• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2010

Three relatively homogeneous granitic rocks were studied to investigate the relationship between their microstructural properties and fracture toughness. Fracture toughness and ultrasonic velocity were varied with the orientation of mineral's long axis and microcrack, obtained from optical microscope. The lowest fracture toughness values are obtained, when the fracture propagates parallel to weakness planes which have the orientation of mineral's long axis and microcrack, in other words, when weakness planes develop perpendicular to the direction of tensile stress agrees with that of rift plane. The fracture toughness values, measured with the short rod method, varied from 1.63 to 2.62 MPa $m^{0.5}$, and their values are related with the average grain size and average microcrack length.