Int. j. eng. sci., Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014. pp.

38-44

TI Journals

International Journal of Engineering Sciences

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ISSN:
2306-6474
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved for TI Journals.

Impact of Petrography on Abrasion Resistance of Crystalline Rocks

Odunyemi Anthony Ademeso *
Department of Geology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author: tonyademeso@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

Abrasion resistance
petrography
texture
mineralogy
correlation coefficient

As a precursor to the determination of how petrography impacts abrasion resistance of igneous and
metamorphic crystalline rocks, six different types of such rocks were tested for their petrographic
characteristics and abrasion resistance. Further petrographic analysis was carried out with ImageJ. The
petrography showed that the rock types contain quartz (ranging from 16 to 29%), plagioclase (21 to 36%),
biotite (5 to 41%), microcline (0 to 41%) as major minerals. Texturally, lamprophyre and porphyritic biotite
granite exhibited porphyritic texture. Other rock types exhibited medium to coarse textural characteristics.
All the rock types exhibited micro-structures to varying degrees with charnockitic rocks displaying more
varieties and quantities while gneiss and granite gneiss tend to possess fewer varieties and quantities.
Lamprophyre possessed the highest abrasion resistance (Ha) of 34.40 while granite gneiss possessed the
least value of 26.50. Quartz plus feldspar (Q+F) content (%) presented the highest correlation coefficient of 0.7206 with abrasion resistance. When the outlier was removed, the correlation coefficient increased to 0.9620. The mathematical model, Ha = -0.4006(Q+F) + 53.692, was derived for the relationship. A standard
deviation of 0.94 was evaluated from relating the laboratory determined with estimated abrasion resistance
values. The model is not reliable as all estimated values are not accommodated within the range 29.18 and
36.70 (mean 4*standard deviation). It was, however, discovered that grain interlock and texture have more
influence on the abrasion resistance of rocks than mineral content and micro-structural characteristics.

1.

Introduction

Crystalline rocks are of immense benefit to engineering, particularly the construction sub-sector. They are used as chippings, dimension stones
as well as decorative slabs and tiles. The strength of the rocks is the major dynamic upon which their usage is based but generally, its
determination is expensive, tedious and time consuming [1]; [2]. These authors, however, reported point load and Schmidt rebound hammer
respectively as easier and inexpensive tests with which the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) could be estimated. As it is known that (i) rocks
are anisotropic such that parts on the same exposure that are just a few centimetres apart could differ significantly and (ii) that every part of the
rock cannot be tested, it becomes very necessary to find a way of estimating these strength characteristics at least at the reconnaissance stage. It
has been established that the mineralogy of a rock is one of the determinants of its strength [3] and therefore the presence or absence of certain
mineral species as well as their quantity could be used for the estimation of the strength characteristics. It is noted that petrographic properties
(microstructures and textures) are characteristics of the minerals grains and therefore can be used to explain the behaviours of the minerals and
by extension those of the rocks. It has also been established that micro-structures, which are identifiable through microscopic study of the thin
sections of the rocks, impose a pronounced effect on the strength and other properties of rocks [4]. For example micro-structures may explain
why similar rock types from the same locality have different mechanical behaviours. Furthermore, texture has also been discovered to impact
some characteristic mechanical behaviour on rocks such that coarse, intermediate and fine grained rocks exhibit different mechanical properties.
[5] reported that finer grained rocks usually exhibit higher strength parameters. [6] correlated the bulk density with abrasion resistance of some
igneous and metamorphic rocks from a study that revealed a very high positive correlation coefficient of 0.9179 and concluded that bulk density
is a potent factor that influences abrasion resistance.
Therefore, there is a need to understand the response of strength parameters to other characteristics (particularly petrography) of the rock.
Abrasion resistance being one of the strength parameters is hereby determined and correlated with the mineralogy while the texture and microstructures are considered alongside so that an explanation can be offered for the responses of the different rock types to these characteristics.
Consequently, it will be possible to predict abrasion resistance from the petrographic characteristics. Therefore six different rock types [gneiss
(Ak001), granite gneiss (Ak002), charnockitic rock (Ak003), biotite granite (Ig001), porphyritic biotite granite (Ig002) and lamprophyre (Ig003)]
from Akure and Igarra areas of southwestern Nigeria (Fig. 1) were studied for their petrographic characteristics and abrasion resistance.

39

Impact of Petrography on Abrasion Resistance of Crystalline Rocks

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014.

Figure 1: Geological Map of Southwestern Nigeria showing the study Areas (after Ademeso and Adekoya, 2011).

2.

Methodology

2.1 Petrographic Study

Thin sections were prepared from the samples that were collected from the field and three sections of each rock type were studied with the
petrographic microscope. Photomicrographs were taken and analyzed with the aid of ImageJ for the texture, mineralogy and micro-structures of
the rock as described in [7]. In all, fifty-four photomicrographs were studied.
2.2 Determination of Abrasion Resistance
The procedure is as stated in [8]. Block specimens of 30mm by 30mm by 60mm were prepared from the rock samples. The specimen was
weighed to precision and in this case, the weight was taken twice with the average of the two regarded as the specimen weight (Ws). The
specimen was then placed in the abrasion testing apparatus (Fig. 2) and abraded for 225 revolutions. The equipment used for this test was set to
50rpm and this translated to abrading the specimen for 4mins 15sec. The specimen was removed from the machine, brushed free of dust and
weighed to the same precision as for the original weight [8]. The abrasion resistance was calculated using the formula below [8].

= 10 (2000 +

) 2000

(2.1)

where
Ha = abrasion resistance;
G = bulk specific gravity of the sample;
Ws = average weight of the specimen (original weight plus final weight divided by 2);
Wa = loss of weight during the grinding operation.

3.

Results

3.1 Texture
Generally, three of the rock types (gneiss, granite gneiss and biotite granite) exhibited medium to coarse grained texture. The grains displayed
irregular shape with sutured margins indicating that they were strongly interlocked. The charnockitic rock was largely coarse grained while the
porphyritic biotite granite displayed very large crystals of feldspar in finer groundmass of quartz, biotite and feldspar. The charnockitic rocks and
porphyritic biotite granite possessed grains with sutured boundaries. The Lamprophyre possessed relatively coarse biotite grains in a groundmass
of very fine grains of biotite, quartz, feldspar and hornblende, indicating porphyritic texture.
3.2 Mineralogy
The major minerals that were observed in the rocks include quartz, plagioclase, microcline, orthoclase, and biotite. Other minerals included
hypersthene, pyroxene, muscovite and hornblende while zircon, mymerkite and opaque minerals were observed as accessory. The result of the
modal analyses of the thin sections of the rock types is hereby presented (Table 1).

Odunyemi Anthony Ademeso *

40

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014.

3.3 Microstructures
i) Gneiss: The rock exhibited mineral inclusions, micro-cracks, twinning, partly deformed twinning, cleavages and undulose extinction as microstructures (Fig. 2A) indicating that the rock had undergone stress.

Figure 2: Photomicrographs of the rock types: A = Gneiss, B = Porphyritic Biotite Granite,

C = Lamprophyre, D = Granite gneiss, E = Biotite Granite, F = Charnockitic rock

Table 1: Summary of modal analyses.

S/No

Sample No

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Gn(Ak001)
Ggn(Ak002)
Chk (Ak003)
Pgr(Ig001)
Gr(Ig002)
Lam(Ig003)

Modal (%) Content of Minerals

Qtz
25
29
16
23
27
23

Pla
36
21
32
30
30
21

Mic
18
10
37
4

Ort
6
3
-

Bio
21
23
16
31
5
41

Hyp
3
16
-

Mus
1
4
-

Hnb
7
8
11
4
6

Pyx
1
-

Zir
1
1
1
-

Mym
0.3
1
4
-

Opa
0.1
1
5

Total
100.4
100
100
100
100

Note:
(1)
(2)

Gn = gneiss; Ggn = granite gneiss; Chk = charnockitic rock; Pgr = porphyritic biotite granite; Lam = lamprophyre; and Gr = biotite granite.
Qtz = quartz; Pla = plagioclase feldspar; Mic = microcline; Ort = orthoclase; Bio = biotite; Mus = muscovite; Hnb = hornblende; Hyp = hypersthenes; Mym = mymerkite and
Opa = opaque minerals.

41

Impact of Petrography on Abrasion Resistance of Crystalline Rocks

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014.

ii) Granite Gneiss: The petrography of the rock revealed cleavage, micro-cracks, mineral inclusions, twinnings and mymerkite as the
microstructures it exhibited (Fig. 2D) pointing to tension in the rock.
iii) Charnockitic Rocks: The charnockitic rocks exhibited the following microstructures: cleavage, distorted cleavage, mineral inclusions, microcracks, bent twin lamellae and compressed twin plane (Fig. 2F) implying that the rock might have suffered deformation.
iv) Porphyritic Biotite Granite: The micro-structures that were observed in the thin section of the rock include: cleavages, mineral inclusions,
twinnings and micro-cracks (Fig. 2B).
v) Biotite Granite: Micro-structures such as bent lamellae, cleavage, bent cleavage, twinning and mineral inclusions were observed in the thin
sections of the rock (Fig. 2E).
vi) Lamprophyre: This rock type exhibited cleavage and twinning as microstructures in thin section (Fig. 2C).

3.4 Abrasion Resistance

The results of abrasion resistance test revealed that lamprophyre (Ig003) has a range of 34.26-34.53 with an average value of 34.40; charnockitic
rock (Ak003), a range of 32.98-33.97 with an average of 33.40; granite gneiss (Ak002) with a range of 26.27-26.66 and an average of 26.50;
biotite granite (Ig002), a range of 26.50-27.63 with an average of 27.20; gneiss (Ak001), a range of 26.90-29.36 with an average of 27.80 and
porphyritic biotite granite with a range of 25.62-27.78 and an average of 26.65 (Table 2).

Table 2: Results of abrasion resistance tests.

S/No Rock Type

1.
Gneiss
(Ak001)

2.

Granite gneiss
(Ak002)

3.

Charnockitic rock
(Ak003)

4.

Porphyritic biotite
granite (Ig001)

5.

Biotite granite
(Ig002)

6.

Lamprophyre
(Ig003)

Initial
weight (gm)
255.62
219.97
235.41
288.84
305.93
276.61
325.29
277.07
249.67
305.90
305.08
226.28
237.99
238.09
234.31
272.22
243.59

Final
Weight (gm)
254.52
219.04
234.31
288.20
304.78
275.46
324.36
276.13
248.75
304.75
303.98
225.13
236.99
237.02
233.25
271.32
242.69

Average Weight
(gm)
255.070
219.505
234.860
288.520
305.355
276.035
324.825
276.600
249.210
305.325
304.530
225.705
237.490
237.555
233.780
271.770
243.140

Loss
in
weight (gm)
1.10
1.00
1.10
1.15
1.15
1.15
0.93
0.94
0.92
1.15
1.10
1.15
1.10
1.07
1.06
0.90
0.90

Abrasion Average
Res.(Ha) (Ha)
27.09
29.36
27.80
26.90
26.46
26.66
26.50
26.27
33.97
32.98
33.40
33.19
26.55
27.78
26.65
25.62
26.50
27.33
27.15
27.63
34.53
34.40
34.26

Note: Tests on specimens were carried out at Cambourne School of Mines, UK

4.

Discussion

The value of correlation coefficient (r) for the relationship between abrasion resistance (Ha) and the contents of minerals shows that the highest
value of -0.7206 is with quartz plus feldspar (Q+F) (Fig. 3). A higher value of 0.9254 was derived when the outlier was removed (Fig. 4).
Abrasion resistance (Ha) also exhibited negative correlation with quartz (Q), feldspar (F), and minerals that are harder than 5 on the Mohs' scale
of hardness (X) while it had positive correlation with mica (M) (Table 3). The implication is that the higher the abrasion resistance, the lower the
content of quartz plus feldspar and vice-versa. Contrary to this correlation, high quartz plus feldspar content is expected to bring about high
abrasion resistance because the minerals possess high hardness. On the other hand, the correlation is consistent with the findings of [9] and [10]
who reported a negative correlation coefficient between the quartz content and the mechanical properties of some granitic rocks. They attributed
the negative correlation to the fact that textural characteristics have more influence on mechanical parameters than the content of minerals.
Although, the lamprophyre exhibited very fine texture consistent with the high abrasion resistance it possessed in line with [11], most of the
other rock types possessed textural characteristics that are not in consonance with their abrasion resistance. Charnockitic rock revealed medium
to coarse grained texture, biotite granite had variations in the sizes of its grains, porphyritic biotite granite exhibited porphyritic texture, while
gneiss and granite gneiss possessed medium to coarse grained texture. It was noted however that virtually all the rock types contained mineral
grains that had sutured boundaries (meaning that they are strongly interlocked) implying that this might be partly responsible for the abrasion
characteristics displayed by them. The study further revealed that charnockitic rocks displayed various micro-structural characteristics which are
expected to cause a reduction in abrasion resistance but on the contrary, the rock possessed a very high abrasion resistance. Gneiss, granite

Odunyemi Anthony Ademeso *

42

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014.

gneiss and porphyritic biotite granite with fewer micro-structures revealed lower abrasion resistance. This is an indication that the microstructural characteristics of crystalline rocks do not have any serious impact on abrasion resistance. The strong interlock of the minerals grains
being common to all the rock types is therefore believed to play significant role in relation with other characteristics to give the rock types their
abrasion resistance characteristics. The lamprophyre for example combined the strong interlock of minerals with fine grains to display very high
abrasion resistance. In the case of the charnockitic rocks, the strong mineral interlock was mostly responsible noting that even the presence of
lots of micro-structures as well as the low content of (Q+F) that are expected to lead to a reduction in the abrasion resistance did not have any
serious negative impact. The texture exhibited by the porphyritic biotite granite, biotie granite, gneiss and granite gneiss seemed to work on the
grain interlock to impact the revealed abrasion resistance for the rocks. As also observed, the derived model with a standard deviation of 0.94
(Table 4) did not seem to give a very good estimation implying that the impact of the mineral content on the abrasion resistance might have been
subsumed probably by those of grain interlock and texture. Therefore, grain interlock and texture of the rock types have more influence on the
abrasion resistance than the content of minerals and the micro-structural characteristics.

Figure 3: Scatter diagram with regression line correlating Abrasion Resistance (Ha) with (Q+F)%

Figure 4: Scatter diagram with regression line correlating Abrasion Resistance (Ha) with (Q+F)% [outlier (biotite granite) removed].

43

Impact of Petrography on Abrasion Resistance of Crystalline Rocks

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014.

Table 3: Correlation of Abrasion Resistance with Modal percentages (Q+F, M, Q, X and F).

(A)
S/No
1
2
3
4
5
6

Rock Type
Gn
Ggn
Chk
Pgr
Gr
Lam

Sample No
Ak001
Ak002
Ak003
Ig001
Ig002
Ig003

Ha
27.78
26.46
33.38
26.65
27.15
34.40

Q+F(%)
67
69
51
63
94
49

M(%)
22
23
21
31
5
41

Q(%)
25
29
16
23
27
26

F(%)
42
40
35
40
67
23

X(%)
78
76
78
67
95
55

(B)
Ha
Q+F(%)
M(%)
Q(%)
F(%)
X(%)

R2
0.5192
0.2285
0.2635
0.4211
0.2478

r
-0.7206
0.4780
-0.5133
-0.6490
-0.4978

Note:
[1] Gn = gneiss, Ggn = granite gneiss, Chk = charnockitic rock, Gr = biotite granite, Pgr = porphyritic biotite granite, and Lam = lamprophyre.
[2] Ha = the abrasion resistance.
[3] Q+F = quartz plus feldspar, M = mica, Q = quartz, F = feldspar and X = minerals harder than 5 on the Mohs scale.
[4] (i) R2 = the square of Pearson product moment correlation coefficient.
(ii) r = the correlation coefficient between two sets of data.
[5] (A) is the table of values and (B) is the table of correlation (R2 and r).

Table 4: Statistical Relationship between Determined and Estimated Abrasion Resistance.

S/No

Rock Type (Sample Code)

Ha

Ha1

Ha-Ha1

[HaHa1]

1.

Gn (Ak001)

27.78

26.85

0.93

0.87

2.

Ggn (Ak002)

26.46

26.05

0.41

0.17

3.

Chk (Ak003)

33.38

33.26

0.12

0.01

4.

Pgr (Ig001)

26.65

28.45

-1.80

3.24

5.

Lam (Ig003)

34.40

34.06

0.34

0.12

Sum

148.67

148.67

Mean

29.73

29.73

4.41

Var

0.882

Std

0.94

Note:
(1)
(2)

Gn = gneiss; Ggn = granite gneiss; Chk = Charnockite; Pgr = Porphyritic biotite granite; Lam = lamprophyre.
Ha = Laboratory determined abrasion resistance; Ha1 = Abrasion resistance estimated with model; Var = Variance; Std = Standard deviation.

5.

Conclusion

Conclusively, grain interlock and texture have been observed to have greater influence on the abrasion resistance of rocks than mineral content
and micro-structural characteristics.

Acknowledgement
Dr. M.A. Saliu, who I owe a lot of gratitude, was instrumental to the analysis of the abrasion resistance of the rock types.

Odunyemi Anthony Ademeso *

44

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(3), No (6), June, 2014.

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[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]

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Dr. Ademeso, Odunyemi Anthony is working as a lecturer with the Department of Geology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko,
Ondo State, Nigeria. As an Engineering Geologist, he has written many papers in local and international journals and has made presentations
at local and international conferences. His current research interests are in the area of characterization of igneous and metamorphic rocks
particularly in Nigeria.