Rock Mechanics

Rock mechanics is part of the broader scientific field of geomechanics which refers to the science that studies the mechanical behavior of all earth materials, including soils. The subject of rock mechanics was formally introduced during the 1950s and was established later in the 1960s. In 1963, the Rock Mechanics Committee of the American National Academy of Science was founded and the term adopted the following definition: «Rock mechanics is the theoretical and applied science of the mechanical behavior of rock. It is that branch of mechanics concerned with the response of rock to the force fields of its physical environment».

In rock mechanics, the principles of continuum and fracture mechanics are combined to quantify the response of a rock subjected to a stress field. Rock mechanics can be divided into two subcategories: engineering rock mechanics and geological rock mechanics.

Engineering rock mechanics is applied in human activities including civil engineering, engineering geology, mining, petroleum, and environmental engineering while geological rock mechanics deals with the rock’s response caused by natural geological processes such as faults, folds or fractures.

Rock mechanics is an important field in civil engineering as it applies in the majority of infrastructure projects including dams, roads, tunnels, bridges, buildings, and protection of slopes.