Observation of Post-failure Kaiser Effect in a Plastic Rock

—?Cyclic uniaxial and triaxial tests of rock salt samples were carried out in pre- and post-failure regimes. In all tests, a distinct Kaiser effect was observed in the post-failure region. The slope of the curve “cumulative AE counts versus axial strain” increased dramatically (several times to an order) when the strain attained its peak value achieved previously. Neither preliminary hydrostatic compression nor preliminary uniaxial cyclic pre-failure loading influence the post-failure Kaiser effect. The results for the plastic rock are opposite to the familiar absence of the Kaiser effect in brittle rocks at stress values approaching the ultimate strength. The results obtained during laboratory tests of a plastic rock are of importance for the proof of a connection between the Kaiser effect and foreshocks preceding earthquakes.