A Failure Criterion of Weak and Crushable Limestone Rock in Mining Field containing Karstic Cavities

Authors

  • Yahya Alassaf Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia
  • Abdelkader Mabrouk Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia
  • Mehrez Jamei Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia
  • Anwar Ahmed Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia
Volume: 14 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 14692-14697 | June 2024 | https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.7295

Abstract

This study aims to correlate the mechanical properties measured in the laboratory and the field for weak and crushable limestone in a mining site containing random karstic cavities. Compressive tests were performed in the laboratory to obtain Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and rock mass modulus (Erm). Field tests were: i) boring and drilling cores that allowed obtaining Rock Quantification Distribution (RQD) and recovery rock parameter (REC), and ii) Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) to detect and locate random cavities in the underground limestone deposit. The correlation between the Em/UCS rate and the RQD was determined and analyzed. Based on the role of the new interpretation of the Geological Strength Index (GSI) and its relationship with the Erm/UCS rate, a mathematical relationship was determined to link GSI and RQD. This relationship was a basis for modifying the generalized Hoek-Brown criterion, involving the amplitude of reflected electromagnetic waves (EM) provided by GPR field tests.

Keywords:

weak limestone rock, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), rock mass modulus (Em), Rock Quality Designation (RQD), weak Limestone rock; unconfined compressive strength (UCS), rock mass modulus (Erm) Rock Quality Designation (RQD), Karstic cavities, Ground Penetration Radar (GPR), Failure Creterion, Ground Penetration Radar (GPR)

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Y. Koobaa, H. Guiras, and M. Jamei, "Compression and shear strengths of sandy limestone and the role of the porosity: a case study," Soils and Rocks, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 693–705, Oct. 2020.

H. Daoud, K. Rashed, and Y. Alshkane, "Correlations of Uniaxial Compressive Strength and Modulus of Elasticity with Point Load Strength Index, Pulse Velocity and Dry Density of Limestone and Sandstone Rocks in Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.," Journal of Zankoy Sulaimani - Part A, vol. 19, no. 3–4, pp. 57–72, 2017.

S. Vidana Pathiranagei, I. Gratchev, C. Cui, and B. Elsmore, "New weathering classification system of rocks based on the engineering properties," Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 82, no. 2, Feb. 2023, Art. no. 60.

S. M. Shaaban and S. Z. Tawfik, "Classification of Volcanic Rocks based on Rough Set Theory," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 5501–5504, Apr. 2020.

G. R. Lashkaripour, "Predicting mechanical properties of mudrock from index parameters," Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 73–77, Feb. 2002.

M. H. Leite and F. Ferland, "Determination of unconfined compressive strength and Young’s modulus of porous materials by indentation tests," Engineering Geology, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 267–280, Apr. 2001.

G. M. Elliott and E. T. Brown, "Yield of a soft, high porosity rock," Géotechnique, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 413–423, Dec. 1985.

E. Hoek and M. S. Diederichs, "Empirical estimation of rock mass modulus," International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 203–215, Feb. 2006.

Z. Li, Y. Xiao, R. Pigrim, J. Royce, and S. Butt, "Subsurface rock interface imaging with the application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)," presented at the 72nd Canadian Geotechnical Society Annual Conference, St. John’s, Canada, Sep. 2019.

A. A. Cigna, "A classification of karstic phenomena," International Journal of Speleology, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 3–9, 1978.

Ó. P. Anchuela, A. M. Casas-Sainz, A. Pocoví-Juan, H. G. Garbí, and P. Calvín, "Characterization of the Karstic Process in an Urban Environment Using GPR Surveys," Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol. 26, no. 8, Aug. 2014, Art. no. 05014004.

A. T. Chamberlain, W. Sellers, C. Proctor, and R. Coard, "Cave Detection in Limestone using Ground Penetrating Radar," Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 27, no. 10, pp. 957–964, Oct. 2000.

E. T. Brown, "Strength of Models of Rock with Intermittent Joints," Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, vol. 96, no. 6, pp. 1935–1949, Nov. 1970.

J. Zuo, H. Liu, and H. Li, "A theoretical derivation of the Hoek–Brown failure criterion for rock materials," Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 361–366, Aug. 2015.

E. Hoek and E. T. Brown, "The Hoek–Brown failure criterion and GSI – 2018 edition," Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 445–463, Jun. 2019.

H. Gasmi, M. Touahmia, A. Torchani, E. Hamdi, and A. Boudjemline, "Determination of Fractured Rock’s Representative Elementary Volume by a Numerical Simulation Method," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 4448–4451, Aug. 2019.

E. Hoek, "Fracture of anisotropic rock," Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, vol. 64, no. 10, pp. 501–518, May 1964.

E. Hoek and C. D. Martin, "Fracture initiation and propagation in intact rock – A review," Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 287–300, Aug. 2014.

N. Vlachopoulos, M. S. Diederichs, V. Marinos, and P. Marinos, "Tunnel behaviour associated with the weak Alpine rock masses of the Driskos Twin Tunnel system, Egnatia Odos Highway," Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 91–120, Jan. 2013.

O. Rincon, A. Shakoor, and M. Ocampo, "Investigating the reliability of H/V spectral ratio and image entropy for quantifying the degree of disintegration of weak rocks," Engineering Geology, vol. 207, pp. 115–128, Jun. 2016.

O. Rincón and M. Ocampo, "Weak rocks disintegration patterns recognition through image analysis," in 2017 Fifteenth IAPR International Conference on Machine Vision Applications (MVA), Nagoya, Japan, May 2017, pp. 338–341.

S. Birkenfeld, "Automatic detection of reflexion hyperbolas in gpr data with neural networks," in 2010 World Automation Congress, Kobe, Japan, Sep. 2010, pp. 1–6.

L. Mertens, R. Persico, L. Matera, and S. Lambot, "Automated Detection of Reflection Hyperbolas in Complex GPR Images With No A Priori Knowledge on the Medium," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 580–596, Jan. 2016.

M. Robinson, C. Bristow, J. McKinley, and A. Ruffell, "1.5.5. Ground Penetrating Radar," Geomorphological Techniques, 2013.

Downloads

How to Cite

[1]
Alassaf, Y., Mabrouk, A., Jamei, M. and Ahmed, A. 2024. A Failure Criterion of Weak and Crushable Limestone Rock in Mining Field containing Karstic Cavities. Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research. 14, 3 (Jun. 2024), 14692–14697. DOI:https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.7295.

Metrics

Abstract Views: 264
PDF Downloads: 281

Metrics Information

Most read articles by the same author(s)