Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criteria

The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is a way to predict when a material like soil or rock will break or slip. It states that failure occurs when the combined effects of shear stress (sliding forces) and normal stress (pressure perpendicular to a surface) reach a certain limit. This limit depends on the material’s internal strength and frictional properties. In simple terms, it says that materials will fail when the forces trying to cause sliding overcome their inherent resistance, which is influenced by how rough or sticky the material's surfaces are and the pressure holding it together.