Effects of a Weak Interlayer Zone on the Tensile Mechanical Properties and Failure Characteristics of Rock

ABSTRACT

Brazilian tests on limestone with weak interlayers (thickness 0.1–1.35 mm) were performed using RMT and 3D scanning. Results show that BTS decreases nonlinearly with increasing thickness and exhibits a complex angle dependence: fracture length and roughness first rise then peak at 30°, while microscopic features of rock fracture surfaces are mainly represented by four types of failure: limestone matrix failure, interface failure, interlayer failure, and cross interlayer failure. Energy densities increase nonlinearly with angle but decline with thickness, severely reducing storage capacity. Interlayer samples suffer varying degrees of damage to their energy storage capacity due to variations in interlayer angle and thickness compared to samples without weak interlayer interactions. These data‐driven findings provide robust reference for engineering anisotropy problems.