Distribution of Cracks in an Anchored Cavern Under Blast Load Based on Cohesive Elements

To explore the distribution of cracks in anchored caverns under the blast load, cohesive elements with zero thickness were employed to simulate crack propagation through numerical analysis based on a similar model test. Furthermore, the crack propagation process in anchored caverns under top explosion was analysed and the distribution and mode of propagation of cracks in anchored caverns when a fracture with different dip angles was present in the vault were discussed. With the propagation of the explosive stress waves, cracks successively occur at the boundary of the anchored zone of the vault, arch foot, and floor of the anchored caverns. Tensile cracks are preliminarily found in rocks surrounding the caverns. In the case that a pre-fabricated fracture is present in the upper part of the vault, the number of cracks at the boundary of the anchored zone of the vault decreases, then increases with increasing dip angle of the pre-fabricated fracture. The fewest cracks at the boundary of the anchored zone occur if the dip angle of the pre-fabricated fracture is 45º. The wing cracks deflected to the vault are formed at the tip of the pre-fabricated fracture, around which tensile and shear cracks are synchronously present. Under top explosion, both the peak displacement and peak particle velocity in surrounding rocks of anchored caverns reach their maximum values at the vault, successively followed by the side wall and the floor. In addition, they show asymmetry with the difference of the dip angle of the pre-fabricated fracture; the vault displacement of anchored caverns is mainly attributed to the formation of tensile cracks at the boundary of the anchored zone generated due to tensile waves reflected from the free face of the vault. When a fracture is present in the vault, the peak displacement of the vault decreases while the residual displacement increases.

Flexural Strength and Acoustic Damage Characteristics of Steel Bar Reactive Powder Concrete

In this paper, the steel bar was used to prepare steel bar reactive powder concrete (SBRPC). The three-point bending test was adopted to investigate the effect of the number of steel bars on the flexural strength of SBRPC. The acoustic emission (AE) was used to monitor the fracture process of SBRPC in real time. In addition, the parameter RA and AF ratio (RF) was defined to analyze the distribution of shear cracks and tensile cracks during the fracture process. The experimental results showed that with the increases in the number of the steel bar, the flexural strength of SBRPC gradually increased. The fracture stage of SBRPC can be accurately divided according to the curve slope change in hits and cumulative counts. Moreover, the early warning of SBRPC damage can be realized by observing the amplitude of the AE amplitude value. The dynamic changes in the rising angle (RA) and average frequency (AF) values can be used to determine the cracks mode and fracture mode. Based on the results of RF analysis, adding steel bars will improve the proportion for tensile cracks during its fracture process.

Investigation of Damage Evolution in Heterogeneous Rock Based on the Grain-Based Finite-Discrete Element Model

Granite exhibits obvious meso-geometric heterogeneity. To study the influence of grain size and preferred grain orientation on the damage evolution and mechanical properties of granite, as well as to reveal the inner link between grain size‚ preferred orientation, uniaxial tensile strength (UTS) and damage evolution, a series of Brazilian splitting tests were carried out based on the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM), grain-based model (GBM) and inverse Monte Carlo (IMC) algorithm. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Mineral grain significantly influences the crack propagation paths, and the GBM can capture the location of fracture section more accurately than the conventional model. (2) Shear cracks occur near the loading area, while tensile and tensile-shear mixed cracks occur far from the loading area. The applied stress must overcome the tensile strength of the grain interface contacts. (3) The UTS and the ratio of the number of intergrain tensile cracks to the number of intragrain tensile cracks are negatively related to the grain size. (4) With the increase of the preferred grain orientation, the UTS presents a “V-shaped” characteristic distribution. (5) During the whole process of splitting simulation, shear microcracks play the dominant role in energy release; particularly, they occur in later stage. This novel framework, which can reveal the control mechanism of brittle rock heterogeneity on continuous-discontinuous trans-scale fracture process and microscopic rock behaviour, provides an effective technology and numerical analysis method for characterizing rock meso-structure. Accordingly, the research results can provide a useful reference for the prediction of heterogeneous rock mechanical properties and the stability control of engineering rock masses.

Seismic Vertical Component Effects on the Pathology of a Historical Structure, Xana, Located in Greece

The present study aims to investigate the effects of the seismic vertical component on the pathology of Xana monument which is a typical caravanserai, constructed circa 1375–1385 and is located in the archeological site of the municipality of Trainapoulis, Greece. The monument’s plan is rectangular and the three-leaf masonry circumferential walls support a hemicylindrical dome constructed by bricks and mortar. The structure consisted of two consecutive parts: one for the travelers and one for the animals. Nowadays, the triangular roof, that covered the structure, and the first part of the monument do not exist. Xana suffers tensile cracks along the interior surface of the dome, a vertical fracture located on the northern wall and vertical tensile cracks located at the openings. A three-dimensional finite element model of the initial state of Xana is constructed. Non-linear material behavior is taken into account as well as soil-structure interaction effects. An adequate number of near-field earthquake events has been used, taking into account that they are related to significant vertical components. The structural seismic analysis is conducted for two cases. The first case refers to the action of the two horizontal-component of ground motions while the second one takes into account the three translational seismic components. The pathology estimation reveals important information concerning the structural effects due to vertical accelerations.

Experimental Studies on Cracking and Local Strain Behaviors of Rock-Like Materials with a Single Hole before and after Reinforcement under Biaxial Compression

In deep underground engineering, circular roadways are widely used; many rock engineering problems can usually be simplified as mechanical analysis of rock structures with holes. To reveal the influence of intrahole reinforcement on the mechanical properties of rock with a single hole, this paper takes the single-hole rock-like material specimens with different reinforcement conditions as the research object. The RYL600 rock shear rheometer was used to conduct biaxial compression tests and, combined with HD industrial cameras and high-precision strain gauges, to study the effects of different reinforcement thicknesses and different lateral pressure on the mechanical properties of single-hole rock-like materials during the total stress and strain process. The thickness of the reinforced aluminum alloy pipe in the whole test is divided into four types: 0, 1, 1.5, and 2 mm. Under different reinforcement conditions, it is divided into 4 series of 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 MPa according to the different lateral pressure. Research shows the following: (1) Under the same lateral pressure, as the reinforcement thickness of the aluminum alloy tube increases, the reinforcement effect of the aluminum alloy tube on the specimen increases, and the strength of the reinforced specimen is increased by 1.42%~33.04% compared with the strength of the unreinforced specimen; under the same reinforced thickness of the aluminum tube, the peak strength of the specimen increases with the increase of lateral pressure, and the peak strength of the specimen with lateral pressure is 3.34%~50.26% higher than that of the specimen without lateral pressure. (2) Increasing the lateral pressure can significantly reduce the primary tensile cracks of the specimen. As the reinforcement thickness increases, the primary tensile cracks and remote cracks of the specimen are significantly reduced, and the failure surface of the specimen gradually tends to the middle of the sample. (3) The failure modes of specimens with holes can be divided into five types: single bevel type I, single bevel type II, single bevel type III, bevel T type, and single part shear type. All of these five failure modes are shear cracks that develop into fracture surfaces, while remote cracks and primary tensile cracks do not develop into fracture surfaces.

Numerical Analyses of Fracturing Behavior and Strength of Specimens with Two Parallel Infilled Flaws under Uniaxial Compression

Grouting is a common method used to fill rock joints to improve the stability and integrity of rock mass in geotechnical engineering, and the filling has been observed to have an effect on crack behavior and mechanical property. To investigate this topic, a numerical study of crack behavior and mechanical property of rock samples with two parallel open flaws or infilled flaws under uniaxial compression was conducted in this research. The smooth joint model was proved to be suitable to simulate the interface between rock material and grout material. The occurrence of shear cracks at the interface between rock material and grout material as well as the occurrence of tensile cracks in the grouting material has been successfully simulated in this research. Numerical results indicate that grouting can reduce the tensile force near the flaws, suppress the generation of tensile cracks, and improve the initiation stress of the sample. The tensile force in the specimens with infilled flaws is smaller than that with open flaws, which lead to the improvement of the peak strength of the sample. Moreover, crack development and mechanical properties of samples are affected by bridge inclination angle and flaw inclination angle.

Laboratory study on the propagation of edge cracks in rock-like material and its implication in coal mining

Rock fracture propagation is a major hazard for mining and tunnel excavation in fractured rock masses or coal seams. A longwall mining panel with a typical dimension of 200m (width)×1000m (length)×3m (height) can be considered as an open edge crack. The fracturing processes in the vicinity of the edge crack (or the longwall panel) particularly in the roof and floor are critically important for the safety of mining operation because fracturing can lead to water inrush and dynamic loading on the working face. It’s therefore important to understand and predict the pre-existing edge crack initiation and propagation in rock masses. This paper describes a study investigating the mechanisms and pathways of rock fracture under uniaxial compression. In this study, a rock-like material which consists of model gypsum, water and diatomaceous earth at a mass ratio of 165:75:2 was used. The uniaxial compression strength of the material decreased with the increase of the length of pre-existing edge crack. During the tests, wing (tensile) cracks were first observed at the tip of the pre-existing edge crack. This was followed by secondary cracks as the loading increased. The final failure of the specimens however was dominated by tensile cracks throughout the specimens. Due to the sudden crack initiations in the specimens, the loading stress in the specimen varies stepwise, and acoustic emission (AE) energy and amplitude showed abrupt changes when crack initiated. When the crack initiation occurred, the loading stress of the specimens showed a notable retreat in the stress-strain curve, and the recorded AE energy and amplitude showed a sharp spike. These findings from this experimental study have been applied to the underground longwall mining to explain the failure mechanisms in the floor of the mining panel. The fracturing process associated with the pre-existing edge crack resembles the formation of flow channels for water inrush during longwall mining.