Influence of Bifurcated Fracture Angle on Mechanical Behavior of Rock Blocks

The bifurcated fracture is distributed in nature, and its deformation and destruction occur under natural and man-made force. The study is carried out based on experiments and simulations to analyze the behavior of rock with bifurcated fractures under pressure. Bifurcated fracture causes the bending of the rock blocks on both sides and produces the tensile fractures under pressure. The lateral blocks with tensile fracture lead to the displacement of the intermediate block. By changing the bifurcated angle between fractures, the displacement characteristics of rock caused by block fractures are studied. The angle affects deformation, stress field, fracture mechanism, and displacement of rock with bifurcated fractures. The angle changes the stress magnitude and distribution of the rock blocks, affecting the initiation and expansion of the tension fractures at the bending side of the rock. Peak value of stress decreases with the decrease in bifurcated angle. The displacement difference between the two blocks will become larger. With the decrease in the pressure, deformation increases with time and the deformation rate decreases with time. The smaller the angle, the more difficult it is for the intermediate block to move out. Bifurcated angle of rock fracture has significant effects on the stability of the rock. The results could provide a reference for the stability of rock engineering.