Fig. 8.

Micro-mechanical behavior during crack propagation for two slope angles. (a, b, c) correspond to different crack tip locations respectively: 1.5 m, 3.2 m, 12 m. (1) Weak layer bond breaking distribution along the column length. (2) Normal stress ${\sigma }_{\text{zz}}$ and (3) shear stress (${\tau }_{\text{zx}}$) along the length of the PST column. Blue lines for the level PST at 0° and orange lines for the inclined PST at 35°