Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr. Vol. 23, No. 1. pp. 29-39.

1986 0148-9062 86 $3.(10 + 000

Printed in Great Britain Pergamon Press Ltd

4. In Situ Stress Measurements in the

Japanese Islands: Over-coring Results
from a Multi-element Gauge Used
at 23 Sites
T. K A N A G A W A *
S. H I B I N O
T. I S H I D A
M. H A Y A S H I
Y. K I T A H A R A
The authors have developed a new over-coring stress relief method with a
multi-element strain gauge. The new gauge has been used to estimate in situ
stress at more than 20 sites for electric power stations in Japan. The results
of in situ stress measurements obtained by the method exhibit a general
tendency that the maximum compressive principal stress acts horizontally and
the horizontal to vertical stress ratio exceeds 1.0. The directions of maximum
horizontal compressive in situ stress obtained by the method seem to be
consistent with those of the geodetic strains calculated from first order
triangulation survey data, and with those estimated from the distribution of
tectonic zones which have become active in the Quaternary period. The
Japanese islands are located in a tectonically active region, i.e. they are
situated near the eastern boundary of the Asian plate towards which both the
Philippine Sea plate and the Pacific plate advance. For further detailed
discussion a more refined analysis would be required: however, the in situ stress
in the Japanese islands is likely to have been significantly affected by these
crustal movements.

INTRODUCTION electric power stations in Japan. The kinds of rock at

In the excavation of large-scale caverns, such as under-
ground electric power machine chambers, it is important
to estimate the 3-dimensional in situ stress state, together
with the investigation of geological conditions and the
physical properties of the rock mass around the pro-
posed caverns. In situ stress in a rock mass is caused by
the weight of the rock mass itself, stress caused by crustal
movement, residual stress due to bedrock folding, and
residual stress not released after surface erosion, etc. The
stress state is, moreover, influenced by topographic
conditions, geological conditions and long-term visco-
plastic behaviour of the rock mass etc.
Many methods of measuring in situ stress have been
developed. The most popular one among them is the
stress relief method. The authors have developed a new
method in which stress relief is achieved by over-coring
after setting a newly-developed, multi-element strain
guage in a bored hole of small diameter [1,2]. The new
method has been applied to more than 20 sites for
* All authors work at: Central Research Institute of Electric Power
Industry, 1646 Abiko, Abiko-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan.
29
these sites are very variable, including hard rock and soft
rock. The applicability of the new method, therefore, has
been confirmed for both hard and soft rocks.
From the in situ stress results obtained by the method,
the features of the in situ stress state in the Japanese
islands has been revealed.
THE NEW MEASURING METHOD
Outline of the measurement procedure
Figure 1 shows the outline of the measurement pro-
cedure. In an adit, a small bored hole of 56 mm dia is
drilled in which gauges (a multi-element strain gauge)
are inserted and set with cement paste. Stress in the
surrounding rock mass is released by over-coring a
larger diameter hole of 218 mm dia. Strains caused in the
rock mass by this over-coring are measured with the
multi-element strain gauge and are called "released
strain".
In order to convert the released strains into in situ
stress, strain sensitivity coefficients of the gauge are
needed. Rock cores including the muPi-element strain
30 K A N A G A W A et aL: hV S 1 T U STRESS M E A S U R E M E N T S IN JAPAN

(Rock-mas~~__ Water-swivel
le boring hole
~ver-cormg (~ 218mm)

I Strain ster
, tube

i wlre

(Rock-mass) f Large boring hole

for over-coring
(~ 218mm) boring hole (~56mm)
-element strain gauge

e boring core
f • A
mt paste
\
' /
~ /
(Enlargement of part A)

Fig. 1. Measurement of released strains by boring a large diameter hole (over-coring) around the multi-element strata gauge.

gauge are cut off after over-coring and conveyed to a
laboratory for use in large-scale triaxial laboratory tests
as shown in Fig. 2. Through this test, the strain sensi-
tivity coefficients of the strain gauges can be obtained.
Using the theory of elasticity, the magnitudes and
directions of in situ stress acting in the rock mass can be
calculated from the released strains in situ and the strain
sensitivity coefficients of the strain gauges.
The newly developed multi-element strain gauge
Figure 3 shows an external view of the multi-element
strain gauge (5-element). These five strain gauges are
protected by a rubber moulding. Four strain gauges are
oriented in radial directions of the bored hole (at 45 °
intervals) and one strain gauge is directed axially, as is
also shown in Fig. 3. With these five strain gauge
elements, the two-dimensional principal in situ stress
state in the radial plane and a normal stress component
in the axial direction can be obtained.
To determine the 3-dimensional in situ stress condi-
tion, it is necessary to carry out two sets of over-coring
in differently directed boreholes (10 components o f / n
situ stress are then obtained). In practice, we usually
carry out the stress relief method in 3 boreholes orien-
tated in different directions for better accuracy; the
3-dimensional stress state is then obtained by combining
measured components.
EXAMPLES OF MEASUREMENTS
Typical behaviour of released strains
Figure 4 shows an example of measured released
strains of a multi-element strain gauge. These strains are
continuously measured during over-coring via lead-wires

vent
il pressure

Loading
Tri-axial cell ' p,l.r~ ' O-ring

- Specimen (rock core) of ¢ 198mm

Pr. _ - Rubber sleeve

- Multi-element strain gauge

TO Strain m ~ Pre~su.re
transducer
~ - Pressure
~v
(Oil pressure inlet)
Oil ....... v I!i[~
//~'.YJ2//
I I I ( '

~ Oil pump
Entrance/exit of oil)

Fig. 2. Large-scale triaxial laboratory test on core containing the gauge (sensitivity test of a multi-element strain gauge)•
 KANAGAWAet al,: IN SITU STRESS MEASUREMENTS IN JAPAN 31

339.5
Packer portton
Partition p l a t e _ Setting plate i
Terminal plate
\ \
~ "A Settingj:)late _
/ "
__

-__\ \

~ - - 7 - 1 Tvt'l '

Resin mould LA • ,i
62 22.5 22.5 22.5.. 56 I 9 64

(Appearance)

Radial gauges (4 elements) Axial 9auge (1 element)

,©
_ I 1 .I ~ - '

" C r ~ -- ~ il "" -- gl
rtition "¢ I

/ "~ '~ \Settina Blare

/Fixin~l part of supply
ine t a r cement paste 275.5
(A-A section view) (Arrangement of strain gauges)
(unit : mm)

Fig. 3. Views of the multi-elementstrain gauge (5-element).

which connect the gauges through a swivel to a strain-
meter (cf. Fig. 1). It is found that the released strains do
not change monotonically with the progress of over-
coring. The gauges in radial directions ( O , O , ®, Q )
are first compressed (or tensioned) slightly and then
largely tensioned (or compressed) and remain in that
condition. The axial gauge ( ® ) first shifts toward the
tensile side and then after fluctuating reaches a stable
value. This behaviour is caused by stress concentration
at the end of the bored hole during over-coring. This
typical behaviour is indicated by the results of the Finite
Element Method (FEM) analysis (Fig. 5).
The characteristic behaviour of the released strains
provides important information for studying the re-
radial gauges ~ (
liability of measured values. After the over-coring has
taken far enough, the influence of the stress concen-
tration disappears, the stresses in the bored core are
released and therefore the gauges indicate stable values.
These values are the final released strains.
Strain sensitivity coefficients
Figure 6 shows an example of measurement for a
5-element strain gauge during a large scale triaxiai
laboratory test. A bored core containing gauges is
compressed by hydrostatic loading. From the results, it
can be seen that the gradients associated with the radial
gauges are remarkably different from that of the axial
gauge, despite the hydrostatic loading. The gradients of
the radial gauges are, moreover, slightly different from
each other. The former would result from the fact that
~ )
the radial gauges measure concentrated stresses around

tD
2000
/: . . . . . . .
a small bored hole filled with cement paste and the
gauges; on the other hand, the axial gauge measures a
.ale g/ ~----
eo ~ 0 non-concentrated stress. The latter might arise from the
difference of conditions during setting of the mortar.
.E
From the gradient related to each gauge strain, sensi-
1000 . . . . , . . . .

tivity coefficients of the gauges are determined. Using the

o /'-- "~ g a u g e final released strain of each gauge obtained in situ and

t
®
rr
the coefficients, the in situ stress can be evaluated,

~. Progress of o v e r - c o r i n g (cm)
==
RESULTS OF I N S I T U STRESS
cx MEASUREMENTS
E -I 000
on
The authors have conducted in situ stress measure-
Fig. 4. An exampleof released strains during over-coring. ments at 23 places in Japan (Table 1) during the period
32 KANAGAWA et al.: I N S I T U STRESS MEASUREMENTS IN JAPAN

i
E EL ~/~//r Gauge

125 -~ Cemenl posfe

/!, ~ ~-o;: ........

I I
100
E° I 1
I I _ __-__~------
I
t /

75 ¸
iI f

uJ
o
50 ¸
/

25-
/
/
/
d
~'o 2o 40 60
Progress of over-coring, ~ - ~ o (cm)

-25

Fig. 5. Behaviour of released strains during over-coring (calculated by FEM analysis).

~5.t ® ¢X9~9

T
lID x

f!

I
x

I i' i

0 •
2~0 400 600 800 1000
Compressive strain (10 -6)
Fig. 6. An example of stress-strain relations of a multi-element gauge in the triaxial laboratory test.
 Table I. Results o f / n situ stress measurements in Japan using the over-coring method
Principal stress Veqical >,
Horizontal stress z
~l u2 ~3 stress component
Young's
Magnitude a Orientation b Magnitude" Orientation b Magnitude' Orientation b ~rHm,~
a ~'Hmina Direction of UHmax
Site Kind of Density modulus Elevation Depth GVa
(MPa) >.
no. rock (t/m ~) (GPa) (m) (m) (MPa) (degree) (MPa) (degree) (MPa) (degree) (MPa) (MPa) O'Htnax Uv

I Granite 2.5 18 1054 250 -10.8 260/10 -6.4 145/70 0 355/20 -10.6 -0.6 N82°E -6.0 1.77
2 Shale 2,6 8 386 214 . . . . . . . 9.0 -4.6 N66°E -7.3 1.24
3 Granite 2.5 20 320 280 - 9.6 269/64 - 7.5 73/25 - 4.9 166/6 - 7.9 - 4.9 N77°E -9.2 0.86
4 Black schist 2.6 10 580 270 -I1.1 164/38 -5.4 38/37 -3.7 282/30 -8.7 -4.4 N9°W -7.2 1.22
5 Granite 2.5 24 185 370 - 23.4 165/29 - 13.2 56/29 -7.2 282/46 - 20.2 - I 1.1 N57°W -12.5 1.61
6 Mudstone 1.7 0.8 -40 70 -I.24 2/46 -I.08 115/20 -I.07 221/37 -I.16 -I.09 NI°E -I.17 0.99
7 Green schist 2.5 5 5 30 -0.89 117/41 -0.66 349/35 -0.46 235/29 -0.77 -0.53 N48°W --0.71 1.10
8 Rhyolite 2.5 12 260 165 -4.2 297/65 -3.3 194/63 -2.5 64/38 -4.0 -3.0 N53°W -2.9 1.37
9 Granite 2.5 30 130 510 -15.8 232/13 -11.1 16/74 -6.3 140/9 -15.5 -6.4 N51'E -11.2 1.39 .-8
10 Schalstein 2.5 7 140 210 -6.2 223/8 4.8 128/34 -4.7 324/55 -6.2 -4.8 N44'~E -4.8 1.29 t-n
II Siliceous
sandstone 2.5 26 540 420 -15.7 263/25 -10.6 21/45 -7.8 155/34 -14.7 -8.8 N78~'E - 10.6 1.39
12 Breccia 2.5 27 540 395 -12.1 313/25 -8.5 109/63 -7.6 218/10 -11.4 -7.6 N48°W -9.1 1.24
13 Conglomerate 2.5 14 601 270 -8.2 196/10 -5.5 310/66 -4.9 102/22 -8.1 -5.0 NI6"E -5.5 1.48 ;>
14 Conglomerate 2.5 2.6 - 16 22 - 1.06 242/28 -0.72 151/3 -0.41 55/62 -0.92 -0.71 N6Y'E -0.55 1.68
N9°E -2.8 2.62 c
15 Quartz diorite 2.5 550 15 . . . . . . . 7.4 -2.6
16 Rhyolite 2.6 16 460 335 -9.0 280/6 -6.2 15/37 -4.6 183/52 -8.9 -5.6 N81°W -5.2 1.72
-20 30 . . . . . . . 0.49 -0.45 N35°W -0.55 0.89 /[
17 Mudstone 2.0 1.2
-47 71 -5.5 85/7 -4.6 352/27 -4.1 189/62 -5.5 -4.5 N87°E -4.2 1.30 m
18 Granite 2.5 12 z
19 Rhyolite 2.6 10 663 192 - 5.1 168/71 -4.3 347/20 - 1.7 77/0 -4.4 - 1.7 NI3°W -5.0 0.88 .--t
20 Tuff breccia 2.6 7 664 241 -5.0 217/54 -3.7 31/36 -2.9 124/2 -4.1 -2.9 N35"E -4.6 0.89
21 Porphyrite 2.5 20 358 285 -10.4 253/31 -7.0 163/I --4.1 71/59 -8.7 -7.0 N74"E -5.8 1.51
22 Porphyrite 2.5 20 358 285 -8.9 260/44 -5.9 164/7 -3.0 67/45 -6.4 -5.6 N69"W -6.0 1.07
23 Slate 2.5 II 674 316 -12.1 20/5 -7.9 286/46 --5.5 116/44 -12.1 -6.7 N22°E -6.9 1.76

'Negative sign indicates compression. Z

bStereographic representation (south = 0 °) of principal stress plane (trend plunge).
 34 K A N A G A W A et al.: IN S I T U STRESS M E A S U R E M E N T S IN JAPAN
1200-
v 1000-
800-
g h=270r~ -11.1MPa (=o!)
cu 600-
~ . 8 M P a
400-
0 200 400 600 800(m)
Scale ~ I = =
Fig. 7. An example of measured results o f in situ stress (a case of
topographic influence, site No. 4).
1971 to 1984. Most of these places are related to
underground electric power stations for several electric
power companies. The other places of measurement
include sites for nuclear power stations or pressure
tunnels.
Examples of measured 3-dimensional in situ stress states
Figure 7 shows an example of measured results. The
maximum stress tr~ acts in a direction along the slope.
The vertical stress component try is 7.2 MPa. The weight
of the rock mass at the measuring point (at a depth of
270m) would be approximately estimated to be
2.6 t/m 3 x 9.8 m/sec 2 x 270 m = 6.9 MPa under the as-
sumption of merely the overlying weight. The stress tTv
approximately corresponds to the overlying rock weight.
tL acts along the slope and is larger than the av. In this
case, the stress state would be influenced significantly by
the topographic condition.
Figure 8 shows another example of measured results.
The measuring point is located just below a complicated
valley system (the depth being 316 m). The over-burden
stress at the measuring point would be estimated approx-
imately to be 2.5 t/m 3 x 9.8 m/sec 2 x 316m = 7.7 MPa.
Considering the topographic condition above the mea-
suring point, the most influential mountain would be the
ridge indicated with a dotted line in the figure.
Referring to the measured result, the intermediate
principal stress a2 acts approximately from the ridge side
with a magnitude close to the overlying rock weight. The
Fig. 8. An example of measured results of in situ stress (a case of crustal
movement influence, site No. 23).
minimum principal stress at acts along the valley where
the ground surface becomes the lowest. The maximum
principal stress a~ is substantially horizontal (5 degrees
dip from the horizontal plane) and there is no large
mountain in the direction of a~.
The horizontal strains in the earth's crust have been
obtained by first order triangulation (see the following
section "Recent research on crustal movement in
Japan"). Its maximum compressive direction was domi-
nantly directed to the north and south in this area. The
compressive direction can also be estimated by consid-
ering the fold axis in the layer near the measuring point.
This also shows the north to south direction. Further-
more, the measured a~ acts in the nearly north and south
direction as well. Considering these results, the stress at
this site would be greatly affected by the influence of
crustal stress and residual stress resulting from folding.
As shown in these two examples, the in situ stress state
differs from site to site. In the following discussion,
therefore, tendencies relating to the in situ stress state are
mentioned.
Dependency of in situ stress on overlying rock thickness
The values of overlying rock thickness at the
measuring points where the gauge has been used are
distributed in a range of approximately 15-500m
(Table 1). (Figs 12-15 show the relations between
measured stress values and the depths.)
(a) Orientation of principal stresses. Figures 9, 10 and
11 show the orientations of principal stresses cry, a: and
~3 respectively on a stereographic projection (lower
N
170 180 190 200 10
250
,J
270E
W90I
280
870~ 29O
I 3 ~(oH,,,a,, / o " ) O
1 0 ~(o~mo,c / o " ).,=13 A
(o-H,,,a, / o )<10 X
Fig. 9. Orientations of the maximum compressive principal stress a~
(stereographic representation on the lower hemisphere projection,
S = 0°).
 K A N A G A W A et al.: I N S I T U STRESS M E A S U R E M E N T S IN JAPAN 35

N Figure 12 shows the relation between the principal

1{ ~ ~ 0 0 stress magnitudes (al, a 2, a3) and the depths (h). The data
indicate that the magnitudes of a~ are generally greater
than the over-burden stress y h, and those of a: are nearly
equal to 7h in most cases, where y is density of rock.
The most influential factor causing at to be acting
nearly horizontally would be crustal movements; on the
100/~ I \ ~260 other hand, the result that a2 generally acts sub-vertically
would be mainly caused by the overlying rock weight.
w °I t (b) Vertical component of in situ stress. Figure 13
shows the relation between the vertical stress av and the
8070~
depth h. The measured values show an increasing trend
670~ / as the overlying rock depth increases. This is because the
main cause of the vertical component of in situ stress is
the rock weight itself. From this result, it is concluded
that we can estimate roughly the magnitude of the
2( vertical component of in situ stress by just the overlying
10 0 350 rock weight 7 h.
S
(c) Horizontal component of in situ stress. Figure 14
illustrates the relation between horizontal stress (a, ....
10~(o-~=ox/o- ) < 1 3 A
a.mi,) and h. The horizontal components also have an
(o'.=o /o" ~ ) < 1 0 X increasing trend as the overlying rock depth becomes
Fig. 10. Orientations of the intermediate principal stress tr2 (stereo- larger. A remarkable fact is that the maximum horizon-
graphic representation on the lower hemisphere projection, S = 0°). tal component ~Hma, is usually larger than the over-
burden stress 7 h or the vertical component av. As shown
N later, this is likely to be because of the influence of
crustal movement stress, residual stress etc. The horizon-
15 . ~ tal component of an in situ stress state, therefore, cannot
be estimated without measuring at the specific site.
(d) Ratio between ~.ma~and av. In Fig. 15, the relation
between the ratio a.=~/av and the overlying rock depth
is shown. There is basically no trend between the ratio
and the overlying rock depth. The most important
feature is that the ratio is larger than 1.0 in these results.
This means that in the case of constructing underground
~--~280 structures such as large caverns for underground power
stations, the main loads from the surrounding rocks
would act horizontally.
~o~,~ oo

0"3 °'2 0"1

~ ,,,~320 c "2 ©
3 .-"330 Principle stress o- ( M P a )
2 0 ~ 340 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25
S
1.3 , = ( % ~ / ~ , ) 0
1 1.0 <(o'H,.a./%)<t3 L~ 100
~\
\
\
ooO

I ( o.H,,.~,/%) < 10 X
Fig. 11. Orientations of the minimum compressive principal stress % 200
(stereographic representation on the lower hemisphere projection,
s=0o).
r- 300
- O
c ~, ',©
a \
hemisphere).* In the case of a.m~,/av >1 1.3 (circle sym- o \ = O
400
bols) the following tendency is revealed where a.=~ o
denotes a maximum horizontal stress component; the
\
\\
orientations of al are nearly horizontal (ranging from 0 500 o = ' \.x 9
to 30°); on the other hand, those of a2 are rather more
vertical (ranging from 40 to 90°).

Fig. 12. Relation between principal stresses magnitudes (a~, a2, o3) and
* Note that in these Figures 0 ° represents due South. depths 0a).
36 KANAGAWA et al.: 11¥ S 1 T U STRESS MEASUREMENTS IN JAPAN

V e r t i c a l stress crv ( M P o )
0 - 5
•
\ Japan.
100 \
\ Measuring displacements of land surface provide in-
O\
200
-/
¢-
300 • o\\
\
Cb 4 0 0
500
600
Fig. 13. Relation between vertical stresses (av) and depths (h).
Recent research on crustal movement in Japan
The Japanese islands are subjected to heavy tectonic
activity, i.e. they are located near the eastern boundary
of the Asian plate, towards which both the Philippine
Sea plate and the Pacific plate advance. The seismicity
of the islands is very active; they belong to the circum-
Pacific seismic zone.
Huzita[3] examined tectonic stress fields in the
Japanese islands based on the distribution of the tectonic
zones which had become active in the Quaternary pe-
riod. As illustrated in Fig. 16, Huzita concluded that the
Japanese islands are subjected to an east-west com-
pressive stress field caused by the Pacific plate movement
(~,, Tpa in the figure) and at the same time under
a north-south compressive stress field caused by the
Philippine Sea plate (=~, Tph in the figure).
Sugimura [4] studied the boundaries of the plates
Horizontal
around the Japanese islands. He pointed out that the
-10 -15 -20 -25 Philippine Sea plate touches on and compresses the
Asian plate in the north-west direction at the foot of the
Izu Peninsula, which is situated in the middle part of
formation on these crustal movements. Throughout the
Japanese islands, first order triangulations (the length of
one side of the triangle is about 45 km) have been
periodically carried out. The first, the second and the
\ •
third triangulation were carried out in 1882-1909,
@ 1948-1967 and 1968-1972, respectively. Based on
differences between the first and the second trian-
X ..1~.
gulations, Harada and Kassai [5] estimated land surface
deformations of the Japanese islands in each triangle.
\ Subsequently, Nakane [6] attempted to eliminate abrupt
\
\ or large movements due to earthquakes from those land
surface deformations and estimated stationary tectonic
strain fields in the Japanese islands. The results are
shown in Fig. 17. In this figure, the direction of an arrow
shows the direction of the maximum compressive strain
axis and the length of an arrow shows the maximum
shear strain velocity. These results seem to be consistent
with the results obtained by Huzita [3] shown in Fig. 16.
COMPARISON BETWEEN IN SITU
STRESSES AND CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS
The above-mentioned results by Huzita mean that
the Japanese islands are compressed in an east-west
direction by the thrust of the Pacific plate, and also
compressed in a north-south direction by the thrust of
the Philippine Sea plate at Izu Peninsula. This seems to
be consistent with the direction of the maximum com-
pressive axis of the stationary tectonic strain field in
Japan as estimated from the first order triangulation
survey data by Nakane [6].
It is easily imagined that the thrusts caused by these
O'Hm,n O'Hmax plates greatly affect the m situ stresses and result in a
t I horizontal a] dominance in the in situ stress state.
strees ~rH ( M P a )

CrHmax / O" v
0 -5 -I0 -15 -20 -25
0 05 ~0 ~ 5 20 25
i
,\\ H 010 • •
\
100- \
\
\ I00

200
I
200~ 0
.- 3 0 0
I \\1 - • o• %
¢- 300
e~
)
\
\\
=
t-
."
400 o. •
\
0 4OO •
5.00 • J 4
_d..
500
600 %
600

Fig. 14. Relation between horizontal stresses (tr H.... aM,.,.) and
depths (h). Fig. 15. Relation between lateral stress ratios (artmaJav) and depths (h).
 K A N A G A W A et al.: I N S I T U STRESS M E A S U R E M E N T S IN J A P A N 37

-i
Tpo

fJ

,< ,,
?
i ' [
-#-~l f

, 0 2 0 0 km
I I I
! J
Huzito [ 3 ]

Fig. 16. Tectonic stress field in the Japanese islands based on the tectomc zones in the Quaternary period (by Huzita [3]),
1--Direction of tectonic force due to the subduction of the Pacific plate. 2--Direction of tectonic force due to the Philippine
Sea plate. 3--Horizontal compressive tectonic stress state. 4--Extensional tectonic stress state. 5--Strike-slip movement.
6--Vertical movement. 7--Direction of folding axis.

142"

-42"
=~.~=~/.y~ p r i n c i p a l axis
(contraction)
maximum shear, --~.40 °
s t r a i n velocity J

134" 136"

130" O~ ,00
132"
36"

34"

0 200km
32" = ' '

' ~------~ 30"

Fig. 17, Horizontal tectonic strains from the first order triangulation data (by Nakane [6]).
38 KANAGAWA et a/.: I N S1TU
~ (compression)
~I-IOMPI~--
(maximum horizontal
stress component )
138"
Asian Plate
134 ° 136"
38o~-__~
130 ° 132 °
J K
i
34 °. ^.
-/ ~ 3 0 " I Philippine Sea Plate
Fig. 18. Directions of maximum horizontal compressive stresses aam=xdetermined from the over-coring stress relief method
used by the authors (the plate boundaries included on the Figure are from Sugimara [4]).
Referring to the results of the in situ stress measure-
ments obtained by the authors, the maximum com-
pressive principal stress a~ acts almost horizontally in a
large number of locations and the ratio aHma~/av exceeds
1.3 in many cases. Figure 18 shows directions of the
maximum horizontal compressive stresses aHma, obtained
from the stress relief method used by the authors with
the plate boundaries from Sugimura [4] also shown on
the diagram. The measuring points B, E and F have a
trend of east-west compression, which may be affected
mainly by the Pacific plate movement. On the contrary,
the measuring points G, H and I have another trend of
north-south compression, which may be affected chiefly
by the Philippine Sea plate through Izu Peninsula. The
other measuring points situated in south-west Japan, i.e.
J, K, L, M, N, O, P and Q seem to be in a complex
tectonic stress field affected by both the Pacific plate and
the Philippine Sea plate.
Although more refined analysis of the in situ stress
measurement results remains as a further problem, it can
be concluded that the in situ stresses in the Japanese
islands are greatly affected by tectonic movements and
a horizontal dominance of at. In excavation works such
as large-scale caverns or tunnels, the conclusion implies
that special attention should be paid to horizontal in situ
stress in underground design.
STRESS MEASUREMENTS IN JAPAN
142"
144 °
140"
\
k~
Q
¢0
Pacific Plate
/ II
(Izu Peninsula)
i\
CONCLUSIONS
The authors have developed a new multi-element
strain gauge for in situ stress measurement using the
stress relief method, and obtained measurements at more
than 20 sites in Japan. The following are the main
conclusions:
(1) The newly developed multi-element strain gauge
has been proved to be applicable in both hard and soft
rocks. With this gauge, the 3-dimensional state of in situ
stress has been determined at many sites.
(2) From the measured results, it is concluded that the
vertical component of in situ stress, Or, is mainly gov-
erned by the overlying rock weight. Therefore, it is
possible to estimate roughly the av value from 7 h, where
h is the covering rock thickness and 7 is the density of
the rock.
(3) The horizontal component of the in situ stress, all,
on the contrary, has no direct relation with the overlying
rock thickness. The magnitude of this component usu-
ally exceeds that of the vertical component.
(4) There is a tendency for the maximum compressive
principal stress to act horizontally and for the ratio
aHmax/av to be larger than 1.0 where aHmax is maximum
horizontal compressive stress. In one case, the ratio was
2.6. Such a trend could result from crustal movement.
 KANAGAWA et al.: IN SITU STRESS MEASUREMENTS IN JAPAN
(5) The directions o f m a x i m u m horizontal c o m -
pressive stresses O'Hmax obtained from the stress relief
m e t h o d by the authors seem to be consistent with those
implied by the geodetic strains calculated f r o m the first
order triangulation survey data, and with those esti-
mated f r o m the distribution o f tectonic zones which have
become active in the Q u a t e r n a r y period.
(6) The Japanese islands are located in a tectonically
active region, i.e. are situated near the east b o u n d a r y o f
the Asian plate t o w a r d which both the Philippine Sea
plate and the Pacific plate advance. F o r further detailed
discussion, a m o r e refined analysis would be required;
however, it is likely that the in situ stress in the Japanese
islands has been affected greatly by crustal movements.
39
REFERENCES
1. Kanagawa T., Hayashi M. and Kitahara Y. Development for
measuring geo-stresses soft rock-masses and its applications. Cen-
tral Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Rept No.
E377004 (1978).
2. Kanagawa T., Hayashi M. and Kitahara Y. Acoustic emission and
over coring methods for measuring tectonic stresses. Proc. Int.
Syrup. on Weak Rock, Tokyo, Japan (1981).
3. Huzita K. Role of the median tectonic line in the Quaternary
tectonics of the Japanese islands. Mere. geol. Soc. Japan 8, 129-153
(1980).
4. Sugimura A. Plates boundaries around Japan. Kagaku 42, 192-202
(1972). In Japanese.
5. Harada T. and Kassai A. Horizontal strain of the crust in Japan
for the last 60 years. J. geod. Soc. Japan 17, 4-7 (1971). In
Japanese.
6. Nakane K. Horizontal tectonic strain in Japan (2). J. geod. Soc.
Japan 19, 200-208 (1973). In Japanese.