Mechanical Properties of Roof Rocks under Superimposed Static and Dynamic Loads with Medium Strain Rates in Coal Mines

Roof rocks in coal mines are subjected to the combination of in situ stresses and dynamic stresses induced by mining activities. Understanding the mechanical properties of roof rocks under static and dynamic loads at medium strain rates is of great significance to revealing the mechanism of rock bursts. In this study, we employ the digital image correlation (DIC) technique to investigate the energy concentration and dissipation behaviors, failure mode, and deformation characteristics of roof rocks under combined static and dynamic loads. Our results show that both the static pre-stress and dynamic loading rate have significant effects on the uniaxial compressive strength of rock specimens. From the energy principle, when the static pre-stress is the same, both elastic strain energy density and dissipated energy density increase with increasing dynamic loading rate. The hazard of rock bursts increases with decreasing static pre-stress and increasing dynamic loading rate. At higher dynamic loading rates, more cracks are generated, and the failure becomes more violent. The crack initiation, propagation and coalescence processes are identified, and the failure mode is closely related to the evolution of the global principal strain field of the rock specimens.