Influence of confining pressure on the mechanical behavior of Phu Kradung sandstone

• The confining pressure and loading direction of rock show a significant influence on the behavior of the sandstone samples.
• With an increase in the confining pressures, the ultimate strength, axial strain and the number of cycles to failure increased.
• Three stages of deformation were established.
• The direction of loading has an influence on cyclic deformation.
• At the low confining pressure, direction of cyclic loading show significant effect on the number of cycles, but the effect is negligible at higher confining pressure.