Investigation of meso-failure behaviors of Jinping marble using SEM with bending loading system

In this study, the meso-failure mechanism and fracture surface of Jinping marble were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) with bending loading system and laser-scanner equipment. The Yantang and Baishan marbles specimens from Jinping II hydropower station were used. Test results show that the fracture toughness and mechanical behaviors of Yantang marble were basically higher than those of Baishan marble. This is mainly due to the fact that Baishan marble contains a large percentage of dolomite and minor mica. Crack propagation path and fracture morphology indicated that the direction of tensile stress has a significant effect on the mechanical behaviors and fracture toughness of Baishan marble. For Yantang and Baishan marbles, a large number of microcracks around the main crack tip were observed when the direction of tensile stress was parallel to the bedding plane. Conversely, few microcracks occurred when the direction of tensile stress was perpendicular to the bedding plane. The presence of a large number of microcracks at the main crack tip decreased the global fracture toughness of marble. The results of three-point bending tests showed that the average bearing capacity of intact marble is 3.4 times the notched marble, but the ductility property of the defective marble after peak load is better than that of the intact marble. Hence, large deformation may be generated before failure of intact marbles at Jinping II hydropower station. The fractal dimension of fracture surface was also calculated by the cube covering method. Observational result showed that the largest fractal dimension of Yantang marble is captured when the direction of tensile stress is parallel to the bedding plane. However, the fractal dimension of fracture surface of Yantang and Baishan marbles with tensile stress vertical to the bedding plane is relatively small. The fractal dimension can also be used to characterize the roughness of fracture surface of rock materials.