Analysis of Electrical Resistivity Characteristics and Damage Evolution of Soil–Rock Mixture under Triaxial Shear

Construction of engineering structures in geomaterials with soil–rock mixture (S-RM) is often a challenging task for engineers. When analyzing the stability of the engineering structures, the mechanical properties of S-RM often receive the most attention. To study the mechanical damage evolution characteristics of S-RM under triaxial loading conditions, a modified triaxial apparatus was used to conduct shear test on S-RM, and the change of electrical resistivity was measured simultaneously. The stress–strain–electrical resistivity curve and stress–strain characteristics under different confining pressures were obtained and analyzed. Based on the electrical resistivity, a mechanical damage model was established and verified to analyze the damage evolution regularities of S-RM during shearing. The results show that the electrical resistivity of S-RM decreases with increasing axial strain and that the differences in decrease rates correspond to the different deformation stages of the samples. With the increase in loading confining pressure, the stress–strain curve characteristics change from a slight strain softening to a strong strain hardening. Additionally, an increase in rock content and confining pressure can enhance the bearing capacity of S-RM. Moreover, the derived damage evolution model based on electrical resistivity can accurately characterize the mechanical behavior of S-RM under triaxial shear. Based on the damage variable D, it is found that the damage evolution process of S-RM can be divided into a non-damage stage, a rapid damage stage and a stable damage stage. Furthermore, the structure enhancement factor, which is a model modification parameter for the effect of rock content difference, can accurately predict the stress–strain curves of S-RMs with different rock contents. This study sets the stage for an electrical-resistivity-based monitoring method for studying the evolution of internal damage in S-RM.