The failure modes of rock and soil under compression are complex phenomena that have not been explained in a mechanical perspective. However, large amounts of studies indicate that the failure modes of rock and soil samples can be categorized into eight types. In this work, the inner tensile stress and the dissipation and conversion of energy of rock and soil under compression are analyzed, then the effective conversion coefficient of energy is deduced, thus the tensile failure criterion of rock and soil under compression is established. Combined with the shear strength criterion of Mohr–Coulomb, a tensile joint shear strength criterion for rock and soil under compression is built. Therefore, a mechanical criterion model concerning the failure modes of rock and soil under compression is established and verified by tests. This model easily explains the test results in the existing literature and many natural phenomena, such as collapse.
