Investigation of crack propagation and acoustic emission characteristics in rock samples with parallel-cracks in immovable stone cultural relics

Crack propagation in stone cultural relics poses major challenges to their long-term preservation; hence, it is significant to investigate the mechanical behavior and acoustic emission characteristics of rock samples with parallel cracks, which are common in immovable stone relics. Numerous sandstone models, established using a heterogeneous numerical simulation method, were developed to quantify the rock behavior under various uniaxial compression testing conditions, including varying numbers of cracks and spacing. Results show that peak stress declines exponentially; and spacings greater than 7 mm slow strength reduction. When cracks initiate and propagate, smaller spacing causes tensile-shear hybrid failure and larger spacings favor compressive-shear failure. In addition, AE analysis showed a nonlinear relationship between cumulative energy and specimen strength, with a decrease in the total number of AE events as the number of fractures and spacing increase. This research contributes to better risk assessments and targeted conservation strategies for heritage preservation.