抄録
Rock mechanics belong to basic fields of science and technology, and are related to mining, oil, and civil engineering, as well as geology, geophysics, tectonics, and seismology.
A national project of the underground caverns for oil storage was conducted throughout the 1980s and 1990s to study suitable construction sites. In this study, data on rock mechanics such as obtained by the rock deformation laboratory of the Geological Survey of Japan proved to be very valuable. These data were obtained from more than 500 rock specimens collected on foot from geologically representative localities nationwide. Finally, three sites, two consisted of granite and one of pyroclastic rock, were selected for construction. Detailed microscopic study of the failure pattern of specimens after the experiment indicated distinguishing brittle and ductile deformation characteristics. Brittle rock such as granite is harder in strength, sometimes with increased permeability; on the other hand, ductile rock such as pyroclastic rock is less permeable.
