Prediction of engineering properties of rocks from microscopic data

The purpose of this study is to develop the empirical equations for the prediction of the physical and mechanical properties of limestone and marble from microscopic data including their mineralogical and petrographical properties and to test the validity of model equations by using multivariate statistical methods. This study was performed on 15 different rocks, composed of six limestone and nine marble samples. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to predict the engineering properties of both the marble and limestone rock samples considering petrographical properties as inputs. In order to determine the overall significance of the empirical equations for prediction of the physical and mechanical properties of marble and limestone samples, the F test was also performed. As a result of this study, it is found that the empirical equations developed in this study are statistically significant.