Size-dependent strength behavior of heterogeneous veined gneiss under uniaxial compression

In this paper, 114 uniaxial compressive strength tests were carried out on specimens of veined gneiss with diameters ranging from 14 mm to 100 mm. The main objective of the study was to investigate the influence of the specimen size on the strength behavior of this metamorphic, heterogeneous rock. This size effect results in an increase in strength from small 14-mm diameter specimens up to 50-mm diameter specimens. Thereafter, a mild decrease in results is observed from 50-mm to 100-mm diameter specimens, in line with traditionally considered size-effect approaches. The findings generally agree with previous studies on size effects in sedimentary and igneous rocks, suggesting that metamorphic rocks may also tend to follow the Unified Size-Effect Law (USEL), accounting for general and reverse size-effects in strength. Nevertheless, some variability observed in the results, mainly attributed to inherent heterogeneity of the studied rock could influence how clearly this ascending-descending trend is captured by the model.