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Title: Experimental investigation of multi-scale strain-field heterogeneity in rocks

Journal Article · · International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
 [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); OSTI
  2. Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

Rocks have inherently heterogeneous micro-structures. The mechanical response of these heterogeneous micro-structures primarily governs the overall macroscopic behavior of intact rocks, as these features cause heterogeneity in the distribution of stress and strain within a rock volume. These attributes have generally been studied through numerical tools, but in this study, the stress-induced multi-scale spatial heterogeneity in the strain-field of three types of rocks was analyzed experimentally. The full-field non-contact strain measurement approach of 2D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was employed for real-time evaluation of the progression of strain-field heterogeneity across the surface of the rock specimens when subjected to uniaxial compression. The results show that the strain-field heterogeneity is a characteristic of the inherent heterogeneity of the rock specimens, and that it amplifies with the magnitude of stress applied on the rock specimens. The changes in the strain-field heterogeneity with loading were consistent with established microcrack evolution processes in the rock specimens. The statistical fluctuation in the strain-field heterogeneity of the three rocks at varying gauge lengths (GL) was then analyzed for the determination of the Representative Volume Element (RVE) length-scale at increasing load levels. The evolution of the RVE length-scale with loading facilitates an objective way of determination of the stress at which the strain-field heterogeneity increases and begins to influence the overall global response of the material. The RVE length-scale variation with loading showed that at the RVE length-scale reaches the specimen-scale at load levels well below the peak strength.

Research Organization:
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0019117
OSTI ID:
1803570
Journal Information:
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Journal Name: International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences Vol. 127; ISSN 1365-1609
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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  • Duan, K.; Kwok, C. Y.; Tham, L. G.
  • International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, Vol. 39, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.2329
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