Evolution Rules of Fractures for Mudstone under Compression Shear Load and the Fractal Characteristics of Broken Blocks

Failure of rocks is commonly induced by compressive and shear coupling loading. Knowledge of the mechanism and process of deformation and failure of rocks under compressive shear loading condition is an important basis for the study of stability in rock engineering. Based on the nonlinear fractal theory, it is possible to examine the evolution rules of fractures in mudstone under compression shear load and the fractal characteristics of broken blocks using the shear compression test with variable angles of mudstone specimens in natural conditions. This research shows that the cohesion and friction angle parameters of rock samples are achieved by draw Mohr’s strength envelope according to the test date of variable-angle shear compression test. It also shows that the shape of load-displacement curves of rocks can be divided into four stages: compaction, elastic, plastic, and fracture, and the curve can accurately represent the transformation and breakage characteristics of rock during shear fracture. And the distribution of broken blocks shows a strong statistical resemblance to the fractal distribution, and the fractal dimension is able to reflect the distribution characteristics of broken blocks. With increasing the shear angle, the fractal dimension of broken blocks decreases in a logarithmic relationship.