The constitutive relation of crack-weakened rock masses under axial-dimensional unloading

ABSTRACTAn accurate and efficient numerical method for solving the crack-crack interaction problem is presented. The method is mainly by means of the dislocation model, stress superposition principle and Chebyshev polynomial expansion of the pseudo-traction. This method can be applied to compute the stress intensity factors of multiple kinked cracks and multiple rows of periodic cracks as well as the overall strains of rock masses containing multiple kinked cracks under complex loads. Many complex computational examples are given. The dependence of the crack-crack interaction on the crack configuration, the geometrical and physical parameters, and loads pattern, is investigated. By comparison with numerical results under confining pressure unloading, it is shown that the crack-crack interaction under axial-dimensional unloading is weaker than those under confining pressure unloading. Numerical results for single faults and crossed faults show that the single faults are more unstable than the crossed faults. It is found from numerical results for different crack lengths and different crack spacing that the interaction among kinked cracks decreases with an increase in length of the kinked cracks and the crack spacing under axial-dimensional unloading.