A dynamic damage growth model for uniaxial compressive response of rock aggregates

A model that combines damage evolution theory with dynamic crack growth is developed to investigate the uniaxial compressive response of rock aggregate, A damage parameter that determines the time at which the rock looses its ability to transmit the stress completely is introduced into the model. Flaw distribution in rocks is described by a two parameter Weibull distribution. The model correlates the damage parameter with the dynamic growth of "wing" cracks from the pre-existing microcracks. Influences of model parameters on stress-strain response and failure strength are studied systematically. The results of the dynamic damage evolution model are compared to the experimental observations on three types of rock and a good correlation is obtained. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.