Process / pipelineRock Failure Criterion

Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion

The Hoek-Brown Criterion, developed by Evert Hoek and E. T. Brown starting in 1980, is an empirical failure criterion that predicts the shear strength of rock masses as a function of confining pressure. It accounts for rock quality (via the Geological Strength Index, GSI) and thus bridges laboratory rock mechanics and field behavior. The criterion is widely used in mining for slope stability, pillar design, and stress analysis.

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Sources

  1. Hoek, E., & Brown, E. T. (2002). The Hoek-Brown failure criterion and GSI: 2018 update. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 10(2), 445-463. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrmge.2017.02.010
  2. Carter, T. G., Marinos, V., & Marinos, P. (2018). Guidelines for the classification of rock masses in Turkey. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 77(4), 1639-1681. DOI: 10.1007/s10064-017-1198-x

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Referenced by

ScholarGateHoek-Brown Criterion (Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion for Rock Masses). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/mining-engineering/hoek-brown-criterion