Research PaperInfluence of single flaw on the failure process and energy mechanics of rock-like material

This paper investigates the influence of a flaw on crack initiation, the failure mode, deformation field and energy mechanism of the rock-like material under uniaxial compression. The results of laboratory test and numerical simulation demonstrate the flaw inclination effect can be classified into three groups: 0-30°, 30-60° and 75-90°. The characteristic stresses increase as the flaw angle increases. The tensile cracks initiate from gentle flaws (α ⩽ 30°) and shear cracks appear at tips of steep flaws (α ⩾ 45°). The input energy, strain energy and dissipation energy of a specimen show approximate increasing trends as the flaw angle increases.