Work

Study on the Mechanical Properties and Microscopic Damage Constitutive Equation of Coal–Rock Composites Under Different Strain Rates

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Under the influence of engineering disturbances, the loading rate of surrounding rock is in a state of continuous adjustment. This study conducts experimental investigations on the mechanical response characteristics under different strain rates (10−5 s−1, 10−4 s−1, and 10−3 s−1). During the uniaxial loading process of coal–rock composite specimens, multi-parameter monitoring was implemented, and a systematic study was carried out on the ring-down count induced by microcracks, the energy values of acoustic emission (AE) events, the stage-dependent strain characteristics on the specimen surface, and the surface temperature variation characteristics. Additionally, the stress–strain curve characteristics under different strain rates were comparatively analyzed in stages. The loading process of the coal–rock composite specimens was reproduced using the Particle Flow Code (PFC3D 6.0) simulation software. The simulation results indicate that the stress–strain results obtained from the simulation are in good agreement with the laboratory test results; based on these simulation results, the energy accumulation and dissipation characteristics of the coal–rock composite specimens under the influence of strain rate were revealed. Furthermore, a microscopic damage model considering strain rate was constructed based on the Weibull probability statistics theory. The results show that strain rate has a significant impact on the strength, elastic modulus, and failure mode of the coal–rock composite specimens. At low strain rates, the specimens exhibit obvious progressive failure characteristics and strain localization phenomena, while at higher strain rates, they show brittle sudden failure characteristics. Meanwhile, the thermal imaging results reveal that at high strain rates, the overall temperature rise in the composite specimens is rapid, whereas at low strain rates, the overall temperature rise is slow—but the temperature rise in the coal portion is faster than that in the rock portion. The peak temperature at high strain rates is approximately 2 °C higher than that at low strain rates. The PFC simulation results demonstrate that the larger the strain rate, the faster the growth rate of plastic energy in the post-peak stage and the faster the release rate of elastic energy.

Source: Applied Sciences

DOI: 10.3390/app16020579