The study of fractured rock masses in the laboratory remains challenging because of the large specimen sizes and bulky loading systems that are required. This article presents the design, structural analysis, and operation of a compact and self-reacting true triaxial device for fractured rock. The frame subjects a 50 cm by 50 cm by 50 cm fractured rock specimen to a maximum stress of 3 MPa along three independent axes. Concurrent measurements include long-wavelength P-wave propagation, passive acoustic emission monitoring, deformations, and thermal measurements. The device can accommodate diverse research, from rock mass properties and geophysical fractured rock characterizations, to coupled hydro-chemo-thermo-mechanical processes, drilling, and grouting. Preliminary wave propagation data gathered under isotropic and anisotropic stress conditions for an assembly of 4,000 rock blocks demonstrate the system's versatility and provide unprecedented information related to long-wavelength propagation in fractured rock under various stress anisotropies.
Fractured rocks affect a wide range of natural processes and engineering systems. In most cases, the seismic characterization of fractured rock masses in the field involves wavelengths much longer than the fracture spacing; reproducing this condition in the laboratory is experimentally challenging. This experimental investigation explores the effect of fracture rock fabric and the 3D stress field on P wave propagation in the long‐wavelength regime using a large‐scale true triaxial device. P wave velocities increase with stress in the propagation direction and follow a power law of the form Vp = α(σ’/kPa)β; analyses and experimental results show that stress‐sensitive fracture stiffness and fracture density define the α‐factor and β‐exponent; conversely, long‐wavelength velocity versus stress data can be analyzed to identify the stress‐dependent fracture stiffness. P wave velocities exhibit hysteretic behavior caused by inelastic fracture deformation and fabric changes. During deviatoric loading, the P wave velocity decreases in the two constant‐stress directions due to the development of internal force chains and the ensuing three‐dimensional deformation. Following a load increment, time‐dependent contact deformations result in P wave velocity changes during the first several hours for the tested carbonate rocks; the asymptotic change in velocity is more pronounced for higher stress changes and stress levels. The fracture network geometry that defines the rock fabric acts as a low‐pass filter to wave propagation, so that wavelengths must be longer than two times the fracture spacing to propagate (Brillouin dispersion); the long‐wavelength velocity and the fracture spacing determine the cutoff frequency. Fabric anisotropy contributes to anisotropic low‐pass filtering effects in the rock mass.
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