The effect of water on the subcritical crack growth in silicate rocks

We investigated experimentally the effect of water on the velocity of crack propagation in an andesite and a basalt. The relation between the stress intensity factor KI at the crack tip and the crack velocity V was measured using the double torsion method. Experiments were conducted with the rock specimens either water-saturated or air-dry at laboratory humidity. Stress-dependent, slow crack growth was observed in both rocks used. The velocity...