There are many fracture zones crossing the dam foundation of the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Project in southwestern China. Clastic rock is the main media of the fracture zone and has poor physical and mechanical properties. In order to investigate the creep behavior of clastic rock, triaxial creep tests were conducted using a rock servo-controlling rheological testing machine. The results show that the creep behavior of clastic rock is significant at a high level of deviatoric stress, and less time-dependent deformation occurs at high confining pressure. Based on the creep test results, the relationship between axial strain and time under different confining pressures was investigated, and the relationship between axial strain rate and deviatoric stress was also discussed. The strain rate increases rapidly, and the rock sample fails eventually under high deviatoric stress. Moreover, the creep failure mechanism under different confining pressures was analyzed. The main failure mechanism of clastic rock is plastic shear, accompanied by a significant compression and ductile dilatancy. On the other band, with the determined parameters, the Burgers creep model was used to fit the creep curves. The results indicate that the Burgers model can exactly describe the creep behavior of clastic rock in the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Project.
The mechanical properties of outwash deposits which are taken as unconsolidated geo-materials with the characteristics of non-uniformity, heterogeneity and multiphase have attracted much attention in engineering. According to the results of laboratory direct shear test on the remolded samples, the soil particle parameters of numerical model based on in-situ particle size cumulative curves and 3D granular discrete element method were determined. Then, numerical experiments on different lithology, stone content and gradation composition were conducted. The results show that it is not a flat surface but a shear band that yields in the sample. The curve of particle velocity vs distance from the designed shear surface of test model that is taken as a datum plane in the vertical section of sample shows in "S" shape. The shear disturbance area is about twice the maximum diameter of stone blocks. The greater the stiffness of stone is, the rougher the shear surface is. The shear strength of outwash deposits is largely controlled by lithology and stone content, and the bite force between stone blocks is the root reason of larger friction angle. It is also shown that strain hardening and low shear dilatancy occur under high confining pressure as well as possibility of shear shrinkage. But it is easy to behave shear dilatation and strain softening under low confining pressure. The relationship between particle frictional coefficient and stone content presents an approximately quadratic parabola increase. The strain energy first increases and then drops with the increase of frictional energy. The cohesion increases with soil stiffness increasing but decreases with stone stiffness increasing. Numerical results are consistent with the laboratory test results of remolded samples, which indicate that this method can be a beneficial supplement to determine the parameters of engineering deposit bodies.
Triaxial creep tests were carried out under seepage pressure by using rock servo-controlled triaxial rheology testing equipment. Based on experimental results, rock rheological properties influenced by seepage-stress coupling were studied, and variations of seepage rate with time in complete creep processes of rock were analyzed. It is shown that, when the applied stress is less than failure stress level, the creep deformation is not obvious, and its main form is steady-state creep. When applied stress level is greater than or less than but close to fracture stress, it is easier to see the increase of creep deformation and the more obvious accelerative creep characteristics. The circumferential creep deformation is obviously higher than the axial creep deformation. At the stage of steady-state creep, the average of seepage flow rate is about 4.7×10-9 rn/s at confining pressure （tr3） of 2 MPa, and is about 3.9×10-9 m/s at a3 of 6 MPa. It is seen that the seepage flow rate at or3 of 2 MPa in this case is obviously larger than that at tr3 of 6 MPa. At the stage of creep acceleration, the seepage flow rate is markedly increased with the increase of time. The variation of rock permeability is directly connected to the growth and evolution of creep crack. It is suggested that the permeability coefficient in complete creep processes of rock is not a constant, but is a function of rock creep strain, confining pressure, damage variable and pore water pressure. The results can be considered to provide a reliable reference for the establishment of rock rheological model and parameter identification.
