Prediction of drilling rate index from rock strength and cerchar abrasivity index properties using fuzzy inference system

Rock drillability characteristic is one of the important properties for mining and tunneling operations. The rock drillability can be determined by using the drilling rate index (DRI) for engineering applications. The present study attempts to develop a practical and convenient DRI estimation model by using rock strength and abrasivity properties. For this purpose, fuzzy inference system (FIS) being an accurate prediction model was applied to predict DRI by using experimental data obtained with 37 different rocks. The predictive FIS based on experts knowledge by taking mechanical and abrasivity properties as input parameters was created on MATLAB. This structure was carried out by using Mamdani extraction method. DRI values obtained experimentally and estimated from the FIS model were compared. This comparison is given with statistically reliable ( R 2 =0.9277) results. In order to prove the validity of the FIS model for DRI prediction, a validation process has been performed by using test data as well. The performance determination coefficients ( R 2 ) are found as 0.9513 by using test data. As a result, it was found that DRI values can be predicted very efficiently and accurately with the proposed prediction method.