Rock Mech. Rock Engng.

(2001) 34 (4), 293321

Rock Mechanics
and Rock Engineering
: Springer-Verlag 2001
Printed in Austria
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks
by the Ring Test
By
C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Summary
This paper presents a new approach, combined with the Boundary Element Method (BEM)
analysis and the diametrical compression on a thin disc with a small central hole, referred to
as the ring test, for determining the indirect tensile strength of anisotropic rocks. The stress
distribution around the hole can be successfully obtained by the proposed single-domain
BEM. The complex variable function method was used for conveniently computing the
tractions and displacements of a two-dimensional anisotropic body. If we assume that the
tensile strength is given by the maximum absolute value of stress in the direction perpen-
dicular to the loaded diameter at the intersection of loaded diameter and the hole, then from
the failure load recorded by laboratory testing of ring (disc), the indirect tensile strength of
rocks could be obtained. A marble from Hualien (Taiwan) with clearly black-white folia-
tion, which was assumed to be transversely isotropic, was selected to conduct both ring tests
and Brazilian tests for evaluating the tensile strength. The variation of the marble tensile
strength with the inclination angle of foliation and with the hole size was also investigated.
In general, the tensile strength of anisotropic rocks determined by ring test is not a constant,
but depends on the elastic properties of rocks, the angle between the planes of rock aniso-
tropy and the loading direction, the diameter of the central hole, and the contact condition
of loading.
1. Introduction
Because rocks are much weaker in tension than in compression or shear, tensile
failure also plays an important role in some engineering activities, e.g. drilling,
cutting and blasting of rocks, hydraulic fracturing of a borehole or a tunnel, ex-
ploitation of rock slopes, and excavation of horizontally bedded roof strata
(Goodman, 1989). However, for engineering practice, the tensile strength of rocks
is usually neglected. Especially in many numerical analyses of rock engineering,
the zero tensile strength is selected as an input parameter for convenient purposes.
In fact, the tensile behavior of dierent rock formations will vary considerably,
and neglecting such a parameter may overestimate the eciency of the formation.
Therefore, the tensile strength of rocks must be investigated in detail before de-
signing or constructing structures in such locations.
Laboratory techniques to measure the tensile strength of rocks include the di-
rect uniaxial tensile test and indirect tensile tests. The former seems to be an ap-
propriate method for determining tensile strength of rocks due to the uniform and
real tensile stress distribution on the failure plane. In the early stages, a dog-bone-
shaped specimen was suggested for use in minimizing the eects of griping ends
(Wuerker, 1955; Brace, 1963; Hoek, 1964), but it was dicult and expensive to
prepare this type of specimen. At least the preparation of this shaped specimen is
not suitable for all rocks, especially for laminated soft rocks. Hence, several grips
or methods of holding on the cylindrical specimen were developed to overcome
this diculty. Many investigators have designed various types of gripping xtures
and cement for direct uniaxial tensile tests, such as Obert et al. (1946), Fairhurst
(1961), Grosvenor (1961), Yu (1963), Hawkes and Mellor (1970). These methods
have the disadvantage that bending stresses and torsion moment are present,
which are due in part to the eccentricity of the machine axial load, and in part to
the twisted characteristic of the straining cable. In addition, because of the im-
proper connection between the ends of a rock specimen and the machine caps,
serving to transfer the tensile load to the specimen, there will be a tendency to
produce anomalous concentrated stresses (Barla and Go, 1974). In more recent
years, Nova and Zaninetti (1990) and Liao et al. (1997) focused on the uniaxial
tensile test with a special care to specimen attachment and with a new gripping
system to avoid the aforementioned shortcomings. The limitations of such testing
methods are that the strength of cement must be greater than the tensile strength
of rocks, and the complicated gripping xtures need to be specially prepared.
Generally the uniaxial tensile test, which is theoretically the simplest and most
eective method for the determination of tensile strength, is in fact dicult to
carry out in practice for rock materials (Nova and Zaninetti, 1990). As a result, a
number of indirect methods have been developed for determining the tensile
strength of rocks, such as the Brazilian test, ring test, hoop test, bending test, and
hydraulic extension test, etc. Among them, the most commonly used test is the
diametrical compression of thin discs, frequently referred to as the Brazilian test.
This testing method has been used for several decades to estimate the tensile
strength of rocks. Furthermore, this method has also been suggested by the Inter-
national Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) as the standard test for determining
the tensile strength of rocks (Bieniawski and Hawkes, 1978).
The eect of anisotropy on the indirect tensile strength of rocks determined
by the Brazilian test was investigated by Berenbaum and Brodie (1959) on coal,
Evans (1961) on coal, Hobbs (1964) on siltstone, sandstone and mudstone,
McLamore and Gray (1967) on shale, and Barla and Innaurato (1973) on gneiss
and schist. In such studies, the tensile strength of anisotropic rocks was approx-
imated by an equation based on the theory of isotropic elasticity, despite the
anisotropic character of the rock. Chen et al. (1998) used the complex stress func-
tion method combined with the measurements of the Brazilian tests to successfully
determine the tensile strength of anisotropic rocks. However, the main shortcom-
ing of Brazilian test is that the stress state at the center of the testing disc is not a
purely tensile mode. For the case of an isotropic disc under diametrical loading,
the absolute value of the compressive stress at the center of disc is three times
294 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
larger than that of the tensile stress (Hondros, 1959). The bi-axial state of stress
indicates that the tensile strength obtained from the Brazilian test might be much
lower than the true tensile strength, this being due to the large compressive stress
acting perpendicularly to the maximum tensile stress (Wijk, 1978; Nova and
Zaninetti, 1990). In addition, the tensile strength of anisotropic rocks cannot be
obtained by Brazilian tests when the disc inclination angle, dened as the angle
between the plane of transverse isotropy and the horizontal plane, is in the 60

to
90

range (Chen et al., 1998). This is due to the shear failure along the laminations
as observed during the tests.
It has been shown that the diametrical compression on a thin disc with a small
central hole, called ring test, can overcome the shortcomings of Brazilian test and
has been proved as a satisfactory technique for determining the tensile strength of
many rocks (Hobbs, 1964; Price and Knill, 1966; Hudson, 1969; Hiramatsu and
Oka, 1970). The ring test has been used for many years and has several advan-
tages, such as convenient specimen preparation, simple loading xtures and mea-
surement system, failure starting away from the loading platen, and pure tensile
failure mode (Hobbs, 1964). From the previous studies of ring tests, the tensile
strength was calculated from the maximum tensile stress occurring at the inter-
sections of vertically loaded diameter and the hole.
By combining the Kirsch's solution with the known stress state of a solid disc,
Hobbs (1964) proposed an approximate solution for the stress distribution around
the central hole of a ring disc under diametrical line loading. A more exact solu-
tion for the maximum tensile stress was obtained by Hobbs (1965) using the Filon's
stress function and the Fourier expression of the boundary stress conditions. These
two articles of Hobbs have the limitation that the expression of stress distribution
is only valid for a very small diameter of the central hole and for an isotropic disc.
Jaeger and Hoskins (1966) used the complex variable method to express the max-
imum tensile stress in an isotropic ring disc by a uniform centripetal loading with
a small angle, referred to as a strip loading. Hiramatsu and Oka (1970) also ana-
lyzed the stresses in a ring disc using the Fourier series expansion under the as-
sumption of a perfect elastic body. It can be noted that the aforementioned theo-
retical investigations of ring tests to determine the maximum tensile stress are only
valid for isotropic rocks.
Barla and Innaurato (1973) used the Finite Element Method (FEM) to corre-
late the tensile stresses of an anisotropic ring disc under line loading with the ori-
entation of the axes of anisotropy. They assumed that the stress state within an
anisotropic schist ring was isotropic when the inclination angle was equal to 0

. In
addition, because they neglected the inuence of the shear modulus in planes
normal to the plane of transverse isotropy, the procedure for determining tensile
strength by FEM was in doubt.
In this study, the stress distribution of an anisotropic ring was analyzed by
combining the complex variable stress function with the boundary element method
(BEM). A computer program was developed to numerically calculate the maxi-
mum tensile stress around the hole of a ring under a line loading or a strip loading.
An anisotropic Hualian marble with three types of hole diameter was selected to
conduct the ring test for evaluating its tensile strength. The variation of the marble
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 295
tensile strength with the inclination angle and with the hole size was also inves-
tigated. In addition, to compare the results of ring tests, the Brazilian tests were
employed on the same rock, according to the procedure of Chen et al. (1998). Note
that throughout this paper, tensile stresses and tensile strains are taken as positive.
2. Boundary Element Method for Anisotropic Elasticity
2.1 Green's Functions for 2-D Anisotropic Elasticity
Consider a 2-D thin plate assuming that it has linearly elastic, homogeneous,
continuous, and transversely isotropic properties. As shown by Fig. 1, let x and y
be a global Cartesian coordinate system. A local coordinate system x
/
, y
/
is
attached to the plane of transverse isotropy with the x
/
-axis taken normal to the
plane and the y
/
-axis being contained within the plane. The inclination angle c is
dened as the angle between the plane of transverse isotropy and the x-axis. If we
assume that the plate is thin, has a plane of elastic symmetry parallel to its middle
plane, and is loaded by surface forces that vary negligibly across its thickness, then
a generalized plane stress formulation can be used (Lekhnitskii, 1963). The con-
stitutive relation of the body in the x-y plane is expressed as follows
e
x
e
y
g
xy
_

_
_

_
=
a
11
a
12
a
16
a
12
a
22
a
26
a
16
a
26
a
66
_
_
_
_

s
x
s
y
t
xy
_
_
_
_
_
_
(1)
where a
11
; a
12
; . . . ; a
66
are the compliance components calculated in the x-y coor-
dinate system. These compliance components depend on the elastic constants in
the x
/
, y
/
coordinate system and the angle c. Using coordinate transformation
rules, the compliance components in Eq. (1) are (Amadei, 1983)
a
11
=
sin
4
c
E
/

cos
4
c
E
sin
2
ccos
2
c
1
G
/

2n
/
E
/
_ _
a
12
=
1
E
/

1
E

1
G
/
_ _
sin
2
ccos
2
c
cos
4
c
E
/
n
/

sin
4
c
E
/
n
/
a
16
= 2
cos
2
c
E

sin
2
c
E
/
_ _

1
G
/

2n
/
E
/
_ _
(sin
2
c cos
2
c)
_ _
(sin ccos c)
a
22
=
cos
4
c
E
/

sin
4
c
E
sin
2
ccos
2
c
1
G
/

2n
/
E
/
_ _
a
26
= 2
sin
2
c
E

cos
2
c
E
/
_ _

1
G
/

2n
/
E
/
_ _
(sin
2
c cos
2
c)
_ _
(sin ccos c)
a
66
=
1
E
/

1
E

2n
/
E
/
_ _
4 sin
2
ccos
2
c
1
G
/
(sin
2
c cos
2
c)
2
;
(2)
where E and E
/
are the Young's moduli in the plane of transverse isotropy and in
a direction normal to it, respectively; n and n
/
are the Poisson's ratio characterizing
296 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
the lateral strain response in the plane of transverse isotropy to a stress acting
parallel and normal to it, respectively; G
/
is the shear modulus in plane normal to
the plane of transverse isotropy. The shear modulus G in the plane of transverse
isotropy is not independent and is equal to E=(2(1 n)).
If we neglect the body forces of this problem, the equilibrium equations are
satised identically by introducing Airy stress function F dened by
s
x
=
q
2
F
qy
2
; s
y
=
q
2
F
qx
2
; t
xy
=
q
2
F
qxqy
: (3)
The compatibility equation is given by
q
2
e
x
qy
2

q
2
e
y
qx
2
=
q
2
g
xy
qxqy
: (4)
Substituting Eq. (3) into (1) and then into (4) results in the following dierential
equation
a
22
q
4
F
qx
4
2a
26
q
4
F
qx
3
qy
(2a
12
a
66
)
q
4
F
qx
2
qy
2
2a
16
q
4
F
qxqy
3
a
11
q
4
F
qy
4
= 0: (5)
The general solution of this equation depends on the roots, m
i
(i = 1 to 4), of its
characteristic equation, e.g.:
a
11
m
4
2a
16
m
3
(2a
12
a
66
)m
2
2a
26
m a
22
= 0: (6)
Lekhnitskii (1963) has shown that the roots of Eq. (6) are always either complex or
purely imaginary, two of them being the conjugate of the two others. Let m
1
, m
2
be
those roots and m
1
; m
2
their respective conjugates. The roots m
1
and m
2
are also
assumed to be distinct. Substituting Eq. (2) into (6), it can be shown that for a
transversely isotropic plate and for a given inclination angle c, the roots depend
on E=E
/
, E=G
/
, and n
/
. As shown by Lekhnitskii, the rst derivatives of F with
respect to x and y can be expressed as
qF
qx
= 2 Re[f
1
(z
1
) f
2
(z
2
)[;
qF
qy
= 2 Re[m
1
f
1
(z
1
) m
2
f
2
(z
2
)[;
(7)
Fig. 1. Geometry of a 2-D anisotropic plate
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 297
where f
k
(z
k
) (k =1; 2) are analytic functions of the complex variables z
k
= xm
k
y
and Re denotes the real part of the complex expression in the brackets. Combining
Eqs. (3) and (7), we obtain the general expression for the stress components
s
x
= 2 Re[m
2
1
f
/
1
(z
1
) m
2
2
f
/
2
(z
2
)[
s
y
= 2 Re[f
/
1
(z
1
) f
/
2
(z
2
)[
t
xy
= 2 Re[m
1
f
/
1
(z
1
) m
2
f
/
2
(z
2
)[;
(8)
where f
/
k
(z
k
) are the rst derivatives of f
k
(z
k
) with respect to z
k
. Substituting Eq.
(8) into the constitutive relation and compatibility equation, the displacement
components in the x and y directions are (Sih et al., 1965)
u = 2 Re[P
11
f
1
(z
1
) P
12
f
2
(z
2
)[
v = 2 Re[P
21
f
1
(z
1
) P
22
f
2
(z
2
)[;
(9)
where
P
1j
= a
11
m
2
j
a
12
a
16
m
j
P
2j
= a
12
m
j

a
22
m
j
a
26
( j = 1; 2):
(10)
Considering the concentrated forces acting at the source point (x
0
; y
0
), the
analytic functions (f
k
) with the complex variables can be expressed as (Suo, 1990)
f
k
(z
k
) =
1
2p
[D
k1
f
1
ln(z
k
z
0
k
) D
k2
f
2
ln(z
k
z
0
k
)[; (11)
where z
0
k
= x
0
m
k
y
0
, f
k
are the magnitude of the point force in the k-direction,
and
D
kl
= U
1
(V
1
V
1
)
1
;
U =
P
11
P
12
P
21
P
22
_ _
; V = i UW
1
;
W =
m
1
m
2
1 1
_ _
;
(12)
where i =

1
_
, overbar means the complex conjugate, superscript 1 means
matrix inverse. Substituting Eq. (11) into Eqs. (8) and (9), the Green's tractions,
T
ij
, and displacements, U
ij
, (fundamental solutions of this problem) can be ex-
pressed as (Sollero and Aliabadi, 1993)
T
ij
(z
k
; z
0
k
) = 2 Re[Q
j1
(m
1
n
x
n
y
)A
i1
=(z
1
z
0
1
) Q
j2
(m
2
n
x
n
y
)A
i2
=(z
2
z
0
2
)[
(13)
and
U
ij
(z
k
; z
0
k
) = 2 Re[P
j1
A
i1
ln(z
1
z
0
1
) P
j2
A
i2
ln(z
2
z
0
2
)[; (i; j = 1; 2): (14)
298 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
In Eqs. (13) and (14), n
x
and n
y
are the outward normal components of the eld
points, and
Q
ij
= W =
m
1
m
2
1 1
_ _
: (15)
The complex coecients A
jk
are obtained from the requirements of unit loads at
z
0
k
and displacement continuity for the fundamental solution. They are solutions of
the following equation
1 1 1 1
m
1
m
1
m
2
m
2
P
11
P
11
P
12
P
12
P
21
P
21
P
22
P
22
_

_
_

_
A
j1
A
j1
A
j2
A
j2
_

_
_

_
=
d
j2
=(2pi)
d
j1
=(2pi)
0
0
_

_
_

_
; (16)
where d
jk
is the Kronecker's delta.
2.2 Boundary Integral Equation
For source points z
0
k
on the boundary G, the traditional boundary integral equa-
tion for linear anisotropic elasticity can be expressed as (Pan and Amadei, 1996)
C
ij
(z
0
k
)u
j
(z
0
k
)
_
G
T
ij
(z
k
; z
0
k
)u
j
(z
k
) dG(z
k
) =
_
G
U
ij
(z
k
; z
0
k
)t
j
(z
k
) dG(z
k
); (17)
where i; j; k = 1 to 2; T
ij
and U
ij
are the Green's tractions and displacements given
in Eqs. (13) and (14); u
j
and t
j
are the boundary displacements and tractions; C
ij
are quantities that depend on the geometry of the boundary and are equal to d
ij
=2
for a smooth boundary; and z
k
are the eld points on the boundary G of the do-
main. Discretization of Eq. (17) gives a linear system of algebraic equations, which
can be solved for the unknown displacements u
j
and tractions t
j
on the boundary.
The Cauchy singularity in Eq. (17) can be avoided by the rigid-body motion
method as described by Brebbia and Dominguez (1992).
When the source points are located on the domain, dened as z
0
+
k
, the dis-
placements at any internal point are obtained from the values of boundary dis-
placements u
j
and boundary tractions t
j
as
u
i
(z
0
+
k
) =
_
G
U
ij
(z
k
; z
0
+
k
)t
j
(z
k
) dG(z
k
)
_
G
T
ij
(z
k
; z
0
+
k
)u
j
(z
k
) dG(z
k
): (18)
The strain tensor can be evaluated from the displacement gradient u
i; l
by dier-
entiating Eq. (18) with respect to z
0
+
k
as
u
i; l
(z
0
+
k
) =
_
G
U
ij; l
(z
k
; z
0
+
k
)t
j
(z
k
) dG(z
k
)
_
G
T
ij; l
(z
k
; z
0
+
k
)u
j
(z
k
) dG(z
k
): (19)
The gradient tensors T
ij; l
and U
ij; l
denote dierentiation with respect to z
0
+
k
, which
can be expressed as
T
ij; l
(z
k
; z
0
+
k
) = 2 Re[R
l1
Q
j1
(m
1
n
x
n
y
)A
i1
=(z
1
z
0
+
1
)
2
R
l2
Q
j2
(m
2
n
x
n
y
)A
i2
=(z
2
z
0
+
2
)
2
[; (20)
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 299
and
U
ij; l
(z
k
; z
0
+
k
) = 2 Re[R
l1
P
j1
A
i1
=(z
1
z
0
+
1
) R
l2
P
j2
A
i2
=(z
2
z
0
+
2
)[; (i; j; l = 1; 2)
(21)
where
R
lk
=
1 1
m
1
m
2
_ _
: (22)
The internal stresses can be determined from Eq. (19) by using the strain-
displacement relationship and the constitutive equation.
3. Stress Distribution in a Ring Disc Under Diametrical Loading
Considering an anisotropic circular disc with a central hole (ring disc) subjected to
diametrical loading, this problem has more than one surface as shown in Fig. 2,
with external (G
1
) and internal (G
2
) boundaries. These two types of boundary can
be dierentiated by identifying the direction of the normal. It can be easily per-
formed in 2-D problems by adopting the rule that the numbering of nodes on the
external surface is done counterclockwise and the one on the internal surface is
carried out in the clockwise direction (see Fig. 2). From these rules the normal will
be well dened in the computer code.
If a unit traction was applied in an anisotropic ring, the stress components
within the ring determined by the proposed BEM were s
/
ij
(i; j = 1; 2). In this
problem, the loading angle 2a is assumed to be small, such that the applied dia-
metrical traction s
p
is equal to W=(aDt), where W is the load (force) applied on
the disc in the y direction (see Fig. 2). For linear elastic materials, it can be shown
that at any point (x; y) within the disc, the components of the stress eld are
s
/
ij
W=(aDt), which can be expanded as follows
s
x
= K
/
xx
W
pDt
; s
y
= K
/
yy
W
pDt
; t
xy
= K
/
xy
W
pDt
; (23)
Fig. 2. Diametrical compression of an anisotropic ring
300 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
where K
/
xx
; K
/
yy
; K
/
xy
are stress concentration factors that depend on the coordinates
(x; y) of the point of interest, the loading angle 2a, the inclination angle of the
plane of transverse isotropy c, and the independent elastic constants (E; E
/
; n
/
; G
/
).
The stress concentration factors are dened as
K
/
xx
= s
/
x
p
a
; K
/
yy
= s
/
y
p
a
; K
/
xy
= t
/
xy
p
a
; (24)
where s
/
x
; s
/
y
; t
/
xy
are the corresponding stress components when a unit traction
(s
p
= 1) is applied on the external boundary.
A computer program based on the BEM and the complex variable function
method was developed to determine the stresses at any arbitrary point in an aniso-
tropic ring under diametrical loading. In the following analysis, a ring with the
internal to external diameter ratio (r) assumed to be 0.222 is considered, and the
stress distribution around the circular hole is investigated for both isotropic and
anisotropic rocks. The variation of s
x
=s
p
and s
y
=s
p
with the angle y (see Fig. 2)
for the isotropic case is shown in Fig. 3. It can be found that the tensile stress
attains a maximum value and the compressive stress is equal to 0 when y = 90

.
Furthermore, when y = 0

or 180

, the maximum value of compressive stress

occurs and the tensile stress simultaneously vanishes. For this isotropic case, the
value of maximum tensile stress around the hole is independent of the elastic
constants of the material but only depends on the ratio of internal to external di-
ameter of the ring disc.
Fig. 3. Stress distribution around the circular hole for the isotropic ring (r = 0:222)
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 301
In order to assess the role played by anisotropy on the stress distribution, a ring
of Hualien marble with the properties of E=E
/
= 1:16, E=G
/
= 3:09, n = 0:267,
n
/
= 0:185 and r = 0:222, was selected and subjected to diametrical loading. Ad-
ditional data on this marble can be found in the following section. Figures 4(ac)
show the stress distribution around the circular hole for c = 0

, 45

, and 90

, re-
spectively. The trend of these gures seems to be similar to that of Fig. 3 for the
isotropic ring, but the values of maximum tensile and compressive stresses are
dierent. The maximum values of s
x
=s
p
and s
y
=s
p
for the marble and for the
isotropic ring with r = 0:222, 0.173, and 0.065 are listed in Table 1. The variation
of maximum s
x
=s
p
with dierent values of r and c is plotted in Fig. 5 for both
isotropic and anisotropic rings. This gure indicates that the maximum tensile
stress around the hole is not a constant for anisotropic media, but depends on
the inclination angle of transverse isotropic planes and the size of the central
hole.
From the investigation of stresses around the internal hole of the ring, the
maximum tensile stress occurs at point A, and the maximum compressive stress at
point B (as shown in Fig. 2). The value of tensile stress at point A can be shown to
be given by
s
x
= K
xx
W
pDt
; (25)
Fig. 4a. Stress distribution around the circular hole for the marble ring (c = 0

)
302 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
Fig. 4b. Stress distribution around the circular hole for the marble ring (c = 45

)
Fig. 4c. Stress distribution around the circular hole for the marble ring (c = 90

)
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 303
where K
xx
is the stress concentration factor determined at point A. Thus, if we
make the assumption that the indirect tensile strength (s
t
) of an anisotropic rock is
given by the maximum absolute value of the stress s
x
at point A, then
s
t
= K
xx
W
f
pDt
(26)
where W
f
is the applied load when the specimen fails; D and t are the external
diameter and thickness of the ring specimen.
Table 1. The maximum values of s
x
=s
p
and s
y
=s
p
for the marble and the isotropic case
r = 0:22 r = 0:173 r = 0:065 c
(degrees)
s
x
=s
p
(y = 90

)
s
y
=s
p
(y = 0

)
s
x
=s
p
(y = 90

)
s
y
=s
p
(y = 0

)
s
x
=s
p
(y = 90

)
s
y
=s
p
(y = 0

)
0 0.095 0.119 0.085 0.116 0.073 0.113
15 0.093 0.116 0.083 0.113 0.071 0.110
30 0.089 0.111 0.080 0.108 0.069 0.104
45 0.085 0.111 0.077 0.107 0.067 0.103
60 0.085 0.117 0.076 0.113 0.066 0.109
75 0.086 0.127 0.077 0.124 0.066 0.121
90 0.086 0.133 0.077 0.130 0.066 0.127
Isotropy 0.088 0.118 0.079 0.114 0.068 0.111
Fig. 5. Variation of maximum s
x
=s
p
with dierent values of r and c
304 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
From the above description, it is clear that the coecient K
xx
plays an impor-
tant role in determining the indirect tensile strength of rocks using ring tests.
In general, the value of K
xx
cannot be determined using simple mathematical
expressions since it is a complex function of E=E
/
, E=G
/
, n
/
, and the material in-
clination angle c. For the purpose of engineering practice, some convenient charts
are generated for determining the value of K
xx
once E; E
/
; G
/
; n
/
, and c are known.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 show the variation of K
xx
for dierent values of E=E
/
; E=G
/
,
and the angle c when n
/
= 0:1, 0.2, 0.3, respectively. Based on the measurement of
failure load W
f
when conducting the ring test, the tensile strength of rocks can be
easily determined by Eq. (26). Note that these charts are only valid for r = 0:222.
For dierent values of r, one can use the data given in the master thesis of Hsu
(2000).
Fig. 6. Variation of K
xx
for various values of E=E
/
; E=G
/
; c, and for n
/
= 0:1
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 305
4. Numerical Examples
In this section, three illustrative examples were selected to verify the proposed
BEM program. All examples have the geometry of a ring subjected to diametrical
loading with dierent diameter ratios, r. The internal and the external boundaries
are discretized with 30 and 40 quadratic elements, respectively. The stress con-
centration factors (K
xx
) for both isotropic and anisotropic rings will be determined
and compared with previously published results.
Example 1. Isotropic ring subjected to concentrated line loading
The maximum tensile stress around the small central hole when an isotropic ring is
subjected to concentrated line loading has been investigated by Hobbs (1964,
Fig. 6 (continued)
306 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
1965). By combining the Kirsch's solution with the known state of stress for a
solid disc, Hobbs (1964) proposed an approximate solution
s
t
= 12
W
pDt
; (27)
where W is the applied line loading; D and t are the external diameter and thick-
ness of the ring. For the same problem, Hobbs (1965) used the Filon's stress
function and the Fourier expression of the boundary stress conditions to express
the stress distribution of a ring. He considered the inuence of hole size and pre-
sented a more exact solution for the maximum tensile stress as follows
s
t
= (12 76r
2
)
W
pDt
; (28)
Fig. 7. Variation of K
xx
for various values of E=E
/
; E=G
/
; c, and for n
/
= 0:2
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 307
where r is the ratio of the internal to external diameter of the ring. The above two
equations can be used to determine the tensile strength of isotropic rocks when a
ring under line loading is loaded to failure. It is noted that the failure cracks must
take place at the intersection points of the loading diameter and the internal hole.
A comparison of the stress concentration factor (K
xx
) determined by the pro-
posed BEM solution and Eqs. (27) and (28) is shown in Table 2. It can be found
that the proposed numerical results are in good agreement with the approximate
solutions of Hobbs except for the large values of r. Note that the Hobbs's solution
(1965) is only valid for a small value of r, as the high order terms of the Fourier
expansion are neglected.
Example 2. Isotropic ring subjected to centripetal loading over an arc
Consider the problem of an isotropic ring subjected to centripetal loading over an
arc angle 2a. Jaeger and Hoskins (1966) used the complex variable function
Fig. 7 (continued)
308 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
methods to determine the stress distribution around the hole when a = 7:5

, where
a is the half-loading angle shown in Fig. 2. Hiramatsu and Oka (1970) also ana-
lyzed the same problem using the expansion Fourier series under the assumption
of a perfect elastic disc when a = 5

. Tables 3 and 4 show the results of K

xx
cal-
culated by Jaeger and Hoskins (1966), as well as Hiramatsu and Oka (1970), re-
spectively. It is noted that these results are in close agreement with those deter-
mined by the present BEM solution.
Example 3. Anisotropic ring subjected to concentrated line loading
Barla and Innaurato (1973) used the Finite Element Method (FEM) to correlate
the tensile stresses of an anisotropic ring disc under line loading with the orienta-
tion of the axes of anisotropy. Based on the experimental results corresponding to
Fig. 8. Variation of K
xx
for various values of E=E
/
; E=G
/
; c, and for n
/
= 0:3
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 309
Fig. 8 (continued)
Table 2. Stress concentration factors (K
xx
) for an isotropic ring under line loading
r = 0:1 r = 0:2 r = 0:3 r = 0:4
Eq. (27), Hobbs (1964) 12
Eq. (28), Hobbs (1965) 12.76 15.04 18.84 24.16
This study 12.67 15.07 19.52 27.06
Table 3. K
xx
for an isotropic ring under centripetal loading over an arc (a = 7:5

)
r = 0:1 r = 0:2 r = 0:3 r = 0:4
Jaeger and Hoskins (1966) 12.58 14.93 19.30 26.69
This study 12.55 14.89 19.25 26.66
310 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
failure load, the tensile strength of the rock tested can be calculated. Finally, a
parameter (called the stress concentration factor), derived from the calculated
tensile strength (s
t
), the diametrical load at failure (W
f
), and the size of the spec-
imen, was used to compare with the results of Hobbs (1964), Addinall and Hackett
(1964), and Hiramatsu and Oka (1970). Unfortunately, the parameters determined
by the FEM for the isotropic ring give a signicant dierence with respect to the
values given by other authors as shown in the Table 4 of Barla and Innaurato
(1973).
A serpentinous schist from Val Malenco (Italy) was used by Barla for con-
ducting the ring tests and to determine the tensile strength. The mechanical prop-
erties of the schist and the geometry of the ring are E=E
/
= 2:14, n=n
/
= 3:00,
r = 0:6, t = 1:1 cm. The stress concentration factors (K
xx
) determined by Barla's
method and the proposed BEM solution are listed in Table 5. Due to insu-
cient input data for running our BEM program, the assumption that G = G
/
,
i.e. E=G
/
= 2:68, was used in our analysis. From the comparison of Table 5,
a great dierence is found again for the anisotropic case. This is due to the
following:
(i) Barla's results gave a signicant dierence from other authors for both the
isotropic and anisotropic cases,
(ii) Barla assumed that the stress state within the anisotropic schist ring was iso-
tropic when loading the specimen at c = 0

, and
(iii) during the FEM analysis by Barla, the inuence of the shear modulus G
/
was
neglected and the procedure for determining the tensile strength by FEM as
presented by Barla and Innaurato (1973) was in doubt.
5. Experimental Investigation
A marble from Hualien (Taiwan) with clearly white-black foliation was selected to
conduct both Brazilian tests (diametrical compression on circular solid discs) and
ring tests (diametrical compression on circular discs with a central hole). Large
blocks of the marble were purchased from a Hualien stone company in eastern
Table 4. K
xx
for an isotropic ring under centripetal loading over an arc (a = 5

)
r = 0:1 r = 0:2 r = 0:3 r = 0:4
Hiramatsu and Oka (1970) 13.19 15.39 20.11 27.33
This study 12.65 15.03 19.46 26.93
Table 5. K
xx
for an anisotropic ring under line loading (r = 0:6)
c = 0

c = 15

c = 30

c = 45

c = 60

c = 75

c = 90

Barla and Innaurato (1973) 81.7 116.2 95.8 88.0 75.4 70.7 66.6
This study 81.4 74.5 72.3 66.1 58.5 52.8 50.7
*c is the inclination angle between the plane of transverse isotropy and the x-axis.
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 311
Taiwan. The marble is composed primarily of minerals of dolomite and calcite.
Figure 9, taken by the polarized microscope, illustrates a typical photomicrograph
of a thin cross section of Hualien marble showing ne rulings from deformational
intra-crystalline gliding (twinning) and preferred orientation. From the investiga-
tion of Hsiao (2000) by the X-Ray deection (XRD) and the polarized microscope
analysis, the preferred orientation (texture) of the calcite was almost parallel to the
apparent direction of marble foliation. Therefore, the marble was assumed to be
transversely isotropic with the plane of transverse isotropy taken parallel to the
apparent direction of rock symmetry.
The following material properties were obtained for the marble: dry unit weight
g = 16:59 KN/m
3
, water content o = 0:11%, uniaxial compressive strength
s
c
= 76:43 MPa for c = 0

, and s
c
= 22:93 MPa for c = 90

. The elastic con-

stants were determined by conducting Brazilian tests with 45

strain gage rosette

cemented on the center of each disc. Details of the procedure can be found in the
paper by Chen et al. (1998). Table 6 shows the ve elastic constants for Hualien
marble and the ratios E=E
/
and G=G
/
with E=E
/
= 1:16, this marble can be clas-
sied as a slightly anisotropic rock.
5.1 Experimental Procedure
Core samples with a diameter D = 7:4 cm were obtained from blocks of marble by
drilling in the direction parallel to apparent plane of rock isotropy. Disc specimens
Fig. 9. Photomicrograph of a thin section of the Hualien marble
Table 6. Elastic constants for Hualien marble
E (GPa) E
/
(GPa) n n
/
G
/
(GPa) E=E
/
G=G
/
78.30 67.68 0.267 0.185 25.34 1.16 1.23
312 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
with a thickness t of about 1.4 cm were prepared. The end faces of the discs were
at to within 0.01 mm and parallel to within 0.25

. Three drills with nominal

diameter 5/8
//
, 1/2
//
, 3/16
//
were used to drill a hole in the center of each disc,
obtaining the following diameters: 16.4 mm, 12.8 mm, and 4.8 mm, respectively.
As this procedure produced some small defects around the hole surface, the two
ends of each disc specimen needed to be re-polished by a grinding machine to a
thickness of about 1.0 to 1.3 cm. Then, three types of ring specimens with the in-
ternal to external diameter ratios r = 0:222, 0.173, and 0.065, referred to as types
RA, RB, and RC, respectively, were used to conduct the ring tests.
A total of 42 ring specimens were prepared with dierent values of c (c = 0

,
15

, 30

, 45

, 60

, 75

, 90

), and with three values of r. The specimen character-

istics are listed in Tables 7, 8, and 9 for discs RA, RB, and RC, respectively. Ring
Table 7. Results of ring tests on type RA marble (r = 0:222)
Sample D
i
(mm) t (mm) c (deg.) W
f
(KN) K
xx
W
f
=pDt
(MPa)
s
t
(MPa) s
t(average)
(MPa)
RA00-1 16.4 11.4 0 6.253 17.084 2.36 40.32
RA00-2 16.4 11.5 0 6.007 17.084 2.25 38.44
39.38
RA15-1 16.4 11.6 15 5.709 16.702 2.12 35.41
RA15-2 16.4 11.7 15 6.092 16.702 2.24 37.41
36.41
RA30-1 16.4 11.1 30 5.199 15.939 2.01 32.04
RA30-2 16.4 11.4 30 5.219 15.939 1.97 31.4
31.72
RA45-1 16.4 11.5 45 4.225 15.379 1.58 24.3
RA45-2 16.4 11.5 45 4.176 15.379 1.56 23.99
24.15
RA60-1 16.4 11.2 60 3.297 15.244 1.27 19.36
RA60-2 16.4 11.5 60 2.977 15.244 1.11 16.92
18.14
RA75-1 16.4 11.2 75 2.953 15.417 1.13 17.42
RA75-2 16.4 10.8 75 2.811 15.417 1.12 17.27
17.35
RA90-1 16.4 11.2 90 2.769 15.551 1.06 16.48
RA90-2 16.4 11.6 90 2.684 15.551 1.00 15.55
16.02
D
i
: internal diameter of ring specimen
Table 8. Results of ring tests on type RB marble (r = 0:173)
Sample D
i
(mm) t (mm) c (deg.) W
f
(KN) K
xx
W
f
=pDt
(MPa)
s
t
(MPa) s
t(average)
(MPa)
RB00-1 12.8 11.5 0 7.365 15.325 2.75 42.14
RB00-2 12.8 10.5 0 6.219 15.325 2.55 39.08
40.61
RB15-1 12.8 11.1 15 6.815 15.005 2.64 39.61
RB15-2 12.8 11.3 15 6.493 15.005 2.47 37.06
38.34
RB30-1 12.8 12.0 30 6.878 14.363 2.47 35.48
RB30-2 12.8 11.8 30 6.308 14.363 2.3 33.03
34.26
RB45-1 12.8 11.8 45 5.289 13.877 1.93 26.78
RB45-2 12.8 11.3 45 4.799 13.877 1.83 25.39
26.09
RB60-1 12.8 11.0 60 3.554 13.730 1.39 19.08
RB60-2 12.8 11.9 60 3.645 13.730 1.32 18.12
18.60
RB75-1 12.8 11.7 75 3.364 13.836 1.24 17.16
RB75-2 12.8 11.5 75 3.356 13.836 1.26 17.43
17.30
RB90-1 12.8 11.5 90 2.458 13.931 0.92 12.82
RB90-2 12.8 11.4 90 2.875 13.931 1.08 15.05
13.94
D
i
: internal diameter of ring specimen
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 313
specimens were taken to failure under a line load at a slow deformation rate of
1 mm/min by using a 1 MN MTS loading system. In general, failure would
occur within 5 minutes. The testing requires only the recording of the maximum
load, W
f
. Then, using Eq. (26), the indirect tensile strength of marble can be
obtained. Briey, the procedure used to determine the tensile strength by dia-
metrical compression of ring specimens is as follows:
1. Determine the elastic constants
2. Use the proposed BEM solution to calculate the stress concentration factor K
xx
3. Prepare the ring specimens with dierent values of the diameter ratio r
4. Conduct diametrical loading test of ring specimens with dierent inclination
angle c, and measure the failure loads W
f
5. Determine the tensile strength using Eq. (26).
5.2 Experimental Results
The indirect tensile strength of the Hualien marble was determined with the above
procedure when the material inclination angle c was varied from 0

to 90

with an
interval of 15

. It is noted that most of the ring specimens failed along the loaded
diameter, irrespective of the value for the inclination angle c. A few specimens
tested at a large value for the inclination angle, e.g. c = 60

and 75

, did not fail

along the loaded diameter but sheared along the plane of isotropy. These few
results were not considered for the calculation of the tensile strength. Three sets of
ring specimens (RA, RB, RC) after failure are shown in Fig. 10. It is interesting to
notice that for smaller value of r, the failure mode along the loaded diameter will
be more signicant.
With the specimen geometry and the elastic constants of the marble known, a
BEM analysis was conducted to determine the stress concentration factors K
xx
.
From the failure loads determined by laboratory testing of rings, the tensile
Table 9. Results of ring tests on type RC marble (r = 0:065)
Sample D
i
(mm) t (mm) c (deg.) W
f
(KN) K
xx
W
f
=pDt
(MPa)
s
t
(MPa) s
t(average)
(MPa)
RC00-1 4.8 12.1 0 10.98 13.090 3.90 51.05
RC00-2 4.8 11.5 0 11.02 13.090 4.12 53.93
52.49
RC15-1 4.8 11.7 15 10.57 12.853 3.89 50.00
RC15-2 4.8 11.6 15 10.09 12.853 3.74 48.07
49.04
RC30-1 4.8 11.2 30 8.77 12.369 3.37 41.68
RC30-2 4.8 11.5 30 8.20 12.369 3.07 37.97
39.83
RC45-1 4.8 11.6 45 6.69 11.981 2.48 29.71
RC45-2 4.8 11.7 45 7.86 11.981 2.89 34.63
32.17
RC60-1 4.8 12.0 60 5.61 11.821 2.01 23.76
RC60-2 4.8 11.5 60 4.76 11.821 1.78 21.04
22.40
RC75-1 4.8 11.7 75 4.75 11.840 1.75 20.72
RC75-2 4.8 11.6 75 3.81 11.840 1.41 16.69
18.71
RC90-1 4.8 11.4 90 4.07 11.882 1.54 18.30
RC90-2 4.8 12.1 90 3.69 11.882 1.31 15.57
16.94
D
i
: internal diameter of ring specimen
314 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
F
i
g
.
1
0
.
F
a
i
l
u
r
e
m
o
d
e
o
f
r
i
n
g
s
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 315
strength of marble could be obtained. The results for r = 0:222, 0.173, and 0.065
are shown in Tables 7, 8, and 9, respectively. It can be seen that for all values of r,
the tensile strength reaches a maximum value when c = 0

and decreases to a
minimum when c = 90

. In the following, we dene the anisotropy coecient of

tensile strength, A
t
, as the ratio of the maximum to minimum values of tensile
strength, A
t
= s
t(max)
=s
t(min)
. Then,
A
t
= 2:5; for type RA specimen (r = 0:222)
A
t
= 2:9; for type RB specimen (r = 0:173)
A
t
= 3:1; for type RC specimen (r = 0:065):
It is worth noting that an increase in A
t
is accompanied by a decrease in r, and the
value of A
t
ranges between 2.5 to 3.0 approximately. Also, an increase in the hole
diameter reduces the eect of rock anisotropy. Figure 11 shows the variation of
the tensile strength for the anisotropic marble for dierent values of r and c. The
result indicates that the tensile strength decreases with the increase in the hole di-
ameter and this behavior is more signicant for lower values of c.
In order to compare the tensile strength determined by dierent testing methods,
the diametrical compression of solid discs (Brazilian tests) was also carried out for
the same marble. Details of the methodology used to determine the tensile strength
of anisotropic rocks using the Brazilian test are given in a previous paper (1998).
In this study, a total of 14 Brazilian tests were conducted on solid discs of the
Hualien marble to determine its tensile strength. The rock layers were inclined at
Fig. 11. Variation of tensile strength of Hualien marble for dierent values of r and c
316 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
dierent c ranging between 0

to 90

with an interval of 15

. Table 10 gives the

inclination angle c, the failure load W
f
, the mode of failure for each test, the stress
concentration factor for the Brazilian test q
xx
, and the tensile strength G
t
.
The results show that the marble with planar anisotropy exhibits the highest
tensile strength with c = 0

, and the lowest with one c = 90

. Also, two major

modes of failure were observed as follows: (i) tensile splitting along the loaded di-
ameter was the dominant mode of failure when c was between 0

and 60

or equal
to 90

, (ii) shear failure along the laminations with or without branching was
dominant when c ranged between 60

and 90

. Mixed tensile splitting and shear

were also observed in certain cases such as c = 60

. Due to the shear failure mode

for c = 75

, this result cannot be used to determine the tensile strength of rocks as

shown in Table 10.
The variation of tensile strength with the inclination angle c for dierent test-
ing methods (ring tests and Brazilian tests) is plotted in Fig. 12. It is shown that
the anisotropic marble exhibits the highest tensile strength when conducting ring
tests for r = 0:065, and the lowest one for Brazilian tests. Ratios of the tensile
strength determined by ring test and by Brazilian test for dierent values of c are
listed in Table 11. It is shown that the tensile strengths determined from ring tests
are about 3 to 5 times greater than those from Brazilian tests. A similar result was
also found by Jaeger and Hoskins (1966) on sandstone and marble, and Hudson
(1969) on plaster.
For Brazilian test specimen, the stress state at its center is the bi-axial stress
eld, e.g. the compressive stress is about three times the tensile stress for isotropic
rocks. The compressive stress should not be ignored, and should have the inuence
on the determination of tensile strength. If the rock tensile strength is determined
by an equation in which the tensile strength is proportioned to the maximum ten-
sile stress at the center, the greater compressive will have the inuence to reduce
the tensile strength. The ring tests can avoid the bi-axial stress state in Brazilian
Table 10. Results of Brazilian tests on the Hualien marble
Sample c
(deg.)
W
f
(KN)
W
f
=pDt
(MPa)
q
xx
Failure
mode*
s
t
(MPa)
s
t(average)
(MPa)
BV00-1 0 15.57 5.668 1.935 T 10.97
BV00-2 0 14.86 5.329 1.935 T 10.31
10.64
BV15-1 15 13.11 4.898 1.981 T 9.7
BV15-2 15 12.95 4.757 1.981 T 9.42
9.56
BV30-1 30 10.19 3.809 2.068 T 7.88
BV30-2 30 10.75 4.128 2.068 T 8.54
8.21
BV45-1 45 9.48 3.284 2.093 T 6.87
BV45-2 45 9.98 3.797 2.093 T 7.95
7.41
BV60-1 60 9.07 3.261 2.005 T S 6.54
BV60-2 60 7.96 3.053 2.005 T S 6.12
6.33
BV75-1 75 6.74 2.473 1.865 S
BV75-2 75 5.83 2.112 1.865 S

BV90-1 90 5.31 1.922 1.797 T 3.45
BV90-2 90 6.11 2.202 1.797 T 3.96
3.71
*T: tensile failure mode, S: shear failure mode
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 317
tests. This is why the results determined by ring tests are always greater than those
from Brazilian tests.
6. Conclusions
This paper presents a new approach combined with the BEM analysis and the ring
test for determining the indirect tensile strength of anisotropic rocks. The stress
distribution around the central hole can be successfully obtained by the proposed
BEM solution. It can be found that the maximum tensile stress occurs at the in-
tersection of the vertically loaded diameter and the hole. If one assumes that the
tensile strength is given by the maximum absolute value of stress in the direction
Fig. 12. Variation of tensile strength of Hualien marble with the angle c from both Brazilian tests and
ring tests
Table 11. Ratios of tensile strengths determined by ring tests and by Brazilian tests
c (deg.) s
t(RA)
=s
t(Brazilian)
s
t(RB)
=s
t(Brazilian)
s
t(RC)
=s
t(Brazilian)
0 3.70 3.82 4.93
15 3.81 4.01 5.13
30 3.86 4.17 4.85
45 3.26 3.52 4.34
60 2.87 2.94 3.54
75
90 4.32 3.76 4.57
318 C. S. Chen and S. C. Hsu
perpendicular to the loaded diameter at the intersection, then the tensile strength
for anisotropic rocks can be obtained from the failure loads determined by testing
of rings with dierent inclination angle c.
A Hualien marble with clearly white-black foliations was selected to conduct
both ring tests and Brazilian tests. The result shows that tensile strengths deter-
mined from ring tests are about 3 to 5 times greater than those from Brazilian
tests. It is conrmed that the bi-axial state of stress at the center of the discs
inuences the tensile strength of rocks. A total of 42 ring specimens was tested
with three hole diameters, and dierent values of the inclination angle c. The re-
sult also indicates that the tensile strength of Hualien marble decreases with the
increase in the hole diameter, and this behavior is more signicant for lower values
of c.
Determination of tensile strength requires the calculation of a stress concen-
tration factor, K
xx
, which represents the stress state at the intersection of loaded
diameter and the hole. When the rock is isotropic, the value of K
xx
is only a
function of the hole diameter. For anisotropic rocks, however, K
xx
is more com-
plex and depends on the rock elastic constants, the inclination angle with the
planes of rock anisotropy, the contact angle over which the load is applied, and
the size of the hole. Because of the complexity of determining the value of K
xx
,
some charts (Figs. 68) were generated to interpolate the value of K
xx
. Thus, in
general, the tensile strength of anisotropic rocks is not a constant, but depends on
the properties of rock anisotropy. The isotropic elastic solutions should not be
used for the analysis of tests on anisotropic rocks.
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Authors' address: Chao-Shi Chen, Department of Resources Engineering, National
Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan.
Measurement of Indirect Tensile Strength of Anisotropic Rocks by the Ring Test 321