Intact rock deformation bimodularity: an experimental study

Abstract

Rock deformability under tensile stresses plays an important role in different scenarios like, e.g., in the mechanical behaviour of roofs in underground openings, hydraulic fracturing, dilatometer tests performed in massive rock masses or in tensile strength tests. Different authors have proved that the tensile deformation modulus of the intact rock can be significantly different than that obtained under compressive load, being this so-called ‘bimodularity’ often ignored. In this work, we present preliminary results from uniaxial compressive and tensile strength tests carried out in three rocks with a testing apparatus recently modified to be able to perform both types of tests. Experimental results show that the deformational behaviour of the rocks studied is dependent on the type of load applied. The present work aims at contributing to a better understanding of the deformational behaviour of rocks, in particular when subjected to uniaxial tensile loads as well as in dealing with future updates of existing test methodologies.