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Effects of Cyclic Loading on the Shear Behaviour of Infilled Rock Joints Under Constant Normal Stiffness Conditions

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Abstract

The variation of the shear strength of infilled rock joints under cyclic loading and constant normal stiffness conditions is studied. To simulate the joints, triangular asperities inclined at angles of 9.5° and 18.5° to the shear movement were cast using high-strength gypsum plaster and infilled with clayey sand. These joints were sheared cyclically under constant normal stiffness conditions. It was found that, for a particular normal stiffness, the shear strength is a function of the initial normal stress, initial asperity angle, joint surface friction angle, infill thickness, infill friction angle, loading direction and number of loading cycles. Based on the experimental results, a mathematical model is proposed to evaluate the shear strength of infilled rock joints in cyclic loading conditions. The proposed model takes into consideration different initial asperity angles, initial normal stresses and ratios of infill thickness to asperity height.

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Abbreviations

F :

Yield function

σ n :

Normal stress

i :

Dilation angle

τ :

Shear strength

φ b :

Basic friction angle of the joint surface

G :

Plastic potential function

i 0 :

Initial asperity angle

u p :

Plastic shear displacement

c d :

Damage coefficient

dw p :

Increment of plastic shear work

\(\tau_{\text{p}}^{\text{c}}\) :

Peak shear strength under cyclic loading

N :

Number of shear cycles

i n :

Normalised dilation angle

D n :

Normalised degradation (normalised by maximum value of asperities amplitude)

b, c, p, q :

Model coefficients

t :

Infill thickness

a :

Asperity height

\(\tau_{\text{p}}^{\text{mi}}\) :

Peak shear strength of infilled rock joints under monotonic loading

η 1, η 2 :

Model coefficients

φ fill :

Infill material friction angle

c 1, c 2 :

Model coefficients

(t/a)cr :

Critical value of the t/a ratio after which the shear strength is only controlled by infill material

C fill :

Cohesion of infill material

σ c :

Uniaxial compressive strength

E :

Young’s modulus

C c :

Compression index

C s :

Swelling index

σ n0 :

Initial normal stress

S :

Shear load

W :

Width of the specimen

L :

Length of the specimen

N :

Normal load

\(\tau_{\text{p}}^{\text{ci}}\) :

Peak shear strength of infilled rock joints under cyclic loading

Δτ i :

Reduction in shear strength of infilled joints with increase in the number of loading cycles

α, β, c 3 :

Model coefficients

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Acknowledgments

The financial support from the University of Wollongong for this research is gratefully acknowledged. The authors wish to thank Mr. Alan Grant at the Engineering School of the University of Wollongong for his assistance in the laboratory work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil, Mining, and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Ali Mirzaghorbanali, Jan Nemcik & Naj Aziz

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  1. Ali Mirzaghorbanali
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  2. Jan Nemcik
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  3. Naj Aziz
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Correspondence to Ali Mirzaghorbanali.

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Mirzaghorbanali, A., Nemcik, J. & Aziz, N. Effects of Cyclic Loading on the Shear Behaviour of Infilled Rock Joints Under Constant Normal Stiffness Conditions. Rock Mech Rock Eng 47, 1373–1391 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-013-0452-1

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