Experimental and Numerical Study on Stress Relaxation of Sandstones Disturbed by Dynamic Loading

Time-dependent rheological deformation of rocks affects the stability of underground stopes or constructions. It may also be altered by dynamic disturbances, such as rock blasting. To study such effects, a new stress relaxation-disturbance testing machine was invented, capable of loading conditions for stress relaxation and dynamic disturbance. Effects of testing machine stiffness on rock deformation behavior were examined to confirm that rocks had undergone stress relaxation. Stress relaxation tests on specimens under uniaxial compression were carried out over 6 or more days. Under single-stage stress relaxation, axial stress relaxed within 5–7 days, stabilizing at constant strain. During two-stage stress relaxation, larger stress decay was observed under the higher strain level. A dynamic disturbance from a pendulum hammer was applied to specimens under stress relaxation to evaluate their response. In these tests, stress decline and strain increase were related to residual strain induced by the dynamic disturbance. The strain variation in specimens was found to be within 1.5 % of values before the disturbance. Finally, a damage-based constitutive model for rocks subjected to stress relaxation and dynamic disturbance is proposed. It reproduces the stress relaxation behavior of rock observed in our experiments. The model was used to quantify stress relaxation of rocks and the effects of dynamic disturbance on this process. The larger stress decay of rocks under higher strain is likely related to damage in the rock. Clearly, increases in strain and decreases in stress induced by dynamic loading, coupled with rock damage, are over-estimated in our numerical simulations.