Abstract
The brittle compressive failure of cubes of columnar saline ice was studied under triaxial (proportional) loading where the ratio of normal stresses (σ11:σ22:σ33:) was varied in a systematic manner using a true multiaxial loading system. The strain rate in the direction of the greatest applied compressive stress was 6×10−3 s−1 and the temperature was −10°C. The failure surface is faceted and reveals three regimes: (1) of lower across‐column confinement where the along‐column confinement has no significant effect on the major across‐column stress at failure, but where the minor across‐column stress raises the strength; (2) of higher across‐column confinement where along‐column confinement now raises the major across‐column stress at failure; and (3) of predominantly along‐column loading where the along‐column failure stress increases in proportion to the smaller of the two across‐column confining stresses. Each regime shows a high sensitivity of strength to the appropriate confining stress. The behavior is explained in terms of the frictional crack sliding‐wing crack mechanism of brittle compressive failure.
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