The pdf file of this paper is in English.
Commonly used methods of measuring rock stress, including hydraulic and borehole relief methods, are difficult to apply in deep soft rock masses. This study proposes a new method to measure stress in soft rock by taking advantage of the strong rheological behavior of soft rock masses. It is assumed the rock stresses can be gradually measured over time by embedding pressure transducers into soft rock masses. In order to explore the relationship between the recovery stress of transducer and the virgin stress of rock masses, analytical solutions in plane and numerical simulations are analyzed for the transducer buried in viscoelastic rock masses respectively. Then, the newly developed method as well as overcoring method are carried out in the same borehole at deep soft roadways of Pingdingshan No.1 and No.15 coal mines in Henan Province, China. The testing results show the measured stress of rock masses for the two method are in the same order, which indicates the newly developed method is applicable for deep soft rock stress measurement.
