An evaluation of the geotechnical characteristics of Gahirat marble using empirical methods: A case study from the Chitral area, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, North Pakistan
Keywords:
Chitral; Gahirat marble; Geotechnical properties; uniaxial compressive strength; Brazilian tensile strength; Empirical correlation; North PakistanAbstract
The use of marble as a building or dimension stone is one of the most growing commodities throughout
the world. Due to the rapid increase in urbanization, dimension stones are commonly used in building
interiors as well as exteriors. Marble, being a metamorphic rock is very desirable to be utilized in structural as
well as decorative purposes. The study presented herein evaluates the geotechnical characteristics of the
Gahirat marble in the Chitral area, Pakistan. For this purpose, 40 representative samples of the Gahirat marble
from ten different vicinities of the Chitral area were collected and tested to determine the correlation amongst
the different geotechnical properties of the studied rock. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Brazilian
tensile strength (BTS), water absorption, specific gravity, point load strength (PLS), Schmidt rebound
hammer, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and soundness, tests were performed to evaluate the strength of the
Gahirat marble for its possible use as a dimension and building stone. An average of 12 measurements for
each of the ten rock sample collection vicinities were performed. The statistical analysis shows that a fairly
strong linear positive correlation (R2 = 0.80, 0.81, 0.84, 0.92) exists between UCS along with BTS, specific
gravity, water absorption PLS and UPV. The maximum values obtained for the 12 measurements regarding
the mechanical properties such as UCS, BTS, PLS and Schmidt hammer rebound number were 97.25 MPa,
11.34 MPa, 6.75 MPa and 51, respectively. The maximum values of the physical properties such as water
absorption, soundness, specific gravity and UPV tests were calculated to be 0.08%, 0.38, 2.68 and 5.04 km/s,
respectively. The results of the uniaxial compressive strength, Brazilian tensile strength, point load strength
and Schmidt hammer rebound tests indicate that the Gahirat marble shows high resistance to crushing and
bending effects while the specific gravity values indicate its ability to bear the impact of the degree of
polishing and grinding. The water absorption and soundness test values indicated that the Gahirat marble is
appropriate to be utilized for floor tiles and outdoor cladding due to its resistance against weathering and low
rate of the water absorption.
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