Memory Effects in Rock Salt Under Triaxial Stress State and Their Use for Stress Measurement in a Rock Mass

SummaryRegularities of memory effects in rock salt specimens under triaxial stress state were investigated. Each specimen was subjected to two loading cycles. The first cycle was axisymmetric triaxial compression (σ1 >σ2=σ3). The second cycle was uniaxial compression in the direction of σ1 of the first cycle. Distinct acoustic emission (AE) and deformation memory effects were observed in the second cycle at the stress value equal to a linear combination of the first cycle principal stresses given by σ1− (k + 1) σ3, where k is about 0.5–0.6 for rock salt. Anomalies in deformation curves were found to be more reliable than the AE methods in distinguishing memory symptoms. The necessary pre-requisite for memory formation in the first cycle was that σ1 exceeded the elastic limit, corresponding to the given confining stress σ3. Inflections in uniaxial stress versus axial strain and lateral strain curves, in the second cycle, were observed at equal stress values if in the first cycle σ1 exceeded the elastic limit and memory-forming damage was induced. If there was no memory-forming damage, those inflections were seen at different stress values. This characteristic was used to distinguish between true memory effects and natural characteristic points in deformation curves derived from rock salt testing. A new memory symptom was established, namely a turn point in curve “uniaxial stress versus differential coefficient of lateral strains”. The results form a basis for application of the memory effects for stress measurement in rock salt masses.