Failure Mechanisms and Energy Evolution of Jointed Rock-Like Materials under Triaxial Compression: Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study

Failure Mechanisms and Energy Evolution of Jointed Rock-Like Materials under Triaxial Compression: Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Failure Mechanisms and Energy Evolution of Jointed Rock-Like Materials under Triaxial Compression: Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study Haoyu Dou, chen chen, Zhaolong Li, Jiacai li, Lv Zhu, Chun Wang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9000037/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Joint properties strongly influence the mechanical behavior of jointed rock masses. To clarify the influence mechanism under triaxial conditions, triaxial compression tests were performed on rock-like jointed specimens with different joint roughnesses and dip angles under various confining pressures. Mechanical properties and failure mechanisms were examined via mechanical parameters, energy analysis, mesoscopic damage evolution, and mechanical modeling by combining laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. Results show three dominant failure modes: Matrix Failure, Combination Failure, and Joint Shear Failure, among which the dip angle produces decisive anisotropy. As joint roughness increased from 5 to 15, the extreme value of the anisotropy index decreased from 74% to 58%. From an energy perspective, joint-surface characteristics significantly affected key energy components, including elastic energy and dissipated energy, and a critical energy value of 4.2 was proposed to distinguish the brittleness–ductility transition. Using particle flow code, the failure evolution of jointed specimens was further explored at the mesoscale, revealing damage initiation, crack propagation, and progressive failure. Finally, a jointed rock model incorporating joint roughness and dip angle was established to interpret and explain the observed failure mechanisms. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences Joint Roughness Coefficient (JRC) Triaxial Compression Failure Mechanism Energy Evolution Numerical Simulation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 15 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 15 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9000037","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":608822910,"identity":"42698414-5208-44b0-9dc9-364fc3133b50","order_by":0,"name":"Haoyu Dou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Nonferrous Metal Industry‘s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haoyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Dou","suffix":""},{"id":608822911,"identity":"0349aa50-3417-4535-8720-71ab6ca44548","order_by":1,"name":"chen chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Nonferrous Metal 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To clarify the influence mechanism under triaxial conditions, triaxial compression tests were performed on rock-like jointed specimens with different joint roughnesses and dip angles under various confining pressures. Mechanical properties and failure mechanisms were examined via mechanical parameters, energy analysis, mesoscopic damage evolution, and mechanical modeling by combining laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. Results show three dominant failure modes: Matrix Failure, Combination Failure, and Joint Shear Failure, among which the dip angle produces decisive anisotropy. As joint roughness increased from 5 to 15, the extreme value of the anisotropy index decreased from 74% to 58%. From an energy perspective, joint-surface characteristics significantly affected key energy components, including elastic energy and dissipated energy, and a critical energy value of 4.2 was proposed to distinguish the brittleness\u0026ndash;ductility transition. Using particle flow code, the failure evolution of jointed specimens was further explored at the mesoscale, revealing damage initiation, crack propagation, and progressive failure. Finally, a jointed rock model incorporating joint roughness and dip angle was established to interpret and explain the observed failure mechanisms.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Failure Mechanisms and Energy Evolution of Jointed Rock-Like Materials under Triaxial Compression: Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-20 19:42:19","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9000037/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-19T10:44:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-19T02:21:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-18T13:42:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"251914488532667004359083816917194027731","date":"2026-03-17T13:10:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"175787632073196632309378158067125106578","date":"2026-03-17T12:50:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-17T12:31:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-17T12:27:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-17T12:09:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-15T06:57:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-03-15T06:52:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7d1dae29-ffcb-4682-808e-df725df6207e","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":64785693,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":64785694,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":64785695,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-27T16:04:40+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-9000037","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47588-2","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2026-04-24 15:58:18","publishedOnDateReadable":"April 24th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-20 19:42:19","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-026-47588-2","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47588-2","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9000037","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9000037","identity":"rs-9000037","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}