Abstract
Accurately gras** the anisotropic mechanical behavior and energy evolution mechanism of columnar jointed rock masses (CJRMs) before and after tunnel excavation is crucial for scientifically guiding the safe construction of related projects. Combined with the complex columnar jointed network and the geo-stress conditions, a series of true triaxial loading and unloading compression tests were conducted on the irregular CJRM (ICJRM) specimens with different inclination angles. The test results indicated that the unloading of minimum principal stress weakens the crack initiation, crack damage, and peak strengths of ICJRM specimens, and reduces the total strain energy required for the specimen to reach failure. Compared with other inclination angles, the ICJRM with an inclination angle of 30° was the easiest to achieve its energy storage limit. Four typical failure modes of ICJRMs were summarized, and the sliding and fracture of columns at the underground cavern sidewall of Baihetan Hydropower Station after the excavation were explained. A novel method for determining the characteristic strength based on the energy evolution mechanism was proposed, and the obtained characteristic strength values agreed well with those determined by the crack volumetric strain method. The anisotropic characteristics of ICJRM before and after excavation revealed that the excavation unloading enhances the anisotropic degree of the crack damage strength and peak strength, but has a slight effect on the anisotropy of crack initiation strength. The findings of this study contribute to the fundamental understanding of progressive failure of CJRMs and provide theoretical references for related engineering design and construction.
Highlights
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True triaxial loading and unloading tests are conducted on the irregular columnar jointed rock mass specimens with different inclination angles.
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Effect of the excavation unloading on the anisotropic properties of characteristic strength and energy evolution of columnar jointed rock masses is revealed.
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Field failures observed during the tunnel excavation of Baihetan underground space is explained by analyzing the failure modes of specimens under different loading conditions.
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Based on the energy evolution mechanism, a method for reasonably determining the characteristic strength thresholds is proposed.
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Abbreviations
- σ 1, σ 2, σ 3 :
-
Maximum, intermediate, and minimum principal stresses
- β :
-
Inclination angle
- ρ i, E i, v i, σ i, c i, φ i :
-
Density, deformation modulus, Poisson’s ratio, uniaxial compression strength, cohesion, and friction angle of Baihetan basalt or column material
- ε 1, ε 2, ε 3 :
-
Axial strains in the three principal stress directions
- ε v, ε cv :
-
Volumetric strain and crack volumetric strain, respectively
- σ ci, σ cd, σ p :
-
Crack initiation, crack damage, and peak strengths, respectively
- K ci, K cd :
-
Crack initiation strength and crack damage strength degrees, respectively
- E :
-
Deformation modulus of columnar jointed rock mass specimen
- U, U e, U d :
-
Total, releasable elastic, and dissipated strain energies, respectively
- ε 1 e, ε 2 e, ε 3 e :
-
Elastic strains in the three principal stress directions
- U ep, U dp, U p :
-
Elastic strain energy, dissipated strain energy, and total strain energy at the peak strength, respectively
- dU d /dt, dU d /dε :
-
Growth rate of dissipated strain energy
- dU /dε, dU e /dε :
-
Growth rate of total and elastic strain energies, respectively
- X:
-
Constant value of dUd /dε
- σ vs, σ ee :
-
Characteristic strength determined based on the crack volumetric strain and energyevolution methods, respectively
- R2 :
-
R-square value
- σ TTL, σ TTU :
-
Characteristic strength under true triaxial loading and unloading stress conditions, respectively
- SRC :
-
Strength reduction coefficient
- SRC ci, SRC cd, SRC p :
-
Crack initiation strength, damage strength, and peak strength reduction coefficients, respectively
- AR :
-
Anisotropic ratio
- σ max, σ min :
-
Maximum and minimum values of the same characteristic strength under the sameloading condition, respectively
- AR TTL, AR TTU :
-
Anisotropic ratio under true triaxial loading and unloading stress conditions,respectively
- AR ci, AR cd, AR p :
-
Anisotropic ratio of crack initiation strength, damage strength, and peak strength, respectively
- ΔAR :
-
Anisotropic ratio difference
- ΔAR ci, ΔAR cd, ΔAR p :
-
Anisotropic ratio difference corresponding to crack initiation strength, damage strength, and peak strength, respectively
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42307192, and 41831278), and the CRSRI Open Research Program (Grant No. CKWV20231175/KY).
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42307192, and 41831278), and the CRSRI Open Research Program (Grant No. CKWV20231175/KY).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by XQ, SZ, and ZN. The first draft of the manuscript was written by XQ and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Que, X., Zhu, S., Zhu, Z. et al. Anisotropic Characteristic Strength and Energy Evolution of Irregular Columnar Jointed Rock Masses Before and After Excavation. Rock Mech Rock Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03925-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03925-3