This article reviews the effect of weak interfaces on crack propagation in rock and some
other analogous brittle materials from phenomenon to mechanism. In this review, a variety of …

Mineral grains serve as the basic units of rocks. Understanding rock materials at the grain-
scale level allows us to unveil the underlying fundamental mechanisms, thereby facilitating …

Brittleness has a significant influence on rock failure under compression; however, the
mechanism is rarely comprehensively discussed. This study numerically investigates the …

Fracturing process and possible factors influencing crack initiation, propagation and
coalescence of granitic rocks are investigated using a grain-based finite-discrete element …

Determination on underlying mechanisms of crack initiation is of vital importance to
understand the failure processes of geomaterials in practical engineering. In this study …

Composite interbedded rock is a special geological phenomenon that occurs when layers of
rock (beds) of a given lithology lie between or alternate with other layers of a different …

Rock materials are typically heterogeneous. Traditional digital image processing (DIP)
technology and the grain-based model (GBM) method are difficult to apply to engineering …

The initial stress is a crucial factor influencing the selection of cutter spacing and rock
fragmentation efficiency in tunnel boring machine (TBM) operations. This study aims to …

Ultrasonic vibration-assisted rock breaking is a potentially effective technique to accelerate
hard rock drilling processes. Fatigue damage is a primary factor that governs rock …

The aim of this study is to understand the effects of micro-heterogeneity, such as grain size,
morphology and mineralogy, on the initiation, propagation and coalescence of microcracks …