Rocks such as slate and quartzite ring when struck. A slab of marble bends under load and recovers when the load is removed. Behavior like this shows that rock is elastic, much as steel or wood is. Because of the importance of elastic properties in many branches of geology, it is worth considering several questions: First, does rock obey Hooke's law? Second, how do elastic constants of rock compare with those of metals and glass? Third, is there any relationship between elastic properties of a rock and the elastic properties of minerals in the rock? And finally, is rock elastically isotropic or anisotropic?
Definitions
Stress, strain, and elastic behavior, together with Young's modulus , shear modulus, Poisson's ratio, and bulk modulus , are defined elsewhere (see Stress and Strain). Compressibility is defined as the reciprocal of bulk modulus, or −ΔV/VoΔP, where V is volume and P is pressure. Linear compressibility is −ΔL/LoΔP, where L is length.
Elastic Stress-Strain Relationships
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References
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© 1987 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
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Brace, W.F. (1987). Elasticity and rigidity of rock . In: Structural Geology and Tectonics. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31080-0_35
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31080-0_35
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