Experimental Characterization and Micromechanical Modelling of Anisotropic Slates

Laboratory tests were performed in this study to examine the anisotropic physical and mechanical properties of the well-foliated Jiujiang slate. The P-wave velocity and the apparent Young’s modulus were found to increase remarkably with the foliation angle θ, and the compressive strength at any confining pressure varies in a typical U-shaped trend, with the maximum strength consistently attained at θ = 90° and the minimum strength at θ = 45°. The slate samples failed in three typical patterns relevant to the foliation angle, i.e. shear failure across foliation planes for θ ≤ 15°, sliding along foliation planes for 30° ≤ θ ≤ 60° and axial splitting along foliation planes for θ = 90°. The stress–strain curves at any given foliation angle and confining pressure display an initial nonlinear phase, a linear elastic phase, a crack initiation and growth phase, as well as a rapid stress drop phase and a residual stress phase. Based on the experimental evidences, a micromechanical damage–friction model was proposed for the foliated slate by simply modelling the foliation planes as a family of elastic interfaces and by characterizing the interaction between the foliation planes and the rock matrix with a nonlinear damage evolution law associated with the inclination angle. The proposed model was applied to predict the deformational and strength behaviours of the foliated slate under triaxial compressive conditions using the material parameters calibrated with the uniaxial and/or triaxial test data, with good agreement between the model predictions and the laboratory measurements.