CHAPTER 6

ROCK
CLASSIFICATION
1
LEARNING OUTCOME (CO2:PO1)

LO

To study properties of To identify engineering

rocks: physical and testing of rock strength
mechanical and durability

2
Rock are significant for two major
reasons in engineering:

As building materials for constructions

As foundations on which the

constructions are setting;
For the consideration of rocks as construction material
the engineers concern about:

i) Density to some extent (for calculating the weight,

load to the foundation, etc.);
ii) Strength;
iii) Durability;

For the consideration of rocks as the construction

foundation the engineers concern about:

(a) Density;
(b) Strength;
(c) Compressibility;
• A scale of strength, based on the uniaxial compressive
test is shown in the following table.

• The strength of a rock material determined in the uniaxial

compression or point load test is dependent on the
moisture content of the specimen, anisotropy and the test
procedure adopted, all of which should be reported.

• The use of simpler index tests in the field is

recommended to provide additional data and as a check
on the manually assessed strengths; the Point Load Test
[181] and Schmidt Hammer are amongst the more
commonly used.

• The size and shape of lumps, strength of operator, weight

of hammer and surface on which lumps rest affect the
assessment of the strength.
• Density :
• Elastic properties :
- elastic modulus
UNIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST
MACHINE
 STRESS AND STRAIN
STRESS:
-Force per unit area
-Special case : stress in fluid is called pressure, the stress at given point
In all directions are all the same (isotropic stress)

STRAIN:
-Deformation in a unit length, volume or area
- Change in shape or size of an object in response to an applied stress
(deformation)
- Three types of strain:
i) Elastic
ii) Ductile (Plastic)
iii) Brittle (Rupture)
THREE TYPES OF STRAIN
ELASTIC DEFORMATION

- A temporary change in shape or size that is

recovered when the applied stress is removed

DUCTILE DEFORMATION (PLASTIC)

- A permanent change in shape or size that is not

recovered when the applied stress is removed
i.e. its flows or bends

BRITTLE DEFORMATION (RUPTURE)

-The loss of cohesion of a body under the
influence of deforming stress
- i.e. it breaks
INDEX PROPERTIES OF ROCKS
POROSITY

PERMEABILITY

DENSITY

SONIC VELOCITY

DURABILITY

STRENGTH
 POROSITY
• Porosity of a rock is the ability
of a rock to hold a fluid Rock type Porosity%
Granite 0.5-1.5
• Groundwater occurs in the
voids space of earth materials; Dolerite 0.1-0.5
soils, unconsolidated
sediments and rocks Sandstone 5.0-25.0

• Even rock that was formed as Shale 10.0-30.0

a solid mass will fracture as it
is bring towards the surface. Limestone 5.0-20.0
These fractures provide space
for storage and movement of Dolomite 1.0-5.0
groundwater.
Quartzite 0.1-0.5
PERMEABILITY
• Is a measure of the amount of flow of a fluid
through a rock.
• A rock may be very porous, but if the pores are
not connected, it will not have any permeability.

DENSITY
• Density = (weight in air) / (weight in air) –
(weight in water)
STRENGTH
• Determination by abrasion test

DURABILITY
• Determination by sulphate soundness test and
freezing and thawing test
ENGINEERING TEST FOR STRENGTH AND DURABILITY

SLAKE DURABILITY TEST

POINT LOAD TEST

REBOUND HARDNESS TEST

• To assesses the resistance offered by a rock
sample to weakening and disintegration when
subjected to drying and wetting cycles.
Table 2 Description of the degree of slaking by Franklin and Chandra (1972)

Amount of Slake-durability index

slaking (%)*
Very low 0 – 25
Low 25 – 50
Medium 50 – 75
High 75 – 95
Very High over 95
POINT LOAD TEST APPARATUS
Rock mass classification system was proposed in order to
formalize an empirical approach of classification for
geotechnical engineering works.

The rock mass classifications were developed for

investigation procedures and the most predominant
design approach.

The rock mass classification is also a system of

classification for a systematic planning and documentation
of the related ground information.
 Fracture State
Criteria Indices

Total Core Recovery Ratio of core recovered (solid or non-intact) to

(TCR) (%) length of core run (in 1.5 m length).

Solid Core Recovery Ratio of solid core recovered to length of core run
(SCR) (%) (in 1.5 m length).

Rock Quality Ratio of solid core pieces longer than 100 mm to

Designation the length of core run (in 1.5 m length)
(RQD) (%)

Fracture Index A count of the number or spacing of fractures over

an arbitrary length of core of similar intensity of
fracturing. Commonly reported either as Fracture
Index (FI, number of fractures per metre) or as
Fracture Spacing (If, mm).
Rock Quality Designation (RQD) and
Fracture Index

RQD (%) Number of Description

Fracture
90 - 100 <1 Excellent

75 - 90 1-5 Good

50 - 75 5-8 Fair

25 - 50 8 - 15 Poor

0 - 25 > 15 Very Poor