Influence of Cyclic Impact Loading and Axial Stress on Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Burst-Prone Coal

High in-situ stress and frequent dynamic disturbances caused by the mining process in deep coal mines can easily induce dynamic disasters such as coal burst. We conducted laboratory experiments to assess the effects of the axial stress loading and dynamic cyclic impact loading on the dynamic mechanical properties of burst-prone coals by using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). Comparisons were made using two types of burst-prone and burst-resistant coal samples. The mineral components, organic macerals, and dynamic mechanical features of both burst-prone and burst-resistant coal samples were comparatively analyzed based on the obtained X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope observations, and dynamic compressive stress-strain curves, respectively. The results of the microstructure analysis indicated a larger difference between the minimum and maximum reflectances of vitrinite for burst-prone coal. Compared to the burst-resistant coal samples, the burst-prone coals contained less corpocollinite and fusinite. While applying a high axial static load combined with cyclic impact load, the coal samples showed the characteristics of fatigue damage. The results also demonstrated that preaxial stress affected the burst resistance of coal samples. The greater the preaxial stress was, the less the coal samples could withstand the dynamic cyclic impact load. In comparison to the burst-resistant coal sample, the burst-prone coal sample showed a larger dynamic compressive strength and a lower deformation. They were also more positively capable of the propagation and activation of the coal burst. We believe that the results of the study are conducive to further understanding of the distribution of microcomponents of burst-prone coals. The results are also beneficial for realizing the dynamic mechanical characteristics of burst-prone coals under the impact of cyclic dynamic load.

The Impact Behaviour of Crab Carapaces in Relation to Morphology

Brachyuran crab carapaces are protective, impact-resistant exoskeletons with elaborate material microstructures. Though several research efforts have been made to characterise the physical, material and mechanical properties of the crab carapace, there are no studies detailing how crab morphologies might influence impact resistance. The purpose of this paper is to characterise and compare Brachyuran crab carapace morphologies in relation to their impact properties, using opto-digital, experimental and numerical methods. We find that crab carapaces with both extended carapace arc-lengths and deep carapace grooves lose stiffness rapidly under cyclic impact loading, and fail in a brittle manner. Contrarily, carapaces with smaller arc lengths and shallower, more broadly distributed carapace grooves are more effective in dissipating stresses caused by impact throughout the carapace structure. This allows them to retain stiffness for longer, and influences their failure mode, which is ductile (denting), rather than brittle fracture. The findings in this paper provide new bioinspired approaches for the geometrical designs by which means material failure under cyclic impact can be controlled and manipulated.

Study on the Static and Dynamic Fracturing Properties of Marble after Being Damaged Dynamically

A split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system was first used to perform the cyclic impact loading tests on notched semicircular bend (NSCB) marble specimens. Then, static and dynamic three-point bending tests were conducted on these dynamically damaged specimens, respectively. In the cyclic impact loading tests, the dynamic elastic modulus decreases gradually as the impact number increases, but dynamic cumulative damage exhibits a growing trend. In the static and dynamic three-point bending tests, when dynamic cumulative damage is less than 0.345, the dynamic fracture toughness values are larger than the static fracture toughness values, but the experimental data exhibit the opposite results when dynamic cumulative damage ranges from 0.345 to 0.369. Through the quantitative analysis of fracture surface morphologies, the roughness and area of the fracture surfaces increase with an increasing dynamic cumulative damage. Under the same dynamic cumulative damage of the specimens, both the roughness and area of the surfaces fractured by static three-point bending are larger than those fractured by dynamic three-point bending.