Estimation of rock tensile and compressive moduli with Brazilian disc test

The elastic modulus is an important parameter to characterize the property of rock. It is common knowledge that the strengths of rocks are significantly different under tension and compression. However, little attention has been paid to the bi-modularity of rock. To validate whether the rock elastic moduli in tension and compression are the same, Brazilian disc, direct tension and compression tests were conducted. A horizontal laser displacement meter and a pair of vertical and transverse strain gauges were applied. Four types of materials were tested, including three types of rock materials and one type of steel material. A comprehensive comparison of the elastic moduli based on different experimental results was presented, and a tension-compression anisotropy model was proposed to explain the experimental results. The results from this study indicate that the rock elastic modulus is different under tension and compression. The ratio of the rock elastic moduli under compression and tension ranges from 2 to 4. The rock tensile moduli from the strain data and displacement data are approximate. The elastic moduli from the Brazilian disc test are consistent with those from the uniaxial tension and compression tests. The Brazilian disc test is a convenient method for estimating the tensile and compressive moduli of rock materials.