PREDICTION OF ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF A SELECTED LITHARENITE SANDSTONE FROM ITS PETROGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS USING CORRELATION AND MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES
R. Ulusay et al., PREDICTION OF ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF A SELECTED LITHARENITE SANDSTONE FROM ITS PETROGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS USING CORRELATION AND MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES, Engineering geology, 38(1-2), 1994, pp. 135-157
The determination of rock strength and elastic parameters in laborator
y tests requires high quality core samples which are not always availa
ble from fractured and/or weathered strata. The purpose of this study
is to apply a correlation analysis in conjunction with multivariate st
atistical techniques to petrographical and laboratory geomechanical da
ta for the investigation of correlations that exist between these prop
erties of a selected sandstone, and to suggest inexpensive predictive
models in a preliminary investigation. Sandstone samples from a boreho
le drilled for a preliminary investigation of a shaft location at a ha
rd coal region (Black Sea, Turkey) were tested to determine uniaxial c
ompressive strength, elastic parameters, unit weight, porosity, point
load index and quality index. Secondly, fifteen selected samples were
subjected to petrographic examination which included fifteen parameter
s and modal analysis. Based on the statistical analysis results, polyn
omial prediction equations were developed for estimating mechanical pr
operties from petrographic characteristics and index properties. The s
tudy revealed that the influence of textural characteristics appear to
be more important than mineralogy for predicting engineering properti
es. It is also noted that type of contacts, grain shape and size, rock
fragments with packing density and proximity are the petrographic cha
racteristics which have significant influence upon engineering propert
ies of the sandstones. Results of this study were presented in the for
m of correlation coefficient models and predictive models.