Type Of Stress

That Influence
Rock Behavior
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o The geologic processes that occur on Earth causes
stress on rocks. Geologic stress is the force (from
pushing or pulling of plates) that acts on the rocks
thereby creating different behavior or
characteristics.
o There are four different types of stress that
influence rock behavior:
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Compressional
- rocks push or squeeze against one
another. The stress produced is
directed toward the center. Hence,
when these rocks meet, the
orientation could be either horizontal
or vertical. Horizontally, the crust may
thicken or shorten. Vertically, the crust
can thin out or break off.
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Compressional
- Compressional stress is usually what takes place in
folding, which results in mountain building.
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Tensional
- Rocks are pulled apart. Rocks may
separate in opposite directions or
move farther away from one another.
- It is speculated that this type of
stress is what separated all the
continents in the world during the
breaking away of the supergiant
continent known Pangaea.
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Tensional
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Shear
- In shear stress, some of
the portions of a plate at the
edges may break away in
different directions,
eventually making the plate
smaller in size.
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Shear
- Depending on the conditions
of the environment, shear stress
usually happens at different rates
at the boundaries of the plate.
- The friction caused by this
stress can cause earthquakes.
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Confining
- In confining stress, the crust
becomes compact, making it look
smaller. This is different from
shearing as none of the crust’s
edges break away.
- However if breaking away
happens, it would come from the
inside.
Type of Stress That Influence Rock Behavior
o Confining
- Confining stress can
cause sinkholes where the
inside portion of the
ground has already
disintegrated without being
apparent.