Abstract
The fracture of rock is influenced by the development of an intrinsic process zone in the form of a localized region of microcracking. This zone has a fundamental importance for defining the system behavior in terms of the post-peak instability and in terms of material strength such that size effects appear. This paper illustrates the change in the load-displacement response and presents evidence of the process-zone development with varying specimen size. It is demonstrated that fracture problems do not require geometric or material nonlinearity to produce instability. The size of a structure that fails by fracture is an important factor. Furthermore, experiments suggest that an intrinsic zone develops in rock as a material characteristic. Because of this intrinsic length, two competing factors define the nominal strength-the positive contribution of the process zone and the depleting aspects of the undamaged volume, that is, the size.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Vail Rocks 1999 - 37th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS) |
| Editors | Kranz, Smeallie, Scott, Amadei |
| Publisher | American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) |
| Pages | 1137-1143 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9058090523, 9789058090522 |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Event | 37th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics, Vail Rocks 1999 - Vail, United States Duration: Jun 7 1999 → Jun 9 1999 |
Publication series
| Name | Vail Rocks 1999 - 37th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS) |
|---|
Other
| Other | 37th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics, Vail Rocks 1999 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Vail |
| Period | 6/7/99 → 6/9/99 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgment:P artial supportw as provided by the NationalS cienceF oundatioGn rantN umber CMS-9532061 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Collaborative Research Grant Number 950695.
Funding Information:
Partial support was provided by the National Science Foundation Grant Number CMS-9532061 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Collaborative Research Grant Number 950695.
Publisher Copyright:
© 1999 Balkema, Rotterdam.