FACULTY OF Page : 1 of 17

CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

OPEN-ENDED EXPERIMENT :
ROCK MECHANICS (2G4)

Students Pack + Test Manual

(2G4-1, 2G4-2, 2G4-3)+
Assessment rubrics

PREPARED BY : CERTIFIED BY :

Name : PM DR. EDY TONIZAM Name : Head of Department

DR. RINI ASNIDA

Signature :

Signature :
Date : December 2008

Date
 FACULTY OF Page : 2 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

(a) Objectives of the project

 To obtain rock descriptions and rock quality designation on samples recovered from boreholes
 To determine the hardness and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rock
 To determine the compressive strength of rock specimens from irregular lump test

(b) Learning Outcomes

After completing the project in this laboratory, you will be able to;
i. Identify the rock characteristics (description, quality, hardness, and compressive strength)
ii. Perform laboratory experiments in identifying and testing the rock characteristics using given instruction/
laboratory equipment/tools
iii. Analyse, interpret, relate the experimental data with the fundamental theories and consequently produce laboratory
report
iv. Work in a team

(c) Project Guideline

The project consist of three experiments. The execution of the experiment is very different from the other labs. The lab
activities are open ended that is you are required to brainstorm, and give ideas in solving the problem using the available
resources. The facilitator will give you the ‘problem’ that will be completed in two weeks. You will be given altogether
4 hours duration in lab sessions that are spread over two consecutive weeks. In addition, you may need another 2 hours
outlab session spread over between week 1 and week 2. In lab session means you and your group will carry out works
during laboratory class while out lab session is the discussion handled outside of class time with your group members
once the project is underway.

You and your group must use the provided resources or given test manuals 2G4-1, 2G4-2 and 2G4-3. The facilitator will
guide you the works that will be carried out in the first and second weeks. You and your group must divide the work
and work effectively to achieve learning outcomes. After the experiments, d iscuss the obtained results. Produce only one
report with the number of pages for not more than 5 (not including Appendices) and submitted exactly 3 days after the
project completed. The leader must ensure that each team member is responsible enough to contribute in completing the
work. The format of the report will generally be as follows:
 Title, team members
 Introduction
 Procedures
 Results and Discussion
 Conclusions
 Logbook (any discussion you made outside in-lab session)
 Appendices (if applicable)

(d) Assesment
Assessment will be carried out based on three items: report writing, teamwork and practical skills.
Please see appendix A
 FACULTY OF Page : 3 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

2G4-1: CORE LOGGING

Test Manual

INTRODUCTION
Rock descriptions are made on samples recovered from boreholes and excavations and/or from examination
of the in-situ materials. The characteristics of a rock, which play a major role in determining its engineering
properties and need to be given due attention when describing the rock, are the strength, weathering effects and
the discontinuities. The discontinuities are the most significant of these and so particular attention is paid to this
aspect. Engineering properties of rock are not included in and cannot be reliably inferred solely from this type of
geological classification, although a particular rock name can often indicate a range of typical engineering,
characteristics. Geological classification of rock materials is necessary to appreciate the geological origin and
structure of an area, to establish geological correlation between boreholes, and to distinguish boulders from
bedrock. This knowledge is also of importance when rock material is required for construction purposes.

OBJECTIVE
To obtain rock descriptions d rock quality designation on samples recovered from boreholes.

THEORY
Rocks seen in natural outcrops, cores and excavations should normally be described in the following
sequence:

a) Material characteristics : strength, structure, colour, texture, grain size, rock name.
b) General information : additional information and minor constituents, geological information.
c) Mass characteristics: state of weathering, discontinuities, fracture state.

APPARATUS:
1. Core barrel
2. Measuring tape

PROCEDURE:

State of weathering
- Include full details of the degree, extent and nature of weathering effects. Table 3 shows the grades of
weathering.
 FACULTY OF Page : 4 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

- Report the strength and reduction of strength using defined terminology, Include any direct or indirect
strength measurements made. Provide information on changes of
rock due to weathering and the extent of any such feature lie discontinuities should also be reported.

Core Recovery (CR)

Core recovery is defined as the ratio of core recovered to the run length expressed as a percentage.
Therefore:
Core Recovery (%) = 100 X Length of Core Recovered
Length of Core Run
These values should be recorded on the field logs on a core run by core run basis (see Table 1).

Rock Quality Designation (RQD)

The RQD provides a subjective estimate of rock mass quality based on a modified core recovery percentage
from a double or triple tube diamond core barrel. The RQD is defined as the percentage of rock core recovered
in intact pieces of 10 cm or more in length in the length of a core run. Therefore:

RQD (%) = 100 X Length of Core in pieces > 10 cm

Length of Core Barrel

Mechanical breaks caused by drilling or handling should not be included in the RQD calculation. Vertical
fractures in the core should not be utilized in the RQD calculation.
 FACULTY OF Page : 5 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b
 FACULTY OF Page : 6 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

Table 1 shows the standard indices of fracture state of rock cores.

CR (%) Ratio of core recovered (solid and non intact) to

length of core run
RQD (%) Ratio of solid core pieces longer than 100mm to
length of core run

RESULTS

Core No. CR (%) RQD (%) Description

(weathering and
special features)
C1

C2

C3

REFERENCE
ISRM, 2007. The complete ISRM suggested methods for rock characterization, testing and monitoring: 1974 –
2006.
BS 5930 : 1981 Code of Practice for Site investigations (Formerly CP2001)
 FACULTY OF Page : 7 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

2G4-2: Schmidt Rebound

Hardness Test
Test Manual

OBJECTIVE
To determine the hardness and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rock.

THEORY
Straightforward principles apply when operating the Schmidt hammer, shown in Figure 1. A constant
amount of stored spring energy is imparted through a hammer mass to the plunger, causing the mass to rebound
a distance proportional to the total energy absorbed by the impact surface. The rebound index is shown by the
indicator and is defined as the ‘rebound index’. The degree of rebound varies, depending upon rock elastic
properties. The height of rebound of the mass is measured on a scale and is taken as the measure of hardness.

APPARATUS:
The Schmidt hammer – Type L with impact energy of 0.74 Nm.
A steel base of minimum weight of 20kg.

PROCEDURE:
1. Prior to each testing sequence, calibrate the Schmidt hammer.
2. Specimens obtained for the laboratory tests shall be representative of the rock to be studied. Use larger
piece of rock if possible. The test surface of all specimens shall be smooth and flat over the area
covered by the plunger.
3. Securely clamp the individual pieces of rock to a rigid base to adequately secure the specimen against
vibration and movement during the test. Place the base on a flat surface that provides firm support.
4. Use hammer in one of the three positions: vertically upwards, horizontally, or vertically downwards
with the axis of the hammer  5° from the desired position. Record and report the hammer orientation
for the test and any corrections applied to non-vertical or non-horizontal orientations in the results.
5. Conduct at least 20 individual tests on the rock sample. Separate the test locations by at least the
diameter of the plunger.

CALCULATIONS
The calibration curve in Chart A assumes the rock density of the order 2000kg/m³. The curve applies with the
hammer in the horizontal direction (i.e. vertical rock surfaces). If the hammer is used in any other orientation,
the correction factors in the table below must be applied to the rebound value obtained.
 FACULTY OF Page : 8 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

Rebound R +90° +45° -45° -90°

10 +2.4 +3.2
20 -5.4 -3.5 +2.5 +3.4
30 -4.7 -3.1 +2.3 +3.1
40 -3.9 -2.6 +2.0 +2.7
50 -3.1 -2.1 +1.6 +2.2
60 -2.3 -1.6 +1.3 +1.7

For values greater than R=50 to convert to compressive strength use the equation:
= 1.72R - 18.96
 FACULTY OF Page : 9 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

RESULTS

SAMPLE 1
Lithologic description of rock:
Type of specimen:
Shape and size of specimen:
Orientation of hammer:
Method of specimen clamping:

UCS
READING Rebound value Remarks
(MPa)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
 FACULTY OF Page : 10 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b
 FACULTY OF Page : 11 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

REFERENCE
ISRM, 2007. The complete ISRM suggested methods for rock characterization, testing and monitoring: 1974 –
2006.
 FACULTY OF Page : 12 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

2G4-3: POINT LOAD TEST

TEST MANUAL

INTRODUCTION
Point load test is carried out on core rock specimens or irregular rock fragments to obtain the point load
strength index (Is(50)) and unconfined compressive strength. This test does not require costly specimen
preparation and is a quick simple test. The failure load P and the distance between platens D are measured to
obtain the uncorrected point load strength P/D2. A correction is applied to account for the specimen size and
shape, and the unconfined compressive strength is obtained from a correlation equation. Depending on the
specimen geometry, three types of tests can be performed: diametral, axial, and irregular lump Figure 1. Testing
procedures as suggested by ISRM (2007).

Figure 1: Specimen shape requirements for (a) the diametral test, (b) the axial test, (c) the block test, and (d) the
irregular lump test (ISRM).
 FACULTY OF Page : 13 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

OBJECTIVE
To determine the compressive strength of rock specimens from irregular lump test.

THEORY
When first introduced, the point load strength test was used mainly to predict uniaxial compressive strength
which was then the established test for general-purpose rock strength classification. Point Load strength now
often replaces the uniaxial compressive strength in this role since when properly conducted it is as reliable and
much quicker to measure. Is(50)) should be used directly for rock classification, since correlations with uniaxial
compressive strength are only approximation. On average, uniaxial compressive strength is 20 – 25 times point
load test. However, test on many different rock types the ratio can vary between 15 and 50 especially for
anisotropic rocks, so that errors of up to 100% are possible in using an arbitrary ration value to predict
compressive strength from point load strength. The point load strength test is a form of indirect tensile test, but it
is largely irrelevant to its primary role in rock classification and strength characterization. Is(50)) is approximately
0.80 times the uniaxial tensile or Brazzilian tensile strength.

PROCEDURE:
1. Rock blocks or lumps of size 50  35mm and of the shape shown in Figure 1d are suitable for the
irregular lump test. The ration D/W should be between 0.3 and 1.0, preferably close to 1.0.
2. There should preferably be at least 10 tests per sample, more if the sample is heterogeneous or
anisotropic.
3. The specimen is inserted in the test machine and the platens closed to make contact with the smallest
dimension of the lump or block, away from the edges and corner (Figure 1d).
4. The distance D between the platen contact points is recorded  2%. The smallest specimen width W
perpendicular to the loading direction is recorded  5%. If the side are not parallel, then W is calculated
as (W1 + W2)/2 as shown in Figure 1d.
5. The load is steadily increased such that failure occurs within 10 – 60 sec, and the failure load P is
recorded. The test should be rejected as invalid if the fracture surface passes through only one loading
point (Figure 2).
 FACULTY OF Page : 14 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

Figure 2: Typical modes of failure for valid and invalid test, ISRM (2007).

CALCULATIONS
The uncorrected Point Load Strength Is(50) is calculated is given as:

Uncorrected Point Load Strength, Is = P/De2

Equivalent core diameter, De2 = 4A/ (for lump test)
Minimum cross sectional area, A = WD
Point Load Strength, Is(50) = F x Is
Size correction factor, F = (De / 50) 0.45 or from FIGG

REFERENCE
ISRM, 2007. The complete ISRM suggested methods for rock characterization, testing and monitoring: 1974 –
2006.
 FACULTY OF Page : 15 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

RESULTS FORM
Rock Type & W. Grade
Sample w1 (mm) w2 (mm) D (mm) Load (kN) Remarks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
 FACULTY OF Page : 16 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

APPENDIX A: RUBRICS FOR ASSESSMENT FOR ROCK MECHANICS

a. Rubric for report writing

ITEM Poor Fair Good Excellent
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Summary of Summary of procedure Summary of procedure Summary of
procedure and and purpose of work and purpose of work procedure and purpose
Introduction purposes of work with relevant with relevant of work with
with relevant background information background information sufficient relevant
background missing. Report is available but not background
information missing. reasonably well provided in full. The information provided.
Report is poorly organised. report is well organised. The report is very well
organised. organised.
Data collection Data are poorly Some data are missing The data collected are The data collected are
and organised or grossly and/or data deviate improperly tabulated clearly written and
recording incomplete drastically from the (units missing) or appropriately
expected norms. deviate appreciably from tabulated; the data are
the expected norms. within the expected
norms.

Analysis Calculations are Some calculations are All required calculations All required
grossly incomplete missing and/or there are are present but minor calculations are
and/or incorrect. significant errors in the errors are present in the presented and
calculations. calculations. Results performed correctly.
section is incomplete Results (with
(i.e. percentage error percentage error
values are reported where appropriate) are
without the values to clearly stated.
which they refer).

Discussion and Not all assigned

Some assigned questions are All assigned questions All assigned questions
conclusion questions are answered. Discussion of are answered and (if any) are answered
answered. Discussion results does not identify discussed lightly. and discussed
of results is appropriate concepts, Discussion of results appropriately.
inappropriate for the needs significant work, needs some refinement Discussion of results
lab and shows a lack and/or shows a weak but shows a reasonably shows a strong grasp
of comprehension of grasp of concepts. strong grasp of the of the scientific
scientific concepts. scientific concepts concepts covered by
covered by the lab. the lab.

Logbook No entries at all. Less

Once a week. Twice a week. At least three times a
than 80% of aspects At least 80% of aspects of Most aspects of the week.
of the problem have the problem have been problem have been All aspects of the
been properly logged. properly logged. properly logged. problem have been
properly logged.
 FACULTY OF Page : 17 of 17
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Revision :
CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY Date of issue :
I Procedure No. : FKA/PG/RK/SKAA 2012/b

b. Rubric for assessmment of Teamwork skills

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Criteria
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Ability to develop Unable to work Able to work Able to work Enjoys work
good relationships, and refuses to but with less and interact and always
interact with interact with interaction with with others. motivates other
TS1 colleagues, and work others. others. group members.
effectively with other
people to achieve
mutual objectives.

Ability to understand Refuses to Participates but Participates and Participates and

and play a role with participate in rarely provides sometimes routinely
TS2 other members. the group and in ideas in the provides ideas provides ideas
classroom group and in in the group and to the group and
discussion. classroom in classroom in classroom
discussion. discussion. discussion.

Ability to identify Always Occasionally Occasionally Always

and respect other demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates
people’s behaviour negative negative constructive constructive
TS3 and beliefs. opinions and opinions and is opinions but is opinions and is
resists only partially only partially highly
completing the involved in involved in responsible in
group tasks. completing the completing the completing the
group tasks. group tasks. group tasks.

a. Rubric for Practical skills assessment

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Does not reproduce any Reproduce little activities Reproduce nearly all Reproduce all activities
activities required required from activities from standard from standard
from standard standard instructions instructions and given instructions and given
instructions and given and given laboratory laboratory laboratory
laboratory equipment/tools equipment/tools equipment/tools
equipment/tools