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Triaxial strength of a fault breccia of weak rocks in a strong matrix

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Abstract

Triaxial strengths are difficult to obtain when the rock is very heterogeneous with respect to particle size and particle lithology and the samples are difficult to obtain and prepare. A fault breccia with clasts weaker than the matrix was investigated. It was found that its strength was related to the proportion of the blocks and the size of the specimen. The volumetric block proportion and texture coefficient were evaluated by core scanning and image processing. Triaxial compressive strength tests were conducted on different sized cores and different proportions of blocks. The most accurate estimations of the lower bound strength were obtained using larger diameter cores and samples with a higher volumetric block proportion.

Résumé

Les essais de compression triaxiale sont délicats à réaliser lorsque la roche est très hétérogène quant à la taille et la nature pétrographique des constituants, le prélèvement et la préparation des échantillons étant très difficiles. Une brèche de faille présentant des fragments de roche tendre dans une matrice plus résistante a été étudiée. Il est apparu que sa résistance dépendait de la proportion de fragments rocheux et de la taille de l’échantillon. La proportion de fragments rocheux et un coefficient de texture ont été évalués à partir du traitement d’images scanner des échantillons. Les essais de compression triaxiale ont été réalisés sur des échantillons de différentes tailles et présentant des proportions variées de fragments rocheux. Les estimations les plus précises quant à la limite inférieure de résistance ont été obtenues pour les échantillons de plus grand diamètre et comportant les plus fortes proportions de fragments rocheux.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The authors thank Dr. G. Rafat from DMT for the scanning of the cores.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mining Engineering Department, Nigde University, Nigde, Turkey

    S. Kahraman

  2. Engineering Geology Department, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    M. Alber

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  1. S. Kahraman
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  2. M. Alber
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Correspondence to S. Kahraman.

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Kahraman, S., Alber, M. Triaxial strength of a fault breccia of weak rocks in a strong matrix. Bull Eng Geol Environ 67, 435–441 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-008-0152-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-008-0152-3

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