Hi,
i want to correlate the rock strength based on the elemental atomic percentage in the rocks. is it possible? In my experimental work i have tested Ochre (Si atomic percentage 13.96%), coal (Si atomic percentage 5.40), laterite (Si atomic percentage 6.41), , pink lime stone (Si atomic percentage 2.25), and hematite (Si atomic percentage 2.64). Generally the Si content more rock strength goes to increase but here the Ochre, coal, laterite silica content more but uniaxial compresive strength is less from tested samples compare with Pink limestone and hematite. What is the scientific reason behind this?. Please kindly give some suggestions.
Think of an example where it won’t work - diamond and coal or graphite.
Elemental compositions do not tell you the strength of a mineral but the chemical make up. To determine the strength of the rock there are methods used: triaxial compressive strength, beam bending, splitting tension etc
The mechanical strength of a material is a function of its atomic, micro, and macro structures. Thus, it is NOT a proper choice to relate that strength to the chemical analysis and ignore the more important factors.
Correlation does not mean causation.
But you may set reasonable boundaries for Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio with Voigt/Reuss bounds.
I'm not sure if it will work on UCS - cohesion/friction properties.
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