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Cyclic Frictional Responses of Planar Joints Under Cyclic Normal Load Conditions: Laboratory Tests and Numerical Simulations

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Abstract

An accurate quantification of the frictional behaviour of joints under cyclic normal load conditions during the cyclic shear process is important to characterize the joint and fault interactions during earthquakes and rock bursts. We conducted experimental studies and numerical simulations to investigate the cyclic frictional responses of planar joints subjected to cyclic changes of normal loads. Experiments were conducted on artificial rock-like planar joints using a large shear box device (GS-1000), with different vertical and horizontal impact frequencies, vertical impact load amplitudes, horizontal shear displacement amplitudes, and normal load levels. The average normal displacement of the upper block increased with decreasing normal load and decreased with increasing normal load during each cycle. The normal displacement decreased gradually with increasing number of shear cycles due to damage to the micro-asperities at the contact surface. Shear force and the apparent coefficient of friction (k = FShear/FNormal) changed cyclically with a change in shear direction, where k followed a square wave curve with the same peak value at the stable shear stage. The cyclic normal load amplitudes, horizontal shear displacement amplitudes, cyclic normal load frequencies, cyclic horizontal shear frequencies, and static normal force levels had little influence on the peak values of k. Numerical simulations proved that the spatial movement pattern of the loading plate and upper block of the specimen rotated clockwise or anti-clockwise at different shear displacements. Due to the rotation of the upper block, shear and normal stresses distributed at the contact surface were inhomogeneous, which generated a stress gradient along the interface. Consequently, the samples were damaged at the two edges due to the high local stresses. Finally, a mathematical equation is proposed, which can be used for predicting the shear strength of planar joints under cyclic changes of shear velocity and normal load.

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Abbreviations

FN [kN]:

Total normal load

Fs [kN]:

Quasi-static normal load

Fd [kN]:

Amplitude of superimposed dynamic normal load

Fsd [kN]:

Impact normal load

σn [MPa]:

Normal stress

τ [MPa]:

Shear stress

v [mm/min]:

Shear velocity

S [m2]:

Nominal area of the shear plane

fh [Hz]:

Cyclic horizontal shear frequency

fv [Hz]:

Cyclic normal load impact frequency

t [s]:

Time

Δt [s]:

Time shift

k [–]:

Apparent coefficient of friction

K [–]:

Peak value of the apparent coefficient of friction

umax [mm]:

Amplitude of shear displacement

us [mm]:

Shear displacement

n [–]:

Number of Fourier series elements

un(a) [mm]:

Normal displacement of the upper block at the left side

un(b) [mm]:

Normal displacement of the upper block at the right side

lSpecimen [mm]:

Total length of specimen (= 300 mm)

α [°]:

Angle of inclination of the upper block of the specimen

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering (2017SGG01). Special thanks to Mr. Tom Weichmann, Mrs. Beatrice Tauch and Mr. Gerd Münzberger for help during the laboratory tests. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China

    Wengang Dang

  2. Institute of Geotechnics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Gustav-Zeuner-Straße 1, 09599, Freiberg, Germany

    Heinz Konietzky, Thomas Frühwirt & Martin Herbst

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  1. Wengang Dang
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  2. Heinz Konietzky
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  3. Thomas Frühwirt
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  4. Martin Herbst
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Correspondence to Wengang Dang.

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Appendix

Appendix

See Fig. 19.

Fig. 19
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Shear force, normal force and shear force/normal force vs. time

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Dang, W., Konietzky, H., Frühwirt, T. et al. Cyclic Frictional Responses of Planar Joints Under Cyclic Normal Load Conditions: Laboratory Tests and Numerical Simulations. Rock Mech Rock Eng 53, 337–364 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-019-01910-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-019-01910-9

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