This paper presents a new statistical damage constitutive model using symmetric normal distribution. The broken rock microbody obeyed symmetric normal distribution and the equivalent strain principle in damage mechanics. The uniaxial compression tests of samples subjected to dry-wet cycles were performed. The damage model was established using the equivalent strain principle and symmetric normal distribution. The damage variable was defined by the elastic modulus under various dry-wet cycles. Parameters of the damage constitutive model were identified using MATLAB software, and the proposed model is verified to be in good agreement with uniaxial compression test results. Fracturing of the rock microbody is well described by symmetric normal distribution, and the proposed statistical damage constitutive model has good adaptability to the uniaxial compression stress-strain curve.

The meso-structural changes of rocks during repeated cycles of water invasion are the fundamental cause of macroscopic physical property damage. In this paper, based on the computed tomography scan images of rock samples under different numbers of water invasion cycles, a three-dimensional pore network model was constructed to analyze the changes in pore structure under the action of water invasion. The damage variable was introduced to quantitatively characterize the parameter damage of each pore and reveal the evolution of rock meso-damage. The results show that 81% of the pore radius is less than 10 μm under 0 water invasion cycles and that 76% of the pore radiuses are less than 10 μm after 10 water invasion cycles. After 10 water invasion cycles, the peak range of the pore radius distribution enlarged from the initial range of 2–4 μm to that of 4–6 μm and the proportion of pore throats with a radius less than 10 μm decreased from an initial 82–72%. With an increase of water invasion cycles, the proportion of large pores increased and the connectivity among pores enhances gradually. The damage variable of each pore parameter changed the most during 2–5 water invasion cycles. After 10 water invasion cycles, the maximum degree of damage that the pore volume reached was up to 41.44% and the minimum degree of damage of the pore coordination number was 5.80%. The test results helped to reveal the pore structure changes and the damage of rock samples during water invasion cycles.

Drilling force and temperature of tibia at the high speed drilling for improving the design of surgical drills are very important. In this paper we describe experiments using pig tibia bones, measuring the drilling force and temperature of a new design of drill bit and compare the results against a twist drill. The result shows that the drilling force and temperature are affected by the feed rate and drilling speed, which vary with the drilling depth into the bone. The new surgical drill with three top cutting edges can achieve lower temperature below 47oC and lower drilling force than with the stainless steel twist drill and carbide twist drill.

In order to analyze the stability of water‐related materials, the deterioration and damage of rock strength due to circulating water intrusion in an open tailings pond were studied. Uniaxial compression tests were carried out for rocks under different hydrochemical environments and varying numbers of invasion cycles. Results show that, with increasing number of cycle times, rock peak strength and elastic modulus gradually decrease and the acidity and alkalinity of the soaking solution also degrades rock strength. The curve of the number of cycles, acidity, alkalinity, peak strength, and elastic modulus is fit numerically. Based on the principle of damage mechanics, a hydraulic‐chemistry‐mechanics (HCM) coupling damage variable is defined. Based on the theory of microbody strength distribution, the constitutive equation for rock damage under the coupled effect of water chemistry and cyclic water invasion is established. The results verify the validity of the established damage constitutive model.

To investigate the arching effect of shallow buried hard rock tunnels under overlying load, the engineering scenario of a subway station on Qingdao Metro Line 6 is utilized. A large-scale tunnel loading model test is conducted, in conjunction with finite element numerical simulations, to analyze the impact of various overburden ratios on strata arching. The results show that: when the tunnel excavation span is certain, with an increase in the overlying rock mass, the stress diffusion process of the surrounding rock can be better accomplished to form the arch effect. This means that the thickness of the overburden of the tunnel determines whether or not the surrounding rock appears to have a stratified arch effect. When the tunnel overlying rock thickness is certain, the span of the tunnel determines the shape of the formation into an arch, that is, the curvature of the arch. The joint surface is an important factor in tunnel stability. When the overlying load increases to a certain value, the rock mass at the joint plane slips relatively, leading to the displacement phenomenon of the surrounding rock, which then affects the formation and shape of the formation arch.