Evaluation of Residual Geo-mechanical Characteristics of Rocks from Akure, Ado-Ekiti and Ikare-Akoko Quarries in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the Residual Geo-mechanical Characteristics of Rocks from Akure, Ado-Ekiti and Ikare-Akoko Quarries in Southwest Nigeria using appropriate standard techniques.Data obtained show that residual ultimate compressive strength (UCS) values under in-situ circumstances were, in order, 70.56 MPa, 72.9 MPa, and 76.27 MPa. It was shown that when the concentrations of acid and base in the immersion solution increased, the samples' UCS decreased. Compared to samples with coarser grains, those with finer grains (as determined by the microstructure analysis) retained a comparatively higher UCS value even after being submerged in an acidic and alkaline medium. The samples that were soaked in 0.75M, 1.5M, and 3.0M of acid and base showed varying degrees of deterioration during the second wetting cycle in the water medium, despite not being detected to be damaged during the first cycle. However, the durability was found to decrease much more when the medium was turned acidic and alkaline.