A series of uniaxial compression tests is carried out on the gypsum specimens with different fracture types

including single fracture

two coplanar fractures

T-shape and X-shape cross-fractures

through the electrohydraulic servo machine RMT-150C. Then

influences of fracture types on failure modes and strength characteristics are investigated. The experimental results show that: (1) The failure mode is initial fractures propagation for all the specimens with different fracture types

which means that the relationship between failure mode and fracture type is not obvious. (2) The fracture type can affect the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of specimens significantly

with the fracture type transfer from single fracture to the X-shape cross-fractures

the UCS increase gradually; and the total acoustic emission energy of fracture specimens initiation and unstable increase too. Furthermore

the mechanism of how the fracture type affects the UCS is studied preliminarily. The research results can reflect the influence laws of different fracture types on the stability of rock mass.