Determination of cohesion values of rock materials using double shear jaws

Abstract

In this study, experimental and numerical analyses were carried out for determination of cohesion values of different types of rock materials using double shear jaws (DSJ) which can be practically used with the conventional compressive test equipment, to make shear planes in the rock core specimens. Effects of various parameters like jaw dimensions, gaps between triple blocks of the DSJ and contact conditions of the jaw on the results and validity of the cohesion test were investigated considering failure mechanisms of rock core specimens. Instead of a failure induced due to the shear stresses, tensile failures are mostly seen from conventional shear testing conditions. For a valid failure under the control of shear stresses, a DSJ design was suggested to be used in cohesion determination tests according to the results obtained from this study.