Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01727-9

ORIGINAL PAPER

Classification of the intact carbonate and silicate rocks based on their

degree of thermal cracking using discriminant analysis
Umer Waqas 1 & M. Farooq Ahmed 1 & Muhammad Arshad 1

Received: 12 March 2019 / Accepted: 13 January 2020

# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
Discriminant analysis is a multivariate statistical tool that generates a discriminant function to predict about the group member-
ship of sampled experimental data. In this study, discriminant analysis was performed using IBM SPSS software package
(version 23) to discriminate between pre-defined groups of measured dynamic properties of thermally treated selected carbonate
and silicate rocks. The range of temperature variations was selected from 35 °C (laboratory temperature) to 200 °C to estimate the
change in dynamic properties including Q-factor (Q), resonance frequency (Fr), elastic Young’s modulus (Ed), damping ratio (ξ),
and specific damping capacity (Ψ) by using the “Erudite Resonance Frequency Meter” apparatus in accordance with ASTM C215
test procedure. The test results revealed significant variations in the values of Q, Fr, Ed, ξ, and Ψ with the rise in temperature. The
measured dynamic properties of selected sedimentary rocks were classified into 2 discrete groups based on their extent of thermal
treatment (i.e., 35–100 °C and 100–200 °C). Discriminant analysis–based classification results showed the sensitivity level of
86.70% and specificity level of 100.00% between predicted and original group membership. The estimated model hit ratio of
92.00% found better than maximum chance criterion and proportional chance criterion that indicates the high level of signifi-
cance of classification results. Q-statistic results also satisfied the high prediction accuracy of discriminant function. The out-
comes of this study could provide useful references in the classification and characterization of experimental data related to
geotechnical and geomechanical studies.

Keywords Dynamic properties . Thermal deterioration . Strength reduction . Discriminant analysis . Sedimentary rocks

Introduction
Discriminant analysis is one of the most powerful statistical
tools frequently used to solve the problems related to
geostatistics (Davis 2014). This technique is used to show a
maximum discrimination between the pre-defined homoge-
nous distinct groups based on their linear combination of var-
iables (Potter et al. 1963). It transforms the variable dataset
into a single discriminant score that represents the position of
* Umer Waqas
umerwaqas@uet.edu.pk
M. Farooq Ahmed
mfanr5@mst.edu
Muhammad Arshad
arshadm@tcd.ie
1 strength. On the other hand, beyond the threshold strength
Department of Geological Engineering, University of Engineering
and Technology, G.T. Road, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
variables along the line defined by function (Davis 2014). The
literature survey shows that the application of simple regres-
sion models is not enough to discriminate between very fine
variations and trends in the data linearity.
Thermal cracking event is one of the most important factors
that is responsible for alteration in the mechanical, physical,
morphological, and dynamic properties of rock material
(Chaki et al. 2008). Thermal deterioration of rock mass is
the result of freeze-thaw cycling effect, magmatic and volca-
nic activities, and heat waves through radioactive repositories
(Mardoukhi et al. 2017). Brittleness is the inherent character
of rocks that significantly affected by temperature variations.
A network of thermal tension cracks within the rock matrix
may lead to major discontinuities that ultimately reduce its
strength and cause failure in severe cases. Rocks are consid-
ered less sensitive towards static loading than a dynamic one
(Kramer 1996). In case of static loading, rock undergoes to
distribute the load and sustain unless it exceeds its peak
limit of rocks, high strain producing stress wave cycles force
 U. Waqas et al.

Fig. 1 Google Earth map of the

study area (imagery courtesy of
Maxar Technologies,
CNES/Airbus, and TerraMetrics
via Google Earth. Map data ©
2019) with approximate locations
of collected rock samples from
their exposed outcrop

the cemented grains of rocks to move in the direction of prop-
agation of the waves (Ahmed et al. 2018). Therefore, it is
important to study the dynamic behavior of rocks in detail
and its ultimate effects on the anticipated performance of un-
derground and surface structures.
Over the past decades, several researchers studied the phys-
ical, mechanical, and dynamic properties of rocks under high
temperature up to 1000 °C (Chakrabarti et al. 1996; Zhang
et al. 2005; Torok and Hajpál 2005). Previous studies on
geomechanical properties of different rocks showed an appre-
ciable reduction in their strength with the increase in
temperature (Brotons et al. 2013; Tian et al. 2012; Yin et al.
2015; Mahanta et al. 2016). Wang and Heard (1985) experi-
enced that the thermal stresses in crystalline rocks initiate
micro-fissuring, differential expansion, and cracking of rock-
forming minerals that cause reduction in their strength. Du-
Shouji et al. (2003) observed that Young’s modulus of granite
rock unit depreciates more under high temperature, by using
an ultrasonic method than conventional compression
methods. This behavior implied that the dynamic response
of granite is more sensitive as compared to its mechanical
behavior after thermal degradation. Mechanical strength and

Table 1 Mineralogical composition of selected rock units

Geological age Rock formation Rock unit Mineral composition percentage (%)

Quartz Feldspar Mica Iron Oxide Dolomite Calcite Clay minerals Micrite

Precambrian Salt Range Marl 22.00 0.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 75.00 0.00
Cambrian Khewra Upper sandstone 88.00 5.00 1.00 2.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 0.00
Middle sandstone 82.00 6.00 2.00 1.50 0.00 0.00 8.50 0.00
Lower sandstone 81.00 4.50 2.50 3.00 0.00 0.00 9.00 0.00
Cambrian Kussak Sandstone 76.00 10.00 4.00 2.00 0.00 0.00 8.00 0.00
Cambrian Jutana Dolomite 4.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 92.00 0.00 1.00 0.00
Permian Tobra Sandstone 79.00 11.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 7.00 0.00
Eocene Namal Limestone 0.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 10.00 57.00 0.00 29.00
Eocene Sakesar Massive limestone 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.50 17.50 61.00 2.00 18.00
Nodular limestone 0.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 20.00 33.00 1.00 44.00
Classification of the intact carbonate and silicate rocks based on their degree of thermal cracking using...

Table 2 Basic physico-

mechanical properties of selected Rock type UCS (MPa) BTS (MPa) UCS/BTS Specific gravity
rock units at room temperature
Jutana dolomite 41.16 ± 5.79 3.13 ± 0.73 13.17 2.79 ± 0.04
Salt Range marl 10.54 ± 2.04 1.02 ± 0.25 10.35 2.44 ± 0.08
Sakesar massive limestone 92.25 ± 5.39 6.37 ± 0.94 14.49 2.73 ± 0.04
Kussak sandstone 58.82 ± 5.74 5.13 ± 0.79 11.46 2.68 ± 0.04
Tobra sandstone 57.32 ± 3.39 4.94 ± 0.52 11.60 2.51 ± 0.03
Upper Khewra sandstone 41.22 ± 4.32 3.34 ± 0.99 12.32 2.48 ± 0.03
Mid Khewra sandstone 42.20 ± 4.76 4.05 ± 1.25 10.43 2.44 ± 0.03
Lower Khewra sandstone 35.59 ± 3.17 3.09 ± 1.00 11.52 2.60 ± 0.04
Sakesar nodular limestone 45.72 ± 5.96 4.46 ± 0.98 10.24 2.68 ± 0.03
Namal limestone 38.86 ± 3.91 3.80 ± 0.99 10.23 2.52 ± 0.03

dynamic elastic properties of sedimentary rocks first increase
linearly due to plastic deformation of pre-existing cracks and
then starts to decline because of the initiation of thermal ten-
sion cracks. At very high temperature, the rock grain bound-
aries start to open, and mineral alteration such as α/β phase
transition in quartz mineral alters the geomechanical behavior
of rocks (Rao et al. 2007; Nasseri et al. 2007; Yin et al. 2007).
Experimental investigation showed that the Q-factor, P-
wave velocity, and elastic modulus of thermally treated igne-
ous rocks (especially granite) decrease with the temperature
(Takarli and Prince-Agbodjan 2008). Stress-strain relationship
of thermally degraded rocks reveals nearly 50% reduction in
their dynamic properties as compared with those measured at
ambient condition (Inserra et al. 2009). Under the effect of
continuous heating and cooling cycles, the elastic modulus
of porous rocks depreciates drastically (up to 75% in a rapidly
cooled environment), which means that the periodic thermal
cycling effect significantly reduces the rocks strength
(Siratovich et al. 2015 and Freire-Lista et al. 2016). Above
600 °C stress-strain behavior of igneous rocks changes from
brittle to ductile, at this stage, non-linear trend observed in the
elastic modulus and P-waves velocity (Peng et al. 2016). The
thermo-elastic properties of sandstone including thermal
diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and P-wave velocity de-
crease with the change in rock porosity (Pimienta et al.
2018). The clay-bearing rock such as marl experiences signif-
icant variations in its damping ratio, specific damping capac-
ity, and loss factor under thermal cycling effect (Ahmed et al.
2018). Murru et al. (2018) showed that the effect of thermal
shocking deteriorates rock-type marble more than limestone
as it probably induces a dense network of pseudo-parallel
inter-crystalline, intra-crystalline, and trans-crystalline
microcracks in marble. The limestone rock when heated under
low to high temperature shows an exponential trend of thermal
damage factor calculated by the P-wave velocity, peak com-
pressive strength, and effective solid matrix (Yang et al. 2019).
The rock under the prolonged thermal cycling effect (even
at low temperature) receives unrecoverable thermal strains,
which cause reduction in its mechanical and dynamic
stability. Bauer and Johnson (1979) studied the behavior of
igneous rocks at low to moderately high temperature range
(i.e., 150 °C to 200 °C) and found the reduction in their tensile
strength, tangent modulus, and Q-factor value. Another study
performed by Kranz et al. (1982) revealed that granite rock
samples exhibited noticeable decrement in their strength, dur-
ing triaxial compression strength test at gradually increasing

Table 3 Average results of dynamic responses of selected rock units at temperature window of 35–200 °C

Rock units Temp (°C) Ed (GPa) Fr (kHz) Q-factor ξ Ψ

Jutana dolomite 35–200 50.253 ± 9.168 1.343 ± 0.080 17.400 ± 0.862 0.028 ± 1.473 × 10−3 0.180 ± 0.009
Salt Range marl 35–200 25.523 ± 2.542 1.036 ± 0.031 11.330 ± 1.097 0.044 ± 4.209 × 10−3 0.279 ± 0.026
Sakesar massive limestone 35–200 124.374 ± 18.232 2.503 ± 0.131 27.366 ± 0.880 0.018 ± 5.960 × 10−4 0.115 ± 0.003
Kussak sandstone 35–200 77.615 ± 13.018 2.026 ± 0.079 21.182 ± 0.813 0.023 ± 9.090 × 10−4 0.148 ± 0.005
Tobra sandstone 35–200 77.883 ± 11.255 1.822 ± 0.063 17.944 ± 1.054 0.027 ± 1.618 × 10−3 0.175 ± 0.010
Upper Khewra sandstone 35–200 71.252 ± 20.465 1.640 ± 0.055 16.966 ± 0.368 0.029 ± 1.301 × 10−3 0.185 ± 0.008
Mid Khewra sandstone 35–200 59.297 ± 6.534 1.788 ± 0.057 17.300 ± 0.591 0.028 ± 9.880 × 10−4 0.181 ± 0.006
Lower Khewra sandstone 35–200 55.238 ± 6.224 1.524 ± 0.049 16.094 ± 0.368 0.031 ± 7.120 × 10−4 0.195 ± 0.004
Sakesar nodular limestone 35–200 75.127 ± 15.295 2.000 ± 0.192 21.482 ± 4.395 0.022 ± 3.053 × 10−3 0.143 ± 0.019
Namal limestone 35–200 60.529 ± 9.171 1.897 ± 0.172 18.496 ± 1.674 0.026 ± 2.073 × 10−3 0.167 ± 0.013

Fig. 2 A setup of Resonance
Frequency Meter test apparatus
temperature ranging from 24 to 200 °C. Heap et al. (2009)
found significant decline in the strength of sedimentary rocks
at the temperature variations of 20 °C to 75 °C in a time-
dependent stress-strain study.
This study highlights the role of multivariate statistical
techniques to deal with the data related to dynamic rock prop-
erties. This study aims (1) to anticipate the dynamic behavior
of thermally treated selected sedimentary rock samples at low
to moderately high temperature and (2) to develop a discrim-
inant function between pre-defined discriminating groups of
thermally treated rock samples for the classification and pre-
diction purposes. The outcomes of this study could be used as
a guideline to characterize the rock mass deteriorated by tem-
perature variations and in the stability analysis of underground
and surface structures (i.e., tunnels, military ammunition re-
positories, and large storage caverns).
Materials and methods
The rock boulders of marl, sandstone, dolomite, and limestone
were sampled from their respective outcrops exposed in Khewra
gorge of Salt Range area, Punjab, Pakistan (see Fig. 1). In this
research work, the dynamic behavior of selected sedimentary
rocks was discerned at the temperature window ranging from
Fig. 3 The percentage decrease in
the Q-factor value of thermally
Percentage Decrease in Q-factor (%)
deteriorated rock core samples
U. Waqas et al.
35 °C (laboratory temperature) to 200 °C with the gradual incre-
ment of 50 °C. Table 3 shows the noticeable variations in the
dynamic properties of selected sedimentary rock samples at var-
ious temperatures.
The geological setup of the study area reveals that sedimen-
tary deposits including clay-bearing rocks, evaporites, sand-
stones, and carbonates are encountered over Precambrian base-
ment rock. The Salt Range formation that includes gypsum,
marl, and rock salt forms the lowest Precambrian sedimentary
sequence in the Khewra gorge. The marl is orange to red color
gypsiferous clay-bearing rock with variable size of quartz crys-
tals (Shah 2009). Thin-section analysis showed that marl has
22.00% of quartz, 2.00% of mica, 1.00% of iron oxide, and
75.00% of clay minerals (see Table 1). Purple to brown color
sandstone of Khewra formation rests above the Salt Range
formation. It has medium grain quartz, feldspar, mica, iron
oxide, clay minerals, and trance amount of preserved fossils
(Waqas et al. 2018). The Cambrian-aged, Kussak formation
overlies the Khewra formation and contains greenish-gray
glauconitic fine grain sandstone and siltstone with inter-
bedded micaceous dolomite (Ahmed et al. 2018). A 50–80-
m-thick bed of light green to dirty white sandy dolomite of
Jutana formation with small inclusions of breccia is deposited
above Kussak formation (Shah 2009). Thin-section analysis
revealed that it contains 4.00% quartz, 1.00% mica, 2.00% iron
30
35 °C 50 °C 100 °C 150 °C 200 °C
25
20
15
10
0
Jutana Salt Range Sakesar Kussak Tobra Upper Mid Lower Sakesar Namal
Dolomite Marl Massive Sandstone Sandstone Khewra Khewra Khewra Nodular Limestone
Limestone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Limestone
Classification of the intact carbonate and silicate rocks based on their degree of thermal cracking using...

Fig. 4 Percentage decrease in the 25

Fr value of thermally deteriorated
rock core samples 35 °C 50 °C 100 °C 150 °C 200 °C

Percentage Decrease in Fr (%)

20

15

10

0
Jutana Salt Range Sakesar Kussak Tobra Upper Mid Lower Sakesar Namal
Dolomite Marl Massive Sandstone Sandstone Khewra Khewra Khewra Nodular Limestone
Limestone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Limestone

oxide, 92.00% dolomite, and 1.00% clay minerals (see
Table 1). The Tobra formation of Permian succession is mainly
composed of thickly bedded medium to coarse-grained sand-
stone underlain by the Jutana formation. Generally, it is com-
prised of 3 facies, deposited over a major unconformity (Ghazi
et al. 2017). Tertiary succession above the Permian succession
is the uppermost exposed sedimentary strata in Khewra gorge
composed of thick beds of limestones that belongs to Namal
and Sakesar formations (Sameeni 2009). The Namal limestone
is fine grained and yellowish white in color with abundant
amount of fossils like foraminifera. The Sakesar limestone
caps the eastern flank of Salt Range. It consists of off-white
to light gray-colored massive limestone with fossils like fora-
minifera and off-white color nodular limestone with chert
lenses. The identified minerals in limestone samples are mica,
trance amount of iron oxide, dolomite, calcite, trace amount of
clay minerals, and micrite (see Table 1).
A total of 10 samples of the selected rock units including 1
marl, 5 sandstones, 1 dolomite, and 3 limestones were collected
from the Salt Range area. In case of carbonaceous rocks 2 out of
5 sandstone rock samples were collected from Tobra and
Kussak formations while rest of the 3 sandstone samples were
taken from upper, middle, and lower units of Khewra formation.
Similarly, 2 out of 3 limestone rock samples were gathered from
massive and nodular limestone beds of Sakesar formation, and
the remaining 1 limestone rock sample was taken from Namal
formation. Marl and dolomite rock samples were collected from
the Salt Range and Juana formations respectively (see Table 1).
Mineral composition determined by thin-section analysis along
with their stratigraphic sequence and basic physico-mechanical
properties of selected rock units at room temperature are de-
scribed in Tables 1 and Table 2 respectively.
The samples were brought to the laboratory to prepare NX
size rock cores in accordance with ASTM D4543 test proce-
dure, using 54.7-mm diameter barrel equipped with a
tungsten-carbide bit. It was ensured that major discontinuities
or disruptions should not be incorporated in the prepared rock
core samples. A total of 50 rock core samples (i.e., 5 rock
samples of each rock unit) were prepared and placed into the
laboratory oven for thermal treatment up to 200 °C with a
gradual increment of 50 °C (see Table 3). The oven tempera-
ture was increased gradually (5 °C/min) to avoid from thermal
shocking effect. Later, heated samples were kept into desicca-
tors and cooled gradually at the rate of 1–2 °C/min until they
stabilized and returned back to their laboratory temperature
(35 °C).
The thermally treated rock core samples were then tested as
per ASTM C215 testing procedure by using “Erudite

Fig. 5 Percentage decrease in the 60

Ed value of thermally deteriorated
rock core sample 50 35 °C 50 °C 100 °C 150 °C 200 °C
Percentage Decrease in Ed (%)

40

30

20

10

0
Jutana Salt Range Sakesar Kussak Tobra Upper Mid Khewra Lower Sakesar Namal
Dolomite Marl Massive Sandstone Sandstone Khewra Sandstone Khewra Nodular Limestone
Limestone Sandstone Sandstone Limestone
 U. Waqas et al.

Fig. 6 Percentage increase in the 45

ξ value of thermally deteriorated 40
rock core sample 35 °C 50 °C 100 °C 150 °C 200 °C

Percentage increase in ξ (%)

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Jutana Salt Range Sakesar Kussak Tobra Upper Mid Khewra Lower Sakesar Namal
Dolomite Marl Massive Sandstone Sandstone Khewra Sandstone Khewra Nodular Limestone
Limestone Sandstone Sandstone Limestone

Resonance Frequency Meter” apparatus that mainly consists E d ¼ Dcylinder W F r 2 ð4Þ

of a stiff wooden base, vibrator, receiver, and control panel as
where Fr is the longitudinal resonance frequency (Hz), W is
shown in Fig. 2.
the weight of the sample (kg), Dcylinder = 519.14 L/d2 (N s2/
This laboratory equipment can provide a loading frequency
kg m2), L is the length of the sample (m), d is the diameter of the
ranging from 1 to 100 kHz. In this study, the applied loading
sample, and Ed is the dynamic elastic Young's modulus in GPa.
frequency of 7 kHz was used to the rock core samples,
All the tests were conducted on the lowest output voltage of
clamped between the vibrator and receiver ends to determine
0.01 V to determine the value of Q-factor and resonance fre-
their dynamic properties including Q-factor and resonance
quency of 50 thermally deteriorated rock core samples. It was
frequency (Fr). The Q-factor is a dimensionless parameter
experienced that at higher output voltage applied loading fre-
which is the ratio of resonance frequency to bandwidth (i.e.,
quency does not synchronize with the natural frequency of the
the difference between corner and cutoff frequencies). It can
material to resonate it. In all the test cases, the values of per-
further be used to determine other important parameters like
centage decrement for Q-factor, Fr, and Ed and percentage
damping ratio (ξ) that explains the decay of oscillations
increment for ξ and Ψ were reported at temperature 35–
through a material and specific damping capacity (Ψ) that
200 °C with the increment of 50 °C interval. Later, the inde-
shows the ability of a material to absorb vibrational energy.
pendent variables were classified into two groups by using
Similarly, the resonance frequency of thermally treated rock
IBM SPSS software package (version 23). Group 1 contained
core samples can be used to measure their dynamic elastic
30 out of 50 cases, reported at the temperature window of 35–
Young’s modulus (Ed). Mathematically, Q-factor, ξ, Ψ, and
100 °C, and group 2 had remaining 20 cases, reported at the
Ed can be expressed as follows:
temperature window of 100–200 °C.
Q ¼ F r ðbandwidthÞ−1 ð1Þ

ξ ¼ 0:5 Q−1 ð2Þ Discriminant analysis

Linear discriminant analysis is similar to linear multiple re-

Ψ ¼ π Q−1 ð3Þ
gression analysis; however, it differs in a sense that in the

Fig. 7 Percentage increase in the 45

Ψ value of thermally deteriorated 40
35 °C 50 °C 100 °C 150 °C 200 °C
rock core sample
Percentage increase in Ψ (%)

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Jutana Salt Range Sakesar Kussak Tobra Upper Mid Khewra Lower Sakesar Namal
Dolomite Marl Massive Sandstone Sandstone Khewra Sandstone Khewra Nodular Limestone
Limestone Sandstone Sandstone Limestone
Classification of the intact carbonate and silicate rocks based on their degree of thermal cracking using...

Table 4 Assessment of data

normality using the Shapiro-Wilk Test for normality (Shapiro-Wilk)
test
Low thermal deterioration (35–100 °C) High thermal deterioration (100–200 °C)

dfa) Sig.b) df Sig.

Q-factor 30.00 0.05 20.00 0.01
Fr (kHz) 30.00 0.73 20.00 0.47
Ed (Gpa) 30.00 0.02 20.00 0.02
ξ 30.00 0.06 20.00 0.03
Ψ 30.00 0.07 20.00 0.04
a)
Degree of freedom
b)
Significance level

regression analysis, single dependent variable is correlated
with more than one independent variables whereas in discrim-
inant analysis, dependent variable is categorical and has
unique correspondence with the independent variables enti-
ties, originally classified into groups (Davis 2014). Before
going to perform this analysis, it is assumed that homogeneity
exists within the data of pre-defined rock groups, and it is also
free from dimensionality or multi-co-linearity issues (Jaba
et al. 2007). This analysis uses an ordinary least squaring
method to minimize the sum of squares within the group as
follows:
Total sum of squares ¼ SST ¼ Σ ðDi −MDÞ2
Sum of squares between the groups ¼ SSBT
¼ Σ ðMDk −MDÞ2
Sum of squares within the groups ¼ SSWT ¼ SST −SSBT ð7Þ
where i is the individual case, K is the number of groups, Di
is the individual discriminant score, MDk is the group cen-
troid, and MD is the overall mean discriminant score.
The generalized form of discriminant function can be
expressed as:
Z ¼ β o þ β1 X 1 þ β2 X 2 þ β 3 X 3 þ ::……… þ βn X n ð8Þ
where Z is the discriminant score that predicts and classify
group membership of newly sampled cases, βo is the discrim-
inant constant, βn is the canonical discriminant coefficient or
ð5Þ discriminant weight, and Xn is the predictor or independent
variable.
Wilk’s lambda (Λ) defines the goodness of fit of the model
ð6Þ (Ramayah et al. 2010) as follows:

Table 5 Correlation matrix between predictors

Q Fr Ed ζ Ψ

Q Pearson correlation 1.00 0.78 0.66 0.88 0.89

Sig. (2-tailed)a) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Nb) 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00
Fr Pearson correlation 0.78 1.00 0.74 0.77 0.78
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
N 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00
Ed Pearson correlation 0.66 0.740 1.00 0.57 0.62
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
N 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00
ζ Pearson correlation 0.88 0.77 0.57 1.00 0.89
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.00
N 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00
Ψ Pearson correlation 0.89 0.78 0.62 0.89 1.00
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
N 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00
a)
Significance level with 2-tailed test in hypothesis testing
b)
Population size
 U. Waqas et al.

Table 6 Statistics of predictors

that classified into the groups Group Mean Std. deviation Valid Na) (listwise)

Unweighted Weighted

Low thermal deterioration (35–100 °C) Q 3.20 4.01 30.00 30.00

Fr 3.22 3.32 30.00 30.00
Ed 8.67 8.61 30.00 30.00
ζ 3.67 4.98 30.00 30.00
Ψ 3.55 4.59 30.00 30.00
High thermal deterioration (100–200 °C) Q 11.53 6.43 20.00 20.00
Fr 9.82 4.34 20.00 20.00
Ed 28.15 9.01 20.00 20.00
ζ 13.49 10.28 20.00 20.00
Ψ 13.78 9.01 20.00 20.00
Total Q 6.54 6.52 50.00 50.00
Fr 5.86 4.95 50.00 50.00
Ed 16.46 12.97 50.00 50.00
ζ 7.60 8.90 50.00 50.00
Ψ 7.64 8.35 50.00 50.00
a)
Population size

Results and discussion

Λ ¼ SSWT ðSST Þ−1 ¼ ð1 þ λÞ−1 ð9Þ
In this study, dynamic properties of the selected carbonate and
λ ¼ SSBT ðSSWT Þ−1 ð10Þ silicate rocks were determined in terms of Q-factor (Q), reso-
nance frequency (Fr), damping ratio (ξ), specific damping
Eigenvalue (λ) describes the discriminatory power of the
capacity (Ψ), and dynamic elastic Young’s modulus (Ed).
model, the larger the value of λ, the greater will be the dis-
The nondestructive testing results for all tested rock core
criminatory power of the model and it can further be used to
samples showed noticeable reduction in the values of Q-fac-
find a canonical correlation (rc) between the discriminant
tor, Fr, and Ed and increment in the values of ξ and Ψ respec-
function and independent variables that explain the percentage
tively with the increase in temperature (see Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6 and
variance between the classified groups. It can be represented
7). This observation endorses that the thermal treatment of
as follows:
rock core samples may have induced microcracks within the
h i1=2 rock matrix that resulted in the reduction of their strength.
rc ¼ λ ð1 þ λÞ−1 ð11Þ There are two processes, (1) inter-granular cracking and (2)
intra-granular cracking, which are responsible for micro-
Classification results show sensitivity and specificity be- fissuring event within the rock matrix under temperature var-
tween original and predicted group membership. Hit ratio de- iations (Chaki et al. 2008). During inter-granular cracking
scribes the correctness of originally classified groups. The
significance of the classification results is compared with the
Table 7 Tests of equality of group means
maximum chance criterion (Cmax) and proportional chance
criterion. The prediction accuracy of the model equation is Wilks’ Lambda Fa) df1b) df2c) Sig.d)
checked by the Press’s Q-statistics.
Cutting score parameter helps to predict about the group Q 0.60 31.91 1.00 48.00 0.00
membership of sampled cases. The discriminant score values Fr 0.56 37.01 1.00 48.00 0.00
of sampled cases are compared with the cutting score to assign Ed 0.45 59.23 1.00 48.00 0.00
them a respective group. In the case of two groups A and B ζ 0.70 20.32 1.00 48.00 0.00
having the unequal population, their cutting score can be de- Ψ 0.63 27.97 1.00 48.00 0.00
termined as follows: a)
F-test score
Z cs ¼ 0:5 ðMDA þ MDB Þ ð12Þ
b)
Degree of freedom 1
c)
Degree of freedom 2
where Zcs is the cutting score. d)
Significance level
Classification of the intact carbonate and silicate rocks based on their degree of thermal cracking using...
Table 8 Explanation of function
statistics Function Eigenvalue
1 1.74
event, tightly packed grains start to loosen because of the
deterioration of binding agents between them. On the other
hand, intra-granular cracking process is the result of the dif-
ferential expansion of rock-forming minerals. Figure 3 shows
the percentage decrease in the values of Q-factor of all tested
rock core samples. Q-factor is a dimensionless parameter that
gives an idea about the extent of degradation of rock material.
Among all the tested rock core samples, the lowest and highest
Q-factor depreciation values at 200 °C were reported as 5.73%
and 28.22% in Lower Khewra sandstone and Sakesar nodular
limestone respectively. Sakesar massive limestone was ob-
served more resistant against thermal degradation among all
tested carbonate rocks, as its Q-factor value declined from
0.53–7.58% at the temperature ranging from 50 °C to
200 °C respectively. In the case of silicate rocks, the maximum
reduction of 13.10% in Q-factor value was noted in Tobra
sandstone at 200 °C.
Determination of natural frequency of different materials
depends upon their synchronization with applied loading fre-
quency. Earthen materials lose their strength when particles in
resonating material vibrate with the greater mode of vibration
and exceed their threshold limit (Waqas et al. 2018). The effect
of thermal degradation on resonance frequency (Fr) of sedi-
mentary rocks samples was studied, and a decreasing trend
was found in their values as shown in Fig. 4.
The nodular limestone of Sakesar formation among the
other carbonate rocks revealed a maximum reduction in the
Fr value varying from 4.25% to 21.44% at temperature rang-
ing from 50 °C to 200 °C respectively. In the case of silicate
rocks, Tobra, Upper Khewra, and Lower Khewra sandstones
exhibited almost similar kind of depreciation trends in their Fr
value as 7.95%, 7.69%, and 7.81% respectively at 200 °C. Salt
Range marl showed a minimum decrement in the Fr value of
6.59% at 200 °C than measured at its ambient condition.
Elastic Young’s modulus measured either under static or
dynamic loading is considered one of the most important pa-
rameters used to find the adequacy and stability of a material
(Martínez-Martínez et al. 2012). Figure 5 depicts the depreci-
ation trend in the Ed values of thermally treated intact rock
Table 9 Wilk’s lambda value to test the significance of function
Test of function(s) Wilks’ lambda Chi- dfa)
square
1 0.36 45.80 5.00
a)
Degree of freedom
b)
Significance level
Percent (%) of variance Cumulative (%) Canonical correlation
100.00 100.00 0.71
core samples. In the case of silicate rocks, Upper Khewra
sandstone showed maximum declination in the Ed values
varying from 18.32 % to 48.68% at temperature 50–200 °C
respectively. Least reduction was observed in the Ed values of
Mid Khewra sandstone and Lower Khewra sandstone by
23.16% and 23.23% respectively at 200 °C. In the case of
carbonate rocks, Namal limestone and Sakesar nodular lime-
stone showed the lowest and highest decrement in their Ed
value by 28.60% and 37.96% respectively at 200 °C.
Damping ratio (ξ) and specific damping capacity (Ψ) both
are dimensionless parameters just like Q-factor. The ξ gives an
idea about the dynamic stability of the material in designing
earthquake-resistant structures. To study the degree of mechan-
ical or thermal disintegration of rock material, stress waves
travel time data is carefully analyzed. Stress waves through
discontinuous and deteriorated rock material get amplified; as
a result, their travel time gets increased which indicate them as
low grade construction material. Similarly, Ψ shows the capac-
ity of a material to absorb vibrational energy. The rate of wave
attenuation through thermally deteriorated material depends on
its extent of the thermal cracking event. Figures 6 and 7 depict
the percentage increase in the values of ξ and Ψ of all tested
rock core samples with the temperature respectively. In the
case of carbonate rocks, Sakesar nodular limestone exhibited
maximum increment in the value of ξ ranging from 7.45% to
42.10% at the temperature window of 50–200 °C respectively.
Sakesar massive limestone revealed no variations in the ξ
values up to 100 °C; then, an increment of 5.55% was observed
at 200 °C. Tobra sandstone found least resistant against tem-
perature variations among all sandstones. Overall variations in
its ξ values were reported as 3.84–15.38% at the temperature
ranging from 50 °C to 200 °C. In the case of silicate rocks,
Kussak sandstone and Mid Khewra sandstone showed almost
the same increment in their Ψ values by 9.85% and 9.82%
respectively at the temperature 200 °C. Tobra sandstone and
Lower Khewra sandstone demonstrated the maximum and
minimum rise in the Ψ values by 3.68–14.72% and 2.11–
6.34% respectively at the temperature window of 50–200 °C.
Table 10 Structure
matrix Function
1
Sig.b) Ed 0.84
Fr 0.67
0.00 Q 0.62
Ψ 0.58
ζ 0.49

Table 11 Canonical discriminant
function coefficients
Q 0.18
Fr
Ed
ζ −0.21
Ψ 0.22
Constant
Discriminant function
Among all carbonate rocks, Sakesar nodular limestone re-
vealed the highest increment in the Ψ value by 5.96–39.66%
at the temperature ranging from 50 °C to 200 °C. Clay-bearing
rock marl also depicted a significant increase in the Ψ value by
27.86% at 200 °C.
A high degree of thermal degradation of rocks significantly
alters their geomechanical behavior and in severe cases, a rock
may totally lose its strength due to extensive thermal
weathering. A more robust statistical analysis is required, in
order to distinguish between low and high thermally deterio-
rated rocks behavior in terms of their dynamic properties. For
this purpose, discriminant analysis was conducted that gener-
ated a discriminant function between pre-defined discrete
groups to predict about group membership of experimentally
sampled cases. The conditions for applying discriminant anal-
ysis are listed below:
1. Independent variables or predictors should be normally
distributed. In case of violation from this condition, the
predictive accuracy of discriminant function may signifi-
cantly suffer (Lachenbruch 1975).
2. Dimensionality or multicolinearity issue should be con-
trolled. If independent variables are strongly correlated with
one another or one independent variable is highly dependent
on other variables, then, there will be no unique discrimina-
tion between the pre-defined groups (Jaba et al. 2007).
This study revealed that at the temperature window of 100–
200 °C, the values of independent variables including Q-fac-
tor, Fr, and Ed showed more depreciation than the values of
predictors measured at the temperature ranging from 35 °C to
100 °C. Similarly, the values of percentage increment of pre-
dictors ξ and Ψ were found higher at temperature window of
100–200 °C than determined at the temperature ranging from
35 °C to 100 °C. Therefore, these cases were classified into as
low thermal deterioration rock group (group 1) and a high
thermal deterioration rock group (group 2). The normality of
independent variables was assessed by conducting Shapiro-
Wilk’s test (Ramayah et al. 2010) as shown in Table 4. The
test results revealed that in hypothesis testing, the independent
variables accepted the null hypothesis (variables are normally
U. Waqas et al.
Function
1
0.09
0.06
−2.14
Z = − 2.14 + 0.18 Q + 0.09 Fr + 0.06 Ed − 0.21 ξ + 0.22 Ψ
distributed) at the confidence interval level of 99.00% with
p > α = 0.01 which confirmed the normality of group datasets
(see Table 4).
To satisfy condition 2, multicolinearity between the predic-
tors was determined using bi-variate correlation analysis as
demonstrated in Table 5. In correlation matrix, the values of
Pearson’s coefficient (R) between the predictors were found
less than 0.99 that showed the absence of dimensionality issue
(Davis 2014). The significance of these results also assessed
by conducting the hypothesis test under this null hypothesis,
i.e., predictors are strongly correlated with one another.
Results showed that it was found rejected.
Between pre-classified discrete groups, the independent
variables or predictors must show variations in their mean
values to discriminate between the groups (Jaba et al. 2007).
Tables 6 and 7 depict the results of group statistics and anal-
ysis of variance (ANOVA) test respectively that help to find
predictors, which significantly contribute to differentiate be-
tween the groups. Predictors Q, Fr, Ed, ξ, and Ψ significantly
discriminated between the group 1 and group 2 based on their
group mean values, varied from 3.20–11.53, 3.22–9.82 kHz,
8.67–28.15 GPa, 3.67–13.49, to 3.55–13.78 respectively. In
the ANOVA, F-test satisfied the significance of predictors and
rejected the null hypothesis, i.e., equality of group means of
same predictors in different groups as described in Table 7.
Discriminant analysis between 2 groups generated only 1
function. Discriminatory power of such function can easily be
determined by measuring its eigenvalue, which is the ratio of
Group-1 Group-2
Low thermal Cutting Score High thermal
deterioration deterioration
(35 ºC-100 ºC) C (100 ºC-200 ºC)
Centroid-1 Centroid-2
-1.05 0.26 1.58
Fig. 8 Schematic diagram of group centroids and cutting score
Classification of the intact carbonate and silicate rocks based on their degree of thermal cracking using...

Table 12 Classification results of original and predicted group membership

Group Predicted group membership Total

Low thermal deterioration High thermal deterioration

(35–100 °C) (100–200 °C)

Original Count Low thermal deterioration (35–100 °C) 26.00 4.00 30.00
High thermal deterioration (100–200 °C) 0.00 20.00 20.00
% Low thermal deterioration (35–100 °C) 86.70 13.30 100.00
High thermal deterioration (100–200 °C) 0.00 100.00 100.00

explained to unexplained variance. The eigenvalue more than
1 indicates good quality of generated function under study.
The greater the eigenvalue, the stronger will be the discrimi-
natory power of the discriminant function. Similarly, the ca-
nonical correlation describes the unique correspondence be-
tween the predictors and the generated function. A bigger
value of canonical correlation coefficient indicates a stronger
association between predictors and discriminant function. To
explain the percentage of variances between groups, the ca-
nonical correlation coefficient value is squared. Table 8 shows
the percentage variance explained by the function, eigenvalue,
and canonical correlation coefficient. In this study, discrimi-
nant analysis was performed between 2 groups; therefore, on-
ly 1 function developed that explained 100.00% variance be-
tween the groups. Eigenvalue and canonical correlation coef-
ficient values were found at 1.74 and 0.71 respectively. The
percentage of explained variance between the groups was ob-
served as only 63.00%.
In discriminant analysis, the significance of the discrimi-
nant function relies on Wilk’s lambda value. The small value
of Wilk’s lambda indicates a high level of significance of the
function. Usually, its value varies from 0.00 to 1.00. Table 9
demonstrates that Wilk’s lambda value was calculated as 0.36,
which is close to 0.00 and shows its high level of significance.
Furthermore, hypothesis testing results also confirmed the
high significance of discriminant function by accepting the
alternate hypothesis (i.e., at least one predictor affects the dis-
criminant function) at p < α = 0.05.
Table 10 depicts the structure matrix coefficient that de-
scribes the impact of independent variables on the discrimi-
nant function. Ed was found more influential predictor than Fr,
Q, ξ, and Ψ.
By using unstandardized canonical coefficients, discrimi-
nant function’s equation was developed to classify and predict
about the group membership of sampled cases (see Table 11).
The term centroid is the mean discriminant score of dis-
criminating groups; in the case of a single discriminant func-
tion, group centroids are represented in uni-dimensional
space. The cutting score was calculated using group centroids,
which act as a reference to predict about the group member-
ship of sampled cases as shown in Fig. 8.
Table 12 describes the classification results between origi-
nal and predicted group membership. Discriminant function
correctly predicted the group membership of 26 out of 30
cases for group 1 and 20 out of 20 cases for group 2.
Therefore, sensitivity (the probability of actual positive rate)
and specificity (the probability of actual negative rate) were
found as 86.70% and 100% respectively. Hit ratio was found
as 92.00% for correctly classified original grouped cases.
Hit ratio of maximum chance criterion and proportional
chance criterion were compared with the model hit ratio to
assess the reliability of classification results. The model hit
ratio was found better than the abovementioned hit ratios of
both criteria (see Table 13). Using the Press’s Q-statistics, the
significance of model hit ratio was also evaluated. Results
shown in Table 14 reveals that the calculated Q-value is

Table 13 Comparison of hit

ratios Hit ratio Result

Classification results 92.00%

Max chance criterion Cmax = (nN−1)100 60.00%
Where:
n = population in largest group
and N = total population
Proportional chance criterion Cp = p2 + (1 − p)2 72.00%
Where:
p = proportion of the population in a group

Table 14 Q-statistics to assess the prediction accuracy of model
Press’s Q-stat Q = (N − nK)2(NK − N)−1
Where:
N = total population, n = correctly classified cases, and K = group numbers
*Ramayah et al. (2010)
greater than its critical value (Q = 35.28 > Qcritical = 6.63)
which means that the model hit ratio is significant.
Conclusions
This study highlights the role of multivariate statistical tech-
niques to deal with the data related to dynamic rock properties.
Overall, the Q-factor, Fr, and Ed values for all rock samples
showed a decreasing trend, whereas the values of ξ and Ψ for
all the rock samples showed an increasing trend with the grad-
ual increment of temperature, starting from 35 °C (room tem-
perature) to 200 °C.
The results of Shapiro-Wilk test and bi-variate correlation
analysis showed normality in the experimental data with no
any multicolinearity issue. The discriminant analysis was
performed on the predictor including Q, Fr, Ed, ξ, and Ψ.
The tests data, distributed between group 1 (low thermally
deteriorated rock group) and group 2 (high thermally deteri-
orated rock group), revealed a significant discrimination be-
tween both groups in terms of their group means. The
ANOVA test, conducted on the data, also satisfied the sig-
nificance of all predictors. Eigenvalue was determined more
than 1.00, which describes the strong discriminatory power
of the discriminant function. Wilk’s lambda value was found
close to 0.00, which evaluates the significance of discrimi-
nant function. The classification results showed the sensitiv-
ity of 86.70% and specificity of 100.00% between the pre-
dicted and original group membership. The hit ratio was
determined as 92.00% that revealed correctness of the clas-
sification results. The model hit ratio was found better than
the maximum chance criterion and proportional chance cri-
terion, which indicates the high level of significance of clas-
sification results. The Press’s Q-statistics also contributed to
define model prediction accuracy by satisfying the condition
Q = 25.92 > Qcritical = 6.63.
The current study shows that the discriminant analysis
has competitive edge over other multivariate statistical
techniques to classify and characterize experimentally
sampled datasets. In future, more reliable and consistent
discriminant functions could be generated for classifica-
tion and prediction purposes by acquiring a large database
and increasing significant independent variables. The out-
comes of this study can provide references to anticipate
the performance of underground and surface structures,
founded on thermally deteriorated rock masses.
U. Waqas et al.
Q = 35.28 Qcritical = 6.63* Q > Qcritical
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