An Elasto-Plastic Damage Model for Rocks Based on a New Nonlinear Strength Criterion

The strength and deformation characteristics of rocks are the most important mechanical properties for rock engineering constructions. A new nonlinear strength criterion is developed for rocks by combining the Hoek–Brown (HB) criterion and the nonlinear unified strength criterion (NUSC). The proposed criterion takes account of the intermediate principal stress effect against HB criterion, as well as being nonlinear in the meridian plane against...