Based on the integrated analysis of micro-strains obtained using white light specklephotography method in Brazilian Test of rock specimens and analytically calculated elastic fields of stresses and strains, the authors show that there exist significant correlation dependences between the damage in a certain domain of a rock specimen and the level of the external load. Given a verified geomechanical model describing properly evolution of stresses in a rock specimen, this fact offers pre-requisites for estimation of damage in different areas of a rock specimen by monitoring condition only in one of such areas.
