Proceedings of the International Symposium on Weak Rock / Tokyo /21-24 September 1981

Determination of some engineering properties

of weak rocks
D.P.SINGH
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
ABSTRACT
It is difficult to make specimens of
regular shape of weak rocks as they
disintegrate and fail along planes
weakness while coring or cutting.
Various rock indices based on test-
ing irregular lumps provide a valu-
able means of predicting the stren-
gth. Strength of weak rocks deter-
mined by testing specimens of irre-
gular shapes have also been found to
be close to the strengths determin-
ed by testing specimens of regular
shapes. The papei deals with the
various techniques of determining
rock indices and gives the results
obtained in the rock mechanics labo-
ratory of the Banaras Hindu Univer-
sity.
1 . INTRODUCTION
Knowledge of engineering properties
of rocks is essential for proper de-
sign of rock structures, slopes, dam
foundations et". Determination of
physico-mechanical properties of
rocks requires a large number of
shaped, regular specimens. The pre-
paration of such specimens is tedi-
ouo wad time consuming especially
for weak, laminated or bedded rocks.
Such rocks usually break when an
attempt is made either to drill for
cores or cut for the prismatic spe-
cimens. Difficulties have also
been experienced while preparing
regular specimens from halides and
such other rock which dissolve in
water used for flushing the cuttings
To overcome the difficulties of
preparing the regular shaped speci-
mens, suggestions have been made in
the rock mechanics literature rega-
rding the development of various
rocks indices and irregular speci-
men testing techniques.
An attempt has been made at Bana-
ras Hindu University to evolve tech-
niques of testing various rock indi-
ces e.g. Rock Quality Designation
(RQD), Shore Hardness, Protodyakonov
Index, Impact Strength Index, Point
Load Index etc.and to coorelate
them with the usual compressive str-
engths determined by testing regular
specimens. Irregular shaped speci-
mens have also been tested in comp-
ression and the results coorelated
with usual compression tests.
Rock, particularly the weak rocks,
have a marked tendency to creep.
Arrangements have been made to study
the creep properties of weak rocks
in single and double lever type load-
ing frames.
2. ROCKS TESTED
The rocks tested were mostly coal-
measure rocks which consisted of
coarse grained sandstone, gritty
sandstone, medium grained -:ndstone,
sandy shale, ferroginous sandstone
etc. In most cases, cores were obt-
ained during explorotory drilling
and complete records were kept rega-
rding lithology, recovery of cores
etc. In some cases.rock blocks
were obtained from the field and the
cores were obtained in the laborato-
ry. Cubical or prismatic specimens
were also prepared in case of those
rocks which were too fragile to
core. Irregular, egg shaped speci-
31 5
120
a
> 100
BO
60
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..
W *D-
o


o
U20-00
o
o
o ,
^ ^o

o
o
o
e
o
o u
o


e
e o
O 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, KG/CM2
mens were prepared according to the
specifications laid down by the
International Bureau of Rock Mecha-
nics(1961). In certain tests, in
order to get wide range of results,
some stronger rocks were also used.
3. ROCK PROPERTIES
^
O ti
O 0'
3.1 Percentage core recovery
The percentage core recovery of a
rock section of particular litho-
logy was obtained by taking into
account the distance drilled and
the length of the core recovered.
Fig.1 dhows the plot between com-
pressive strength and percentage
core recovery of different types of
rocks tested. Percentage core reco-
very has varied from 15% to 100%
and compressive strength varied
from 9 kg/sq.cm to 232 kg/sq.cm.
The general trend of the plot is
that the percentage core recovery
increases as the compressive stren-
gth increases up to a value of
about 80 kg/sq.cm . Later on, it
appears that the percentage core
recovery remains constants inspite
of increasing values of compressive
strength. This seems to be justi-
fied due to the fact that after the
rocks nave attained certain streng-
th, the cores are not likely to be
lust during the drilling process
and hence, higher values of percen-
tage core recovery are obtained.
Beyond compressive strength of 40
kg/sq.cm the percentage core reco-
very varies from 70% to 100%. It
can be concluded from this that the
lower percentage recovery depicts
poor quality rock. However, it is
not always true because they can
also be effected by poor drilling
equipment and techniques(Singh &
Singh,1975 ).
3.2 Rock quality designation
The rock quality designation is
basea on a modified core recovery
procedure, which in turn is based
indirectly on the number of frac-
tures and the amount of softening
or alteration in ruck mass as obser-
ved in the rock cores from a drill
hole(Deere,1968). The lengths of
00 20 40 60 BO 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, KG/CM2
Fig.1-Percentage core recovery
versus compressive strength
z70
g
60

o 50
W o
40
> 30
I -
<
20
CO 10
Yu
O 0
Fig.2-Rock quality designation
versus compressive strength
the cores which were 10 cm or long-
er were summed up and the percentage
of this with respect to the total
length drilled was determined.
Fig.2 exhibits a plot of compre-
ssive strength values versus RQD
values of various rocks. It does
not indicate any definite trend
between the two parameters, contrary
to the results obtained by Deere
(1968). In this study only the
cores longer than 10 cm were taken
into account and any core length
shorter than this was not consider-
ed. It could be possible that many
core lengths which would have rema-
ined in tact had fractured during
drilling, handling and transporta-
tion processes, which probably gave
reduced values of RQD. It is sugg-
ested that in future studies, the
cores thus broken but which could
be fitted together may be counted
as one piece provided they are more
than 10 cm in length. Thus, if
suitably modified, the RQD and com-
pressive strength relationship
might show a definite trend. The
316
DROP

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8
1 1 7 0 -
H A N DL E Q
^ {
DT
ID AS
STRON G
Q PV C. STRIN G PISTON
A RRE STE R
COTTE R '- '!
PIN
i- 7 6
TUBE -
SA MPL E
CYL IN DE R
DROP TE STE R
R
o^
V
Fig.4- Protodyakonov apparatus
(dimensions in mm.)
3.4 Protodyakonov index
Five samples from each rock were
prepared. Each sample weighed
between 50 to 75 gms and consisted
of rock pieces greater than 15 mm
in size. The sample was poured in-
to the cylinder and a drop weight
of 2.4 kg was allowed to fall 5
times from a fixed height of 6 40 mm
(Fig.4). Now the crushed rock was
removed and next sample was put in
the cylinder and the process was
repeated. After all the 5 samples
were crushed, the broken material
was put on a U.5 mm(30 mesh) sieve.
Fines which passed through the
sieve were poured into the tube of
the volumometer. The height of the
dust in it was noted after tapping
it lightly ten times on the table.
The Protodyakonov index(i.e. the
strength coefficient) was calculated,
f =103
(1)
I
where,
f = Protodyakonov index,
and

I = height of dust in the

Volumometer tube.
2.7
cu
f 2 S
V
23
t9
>-2 -1
, I.9
17
IS
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180200 220
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, KG/CM2
Fig.3- Density versus compressive
strength
RQ D of most rocks tested in the
present investigation varied from
O to 25% indicating a "very poor
quality" rock (Singh ;Singh,1975).
3.3 Density
The apparent densities of rocks
were determined by calculating the
volume of specimens and weighing
them in a balance.
Fig.3 is a plot of compressive
strength versus density. There is
no definite trend in this case also
but leaving the points encircled,
general trend is that the compre-
ssive strength increases with den-
sity. The incraase in density ind i-
catec compactness of the material
and, therefore, it ie possible that
higher density rock has higher comp-
ressive strength. It is not only
compactness which governs this stre-
ngth property of rocks but it is
also effected by the nature of the
individual grains and the cementing
material binding them together. The
encircled points are of the rocks
which are ferrogerous, coarse grain-
ed, gritty and friable sandstones.
The value of density of these rocks
have varied from 1.8 to 2.25 gm/cu.
cm. This is expected as most common
rock forming minerals have similar
densities. The rocks which have
density more than 2.25 gm/cu.cm are
all coarse to gritty, ferruginous
sandstones. In fact, it is the
iron content in these rocks which is
responsible for higher densities as
compared to other rocks.
Fig.5 is a plot of Protodyakonov
number and the compressive strength
317
lo
9
a
7
o
2
^ 6
o
z
S
^
o
I-
o4
o.
3
2
0
O 300 600 900
UNIAXIAL COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
KG/ CM2
COVER
---PLUNGER
( WEIGHING
1'BKG)
SCREW
CAP
Fig.5- Protodyakonov number versus
compressive strength
of rocks. In the begining, compre-
ssive strength increased rapidly
with the increased in Protodyakonov
number and then slowed down.
3.5 Impact strength index
Big pieces of rockR were first bro-
ken to small pieces and sieved
through a 25 mm sieve. Now -25 mm
piecee were sieved through 9.3 mm
and 3.1 mm sieves. Stx 100 gm
samples of +3.1 mm and -9.3 mm were
weighed. Each sample was poured in
the ISI apparatus and the plunger
was dropped freely 20 times. Fina-
lly, the cap and the pll.nger were
removed, the crushed rock was siev-
ed through 3.1 mm sieve. The weight
of rock in grams remaining on 3.1
tr.= sicve gave the impact strength
of the sample. The average of the
six values gave the ISI value of the
rock(Fig.6)(Evans & Pomeroy,1966).
Fig.7 exhibits the plot of Impact
strength index and uniaxial compre-
ssive strength. In the begining
Fig.6- Impact strength index
anparatus(dimensions in mm)
100
90
80
70
60
ui 50
40
30
20
10
0 300 600 900
UNIAXIAL COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
KG/ CM2
Fig.7- Impact strength index versus
compressive strength
318
compressive strength increases slow-
ly with the increase in the Impact
strength index and then rapidly.
This observation is contrary to the
trend observed for the Protodyakonov
index versus compressive strength
plot.
3.6 Shore hardness
For determining hardness of rocks,
Shore hardness tester was used. A
diamond tipped hammer, inside a
barrel, falls under the force of its
own weight from fixed height on to
test specimen and the resulting
rebclind is recorded on a dial guage.
Precautions were taken to make the
testing surface smooth and keep the
tester in a vertical position on it.
The plot of shore hardness versus
compressive strength of rocks tested
in the present investigation showed
wide scatter of data and it was
difficult to suggest any relation-
ship.
3.7 Point load strength index
Considering the various advantages
of the point load strength test
over usual uniaxial compressive
strength test it was decided to
determine the point load index of
various rocks and compare the
results with their compressive
strengths (ISRM,1973 , Mishra, 1975
and Verma et al, 197c,. The point
load :strength index(I) was calculat-
ed by
I = -P- (1)
D 2
where P was the load at fracture and
D distance between two conical
platens.
The following equation was found to
fit the data with the ccefficient
of correlation of 0.94
y = 18.7x - 132 (2 )
where,
y = compressive strength
x = point load strength.
The above equation gives point load
strength of 7.05 when the uniaxial
compressive strength is zero. This
is not possible in practice and is
likely to be due to error in the
experimentation, nonuniformity of
rocks etc. It may be concluded
that the compressive strength of the
rocks tested in this investigation
is 18.7 times the point lad
strength(Verma et al. 1976).
3.8 Testing of irregular specimens
Many researchers(international Bur-
eau of Rock Mechanics, 1961, Hobbs,
1963, Singh & Singh, 1974) have
suggested testing of irregular spe-
cimens for determining compressive
strength of rocks. Twenty six oval
shaped specimens of Chunar sandstone
were prepared according to the spe-
cifications of the International Bu-
reau of Rock Mechanics(1961)4 ig.8).
The specimens were loaded between
the platens of the testing machine.
For calculating the contact area, a
piece of graph paper and a carbon
paper were put at both the ends
between the specimens and the mach-
ine. The mean of the total area at
the ends gave the average area of
contact of the specimens.
The irregular compressive strength
Gi.of the specimens was calculated
from,
crL = P- (3)
A
where P is the load at fracture and
A is the average area.
The mean irregular strength was
found to be 1410 kg/sq.cm and corre-
sponding regular strength was 909
kg/sq.cm. This was in confirmity
with the results obtained by previ-
ous workers(Hobbs,1963; Protodyako-
nov,1961) and a suitable multiply-
ing factor can be derived to get the
regular strength values by irregular
testing.
Fig.8- Specimens of irregular shapes
319
Fig.9- Single lever loading
arrangement
Fig.10- Double lever loading
arrangement
3.9 Creep of rocks
To study the creep behaviour of weak
rocks, lever type loading rigs were
designed and fabricated in the dep-
artmental workshop(Singh, 1975 and
Singh & Singh, 1978). Figs. 9 & 10
show the details of a single lever
type c.nd a double lever type load-
ing rigs. In most tuts all the
three stages of creep were observed
and it was found that the axial and
lateral creep curves had similar
behaviour.
4. REFERENCES
Deere,D.U. 1966, Geological consi-
derations, ch. to Rock Mechanics
in Engineering Practice, Lorvion,
John Wiley & Sons.
? )eere ,D .0 . ; H enderson ,A .S . ,Patton ,
F.D. & Cording,E.J.1967 Design of
surface & near surface construc-
tion in rocks, Proc.bth Symp.Rock
Mech, Minnesota, p. 237-302.
Evans, I. & Pomeroy ,C .D . 1966, The
strength, Fracture & Workability
of coal, London, Pergamon Press.
H obbs ,D .W . 1963, A simple method of
assessing the uniaxial compress-
ive strength of rocks, Int.J.Rock
Mech. Min.Sci. 1:5-15
International Bureau for Rock Mecha-
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research, appendix H , Prague.
International Society for Rock Mech-
anics, 1973, Suggested method for
determining the point load stren-
gth index, document 1, p.8-12.
Kumar,K. 1976, Correlation of phy-
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project report, Banaras H indu Uni-
versity, unpublished.
Mishra,R.N. 1975, Fixation of stren-
gth index of rocks by point load
tests, A project report,Banaras
H indu University, unpublished.
Protodyakonov, M.M. 1961, Strength
of rock in U.S.S.R., Int.Symp.Min.
Res. p. 649-668, New York, Perga-
mon Press.
Singh,A . 1974, A study of physical
properties of Singrauli
project report, Banaras
versity, unpublished.
Singh, D.P. & Singh, J.N.
rocks, A
H indu Uni-
1974 ,
Determination of compressive stren-
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specimens, J.Min.Metals and Fuels,
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Singh, D.P. & Singh, A 1975, A study
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irregular specimens, A project
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unpublished.
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320