A new hollow cylinder apparatus for laboratory testing of rock joints will be used to measure the water pressure in the joints during the undrained testing of saturated rock joints. The testing program will contribute to the overall understanding of rock discontinuity behavior, particularly the role of joint water pressure and the interaction between the hydraulic properties of the joint and the mechanical response. Since the stability of rock excavations and underground structures is largely dependent upon the properties of the rock joints, applications of this research include tunnels, power plants, subterranean storage facilities, and waste depositories.
