ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Geohazards and Georisks
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1588874
This article is part of the Research TopicPhysical Properties and Mechanical Theory of Rock Materials with DefectsView all 14 articles
Study on the mechanical traits, failure mechanisms, energy responses, and influencing factors of columnar jointed basalts under direct and indirect tensile conditions
Provisionally accepted
- Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
In this study, via merging mesoscopic damage mechanics, probabilistic strength principle, and continuous mechanics, the visuals of columnar jointed basalts (CJBs) featuring various joint arrangement patterns are converted into inhomogeneous numerical models utilizing the digital visual analysis of the DIC-upgraded RFPA. The strength-deformation traits, rupture features, and energy progression trends of CJBs subjected to direct tension and indirect tension (Brazilian splitting) are explored and compared. The acoustic emission (AE) energy buildup linked to the specimen peak stress is defined as the micro-crack energy index (MCEI), and the impact of multiple factors on the MCEI is analyzed. Factor sensitivity analysis is conducted. The study reveals that compared to the Brazilian splitting condition (BSC), under the direct tensile condition (DTC), the tensile strength (TS) and equivalent deformation modulus (EDM) of specimens in the directions I and II perpendicular to column axis are greater. For the direction parallel to column axis, compared to the DTC, the specimen TS under the BSC is smaller at the column tilt angle β = 0°-60°, and larger at β = 75°-90°. Under the BSC, damage and fracture occur to the joints and columns within a localized area along the longitudinal centerline of the specimen. Considering diverse influencing factors and compared to the DTC, the MCEI for the β=30° specimens appears later and exhibits a reduced magnitude in the BSC. When subjected to the DTC, the sensitivity of the MCEI to diverse factors ranks in diminishing order as follows: joint strength, the secondary joint set, joint constitutive behavior, meso-rock strength, and rock homogeneity index. However, when undergoing the BSC, the sensitivity of the MCEI to the joint constitutive behavior is higher than that to the secondary joint set. The above discoveries can function as an academic basis for understanding the emergence series and magnitude differences of the MCEIs in CJBs under tensile conditions, thus supplying scientific underpinning for corresponding rock mass engineering monitoring, reinforcement, and operational maintenance.
Keywords: Direct tension, Brazilian splitting, Columnar jointed basalts, Mechanical Properties, Failure mode, Energy evolution
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 01 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liang, Yang, Ping, Wang, Song, Chen, Li, Li, Peng and Ju. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yongyi Wang, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.