Rock Laboratory Tests
Laboratory tests are carried out to determine rock properties. Since rock properties are a key input for rock mechanics design in civil, mining and petroleum engineering, the present chapter is mainly based on documents by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). The ISRM Commission on Testing Methods since 1974 has published the ISRM Suggested Methods (SMs) covering different aspects of rock mechanics. The SMs are collected in books (‘yellow’ book, Brown 1981; ‘blue’ book, Ulusay and Hudson 2007; ‘orange’ book, Ulusay 2015).