A new approach for the prediction of brittleness index based on chemical properties of basaltic rocks

Rock brittleness is one of the most important issues in rock mechanics. There is not yet an available method for defining or measuring directly the rock brittleness. The aim of this study is to suggest a new chemical index parameter for the prediction of basaltic rocks’ brittleness. In the order of that abovementioned purpose, a total of 23 basaltic rock samples were collected from different region of Turkey. Samples were initially tested to determine their chemical properties. Then, mechanical tests were carried out to define the brittleness indices (B1, B2, and B3) for each corresponding sample. Finally, relations between parameters obtained from test results and brittleness indices were examined with regression analysis. According to the results obtained, a new chemical parameter (CP) was proposed for predicting brittleness via major oxide element components of basaltic rocks. It was found out that, B1 and B2 are not reliable parameters for predicting the different properties, however; B3 and CP can be employed as good criteria for predicting the different properties of basaltic rocks (especially in terms of chemical and mechanical properties).