Crack coalescence and strain accommodation in gypsum rock

The micro-mechanisms involved in the deformation of gypsum rock have for long time interested the scientific world and are still not completely understood. The present work proposes an experimental investigation of strain accommodation in gypsum rock, reporting data referred to uniaxial and triaxial stress conditions. The rock deformation was investigated with a multiscale approach, with the comparison of results from DIC and microstructural analyses, aiming to propose an interpretation of crack coalescence and strain accommodation in natural gypsum rock (i.e. branching selenite facies), focusing on the influence of textural and compositional layering on the mechanical response. The failure was observed to coalesce following an unstable step-wise process. With the increase of confining pressure, the material develops a structure of plastic accommodation of strain, favoured by the peculiar crystallographic structure of gypsum, with water molecules layered in the salt structure.