Stress paths and mechanical behavior of a sandstone in hollow cylinder tests

A series of hollow cylindrical triaxial tests was performed to investigate the potential effect of stress paths on the mechanical behavior of the Pei-Tou sandstone. The tests were carried out with a computer-controlled loading system. The axial loading, outer and inner confining pressures, and torque applied to the specimen were controlled according to a preselected stress path. The stress path moved from the hydrostatic stress axis in principal-stress space and elongated on an octahedral plane, while maintaining a constant angle theta against the projection of the major principal stress axis on the octahedral plane. The proposed hollow cylinder test is shown to be able to follow any designed stress paths in the principal stress space. Thus, it may be used to investigate the effect of stress paths on the mechanical behavior of rock and to construct its failure surface. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.