Loading history effect on creep deformation of rock

Abstract

The creep characteristics of rocks are very important for assessing the long-term stability of rock engineering structures. Two loading methods are commonly used in creep tests: single-step loading and multi-step loading. The multi-step loading method avoids the discrete influence of rock specimens on creep deformation and is relatively time-efficient. It has been widely accepted by researchers in the area of creep testing. However, in the process of multi-step loading, later deformation is affected by earlier loading. This is a key problem in considering the effects of loading history. Therefore, we intend to analyze the deformation laws of rock under multi-step loading and propose a method to correct the disturbance of the preceding load. Based on multi-step loading creep tests, the memory effect of creep deformation caused by loading history is discussed in this paper. A time-affected correction method for the creep strains under multi-step loading is proposed. From this correction method, the creep deformation under single-step loading can be estimated by the super-position of creeps obtained by the dissolution of a multistep creep. We compare the time-affected correction method to the coordinate translation method without considering loading history. The results show that the former results are more consistent with the experimental results. The coordinate translation method produces a large error which should be avoided.