Author(s)

Masanori Kohno¹, Hiroyuki Maeda²

¹Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
²Sapporo Technology Professional Training College, Sapporo, Japan.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationships between results of index tests and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) in hydrothermally altered soft rocks of the Upper Miocene, which are typical of the soft rock found in northeastern Hokkaido, Japan. Index tests were performed using point load testing machine and needle penetrometer with irregular lump specimens under forced-dry, forced-wet, and natural-moist states. The relationships between irregular lump point load strength (IPLS) index and UCS, and needle penetration (NP) index and UCS were “UCS = approximately 19 IPLS index” and “UCS = 0.848 (NP index)0.619”, respectively, in soft rocks with a UCS below 25 MPa. These relationships could be applied to on-site tests of rocks with natural moisture content. The UCS could be calculated from IPLS and NP tests on soft rocks only when UCS was below 25 MPa, using the equations obtained as a result of this study.

Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS), Irregular Lump Point Load Strength (IPLS) Index, Needle Penetration (NP) Index, Empirical Equation, Hydrothermally Altered Rocks

Kohno, M. and Maeda, H. (2018) Estimate of Uniaxial Compressive Strength of Hydrothermally Altered Soft Rocks Based on Strength Index Tests. Geomaterials, 8, 15-25. doi: 10.4236/gm.2018.82002.