Effects of the Shapes of Surrounded Cracks on the Failure Behavior of Rock‐Like Samples

ABSTRACT The research employed laboratory and numerical simulation methods to examine how the shapes and sizes of surrounding cracks influence the compressive breakage properties of concrete samples. The notches examined were of various shapes, including semicircle, semi‐ellipse, triangle, rectangle, square, and trapezoid, with an angle of 45° between the notch and the horizontal axis. Additionally, numerical models were created that included 15 embedded rectangular notches. The investigation focused on different notch angles (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) and notch lengths (3, 6, and 9 cm). A consistent displacement loading rate of 0.01 mm/s was maintained throughout the experiment. In the intact specimens tested, the measured uniaxial compressive strength was 16 MPa, while the tensile strength was found to be 1.2 MPa. Tests on different crack types revealed that both the surface area and shape significantly influenced the fracture and failure of rock mass specimens. A correlation was established between the strength of the specimens and crack propagation. As the angle of the joints decreased and the surface area of the cracks increased, tensile cracks developed, ultimately leading to the fracturing and final breakage of the specimens. The modeled specimens exhibited the lowest tensile strength at a 30‐degree inclination angle. Semicircular cracks displayed the highest tensile strength, whereas rectangular cracks had the lowest. In comparing the laboratory and numerical outcomes, the breakage patterns, failure mechanisms, and strengths of the geomaterial samples were found to be similar.