• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.535-547
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• 2022

Failure patterns of rock specimens represent valuable information about the mechanical properties and crack evolution mechanism of rock. Several kinds of research have been conducted regarding the failure mechanism of brittle material, however; the influence of brittleness on the failure mechanism of rock specimens has not been precisely considered. In the present study, experimental and numerical examinations have been made to evaluate the physical and mechanical phenomena associated with rock failure mechanisms through the uniaxial compression test. In the experimental part, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests equipped with Acoustic Emission (AE) have been conducted on rock samples with three different brittleness. Then, the numerical models have been calibrated based on experimental test results for further investigation and comparing the micro-cracking process in experimental and numerical models. It can be perceived that the failure mode of specimens with high brittleness is tensile axial splitting, based on the experimental evidence of rock specimens with different brittleness. Also, the crack growth mechanism of the rock specimens with various brittleness using discrete element modeling in the numerical part suggested that the specimens with more brittleness contain more tensile fracture during the loading sequences.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.791-801
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• 2014

The effects of anchor on fractured specimens in splitting test are simulated by DDARF method, the results of which are compared with laboratory test results. They agree well with each other. The paper contents also use the laboratory model test. The main research objects are three kinds of specimens, namely intact specimens, jointed specimens and anchored-jointed specimens. The results showed that with the joint angle increased, the weakening effects of jointed rock mass are more obvious. At these points, the rock bolts' strengthening effects on the specimens have become more significant. There is a significant impact on the failure modes of rock mass by the joint and the anchorage.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2020

The synthetic rock mass (SRM) were used to investigate the influence of specimen size on the mechanical properties of jointed rock mass. The SRM were established based on parallel bond model (PBM) and smooth joint model (SJM) and the scaled rock specimens were sampled in two SRMs considering three sampling locations. The research results show that the smaller the initial fracture density is, the greater the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus (E) is when compared with the same sampling location. The mechanical properties of rock specimens obtained by different sampling methods in different SRMs have different scale effects. The strength of rock specimens with more new cracks is not necessarily less than that of rock specimens with fewer new cracks and the failure of rock is caused by the formation of macro-fracture surface.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.82-93
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyze the problems of rock specimens used for science education in elementary schools and to provide improvements of them. For the study, 20 sets of rock specimens were randomly selected from the five elementary schools in K city of Gyeongbuk Province and they were photographed and investigated. Also three elementary school teachers with more than 5 years of scientific career were interviewed. As a result, the sets of rock specimens that reflected the elementary curriculum were only 10%. The sets of rock specimens had many problems as follows: they were purchased a long time ago (up to 30 years), information presented in the nameplate and documentation was errorneous, some of rock specimens were too small and they did not show typical characteristics for education. In addition, the purchase and verification procedures of rock specimens were often neglected. With lack of interest and knowledge of teachers and lack of information about rock specimens, it was difficult to purchase good rock specimens for education. To improve the situation, a set of rock specimens should be verified by experts and should reflect the contents of curriculum and textbooks thoroughly. A manual of rock specimens is provided for science education in elementary schools.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.2
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• pp.283-296
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• 2020

The coupled hydro-mechanical loading conditions commonly occur in the geothermal and petroleum engineering projects, which is significantly important influence on the stability of rock masses. In this article, the influence of flaw inclination angle of fracture behaviors in rock-like materials subjected to both mechanical loads and internal hydraulic pressures is experimentally studied using the 3-D X-ray computed tomography combined with 3-D reconstruction techniques. Triaxial compression experiments under confining pressure of 8.0 MPa are first conducted for intact rock-like specimens using a rock mechanics testing system. Four pre-flawed rock-like specimens containing a single open flaw with different inclination angle under the coupled hydro-mechanical loading conditions are carried out. Then, the broken pre-flawed rock-like specimens are analyzed using a 3-D X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning system. Subsequently, the internal damage behaviors of failed pre-flawed rock-like specimens are evaluated by the 3-D reconstruction techniques, according to the horizontal and vertical cross-sectional CT images. The present experimental does not only focus on the mechanical responses, but also pays attentions to the internal fracture characteristics of rock-like materials under the coupled hydro-mechanical loading conditions. The conclusion remarks are significant for predicting the rock instability in geothermal and unconventional petroleum engineering.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.323-331
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• 2019

The presence of defects in nature changes the physical parameters of the rock. In this paper, by studying the rock-like specimens with conjugated fractures, the horizontal angle and length are changed, and the physical parameters and failure modes of the specimens under uniaxial compression test are analyzed and compared with the results of simulation analysis. The experimental results show that the peak strength and failure mode of the rock-like specimens are closely related to the horizontal angle. When the horizontal angle is $45^{\circ}$, the maximum value is reached and the tensile failure mode is obtained. The fracture length affects the germination and propagation path of the cracks. It is of great significance to study the failure modes and mechanical properties of conjugated fracture rock-like specimens to guide the support of fractured rock on site.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.883-898
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• 2017

To eliminate the holding and gluing problems making the direct tensile strength test hard to be applied, a new method of testing specimens prepared using lathe machine to make the dog bone shape is assessed whether it could be applied to determine accurate direct tensile strength values of rock materials. A series of numerical modelling analyses was performed using finite element method to investigate the effect of different specimen and steel holder geometries. In addition to numerical modelling study, a series of direct tensile strength tests was performed on three different groups of rock materials and a rock-like cemented material to compare the results with those obtained from the finite element analyses. A proper physical property of the lathed specimens was suggested and ideal failure of the dog bone shaped specimens was determined according to the results obtained from this study.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2020

The damage or failure of coal rock is accompanied by energy accumulation, dissipation and release. It is crucial to study the energy evolution characteristics of coal rock for rock mechanics and mining engineering applications. In this paper, coal specimens sourced from the Xinhe mine located in the Jining mining area of China were initially subjected to uniaxial compression, and the micro-parameters of the two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC^2D) model were calibrated according to the experimental test results. Then, the PFC^2D model was used to subject the specimens to substantial uniaxial compression, and the energy evolution laws of coal specimens with various schemes were presented. Finally, the elastic energy storage ratio m was investigated for coal rock, which described the energy conversion in coal specimens with various arrangements of preformed holes. The arrangement of the preformed holes significantly influenced the characteristics of the crack initiation stress and energy in the prepeak stage, whereas the characteristics of the cumulative crack number, failure pattern and elastic strain energy during the loading process were similar. Additionally, the arrangement of the preformed holes altered the proportion of elastic strain energy U_e in the total energy in the prepeak stage, and the probability of rock bursts can be qualitatively predicted.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.226-233
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• 1998

Microcracks in rock materials, whether natural or induced, provide useful information on the engineering performance of in situ rockmasses. A population of preferentially oriented microcracks has observable effects on the physical properties of a rockmass, but their effects may not be evident if the rock material is highly anisotropic due to other causes. An experimental program was undertaken to investigate the effect of rock fabrics on the physical properties of rock materials. In this study, anisotropy in the circumferential wave velocity and the direction of induced fractures under axial point loading were measured. Rock specimens (NX-size) of the leucocractic Pocheon granite were cored from rock blocks, retaining the relative directions of each specimen. Another set of specimens was prepared from the rock cores of the same meterial, obtained in the field. The master orientation line (MOL) was set to be the representative direction of the microcracks in the specimen. Variation of the circumferential wave velocity of each specimen was then measured along the core, keeping the MOL as reference. The direction of the minimum wave velocity was nearly perpendicular to the direction of the MOL. Coring of smaller-sized (EX-size), concentric specimens from the NX specimens were then followed, and axial point loading was applied. The direction of induced fractures due to axial point loading was closely related to the MOL direction, confirming the prior test result.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2019

Water-induced strength reduction is one of the most critical causes for rock deformation and failure. Understanding the effects of water on the strength, toughness and deformability of rocks are of a great importance in rock fracture mechanics and design of structures in rock. However, only a few studies have been conducted to understand the effects of water on fracture properties such as fracture toughness, crack propagation velocity, consumed energy, and microstructural damage. Thus, in this study, we focused on the understanding of how microscale damages induced by water saturation affect mesoscale mechanical and fracture properties compared with oven dried specimens along three notch orientations-divider, arrester, and short transverse. The mechanical properties of calcite-cemented sandstone were examined using standard uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) tests. In addition, fracture properties such as fracture toughness, consumed energy and crack propagation velocity were examined with cracked chevron notched Brazilian disk (CCNBD) tests. Digital Image Correlation (DIC), a non-contact optical measurement technique, was used for both strain and crack propagation velocity measurements along the bedding plane orientations. Finally, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) was employed to investigate the microstructural damages produced in calcite-cemented sandstone specimens before and after CCNBD tests. As results, both mechanical and fracture properties reduced significantly when specimens were saturated. The effects of water on fracture properties (fracture toughness and consumed energy) were predominant in divider specimens when compared with arrester and short transverse specimens. Whereas crack propagation velocity was faster in short transverse and slower in arrester, and intermediate in divider specimens. Based on ESEM data, water in the calcite-cemented sandstone induced microstructural damages (microcracks and voids) and increased the strength disparity between cement/matrix and rock forming mineral grains, which in turn reduced the crack propagation resistance of the rock, leading to lower both consumed energy and fracture toughness ($K_{IC}$).