PEE 517: PETROLEUM ENGINEERING ROCK MECHANICS

LECTURE NOTES III

ROCK FAILURE
In rock mechanics, rock failure refers to the loss of structural integrity of a rock mass or rock
matrix due to exceeding its strength limit under applied stress, leading to fracture or
deformation. Rock failure encompasses various behaviours, including brittle fracture (breaking
into pieces), plastic deformation (permanent change in shape).
Rock failure is the point at which a rock loses its ability to resist stress, often resulting in
fracturing or cracking. Rock failure is an important phenomenon for petroleum rock mechanics,
as it is the origin of severe problems such as borehole instability and solids production. It is
therefore useful to be able to predict under which conditions a rock is likely to fail.
Rock deformation refers to the change of shape and size of a material under loading. An elastic
deformation is the kind of deformation that can be recoverable, i.e., after the load is removed,
the material changes back into its original shape and size. The kind of deformation that cannot
be recovered is the plastic or ductile deformation.
In a relatively loose definition, load is the external force acting on a material to cause
deformation. So load and deformation is a pair of terms, one is the cause, the other is the effect.
ROCK FAILURE MECHANISM
When a piece of rock is subject to sufficiently large stresses, a failure of some kind will occur.
This implies that the rock changes its shape permanently, and possibly also falls apart. The
condition is accompanied with a reduced ability to carry loads.
The stress level at which a rock typically fails is commonly called the strength of the rock. The
most important tests used to measure rock strength are the uniaxial and triaxial tests which are
used to illustrate the complexity of rock failure.
Figure 1 illustrates a typical test specimen, a cylinder with length to diameter ratio 2:1. A pair
of pistons applies axial stress to the end faces of the cylinder, while a confining oil bath
provides a stress of possibly different magnitude to the circumference. It is normally assumed
that the stress state within the specimen is homogeneous. If the confining stress is zero, we
have a uniaxial stress test (also called unconfined compression test). When the test is performed
with a non-zero confining pressure, a so-called triaxial test is performed.

Figure 1: Typical test specimen for a uniaxial or triaxial test. A typical sample diameter for
petroleum applications is 38 mm (1 ½”)
A deeply buried rock is pushed down by the weight of all the materials above it. Since the rock
cannot move, it cannot deform. This is called confining stress.
Figure 2 shows a typical result from a uniaxial test. The applied axial stress (denoted 𝛿𝑧 ) is
plotted as a function of the axial strain (𝜀𝑧 ) of the sample.

Figure 2: Principle sketch of stress versus deformation in a uniaxial compression test. In

practice, the ductile region may be very small.
Several important concepts are defined in the figure:
Elastic region: The rock deforms elastically. If the stress is released, the specimen will return
to its original state.
Yield point: The point beyond which permanent changes will occur. The sample will no longer
return to its original state upon stress relief.
Uniaxial compressive strength: The peak stress.
Ductile region: A region in which the sample undergoes permanent deformation without
losing the ability to support load.
Brittle region: A region in which the specimen’s ability to withstand stress decreases rapidly
as deformation is increased.
A triaxial test is usually performed by increasing the axial and confining loads simultaneously,
until a prescribed hydrostatic stress level is reached. Then, the confining pressure is kept
constant while the axial load is increased until failure occurs. The axial loading is normally
applied such that it gives a constant axial deformation rate.
The most common mode of failure observed in uniaxial and triaxial tests is shear failure. This
failure mode is caused by excessive shear stress. Another failure mode is tensile failure, which
is caused by excessive tensile stress. Finally, pore collapse is a failure mode that is normally
observed in highly porous materials, where the grain skeleton forms a relatively open structure.
Pore collapse is usually caused by excessive hydrostatic stress.
The concept of rock failure is associated with the state of the solid framework. Thus, the
stresses that causes failure are the effective stresses felt by the framework. A rock fails when
the stress exceeds a certain limit, while it remains intact as long as the stress is lower than this
limit. Rock failure can occur through different mechanisms, including tensile failure, shear
failure and compressive failure and a combination of the three.
 Tensile rock failure
Rocks that are pulled apart are under tension. Tensile failure occurs when the effective tensile
stress across some plane in the sample exceeds a critical limit. This limit is called the tensile
strength, it is given the symbol T, and has the same unit as stress. The tensile strength is a
characteristic property of the rock. Most sedimentary rocks have a rather low tensile strength,
typically only a few psi or less. In fact, it is a standard approximation for several applications
that the tensile strength is zero.
Rock materials generally have low tensile strength, due to the pre-existing micro-cracks in the
rock. The existence of micro-cracks may also be the cause of rock failing suddenly in tension
with a small strain. The tensile strength of rock materials can be obtained from several types
of test. The most common tensile test is the Brazilian test. A sample that suffers tensile failure
typically splits along one or very few fracture planes, as illustrated in figure 3.

Figure 3: Tensile failure

Shear rock failure
When forces are parallel but moving in opposite directions, the stress is called shear. Shear
failure occurs when the shear stress along some plane in the sample is sufficiently high.
Eventually, a fault zone will develop along the failure plane, and the two sides of the plane will
move relative to each other in a frictional process, as shown in figure 4.
It is well known that the frictional force that acts against the relative movement of two bodies
in contact depends on the force that presses the bodies together. It is therefore reasonable to
assume that the critical shear stress (𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) for which shear failure occurs, depends on the
normal stress (𝜎𝑛 ) acting over the failure plane. That is:
⃓𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 ⃓ = 𝑓(𝜎𝑛 ) ---1
This assumption is called Mohr’s hypothesis.

Figure 4: Shear failure

In the 𝜏 − 𝛿 plane, equation 1 describes a line that separates a “safe region” from a “failure”
region, and we may consider equation 1 as a representation of the failure surface in the 𝜏 − 𝛿
plane. The line is sometimes referred to as the failure line or the failure envelope. An example
is shown in figure 5, where the three principal stresses and the Mohr’s circles connecting them
are indicated. For a given set of principal stresses all possible combinations of τ and σ lie within
the area in between the three circles (i.e. the shaded area of figure 5).

Figure 5: Failure line, as specified by equation 1, in the shear stress–normal stress diagram.
Also shown are the Mohr circles connecting the principal stresses 𝜎1′ , 𝜎2′ , 𝜎3′ .
The stress state of figure 5 represents a safe situation, as no plane within the rock has a
combination of τ and σ that lies above the failure line. Assume now that 𝜎1′ is increased. The
circle connecting 𝜎2′ and 𝜎3′ will expand, and eventually touch the failure line. The failure
criterion is then fulfilled for some plane(s) in the sample, and the sample fails. Note that the
value of the intermediate principal stress (𝜎2′ ) has no influence on this situation. Since 𝜎2′ by
definition lies within the range (𝜎3′ , 𝜎1′ ), it does not affect the outermost of Mohr’s circles, and
hence it does not affect the failure. Thus, pure shear failure, as defined by Mohr’s hypothesis,
depends only on the minimum and maximum principal stresses and not on the intermediate
stress.
Compression rock failure
Compression squeezes rocks together, causing rocks to fold or fracture (break). If compressive
stresses are high enough, grains can crush filling the pore spaces. Pore collapse may happen in
nature due to rock burial and also in petroleum engineering during reservoir depletion. In both
cases effective stresses increase in all directions but predominantly in the vertical direction.
This type of deformation is called uniaxial-strain condition. When effective stress goes over
the yield stress, significant plastic irrecoverable deformations occur and may decrease
permeability. High compression combined with shear and compaction bands result in
permeability much lower than that of the original rock matrix.
When rock fails in compression, the compressive stress exceeds the compressive strength. The
engineering classification of intact rocks based on their compressive strength is shown in Table
1.
Table 1: Engineering classification of intact rocks based on compressive strength
Class Level of Strength in psi Strength in Mpa Representative rocks
strength
A Very high 32,000 220 Quartzite, diabase, and
dense basalt
B High 16,000 – 32,000 110 - 220 Most igneous rocks, most
limestones, and dolomite,
well-cemented sandstones
and shales
C Medium 8,000 – 16,000 55 - 11 Most shales, porous
sandstones, and limestones
D Low 4,000 – 8,000 27.5 - 55 Friable sandstones and
porous tuff
E Very low 4,000 25.5 Clay-shale, rock salt

ROCK STRENGTH
The strength of a rock is the value of the stress required to break down the rock sample. Stress
can be divided into normal and shear stress. Normal stress can be further divided into
compressive and tensile stress. Similarly, rock strength has three (3) types of strength:
i. Compressive strength, C
ii. Shear strength, 𝑆𝑜
iii. Tensile strength, T
For the same kind of rock usually we have
T < 𝑆𝑜 < C
The tensile strength is the least, the shear strength is the intermediate, and the compressive
strength is the maximum for the same kind of rock. Usually, the tensile strength is only about
10% of the compressive strength. Tensile strength governs rock behaviour when a rock is under
bending stresses.

Figure 6: A rock under bending stress

Figure 7: Different stress conditions in rocks

Figure 8: Engineering classification for intact rock-summary plot, igneous rocks

Figure 9: Engineering classification for intact rock-summary plot, sedimentary rocks

Figure 10: Engineering classification for intact rock-summary plot, Metamorphic rocks
 ROCK FAILURE CRITERIA
The strength of rock masses is determined by two components: strength of rock matrix and
strength of rock discontinuities (cracks, joints, fractures, pores etc. at different scales). Strength
or failure of rocks (rock matrix) can be described by stress criteria, energy criteria or strain
criteria. In general rocks matrix strength is characterized by high compressive strength and low
tensile strength. The strength of solids including rocks under dynamic or cyclic loading
(fatigue) conditions is characterized by different parameters and partly different relations.
Dynamic loading involves the study of how rocks behave under rapidly changing forces. Static
loading involves the application of force gradually and held constant until failure. Dynamic
rock strength is highly dependent on strain rate. Other parameters have significant influence on
rock strength, like:
o micromechanical damage state (micro cracks, micro flaws, micro pores etc.)
→ increasing number of micro cracks reduces strength
o temperature → increasing temperature reduces strength
o loading duration → increasing loading duration reduces lifetime by increasing internal
damage due to subcritical crack growth (reduction in strength)
o action of fluids and chemical agents → water pressure and aggressive chemical agents
reduce strength.
A few selected popular failure criteria for static and quasi-static conditions used in applied rock
mechanics are presented as:
Stress failure criteria
Stress criteria are the most popular type of failure criteria in rock mechanics. Most of them
consider only minimum (𝜎3 ) and maximum (𝜎1 ) principal stresses, but more advanced ones
include also the intermediate principal stress (𝜎2 ) component.
Mohr failure criterion
Rock mechanics experts have applied several failure criteria in an attempt to relate rock
strength measured in simple compression tests to the rotary drilling process. One of such failure
criterion often used is the Mohr theory of failure. The Mohr theory states that yielding or
fracturing should occur when the shear stress exceeds the sum of the cohesive resistance of the
material c and the frictional resistance of the slip planes or fracture plane.
𝜏 = (𝑐 + 𝜎𝑛 tan 𝜃)
Where: τ is the shear stress at failure; c is the cohesive resistance of the material; 𝜎𝑛 is the
normal stress at the failure plane; 𝜃 is the angle of internal friction.
The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is characterized by two parameters:
Cohesion (c): This represents the inherent strength of the material to resist shear stress when
there is no normal stress.
Friction angle (𝜃): This represents the material’s resistance to sliding or shearing under normal
stress.
To understand the use of the Mohr criterion, consider a rock sample to fail along a plane. When
loaded under a compressive force F and a confining pressure, p. the compressive stress 𝜎1 is
given by:
𝐹
𝜎1 =
𝜋𝑟 2
The confining pressure is given by:
𝜎3 = 𝑝
If we examine a small element on any vertical plane bisecting the sample, the element is in the
stress state. Further, we can examine the forces present along the failure plane at failure using
the free-body elements. The orientation of the failure plane is defined by the angle ϕ between
the normal-to-the-failure plane and a horizontal plane.

Figure 11: Mohr failure criterion

Mohr’s circle
Mathematically, it can be shown that the normal stress 𝜎𝑛 and the shear stress τ on any plane
that has angle ϕ from the minimum principal stress 𝜎3 direction is related to the maximum and
minimum stress in the following equations:
1 1
𝜎𝑛 = (𝜎1 + 𝜎3 ) − (𝜎1 − 𝜎3 ) cos(2𝜙)
2 2
1
𝜏= (𝜎 − 𝜎3 ) sin(2𝜙)
2 1
These two equations represent graphically by the Mohr’s circle. Any combination between τ
and 𝜎𝑛 gives a new circle representing a new failure condition.
The rock will fail when the combination between WOB and shear force τ gives a point outside
the Mohr’s circle.
Example 1:
A rock sample under a 2,000 psi confining pressure fails when subjected to a compressional
loading of 10,000 psi along a plane that makes an angle of 27° with the direction of the
compressive load. Using the Mohr failure criterion, determine the angle of internal friction, the
shear strength and the cohesive resistance of the material.
Solution:
The angle 𝜃 and 2𝜙 must sum to 90°. Thus the angle of internal friction is given by:
𝜃 = 90 − 2(27) = 36°
The shear strength is computed as follows:
1
𝜏= (𝜎 − 𝜎3 ) sin(2𝜙)
2 1
1
𝜏= (10,000 − 2,000) sin(54°)
2
𝜏 = (4,000)(0.8090)
𝜏 = 𝟑, 𝟐𝟑𝟔 𝒑𝒔𝒊
The stress normal to the fracture plane is:
1 1
𝜎𝑛 = (𝜎1 + 𝜎3 ) − (𝜎1 − 𝜎3 ) cos(2𝜙)
2 2
1 1
𝜎𝑛 = (10,00 + 2,000) − (10,000 − 2,000) cos(54)
2 2
1 1
𝜎𝑛 = (12,000) − (8,000)(0.5878)
2 2
𝜎𝑛 = (6,000) − (2,351.2)
𝜎𝑛 = 𝟑, 𝟔𝟒𝟗 𝒑𝒔𝒊
The cohesive resistance can be computed as:
𝑐 = 𝜏 − 𝜎𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃
𝑐 = 3,236 − 3,649 (𝑡𝑎𝑛36)
𝑐 = 3,236 − 3,649 (0.7265)
𝑐 = 3,236 − 2,651
𝑐 = 𝟓𝟖𝟓 𝒑𝒔𝒊