Strength failure and crack coalescence behavior of brittle sandstone samples containing a single fissure under uniaxial compression

Uniaxial compression experiments were performed for brittle sandstone samples containing a single fissure by a rock mechanics servo-controlled testing system. Based on the experimental results of axial stress-axial strain curves, the influence of single fissure geometry on the strength and deformation behavior of sandstone samples is analyzed in detail. Compared with the intact sandstone sample, the sandstone samples containing a single fissure show the localization deformation failure. The uniaxial compressive strength, Young’s modulus and peak axial strain of sandstone samples with pre-existing single fissure are all lower than that of intact sandstone sample, which is closely related to the fissure length and fissure angle. The crack coalescence was observed and characterized from tips of pre-existing single fissure in brittle sandstone sample. Nine different crack types are identified based on their geometry and crack propagation mechanism (tensile, shear, lateral crack, far-field crack and surface spalling) for single fissure, which can be used to analyze the failure mode and cracking process of sandstone sample containing a single fissure under uniaxial compression. To confirm the subsequence of crack coalescence in sandstone sample, the photographic monitoring and acoustic emission (AE) technique were adopted for uniaxial compression test. The real-time crack coalescence process of sandstone containing a single fissure was recorded during the whole loading. In the end, the influence of the crack coalescence on the strength and deformation failure behavior of brittle sandstone sample containing a single fissure is analyzed under uniaxial compression. The present research is helpful to understand the failure behavior and fracture mechanism of engineering rock mass (such as slope instability and underground rock burst).

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