Accurate and rapid acquisition of rock strength parameters is essential for ensuring safety in rock engineering. Conventional methods

including cutting and coring

end face polishing

and compression crushing

are time-consuming. This study introduces a continuous rock core scratching technique as a fast and convenient alternative

causing only minor surface scratch. This method allows for the rapid determination of uniaxial compressive strength

internal friction angle and cohesion. To address the limitations of traditional fixed-depth scratching methods that ignore rock core surface roughness

this study introduces a real-time adaptive adjustment technology. This innovation precisely senses surface characteristics and adjusts scratching depth dynamically. Corresponding adaptive continuous scratching equipment has been developed. A series of continuous scratching experiments was conducted on tight sandstone using three modes: fixed depth

adaptive equal division

and adaptive point selection. Results indicate that

compared to standard compression tests

the maximum error in rock strength parameters from the adaptive scratching test was 10.57%. Furthermore

compared to fixed-depth scratching

the accuracy of uniaxial compressive strength testing using adaptive equal division and adaptive point selection scratching improved by 44.44% and 53.09%

respectively. The study also discusses the sources of strength testing errors caused by different scratching modes and clarifies the applicable scenarios for sharp and blunt cutting heads. Core adaptive continuous scratching test technology provides a simple and efficient new method for rapid testing of rock mechanics parameters

optimizing load measurement errors resulting from traditional methods’ inability to ensure constant actual scratching depth.