Experimental Study of Rock-like Materials with Two Unequal Parallel Preexisting Fissures under Uniaxial Compression

Fissures substantially impact the engineering stability of rock masses, making research on rock masses with preexisting fissures essential for engineering activities. The development of specimens with different preexisting fissure types was examined in this study. Three different types of specimens with preexisting fissures can be broadly categorized: specimens with few preexisting fissures, specimens with multiple preexisting fissures, and specimens with preexisting fissures and other flaws. Uniaxial compression tests of specimens with preexisting fissures of two unequal lengths were conducted, and the influence of preexisting fissure angle, the distance between the two fissures and fissure length on the peak strength and coalescence mode of specimens were analyzed. A large preexisting fissure length significantly influenced the peak strength and coalescence, and the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) values of the rock-like materials decreased. In contrast, increasing the long preexisting fissure length influenced the crack propagation and coalescence more extensively in the case of a long preexisting fissure. The preexisting fissure angle and two preexisting fissure distances had a negligible effect on the UCS values of the rock-like materials. However, with increasing long preexisting fissure length, the short preexisting fissure was subject to crack propagation and coalescence.