Geological factors significant in the
assessment of rippability
J. M. WEAVER (Member)
Synopsis
The geological factors that are significant in the evalua-
tion of excavation characteristics of earth and rock materials
are described and a guide to the assessment of rippability
by tractor mounted rippers is provided. A rippability rating
chart is proposed. utilizing the geological parameters which
influence ripping and excavation operations. Case histories
are presented which illustrate the point that. although seis-
mic wave velocities may provide an indication of the rip-
pability of a rock mass. the geological conditions must also
be considered. The term assessment is used deliberately
since it must be appreciated that very often a conclusive
answer as to whether a rock can be ripped or not just cannot
be obtained. In such a situation. only a field test will decide
the issue.
Introduction
Leggat 10 points out that the union between the civil engineer
and the geologist. the practical builder and the man of , Clence is
often a partnership of great value. The approach of the two dis-
ciplines to the same problem is often widely different. The geolo-
gist analyses conditions as he finds them; the engineer considers
how he can change ex.isting conditions so that they will suit his
plans. From his analysis. the geologist cites problems that exist
and suggests troubles that may arise; the engineer's main task is
to solve the problems and overcome the troubles. The final res-
ponsibility for decisions involved must rest always with the
Reproduced by Sabinet gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2011).
engineer. but in coming to his conclusions he will be gu ided by
and will probably rely upon the factual data given to him by the
geologist.
A field in which the engineering geologist can be of great prac-
tical assistance to the engineer through his working knowledge of
the historical development of landforms and bedrock formations
and the geological processes involved in the formation. trans-
por1<;1tion and depOSition of rocks. is in the evaluation of excava-
tion ·characteristics 2•
To the engineer. civil or mining. fac~d with the responsibility
of moving vast quantities of soil and rock. the geologist can
furnish helpful data for estimating excavation costs and methods.
For igneous rock. 5uch as granite and basalt. he can indicate the
spacing of the joints. the <legi"ee of weathering and the hardness
of the rock. which control the cost of dozing. ripping. drilling and
blasting. Sedimentary rock types vary greatly in cost of excava-
tion. but the engineering geologist. familiar with such formations.
can fairly safely predict the expectable degree of difficulty.
Significant geological factors
The geological factors which are likely to influence the assess-
ment of rippability are as follows :
1. Rock type
2. Seismic wave velocity
3. Rock hardness
4. Rock weathering
5. Rock structure
6. Rock fabric
Rock type
When classified in terms of origin there are three rock types 5 :
Igneous rocks - are formed by cooling of molten magma or lava
originating within the earth. Igneous rocks may be identified by
the silica or mineral content and almost never have the stratified.
banded or foliated characteristics of other rocks. Granite. syenite.
norite. dolerite and basalt are igneous rocks commonly encoun-
DI.E SIVIELE INGENJEUR in Suid-Afrika - Desember 1975
John M . Weaver is Head of the Engineering Geology Division of
Steffen. Robertson & Kirsten. Johannesburg. After matriculating
at Pretoria Boys High School he completed a BSc (Hons) degree in
engineering geology at the University of the Witwatersrand in
1963. He started his career in industry as an earthmoving engineer
with Barlows Tractor and Machinery Co, Isando. In 1965 he joined
Van Niekerk. Kleyn and Edwards in Pretoria.
During 1967 and 1968 he attended the University of California,
Berkeley, where he received an MS(Eng) degree in Soil Mechanics.
The following year he worked in Los Angeles for Moore & Taber,
Fullerton. On his return to South Africa he rejoined Van Niekerk,
Kleyn & Edwards as Senior Engineering Geologist and in 1970 was
appointed Director of Geodata (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary firm speciali-
zing in foundation drilling and testing. He joined his present firm in
June 1974.
He is active on the Committee of the Association of Engineering
Geologists and has represented the Geological Society of South
Africa on SANCOT. His main fields of interest are subsurface ex-
ploration for underground construction, dam sites and foundations.
tered on earthmoving jobs. They are the most difficult to rip
because they lack the stratification and cleavage planes essential
to ripping hard rock.
Sedimentary rocks - consist of material derived from destruction
of previously existing rocks. Water action is responsible for the
largest percentage of sedimentary rocks although some are
formed by wind. glacial ice or chemical action. Their most pro-
minent characteristic is bedding or stratification.
They are built up by successive layers of material differing in
type, texture, colour, thickness or all of these properties. Individual
layers which are uniform in texture. colour and composition may
be found within a stratum. These are called beds and may vary in
thickness from paper thin to several hundred metres.
Sandstone. dolomite. tillite, shale, calcrete and ferricrete are
among the most common sedimentary rocks. These generally
are the most easily ripped.
Metamorphic rocks - are formed from pre-existing rocks which
have been changed in mineral composition, texture. or both. The
agents which cause metamorphism in rocks are shearing stres-
ses, pressure. chemical action, or liquids and gases, and tempe-
rature. Common metamorphic rocks are gneiss, quartzite, schist
and slate. They vary in rippability with their degree of lamination
or cleavage. All are found on or near the earth's surface and occur
as homogeneous or as disturbed masses.
Seismic wave velocity
One of the basic principles for assessing rippability of earth
and rock. materials is that seismic shock waves travel through
different materials at different velocities. The velocity of a shock
wave depends on the density and degree of compaction of the
materials. Hard rock, sound bedrock conducts a shock wave at a
high velocity; loose sands. of lower density. conduct shock waves
at much lower velocities.
Using a refraction seismograph, the seismic wave velocity
through vari,)us layers of material is measured from which the
degree of consolidation, including such factors as rock hardness.
stratification, degree of fracturing and degree of weathering. can
be determined. From this information an indication of the equip-
ment necessary and method of excavation is obtained.
Average values for the velocities of shock waves in different
materials are available from a variety of sources and tables.
313
 Table 14 illustrating these values is presented below. Table 3
Joint spacing classification
Rock hardness
Joint spacing Spacing Rock mass Excavation
For a visual a55essment of rock hardness, allied to simple field description of joints grading characteristics
tests, the guide as described by Jennings and Robertson 9 should mm
apply. The seismicwave velocities and excavation characteristics, Very close >50 Crushed / Easy ripping
utilizing a heavy tractor, relative to the different rock hardness shattered
categories, are presented in Table 2.
Close 50 - 300 Fractured Hard ripping
Rock structure
Moderately close 300 - 1 000 Blocky/seamy Very hard
The following factors are often the most difficult to assess ripping
owing to lack of exposures. Field examination of all available
exposures in the vicinity of the site, such as rock outcrops, hillside Wide 1 000 - 3 000 Massive Extremely
faces, dongas, river banks, borrow pits, road and railway cuttings, hard ripping
coupled with studies of available geological maps and aerial and blasting
photographs, all contribute relevant information. This data can
Very wide >3000 Solid/sound Blasting
then be applied to permit a geological interpretation and engin-
eering application of the materials on the site under investigation.
discontinuity. The term discontinuity refers to faults, shear zones,
Discontinuities - Any structural or geological feature that changes joints, bedding planes, cleavage or foliation surfaces or other
or alters the homogeneity of a rock mass can be considered as a similar surfaces caused by movement or displacement.

Table 1
Ripper performance relative to seismic wave velocity through soils and rocks
o I 2 3 4
Velocity in Meters Per Second l 1000 I I I I I
Velocity in Feet Per Second l 10000 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15

TOPSOIL
CLAY'
GLACIAL TILL
.. IGNEOUS ROCKS
GRANITE
BASALT
. TRAP ROCK
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALE
SANDSTONE
SILTSTONE
CLAYSTONE
Reproduced by Sabinet gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2011).

CONGLOMERATE
BRECCIA
CALICHE
LIMESTONE
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
SCHIST
SLATE
MINERALS a ORES
COAL
IRON ORE
I
RIPPABLE _ MARGINAL c:::J NON-RIPPABLE ~

Table 2
Rock hardness and excavation characteristics

Rock hardness Unconfined Seismic Excavation

Identification criteria
deSCription compression strength waVI1 velocity characteristics
MPa m/s
Very soft rock Material crumbles under firm blows with 1,7 - 3,0 450 - 1 200 Easy ripping
sharp end of geological pick; can be peeled
with a knife; too hard to cut a triaxial
sample by hand. SPT will refuse. Pieces up
to 3 cm thick can be broken by finger
pressure.

Soft rock Can just be scraped with a knife; indentations 3,0 - 10,0 1 200 - 1 500 Hard ripping
1 mm to 3 mm show in the specimen with
firm blows of the pick point; has du11 sound
under hammer.

Hard rock Cannot be scraped with a knife; hand 10,0 - 20,0 1 500 - 1 850 , Very hard ripping
specimen can be broken with pick with a
single firm blow; rock rings under hammer.

Very hard rock Hand specimen breaks with pick after more 20,0 - 70,0 1 850 - 2150 Extremely hard
than one blow; rock rings under hammer. ripping or blasting

Extremely hard rock Specimen requires many blows with >70,0 >2150 Blasting
geological pick to break through intact
material; rock rings under hammer.

314 DIE SIVIELE INGENIEUR in Suid-Afrika - Desember 1975

 The spacing of discontinuities is of great importance in asses-
sing rippability. The very presence of joints reduces the shear
strength of a rock mass and their spacing governs the degree of
8 Excavation
such a reduction. A classification for joint spacing by Deere , is
presented in Table 3, and the effect of such discontinuities on
rippability is included.
Strike and dip orientation: The strike and dip orientation of the dis-
continuities and bedding may be either favourable or unfavourable
in terms of rippability. Ripping may prove easier and more pro-
ducti~e if carried out parallel to such planes of weakness in certain
rock types. Ripping at right angles to strike could assist in re-
moving resistant bands that may occur within an easily ripped
material.
Continuity: The continuity of a joint or set of joints, or bedding
planes, within a rock mass has a marked effect on the strength of
the mass and influences excavation characteristics. Penetration of
a ripper shank into a cOlltinuous major joint could weaken a mas-
sive or sound rock formation so as to break out large boulders or
blocks of rock.
Gouge: The effect of gouge on the strength properties of a joint is
of outstanding importance. If the gouge is sufficiently thick for
example, the joint walls will not touch and the strength properties
of the joints will be those of the gouge. In assessing rippability,
the greater the amount of gouge or of 50rt material between joints
or boulders, the easier it becomes to penetrate the formation and
the easier it becomes to rip.
Boulder formations: Imbedded boulders, massive or columnar
formations, consisting of large blocks or spheroids in a matrix of
soil or very soft rock, occ Jrfrequently in sedimentary, igneous and,
metamorphic rocks, This condition creates marked exceptions to
the standard seismic survey profile where dozeable material alters
through easy rip to hard rip to blast conditions.
Rock types which are particularly inclined to weather into a
Reproduced by Sabinet gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2011).
boulder formation are the basic igneous rocks such as basalt,
dolerite, diabase, gabbro and norite, also andesite and granite.
The sedimentary rocks which weather to this condition are most
commonly dolomites, limestones, tillite and sandstone. Boulder
beds such as occur in stormbeach gravels, stream deposits, land-
slides or talus usually contain little or no matrix and, depending
on the degree of compaction and consolidation, are usually doze-
able, .although with considerable difficulty.
The presence of a layer of boulders in a soil matrix affects the
seismic wave velocity between the hard rock bedrock below
(velo~ity 3 660 m/s) and the soil matrix above (velocity 1 220 m/s),
to yield an average seismic wave velocity that is marginal in terms
of rippability (eg 1 830 m/s). Note that boulders are detected in
the intermediate zone from th'Ei scattered time - distance points
on the seismic graph. The con'dition described above is illustrated
in Fig. 1. ;
Church 6 has advocated a method to compensate for the condi-
tions between the two types ofiormation. It is to lower the veloci-
ties for ripping and blasting below the values ordinarily used for
normal weathering processes. These relative figures are shown
in Table 4.
GEOPHONE
HAMMER
IMPACT
3m
2,13
3660
GRANITE BOULDERS REQUIRING BLASTING ARE SEEN IN AN 88% MATRIX OF
RIPPABLE DECOMPOSED GRANITE. THE P~.RENT ROCK IS A MODERATELY
CLOSE JOINTED FORMATION.
Fig 1: Typical boulder formation
DIE SIVIELE INGENIEUR in Suid-Afrika - Desember 1975
Table 4
Velocity ranges for ripping wiih a heavy tractor"
Velocity for
Velocity for
normally weathered
characteristics boulder situations
profile
m/s-' m/s
Easy ripping 450 - 1 200 450 - 900
Hard ripping 1 200 - 1 500 900 - 1 200
Very hard ripping 1 500 - 1 850 1 200 - 1 500
Extremely hard ripping 1 850 - 2150 1 500 - 1 850
or blasting
Blasting >2150 > 1850
• Tractor-ripper with a working mass of45 to 49,5 t and a 280 to 360 kW
engine.
. This recasting of velocity ranges results in. relatively more
volume in the hard ripping and blasting classifications.
Rock fabric
From experience and observations, the following generaliza-
tions can be made:
1. Coarse grained rocks with a large grain size (> 5 mm) such as
pegmatites, coal, conglomerates, gritstones, calcretes and
sandstones can be more easily ripped than fine grained rocks
« 1 mm) such as quartzites, tillites, basalts, chert, dolomite
and limestone.
2. Basic igneous rocks will tend to yield a higher seismic wave
velocity than acid igneous rocks. A basic igneous rock, such
as norite, is composed essentially of feldspar with dark colour-
ed, heavy, iron and magnesium rich minerals. An acidic igneous
rock, such as granite, is composed of feldspar with light co-
loured, light, silica and aluminium rich minerals. Basic igneous
rocks therefore have a higher specific gravity and density than
acidic igneous rocks and seismic wave velocity in basic rocks
will be higher than in acidic rocks.
Rippability classification
Bieniawski 3 in his classification of rock parameters has assigned
ratings to each parameter by a weighted numerical value. The final
rock class rating is the sum of the weighted parameters. The rating
system was originally proposed by Wickham, Tiedemann and
Skinner 11 to assess support requirements in tunnels. Utilizing the
geomechanics classification system, it is possible to produce a
rating for the assessment of rippability once one recognizes that
the rock class which may be rated as very poor rock for tunneling
is, in terms of rippability, a very good rock.
The rippability rating chart shown overleaf is therefore pro-
posed, utilizing the rock parameters already described.
Case studies
Silica sand, Hartebeestpoort: The deposit comprises soft rock,
highly weathered, massive, horizontally bedded quartzite. Seismic
wave velocity for the material is 1 300 mls which classifies the
rock as a hard rip rock, rippable by a D8 tractor. Material could be
cut from a vertical face by a Cat 966 front end loader. Using a
D9G the rock could not be ripped and the ripper succeeded only
in cutting 300-mm deep by 1OO-mm wide grooves into the sur-
face. No brecciation or fracturing occurred at all.
, . From the rippability rating chart the following values are ob-
tained forthis material: SWV = 12; hardness = 1 ;weathering = 3;
joint spacing = 30; continuity = 5; gouge = 5; strike and dip = 15.
Total rating = 73. Analysis = Extremely hard ripping.
Coal seams, Witbank: Seams comprise soft rock, unweathered,
fractured, horizontally bedded coal. Seismic wave velocity for the
material is 1 520 mls which classifies the material as hard rip
rock, rippable by a D8 tractor. Material can be easily cut and loaded
from vertical face by a Cat 966 front end loader. Using a D8H the
coal could not be ripped and the grousers slipped, producing
315
 Rippability rating chart

Rock class I II III IV V

Description Very good rock Good rock Fair rock Poor rock Very poor rock

Seismic velocity (m/s) > 2150 2 150 - 1 850 1 850 - 1 500 1 500 - 1 200 1 200 - 450

Rating 26 24 20 12 5

Rock hardness Extremely hard rock Very hard rock Hard rock Soft rock Very soft rock

Rating 10 5 2 1 0

Rock weathering Unweathered Slightly weathered Weathered Highly weathered Completely

weathered

Rating 9 7 5 3 1

Joint spacing (mm) > 3000 3000 - 1 000 1 000 - 300 300 - 50 <50

Rating 30 25 20 10 5

Joint continuity Non continuous Slightly continuous Continuous - Continuous - Continuous -

no gouge some gouge with gouge

Rating 5 5 3 0 0

Joint gouge No separation Slight separation Separation < 1 mm Gouge - <5 mm Gouge - >5 mm

Rating 5 5 4 3 1

•Strike and dip orientation Very unfavourable Unfavourable Slightly unfavourable Favourable Very favourable

Rating 15 13 10 5 3

Total rating 100 - 90 90 - 70·· 70 - 50 50 - 25 <25

Rippability assessment Blasting Extremely hard Very hard ripping Hard ripping Easy ripping
ripping and blasting

Tractor selection - DD9G/D9G D9/D8 D8/D7 D7

Horsepower - 770/385 385/270 270/180 180

Reproduced by Sabinet gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2011).

Kilowatts - 575/290 290/200 200/135 135

• Original strike and dip orientation now revised for rippability assessment.
•• Ratings in excess of 75 should be regarded as unrippable without pre-blasting.

undesirable coal and fines. References

From the rippability rating chart the following values are ob-
tained: SWV = 20; hardness = 1; weathering = 9; joint spacing
= 10; continuity = 5; gouge = 5; strike and dip = 15. Total rating
= 65. Analysis = Very hard ripping.
Summary
The geological features which influence ripping may be sum-
marized as follows:
1. Rock type: Sedimentary and metamorphic rocks are more
easily ripped than igneous rocks.
2. Rock hardness: The softer the rock the more easily ripped.
3. Rock weathering: the greater the degree of weathering the
easier the ripping.
4. Rock structure: Discontinuities in the form of faults, fractures,
joints, cleavages, schistocity, bedding, laminations all act as
planes of weakness.
5. Rock fabric: Coarse grained rocks rip more easily than fine
grained rocks. Basic igneous rocks will tend to yield a higher
seismic wave velocity than acidic igneous rocks.
6. Seismic wave velocity alone does not provide the answer and
results obtained must be tempered by cognisance of geological
factors for correct analysis of rippability.
Acknowledgements
The contributions of A. Roberts and A. Blenkinsop are grate-
fully acknowledged. Special appreciation is due to P. Stone who
suggested that the above observations should be presented for-
mally. Thanks to P. van der Poel who prepared the drawings.
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316 DIE SIVIELE INGENIEUR in Suid-Afrika - Desember 1975