ASSIGNMENT #2

Write in detail the properties and its suitability to be used in the

road construction for the following rocks:

1)Granite:
Granite is an igneous rock with a recognizable grainy pattern.It’s quarried all over the world
and is readily available for landscape and building applications.Granite is an old-world stone,
like limestone, that was used in early architectural applications.

Properties:
Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided
eye. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth's surface.Granite is
composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles,and
other minerals.This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, gray,or white color
with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.
Because of its use as paving block and as a building stone, the quarrying of granite was, at one
time, a major industrial activity. Except for tombstones,however,for which there is a
continuing demand, the present production of granite is geared to the fluctuating market for
curbing in highway construction and veneer used in the facing of large industrial and
commercial buildings.
Granite may occur in dikes or sills (tabular bodies injected in fissures and inserted between
other rocks), but more characteristically it forms irregular masses of extremely variable size,
ranging from less than eight kilometres (five miles) in maximum dimension to larger masses
(batholiths) that are often hundreds or thousands of square kilometres in area.
The principal constituent of granite is feldspar.Both plagioclase feldspar and alkali
feldspar are usually abundant in it,and their relative abundance has provided the basis for
granite classifications. In most granite, the ratio of the dominant to the subdominant feldspar
is less than two. This includes most granites from the eastern,central,and southwestern
United States,southwestern England, the Fennoscandian (Baltic Shield) area, western and
central France,spain,and many other areas.Granites in which plagioclase greatly exceeds
alkali feldspar are common in large regions of the western United States and are thought to
be characteristic of the great series of batholiths stretching from Alaska and British
Columbia southward through Idaho and California into Mexico.Granites with a great excess
of alkali feldspar over plagioclase are known from New England; they occur in smaller bodies
at numerous sites in British Paleogene and Neogene rocks and in the Oslo region of Norway,
but their most extensive development is in northern Nigeria.
Rocks containing less than 20 percent quartz are almost never named granite, and rocks
containing more than 20 percent (by volume) of dark, or ferromagnesian, minerals are also
seldom called granite.The minor essential minerals of granite may
include muscovite, biotite, amphibole, or pyroxene.Biotite may occur in granite of any type
and is usually present, though sometimes in very small amounts. The sodic-amphiboles and
pyroxenes (riebeckite, arfvedsonite, aegirine) are characteristic of the alkali granites. If
neither feldspar is in great excess, neither amphibole nor pyroxene is likely to be an essential
constituent; the other minerals will then ordinarily be either biotite or muscovite, or both.

Suitability:
Granite is suitable material for road construction because of following reasons:

 Granite is one tough,resilient paving material.Available in cut stone and irregular

shapes,it’s a popular paving material for driveways and walkways because of its
strength.It has low maintenance cost and makes a great durable walkway, patio or
terrace in the home landscape.
 Granite has a long life,which makes it a sustainable material — it gets additional
sustainability points if sourced locally or a recycled variety is used.To make granite
even more sustainable,set sand or gravel between the stones so that it is permeable.
 Permeable granite paving allows for rainwater to infiltrate the soil below,which is
good for water quality and runoff.

2)Basalt:
Basalt is the most common rock on Earth’s surface.Specimens are black in color and weather
to dark green or brown.Basalt is rich in iron and magnesium and is mainly composed of olivine,
pyroxene, and plagioclase. Most specimens are compact, fine-grained, and glassy.They can
also be porphyritic,with phenocrysts of olivine,augite,or plagioclase.Holes left by gas bubbles
can give basalt a coarsely porous texture.
Basalt makes up large parts of the ocean floor.It can form volcanic islands
when it is erupted by volcanoes in ocean basins.The rock has also built
huge plateaus on land.The dark plains on the Moon,known as maria, and,
possibly,the volcanoes on Mars and Venus are made of basalt.
Basalt, extrusive igneous (volcanic) rock that is low in silica content,dark in colour,and
comparatively rich in iron and magnesium.

PROPERTIES:
Basalt is an inert and naturally occurring material that is found worldwide.Basalt-based
materials are environmentally-friendly and not hazardous.Basalt continuous fibers are
produced from basalt rock using single-component raw material by drawing and winding
fibers from the melt.The main features of basalt fibers include high strength and high modulus
with excellent shock resistance; they are a low-cost alternative and can replace carbon fiber in
some applications.
Basalt fibers also have high chemical durability against the impact of water,salts,alkalis and
acids.Unlike metal,basalt is not affected by corrosion.Unlike fiberglass,basalt fiber is not
affected by acids.Basalt fibers possess high corrosion and chemical durability qualities
towards corrosive media such as salts, acid and alkali solutions.

Suitability:
Basalt is suitable material for road construction because of following reasons:
 Basalt fibres have unique properties:a high level of physicomechanical and chemical
properties,high resistance to aggressive media and vibrations,sound-insulating
capacity, long lifetime,stability of properties in prolonged use in different
conditions,high adhesion to binders, and heat and fire resistance.All of these positive
 properties make basalt fibres extremely promising for production of new composite
materials — basalt plastics and articles with different functional applications.

 Use of basalt fibres and basalt wool as the reinforcing component in asphalt concrete
to increase its performance properties is very important.Basalt reinforcing meshes are
designed for reinforcing road and highway overlays to prolong the pavement life span
by reducing the effects of reflective cracking caused by traffic loading, age hardening
and temperature cycling.Typical paving temperatures will not cause any loss of
strength or distortion which may occur with synthetic material.Basfiber significantly
outperforms synthetic materials by its ability to withstand low temperatures that is
extremely important for roads and highways in the north regions.

 Introduction of basalt fiber into the hot asphalt mix will provide crack resistance of the
pavement (the possibility of reflected cracking is reduced) and formation of
asphalt concrete structure resistant to temperature fluctuations due to increase in
the number of contacts between aggregate grains which will increase the shear
resistance of asphalt concrete.

3)Quartzite:
Quartzite is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock composed almost entirely of quartz.It forms
when a quartz-rich sandstone is altered by the heat, pressure, and chemical activity of
metamorphism.These conditions recrystallize the sand grains and the silica cement that binds
them together.The result is a network of interlocking quartz grains of incredible strength.

The interlocking crystalline structure of quartzite makes it a hard, tough, durable rock.It is so
tough that it breaks through the quartz grains rather than breaking along the boundaries
between them. This is a characteristic that separates true quartzite from sandstone.
PROPERTIES OF QUARTZITE:
Quartzite is usually white to gray in color.Some rock units that are stained by iron can be pink,
red, or purple. Other impurities can cause quartzite to be yellow, orange, brown, green, or
blue.The quartz content of quartzite gives it a hardness of about seven on the Mohs Hardness
Scale.Its extreme toughness made it a favorite rock for use as an impact tool by early
people.Its conchoidal fracture allowed it to be shaped into large cutting tools such as ax heads
and scrapers. Its coarse texture made it less suitable for producing tools with fine edges such
as knife blades and projectile points.Quartzite has a Mohs hardness of 7,which is comparable
to that of quartz and considerably harder than sandstone. Like glass and obsidian,it breaks
with a conchoidal fracture.Its coarse texture makes it difficult to hone to a fine edge.Under
magnification,quartzite's interlocking crystal structure becomes apparent.

SUITABILITY:
Quartzite is suitable material for road construction because of following reasons:

 One of the major properties of this stone is high resistance to wear and tear.This is a
very hard stone and is also resistant to weathering.Properties like durability and
suitability to every type of construction project is one of the major reasons for its
popularity.
 Quartzite has high abrasion hardness and is also resistant to harsh chemical attacks.
 The surface of the stone is also very glossy,which is helpful for decoration and
landscaping purposes.
 Dirt generally does not accumulate due to its smooth surface and it can withstand
stress.So,it can be used for flooring in areas of heavy traffic.
 The performance of quartzite is reasonably good when exposed to various weathering
conditions and the same can be replaced as coarse aggregate in concrete.
 Overall strength of Quartzite sand concrete is higher and workability is lower when
compared to the normal concrete.
 Highly resistant to chemicals and environmental conditions.
 Suitable for both pedestrian and trafficked areas.
 Quartzite rock dust as filler replacement showed better properties comparing to filler
replacement with glass powder.

4)LIMESTONE:
Limestone is a common, chemical sedimentary rock formed primarily from calcium
carbonate.It is generally light-colored and can also include fossils of calcium carbonate-
containing organisms, like corals.Limestone can be found all over the world and is the major
type of rock found in karst features (crystal cave systems found in bedrock).
Of all the sedimentary rocks found on Earth,almost ten percent of them are some form of
limestone. Because it is widely available,it has been used throughout the centuries for many
uses, from building materials to chemical additives.Two of the most famous limestone
deposits are the islands of the Florida Keys and Niagara Falls.

Properties of Limestone:
There are two types of sedimentary rocks: chemical and clastic.Limestone is a chemical
sedimentary rock, which forms from the solidification of minerals out of solution into rock
form.Because the chemicals in limestone can be readily dissolved by acidic solutions and
water,they are able to form karst topography.
Karst topography forms when limestone bedrock chemically reacts with liquids to form
unusual features,like stalactites and stalagmites,which are the strange pointy features found
in crystal caves around the world and sinkholes.When calcium-rich minerals in limestone are
dissolved into groundwater,it forms what is referred to as hard water or water that has higher
than normal pH and mineral content.
Depending on the conditions under which they formed,limestone can take on a number of
structural shapes,including granular (looking like mineral grains),massive (looking like an
irregular blob), crystalline (looking like individual, well-formed crystals), or clastic (looking like
fragments of rock). When limestones of any type undergo metamorphism,they re-crystallize
as marble.Because all limestone contains calcium carbonate, which reacts with hydrochloric
acid to produce bubbles,acid testing is considered one of the most reliable field tests for
limestone and calcite mineral identification.
SUITABILITY:
Limestone is suitable material for road construction because of following reasons:
 Limestone aggregate is normally comprised of 100% crushed fragments,the better
surface texture and higher angularity that leads to good bond with the cement and
good particle interlock,both of which help in achieving good compressive properties.
 Limestone aggregate is commonly used in road building,where a strong,robust base is
needed to withstand the weight of traffic.
 Limestone aggregate creates a strong, durable foundation on which to lay the tarmac
or asphalt.
 The strength and modulus of elasticity in concrete increase with the increase in fine
limestone aggregate.This increment is relatively small, but many research results
show that limestone makes the concrete stronger and more elastic.
 The limestone shrinks less than the gravel.The consequence of the drying shrinkage
starts since the water is in contact with the rest of the materials.The total drying
shrinkage is the sum of the shrinkage of every material included in the mix. 5.In
general, the shrinkage can be reduced mainly by three components; admixtures,
cement, and aggregate.Even though the aggregate occupies about 80% of the
concrete mix, it is the cheaper as raw materials.Consequently, limestone could be
useful for a drying shrinkage reducer agent.
 The fine limestone can reduce the drying shrinkage in concrete.

5)SANDSTONE:
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of sand-size grains of mineral, rock,or organic
material. It also contains a cementing material that binds the sand grains together and may
contain a matrix of silt- or clay-size particles that occupy the spaces between the sand grains.

Sandstone is one of the most common types of sedimentary rock and is found in sedimentary
basins throughout the world. It is often mined for use as a construction material or as a raw
material used in manufacturing. In the subsurface, sandstone often serves as an aquifer for
groundwater or as a reservoir for oil and natural gas.
PROPERTIES:
Sandstone is a highly porous natural stone. It has 95.00 N/mm2 compressive strength.It has
2.6 toughness and 2.2 to 2.8 specific gravity.The density of Sandstone is between 2.2 to 2.8
g/cm3.Sandstone is basically a sedimentary rock which is primarily composed of tiny minerals
or rock grains.A majority of sandstones are composed of minerals like quartz and feldspar
which are present in the earth's crust in abundance.The common constituents of sand are
quartz and feldspar.The sand may also consists of organic matter or rock fragments.As
sandstones are made of sand, the properties of sand and the sandstones are almost the same.
The colors of sandstone vary with the amount of impurities present in the sand.The chemical
compounds like silicon dioxide or silica, calcium carbonate, and iron dioxide act as natural
cementing agents to hold together the sand in the form of a rock that we know by the name
of sandstone. Chemically, sandstone is an absolutely impervious and monomineralic rock that
is primarily composed of quartz.

SUITABILITY :
Sandstone is suitable material for road construction because of following reasons:

 Sandstones have been widely used as a source of concrete aggregates.Sandstones

show a variety of textural, mineralogic and chemical characteristics that may affect
their physico-mechanical properties as well as their use as a construction material.

 Sandstone is generally composed of grains of quartz and other minerals of fairly

uniform size which are often smooth and rounded.These grains are held together by
a cementing material which may be siliceous or ferruginous.The toughness of
sandstone depends mostly on the nature of this cementing material.
 Sandstones tend to perform well in dry conditions but in wet conditions it is poor when
used for unbound forest road.
 Sandstones tend to vary in composition and contribute differently towards the
compressive strengths.Clay content in sandstone approximately reduces the
compressive strength of concrete to about 40–50% and presence of carbonate in
sandstones have a better bonding between cement and aggregate than those
containing clay particles.
 Sandstone as an aggregate type can be satisfactorily used in asphalt pavements.
 Sandstones will degrade materially under the action of mixing and compacting.These
degradations are of a similar nature,the extent of which is dependent upon the
properties of the individual sandstones.
 The absorption of asphalt to be expected in a sandstone asphalt mixture can be
approximated by a direct immersion of the sandstone in heated asphalt for a
controlled period of time.

6)LATERITE:
Laterite is a soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have
formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because
of high iron oxide content.They develop by intensive and prolonged weathering of the
underlying parent rock. Tropical weathering (laterization) is a prolonged process of chemical
weathering which produces a wide variety in the thickness, grade, chemistry and ore
mineralogy of the resulting soils is a soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is
commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas.Nearly all laterites are of
rusty-red coloration,because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and
prolonged weathering of the underlying parent rock. Tropical weathering (laterization) is a
prolonged process of chemical weathering which produces a wide variety in the thickness,
grade, chemistry and ore mineralogy of the resulting soils.

Laterite is the product of a humid tropical weathering process, current or past, which has the
following effects:

 The parent material is chemically enriched with iron and aluminium oxides and hydroxides
(sesquioxides)

 The clay mineral component is largely kaolinitic

 The silica content is reduced The above processes usually produce yellow, brown, red or
purple materials, with red being the predominant colour.While tropical weathering in
oxidizing conditions generally leads to reddening, this does not necessarily produce a lateritic
material – hence the widespread confusion concerning laterite and its behaviour.Laterite
formation requires particular conditions which concentrate the iron- and aluminium rich
weathering products sufficiently to allow concretionary development, often progressing to a
cemented horizon within the weathering profile.
Three phases of action are necessary to produce concretionary laterite:

 Humid tropical weathering to produce the minerals of laterite.

 Concentration of these minerals in a discrete zone.

 Concretionary development within the horizon.

SUITABILITY:
Laterite is suitable material for road construction because of following reasons:

 No specialized skilled labour is required for the production of laterized concrete and
for its use in the construction of structures.
 Laterized concrete structures have potentially sufficient strength compared with that
of normal concrete.
 Lateritic soils have been used successfully as base and sub-base materials in road
construction.
 The presence of porous particles found in laterite,will tend to increase all moisture
content determinations,including Atterberg limits,whereas in traditional soil
mechanics it is usually assumed that all the water is outside the particles.Kaolinite, the
dominant clay in most lateritic materials,has a non-expansive lattice which,compared
to other clay mineral types such as smectite,makes the material less susceptible to
volumetric expansion in the presence of moisture.
 There is clear evidence that some laterites possess the ability to undergo self-
hardening,and that large increases in soaked CBR strength may be attainable in the
laboratory after several wetting and drying cycles or even simple curing.
 Lateritic soils have wider applications in the construction industry, especially in road-
construction projects where they are utilized as fill materials and flexible pavement
foundations.Their usage as sub-base and base construction materials is mainly
because they are easy to manipulate on the road surface and have natural stable
grading with a suitable proportion to act as binders.

7)KANKAR:
Kankar is extensively used for producing hydraulic lime.The nodules should have a blue grey
fracture, free of any sand grains or mud sticking to them, and broken to pass a 12 mm gauge
before being calcined.

PROPERTIES:
Though the Kankar is prous, pisolitic and red in colour due to dispersion of iron oxide,it
analyses very high in calcium carbonate content (generally 85 to 95 per cent CaCO3). The
fragments of shells as well as cementing calcareous medium make the Kankar hard and
difficult to break. The Kankar is at present being mined for use as road metal,and for
manufacturs slaked lime in country kilns for use in construction.

Kankar is a nodular variety of limestone which is of spongy nature,found in almost all parts of
India containing some quantity of clayey and silicious matter.It is found either in layers or
blocks, or in separate nodules.The block form occurs as solid deposits at various depths,and
the nodular variety is generally found scattered on the surface or in small thicknesses about
a metre or so below the surface in the low lying portions of the catchments of nallas and
rivulets. The nodules are of sizes varying from 10 mm to 100 mm.Nodular kankar is superior
to block kankar but is not available in large quantities.Shining or glittering particles in a fresh
fracture indicate presence of sand.

SUITABILITY:
 Kankar can used when road construction of low traffic volume is considered.
 It is a local material and does not involve complex industrial processes for its
manufacture.
 Kankar is an impure form of limestone.Kankar roads are provided where lime is
available in a reasonable quantity.The Kankar roads are low quality and performance.
It is a hydraulic lime and is expected to exhibit certain properties like cement that the
fat lime does not possess.
 Kankar is abundantly available under the beds of rivers and saline soil in Pakistan.

8)DHANDLA:
Dhandla is a form of low type aggregate.Low grade aggregates are those aggregates which
lose strength generally by more than 15 per cent upon wetting, measured in terms of their
Aggregate Impact Value. Low-grade aggregates can be used as such if their Wet Aggregate
Impact Value does not exceed 50 per cent,If the Wet Aggregate Impact Value exceeds 50 per
cent,they would require to be suitably processed before being used. It has been observed
that dhandla could not be effectively compacted with road rollers over the loose and dry sand
subgrade. The compaction plants often get bogged down in the process. If the dhandla
layer(s) are not compacted properly, the road surfaces show different types of distress due
to differential settlement

SUITABILITY:
 Can be used as a subbase material.If treated with cement its properties can be
improved and can be used as base course.
 Whenever low-grade aggregates are used as a sub-base and base course, these should
be laid preferably on a well compacted subgrade. Also the road should be kept well
drained.
 Low grade aggregates should he reasonably well graded so as to achieve a dense and
interlocked mass.
 For a road project where use of locally available materials is to be maximized.The
locally available materials that can be incorporated in the pavement design should be
very thoroughly and judiciously explored.This may make dhandla a suitable material if
it locally available.