Abstract: Comparative analysis of Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion, parabolic Mohr strength criterion and hyperbolic Mohr strength criterion was presented in this paper based on the result of true triaxial test on three kinds of rocks under high stress. Research results show that in the presence of high geostress, the predicted values of hard rock using Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion and hyperbolic Mohr strength criterion are close with the experimental value. Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion is a linear strength criterion; whereas hyperbolic Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion is a nonlinear strength criterion. Therefore, the hyperbolic Mohr strength criterion is more suitable for describing the strength and deformation characteristics of rock under high stress.

Key words: rock mechanics, high geostress, Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion, parabolic Mohr strength criterion, hyperbolic Mohr strength criterion, true triaxial test