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Nonlinear Mechanical and 3D Rupture Morphology of Saturated Porous Sandstone Under True Triaxial Stress

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Abstract

In deep underground geotechnical engineering, water–rock interaction emerges as a critical factor influencing the stability of engineering rock masses. This study delves into the macroscopic nonlinear mechanical behavior and fracture characteristics of natural water-bearing and saturated sandstone samples under various true triaxial stress states. The objective is to systematically elucidate the impact of actual three-dimensional stress conditions and water content on the mechanical behavior and fracture mechanisms of sandstone formations. The findings reveal significant anisotropic deformation in sandstone under 3D stress, while saturated sandstone exhibits robust plastic deformation capacity. Moreover, changes in the strain ratio coefficient are identified as precursors to rock fracture. The dilatation behavior of sandstone weakens progressively with increasing σ2, indicating reduced expansion in saturated sandstone. To account for the influence of σ2, a novel dilation index is proposed. The true triaxial strength of sandstone demonstrates a close relationship with both σ2 and water content, with strength initially increasing before declining as σ2 rises. In addition, water significantly undermines sandstone strength, although this weakening trend moderates with increasing σ2. Morphological analysis and SEM observations unveil three-dimensional volume fracturing characteristics in rock fractures, primarily characterized by shear accompanied by tensile fractures. Saturated sandstone samples, in contrast, exhibit numerous tensile and intergranular fractures. Overall, this study holds paramount practical significance for the evaluation of rock stability and the design of water-bearing engineering rock masses, encompassing domains, such as geology, water conservancy, and mining.

Highlights

  • The influence of the σ2 and water on the nonlinear mechanical behavior of sedimentary sandstone was studied.

  • A new dilatation index and strength criterion considering the effect of the σ2 was proposed.

  • The 3D fracture morphology and failure network characteristics of sandstone was analyzed.

  • Mesoscopic fracture mechanism of the σ2 and water on sandstone was revealed.

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Abbreviations

σ 1, σ 2,σ 3 :

Major, intermediate, and minor principal stress

ε 1, ε 2, ε 3, ε v :

Major, intermediate, minor, and volumetric strain

E, υ :

Deformation modulus, Poisson's ratio

υ 13, υ 12, υ 23 :

Strain ratio coefficient

\(\dot{\varepsilon }_{{1}}^{{\text{p}}}\), \(\dot{\varepsilon }_{{\text{v}}}^{{\text{p}}}\) :

Increment plastic axial strain and increment plastic volume strain

ψ :

Dilatancy angle

I d :

Dilatation index

\(\Delta \dot{\varepsilon }_{{\text{v}}}^{{\text{p}}}\), \(\Delta \dot{\varepsilon }_{{1}}^{{\text{p}}}\) :

Incremental plastic volumetric strain and incremental plastic axial

\(\overline{\varepsilon }\) :

Generalized normal strain component

\(\overline{\gamma }\) :

Shear strain component

k d :

Shear dilatancy parameter

\(\dot{\overline{\gamma }}^{{\text{p}}}\) :

Increment generalized shear strain

\(\theta_{{\text{p}}}^{\pi }\) :

Critical dilatancy parameter

\(\dot{\varepsilon }_{{1}}^{{\text{p}}}\), \(\dot{\varepsilon }_{{2}}^{{\text{p}}}\), \(\dot{\varepsilon }_{{3}}^{{\text{p}}}\) :

Plastic strain

\(I_{1} ,I_{2} ,I_{3}\) :

Invariant of principal stress tensor

\(J_{1} ,J_{2} ,J_{3}\) :

Invariant of the deviatoric stress tensor

k, b :

Strength fitting parameters

\(S_{1}\), \(S_{2}\), \(S_{3}\) :

Modified stress tensor

N(r):

Box number

r :

Box scale

D :

Fractal dimension

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant. Nos 52374222, 52104209, U22A20166, 52192625), Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, (Grant NO. SKLGME022020), Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China (2022T150433, 2021M692192), the Program for Guangdong Introducing Innovative and Entrepreneurial Teams (2019ZT08G315).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518000, People’s Republic of China

    Minghui Li, Jun Lu, Heping Xie, Mingzhong Gao, Heng Gao & Delei Shang

  2. National Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Engineering Intelligent Construction and Health O&M, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518000, People’s Republic of China

    Minghui Li, Jun Lu, Heping Xie, Mingzhong Gao & Delei Shang

  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Sciences and Geothermal Energy Exploitation and Utilization, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518000, People’s Republic of China

    Minghui Li, Jun Lu, Heping Xie, Mingzhong Gao & Delei Shang

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

    Jun Lu

  5. State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, People’s Republic of China

    Changbao Jiang

Authors
  1. Minghui Li
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  2. Jun Lu
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  3. Heping Xie
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  4. Mingzhong Gao
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  5. Heng Gao
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  6. Delei Shang
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  7. Changbao Jiang
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Contributions

Conceptualization: LJ, XH; methodology: LJ, XH; formal analysis and investigation: LJ, GH; writing—original draft preparation: LJ; writing, review and editing: LJ; funding acquisition: LJ, XH, ML; resources: JL, GM, JC, SD.

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Correspondence to Jun Lu.

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Li, M., Lu, J., Xie, H. et al. Nonlinear Mechanical and 3D Rupture Morphology of Saturated Porous Sandstone Under True Triaxial Stress. Rock Mech Rock Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03884-9

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