Acoustic emission (AE) is often accompanied by the propagation of internal microcracks in loaded rock samples, and it essentially reflects microinstability phenomena driven by energy redistribution under stress. In this paper, loading and unloading tests were carried out to investigate the internal nonlinear damage evolution characteristics of diorite samples under different unloading confining-pressure rates. The nonlinear mechanical characteristics of the strain energy sequence of diorite were studied by applying nonlinear dynamics and basic chaos theory and MATLAB software. Moreover, the evolution characteristics of AE counts and AE energy of rock samples were investigated, and their microcrack-propagation modes were analyzed based on the RA–AF scatter distribution of AE and a two-dimensional Gaussian mixture model. Finally, according to the evolution characteristics of energy and AE, the nonlinear damage evolution mechanism of diorite under loading and unloading conditions was revealed. The results show that, before the loading and unloading peak strength, when the strain-energy-promotion coefficient, r, is equal to 1 or changes in the ranges of 1–3, 3–3.57, and ≥3.57, the strain-energy evolution of diorite presents the characteristics of supercritical stability, nonlinear stability, period-doubling stability, and chaos, respectively. Meanwhile, the greater the rate of the unloading confining pressure, the earlier the period-doubling bifurcation and chaotic mechanical behavior will occur. After loading and unloading peak strength, the sudden decrease of high-density AE counts and AE energy or the sudden transition of the strain-energy-promotion coefficient from >0 to <0 can be used as an important criterion for the complete failure of rock samples.

The failure probability and strength of jointed and fractured rock mass under water pressure action place important constraints on the safety and stability of rock mass engineering. In this study, two strength calculation models for rock mass joint rupture failure and shear slip failure are established according to different relative sizes and working conditions, and the effects of fractal dimension, water pressure, and number of cracks on the strength and failure probability of rock mass are analyzed. The most unfavorable dip angle under shear-slip conditions is calculated. The proposed models accurately reflect the failure probability and strength of jointed rock mass, and different strength calculation methods should be selected according to the specific working conditions. The effect of water pressure on the strength of jointed rock mass is sensitive to the failure mode. Reasonable drainage should be carried out according to the different failure modes when constructing tunnels with abundant groundwater, and certain drainage or water plugging construction schemes are not necessarily applicable to all cases. The dip angle at which joint fissures are most prone to shear slip is given as π/4+φ/2, where φ is the jointed rock mass strength parameter. An increase in the fractal dimensions, external stress, and number of fractures will enhance the rock mass failure probability regardless of failure mode. Controlled blasting and advanced grouting reinforcement measures are recommended when a tunnel traverses through a joint fissure zone to reduce the number of cracks generated in the surrounding rock and thus improve its strength and stability.