Review of Last Class

 Tiles and Terracota

Outline
 Aggregates
 Stones
Rihan Maaz
Introduction

 Natural stone: The oldest, most abundant, most durable readymade building material
 Derived from rocks which form the earth’s crust and have no definite shape or chemical composition

Application of stones in civil engineering: Classification of Rocks

 Construction of residential and public buildings
 Construction of dams, weirs, harbours, abutment
for bridges etc.  Igneous
 Face work of structures where massive  Metamorphic rocks
appearance, solidity of construction and  Sedimentary rock
ornamental features are the primary requirements
 Used as road metal and railway ballast
 Used as aggregate of concrete
 Used in form of veneers for decorative front and
interior of buildings
Igneous Rocks: Formed by cooling the molten lava
on or inside the earth’s surface during the volcanic
eruption
 Basalt – portion of lava which comes outside the
surface, cools quickly and forms the rocks of non-
crystalline nature
 Granite – rest of the portion which remains inside
the earth undergoes cooling at a slow rate and
results in formation of crystalline rock
Sedimentary Rocks:
Formed by gradual deposition of disintegration of
rocks due to atmospheric action, vegetable matter and
clay at the bottom of rivers, lakes or sea
Also called stratified rocks as they formed in layers
Metamorphic Rocks: Formed by metamorphism action (change of structure) of sedimentary or igneous rocks
subjected to great heat and pressure inside the earth
 Lime stone Marble,
Mud stone Slate,
Sand stone Quartzite etc.

Classification of Rocks
Silicious Rocks: Silica main constituent
Stratified Rocks: Exhibit distinct layers which can
 Free state – sand (harder), Combined state –
be separated.
silicate (likely to be disintegrated)
e.g. Lime stone, slate, sandstone
e.g. sandstone, quartzite
Unstratified Rocks: Do not show any sign of strata
Argillaceous Rocks: clay or alumina main
and cannot be easily split into slabs
constituent
e.g. Granite, Marble
e.g. slate, laterite, kaolin
Foliated Rocks: Well defined bands of different
Calcarious Rocks: calcium carbonate or lime main
composition
constituent
e.g. Schists, Gneisses
e.g. Limestone, marble
Characteristics of Good Building Stone

 Appearance and Colour: Should have uniform
and appealing colour, free from flaws and clay
holes
 Should not have much iron as it form iron oxide
and cause disintegration
 Ability to receive good polish
 Weight: Should have high specific gravity hence
weight as heavier stones can resist the high
magnitude of force
 Heavy stone possess more compactness and good
polish
 Fineness of grains: Should be fine grained as it
is suitable for moulding works.
If the stones are non-crystalline, disintegrate under
the action of natural agencies
 Compactness: Can withstand the effects of
external agencies
 Stone durability can be decided by their
compactness or density of composition

 Porosity and absorption: number of pores

should be lesser, but if it is present in greater
extent it absorbs more water which destroy stone
Characteristics of Good Building Stone
 Resistance to fire: Should have homogeneous
composition and free from calcium carbonate or
iron oxide to resist against fire
 Electrical resistance: If stone gets wet, it
decreases electrical resistance
To have steady and high electrical resistance, stone
must be non-absorbent like slate
 Hardness and Toughness: Adequately hard and
tough to resist wear & tear
Hardness can be tested by scratching with a pen
knife
Toughness can be tested by hammer action
 Strength: Should have sufficient strength to
compression
 Durability: In terms of compact,
homogeneous, negligible water absorption
 Dressing: Should possess uniform texture
and softness so dressed easily
 Cost: Must be economical in terms of
transportation, dressing
 Seasoning: After quarrying and dressing
should be left for a period of 6 to 12 months
for proper seasoning before use.
Use of Stones & their Selection

Sr. N Use Name of stone Reason for selection

1. Construction of building exposed to Granite, Sand stone Hardness due to presence of

high wind blowing particles silica
2. Building work i.e. walls, foundation, Sand stone Hard & durable
super structure

3. Heavy engineering work such as Granite, Gneiss Strong, durable, capable of

docks bridges, light house resisting thrust

4. Building exposed to fire Compact sand stone Fire resisting property

5. Building in industrial town Granite, Compact sand Acid, smoke proof

stone
6. Road metal, railway ballast Granite, Basalt Hard, tough, possess abrasion
resistance
7. Manufacture of lime Lime stone Decomposed into quick lime on
heating
 Testing of Stones
Compressive Strength: Load bearing capacity of a stone
expressed as the maximum load per unit area at which stone
starts breaking
 Test Specimen – cubes of 5 cm sides or cylinder of 5 cm
diameter & same height, top and bottom surface as smooth
as possible by polishing
 Test Procedure – Dry as well as saturated sample. Sample
is immersed in water at 20⁰ - 30⁰ C for 72 hours and rub by
dry cloth then dry in oven at 105 ⁰ C , cool down at room
temperature
 Loading - On U.T.M. load is increased very gradually at a
rate of 140 kg/cm2 per minute till sample brakes
 Calculations – Compressive strength C0 can be obtained
by

C0 = P/A
 Compressive strength - 280 to 2800 kg/cm 2 as compare to
class A bricks: 140 kg/cm2, concrete:280 kg/cm2
 Six sample should be tested and the average value is taken
as compressive strength
  Test Procedure – Sample is placed in Dorry’s
Hardness: Can be tested by a pen knife which will
testing machine and pressed with a load of 1250
not able to produce a scratch on a hard stone (like
gm. The annular steel disc of the machine is
granite)
rotated at a speed of 28 rpm. During rotation,
 Determined by Moh’s scale of hardness, by
coarse sand of standard specification is
finding coefficient of hardness
sprinkled on top of the disc and after 1000
 Pocket knife make a mark – H=3 (e.g. limestone)
revolutions specimen is taken out and weighted.
 Finger nail make a scratch – H=2
 Cannot be scratch by knife – H=7
 Test Specimen – cylinder of 25 mm diameter &
same height is to be weighed

 Calculations – Coefficient
of hardness is found out by
Coefficient of hardness = 20 –
(loss in weight in gm/3)
Impact Test: To determine toughness of a stone on an Fire Resistance Test: The stone which is free from
impact testing machine calcium carbonate can resist fire
 Test Specimen – cylinder of 25 mm diameter & same  The presence of calcium carbonate can be detected by
height dropping a few drops of dilute sulphuric acid which will
 Test Procedure – Sample is placed on cast-iron anvil of produce bubbles
machine and steel hammer of 20 N is allowed to fall
axially in a vertical direction over the specimen. The
height of the first blow is 1 cm; that of second blow 2 cm;
and so on.
 Calculations – The blow at which the specimen breaks is
noted. If it is the nth blow ‘n’ represents the toughness
index

Attrition (Abrasion) Test:
 To determine the rate of wear of stones employed
for the construction of road, Carried out in
Deval’s attrition testing machine
 Test Samples – Sample of stone is broken into
pieces of about 60 mm size and weighing 50 N
Test Procedure – Samples are placed in both the
cylinders of Deval’s attrition testing machine having
diameter and length of cylinders are 200 mm and 300
mm respectively. Cylinders are closed and their axed
making an angle of 30 with horizontal and rotate for
5 hours at the rate of 30 rpm. The contents are passed
through a size of 1.5 mm mesh and retained material
on sieve is weighted

Calculations – The percentage wear is worked by

Percentage wear = (loss in weight/ initial weight) x 100

Electrical resistance / Water absorption test:

As the electrical resistance of a wet stone is less, stone should be non-absorbent.

Sandstone – not more than 10% their volume of water Limestone –

17% when dipped for 3-4
hours
Granite - 1%

 Test Specimen – cube weight of 0.5 N, actual weight W 1 N is recorded

 Test Procedure – Cube is immersed in distilled water for 24 hours. Then it is taken out of water and
surface is wiped with cloth and again weighted W 2 N. It is suspended freely in water and weighted W 3
N and then kept in boiling water for 5 hours. It is then removed and its surface water is again wiped off
with cloth and then weighted W 4 N.

 Calculations – % absorption by weight after 24 hours = (W 2 - W1 / W1)x100

% absorption by volume after 24 hours = (W 2 - W1 / W2 – W3 )x100
% porosity by volume = (W4 - W1 / W2 – W3 )x100
Saturation coefficient = water absorption/ total porosity
Granite
Granite
Igneous rock
Composition – Quartz, Feldspar, Mica
Characteristics –
 Specific gravity 2.64, absorption < 1
 Mottled appearance, strong, durable
 Crushing strength – 110 to 140 MN/m 2
 Least fire resistance
 Finely grained granite takes a fine polish
Uses –
(a) For ornamental columns, plinth etc. as it
takes a polish
(b) Construction of sea walls, light houses,
bridge piers (due to hardness, weight &
durability)
(c) Large pieces are used as building rocks,
small pieces used as road metals, railway
ballast
Occurrence – Jhansi (U.P.), Jabalpur (M.P.),
Ajmer, Dalhousie, Kangra (Himachal)
Common
Building Stones
Basalt: Uses –
Volcanic type of Igneous rock, formed from cooling (a) For paving, as a road metal
of lava (b) In manufacturing of artificial stone
(c) As aggregate in concrete
Composition – Silica, Alumina, Felspar
Occurrence – Madhya Pradesh, Deccan
Characteristics – traps, Rajmahal trap (Bihar)
 Specific gravity 2.96
 Very hard & tough, difficult to dress
 Crushing strength – 70 to 80 MN/m 2
 Heavier than granite
 Resistance to weathering
 Greenish grey to dark grey colour

Common
Building Stones
Slate
SLATE Uses –
(a) For making electrical switch boards
 Metamorphic rock
(b) As roofing stone due to impervious nature
Composition – Alumina mixed with sand or carbonate of (c) As sills and for inside pavement
lime

Characteristics – Specific gravity 2.8

 Very hard, tough, fine grained Occurrence – Gurgaon (Haryana), Gurdaspur
 Crushing strength – 60 to 70 MN/m2 (Punjab), Cuddapah (A.P.), Chindwara (M.P.),
 Non-absorbent, sharp metallic ring sound Bijapur (Karnataka), Baroda, Shimla, Alwar
 Good durability
(Rajasthan)
 Can be split into thin sheets
 Grey or dark blue colour

Common
Building Stones
LIME STONE Quarry
Limestone: Uses –
(a) Blast furnaces, bleaching, tanning and
Sedimentary rock of calcareous variety, Stratified other industries
formation (b) Wall & paving in floor (compact, fine
grained)
Composition – CaCO3, but frequently is mixed with (c) As road metals (where basalt, granite are
MgCO3 and small amount of silica and alumina. Both not available)
are present in equal proportions then called
‘Dolomite’
Occurrence – Alwar (Rajasthan), Hoshiarpur
(Punjab), Shimla, Ranchi (Bihar), Mysore
Characteristics – Specific gravity 2.6
 Dense, compact & massive
 Crushing strength – 52 MN/m2
 Non-absorbent, sharp metallic ring sound
 Brown, yellow and dark grey colour
Common
Building Stones
Sandstone:
Sedimentary rock of silicious variety, Stratified
formation
Composition – Sand or quartz, cemented by lime,
mica, magnesium, aluminium, oxide of iron.
Sometimes fragments of limestone, mica
Characteristics – Specific gravity 2.25
 Fine grained stones are strong & durable
 Crushing strength – 35 to 40 MN/m 2
 Structure shows sandy grains
 White, brown, pink and grey colour
 Sandstone of thin-bedded variety is known as Gwalior (M.P.), Ahmedabad. Nagpur, Dharamsala,
flagstone, splits into large slabs

 Rock composed of angular sharp edges sand
grains is called grit, adequately strong and
heavy used in heavy engineering works
 Sandstone that can be easily cut into blocks
with hammer is called free stone
Uses –
(a) Ashlar work, mouldings, carvings (compact,
fine grained)
(b) For rubble work (rough & coarse grained)
Occurrence – Mirzapur, Chunar, Fatehpur Sikri,
Kasauli, Rajppur, Ranchi (Bihar), Mysore
Marble: Uses –
Metamorphic rock of calcarious variety
(a) Carvings & decoration work (compact, fine
Composition – Crystalline CaCO3, formed from grained)
limestone through the process of metamorphism (b) For steps, wall linings, electrical switch
boards, table slabs, columns
Characteristics – Specific gravity 2.72
 Very hard & takes fine polish
 Crushing strength – 50 to 60 MN/m 2 Occurrence – Jodhpur, Ajmer, Jabalpur (white
 White, yellow, green, red, blue, black, grey colour marbles), Baroda (green marbles), Jaipur (black
(depends on impurities) marbles), Jaisalmer (yellow marbles)

Common
Building Stones
Detrition of stones
 Atmospheric impurities: In industrial areas,
presence of acids and fumes adversely affect
the stones containing carbonate of lime.
 Rain: Stone gets wet due to rain and dry due to  Vegetable growth: In the joints of stones,
sun; this alternate wetting & drying action certain acids secreted by the roots of some
deteriorate stone on a long way. Harmful gases plants which attack it. Also vegetable growth
and acids contained in rain water also damage it. keep the stone in wet condition; this dampness
 Temperature: Deteriorate due to frequent decays the stone.
changes of temperature.  Living organism: Sometimes holes are bored
 Wind: Strong wind carries grits and dust which by certain insects due to stones become weak.
strikes the stones and brings wear of the stones.  Movements of chemicals: If limestone and
 Frost: In cold climate, water in pores freezes, sandstone are used side by side in same
which expand and splits the stone. So porous structure, the chemicals formed by the action of
stone should not be used in cold places. atmospheric agencies cause deterioration to
stones
 Artificial Stones

 Definition: Stone like mass made by mixing of

crushed stone pieces with cement and water in
presence of colouring pigments.
 Cast stones or Reconstructed stones
 Add colouring pigments not exceed 15%
of cement by weight to impart colour
Manufacture:
 Add water to dry mix for workable
consistency
 Wet plastic mixture is then press into
• Take crushed natural stones of 3 to 6
moulds, cured with water, dried in air for
mm size, remove stone dust
• suitable length of time
Mixture of 1.5 parts of 3 to 6 mm size
 The polishing is done, if required
stones, 1.5 parts of size less than 3 mm
 In stead of ordinary cement, white
stones and 1 part of cement by volume
cement can be used to produce light
is prepared.
shade stone.
Manufacture of Artificial Stones
 Advantages of Artificial Stone
 More durable than natural stone  Comparatively easy to carve in wet stage
 Carefully cast artificial stones are free from
 Easily cast and seasoned at the site of work
defects
so transportation cost can be avoided
 Strength can be achieved by suitable
 Easily cast into desired shape and moulded
proportionating ingredients and by using steel
into required ornamental shape so dressing
reinforcement
expenses can be avoided
 Good in resisting deterioration and disintegration
 Can be made in a single piece so trouble of caused by atmospheric agencies
getting large blocks of stones for lintels,
beams etc. can be avoided