A Novel Application of Strain Energy for Fracturing Process Analysis of Hard Rock Under True Triaxial Compression

Abstract

Energy principles, which can favorably explain the complete rock failure process, are one of the most reliable analysis approaches in rock mechanics and engineering. In this study, a strain energy approach under true triaxial compression (TTC) is proposed. On this basis, the energy evolution characteristics and variations of different failure behavior types (Class I, Class II and ductile failure) under TTC are analyzed. The variations of the strain energy characteristics of Beishan granite with σ2 and σ3 under TTC are studied. The results indicate that the total strain energy U and the elastic strain energy $$U^{e}$$Ue of Beishan granite increase with the increasing σ2 or σ3. The dissipated strain energy $$U^{d}$$Ud rapidly increases when the value of ε1/ε1peak is approximately 0.6–0.8. The influence of σ3 on the rock failure mode and energy evolution characteristics is greater than that of σ2. In highly brittle rocks, the tensile cracking of the rock microstructure is dominant, and the rock has a high strain energy storage capacity and a low strain energy dissipation capacity. The cumulative acoustic emission (AE) count rate curve shows the same trend as the total dissipated strain energy $$U^{d}$$Ud curve. The research results show that the proposed strain energy analysis method for TTC can explain the macroscopic failure behaviors, microscopic failure mechanism and AE characteristics of Beishan granite under TTC, thereby providing new ideas and methods for investigating the behaviors of deep underground hard rock.