The rock mechanical laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art testing equipment. We operate several high-response servo hydraulic machines with digital controller technologies which guarantees a maximum data output from every single tested specimen.

Compression tests on cylindrical specimens are conducted under confined and unconfined boundary conditions using testing equipment for uniaxial and triaxial compression tests. Direct shear tests on rock joints, discontinuities as well as intact rock specimens are performed under constant normal load as well as under constant normal stiffness conditions. A triaxial testing system especially designed for hydro-mechanical coupled tests on transition rock (soft rock / hard soil) is a core device in our pool of testing machines. Several smaller, portable testing devices such as a Schmidt Rebound Hammer, a point load device, an ultrasonic-pulse apparatus etc. complete our lab equipment.

High-quality lab equipment, the principle of measurement of deformation directly on the specimen, the use of the measurement data to control the test in the “closed-loop” and the extremely fast controllers allow us to control the tests in the post-failure stage. Automatic failure detection incorporated in multi-failure-state tests enables us to determine a complete parameter set for failure criteria such as Mohr-Coulomb or Hoek-Brown from only one specimen. This ensures that the greatest possible amount of results can be gained from a limited number of samples.