Civil Engineering Materials

Stones

Civil Engineering Department

University of Lahore
Lahore
 Building Stones
1/14/2020 6:52 AM
 Building Stones
Natural construction material used for different components of
building
• Stones used in most historical places
– Pyramids of Egypt
– Taj Mahal of Agra, India
– Great wall of China
– Greek and Roman structures
– Quaid’s Mausoleum in Karachi
– Shahi mosque in Lahore
– Forts at Rohtas, Lahore
– Grand Trunk Road
– Lloyd’s Barrage at Sukkur

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 3
 Building Stones
• Stone as building material lost its
importance due to
– Advent of cement and steel – less bulky,
stronger and more durable
– Structural strength can not be rationally
analyzed
– Not cheap and conveniently available
– Transportation difficulties
– Dressing problems
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 4
 Building Stone
• Stone: A construction material derived
from rocks in the earth’s crust and mixture
of two or more minerals.
• Mineral is a substance which is formed by
the natural inorganic process and
possesses a definite chemical composition
and molecular structure.

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 5
 Civil Engineering Uses
• Construction of residential and public buildings
• Construction of dams, weirs, harbors, bridge
abutments, etc
• Face work of structures for appearance and
ornamental value
• Road metal and railway ballast
• Aggregate for concrete
• Stone dust as substitute for sand
• Thin slabs for roofing, flooring and pavements
• Limestone for manufacture of lime, cement, etc

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 6
 Classification of Rocks
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 7
 Classification of Rocks
Rocks

Geological Physical Chemical Practical

Granite,
Igneous Stratified Argillaceous
Basalts

Sedimentary Un-Stratified Siliceous Marble

Limestone,
Metamorphic Foliated Calcareous Sandstone,
Slate

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 8
 Classification of Rocks
• Geological classification
– Igneous rocks (primary, un-stratified, eruptive)
– cooled down molten volcanic lava (magma).
Basalts and granites.
– Sedimentary rocks (aqueous, stratified) –
gradually deposited disintegrated rocks. Sand
stones and lime stones
– Metamorphic rocks – transformed due to
great heat and pressure. Granite to gneiss,
lime stone to marble, shale to slate

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 9
 Classification of Rocks
• Physical classification
– Stratified rocks – separable distinct layers.
Cleavage plane of split visible. Slate,
sandstone, lime stone
– Un-stratified rocks – no sign of strata, cannot
be easily split into slabs. Granite, basalt, trap
– Foliated rocks – having tendency to split up
only in a definite direction

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 10
 Classification of Rocks
• Chemical Classification
– Siliceous rocks – containing silica SiO2 (sand)
and silicates. Granite, basalt, trap, quartzite,
gneiss, syenite, etc
– Argillaceous rocks – containing clay or
alumina Al2O3. Slate, laterite, etc
– Calcareous rocks – containing calcium
carbonate or lime. Limestone, marble,
dolomite, etc

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 11
 Classification of Rocks
• Practical Classification
– Granites
– Basalts
– Marbles
– Sandstones
– Slates
– Etc, etc

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 12
 Stone Mountain, Atlanta, USA
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 13
Igneous Rocks
 Red Granite

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 15
 Vesicular Basalt

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 16
Sedimentary Rocks
 Old Red Sandstone

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 18
 Basalt and Sandstone

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 19
 Limestone and Slate

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 20
Metamorphic Rocks
 Green Slate

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 22
 Gneiss

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 23
 Granitic Gneisses

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 24
Miscellaneous Sedimentary
Material
 Glacially Transported Potpourri

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 26
 Glacially Transported Potpourri

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 27
 Chert Nodules

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 28
 Stone Masonry

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 29
 Characteristics of Good
Building Stones
• Appearance & color – uniform color, lighter shades
preferred, free from clay holes, bands or spots
• Structure – Not dull in appearance, crystalline
homogenous close grained is good, stratification should
not be visible, fine grained for carving
• Weight – heavier are compact, less porous, good for
hydraulic structures
• Strength – generally compressive strength needed,
igneous rock stones are stronger
• Hardness– resistance to abrasion, friction and wear.
Hardness scale 1 to 10
• Toughness – Withstand impact, vibrations, moving loads
• Dressing – uniform texture and softness for fine surface
finish
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 30
 Characteristics of Good
Building Stones
• Porosity and Absorption – exposed surface absorbs rain
water forming acids causing crumbling action. Cyclic
freezing and thawing of pore water
• Seasoning – hardening and weathering affect due to
evaporation of quarry sap and formation of crystalline
film. 6 to 12 months for proper seasoning
• Weathering – resistance to action of weather
• Resistance to fire – free from calcium carbonate or
oxides of iron
• Durability – compact, homogenous and less absorptive
is more durable
• Cost – quarrying, transportation, dressing and
installation

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 31
 Moh’s Hardness Scale
• 1 Talc, scratched easily by thumb nail
• 2 Gypsum, scratched by thumb nail
• 3 Calcite, scratched not by thumb nail but by
knife
• 4 Fluorite, cut by knife with difficulty
• 5 Apatite, cut by knife with difficulty more than 4
• 6 Orthoclase, cut by knife with great difficulty
• 7 Quartz, not scratched by steel, scratches
glass
• 8 Topaz
• 9 Corundum Sapphire
• 10 Diamond

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 32
 Moh’s Hardness Scale

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 33
 Moh’s Hardness Scale

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 34
 Tests of Stones
• Weathering test of natural building stones
• Durability test of natural building stones
• Water absorption and porosity test
• Test for determination of true specific
gravity
• Compressive strength test

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 35
 Selection of Sample for Tests
• A truly representative sample of grade of stone should
be selected
• Sample may be selected from quarried stone or natural
rock
• Separate samples weighing at least 25 kg each shall be
collected from differing strata
• Test pieces for toughness or compressive strength test
shall be at least 10.0 x 12.5 x 7.5 cm in size
• Test pieces shall be free from seams or fractures
• In case of field stones and boulders separate samples
shall be selected of all classes of stones based on visual
inspection
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 36
 Weathering Test
• Specimen
– 5 cm diameter, 5 cm high cylinders
– 5 cm cubes
– Smooth finished, edges rounded to 0.3 cm
• Three test specimens oven dried at 105 ± 5°C for 24 hrs
and cooled in desiccators down to room temp 20 to 30°C
• W1 weight of cooled and dried test piece, weighed to
nearest 0.01 gm
• Specimens submerged in water for 24 hrs at room temp
• W2 immersed and freely suspended sample weight
• Remove the specimen from water, wipe off surface water
• W3 weight after removal from water
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 37
 Weathering Test
• Place the specimen in a glass dish in solution of
25 ml of water and 2 gm of powdered gypsum
• Specimen dish kept in oven at 105 ± 5°C for 5
hrs till gypsum powder becomes dry
• Specimen cooled down to room temp 25 ± 5°C
• Heating and cooling cycle is repeated 30 times
• Specimen removed and cleaned with wire brush
• Specimen kept immersed in water for 24 hrs
• W4 weight of sample in air after 30 cycles
• W5 weight of sample freely suspended,
immersed in water
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 38
 Weathering Test
W3  W1 W  W1
A1   100 and A2  4 100
W1 W1
W4  W3
Increase in Absorption %  A2  A1  100
W1
W3  W2 W4  W5
V1  and V2 
d d
(W4  W5 )  (W3  W2 )
Increase in Volume %  100
W3  W2
• A1: Original absorption of specimen on 24 hr immersion
in water
• A2: Final absorption after 30 cycles
• V1: Original volume after 24 hrs immersion in water
• V2: final volume after 30 cycles
• d: density of water at observation temperature
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 39
 Durability Test
• Specimen
– 5 cm diameter, 5 cm high cylinders or 5 cm cubes
– Smooth finished, edges rounded to 0.3 cm
• At least three test samples dried for 24 hrs and
weighed as W1
• Samples suspended in solution of 14% sodium
sulphate decahydrate (density 1.055 kg/m3) for
18 hrs at room temperature
• Samples air dried for 30 minutes
• Samples now oven dried for 24 hrs at 105 ± 5°C

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 40
 Durability Test
• Samples cooled down to room temperature to
complete one cycle
• Weight W2 at the end of every 5th cycle noted
and 30 cycles completed
• Durability expressed as

W1  W2
Change in Weight  100
W1

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 41
Water Absorption and Porosity Test
• Sample preparation
– Sufficient material is crushed
– Material passing 20 mm sieve is retained
– Material washed to remove dust
• About 1 kg material is immersed and soaked in
distilled water at room temperature for 24 hrs
• Entrapped air is removed by vigorous rotational
motion
• Sample taken out of water and spread on cloth
exposed to atmosphere in shade for ten minutes
• Dry the Surface of test pieces dried with cloth

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 42
Water Absorption and Porosity Test
• On drying of surface, sample weight W1
recorded
• Distilled water added to sample in a graduated
glass cylinder in portions of 100 ml till level of
water reaches 1000 ml mark
• Entrapped air is removed after each addition of
water
• Total quantity of added water is recorded as W2
• Sample taken out of cylinder and dried in
desiccators at 100°C for 24 hrs
• W3 recorded when sample is cooled down

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 43
Water Absorption and Porosity Test
W1  W3
Water Absorption  100
W3
W1  W3
Apparant Porosity  100
1000  W2
W3
Apparant Specific Gravity 
1000  W2
• W1: Initial weight of dried sample
• W2: Weight of water consumed in saturation
• W3: Final weight of sample after drying for 24 hrs
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 44
 True Specific Gravity Test
• Crush 0.5 kg of thoroughly washed specimen to 3 mm
size, mix and make samples of 50 gm each
• Sample ground in agate mortar to pass 150 microns
sieve
• Sample is dried at 100°C, cooled in desiccators
• Specific gravity bottle is cleaned, washed, dried, cooled
and weighed (W1)
• About 15 gms sample placed in specific gravity bottle
closed with stopper and whole weighed as W2
• Three fourths of specific gravity bottle filled with distilled
water

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 45
 True Specific Gravity Test
• Bottle boiled for 10 minutes while removing entrapped air
• Bottle cooled to room temperature, filled with water,
stoppered and weighed as W3
• Bottle emptied, washed, filled with only distilled water,
stoppered and weighed at room temperature as W4

W2  W1
True Specific Gravity 
(W4  W2 )  (W3  W2 )
True Specific Gravity  Apparant Specific Gravity
True Porosity 
True Specific Gravity

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 46
 Test for Compressive Strength
• Specimen Preparation
– Cube size 5 cm, cylinder diameter 5 cm, height 5 cm
– Load bearing surfaces finished as nearly true, parallel and
perpendicular planes as possible
– Loaded face dimensions measured to nearest 0.2 mm
– Specimens kept immersed in water at 20 to 30°C for 24 hrs for
saturated condition testing
– Specimens oven dried at 105 ± 5°C for 24 hrs and cooled down
to room temp for dry testing
• Testing load gradually increased @ 140 kg/cm2 per
minute until break down
• Max load applied divided by area of bearing surface is
taken as the compressive strength of specimen
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 47
Quarrying of Stones
 Quarrying and Dressing
• Quarrying: An art of extracting from the
rock beds stones of different varieties
used for general building work and broken
stones for roads and concrete work, etc
• Quarry: The place from stone is obtained
by digging or blasting etc

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 49
 Quarrying Methods
• Digging or Excavating Method. Stones occurring
as detached nodules may be dug using manual
methods like crowbars etc
• Heating Method. Rock surface is heated for
several hours resulting into unequal expansion
and crushing of rock into small pieces
• Wedging Method. Layered rock is split at
cleavage or seam using steel wedges and pins
• Blasting Method. Hard and compact rock is
blasted out using explosives techniques
comprising boring, charging, tamping and firing

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 50
Quarrying
Tools

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 51
 Stone Dressing
• Pitched faced dressed – 2.5 cm edges dressed and
made square
• Hammer dressed, hammer faced, quarry faced or rustic
faced – dressed like a brick with 2.5 cm rough edges for
use in masonry
• Rock faced and chisel drafted – chisel draft of 2.5 cm
along edges
• Rough tooled – edges and corners made perfect square
and true
• Punched dressed – rough tooled improved up to 2 mm
• Fine tooled – fair smooth surface for ashler masonry

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 52
 Deterioration of Stones
• Rain.
– Physical Action. Disintegration, erosion,
transportation due to alternate wetting and drying
– Chemical Action. Decomposition, oxidation and
hydration of minerals due to acids formed with rain
water
• Frost. Pierces the pores, freezes, expands and
creates cracks
• Wind. Abrasion due to wind carried dust
• Temperature Changes. Expansion and
contraction affects on minerals of different
coefficients of linear expansion
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 53
 Deterioration of Stones
• Vegetable growth. Roots of trees and
weeds in cracks and fissures
• Mutual decay
• Chemical Agents. Smokes, fumes, acids
and acid fumes from atmosphere
• Lichens. Destroy lime stones. Molluses
make series of parallel vertical holes

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 54
 Preservation of Stones
• Stones should be kept dry with blow lamp and
applied coat of paraffin, linseed oil, light paint,
etc
• Stones should be washed with water and steam
to remove dirt and salt
• In industrial towns stones are preserved by
application of solution of baryta, Ba(OH)2 to form
insoluble barium sulphate
• Preservative treatment only slows down the
decay but does not stop it. All have harmful side
effects also

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 55
 Selection of Stones
• Cost – quarrying and cutting, dressing,
transportation charges, etc
• Fashion & Ornamental value including
color, shade, etc specially after prolong
usage
• Durability (usually overlooked and
disregarded), resistance to fire and
weathering

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 56
 Selection of Stones
• Heavy engineering works bridges, piers, abutments,
break waters, docks, light houses – granite (biotite,
hornblende, tourmaline)
• Buildings facing the sea – granite, fine grained
sandstone
• Buildings in industrial area – granite, compact sandstone
• Arches – fine grained sandstone
• Building face work – marble, close grained sandstone
• Fire resisting structure – compact sandstone
• Road metal and aggregate for concrete – granite, basalt,
quartzite
• Railway ballast – coarse grained sandstone, quartzite
• Electrical switch board – slate, marble
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 57
 Artificial Stone
• Definition - Building material made with cement,
sand and natural aggregates of crushed stone
for use in place of natural stone
• Properties
– Made with white cement, sand and natural
aggregates of crushed stone
– Molded into most intricate forms
– Cast into any size
– Reinforced to desired higher strength
– Desired coloring may be achieved
– Desired finish may be achieved
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 58
 Artificial Stone
• Concrete block. Cast in molds for steps,
window sills, masonry work, etc
• Ransom stone. Soda silicate plus cement
for decorative flooring
• Victoria stone. Granite pieces immersed in
soda silicate for two months
• Bituminous stone. Provide noise, wear and
dust resistant stone surfaces
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 59
 Artificial Stone
• Imperial stone. Crushed granite plus cement,
molded, steam cured
• Artificial marble. Pre-cast or cast-in-situ.
Portland gypsum cement and sand. Cast blocks
treated with magnesium fluorite, washed, paper
wrapped, machine emery ground, polished and
finally rubbed with ball of wool moistened with
alum water
• Garlic stone. Iron slag and cement mixture
molded into flag stones, surface drains, etc

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 60
 Comparison of Stones and
Bricks
• Stone • Bricks
– Natural material – Manufactured from clay
– Heavier – Lighter
– High dressing cost – Moldable to any shape
– Costly except in hilly areas – Cheaper except in hilly
– Less porous, good for areas
hydraulic structures – More porous, needs water
– Greater strength proof treatment
– Better heat conductor – Reasonable for normal
– Weather resistant loads
– Superior quality stone is – Poor heat conductor
monumental and – Needs pointing and
decorative plastering
– Architectural effect is
achievable
1/14/2020 6:52 AM CE-115 Civil Engineering 61
Materials
 Tests of Stones
• Hardness test
• Crushing test
• Impact test
• Fire resistance test
• Attrition test
• Acid test
• Water absorption test
• Smith’s test
• Crystallization test
• Microscopic test
• Freezing and thawing test
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 62
 Hardness Test
• Moh’s scale of hardness
–1 Talc, scratched easily by thumb nail
–2 Gypsum, scratched by thumb nail
–3 Calcite, scratched not by thumb nail but by
knife
– 4 Fluorite, cut by knife with difficulty
– 5 Apatite, cut by knife with difficulty more than 4
– 6 Orthoclase, cut by knife with great difficulty
– 7 Quartz, not scratched by steel, scratches
glass
–8 Topaz
–9 Sapphire
– 10 Diamond
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 63
 Hardness Test
• Coefficient of hardness
– Sample 25 mm dia cylinder, 25 mm height
– Rotated @ 28 rpm in Dorry’s testing machine
– Coarse sand sprinkled for 1000 rotations
– Coefficient = 20 – (loss in weight in gms)/3

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 64
 Crushing Test
• Sample 40 mm x 40 mm x 40 mm cube
• Saturation in water for 72 hours
• Axial loading on cube @ 13.7 N/mm² per minute
• Maximum load at which specimen crushes is the
crushing strength per unit area (N/mm²)
– Limestone – 50
– Sandstone – 70
– Granite – 70 to 130
– Slate – 70 to 200
– Basalt – 150 to 200
– Gneiss – 200 to 400

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 65
 Impact Test
• Specimen 25 mm diameter cylinder, 25 mm height
• Impact testing machine hammer and anvil
• 20 N hammer falls axially in vertical direction on
specimen
• Blow height
– First blow – 1 cm
– Second blow – 2 cm
– Third blow – 3 cm
– nth blow – n cm
• nth blow breaking the sample has toughness index value
as n

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 66
 Attrition Test
• Also know as abrasion test, determines the rate
of wear of stones used in road construction
• Deval’s attrition testing machine
• Test details
– 60 mm size pieces of sample stone weighing 50 N
placed in two 200 mm and 340 mm cylinders of
machine
– Cylinders rotated for 5 hours @ 30 rpm
– Contents sieved through 1.5 mm sieve, and material
retained is weighed
– Percentage wear = loss in weight / initial weight x 100
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 67
 Water Absorption Test
• A 0.5 N cube of given sample prepared and weighed as
W1 N
• Immersed in water for 24 hours and weighed as W2 N
• Cube suspended freely in water and weighed as W3 N
• Cube kept in boiling water for 5 hours and weighed as
W4 N
• %age absorption by weight = (W2 – W1)/W1 x 100
• %age absorption by volume = (W2 – W1)/(W2 – W3) x
100
• %age porosity by volume = (W4 – W1)/(W2 – W3) x 100
• Saturation Coefficient = water absorption / total porosity
= (W2 – W1)/(W4 – W1) x 100

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 68
 Miscellaneous Tests
• Fire Resistance Test
– Stone free from calcium carbonate can resist fire
– Few drops of dilute sulphuric acid dropped over stone
if produces bubbles detects presence of calcium
carbonate
• Acid Test
– Stone is kept for one week in 1% strong solution of
sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid. High alkaline
and lime content stones loose material

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 69
 Miscellaneous Tests
• Smith’s Test
– Indicates presence of earthly matter
– Sample broken into small pieces in put into clean
water and shaken vigorously
– Dirty color shows presence of earthly matter
• Crystallization Test
– Shows durability or weathering quality
– Sample of stone immersed in solution of sodium
sulphate and dried in hot air
– Wetting and drying done for two hours and difference
in weight recorded

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 70
 Miscellaneous Tests
• Microscopic Test
– Mineral constituents
– Texture of stone
– Average grain size
– Nature of cementing material
– Existence of fissures, pores, veins and shakes
• Freezing and Thawing Test
– Sample of stone immersed in water for 24 hours
– Sample placed in freezing mixture at -12 °C for 24
hours
– Sample thawed in shade at room temperature
– Procedure repeated several times and behavior noted
1/14/2020 6:52 AM 71
 Any Questions ???

1/14/2020 6:52 AM 72