Test results and empirical formulas of rock mechanical parameters of rhyolitic tuff samples from Eger's cellars

Abstract

Recently, due to population increase in urban areas, underground excavations increasingly influenced the development of cities, parallel with traffic organization. One of the best examples is Eger in North Hungary: several kilometer-long wine-cellars were dug over the centuries beneath the city, which influences further construction; sometimes they present a danger due to the increased weight of surface vehicles as well. Therefore, nowadays the prediction of the stability of these cellars is a question of utmost importance here. The goal of this paper is to statistically analyze the results of strength investigations of the excavated rocks, in order to predict their strength (both compressive and tensile) and Young's modulus. The results of 19 sample blocks are statistically analyzed here in different petrophysical states (air-dry, semi-saturated and fully saturated). The relationships between the different petrophysical constants are also determined and analyzed in this paper. On the basis of these corre...