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.