A Study on the Soundness of Parent Rocks in Sri Lanka

Volume 1 - Issue 4

Ude S Jayawardena*

Received: March 28, 2018;   Published: April 06, 2018

DOI: 10.32474/TCEIA.2018.01.000125

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Abstract

Studies on the engineering properties of different rock types provide a prior knowledge on the quality of such rock types as well as potential locations of suitable sources for the industry. The property “soundness” of a material measures the tendency to split into pieces similar to physical weathering during expansion and contraction processes within it. This soundness varies according to the type of minerals in a rock and its’ origin. If rocks are using for aggregates for concrete or other applications the estimation of their soundness is necessary. With the aim of that, fresh rock samples of different rock types were collected from quarries and exposed rocks in different locali-ties in Sri Lanka to study the variation of soundness property in different rock aggregates. Samples were tested in the geotechnical engineering laboratory using sodium sulfate solution according to the Standard Method ASTM C88-99a. The rock types were Chranockite/charnockitic gneiss, garnet/hornblende/biotite gneiss, Microcline/Granitic gneiss, Garnet/biotite gneiss, Marble, Hornblende biotite gneiss, Quartzite, pegmatite, pink granite and Miocene limestone. Accordingly charnockite/ charnockitic gneiss shows the lowest loss of weight percentage as the highly sound rock for aggregates. Miocene limestone is the highly unfavorable rock.

Keywords: Soundness; Rock types; Aggregates; Constructions; Civil engineering

Abstract| Introduction| General Geography and Geology of Sri Lanka| Method of Study| Result and Discussion| Conclusion| References|