Any undisturbed rock mass is subject to natural stresses inclu ding gravitational stresses due to the mass of the overburden and possibly tectonic stresses due to the straining of the earth's crust and remanent stresses due to past tectonism. Knowledge of the in situ stress field must be integrated into any rock engineering design along with general rock mass characteristics such as de for mability, strength, permeability and time dependent behavior. For example, the choice of optimum orientation and shape of deep underground caverns or complex underground works will be controlled by the orientation and the magnitude of the in situ stress @ield if it is necessary to minimize stress concentration problems. Long term variation of the in situ stress field may also help to evaluate the potential hazard of earthquake occurences. The magnitude and orientation of the stress field ata point within a rock mass can be measured but there is no known method by which the state of stress at a point can be accurately determined by instruments located remotely. In general, measurements are made inside boreholes, on outcrops or on the internal surfaces of under ground cavities. Most of the measuring techniques intentionally disturb the state of stress in the rock and then measure consequent strains and displacements. Measured strains or displacements are then related to the stresses through assumptions of material behavior. A common procedure is to assume that the rock mass is linearly elastic, isotropic, continuous and homogeneous.

Rock masses are initially stressed in their current in situ state of stress and to a lesser natural state. Whether one is interested in the extent on the monitoring of stress change. formation of geological structures (folds, faults, The subject of paleostresses is only briefly intrusions, etc. ), the stability of artificial struc discussed. tures (tunnels, caverns, mines, surface excava The last 30 years have seen a major advance our knowledge and understanding of rock tions, etc. ), or the stability of boreholes, a in the in situ or virgin stress field, stress. A large body of data is now available on knowledge of along with other rock mass properties, is the state of stress in the near surface of the needed in order to predict the response of rock Earth's crust (upper 3-4km of the crust). masses to the disturbance associated with those Various theories have been proposed regarding structures. Stress in rock is usually described the origin of in situ stresses and how gravity, within the context of continuum mechanics. It is tectonics, erosion, lateral straining, rock fabric, defined at a point and is represented by a glaciation and deglaciation, topography, curva second-order Cartesian tensor with six compo ture of the Earth and other active geological nents. Because of its definition, rock stress is an features and processes contribute to the current enigmatic and fictitious quantity creating chal in situ stress field.

Understanding in-situ rock stress is important in the exploration and engineering involving rock masses for mining, hydropower, tunneling, oil and gas production, and stone quarrying. Traditional methods of determining these stresses have not developed substantially to keep pace with the increasing utilization of rock masses. Contributed by a group of leading experts, this book addresses new developments in numerical modeling and advanced measuring techniques. The papers in In-Situ Rock Stress: Measurement, Interpretation and Application reflect the development in this field, covering measuring techniques, interpretation methods, and application of the in-situ stress in engineering practice.

This text features 105 papers dealing with the fundamentals and the applications of poromechanics from the Biot conference of 1998, held in Louvain-la-Neuve. Topics include: wave propogation; numerical modelling; identification of poromechanical parameters; and constitutive modelling.