Experimental study on acoustic emission frequency characteristics of granite under different cyclic loading and unloading

Abstract In Granite acoustic emission tests were performed during three different cyclic loading and unloading processes. The relationship between the acoustic emission frequency distribution pattern and the loading and unloading mode of granite during the cyclic loading and unloading process was discussed. The distribution pattern of the peak frequency with the stress evolution is analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Studies have shown that: in the first cycle of loading and unloading at each stage of the three cyclic loading and unloading processes, the acoustic emission ringing count and peak frequency are significantly increased, which has a significant Kaiser effect. It proves that the Kaiser effect essentially remembers the extent of the damage inside the rock previously. In the process of loading and unloading in the fourth stage cycle, the AE ring count showed a “U”-shaped change law, showing a significant Felicity effect. Comparing the three different cyclic loading and unloading modes, with the increase of the lower limit stress, the stress amplitude decreases, and the AE ringing count corresponding to the lower limit stress value of the unloading gradually decreases, and the peak frequency distribution shows more dense or concentrated characteristics. At the beginning of the third stage cycle, the proportion of high frequency band (140∼162kHz) gradually decreased, and the proportion of lower frequency band (11-18kHz) gradually increased. With the increase of the lower limit of cyclic loading and unloading, the lower frequency band (11-18kHz) in the fourth-stage cyclic loading and unloading process takes up a higher proportion, even as high as 95%. It indicates that the rock samples at this stage mainly undergo large-scale failure, and the rock samples are in a critical failure state. These provide the basis for exploring the evolution mechanism of rock mechanical behavior and the prediction method of instability and damage.