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In this study, subcritical crack growth in granite was investigated experimentally using the double torsion (DT) test. The orthorhombic elastic properties of granite, caused by the preferred orientation of pre-existing microcracks, were used to estimate the crack velocities and the stress intensity factors. The results showed that the crack velocity in granite varied depending on its direction of propagation. The fastest crack velocities for a given water vapor pressure were obtained when the crack propagated in the direction parallel to the plane in which the crack density of the pre-existing microcracks was the highest. Hence, subcritical crack growth in granite is affected by pre-existing microcracks. It was shown that the crack velocity was high when the water vapor pressure was high. From the results obtained under different temperatures and water vapor pressures, values of the activation energy for subcritical crack growth were estimated. The crack velocity under any given temperature, water vapor pressure, and stress intensity factor can be predicted theoretically if the activation energy is accurately estimated. The activation energy in granite is higher than that in glass. Cracks propagate in a straight line in glass, whereas they do not form a straight line in rocks due to the heterogeneity. The total length and surface area of cracks in rocks are therefore greater than those of straight cracks in glass. The larger activation energies in rocks are due to their heterogeneity.

In order to ensure long-term stability of structures in a rock mass, the study of time-dependent fracturing is essential. The influences of the surrounding environmental conditions and rock fabric on subcritical crack growth in sedimentary rocks in air are yet to be clarified, while the nature of subcritical crack growth in igneous rocks has been studied well. In this study, the influences of temperature and relative humidity on subcritical crack growth in Berea sandstone, Shirahama sandstone and Kushiro sandstone were investigated in air. The load relaxation method of Double Torsion (DT) testing method was used to measure both crack velocity and stress intensity factor under a controlled temperature and relative humidity. Results show that the change of the crack velocity at a given stress intensity factor was unclear when the temperature increased under a constant relative humidity in air. On the other hand, we show that the crack velocity increased by several orders of magnitude when the relative humidity increased threefold or fourfold under a constant temperature at a given stress intensity factor. This increase is much larger than that expected from the conventional concept based on the theory of stress corrosion. It is therefore necessary to consider the additional mechanisms for subcritical crack growth in sandstone. The increase of the crack velocity was larger for sandstone which contained larger amount of clays. We conclude that subcritical crack growth in sandstone in air is affected remarkably by the relative humidity and the amount of clays in rock.