Correlation between the rock mass properties and maximum horizontal stress:A case study of overcoring stress measurements

Understanding the mechanical properties of the lithologies is crucial to accurately determine the horizontal stress magnitude.To investigate the correlation between the rock mass properties and maximum horizontal stress,the three-dimensional(3D)stress tensors at 89 measuring points determined using an improved overcoring technique in nine mines in China were adopted,a newly defined characteristic parameter C_(ERP)was proposed as an indicator for evaluating the structural properties of rock masses,and a fuzzy relation matrix was established using the information distribution method.The results indicate that both the vertical stress and horizontal stress exhibit a good linear growth relationship with depth.There is no remarkable correlation between the elastic modulus,Poisson's ratio and depth,and the distribution of data points is scattered and messy.Moreover,there is no obvious relationship between the rock quality designation(RQD)and depth.The maximum horizontal stress σ_(H) is a function of rock properties,showing a certain linear relationship with the C_(ERP)at the same depth.In addition,the overall change trend of σ_(H) determined by the established fuzzy identification method is to increase with the increase of C_(ERP).The fuzzy identification method also demonstrates a relatively detailed local relationship betweenσ_H and C_(ERP),and the predicted curve rises in a fluctuating way,which is in accord well with the measured stress data.

Modeling the Contemporary Stress Field and Deformation Pattern of Eastern Mediterranean

The contemporary stress field in the earth＇s crust is important and provides insights into mechanisms that drive plate motions. In this study, elastic plane stress finite element modeling incorporating realistic rock parameters was used to calculate the stress field, displacement field, and defor- mation of the plate interactions in the eastern Mediterranean. Modeled stress data for the African- Arabian-Anatolian plate interactions with fixed European platform correlate well with observed contemporary stress indicator from the world stress map （WSM） and focal mechanism of earthquakes; while displacement field agrees qualitatively well with GPS vectors and sense of motion indicated by focal mechanisms for large crustal earthquakes （Ms〉6） and plate motion models. Modeling result shows the direction of maximum horizontal compressive stress （σHmax） toward the direction of absolute motion of these plates. Large perturbations in σHmax orientations are shown to occur in and around tectonic boundaries between those plates. It is observed that, although the African plate acts mostly as indenter, which transmits the collisional motion from the Arabian plate to the Anatolian plate, in the current situation, the far-field stress, probably from the subduction in Aegean Arc, is needed to satisfy the contemporary stress field in Anatolia.