A simplified approach to directly consider intact rock anisotropy in Hoek–Brown failure criterion

Many rock types have naturally occurring inherent anisotropic planes, such as bedding planes, foliation, or flow structures. Such characteristic induces directional features and anisotropy in rocks' strength and deformational properties. The Hoek–Brown (H–B) failure criterion is an empirical st...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohamed A. Ismael, Hassan F. Imam, Yasser El-Shayeb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2014-10-01
Series:Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775514000675
Description
Summary:Many rock types have naturally occurring inherent anisotropic planes, such as bedding planes, foliation, or flow structures. Such characteristic induces directional features and anisotropy in rocks' strength and deformational properties. The Hoek–Brown (H–B) failure criterion is an empirical strength criterion widely applied to rock mechanics and engineering. A direct modification to H–B failure criterion to account for rock anisotropy is considered as the base of the research. Such modification introduced a new definition of the anisotropy as direct parameter named the anisotropic parameter (Kβ). However, the computation of this parameter takes much experimental work and cannot be calculated in a simple way. The aim of this paper is to study the trend of the relation between the degree of anisotropy (Rc) and the minimum value of anisotropic parameter (Kmin), and to predict the Kmin directly from the uniaxial compression tests instead of triaxial tests, and also to decrease the amount of experimental work.
ISSN:1674-7755