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Cracking Process and Stress Field Evolution in Specimen Containing Combined Flaw Under Uniaxial Compression

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Abstract

Hydraulic slotting, an efficient technique for underground enhanced coal bed methane (ECBM) recovery, has been widely used in China. However, its pressure relief mechanism is unclear. Thus far, only limited research has been conducted on the relationships among the mechanical properties, flaw parameters, and crack propagation patterns of coal after hydraulic slotting. In addition, because of the limitations of test methods, an in-depth information is not available for this purpose. In this work, numerical models of specimens containing combined flaws are established based on particle flow code method. Our results provide insights into the effects of flaw inclination angle on the mechanical properties, crack propagation patterns, and temporal and spatial evolution rules of stress field in specimens containing combined flaws during the loading process. Besides, based on the initiation position and underlying mechanism, three types of crack initiation modes are identified from the failure processes of specimens. Finally, the crack propagation pattern is quantitatively described by the fractal dimension, which is found to be inversely proportional to the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of the specimen. To verify the rationality of the numerical simulation results, laboratory tests were conducted and their results match well with those obtained from the numerical simulation.

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Abbreviations

N P :

Number of particles in the measurement circle

N C :

Contact number of particles in the measurement circle

n :

Porosity within the measurement circle

\(V^{(P)}\) :

Volume of particle

\(x_i^{(P)}\) :

Locations of a particle centroid

\(x_i^{(C)}\) :

Locations of a particle contact

\(n_i^{(C,P)}\) :

Unit normal vector directed from a particle centroid to its contact location

\(F_j^{(C)}\) :

Force acting at contact

L :

Side length of the square grid

N(L):

Square grid number

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (2015XKMS003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coal Methane and Fire Control, Ministry of Education, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Liu, Baiquan Lin, Wei Yang, Quanle Zou, Jia Kong & Fazhi Yan

  2. School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Liu, Baiquan Lin, Wei Yang, Quanle Zou, Jia Kong & Fazhi Yan

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  1. Ting Liu
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  2. Baiquan Lin
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  3. Wei Yang
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  4. Quanle Zou
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  5. Jia Kong
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  6. Fazhi Yan
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Correspondence to Wei Yang.

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Liu, T., Lin, B., Yang, W. et al. Cracking Process and Stress Field Evolution in Specimen Containing Combined Flaw Under Uniaxial Compression. Rock Mech Rock Eng 49, 3095–3113 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0982-4

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