Abstract
This paper presents a general view of the recent progress in the studies on in situ rock stress measurements. Knowledge of rock stress is of fundamental importance in a wide range of rock engineering activities, including the safe and economic excavation design in civil and mining engineering, stress-related instability problems of underground openings, dams, slopes, stopes, tunnels and deep wellbores, the interpretation for hot dry rock geothermal energy projects and radioactive waste disposal, and the prediction research of earthquakes. Methods and techniques for in situ rock stress measurements are focussed on, and the recent researches are reviewed to discuss the subject for a future study and the matter to be solved at present.
