The compactness of dimension stone blocks was previously controlled through various methods that were partially based on personal experiences, acoustic and visual observance of materials. With the development of technology, the ultrasonic pulse method is frequently used for the examination of stone test pieces and with an analysis of acquired data through the tomography method, the compactness is determined. The monolith stone blocks that are found at a site contain hidden discontinuities. The technique of data acquisition and the use of various instruments enable a good overview of the block interior. With an increased number of measurements, a suitable classification is prepared that helps reduce modification costs and increases the quality of stone blocks. The control methodology of compactness is based on the passage of longitudinal waves through the stone block without damaging the block during control. High differences in speed show irregularities in the material. With the observation system, we can prepare a tomography of the measured profiles that show us the locations of irregularities that should be observed more closely. During in situ measurements, the data for comparison with measured results are acquired. Determination of critical locations is of extreme importance before the processing of the block into smaller stone products or during the reconstruction of older stone elements or sculptures. The purpose of “in situ” measurements is to prepare a simple and fast method for the evaluation of materials compactness and for production work.
The subject of the research was the Middle Miocene red algal limestone from the Włochy deposit, which is currently the only place of exploitation of the Pińczów Limestone representing a local type of the Leitha Limestone. The collected samples of this rock belong to the organodetric facies of diverse grain size and sorting of clastic material. Considering the proportions of characteristic skeleton remains, the composition of the coarse-grained organodetric facies is red algal-foraminiferalbryozoic, while of the fine-grained facies is foraminiferal-red algal. The cement of these rocks is predominantly sparite compared to micrite-clay matrix. A complement to petrographic studies was the chemical analysis and identification of mineral phases with X-ray diffraction. Moreover, physical and mechanical properties of samples were analyzed. Porosity of the rock was assessed in the polarizing and scanning microscope (SEM-EDS) observations, as well as with a porosimetric tests. The coarse-detrital limestone with a dominant binder in the form of intergranular cement is characterized by the apparent density sometimes exceeded 1.90 Mg/m3, while fine-grained limestone has the highest water absorbability (above 20%) and total porosity (about 40%). The above properties influenced high water absorption by capillarity, limiting the possibility of using limestone in places exposed to moisture. The observed relationship between the ultrasonic waves velocity and the uniaxial compressive strength gives the possibility of predicting the value of the latter parameter in the future. The limestones from Włochy deposit do not differ in quality from the previously used Pińczów Limestones, and their technical parameters predestine them for use as cladding material with insulating properties.
The application of stone column technique for improvement of soft soils has attracted a considerable attention during the last decade. However, in a very soft soil, the stone columns undergo excessive bulging, because of very low lateral confinement pressure provided by the surrounding soil. The performance of stone column can be improved by the encapsulation of stone column by geosynthetic, which acts to provide additional confinement to columns, preventing excessive bulging and column failure. In the present study, a detailed experimental study on behavior of single column is carried out by varying parameters like diameter of the stone column, length of stone column, length of geosynthetic encapsulation and stiffness of encapsulation material. In addition, finite-element analyses have been performed to access the radial deformation of stone column. The results indicate a remarkable increase in load carrying capacity due to encapsulation. The load carrying capacity of column depends very much upon the diameter of the stone column and stiffness of encapsulation material. The results show that partial encapsulation over top half of the column and fully encapsulated floating column of half the length of clay bed thickness give lower load carrying capacity than fully encapsulated end bearing column. In addition, radial deformation of stone column decreases with increasing stiffness of encapsulation material.
The authors draw on their experience and past mountain landscape studies to describe an emerging collaborative research project designed to conduct advanced field studies and generate (and test) archaeological landscape models of past hunter-gatherer populations as well as pastoralist and early farming community seasonal transhumance migrations between lowland river valleys of Poland’s Podhale Basin and high altitude forests and meadows its adjacent High Tatra Mountains.
Middle Palaeolithic land exploitation strategies remain as yet an unexplored element in our understanding of Neanderthal behavioural patterns. Many different approaches to the problem were so far developed. Among others, biological, economic or environmental data concerning Neanderthals were considered as relevant. One of the focus points in such divagations is the issue of raw materials economy as undertaken by Neanderthals. The long-distance transport of knappable minerals (as a basis for the stone tools production) allows an insight into the economy and understanding of the size of land in use by Neanderthals group. Addressing this particular issue from the perspective of the Western Carpathian Mountains allows us to track the trails of mobility or trace possible contact zones between groups, and also to state, that at least in some circumstances Neanderthal groups were infiltrating and possibly crossing this highly elevated area on the S-N axis.
A lithological profile and measurements of the orientation and spacings of natural discontinuity planes were carried out in the Górka-Mucharz sandstone excavation (Krosno Beds, Outer Carpathians, Poland). In addition, the density of the discontinuities was assessed by measuring their spacings using oriented digital photographs of the quarry walls. An orthophotomap was also used in assessing the orientation and density of fractures with the tools available in QGIS. It was shown that digital image analysis can be used as an alternative to direct field measurements, especially in situations where access to an outcrop is difficult. The distributions of spacings larger than 40 cm, obtained by direct measurements and based on digital images of the quarry, were comparable. As a consequence, both measurement techniques yielded similar values of the quantity of blocks (QB), which differed by less than 2% for the minimum block volume in the range 0.4-1.0 m3 and by 6-7% for larger blocks. On the other hand, measurements of discontinuity spacings that were taken on the basis of an orthophotomap can only serve to estimate the approximate maximum value of this parameter. However, the use of orthophotomaps gives a more explicit spatial pattern of the main vertical joint sets than direct measurements in the quarry.
The analysis results also showed the following: (i) the presence of tectonic disturbances visible at the highest level of the deposit; (ii) higher density of set A fractures with planes deepening in the NE direction and a considerable reduction of the QB parameter, particularly in the peripheral NE and SW parts of the deposit; (iii) differences in the orientation of the discontinuity system between particular beds. The variable density of the discontinuities in the excavation is related to the presence of the faults that limit the Górka-Mucharz deposit.
In the article there was described the current state of mines against a background of tradition of exploitation and application of rock raw materials. Active quarries were selected, where the extraction of rock blocks has been a tradition, as well as quarries where the geological structure of the deposit allows to exploit the blocks in the future. There were also assessed old quarries and their deposits where the popular stones had been extracted in the past and then used in domestic architecture as a decorative materials. That is a group of more than 230 deposits in total. It has been presented economically justified perspectives of exploitation development concerning decorative and architectural rocks in south-eastern Poland against a background of European market requirements, the state of resources and environmental limitations. It was established that they are differentiated depending on the decorative properties of the rocks, their block divisibility and quantity of resources. Taking above-mentioned into consideration the deposits have been classified to groups which have the chances of exploitation development in the European, domestic and local scale. The former are Zygmuntówka Conglomerate, Morawica Limestone, Zalesiaki Limestone and Diplopora Dolomite. The domestic scope of use can be associated with properly developed deposits of Paleozoic limestones in the vicinity of Kielce and Krzeszowice and some dimension sandstones in the margin of the Holy Cross Mountains and in the Carpathians. The small deposits of sandstones from the Holy Cross Mountains margin and from the Carpathians as well as deposits of limestones from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, excavating material used in so called small architecture, have guarantee of local development. Moreover there was shown the hazard to the dimension stones deposits connected with the huge consumption of their resources for the production of crushed aggregates. This problem concerns especially raw materials with good physico-mechanical properties. For the most attractive rocks it was justified the need of their protection against exploitation for the other purposes than block production. It was stated that the return to local masonry traditions is possible and necessary because of many connections with the national culture through its history, architecture and art. It requires large investments for modernize the exploitation methods as well as for promotion of Polish stones in the European market. It must be also taken into consideration the possibility of financial support from the European Union funds.
Large-scale stone-banked lobes and terraces are distributed over an area of 1 km2 of gentle slope on Rink Plateau in the northern part of James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula region. Topographically, there are two main features: relatively high risers up to 5 m high and distinct frontal ridges. In order to understand the processes responsible for these lobes and terraces, the authors have monitored air and ground temperatures and movement of stones on the surface over the period 1995-2005. In February 2005, the subsurface structures were surveyed by ground penetrating radar and drilling. The ground penetrating radar profiles identified the bedrock surface. The surface morphology of the lobes corresponds closely with that of the bedrock. The relatively high risers of these lobes are presumed to be due to a cessation of frontal advance.
Communication noise is classified as one of the pollutions for the current environment. Experimental techniques to measure tire-pavement noise generation from asphalt pavements in the laboratory have been limited. A series of experiments were conducted on six different asphalt mixtures to determine if Purdue University’s Tire-Pavement Test Apparatus (TPTA) could be used to overcome these limitations. The procedure produced samples with low tire-pavement noise; however, the air void contents of the samples were higher than designed. Despite these difficulties, the sample preparation technique and the TPTA testing protocol were shown to offer an effective approach for quick laboratory assessment of tire-pavement noise characteristics of hot mix asphalt pavements at a substantially reduced cost compared to field testing.