New Observations on the Brittle Failure Process of Simulated Crystalline Rocks

A biaxial testing program has been performed to study the process of brittle failure in crystalline rocks. Dental plaster has been selected as a model material, and mixing with different ratios of distilled water, different types of common minerals of crystalline rocks have been simulated in the form of brick-like small elements. These elements have been interlocked together according to four systematic patterns and final specimens with 180 × 180 × 76 mm dimensions have been obtained. Details of different types of cracks observed during loading process, effects of mechanical, geometrical and confining pressure on the cracking intensity, the influence of different types of heterogeneity on the macroscopic properties of a system of interlocked elements, and the sequence of events during the failure process are presented in this paper. Based on these observations, a revised mechanism for brittle failure is proposed.