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An Experimental Study of the Fracture Coalescence Behaviour of Brittle Sandstone Specimens Containing Three Fissures

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Abstract

To analyse the fracture coalescence behaviour of rock, rectangular prismatic sandstone specimens (80 × 160 × 30 mm in size) containing three fissures were tested under uniaxial compression. The strength and deformation behaviours of the specimens are first analysed by investigating the effects of the ligament angle β2 on the peak strength, peak strain and crack initiation stress of the specimens. To confirm the sequence of crack coalescence, a photographic monitoring technique is used throughout the entire period of deformation. Based on the results, the relationship between the real-time crack coalescence process and the axial stress–strain curve of brittle sandstone specimens is also developed, and this relationship can be used to evaluate the macroscopic deformation characteristics of pre-cracked rock. The equivalent strain evolution fields of the specimen, with α = β1 = 45° and β2 = 90°, are obtained using the digital image correlation technique and show good agreement with the experimental results of pre-cracked brittle sandstone. These experimental results are expected to improve the understanding of fracture mechanisms and be used in rock engineering with intermittent structures, such as deep underground excavated tunnels.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51179189 and 51074162), a China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (Grant Nos. 201104585 and 20100470068) and Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds (Grant No. 1002027C). We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which have greatly improved this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221008, People’s Republic of China

    S. Q. Yang, H. W. Jing & Y. H. Li

  2. Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides, Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau cedex, 91128, France

    D. S. Yang

  3. Center for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2238, Australia

    S. Y. Wang

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  1. S. Q. Yang
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  2. D. S. Yang
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  3. H. W. Jing
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  4. Y. H. Li
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  5. S. Y. Wang
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Correspondence to S. Q. Yang.

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Yang, S.Q., Yang, D.S., Jing, H.W. et al. An Experimental Study of the Fracture Coalescence Behaviour of Brittle Sandstone Specimens Containing Three Fissures. Rock Mech Rock Eng 45, 563–582 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-011-0206-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-011-0206-x

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