Time-dependent behaviour of the rock mass

Summary The strength of intact rock and the rock mass is time-dependent. For intact rock experimental verification is available, for the rock mass the scale of time-dependence is a matter of judgement. Rock mass classifications do however emphasize the effect of time on tunnel stability. This paper examines the source of time-dependence in rocks and the rock mass and suggests a technique for estimating the long term strength. The long term strength of the rock mass is controlled by the time-dependent weakening of intact rock. Frictional resistance, a major source of rock mass strength, increases rather than decreases with time. Lifetime estimation for rocks can be accomplished phenomenologically or mechanistically. The first is a statistical process of wide applicability, the second is more restrictive in usage as its applies only to materials that suffer time-dependent strain (creep). Although the mechanistic route is more appealing, it has a major drawback as it concentrates on steady state creep. There is no strong evidence for steady state creep in rocks. The technique for long term prediction is developed through the analysis of the failure rate under constant load. The failure rate for a given load and environment is established from the frequency distribution of time-to-failure data as measured in static fatigue tests. As expected, the failure rate is strongly affected by both the loading and the environmental condition. The influence, however, is systematic and predictable.     

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of pressure solution

This paper is concerned with the thermodynamic theory of solution and precipitation processes in wet crustal rocks and with the mechanism of steady pressure-solution slip in contact zones, such as grain-to-grain contacts, fracture surfaces, and permeable gouge layers, that are infiltrated by a mobile aqueous solution phase. A local dissipation jump condition at the phase boundary is fundamental to identifying the thermodynamic force driving the solution and precipitation process and is used here in setting up linear phenomenological relations to model near-equilibrium phase transformation kinetics. The local thermodynamic equilibrium of a stressed pure solid in contact with its melt or solution phase is governed by Gibbs's relation, which is rederived here, in a manner emphasizing its independence of constitutive assumptions for the solid while neglecting surface tension and diffusion in the solid. Fluid-infiltrated contact zones, such as those formed by rough surfaces, cannot generally be in thermodynamic equilibrium, especially during an ongoing process of pressure-solution slip, and the existing equilibrium formulations are incorrect in overlooking dissipative processes tending to eliminate fluctuations in superficial free energies due to stress concentrations near asperities, defects, or impurities. Steady pressure-solution slip is likely to exhibit a nonlinear dependence of slip rate on shear stress and effective normal stress, due to a dependence of the contact-zone state on the latter. Given that this dependence is negligible within some range, linear relations for pressure-solution slip can be derived for the limiting cases of diffusion-controlled and interface-reaction-controlled rates. A criterion for rate control by one of these mechanisms is set by the magnitude of the dimensionless quantityk/2C _pD, wherek is the interfacial transfer coefficient, is the mean diffusion path length,C _p is the solubility at pressurep, andD is the mass diffusivity.     

Hypocenter distribution and focal mechanism of AE events during two stress stage creep in Yugawara andesite

More than a thousand acoustic-emission (AE) hypocenters were determined in a cylindrical andesite specimen under two-stage uniaxial creep at stresses of 204 and 214 MPa. Strains were monitored for 6 peripheral points at the middle part of the cylindrical specimen's wall. The strain data indicate gradual increase of nonuniform deformation during steady creep and strong intensification of the nonuniformity during acceleration creep and, therefore, biased stress distribution within the specimen. The correlation between dilatant strain and AE hypocenters was investigated for whether or not tensile cracks emit AE. The region with high AE activity shows only a small dilatant strain. This negative correlation between AE and the dilatant region may eliminate tensile cracks as possible AE sources. A composite focal-mechanism solution of local AE events, covering a wide solid angle of the focal hemisphere, indicates that shear fractures emit AE waves. The direction of the compressional axis in this solution shows a significant deviation from that inferred from the applied external force, suggesting that the local stress field is governed by preexisting weak zones that are, presumably, produced by tensile cracks within the specimen. AE hypocenters tended to form clusters during steady creep under the constant compressional stress. During acceleration creep caused by a small step increase of the external stress, the preceding clusters disappeared while a new cluster appeared in an incipient fault plane. This suggests that changes in seismicity pattern such as migrations or quiescences of swarm—important clues for earthquake predictions—may be caused by an instantaneous change in the tectonic-stress levels.     

Anomalous hydrogen emissions from the San Andreas fault observed at the Cienega Winery,central California

We began continuous monitoring of H₂ concentration in soil along the San Andreas and Calaveras faults in central California in December 1980, using small H₂/O₂ fuel-cell sensors. Ten monitoring stations deployed to date have shown that anomalous H₂ emissions take place occasionally in addition to diurnal changes. Among the ten sites, the Cienega Winery site has produced data that are characterized by very small diurnal changes, a stable baseline, and remarkably distinct spike-like H₂ anomalies since its installation in July 1982. A major peak appeared on 1–10 November 1982, and another on 3 April 1983, and a medium peak on 1 November 1983. The occurrences of these peaks coincided with periods of very low seismicity within a radius of 50 km from the site. In order to methodically assess how these peaks are related to earthquakes, three H₂ degassing models were examined. A plausible correlational pattern was obtained by using a model that (1) adopts a hemicircular spreading pattern of H₂ along an incipient fracture plane from the hypocenter of an earthquake, (2) relies on the FeO–H₂O reaction for H₂ generation, and (3) relates the accumulated amount of H₂ to the mass of serpentinization of underlying ophiolitic rocks; the mass was tentatively assumed to be proportional to the seismic energy of the earthquake.     

近年来我国冰流动研究进展

本简要介绍我国学１９８７年以来在国内外冰流动理论和试验研究中取得的进展，包括晶粒长大规律、异向性冰的第三蠕变、压剪联合作用下冰的流动以及全新世冰和冰期冰流动性质的差别等，并加以评论。     

则木河断裂的现今活动方式及其地形变鉴别标志探讨

根据地壳形变测量资料，探讨了则木河断裂的现今活动方式及其定性的地形变鉴别标志问题。结果表明：则木河断裂的现今活动具有明显的分段性特征，即以大箐为界分为南北两段，北段以粘滑活动为主，南段以蠕滑活动为主；沿则木河断裂带垂直位移速率空间分布特征的显著差异，可以作为鉴别断裂现今活动方式的标志之一，其位移速率的相对大小，可作为鉴别断裂现今活动方式的一种参考标志     

大灰厂跨断层形变资料的地震信息识别

利用具有明显物理意义的断层蠕动模型在充分考虑可能存在的干扰因素影响的基础上，对大灰石台跨断层地形变资料在１９８９年大同地震前后出现的较大幅度变化进行了异常属性分析。结果表明，这个时期的异常变化尽管叠加有一定的降雨影响，但蠕动模型计算得出的地表变化理论值与实际变化有一定程度的符合，显示出在区域应力场作用下，八宝山断层局部地段在大同地震前后可能存在着与区域应力场应力增强及应力调理有关的构造活动。     

镍锗尖晶石位错域的高温蠕变实验研究

利用人工合成的多晶材料研究了镍锗尖晶石在位错域的高温蠕变性质.多晶材料的颗粒尺寸约8μm.单轴压缩试件为圆柱状,使用气体介质围压筒.常压蠕变试验过程中,围压为300MPa,温度为1373-1523K,应力在55-330MPa范围内.从实验结果得出了镍锗尖晶石在位错域的流动律,应力指数n=29±01,表明流动的微观机制为位错蠕变.与其他尖晶石进行对比可以发现一个力学同构群,虽然在正尖晶石和反尖晶石之间存在一定的差异.在位错蠕变域,尖晶石与橄榄石归一化的强度类似.由于尖晶石的剪切模量比橄榄石高50%,其实际强度也比橄榄石高.将橄榄石和尖晶石的蠕变数据外推到地球内部条件时,由于其高应力指数,橄榄石则有可能比尖晶石的强度高.     

粘弹性介质中的地震波

给出了三元件的标准线性粘弹性固体在半平面内传播的地震波的解析解，它是由已知的弹性半平面内的解析解迭粘滞性解而得，从而克服了视地壳为二元件粘弹性体的Voigt模型或Maxell模型的缺点。