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Failure I. Measuring the Strength of Rocks. A cored, fresh cylinder of rock (with no surface irregularities) is axially compressed in a triaxial rig (usually at T >T room ) The cylinder, jacketed by rubber or copper, is subjected to a uniform, fluid-exerted confining pressure
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Measuring the Strength of Rocks • A cored, fresh cylinder of rock (with no surface irregularities) is axially compressed in a triaxial rig (usually at T >Troom) • The cylinder, jacketed by rubber or copper, is subjected to a uniform, fluid-exerted confining pressure • Start with an isotropic state of stress (s1 = s2 = s3)
Measuring the Strength of Rocks Triaxial Compression Apparatus
Measuring the Strength of Rocks • The confining pressure (sc = s3) is increased to reach a value which is then kept constant while the axial stress (s1 = sa) is increased • The rate of increase of the axial load (sa), T, Pf, and the sc can all be controlled • The strength of rocks is controlled by P, T, e., H2O, composition, etc. • The results are then recorded on (s - e) & (e – t) diagrams and on a Mohr circle
Measuring the Strength of Rocks • Mohr circles can be used to "map" the values of normal and shear stresses at failure • Failure is the loss of cohesion of a material when the differential stress (s1-s3) exceeds some critical value that varies with different types of rocks • As the axial stress is increased, the Mohr circle becomes larger, with a diameter (differential stress) of (s1 - s3) • At a certain differential stress, the rock fails by fracture. • The s1 ands3 are recorded at failure • The above steps are repeated for a new sc = s3
Coulumb Failure Envelope • The loading of the rock cylinder is repeated under progressively higher confining pressures (s3) • i.e., we conduct a series of experiments • For each set of s3 and s1, we get a limiting fracture-inducing Mohr circles • A best-fit line connecting the failure values of normal and shear stress for several Mohr circles is termed the Mohr failure envelope
Coulumb Failure Envelope • The envelope is drawn tangent to all of these Mohr circles, linking the stress conditions on each plane at failure • The Mohr failure envelope is the locus of all shear and normal stresses at failure for a given rock material • The Mohr failure envelope delineates stable and unstable states of stress for a given rock material
Each Experiment has a series of circles; only those of # 1 are shown
Coulumb Failure Envelope • Experiment shows that the fracture strength (s1-s3), that the rock can withstand before breaking, increases with confining pressure (i.e., circles become larger) • Under moderate confining pressures (e.g., for granite, sandstone) and within the field of shear fracturing, the envelope defines a straight line
Coulumb Failure Envelope • At higher pressure, rocks become more ductile (e.g., shale) and the line becomes more gently sloping and convex upward • The equation of the straight line is given by the Coulomb criterion ss = Co + mi sn • States of stress with Mohr circles below the envelope do not result in fracture (it should touch or exceed the envelope for fracturing)
Coulomb Criterion ss = Co+ mi sn • Note: Fracture does notoccur on the plane with maximum shear stress (i.e., not at = q+45): • The angle 2q for fracturesis not 90o; it is > 90o 0o<f<30o 90o<2q< 120o 45 >> 30 • The angle 2q (where qis the angle from s1to thenormal to fracture)determines the orientation of the fracture plane
Coulomb Criterion • The slope of the line is the Coulomb coefficient,mi • The angle of slope is the angle of internal friction fi mi = tan fi i.e.fi = tan-1mi • The intersection of the radius of each circle with the failure envelope gives the state of stress (sn, ss) on the fracture plane • The ss and sn at the moment the material fails by shear are the components of a traction acting on a plane inclined at an angle of to the s1(whose normal is at to the s1)
Cohesion • The cohesion, Co, is the intercept of the envelope with the ss axis • For loose sand which lacks cohesion, the fracture line passes through the origin of the graph, i.e., Co = 0 • Cohesive materials such as rocks have a finite shear strengthCo which must be overcome before the material will yield, even at zero normal stress • Thus for such cohesive materials the fracture line intersects the ordinate at Co (not at the origin!)
Tensile vs. Compressive Strength • Most materials have a greater strength in compression than in tension • The dihedral angle 2, between the shear fractures (bisected by the 1), decreases with decreasing confining pressure (i.e., 2 increases). Note: • is the angle between 1and each fracture plane • is the angle from 1to the pole of each fracture (or between 3and the fracture) • + = 90o • For brittle rocks the ratio of the compressive strength to the tensile strength is as high as 20-25, and the dihedral angle between the shear fractures is correspondingly acute • Materials that have greater tensile strength than compressive strength are highly ductile, and the dihedral angle is obtuse about the principal axis of compression