Abstract
The mechanical behavior of multicracks under compression has become a very important project in the field of fracture mechanics and rock mechanics. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies on the fracture property of three collinear cracks under compression were implemented. The specimens were a square concrete plate, and the cracks were made by a very thin film. The tests were conducted by using true triaxial loading device. In the numerical study, the Abaqus code was employed. The effect of crack orientation and the confining stress on cracked specimen compressive strength were investigated. The results show that the critical stresses of cracked specimens change with crack inclination angles, and, as the angle is 45°, the critical stress is the lowest; the critical stresses increase with the confining stresses.
Highlights
Geological faults may not be continuous, but discrete, and they could be lined up which is called collinear discontinuous faults
As α is less than 30∘, the fracturing occurs in almost all the crack tips, and as α is larger than 75∘, several new cracks which are near parallel to the preexisting crack can be observed
The fracture property of three collinear cracks under compression has been studied by using cement mortar specimens loaded by a true triaxial loading device
Summary
Geological faults may not be continuous, but discrete, and they could be lined up which is called collinear discontinuous faults. In order to investigate the fracture mechanism of cracked rock, in 1963, Brace and Bombolakis [1] conducted the compression tests of the rock samples with a centralized inclination crack, and they found that under uniaxial and biaxial compression, the inclined crack did not propagate straightly, but deviated in an angle from the original crack plane, which is currently called “wing-crack,” and the angle was about 70∘. In the experiment of gypsum specimens under uniaxial and biaxial compression, Bobet [9, 10] observed wing-cracks initiating from crack tips. Stress intensity factors are a key parameter applied in determining cracked structure stability, and they have been extensively investigated, and a plenty of research results have been published. Zheng et al [18] presented the theoretical solution for three collinear cracks inside an infinite plane subjected to biaxial. The Abaqus code is employed, and the numerical results agree with the test results
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