This investigation aimed to simulate the experiments performed by Nic Gay (Gay, N.C. 1976. Fracture growth around openings in large blocks of rock subjected to uniaxial and biaxial compression. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Minining Sciences ...

<p>The Hoek-Brown failure criterion was originally developed for estimating the strengths of hard rock masses. Because of the lack of suitable alternatives, the criterion has been applied to a variety of rock masses including very poor quality rocks, which ...