A Quantitative Strain Energy Indicator for Predicting the Failure of Laboratory-Scale Rock Samples: Application to Shale Rock

Strain energy is one of the key factors that control the brittle failure process of rock mass, such as the onset of accelerating displacement. The phenomenon of accelerating displacement is a necessary and important precursor to predict the brittle failure of rock, and it is attributed to the unstable propagation of micro-cracks when the load reaches or exceeds the crack damage stress threshold. Thus, for the design of underground rock...