GEOMECHANICS AND ENGINEERING, cilt.15, sa.2, ss.805-810, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
The abrasivity of rocks results in tool wear in rock excavation or drilling projects. It can affect significantly the cost and schedule of the projects performed in abrasive rock massess. For this reason, the understanding of the mechanism of rock abrasivity is very important for excavation projects. This study investigates the effect of strength on the LCPC abrasivity coefficient (LAC) for igneous rocks. The LCPT test, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and the Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) tests were carried out on the igneous rock samples. The abrasive mineral content (AMC) was also determined for each rock type. First, the LAC was correlated to the AMC and a very good correlation was found between the two parameters. Then, the multiple regression analysis was carried out by including the AMC, UCS and BTS to the analysis in order to infer the effect of the strength on the LAC. It was seen that the correlation coefficients of multiple regression models were greater than that of the relation between the LAC and the AMC. It is concluded that the AMC is the dominant parameter determining the abrasivity of rock. On the other hand, the rock strength has also significant effect on rock abrasivity.