An evaluation on rippability of geological units by seismic P- and S-wave velocities

Abstract

Seismic P- and S- wave velocities are directly dependent on the physical properties of the geological units (soil and rock) in which they propagate, the degree of decomposition and fracture-crack, depth and porosity, and are widely used in estimating the rippability in excavation works. P- and S-wave velocities of geological units can be determined by seismic refraction and multichannel surface wave analysis (MASW) methods, respectively, in the field. The rippability classes can be estimated quickly and reliably in relation to the distribution of the seismic velocities in 1 and 2 dimensions (1D and 2D) and geotechnical characteristics of geological units. In this study, data from many in situ seismic measurements performed in four different areas in vicinity of center of Trabzon province were re-evaluated using P- and S-wave velocity classification tables prepared according to international standards (Caterpillar and NEHRP) for the rippability of geological units in the measurement areas and a primary seismic velocity-rippability-geotechnical classification table was prepared by including S-wave velocity. Therefore, the type (soil, rock) and mechanical property (firm, solid, hard, etc.) of the geological units are defined according to the S-wave velocity and the degree of rippability according to the P-wave velocity. Accordingly, in general, the geological units in the study areas are classified as very easy-to-easy, less firm soil (Vp <900 m/s, Vs <300 m/s), moderately rippabile solid- firm soil (Vp900-1500 m/s, Vs400-600 m/s), hard to rippabile very firm-solid or weathered rock (Vp1500-2100 m/s, Vs600-800 m/s), very hard-to-extremely hard to rippabile solid rock (Vp2100-2400 m/s, Vs800-1100 m/s) and non-rippabile hard rock (Vp>2400 m/s, Vs>1100 m/s). In addition, it has been shown that the approximate limits of geological units on 2D P-wave velocity-depth sections. Consequently, the evaluation of P- and S-wave velocities together has provided the information about the type (soil or rock), mechanical and physical properties of the geological units besides the rippability, thus will ensure minimizing the rippability estimation errors and to the guiding of excavation works.

Keywords

• Seismic P- and S-wave velocities
• Rippability
• Trabzon Province

P- ve S-dalga hızları ile jeolojik birimlerin sökülebilirliği üzerine bir değerlendirme

Öz

Sismik P- ve S- dalga hızları içinde yayıldıkları jeolojik birimlerin (zemin, kaya) fiziksel özelliklerine, ayrışma ve kırık-çatlak derecelerine, derinlik ve gözenek yapısına doğrudan bağlı olup, kazı çalışmalarında sökülebilirliğin tahmin edilmesinde yaygın olarak kullanılmaktadır. Jeolojik birimlerin P- ve S-dalga hızları arazide sırasıyla sismik kırılma ve çok kanallı yüzey dalgası analizi (ÇKYDA) yöntemleri ile belirlenebilir. Sismik hızların 1 ve 2 boyutlu (1B ve 2B) dağılımları ile jeolojik birimlerin jeoteknik nitelikleri ile ilişkili olarak sökülebilirlik sınıfları hızlı ve güvenilir olarak tahmin edilebilir. Bu çalışmada, Trabzon il merkezinde dört farklı alanda yapılan sismik ölçümlerden elde edilen veriler, ölçüm alanlarındaki jeolojik birimlerin sökülebilirlikleri için uluslararası standartlara (Caterpillar ve NEHRP) göre hazırlanmış P- ve S-dalga hızı sınıflama tabloları kullanılarak yeniden değerlendirilmiş ve S-dalga hızının dahil edildiği ilksel bir sismik hız-sökülebilirlik-jeoteknik sınıflama tablosu oluşturulmuştur. Böylece, jeolojik birimlerin türü (zemin, kaya) ve mekanik özelliği (sıkı, katı, sert) S-dalga hızına, sökülebilirlik dereceleri ise, P-dalga hızına göre tanımlanmıştır. Buna göre, genel olarak, çalışma alanlarındaki jeolojik birimler çok kolay-kolay sökülebilir az sıkı zemin (Vp<900 m/s, Vs<300 m/s), orta derecede sökülebilir katı- sıkı zemin (Vp900-1500 m/s, Vs400-600 m/s), zor sökülebilir çok sıkı-katı veya ayrışmış kaya (Vp1500-2100 m/s, Vs600-800 m/s), çok zor-son derece zor sökülebilir sağlam kaya (Vp2100-2400 m/s, Vs800-1100 m/s) ve sökülemez sert kaya (Vp>2400 m/s, Vs>1100 m/s) şeklinde sınıflandırılmıştır. Ayrıca, 2B P-dalga hızı-derinlik kesitleri sayesinde jeolojik birimlerin yaklaşık sınırlarının belirlenebileceği gösterilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, P- ve S-dalga hızlarının birlikte değerlendirilmesinin jeolojik birimin sökülebilirliğinin yanında, türü (zemin veya kaya), mekanik ve fiziksel özellikleri hakkında da bilgi vermektedir ve böylece sökülebilirlik tahmin hatalarının azaltılmasına ve kazı çalışmalarının yönlendirilmesine önemli katkılar sağlayacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sismik P- ve S-dalga hızları
• Sökülebilirlik
• Trabzon İli

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