Engineering Materials

CE-107

Army Public College of Management &

Sciences
Affiliated with University of Engineering
& Technology, Taxila
 Building Stones
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 Building Stones
• Stones used in most historical places
– Pyramids of Egypt
– Taj Mahal of Agra, India
– Great wall of China
– Greek and Roman structures
– Quaid’s Mausoleum in Karachi
– Shahi mosque in Lahore
– Forts at Rohtas, Lahore
– Grand Trunk Road
– Lloyd’s Barrage at Sukkur
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 Building Stones
• Stone as building material lost its
importance due to
– Advent of cement and steel – less bulky,
stronger and more durable
– Structural strength can not be rationally
analyzed
– Transportation difficulties
– Dressing problems

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 Building Stone
• Stone: A construction material derived
from rocks in the earth’s crust and mixture
of two or more minerals.
• Mineral is a substance which is formed by
the natural inorganic process and
possesses a definite chemical composition
and molecular structure.

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 Civil Engineering Uses
• Construction of residential and public buildings
• Construction of dams, weirs, harbors, bridge
abutments, etc
• Face work of structures for appearance and
ornamental value
• Road metal and railway ballast
• Aggregate for concrete
• Stone dust as substitute for sand
• Thin slabs for roofing, flooring and pavements
• Limestone for manufacture of lime, cement, etc

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 Classification of Rocks
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 Classification of Rocks
Rocks

Geological Physical Chemical Practical

Granite,
Igneous Stratified Argillaceous
Basalts

Sedimentary Un-Stratified Siliceous Marble

Limestone,
Metamorphic Foliated Calcareous Sandstone,
Slate

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 Classification of Rocks
• Geological classification
– Igneous rocks (primary, un-stratified, eruptive)
– cooled down molten volcanic lava (magma).
Basalts and granites.
– Sedimentary rocks (aqueous, stratified) –
gradually deposited disintegrated rocks. Sand
stones and lime stones
– Metamorphic rocks – transformed due to
great heat and pressure. Granite to gneiss,
lime stone to marble, shale to slate

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 Classification of Rocks
• Physical classification
– Stratified rocks – separable distinct layers.
Cleavage plane of split visible. Slate,
sandstone, lime stone
– Un-stratified rocks – no sign of strata, cannot
be easily split into slabs. Granite, basalt, trap
– Foliated rocks – having tendency to split up
only in a definite direction

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 Classification of Rocks
• Chemical Classification
– Siliceous rocks – containing silica SiO2 (sand)
and silicates. Granite, basalt, trap, quartzite,
gneiss, syenite, etc
– Argillaceous rocks – containing clay or
alumina Al2O3. Slate, laterite, etc
– Calcareous rocks – containing calcium
carbonate or lime. Limestone, marble,
dolomite, etc
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 Classification of Rocks
• Practical Classification
– Granites
– Basalts
– Marbles
– Sandstones
– Slates
– Etc, etc

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 Stone Mountain, Atlanta, USA
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Igneous Rocks
 Red Granite

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 Vesicular Basalt

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Sedimentary Rocks
 Old Red Sandstone

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 Red Devonian Sandstone

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 Basalt and Sandstone

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 Limestone and Slate

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Metamorphic Rocks
 Green Slate

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 Metamorphic Rocks

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 Metamorphic Rocks

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 Gneiss

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 Granitic Gneisses

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 Granitic Gneisses

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Miscellaneous Sedimentary
Material
 Glacially Transported Potpourri

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 Glacially Transported Potpourri

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 Chert Nodules (Flints)

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 Chert Nodules (Flints)

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 Chert Nodules

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 Cenzoic Coral

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 Stone Masonry

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 Characteristics of Good
Building Stones
• Appearance & color – uniform color, lighter shades
preferred, free from clay holes, bands or spots
• Structure – Not dull in appearance, crystalline
homogenous close grained is good, stratification should
not be visible, fine grained for carving
• Weight – heavier are compact, less porous, good for
hydraulic structures
• Strength – generally compressive strength needed,
igneous rock stones are stronger
• Hardness– resistance to abrasion, friction and wear.
Hardness scale 1 to 10
• Toughness – Withstand impact, vibrations, moving loads
• Dressing – uniform texture and softness for fine surface
finish
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 Characteristics of Good
Building Stones
• Porosity and Absorption – exposed surface absorbs rain
water forming acids causing crumbling action. Cyclic
freezing and thawing of pore water
• Seasoning – hardening and weathering affect due to
evaporation of quarry sap and formation of crystalline
film. 6 to 12 months for proper seasoning
• Weathering – resistance to action of weather
• Resistance to fire – free from calcium carbonate or
oxides of iron
• Durability – compact, homogenous and less absorptive
is more durable
• Cost – quarrying, transportation, dressing and
installation

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 Moh’s Hardness Scale
• 1 Talc, scratched easily by thumb nail
• 2 Gypsum, scratched by thumb nail
• 3 Calcite, scratched not by thumb nail but by
knife
• 4 Fluorite, cut by knife with difficulty
• 5 Apatite, cut by knife with difficulty more than 4
• 6 Orthoclase, cut by knife with great difficulty
• 7 Quartz, not scratched by steel, scratches
glass
• 8 Topaz
• 9 Sapphire
• 10 Diamond

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Evaluation of Stones
 Tests of Stones
• Weathering test of natural building stones
• Durability test of natural building stones
• Water absorption and porosity test
• Test for determination of true specific
gravity
• Compressive strength test

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 Selection of Sample for Tests
• A truly representative sample of grade of stone should
be selected
• Sample may be selected from quarried stone or natural
rock
• Separate samples weighing at least 25 kg each shall be
collected from differing strata
• Test pieces for toughness or compressive strength test
shall be at least 10.0 x 12.5 x 7.5 cm in size
• Test pieces shall be free from seams or fractures
• In case of field stones and boulders separate samples
shall be selected of all classes of stones based on visual
inspection
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Quarrying of Stones
 Quarrying and Dressing
• Quarrying: An art of extracting from the
rock beds stones of different varieties
used for general building work and broken
stones for roads and concrete work, etc
• Quarry: The place from stone is obtained
by digging or blasting etc

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 Quarrying Methods
• Digging or Excavating Method. Stones occurring
as detached nodules may be dug using manual
methods like crowbars etc
• Heating Method. Rock surface is heated for
several hours resulting into unequal expansion
and crushing of rock into small pieces
• Wedging Method. Layered rock is split at
cleavage or seam using steel wedges and pins
• Blasting Method. Hard and compact rock is
blasted out using explosives techniques
comprising boring, charging, tamping and firing

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Quarrying
Tools

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 Blasting Procedure
• Boring. Drilling of holes in rock using jumper, manual
drilling or machine drilling using pneumatic or
mechanical power
• Charging. Placing of required quantity of explosive
charge in the hole at desired location. Quantity depends
upon explosive strength, blasting method, number of
holes, type and mass of rock
– Gunpowder or Dynamite explosive (gms) = Square of length of
line of least resistance (m) / 0.008
• Tamping. Placing of priming charge, detonation cable
(cordite), and sealing off the escape of gases
• Firing. detonation mechanism (electrical or non-electrical
detonators) or fuse ignition

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 Blasting Precautions
• Blasting should not be carried out in late evening or early
morning. Blasting should be made public with sufficient
time allowed to retire to safe distance
• 200 m radius danger zone should be marked with red flags
• First aid should be made available
• Proper record of number of charges prepared, fired and
exploded to account for misfires
• Explosive should be handled carefully
• Detonators and explosive should not be stored and kept
together
• Cartridges should be handled with rubber gloves
• Maximum of 10 bore holes should be exploded at a time
and that too successively and not simultaneously

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 Stone Dressing
• Pitched faced dressed – 2.5 cm edges dressed and
made square
• Hammer dressed, hammer faced, quarry faced or rustic
faced – dressed like a brick with 2.5 cm rough edges for
use in masonry
• Rock faced and chisel drafted – chisel draft of 2.5 cm
along edges
• Rough tooled – edges and corners made perfect square
and true
• Punched dressed – rough tooled improved up to 2 mm
• Fine tooled – fair smooth surface for ashler masonry

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 Dressed Stone Surfaces

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Stone Care
 Deterioration of Stones
• Rain.
– Physical Action. Disintegration, erosion, transportation
due to alternate wetting and drying
– Chemical Action. Decomposition, oxidation and
hydration of minerals due to acids formed with rain
water
• Frost. Pierces the pores, freezes, expands and
creates cracks
• Wind. Abrasion due to wind carried dust
• Temperature Changes. Expansion and
contraction affects on minerals of different
coefficients of linear expansion
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 Deterioration of Stones
• Vegetable growth. Roots of trees and
weeds in cracks and fissures
• Mutual decay
• Chemical Agents. Smokes, fumes, acids
and acid fumes from atmosphere
• Lichens. Destroy lime stones. Molluses
make series of parallel vertical holes

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 Avoiding Deterioration
• Initial selection – use compact, crystalline stones instead of porous
material
• Seasoning – Seasoned stones are less liable to deterioration due to
frost and acids
• Size – it does matter – bigger is more durable than smaller ones
• Natural bed – placing on natural bed provides greater strength and
is detrimental to rain and frost
• Surface finish – well dressed, smooth finished and polished is more
durable
• Workmanship – all joints filled leaving no cavities in masonry
• External rendering – pointing or plastering to stop rain penetration
• Proper maintenance – washing, removing dirt and dust
• Application of preservatives – eliminate cause of deterioration
• Cure is better than medicine

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 Natural Bed
of Stones

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 Preservation of Stones
• Stones should be kept dry with blow lamp and
applied coat of paraffin, linseed oil, light paint,
etc
• Stones should be washed with water and steam
to remove dirt and salt
• In industrial towns stones are preserved by
application of solution of baryta, Ba(OH)2 to form
insoluble barium sulphate
• Preservative treatment only slows down the
decay but does not stop it. All have harmful side
effects also

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 Selection of Stones
• Cost – quarrying and cutting, dressing,
transportation charges, etc
• Fashion & Ornamental value including
color, shade, etc specially after prolong
usage
• Durability (usually overlooked and
disregarded), resistance to fire and
weathering
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 Selection of Stones
• Heavy engineering works bridges, piers, abutments,
break waters, docks, light houses – granite (biotite,
hornblende, tourmaline)
• Buildings facing the sea – granite, fine grained
sandstone
• Buildings in industrial area – granite, compact sandstone
• Arches – fine grained sandstone
• Building face work – marble, close grained sandstone
• Fire resisting structure – compact sandstone
• Road metal and aggregate for concrete – granite, basalt,
quartzite
• Railway ballast – coarse grained sandstone, quartzite
• Electrical switch board – slate, marble
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 Artificial Stone
• Definition - Building material made with cement,
sand and natural aggregates of crushed stone
for use in place of natural stone
• Properties
– Made with white cement, sand and natural
aggregates of crushed stone
– Molded into most intricate forms
– Cast into any size
– Reinforced to desired higher strength
– Desired coloring may be achieved
– Desired finish may be achieved
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 Artificial Stone
• Concrete block. Cast in molds for steps,
window sills, masonry work, etc
• Ransom stone. Soda silicate plus cement
for decorative flooring
• Victoria stone. Granite pieces immersed in
soda silicate for two months
• Bituminous stone. Provide noise, wear and
dust resistant stone surfaces
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 Artificial Stone
• Imperial stone. Crushed granite plus cement,
molded, steam cured
• Artificial marble. Pre-cast or cast-in-situ.
Portland gypsum cement and sand. Cast blocks
treated with magnesium fluorite, washed, paper
wrapped, machine emery ground, polished and
finally rubbed with ball of wool moistened with
alum water
• Garlic stone. Iron slag and cement mixture
molded into flag stones, surface drains, etc

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 Any Questions ???

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