Experimental Study on the Accelerating Creep of Rock Under Dry and Wet Conditions Based on a New Test Method

Abstract

Creep tests under constant stress are among the most important tests for investigating the time-dependent behavior of rock. In previous studies, creep tests were conducted under various loading and environmental conditions; however, it was very difficult to demonstrate accelerating creep at failure at stresses less than 50% of strength in conventional creep tests. In this study, a new test method is proposed that combines an alternating loading-rate test and a creep test in the post-failure region. The accelerating creep as well as the loading-rate dependence of strength were successfully obtained simultaneously from a single specimen. This test method was applied to three rock types under dry and wet conditions. The results of Sanjome andesite under both dry and wet conditions, Kimachi sandstone under dry conditions, and Tage tuff under dry conditions showed a similar relationship between creep strain, creep strain rate, and residual time (i.e., creep lifetime minus elapsed time), from high to low creep stress levels, and a close relationship between accelerating creep and the loading-rate dependence of strength. Further, the mechanism responsible for the time dependence was found not to change significantly from high to low stress levels. In contrast, different results were obtained when high and low creep stress levels were compared in Kimachi sandstone and Tage tuff under wet conditions. The larger increase in creep strain with increasing creep strain rate at lower creep stress levels was related to the shape of the stress–strain curve in the post-failure region.