Assessment of cyclic deformation and critical stress amplitude of jointed rocks via cyclic triaxial testing

Abstract

Jointed rock specimens with a natural replicated joint surface oriented at a mean dip angle of 60° were prepared, and a series of cyclic triaxial tests was performed at different confining pressures and cyclic deviatoric stress amplitudes. The samples were subjected to 10,000 loading-unloading cycles with a frequency of 8 Hz. At each level of confining pressure, the applied cyclic deviatoric stress amplitude was increased incrementally until excessive deformation of the jointed rock specimen was observed. Analysis of the test results indicated that there existed a critical cyclic deviatoric stress amplitude (i.e. critical dynamic deviatoric stress) beyond which the jointed rock specimens yielded. The measured critical dynamic deviatoric stress was less than the corresponding static deviatoric stress. At cyclic deviatoric stress amplitudes less than the critical dynamic deviatoric stress, minor cumulative residual axial strains were observed, resulting in hysteretic damping. However, for cyclic deviatoric stresses beyond the critical dynamic deviatoric stress, the plastic strains increased promptly, and the resilient moduli degraded rapidly during the initial loading cycles. Cyclic triaxial test results showed that at higher confining pressures, the ultimate residual axial strain attained by the jointed rock specimen decreased, the steady-state dissipated energy density and steady-state damping ratio per load cycle decreased, while steady-state resilient moduli increased.