Dynamic properties of rocks are extremely important in a variety of rock mechanics and rock engineering problems. The split Hopkinson tensile bar (SHTB) system is used in this paper to measure the mechanical properties of sandstone specimens under dynamic direct tension, and the full stress-strain curves of the specimens at different strain rates is obtained. The experimental results indicate that the tensile strength, the tensile modulus and the peak strain of the specimen increase almost linearly with the strain rate. The increases in the tensile strength, the tensile modulus and the peak strain reach 125 %, 37 % and 98 % respectively as the strain rate increases by 252 %. The microscopic structure characteristics of the fracture surfaces after the tensile failure of the specimens are investigated by three-dimensional scanning. The results suggest that the fracture surface roughness of the sandstone under direct tension is significantly sensitive to the strain rate. Both the roughness coefficient and the fractal dimension of the specimen increase with the strain rate. The fracture surface of the specimen changes from a relatively flat two-dimensional state to a three-dimensional state, and its relative area gradually increases. Finally, it is manifested from the aspect of energy consumption that both the energy consumed in the fracture process and the dynamic direct tensile strength enhance with the fracture surface roughness. It is believed that the investigation results can provide an important reference for the research on dynamic properties of rocks involved in experimental research and engineering practice.
Understanding the effect of water saturation on dynamic failure of rocks is of great importance to tunnel excavation at water-rich coal mines and prevention of rock bursts by water injection. Dynamic Brazilian disc tests are performed to study mechanical behaviour of sandstones in this paper. The results indicate that water saturation significantly weakens the dynamic tensile strength of sandstones and increases the specimen strain at which the specimen fails. The damage degree of sandstones reduces gradually with increasing water contents. Failure of the sandstone specimen includes the crack initiation at the center of the specimen, macroscopic crack propagation, and stretch of the macroscopic crack through the specimen. In addition, parallel macroscopic crack propagation is found in the specimen with a low water content. From the observation of fracture sections, microstructures are compact in the specimen with high water contents. This is due to the swell of the kaolinite in the specimen after water saturation. The failure mechanism of microstructures is typical brittle failure in the specimen with a high water content, whereas ductile fracture is found in the specimen with a low water content. Different failure processes of microstructures lead to the differences between mechanical properties and macroscopic failure characteristics of the specimens with various water contents.
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