Granite Joints Research Articles

Erratum to: An Experimental Study of the Effects of Filling Degree on Shear Behavior and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Kaolinite-Filled Granite Joints

Erratum to: An Experimental Study of the Effects of Filling Degree on Shear Behavior and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Kaolinite-Filled Granite Joints

An Experimental Study of the Effects of Filling Degree on Shear Behavior and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Kaolinite-Filled Granite Joints

An Experimental Study of the Effects of Filling Degree on Shear Behavior and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Kaolinite-Filled Granite Joints

Study on creep characteristics of granite of deep tunnel affected by joint orientation

Joints are an important part of rock masses and the spatial relationship between joint orientation and in situ stress (or tunnel axis) has a significant impact on the deformation, strength, and failure behavior of the surrounding rock. To study the influence of joint orientation on creep characteristics of deep hard rock, the true triaxial creep tests were performed in the laboratory on natural jointed granite under different loading angles ω (defined as the angle between the strike of the joint plane and σ2-direction) conditions. The test results show that ω has a significant effect on the time-dependent deformation and failure characteristics of the jointed rock. As ω increases, there is a decrease in creep deformation, steady creep rate in the σ3-direction, and value of the DI index (used to evaluate the difference in the time-dependent deformation in the σ2- and σ3-directions). Stress-structure-controlled failure (sliding along the joint plane) occurs when ω ≤ 30°. However, when ω > 30°, the failure of the jointed granite is not affected by joint and stress-controlled failure occurs. The stress-structure-controlled time-dependent failure evolution enters a stage that is dominated by shear cracks earlier than stress-controlled failure according to AE results. In addition, the time-dependent failure went through stages of microcracks initiation and interaction, stable crack growth and unstable crack propagation. And when the time-dependent failure evolution enters the unstable crack propagation stage, the nature of the cracks changed from tensile-dominated to shear-dominated.

Time-dependent failure characteristics of natural jointed granite of deep tunnel under different dip angles conditions

Time-dependent failure characteristics of natural jointed granite of deep tunnel under different dip angles conditions

Modelling the thermo-mechanical behaviour of a rock joint

The CNSC, the Canadian regulator for the nuclear industry, participated in DECOVALEX-2023 Task G that focuses on the thermo (T) - hydro (H)- mechanical (M) behaviour of rock joints. Joints are omnipresent in rock masses and are planes of weakness in the host rock. When deep geological repositories (DGRs) for radioactive waste are being considered in areas where rock joints are present, the joints could be preferential pathways for radionuclide migration. Therefore, their THM behaviour must be better understood to assess the safety of the DGR. Under different possible internal and external perturbations, a joint can move by shear and dilation. If the joint crosses the emplacement area of a waste container, the heat generated from the waste can itself induce shearing of the joint. Excessive shear movement can in turn lead to failure of the container, resulting in earlier release of radionuclides. Furthermore, dilation that might accompany shear, results in an increase in the joint aperture creating a faster flow path for radionuclide transport. Mathematical models are important tools that need to be developed and employed, in order to assess joint shear and dilation under different loading conditions, such as the heat generated from the emplaced waste. The authors have developed such a mathematical model based on a macroscopic formulation within the framework of elasto-plasticity. It is verified against analytical solutions and validated against shear under constant normal load tests and thermal shearing tests of joints in granite.

Shear behavior and off-fault damage of saw-cut smooth and tension-induced rough joints in granite

The damage of rock joints or fractures upon shear includes the surface damage occurring at the contact asperities and the damage beneath the shear surface within the host rock. The latter is commonly known as off-fault damage and has been much less investigated than the surface damage. The main contribution of this study is to compare the results of direct shear tests conducted on saw-cut planar joints and tension-induced rough granite joints under normal stresses ranging from 1 MPa to 50 MPa. The shear-induced off-fault damages are quantified and compared with the optical microscope observation. Our results clearly show that the planar joints slip stably under all the normal stresses except under 50 MPa, where some local fractures and regular stick-slip occur towards the end of the test. Both post-peak stress drop and stick-slip occur for all the rough joints. The residual shear strength envelopes for the rough joints and the peak shear strength envelope for the planar joints almost overlap. The root mean square (RMS) of asperity height for the rough joints decreases while it increases for the planar joint after shear, and a larger normal stress usually leads to a more significant decrease or increase in RMS. Besides, the extent of off-fault damage (or damage zone) increases with normal stress for both planar and rough joints, and it is restricted to a very thin layer with limited micro-cracks beneath the planar joint surface. In comparison, the thickness of the damage zone for the rough joints is about an order of magnitude larger than that of the planar joints, and the coalesced micro-cracks are generally inclined to the shear direction with acute angles. The findings obtained in this study contribute to a better understanding on the frictional behavior and damage characteristics of rock joints or fractures with different roughness.

Thermal Contact Resistance of Granite Joints Under Normal Stress

Thermal Contact Resistance of Granite Joints Under Normal Stress

Failure Modes of Jointed Granite Subjected to Weak Dynamic Disturbance Under True-Triaxial Compression

Failure Modes of Jointed Granite Subjected to Weak Dynamic Disturbance Under True-Triaxial Compression

Depth-dependent hydraulic conductivity tensor for jointed granite

Stress-dependent hydraulic conductivity tensor is formulated in a closed form on the basis of Oda's permeability tensor and Bianchi & Snow's proposal for change of the crack aperture. Using a simple cracked model, a general equation is derived to obtain the hydraulic conductivity tensor as a function of depth and the coefficient of earth pressure at rest. The general trend of the equation is consistent with the in-situ hydraulic conductivity values measured at various sites. Conductivity itself does not have any practical meaning unless the state of stress is concurrently specified. Anisotropy in the hydraulic conductivity tensor is mainly related to the state of stress given by the earth pressure coefficient rather than the crack geometry, particularly in the cases where three orthogonal sets of joints are observed. Anisotropy is magnified in two dimensions because of excessive confinement of the flow direction. Additional procedures should be performed when the results obtained from two-dimensional analyses are generalized for three-dimensional real sites. The hydraulic conductivity K0 at the earth surface and γ′H for controlling the aperture of cracks are proposed as index measures for characterizing a given site from a comprehensive point of view.

Late‐Orogenic Evolution of the Southern European Variscan Belt Constrained by Fabric Analysis and Dating of the Camarat Granitic Complex and Coeval Felsic Dykes (Maures–Tanneron Massif, SE France)

AbstractThe Camarat Granitic Complex (CGC), emplaced in the migmatitic Internal Zone of the Maures–Tanneron Massif (MTM), SE Variscides, consists of the Gigaro granodiorite and the composite Camarat granite. U‐Pb dating of the latter gives crystallization ages of 304.5 ± 3.3 Ma (zircon date) and 303.5 ± 4.0 Ma (monazite date). Two representatives of late felsic dykes cutting across the MTM Internal Zone have 39Ar/40Ar muscovite ages of 302.43 ± 2.62 Ma and 298.11 ± 2.38. Magmatic lineations revealed by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements and image analysis, aplite dykes, dyke‐like bodies of cordierite microgranite and joints in the Camarat granite, as well as the late dykes all have orientations consistent with subhorizontal, NNE‐SSW‐trending lineations in the migmatitic country rocks representing the stretching direction of a late‐Variscan transpression phase (D3). The CGC and the late dykes are therefore witness to a thermal event that affected the MTM between ∼305 and ∼298 Ma (late Pennsylvanian–earliest Permian times), at the end of D3 which initiated at ∼325 Ma. Grabens related to post‐Variscan, Permian rifting (D4 phase), which cut across the MTM are WNW‐ESE‐trending, indicating a NNE‐SSW direction of extension, parallel to the previous (D3) lateral horizontal flow. The present results and a comparison with AMS data published for the Corsica–Sardinia Batholith reveal that evolution in the SE Variscides from Devonian–early Carboniferous contraction to Permian extension, through late Carboniferous transpression is characterized by the persistence of a ca. N‐S stretching direction, supporting a strong horizontal, orogen‐parallel crustal flow.

A post-peak dilatancy model for soft rock and its application in deep tunnel excavation

The dilation angle is the most commonly used parameter to study nonlinear post-peak dilatancy (PPD) behavior and simulate surrounding rock deformation; however, simplified or constant dilatancy models are often used in numerical calculations owing to their simple mathematical forms. This study developed a PPD model for rocks (rock masses) based on the Alejano–Alonso (A–A) dilatancy model. The developed model comprehensively reflects the influences of confining pressure (σ3) and plastic shear strain (γp), with the advantages of a simple mathematical form, while requiring fewer parameters and demonstrating a clear physical significance. The overall fitting accuracy of the PPD model for 11 different rocks was found to be higher than that of the A–A model, particularly for Witwatersrand quartzite and jointed granite. The applicability and reliability of the PPD model to jointed granites and different scaled Moura coals were also investigated, and the model was found to be more suitable for the soft and large-scale rocks, e.g. deep rock mass. The PPD model was also successfully applied in studying the mechanical response of a circular tunnel excavated in strain-softening rock mass, and the developed semi-analytical solution was compared and verified with existing analytical solutions. The sensitivities of the rock dilatancy to γp and σ3 showed significant spatial variabilities along the radial direction of the surrounding rock, and the dilation angle did not exhibit a monotonical increasing or decreasing law from the elastic–plastic boundary to the tunnel wall, thereby presenting the σ3-or γp-dominated differential effects of rock dilatancy. Tunnel deformation parabolically or exponentially increased with increasing in situ stress (buried depth). The developed PPD model is promising to conduct refined numerical and analytical analyses for deep tunneling, which produces extensive plastic deformation and exhibits significant nonlinear post-peak behavior.

Integration of rock joint roughness into the Mohr-Coulomb shear behaviour model – application to dam safety analysis

Based on a previous experimental study that we conducted on granite joint replicas including thirty direct shear tests, this article proposes to integrate the joint roughness in the Mohr-Coulomb shear behaviour model (MC). The model integrates joint roughness into constitutive stress-displacement relationships describing mechanical behaviour of rock joint. The shear strength of rock joint is assessed by the MC shear criterion that takes into account the apparent cohesion. This MC model integrating rock joint roughness component is validated against other experimental results from the literature. It is able to accurately predict the peak shear strength of an unbounded rock joint with an average relative error of 7.9%. It is finally used to assess the role of joint roughness on the shear behaviour of a gravity dam foundation.

Laboratory study of the effects of grouted rebar bolts on shear failure of structural planes in deep hard rocks

Rock hazards induced by shear slip along discontinuities are often encountered in deep hard rock excavations. At present, grouted rebar bolts are still the most widely used supporting tools in underground engineering. However, as the in-situ stress increases, the anchoring effect of bolts on rock discontinuities change significantly compared with that in a shallow environment. It is of great significance to study the influence of rebar bolts on the shear failure characteristics of structural planes under high stress to ensure the safety of engineering construction at deeper depths. In this study, shear tests were conducted on split granite structural planes secured with bolts under various normal stresses to investigate the supporting effect of the rebar bolts on the hard rock structural planes under high stress. The stress, deformation, acoustic emission, and rock failure characteristics in the tests were fully investigated and analyzed, and the effects of the rebar bolts on the dynamic failure of the hard rock structural plane and a simplified model were investigated through comparison with the shear failure characteristics of unreinforced granite joints. The experimental results show that when a bolt is inserted through a highly stressed granite structural plane, before the bolt fractures, it can change the slip mode of the structural plane from stick-slip to stable-slip, which effectively delays the occurrence of shear-induced dynamic failure. After the bolt fractures, the interaction between the bolt and structural plane causes the stress drop events to increase, but it greatly weakens the energy emitted by a single shear stress drop, thus effectively reducing the intensity and destructiveness of the dynamic failure during shearing. The findings of this study have significant implications for the management and control of structural-slip rock hazards in deep rock tunnels.

Effect of dynamic cyclic shear on frictional strength weakening of a plane joint

Understanding and predicting the frictional behavior of rock joints subject to dynamic cyclic loading is essential for the seismic safety of many rock engineering problems. In this paper, cyclic shear experiments were conducted based on a shaking table apparatus. A series of cyclic friction tests covering various earthquake-relevant frequencies was conducted on dry planar joints of granitic rock. The friction behavior especially the dynamic evolution of the frictional strength under cyclic loading was investigated, with the influence of loading frequency on the frictional strength weakening and energy dissipation quantified. Based on the experimental results, we propose a phenomenological model characterizing the dynamic frictional behavior of planar granite joints under cyclic loading. This empirical formulation relates the evolution of joint frictional strength to the number of cycles of dynamic loading. As the frequency increases, the frictional strength and dissipated energy density both show a pronounced reduction, while the strength weakening ratio and the critical number of cycles (at which the residual strength is reached) increase in a logarithmic fashion. The frictional strength evolution is described by the product of the peak frictional strength and a damage function, which is further related to the number of cycles and the frequency. In addition, a close inspection of fracture surface morphology after the cyclic loading was conducted to understand the role of surface wear and gouge formation in the frequency-enhanced dynamic friction weakening of rock joints.

Relationship between Joint Roughness Coefficient and Statistical Roughness Parameters and Its Sensitivity to Sampling Interval

Accurate determination of the surface roughness is of significant importance in estimating the mechanical and hydraulic behaviors of rock joints. The correlation between joint roughness coefficient (JRC) and various statistical roughness parameters calculated from digitized Barton’s roughness profiles was explored with Pearson’s correlation coefficient method. The results show the strongest correlation between the standard deviation of the roughness angle and JRC following an excellent linear relationship. In addition, the correlation in the JRC with textural parameters is better than its correlation with amplitude parameters. Twenty-nine rock joint surfaces from fine sandstone, coarse sandstone and granite joint samples with a wide range of surface morphology were digitized using a high-resolution 3D scanner instrument. Further, the statistical roughness parameter values were calculated for each joint profile at eight different sampling intervals for sensitivity analysis of these statistical roughness parameters with regard to the sampling interval. The result indicated that textural parameters generally have a certain degree of dependency on sampling interval, following a power-law relationship. Specifically, when the sampling interval increases, the structure function value increases whereas it decreases for other textural parameters. In contrast, the dependence of the amplitude parameters on the sampling interval is not significant.

Experimental Study on the Influence of Hydromechanical Boundary Conditions on Shear-Flow Coupling Characteristics of Granite Joints

The instability of jointed rock mass is usually the shear process of the rock mass along discontinuities under the influence of groundwater flow. By conducting laboratory tests and numerical experiments on the shear-flow coupling of rock joints under constant normal stiffness (CNS) and constant normal stress (CNL) boundary conditions, the influence of normal boundary conditions and seepage pressure on the shear mechanical and flow characteristics of joints were investigated. The test results were as follows: The joint shear stiffness, peak, and residual shear strength under the CNS boundary condition were predominantly larger than those under the CNL boundary condition. Overall, these parameters were positively correlated with the initial normal stress σ n 0 . When σ n 0 > 2 MPa, the postpeak shear stress of the CNS boundary condition showed a sharp decrease, whereas that of the CNL boundary condition changed from a slowly decreasing type ( σ n 0 = 4 MPa, 6 MPa) to a sharply decreasing type at σ n 0 = 8 MPa. The peak dilation rate under the CNS boundary condition at all levels of normal stress was lower than that of CNL, and the strain softening in postpeak of the latter was more remarkable. In the process of joint shear, the hydraulic aperture displayed a four-stage variation law of “steady-sudden increase-slow increase-basically stable.” Moreover, the hydraulic aperture under the CNS boundary condition was always lower than that under the CNL boundary condition. The seepage pressure increased from 0.5 MPa to 1.5 MPa, and the average hydraulic aperture in the stable stage under normal stress at all levels increased from 0.146 mm to 0.187 mm. In addition, the average peak shear stress and average shear stiffness decreased by 0.9 MPa and 0.83 GPa/m, respectively. We also established a numerical model of a real rough three-dimensional joint, compiled a calculation program for the shear-flow process of a joint under CNS boundary conditions, and visualized the flow channel inside the joint. The seepage flow bypassed the area where the joints contacted each other, forming obvious flow channels. The flow rate increased at the intersection of the flow channels.

Mechanical behaviour and failure modes of high-temperature jointed granite based on DIC and AE Technology

Mechanical behaviour and failure modes of high-temperature jointed granite based on DIC and AE Technology

Unveiling the mystery of scale dependence of surface roughness of natural rock joints

Scale dependence of surface roughness of natural rock joints has long been an outstanding issue in rock mechanics. Controversial results were reported by various studies; however, the nature of scale dependency and the underlying mechanism for the conflicting observations remain unclear. Rock joints at different scales characterise two-order asperities, namely, waviness and unevenness; thus understanding how the individual roughness of waviness and unevenness vary as the joint size increases from the laboratory-scale to the large-scale is crucial for revealing the scale effect mystery. Here we digitise three natural granite joint surfaces with the same dimension of 1000 mm × 1000 mm through a high-resolution, three-dimensional scanner. Waviness and unevenness of each rock joint surface are quantitatively separated by selecting an appropriate sampling interval. The respective fractal dimensions of waviness and unevenness of joint surfaces sized from 100 mm × 100 mm to 1000 mm × 1000 mm are estimated through an improved roughness-length method. We find that the fractal dimensions of two-order roughness are scale-dependent but without generalised trends. The stationarity threshold beyond which the scale-dependency of roughness vanishes is absent for all the three joint samples, suggesting that the roughness of natural rock joints be assessed at the specific scale of the rock mass in-situ. We reveal that previous controversial results regarding scale effect are likely due to the composition of the roughness scaling of waviness and unevenness. Thus, accurate stability analysis of rock-engineering projects should consider separate contributions of multi-order asperities across scales to the strength and deformation of jointed rock masses.

Research on the macro-meso failure characteristics of single jointed granite under uniaxial compression

Research on the macro-meso failure characteristics of single jointed granite under uniaxial compression

Failure mechanism of joint-separated granite reinforced by three-dimensional printed bolt

This technical note uses bolt-reinforced jointed granite to investigate the relationship between the joint angle and the reinforcing effects of bolt. Three-dimensional-printed (3DP) bolts were manufactured with a real bolt as the model prototype, the dimensions and surface geometries were scaled down, and the mechanical properties were similar to those of the prototype bolt. The cylindrical granite specimens were prepared with each separated by a through-going inclined joint plane, the bolt and the granite were combined by way of bonding agent and nuts. The bearing capacity of the system, the loading status of the bolt, and the displacement/strain changing patterns on the surface of the granite were comprehensively investigated. The results indicated that granite tended to crack when the joint angle was small and that a higher joint angle weakened the bearing capacity of the system, even with the reinforcement of the bolt. For specimens with joint angles of 45 and 60°, a shearing tendency and strain concentration zones nearby the joint plane were clearly observed. This study provides a new methodology for analysing the anti-shearing behaviour of bolt in fractured hard rock.