Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure

In order to investigate the influence of water vapor pressure in the surrounding environment on mode I fracture toughness (KIc) of rocks, semi-circular bend (SCB) tests under various water vapor pressures were conducted. Water vapor is one of the most effective agents which promote stress corrosion...

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Main Authors: Kataoka, M., Obara, Y., Kuruppu, Mahinda
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3489
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author Kataoka, M.
Obara, Y.
Kuruppu, Mahinda
author_facet Kataoka, M.
Obara, Y.
Kuruppu, Mahinda
author_sort Kataoka, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In order to investigate the influence of water vapor pressure in the surrounding environment on mode I fracture toughness (KIc) of rocks, semi-circular bend (SCB) tests under various water vapor pressures were conducted. Water vapor is one of the most effective agents which promote stress corrosion of rocks. The range of water vapor pressure used was 10−2 to 103 Pa, and two anisotropic rock types, African granodiorite and Korean granite, were used in this work. The measurement of elastic wave velocity and observation of thin sections of these rocks were performed to investigate the microstructures of the rocks. It was found that the distribution of inherent microcracks and grains have a preferred orientation. Two types of specimens in different orientations, namely Type-1 and Type-3, were prepared based on the anisotropy identified by the differences in the elastic wave velocity. KIc of both rock types was dependent on the water vapor pressure in the surrounding environment and decreased with increasing water vapor pressure. It was found that the degree of the dependence is influenced by the orientation and density of inherent microcracks. The experimental results also showed that KIc depended on the material anisotropy. A fracture process was discussed on the basis of the geometry of fractures within fractured specimens visualized by the X-ray computed tomography (CT) method. It was concluded that the dominant factor causing the anisotropy of KIc is the distribution of grains rather than inherent microcracks in these rocks.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-34892019-02-19T05:34:53Z Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure Kataoka, M. Obara, Y. Kuruppu, Mahinda Elastic wave velocity Mode I fracture toughness Semi-circular bend (SCB) test Anisotropic rock Water vapor pressure X-ray CT method In order to investigate the influence of water vapor pressure in the surrounding environment on mode I fracture toughness (KIc) of rocks, semi-circular bend (SCB) tests under various water vapor pressures were conducted. Water vapor is one of the most effective agents which promote stress corrosion of rocks. The range of water vapor pressure used was 10−2 to 103 Pa, and two anisotropic rock types, African granodiorite and Korean granite, were used in this work. The measurement of elastic wave velocity and observation of thin sections of these rocks were performed to investigate the microstructures of the rocks. It was found that the distribution of inherent microcracks and grains have a preferred orientation. Two types of specimens in different orientations, namely Type-1 and Type-3, were prepared based on the anisotropy identified by the differences in the elastic wave velocity. KIc of both rock types was dependent on the water vapor pressure in the surrounding environment and decreased with increasing water vapor pressure. It was found that the degree of the dependence is influenced by the orientation and density of inherent microcracks. The experimental results also showed that KIc depended on the material anisotropy. A fracture process was discussed on the basis of the geometry of fractures within fractured specimens visualized by the X-ray computed tomography (CT) method. It was concluded that the dominant factor causing the anisotropy of KIc is the distribution of grains rather than inherent microcracks in these rocks. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3489 10.1007/s00603-014-0665-y Springer fulltext
spellingShingle Elastic wave velocity
Mode I fracture toughness
Semi-circular bend (SCB) test
Anisotropic rock
Water vapor pressure
X-ray CT method
Kataoka, M.
Obara, Y.
Kuruppu, Mahinda
Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure
title Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure
title_full Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure
title_fullStr Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure
title_full_unstemmed Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure
title_short Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks by Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) Tests Under Water Vapor Pressure
title_sort estimation of fracture toughness of anisotropic rocks by semi-circular bend (scb) tests under water vapor pressure
topic Elastic wave velocity
Mode I fracture toughness
Semi-circular bend (SCB) test
Anisotropic rock
Water vapor pressure
X-ray CT method
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3489