JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 105, NO.

B8, PAGES 18,999-19,013, AUGUST 10, 2000

True triaxial strengthand deformability of the German

Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB)
deephole amphibolite
ChandongChangandBezalelHairnson
Department
of MaterialsScienceandEngineering
andGeological
Engineering
Program
Universityof Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract. We designedandfabricateda truetriaxialloadingsystemandusedit to determine

deformational andstrength characteristicsof theamphibolite penetratedbythesuperdeep
holedrilledin the Bohemianmassifof southeastern GermanyundertheGermanContinental
DeepDrilling Program(KTB). Arnphiboliteis foundbetween3200 and7300 rn andthusthe
dominantrockin this9100-mboring.Our loadingsystemenablestheapplication of three
unequalprincipalstresses to a rectangular prismaticrockspecimen.Duringa testwe main-
tainedthe leastprincipal(•3) andthe intermediate (•2) stressesconstantandincreased the
majorprincipalstress (•) untilbrittlefailureoccurred, in theformof a fracturesteeplydip-
pingin the(•3direction.Typically,for thesame(•3leveltheamphibolite compressive
strengthincreased substantiallywiththemagnitude of •2, demonstrating the inadequacy of
Mohr-likefailurecriteriathatignoretheeffectof the intermediate principalstresson rock
strength.We foundthata generalcriterionfor the amphibolitecouldbe expressed in the
form of a powerfunctionrelatingthe octahedralshearstressat failureto the meannormal
stressactingon the planecontainingthe fracture. With respectto deformation,we estab-
lishedthatfor the same(•3the onsetof dilatancyincreases significantlywith themagnitude
of •2. Thusthe intermediate principalstressappearsto extendthe elasticrangeof the stress-
strainbehaviorfor a given(•3andhenceto retardthe onsetof the failureprocess.Scanning
electronmicroscopyobservations of the failureprocessrevealthatmicrocracks develop
mainlyparallelto •2 direction,asthe intermediate stressgrowsbeyond•3, localizingin close
proximityof the eventualmainfracture.

1. Introduction from loggedboreholebreakoutsbetween3200 and 6800 m

[Brudyet al., 1997], a depthrangewithin which amphibolites
The German Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB)
are the dominantrock type [Duysteret al., 1995]. The useof
was designedto studythe propertiesand processes of the
loggedboreholebreakoutspansto estimatethe majorhorizon-
lower continentalcrustby meansof deepboreholes. Under
tal principal stresswhen the vertical and least horizontal
thisprograma superdeep hole,reachinga final depthof 9100
stresses are independently knownhad beenproposedearlier
m, was drilled in the Bohemian massif of southeasternGer-
by Vernikand Zoback [1992]. Their modelassumesthat the
many. Amongthe main themesof the KTB boreholeproject
stressconditionat the pointswhere breakoutsintersectthe
wasthe studyof basementpropertiesanddeformationmecha-
boreholeis one satisfyingthe strengthcriterionof the rock.
nisms,and the measurement of the in situ stress[Emmermann
Vernik and Zoback suggested that the appropriatestrength
and Lauterjung,1997]. The objectiveof our researchwasto criterion for this case should be obtained under true triaxial
examinethe deformationaland strengthpropertiesof the am-
stressconditions(o• > o2 > (•3), since all three principal
phibolitepenetrated by the KTB hole(henceforth calledKTB stressesat the boreholewall are noticeablydifferential. For
amphibolite) underthe mostgeneral(or truetriaxial)in situ lack of empiricalstrengthdata,Brudyet al. [1997] obtained
stressconditions andto providerockstrength dataneededfor
a better estimate of the crustal stress field.
estimates of the majorhorizontalprincipalstressaroundKTB
basedon a theoreticaltrue triaxial strengthformulation. It
For the purposeof estimatingthe crustalstressfield was felt, however,that an experimentallyobtainedcriterion
throughthe KTB hole, scientists werecompelled, owingto wasnecessary in orderto verifytheseinitial approximations.
hostileboreholeconditions,to employa modifiedversionof
Consequently, we embarkedon a comprehensive studyof
the hydraulicfracturingmethod. In addition,theywere also thetruetriaxialmechanical behaviorof the KTB amphibolite,
limitedto just two tests,at 6 and9 km depth,whichyielded emphasizingstrengthand deformability. We first designed
estimates of the leastprincipalstressmagnitudealone[Enge-
andfabricateda truetriaxialtestingsystemcapableof apply-
ser et al., 1993; Zobackand Harjes, 1997]. Thesetestswere
ing three independent and mutuallyperpendicular compres-
complemented by stressapproximations interpretedmainly sive loadsto prismaticrock specimens of rectangularshape
andtestedit by conductingan initial comprehensive seriesof
experimentsin Westerlygranite[Haimsonand Chang,2000].
Copyright2000 by theAmericanGeophysical Union.
We then usedthe apparatusto carryout two extensiveseries
Papernumber2000JB900184. of truetriaxialtestsin KTB amphibolite.In the first seriesof
0148-0227/00/2000JB900184509.00 tests,jacketed specimenswere loadedto failure under the

18,999
19,000 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

mostgeneralstateof stress(c• > c•2> c•3),simulatingin situ unstable crack extension. This criterion assumes that rock
conditionsdown to 10 km. The resultsof theseexperiments failure occursupon the initiation of propagationof a most
providefundamentaldata on the mechanicalbehaviorof the criticallyorientedpreexistingcrack. The Griffith criterionin
amphiboliteand are fully describedin this paper. A second the compressive rangeof c• andc•3is expressed as
seriesof testswas conductedspecificallyfor the purposeof
estimatingin situ stressmagnitudesat KTB from borehole (Ol- c•3)2
= 8T(Ol
+c•3), (4)
breakoutdimensionsand involveda specialcaseof amphibo- where T is the rock tensilestrength.This theoreticalcriterion
lite strengthand deformability. In thesetests,one of the prin- was later modified by McClintock and Walsh [1962], who
cipal stresses was appliedby pressurized fluid directlyin con- incorporated
the effectof frictionalslidingalongthe closed
tact with a pair of opposedspecimenfacesthat was left un- Griffith crack under compression.This modificationcoinci-
jacketed. The intent was to simulate borehole wall rock, dentallyled to a criterionsimilarin principleto thatof Mohr-
which is not only subjectedto in situ stressesbut is also ex- Coulomb:
posedto boreholefluid. The resultsof this seriesof testswill
be the subjectof a follow-uppublication. ch
(X/g.,2
+,- g.•):
4T+c•3(X/g.•
+1+g•.), (5)
The presentpaper beginswith a discussionof the most whereg.•.is the coefficientof slidingfrictionalongtheclosed
commonstrengthcriteriafor rocks,emphasizingthe needfor Griffith crack,a materialproperty.
one that considers the effect of both the least and the interme-
Morerecently,Horii andNemat-Nasser [ 1985],Ashbyand
diate principalstresses.That is followedby a descriptionof Hallam [1986], Ashbyand Sammis[1990], amongothers,
the equipmentusedandthe laboratoryexperimentalsetupand useda damagemechanicsapproachto describerock failure.
procedure.Finally, test resultsin termsof rock strengthare The strengthcriteriasuggested
by thesestudiesarebasedon
presented,leadingto a new true triaxial strengthcriterion. the assumption that undercompressivestresses wing cracks
Also discussed is the dependence on the intermediate
princi- populatinga givenvolumeof rock grow,interactwith other
pal stressof the failureplanedip angle,the stress-strain
rela- cracks,andultimatelycoalesceleadingto a final macroscopic
tionship,the onsetof dilatancy,and the micromechanics of failure. One simplifiedcriterion,which hasan explicitform,
failure. is thatderivedby Ashbyand Samntis[1990]:
c• = Cc•3+ Co, (6)
2. Rock CompressiveStrength: Conventional
Triaxial or True Triaxial? whereC is a constantdependingon dimensionsanddensityof
initial microcracks,and on the coefficientof sliding friction
Rock strengthcan generallybe defined in terms of the along such cracks, and Co is the rock uniaxial compressive
criticalstateof stressconditionthat leadsto failure (or frac- strength.
ture). Knowledgeof this mechanicalpropertyis crucialin The exclusionof c•2as a parameteraffectingrock strength
engineeringdesignof structuresas well as in geophysical wasnot sharedby Nadai [ 1950], Freudenthal[ 1951], Drucker
researchsuchas the studyof fault and earthquake mechanics and Prager [1952], Bresler and Pister [1957], and others,
andthe determination of in situstress(e.g.,hydraulicfractur- who includedall three principal stressesin their criteria of
ing, boreholebreakouts,drilling-inducedcracks). Strength failure for other materials, such as soils and concrete. Nadai
criteriaareoftenexpressed in termsof themaximumprincipal [1950, p. 231] describedthe limiting stressof brittlematerials
stressc• that rock can sustainfor known magnitudesof the by modifyingthe yon Mises [ 1913] yield criterionfor ductile
othertwo principalstresses(c•2and c•3). In its mostgeneral metalsthat had beenderivedbasedon the distortionalenergy
formthiscanbe expressed as [Scholz,1990,p. 13] concept. Nadai suggestedthat the mechanicalstrengthof
brittle material is reached when the octahedral shear stress
CY
1 = f(cY2,CY3)
, (1)
and octahedralnormal stress(the mean normal stress)are
wheref is a functionto be determined theoretically
or empiri- relatedby a monotonicallyincreasingfunctionf, i.e.,
cally. However,in the mostcommonlyusedcriteriathe effect
of the intermediateprincipalstressc•2is neglected,leadingto Ioct= f(C•oct), (7)
a simplerrelationship: whereToct--{(lJ1-lJ2)
2q-(lJ2-
lJ3)
2+(lJ3
--1J1)2}'•/3
and
' f(3) ß (2) C•oct
= (C•l
+c•2+c•3)/3.A simplification
ofthiscriterion
in
the form of a linearrelationshipbetweenthe octahedralshear
One suchsimplifiedcriterionis the linearizedMohr crite- andnormalstresses was suggested by Freudenthal[ 1951] and
rion (also called Mohr-Coulomb),which in terms of the two Drucker and ?rager [1952] for concreteand soil, respec-
extremeprincipalstressestakesthe form [Jaegerand Cook, tively:
1979, p. 96]
Toc
t -- C1+ C2Ooct
, (8)
O'1
(•/•[2
q-1
--•)--2S,
q-0'3(•/•[2
q-1
q-•), (3) wherec• andc2arepositivematerialconstants.
where S, and g are two materialpropertiestermedcohesion Murrell [1963] and Handin et al. [1967] were amongthe
and coefficientof internal friction, respectively. Sincethis first to note the effect of the intermediateprincipalstresson
criterionis simpleand relativelyeasyto obtainfrom a series rock strength. They observedthat the strengthof Carrara
of conventionaltriaxial compression testson cylindricalsam- marble and Solenhofenlimestone,respectively,was consis-
ples in which c• > c•2= c•3,it has gainedwide acceptance tently higherwhen subjectedto conventionaltriaxial exten-
amongrock mechanicspractitioners. sion(o• = o2 > •3) thanunderconventionaltriaxialcompres-
Another well-known strengthcriterionin which the effect sion (• > •2 = •3). Their observations
promptedseveralre-
of c•2is ignoredis derivedfrom the Griffith [1924] theoryof searchersto seekmoregeneralcriteria,which coulddescribe
 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE 19,001

rock strengthundertrue triaxial compressirestressconditions Recently,the interestin the true triaxial strengthof rocks
(ol >_o2 ->03). Murrell himselfsuggested sucha criterionfor hasbeenrekindledin partby the needto employan appropri-
Carrara marble, basedon his experimentalobservations,by ate failure criterionin orderto relatequantitativelyborehole
extendingthe initial Griffith criteriongivenby equation(4) to breakoutdimensionsto the prevailingin situ stress[Vernik
includethe intermediateprincipalstress02: and Zoback, 1992]. Haimsonand Chang [2000] designeda
2 true triaxial testingapparatusand conductedan exhaustive
Toct - 8Tooc
t. (9)
seriesof testsin Westerlygranite. Their resultslargelycon-
However,to our knowledgethis criterionhas not been veri- firm thoseobtainedby Mogi [1971] for Dunhamdolomite,
fied experimentally. namely,thatthe intermediateprincipalstressstronglyaffects
A theoreticalapproachto estimatingthe strengthof rock rock strengthand shouldthereforebe explicitlyincludedin
that is subjectedto true triaxial stressconditionswas sug- the strengthcriterionformulation.Haimsonand Changalso
gestedby Wiebolsand Cook [1968]. Their hypothesis was showedthat in Westerlygraniteo2 affectsthe failure plane
that rock failure occurs when the total effective shear strain dip angle(highero2 yieldssteeperdip) andthe extentof lin-
energysummedoverall preferentially orientedslidingcracks earelasticdeformation(highero2retardsdilatancyonset).
in a rock bodyreachesa criticalvaluedependent on the coef-
ficientof slidingfrictionlasandthe uniaxialstrengthof rock
Co. WiebolsandCookpresented theircriterionfor individual 3. The KTB Amphibolite
•,• valuesin the form of familiesof curvesin the o•/Coversus
o2/Co domain, each curve for different magnitudesof The amphibolitesamplesusedin our experimental study
Their conclusionwas that as o2 is raised from o2 - o3 to o2 -- were prepared from core (234 mm diameter)
extractedfrom
o•, the strengtho• for a constanto3 first increases,reachesa the main KTB boreholeat a depth of 6355-6360 m. Generally,
maximum at some intermediate value of o2, and then de- it is a massivemetamorphic rock,whichat thatdepthhaslittle
creasesto a value greater than the conventionaltriaxial or no foliation [Duysteret al., 1995]. We analyzeda thin
equivalentwhen o2 - o3. The WiebolsandCook criterionhas section of the amphibolite using a point-counting
methodand
not been widely used, partly becauseit requiresa priori derived its mineral composition as being 58% amphibole
knowledgeof the slidingcoefficientof friction •,•.,a property (mainlyhornblende, averagegrainsize0.4 mm),25% plagio-
that is not given to direct measurement.However, their the- clase(averagegrainsize0.2 mm),5% garnet,2% biotite,and
ory was utilized by Brudy et al. [1997] to obtainan estimate 7% minor opaqueminerals. The amphibole,which is the
of the in situ maximum horizontal stress from borehole dominantmineral,is evenlydistributed andrandomlyoriented
breakout dimensions at the KTB site. (Figure 1).
The first extensivetrue triaxial compressiretestsin rocks We measuredsomebasicphysicalpropertiesof the amphi-
were conductedby Mogi [1971]. He designeda polyaxial bolitecoreavailableto us (Table 1). Densitywas determined
from measurementsof mass and volume of prepared dry
loading apparatus,which enabledthe applicationof three
independentand unequalorthogonalloads to each pair of specimens.Effectiveporositywas obtainedusinga Boyles'
faces of a rectangularprismatic specimen. His tests in law porosimeter.Uniaxial(unconfined) compressivestrength
Dunham dolomite unequivocally demonstratedthe strong
was determinedby axially loadingcylindricalspecimens (25
mm diameterand 51 mm long)to failure in a calibratedload-
dependence of rock strengthon o2 for giveno3 magnitudes, a
dependencesimilar in mannerto that predictedtheoretically ing machine. Table 1 alsodisplaysindependently measured
by Wiebolsand Cook [1968]. Mogi attemptedto find a sim- physicalpropertiesrepresentative of the entire amphibolite
ple relationshipthat would satisfyall his experimentalresults. core recoveredfrom the KTB deep hole. Our results,repre-
He notedthat the Nadai [1950] criterion,for which the inde- sentinga limitedrangeof coredepths,comparedwell with the
pendentvariableis the three-dimensional meannormalstress previouslyobtained properties. This suggestsgeneral uni-
Ooct(equation(7)), was adequatefor characterizing rockyield- formity of amphibolitephysicalpropertiesthroughoutthe
ing that occursover the entirevolume of rock. He discov- depth range in which it was encounteredby the KTB deep
ered,however,that in his testsbrittle failure occurredalonga hole. The low porosityandpermeability,andthe highdensity
steeplyinclinedplane, strikingin the o2 direction. Hencehe andcompressirestrength,reflectthe amphibolitetightlyinter-
deducedthat the meannormalstresscontributingto the crea- lockedfabrics(seealsoFigure 1).
Some additional mechanical characteristics of the KTB
tion of the failure planewas not Ooct,but its two-dimensional
amphibolitewere establishedby Vernik et al. [1992], who
representation:
ore,
2- (o•+o3)/2. Consequently, Mogi derived
carried out conventionaltriaxial tests on cylindrical speci-
a new strengthcriterionthat fit all his truetriaxialtestresults
in Dunham dolomite: mens cut in two different axial directions, 90 ø and 30 ø to fo-
liation. The amphiboliteshowedvery little anisotropyand
Toct=f(Om,2), (l 0)
behavedelasticallyalmostup to the pointof failure.
wheref is a monotonicallyincreasingfunction. He later veri- For true triaxial compressire testing, we prepared
fied thiscriterionfor severalotherrocktypes. rectangularprismaticspecimens (19x 19x38 mm), whichwere
AlthoughWiebolsand Cook [1968] andMogi [1971] dem- surfacegroundso as to obtain dimensionswithin 0.2 mm
onstratedby independentmeansthat the intermediateprinci- from the prescribedsize, with a minimumof parallelismand
pal stresshas a major effect on rock strength,their work was orthogonalityoffsets. Attemptswere madeto leaveout any
largely ignored for over 20 years. The reasonfor that lies visible fresh cracksobservedon the core, which might have
mainly, we suspect, in the experimental difficulty of beendrilling-induced or the resultof stressrelief duringcor-
determiningrock true triaxial strength,vis-g-visthe simplicity ing. Each specimenwas preparedwith the long dimension
of testingcylindricalspecimensinside a pressurevessel,as alignedwith the axis of the core. The specimenswere oven-
requiredfor obtaininga Mohr-typecriterion. driedat 40øCfor at least24 hoursbeforetesting.
19,002 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

Figure 1. A thin sectionof unstressedKTB amphibolite

showingthe dominanceof evenlydistributedamphibolecrys-
tals (gray)exhibitingrandomlyorientedcleavages.

4. Experimental Setup and Procedure

The laboratorytestsdescribedin this paperwereconducted
usingthe Universityof Wisconsintrue triaxial loadingsys-
tem, which consistsof a polyaxial pressurevesselinside a
biaxial loadingapparatus(Figure2). Three independent and
mutually orthogonalpressuresare generatedin this system
and appliedto a rectangularprismaticspecimen.The biaxial
apparatusfacilitatesthe applicationof two pressures,one in
the axial (c•) and the other in one of the two lateraldirections
(c•2)of the specimen. These two pressuresare transmitted
from the biaxial cell to the rock specimenvia two perpendicu-
lar pairsof pistonsmountedin the pressurevessel. The third
pressure(c•3)is applied directlyto the secondpair of speci-
men lateral faces by the confining hydraulicpressureinside
the pressurevessel. The two loadsappliedby the biaxial ap-
paratusare monitoredby calibratedstraingagesmountedon Figure2. Schematic diagramof theUniversityof Wisconsin
the respectivepistons. The load measurements are internalto truetriaxialtestingsystem(a) crosssectionand(b) profile:a,
the pressureseals. The pressurein the third direction is biaxial loading apparatus;b, polyaxialpressurevessel;c,
measuredby a pressuretransducerinstalledin line with the loadingpistons;d, confiningfluid; e, metal anvil; f, rock
confiningpressure.The loadingsystemwas thoroughlycali- specimen.

Table 1. SomePhysicalProperties
of theKTB Amphibolite

Our Measurements a PreviousMeasurements

b

Property Number
of Tests Average Number
of Tests Average Reference
Density,
kg/m
3 14 2920(+110) 979 2890(+40) Rauen
andWinter
[1995]
Porosity,
% 10 0.70(+0.33) 79 0.74(+0.40) Rauenand Winter[1995]
Permeability,
m2 NA NA NA 7x10© Huenges
etal.[1997]
Uniaxialcompressive 3 164(+9) 25 189(+67) ROckel
andNatau[ 1995]
strength,MPa

aTestson coresamplesextractedfrom6355-6360m.
bTestsoncoresamples
fromthefulllength
oftherecovered
amphibolite
core.Fordensity
measurements
usewas
alsomadeof cuttings.
NA, not available.
 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE 19,003

aluminumsampleof knownelas- (Figure

bratedusinga strain-gaged 3b). Theendsof thisbeamarefixed,whilethecenter
tic properties.
A detaileddescription proce- ispushed
of thecalibration outwardbya pinaffixedtotheexposed faceofthe
duresand resultsis givenby Haimsonand Chang[2000]. specimen. Duringa truetriaxialtestthebeamflexesasthe
The maximumstresses
thatthis loadingsystemcanapplyto a pincompresses thebeamcenter.Straingages
mounted
near
rockspecimen 19x19x38mmare1600MPain thebeamendsrecordits bendingandenablethestrainmoni-
of dimensions
the two piston-loading and400 MPa in the third toringin theo3direction.
directions
direction.This highloadcapacityrendersthe equipment
ca- Specimensidesthatareto besubjected to pistonloading
pableof testing
verystrong
rockstofailureundersimulated
in areplaced
between pairsof metalanvils(16 mmthick)that
situ stressconditionsof considerablemagnitude. are identical in cross-sectionaldimensionsto those of the
Strainsin thethreeprincipalstress
directionsaremonitored specimen
faces.Theanvilsserve
to uniformly
distribute
the
duringtesting.Strainmeasurements in theOl ando2 direc- loadstransmitted
throughthe loadingpistons
to thespecimen
tionsaremadeusingproperlyorientedstraingagesbondedto (Figure3). A copper
shim,0.03mmthick,is inserted be-
thepairof specimen lateralfacessubjectedto o3(Figure3a). tweenrockspecimenandmetalanvilsto minimizefriction.
Strain in the o3 directionis measuredusing a beryllium- Stearicacid is smearedover the contactfaces betweenthe
copperstrain-gaged beammounted parallelto the o3 faces coppershimandanvilsas a lubricant [LabuzandBridell,
1993].Thespecimen isthencoated witha thinlayerof poly-
urethane
toprevent
permeationoftheconfining fluidapplying
o3. Theinstrumentedspecimenis insertedintothepolyaxial
pressure
vessel
usinga special
guiding device.
Truetriaxialtestingprocedure
consisted
of simultaneously
raising
all threeprincipal
stresses
at a constant
rateuntilo3
reacheditspresetvalue.Thereafter,
theothertwoprincipal
stresses
(Ol ando2)wereincreasedat thesamerateuntil02
reacheditspredetermined
magnitude.Fromthispoint,03and
02werekeptconstant ando• alonewasraised,
bycontrolling
theleast
principal
strain
(e3)increase
ata rateof5x10-6S-•,
untilthe specimen
failed. Thisloading
modeenabled
the
specimen
tofailstably
andtocontinue
tocarry
loadevenafter
o• reachedits peakvalue. Unloadingwastypically
carried
outonlyafterOldecreased-10%of itspeaklevel.Usingthe
three-stage
loadingpath,theorderof stress
magnitudes,
o• >
o2> o3,wasmaintained
throughout
theexperiment.

(a) 5. True Triaxial CompressiveStrength

of KTB Amphibolite
The firststageof ourlaboratory
testingconsisted
of con-
tJ1 (3'1 ductingseveraluniaxialcompression
experiments
(ch> o2=
o3= 0) in whichcylindrical
specimensof KTB amphibolite
were loaded until failure. The mean uniaxial compressive
strength
basedon thesetestsis 164 (+ 9) MPa, whichis
somewhatlower than that determinedby R6ckeland Natau
[1995]basedon a muchlargersampling of data(189 + 67
MPa),butiscertainly withinitsstandarddeviation.
In the secondstageof ourlaboratory workwe carriedout
conventionaltriaxialexperiments(o• > 02 = o3 > 0) on rec-
tangularprismatic specimens insidethetruetriaxialloading
apparatus.
In thesetests,
uniform
fluidpressure
wasapplied
to all lateralfacesof thespecimen
andheldconstant
whileo•
wasraised(bycontrolling e3)untilfailureoccurred.AsFig-
g h ure4 shows,o• at failuregenerally
increasedathigherconfin-
ingpressures(o2=o3), yieldinga strengthcriterion
bestfitted
by a powerfunction:
o•= 164+ 18.7030'79 (11)
where the stress unit is MPa.
Figure3. Sideviewsof rockspecimen assembly (a) priorto Specimens subjected toconventional triaxialloadingfailed
polyurethanecoatingand installation
of strain-gaged beam along singleor conjugate steep faultplanes.We measuredthe
and(b) with strain-gagedbeaminstalled:a, rockspecimen
(19x19x38mm);b, metalanvils;c, straingages;d, copper averagedip angle of the failure planesand found thatthey
coating;f, strain-gaged decreased
shimandstearicacid;e, polyurethane gradually as the confiningpressure wasraised,
beam;g, fixedpinsforstrain-gaged
beam;h, baseplate. from-70 ø at o3 = 0 to 60 ø at o3= 150 MPa (Figure 5).
19,004 CHANG AND HAIMSON' TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

1200 75 i i

1000 -

7O

' 800
•v 600
o o - 65

400

6O
200

0 55 I I I
0 40 80 120 160 0 40 80 120 160

0'2----
0'3(MPa) 0'2= 0'3(MPa)
Figure 4. KTB amphibolitecompressive strengthsunder Figure 5. Fracturedip angle(0) as a functionof confining
differentconfiningpressures
basedon conventional
triaxial pressure(o2 = o3) in conventionaltriaxialtests.
testing(o2= o3)andthebestfit curverepresenting
theMohr
strengthcriterionin termsof o] asa functionof %.
were maintainedconstantand o] was increasedto failure. All
experimentalresults,includingthosefrom uniaxialand con-
The bulk of our experiments
was conductedundertrue ventionaltriaxial testsare detailedin Table 2, and plottedin
triaxialcompressive
stress
conditions
(o] > o2> o3> 0). For the 0'] - o2 domain(Figure6). The solidline in the plotrepre-
eachlevelof o3applied
(0, 30,60, 100and150MPa),a series sentsthe conventionaltriaxial strengthcriterionfor o2 = %
of testswerecarriedout in whichdifferent0'2magnitudes(shownalso in Figure4). Dashedlines are looselydrawn

o
1400
O2: O3
¸ 150 MPa
...... o- w --
1200

........... -•'100
MPa
1000

60 MPa

8OO

6OO
..... ß 30 MPa

400

A _ZS,_
_ O3=0MPa
zx,-''--•- A
2OO

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

O2(MPa)
Figure6, KTB amphibolite
compressirestrengths
undertruetriaxialloading,
plottedasthepeako] versus
o2fordifferent% magnitudes.
Thesolidlinerepresents
theMohrstrength criterion
(asin Figure4). The
dashedlinesareloosely
drawncurves
indicating
thetrendofstrength
variationwitho2forgiveno3.
 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE 19,005

Table 2. True Triaxial Stress Conditions at Failure and strengthappearsto weakenat higher levelsof (x3but remains
AverageFractureAngles0a significant. Thus conventionaltriaxial testsprovide only a
lower boundof strengthfor a given leastprincipalstressin
1•3,MPa (x2,MPa (xl, MPa 0, deg KTB amphibolite. Sincein situ conditionsof equalinterme-
diate and leastprincipalstressesare rare, criteriasuchas the
0 0 158 - Mohr-Coulomb(equation(3)) typically yield only conserva-
0 0 160 71
0 0 176 -
tive estimatesof rock strength.
0 40 272 75 Our resultssupportVernik and Zoback's [ 1992] assertion
0 80 346 79 that the Mohr-Coulombcriterionis not appropriatefor com-
0 150 291 79 putingin situ stressesfrom the stress-strength
relationshipat a
0 200 347 89 breakout-boreholeintersection,since the principal stresses
0 230 267 -
30 30 410 67 thereare highly differential. Our testssuggestthat a correct
30 60 479 77 evaluation of the crustal stress at the KTB site from the limit
30 100 599 - equilibriumbetweenstressconditionand rock resistanceto
30 200 652 80 failure at the borehole-breakout intersectionrequiresthe use
30 250 571 -
30 300 637 73
of a true triaxial strengthcriterion [see also Brudy et al.,
60 60 702 62 1997].
60 90 750 - Tested true triaxial specimensfailed along one major
60 100 766 61 steeplydippingfractureor fault (Figure7) strikingsubparallel
60 155 745 66
to (x2direction. Averagefractureplanedip angleswere meas-
60 200 816 74
60 250 888 73 uredandthe resultsare listedin Table2 andplottedin Figure
60 300 828 78 8. Under conditionsof (x2largerthan (x3,the fractureplane
60 350 887 79 was generallysteeperthanthat underuniformconfiningpres-
60 400 954 78 sure. Althoughanglesplottedas a functionof (x2showsome
60 450 815 69
100 100 790 61
scatter,the overalltrend is that of dip steepeningas the inter-
100 100 868 65 mediateprincipalstressis raised[seealsoMogi, 1971; Haim-
100 160 959 64 sonand Chang,2000]. This phenomenon providesadditional
100 200 1001 67 strongevidenceof the (x2effecton the mechanicalbehaviorof
100 250 945 73
I00 270 892 54
theKTB amphibolite.
100 300 1048 63
100 350 1058 67
100 440 1155 78 6. General Strength Criterion
100 600 1118 76
150 150 1147 60 for the KTB Amphibolite
150 200 1065 57
150 200 1112 59
An importantobjectiveof this researchwasto find an all-
150 250 1176 72 inclusivestrengthcriterionfor the KTB amphibolitethatwill
150 250 1230 - representall the data shown in Figure 6 in the form of a
150 300 1431 65 uniquerelationshipbetweenthe appliedstressesat failure.
150 350 1326 69
150 400 1169 73
The KTB amphibolitefailed in brittlefashionalonga fracture
150 450 1284 73 plane strikingin the directionof (x2,a similarbehaviorto that
150 500 1265 77 of the Dunham dolomite. Thus we considered first the crite-
150 640 1262 79 rion usedby Mogi [1971] for that rock (equation(10)). We
computedfor eachtest the octahedralshearstress%ctand the
Dashesindicate not measured. meannormalstressactingon the failureplane(3'm,2,
andplot-
ted the experimentalpointsin the new domainas shownin
Figure 9. Test data fit strikinglywell a monotonicallyin-
curvesshowingthetruetriaxialstrengthtrendfor eachfamily creasingpowerfunctiongivenby
of testsfor which(x3washeldconstant.Theyreveala general 0.86
increase in peak(x•withthemagnitude of (x2untila plateauis Xoct= 1.77IJm,
2 , (12)
reachedastheintermediate principalstress attainsmagnitudes
severaltimeslargerthan(x3. For the rangesof (x2used,there where the stress unit is MPa.
is no cleartrendtowardan eventualdecrease in strength,as Equation(12) presentsthe relationshipbetweenall three
predictedby Wiebolsand Cook [1968]; however,the trendis principalcompressive stresses
at failure in KTB amphibolite
in accordwith previousobservations by Mogi [1971] and and is clearlymore generalthan Mohr-basedcriteria. It also
Haimsonand Chang[2000]. demonstratesthat Mogi's suggestedstrengthcriterion for
Our resultsclearlydemonstrate thattruetriaxialstrengthis rocksundergoingbrittle failure can be extendedto crystalline
typicallyhigherthan the corresponding conventionaltriaxial igneousandmetamorphic rockssuchasgranite[Haimsonand
strengthirrespective of the (x3level. The averagepercentage Chang,2000] and amphibolite.
increaseover the conventionaltriaxial equivalent(Table 2) We alsoattemptedto verify whetherour experimentaldata
reachesas high as -•50% at (x3= 30 MPa (for (x2levelsof 200 couldbe fitted by theNadai generalcriterion(equation(7)) or
to 300 MPa), 30% at (x3= 100 MPa (for (x2levelsof 300 to its linearizedversion(equation(8)). We plottedeachof the
600 MPa), and 10% at (x3= 150 MPa (for (x2levelsof 450 to stressconditionsat failure in the Xoc
t - (Joct
domainas shownin
650 MPa). It is noteworthythat the effect of (3' 2 on rock Figure 10. Clearly, the scattereddistributionof the experi-
19,006 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

ously(until 03 reachedits predetermined level). In the second

segment,(Jl and 02 were increasedsimultaneouslywhile 03
was kept constantuntil 02 had reachedits presetmagnitude.
In the third andfinal segment,01 alonewasallowedto riseby
controllingthe principal strain in the 03 direction. To main-
tain consistencywith the most commonway of presenting
stress-strain curvesobtainedfrom triaxialtests,we plottedthe
recorded data in the form of the maximum differential stress
(01 - 03) as a functionof the threeprincipalstrains. Hencethe
first stageof the stress-strain curvesis not shown in Figure
11. We note that during the simultaneousloadingof both 01
and 02 all stress-straincurves were practicallylinear even
when the presetvalue of 02 was as high as 600 MPa, and in-
crementalstrainsAel and Ae2 were both positive (contrac-
tions). However, in the final stageof loading(third segment
of the stress-straincurve), only Ael was positive, with the
specimen extending in the other two principal directions.
Figure 11 showsthat while the relationship(Jl - (J3versuse2is
quasi-linearthroughoutthe third segmentof loadingalmostto
the point of failure,the equivalentcurvein the e3directionis
clearly nonlinear and indicatesacceleratedextensionas o•
rises. This behaviorsuggeststhat the great majority of in-
ducedand reopenedmicrocracks,leadingto eventualbrittle
failure, is alignedwith the (Jl - (J2plane and opensup in the
o3 direction.
Dilatancy,or the paradoxicalvolumetricexpansionin rock
subjectedto risingcompressivestress,is a measureof inelas-
tic behaviorprior to failure. Dilatancyhasbeencorrelatedto
internalmicrocrackingresponsiblefor expandingthe volume
and for leadingeventuallyto the creationof the fractureplane
[Brace et al., 1966]. We replottedthe recordedstress-strain
diagramsin the form of the maximumdifferentialstress(Ol -
03) as a function of the volumetric strain and observedin all
tests definite dilatancies. In an effort to gain some under-
standingof the effect of o2 on the extentof dilatancy,we se-
lectedtwo groupsof testsin whicho3 waskept constant(100
and 150 MPa, respectively)and plotted stress-volumetric
strainfor differento2sideby side. Figure12 revealsthat dila-
tancyis more pronouncedfor low o2 magnitudesand is con-
siderablylessevidentat the higherlevelsof 02. Similarre-
sultswere obtainedby Takahashiand Koide [1989] in Shira-
Figure 7. A KTB amphibolitespecimenafter a true triaxial hama sandstone.
test,exhibitinga fracturethatdipssteeplyin theo3 direction. The preciselevel of dilatancyonset,the inflectionpoint
Stressconditionat failurewast53=60MPa, 02= 155MPa, and where the stress-volumetricstrain curve departs from the
o!=745 MPa. original elastic straightline and beginsrotating backward,
was somewhatambiguousin the stress-strain curvesshownin
Figure 12 becauseof the gradualchangein slope. To over-
comethis problem,we determinedthe dilatancyonsetfrom a
mentalpointsdemonstratesthat no uniquefunctionin this continuousplot of the derivativeof (o• - 03) with respectto
domainfaithfullyrepresents
the truetriaxialstrengthof the volumetricstrainas a functionof (o• - 03). Sucha plot yields
KTB amphibolite.
unambiguously the stresslevel at which the curve departs
from a straighthorizontalline, and that value was markedin
7. Stress-StrainRelationships Figure 12 as the point of dilatancyonset. We estimatethe
marginof errorin the selectionof the dilatancyonsetby this
Under True Triaxial Loading method to be + 10 MPa.
As described above,severalof the testedspecimens were Dilatancy onset in the KTB amphibolitegenerally in-
instrumented for continuousrecording of all threeprincipal
creaseswith the magnitudeof 02. Thus, for o3 - 100 MPa the
strains.Stress-strain
recordsof themajorprincipalstress asa onsetof dilatancyrisessteadilyfrom as low as 38% of peak
functionof eachof the threeprincipalstrainsfromthe series(Ol- 03) when o2 = o3 to 78% of the respectivepeak stress
of testsin which03 magnitude waskeptat 100 MPa, and02 differentialwhen o2 = 600 MPa (Figure 12a). A similar in-
wasvariedfrom 100 MPa to 600 MPa,areshownin Figure creaseoccursin testsfor whicho3 is kept at 150 MPa (Figure
11. As a resultof the loadingpath usedin the tests,each 12b).
stress-strain
curve consistsof three segments.In the first Analogousobservationsof dilatancyonsetdependenceon
segmentall three principal stresseswere raisedsimultane- the magnitudeof o2 were made by Mogi [1978] in Mizuho
 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE 19,007

9O
I [] I I i

8O

60-

(• =OMPa (• = 60 MPa
3 3

5O
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 1 O0 200 300 400 500 600 700

(b)
9O

8O

6O

(• = 100 MPa (• = 150 MPa

3 3

5O
0 1O0 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 1O0 200 300 400 500 600 700

(c) (•2 (MPa) (d) g2 (MPa)

Figure 8. Fracturedip anglein true triaxial testsas a functionof 02 for constanto3 magnitudes:(a) o3 = 0
MPa, (b) o3 = 60 MPa, (c) o3 = 100 MPa, and (d) o3 = 150 MPa.

trachyteandby Haimsonand Chang[2000] in Westerlygran- the elasticrangeof the stress-strain

behaviorfor a giveno3 or,
ite. Schocket al. [1973] reporteddiminishingdilatantbehav- in otherwords,retardsthe beginningof the failureprocess.
ior and an increasein the level of dilatancyonsetat higher
meannormalstressesin a granodioritesubjectedto conven-
8. Micromechanics Aspectsof True
tionaltriaxialloading.Our resultsconfirmthesefindingsand
generalizethem for true triaxial conditions.
Triaxial ColnpressiveFailure
Sincethe onsetof dilatancyis consideredan indicatorof We studiedaspectsof the true triaxial fractureprocessby
microcracking emergence, the significance
of thetrendshown inspectingsectionsof failed specimensundera scanningelec-
in Figure 12 is that the intermediateprincipalstressextends tron microscope(SEM model JEOL JSM-6100). Sections

6OO I I i I I I I 600
C I I I I I I0 I
5OO
o
500 -
øo¸ %0
400 400 -

300 300 - 0(• O0 0

0 00
0
2OO 200 - 0
o 86 0

lOO 100 -

I I I I I I I /
0 I I / I I I I
1 O0 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 0 1 O0 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

O'm,
2= (0'1+0'3)
! 2 (MPa) O'oc
t (MPa)

Figure 9. A generaltrue triaxial strengthcriterionfor the Figure 10. KTB amphibolitetrue triaxial testresultsplotted
KTB amphibolite,basedon all the experimentalresultsshown as ZoctversusOo•t,showingthat the Nadai strengthcriterion
in Figure7 plottedas%ctversusOre,2. doesnot applyin thisrock.
19,008 CHANG AND HAIMSON' TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

1200

1000
i i i i l
8OO _

600 - _ _

400 - _

200
% = •3= 100MPa
0 i i i i \// , %=3•00
MPa
(a) (b)
1200

1 ooo - _ - _

• 800
•,- 600
t•'- 400

20o
%=100
MPa
0 ,•' •2=440
MPa I •I / I •2=6•00
MPa
-10 -5 0 5 10 15-10 -5 0 5 10 15

(c) • ( x 10'3) (d) • ( x 10'3)

Figure 11. Recordsof maximumdifferentialstress(0] - 03) as a functionof strainsin all threeprincipaldi-

rections,obtainedin four testsin which03 waskeptconstant(100 MPa) butthe intermediate principalstress
variedasfollows'(a) (•2= 100MPa, (b) 02 = 300 MPa, (c) 02 = 440 MPa, and(d) 02 = 600 MPa.

1200

c• = 100 MPa c• = 200 MPa c• = 300 MPa c• = 440 MPa c• = 600 MPa
2 2 2 2 2
1000

'•'
0..
800 700MPa/ (72%)..,
/ (78%).,,•/

i:)• 600
i

400
/ a/ ..
200

(a) AV/V

1200 c•2=
150MPa 0'2=
250MPa o'2=
350MPa o'2=
450MPa o'2=
500MPa
1000
795 MPa o
(70%). (74)'o)
800 620MPa
], 630MPa/ '•/ if/
(60%)

600
260MPa /
400 (26%
ofpeak/ / . .

/
o

(b) AV/V

Figure 12. Maximumdifferentialstress((•] - 03) variationwith volumetricstrainAV/V, andthe onsetof dila-

tancy(seearrows),for different02andconstant 03magnitudes: (a) 03 = 100MPa and(b) 03=150 MPa.
 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE 19,009

were cut alongone of two planes,orthogonalto o2 direction subparallel to o• directionon bothsidesof the fractureis ex-
(profiles),or orthogonal
to o• direction(crosssections).They hibitedin Figure 14. The steeplydippingfault also reflects
weregroundflat and polisheddownto 0.05 pm. The surface some shear displacementinferred from the visible gouge
wasthensputtercoatedwith a 0.06-pm-thickcarbonlayer. within its openingandthe offsetnotedin an amphibolegrain.
Figures13-15 are SEM micrographs of sectionsof speci- The grain appearsto have beenshearedby the fault (two ar-
menprofiles,with Ol actingverticallyando3 laterally.Under rows indicatethe offset).
true triaxial stress conditions, microcracksdevelop along Closeobservationof microscalesegmentsof the main fault
planesthat are subparallelto on, steeplydippingin the o3 revealsthat it doesnot necessarilyextendalonga singleplane
direction,as suggested
by Figure13. However,the pathalong as is often assumed.Two examplesare shownin Figure 15.
which cracksgrow is affectedby textureandstructure.In one In onecase(Figure15a),the faultexhibitsan en echelonarray
example(Figure 13a), stress-inducedmicrocrackssubparallel of threesegments, eachof whichextendswithinthe darkgray
to o• and extendingthrougha zone of amphibolegrainster- plagioclaseandis terminated andoffsetby the lightgrayam-
minate at or are offset by a preexistingtransversefissure. phibolegrains. In the othercase(Figure15b),two segments
Figure 13b depictsmicrocracksextendingthroughcleavage of themainfaultthatareparallelto eachotherbut notaligned
planesin amphibole(light gray) and biotite (dark gray). De- are linkedalonga biotite{001} cleavage.The fault aperture
spiteits high angleorientationwith respectto the ondirection, is not consistentand is widestin the upperright and the bot-
cleavageguidesmicrocrackdevelopment,resultingin a step- tom left cornerof the micrograph,where it passesthrough
like discontinuity. grainboundaries betweenamphibole andplagioclase.
The main fractureor fault upon compressivefailure (Fig- Generally,micromechanical featuresdescribedaboveare
ure 7) appearsto haveformedfrom the coalescence of local- not significantly
differentfrom thoseobservedin rockssub-
ized microcracks. A multitude of stress-induced microcracks jectedto conventional
triaxialstresses
[e.g.,Tapponnier
and

(a) (b)

Figure 13. Two SEM micrographs showingthe effectof structureon microcrackpropagation: (a) a preexist-
ing transversefissureblocksor offsetsstress-induced
microcracks that are subparallelto o• and (b) stress-
inducedmicrocrackextendsin a step-likemannerdueto cleavages in amphibole(light gray)andbiotite(dark
gray)grains.
19,010 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

the fracturestrike,althoughsomeare still randomlyoriented.

Thusa reducedblockystructureis created,renderingthe main
fracture considerablynarrower. Microcracksbecomemore
andmorealignedwith the directionof o2 asthe magnitudeof
the latter increases,and fragmentationall but disappears.As
shownin Figures 16c and 16d, at o2 levels of 200 and 300
MPa the main fractureis clear of brokenrock, resultingin a
much narrower aperturethan those in either Figure 16a or
16b. In addition,all four micrographsin Figure 16 provide
further evidence that all visible microcracks are localized in
the proximityof the main fault (within < 200 gm).

9. Summary and Conclusions

We conducted an extensiveseriesof truetriaxialcompres-
sive tests in KTB amphiboliteusing a newly designed
polyaxialloadingsystemthat enablesthe applicationof three
unequalprincipal stressesto a 19x19x38 mm prismatic
specimen.The loadingconfiguration is especiallysuitedfor
testingbrittle failure of hard crystallinerockssubjected to
leastprincipalstresses o3of up to 400 MPa.
Our measurements resultedin individualstrengthcriteria
for eachof five levelsof o3 tested(0, 30, 60, 100, and 150
MPa) for which the intermediateprincipalstresses o2 was
varied betweeno2 = o3 and o2 > 4.5 o3. In all casesthe trend
in the peak principalstresso• at failurewas to increasewith
the magnitudeof o2. At veryhigh(o2- o3) stressdifferential,
o• at failureappeared to reacha plateau,suggesting
an upper
limit for the magnitudeof truetriaxialstrength.
All true triaxialstrengthtestresultsfit remarkably
well a

'•......
:':::::•:
":?C'.:: !i =====================
.................
•':I':;;z•
... ..-
•' =250
?... .. MPa
. o• = 888 MPa
shearstressXoct
monotonicallyrising function in the domain of octahedral
versusmeannormalstressC5m.2
on planes
strikingin the o2 direction.In thecaseof the KTB amphibo-
Figure 14. Sectionof the throughgoing
mainfractureor fault lite the best fitting
086
curve is a power functiongiven by
in a failedsamplecutsacrossamphibole (lightgray)andpla- '[oct'- 1.77 c5,,,.2 .
gioclase(dark gray) grainsand dips steeplyin o3 direction. Mohr-basedfailure criteria,which are all but universally
Shown also is a multitude of stress-induced microcracks usedat present,ignorethe effectof the intermediate principal
localizedon both sidesof the fracture. White arrowswithin stressand are typically obtainedfrom conventionaltriaxial
the fault indicatesheardisplacement manifestedby a split testsfor which c•2= %. Our true triaxial testsare clear affir-
amphibolegrain. mationsthat thesecriteria are only conservativeestimatesof
rock strength,sincethey yield the loweststrengthvalue for
anygivenleastprincipalstress.
Brace, 1976;Kranz, 1979; Wong,1982]. The uniqueness
of In general,our resultssupportBrudy et al.'s [1997] hy-
the micromechanics of true triaxial failure becomes more pothesisthat a correctevaluationof the crustalstressin the
evidentfromexaminations of crosssectionscutalongthe c•2- KTB amphibolitefrom the limit equilibriumbetweenstress
% plane(Figure16). In Figure16, c•2directionis lateral,and condition and rock resistance to failure at borehole-breakout
c•3directionis vertical. The micrographs shownarefrom four intersection requiresthe use of a true triaxial strengthcrite-
failedspecimens thatweretestedunderconstant c•3(30 MPa) rion.
and different c•2magnitudes. An immediateobservationis Upon failure, a steeplydippingmajor fault was created,
that the strikeof the main fractureis subparallelto c•2direc- which steepenedfurtheras the intermediateprincipalstress
tion, as inferredfrom the stress-strain
curves(Figure11). In was raised(for the sameleaststress).This phenomenon pro-
particular,we notethat the apertureof the mainfracturenar- videsadditionalevidenceof the intermediateprincipalstress
rows as the level of c•2magnitudeincreases.A closerlook at strengthening effecton the KTB amphibolite.
the localizedmicrocracks adjacentto the fractureprovidesa The intermediateprincipalstresshasa strongeffect on the
plausibleexplanationof this phenomenon. In the conven- deformabilityof the KTB amphibolite.This is bestexpressed
tionaltriaxialtest(Figure16a),microcrackprojections in the in termsof the onsetof dilatancy,which for the same%, in-
planeshownare randomlyorientedsincethe intermediate and creasessignificantlywith the magnitudeof c•2. Thus the in-
leastprincipalstressesare equal. Thusthey createa blocky termediateprincipalstressappearsto extendthe elasticrange
structureof irregularfragmentsof rock within the localized of the stress-strainbehaviorfor a given c•3,which impliesa
zone. As the major fracturedevelopsthe irregularblocks retardationof the onsetof the failureprocess.
collapseand widen the opening. At c•2= 60 MPa (Figure We recordedthe variationof the majorprincipalstresswith
16b)a substantialnumberof microcracks is now alignedwith eachof the principalstrainsand foundthat the only relation-
 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE 19,011

(a)

Figure 15. Two examplesof the tortuouspathtakenby the main fracture:(a) en echelonarrangement caused
by amphibolegrains(light gray) offsettingfracturetip and (b) a biotitegrain (centerof micrograph)links
alongits cleavagetwo parallelbut not alignedsegmentsof the main fracture.
19,012 CHANG AND HAIMSON: TRUE TRIAXIAL MECHANICS OF AMPHIBOLITE

30MPa
60MPa
479 MPa
..... .•:•

(b)

(c) (d)

Figure 16. SEM micrographsof crosssectionsof four specimens testedunderthe sameo• but differento2
magnitudes.The mainfracturein all casesis subparallel to o2. Fracturewidthis considerablywiderin Fig-
ures 16a and 16b wherethe stressdifference(o2 - %) is small,but narrowsconsiderablyin Figures16c and
16d wherethe samestressdifferenceis muchlarger. Localizedmicrocracks alignthemselvesgraduallywith
o2 direction as the stressdifference increases.

shipthat is clearlynonlinearis that between(Ji and s3,infer- the KTB core. Commentsmade and improvementssuggestedby
ring acceleratedextensionin the 03 directionas o• rises. This Teng-fongWong and an anonymousreviewergreatlyenhancedthe
qualityof the paper.
behaviorsuggeststhat the great majority of inducedand re-
opened microcracks,leading to eventual brittle failure, is
alignedwith the o• - o2 plane.
Micromechanicalbehavior upon brittle failure under true References
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