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Volcanic rocks exhibit complex mechanical properties due to their special diagenetic forms. Laboratory tests were conducted to study the influence of confining pressure changes on the mechanical properties of deep volcanic rocks, and outcrop volcanic rocks single triaxial tests were conducted simultaneously to study the mechanical properties of deep volcanic rocks. The maximum deviatoric stress and elastic modulus are used to study the variation of mechanical properties of volcanic rocks with confining pressure. The maximum deviatoric stress of underground core increases linearly with the increase of confining pressure. The elastic modulus reaches its maximum at 80MPa confining pressure. Although the variation trend of mechanical parameters of underground core with confining pressure is similar to that of outcrop core with confining pressure, the underground core shows a larger maximum deviatoric stress and elastic modulus. It can be seen from the 80MPa confining pressure comparison test that the mechanical properties of underground core under high confining pressure are superior to those of outcrop core. The mechanical properties of outcrop core under high confining pressure are significantly affected by natural fractures, while the mechanical properties of underground core are less affected by natural fractures.The brittleness index of volcanic rocks decreases with the increase of confining pressure, and the decreasing range is relatively low. The brittleness index of outcrop volcanic rocks decreases with the increase of confining pressure, but its sensitivity to confining pressure is much higher than that of underground core.

The D-shaped cross section is a commonly used tunnel cross section in underground engineering. To simulate the failure process of a D-shaped hole under deep three-dimensional (3D) high-stress conditions, true-triaxial tests were conducted on cubic granite specimens with a through D-shaped hole, and the failure process of the hole sidewall was recorded in real time. Results show that the spalling failure process of the D-shaped hole sidewall can be divided into four periods: calm, fine particle ejection, crack generation and propagation, and rock slab gradually buckling and spalling. Afterwards, symmetrical V-shaped notches were formed on both sidewalls between the corner and arch springing. The spalling failure shows tensile failure characteristics. Under high vertical stress and constant horizontal axial stress, increasing the lateral stress reduces the severity of the spalling failure and the depth of the V-shaped notch. The initial failure vertical stress of the D-shaped hole sidewall is higher than that of circular hole sidewall, and the failure of D-shaped hole sidewall is mainly characterized by static failure. The failure of the circular hole sidewall is a more severe dynamic failure. When the vertical applied stress is the maximum principal stress, the position of the V-shaped notch tip is 0.20–0.25 h (h is the height of the D-shaped tunnel) from the tunnel floor, whereas that in the circular tunnel is 0.5 d (d is the diameter of the circular tunnel) from the tunnel floor. Specific support schemes should therefore be designed for tunnels with different cross sections according to the damage location, depth of failure zone, and severity of failure.

Along with the advance of the working face, coal experiences different loading stages. Laboratory tests and numerical simulations of fracture and damage evolution aim to better understand the structural stability of coal layers. Three-dimensional lab tests are performed and coal samples are reconstructed using X-ray computer tomography (CT) technique to get detailed information about damage and deformation state. Three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM)-based numerical models are generated. All models are calibrated against the results obtained from uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) tests and triaxial compression (TRX) tests performed in the laboratory. A new approach to simulate triaxial compression tests is established in this work with significant improved handling of the confinement to get realistic simulation results. Triaxial tests are simulated in 3D with the particle-based code PFC3D using a newly developed flexible wall (FW) approach. This new numerical simulation approach is validated by comparison with laboratory tests on coal samples. This approach involves an updating of the applied force on each wall element based on the flexible nature of a rubber sleeve. With the new FW approach, the influence of the composition (matrix and inclusions) of the samples on the peak strength is verified. Force chain development and crack distributions are also affected by the spatial distribution of inclusions inside the sample. Fractures propagate through the samples easily at low confining pressures. On the contrary, at high confining pressure, only a few main fractures are generated with orientation towards the side surfaces. The evolution of the internal fracture network is investigated. The development of microcracks is quantified by considering loading, confinement, and structural character of the rock samples. The majority of fractures are initiated at the boundary between matrix and inclusions, and propagate along their boundaries. The internal structure, especially the distribution of inclusions has significant influence on strength, deformation, and damage pattern.

To investigate the mechanical response characteristics of damming rockfill materials under different confining pressure conditions, this study integrates laboratory triaxial compression tests and PFC2D numerical simulations to systematically analyze their deformation evolution and failure mechanisms from both macroscopic and microscopic perspectives. Laboratory triaxial test results demonstrate that as the confining pressure increases, the peak deviatoric stress rises significantly, with the shear strength of specimens increasing from 769.43 kPa to 2140.98 kPa. Under low confining pressure, rockfill exhibits pronounced dilative behavior, whereas at high confining pressure, it transitions to contractive behavior. Additionally, particle breakage intensifies with increasing confinement, with the breakage rate rising from 4.25% to 8.33%. This particle fragmentation alters the granular skeleton structure, thereby affecting the overall mechanical properties and leading to a reduction in shear strength. Numerical simulations further reveal the micromechanical mechanisms governing rockfill behavior. The simulation results show a shear strength increase from 572.39 kPa to 2059.26 kPa, exhibiting a trend consistent with experimental findings. The shear failure mode manifests as a characteristic “X-shaped” shear band distribution, while at high confining pressures, shear fracture propagation is effectively inhibited, enhancing the overall structural stability. Furthermore, increasing confining pressure promotes denser interparticle contacts, with contact numbers increasing from 16,140 to 18,932 and the maximum contact force rising from 12.19 kN to 59.83 kN. The quantity and frequency of both strong and weak force chains also increase significantly, further influencing the mechanical response of the material. These findings provide deeper insights into the mechanical behavior of rockfill materials under varying confining pressures and offer theoretical guidance and engineering references for dam stability assessment and construction optimization.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) has been widely used as local and regional underground support to reduce host rock wall closure in mined-out areas and also to reduce rockfall and rockburst incidents. However, analyzing the rock mass—CPB interactions in the first month after backfill placement must account for the CPB’s time-dependent strength, stiffness, and volume change characteristics during binder hydration. This article presents the first such comprehensive study made for CPB from the Williams mine in Ontario, Canada. Monotonic isotopically consolidated drained compressive triaxial tests were conducted on cured CPB specimens using the lubricated-ends test technique. The specimens had 3.0–7.5% Cement Content (CC); Curing Times (CTs) were from 3 to 28 days; and the confining stress ranged from 25 to 350 kPa. During shearing, all tests exhibited an initial contractive phase leading to a Characteristic State (CHS or point of volumetric strain reversal) followed by dilation with a maximum dilation rate corresponding to peak stress at the Failure State (FS). Both CHS and FS are adequately described by the Mohr–Coulomb criterion and a framework formulation was proposed to predict the evolution of CHS and FS based on CC and CT. Furthermore, the volumetric strains at CHS and FS can be defined as linear functions of the respective axial strains at the CHS and FS. Quantification of the observed behaviors through these functional relationships can help develop future constitutive models that better represent CPB’s transient response to triaxial stress loading while curing, which is essential to understanding as-placed backfill properties and its interaction with surrounding rock mass.

In practical engineering, cyclic shear stresses induced by earthquakes, traffic, and waves are superimposed on the initial static shear stress in sand fills or deposits, leading to complex responses of soils such as their deformation characteristics, pore pressure generation, and susceptibility (or cyclic resistance) to liquefaction. To experimentally investigate the undrained cyclic response of saturated sand, a series of triaxial tests were performed, covering a broad range of initial static and cyclic deviatoric stress levels. The results indicate that different stress conditions lead to two types of cyclic behavior: cyclic mobility and residual deformation accumulation. The compressional static stress is beneficial to the cyclic resistance of the dense sand, whereas the extensional static stress is regarded as detrimental as it tended to reduce the cyclic strength. Moreover, by comparing the available test data obtained from the same sand with varying initial densities and confining pressures, the static shear effect on cyclic resistance was found to be dependent on the state of the sand. Compared to the interpretation made using the limiting pore pressure-based criterion, the conventional failure criterion using a cyclic axial strain of 5% may lead to a substantial overestimation of the cyclic resistance, thus resulting in unsafe assessment and design. Hence, by employing the pore pressure criterion, the pore pressure generated in the cyclic tests was investigated and was found to be significantly influenced by the static shear stress. A pore pressure generation model is proposed to obtain the pore pressure characteristics of sand under various static shear stress conditions.

For numerical studies of geotechnical structures under earthquake loading, aiming to examine a possible failure due to liquefaction, using a sophisticated constitutive model for the soil is indispensable. Such a model must adequately describe the material response to a cyclic loading under constant volume (undrained) conditions, amongst others the relaxation of effective stress (pore pressure accumulation) or the effective stress loops repeatedly passed through after a sufficiently large number of cycles (cyclic mobility, stress attractors). The soil behaviour under undrained cyclic loading is manifold, depending on the initial conditions (e.g. density, fabric, effective mean pressure, stress ratio) and the load characteristics (e.g. amplitude of the cycles, application of stress or strain cycles). In order to develop, calibrate and verify a constitutive model with focus to undrained cyclic loading, the data from high-quality laboratory tests comprising a variety of initial conditions and load characteristics are necessary. The purpose of these two companion papers was to provide such database collected for a fine sand. The database consists of numerous undrained cyclic triaxial tests with stress or strain cycles applied to samples consolidated isotropically or anisotropically. Monotonic triaxial tests with drained or undrained conditions have also been performed. Furthermore, drained triaxial, oedometric or isotropic compression tests with several un- and reloading cycles are presented. Part I concentrates on the triaxial tests with monotonic loading or stress cycles. All test data presented herein will be available from the homepage of the first author. As an example of the examination of an existing constitutive model, the experimental data are compared to element test simulations using hypoplasticity with intergranular strain.

We developed a novel measurement system to directly visually observe the sliding behavior of rocks inside a triaxial test apparatus. The proposed visual measurement system consists of a steel housing that contains a commercially available digital camera. A series of triaxial compression tests was conducted to visually observe the progressive sliding behavior of precut samples and to measure the evolution of the strain and displacement fields near an artificial joint, using the digital image correlation method. The recorded video frames and their associated digital image correlation results allow a better understanding of the effect of confining pressure on the sliding mode of precut joint asperities. The implementation of the proposed measurement system is simple, safe, and inexpensive, and has the potential to become widely used as a new measurement system because it can be installed into existing triaxial test equipment without modification.HighlightsA new measurement system is proposed for observing the sliding behavior of rock-like materials from the inside of the pressure vessel of a triaxial test apparatus.The measurement system is simple, safe, and inexpensive, and consists of a steel housing containing a digital camera.We successfully observed the effect of confining pressure on the sliding mode of the precut joint asperity.

The behavior of soil reinforced with barley straw fibers was investigated in the current study. Several static triaxial tests were performed to assess the mechanical behavior of Babolsar sand reinforced with randomly positioned barley straw fibers. The soil was supplemented with fibers that ranged in length from 6 to 12 mm at 0%, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9% by dry weight. In static triaxial testing, confining pressures of 50, 100, and 200 kPa were used. The examination of sand reinforced with barley straw showed that fibers increased the sand’s shear strength, yield strain, and stiffness. The findings showed that adding fiber increased the soil’s peak strength. However, this strength improvement was minor for weight percentages of 0.3 and much larger for weight percentages of 0.6 and 0.9. According to the results, adding fibers at a weight ratio of 0.9% might increase the soil’s peak strength by as much as 60%. Additionally, the failure strain was increased with the addition of barley straw fibers compared to unreinforced soil. It is important to note that the internal friction angle of unreinforced soil was 43 degrees. This number equated to 51 degrees when 0.9% fiber was added to the soil.

Loess is a special kind of Quaternary sediment. The sub-stable skeleton formed by fine grains and salt crystals makes the loess with great risk of catastrophic changes under dynamic action. In order to study the influence of the natural structure of loess on its dynamic properties, the test was conducted on the loess at the near-fault site of the Lishan piedmont fault to analyze the influence of soil structure disturbance on the dynamic properties of loess. The test adopts dynamic triaxial test system. The results show that the soil structure disturbance has a large effect on the dynamic shear modulus of the loess, while it has little effect on the damping ratio. Under low confining pressure, the maximum dynamic shear modulus of original loess is smaller than that of remodeled loess. Under the high confining pressure, the original loess is larger than the remodeled loess. When the confining pressure is 400 kPa, the maximum dynamic shear modulus of the original loess is 93.28 MPa, which is 53.8% larger than that of the remodeled loess. When the dynamic strain reaches 0.15%, the difference between the damping ratio of the remodeled loess and the original loess is less than 0.04, and it can concluded that the soil structure disturbance has little effect on the loess in the Lishan piedmont fault.