Fundamentals and applications of rock mechanics / Основы и применение механики горных пород

The title Fundamentals and Applications of Rock Mechanics deals with the foundation of mechanics applied to rock engineering. It is a discipline firmly engaged with the basic and applied researches and activities comprising mining, civil constructions and foundations, dams, vehicular and hydroelectric tunnels, caverns, slope stability, underground storage facilities for foods, fuels, and waste material, underground disposal of municipal and radioactive waste, petroleum wellbore and others. The term ‘rock mechanics’ signifies the basic sciences of mechanics applied to rock and rock masses. It is also a discipline which analyses the stability of structures made of/on the rock masses. The main factor distinguishes the rock mechanics from other engineering mechanics discipline is the application of mechanics on a large scale prestressed naturally occurring material with the properties governed by discontinuities. For the last several decades, principles of rock mechanics have evolved through theoretical, laboratory and field experimentations and have imbedded firmly and popularly into the analysis of rock engineering problems. The theoretical development of rock mass failure criteria and subsequent understanding of non-linear behaviour of jointed rock masses have made it possible to analyse complex interactions of structures made of/on the rock mass. Rock mechanics also deal with the fundamental sciences related to rock-support interactions to improve stability and safety of structures. Today, rock mechanics is the first subject to be taught in mining and geotechnical engineering curricula. <...>