Characteristic Analysis of Crack Initiation and Crack Damage Stress of Sandstone and Mudstone under Low-Temperature Condition
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 3
Abstract
The artificial freezing technology is one of the most effective methods during the excavation on the water-rich strata in western China. This study on crack initiation and damage stresses of rock at low-temperature conditions has an important guiding role in understanding the failure process of frozen rocks. This paper investigated variations of the crack initiation and crack damage stresses of the sandstone and mudstone samples with decreasing temperature. The results showed that, for the sandstone sample, the crack initiation stress, crack damage stress, peak stress, crack initiation stress ratio (i.e., the ratio of crack initiation stress to peak stress), and crack damage stress ratio (i.e., the ratio of crack damage stress to peak stress) increased linearly with the decreased freezing temperature; for the mudstone sample, the peak stress increased linearly with the decrease of the freezing temperature, but the crack initiation stress, crack damage stress, crack initiation stress ratio, and crack damage stress ratio increased first with the decrease of the temperature then decreased with temperature once it was lower than −10°C. This was because the mudstone sample experienced more severe frost heave damage than sandstone during the freezing process, which caused significant inhomogeneity of the mudstone sample. For the sandstone, the crack initiation stress and crack damage stress increased linearly with the increase of peak stress. Based on the discovered relationships, the peak stress of the sandstone can be predetermined according to the crack initiation stress or crack damage stress of the sandstone. However, for the mudstone, the crack initiation stress and crack damage stress did not show an obvious trend of change with the increase of peak stress. These experimental results were useful for understanding the failure process of frozen rocks in cold regions and artificial freezing engineering.
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 (Grant Nos. 41472259, 41771083, 51274209, and 51304215).
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- E
- Young's modulus of rock;
- Kci
- ratio of crack initiation stress to peak stress of frozen rock;
- Kck
- ratio of crack damage stress to peak stress of frozen rock;
- k
- permeability of rock;
- l
- latent heat;
- m
- weight of the naturally saturated sample;
- mdry
- weight of dried sample;
- pmax
- frost heave water pressure;
- T
- temperature;
- Tm
- freezing point temperature of water;
- Tk
- pore expansion temperature;
- w
- water content of sample;
- Δρ
- density difference between water and ice;
- ɛ1
- axial strain of rock;
- ɛ2
- lateral strain of rock;
- ɛv
- volumetric strain of rock;
- crack volumetric strain of rock;
- elastic volumetric strain of rock;
- λ
- coefficient of thermal conductivity of unfrozen water;
- μ
- coefficient of kinematic viscosity;
- ν
- Poisson's ratio of rock;
- ρi
- density of ice body;
- ρl
- density of water;
- σ1
- axial stress of rock;
- σ3
- confining pressure;
- σcc
- crack closure threshold;
- σcd
- crack damage stress of rock;
- σci
- crack initiation stress of rock;
- σf
- peak stress of rock; and
- σt
- tensile strength of rock.
References
Bieniawski, Z. T. 1967. “Mechanism of brittle fracture of rock, Parts I, II and III.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Absr. 4 (4): 395–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(67)90030-7.
Brace, W. F., B. W. Paulding, and C. Scholz. 1966. “Dilatancy in the fracture of crystalline rocks.” J. Geophys. Res. 71 (16): 3939–3953. https://doi.org/10.1029/JZ071i016p03939.
Cai, M., P. K. Kaiser, Y. Tasaka, T. Maejima, H. Morioka, and M. Minami. 2004. “Generalized crack initiation and crack damage stress thresholds of brittle rock masses near underground excavations.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 41 (5): 833–847. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2004.02.001.
Eberhardt, E., D. Stead, and B. Stimpson. 1999. “Quantifying progressive pre-peak brittle fracture damage in rock during uniaxial compression.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 36 (3): 361–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-9062(99)00019-4.
Eberhardt, E., D. Stead, B. Stimpson, and R. S. Read. 1998. “Identifying crack initiation and propagation thresholds in brittle rock.” Can. Geotech. J. 35 (2): 222–233. https://doi.org/10.1139/t97-091.
Esmaeili-Falak, M. 2017. “Effect of system’s geometry on the stability of frozen wall in excavation of saturated granular soils.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Geotechnical and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Tabriz.
Esmaeili-Falak, M., H. Katebi, M. Vadiati, and J. Adamowski. 2019. “Predicting triaxial compressive strength and Young’s modulus of frozen sand using artificial intelligence methods.” J. Cold Reg. Eng. 33 (3): 04019007. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CR.1943-5495.0000188.
Fonseka, G. M., S. A. F. Murrell, and P. Barnes. 1985. “Scanning electron microscope and acoustic emission studies of crack development in rocks.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Absr. 22 (5): 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(85)92060-1.
Goel, N., J. T. V. De Sousa, J. Flenniken, S. Shah, and B. Liddell. 2004. “Fabrication and testing of apparatus for laboratory simulation of Alaska frozen rock encountered during hydrate gas reservoir coring.” J. Cold Reg. Eng. 18 (2): 53–69. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0887-381X(2004)18:2(53).
Hatzor, Y. H., and V. Palchik. 1997. “The influence of grain size and porosity on crack initiation stress and critical flaw length in dolomites.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 34 (5): 805–816. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1365-1609(96)00066-6.
Katz, O., and Z. Reches. 2004. “Microfracturing, damage, and failure of brittle granites.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 109 (B1): B01206. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JB001961.
Kim, J. S., K. S. Lee, W. J. Cho, H. J. Choi, and G. C. Cho. 2015. “A comparative evaluation of stress–strain and acoustic emission methods for quantitative damage assessments of brittle rock.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 48 (2): 495–508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-014-0590-0.
Kong, R., X. T. Feng, X. W. Zhang, and C. X. Yang. 2018. “Study on crack initiation and damage stress in sandstone under true triaxial compression.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 106: 117–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2018.04.019.
Ling, X. C., and D. S. Cai. 2002. Rock mechanics. Harbin, China: Harbin Institute of Technology Press.
Liu, B., Y. J. Ma, N. Liu, Y. H. Han, D. Y. Li, and H. L. Deng. 2019. “Investigation of pore structure changes in Mesozoic water-rich sandstone induced by freeze-thaw process under different confining pressures using digital rock technology.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 161: 137–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2019.03.006.
Liu, B., Y. J. Ma, G. Zhang, and W. Xu. 2018. “Acoustic emission investigation of hydraulic and mechanical characteristics of muddy sandstone experienced one freeze-thaw cycle.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 151: 335–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.03.029.
Liu, L., G. Ye, E. Schlangen, H. S. Chen, Z. W. Qian, W. Sun, and K. van Breugel. 2011. “Modeling of the internal damage of saturated cement paste due to ice crystallization pressure during freezing.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 33 (5): 562–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2011.03.001.
Liu, Q. S., S. B. Huang, Y. S. Kang, and J. P. Liu. 2016. “Preliminary study of frost heave pressure and its influence on crack and deterioration mechanisms of rock mass.” [In Chinese.] Rock Soil Mech. 37 (6): 1530–1542.
Martin, C. D. 1990. “Characterizing in situ stress domains at the AECL underground research laboratory.” Can. Geotech. J. 27 (5): 631–646. https://doi.org/10.1139/t90-077.
Martin, C. D. 1993. “The strength of massive Lac du Bonnet granite around underground opening.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Geological Engineering, Univ. of Manitoba.
Martin, C. D., and N. A. Chandler. 1994. “The progressive fracture of Lac du Bonnet granite.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Absr. 31 (6): 643–659. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(94)90005-1.
Nicksiar, M., and C. D. Martin. 2012. “Evaluation of methods for determining crack initiation in compression tests on low-porosity rocks.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 45 (4): 607–617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-012-0221-6.
Nicksiar, M., and C. D. Martin. 2013. “Crack initiation stress in low porosity crystalline and sedimentary rocks.” Eng. Geol. 154: 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.12.007.
Pepe, G., S. Mineo, G. Pappalardo, and A. Cevasco. 2018. “Relation between crack initiation-damage stress thresholds and failure strength of intact rock.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 77 (2): 709–724. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-017-1172-7.
Powers, T. C. 1945. “A working hypothesis for further studies of frost resistance of concrete.” ACI J. Proc. 16 (4): 245–272.
Rabin, Y., P. Olson, M. J. Taylor, P. S. Steif, T. B. Julian, and N. Wolmark. 1997. “Gross damage accumulation in frozen rabbit liver due to mechanical stress at cryogenic temperatures.” Cryobiology 34 (4): 394–405. https://doi.org/10.1006/cryo.1997.2010.
Rawling, G. C., P. Baud, and T. F. Wong. 2002. “Dilatancy, brittle strength, and anisotropy of foliated rocks: Experimental deformation and micromechanical modeling.” J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 107 (B10): ETG 8-1–ETG 8-14. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000472.
Sass, O. 2004. “Rock moisture fluctuations during freeze-thaw cycles: Preliminary results from electrical resistivity measurements.” Polar Geogr. 28 (1): 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/789610157.
Schmidtke, R. H., and E. Z. Lajtal. 1985. “The long-term strength of Lac du Bonnet granite.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Absr. 22 (6): 461–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(85)90010-5.
Wang, D., S. He, and D. D. Tannant. 2019. “A strain based method for determining the crack closure and initiation stress in compression tests.” KSCE J. Civ. Eng. 23 (4): 1819–1828. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-019-0563-7.
Wen, T., H. M. Tang, J. W. Ma, and Y. K. Wang. 2018. “Evaluation of methods for determining crack initiation stress under compression.” Eng. Geol. 235: 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.01.018.
Xu, X. L., S. C. Wu, A. B. Jin, and Y. T. Gao. 2018. “Review of the relationships between crack initiation stress, mode I fracture toughness and tensile strength of geo-materials.” Int. J. Geomech. 18 (10): 04018136. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001227.
Xue, L., S. Q. Qin, Y. Y. Wang, L. M. Lee, and W. C. Li. 2014. “A study on crack damage stress thresholds of different rock types based on uniaxial compression tests.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 47 (4): 1183–1195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-013-0479-3.
Yang, S. Q. 2016. “Experimental study on deformation, peak strength and crack damage behavior of hollow sandstone under conventional triaxial compression.” Eng. Geol. 213: 11–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2016.08.012.
Zhao, X. G., M. Cai, J. Wang, P. F. Li, and L. K. Ma. 2015. “Objective determination of crack initiation stress of brittle rocks under compression using AE measurement.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 48 (6): 2473–2484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-014-0703-9.
Zhou, G., G. S. Jiang, and F. L. Tang. 2006. “Technology of drilling in permanently frozen rock.” [In Chinese.] Coal Geol. Explor. 34 (6): 77–80.
Zhou, H., F. Z. Meng, J. J. Lu, C. Q. Zhang, and F. J. Yang. 2014. “Discussion on methods for calculating crack initiation strength and crack damage strength for hard rock.” [In Chinese.] Rock Soil Mech. 35 (4): 913–918, 925.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 9, 2019
Accepted: Apr 23, 2020
Published online: Jun 30, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 30, 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.