Fractal property of spatial distribution of acoustic emissions during the failure process of bedded rock salt

A rock mechanics test system and the acoustic emission (AE) test system were employed to perform experiments on bedded rock salt samples under uniaxial compression and indirect tension. Based on the basic theory of fractal geometry, a column covering method is proposed to analyze the fractal property of the spatial distribution of acoustic emissions during the rock damage and failure process. The experimental results indicate obvious differences in failure features for different parts of a sample due to the structural differences in bedded rock salt. The consistency between the failure state and the AE spatial distribution is confirmed. The relationships of the stress and energy release with the fractal dimension of the AE spatial distribution are established. An increase in the fractal dimension corresponds to a decrease in the stress and an increase in the energy release, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis. When the fractal dimension obtained from uniaxial compression and indirect tensile tests is less than 2.20 and 2.57, respectively, the stresses in the bedded rock salt sample are over 80% of the peak stress. A great amount of accumulated damage occurs, leading to the global failure of the bedded rock salt sample. Therefore, it is possible to forecast the failure state of bedded rock salt by inspecting the variation between the stress or the energy release and the fractal dimension of the AE spatial distribution.

► Column-covering fractal method for AE spatial distribution was proposed.
► AE signals under different loading conditions were monitored for bedded rock salt.
► Fractal properties of bedded rock salt were studied by the fractal method proposed.
► Relationships between fractal dimensions and energy or stress were obtained.