Rock Laboratory Tests

Laboratory tests are carried out to determine rock properties. Since rock properties are a key input for rock mechanics design in civil, mining and petroleum engineering, the present chapter is mainly based on documents by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). The ISRM Commission on Testing Methods since 1974 has published the ISRM Suggested Methods (SMs) covering different aspects of rock mechanics. The SMs are collected in books (‘yellow’ book, Brown 1981; ‘blue’ book, Ulusay and Hudson 2007; ‘orange’ book, Ulusay 2015). A complete list of ISRM SMs is included in the ‘orange’ book. The content of the present entry does not presume to provide detailed instructions on the test procedures or to be exhaustive of the rock laboratory tests. The reader is invited to refer to the above-mentioned ISRM books. Moreover, not only are rock laboratory tests numerous, but the work of the ISRM Commission on Testing Methods is always in progress and further SMs on different tests or updated procedures will be published.