Measurement and Classification Criteria of Strength Decrease Rate and Brittleness Indicator Index for Rockburst Proneness Evaluation of Hard Rocks

Rockburst is one of the common geological hazards. It is of great significance to study the evaluation indexes and classification criteria of the bursting liability of hard rocks, which is important for the prediction and prevention of rockbursts in hard rocks. In this study, the evaluation of the rockburst tendency was conducted using two indoor non-energy indexes, namely the brittleness indicator ( 2) and the strength decrease rate ( ). The measuring methods of and as well as the classification criteria were analyzed. Firstly, the most rational calculation formulas for and were selected based on previous studies. The 2 equaled to the ratio between the difference and sum of uniaxial compressive strength and Brazilian tensile strength of rocks. The was the average stress decrease rate of the post-peak stage in uniaxial compression tests and equaled the uniaxial compressive strength dividing the duration time of post-peak rock failure in uniaxial compression tests. Secondly, the uniaxial compression tests of different rock types were designed and carried out, and the change trend of B and with the increase of loading rate in uniaxial compression tests were studied in detail. The results showed that after the loading rate was greater than 5 mm/min or 100 kN/min, the value was affected, limited by the loading rate, while the value was more affected by the strain rate. The displacement control, with a loading rate of 0.1-0.7 mm/min, was recommended for the measurement of and . The classification criteria of 2 and were proposed, and four grades of rockburst tendency were defined for and 2 according to the test results.