3 Stress

Stress is a concept which is fundamental to rock mechanics principles and

applications. For those encountering stress for the first time, it is not a
straightforward concept to grasp-unless explained very clearly. For this
reason, and at this stage in the book, we have adopted a key point approach
to explaining the concept of stress. This is a direct precursor to Chapter 4
on in situ stress and provides a link with strain in Chapter 5. Further
explanation of stress is given in Appendix A.

3.1 Why study stress in rock mechanics and

rock engineering?
There are three basic reasons for an engmeer to understand stress in the
context of rock mechanics. These are:
1. There is a pre-existing stress state in the ground and we need to
understand it, both directly and as the stress state applies to analysis and
design. This has been discussed in Chapter 2 in the context of the
geological setting. It is emphasized again here that there can be
circumstances when, during the engineering, no new loading is
applied, e.g. when driving an unsupported tunnel in rock. In this latter
case, the pre-existing stresses are redistributed-which leads us to the
next reason.
2. When engineering occurs, the stress state can be changed dramatically.
This is because rock, which previously contained stresses, has been
removed and the loads have to be taken up elsewhere. In line with this
fact, it is also noted in Section 3.9 that all unsupported excavation
surfaces are principal stress planes, a concept we will explain. Further-
more, most engineering criteria are related to either the deformability
or the strength of the rock or rock mass and the analysis of these subjects
involves stresses. For example, almost all failure criteria are expressed
as a function of certain stress quantities.
3. Stress is not familiar: it is a tensor quantity and tensors are not
encountered in everyday life. The second-order tensor which we will be
discussing has, for example:
32 Stress

-nine components of which six are independent;

-values which are point properties;
-values which depend on orientation relative to a set of reference axes;
-six of the nine components becoming zero at a particular orientation;
-three principal components; and finally
-complex data reduction requirements because two or more tensors
cannot, in general, be averaged by averaging the respective principal
stresses.
All this makes stress difficult to comprehend without a very clear grasp of
the fundamentals.

3.2 The difference between a scalar, a vector

and a tensor
As alluded to above, there is a fundamental difference between a tensor
and the more familiar quantities of scalars and vectors. We will explain this
first conceptually before the mathematical treatment.
A scalar is a quantity with magnitude only. Examples of scalars are
temperature, time, mass and pure colour-they are described completely
by one value, e.g. degrees, seconds, kilograms and frequency.
A vector is a quantity with magnitude and direction. Examples of vectors
are force, velocity, acceleration and the frequency of fractures encountered
along a line in a rock mass-they are described completely by three values,
for example, x, y, z components which together specify both direction and
magnitude.
A tensor is a quantity with magnitude, direction and the plane under
consideration. Examples of tensors are stress, strain, permeability and
moment of inertia-they are described completely by six values, as
explained in Section 3.7.
It cannot be over-emphasized that a tensor quantity is not the same as
a scalar or vector quantity. This applies both in a conceptual sense and in
the mathematical sense. The reason why we emphasize this so much is that
both mathematical and engineering mistakes are easily made if this crucial
difference is not recognized and understood.

3.3 Normal stress components and shear

stress components
On a real or imaginary plane through a material, there can be normal forces
and shear forces. These are illustrated directly in Fig. 3.l(a). The reader
should be absolutely clear about the existence of the shear force because it
is this force, in combination with the normal force, that creates the stress
tensor. Furthermore, it should be remembered that a solid can sustain such
a shear force, whereas a liquid or gas cannot. A liquid or gas contains a
pressure, i.e. a force per unit area, which acts equally in all directions and
hence is a scalar quantity.
The normal and shear stress components are the normal and shear forces
per unit area as shown in Fig. 3.l(b). We have used the notation F , and F,
for the forces, and cr and z for the corresponding stresses. However, many
 Stress as a point property 33

Figure 3.1 (a) Normal forces and shear forces. (b) Normal stresses and shear
stresses.

different notations are in use and we encourage the reader not to be

disturbed by such differences but to establish which notation is being used
and then use it. There is no best notation for all purposes: some types of
notation have advantages in specific applications.
We are now in a position to obtain an initial idea of the crucial difference
between forces and stresses. As shown in Fig. 3.2(a), when the force
component, F,, is found in a direction 8 from F, the value is F cos 8.
However, and as shown in Fig. 3.2(b), when the component of the normal
stress is found in the same direction, the value is crcos28.
The reason for this is that it is only the force that is resolved in the first
case, whereas, it is both the force and the area that are resolved in the
second case-as shown in Fig. 3.2(b).This is the key to understanding stress
components and the various transformation equations that result. In fact,
the strict definition of a second-order tensor is a quantity that obeys certain
transformation laws as the planes in question are rotated. This is why our
conceptual explanation of the tensor utilized the idea of the magnitude,
direction and the plane in question.

3.4 Stress as a point property

We now consider the stress componentson a surface at an arbitrary orienta-
tion through a body loaded by external forces. In Fig. 3.3(a) a generalized

A, =A/cose

(a) F,= FsinO

Figure 3.2 (a) Resolution of a normal force. (b) Resolution of a normal stress
component.
34 Stress

\FI

AN

(a) (b)
Figure 3.3 (a) Arbitrary loading of any rock shape. @) The normal force, m,and
the shear force, AS, acting on a small area, AA, anywhere on the surface of an
arbitrary cut through the loaded rock

diagram of a body is shown, in this context a piece of intact rock loaded

by the forces F1, Fa, ..., F,. This is a generic illustration of any rock loaded
in any static way. Consider now, as shown in Fig. 3.3(b), the forces that are
required to act in order to maintain equilibrium on a small area of a surface
created by cutting through the rock. On any small area AA, equilibrium can
be maintained by the normal force AN and the shear force AS. Because
these forces will vary according to the orientation of AA within the slice, it
is most useful to consider the normal stress (AN/AA) and the shear stress
(AS/AA) as the area AA becomes very small, eventually approaching zero.
In this way, we develop the normal stress CT and the shear stress z as
properties at a point within the body.
The normal stress and shear stress can now be formally defined as:
AN
normal stress, 0,= lim
AA
~

M+O

AS
shear stress, z = lim -.
M+O &4

There are obvious practical limitations in reducing the size of the small area
to zero, but it is important to realize that formally the stress components
are defined in this way as mathematical quantities, with the result that
stress is a point property.

3.5 The stress components on a small cube

within the rock
It is more convenient to consider the normal and shear components
with reference to a given set of axes, usually a rectangular Cartesian x-y-z
system. In this case, the body can be considered to be cut at three
orientations corresponding to the visible faces of the cube shown in Fig.
3.4.To determine all the stress components, we consider the normal and
shear stresses on the three planes of this infinitesimal cube.
The normal stresses, as defined in Section 3.4, are directly evident as
 The stress components on a small cube within the rock 35

--
Direct stress Acting on a
\ uxx plane normal

< t o the x-axis

1 UYY
/
Shear stress
\
Acting on a
/' plane normal
k7
to the x-axis

Figure 3.4 The normal and shear stress components on an infinitesimalcube in the
rock aligned with the Cartesian axes.

shown in Fig. 3.4; however, the case of the shear stresses is not so direct,
because the resulting shear stress on any face will not generally be aligned
with these axes. To overcome this problem on any face, the shear force in
Fig. 3.3(b) is resolved into two perpendicular components which are
aligned with the two axes parallel to the edges of the face. Two components
of shear stress are then defined on each of the planes in Fig. 3.4, as the
diagrams shown in Fig. 3.5 demonstrate. Thus, we arrive at nine stress
components comprised of three normal components and six shear
components.
It should be noted that this discussion has been related only to the
development and definition of the nine stress components. So far, we have
not discussed how these components are affected by rotation of the cube
relative to the reference axes: we are only defining them. The next step,
therefore, is to list the components in a logical way. We have adopted the
convention that the first subscript refers to the plane on which the com-
ponent acts, and the plane is defined by the reference axis perpendicular
to it, e.g. zzyacts on a plane perpendicular to the z-axis. The second subscript
denotes the direction in which the stress component acts, e.g. zzyacts in the
y-direction.
Hence, it is convenient to collate the stress components in a matrix with
the rows representing the components on any plane, and the columns
representing the components acting in any given direction. This is
illustrated as:

There are many conventions in use for designation of the matrix

components.
As an example, the component zXyin the middle of the top row could be
designated as oxy,072, S, Pxy(or indeed any expression, say Rob.The most
important aspect of the notation is that the reader should recognize which
notation is being used and not be over-concerned about differences of
nomenclature.
36 Stress

Figure 3.5 Illustration of the development of two shear stresses on each face of an
infinitesimal cube.

3.6 The symmetry of the stress matrix

From the text so far, we know that there are nine separate stress
components at a point. We also assume that the body is in equilibrium and
therefore there should be an equilibrium of forces and moments at all
points throughout the body. Thus, after listing the nine components in the
matrix above, we should inspect the equilibriumof forces at a point in terms
of these stress components.
In Fig. 3.6, we show the four stress components acting on the edges of
a small square (which is a cross-section through a cube of edge length AI)
at any given location and in any plane of given orientation in the body,
We now define a local Cartesian system of axes, perpendicular and parallel
to the edges of the square. Clearly, the forces associated with the normal
stress components, CY,, and ow,are in equilibrium; however, for there to
be a resultant moment of zero, then the two shear stress components have
to be equal in magnitude. This is demonstrated by taking moments about
the centre of the square:

(A1/2) X (AZ)zXy - (AU2) x (AZ)2zyx = 0.

Thus, by considering moment equilibrium around the x, y and z axes, we

find that
-
%y - zy, zyz = zzy, ,z, = zzx.

A1

-mXX

XY
I
- TYX

tuyy
Figure 3.6 Consideration of the rotational equiIibrium about the z-axis of a small
cubic element at any position in a body.
 The state OF stress at a point has six independent camponents 37

If we consider the stress matrix again, we find that it is symmetrical about

the leading diagonal, i.e. the diagonal from top left to bottom right. The
matrix below shows this symmetry after the equality of the respective shear
components has been taken into account:

It should be noted that we have considered only the stress components

that exist at a point, their equilibrium, and the method of listing them in
the matrix. We have not yet considered how the actual values of these
components would change as the reference cube is rotated. We emphasize
this because the discussion here is completely general and applies to the
stress state at any point anywhere in any rock mass, or for that matter, in
any material that can sustain shear stresses.

3.7 The state of stress at a point has s i x

independent components
From our final listing of the stress components in the matrix at the end of
Section 3.6, it is clear that the state of stress at a point is defined completely
by six independent components. These are the three normal stress
components and three shear stress components, i.e. o,,, oyy,ozz,qy,
:vz and qZ.
The fact that the state of stress is completely specified by six independent
components is important and has direct ramifications for the stress
measurement methods discussed in Chapter 4.Note that a scalar quantity
can be completely specified by one value, and that a vector quantity can
be completely specified by three values. However, the stress state at a point,
which is a tensor quantity, requires six values.
Furthermore, it should be noted that stress is not the same as pressure.
The word 'pressure' should be reserved for a specific stress state in which
there are no shear components and all the normal components are equal-
as exists in a static fluid, which can sustain no shear stress. Pressure is a
scalar quantity because it can be completely specified by one value; the
stress state, on the other hand, requires six independent components.
The stress state can be specified with reference to a given set of x-, y- and
z-axes via the components we have expfained, or via the magnitudes and
directions of the principal stresses which are explained in Section 3.8.
Whatever method is used to specify the stress state, there must be six
independent pieces of information.

3.8 The principal stresses

The stress components in the stress matrix are the three normal stresses and
the three shear stresses. The actual values of these components in a given
38 Stress
body subjected to given loading will depend on the orientation of the cube
in the body itself. We should consider, therefore, the directions in which
the normal stress components take on maximum and minimum values. It
is found that in these directions the shear components on all the faces of
the cube become zero.
The principal stresses are defined as those normal components of stress
that act on planes that have shear stress components with zero magnitude.
It is convenient to specify the stress state using these principal stresses
because they provide direct information on the maximum and minimum
values of the normal stress components-but the orientation of these
stresses must also be specified (remembering that six independent values
are required to specify a stress state).
The values q,o2and o3in the matrix in Fig. 3.7 are the principal stresses.
The Arabic subscript notation is used in this book, but it should be noted
that other notations can be used, e.g. oI,oIIand oIIr. In our notation, we
make the convention that q > o2> 03.
The dramatic significance of this principal stress concept for rock
engineering is explained in Section 3.9.

3.9 All unsupported excavation surfaces are

principal stress planes
Not only are the principal stresses and their directions of fundamental
significance in stress analysis, the concept of a principal stress also has
particular significance for rock engineering. This is because all unsupported
excavationsuvfaces, whether at the ground surface or underground, have no

Figure 3.7 The stress components on the reference cube and the principal stress
components.
 All unsupported excavation surfaces are principal stress planes 39
shear stresses acting on them and are therefore principal stress planes. This
results from Newton's Third Law ('to every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction'). Furthermore, and also from Newton's Third Law, the
normal stress component acting on such surfaces is zero. Thus, we
know at the outset that the stress state at all unsupported excavation
surfaces will be

or in principal stress notation

expressed, respectively, relative to an x-, y-, z-axes system with x

perpendicular to the face, and the principal stresses acting as shown in
Fig. 3.8.
In Fig. 3.8(a), the pre-existing stress state is shown in terms of the prin-
cipal stresses. In Fig. 3.8(b) the stress state has been affected by excavation:
both the magnitudes and directions of the principal stresses have
changed. Neglecting atmosphericpressure, all stress components acting on
the air-rock interface must be zero.
It should also be noted that the air-rock interface could be the surface
of an open fracture in the rock mass itself. Thus, as we will discuss further
in Chapters 4,7 and 14, the rock mass structure can have a significant effect
on the local stress distribution.

on = Txl = 0
TXy
excavation surface

(a) (b)

Figure 3.8 (a) Before excavation. (b)After excavation.

40 Stress

3.10 Concluding remarks

We emphasize again that stress is a tensor with six independent
components. When a force, F, is resolved through an angle 8,the resulting
components are F cos 8 and F sin 8. However, when a stress component,
0,contributes to the normal and shear stresses on a plane inclined at an
angle 8 to the direction in which the stress component acts, the resulting
components are CT cos 8 and o sin 8.It is crucial to note, as we showed in
Fig. 3.7, that by suitably orientating the reference cube it is possible to
eliminate all shear stresses. Conversely, it is not possible to determine an
orientation for the complementary circumstance where all the normal
stresses reduce to zero. An elegant method of directly indicating this result,
that the normal stresses cannot be reduced to zero, is that the first stress
invariant (a property of the second-order tensor),

a,, + oyy+ o,, = q + 02 + 03 = a constant,

cannot be made equal to zero whatever the orientation of the cube-

because it is a constant. The exception is when the constant is zero, i.e. a
state of pure shear, for example, with normal stresses of 3, -1 and -2 MPa,
so that the first stress invariant is 3 - 1- 2 = 0.
The material that has been presented in this chapter, and that which
follows in Chapter 4, is sufficient for a basic understanding of the nature
of the state of stress. However, an Appendix on stress analysis has been
included. The way in which the stress is taken into account in rock
mechanics and rock engineering is described in succeeding chapters.