Variation on physico-mechanical properties of Kota stone under different watery environments

Abstract

The physico-mechanical properties of rocks play an important role in planning and designing of civil constructional works. These properties are adversely affected by acidic and alkaline environments, where they are exposed for a longer time. The natural forces and agents of weathering have degrading effect on the appearance and structural soundness of Kota stone. These agents include rain, temperature, wind and atmospheric pollutants. Weathering agents almost never work individually or in isolation, they always act in combination with one another or with other agents of deterioration. The durability of building stones is primarily judged by its reactivity with acidic and basic water of different pH values. The conditions are very obvious in any of the large scale construction and use of building stone like sandstones and Kota stones. During the mining of carbonate hosted mineral deposits, the interaction of ground water with ore minerals affect the surrounding environment and rock types. This may cause problem in exploitation of minerals and may cause failure of slope or pillars. To avoid such problems, the prior study of effect of ground water charged with ions released from ore minerals on carbonate rock is important. In this paper, an attempt has been made to see the variation in the physico-mechanical properties of Kota stone under different watery environment. In the present study, the NX size cylindrical cores were prepared with the help of diamond core drilling machine as per ISRM standard. For each mechanical property, eight samples were prepared and tested. The prepared samples were put into the oven for 24 h at 104 °C to eliminate the moisture present and later submerged in to the water having different pH values ranging from nearly 0.89–12 for 24 h under stirring mode till it gets full saturation at room temperature. The study reveals that there is prominent change in strength properties under acidic and alkaline environments. Rock is considered as a neutral substance so at pH 7, Kota stone shows maximum strength due to non-reactive nature of the solution. Majority of rock mass is not neutral but some of the rock mass shows very minor changes in its strength. The chemical composition of the rock mass dominates the reaction process when it is submerged in varying pH solution.