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Frictional Sliding Behaviour of Rough Fracture in Granite Under True Triaxial Loading with Implications for Fault Reactivation

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Abstract

In deep tunnelling, mining and subsurface energy recovery, the reliable estimate of rough fracture (or fault) strength and the potential for reactivation are of vital importance for the assessment of dynamic geo-hazard, such as fault slip rock-burst and induced earthquakes. In this study, true triaxial loading tests were conducted on pre-fractured granite with different orientations to the maximum principal stress, and the fracture slip process was studied with the aid of acoustic emission and deformation monitoring. The reactivation strength was also compared with the theoretical predictions based on the analytical model. Results show that the critical fracture angle for the rock matrix failure and original macro-fracture reactivation is ~ 51°, above which fault slip occurs along the original macro-fracture at a gradually smaller differential stress. The microscopic analysis indicates that new faulting develops traversing the original fracture which becomes more compacted and closed with insignificant damage when the fracture angle is below ~ 44°. The differential stress required for rough fracture reactivation is well predicted by the single plane of weakness theory. In addition, variation of acoustic emission signals (especially AE energy) and deformation along σ3 direction with loading time are very consistent, which can be used to analyse the preparatory and evolutionary process of the fracture reactivation. The stress rate decreases whilst deformation rate increases both from a steady state value to a very large value as the fracture is gradually reactivated, accompanied by the b value decreasing from 1.4–2 to 0.4–0.6, which can be used as precursors for the dynamic fault slip. The findings in the present study will provide new insights into the mechanics of rough fracture reactivation in deep tunnelling, mining and underground resource extraction.

Highlights

  • True triaxial loading tests are conducted on pre-fractured granite with different fracture orientations to the maximum principal stress.

  • Three different failure modes are revealed for pre-fractured granite specimens with increasing fracture angles from 39° to 57°.

  • The original macro rough fracture is reactivated when the fracture angle is above ~50°.

  • The obtained fracture reactivation strengths are very consistent with the theoretical prediction by the single plane of weakness theory.

  • Acoustic emission hits (counts) and deformation along σ3 are effective indicators to show the preparatory process before fracture reactivation.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 51879135, 52279116 and 52179114, the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFE0137200) and Taishan Scholars Program (2019KJG002, 2019RKB01083).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao, 266033, Shandong, China

    Fanzhen Meng, Zhufeng Yue, Muzi Li, Jianhua Han, Qijin Cai & Wei Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China

    Dawei Hu & Chuanqing Zhang

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  1. Fanzhen Meng
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  2. Zhufeng Yue
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Contributions

All the authors contribute to this research, and FZM and DWH designed the experiment, FZM, ZFY, MZL, JHH, QJC and WW: conducted the test and analysed the experimental data, FZM: wrote the paper, DWH and CQZ: revised the paper.

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Correspondence to Fanzhen Meng or Muzi Li.

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Meng, F., Yue, Z., Li, M. et al. Frictional Sliding Behaviour of Rough Fracture in Granite Under True Triaxial Loading with Implications for Fault Reactivation. Rock Mech Rock Eng 57, 197–217 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-023-03561-3

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