Experimental Rock Mechanics

This book details experimental methods developed and results obtained by the author and his co-workers. They explore the deformation and fracture of rock specimens under the general triaxial compression in which all three principal stresses are different. Also discusses the experimental results of the effect of the intermediate principal stress, in graphic and numerical forms. It shows the importance of this effect on the ultimate strength of rocks. Using these results, the author proposes a new failure criterion and presents various devices for reliable experimental tests with high accuracy.

Fracture and flow of rocks under stress and their geophysical and seismological implications raise fundamental questions in rock mechanics, particularly in the areas of tectonophysics and seismology. This text exclusively addresses the deformation and fracture of rock specimens under general triaxial compression, in which all three principal stresses are different; which significantly affects the ultimate strength of rocks. It moreover deals with deformation and failure following intermediate principal stress in graphic and numerical form. The effect of the intrinsic features of rock masses of inhomogeneous or anisotropic structure are taken into account, as are acoustic emission phenomena in rocks under various stress states. Friction in rocks, measured by a newly-designed shear-testing machine, is discussed in relation to earthquake phenomena.