A simplified failure criterion for intact rocks based on rock type and uniaxial compressive strength

Abstract

The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of intact rock, which can be estimated using relatively straightforward and cost-effective techniques, is one of the most practical rock properties used in rock engineering. Thus, constitutive laws to represent the strength and behavior of (intact) rock frequently use it, along with additional intrinsic rock properties. Although triaxial tests can be employed to obtain best-fit failure criterion parameters that provide best strength predictions, they are more expensive and require time-consuming procedures; as a consequence, they are often not readily available at early stages of a project. Based on the analysis of an extensive triaxial test database for intact rocks, we propose a simplified empirical failure criterion in which rock strength at failure is expressed in terms of confining stress and UCS, with a new parameter which can be directly estimated from the UCS for a specified rock type in the absence of triaxial test data. Performance of the proposed failure criterion is then tested for validation against experimental data for eight rock types. The results show that strengths of intact rock estimated by the proposed failure criterion are in good agreement with experimental test data, with small discrepancies between estimated and measurements strengths. Therefore, the proposed criterion can be useful for preliminary (triaxial) strength estimation of intact rocks when triaxial tests data are not available.