Constitutive model for soft rocks considering structural healing and decay

Abstract

The behavior of soft rock depends on the contact area between mineral particles and the tensile strength of the interparticle cementation, which are usually referred to as structures. We investigated the effects of structural decay and healing on the behavior of soft rock through monotonic and slide-hold-slide triaxial tests under the drained condition with constant effective confining pressure. We developed a constitutive model for soft rocks incorporating structural healing and decay in the context of the extended critical state theory. The model was validated via laboratory tests and captured the behavior of soft rock, including the healing and decay phenomena.