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Experimental Study of the Brittle Behavior of Clay shale in Rapid Unconfined Compression

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Abstract

The mechanical behavior of clay shales is of great interest in many branches of geo-engineering, including nuclear waste disposal, underground excavations, and deep well drilling. Observations from test galleries (Mont Terri, Switzerland and Bure, France) in these materials have shown that the rock mass response near the excavation is associated with brittle failure processes combined with bedding parallel shearing. To investigate the brittle failure characteristics of the Opalinus Clay recovered from the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory, a series of 19 unconfined uniaxial compression tests were performed utilizing servo-controlled testing procedures. All specimens were tested at their natural water content with loading approximately normal to the bedding. Acoustic emission (AE) measurements were utilized to help quantify stress levels associated with crack initiation and propagation. The unconfined compression strength of the tested specimens averaged 6.9 MPa. The crack initiation threshold occurred at approximately 30% of the rupture stress based on analyzing both the acoustic emission measurements and the stress–strain behavior. The crack damage threshold showed large variability and occurred at approximately 70% of the rupture stress.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI). The authors would like to thank Prof. Dr. Peter Kaiser and one unknown reviewer for the thorough review and useful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Geology, Institute of Geology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Florian Amann, Keith Frederick Evans & Valentin Samuel Gischig

  2. Geoconsult, Pvt. Ltd, Plot 473, Industrial Estate, Udyog Vihar, Sector 19, Phase V, Gurgaon, India

    Edward Alan Button

  3. Institute for Rock Mechanics and Tunnelling, Graz University of Technology, Rechbauerstrasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Manfred Blümel

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  1. Florian Amann
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  2. Edward Alan Button
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  3. Keith Frederick Evans
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  4. Valentin Samuel Gischig
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Correspondence to Florian Amann.

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Amann, F., Button, E.A., Evans, K.F. et al. Experimental Study of the Brittle Behavior of Clay shale in Rapid Unconfined Compression. Rock Mech Rock Eng 44, 415–430 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-011-0156-3

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