Pressure-Stimulated Rock Current as Loading Diorite to Failure:
Particular Variation and Holistic Mechanisms
Abstract
The variations in the electric property of loaded rocks are essential in
understanding the rock dynamics and fracturing process. Decades of
laboratory experiments have revealed different behaviors of
stress-stimulated electric current due to the effects of rock types,
loading modes, and detection methods. These different behaviors result
in difficulties in revealing the underlying physics of electric current
in rock and explaining adequately the wide variety of electric
precursors measured before rock failure or geohazards. In this study,
cubic- and conical-shaped diorite specimens were specially designed and
produced to investigate experimentally the characteristics of
pressure-stimulated rock current (PSRC) in the process of loading rock
specimen to failure. We measured a particular phenomenon of diorite PSRC
variation with pressure, that is, PSRC remained nearly stable until the
applied stress reached 83%–98% of the failure strength. A remarkable
step-like increment in PSRC was uncovered, and drastic oscillations with
maximum amplitudes of several hundreds of nA happened one second prior
to abrupt rock failure. A holistic mechanism that includes positive hole
activation, field emission of electrons due to crack charge separation,
and moving charged dislocation was applied to interpret this particular
phenomenon. We found that these mechanisms contribute comprehensively
rather than individually to the evolution of PSRC. We expect to provide
an improved understanding of the underlying physics of PSRC and the
variation in rock electric property.