Determination of basic physical and mechanical properties of basaltic rocks from P-wave velocity

Physical and mechanical properties of basaltic rocks used as main building material in historical buildings in Diyarbakir show great diversity depending on the place of origin. Especially, earthquake studies as well as restoration jobs and civil engineers and architects who work on building dynamics need to know basic material properties of basaltic rocks that are the main building material. In this study, the basalt samples obtained from 18 different locations of the Diyarbakir area were tested in order to estimate the main material properties of basalts used in historical buildings without collecting samples from them. Subsequently, statistical relationships between the nondestructive P-wave velocity and other properties of basalts were investigated. Consequently, highly correlated models (R2 = 0.717–0.890) were obtained between P-wave velocity and density, porosity, uniaxial compressive strength, Brazilian tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio.