Study on the coalescence mechanism of splitting failure of crack-weakened rock subjected to compressive loads

It is of important significance to study the coalescence mechanism of splitting failure of crack-weakened rock masses under compressive loads. In this paper, a simplified mechanism of crack propagation, in which the crack grows along the direction of maximum principal compressive stress, is proposed. Thus, only mode I is taken into account in the formulation and solution. On the basis of the near crack line analysis method, the elastic–plastic stress field near the crack line is analyzed, and the law that the length of the plastic zone along the crack line is varied with an external loads have been established by the matching condition of the elastic- plastic fields on the boundary, the coalescence stress and the strength properties of rock masses have been determined. The solution is a function of the geometry of the crack array. The results show that the crack coalescence depends on the crack interface friction coefficient, the sliding crack spacing, orientation of the cracks, and the crack half-length. The conclusions are of important significance for rock mass engineering.