Experimental Study on Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Uniaxial Compression of MICP-Filled Sandstone

Abstract

Rock masses are inherently heterogeneous, with numerous fractures that significantly affect their mechanical properties, fracture characteristics, and acoustic emission features due to the interactions between fractures or between fractures and the rock mass. Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) technology, as an emerging non-destructive biological grouting reinforcement method, can repair fractured rock masses and alter their internal conditions. To investigate the mechanical properties, failure process evolution, and MICP repair effects of sandstone before and after repair, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on prefabricated, fractured (0.7–2.0 mm width) filled and unfilled rock samples, with acoustic emission monitoring throughout the process. Acoustic emission signal characteristics of the rock samples under stress were comparatively analyzed, determining the rock failure process and the microscopic failure types at compression-density stages, elastic stages, and destruction stages. The results show that the properties of the filled specimens improved, the failure process was mitigated, and the final failure stage was dominated by tension signals, accounting for over 60% of the total. The filling effect was better than 1.5–2.0 mm when the fracture width was 0.7–1.0 mm. The study deeply reveals the evolutionary process of compressive failure of the two types of rocks under different fracture widths, and by correlating the acoustic emission parameters with the stress–strain process, it provides a theoretical basis for repairing rock fractures using microbial engineering technology and offers experimental evidence and possible directions for the improvement and optimization of MICP technology.