Rock mass is heterogeneous material containing defects including cracks and pores, especially for the jointed rock mass around tunnel or underground space. The nonlinear deformation behavior of a rock mass is induced by the propagation and coalescence of cracks and joints under external loads; hence, the mechanical characteristics and failure patterns of the rock mass are difficult to predict. Study on the damage and fracture behavior of rock will promote the understanding of crack propagation, coalescence, and failure modes of brittle materials with fissures. The failure process of rock mass is very complicated because it involves the combined effects of loading, joint geometry, temperature, and size. The crack initiation, propagation in complex stress condition, interactions between discontinuities, and excavation activities are actual challenging topics.

This special issue will present a series of papers where contemporary research in nature rock mass or brittle fractured rock-like materials under different loading conditions is addressed. Contributors to this issue will show the need to link theory, accurate experiments, and numerical techniques. Among the areas to be emphasized are size effect; fatigue crack growth; mixed mode fracturing; imaging techniques in fracture and damage analyses; acoustic emission phenomena in fracture and damage analyses.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Failure mode of rock with complicated stress
• Energy absorption and dissipation
• Imaging techniques in fracture and damage analysis
• Acoustic emission in fracture and damage analysis
• Three-dimensional crack propagation in rock
• Reinforcement for the rock mass
• Numerical simulation of rock failure