An assessment on the indirect determination of the volumetric block proportion of Misis fault breccia (Adana, Turkey)

Volumetric block proportion (VBP) directly affects the strength of geologically complex rocks such as bimrocks (block-in-matrix rocks). Since the direct determination of VBP is difficult in most cases, some prediction methods were suggested. In this study, the VBP of Misis fault breccia, which is a type of bimrock, was determined by image analysis techniques and its predictability from P- and S-wave velocity, and density was investigated. Regression analysis showed that there is no relation between VBP and S-wave velocity. However, there is a weak relation between VBP and P-wave velocity. On the other hand, VBP was strongly correlated with density. It was concluded that P- and S-wave velocity may not be a measure of VBP of breccias. However, density is a good measure of VBP, because the relation between VBP and density is strong and statistically significant.