Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Displacement-length data from faults, joints, veins, igneous dikes, shear deformation bands, and compaction bands define two groups. The first group, having a power-law scaling relation with a slope of n = 1 and therefore a linear dependence of maximum displacement and discontinuity length (D-max = gamma L), comprises faults and shear (non-compactional or non-dilational) deformation bands. These shearing-mode structures, having shearing strains that predominate over volumetric strains across them, grow under conditions of constant driving stress, with the magnitude of near-tip stress on the same order as the rock's yield strength in shear. The second group, having a power-law scaling relation with a slope of n = 0.5 and therefore a dependence of maximum displacement on the square root of discontinuity length (D-max = alpha L-0.5), comprises joints, veins, igneous dikes, cataclastic deformation bands, and compaction bands. These opening- and closing-mode structures grow under conditions of constant fracture toughness, implying significant amplification of near-tip stress within a zone of small-scale yielding at the discontinuity tip. Volumetric changes accommodated by grain fragmentation, and thus control of propagation by the rock's fracture toughness, are associated with scaling of predominantly dilational and compactional structures with an exponent of n = 0.5.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-00411173
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411173
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2008.08.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Fractures or discontinuities perpendicular to the least stress σ3 were generated in a synthetic rock analogue (granular, frictional, cohesive, and dilatant) material in axisymmetric extension tests. These fractures are of two types defined by the mean stress σ. When σ is very small, the fractures form through the mode I cracking at tensile σ3 equal to the material tensile strength. The fracture walls have smooth surfaces. At higher σ, these surfaces become rougher, with the topography features forming faint or delicate plumose patterns. The amplitude of the plumose topography increases with σ. The axial stress σ3 at fracturing reduces in magnitude and changes in sign with the σ increase. Thus σ3 orthogonal discontinuities can form at compressive σ3. SEM observations show that these discontinuities are deformation localization bands where the material is characterized by the heterogeneous decohesion and volume and porosity increase due to dilatancy. The band thickness is several grain sizes. At formation, the bands are not opened, so they are not mode I fractures. They become fractures with plumose fractography after the separation of the sample parts along the band. The formation mechanism of these discontinuities or fractures is not completely clear, but it is suggested that it represents a running constitutive instability in the form of dilatancy banding (with further σ increase the bands become inclined to σ1, i.e., shear). The similarity between the experimentally generated plumose surface fractures and natural joints is discussed, and it is suggested that they can be formed as propagating constitutive instabilities.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00585846
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00585846
DOI : 10.1029/2010JB008104

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Both oedometric and plane-strain tests were performed with parallelepipedic samples made of synthetic granular, cohesive, frictional and dilatant rock analogue material GRAM2. For the first time parallel sets of fractures that have all the characteristics of natural joints were reproduced in the laboratory. The fractures are regularly spaced, normal to σ3, and have plumose morphology very similar to that of natural joints. These fractures can form at tensile stress σ3 much smaller in magnitude than the tensile strength of material and even at slightly compressive σ3. When mean stress σ exceeds a certain value, the fractures become oblique to σ1 (the obliquity increases with σ), forming networks of conjugate shear bands/fractures. These results of plane-strain experiments are in good agreement with those of better controlled conventional axisymmetric tests on a similar material in Chemenda et al. (2011b) and are closer to real geological situations. Both types of experiments are complementary. Their results lead to the conclusion that at least certain categories of natural fractures (including joints, and conjugate shear fractures/bands) were initiated as deformation localization bands. The band orientation is defined by the constitutive properties/parameters (notably the dilatancy factor) that are sensitive to σ.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00795555
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795555
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2011.11.021

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
In most rock mechanical testing devices, the texture developed during deformation is only observed after the failure, and the detailed mapping of cracks and pore structure evolution, just before or after rupture, remains speculative. Computerized X-ray tomography (CT X-ray) offers a way to observe 'in vivo' some characteristics of a tested sample in the course of its deformation. Therefore we developed an X-ray transparent tri-axial cell that was included in a medical purpose X-ray scanner with a volumetric resolution of the order of 1 mm3. This technique is described and applied to a porous calcarenite, which is regularly scanned for porosity evolution during mechanical testing. The experiment is performed at low confining pressure (2-10 MPa). During testing, an axial load is applied until failure and is then progressively decreased. In these experiments, the peak stress is preceded by phase of diffuse dilatancy. After failure localization, the axial stress is unloaded until the stress reaches isotropy. During this unloading phase, the previous diffuse dilatancy is lost due to an elastic relaxation. Then, the stress is completely relaxed. At this moment the dilatancy increases again and the residual dilatancy is larger than that reached at the peak stress. When observed "post mortem" at microscopic scale, the dilatant structures are comprised of cataclastic deformation bands and cracks in some larger crystals.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science

hal-00767563
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00767563
DOI : 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2012.07.020

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : Extension fractures of two types defined by the mean stress σ were generated in a synthetic rock analogue material. When σ is very small, the fractures are mode I cracks with smooth surfaces. At higher σ, these surfaces have plumose topography, with the amplitude increasing with σ. Both SEM observations and mechanical measurements show that fractures/discontinuities in the latter case are initiated as dilatancy localization bands. They form under tensile or slightly compressive normal stress and can be seen as running constitutive instabilities. The similarity between the plumose fractography of the experimental fractures and natural joints suggests similarity in the formation mechanism.
ISSN: 1631-0721

hal-00585886
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00585886
DOI : 10.1016/j.crme.2011.01.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : We present an experimental study of relations between hydraulic properties of clayey rocks and their deformation at bulk and micro scale. The experimentation is based on triaxial deformation of kaolinitic core samples, on permeability measurements, and on several methods of analysis of the microstructure. To produce the samples, remoulded kaolinite material is consolidated by axial loading up to 20 MPa in an oedometric cell. Then, in a triaxial cell, an undrained stress path is applied in order to induce shearing damage in the sample. The permeability of the sample is measured by fluid flow across the sample. Before and after these hydro-mechanical tests, the evolution and the homogeneity of the pore space and moreover the texture of the material are analysed by X-ray tomography, environmental scanning electron microscopy and thermic neutron diffraction. Contrary to expectations, the permeability at the sample scale does not vary significantly, although quite large deformation is reached. The final deformation is heterogeneous, with well-developed shear bands. It appears that the development of compacting and dilating zones generates a heterogeneous permeability field, which results in a negligible variation of the bulk permeability at the sample scale.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science

hal-00496407
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00496407
DOI : 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2010.04.007