The Brazilian Disc Test for Rock Mechanics Applications: Review and New Insights

The development of the Brazilian disc test for determining indirect tensile strength and its applications in rock mechanics are reviewed herein. Based on the history of research on the Brazilian test by analytical, experimental, and numerical approaches, three research stages can be identified. Most of the early studies focused on the tensile stress distribution in Brazilian disc specimens, while ignoring the tensile strain distribution. The observation of different crack initiation positions in the Brazilian disc has drawn a lot of research interest from the rock mechanics community. A simple extension strain criterion was put forward by Stacey (Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr 18(6):469–474, 1981) to account for extension crack initiation and propagation in rocks, although this is not widely used. In the present study, a linear elastic numerical model is constructed to study crack initiation in a 50-mm-diameter Brazilian disc using FLAC^3D. The maximum tensile stress and the maximum tensile strain are both found to occur about 5 mm away from the two loading points along the compressed diameter of the disc, instead of at the center of the disc surface. Therefore, the crack initiation point of the Brazilian test for rocks may be located near the loading point when the tensile strain meets the maximum extension strain criterion, but at the surface center when the tensile stress meets the maximum tensile strength criterion.     

Typical Upper Bound–Lower Bound Mixed Mode Fracture Resistance Envelopes for Rock Material

Mixed mode fracture experiments were conducted on Harsin marble using two disc-shape samples namely the Brazilian disc (BD) and the semi-circular bend (SCB) specimens. For each specimen, a complete fracture toughness envelope ranging from pure mode I to pure mode II was obtained. The experimental results indicate that the mixed mode fracture toughness depends on the geometry and loading conditions such that for any similar mode mixture, the BD test data were significantly greater than the SCB fracture toughness results. Therefore, the conventional fracture criteria which present a unique mixed mode fracture curve, fail to predict the test results. It is shown that a generalized criterion, which takes into account the effects of geometry and loading conditions, is able to provide individual fracture curves for theses specimens with very good estimates for the test results obtained from both BD and SCB specimens. The BD and SCB specimens can be suggested as appropriate specimens for obtaining typical upper bound and lower bound envelopes for mixed mode fracture toughness of rocks.     

Experimental Study on the Validity and Rationality of Four Brazilian Disc Tests

The validity and rationality of the Brazilian disc test have attracted much attention since it was proposed. To verify the validity of four Brazilian disc tests, red sandstone and yellow rust granite were employed. In these experiments, uniaxial tensile tests and four Brazilian disc tests were performed. Meanwhile, the typical location of the Brazilian discs was arranged with gages to detect the crack initiation location. By analyzing the rationality of the four Brazilian disc tests from two aspects, the crack initiation location and the difference between indirect tensile strength and direct tensile strength, it was found that the Brazilian disc tests without cushion and the Brazilian disc tests with two small-diameter steer rods are suitable for determining the indirect tensile strength of rock materials. However, the Brazilian disc tests with arc loading jaws should be carefully adopted to measure the indirect tensile strength due to their overestimation of the indirect tensile strength. Additionally, flattened Brazilian disc tests were found to be not suitable for measuring the indirect tensile strength of rock materials.     

Experimental and Numerical Studies on Determination of Indirect Tensile Strength of Rocks

Indirect tension tests using Brisbane tuff Brazilian disc specimens under standard Brazilian jaws and various loading arcs were performed. The standard Brazilian indirect tensile tests caused catastrophic, crushing failure of the disc specimens, rather than the expected tensile splitting failure initiated by a central crack. This led to an investigation of the fracturing of Brazilian disc specimens and the existing indirect tensile Brazilian test using steel loading arcs with different angles. The results showed that the ultimate failure load increased with increasing loading arc angles. With no international standard for determining indirect tensile strength of rocks under diametral load, numerical modelling and analytical solutions were undertaken. Numerical simulations using RFPA^2D software were conducted with a heterogeneous material model. The results predicted tensile stress in the discs and visually reproduced the progressive fracture process. It was concluded that standard Brazilian jaws cause catastrophic, crushing failure of the disc specimens instead of producing a central splitting crack. The experimental and numerical results showed that 20° and 30° loading arcs result in diametral splitting fractures starting at the disc centre. Moreover, intrinsic material properties (e.g. fracture toughness) may be used to propose the best loading configuration to determine the indirect tensile strength of rocks. Here, by using numerical outcomes and empirical relationships between fracture toughness and tensile strength, the best loading geometry to obtain the most accurate indirect tensile strength of rocks was the 2α?=?30° loading arc.     

用5种圆盘试件的劈裂试验确定岩石断裂韧度

用5种不同形状的圆盘试件测定了大理岩张开型断裂韧度。5种圆盘试件分别为平台巴西圆盘、带有中心圆孔的平台巴西圆盘、人字型切槽巴西圆盘、直切槽巴西圆盘和圆孔切槽平台巴西圆盘。加载模式是对径压缩劈裂。介绍了试件的制作方法,提出了用每种圆盘确定断裂韧度的公式。结果表明,含有切槽圆盘的断裂韧度值在0.78～0.91 MPa•m1/2之间,不含切槽圆盘测得的值在1.01～1.04 MPa•m1/2之间。有3种含有切槽圆盘测得的断裂韧度值比较稳定,其中孔槽式平台巴西圆盘能够制作理想的宽度较小的切槽。     

岩石巴西圆盘试验中的空间拉应力分布

指出目前人们使用了40多年的岩石巴西圆盘试验拉伸强度公式来自二维弹性力学解答,该公式不适用于实际情况所对应的三维弹性力学问题。为了得到三维条件下试样内部的应力分布规律,采用三维有限元分析软件Marc对试样进行了弹性受力分析,结果表明,试样横截面上的拉应力分布规律与二维条件下的情况相类似,但横截面上的应力值沿试样厚度方向是有变化的,越靠近两端面,水平拉应力越大。分析发现,对于高径比为1、泊松比为0.25的巴西圆盘试样,按二维公式计算的抗拉强度比真实值小23.3 %     

Water Saturation Effects on the Brazilian Tensile Strength of Gypsum and Assessment of Cracking Processes Using High-Speed Video

This study investigates the water weakening effect on the tensile strength, as well as the fracturing behavior, of an artificially molded Hydrocal B-11 gypsum rock. Brazilian disc tests, with the aid of a high-speed video system to monitor and record the cracking processes, are conducted on dry and wet specimens to determine their tensile strengths. The dry specimens are oven-dried, while the wet specimens are prepared by soaking in water for 1, 3, and 10 weeks to achieve different levels of water content. The test results show that the tensile strength drops to nearly half of its dry value after being soaked in water for only 1 week. The tensile strength reduces only slightly further after the specimens have been immersed in water for 3 and 10 weeks. An analysis of the recorded high-speed footage shows that the primary crack initiates at the center as observed from the surface for the majority of the tested specimens. Most importantly, the cracking processes of dry and wet specimens are distinctly different with regard to the speed of crack propagation and the number of cracks developed.     

岩石非理想裂纹圆盘试件动态断裂韧性测试的有限元分析及试验研究

采用中心裂纹圆盘-霍普金森压杆(CCCD-SHPB)试验系统对大理岩中心裂纹圆盘试件进行不同加载速率下的纯Ⅰ型加载试验,研究岩石材料动态断裂韧性的加载速率相关性。考虑到试验中所使用的圆盘试件是带有中心切口的非理想裂纹,结合试件的实际加工情况,提出采用切口尖端形状为小圆弧形的预制裂纹,介绍了试件的制作方法,并利用有限元计算论证了采用这种形状非理想裂纹试件的试验可行性。结果表明,采用圆弧形裂尖、裂纹宽度为1 mm的中心切口非理想裂纹圆盘试件来代替理想裂纹圆盘试件是可行的,误差不超过2.13%。分析试验数据得出：非理想裂纹圆盘试件在纯Ⅰ型加载条件下,其断裂韧度表现出明显的速率相关性,且随着加载速率的增大而增大。     

Fracturing and Failure Behavior of Carrara Marble in Quasistatic and Dynamic Brazilian Disc Tests

The tensile strength and fracturing behavior of Carrara marble subjected to the dynamic Brazilian disc test using the split Hopkinson pressure bar technique are determined and compared with those obtained by the conventional quasistatic Brazilian disc test. Detailed observation of the cracking processes is aided by high-speed video footage captured at a frame rate of 100,000 frames per second. The dynamic increase factor is computed, revealing a strong strain rate dependence of the Carrara marble when subjected to strain rates above 1 s^?1. Similar to the quasistatic loading tests, conspicuous white zones/patches commonly appear prior to the initiation of visible cracks in the dynamic loading tests. Identification of the white patch initiation and evolution is aided by image comparison software. Comparing the cracking and failure processes under quasistatic and dynamic loading, some distinct differences in the white patch geometry and initiation load are observed. In addition, the extent of the compressive failure zones around the contact points between the loading platens and specimens is found to increase with the strain rate.     

Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test

Summary This paper presents a new approach, combined with the Boundary Element Method (BEM) analysis and the diametrical compression on a thin disc with a small central hole, referred to as the ring test, for determining the indirect tensile strength of anisotropic rocks. The stress distribution around the hole can be successfully obtained by the proposed single-domain BEM. The complex variable function method was used for conveniently computing the tractions and displacements of a two-dimensional anisotropic body. If we assume that the tensile strength is given by the maximum absolute value of stress in the direction perpendicular to the loaded diameter at the intersection of loaded diameter and the hole, then from the failure load recorded by laboratory testing of ring (disc), the indirect tensile strength of rocks could be obtained. A marble from Hualien (Taiwan) with clearly black-white foliation, which was assumed to be transversely isotropic, was selected to conduct both ring tests and Brazilian tests for evaluating the tensile strength. The variation of the marble tensile strength with the inclination angle of foliation and with the hole size was also investigated. In general, the tensile strength of anisotropic rocks determined by ring test is not a constant, but depends on the elastic properties of rocks, the angle between the planes of rock anisotropy and the loading direction, the diameter of the central hole, and the contact condition of loading.     

巴西劈裂法在层状岩体抗拉强度测试中的分析与讨论

为分析巴西圆盘劈裂法在层状岩体抗拉强度试验中的适用性,在以往层状岩体巴西圆盘劈裂试验成果分析基础上,选取层理砂岩为试验对象,设计并进行了考虑不同层理角度的砂岩巴西圆盘劈裂试验。分析结果表明,（1）层状岩体抗拉强度的各向异性特点非常明显,层理角度对各种层状岩体的劈裂抗拉强度的影响规律是基本类似的,只是影响程度不一样;（2）不同层理角度圆盘试样的破裂面形状差别较大,其破坏模式可以归纳为直线型、折线型和弧形型;（3）当层理角度0°＜β＜90°时,破裂面的发展规律不能严格满足巴西圆盘劈裂试验力学理论模型的假定,采用式（1）计算得到的劈裂抗拉强度只能是一个近似的值;（4）当圆盘试样加载线两侧的岩石材料、层理结构对称分布时,加载时圆盘内的应力分布可以较好地满足其理论计算模型,其试验结果比较准确。研究成果可为层状岩体抗拉强度的准确测定提供较好的参考。     

岩石类材料拉伸弹性模量测量方法的对比研究

研究表明岩石材料在拉应力、压应力条件下具有不同的力学行为,因此,岩石材料存在两种弹性模量,分别为拉伸弹性模量和压缩弹性模量。为了甄别出直梁弯折试验和巴西劈裂试验哪一种更加适合测试岩石材料的拉伸弹性模量,以大理岩、花岗岩和砂岩为典型的岩石类型,开展了一系列的单轴压缩、直接拉伸、三点弯折和巴西劈裂试验,测试了岩石材料的拉伸弹性模量;并对测试结果的可靠性、准确性开展了系统的对比研究。最终发现,巴西劈裂试验因为较好的测量精度、制样简便、试验操作简单等因素,可以成为测量岩石材料拉伸弹性模量的推荐方法。     

Three-Dimensional Numerical Investigations of the Failure Mechanism of a Rock Disc with a Central or Eccentric Hole

The diametrical compression of a circular disc (Brazilian test) or cylinder with a small eccentric hole is a simple but important test to determine the tensile strength of rocks. This paper studies the failure mechanism of circular disc with an eccentric hole by a 3D numerical model (RFPA3D). A feature of the code RFPA3D is that it can numerically simulate the evolution of cracks in three-dimensional space, as well as the heterogeneity of the rock mass. First, numerically simulated Brazilian tests are compared with experimental results. Special attention is given to the effect of the thickness to radius ratio on the failure modes and the peak stress of specimens. The effects of the compressive strength to tensile strength ratio (C/T), the loading arc angle (2α), and the homogeneity index (m) are also studied in the numerical simulations. Secondly, the failure process of a rock disc with a central hole is studied. The effects of the ratio of the internal hole radius (r) to the radius of the rock disc (R) on the failure mode and the peak stress are investigated. Thirdly, the influence of the vertical and horizontal eccentricity of an internal hole on the initiation and propagation of cracks inside a specimen are simulated. The effect of the radius of the eccentric hole and the homogeneity index (m) are also investigated.     

高温后大理岩动态劈裂拉伸试验研究

为了研究高温处理后的岩石材料在冲击加载速率作用下的动态劈裂拉伸性能,利用大直径分离式霍普金森压杆试验设备对经历不同高温作用冷却后的“大理岩”平台巴西圆盘试样进行不同加载速率作用下的径向冲击试验。研究了高温后大理岩的动态劈裂拉伸强度及动态劈裂破坏形式随温度和冲击加载速率的变化规律。试验结果表明,与静态劈裂拉伸强度相比,经历不同高温作用冷却后,大理岩的动态劈裂拉伸强度有明显的提高,表现出显著的冲击加载速率强化效应,同一冲击加载速率作用下,随着温度的升高,动态劈裂拉伸强度表现出先增大后减小的变化趋势;高温后大理岩的动态劈裂破坏形式受到冲击加载速率和温度的共同影响。     

平台巴西圆盘研究综述及三维启裂点研究

总结了对平台巴西劈裂试验平台中心角的研究,归纳总结了抗拉强度计算公式的修正系数k。通过建立两种平台角的三维有限元模型探究试样内应力分布状态,通过对受压直径所在平面及过平台末端的竖直平面的受力分析,发现Griffith等效应力分布规律会随平台角的改变而改变,且在两种平台角下等效应力最大值均出现在平台边缘处。结合三维离散元方法模拟试验中裂纹开展过程,发现微裂纹最早集中于平台末端,但随着荷载的增加致使试样破裂的裂纹起始于试样中部。有限元的力学分析与离散元的破裂过程模拟可很好地相互印证。通过与试验现象对比发现,加工精度对裂纹模式有着重要影响,为保证由平台巴西劈裂试验测量岩石抗拉强度的有效性,在试样与试验机之间垫入垫片是较为可行的方法。     

巴西圆盘试验问题与三维抗拉强度准则

巴西圆盘抗拉强度公式是基于弹性力学平面问题解析解,利用最大拉应力准则得到的,但结果与直接拉伸试验得到的强度有较大的差异。根据10种岩石（煤）的直接拉伸试验与弧形劈裂试验数据,分析了弧形加载面积对应圆心角对试样3维应力状态的影响规律,并采用三维抗拉强度准则来分析巴西试样,结果表明此准则更适合于巴西圆盘试验。     

粘性土试样高度对抗拉强度的影响

针对粘性土抗拉强度测试问题,本文设计改装了土样拉伸试验仪,可完成单轴拉伸、巴西劈裂和轴向压裂三种抗拉强度试验。通过不同方法测定土体的抗拉强度,研究了试样高度对各方法强度测量值的影响及其规律。试验结果表明,试样高度对轴向压裂试验测试结果的影响最大,对巴西劈裂试验测试结果影响很小,几乎不影响单轴拉伸试验测试结果。轴向压裂试验中,抗拉强度测试值随试样高度h增大而减小,随衬垫直径增大而增大。巴西劈裂试验中,试样抗拉强度测试值随试样高度增大略有增大。     

Effect of Rapid Thermal Cooling on Mechanical Rock Properties

Laboratory tests have been conducted to investigate the effects of rapid thermal cooling on various rock specimens including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. At first, various types of thermal loading were conducted: heating up to 100, 200, and 300 °C, followed by rapid cooling with a fan. In addition, multiple cyclic thermal cooling (10, 15 and 20 cycles) with a maximum temperature of only 100 °C was conducted. Experiments included edge notched disc (END) tests to determine the Mode I fracture toughness, Brazilian disc tests to determine tensile strength, seismic tests to determine P-wave velocity, and porosity tests leading to meaningful results. Even though only small changes of temperature (rapid cooling from 100 °C to room temperature) were applied, the results showed that crack growth occurred in some rock types (granite, diabase with ore veins, and KVS) while crack healing occurred in other rock types (diabase without ore veins, quartzite, and skarn). To better understand the results, 3D transient thermo-mechanical analysis was conducted using the ANSYS program. The results indicated that there was a thin region near the outside of the specimen where large tensile stresses occur and microcracking would be expected, and that there was a large area in the middle of the specimen where lower magnitude compressive stresses occur and crack closure would be expected. It was found that the more heterogeneous and more coarse-grained rock types are more likely to exhibit crack growth, while less heterogeneous and more fine-grained rocks are more likely to exhibit crack healing.     

动载确定方法对岩石动态断裂韧度测试的影响

为了考察不同方法确定的动态载荷对测试岩石动态断裂韧度的影响,在SHPB压杆系统上动态冲击直径80 mm的大理岩圆孔裂缝平台巴西圆盘,获得了弹性压杆上的应力波形,间接计算得到3种不同的作用在圆盘端部的动态载荷。将载荷输入ANSYS动态有限元模型中,求得了相应的动态应力强度因子,并根据试验-数值分析方法确定了岩石的动态断裂韧度测试值。结果表明,在加载速率约为4.0×104 MPa•m1/2/s的条件下,采用三波法确定的大理岩的平均动态断裂韧度为 3.92 MPa•m1/2,采用一波法比三波法计算的结果偏低11.22%,采用二波法比三波法计算的结果偏高20.15%,3种方法得到的结果差异较大。应力波在传播过程中,通过圆盘表面和预制裂缝面发生散射,部分能量不断发生释放是造成圆盘试件两端加载载荷不相等的主要原因。三波法是3种方法中比较理想的动态载荷确定方法,但需要考察试件的动态应力平衡性。