The new empirical formula to estimate the uniaxial compressive strength of limestone; south west of Tehran-Iran, as a case study

In many rock engineering projects, accurate identification of rock strength properties is very important. Uniaxial compressive strength is one of the most important features to describe the resistive behavior of rocks which is used as an important parameter in the design of structures especially underground openings. Determination of this parameter using direct methods, including uniaxial compressive strength tests is costly and time-consuming, and also sometimes preparation of standard samples in many rocks is difficult. In such cases, the implementation of some simple and non-destructive tests and using empirical relations can increase the evaluation speed and reduce costs. These relations even regional or local (For example within a geological formation or a single lithology) can help in the estimation of these parameters in order to be used in geotechnical projects. In this study, samples of existing limestones in south west of Tehran (Capital of Iran) were prepared and uniaxial compressive strength, point load, Schmidt hammer and Shear wave velocity tests on which have been performed. Then by the statistical evaluations of the results, the empirical relations between uniaxial compressive strength and the results of other tests are obtained. The comparison between the predicted and observed values of uniaxial compressive strength represents the validity of obtained empirical relations. The application of the proposed relations for limestones in the study area and those with similar geological conditions will provide acceptable results.