Strain-Softening Model for Marble Considering the Degradation of Elastic Modulus

Abstract

Rocks encountered in deep underground engineering, such as coal mining and tunnel excavating applications, are usually in states of failure. It is of great engineering significance to study the post-peak strength behavior of rock. A strain-softening model that considers the degradation of elastic modulus was suggested in this article. The strain-softening characteristics and degradation law of the elastic modulus for marble were first obtained based on triaxial cyclic loading tests. A strain-softening model was then suggested by considering the degradation of the elastic modulus. Finally, the suggested model was embedded in the finite difference software (FLAC), and the conventional triaxial compression tests for marble were simulated. The results showed that the stress–strain curves simulated using the suggested model were in agreement with the contour curves of cyclic loading. The results may serve as a reference for the strain-softening characteristics of the Jinping marble studied in this paper.