A constitutive model for a laboratory rock joint with multi-scale asperity degradation

This paper presents a joint constitutive model that considers separately the mechanical contribution of waviness and unevenness of a joint to shear behaviour. The critical asperities for waviness and unevenness are determined from geometric properties in a lab-scale joint. The wear process is employed to model the degradation in dilation and strength during shear. From dimensional analysis, asperity degradation constants are developed using geometric parameters including asperity angle, wavelength, and amplitude as well as rock strength and stress. The applicability of the proposed model was assessed by performing direct shear tests on three joint roughness coefficient (JRC) profiles and providing its correlation with experimental results. Additionally, experimental data taken from literature were used to validate the model’s performance.     

The application of energy principles to the determination of the sliding resistance of rock joints

Summary Energy principles have previously been applied to the analysis of rock joints in order to determine the shear strength of dilatant joints (Ladanyi and Archambault, 1970). This work was based on the analysis of regular triangular asperities and assumed that the asperities were rigid. In recognition of the difficulty of measuring a representative asperity angle in natural, complex rock joints, Ladanyi and Archambault extended their results to natural joints by assuming the equality of joint dilation rate and the effective joint asperity angle. It is shown that the assumption of this equality is not universally valid, and that it may lead to an underestimation of joint shear strength. Further, the effective friction angle for joints in an elastic rock mass, for joints comprising asperities of varying inclination, for post-peak shear displacements and for joints in degradable rock are all analysed using extensions of Ladanyi and Archambault's approach.     

循环剪切荷载作用下岩石节理变形特性试验研究

以水泥砂浆为相似材料,制备3种岩壁强度、5种起伏角度的锯齿型节理试样;利用试验设备,进行了在4种法向应力下的循环剪切试验。根据试验结果,结合循环剪切试验特点,定义剪胀角来表征节理循环剪切的法向变形特性,以及剪切刚度来表征节理循环剪切的切向变形特性。基于不同起伏角、不同强度等级和不同法向应力下的节理试样循环剪切试验结果,分析了循环剪切过程中剪胀角和剪切刚度的变化规律;并利用不同条件下的试验结果,对比分析初始起伏角度、法向应力、岩壁强度对节理循环剪切变形特性的影响规律。研究发现：剪胀角、剪切刚度均随着剪切循环次数的增加而呈现先快、后慢的降低趋势,并且中低起伏角度节理的剪胀角、剪切刚度的降低趋势随着初始起伏角度、法向应力的增加而加快,随着岩壁强度增加而变慢,高起伏角度节理的剪胀角、剪切刚度的降低趋势基本保持不变。     

Effects of Cyclic Loading on the Shear Behaviour of Infilled Rock Joints Under Constant Normal Stiffness Conditions

The variation of the shear strength of infilled rock joints under cyclic loading and constant normal stiffness conditions is studied. To simulate the joints, triangular asperities inclined at angles of 9.5° and 18.5° to the shear movement were cast using high-strength gypsum plaster and infilled with clayey sand. These joints were sheared cyclically under constant normal stiffness conditions. It was found that, for a particular normal stiffness, the shear strength is a function of the initial normal stress, initial asperity angle, joint surface friction angle, infill thickness, infill friction angle, loading direction and number of loading cycles. Based on the experimental results, a mathematical model is proposed to evaluate the shear strength of infilled rock joints in cyclic loading conditions. The proposed model takes into consideration different initial asperity angles, initial normal stresses and ratios of infill thickness to asperity height.     

Observation of the Degradation Characteristics and Scale of Unevenness on Three-dimensional Artificial Rock Joint Surfaces Subjected to Shear

The present study explores the degradation characteristics and scale of unevenness (small-scale roughness) on sheared rock joint surfaces at a low-stress regime. While the degradation characteristics of unevenness and the normal stress are mutually interrelated, an understanding of the degradation patterns of the three-dimensional roughness of rock joints is one of the important components needed to identify asperity failure characteristics and to quantify the role of damaged unevenness in establishing a shear strength model. A series of direct shear tests was performed on three-dimensional artificial rock joint surfaces at different normal stress levels. After shearing, the spatial distributions and statistical parameters of degraded roughness were analysed for the different normal stress levels. The length and area of the degraded zones showed bell-shaped distributions in a logarithmic scale, and the dominant scale (or the most frequently occurring scale) of the damaged asperities (i.e., unevenness) ranged from approximately, 0.5 to 5.0 mm in length and 0.1–10 mm² in area. This scale of the damaged unevenness was consistent regardless of the level of normal stress. It was also found that the relative area of damaged unevenness on a given joint area, and thus the contribution of the mechanical asperity failure component to shear strength increased as normal stress increased.     

An Elasto-Plastic Constitutive Model for Rock Joints Under Cyclic Loading and Constant Normal Stiffness Conditions

An elasto-plastic constitutive model is introduced for rock joints under cyclic loading, considering the additional shear resistance generated by the asperity damage in the first forward shear cycle and sliding mechanism for further shearing. A series of cyclic loading direct shear tests was conducted on artificial joints with triangular asperities and replicas of a real rock asperity surface under constant normal stiffness (CNS) conditions. The model was calibrated and then validated using selected data sets from the experimental results. Model simulations were found to be in good agreement with the rock joints behaviour under cyclic loading and CNS conditions both in stress prediction and dilation behaviour. In addition, dynamic stability analysis of an underground structure was carried out, using Universal Distinct Element Code and the proposed constitutive model.     

基于小波分析的岩石节理剪切特性研究

岩体工程中,节理面的轮廓特征是决定节理岩体剪切特性的重要因素,既往研究发现节理的表面轮廓可分解为一阶大起伏和二阶小凸起,且两者在剪切特性中发挥不同的作用。为了定量分析两阶表面特征对节理剪切强度的影响,本文通过小波分析法分解节理表面,并利用二维颗粒流数值模拟结合直剪试验验证,研究了具有不同起伏角(4°、8°、12°、16°、20°)波形节理面的细观破坏模式以及波面参数对剪切特性的影响规律。结果表明,波长对剪切强度影响较小,而起伏角是决定节理剪切强度的关键因素,随着起伏角增大剪切强度和摩擦角线性增大; 直剪切过程中裂纹数量随法向应力的增大而增加,以拉伸裂纹为主; 一阶大起伏与二阶小凸起的波形起伏角和摩擦角正相关。以上研究成果为预测节理岩体强度提供了理论支撑,对保障边坡、隧道等岩体工程的安全稳定性具有参考价值。     

AN INTERFACE MODEL FOR ANALYSIS OF DEFORMATION BEHAVIOUR OF DISCONTINUITIES

An interface constitutive model is presented accounting for slip and sliding effects and also for dilatancy phenomena. The microslip effects are described by considering spherical asperity interaction with variation of contact area and generation of progressive or reverse slip zones. The incremental constitutive equations are derived with proper memory rules accounting for generation and annihilation of particular slip zones during the process of variable loading. It is further assumed that sliding of spherical contacts occurs along large asperities whose slope varies due to the wear process. The predicted shear and dilatancy curves are shown to provide close quantitative simulation of available experimental data. The strain ratchetting effect for non-symmetric cyclic loading was exhibited using the asperity wear model. The model presented could be applied to simulate rock joints, masonry, or concrete cracked interfaces, under monotonic and cyclic loading.     

A simple failure criterion for rough joints and compound shear surfaces

The subject under investigation is the strength of a single shear plane which exhibits a regular, asymmetric roughness pattern. In the shear direction the asperities are so steeply inclined that the joint becomes mechanically non-effective with the result that the asperities are sheared off. Against the shear direction the asperities are only gently inclined. It is shown that this particular roughness pattern is of some general importance in geomechanics (examples: unconfined compression test; shear plane with secondary fractures).

Simple analytical considerations allow the formulation of a shear criterion, which is dependent on friction angle ø_m and cohesionc_m of the intact rock and on the inclination γ of the gently inclined parts of the asperities which are dipping against the shear direction. In the Mohr-diagram the criterion results in envelopes which converge at high normal stresses against the envelope of intact rock. Furthermore, the criterion expresses that both the slope of the envelopes and the dilation angle continuously decrease with increasing normal stress. Therefore the criterion adequately describes features which are regarded as most important when shearing rough joints or compound shear surfaces.     

A model for coupled mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of a rock joint

Constitutive laws for rock joints should be able to reproduce the fundamental mechanical behaviour of real joints, such as dilation under shear and strain softening due to surface asperity degradation. In this work, we extend the model of Plesha to include hydraulic behaviour. During shearing, the joint can experience dilation, leading to an initial increase in its permeability. Experiments have shown that the rate of increase of the permeability slows down as shearing proceeds, and, at later stages, the permeability could decrease again. The above behaviour is attributed to gouge production. The stress–strain relationship of the joint is formulated by appeal to classical theories of interface plasticity. It is shown that the parameters of the model can be estimated from the Barton–Bandis empirical coefficients; the Joint Roughness Coefficient (JRC) and the Joint Compresive strength (JSC). We further assume that gouge production is also related to the plastic work of the shear stresses, which enables the derivation of a relationship between the permeability of the joint and its mechanical aperture. The model is implemented in a finite element code (FRACON) developed by the authors for the simulation of the coupled thermal–hydraulic–mechanical behaviour of jointed rock masses. Typical laboratory experiments are simulated with the FRACON code in order to illustrate the trends predicted in the proposed model. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons. Ltd.     

Numerical Investigations of the Dynamic Shear Behavior of Rough Rock Joints

The dynamic shear behavior of rock joints is significant to both rock engineering and earthquake dynamics. With the discrete element method (DEM), the dynamic direct-shear tests on the rough rock joints with 3D (sinusoidal or random) surface morphologies are simulated and discussed. Evolution of the friction coefficient with the slip displacement shows that the 3D DEM joint model can accurately reproduce the initial strengthening, slip-weakening, and steady-sliding responses of real rock joints. Energy analyses show that the strengthening and weakening behavior of the rock joint are mainly attributed to the rapid accumulation and release of the elastic energy in the joint. Then, effects of the surface roughness and the normal stress on the friction coefficient and the micro shear deformation mechanisms, mainly volume change and asperity damage, of the rock joint are investigated. The results show that the peak friction coefficient increases logarithmically with the increasing surface roughness, but decreases exponentially with the increasing normal stress. In addition, the rougher rock joint exhibits both higher joint dilation and asperity degradation. However, high normal stress constrains the joint dilation, but promotes the degree of asperity degradation significantly. Lastly, the effects of the 3D surface morphology on the shear behavior of the rock joint are investigated with a directional roughness parameter. It is observed that the anisotropy of the surface roughness consequently results in the variation of the peak friction coefficient of the joint corresponding to different shearing directions as well as the micro shear deformation mechanisms, e.g., the extent of joint dilation.     

A Bonded Particle Model Simulation of Shear Strength and Asperity Degradation for Rough Rock Fractures

Different failure modes during fracture shearing have been introduced including normal dilation or sliding, asperity cut-off and degradation. Attempts have been made to study these mechanisms using analytical, experimental and numerical methods. However, the majority of the existing models simplify the problem, which leads to unrealistic results. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to simulate the mechanical behaviour of synthetic and rock fracture profiles during direct shear tests by using the two-dimensional particle flow computer code PFC2D. Correlations between the simulated peak shear strength and the fracture roughness parameter D _R1 recently proposed by Rasouli and Harrison (2010) are developed. Shear test simulations are carried out with PFC2D and the effects of the geometrical features as well as the model micro-properties on the fracture shear behaviour are studied. The shear strength and asperity degradation processes of synthetic profiles including triangular, sinusoidal and randomly generated profiles are analysed. Different failure modes including asperity sliding, cut-off, and asperity degradation are explicitly observed and compared with the available models. The D _R1 parameter is applied to the analysis of synthetic and rock fracture profiles. Accordingly, correlations are developed between D _R1 and the peak shear strength obtained from simulations and by using analytical solutions. The results are shown to be in good agreement with the basic understanding of rock fracture shear behaviour and asperity contact degradation.     

循环剪切荷载作用下含二阶起伏体模拟岩石节理力学特性研究

利用人工材料浇注含二阶起伏体的模拟岩石节理试样,进行常法向荷载循环剪切试验,研究节理剪切力学特性在循环剪切过程中的劣化规律。试验结果表明：二阶起伏体对节理循环剪切力学特性有重要影响,剪切强度、剪切刚度、剪胀角随剪切循环次数增大而衰减,衰减趋势随着二阶起伏度的增大而加快;法向应力、二阶起伏度较大时,二阶起伏体对剪切力学特性的影响主要体现在第1轮剪切循环中,在随后的剪切循环中影响不明显;法向应力、二阶起伏度较小时,二阶起伏体的影响在前几轮循环剪切过程中均有较清晰的体现。基于Hertz接触力学理论,提出了节理面微凸体球面接触细观模型,揭示了节理循环剪切宏观试验现象的力学机制     

Underestimation of roughness in rough rock joints

Numerous studies have been made to improve Barton's shear strength model for the quantification of rock joints. However, in these previous studies, the roughness and shear strength of the rock joint have been underestimated especially for relatively high undulated profiles (joint roughness coefficient (JRC) >14). The main factors of roughness underestimation in rough rock joints are investigated for the proper quantification of rock joint roughness. The aliasing effect and the roughness characteristics are analyzed by using artificial joint profiles and natural rock joint profiles. A 3D camera scanner is adopted to verify the main source of underestimation when using conventional measurement methods. Shear strength tests are carried out by using two types of shear apparatus to study the roughness mobilization characteristics, which may also affect the roughness underestimation. The results of joint roughness assessment, such as aliasing and undulation of waviness, show that the roughness can be underestimated in relatively rough joint profiles (JRC>14). At least two components of roughness parameters are needed to properly represent the joint roughness, for example, the amplitude and the inclination angle of joint asperity. Roughness mobilization is affected by both the normal stress and the asperity scale. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

含二阶起伏体的模拟岩体节理试样剪切特性试验研究

利用规则的小尺寸锯齿构造二阶起伏体,对不同二阶起伏体高度的人工节理进行常法向应力下的直剪试验,研究了节理剪切力学特性。对节理的剪切强度、变形特征进行了分析,并对破坏特征做出解释。试验结果表明：二阶起伏体对节理剪切力学特性有重要影响,含二阶起伏体节理的剪切力学特性与只含有一阶起伏体节理的剪切力学特性不同,只含一阶起伏体的节理剪应力只有一个峰值,含二阶起伏体的节理会出现波浪状的剪胀曲线和多峰值剪应力,且峰值剪应力随剪切位移增大依次出现并逐个减小;随着二阶起伏体高度增大,节理峰值剪切强度增大,节理依次出现磨损破坏、多次性剪断破坏、一次性剪断破坏。     

A Fractal-Based Model for Fracture Deformation Under Shearing and Compression

This study presents an improved model for calculating mechanical deformation of individual fractures subject to shearing and compression processes. Considering that the fracture-surface roughness can be characterized by fractals, a relationship between asperity angle and size of a fracture with fractal surfaces is derived. In addition, plastic work is employed to account for the effects of fracture-asperity degradation during the shearing process. Based on these developments, a scale-dependent relationship between shear stress and displacement is proposed, and also a formulation to calculate fracture aperture during shearing and compression processes is developed, by relating normal displacement to shear displacement for fractal surfaces. The usefulness of this model is demonstrated by agreements between calculated results and observations from laboratory experiments under different test conditions.     

一种新型粗糙节理面随机强度模型及其应用

天然岩体在长期地质作用下会生成各种节理裂隙等不连续面,而地下工程结构的稳定性一般取决于这些不连续面的强度。在众多因素中,表面形态对岩石节理面剪切强度具有决定性影响。为了系统研究岩石节理面剪切强度的确定方法,把岩石节理面概化为一系列高度不同的微长方体凸起组成的粗糙表面结构,且微长方体凸起有剪胀破坏和非剪胀破坏两种模式。综合微长方体凸起破坏规律,应用概率密度函数描述节理面表面起伏分布的影响,建立了粗糙节理面随机强度模型,推导了节理面剪切强度理论公式,提出了节理面强度的随机评价方法。基于随机强度模型和评价方法编制Matlab计算程序计算自然粗糙节理面的剪切强度,并将计算结果与试验结果进行比较分析。研究表明:粗糙节理面随机强度模型综合了粗糙节理面表面形态和法向应力对节理剪切强度的影响机制,理论计算值与试验数据吻合良好,可以较好的评价粗糙节理的峰值剪切强度和残余剪切强度。该随机模型可作为进一步深入研究的重要基础,分析结构面的连续剪切过程,建立更完善的节理面强度模型。     

Laboratory modelling of shear behaviour of soft joints under constant normal stiffness conditions

Shear behaviour of regular sawtooth rock joints produced from casting plaster are investigated under constant normal stiffness (CNS) conditions. Test results obtained in this investigation are also compared with the constant normal load (CNL) tests. It is observed that the peak shear stress obtained under CNL conditions always underestimates the peak shear stress corresponding to the CNS condition. Plots of shear stress against normal stress show that a nonlinear (curved) strength envelope is acceptable for soft rock joints subjected to a CNS condition, in comparison with the linear or bilinear envelopes often proposed for a CNL condition. Models proposed by Patton (1966) and Barton (1973) have also been considered for the predictions of peak shear stress of soft joints under CNS conditions. Although Patton's model is appropriate for low asperity angles, it overestimates the shear strength in the low to medium normal stress range at higher asperity angles. In contrast, while Barton's model is realistic for the CNL condition, it seems to be inappropriate for modelling the shear behaviour of soft joints under CNS conditions. The effect of infill material on the shear behaviour of the model joints is also investigated, and it is found that a small thickness of bentonite infill reduces the peak stress significantly. The peak shear stress almost approached that of the shear strength of infill when the infill thickness to asperity height ratio (t/a) reached 1.40. This paper also introduces an original, empirical shear strength envelope to account for the change in normal stress and surface degradation during CNS shearing. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

A dislocation model of aseismic fault slip under nonuniform friction

A model is proposed for studying the mechanical behaviour of faults during their interseismic periods. The model considers a plane fault surface in an elastic medium, subject to a uniform shear stress which increases slowly with time. A1-D friction distribution is assumed on the fault, characterized by asperities and a weaker zone. The traction vector on the fault plane has an arbitrary orientation: in particular, it can be nonperpendicular to the asperity borders. Aseismic fault slip takes place when the applied stress exceeds the frictional resistance: slip starts in weak zones and is confined by asperities, where it propagates at increasing velocity. Propagation into asperities is characterized by a dislocation front, advancing perpendicularly to the asperity border. Fault slip does not take prate in the direction of traction, except when traction is perpendicular or parallel to the asperity border. The propagation of such aseismic dislocations produces a stress redistribution along the fault and can play a key role in determining the conditions which give rise to earthquakes.     

A direction-dependent shear strength criterion for rock joints with two new roughness parameters

The surface morphology of a rock joint is closely related to its mechanical properties. To reasonably characterize a rock surface, two new roughness parameters were proposed in this paper. One is related to the average slope angle of asperities that contribute to the shear strength, and the other reflects the frictional behavior of asperities that is defined as the maximum possible contact area in the shear direction. Taking the standard joint roughness coefficient profiles as example, these two roughness parameters can be applied to describe the directional characteristics of shear strength. Based on their relationships with initial dilation angles, the proposed roughness parameters were incorporated into a peak shear strength criterion. It is shown that the predicted peak shear strength is consistent with experimental data, and there is a power–law relationship. The application range of new roughness parameters was determined, which may facilitate a measurement process.