Experimental properties of granites

Abstract

In the present work, a study of the tensile mechanical behavior of a set of twelve selected granite lithotypes is carried out. Some petrographic aspects such as grain size and presence of planar anisotropy explain the variation on the parameters that characterize the tensile behavior, like the strength and fracture energy. Other factors that influence the tensile mechanical behavior, such as weathering degree and physical properties like porosity and density, are also analyzed. Statistical correlations between the ultrasonic pulse velocity and the mechanical and physical properties are proposed.