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Strain-based criteria are known as a direct method in determining the stability of the geomechanical structures. In spite of the widely use of Sakurai critical strain criterion, it is so conservative to make use of them in rocks with initial plastic deformation on account of the considerable difference between the failure and critical strains. In this study, a new criterion has been developed on the basis of the failure strain to attain more reasonable results in determining the stability status of the tunnels excavated in the rocks mostly characterized by plastic-elastic/plastic behavior. Firstly, the stress-strain curve was obtained having conducted uniaxial compression strength tests on 91 samples of eight rock types. Then, the initial plastic deformation was omitted making use of axis translation technique and the criterion was presented allowing for the modified secant modulus and by use of the failure strain. The results depicted that the use of failure strain criterion in such rocks not only decreases the conservativeness of the critical strain criterion up to 42%, but also it determines the stability status of the tunnel more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]