Effects of size and strain rate on the mechanical behaviors of rock specimens under uniaxial compression

Size and strain rate are two key factors that dramatically influence the estimation of rock mechanical behaviors. To better understand the effects of size and strain rate on measured rocks, rock specimens with six different sizes were tested at six different strain rates under uniaxial compression using the MTS 815 Rock Mechanics Test System. Having determined that the size and strain rate significantly affect the peak strain, peak stress, elastic modulus, acoustic emission (AE), and failure pattern of the rock specimens, the relation was established between the strength and the size and strain rate of red sandstone. And the variation was revealed among the size and strain rate, the AE, and the failure pattern. It turned out that the peak stress was negatively correlated with the rock size and was positively correlated with the strain rate. When the length to diameter ratio (L/D) of the rock specimen was less than 2.0, the AE appeared mildly. The AE quantities gradually increased before the peak stress, and then sharply decreased after the peak stress. The failure pattern of the rock specimen was relatively complicated, with a fracture plane appearing along the axial direction. Conical failure type was also presented. When the L/D ratio of the specimen was greater than 2.0, the AE characteristics of red sandstone showed the radical model. There were relatively few AE rings before the peak stress. But the AE rings increased suddenly and dramatically during the peak stress. The rock specimens primarily failed with a single shear plane. Moreover, with an increase in the strain rate, the AE activities were enhanced and the AE quantities increased. When the strain rate of the rock specimen was less than 5.0 x 10(-4)/s, the rock specimen failed with a shear or tensile-shear pattern. And when the strain rate was greater than 5.0 x 10(-4)/s, the rock specimen tended to fail in a conical pattern.