Analysis of Rock Creep Patterns Based on Octahedral Strength Theory

Shiwei Wu; Tao Yang; Huailin Chen; Zhe Zhang; Hanqing Teng

doi:10.2478/cee-2026-0102

Analysis of Rock Creep Patterns Based on Octahedral Strength Theory

Civil and Environmental Engineering

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By: Shiwei Wu, Tao Yang, Huailin Chen, Zhe Zhang and Hanqing Teng

Open Access

|May 2026

Figures & Tables

Principal stress cells and isotropic octahedra

Table 1:

Creep patterns of different rocks under different stress states

Rock classification	Rock name	Case	σ_c [MPa]	Loading conditions/MPa		Composite stress σ [MPa]	Creep behaviour	σ/σ_c [%]
Rock classification	Rock name	Case	σ_c [MPa]	σ₁	σ₂=σ₃	Composite stress σ [MPa]	Creep behaviour	σ/σ_c [%]
I	granite, diorite, basalt, gneiss, quartzite, etc.	granite	69.38	42	5	37	Initial-Steady creep	53.3
		granite	69.38	92	5	87	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	125.4
		gneiss	109.5	50	10	40	Initial-Steady creep	36.5
		gneiss	109.5	190	10	180	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	164.4
II	limestone, dolomite, etc.	limestone	56.07	12	0	12	Initial-Steady creep	21.4
II	limestone, dolomite, etc.	limestone	56.07	55.2	0	55.2	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	98.4
III	marble, slate, calcareous sandstone, ferruginous sandstone, etc.	marble	80	90	40	50	Initial-Steady creep	62.5
		marble	80	90	10	80	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	100.0
		calcareous sandstone	42	39.8	2	37.8	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	90.0
		gritstone	53.32	27.16	0	27.16	Initial-Steady creep	50.9
		gritstone	53.32	52.15	0	52.15	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	97.8
IV	mica schist, kyanite, etc.	kyanite	12.25	8.01	0	8.01	Initial-Steady creep	65.4
IV	mica schist, kyanite, etc.	kyanite	12.25	12.82	0	12.82	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	104.7
V	mudstone, shale, sandstone, conglomerate, tuff, etc.	mudstone	15.95	15	0	15	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	94.0
		siltstone	22.3	5	0	5	None	22.4
				10	0	10	Initial-Steady creep	44.8
				17	0	17	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	76.2
		salt rock	31.28	24	0	24	Initial-Steady-Accelerated creep	76.7
		fault zone rock	15	8	1	7	Initial-Accelerated creep	46.7
				6	1.5	4.5	Initial-Accelerated creep	30.0
				6	0.5	5.5	Initial-Accelerated creep	36.7

Table 2:

Summary of rock creep patterns

Rock classification	Creep behaviour
Rock classification	None	Initial-steady creep	Initial-steady-sccelerated creep
I	σ/σ_c<30%	30%≤σ/σ_c<120%	σ/σ_c≥120%
II	σ/σ_c<20%	20%≤σ/σ_c<90%	σ/σ_c≥90%
III
IV
V		20%≤σ/σc<70%	σ/σ_c≥70%

Table 3:

The approximate value of mi for different rocks

Rock types	m_i
Carbonate rocks with fully developed crystalline cleavage (dolomite, limestone, marble)	7
Mudstone (mudstone, shale and slate (perpendicular to the solution))	10
Strongly crystallised sandy shales with poorly developed cleavage (sandstone and quartzite)	15
Fine-grained, multi-mineral igneous crystalline rocks (andesite, gabbro, basalt and rhyolite)	17
Coarse-grained igneous and metamorphic rocks (hornblende, gneiss, granite, granodiorite pyroclastics)	25

Geological strength index (GSI) classification

Evaluation method of rock creep law at different burial depths

Engineering geological data of Crushed rock

Table 4:

Calculation of rock strength parameters of Dadu River using Hoek-Brown criterion

Lithology	Rock quality classification	Hoek-brown basic parameters				Hoek-brown constant			Calculation strength parameters σ_cm [MPa]
Lithology	Rock quality classification	σ_c	GSI	m_i	D	m_b	s	a	Calculation strength parameters σ_cm [MPa]
Weakly weathered diorite	III	65	63	23	0.3	4.9	0.01	0.502	6.56
strongly weathered diorite	V	54	56	20	0.6	2.1	0.002	0.503	2.49
Weakly weathered granite	III	75	67	25	0.3	6.2	0.02	0.501	9.71
Crushed rock	V	52	49	10	0.8	0.4	0.0002	0.507	1.04

Two-dimensional geological model of the slope

Numerical computation of stress cloud of the slope

Table 5:

Stress values of Rocks within the slope

Monitoring point	Burial depth [M]	Lithology	σ [MPa]	σ_cm [MPa]	σ/σ_cm	Creep behaviour
P₁	245	Weakly weathered diorite	1.24	6.56	18.9%<20%	None
P₂	188	strongly weathered diorite	0.43	2.49	17.2%<20%	None
P₃	220	Weakly weathered granite	1.80	9.71	18.5%<20%	None
P₄	20	Crushed rock (upper)	0.13	1.04	12.5%<20%	None
P₅	70	Crushed rock (middle)	0.36	1.04	34.6%>20%	Exist
P₆	135	Crushed rock (lower)	0.77	1.04	74.0%>70%	Exist

Stress-depth curves (σ-H) of crushed rock at different burial depths

Evaluation of creep behaviour of crushed rock at different burial depths

References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cee-2026-0102 | Journal eISSN: 2199-6512 (formerly 1336-5835) | Journal ISSN: 1336-5835

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Language: English

Submitted on: Dec 3, 2025

Accepted on: Feb 25, 2026

Published on: May 21, 2026

Published by: University of Žilina

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

Rock creep,

Crushed rock,

Octahedral strength theory,

Hoek-brown rock strength criterion,

Numerical analysis

Related subjects:

Business and economics,

Business management,

Industries,

Environmental management

© 2026 Shiwei Wu, Tao Yang, Huailin Chen, Zhe Zhang, Hanqing Teng, published by University of Žilina
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

AHEAD OF PRINT

Analysis of Rock Creep Patterns Based on Octahedral Strength Theory

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