Fracture of granite under various strain conditions

• Published in: Izvestiya. Physics of the solid earth Vol. 47; no. 10; pp. 879 - 885
• Main Authors: Kuksenko, V. S., Damaskinskaya, E. E., Kadomtsev, A. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01-10-2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acoustic emission; Deformation; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emission measurements; Fractures; Geophysics; Geophysics/Geodesy; Granite; Igneous rocks; Rock deformation; Strain; Solid Earth; Acoustic Emission; Acoustic Emis; Axial Load; Fault Geometry
• ISSN: 1069-3513; 1555-6506
• DOI: 10.1134/S1069351311100053

Mechanisms of fracture of granite specimens subjected to loading controlled by the defect formation rate are studied in the experiments on stick-slip initiation and deformation of water-saturated specimens from the acoustic emission measurements. It is found that under mechanical loading of dry specimens, the initially dispersed formation of defects is followed by the stage of their localization, and then a fracture nucleates whose development results in the formation of macrofracture and failure of the specimen. In water-saturated specimens, multiple defects are formed randomly throughout the entire volume, which causes intense damage to the material. At the final stage of deformation, several source regions appear in which the main cracks develop. If fracturing follows the stick-slip scenario, the stoppers located on the sides of the fault are destroyed.