Pore Properties as Indicators of Deterioration Mechanisms in Slightly Weathered Tuffs

Author(s):  
Yufang Tan ◽  
Lihui Li ◽  
Xiaolong Deng ◽  
Beixiu Huang

The mineralogy and chemistry of tuff rocks are variable and heterogeneous due to volcanic activity and hydrothermal alteration, in addition to weathering, which makes it difficult to explain the deterioration mechanisms of the weathered rocks based merely on mineralogical and chemical parameters. Studies of tuff weathering indicate that subtle weathering can modify pore structure and subsequently affect the rock mechanical behavior, suggesting that quantitative pore structure parameters are important indicators of the tuff deterioration mechanism. We identified the pore size distribution of pore bodies and pore throats of both slightly weathered tuffs and fresh tuffs using nuclear magnetic resonance technique and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Meso-level uniaxial compression tests were conducted on the tuff samples under a stereomicroscope using MTI-LMs (miniature tensile instrument-light microscopes) to obtain information regarding crack propagation and the deformation process. A comparison of pore properties of slightly weathered tuffs and fresh tuffs indicates that the introduction of additional mesopores (10–50 nm) and pore throat expansion occurs during weathering. The result of mechanical experiments reveal that alteration of the pore structure influences the tuff failure mode. Slightly weathered tuffs show shear failure as cracks initiate in the altered minerals or matrix, while the fresh tuffs exhibit tensile failure as cracks initiate in the intact and fresh minerals and matrix. Based on the results presented here, it is considerable to regard tuff pore properties as potential indicators of the micro-mechanism of substantial macro-deterioration due to weathering.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (16) ◽  
pp. 3234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinquan Xing ◽  
Cheng Zhao ◽  
Songbo Yu ◽  
Hiroshi Matsuda ◽  
Chuangchuang Ma

In order to study the mechanical characteristics and cracking behavior of jointed rock mass under hydro-mechanical coupling, a series of uniaxial compression tests and triaxial compression tests were carried out on cylinder gypsum specimens with a single pre-existing flaw. Under different confining pressures, water pressure was injected on the pre-existing flaw surface through a water injection channel. The geometrical morphology and tensile or shear properties of the cracks were determined by X-ray computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Based on the macro and micro observation, nine types of cracks that caused the specimen failure are summarized. The results of mechanical properties and crack behavior showed that the confining pressure inhibited the tensile cracks, and shear failure occurred under high confining pressure. The water pressure facilitated the initiation and extension of tensile crack, which made the specimens prone to tensile failure. However, under the condition of high confining pressure and low water pressure, the lubrication effect had a significant effect on the failure pattern, under which the specimens were prone to shear failure. This experimental research on mechanical properties and cracking behavior under hydro-mechanical coupling is expected to increase its fundamental understanding.


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qibin Lin ◽  
Ping Cao ◽  
Hua Wang ◽  
Rihong Cao

This paper aims to investigate the strength and failure mechanism of fractured rock under seepage pressure. For this purpose, precracked sandstone specimens were prepared with different fissure angles, and a seepage pressure loading device was created. Together with the acoustic emission (AE) system, the loading device was adopted to perform uniaxial compression tests with or without seepage pressure. The main results are as follows. Combined with axial stress-strain curves, photographic monitoring results and the output of AE counts and rock failure process can be generally divided into four stages: microcrack closure, elastic deformation, crack growth and propagation, and final failure. The seepage pressure had a significant effect on the mechanical properties of the specimens: the specimens under seepage pressure lagged far behind those without seepage pressure in peak strength but maintained a comfortable lead in peak strain. Under seepage pressure, the typical failure features of the specimens varied with the fissure angles: the specimens with small fissure angles (i.e., [0°,30°]) mainly underwent tensile failure; those with medium fissure angles (i.e., [30°,60°]) suffered from shear failure; and those with large fissure angles (i.e., [60°,75°]) were prone to tensile-shear failure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Genwei Li ◽  
Shuaifeng Lu ◽  
Sifei Liu ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
Peng Shi ◽  
...  

In order to evaluate the coal pillar stability in recovery of residual room pillars under different mining rates, this paper studies the influence of loading rate on the mechanical properties of the coal body. The uniaxial compression tests of coal samples in Yangcheng area at different loading rates were carried out with the MTS815 electrohydraulic servo rock mechanics test system. The stress-strain curves and the evolution characteristics of AE signals were analyzed. At same time, the mechanism of damage and failure of specimens are also discussed. The results show the following. (1) With the increase in loading rate, the ultimate stress and ultimate strain of specimens decrease first and then increase. (2) Loading rate has a significant effect on the stability adjustment of specimens. With the decrease in loading rate, the earlier the stress adjustment is, the larger the adjustment range is, and the failure mode changes from shear failure to tensile failure. (3) In addition, when the loading rate increases, the AE evolves from continuous dense to discrete catastrophe, which indicates that the failure of the sample at a larger loading rate is sudden, which is not conducive to the maintenance of the stability of the coal pillar. (4) Finally, the failure mechanism of the specimen structure under different loading rates is obtained, and the improvement measures for the effect of mining velocity of working face on the stability of coal pillar are put forward. The results reveal the loading rate effect of mechanical properties of coal and provide a reference for controlling the stability of the residual coal pillar.


2014 ◽  
Vol 522-524 ◽  
pp. 1414-1418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Min Wei ◽  
Jia Quan Hu ◽  
Zhi Hao Zheng ◽  
You Ling Fang

In this paper pre-cracked rock is used to study the strength affect by the coal rock internal fissures, through uniaxial compression tests to observe the different perspectives cracks on rock strength by using the precast specimens. The experimental results show that: the strength of specimens with crack angle increases, decreases and then increases, till reaches a maximum at 90°. Based on the force divided, destruction of different angles of prefabricated crack growth path can be divided into: shear failure, tensile failure and tensile shear composite damage.


1952 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-56
Author(s):  
F. A. McClintock

Abstract A statistical analysis is developed to show how a microscopic shear failure can result in the apparent tensile failure of polycrystalline iron in rotary bending fatigue tests.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Chi Yao ◽  
Sizhi Zeng ◽  
Jianhua Yang

Anisotropy in strength and deformation of rock mass induced by bedding planes and interlayered structures is a vital problem in rock mechanics and rock engineering. The modified rigid block spring method (RBSM), initially proposed for modeling of isotropic rock, is extended to study the failure process of interlayered rocks under compression with different confining pressures. The modified rigid block spring method is used to simulate the initiation and propagation of microcracks. The Mohr–Coulomb criterion is employed to determine shear failure events and the tensile strength criterion for tensile failure events. Rock materials are replaced by an assembly of Voronoi-based polygonal blocks. To explicitly simulate structural planes and for automatic mesh generation, a multistep point insertion procedure is proposed. A typical experiment on interlayered rocks in literature is simulated using the proposed model. Effects of the orientation of bedding planes with regard to the loading direction on the failure mechanism and strength anisotropy are emphasized. Results indicate that the modified RBSM model succeeds in capturing main failure mechanisms and strength anisotropy induced by interlayered structures and different confining pressures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 99-100 ◽  
pp. 370-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Hong Qian ◽  
Ting Ting Cheng ◽  
Xiang Ming Cao ◽  
Chun Ming Song

During excavating the problem of unloading is a dynamic one essentially. Assuming the unloading ruled by a simple function and based on the Hamilton principal, the distribution of the stress field nearby the tunnel is obtained. The characteristics of the failure nearby the tunnel are analyzed considering the shear failure and tensile failure. The results show that the main mode of the shear failure, intact and tensile failure occurs from the tunnel. The characteristic of the shear failure, intact and tensile failure are one of the likely failure modes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Tao Yang ◽  
Yunkang Rao ◽  
Huailin Chen ◽  
Bing Yang ◽  
Jiangrong Hou ◽  
...  

Understanding the failure mechanism and failure modes of multiface slopes in the Wenchuan earthquake can provide a scientific guideline for the slope seismic design. In this paper, the two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC2D) and shaking table tests are used to study the failure mechanism of multiface slopes. The results show that the failure modes of slopes with different moisture content are different under seismic loads. The failure modes of slopes with the moisture content of 5%, 8%, and 12% are shattering-shallow slip, tension-shear slip, and shattering-collapse slip, respectively. The failure mechanism of slopes with different water content is different. In the initial stage of vibration, the slope with 5% moisture content produces tensile cracks on the upper surface of the slope; local shear slip occurs at the foot of the slope and develops rapidly; however, a tensile failure finally occurs. In the slope with 8% moisture content, local shear cracks first develop and then are connected into the slip plane, leading to the formation of the unstable slope. A fracture network first forms in the slope with 12% moisture content under the shear action; uneven dislocation then occurs in the slope during vibration; the whole instability failure finally occurs. In the case of low moisture content, the tensile crack plays a leading role in the failure of the slope. But the influence of shear failure becomes greater with the increase of the moisture content.


2016 ◽  
Vol 858 ◽  
pp. 91-97
Author(s):  
Jun Hua Xiao ◽  
Wen Qi Zheng

To investigate the macroscopic mechanical properties of undisturbed structural Xiashu loess in the lower reaches of China’s Yangtze River under triaxial compression, and obtain the intrinsic explanations for the macroscopic mechanical properties from the microscopic point of view, in laboratory, triaxial compression tests were carried out, microstructure images of sheared samples were collected by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and quantitative parameters of microstructure (mainly about particle or pore size, distribution, and alignment) were extracted by digital image processing technique. Based on the test results, the deviator stress-strain relationships of both undisturbed and remoulded Xiashu loess, the structural strength, and the microstructural evolution mechanism about the formation of shear failure zone of Xiashu loess under triaxial compression were analyzed.


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