Comparison of Single and Multiple Failure Triaxial Tests Available to Purchase

Representative specimens for rock testing are extremely difficult to obtain. Especially for inhomogeneous and anisotropic rock masses, samples with comparable properties are often limited. With multiple failure tests, the progressive stress history of a single sample can be monitored, instead of using different samples at each stress state and combining the results to estimate the progressive stress behavior of the intact rock. To verify the correctness of multiple failure state tests, a test series on artificial samples was performed. For the execution of the multiple failure state tests, the control mode and the applied stress path was adapted. The results of the multiple failure state testing procedure correlate nearly perfectly with the standard single failure results.