Triaxial experimental study of mechanical behavior of non-persistent jointed granite subjected to slight cyclic dynamic disturbances

A slight disturbance can induce fault-slip burst failure in deep rock masses. In this paper, a series of triaxial tests were conducted to investigate the strength, deformation characteristics, and failure behavior of non-persistent jointed granite specimens subjected to slight cyclic loading. A representative stress-strain curve for nonpersistent jointed rock was generated and used to study the crack evolution process (initiation -> propagation -> coalescence). The effects of varying the joint angle and frequency and amplitude of the disturbance were then analyzed. A theoretical (fracture mechanics) model for a non-persistent joint subject to triaxial cyclic loading was also established and used to investigate the combined effects of static confining stress and slight disturbances. Finally, the mechanical mechanism by which a slight dynamic disturbance induces fault-slip burst was discussed. Our results show that the failure mode of a non-persistent jointed rock mass depends more on the joint angle than the amplitude and frequency of the slight disturbance. The disturbance induces the initiation and extension of cracks. It can also induce fracture-slip bursting once the disturbance exceeds a certain threshold. The value of this threshold depends on the initial stress state, joint angle, length, dynamic and static friction coefficients, and fracture toughness of the rock. The study thus enriches our mechanistic understanding of the crucial ingredients involved in the triggering of fault-slip rock bursts in deep rock masses by slight disturbances.