Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Anisotropic Mechanical Characteristics of Rock-Like Material with Bedding Planes and Voids

Mechanical and fracture behaviors of rocks are largely dependent on the rock structure and existing flaws. This study mainly focuses on the combined effects of bedding plane and void on the tensile mechanical behaviors of layered rock. Brazilian tensile tests accompanied by acoustic emission (AE) and image collecting testing were first conducted on layered rock-like material with different bedding plane inclination angles. The experimental results showed that Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) and accumulated AE energy decreased with the increasing bedding plane inclination angle. The failure patterns of testing specimen transformed from central failure to layer activation failure. The relationships between BTS values and accumulated AE energy can be fitted by a linear function. Based on the cohesive zone model, the effects of bedding plane strength and spacing were further investigated, and the effects of bedding plane strength and void size on tensile behaviors of numerical specimen containing void were discussed. The numerical results indicated that both bedding plane strength and spacing had strong influences on BTS values and failure patterns of numerical specimen. The existing void has a strong attenuation on tensile behavior of numerical specimen. The tensile mechanical behaviors were strongly influenced by bedding plane strength and void size. Highlights The relationships between BTS values and accumulated AE energy can be fitted by a linear function. Both bedding plane strength and spacing have strong influences on tensile behavior of numerical specimen. The numerical modelling of layered rock containing void was established and the effects of bedding plane strength and void size were discussed.