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Spalling Experiments on Large Hard Rock Specimens

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Abstract

Specimens of coarse-grained Äspö diorite were axially compressed to observe stress-induced spalling. The specimens had a novel design characterized by two manufactured large radius notches on opposite sides. The tangential stress occurring in the notches aimed to represent the tangential loading around a circular opening. Fracture stages were monitored by acoustic emission measurements. Rock chips were formed similar to those found in situ, which indicates a similar fracture process. Slabs were cut out from the specimens and impregnated using a fluorescent material to visualize the cracks. The cracks were subsequently examined by the naked eye and by means of microscopy images, from which fracture paths could be identified and related to different minerals and their crystallographic orientations. The microscopy analyses showed how the stress field and the microstructure interact. Parallel cracks were formed 2–4 mm below the surface, sub-parallel to the direction of the maximum principal stress. The crack initiation, the roles of minerals such as feldspar, biotite and quartz and their grain boundaries and crystallographic directions are thoroughly studied and discussed in this paper. Scale effects, which relate to the stress gradient and microstructure, are discussed.

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Abbreviations

\(E\) :

Young’s modulus

\(\nu \) :

Poisson ratio

σ ci :

Crack initiation stress

σ cd :

Crack damage stress

UCS:

Uniaxial compressive strength

\(\rho \) :

Wet density

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Structural and Solid Mechanics, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Box 857, 501 15, Borås, Sweden

    Lars Jacobsson

  2. Swedish Cement and Concrete Research Institute, c/o SP, Box 857, 501 15 , Borås, Sweden

    Karin Appelquist & Jan Erik Lindkvist

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  1. Lars Jacobsson
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  2. Karin Appelquist
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Correspondence to Lars Jacobsson.

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Jacobsson, L., Appelquist, K. & Lindkvist, J.E. Spalling Experiments on Large Hard Rock Specimens. Rock Mech Rock Eng 48, 1485–1503 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-014-0655-0

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