int. J. Rock Mech. Mm. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr. Vol. 26. No. 5, pp. 427-434.

1989

Printed in Great Britain

INTERNATIONAL

0148-9062/89 $3.00 +0.00

Pergamon Press pk

SOCIETY FOR ROCK MECHANICS

COMMISSION

ON TESTING METHODS

SUGGESTED METHOD FOR

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING OF JOINTED ROCK

CONTENTS
Technical Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

429

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

434

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

434

Co-ordinators
O. P. Natau (F.R.G.)
Th. O. Mutschler (F.R.G.)

427

428

ISRM:

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD

INTRODUCTION
The Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field Tests, subsequently renamed The
Commission on Testing Methods, was first established in 1967. Answers to the questionnaire
circulated to all members of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) clearly showed
a general desire for standardized testing procedures. The tests were characterized and a priority
for their standardization was agreed upon. It was decided that research tests, including many of
the rock physics tests, were beyond the scope of standardization.
The present document has been produced through the efforts of a working group of the
Commission consisting of a number of individuals. A list of contributors is given on the title page.
Most of the work has been conducted by means of correspondence co-ordinated by Professor
O. P. Natau with assistance of Mr Th. O. Mutschler of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The purpose of this Suggested Method is to specify the sampling and triaxial testing apparatus
and procedure for large cylindrical specimens of pervasively jointed rock mass. The method of large
scale triaxial testing in laboratory is well proven for many kinds of rock mass and for a wide range
of geotechnical designs as underground openings, foundations and rock slopes.
Any person interested in these recommendations and wishing to suggest additions or modifications should write to the Secretary General, International Society for Rock Mechanics,
Lab6ratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil, 101 Avenida do Brasil, P-1799 Lisboa Codex, Portugal.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following persons contributed to the preparation and reviewed the drafts of this suggested
method: J. A. Franklin (Canada), J. A. Hudson (U.K.).

430

ISRM:

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD

'~

Q Axial Loadingram
(~ PressuregaucJe
(~ Axial deformation
measurement
Q Radial deformation
measurement
0 Axial Loadmeasurement
@ Confiningpressure
measurement

(~_~
""

~ ~ A '

't T

(~ Spacer
@ HydrauLicpressure
supply

I !

Ii I,
Fig. 2. Design for a large triaxial testing apparatus.

should provide a sufficient volume of air" in the

core barrel at a pressure of 100 kPa. Water flushing
is permissible only for hard and water-resistant
rocks.

Testing equipment
3. (a) The triaxial testing equipment essentially ineludes a triaxial cell, pressurizing and axial loading
equipment and load and displacement measuring
systems with the requirements as outlined below.

Triaxial cell and axial loading derice

4. (a) One of many possible designs 3 of a triaxial
testing apparatus is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of
an integrated system of a cell and a loading device
where the base of the cell provides the reaction for
the axial force.
(b) The cell must be strong enough to bear the
combined loads of confining pressure and axial
force. It should have windows to allow an optical
control of the specimen during the test.
(e) The device for applying confining pressure
should be capable of fine regulation of the pressure
to a range of I%. Due to the large volume
involved, the use of water is more convenient than
oil. A filled pressure vessel is connected on one side
to a source of regulated air pressure and on the
other to the triaxial cell. Thus, volume changes of
pressure fluid are possible and can be estimated.
(d) The axial loading device shall be able to apply
sufficient force to reach failure at the selected
confining pressure at a constant deformation rate.
(e) Platens having a Rockwell hardness of not less
than C30 shall be placed at both ends of specimen.
The diameter of the platen shall be greater than
that of the specimen. The platens must be of such

thickness that the surface of the platen in contact

with the specimen does not bend by more than
i mm/m at maximum load. To carry out consolidated and drained tests, the platens must be
perforatedL Their surfaces must be ground and
polished to a flatness of 0.01 mm.
(f) A flexible jacket 5 of suitable material shall be
used to prevent the confining fluid from entering
the specimen. One way of connecting this to the
platens is shown in Fig. 3. The jacket must be
flexible enough to accommodate specimen expansion during testing.

Equipment for measuring and recording loads, pressures

and displacements
5. (a) The axial load shall be measured continuously
with an accuracy of 2%. Because of the large forces
and the dimensions of the specimens, the capacity
of one load cell might not be sufficient. In such
cases a tripod of load cells should be used.

Q LOADPLATEN
Q LAMP
RUBBERJACKET
Q SPECIMEN
Fig. 3. Connection of the jacket to the platens.

ISRM:

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD

(b) The cell pressure shall be measured with an

accuracy of I%.
(c) The axial displacement shall be measured directly between the platens at three points with an
accuracy of not less than 0.5%. If electronic transducers are used, an additional optical reading of
vernier scales should be provided.
(d) The radial displacement shall be measured as
the change of circumference at three or more levels
with an accuracy of not less than 0.5/,. If electronic transducers are used, an additional optical
reading should be provided.
(e) Axial load, confining pressure and displacement
data can either be read intermittently or recorded
continuously. A simultaneous evaluation shall indicate the point of failure. The radial displacement
shall be included to calculate the axial stress ~.
PROCEDURE

Sampling procedure
Sampling location.
6. (a) The area to be sampled should first be examined
with regard to its geological characteristics. The
sampling can be done from the ground surface,
from an exploratory hole or from an exploration
gallery.
(b) The location of the sample and the fabric
lithology and pattern of discontinuities in the
surroundings shall be recorded.
(c) The drilling site must be carefully prepared
without blasting. The last layers should be removed by hand before drilling starts.
(d) The area to be sampled should be prestressed
to avoid exfoliation during coring and to prevent
loosening of the specimen. This can be achieved by
a deadweight in the form of a circular steel platen,
with an additional central rockbolt, if necessary.
Rockbolting should be reserved for difficult cases
because, if used, the bolt must be removed before
testing and the remaining hole filled with a suitable
material; thus a certain disturbance cannot be
avoided. The deadweight should be grouted to the
rock surface to give a uniform distribution of the
prestressing.

Drilling and retriet,al of the core

7. (a) An annular slot is cut into the rock mass using
the calyx core barrel and regulating the thrust to
give a steady return of air for effective flushing.
Excessive thrust may cause cuttings to obstruct the
slot and prevent further drilling. Too little thrust
may cause grinding and polishing of the core bits
and vibrations which disturb the specimen. If
groundwater enters the drillhole the use of air
flushing is not possible.
(b) After drilling, the barrel is withdrawn and a
steel casing with a wall thickness of 2mm is
inserted into the annular space. The upper rim of
the casing should have four hanger attachments to
RMMS 2b ~ F

431

facilitate retrieval. The seam of the casing must be

tight or the casing must be seamless.
(c) The annular space between the core and the
casing is filled with gypsum plaster in the following
manner. First, the base of the annulus is sealed
with a layer of gypsum. Then the surface of the
core and especially the joints are sealed by a
thin layer of watery gypsum. When the seals
have hardened the sample is totally embedded in
gypsum.
(d) The core shall be marked to show specimen
number and in situ orientation.
(e) After hardening of the gypsum plaster (about
l h), the core is withdrawn with a crane. The
sample breaks at a tension fracture at its base
which often coincides with a plane of weakness. If
the force of the crane proves to be insufficient, a
basal fracture can be created by driving wedges
into the annular slot.
(f) The specimen shall be sealed with gypsum
plaster at both ends to prevent drying and to
protect it against mechanical damage during transportation. If the specimen is to be stored in the
laboratory, the sealing shall be checked on arrival
and, if necessary, renewed. In a cool humid room,
storage of several months is possible.

Testing procedure
Preparation of the specimen.
8. (a) The specimen shall be a right circular cylinder
having a length-to-diameter ratio of at least I: 15.
(b) The ends of the specimen shall be flat to
0.5 mm/m and shall not depart from the perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the specimen by
more than 0.01 tad or I cm per 100cm. In most
cases, this requires that they are prepared using a
chisel and then trowelled with plaster or cement
mortar grout. The strength of grout should be
similar to that of the rock mass to be tested. The
grout layer should be kept as thin as possible and
its thickness is to be reported.
(c) The sides of the specimen shall be smooth, free
from abrupt irregularities and straight to within
2% of the diameter. The steel casing and the grout
between it and the rock is to be removed just before
testing. Breakouts of smaller pieces of rock are to
be filled with the grout material used for the ends.
In cases where damage may occur during preparation, the surrounding gypsum plaster can be left
in place. If so, this is to be reported.
(d) The specimen is to be measured before testing,
its height to the nearest i mm, and its circumference at three equidistant locations to the nearest
I mm. The average circumference shall be used for
calculating the cross-sectional area.
(e) The moisture content shall be reported in
accordance with Suggested Methods for Determin-

ing Water Content, Porosity, Density, Absorption

and Related Properties in Rock Characterization,
Testing and Monitoring [5].

432

ISRM:

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAX1AL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD

START

Choice of confining /
pressure steps 3[n)

ApptyinQof
confinincj pressure

Deviatoric
Loading

No

modulus of
deformaLion DI")
further steps

YeS

modulus of
deformation Oz
first step

No

//

Yes

UnLoodinqreLoadin9 cycLe
/U

No

modulusof
//
nLoodinq E (,r<,~..o.) / /
II

Yes

Reduction of
deviatoric Loadto 0
modulus of
/
unLoadinq E [, =,D--.) /

Fig. 4. Flow chart of a triaxial test.

,Lure

reached!

ISRM:

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD

(f) The system of discontinuities in the specimen is

to be measured with the aid of a 5 5 cm square
net, fixed or marked to its curved surface in
accordance with Suggested Methods for the Quan-

titative Description of Discontinuities in Rock

Masses [6]. Photos of the specimen shall be taken

(o)

(b)
o

~+~I" t,'P"

from all sides and marked to show the orientation,

the specimen number and a scale.

Assembling procedure
9. (a) Details of procedure may be modified if
required by the particular design of testing
equipment employed.
(b) Tool the lower endface while the sample is still
in its steel casing. Rotate the specimen and place
it on the lower load platen. Tool the upper endface
parallel to the lower one. Remove the steel casing
and if possible the surrounding gypsum. Measure
and record the structural and lithologieal data.
Measure height and circumference. Lower the
jacket and upper platen over the specimen and
connect the jacket with the lower platen. The
tightness can be controlled by applying vacuum to
an outlet in the platen.
(c) Place the assembled system in the triaxial ceil.
Specimens of weak material can be secured by
creating a vacuum until the cell is filled and the
confining pressure applied.
(d) Install the displacement transducers on the
specimen and connect them to the recording
system.
(e) Close the triaxial cell and connect the hydraulic
lines. Fill the cell with the pressure fluid and bleed
the cell and the lines to remove all air.
(f) Check the data acquisition system.

Loading program
10. (a) Because of the high cost of large-scale tests, a
multi-stage technique is useful. The test shall be
carried out in increasing and decreasing confining
pressure steps to determine upper and lower
bounds for the strength parameters, and to determine the deformation properties from initial loading paths (Fig. 4). The test should be carried out at
stress levels which are relevant for the application.
(b) The axial load and the confining pressure are
to be increased simultaneously to the first confining
pressure step a] (point A, Fig. 5)7. Wait until the
deformations remain unchanged for a period of
15 min. (Soft materials which show consolidation
due to pore or joint fluid movements need a special
treatment which is not the subject of this paper.)
(c) The axial load is then to be increased, keeping
the confining pressure constant and at a constant
strain rate within the limits of 0.1-0.01%/min. To
separate elastic and plastic deformations, unloading-reloading cycles should be included in the first
confining pressure step. The first cycle should be
carried out at 30% of the estimated deviatoric
stress at the peak. A second cycle should be carried

433

cell
Eli.

AXIAL (;TRAIN

~1

CONFININGPRESSURE3

Fig. 5. Multi-stage technique with increasing and decreasing

confining pressure steps.

out when the first radial deformations occur. After

the cycle, the axial load is to be increased until the
axial stress-axial strain curve shows a horizontal
tangent (point B, Fig. 5).
(d) The axial stress is then decreased to give an
isotropic state of stress a[. The next confining
pressure increment or decrement a~~ is applied
(point C or C', Fig. 5).
(e) The axial load is increased keeping the confining pressure constant until the peak strength is
reached (point D or D', Fig. 5).
(f) The procedure according to (c) and (d) can be
repeated a third time.

Analysis of the specimen after testing

I I.(a) If the specimen is not totally destroyed after
testing, the following should be undertaken.
(b) Photos of the specimen shall be taken from all
sides, marked to show the orientation, the specimen number and a scale. Additional details, such
as the mode of failure, shall be photographed if
necessary.
(c) The specimen is to be dismantled step by step,
noting further details of structure and lithology. In
particular, the mode of failure shall be analyzed
and recorded.
(d) If possible, small samples should be taken from
undestroyed parts of the specimen to permit index
testing of the rock matrix.

CALCULATIONS
12. (a) The axial stress shall be calculated by dividing
the axial load applied to the specimen by the actual
cross-section area 6.
(b) The strength envelopes can be approximated
mathematically by linear or, if required, bilinear
expressions according to at = m~a3 + b~. The position of the straight lines is fixed by the ordinate bi,
the tangent of the slope m+ and the range of
confining pressure to which they apply (Fig. 6)
using parameters m and b. The global friction angle
~0 and the value for the "'hypothetical" or "appar-

434

ISRM:

LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD

pressure steps will give a lower bound for cohesion

and an upper bound for the friction angle.
REPORTING OF RESULTS

b2

13.(a) The report shall include at least the following

items:
(b) Source of specimen, including geographic
location, date and method of sampling.
(c) Lithologic description of the rock mass, including its structure and joint system.
(d) Details of specimen preparation in the laboratory, including the thickness of the gypsum at the
surface of the specimen, also history and environment of the test specimen storage.
(e) Orientation of the loading axis with respect to
the specimen joint system.
(f) Water content at time of test.
(g) Date of testing.
(h) Specimen diameter and height.
(i) Test duration and/or stress and displacement
rates.
(j) Graphs of test results.
(k) Mode of failure.
(1) Photos of the specimen before and after testing.

CONFINING PRESSURE 0"3

Fig. 6. Bilinear strength envelope and its description by means of two

straight portions with the parameters m, and b,.

ent" cohesion c (in the sense of Coulomb's failure

theory) may be calculated from:
~p, = arcsin m , - I
I - sin ~Pi
m~ + ! ; c i = b, 2 cos ~
(c) Provided that there are no strain-hardening
effects in the tested material, a multi-stage test with
increasing confining pressure steps will give a lower
bound for the friction angle and an upper bound
for the cohesion. A test with decreasing confining

Notes
I. Sampling equipment at the University of Karlsruhe, West Germany (60cm max dia, 160cm max
height).
2. For a 60cm dia a volume of 7m~/min of compressed air is needed.
3. Large triaxial cell at the University of Karisruhe,
West Germany: capacity: 100cm max dia, 170 cm max
height, 6.4 M N max axial force, 2 MPa max confining
pressure.
4. A very good method to measure the pore fluid
pressure is by installing pressure gauges at the sides of
the specimen. The measuring tubes are best guided
through the load platens [3].
5. Jackets from 4 m m rubber are well proven.
6. The correction of the cross-sectional areas calculated from the middle of the radial displacement. If
buckling occurs, the maximum radial deformation shall
be used.

7. For the particular type of triaxial cell this is

reached by increasing the cell pressure alone.
REFERENCES
I. Karman von T. Festigkeitsversucheunter allseitigem Druck. Ztg
d. Vereins Deutscher lngenieure, Jg. 55 (19LL).
2. M/iller L. Grundsfitzliches t~ber gebirgstechnologische GroOversuche. Geol. u. Bauw., Jg. 27 (H. L), 3-8 (1961).
3. Wichter L. and Gudehus G. Ein Verfahren zur Entnahme und
Prfifung yon gekliifteten Grol3bohrkernen. Proc. 2. Nat. Tagungf
Felsmechanik, Aachen (1976).
4. Natau O., FrShlich B. and Mutschler Th. Recent developments of
the large scale triaxial test. Proc. 5th Int. Congr. of ISRM,
Melbourne, pp. A65-A74 (19831.
5. ISRM Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field
Tests. Suggested Methods for Determining Water Content, Porosity, Density, Absorption and Related Properties in Rock Characterization, Testing and Monitoring, pp. 8L-89. Pergamon Press,
Oxford (198L).
6. ISRM Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and FieLd
Tests. Suggested Methods for the Quantitath'e Description of
Discontinuities in Rock Masses, pp. 3-52. Pergamon Press, Oxford
(1981).