Study of the Dynamic Failure Characteristics of Anisotropic Shales Under Impact Brazilian Splitting

Abstract

The mechanical behaviors of shales with transversely isotropic characteristics under dynamic loading have great significance for structural instability in geotechnical engineering. To understand the effect of transverse isotropy on the deformability and tensile strength of shales subjected to dynamic loading, a group of impact Brazilian tests were carried out on shale specimens via a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) testing system. High-speed digital image correlation technology was applied to monitor the fracture process. The experimental results demonstrate that the failure strength has considerable anisotropy as the bedding angle of the embedded layers changes. Moreover, the tensile strength of shales with vertical bedding is usually higher than that of shales with parallel bedding. The observed failure mode is mainly the interaction between tensile and/or shear fractures, and with increasing loading rate, layer-activated fractures tend to occur. Furthermore, five typical failure patterns of transversely isotropic shales characterized by different mechanisms under dynamic Brazilian testing were found. The shales were sensitive to the strain rate when the deformation and fracture response under dynamic loading were assessed. In addition, the modified Nova‒Zaninetti criterion that considers the strain rate effect was proposed according to the Brazilian splitting data and dynamic coordinate system. The established criterion not only properly represents the law of dynamic strength but also provides a new understanding of the effect of strain rate on strength. It has proven to be effective for predicting the dynamic strength characteristics of shales.