3D morphology and formation mechanism of fractures developed by true triaxial stress

As main part of underground rock mass, the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of natural fractures plays an important role in rock mass stability. Based on previous studies on 3D morphology, this study probes into the law and mechanism regarding the influence of the confining pressure constraints on 3D morphological features of natural fractures. First, fracture surfaces were obtained by true triaxial com-pression test and 3D laser scanning. Then 3D morphological parameters of fractures were calculated by using Grasselli's model. The results show that the failure mode of granites developed by true triaxial stress can be categorized into tension failure and shear failure. Based on the spatial position of fractures, they can be divided into tension fracture surface, S-1 shear fracture surface, and S-2 shear fracture sur-face. Micro-failure of the tension fracture surface is dominated by mainly intergranular fracture; the maximum height of asperities on the fracture surface and the 3D roughness of fracture surfaces are influ-enced by a3 only and they are greater than those of shear fracture surfaces, a lower overall uniformity than tension fracture surface. S-1 shear fracture surface and S-2 shear fracture surface are dominated by intragranular and intergranular coupling fracture. The maximum height of asperities on the fracture surface and 3D roughness of fracture surface are affected by a1, a2, and a3. With the increase of a2 or a3, the cutting off of asperities on the fracture surface becomes more common, the maximum height of asperities and 3D roughness of fracture surface further decrease, and the overall uniformity gets fur-ther improved. The experimental results are favorable for selecting technical parameters of enhanced geothermal development and the safety of underground mine engineering.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study investigates the law and mechanism of the influence of confining pressure constraints on the three-dimensional morphology of natural fractures. The experimental results show that the micro-failure mechanisms and three-dimensional morphology features of tension fracture surfaces and shear fracture surfaces are affected by different confining pressure constraints. The findings are significant for selecting technical parameters for enhanced geothermal development and ensuring the safety of underground mine engineering.