National University of Sciences and Technology

Military College of Engineering

Introduction to Rock Mechanics (CE-425)

Submission Date: 6th May 2021 (Thursday)

Assignment 3
1. A sandstone core composed of quartz and feldspar grains with calcite cement is 82 mm in

diameter and 169 mm long. On saturation, its wet weight is (21.last two digits of CMS ID

e-g; if CMS ID last two digits are 00 then 21.00), after oven drying its weight is 20.31 N.

Calculate its wet unit weight, its dry unit weight, and its porosity.

2. In a series of tri-axial compression tests on a sandstone, the following represent the stresses

at peak load conditions:

Test σ3 (MPa) σ1 (MPa)

1 1.0 9.2
2 5.0 28.0
3 9.5 48.7
4 15.0 74.0
Determine C and φ which best fits the data (Use graph paper)

In-situ stresses for the sample are σ3 = (1000+last three digits of CMS ID) psi and σ1=

5000 psi, determine the values for principal stresses ratio (σ3/σ1) above which failure

cannot occur?

Note:
1. There will be marks deduction for the late submission.