A modified failure criterion for transversely isotropic rocks

• Main Authors: Omid Saeidi, Vamegh Rasouli, Rashid Geranmayeh Vaneghi, Raoof Gholami, Seyed Rahman Torabi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2014-03-01
• Series: Geoscience Frontiers
• Subjects: Transversely isotropic rock; Strength anisotropy; Failure criterion; Triaxial test
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113000819

A modified failure criterion is proposed to determine the strength of transversely isotropic rocks. Mechanical properties of some metamorphic and sedimentary rocks including gneiss, slate, marble, schist, shale, sandstone and limestone, which show transversely isotropic behavior, were taken into consideration. Afterward, introduced triaxial rock strength criterion was modified for transversely isotropic rocks. Through modification process an index was obtained that can be considered as a strength reduction parameter due to rock strength anisotropy. Comparison of the parameter with previous anisotropy indexes in literature showed reasonable results for the studied rock samples. The modified criterion was compared to modified Hoek-Brown and Ramamurthy criteria for different transversely isotropic rocks. It can be concluded that the modified failure criterion proposed in this study can be used for predicting the strength of transversely isotropic rocks.