ABSTRACT:
Non-destructive testing of various types rock samples collected from different locations of India was carried out in the laboratory. The main objective of the present study was to establish statistical relationship between the P-wave velocity, Schmidt hammer rebound number and number of joints in the rock samples. Higher P-wave velocity was observed in Basalt rock samples. The hardness of the rock samples was determined by the Schmidt hammer rebound number value. Highest rebound number value was obtained for the intact Basalt rock sample. Linear relationship was observed between the rebound number values and the P-wave velocity. The predicted P-wave velocity was found to be very close to the observed P-wave values. The P-wave velocity of the rock samples was found to decrease with the increase in number of joints. The percentage of reduction of the P-wave velocity was found to be minimum in case of basalt rock sample. It was also observed that sound velocity index (SVI) value increases with the increasing rebound number value i.e., high strength rocks possess higher SVI value. The findings of this study will help the researchers to assess the in-situ quality of rock on the basis of laboratory measurement. The results in this study suggest that knowing the rebound number value and number of joints in the rock the researchers can predict P-wave velocity i.e., the quality of the rocks. During rock excavation in construction projects, these findings will be helpful for assessing the requirement of explosives for rock blasting.