Experimental Study Of Cataclastic Deformation Of A Quartzite.

The development of microcracking with progressive strain through failure in an orthoquartzite has been studied by means of optical and electron microscopy of specimens deformed experimentally at 200 MPa confining pressure, 20°C. Microcrack maps and statistics have been prepared. The rock fails through the development of arrays of microcracks which form around grain boundaries and are initiated at notches on pore spaces. No special microstructural characteristic appears to be associated with the peak strength, and axially oriented cracks do not begin to develop until well past the strength peak. Axial microcracking is a precursor to shear fault localization. Because most cracks form in highly shear stressed orientations, it is inferred that most of the work done in rupturing the rock is against the frictional forces on crack surfaces. An attempt is made to integrate the work done in this way, to compare it with the work done by the external forces.