3 Stress

Stress is a concept which is fundamental to rock mechanics principles and

applications. For those encountering stress for the first time, it is not a
straightforward concept to grasp-unless explained very clearly. For this
reason, and at this stage in the book, we have adopted a key point approach
to explaining the concept of stress. This is a direct precursor to Chapter 4
on in situ stress and provides a link with strain in Chapter 5. Further
explanation of stress is given in Appendix A.

3.1 Why study stress in rock mechanics and

rock engineering?
There are three basic reasons for an engmeer to understand stress in the
context of rock mechanics. These are:
1. There is a pre-existing stress state in the ground and we need to
understand it, both directly and as the stress state applies to analysis and
design. This has been discussed in Chapter 2 in the context of the
geological setting. It is emphasized again here that there can be
circumstances when, during the engineering, no new loading is
applied, e.g. when driving an unsupported tunnel in rock. In this latter
case, the pre-existing stresses are redistributed-which leads us to the
next reason.
2. When engineering occurs, the stress state can be changed dramatically.
This is because rock, which previously contained stresses, has been
removed and the loads have to be taken up elsewhere. In line with this
fact, it is also noted in Section 3.9 that all unsupported excavation
surfaces are principal stress planes, a concept we will explain. Further-
more, most engineering criteria are related to either the deformability
or the strength of the rock or rock mass and the analysis of these subjects
involves stresses. For example, almost all failure criteria are expressed
as a function of certain stress quantities.
3. Stress is not familiar: it is a tensor quantity and tensors are not
encountered in everyday life. The second-order tensor which we will be
discussing has, for example:
32 Stress

-nine components of which six are independent;

-values which are point properties;
-values which depend on orientation relative to a set of reference axes;
-six of the nine components becoming zero at a particular orientation;
-three principal components; and finally
-complex data reduction requirements because two or more tensors
cannot, in general, be averaged by averaging the respective principal
stresses.
All this makes stress difficult to comprehend without a very clear grasp of
the fundamentals.

3.2 The difference between a scalar, a vector

and a tensor
As alluded to above, there is a fundamental difference between a tensor
and the more familiar quantities of scalars and vectors. We will explain this
first conceptually before the mathematical treatment.
A scalar is a quantity with magnitude only. Examples of scalars are
temperature, time, mass and pure colour-they are described completely
by one value, e.g. degrees, seconds, kilograms and frequency.
A vector is a quantity with magnitude and direction. Examples of vectors
are force, velocity, acceleration and the frequency of fractures encountered
along a line in a rock mass-they are described completely by three values,
for example, x, y, z components which together specify both direction and
magnitude.
A tensor is a quantity with magnitude, direction and ’the plane under
consideration’. Examples of tensors are stress, strain, permeability and
moment of inertia-they are described completely by six values, as
explained in Section 3.7.
It cannot be over-emphasized that a tensor quantity is not the same as
a scalar or vector quantity. This applies both in a conceptual sense and in
the mathematical sense. The reason why we emphasize this so much is that
both mathematical and engineering mistakes are easily made if this crucial
difference is not recognized and understood.

3.3 Normal stress components and shear

stress components
On a real or imaginary plane through a material, there can be normal forces
and shear forces. These are illustrated directly in Fig. 3.l(a). The reader
should be absolutely clear about the existence of the shear force because it
is this force, in combination with the normal force, that creates the stress
tensor. Furthermore, it should be remembered that a solid can sustain such
a shear force, whereas a liquid or gas cannot. A liquid or gas contains a
pressure, i.e. a force per unit area, which acts equally in all directions and
hence is a scalar quantity.
The normal and shear stress components are the normal and shear forces
per unit area as shown in Fig. 3.l(b). We have used the notation F , and F,
for the forces, and cr and z for the corresponding stresses. However, many