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Simulation of compression-induced shear-mode cracks in rocks based on experimental investigations performed on gypsum specimens

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Abstract

Compression-induced shear-mode cracks play an important role in the failure process of rocks. To gain insight into the compression-induced shear-mode cracks in rocks, the initiation and propagation of compression-induced shear-mode cracks are investigated via physical experiments and numerical simulations. The experimental results show that compression-induced shear-mode cracks are a common fracture mode and often lead to final failure. The initiation and propagation of compression-induced shear-mode cracks, as well as the strength of the specimen, can be influenced by the spacing between the flaw tips. Compression-induced shear-mode cracks easily initiate and propagate when the spacing between the two pre-existing flaws is small, whereas a larger spacing can reduce the possibility of shear fracturing and is propitious to the generation of compression-induced tensile-mode cracks. In addition, compression-induced shear-mode cracks initiate and generate later than compression-induced tensile-mode cracks. Furthermore, the fracture angles of compression-induced shear-mode cracks are diverse and complex and can be influenced by the spacing between pre-existing flaws. Numerical simulation results suggest that compressive-shear failure initiates randomly in a shear stress field, becomes more localized with the increased loading and eventually results in compression-induced shear-mode cracks.

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was substantially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51974186, 51774164, 51774048, 41702381), and all these sources of support are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, 123000, China

    Jun Xu & Xiaochun Xiao

  2. School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Xiangfeng Lv

  3. School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, 312000, China

    Pengfei Guo & Yanyan Peng

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  1. Jun Xu
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  2. Xiaochun Xiao
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  3. Xiangfeng Lv
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  4. Pengfei Guo
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  5. Yanyan Peng
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Correspondence to Xiaochun Xiao or Xiangfeng Lv.

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Xu, J., Xiao, X., Lv, X. et al. Simulation of compression-induced shear-mode cracks in rocks based on experimental investigations performed on gypsum specimens. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79, 4309–4319 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01832-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01832-9

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