Abstract

Phyllite is widely distributed in nature, and it deserves to be studied considering rock engineering applications. In this study, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on foliated phyllite with different foliation angles under dry and water-saturated conditions. The impacts of water content and foliation angle on the stress–strain curves and basic mechanical properties of the Phyllite were analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the peak stress and peak strain decrease first and then increase with increasing foliation angle as a U-shape or V-shape, and the phyllite specimens are weakened significantly by the presence of water. Moreover, an approach with acoustic emission, digital image correlation, and scanning electron microscopic is employed to observe and analyze the macroscopic and mesoscopic failure process. The results show that tensile microcracks dominate during the progressive failure of phyllite, and their initiation, propagation, and coalescence are the main reasons for the failure of the phyllite specimens. The water acts on biotite and clay minerals that are main components of phyllite, and it contributes to the initiation, propagation, and coalescence of numerous microcracks. Finally, four failure modes are classified as followed: (a) for the specimens with small foliation angles α = 0° or 30° (Saturated), both shear sliding and tensile-split across the foliation planes; (b) for the specimens with low to medium foliation angles α = 30° (Dry) or 45°(Saturated), shear sliding dominates the foliation planes; (c) for the specimens with medium to high foliation angles α = 45° (Dry) or 60°, shear sliding dominates the foliation planes; (d) for the specimens with high foliation angles α = 90°, tensile-split dominates the foliation planes.