The seepage evolution characteristic of brittle rock materials is very significant for the stability and safety of rock engineering. In this research, a series of conventional triaxial compression and gas seepage tests were carded out on sandstone specimens with a rock mechanics servo-controlled testing system. Based on the experimental results, the relationship between permeability and deformation is firstly analyzed in detail. The results show that the permeabilityaxial strain curve can be divided into the following five phases： the phase of micro-defects closure, the phase of linear elastic deformation, the phase of nonlinear deformation, the phase of post-peak stress softening and the phase of residual strength. The seepage evolution characteristic is also closely correlated with the volumetric deformation according to the relationship between permeability and volumetric strain. It is found that the gas seepage pressure has a great effect on the permeability evolution, i.e. permeability coefficients increase with increasing gas seepage pressures. Finally, the influence of gas seepage pressures on the failure behavior of brittle sandstone specimens is discussed.
Based on the axial stress-axial strain curves,the effect of fissure angle on the strength and deformation behavior of sandstone specimens containing combined flaws is analyzed.The mechanical parameters of sandstone specimens containing combined flaws are all lower than that of intact specimen,but the reduction extent is distinctly related to the fissure angle.The results of sandstone specimens containing combined flaws are obtained by the acoustic emission,which can be used to monitor the crack initiation and propagation.The ultimate failure mode and crack coalescence behavior are evaluated for brittle sandstone specimens containing combined flaws.Nine different crack types are identified on the basis of their geometry and crack coalescence mechanism(tensile crack,hole collapse,far-field crack and surface spalling)for combined flaws.The photographic monitoring was also adopted for uniaxial compression test in order to confirm the sequence of crack coalescence in brittle sandstone specimens containing combined flaws,which recorded the real-time crack coalescence process during entire deformation.According to the monitored results,the effect of crack coalescence process on the strength and deformation behavior is investigated based on a detailed analysis for brittle sandstone specimens containing combined flaws by using digital photogrammetry.
