Study on Mesoscopic Damage Evolution Characteristics of Single Joint Sandstone Based on Micro-CT Image and Fractal Theory

The different directions of joints in rock will lead to great differences in damage evolution characteristics. This study utilizes DIP (digital image processing) technology for characterizing the mesostructure of sandstone and combines DIP technology with RFPA2D. The mesoscale fracture mechanics behavior of 7 groups of jointed sandstones with various dip angles was numerically studied, and its reliability was verified through theoretical analysis. According to digital image storage principle and box dimension theory, the box dimension algorithm of rock mesoscale fracture is written in MATLAB, the calculation method of fractal dimension of mesoscale fracture was proposed, and the corresponding relationship between mesoscale fractal dimension and fracture damage degree was established. Studies have shown that compressive strength as well as elastic modulus of sandstone leads to a U-shaped change when joint dip increases. There are a total of six final failure modes of joint samples with different inclination angles. Failure mode and damage degree can be quantified by D (fractal dimension) and ω (mesoscale fracture damage degree), respectively. The larger the ω, the more serious the damage, and the greater the D, the more complex the failure mode. Accumulative AE energy increases exponentially with the increase of loading step, and the growth process can be divided into gentle period, acceleration period, and surge period. The mesoscale fracture damage calculation based on the fractal dimension can be utilized for quantitatively evaluating the spatial distribution characteristics of mesoscale fracture, which provides a new way to study the law of rock damage evolution.