A microscopic approach to brittle creep and time-dependent fracturing of rocks based on stress corrosion model

Abstract

A brittle creep and time-dependent fracturing process model of rock is established by incorporating the stress corrosion model into discrete element method to analyze the creep behavior and microcrack evolution in brittle rocks at a micro-scale level. Experimental validation of the model is performed, followed by numerical simulations to investigate the creep properties and microcrack evolution in rocks under single-stage loading, multistage loading, and confining pressure, at various constant stress levels. The results demonstrate that as the stress level increases in single-stage creep simulations, the time-to-failure progressively decreases. The growth of microcracks during uniaxial creep occurs in three stages, with tensile microcracks being predominant and the spatial distribution of microcracks becoming more dispersed at higher stress levels. In multi-stage loading-unloading simulations, microcracks continue to form during the unloading stage, indicating cumulative damage resulting from increased axial stress. Additionally, the creep behaviour of rocks under confining pressure is not solely determined by the magnitude of the confining pressure, but is also influenced by the magnitude of the axial stress. The findings contribute to a better understanding of rock deformation and failure processes under different loading conditions, and they can be valuable for applications in rock mechanics and rock engineering.