Abstract
The paper presents the results of a study of heavily fractured calcareous rock masses outcropping in southern Italy based on both the unidimensional joint frequency (Nl) and rock quality designation (RQD) of rock cores and seismic velocity data from laboratory and down-hole tests. The in situ longitudinal wave velocities (v) were always very low and were correlated with both Nl and RQD. Between 1 and 2 km/s, small increases in velocity were associated with a considerable decrease in Nl and significant increase in RQD value. A velocity of 1.22 km/s corresponded to an RQD value of 0. The study indicated that the simple correlation proposed by the International Society for Rock Mechanics to evaluate the RQD from the unidimensional joint frequency can underestimate the results for heavily fractured rock masses, but that good correlations can be obtained between RQD and seismic velocity.
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