Mode I fracture toughness determination of granite specimens using pseudo-compact tension method

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of mining engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor; Faculty of Mining Eng., Petroleum and Geophysics, Shahrood University of Technology

3 School of civil engineering, University of A Coruña, Coruña, Spain

4 Department of civil engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Mode I fracture toughness (KIC) is one of the most important parameters in the fracture mechanics of brittle material. Several laboratory methods have been suggested to determine the mode I fracture toughness. However, many of these methods deal with the lengthy sample preparation procedure, premature failure of samples, and difficulties in obtaining the precise value of the fracture toughness property. In this paper, a recently proposed pseudo-compact tension method is used to evaluate mode I fracture toughness of a middle-grain granite benefiting the advantages of this method including; simplicity of the test, high level of test control, and high accuracy of the KIC value. For this purpose, granite samples in four different diameters and with six test repeats per diameter have been prepared and tested using the pseudo-compact tension method. For each sample, in addition to recording the load and displacement data, the acoustic events during the loading process were also recorded simultaneously by an acoustic emission equipment. First, the resulting fracture toughness value for each sample has been determined, then the size effect has been evaluated and analyzed. Finally, the results of the acoustic emission method, as the monitoring tool in the fracturing process of tested samples, have been analyzed. The qualitative evolution of acoustic emission parameters well illustrates the mechanical process occurring in the tested samples with well-matched coinciding with the mechanical transitions observed in samples during the loading process. Experimental results show that mode I fracture toughness is positively related to the specimen size and there is a noticeable size effect in KIC value up to a certain diameter.

Keywords

Main Subjects


[1] J. Franklin, S. Zongqi, B. Atkinson, P. Meredith, F. Rummel, W. Mueller, Y. Nishimatsu, H. Takahahsi, L. Costin, A. Ingraffea, Suggested methods for determining the fracture toughness of rock, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining & Geomechanics Abstracts, 25(2) (1988).
[2] T. Funatsu, N. Shimizu, M. Kuruppu, K. Matsui, Evaluation of mode I fracture toughness assisted by the numerical determination of K-resistance, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 48 (2015) 143-157.
[3] M.D. Kuruppu, Y. Obara, M.R. Ayatollahi, K. Chong, T. Funatsu, ISRM-suggested method for determining the mode I static fracture toughness using semi-circular bend specimen, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 47 (2014) 267-274.
[4] M. Wei, F. Dai, N. Xu, T. Zhao, K. Xia, Experimental and numerical study on the fracture process zone and fracture toughness determination for ISRM-suggested semi-circular bend rock specimen, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 154 (2016) 43-56.
[5] M.-D. Wei, F. Dai, N.-W. Xu, T. Zhao, Y. Liu, An experimental and theoretical assessment of semi-circular bend specimens with chevron and straight-through notches for mode I fracture toughness testing of rocks, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 99 (2017) 28-38.
[6] S. Ghouli, B. Bahrami, M.R. Ayatollahi, T. Driesner, M. Nejati, Introduction of a scaling factor for fracture toughness measurement of rocks using the semi-circular bend test, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 54(8) (2021) 4041-4058.
[7] M. Aliha, A. Bahmani, Rock fracture toughness study under mixed mode I/III loading, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 50 (2017) 1739-1751.
[8] M.-D. Wei, F. Dai, N.-W. Xu, Y. Liu, T. Zhao, Fracture prediction of rocks under mode I and mode II loading using the generalized maximum tangential strain criterion, Engineering fracture mechanics, 186 (2017) 21-38.
[9] R. Fowell, J. Hudson, C. Xu, X. Zhao, Suggested method for determining mode I fracture toughness using cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc (CCNBD) specimens, in:  International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences and Geomechanics Abstracts, 1995, pp. 322A.
[10] M.D. Wei, F. Dai, Y. Liu, N.W. Xu, T. Zhao, An experimental and theoretical comparison of CCNBD and CCNSCB specimens for determining mode I fracture toughness of rocks, Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures, 41(5) (2018) 1002-1018.
[11] M. Kuruppu, Fracture toughness measurement using chevron notched semi-circular bend specimen, International journal of fracture, 86(4) (1997) L33-L38.
[12] H. Amrollahi, A. Baghbanan, H. Hashemolhosseini, Measuring fracture toughness of crystalline marbles under modes I and II and mixed mode I–II loading conditions using CCNBD and HCCD specimens, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 48(7) (2011) 1123-1134.
[13] C.-H. Chen, C.-S. Chen, J.-H. Wu, Fracture toughness analysis on cracked ring disks of anisotropic rock, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 41 (2008) 539-562.
[14] Z. Zhang, An empirical relation between mode I fracture toughness and the tensile strength of rock, International journal of rock mechanics and mining sciences, 39(3) (2002) 401-406.
[15] A. Muñoz-Ibáñez, J. Delgado-Martín, M. Costas, J. Rabuñal-Dopico, J. Alvarellos-Iglesias, J. Canal-Vila, Pure Mode I Fracture Toughness Determination in Rocks Using a Pseudo-Compact Tension (p CT) Test Approach, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 53(7) (2020) 3267-3285.
[16] J. Delgado-Martin, A. Muñoz-Ibañez, M. Herbon-Penabad, R. Juncosa-Rivera, Impact of saturating fluids on mode-I fracture toughness of a porous siliceous sandstone and a granitic rock, in:  AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2019, pp. MR41C-0064.
[17] A. Muñoz-Ibáñez, J. Delgado-Martín, R. Juncosa-Rivera, Size effect and other effects on mode I fracture toughness using two testing methods, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 143 (2021) 104785.
[18] Y. Obara, K. Nakamura, S. Yoshioka, A. Sainoki, A. Kasai, Crack front geometry and stress intensity factor of semi-circular bend specimens with straight through and chevron notches, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 53 (2020) 723-738.
[19] A. Standard, Standard test method for linear-elastic plane-strain fracture toughness KIc of metallic materials, ASTM Book of Standards,  (2012).
[20] T. Backers, O. Stephansson, ISRM suggested method for the determination of mode II fracture toughness, in:  The ISRM Suggested Methods for Rock Characterization, Testing and Monitoring: 2007-2014, Springer, 2014, pp. 45-56.
[21] T. Backers, N. Fardin, G. Dresen, O. Stephansson, Effect of loading rate on mode I fracture toughness, roughness and micromechanics of sandstone, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 40(3) (2003) 425-433.
[22] C. Martin, N. Chandler, The progressive fracture of Lac du Bonnet granite, in:  International journal of rock mechanics and mining sciences & geomechanics abstracts, Elsevier, 1994, pp. 643-659.
[23] Q. Xie, X. Liu, S. Li, K. Du, F. Gong, X. Li, Prediction of mode I fracture toughness of shale specimens by different fracture theories considering size effect, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 55(11) (2022) 7289-7306.
[24] S. Zhang, D. An, X. Zhang, B. Yu, H. Wang, Research on size effect of fracture toughness of sandstone using the center-cracked circular disc samples, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 251 (2021) 107777.
[25] S. Zhang, H. Wang, X. Li, X. Zhang, D. An, B. Yu, Experimental study on development characteristics and size effect of rock fracture process zone, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 241 (2021) 107377.
[26] E. Hoek, E.T. Brown, Practical estimates of rock mass strength, International journal of rock mechanics and mining sciences, 34(8) (1997) 1165-1186.
[27] S.S. Jeong, K. Nakamura, S. Yoshioka, Y. Obara, M. Kataoka, Fracture toughness of granite measured using micro to macro scale specimens, Procedia engineering, 191 (2017) 761-767.
[28] M. Nejati, S. Ghouli, M.R. Ayatollahi, Crack tip asymptotic field and K-dominant region for anisotropic semi-circular bend specimen, Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 109 (2020) 102640.
[29] A.C. Correas, M. Corrado, A. Sapora, P. Cornetti, Size-effect on the apparent tensile strength of brittle materials with spherical cavities, Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 116 (2021) 103120.
[30] Z. Hashin, Finite thermoelastic fracture criterion with application to laminate cracking analysis, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 44(7) (1996) 1129-1145.
[31] M. Nasseri, B. Mohanty, R. Young, Fracture toughness measurements and acoustic emission activity in brittle rocks, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 163 (2006) 917-945.
[32] J. Zhang, Investigation of Relation between Fracture Scale and Acoustic Emission Time‐Frequency Parameters in Rocks, Shock and Vibration, 2018(1) (2018) 3057628.