STAG 3562

ROCK MECHANICS

LAB REPORT:
SCHMIDT HAMMER

NAME:
NURUL SALSABIILA BINTI MOHD SUKARDI

MATRIC NO:
A181541

DATE:
12/05/2023

LECTURER’S NAME:
DR GOH THIAN LAI
Contents

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Apparatus
4.0 Procedure
5.0 Result and Calculation
6.0 Discussion and Conclusion
7.0 Reference
1.0 Introduction

The hardness and abrasiveness of rock are dependent on the type and quantity of the
various mineral constituents of the rock and the bond strength that exists between the
mineral grains. Hardness is a concept of material behaviour rather than a fundamental
material property. Hardness is the characteristic of a solid material to resist permanent
deformation. Rock material hardness depends on several factors, including mineral
composition and density. As such, the quantitative measure of hardness depends on the type
of test employed. A typical measure is the Schmidt rebound hardness number.

A Schmidt hammer, also known as a Swiss hammer or rebound hammer, is a device to

measure the elastic properties or strength of concreate or rock, mainly surface hardness and
penetration resistance. Schmidt impact hammer, originally developed to determine the
compressive strength of concrete, has been used for hardness determinations of rock. The
device, which has both field and laboratory uses, consists of a spring-loaded piston which
is projected against a metal anvil which is in contact with the rock surface. The height of
piston rebound is taken as an empirical measure of hardness. When conducting the test, the
hammer should be held at right angles to the surface which in turn should be flat and
smooth. There are a few types of Schmidt hammer rebound values which gives different
impact energy to the material tested. For instance, the standard L – and N- type hammers
have respective impact energies generated of 0.735 and 2.207 Nm. The Schmidt hammer
(type L) is used in this study to determine the hardness of rock material.

2.0 Objectives

The main objective of this Schmidt hammer test is to determine the hardness of the rock
sample by using Schmidt rebound hammer method.
3.0 Apparatus

Schmidt Hammer Core Sample, G15

Vernier Calliper

4.0 Procedure

1. A rock sample is labelled G15.

2. The diameter and the height of the core sample is measure using the vernier calliper.
3. The Schmidt hammer (type L) is positioned at a right angle on surface of the rock
sample to impact the tested surface.
4. 60 rebound values are conducted on the rock sample and recorded from impacts
separated by at least 25mm.
5.0 Result and Calculation

Rebound Rebound Rebound

No. No. No.
Value Value Value
1 24 21 12 41 15
2 12 22 18 42 15
3 14 23 15 43 11
4 32 24 18 44 15
5 14 25 22 45 11
6 11 26 13 46 14
7 10 27 12 47 16
8 24 28 14 48 19
9 12 29 18 49 10
10 24 30 20 50 14
11 18 31 19 51 12
12 15 32 19 52 18
13 24 33 10 53 15
14 22 34 13 54 14
15 28 35 18 55 14
16 17 36 18 56 14
17 15 37 17 57 14
18 17 38 10 58 12
19 19 39 17 59 12
20 25 40 10 60 12

Schmidt Rebound Hammer Test

10

6
FREQUENCY

0
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
SCHMIDT REBOUND READING
6.0 Discussion and Conclusion

This test is conducted to determine the hardness of the rock sample thus to obtain the
Schmidt rebound value of the core sample. The purpose to measure the Schmidt rebound
value is to learn about the elastic properties or strength of the rock sample, mainly surface
hardness and penetration resistance. The core sample, G15 used in this test is a granite rock.
Granite is a course or medium grained intrusive igneous rock that is rich in quartz and
feldspar. It is the most common plutonic rock of the Earth’s crust. The diameter and the
height of the core sample, both are 51mm and 105mm. In this test, the Schmidt hammer
(type L) with 0.735Nm impact energy is used to estimate the hardness of the rock material.

A total of 60 Schmidt rebound reading were collected in this test. The histogram above
shows the distribution of the data. Based on the result, the statistical analysis calculated at
95% confidence level, the rebound value range determined for this core sample was 10 to
32. The mean Schmidt Hammer rebound values for the granite sample used in this test was
31 with the standard deviation of 0. Minimum value for the rebound value is 10 and the
maximum value is 32.

The main purpose of this test is to determine the hardness of the granite rock sample by
using simple non-destructive method, Schmidt hammer rebound value which is usually
used to estimate uniaxial compressive strength of rock material.

7.0 Reference

1. Bamford, W.E. & Duyse, H. & Nieble, C. & Rummel, F. & Broch, Einar & Franklin,
J.A. & Atkinson, R.H. & Tarkoy, P.J. & Deere, D.U.. (1978). Suggested methods for
determining hardness and abrasiveness of rocks. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech
Abstr. 15. 89-97.
2. Arifin, Mohd & Refek, Ghani & Goh, Thian & Yunus, Baizura. (2009). THE USE OF
SCHMIDT REBOUND HAMMER AS A METHOD TO ESTIMATE THE DEGREE
OF WEATHERING FOR METAMORPHIC ROCKS FROM MALAYSIA.
3. Aydin, A. (2015). ISRM Suggested Method for Determination of the Schmidt Hammer
Rebound Hardness: Revised Version. In The ISRM suggested methods for rock
characterization, testing and monitoring: 2007-2014 (pp. 25–34). essay, Springer
International Publishing.