Evolution of tensile and shear cracking in crystalline rocks under compression

We performed laboratory-scale unconfined compression experiments on Barre granite specimen with a single pre-existing flaw to study the evolution of tensile and shear cracking that occurs during different stress levels. Moment tensor inversion of acoustic emission (AE) events in combination with the nonelastic strain component obtained through the 2D digital image correlation (DIC) technique are used to track the changes in the source mechanisms of the stress-induced cracks. The mode of deformation computed from the image based strain profiles, enables visual comparison of the nucleation, growth and interaction of the tensile and shear cracks with the microseismic source mechanism observed by moment tensor inversion of the AE events. Comparing the results obtained from the two techniques on the same dataset demonstrates a quantitative correlation between the acoustic and visual observations in terms of the cracking mechanisms obtained at different stages of cracking from crack initiation at the flaw tips to the failure of the rock specimen.

Automated summary

This study conducted laboratory-scale experiments and data analysis on rock specimens to understand the evolution of tensile and shear cracking under different stress levels. By using acoustic emission and digital image correlation techniques, we were able to track the changes in the source mechanisms of the cracks and identify the correlation between the cracking mechanisms at different stages of the cracks.