Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour.
(2024) 10:43
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40948-024-00751-3
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Damage and hardening evolution characteristics
of sandstone under multilevel creep–fatigue loading
Zhang Bichuan · Liang Yunpei · Zou Quanle ·
Ning Yanhao · Kong Fanjie
Received: 11 January 2022 / Accepted: 10 January 2024
© The Author(s) 2024
Abstract During the operation of artificial under-
ground structures, the surrounding rock experiences
fatigue and creep damage caused by several types of
disturbances under long-term constant loading. To
quantify the mechanical response of sandstone under
creep–fatigue loading, a damage–hardening evolution
model based on the linear superposition concept is
proposed. In the model, coupling is applied to repre-
sent the synergistic effect of creep and fatigue. Creep–
fatigue tests of sandstone specimens are conducted
under multilevel loading. The damage and hardening
effects of sandstone under creep–fatigue loading are
complex. Hardening is the dominant effect under low
creep–fatigue loads, and damage is the dominant effect
under high creep–fatigue loads. The strength of the
rock specimens undergoes increasing and decreasing
Z. Bichuan
Key Laboratory of In‑Situ Property‑Improving
Mining of Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University
of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
L. Yunpei (*) · Z. Quanle (*) · N. Yanhao · K. Fanjie
State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics
and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044,
China
e-mail: liangyunpei@cqu.edu.cn
Z. Quanle
e-mail: 756873156@qq.com
L. Yunpei · Z. Quanle · N. Yanhao · K. Fanjie
School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Chongqing
University, Chongqing 400044, China
trends under this loading path, and the evolution of the
Mohr–Coulomb envelope is discussed. The proposed
model can be used to describe the test data and the
evolution of the creep–fatigue process. With increas-
ing creep–fatigue number, the acoustic emission ampli-
tude, energy, and cumulative counts increase. How-
ever, the amplitude is more sensitive than the energy,
indicating that it is more suitable for describing creep–
fatigue loading. Furthermore, the peak frequencies of
the AE signals are mostly distributed in the 0–15 kHz,
15–30 kHz, 30–45 kHz, and 45–55 kHz regions. The
signal proportion in the 45–55 kHz zone decreases
with the creep–fatigue number. However, other fre-
quency zones increase with the creep–fatigue number.
This phenomenon illustrates that the crack scale of the
specimens increases with the creep–fatigue number.
Highlights
• Damage and hardening effects are competitive
under multiple creep–fatigue cyclic loads.
• Low and high creep–fatigue loads dominate the
hardening and damage effects, respectively.
• Acoustic emission signals are obvious during
cyclic loading.
Keywords Damage–hardening model · Rock
damage · Acoustic emission · Mohr‒Coulomb circle
evolution · Crack propagation
Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 2 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour.
1 Introduction
Sandstone is a geological material widely used in
many fields, such as coal mining (Chen et al. 2023;
Ran et al. 2023b), tunnel design (Xue et al. 2020), and
blasting engineering (Cerfontaine and Collin 2018).
In these engineering applications, the sandstone expe-
riences long-term static loading and periodic distur-
bance (Yang and Hu 2018; Zhao et al. 2021; Liang
et al. 2023). These environmental and human-induced
loadings are essentially cyclic and time-depend-
ent (Cerfontaine and Collin 2018). Therefore, the
creep–fatigue mechanical properties of this rock have
attracted the attention of many researchers because
they are crucial for designing and constructing syn-
thetically manufactured projects.
Numerous scholars have investigated the strength,
deformation, and failure behaviors of rocks under dif-
ferent loading paths (Zhang et al. 2021; Wang et al.
2015; Liang et al. 2023; Ye et al. 2022). Mechanical
characteristics are good signs of damage and harden-
ing effects. The changes in the mechanical parameters
of a specimen are closely related to the loading envi-
ronment (Ran et al. 2023a; Ye et al. 2023; Zou et al.
2023). For example, the peak strength and elastic
modulus of sandstone are highly reliant on the confin-
ing pressure (Zhang et al. 2015). Sandstone exhibits
brittle and ductile behaviors at low and high confin-
ing pressures, respectively (Wasantha et al. 2012). In
addition, low–high–low and high–low–high loading
paths significantly affect the creep behavior of sand-
stone (Chen et al. 2019). Heap et al. (2009) reported
that after long-term loading that leads to corrosion,
sandstone fails at stresses lower than the uniaxial
compressive strength (UCS). The creep behavior of
sandstone is relatively sensitive to dynamic distur-
bances under a high creep load; a higher energy dis-
turbance results in a shorter failure time and a more
significant strain rate (Zhu et al. 2019). In addition,
the fracture system and propagation characteristics
under creep–fatigue loading are more complicated
than those under multistage creep loading (Xu and
Yang 2016).
Acoustic emission (AE) behaviors have been
proven to be an auxiliary tool for investigating dam-
age and hardening evolution characteristics in rock
and concrete materials (Liu et al. 2020). The AE tech-
nique mainly involves the AE time series, spectrum,
spatial distribution, and fracture propagation mode
Vol:. (1234567890)
13
(2024) 10:43
(Zhang et al. 2019). The crack closure, elastic, stable
crack propagation, and unstable propagation stages
can be identified through AE count curves (Ranjith
et al. 2004). For one or more preexisting flaws in
specimens, the AE count can describe the relation-
ship between fracture propagation and the AE count
(Huang et al. 2018). A transition of the failure from
the shear mode to the tensile mode can be obtained
through the RA (rise angle) –AF (average frequency)
distribution (Liu et al. 2020). AE technology can
determine the accurate damage location through 6 or
more acoustic emission sensors (Yang et al. 2012).
The AE energy and amplitude can reveal the mechan-
ical characteristics under true triaxial compression
conditions. However, only limited studies on the AE
characteristics under creep–fatigue conditions have
been conducted.
Several creep or damage models have been pro-
posed to describe the time-dependent behavior of
rock under certain conditions. These models involve
the initial damage (Hou et al. 2019), energy dissi-
pation (Liu et al. 2016), strain hardening (He et al.
2013), strain rate (Hajiabadi and Nick 2020), and gas-
containing state. Previous models have been applied
mainly to certain pure loading conditions. Sandstone
in engineering structures experiences creep–fatigue
loading. The effects of creep and cyclic on rock fail-
ure are different. The coupled hardening and dam-
age of sandstone are essential to the stability and
safety of underground engineering, but information
about the coupled effect and evolution characteris-
tics of these processes is scarce. To establish a suit-
able creep–fatigue model, the first steps are to con-
sider cyclic fatigue and to identify the parameters
that affect the damage process (Eftekhari and Fatemi
2016). Then, the creep damage evolution charac-
teristics should be developed. These approaches
can describe the creep procedure macroscopically
and do not require many parameters. In addition,
creep–fatigue loading can produce a hardening effect
on rock materials. Finally, by taking the factors and
coupling influences into consideration, a constitutive
model can be proposed to describe the comprehensive
behaviors of materials under certain loading condi-
tions (Chaboche 2008).
In this paper, a damage–hardening evolution model
is proposed to describe the comprehensive effect of
creep–fatigue loading on sandstone. To verify this
model, multilevel creep–fatigue tests are conducted
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 3 of 18 43

under load control modes. Then, the deformation and
AE signal characteristics are analyzed. The results of
this research can enrich the understanding of mining-
induced boundary evolution and may be helpful for
identifying stable regions for gas drainage.
2 Damage–hardening evolution model
that creep damage and fatigue damage exhibit vis-
ible coupling effects. Thus, the total damage D can be
divided into Dc and Df (Eftekhari and Fatemi 2016).
Creep deformation is associated with the material.
When the strain reaches a critical value, the material
fails. Thus, the creep damage variable can be defined
as follows:
t

∫0 𝜀∗C
𝜀̇
Dc = dt (1)
Herein, the damage and hardening evolution behav-
iors of multilevel creep–fatigue cycles are investi-
The damage process begins at the initial load-
gated. Each sandstone specimen needs to be cycli-
ing and ends when the material fails. The Dc value
cally and constantly loaded until failure. To simplify
ranges from 0 to 1. t is the duration time for con-
the damage–hardening model and facilitate the calcu-
stant stress. 𝜀∗C is the multiaxial creep ductility,
lation of the parameters, the softening and hardening
which can be defined as the uniaxial creep fracture
effects can reach zero at the beginning of the tests.
strain.
Two kinds of effects are considered separately. First,
the proposed model is based on the ductility exhaus- 𝜀̇ = Ce𝛽𝜎 (2)
tion theory. Second, the damage and hardening effects
are considered in creep or cyclic loading processes. where C and 𝛽 denote the material constant and creep
−
Finally, a nonlinear summation method is derived by exponent, respectively, 𝜎 denotes the deviatoric stress,
and 𝜀̇ is the strain rate, which can be calculated by the
Norton power law (Heap et al. 2009).
𝜀C
𝜀∗C = [ ] (3)
sin[2h(p − 0.5)∕3(p + 0.5)]∕ sin 2h𝜎m (p − 0.5)∕𝜎eq (p + 0.5)

the damage–hardening model to include creep and where 𝜀C is the uniaxial creep fracture strain; 𝜎m is the
cyclic loading. This model can describe the mechani- mean stress; 𝜎eq is the equivalent stress; h is the ratio
cal behaviors of rock under creep and cyclic loading of 𝜎m and 𝜎eq ; and p is the power law exponent.
conditions. The following assumptions are made: 𝜎m 𝜎 + 𝜎2 + 𝜎3
h= = 1 (4)
𝜎eq 3𝜎eq
Rock specimens do not contain any defects at the
beginning of creep–fatigue testing.
The damage and hardening effects are functions of [ ( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ]1∕2
1
𝜎eq = 𝜎 1 − 𝜎 2 + 𝜎 2 − 𝜎3 + 𝜎 3 − 𝜎 1
the cycle number during cyclic loading. In addi- 2
tion, the time effect is ignored in this procedure. (5)
The damage and hardening effects can be super- where 𝜎1, 𝜎2 and 𝜎3 represent the maximum, interme-
imposed linearly through normalized damage diate, and minimum principal stresses, respectively.
and hardening parameters; thus, the full effects of Under the creep–fatigue loading test, creep dam-
creep and cyclic loading can be described. age accumulates during the loading time. There-
fore, the creep damage is calculated only during the
2.1 Damage evolution model creep process, and the cyclic loading stage can be
ignored.
When creep damage (caused by the loading duration) The accumulation of damage characterizes
and fatigue damage (caused by relatively high-level fatigue. During the cyclic loading process, the
cyclic loading) occur simultaneously, it is assumed ductility of the material decreases, and energy

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 4 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43

dissipates during the fatigue procedure. Equa- Hc

tion (6) can be used to calculate the fatigue damage He� = (9)
𝜎mon + Hc
variable.
During the cyclic loading process, the strength of
( ( )1−c )1− b+1
f
the rock material increases, especially during low-
N (6)
DF = 1 − 1− cyclic loading. When the maximum cyclic stress
NF
exceeds 𝜎l , the hardening effect is obvious. Similar
to fatigue damage, the cyclic hardening effect can
where b and f are material constants and Nf is the
be described by Hf′.
number of cycles and failure cycles, respectively,
at a specific deviatoric stress. The value of DF is 0 � � f �
⎧ � �1−c �1− b+1
when the cycle number is 0. When the cycle number ⎪𝜆 1− 1− N
𝜎 ≤ 𝜎l
reaches NF, the specimen fails. During the fatigue Hf� = ⎨ NF (10)
⎪
process, the creep effect is ignored. Determining NF ⎩ 0 𝜎 > 𝜎l
is a challenging task. Thus, the relationship between
NF and the maximum cyclic stress can be expressed where 𝜆 is the cyclic hardening effect parameter, and
by Eq. (7) (Cerfontaine and Collin 2018). 𝜆 > 1.
𝜎max
𝜎mon
= −0.0278 log10 NF + 0.9455 (7) 2.3 Creep–fatigue interaction model

where 𝜎max and 𝜎mon represent the maximum cyclic
stress and monotonic strength 𝜎mon, respectively.
2.2 Hardening evolution model
When creep hardening (caused by the loading dura-
tion) and cyclic hardening (caused by low-level
cyclic loading) occur simultaneously, it is assumed
that two kinds of loading can increase the strength
of the material. Thus, the total hardening H can be
divided into Hc and Hf .
During the steady creep procedure, the mate-
rial experiences a creep-hardening effect. When the
yield strength reaches the long-term strength (𝜎l ),
the strength of the rock does not increase, and the
hardening effect approaches zero. With increasing
time, the hardening effect narrows. This phenom-
enon can be described by the hardening function Hc
(Yongjun and Xiangke 2012):
C𝜎 t 𝜎 ≤ 𝜎l
{ 𝛾 1−𝛽
Hc =
0𝜎 > 𝜎l (8)
where C , 𝛾 and 𝛽 are material constants, and 0 < 𝛾 < 1
,0 < 𝛽 < 1.
To minimize the hardening effect between 0 and
1, H ′ can be expressed through Eq. (9).
When creep damage, cyclic damage, creep hardening
and cyclic hardening occur simultaneously, the inter-
action effect can be represented by introducing a cou-
pling as follows (Eftekhari and Fatemi 2016):
� � ⎫
dDc =
� fc 𝜎, Dc , Df , … dt� ⎪
dDf = ff 𝜎max , 𝜎m , Dc , Df , … dN ⎪
� ⎬ (11)
� c = fc (𝜎, …)dt
dH � ⎪
�
dHf = ff 𝜎max , 𝜎m , Dc , Df , … dN ⎪
⎭
To simplify and make predictions from pure creep
and pure fatigue, it is assumed that creep and cyclic
loading have a dual effect. The total dual effect of the
two kinds of loading can be expressed as follows:
dF = 𝛼1 dDc + 𝛽1 + 𝛼2 dDf + 𝛽2 − 𝛼3 dHc� − 𝛽3 − 𝛼4 dHf� − 𝛽4
(12)
where 𝛼1, 𝛼2, 𝛼3, 𝛼4, 𝛽1, 𝛽2, 𝛽3, and 𝛽4 are fitting param-
eters, and it is assumed that a = 𝛽1 + 𝛽2 − 𝛽3 − 𝛽4.
Thus, the comprehensive effect can be expressed by
the following equation:
dF = 𝛼1 dDc1 + 𝛼2 dDf 2 − 𝛼3 dHc� − 𝛼4 dHf� + a (13)
The nonlinear accumulation and interaction can be
derived by substituting Eqs. (6), (9), and Eq. (10) into

Vol:. (1234567890)
13
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 5 of 18 43

Eq. (13). The time-dependent damage and hardening abbreviated as CFT. A PCI-2 system was used to col-
model can be reconstituted as follows: lect the AE signals in multilevel creep–fatigue load-

� � f �
⎧ � �1−c �1− b+1
⎪ (1 − 𝜆) 1 − 1 − N + ∫0 H 𝜀𝜀∗̇ dt − C𝜎 𝛾 t1−𝛽
+ a 𝜎 ≤ 𝜎l
t
⎪ N 𝜎mon +C𝜎 𝛾 t1−𝛽
(14)
F C
F=⎨ � �1− f
� �
+ ∫0 H 𝜀𝜀∗̇ dt + a
⎪ 1−c b+1
t
⎪ 1 − 1 − NN 𝜎 > 𝜎l
⎩ F C

Equation (14) is a piecewise function that is
divided by the long-term strength (𝜎l ) of a particular
rock. When the applied stress exceeds the long-term
strength, the softening effect dominates the whole
procedure, and the hardening effect is negligible. In
contrast, we take both softening and hardening effects
into consideration because their gaps are relatively
small.
3 Experimental material and test procedure
Three sandstone specimens were used in these tests.
These specimens were processed into standard speci-
mens according to the instructions recommended by
the International Society for Molecular Medicine
(ISRM). The sample dimensions were 𝜙 50 mm ×
100 mm for the multilevel creep–fatigue loading tests.
Multilevel creep–fatigue loading tests were con-
ducted using a rock compression system (Fig. 1) with
a flat cylinder striker that could produce cyclic load-
ing stress and long-term stable stress. The system is
ing tests. The AE signals detected by the sensor were
reamplified to more than 40 dB. Two AE sensors
were assigned on the cylindrical surface of the rock
specimen in a symmetric position.
The bottom and top surfaces of the specimens
were ground flat to minimize the effect of the reac-
tion. Three specimens in total were prepared for
creep–fatigue testing. The P-wave velocity was
measured in the axial direction. Closely packed
P-wave velocity samples were chosen for P-wave
experiments because they are good indicators of
specimen peak strength (Table 1). The upper and
lower loads of the cycles in this experiment were
determined by the UCS value of the sandstone.
Table 1  P-wave velocity and density distribution
No P wave velocity (km/s) Mass (kg)
#1 2.114 0.430
#2 2.118 0.432
#3 2.114 0.431

Fig. 1  Experimental
system Acquisition System
Central control system
Dynamic strain gauge
Compression system

Electro-hydraulic
Rock sample servo system

Signal amplifier Oil pump

system
Acoustic emission
monitoring system

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 6 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43

Fig. 2  Stress‒time curves for multilevel CF tests: a 1st creep–fatigue cycle; b 3rd creep–fatigue cycle; and c 5th creep–fatigue cycle

Therefore, uniaxial compression tests were con-
ducted to determine these parameters. Then, the
upper stresses of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th creep–fatigue
cycles were set. Figure 2 shows the loading paths
of the CF tests, which consisted of different stages.
The axial stress 𝜎1 was applied to the sandstone
specimens at a loading rate of 200 N/s during the
cyclic loading and failure stage. A sinusoidal wave-
form was adopted to simulate cyclic loading. The
incremental cyclic loading stress was the same in
each creep–fatigue stage. The axial stress remained
constant during every creep stage. When the sand-
stone specimens failed, the stress dropped to the
residual strength value. Finally, the CF tests were
stopped.
4 Results and discussion
4.1 Verification of the proposed model under
different creep–fatigue loads
4.1.1 Prediction ability of the proposed model
Three samples are used to verify the proposed dam-
age–hardening evolution model. The predicted results

Vol:. (1234567890)
13
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour.
match well with the test data despite some fluctua-
tions at specific points. This result indicates that the
proposed comprehensive impact model can describe
the comprehensive evolution characteristics of sand-
stone rock under creep–fatigue loading.
In the first creep–fatigue cycle, the comprehen-
sive effect of sandstone is dominated by hardening.
The compaction and closure of microcracks and the
growth of new cracks increase the value of the dam-
age variable. However, this process results in relative
hardening. Cyclic and creep hardening effects can be
calculated by Eqs. (9) and (10), respectively, which
show similar increasing trends with respect to the
elastic modulus. Thus, the creep–fatigue hardening
model can be used to describe the hardening effect
well.
After three creep–fatigue cycles, because the
microcracks are closed under the applied loading,
the rate of new crack generation stabilizes. Moreo-
ver, the matrix of the sandstone is compacted, and
damage accumulates during this stage. The elas-
tic moduli reach their maximum values when the
creep–fatigue stress reaches a point close to the
long-term strength of the rock. Additionally, the
hardening effect dominates the process when the
creep–fatigue stress is lower than this value.
In the fifth creep–fatigue procedure, the matrix
of sandstone produces new cracks. At this time, the
damage variable increases rapidly. When the dam-
age accumulates to the critical value, macroscopic
cracks form in the sandstone.
0.05
Test results
Proposed model
0.04
Fatigue damage variable
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Cycle number
Fig. 3  Comparison of the proposed model and cyclic damage
data from the 1st creep–fatigue cycle
(2024) 10:43 Page 7 of 18 43
In the 1st and 3rd creep–fatigue procedure, the
damage–hardening evolution values are − 0.04929
and − 0.1886, respectively. This finding suggests
that the hardening effect dominates in the 1st and
3rd creep–fatigue procedure. The hardening effect is
more obvious after 3 creep–fatigue cycles. The UCS
of the specimen increases from 48.7 to 53 MPa,
verifying the evolution of the damage–hardening
value. However, when the rock specimens experi-
ence additional creep–fatigue loads, the damage
effect dominates, and the damage–hardening evolu-
tion value is 0.7559. This finding indicates that the
softening effect is dominant when specimens expe-
rience additional creep–fatigue loading procedures.
A decrease in the peak strength to 45.6 MPa veri-
fies that additional creep–fatigue procedures occur
(Figs. 3, 4 and 5).
4.1.2 Mohr circle variation with respect
to the creep–fatigue model
The creep–fatigue model is used to describe the
rock mechanical behavior near the mining-induced
boundary. After coal excavation, the minimum prin-
cipal stress 𝜎3 of the rock reaches approximately zero,
depending on the position (Fig. 6a). At locations far
from the excavation site, the rock experiences a lower
stress disturbance and undergoes a long-term creep
procedure; subsequently, the strength of the rock
increases under low creep–fatigue loads (Fig. 6b).
The comprehensive effect F is less than zero. In
contrast, the strength of rock decreases under high
creep–fatigue loads (Fig. 6c). The F value is greater
than zero.
The CF model is a coupling model that simulates
the time-dependent increases and decreases in the
deformation and strength characteristics of brittle
rocks. The increase and decrease rates are related to
the accumulated strain. However, the model is on a
small scale. It is impossible to describe the defor-
mation characteristics of rocks that contain obvi-
ous joints. In contrast, the stress and strain values
obtained from the in-situ environment are different.
As a result, this model is designed to improve the
14 16 18 20 22
understanding of multilevel CF conditions, and only
qualitative conclusions are drawn.
Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 8 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43

0.5 0.13
(a) 1 CF (b) Test results
2 CFs Proposed model
3 CFs
0.4
0.12

Fatigue damage variable

Fatigue damage variable

0.3

0.11

0.2

0.10
0.1

0.0 0.09
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Cycle number Cycle number
0.30 0.44
Test results (d) Test results
(c)
Proposed model Proposed model
0.42

0.28
Fatigue damage variable

Fatigue damage variable

0.40

0.38
0.26

0.36

0.24 0.34

0.32

0.22
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 0.30
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Cycle number
Cycle number

Fig. 4  Comparison of the proposed model and damage evolution characteristics in the 3rd creep–fatigue cycle. a Damage distribu-
tion in the 3rd creep–fatigue cycle. b, c, and d Comparisons of the proposed model and test data

4.2 Mechanical and AE characteristics of sandstone The spacing of the hysteresis loop is the largest during
under different creep–fatigue loads and the cyclic loading. In the middle cyclic loading stage, the
corresponding relationships with damage and axial deformation steadily and slowly increases. The
hardening effects elastic characteristics of the sandstone matrix dominate
this phenomenon. The spacing of the hysteresis loop
4.2.1 Mechanical behaviors of sandstone decreases with increasing creep–fatigue number. In the
under different creep–fatigue loads high-stress cyclic loading stage, the strain rate increases
rapidly until the specimen fails. The spacing of the
The stress‒strain curves and peak stresses of sand- hysteresis loop changes with increasing creep–fatigue
stone after multiple creep–fatigue cycles are plotted, level. The peak strength first increases from 48.7 MPa
as shown in Fig. 7. The cyclic loading characteristics to 53 MPa and then decreases to 45.6 MPa.
at different stress stages show noticeable differences. The deformation cannot recover when the extra
In the low cyclic loading stage, the axial strain devel- stress is removed. In this work, the calculation method
ops rapidly, and the deformation accumulates quickly. for the irreversible strain of the samples is illustrated in
This phenomenon may arise due to the compression of Fig. 8. The irreversible strain of each cycle can be cal-
the microcrack. The deformation of sandstone includes culated through Eq. (15).
the deformation of the sandstone matrix and crack.

Vol:. (1234567890)
13
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 9 of 18 43

0.8 0.065
(a) 1 CF Test results
(b)
0.7 2 CFs Proposed model
3 CFs
0.060
4 CFs
0.6

Fatigue damage variable

Fatigue damage variable

5 CFs
0.5
0.055

0.4

0.050
0.3

0.2
0.045
0.1

0.040
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Cycle number Cycle number
0.19 0.36
Test results Test results
(c) (d)
Proposed model Proposed model
0.34
0.18

Fatigue damage variable

Fatigue damage variable

0.32

0.17

0.30

0.16
0.28

0.15 0.26
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Cycle number Cycle number
0.52 0.70
Test results
(e) Test results (f)
Proposed model Proposed model

0.68
0.50
Fatigue damage variable
Fatigue damage variable

0.66

0.48

0.64

0.46
0.62

0.44 0.60
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Cycle number Cycle number

Fig. 5  Comparison of the proposed model and cyclic damage evolution characteristics in the 5th creep–fatigue cycle. a Damage dis-
tribution in the 5th creep–fatigue cycle. b–f Comparisons of the proposed model and test data

∑
N
∑
N
( n ) where 𝜀irr and 𝜀nirr denote the changes in irreversible
𝜀irr = 𝜀nirr = 𝜀total − 𝜀nelastic (15) axial strain during all the cycles and in a single cycle,
n=1 n=1 respectively, and n represents the number of cycles.

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 10 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour.
Fig. 6  Strength evolution during the CF test. a Excavation
effect of rock near the mining-induced boundary; b increasing
trend in strength under low-CF loads; and c strength degrada-
tion under high-CF loads
Furthermore, 𝜀ntotal and 𝜀nelastic indicate the final and
initial strains after n loading and unloading cycles.
The irreversible strain (plastic deformation)
increases with increasing number of cycles (Figs. 9,
10 and 11). An increase in irreversible strain denotes
the amount of energy dissipated, which indicates the
accumulation of damage per cycle (Liu et al. 2014).
The sandstone specimens in the creep–fatigue test
fail at a stress lower than the UCS. These phenom-
ena arise due to the accumulated irreversible strain
Vol:. (1234567890)
13
(2024) 10:43
per cycle in the cyclic loading stage. AE counts in
the lower cycle stress stage first show a considerable
increase. The number approaches 0 (Figs. 9, 10a and
11b). This phenomenon may first result from micro-
crack compression. In addition, new fractures may
not form under low loads. Thus, the irreversible
strain increases slowly. In the middle-stress stage,
the AE counts exhibit a steady trend (Fig. 10b and
c and Fig. 11b, c, and d), corresponding well with
the plastic deformation evolution. This phenomenon
may indicate that the fracture propagation speed can
remain constant. Under high loads, the AE count
decreases. This decrease may occur due to the large
fractures that rift through. The number of large frac-
tures is less than the number of small fractures. Thus,
the AE count is much lower than that in the middle
stress stage.
4.2.2 Variations in the AE count, amplitude,
and energy with creep–fatigue time
The variations in the AE parameters, such as ampli-
tude, energy, and count, and the fracture process are
evaluated under different creep–fatigue conditions to
describe the damage and hardening characteristics.
The AE counts can be used to describe the damage
accumulation and fracture propagation. As shown in
Fig. 12, at the beginning of the creep–fatigue proce-
dure, the initial AE signals have lower amplitudes and
energies than during failure. This phenomenon may
result from crack closure, which can produce some
signs of instantaneous strain when the upward pres-
sure head of the experimental machine touches the
rock specimens. However, there are few AE signals
in the creep procedure, especially when the creep
pressure is low (Fig. 12a). This finding suggests that
relatively less damage is produced in this stage, and
hardening may dominate the process. However, as the
creep pressure increases, the AE count increases. The
AE energy increases noticeably with cumulative count
due to the generation and growth of large fractures.
Microcrack generation and propagation may produce
few AE signals. This finding suggests that the dam-
age effect increases during this stress stage, and the
hardening effect may reach zero. Thus, an increase in
the AE count under constant stress is a good indicator
of accumulated rock damage. For rock specimens that
experience additional creep–fatigue cycles, micro-
cracks may fully develop. In the failure process, the
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 11 of 18 43

Fig. 7  Curves describing the mechanical characteristics of sandstone specimens after multiple creep–fatigue cycles. a, b and c rela-
tionships between the stress and strain under different uniaxial creep–fatigue loads

AE waves may superimpose, leading to a significant

number of AE signals. Moreover, the shape of the
cumulative counts changes as the creep–fatigue time
increases. However, the AE amplitude is more sensi-
tive than the AE count under creep–fatigue loads. The
AE amplitude is a good indicator for distinguishing
between low and high stress creep–fatigue conditions.
AE signals can hardly be observed under low creep
loads. However, these signals can be detected under
high creep loads.

4.2.3 RA–AF distribution and its relationship

with fracture mode

Fig. 8  Schematic of the calculation of irreversible deformation The reciprocal gradient of the AE signal wave-
form can be described by the RA value, as shown
in Fig. 13. RA is a valuable tool for describing
AE signal characteristics (Sagar and Prasad 2012).
500
A combination of RA and AF is commonly used
6 450
to analyze the failure modes of rock and concrete
5
400
materials (Wang et al. 2016; Han et al. 2019). A low
350
RA and high AF indicate that the tension dominates
Irreversible strain (10-3)

The number of counts

4 300 fracture generation or propagation. This kind of

3
250 energy release is often initiated by fast longitudinal
200 waves. In contrast, a high RA and low AF suggest
2 150 that shear constitutes the main fracture evolution
100 mechanism and produces slow shear waves. The
1
50 ratio of the AF to RA values increases with increas-
0
0 ing creep–fatigue cycles, showing that the failure
-50 characteristics evolve from the tensile mode to the
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Cycle loading and unloading times shear mode under this loading procedure. The evo-
lution of this signal reflects the damage accumula-
Fig. 9  Irreversible strain evolution in the 1st creep–fatigue tion characteristics.
cycle

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 12 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43

6 6.4 20
(a) 8000
(b)
5 7000 6.2 15

6000
Irreversible strain (10-3)

Irreversible strain (10-3)

The number of counts
4

The number of counts

6 10
5000
3
4000
5.8 5
2 3000

5.6 0
2000
1
1000
5.4 -5
0
0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 5.2 -10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Cycle loading and unloading times
Cycle loading and unloading times

6.55 20
(c)
6.50
16
6.45
Irreversible strain (10-3)

The number of counts

12
6.40

6.35 8

6.30
4
6.25
0
6.20

6.15 -4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Cycle loading and unloading times

Fig. 10  Irreversible strain evolution in the 3rd creep–fatigue cycle. a, b, c irreversible strain after 1, 2, and 3 creep–fatigue cycles,
respectively

Figure 13 shows the typical variations in the RA the final fault plane. With the continuation of the
and AF values with time at different creep–fatigue creep–fatigue loading process, the gap enlarges
procedure. During one creep–fatigue test, AE sig- again, and the fracture mode changes back to ten-
nals are produced at the beginning of cyclic load- sion, which becomes the dominant failure mode
ing. In the later cyclic loading and creep process, again.
no apparent signals are produced. In the failure Another method for quantifying fracture behav-
stage, increases in the RA value are associated with ior is to employ the RA–AF distribution. Tensile
a decrease in the AF value, which can be attrib- cracks may produce AE signals with low RA val-
uted to the occurrence of the shear mode. Impor- ues and high AF values. The shear cracks exhibit
tantly, as shown in Fig. 13b, the gap between the the opposite trend. As shown in Fig. 14, the RA–AF
RA value and the AF value is narrow. This finding values are primarily distributed along the Y-axis
indicates a transition from tensile to shear fracture. during one creep–fatigue test, which indicates that
In the three creep–fatigue tests, the shear and ten- tensile cracking is the dominant fracture mode.
sile fracture generation speeds and propagations However, with increasing creep–fatigue cycles, the
are approximately equal. As the stress increases to RA–AF values tend to be evenly distributed along
a specific value, the fracture propagates and forms the X-axis and Y-axis, indicating that the tensile

Vol:. (1234567890)
13
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 13 of 18 43

7 7.1 40
600
(a) (b)
6 7.0 35
500
6.9 30
5
Irreversible strain (10-3)

Irreversible strain (10-3)

The number of counts

The number of counts

400 25
6.8
4
300 6.7 20
3
6.6 15
200
2
6.5 10
100
1
6.4 5

0 0
6.3 0

-1 -100 6.2 -5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Cycle loading and unloading times Cycle loading and unloading times

7.6 40 8.6 60
(c) (d)
7.5
50
8.4
30
7.4
Irreversible strain (10-3)

Irreversible strain (10-3)

40
The number of counts

The number of counts

8.2
7.3
20
30
7.2 8
20
7.1 10
7.8
10
7
0 7.6
6.9 0

6.8 7.4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Cycle loading and unloading times Cycle loading and unloading times

9.6 50
(e)
40
9.4
Irreversible strain (10-3)

30
The number of counts

9.2

20
9
10

8.8
0

8.6 -10

8.4 -20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Cycle loading and unloading times

Fig. 11  Irreversible strain evolution in the 5th creep–fatigue cycle. a b, c, d and e represent irreversible strains after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
creep–fatigue cycles, respectively

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 14 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43

Fig. 12  Curves of the AE count, amplitude, and energy with

time at different creep–fatigue cycles under uniaxial compres-
sion and impact loading. a, b and c Results of uniaxial com-
pression tests after 1, 3, and 5 creep–fatigue procedure

and shear cracking modes are equal. Finally, when
the creep–fatigue process continues, tensile crack-
ing gradually dominates, suggesting that tensile
cracking dominates the failure mode after 4 and
5 creep–fatigue cycles. After one creep–fatigue
procedure, the cracks propagate along the radial
direction of the rock sample, resulting in split frag-
ments. With increasing creep–fatigue cycles, there
is enough time for the microcracks to develop and
propagate. The main crack tends to propagate along
the weak planes. With increasing creep–fatigue pro-
cedure, the radial cracks may connect, and the ten-
sile failure mode can dominate the process again.
Fig. 13  Trends in the mean RA and AF parameters under uni-
axial compression and impact loading in sandstone. a, b and
c Uniaxial compression after 1, 3, and 5 creep–fatigue proce-
dure, respectively
4.2.4 Peak frequency and acoustic emission counts
in different creep–fatigue stages
The frequency is another parameter used to describe
the source type of AE signals. This parameter can be
used to describe the internal state and the associated
fracture mechanism of a rock. The different fracture
modes may release energy at different frequencies.

Vol:. (1234567890)
13
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 15 of 18 43

(a) (b) (c)

1.0 1.0 1.0
Tensile mode
Tensile mode Tensile mode
0.8

Normalized AF value
0.8 0.8

Normalized AF value
Normalized AF value

0.6 0.6 0.6

Shear mode Shear mode
0.4 Shear mode 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Normalized RA value Normalized RA value Normalized RA value

Fig. 14  Distribution of RA–AF values in granite during different creep–fatigue cycles under uniaxial compression. a, b and c Uni-
axial compression tests after 1, 3, and 5 creep–fatigue cycles, respectively

Large cracks may release low-frequency components, To analyze the variations in the counts with dif-
while small cracks may produce high-frequency com- ferent creep–fatigue procedure, the distribution per-
ponents. The peak frequency can be regarded as the centages of different creep–fatigue tests are plot-
main frequency of the signal, and the source type can ted, as shown in Fig. 16. At the early creep–fatigue
be classified. As shown in Fig. 15, the distribution of stage, the counts increase (Fig. 16b, c), and microc-
the peak frequency exhibits prominent zonal features, racks may be produced or propagated. However, at
and the frequency is located in the ranges of 0–15 low creep–fatigue loads, cyclic and creep loading
kHz, 15–30 kHz, 30–45 kHz, and 45–55 kHz. are insufficient for producing fatigue. Thus, when the
As the creep–fatigue time increases, the signal dis- cyclic or creep loading levels increase, the rates of
tributions at the beginning and failure stage exhibit crack production and propagation increase, thereby
a significant scale peak frequency. However, in the increasing the count. However, when the loading
middle creep–fatigue stage, the AE signals are con- increases, the energy may be concentrated in the
centrated at a relatively low frequency. On the one microcrack propagation process, which consumes
hand, a short creep–fatigue test shortens the crack relatively little energy. An increase in the speed of
propagation process in the early stage. Creep–fatigue counts may not be obvious (Fig. 16c).
increases, especially under relatively high creep In this paper, a damage hardening evolution model
stresses. The cracks produced during the previous is proposed based on the synergistic effect of creep
loading may continue to propagate during the creep and fatigue. In the future, when evaluating the dam-
process. These cracks are relatively small because the age and hardening characteristics in real situations
final fault plane has not formed. On the other hand, with complex loads, this model may be applied
45–55 kHz accounts for 54.6% of the frequency, to predict the lifetime of rocks. In addition, we can
which indicates that small-scale fracture propaga- obtain the damage–hardening values of a specific
tion occurs during one creep–fatigue cycle. With rock and can use then to determine the effects of these
increasing creep–fatigue cycles, the propagation of processes. It is difficult to quantify the relationship
large-scale fracture exceeds that of small-scale frac- between the damage–hardening evolution value and
ture. A larger fracture scale indicates greater dam- the strength of rock; this relationship may need to be
age. This trend can be used to describe the large studied further in the future.
damage accumulation effect. The proportion of low-
peak frequency (0–30 kHz) signals in the specimens
increases from 9.3 to 91.8% and to 92% after 1, 3, and 5 Conclusions
5 creep–fatigue procedure, respectively. This finding
indicates that relatively large crack propagation may Most artificial underground structures in a com-
occur in the late stages of creep–fatigue loading. pressed mechanical system are affected by

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 16 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43

Fig. 15  Peak frequencies under different creep–fatigue cycles. a Peak frequency versus time, b levels of five distinct peak frequency
bands, and c corresponding density cloud map

disturbances. Due to these disturbances, the rock sur-
rounding these structures experiences creep–fatigue
loading, and its deformation needs to be investigated.
In this study, creep–fatigue loading tests are con-
ducted in a controlled manner with different numbers
of procedure. Several conclusions can be drawn:
(1) A damage–hardening evolution model consider-
ing the damage and hardening effect is derived.
This model uses the nonlinear method to consider
creep and cyclic loading. The proposed model
matches well with the test data and reflects the

Vol:. (1234567890)
13
Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. (2024) 10:43 Page 17 of 18 43

12000 187000 158400

(a) 11115 (b) (c)
186800 186678 158200 158152
10000 186600
158000
186400
12090
8000 186200
12000
186000
AE counts

AE counts

AE counts
6000 11800
30800 30713
800
4413 704
30600 658
608
4000
30400 600 558
30200 400
2000 279
30000
200 87 200

0 0
0
1 creep-fatigue stage destruction stage 1 creep-fatigue 2 creep-fatigue 3 creep-fatigue destruction stage 1 creep-fatigue 2 creep-fatigue 3 creep-fatigue 4 creep-fatigue 5 creep-fatigue destruction stage

Fig. 16  Variations in different stages after 1, 3, and 5 creep–fatigue procedure

comprehensive evolution characteristics of the included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your
three deformation phases in sandstone. intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds
the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly
(2) The creep–fatigue loading process affects the from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit
UCS of sandstone. In creep–fatigue tests 1, 3, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
and 5, the damage–hardening evolution value
changes. A low creep–fatigue load increases the
peak strength of specimen, and a high creep–
fatigue load decreases it.
(3) The propagation of fractures during creep– References
fatigue tests can be divided into different stages,
and the differences can be identified based on the Cerfontaine B, Collin F (2018) Cyclic and fatigue behaviour
of rock materials: review, interpretation and research per-
AE counts and parameters. The AE amplitude, spectives. Rock Mech Rock Eng 51(2):391–414
RA–AF value, and peak frequency can describe Chaboche JL (2008) A review of some plasticity and viscoplas-
the damage and hardening effects from different ticity constitutive theories. Int J Plast 24(10):1642–1693
perspectives. A low creep stress can hardly pro- Chen C, Xu T, Zhou G, Qin T (2019) Experimental inves-
tigation of influence of alternating cyclic loadings on
duce AE signals. However, apparent AE signals creep behaviors of sandstone. Mech Time Depend Mater
can be detected during cyclic loading. The main 25(1):1–19
fracture propagation mode transitions from ten- Chen Z, Zou Q, Gao S, Zhan J, Chen C, Ran Q, Sun X (2023)
sile to shear to tensile again. Long-term evolution of overlying rock fractures in mined-
out areas and its effect on gas flow conductivity. Fuel
353:129213
Eftekhari M, Fatemi A (2016) Creep-fatigue interaction and
Acknowledgements This work is financially supported by thermo-mechanical fatigue behaviors of thermoplastics
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51674050 and their composites. Int J Fatigue 91:136–148
and 52074041), which are gratefully acknowledged. Hajiabadi MR, Nick HM (2020) A modified strain rate depend-
ent constitutive model for chalk and porous rock. Int J
Declarations Rock Mech Min Sci 134:104406
Han CL, Zhang N, Xue JH, Kan JG, Zhao YM (2019) Multiple
Conflict of interest On behalf of all authors, the correspond- and long-term disturbance of gob-side entry retaining by
ing author states that there is no conflict of interest. grouped roof collapse and an innovative adaptive technol-
ogy. Rock Mech Rock Eng 52(8):2761–2773
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Com- He R, Chen S-f, P-l C, Ji S-h (2013) Damage evolution model
mons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits of strain hardening cementitious composites under the uni-
use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any axial stress state. Int J Miner Metall Mater 20(2):196–204
medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the Heap MJ, Baud P, Meredith PG, Bell AF, Main IG (2009)
original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Crea- Time-dependent brittle creep in Darley Dale sandstone. J
tive Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The Geophys Res 114(B7):1–22
images or other third party material in this article are included Hou RB, Zhang K, Tao J, Xue XR, Chen YL (2019) A non-
in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated linear creep damage coupled model for rock considering
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not

Vol.: (0123456789)
13
 43 Page 18 of 18 Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour.
the effect of initial damage. Rock Mech Rock Eng
52(5):1275–1285
Huang YH, Yang SQ, Hall MR, Zhang YC (2018) The effects
of NaCl Concentration and confining pressure on mechan-
ical and acoustic behaviors of brine-saturated sandstone.
Energies 11:385
Liang Y, Kong F, Zou Q, Zhang B (2023) Effect of strain rate
on mechanical response and failure characteristics of hori-
zontal bedded coal under quasi-static loading. Geomech
Geophys Geo Energy Ge Resour 9:52
Liu J, Xie H, Hou Z, Yang C, Chen L (2014) Damage evolu-
tion of rock salt under cyclic loading in unixial tests. Acta
Geotech 9(1):153–160
Liu XS, Ning JG, Tan YL, Gu QH (2016) Damage constitu-
tive model based on energy dissipation for intact rock
subjected to cyclic loading. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci
85:27–32
Liu X, Liu Z, Li X, Gong F, Du K (2020) Experimental study
on the effect of strain rate on rock acoustic emission char-
acteristics. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 133:104420
Ran Q, Liang Y, Zou Q, Hong Y, Zhang B, Liu H, Kong F
(2023a) Experimental investigation on mechanical charac-
teristics of red sandstone under graded cyclic loading and
its inspirations for stability of overlying strata. Geomech
Geophys Geo Energy Ge Resour 9:11
Ran Q, Liang Y, Zou Q, Zhang B, Li R, Chen Z, Ma T, Kong
F, Liu H (2023b) Characteristics of mining-induced
fractures under inclined coal seam group multiple min-
ing and implications for gas migration. Nat Resour Res
32(3):1481–1501
Ranjith PG, Fourar M, Pong SF, Chian W, Haque A (2004)
Characterisation of fractured rocks under uniaxial loading
states. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 41:43–48
Sagar RV, Prasad BKR (2012) A review of recent develop-
ments in parametric based acoustic emission techniques
applied to concrete structures. Nondestruct Test Eval
27(1):47–68
Wang W, Cheng YP, Wang HF, Liu HY, Wang L, Li W, Jiang
JY (2015) Fracture failure analysis of hard-thick sand-
stone roof and its controlling effect on gas emission in
underground ultra-thick coal extraction. Eng Fail Anal
54:150–162
Wang H, Liu D, Cui Z, Cheng C, Jian Z (2016) Investigation
of the fracture modes of red sandstone using XFEM and
acoustic emissions. Theor Appl Fract Mech 85:283–293
Wasantha PLP, Darlington WJ, Ranjith PG (2012) Charac-
terization of mechanical behaviour of saturated sandstone
using a newly developed triaxial apparatus. Exp Mech
53(5):871–882
Xu P, Yang SQ (2016) Permeability evolution of sandstone
under short-term and long-term triaxial compression. Int J
Rock Mech Min Sci 85:152–164
Vol:. (1234567890)
13
(2024) 10:43
Xue R, Liang Z, Xu N, Dong L (2020) Rockburst prediction
and stability analysis of the access tunnel in the main
powerhouse of a hydropower station based on microseis-
mic monitoring. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 126:104174
Yang SQ, Hu B (2018) Creep and long-term permeability of
a red sandstone subjected to cyclic loading after thermal
treatments. Rock Mech Rock Eng 51(10):2981–3004
Yang SQ, Jing HW, Wang SY (2012) Experimental investiga-
tion on the strength, deformability, failure behavior and
acoustic emission locations of red sandstone under triaxial
compression. Rock Mech Rock Eng 45(4):583–606
Ye C, Xie H, Wu F, Li C (2022) Nonlinear creep properties and
time-to-failure prediction of sandstone under saturated
and dry conditions. Environ Earth Sci 81:545
Ye C, Xie H, Wu F, Li C (2023) Study on the nonlinear time-
dependent deformation characteristics and viscoelastic-
plastic model of shale under direct shear loading path.
Bull Eng Geol Environ 82:189
Yongjun S, Xiangke LSL (2012) Non-linear rock creep model
based on hardening and damage effect. J Coal Sci Eng
China 37:287–292
Zhang P, Mishra B, Heasley KA (2015) Experimental investi-
gation on the influence of high pressure and high tempera-
ture on the mechanical properties of deep reservoir rocks.
Rock Mech Rock Eng 48(6):2197–2211
Zhang Y, Feng XT, Yang CX, Zhang XW, Sharifzadeh M,
Wang ZF (2019) Fracturing evolution analysis of Beishan
granite under true triaxial compression based on acous-
tic emission and strain energy. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci
117:150–161
Zhang JC, Lin ZN, Dong B, Guo RX (2021) Triaxial compres-
sion testing at constant and reducing confining pressure
for the mechanical characterization of a specific type of
sandstone. Rock Mech Rock Eng 54:1999–2012
Zhao K, Ma H, Yang C, Chen X, Liu Y, Liang X, Cai R
(2021) Damage evolution and deformation of rock salt
under creep-fatigue loading. Rock Mech Rock Eng
54:1985–1997
Zhu W, Li S, Li S, Niu L (2019) Influence of dynamic distur-
bance on the creep of sandstone: an experimental study.
Rock Mech Rock Eng 52(4):1023–1039
Zou Q, Ning Y, Zhang B, Tian S, Jiang Z, An Y (2023)
Mechanical properties and failure characteristics of sand-
stone under ramp loading paths. Geomech Geophys Geo
Energy Ge Resour 9:39
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard
to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional
affiliations.