Tests on Stones

• There are various kinds of lab and field tests

available for building stones or rocks. These
stone or rock tests are generally performed to
determine the physical quality of stone
materials used for construction work. Few tests
such as Acid test may be performed to
determine the chemical quality of building
material or stones. Many of the known building
stone & rock tests are explained briefly below:
Tests on Stones
 Hardness
• Hardness is the resistance of a stone to
indentation, rebound or scratch.

  *Hardness test is also carried out in Dorry’s testing

• It is tested by a pen knife with the aid of
Moh’s
Minerals
scaleMoh’s
ofScale
hardness.
Hardness test
Talc 1 easily scratched with the thumb-nail

machine.
Gypsum 2 scratched by the thumb-nail
Calcite/ Marbles 3 not scratched by thumb-nail but easily cut by knife
Fluorite 4 can be cut by knife with greater difficulty than calcite
Apatite 5 can be cut only with difficulty by knife
Orthoclase/ Feldspar 6 can be cut with knife with great difficulty on thin edges
Quartz 7 not scratched by steel, scratches glass
Topaz 8
Sapphire/ Corundum 9
Diamond 10  
 Dorry Abrasion
• The test gives a measure of
the resistance of aggregate
to surface wear by abrasion.
• Inadequate abrasion
resistance of road-surfacing
aggregates means an early
loss of the texture depth
required to maintain high-
speed skidding resistance.
 Crushing test
• A test of the suitability of stone
to be used for roads or building
purposes
• The aggregate crushing value of Aggregate
Types of Roads /
Crushing Value
the coarse aggregates used for Pavements
Limit
cement concrete pavement at Flexible Pavements

surface should not exceed Soling 50

30% and aggregates used for Water bound macadam /

Bituminous macadam
40

concrete other than for wearing Bituminous surface

dressing or thin premix 30
surfaces, shall not exceed 45% as carpet / Dense mix carpet

specified by Indian Standard (IS) Rigid Pavements

other than
wearing course
45 , surface 30
and Indian Road Congress (IRC).
 Attrition (or) Abrasion
(Deval’s Attrition Machine)
• An attrition test is a test carried out to measure the
resistance of a granular material to wear.
• An example of a material subjected to an attrition test are
stones used in road construction, indicating the resistance
of the material to being broken down under road traffic. 
 Impact Test
• The aggregate impact test
value is a measure of
resistance to sudden
impact or shock, which
may vary from its
resistance to gradually
applied compressive load.
Aggregate Impact Values  
Types of Pavements
(Max.)
Water Bound Macadam (WBM)
50
Sub- Base Course
Cement Concrete, Base Course 45
i) WBM base course with 40
bitumen surfacing
ii) Bituminous macadam, base
35 
course
Shape Test on Aggregates (Elongation
& Flakiness Index)
• Flakiness and Elongation Index Test are very
important tests to be performed on aggregate
in the laboratory. This test gives
the percentage of flaky and elongate
aggregate present in the total aggregate
sample.
 Water Absorption Test
• Water absorption is used to determine the amount
of water absorbed under specified conditions.
Factors affecting water absorption include: type of
plastic, additives used, temperature and length of
exposure. The data sheds light on the performance of
the materials in water or humid environments.

The water absorption of

aggregate ranges from  0.1
to 2%.
 Acid Test
• This test is carried out to
understand the presence of
calcium carbonate in building
stone. A sample of stone weighing
about 50 to 100 gm is taken. It is
placed in solution hydrophobic acid
having a strength of one percent
and is kept therefore seven days.
• A good building stone maintains its
Sharpe edge keeps its surface free
from powder at the end of this
• Presence of Lime & Alkaline Content
period.
• Sulphuric acid - Efflorescence
 Fire Resistance Test
• Aggregate used in concrete can be classified into
three classes namely:  carbonate, siliceous, and
lightweight. Limestone, dolomite and lime rock
are called carbonate aggregates because they
consist of calcium or magnesium carbonate or
combinations of the two.
• Presence of Calcium
carbonate
• Sulphuric acid-
bubbles