Experimental Study on Dynamic Tensile Mechanical Behavior and Fracture Mechanical Characteristics of Sandstone with a Single Prefabricated Fissure

The structural stability of engineering rock mass under dynamic disturbance is directly associated with the fracture mechanics properties in engineering practice. Fully understanding the rock’s fracture mechanical behavior and crack evolution caused by stress concentration at the crack tip in engineering rock mass under dynamic load can offer useful insight into the rock’s dynamic fracture mechanism. A dynamic test using split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test system was performed on a single prefabricated fissure sandstone centrally cracked Brazilian disk (CCBD) specimens. Based on the theory of fracture mechanics and one-dimensional stress wave theory, the dynamic crack initiation criterion of CCBD specimen is proposed, and the regression model of sandstone’s dynamic fracture toughness under the coupling effect of fissure angle and strain rate is established by using response surface methodology (RSM). The influence of strain rate and fissure angle on stress wave characteristics, dynamic tensile mechanical behavior, and fracture mechanics characteristic was investigated in this study. The findings demonstrate that: (1) The fissure angle plays a pivotal role in determining the failure mode of sandstone. As the fissure angle increases, three distinct failure modes emerge in the sandstone specimens, while variations in strain rate have minimal impact on the fracture mode of these specimens. (2) Alterations in the fissure angle result in changes to the waveform of transmitted waves. When the fissure angle is below 30°, the transmitted wave exhibits “double peak” characteristics; when it exceeds 30°, a “single peak” waveform is observed. This phenomenon can be attributed to diffraction principles governing incident waves. (3) When the impact pressure is 0.2 MPa, the peak load initially exhibits an increase followed by a decrease, with the peak load reaching its maximum at a fracture angle of 60°; when the impact pressures are 0.3 and 0.5 MPa, there exists a negative correlation between the peak load and the fissure angle. (4) The influence of strain rate on sandstone’s fracture resistance is predominant, with alterations in fissure angle exerting an auxiliary effect on this property. The research results can provide a theoretical and experimental basis for dynamic disaster prevention in urban underground space.