LAUSR

Basaltic rocks of the Deccan Traps are the major aggregate sources in Western India, and quarrying of these rocks has been ongoing in several quarries for many decades. The aggregate is the major component of the construction material. Therefore, quality assessment of aggregates by various physico-mechanical tests is essential. Many classification systems have been proposed for rocks/aggregates based on petrographic factors (PF). PF is defined by a range of values which indicate the quality of rock in term of excellent, good, fair and poor. However, PF depends upon the physical characteristics of the rock and geological characteristics of the particular area. The present study is the evaluation of rocks based on petro-physico-mechanical characterizations of the aggregate before the start of quarrying. To evaluate PF of aggregate, petrographic examination including visual and microscopic observations together with physico-mechanical tests, such as water absorption, point load index, slake durability index and impact strength index. Furthermore, a modified classification system was proposed for the PF of different basaltic rocks of the Deccan Traps which includes an equation based on the importance of above-mentioned parameters.