Experimental study of the shear strength criterion of rock structural plane based on three-dimensional surface description

Abstract

Abstract The failure of rock mass is mainly due to the failure of the structural plane, which is an important factor to reduce the mechanical properties and stability of rock mass. The shear strength of rock mass is one of the parameters for the stability calculation of large-scale rock mass engineering. The shear strength of a rock structural plane is strongly influenced by surface morphology. Considerable research has been conducted regarding the correlation between two-dimensional structural plane morphology and shear strength. However, quantitative research on three-dimensional (3D) morphology is relatively limited. In this study, 3D printing technology was used to create molds. Using cement and sand as the main materials, additives such as early strength and water-reducing agents were added, and test samples of irregular surface topography were created. The 3D roughness was quantified by formula calculation. Using a ZScanner® 800 hand-held 3D laser scanner to perform scanning on the structural surface, the parameter curve was analysed by generating 3D coordinate information and a 3D image of the fracture surface, and the quantitative parameter M p 3 D {M}_{\text{p}}^{3\text{D}} describing the 3D morphology of the structural surface was constructed. The change rule of R p 3 D {R}_{\text{p}}^{3\text{D}} and joint roughness coefficient (JRC) were analysed under different scanning resolutions, Δ(r), the scanning precision was suggested, and the functional relationship between JRC and M p 3 D {M}_{\text{p}}^{3\text{D}} was established. Finally, a formula for shear strength parameters considering the 3D characteristics of a structural plane surface was established. The model validation results show that the experimental data were within the 95% confidence band of the model curve, the average error of the shear strength was 10.4%, the errors of friction angle and cohesion, C, were 3.4 and 9.4%, and the reliability was fine.