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.