Rock stress memory, often referred as Kaiser effect, in rocks can be an effective tool to estimate the in situ stress conditions, if the uncertainties in rock damage and its behavior during loading conditions are properly understood. In view of this, the present study is an attempt to investigate the variations in rock stress memory, i.e., the Kaiser effect in a metamorphic rock under multi-stage uniaxial compression. The khondalite rock samples from Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt (EGMB) belonging to southeastern part of Indian subcontinent having complex geological history are examined. The effects of multi-stage compression on the damage evolution and subsequent variations in rock stress memory are investigated. The samples were categorized into different levels of rock stress memory, depending on the stress the rock was able to withhold after loading stages. The damage evolution in the tested rocks was predominantly controlled either by initial loading or failure stress. Higher damage imparted by initial loading and intense fracturing could be the possible reason for poor stress memory function in the investigated rock. Felicity ratio, an indicative of rock damage with stages of loading, supported the observation that rock damage was dominant during initial loading stage. Rock heterogeneity has played a dominant role in decay of Kaiser effect, with intense fracturing during subsequent loading stages in the investigated rocks. To summarize, Kaiser effect can be used to infer rock damage and stress conditions, provided the geological history of the region is also taken into consideration. With rocks from complex geological conditions, Kaiser effect or rock stress memory should be supported by other tools to infer in situ stress, but the method can be effectively used to understand the stress changes and damage mechanism of multiple loading.

如果正确理解了岩石破坏的不确定性及其在加载条件下的行为，则岩石中的岩石应力记忆（通常称为Kaiser效应）可以成为估算原地应力条件的有效工具。有鉴于此，本研究旨在研究岩石应力记忆的变化，即变质岩在多级单轴压缩下的Kaiser效应。考察了来自印度次大陆东南部，具有复杂地质历史的东高止山脉活动带（EGMB）的膨润土岩石样品。研究了多级压缩对损伤演化和岩石应力记忆的后续变化的影响。样本被分类为不同级别的岩石应力记忆，根据应力，岩石在加载阶段后能够承受。受试岩石的损伤演化主要由初始载荷或破坏应力控制。初始载荷和强烈压裂所造成的较高破坏可能是所研究岩石应力记忆功能差的可能原因。费利西比（Felicity ratio）是在加载阶段岩石破坏的指示，它支持在初始加载阶段岩石破坏占主导地位的观察。岩石异质性在Kaiser效应的衰减中起了主要作用，在随后的研究阶段，岩石在加载阶段发生了强烈的破裂。综上所述，只要考虑到该地区的地质历史，Kaiser效应就可以用来推断岩石破坏和应力条件。