ABSTRACT
There are cases when it is very difficult to extract enough unbroken cores for the aims of geo-engineering works and studies. Therefore (in the case of core deficiency) the required (by standards) number of laboratory conventional mechanical tests can’t be carried out. To overcome this obstacle, a compromise settlement based on the use of a multi-stage compression test was used. The data of such the experiments were used in this work. On the basis of the Instron-8802 testing machine, multistage tests were performed under triaxial compression of cylindrical sandstone specimens. The “axial stress-axial strain” diagrams were obtained for the six tested specimens. Based on the diagram data, the specific energy intensities for each of the five loading stages were determined. It is proposed to assess the predisposition to the brittle or plastic behavior of the studied rock from the change in specific energy intensity during the transition from one loading stage to another.
