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Transverse Isotropy of Phyllite Under Brazilian Tests: Laboratory Testing and Numerical Simulations

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Abstract

Phyllite is a low-grade, metamorphic rock with well-developed foliation. We characterized the fracture pattern and failure strength of phyllite specimens under Brazilian tests. The specimens were obtained from the Zhegu mountain tunnel in China and had different foliation-loading angles, namely 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75° and 90°. The processes for the initiation and propagation of macro-cracks were recorded using high-speed photography. The evolution of micro-cracks was analyzed based on the results of acoustic emission (AE) tests. The failure process of the specimens during the Brazilian tests was simulated with a new numerical approach based on the particle discrete element method. The influence of foliation strength and the microstructure of the rock matrix were also studied numerically. The experimental results showed that the failure strength of the specimens was related to their fracture patterns and the areas of their fracture surfaces. The initial cracking point of the specimens appeared at the upper or lower loading position, and the cracks propagated to the boundaries of the specimens along or across foliation. The temporal distributions of the AE counts and AE energy of the specimens were affected predominantly by the fracture pattern, and we divided these distributions into two modes: the peak mode and the uniformly distributed mode. The numerical results indicated that the fracture surface was roughly parallel to the loading direction and that the surface was located in the central part of the disk specimens for rocks with loose structure (low coordination number or large crack density) or with strong foliation, i.e., foliation with high shear strength. The failure pattern and trends of variation in failure strength as a function of foliation-loading angles varied with the ratio of cohesion to the tensile strength of foliation, the crack density, and the coordination number.

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Abbreviations

σ t :

Tensile strength (Pa)

F :

Peak loading force (N)

D :

Diameter of rock specimen (m)

t :

Thickness of rock specimen (m)

U :

Energy of AE signal (J)

R :

Input impedance of preamplifier (Ω)

V :

Voltage of AE signal (V)

\(\bar{\sigma }_{c}\) :

Normal strength of flat-joint bond (Pa)

\(\bar{\tau }_{c}\) :

Shear strength of flat-joint bond (Pa)

\(\bar{k}^{\text{n}}\) :

Normal stiffness of flat-joint bond (Pa m−1)

\(\bar{k}^{\text{s}}\) :

Shear stiffness of flat-joint bond (Pa m−1)

\(k^{\text{n}}\) :

Normal stiffness of particle (Pa m−1)

\(k^{\text{s}}\) :

Shear stiffness of particle (Pa m−1)

\(\mu_{c}\) :

Friction coefficient between particles

g ratio :

Installation gap ratio

φ S :

Slit element fraction

\(\bar{k}_{\text{n}}\) :

Normal stiffness of smooth joint bond (Pa m−1)

\(\bar{k}_{\text{s}}\) :

Shear stiffness of smooth joint bond (Pa m−1)

\(\bar{\lambda }\) :

Radius multiplier

\(\mu\) :

Friction coefficient of smooth joint bond

\(\sigma_{c}\) :

Normal strength of smooth joint bond (Pa)

\(c_{b}\) :

Cohesion of smooth joint bond (Pa)

\(\varphi_{b}\) :

Friction angle between particles (°)

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National key research and development program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC0802201).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, Si Chuan, China

    Guowen Xu, Chuan He, Ziquan Chen & Ang Su

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  1. Guowen Xu
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  2. Chuan He
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Correspondence to Guowen Xu.

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Xu, G., He, C., Chen, Z. et al. Transverse Isotropy of Phyllite Under Brazilian Tests: Laboratory Testing and Numerical Simulations. Rock Mech Rock Eng 51, 1111–1135 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-017-1393-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-017-1393-x

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