Stone, Type of Stones Building materials Civil Engineering
In this post-Stone and the type of Stones in Building materials (Civil Engineering) are discussed.
Stone comes under the traditional Building Materials.
Which are the traditional Building Materials?
Stones, bricks, cement, lime and
timber are the traditional materials used for civil engineering constructions for several
centuries.
STONES as a Building material
Stone is a ‘naturally available
building material’ which has been used from the early age of civilization.
It is available in the form of
rocks, which is cut to the required size and shape and used as building block.
It has been used to construct
small residential buildings to large palaces and temples all over the world.
Red Fort, Taj Mahal, Vidhan Sabha
at Bangalore and several palaces of medieval age all over India are the famous stone buildings.
Type of Stones
Stones used for civil engineering
works may be classified in the following three ways:
• Geological
• Physical
• Chemical
Geological Classification
Based on their origin of
formation stones are classified into three main groups. Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
(i) Igneous Rocks: These rocks
are formed by cooling and solidifying of the rock masses from their molten magmatic condition
of the material of the earth.
Generally, igneous rocks are strong and durable.
Granite, trap, and basalt
are the rocks belonging to this category, Granites are formed by slow cooling of the lava under thick
cover on the top. Hence they have crystalline surfaces.
The cooling of lava at the top surface of the earth
results in the non-crystalline and glassy texture. Trap and basalt belong to this category.
(ii) Sedimentary Rocks: Due to
weathering action of water, wind and frost existing rocks disintegrate.
The disintegrated
material is carried by wind and water; the water is the most powerful medium.
Flowing water deposits
its suspended materials at some points of obstacles to its flow.
These deposited layers of materials get
consolidated under pressure and by heat.
Chemical agents also contribute to the cementing of the deposits.
The rocks thus formed are more uniform, fine-grained and compact in their nature.
They represent a bedded
or stratified structure in general. Sandstones, limestones, mudstones, etc. belong to this class
of rock.
(iii) Metamorphic Rocks:
Previously formed igneous and sedimentary rocks undergo changes due to metamorphic action of
pressure and internal heat.
For example due to metamorphic action granite becomes grasses, trap, and basalt
change to schist and laterite, limestone changes to marble, sandstone becomes quartzite and mudstone
becomes slate.
Physical Classification
Based on the structure, the rocks
maybe classified as:
• Stratified rocks
• Unstratified rocks
(i) Stratified Rocks: These rocks
are having a layered structure.
They possess planes of stratification or cleavage. They
can be easily split along these planes.
Sandstones, limestones, slate, etc. are examples of this class of
stones.
(ii) Unstratified Rocks: These
rocks are not stratified. They possess crystalline and compact grains.
They cannot be split into a thin slab. Granite, trap, marble, etc. are examples of this type of rock.
(iii) Foliated Rocks: These rocks
have a tendency to split along a definite direction only.
The direction need not be parallel to
each other as in the case of stratified rocks.
This type of structure is very common in the case of metamorphic
rocks.
Chemical Classification
On the basis of their chemical
composition engineers prefer to classify rocks as:
• Silicious rocks
• Argillaceous rocks and
• Calcareous rocks
(i) Silicious rocks: The main
content of these rocks is silica. They are hard and durable.
Examples of such rocks are granite, trap,
sandstones, etc.
(ii) Argillaceous rocks: The main
constituent of these rocks is argil i.e., clay. These stones are hard and durable but they are
brittle. They cannot withstand shock.
Slates and laterites are examples of this type of rock.
(iii) Calcareous rocks: The main
constituent of these rocks is calcium carbonate.
Limestone is a calcareous rock of sedimentary
origin while marble is a calcareous rock of metamorphic origin.
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