Demonstration of spatial anisotropic deformation properties for jointed rock mass by an analytical deformation tensor

Abstract This paper develops a joint deformation tensor ( JD ), which considers all of the joint's mechanical and geometrical parameters that affect the deformability of the rock mass. The method based on JD ( JD method) and an elastic deformation anisotropy index (EDAI) are deduced for estimating the spatial anisotropy deformation of a jointed rock mass. The numerical modeling and in situ true triaxial compressive experiments well verified the effectiveness of the EDAI and JD method for the rock mass containing one joint set, orthogonal joint sets or the rock mass containing any types of joint network with unity stiffness ratio.