The Effect of Joint Roughness on Shear Behavior of 3D-Printed Samples Containing a Non-Persistent Joint

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to study the applicability of 3D printing technology to assess the effect of joint roughness on the shear strength of weakness planes with non-persistent discontinuities. Three disc-shaped profiles were generated to make joints with low, intermediate, and high levels of roughness. Powder-based 3D printing technology was applied to provide two types of samples: Type-A samples (joint samples) and Type-B samples (samples with a non-persistent joint). Type-A samples were printed to assess the shear behavior of 3D-printed joints, and Type-B samples were printed to investigate the joint roughness and rock bridge cohesion contributions to the shear strength of partially discontinuous planes. For comparison purposes, several plaster samples containing a non-persistent joint were cast as well. Three series of direct shear experiments were performed on Type-A, Type-B, and plaster samples under constant normal load conditions. The effects of two parameters, namely normal stress and joint roughness, on the shear behavior of the 3D-printed specimens were separately investigated, and the interaction between them was analyzed. The evaluation of the experimental results indicates the existence of two-way interaction between the joint roughness and the applied normal stress of Type-B samples. The experimental results obtained from plaster samples were compared with those obtained from Type-B samples. The comparison reveals that 3D-printed samples properly reflect the effects of joint roughness and normal stress on the shear strength of partially discontinuous planes, although their prepeak and post-peak behaviors are different from those of plaster specimens.