scholarly journals An Experimental Study of the Uniaxial Failure Behaviour of Rock-Coal Composite Samples with Pre-existing Cracks in the Coal

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaojie Chen ◽  
Yao Ge ◽  
Dawei Yin ◽  
Huisan Yang

Many hazards encountered during coal mining can be caused by the instability and failure of the composite structure of the coal seam and the surrounding rock strata. The defects present in the coal affect the structural stability of the composite structure. In this study, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on sandstone-coal composite samples with pre-existing cracks in the coal, combined with tests performed with an acoustic emission (AE) device and a digital video camera. The strength, macrofailure initiation (MFI), and failure characteristics of composite samples, as influenced by the coal’s pre-existing cracks, were analysed. The coal’s pre-existing cracks were shown to reduce the strength, promote the occurrence of MFI, and affect the failure characteristics of the samples. Vertical penetration cracks had much more pronounced effects on strength and MFI occurrence, especially vertical penetration cracks that penetrated through the centre of the coal. Horizontal penetration cracks had a much reduced effect on strength and MFI occurrence. The MFI caused a step shape in the stress-strain curve accompanied with a peak energy index signal and occurred around the original coal cracks. The MFI models predominantly exhibited crack initiation from the pre-existing coal cracks and surface spalling caused by crack propagation. The intact composite sample failure presented as an instantaneous failure, whereas the composite samples containing the pre-existing cracks showed a progressive failure. The failures of composite samples occurred predominantly within the coal and displayed an X-typed shear failure accompanied by a small splitting failure. Both the coal and sandstone were destroyed in the composite sample with vertical penetration cracks through the centre of the coal. Failure of the coal occurred through a splitting failure accompanied by a small X-typed shear failure, while the sandstone showed a splitting failure induced by crack propagation in the coal.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Dong Xu ◽  
Mingshi Gao ◽  
Yongliang He ◽  
Xin Yu

Geological tectonic movements, as well as complex and varying coal-forming conditions, have led to the formation of rock partings in most coal seams. Consequently, the coal in coal-rock composites is characterised by different mechanical properties than those of pure coal. Uniaxial compression tests were performed in this study to determine the mechanical properties and bursting liability of specimens of coal-rock composites (hereinafter referred to as “composites”) with rock partings with different dip angles θ and thicknesses D. The results showed that as θ increased, the failure mode of the composite changed from tensile and splitting failure to slip and shear failure, which was accompanied by a decrease in the brittleness of the composite and an increase in its ductility as well as a decrease in the extent of fragmentation of the coal in the composite. Additionally, as θ increased, the uniaxial compressive strength σu, elastic modulus E, and bursting energy index Ke of the composite decreased. The rock parting in the composite was the key area in which elastic energy accumulated. As D increased, σu, E, and Ke of the composite increased. In addition, as D increased, the ductility of the composite decreased, and the brittleness and extent of coal fragmentation in the composite increased. Notably, the curve for the cumulative acoustic emission (AE) counts of the composite corresponding to the stress-strain curve could be divided into four regimes: pore compaction and closure, a slowly ascending linear elastic section, prepeak steady crack propagation, and peak unsteady crack propagation. The experimental results were used to propose two technologies for controlling the stability of coal-rock composites to effectively ensure safe and efficient production at working faces.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Yabo Wang ◽  
Dawei Yin ◽  
Shaojie Chen ◽  
Libo Zhang ◽  
Dongyi Liu ◽  
...  

Properties of rock-cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB) bimaterials determine the effects of strip CGFB mining on controlling the surface subsidence in coal mines, which are affected by the coal gangue particle size in CGFB. In this paper, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on the coarse sandstone-CGFB composite samples with different coal gangue particle sizes, and their strength, acoustic emission (AE), and failure characteristics were investigated. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and elastic modulus of the composite sample decreased with the coal gangue particle size. The strength of the composite sample is mainly dependent on that of CGFB in it, affected by interactions between CGFB and coarse sandstone. The deformation of the coarse sandstone weakened the damage accumulation within CGFB, resulting in the strength of the composite sample larger than that of CGFB. The average UCS values of composite samples with coal gangue particle sizes of 0∼5 mm, 5∼10 mm, and 10∼15 mm, increased by 10.78%, 14.98%, and 12.70% compared with CGFB in them, respectively. AE event signal regularity of the composite sample was divided into three stages: rising period, calm period, and active period. The intensity and frequency of AE event signals in three periods were strengthened with the coal gangue particle size. The calm period can be taken as the precursory information for the failure and instability of composite sample under loading, whose duration became shortly with the coal gangue particle size. The rebound deformation of coarse sandstone caused the fluctuations of AE event signals at the later stage of active period. The failures of the composite sample occurred within CGFB, and no obvious failures were found in the coarse sandstone. The CGFB mainly experienced the splitting failure accompanying by varying degrees of surface spalling failures. The broken degree of CGFB increased with the coal gangue particle size, and the largest weight ratio of CGFB fragments (chips) after failure was determined by the coal gangue particle size.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. L. Xu ◽  
Z.-Z. Zhang

Acoustic emission (AE) signals can be detected from rocks under the effect of temperature and loading, which can be used to reflect rock damage evolution process and predict rock fracture. In this paper, uniaxial compression tests of granite at high temperatures from 25°C to 1000°C were carried out, and AE signals were monitored simultaneously. The results indicated that AE ring count rate shows the law of “interval burst” and “relatively calm,” which can be explained from the energy point of view. From 25°C to 1000°C, the rock failure mode changes from single splitting failure to multisplitting failure, and then to incomplete shear failure, ideal shear failure, and double shear failure, until complete integral failure. Thermal damage (DT) defined by the elastic modulus shows logistic increase with the rise of temperature. Mechanical damage (DM) derived by the AE ring count rate can be divided into initial stage, stable stage, accelerated stage, and destructive stage. Total damage (D) increases with the rise of strain, which is corresponding to the stress-strain curve at various temperatures. Using AE data, we can further analyze the mechanism of deformation and fracture of rock, which helps to gather useful data for predicting rock stability at high temperatures.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1398
Author(s):  
Dawei Yin ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Jicheng Zhang ◽  
Faxin Li ◽  
Chun Zhu ◽  
...  

In this investigation, the uniaxial short-term creep tests with multi-step loading were conducted on the sandstone-coal composite samples, and the characteristics of creep strength, creep deformation, acoustic emission (AE), and creep failure of composite samples were studied, respectively. The creep strength of the composite sample decreased with the stress-level duration, which was mainly determined by the coal and influenced by the interactions with the sandstone. The creep deformation and damage of sandstone weakened the deformation and damage accumulation within the coal, resulting in the larger strength for the composite sample compared with the pure coal sample. The axial creep strain of composite sample generally increased with the stress-level or the stress-level duration under same conditions. The AE characteristics of composite sample were related to the creep strain rate, the stress level, the stress level duration, and the local failure or fracture during creep loading. The micro or macro failure and fracture within the composite sample caused the rise in the axial creep strains and the frequency and intensity of AE signals, especially the macro failure and fracture. The creep failures of composite samples mainly occurred within the coal with the splitting ejection failure accompanied by the local shear failure, and no obvious failures were found within the sandstone. The coal in the composite sample became more broken with the stress-level duration.


Geofluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuqiang Xiong ◽  
Changsheng Song ◽  
Chengdong Su ◽  
Xiaolei Wang ◽  
Cheng Wang ◽  
...  

An RMT-150B electrohydraulic servo testing system was used to perform uniaxial compression and uniaxial grading relaxation (creep) tests. The deformation, strength, and failure characteristics of the progressive failure process of coal samples under three loading modes were analyzed. The analysis results show that the prepeak stress-strain curve of the coal samples and the load relationships are not clear and that the whole compression process of coal still showed compression, elastic, yielding, and failure stages. The local stress drop characteristics during our relaxation creep grading tests showed no clear peak value and showed a yield curve with the shape of a conventional single plateau. The values of the mechanical parameters of axial compression were significantly higher than those obtained in the grade relaxation (creep) tests, which showed the mechanical parameters of coal samples with aging characteristics. In the relaxation (creep) tests, when the stress ratio was less than 70%, the relaxation (creep) characteristics of the sample were not clear. When the ratio of stress relaxation (creep) was more than 70% in the relaxation (creep) tests during displacement (stress) with a constant relaxation (creep) over the duration of the test, the evolution, development, and convergence of microcracks in the coal samples were observed. Relaxation (creep) stress was higher, failure duration was shorter, and the duration of failure was longer. For fully mechanized coal faces, increasing the support resistance and timely moving the support after coal cutting may prevent rib spalling accidents by reducing coal stress and exposure time in the front of the working face. Additionally, routine uniaxial compressive failures showed a simple form, having a clear tension-shear dual rupture surface. The staged relaxation creep failure testing of coal is more complex. The entire coal samples were divided into many thin-sheet debris via gradual collapse and shedding, and the number of cracks increased significantly, showing evident lateral expansion characteristics that are similar to the rib spalling characteristics in high coal mining working faces.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawei Yin ◽  
Shaojie Chen ◽  
Xingquan Liu ◽  
Hongfa Ma

The strength and failure characteristics for granite specimen with a set of cross-joints of different lengths were studied using PFC2D software. The results show that when the included angle of α between the main joint and loading direction is 30° or 45°, no matter what the included angle of β between main and secondary joints is, the main joint controls crack propagation and failure of granite specimen, which occurs the shear failure propagating from main joint tips, and the corresponding uniaxial compressive strength is low. Meanwhile, the secondary joint is the key joint for crack propagation and failure at α of 0° and 90° except when β is 90°. The granite specimen occurs the shear failure propagating from secondary joint tips. And, the shear failure crossing upper tips of main and secondary joints is found at α of 0° or 90° and β of 90°. Their uniaxial compressive strengths are large. Also, the combined actions of main and secondary joints determine crack propagation and failure at α of 60° except when β is 90°. The granite specimen occurs the hybrid failure, including shear failure propagating from main joint tips and tensile failure propagating from main and secondary joints center or secondary joint tips. And, when α is 60° and β is 90°, the granite specimen occurs the shear failure along secondary joint plane direction, and its uniaxial compressive strength is small. Generally, when α or β is a fixed value, the uniaxial compressive strength firstly decreases and then increases with the increase of β or α. Additionally, when α is 60° and β>45°, the uniaxial compressive strength represents a decreasing trend. The uniaxial compressive strength at α and β between 30° and 60° is generally small. Finally, the microdisplacement field distributions of granite specimen were discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Yong Luo ◽  
Fengqiang Gong ◽  
Dongqiao Liu

To study the effect of excavation unloading on hard rock failure, a series of true-triaxial compression tests, biaxial compression tests, and true-triaxial unloading compression tests (two different unloading rates) at different confining pressures was conducted on red sandstone cube samples. The strength and failure characteristics and their relationship for red sandstone unloading at different unloading rates and confining pressures were analyzed. Based on the test results, the effects of the unloading rate and confining pressure on the strength and failure characteristics of hard rock were explored, and a reasonable explanation for unloading-induced spalling in hard rock tunnels was presented. The results show the stress-strain curve of highly stressed red sandstone exhibits a stress step during unloading, and the higher the unloading rate, the lower the stress level required for a stress step. The rock strength-weakening effect induced by unloading was confirmed. The mechanical properties of red sandstone become more unstable and complicated after unloading. After the red sandstone is unloaded to a two-dimensional stress state, with increasing confining pressure, the strength increases first and then decreases; the failure mode changes from a low-confining pressure tensile-shear failure to a high-confining pressure tensile failure; and the geometries of the slabs change from large thick plates and wedges to medium- and small-sized thin plates. At equal confining pressures, the higher the unloading rate, the lower the strength (i.e., the strength-weakening effect is more pronounced), the thinner the slab, and the lower the confining pressure required for the failure mode to change from tensile-shear failure to tensile failure. The unloading rate and confining pressure affect the strength and failure characteristics by affecting the crack initiation type and propagation direction in hard rock. For deep hard rock tunnels with high unloading rate and axial stress, neglecting the effects of unloading rate and axial stress will lead to a dangerous support design. For deep hard rock ore, if the maximal horizontal principal stress exceeds the critical confining pressure, the mining surface should be perpendicular to the direction of the minimal horizontal principal stress. The results of this study are of great engineering significance for guiding deep hard rock tunnel construction and mining.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Guanglin Sun ◽  
Jiangchun Hu ◽  
Hongfang Wang ◽  
Pengfei Li

During the entire life cycle of rock and soil anchors, owing to the influence of adverse factors such as the working environment, load change, and anchor performance degradation, the working load of the anchor will continue to increase and the mechanical properties will continue to deteriorate, which significantly affects the safety and stability of rock and soil anchors. Therefore, this study focuses on the deformation and failure characteristics of anchors under loading and corrosion conditions by means of indoor simulation tests under laboratory conditions. The results indicate the following. (1) There are obvious cracks on the surfaces of specimens 2# and 10#. In the two groups of specimens, the corroded bolt surface exhibited a corrosion phenomenon. This indicates that the corrosion environment conditions cause a certain degree of damage to the anchored rock mass. (2) Under the same gradient load condition, three observable cracks were found in the 10# anchorage specimens and one observable crack was found in the 2# anchorage specimens. Therefore, it is clear that the damage degree of the anchor increases with an increase in the corrosion time. (3) Under the condition of corrosion environment, the strain in the lower part of the specimen is generally greater than that in the upper part of the specimen, and the failure of this group of specimens in the loading process is mostly splitting failure, which is basically generated along the trend of the strain nephogram, and shear failure occurs with the extension and diffusion of cracks.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Peng ◽  
Sheng-Qi Yang

High temperature treatment has a significant influence on the mechanical behavior and the associated microcracking characteristic of rocks. A good understanding of the thermal damage effects on rock behavior is helpful for design and stability evaluation of engineering structures in the geothermal field. This paper studies the mechanical behavior and the acoustic emission (AE) characteristic of three typical rocks (i.e., sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous), with an emphasis on how the difference in rock type (i.e., porosity and mineralogical composition) affects the rock behavior in response to thermal damage. Compression tests are carried out on rock specimens which are thermally damaged and AE monitoring is conducted during the compression tests. The mechanical properties including P-wave velocity, compressive strength, and Young’s modulus for the three rocks are found to generally show a decreasing trend as the temperature applied to the rock increases. However, these mechanical properties for quartz sandstone first increase to a certain extent and then decrease as the treatment temperature increases, which is mainly attributed to the high porosity of quartz sandstone. The results obtained from stress–strain curve, failure mode, and AE characteristic also show that the failure of quartz-rich rock (i.e., quartz sandstone and granite) is more brittle when compared with that of calcite-rich rock (i.e., marble). However, the ductility is enhanced to some extent as the treatment temperature increases for all the three examined rocks. Due to high brittleness of quartz sandstone and granite, more AE activities can be detected during loading and the recorded AE activities mostly accumulate when the stress approaches the peak strength, which is quite different from the results of marble.


2011 ◽  
Vol 255-260 ◽  
pp. 1867-1872
Author(s):  
Jing Hua Qi ◽  
Zhen Nan Zhang ◽  
Xiu Run Ge

In order to model the mechanical behavior of joints efficiently, a thin-layer tri-node joint element is constructed. The stiffness matrix of the element is derived in the paper. For it shares the common nodes with the original tri-node triangle element, the tri-node joint element can be applied to model the crack propagation without remeshing or mesh adjustment. Another advantage is that the cracked body is meshed without consideration of its geometry integrity and existence of the joints or pre-existed crack in the procedure of mesh generation, and then the triangular element intersected by the crack or joint is automatically transformed into the tri-node joint element to represent pre-existed cracks. These make the numerical simulation of crack propagation highly convenient and efficient. After CZM is chosen to model the crack tip, the mixed- energy simple criterion is used to determine whether the element is intersected by the extended crack or not, the extended crack is located in the model. By modeling the marble plates with two edge cracks subjected to the uniaxial compressive loads, it is shown that the numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental results, which suggests that the present method is valid and feasible in modeling rock crack propagation.


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