Abstract
Rock masses are heterogeneous materials containing a large number of discontinuities, and the failure of the natural rock mass is induced by the crack propagation and coalescence of discontinuities, especially for the rock mass around tunnel or underground space. Because the deformation or failure process of jointed rock mass exhibits strongly nonlinear characteristics, it is also very difficult to predict the strength and failure modes of the rock mass. Therefore, it is very necessary to study the failure mechanisms of jointed rock mass under different stress conditions. Apart from the stress condition, the discontinuities geometry also has a significant influence on the mechanical behavior of jointed rock mass. Then, substantial, experimental, and numerical efforts have been devoted to the study of crack initiation, propagation, and coalescence of rock or rock-like specimens containing different kinds of joints or fissures. The purpose of this review is to discuss the development and the contribution of the experiment test and numerical simulation in failure behavior of jointed rock or rock-like specimens. Overall, this review can be classified into three parts. It begins by briefly explaining the significance of studying these topics. Afterwards, the experimental and numerical studies on the strength, deformation, and failure characteristics of jointed rock or rock-like materials are carried out and discussed.
Highlights
After hundred millions years of geological movements, there is a large number of discontinuities in natural rock mass. e natural rock mass is clearly a kind of heterogeneity material [1], and the discontinuities have a great influence on the mechanical behavior of rock mass
There are many excavation activities that have to face with the crack propagation and coalescence in rock mass. en, it is very necessary to investigate the strength and failure characteristics of jointed rock mass
[63] performed the cyclic uniaxial compression test on jointed rock-like specimens, and the influence of joint geometric parameters such as dip angle, persistency, density, and spacing on mechanical properties of intermittent jointed specimen have been investigated. e test result indicated that the stress-strain curve of jointed rock under cyclic loadings is dominated by its curve under monotonic uniaxial loadings
Summary
After hundred millions years of geological movements, there is a large number of discontinuities in natural rock mass. e natural rock mass is clearly a kind of heterogeneity material [1], and the discontinuities have a great influence on the mechanical behavior of rock mass. In most engineering cases, such as roadway excavation, rock slope, and pillars in deep mining activities, there often requires the estimation of the strength and failure characteristics of a rock mass that contains a large number of discontinuities [2,3,4,5]. En, it is very necessary to investigate the strength and failure characteristics of jointed rock mass. The crack initiation, propagation, and failure characteristics are of great interest to engineers and scientists. Is review concentrates on experimental techniques for mechanical behavior of jointed natural rocks or brittle rocklike materials. A brief summary and some prospective research are presented
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