The dissipative strain energy is the largest in Group Ⅱ and the smallest in Group Ⅰ.

Effects of dry-wet cycles on the mechanical properties of sandstone with unloading-induced damage

Sandstone is the fundamental material in various engineering and construction projects.However,the mechanical integrity of sandstone can be compromised by initial unloading damage resulting from activities such as engineering excavations.Furthermore,this degradation is further exacerbated under periodic dry-wet environmental conditions.This study investigated the effects of dry-wet cycles and unloading on the mechanical properties of jointed fine sandstone using uniaxial and triaxial compression tests.These tests were performed on rock samples subjected to varying unloading degrees and different numbers of dry-wet cycles.The results demonstrate that with an increase in the unloading degree from 0%to 70%,there is a corresponding decrease in peak stress ranging from 10%to 33%.Additionally,the cohesion exhibits a reduction of approximately 20%to 25%,while the internal friction angle experiences a decline of about 3.5%to 6%.These findings emphasize a significant unloading effect.Moreover,the degree of peak stress degradation in unloading jointed fine sandstone diminishes with an increase in confining pressure,suggesting that confining pressure mitigates the deterioration caused by dry-wet cycles.Additionally,as the number of dry-wet cycles increases,there is a notable decline in the mechanical properties of the sandstone,evidencing significant dry-wet degradation.Utilizing the Drucker Prager criterion,this study establishes a strength criterion and fracture criterion,denoted as σ_(1)(m,n) and K_(T)^(Ⅱ)(m, n), to quantify the combined impacts of dry-wet cycles and unloading on jointed fine sandstone,which provides a comprehensive understanding of its mechanical behavior under such conditions.

Effects of pressure relief holes on coal burst:Insights from true-triaxial unloading tests

Drilling pressure relief is one of the methods to reduce the risk of coal bursts in deep mines.However,the effect of the drill hole orientations has not been studied well enough to understand their impact on the burst failure mechanism.In this study,we investigated two designs of drill hole orientations.The first design includes drill holes located on the upper free face of the rectangular samples and labelled as upper hole(UH)and centre hole(CH)e the long axes of the drill holes are aligned with minor principal stress,s3,direction.The second design includes drill holes at the top(TH)and the side(SH)of the rectangular samples in which the long axes of the drill holes are aligned with the maximum,s1,and intermediate principal stress,s2,directions,respectively.The coal samples with the proposed drill hole orientations were subjected to the true-triaxial unloading coal burst tests.The results show that the drill holes reduce the risk of coal bursts.However,we found that the intensity of coal burst was significantly reduced with the SH-type,followed by the CH-types.We also observed that the coal burst intensity is reduced better for the CH,UH,TH,and SH-type drilling patterns.However,it was found that the orientations of drill holes have little influence on the failure mode(splitting).The acoustic emission(AE)activities for coal with drill holes noticeably decreased,especially for the UH and CH layouts.The drill holes reduced the upper limit of the AE entropy(chaos of microcracks generation).However,regarding reducing the coal burst risk,the TH and SH are less effective than UH and CH.

Evolution of mechanical parameters of Shuangjiangkou granite under different loading cycles and stress paths

Surrounding rocks at different locations are generally subjected to different stress paths during the process of deep hard rock excavation.In this study,to reveal the mechanical parameters of deep surrounding rock under different stress paths,a new cyclic loading and unloading test method for controlled true triaxial loading and unloading and principal stress direction interchange was proposed,and the evolution of mechanical parameters of Shuangjiangkou granite under different stress paths was studied,including the deformation modulus,elastic deformation increment ratios,fracture degree,cohesion and internal friction angle.Additionally,stress path coefficient was defined to characterize different stress paths,and the functional relationships among the stress path coefficient,rock fracture degree difference coefficient,cohesion and internal friction angle were obtained.The results show that during the true triaxial cyclic loading and unloading process,the deformation modulus and cohesion gradually decrease,while the internal friction angle gradually increases with increasing equivalent crack strain.The stress path coefficient is exponentially related to the rock fracture degree difference coefficient.As the stress path coefficient increases,the degrees of cohesion weakening and internal friction angle strengthening decrease linearly.During cyclic loading and unloading under true triaxial principal stress direction interchange,the direction of crack development changes,and the deformation modulus increases,while the cohesion and internal friction angle decrease slightly,indicating that the principal stress direction interchange has a strengthening effect on the surrounding rocks.Finally,the influences of the principal stress interchange direction on the stabilities of deep engineering excavation projects are discussed.

Bioresorbable stent unloading during percutaneous coronary intervention:Early detection and management

In this letter,we comment on a recent case report by Sun et al in the World Journal of Cardiology.The report describes the successful management of a rare complication:The unloading or detachment of a bioresorbable stent(BRS)during percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)in a male patient.The unloading of BRS was detected via angiography and intravascular ultrasound(IVUS)imaging of the left coronary artery and left anterior descending artery.Although this case is interesting,the authors’report lacked crucial details.Specifically,insufficient information about the type of BRS used,potential causes of BRS unloading,or whether optical coherence tomography(OCT)imaging for coronary arteries was performed before,during,or after PCI.The OCT imaging of coronary arteries before PCI can potentially prevent BRS unloading due to its higher resolution compared to IVUS.In addition,despite detecting myocardial bridging during the PCI,the authors did not provide any details regarding this variation.Here we discuss the various types of BRS,the importance of OCT in PCI,and the clinical relevance of myocardial bridging.

An Rapid Assessment Method for Bearing Capacity of RC Girder Bridges Based on Residual Strain

In order to realize the in-situ evaluation of reinforced concrete bridges subjected to fatigue for a long time or after earthquake, an evaluation method for cumulative damage of concrete structures based on unloading elastic modulus was proposed. First, according to the concrete stress-strain curve and the statistical relationship between residual strain and cumulative strain, the calculation method of static equivalent strain and residual strain concrete based on unloading elastic modulus and the method for estimating the strength of concrete after damage were proposed. The detailed steps of field test and analysis and the practical damage indicators of residual strain were given. Then, the evaluation method of existing stress and strain of Reinforced Concrete Bridge under dead load and the concept of “equivalent dead load bending moment” were put forward. On this basis, the paper analyzed the root cause of the decrease of bearing capacity of Reinforced Concrete Bridge after fatigue damage, and pointed out that the equivalent strain or residual strain of reinforced concrete increases under the fatigue effect, which led to the decreasing of actual live moment and deformation performance while the ultimate load-carrying capacity remained constant or very little decrease. The evaluation method of structure residual capacity was given, and through comparative analysis of eight T reinforced concrete beams that had been in service for 35 years with the static failure tests, the effectiveness of the method was verified.

In-situ observations of damage-fracture evolution in surrounding rock upon unloading in 2400-m-deep tunnels

The damage-fracture evolution of deep rock mass has obvious particularity,which is revealed in 2400-mdeep tunnels by field tests.The evolution of the excavation damaged zone depth is consistent with that of the fractured zone depth.The ratio of the excavation damaged zone depth to the excavation fractured zone depth is greater than 2.0 in a rock mass with both high strength and good integrity,but less than1.5 in a rock mass with lower strength or poor integrity.Zonal disintegration in a rock mass with high strength and fair integrity is more likely to occur when it contains more than two groups of primary fractures in damaged zones.Fractures develop outward in zonal disintegration but are totally different from the single-zone fracture,in which the fractures develop inward,and it is the starting position of the fractured zone when the excavation surface of the middle pilot is 7–9 m close to the pre-set borehole and it stops after the excavation surface of the baseplate is 11–14 m away.The most intense evolution occurs around 2–4 m from the pre-set borehole in the sidewall expansion stage.The research results provide a reference for the monitoring scheme and support design of CJPL-Ⅲin its future construction.

Experimental study on failure characteristics of single-sided unloading rock under different intermediate principal stress conditions

Investigation of unloading rock failure under differentσ_(2)facilitates the control mechanism of excavation surrounding rock.This study focused on single-sided unloading tests of granite specimens under true triaxial conditions.The strength and failure characteristics were studied with micro-camera and acoustic emission(AE)monitoring.Furthermore,the choice of test path and the effect ofσ_(2)on fracture of unloading rock were discussed.Results show that the increasedσ_(2)can strengthen the stability of single-sided unloading rock.After unloading,the rock’s free surface underwent five phases,namely,inoculation,particle ejection,buckling rupture,stable failure,and unstable rockburst phases.Moreover,atσ_(2)≤30 MPa,the b value shows the following variation tendency:rising,dropping,significant fluctuation,and dropping,with dispersed damages signal.Atσ_(2)≥40 MPa,the tendency shows:a rise,a decrease,a slight fluctuation,and final drop,with concentrated damages signal.After unloading,AE energy is mainly concentrated in the micro-energy range.With the increasedσ_(2),the micro-energy ratio rises.In contrast,low,medium and large energy ratios drop gradually.The increased tensile fractures and decreased shear fractures indicate that the failure mode of the unloading rock gradually changes from tensile-shear mode to tensile-split one.The fractional dimension of the rock fragments first increases and then decreases with an inflection point at 20 MPa.The distribution of SIF on the planes changes asσ_(2)increases,resulting in strengthening and then weakening of the rock bearing capacity.

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.

Experimental study on instability mechanism and critical intensity of rainfall of high-steep rock slopes under unsaturated conditions

Two critical factors,namely intense precipitation and intricate excavation,can trigger rock mass disasters in mining operations.In this study,an indoor rainfall system was developed to precisely regulate the flow and intensity of precipitation.A large-scale model experiment was conducted on a self-designed physical simulation experiment platform to investigate the failure and instability of high-steep rock slopes under unsaturated conditions.The real-time reproduction of the progressive failure process in high-steep rock slopes enabled the determination of the critical rainfall intensity and revealed the mechanism underlying slope instability.Experiment results indicated that rainfall may be the primary factor contributing to rock mass instability,while continuous pillar mining exacerbates the extent of rock mass failure.The critical failure stage of high-steep rock slopes occurs at a rainfall intensity of 40 mm/h,whereas a rainfall exceeding 50 mm can induce critical instability and precipitation reaching up to 60 mm will result in slope failure.The improved region growing segmentation method(IRGSM)was subsequently employed for image recognition of rock mass deformation in underground mines.Herein an error comparison with the simple linear iterative cluster(SLIC)superpixel method and the original region growing segmentation method(ORGSM)showed that the average identification error in the X and Y directions by the method was reduced significantly(1.82%and 1.80%in IRGSM;4.70%and 6.26%in SLIC;9.45%and 12.40%in ORGSM).Ultimately,the relationship between rainfall intensity and failure probability was analyzed using the Monte Carlo method.Moreover,the stability assessment criteria of rock slope under unsaturated condition were quantitatively and accurately evaluated.

Rockburst process and strength-weakening effect of the high-stress circular tunnel under internal unloading

To investigate the influence of unloading effect of a circular tunnel face on rockburst process,by innovatively combining rock drilling unloading devices and triaxial systems,the strain rockburst simulation under the entire stress path of“high initial stressþinternal unloadingþstress adjustment”(HUS test)was realized for the intact cubic red sandstone samples(100 mm×100 mm×100 mm).Comparative tests were conducted on cubic red sandstone samples with prefabricated circular holes(425 mm)under the stress path of“prefabricated circular hole+þhigh initial stress+stress adjustment”(PHS test),thereby highlighting the influence of internal unloading on rockburst failure.The test results revealed that with an increase in vertical stress,the sidewalls in both the HUS and PHS tests suffered strain rockburst failure.Compared with the PHS test,the initial failure stress in the HUS test is lower,and it is easier to induce sidewall rockbursts.This indicates that the internal unloading influences the sidewall failure,causing an obvious strength-weakening effect,which becomes more significant with an increase in buried depth.The strain rockburst failure was more severe in the HUS test owing to the influence of internal unloading.V-shaped rockburst pits were formed in the HUS tests,whereas in the PHS test,arcshaped rockburst pits were produced.It was also found that strain rockburst failure may occur only when the rock has a certain degree of rockburst proneness.

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.

Mechanical behavior of sandstone during post-peak cyclic loading and unloading under hydromechanical coupling

This paper investigates mechanical behaviours of sandstone during post-peak cyclic loading and unloading subjected to hydromechanical coupling effect, confirming the peak and residual strengths reduction laws of sandstone with water pressure, and revealing the influence of water pressure on the upper limit stress and deformation characteristics of sandstone during post-peak cyclic loading and unloading.Regarding the rock strength, the experimental study confirms that the peak strength σ_(p) and residual strength σ_(r) decrease as water pressure P increases. Especially, the normalized strength parameters σ_(p)/σ_(pk) and σ_(r)/σ_(re) was negatively and linearly correlated with the P/σ_(3). Moreover, the Hoek-Brown strength criterion can be applied to describe the relationship between effective peak strength and effective confining stress. During post-peak cyclic loading and unloading, both the upper limit stress σ_(p(i)) and crack damage threshold stress σ_(cd(i)) of each cycle tend to decrease with the increasing cycle number. A hysteresis loop exists among the loading and unloading stress–strain curves, indicating the unloading deformation modulus E_(unload) is larger than the loading deformation modulus E_(load). Based on experimental results,a post-peak strength prediction model related to water pressure and plastic shear strain is established.

Influence of volume compression on the unloading deformation behavior of red sandstone under damage-controlled cyclic triaxial loading

A reasonable evaluation of unloading deformation characteristics is of great significance for the effective analysis of deformation and stability of surrounding rocks after underground excavation.In this study,the damage-controlled cyclic triaxial loading tests were conducted to investigate the pore compaction mechanism and its influences on the unloading deformation behavior of red sandstone,including Young’s modulus,Poisson’s ratio,volumetric strain,and irreversible strain.The experimental results show that the increases of volumetric and irreversible strains of rocks can be attributed to the compaction mechanism,which almost dominates the entire pre-peak deformation process.The unloading deformation consists of the reversible linear and nonlinear strains,and the irreversible strain under the influence of the porous grain structure.The pre-peak Young’s modulus tends to increase and then decrease due to the influence of the unloading irreversible strain.However,it hardly changes with the increasing volumetric strain compaction under the influence of reversible nonlinear strain.Instead,the initial unloading tangent modulus is highly related to the volumetric strain,and clearly reflects the compaction state of red sandstone.Furthermore,both the reversible nonlinear and irreversible unloading deformations are independent of confining pressure.This study is beneficial for the theoretical modeling and prediction of cyclic unloading deformation behavior of red sandstone.

Morphological evolution and flow conduction characteristics of fracture channels in fractured sandstone under cyclic loading and unloading

In coal mining,rock strata are fractured under cyclic loading and unloading to form fracture channels.Fracture channels are the main flow narrows for gas.Therefore,expounding the flow conductivity of fracture channels in rocks on fluids is significant for gas flow in rock strata.In this regard,graded incremental cyclic loading and unloading experiments were conducted on sandstones with different initial stress levels.Then,the three-dimensional models for fracture channels in sandstones were established.Finally,the fracture channel percentages were used to reflect the flow conductivity of fracture channels.The study revealed how the particle size distribution of fractured sandstone affects the formation and expansion of fracture channels.It was found that a smaller proportion of large blocks and a higher proportion of small blocks after sandstone fails contribute more to the formation of fracture channels.The proportion of fracture channels in fractured rock can indicate the flow conductivity of those channels.When the proportion of fracture channels varies gently,fluids flow evenly through those channels.However,if the proportion of fracture channels varies significantly,it can greatly affect the flow rate of fluids.The research results contribute to revealing the morphological evolution and flow conductivity of fracture channels in sandstone and then provide a theoretical basis for clarifying the gas flow pattern in the rock strata of coal mines.

Mechanical and hydraulic properties of fault rocks under multi‑stage cyclic loading and unloading

The rock mass in fault zones is frequently subjected to cyclic loading and unloading during deep resource exploitation and tunnel excavation.Research on the mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of fault rock during the cyclic loading and unloading is of great signifcance for revealing the formation mechanism of water-conducting pathways in fault and preventing water inrush disasters.In this study,the mechanical and seepage tests of fault rock under the multi-stage cyclic loading and unloading of axial compression were carried out by using the fuid–solid coupling triaxial experimental device.The hysteresis loop of the stress–strain curve,peak strain rate,secant Young's modulus,and permeability of fault rock were obtained,and the evolution law of the dissipated energy of fault rock with the cyclic number of load and unloading was discussed.The experimental results show that with an increase in the cyclic number of loading and unloading,several changes occur.The hysteresis loop of the stress–strain curve of the fault rock shifts towards higher levels of strain.Additionally,both the peak strain rate and the secant Young's modulus of the fault rock increase,resulting in an increase in the secant Young's modulus of the fault rock mass.However,the growth rate of the secant Young's modulus gradually slows down with the increase of cyclic number of loading and unloading.The permeability evolution of fault rock under the multi-stage cyclic loading and unloading of axial compression can be divided into three stages:steady increase stage,cyclic decrease stage,and rapid increase stage.Besides,the calculation model of dissipated energy of fault rock considering the efective stress was established.The calculation results show that the relationship between the dissipated energy of fault rock and the cyclic number of loading and unloading conforms to an exponential function.

Mechanical performances of shield tunnel segments under asymmetric unloading induced by pit excavation

To explore the stress and deformation responses,as well as the failure characteristics of the shield tunnel segment of Hangzhou Metro under the influences of pit excavation and other surrounding projects,a self-developed“shield tunnel segment hydraulic loading system”was used to carry out full-scale loading tests on the three-ring staggered assembled segments.The structural performances and failure process of the tunnel segment under step-by-step asymmetric unloading were studied.A safety index was proposed to describe the bearing capacity of the segment.Next,a finite element model(FEM)was established to analyze the bearing capacity of segment using the test results.Finally,the effect of reinforcement with a steel plate on the deformation and bearing capacity of the segment was analyzed.The results showed that under asymmetric unloading,the peak value and amplitude of the bending moment on the near unloading side converged with a greater value than those on the far side.The concrete internal force exhibited a directional transformation at different load stages.Cracks first appeared at the 180inner arc surface of the bottom standard block and then expanded to both sides,while the rate of crack propagation of the outer arc surface was relatively lower.The bearing capacity of the segments can be evaluated by the combination of the factors,e.g.the residual bearing capacity coefficient,moment transfer coefficient,and characterization coefficient.The segments approaching failure can facilitate the increase in the residual bearing capacity coefficient by more than 50%.This can provide guidance for the service assessment of metro tunnel operations.