Stress and Strain
Stress
There are three types of stresses that can occur
in a rock mass - compressive, tensile, and shear.
Stress is defined as the applied force divided by
the cross-sectional area of the object. The
diagram below shows how these stresses impact a 3D
object. If enough stress is applied, eventually
material failure will happen.
One stress
considered in rock mechanics is called geostatic
stress, which occurs beneath the Earth's surface.
This stress is due to the weight of rocks, soil,
and air.
Strain
Strain is the deformation caused
by the application of stress. Two types of
deformation can occur - elastic, where the
object then returns to its original form, or
plastic, where the object is permanently
deformed.
