TABLE OF CONTENTS In Chapter 5, we discussed strain and the complexities of a material which could potentially have 21 independent elastic constants, and could be subjected to any stress state. Here, in considering the behaviour of real rock, we will begin with the simplest form of loading, i.e. uniaxial compression. In the context of the elastic compliance matrix, we will therefore be studying Sn for loading uniaxially along the ?-axis. The properties of the uniaxial test will be discussed first, before considering triaxial and other multiaxial loading cases.
In its simplest form, the uniaxial compression test is conducted by taking a right cylinder of intact rock, loading it along its axis and recording the displacement produced as the force is increased. In Figs 6.1 and 6.2 we present a typical record of such a test (which also includes the post-peak region obtained using techniques to be discussed in Section 6.3). Note that the force and the displacement have been scaled respectively to stress (by dividing by the original cross-sectional area of the specimen) and to strain (by dividing by the original length). In the curve shown in the figure, the various aspects of the mechanical behaviour of intact rock tested under these conditions can now be identified.
At the very beginning of loading, the curve has an initial portion which is concave upwards (the opposite of typical soil...
