skip to main content


Title: A Stochastic Bulk Damage Model Based on Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion for Dynamic Rock Fracture
We present a stochastic bulk damage model for rock fracture. The decomposition of strain or stress tensor to its negative and positive parts is often used to drive damage and evaluate the effective stress tensor. However, they typically fail to correctly model rock fracture in compression. We propose a damage force model based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion and an effective stress relation that remedy this problem. An evolution equation specifies the rate at which damage tends to its quasi-static limit. The relaxation time of the model introduces an intrinsic length scale for dynamic fracture and addresses the mesh sensitivity problem of earlier damage models. The ordinary differential form of the damage equation makes this remedy quite simple and enables capturing the loading rate sensitivity of strain-stress response. The asynchronous Spacetime Discontinuous Galerkin (aSDG) method is used for macroscopic simulations. To study the effect of rock inhomogeneity, the Karhunen-Loeve method is used to realize random fields for rock cohesion. It is shown that inhomogeneity greatly differentiates fracture patterns from those of a homogeneous rock, including the location of zones with maximum damage. Moreover, as the correlation length of the random field decreases, fracture patterns resemble angled-cracks observed in compressive rock fracture.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1725544 1725555
NSF-PAR ID:
10113630
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Applied Sciences
Volume:
9
Issue:
5
ISSN:
2076-3417
Page Range / eLocation ID:
830
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Fracture patterns experienced under a dynamic uniaxial compressive load are highly sensitive to rock microstructural defects due to its brittleness and the absence of macroscopic stress concentration points. We propose two different approaches for modeling rock microstructural defects and inhomogeneity. In the explicit realization approach, microcracks with certain statistics are incorporated in the computational domain. In the implicit realization approach, fracture strength values are sampled using a Weibull probability distribution. We use the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion to define an effective stress in the context of an interfacial damage model. This model predicts crack propagation at angles ±ɸch = ±(45 − ɸ/2) relative to the direction of compressive load, where ɸ is the friction angle. By using appropriate models for fracture strength anisotropy, we demonstrate the interaction of rock weakest plane and ɸch. Numerical results demonstrate the greater effect of strength anisotropy on fracture pattern when an explicit approach is employed. In addition, the density of fractures increases as the angle of the weakest planes approaches ±ɸch. The fracture simulations are performed by an h-adaptive asynchronous spacetime discontinuous Galerkin (aSDG) method that can accommodate crack propagation in any directions. 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    Ambient vibration measurements can detect resonance frequency changes related to rock slope instability damage or boundary condition changes during progressive failure. However, the impact of slope kinematics on resonance changes and the expected form and sensitivity of frequency evolution during destabilization require clarification to improve the implementation of this technique across diverse settings. Since instrumented rock slope failures are rare, numerical modeling is needed to study the anticipated spectral response from in situ monitoring. We used 2D distinct‐element modeling to evaluate the sensitivity and evolution of rock slope resonance behavior for slab toppling, flexural toppling, and planar sliding instabilities during progressive failure. Model simulations revealed that fundamental resonance frequency decreases between 20% and 60% with changes correlated with increasing length of open joints. Changes to higher‐order frequencies associated with landslide sub‐volumes were also detectable for cases with multiple fracture networks. Resonance behavior was most pronounced for failures dominated by steeply dipping open tension cracks, that is, flexural and slab toppling. Additionally, amplification patterns across the slope varied for the flexural toppling and sliding cases, providing potential new information with which to characterize landslide failure mechanisms using ambient vibration array measurements. Our results demonstrate landslide characteristics well‐suited for in situ ambient resonance monitoring and provide new data describing the anticipated changes in resonance frequencies during progressive rock slope failure.

     
    more » « less
  3. The inclusion-based boundary element method (iBEM) is developed to calculate the elastic fields of a bi-layered composite with inhomogeneities in one layer. The bi-material Green’s function has been applied to obtain the elastic field caused by the domain integral of the source fields on inclusions and the boundary integral of the applied loads on the surface. Using Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method (EIM), the material mismatch between the particle and matrix phases is simulated with a continuously distributed source field, namely eigenstrain, on inhomogeneities so that the iBEM can calculate the local field. The stress singularity along the interface leads to the delamination of the bimaterials under a certain load. The crack’s energy release rate (  J) is obtained through the J-integral, which predicts the stability of the delamination. When the stiffness of one layer increases, the J-integral increases with a higher gradient, leading to lower stability. Particularly, the effect of the boundary and inhomogeneity on the J-integral is illustrated by changing the crack length and inhomogeneity configuration, which shows the crack is stable at the beginning stage and becomes unstable when the crack tip approaches the boundary; a stiffer inhomogeneity in the neighborhood of a crack tip decreases J and improves the fracture resistance. For the stable cracking phase, the J-integral increases with the volume fraction of inhomogeneity are evaluated. The model is applied to a dual-glass solar module with air bubbles in the encapsulant layer. The stress distribution is evaluated with the iBEM, and the J-integral is evaluated to predict the delamination process with the energy release rate, which shows that the bubbles significantly increase the J-integral. The effect of the bubble size, location, and number on the J-integral is also investigated. The present method provides a powerful tool for the design and analysis of layered materials and structures.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    Large strike‐slip faults experience numerous earthquakes during which transient tensile and compressive mean normal stress perturbations travel along opposing sides of the fault. Research exploring dynamic rock fracture through multiple earthquake cycles has focused predominantly on transient compressive loading, but little is known about off‐fault damage development due to successive tensile loading. We investigate damage accumulation by transient tensile loading over multiple earthquake cycles using a modified sample configuration for uniaxial compressive loading apparatuses consisting of a Westerly granite rock disk bonded to two lead disks. We show that fracture density increases during each successive loading cycle, and pulverized rock can be produced under tension at strain rates as low as 10−3s−1. Therefore, pulverized rock can form at low strain rates, and its texture and extent may be controlled by the size of the coseismic tensile stress perturbation and the number of slip events on the fault.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    Fault‐damage zones comprise multiscale fracture networks that may slip dynamically and interact with the main fault during earthquake rupture. Using 3D dynamic rupture simulations and scale‐dependent fracture energy, we examine dynamic interactions of more than 800 intersecting multiscale fractures surrounding a listric fault, emulating a major listric fault and its damage zone. We investigate 10 distinct orientations of maximum horizontal stress, probing the conditions necessary for sustained slip within the fracture network or activating the main fault. Additionally, we assess the feasibility of nucleating dynamic rupture earthquake cascades from a distant fracture and investigate the sensitivity of fracture network cascading rupture to the effective normal stress level. We model either pure cascades or main fault rupture with limited off‐fault slip. We find that cascading ruptures within the fracture network are dynamically feasible under certain conditions, including: (a) the fracture energy scales with fracture and fault size, (b) favorable relative pre‐stress of fractures within the ambient stress field, and (c) close proximity of fractures. We find that cascading rupture within the fracture network discourages rupture on the main fault. Our simulations suggest that fractures with favorable relative pre‐stress, embedded within a fault damage zone, may lead to cascading earthquake rupture that shadows main fault slip. We find that such off‐fault events may reach moment magnitudes up toMw ≈ 5.5, comparable to magnitudes that can be otherwise hosted by the main fault. Our findings offer insights into physical processes governing cascading earthquake dynamic rupture within multiscale fracture networks.

     
    more » « less