Applying ultrasonic waves to evaluate the volumetric block proportion of bimrocks

As a result of civilization, a lot of underground and surface structures have been constructed on or within complex rocks such as mlange and lahars. There are many engineering problems related to this group of rocks called block-in-matrix rocks (bimrock). In the literature, the more important parameter controlling the geomechanical characteristics of bimrocks is volumetric block proportion (VBP), and there is much uncertainty related to estimated VBP applying sieve or image analysis. So, in this research, to develop a relation between the VBP and ultrasonic wave velocities and find how the fractal dimension and maximum block size affect the P and S wave velocities, 90 large-scale cubic samples were fabricated and the P and S wave velocities were measured in three perpendicular directions inside the physical samples. The fabricated samples were almost isotropic, and there was a direct relation between ultrasonic wave velocities and VBP. The difference between the evaluated VBP and the real one was in the range of -10 to +15% when the real VBP was equal or less than 60% and up to +25% when the real VBP was equal to 75%. In general, the fractal dimension had an indirect relation with ultrasonic velocities and there was no dominant trend for ultrasonic wave velocity variation versus the maximum block size.