Abstract
The construction purposes of carbonate rocks are considered a major aspect of using these bedrocks based on their mechanical behavior. Accordingly, the physical and mechanical characterization of Middle Eocene Limestone bedrock in the new urban area at the 15th May City, Egypt was studied to assess the suitability of the carbonate rocks for construction. This study has been carried out to investigate the effect of petrographic characteristics on mechanical properties. To achieve this objective, the intact 30 rock core samples from 15 boreholes were selected at different depths. Based on study of the selected samples in thin sections, the limestone in the area was classified as lime-mudstone, wackestone, and grainstone. Additionally, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and Schmidt Rebound Hammer (Rn) were determined to detect the mechanical properties of the limestone bedrock. The measured parameters (UCS and Rn) demonstrated a high direct relationship with mudstone and a poor direct relationship with dolomite and high negative correlation with wackestone and grainstone. Therefore, the Middle Eocene Limestone bedrock is more durable and has medium-strength, which made it suitable for constructions. Regression analysis was performed to find out some linear relationship between mechanical properties (UCS) with petrographic characteristics. The study reveals significant positive correlation between UCS and Rn with mudstone in accordance higher values of regression coefficient (R2 = 0.91 and R2 = 0.036), and an inverse relationship of Rn with dolomite % (R2 = 0.89 and R2 = 0.02), respectively. Consequently, the strong confidence on the mechanical parameters opens the way for engineers to predict the mechanical parameters that are required for engineering properties of limestone for the urban expansion.
Highlights
Limestone has been considered the main bedrock for roads, bridges, and tunnels construction, slope protection engineering, and water conservancy [1,2,3]
New urban communities are located in the study area, some of which are in close proximity to such quarry locations such as 15th May city, south of Helwan City
In geotechnical and engineering projects, rock classifications are based on mechanical parameters such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Point load, and Schmidt Rebound Hammer (Rn)
Summary
Limestone has been considered the main bedrock for roads, bridges, and tunnels construction, slope protection engineering, and water conservancy [1,2,3]. Recent expansion of the urban area over the surrounding desert land has directed the attention to investigate both the engineering and geological constrains on these new developments This city was constructed on Eocene limestone beds intercalated with thin beds of clay and very thin beds of salt. Physical properties of construction materials are directly related to UCS, mineralogical, and textural characteristics of rocks. This study has been carried out to investigate the effect of petrographic characteristics on mechanical properties These relations have their own effect for predicting the rock strength characteristic and their suitability for different engineering structures in 15th May City, southeast Cairo, for construction purposes, which are in close proximity to such quarry locations (Figure 1)
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