Experimental Study of Fracture Toughness and Subcritical Crack Growth of Three Rocks under Different Environments
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20, Issue 8
Abstract
This paper investigates fracture toughness and subcritical crack growth of marble, lherzolite, and amphibolite under different environments aiming to better understand the effect of environment, especially the acidic solution, on the fracturing behavior of the three rocks. Specifically, a series of load relaxation (RLX) and rapid loading tests were performed on double-torsion (DT) specimens to understand the subcritical crack growth velocity V versus the stress intensity factor KI relation and evaluate the fracture toughness KIC for the three studied rocks in air, distilled water, and acidic solutions with pH of 6.0 and 3.0, respectively. The results indicate that, for all three studied rocks, the percentage of load drop during RLX increases and the fracture toughness decreases when the environmental condition changes from air to distilled water and to an acidic solution with higher acidity. The measured log KI−log V relation follows the Charles theory well, and the crack velocity and the final crack growth length both increase and the subcritical crack growth index n decreases when the environmental condition changes from air to distilled water and to an acidic solution with higher acidity. The results also show that the weakening effect of an acidic solution on the marble is much greater than that on the lherzolite and amphibolite.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51774131, 51274097, and 51434006), and the CRSRI Open Research Program (CKWV2017508/KY).
References
ASTM. 2002. Standard test method for unconfined compressive strength of intact rock core specimens. ASTM D2938. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2005. Standard test method for splitting tensile strength of intact rock core specimens. ASTM D3967. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Atkinson, B. K. 1979a. “A fracture mechanics study of subcritical tensile cracking of quartz in wet environments.” Pure Appl. Geophys. 117 (5): 1011–1024. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00876082.
Atkinson, B. K. 1979b. “Fracture toughness of Tennessee sandstone and Carrara marble using the double torsion testing method.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 16 (1): 49–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(79)90774-5.
Atkinson, B. K. 1980. “Stress corrosion and the rate-dependent tensile failure of a fine-grained quartz rock.” Tectonophysics 65 (3–4): 281–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(80)90078-5.
Atkinson, B. K. 1982. “Subcritical crack-propagation in rocks—Theory: Experimental results and applications.” J. Struct. Geol. 4 (1): 41–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8141(82)90005-0.
Atkinson, B. K. 1984. “Subcritical crack growth in geological materials.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 89 (B6): 4077–4114. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB089iB06p04077.
Atkinson, B. K., and P. G. Meredith. 1981. “Stress corrosion cracking of quartz: A note on the influence of chemical environment.” Tectonophysics 77 (1–2): T1–T11. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(81)90157-8.
Atkinson, B. K., and P. G. Meredith. 1987. “The theory of subcritical crack growth with applications to minerals and rocks.” In Fracture mechanics of rock, edited by B. K. Atkinson, 111–166. London: Academic.
Atkinson, B. K., and R. Rawlings. 1981. “Acoustic emission during stress corrosion cracking in rocks.” In Earthquake prediction—An international review, edited by D. W. Simpson, and R. D. Richards, 605–616. Maurice Ewing Series 4. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union.
Attia, M. S., A. S. Mahmoud, M. M. Megahed, and A. A. Radw. 2010. “Numerical investigations of the stepped double torsion fracture toughness specimen.” Eng. Fract. Mech. 77 (16): 3359–3367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2010.08.012.
Barberini, V., L. Burlini, and A. Zappone. 2007. “Elastic properties, fabric and seismic anisotropy of amphibolites and their contribution to the lower crust reflectivity.” Tectonophysics 445 (3–4): 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2007.08.017.
Becker, T. H., T. J. Marrow, and R. B. Tait. 2011. “An evaluation of the double torsion technique.” Exp. Mech. 51 (9): 1511–1526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-011-9468-1.
Bergsaker, A. S., A. Reyne, A. Ougier-Simonin, J. Aubry, and F. Renard. 2016. “The effect of fluid composition, salinity and acidity on subcritical crack growth in calcite crystals.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 121 (3): 1631–1651. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012723.
Cao, P., T. Liu, C. Pu, and H. Lin. 2015. “Crack propagation and coalescence of brittle rock-like specimens with pre-existing cracks in compression.” Eng. Geol. 187: 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2014.12.010.
Charles, R. J. 1958. “Static fatigue of glass II.” J. Appl. Phys. 29 (11): 1554–1560. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1722992.
Dunning, J., P. Douglas, M. Miller, and S. McDonald. 1994. “The role of the chemical environment in frictional deformation: Stress corrosion cracking and comminution.” Pure Appl. Geophys. 143 (1–3): 151–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00874327.
Evans, A. G. 1972. “Method for evaluating time-dependent failure characteristics of brittle materials and its application to polycrystalline alumina.” J. Mater. Sci. 7 (10): 1137–1146. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00550196.
Evans, A. G., M. Linzer, and L. R. Russell. 1974. “Acoustic emission and crack propagation in polycrystalline alumina.” Mater. Sci. Eng. 15 (2–3): 253–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(74)90059-7.
Hao, R., J. Li, P. Cao, B. Liu, and J. Liao. 2015. “Test of subcritical crack growth and fracture toughness under water–rock interaction in three types of rocks.” J. Central South Univ. 22 (2): 662–668. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2568-9.
Heap, M. J., P. Baud, and P G. Meredith. 2009a. “Influence of temperature on brittle creep in sandstones.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 36 (19): 308–308. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL039373.
Heap, M. J., P. Baud, P. G. Meredith, A. F. Bell, and I. G. Main. 2009b. “Time-dependent brittle creep in darley dale sandstone.” J. Geophys. Res. 114 (B7): 4288–4309. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB006212.
Henry, J. P., J. Paquet, and J. P. Tancrez. 1977. “Experimental study of crack propagation in calcite rocks.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 14 (2): 85–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(77)90200-5.
Holder, J., J. E. Olson, and Z. Philip. 2001. “Experimental determination of subcritical crack growth parameters in sedimentary rock.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 28 (4): 599–602. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL011918.
Jeong, H., S. Kang, and Y. Obara. 2007. “Influence of surrounding environments and strain rates on the strength of rocks subjected to uniaxial compression.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 44 (3): 321–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2006.07.009.
Kies, J., and A. Clark. 1969. “Fracture propagation rates and times to fail following proof stress in bulk glass.” In Fracture, edited by P. L. Platt, 483–491. London: Chapman & Hall.
Ko, T. Y., and J. Kemeny. 2013. “Determination of the subcritical crack growth parameters in rocks using the constant stress-rate test.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 59 (5): 166–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2012.11.006.
Lajtai, E. Z., and L. P. Bielus. 1986. “Stress corrosion cracking of Lac du Bonnet Granite in tension and compression.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 19 (2): 71–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01042525.
Lajtai, E. Z., R. H. Schmidtke, and L. P. Bielus. 1987. “The effect of water on the time dependent deformation and fracture of a granite.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 24 (4): 247–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(87)90179-3.
Lasaga, A. C. 1984. “Chemical kinetics of water–rock interactions.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 89 (B6): 4009–4025. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB089iB06p04009.
Lee, J., J. W. Hong, and J. W. Jung. 2017. “The mechanism of fracture coalescence in pre-cracked rock-type material with three flaws.” Eng. Geol. 223: 31–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2017.04.014.
Liu, L., P. Yang, C. Qi, B. Zhang, L. Guo, and K. Song. 2019a. “An experimental study on the early-age hydration kinetics of cemented paste backfill.” Constr. Build. Mater. 212: 283–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.322.
Liu, L., C. Zhu, C. Qi, B. Zhang, and K. Song. 2019b. “A microstructural hydration model for cemented paste backfill considering internal sulfate attacks.” Constr. Build. Mater. 211: 99–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.222.
Liu, T., and P. Cao. 2016. “Testing study of subcritical crack growth mechanism during water rock interaction.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 34 (4): 923–929. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-016-0012-z.
Meredith, P. G., and B. K. Atkinson. 1983. “Stress corrosion and acoustic emission during tensile crack propagation in Whin Sill dolerite and other basic rocks.” Geophys. J. Int. 75 (1): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1983.tb01911.x.
Miao, S., M. Cai, and D. Ji. 2016. “Aging features and mechanism of Granites damage under the action of acidic chemical solutions.” [In Chinese.] J. China Coal Soc. 41 (5): 1137–1144.
Michalske, T. A., and S. W. Freiman. 1982. “A molecular interpretation of stress corrosion in silica.” Nature 295 (5849): 511–512. https://doi.org/10.1038/295511a0.
Nara, Y., N. Hiroyoshi, T. Yoneda, and K. Kaneko. 2010a. “Effects of relative humidity and temperature on subcritical crack growth in igneous rock.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 47 (4): 640–646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2010.04.009.
Nara, Y., K. Kashiwaya, Y. Nishida, and T. Ii. 2017a. “Influence of surrounding environment on subcritical crack growth in marble.” Tectonophysics 706–707: 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2017.04.008.
Nara, Y., K. Morimoto, N. Hiroyoshi, T. Yoneda, K. Kaneko, and P. M. Benson. 2012. “Influence of relative humidity on fracture toughness of rock: Implications for subcritical crack growth.” Int. J. Solids Struct. 49 (18): 2471–2481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2012.05.009.
Nara, Y., K. Morimoto, T. Yoneda, N. Hiroyoshi, and K. Kaneko. 2011. “Effects of humidity and temperature on subcritical crack growth in sandstone.” Int. J. Solids Struct. 48 (7–8): 1130–1140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2010.12.019.
Nara, Y., R. Nakabayashi, M. Maruyama, N. Hiroyoshi, T. Yoneda, and K. Kaneko. 2014. “Influences of electrolyte concentration on subcritical crack growth in sandstone in water.” Eng. Geol. 179: 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2014.06.018.
Nara, Y., M. Tanaka, and T. Harui. 2017b. “Evaluating long-term strength of rock under changing environments from air to water.” Eng. Fract. Mech. 178: 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2017.04.015.
Nara, Y., M. Takada, T. Igarashi, N. Hiroyoshi, and K. Kaneko. 2009. “Subcritical crack growth in rocks in an aqueous environment.” Explor. Geophys. 40 (1): 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1071/EG08102.
Nara, Y., M. Takada, D. Mori, H. Owada, T. Yoneda, and K. Kaneko. 2010b. “Subcritical crack growth and long-term strength in rock and cementitious material.” Int. J. Fract. 164 (1): 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-010-9455-z.
Ouchterlony, F. 1988. “Suggested methods for determining the fracture toughness of rock.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 25 (2): 71–96.
Peng, K., J. Zhou, Q. Zou, J. Zhang, and F. Wu. 2019. “Effects of stress lower limit during cyclic loading and unloading on deformation characteristics of sandstones.” Constr. Build. Mater. 217: 202–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.04.183.
Pletka, B., E. Fuller, and B. Koepke. 1979. “An evaluation of double-torsion testing-experimental.” In Fracture mechanics applied to brittle materials, edited by S. Freiman, 19–37. ASTM STP 678. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Rostom, F., A. Røyne, D. Dysthe, and F. Renard. 2013. “Effect of fluid salinity on subcritical crack propagation in calcite.” Tectonophysics 583: 68–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.10.023.
Sano, O., and Y. Kudo. 1992. “Relation of fracture resistance to fabric for granitic rocks.” Pure Appl. Geophys. 138 (4): 657–677. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00876343.
Selcuk, A., and A. Atkinson. 2000. “Strength and toughness of tape-cast yttria-stabilized zirconia.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 83 (8): 2029–2035. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.2000.tb01507.x.
Shyam, A., and E. Lara-Curzio. 2006. “The double-torsion testing technique for determination of fracture toughness and slow crack growth behavior of materials: A review.” J. Mater. Sci. 41 (13): 4093–4104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-005-5553-0.
Swanson, P. L. 1984. “Subcritical crack growth and other time- and environment-dependent behavior in crustal rocks.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 89 (B6): 4137–4152. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB089iB06p04137.
Trantina, G. G. 1977. “Stress analysis of the double-torsion specimen.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 60 (7–8): 338–341. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1977.tb15556.x.
Utagawa, M., M. Seto, M. Kosugi, K. Katsuyama, and K. Matsui. 1999. “The evaluation of fracture toughness of rock in wet and chemical condition.” In Proc., Japan–Korea Joint Symp. on Rock Engineering, 573–578. Fukuoka, Japan: West Japan Rock Engineering Society.
Wang, C., L. Pan, Y. Zhao, Y. Zhang, and W. Shen. 2019. “Analysis of the pressure-pulse propagation in rock: A new approach to simultaneously determine permeability, porosity, and adsorption capacity.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 52: 4301–4317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-019-01874-w.
Wang, C., Y. Zhao, Y. Zhao, and W. Wan. 2018a. “Study on the interaction of collinear cracks and wing cracks and cracking behavior of rock under uniaxial compression.” Adv. Civ. Eng. 2018: 5459307. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5459307.
Wang, Y., P. Cao, Y. Huang, C. Chen, and J. Li. 2012. “Nonlinear damage and failure behavior of brittle rock subjected to impact loading.” Int. J. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul. 13 (1): 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnsns-2011-104.
Wang, Y. X., S. Y. Wang, Y. L. Zhao, P. P. Guo, Y. Liu, and P. Cao. 2018b. “Blast induced crack propagation and damage accumulation in rock mass containing initial damage.” Shock Vib. Deep Min. Sci. 2018: 3848620. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3848620.
Waza, T., K. Kurita, and H. Mizutani. 1980. “The effect of water on the subcritical crack growth in silicate rocks.” Tectonophysics 67 (1–2): 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(80)90162-6.
Wilkins, B. J. S. 1987. “Slow crack growth and delayed failure of granite.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 24 (6): 379–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(87)92261-3.
Williams, D., and A. Evans. 1973. “A simple method for studying slow crack growth.” J. Test. Eval. 1 (4): 264–270. https://doi.org/10.1520/JTE10015J.
Yang, S.-Q., Y.-H. Huang, W.-L. Tian, and Z.-B. Zhu. 2017. “An experimental investigation on strength, deformation and crack evolution behavior of sandstone containing two oval flaws under uniaxial compression.” Eng. Geol. 217: 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2016.12.004.
Yasuhara, H., and D. Elsworth. 2008. “Compaction of a rock fracture moderated by competing roles of stress corrosion and pressure solution.” Pure Appl. Geophys. 165 (7): 1289–1306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-008-0356-2.
Yuan, H., F. Wang, Y. Liu, H. Bian, W. Chen, and Y. Wang. 2018. “Time-dependent behavior of subcritical crack growth for rock plate: Experimental and numerical study.” Int. J. Distrib. Sens. Netw. 14 (11): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1550147718812019.
Zhao, Y., C. L. Wang, Y. F. Zhang, and Q. Liu. 2019a. “Experimental study of adsorption effects on shale permeability.” Nat. Resour. Res. 28 (4): 1575–1586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-019-09476-7.
Zhao, Y., Y. Wang, W. Wang, and L. Tang. 2019b. “Modeling of rheological fracture behavior of rock cracks subjected to hydraulic pressure and far field stresses.” Theor. Appl. Fract. Mech. 101: 59–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tafmec.2019.01.026.
Zhao, Y., L. Zhang, W. Wang, C. Pu, W. Wan, and J. Tang. 2016. “Cracking and stress–strain behavior of rock-like material containing two flaws under uniaxial compression.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 49 (7): 2665–2687. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0932-1.
Zhao, Y., L. Zhang, W. Wang, J. Tang, H. Lin, and W. Wan. 2017. “Transient pulse test and morphological analysis of single rock fractures.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 91: 139–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2016.11.016.
Zhao, Y., L. Zhang, W. Wang, W. Wan, and W. Ma. 2018. “Separation of elastoviscoplastic strains of rock and a nonlinear creep model.” Int. J. Geomech. 18 (1): 04017129. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001033.
Zhou, M., and E. Song. 2016. “A random virtual crack DEM model for creep behavior of rockfill based on the subcritical crack propagation theory.” Acta Geotech. 11 (4): 827–847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-016-0446-8.
Zou, C., and L. N. Y. Wong. 2014. “Experimental studies on cracking processes and failure in marble under dynamic loading.” Eng. Geol. 173: 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2014.02.003.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20 • Issue 8 • August 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 26, 2019
Accepted: Mar 27, 2020
Published online: Jun 4, 2020
Published in print: Aug 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 4, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.