Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει σαν αντικείμενο μελέτης την αποτίμηση των φυσικών παραμέτρων των μαλακών βράχων.Η περιοχή μελέτης τοποθετείται στο βορειοδυτικό τμήμα της Πελοποννήσου και συγκεκριμένα στο Νομό Αχαΐας. Οι ιδιαιτερότητες των φυσικών χαρακτηριστικών των σχηματισμών αυτών απαιτούν τη συστηματική τους διερεύνηση. Για το λόγο αυτό η μελέτη τους αποκτά μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον. Η εργασία περιλαμβάνει τα παρακάτω στάδια: -Περιγραφή των γεωλογικών συνθηκών σε ευρεία κλίμακα και συγκέντρωση τεκτονικών και σεισμικών στοιχείων της ευρύτερης περιοχής μελέτης. -Λεπτομερής εξέταση, διαχωρισμός και ακριβής προσδιορισμός των θέσεων δειγματοληψίας της περιοχής μελέτης. -Δειγματοληψία από τους σχηματισμούς που απαντώνται στην περιοχή και εκτέλεση εργαστηριακών δοκιμών -Προσδιορισμός των φυσικών παραμέτρων των υπό εξέταση υλικών -Στατιστική επεξεργασία των τιμών των εργαστηριακών δοκιμών με σκοπό την εξαγωγή διαφόρων συμπερασμάτων για τη μηχανική συμπεριφορά των μαλακών βράχων. Η εργασία αυτή εστιάστηκε στη διερεύνηση της αποσαθρωσιμότητας των μαλακών βράχων με εκτέλεση δοκιμών χαλάρωσης (slake durability test). Προς την κατεύθυνση αυτή έγιναν διαδοχικοί κύκλοι της δοκιμής χαλάρωσης (μέχρι 5 κύκλοι) για τη καλύτερη διερεύνηση του φαινομένου. / The aim of this thesis is the study of natural parameters of soft rocks. The region of study is placed in the north-western department of Peloponnese and concretely in the Prefecture Achaia. The particularities of natural characteristics of this shapings require their systematic investigation. For this reason their study acquires big interest. The work includes the following stages: - Description of geological conditions in wide scale and concentration of tectonic and seismic elements of the wider region of study. - Examination and precise determination of places of sampling of region of study. - Sampling from the shapings in the region and implementation of laboratorial trials - Determination of natural parameters of materials under review. - Statistical analysis of prices of laboratorial trials in order to export various conclusions on the mechanic behavior of soft rocks. This work was focused in the investigation of durability of soft rocks with implementation of trials of slake durability test. To this direction they became successive circles of trial of slake durability test (up to 5 circles) for the better investigation of the phenomenon.

Η έρευνα εντοπίζεται στο σχηματισμό του κατώτερου ορίζοντα των Νεογενών και συγκεκριμένα στους σχηματισμούς των μαργολίθων – ιλυολίθων οι οποίοι παρουσιάζουν συμπεριφορά σκληρών εδαφών – μαλακών βράχων της Β.Πελοποννήσου. / The investigation is located in the formation of the lower horizon of the neogene and particularly in the formations of the marlstones – siltstones that present a behavior of hard soils – soft rocks in N. Peloponnese.

Les processus de localisation de la déformation sont la clé du comportement mécanique des roches et des sols car ils sont, par exemple, souvent précurseurs de la rupture des matériaux. Par conséquent, la compréhension des processus qui conduisent à la localisation de la déformation, et donc à la rupture, dans les géomatériaux est essentielle pour la réussite d'un grand nombre de projets d'ingénierie géotechnique. Ce travail est centré sur l’étude des sols durs, roches tendres et matériaux granulaires cimentés. Dans ce cas, la localisation de la déformation est souvent associée à des phénomènes de fracturation à différentes échelles. Les macrofractures sont généralement entourées de méso et micro fractures et leur propagation est précédée d’une zone de processus; la microfissuration, qui caractérise cette zone, peut être identifiée comme endommagement car cela affecte les propriétés mécaniques du matériau. Les bandes de cisaillement ou de compaction sont souvent associées à des microfissures et elles peuvent également être considérées comme de la localisation d’endommagement. Dans le cadre de la mécanique des roches, l’endommagement peut être causé par des phénomènes de détachement (rupture du ciment) et écrasement des grains. Pour étudier les phénomènes de localisation de la déformation et de l'endommagement, une sorte de mesure de champ non destructive doit être mis en place. Des techniques bien connues dans la géomécanique comprennent la tomographie par rayons X pour étudier la structure des matériels, et la corrélation d'image numérique (DIC) des images 2D ou 3D (volumes), pour étudier le champ de déformation. La DIC est un outil très puissant pour l’étude des phénomènes hétérogènes mais fournit uniquement des données sur la cinématique. Dans cette thèse, nous suggérons l’utilisation d’un autre outil, la tomographie ultrasonore, qui permet la mesure du champ de la vitesse ultrasonique dans un échantillon, ainsi que ses propriétés élastiques, en exploitant la théorie de la propagation des ondes. La tomographie ultrasonore, utilisée comme technique complémentaire de la DIC et d'autres mesures de champ, peut donc fournir de nouvelles informations pour comprendre les processus de déformation. Dans la mécanique des sols et des roches des méthodes acoustiques et ultrasoniques ont été largement utilisées pour mesurer les propriétés élastiques, y compris pendant les essais mécaniques. Cependant, ces mesures ont été limitées à un petit nombre limitant ainsi l'étude des hétérogénéités. La tomographie ultrasonore peut surmonter cette limitation en fournissant une carte des propriétés élastiques. La principale contribution de ce travail est le développement de la tomographie ultrasonore comme technique de mesure de champ pour tester les géomatériaux et son application dans une vaste campagne expérimentale. Des tests ont été effectués sur différents matériaux et dans différentes conditions, y compris pendant le chargement et la tomographie ultrasonore a été comparée avec les résultats obtenus par DIC ainsi que par tomographie à rayons X. Une comparaison entre DIC et tomographie ultrasonore indique que la vitesse de propagation subit des modifications importantes à un niveau de chargement pour lequel la DIC ne présente aucune déformation notable. Puisque la tomographie ultrasonore est sensible aux variations des propriétés élastiques, à savoir l’endommagement, il peut être conclu que le niveau de déformation nécessaire pour causer de l’endommagement dans ce matériau est inférieur à la résolution de la DIC. De plus, la tomographie ultrasonore semble être capable de détecter la zone de processus qui précède la fracture, et donc d’indiquer sa direction de propagation. Les différentes techniques utilisées dans ce travail fournissent des informations différentes et complémentaires. Grâce à leur combinaison, une meilleure compréhension du comportement mécanique des géomatériaux peut être acquise. / The processes of strain localisation are key to the deformation behaviour of rocks and soils, because, for example, localised deformation is often precursor to material failure. Therefore the understanding of the processes leading to localised deformation, and thus to failure, in geomaterials is critical to the success of many geotechnical engineering projects. This work is focused on the analysis of localised deformation in hard soils, soft rocks and, more generally, cemented granular materials. For such materials localized deformation, in the form of localized strain, i.e., shear and compaction bands, is often associated with damage, i.e., inter and intra-granular fractures and cracks, de–bonding and breakage of particles (grain crushing). Furthermore, macrofractures are commonly surrounded by meso and micro cracks and a process zone of microfracturing precedes their propagation. To study localised phenomena such as strain and damage localisation, some kind of non-destructive, full–field measurement has to be used. Well-known techniques in geomechanics include X-ray tomography, to study material structure, and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) of 2D or 3D (volume) images, to study material kinematics and strain fields. DIC has proven to be a very powerful tool in the study of heterogeneous phenomena, but provides only data on kinematics and strain and not on associated property changes (e.g., elastic properties). In this thesis another tool, ultrasonic tomography, is suggested as a full-field measurement of the elastic property variations in test specimens through mapping of ultrasonic wave propagation velocities. Ultrasonic tomography, as complementary technique to DIC and other full-filed measures, can thus provide new insight into the deformation processes. In rock and soil mechanics, acoustic and ultrasonic methods have long been used to measure the elastic properties of test materials, including during mechanical testing. However, such measures have generally been limited to only a few measurement paths (usually just one) for a whole sample, thus restricting the study of heterogeneity. Ultrasonic tomography can overcome this limitation to provide a full-field measure. The main contributions of this work are the development of ultrasonic tomography analysis for laboratory geomechanics (both in terms of the experimental method and subsequent data analysis) and its application to analyse material deformation and, in particular, material evolution during loading (time-lapse ultrasonic tomography). The developed ultrasonic tomography approach has been applied to investigate geomaterial behaviour in laboratory tests. In this context, experimental campaigns have been carried out on different materials, where the ultrasonic tomography has been complemented by comparisons with displacement and strain fields from 2D and 3D DIC plus structural analysis by X-ray tomography. A comparison between DIC and ultrasonic tomography results reveals that the latter shows important changes inside the sample in a stage of loading where the DIC may not. As ultrasonic tomography is sensitive to damage, it can be concluded that the degree of deformation needed to cause detectable damage is below the resolution of the DIC. Moreover, the ultrasonic tomography seems to be able to detect the damaged zone surrounding fracture tips and thus can indicate where the fractures will propagate. However, when deformation becomes too high or fractures propagate, ultrasonic signals cannot be acquired, so ultrasonic tomography is not possible; in such situations DIC can still provide important information on the deformation mechanisms. The different full-field techniques employed in this work have thus been found to provide different and complementary information. Furthermore, it is shown that better understanding of the mechanical behaviour of geomaterials can be gained through the combination of more than one technique.

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει σαν αντικείμενο μελέτης την αποτίμηση των φυσικών και μηχανικών παραμέτρων των μαλακών βράχων σκληρών εδαφών. Η περιοχή μελέτης τοποθετείται στο βορειοδυτικό τμήμα της Πελοποννήσου και συγκεκριμένα στο Νομό Αχαΐας. Οι ιδιαιτερότητες των φυσικών χαρακτηριστικών των σχηματισμών αυτών απαιτούν τη συστηματική τους διερεύνηση. Για το λόγο αυτό η μελέτη τους αποκτά μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον. Η εργασία περιλαμβάνει τα παρακάτω στάδια: -Περιγραφή των γεωλογικών συνθηκών σε ευρεία κλίμακα και συγκέντρωση τεκτονικών και σεισμικών στοιχείων της ευρύτερης περιοχής μελέτης. -Λεπτομερής εξέταση, διαχωρισμός και ακριβής προσδιορισμός των θέσεων δειγματοληψίας της περιοχής μελέτης. -Δειγματοληψία από τους σχηματισμούς που απαντώνται στην περιοχή και εκτέλεση εργαστηριακών δοκιμών -Προσδιορισμός των φυσικών παραμέτρων των υπό εξέταση υλικών -Στατιστική επεξεργασία των τιμών των εργαστηριακών δοκιμών με σκοπό την εξαγωγή διαφόρων συμπερασμάτων για τη μηχανική συμπεριφορά των μαλακών βράχων. / The aim of this thesis is the study of natural and mechanical parameters of soft rocks – hard soil. The region of study is placed in the north-western department of Peloponnese and concretely in the Prefecture Achaia. The particularities of natural characteristics of this shapings require their systematic investigation. For this reason their study acquires big interest. The work includes the following stages: - Description of geological conditions in wide scale and concentration of tectonic and seismic elements of the wider region of study. - Examination and precise determination of places of sampling of region of study. - Sampling from the shapings in the region and implementation of laboratorial trials - Determination of natural parameters of materials under review - Statistical analysis of prices of laboratorial trials in order to export various conclusions on the mechanic behavior of soft rocks.

Este trabalho caracterizou os siltitos do Grupo Itararé, rocha branda proveniente da amostragem de pedreira localizada nas proximidades de futuro empreendimento brasileiro, o Trem de Alta Velocidade. Objetivou entender as causas da pronunciada e rápida alteração da rocha intacta, e simular, em condições controladas de laboratório, a degradação hidromecânica causada pela simples variação da umidade relativa do ar. Para tal, estabeleceu-se técnica de amostragem de testemunhos por meio da extração via seca com ar-comprimido, e processo de intemperismo artificial, composto por 4 ciclos de 2 etapas (secagem e umedecimento). O processo se deu em dessecadores, sendo a variação da umidade ocasionada pela técnica do vapor e sílica gel. O acompanhamento da degradação dos corpos de prova efetuou-se com duas técnicas não-destrutivas de propagação de ondas: o pulso ultrassônico e a excitação por impulso (sistema Sonelastic). Em paralelo, realizou-se a caracterização geotécnica dos siltitos em umidade natural, com ensaios mineralógicos, físicos, físico-mecânicos, físico-químicos e de alteração laboratorial. Por meio desta metodologia, foi possível estimar as minorações do módulo de deformabilidade e da resistência, além das causas físico-químicas da degradação. / This work characterized the siltstones of the Itararé Group, a soft rock sampled in a quarry located near a future Brazilian venture, the High Speed Train. It aims at understanding the causes of the pronounced and fast changes of the intact rock, and simulate in controlled laboratory conditions the hydro degradation process caused by simple variation of relative air humidity. Dry sampling technique with compressed air was used to extract samples from blocks, and the process of artificial weathering consisted on 4 cycles of 2 steps (drying and wetting). The process occurred in desiccators, where moisture variation was caused by the vapor technique and silica gel. The monitoring of the specimens degradation was performed with two non-destructive wave propagation techniques: the ultrasonic pulse and the impulse excitation (Sonelastic system). A geotechnical characterization of the siltstones in natural moisture condition was made in parallel, consisting on mineralogical, physical, physical-mechanical, physical-chemical and durability tests. By this methodology, it was possible to estimate the mitigation of the deformability modulus and strength besides the physical- chemical causes of degradation.

Este trabalho caracterizou os siltitos do Grupo Itararé, rocha branda proveniente da amostragem de pedreira localizada nas proximidades de futuro empreendimento brasileiro, o Trem de Alta Velocidade. Objetivou entender as causas da pronunciada e rápida alteração da rocha intacta, e simular, em condições controladas de laboratório, a degradação hidromecânica causada pela simples variação da umidade relativa do ar. Para tal, estabeleceu-se técnica de amostragem de testemunhos por meio da extração via seca com ar-comprimido, e processo de intemperismo artificial, composto por 4 ciclos de 2 etapas (secagem e umedecimento). O processo se deu em dessecadores, sendo a variação da umidade ocasionada pela técnica do vapor e sílica gel. O acompanhamento da degradação dos corpos de prova efetuou-se com duas técnicas não-destrutivas de propagação de ondas: o pulso ultrassônico e a excitação por impulso (sistema Sonelastic). Em paralelo, realizou-se a caracterização geotécnica dos siltitos em umidade natural, com ensaios mineralógicos, físicos, físico-mecânicos, físico-químicos e de alteração laboratorial. Por meio desta metodologia, foi possível estimar as minorações do módulo de deformabilidade e da resistência, além das causas físico-químicas da degradação. / This work characterized the siltstones of the Itararé Group, a soft rock sampled in a quarry located near a future Brazilian venture, the High Speed Train. It aims at understanding the causes of the pronounced and fast changes of the intact rock, and simulate in controlled laboratory conditions the hydro degradation process caused by simple variation of relative air humidity. Dry sampling technique with compressed air was used to extract samples from blocks, and the process of artificial weathering consisted on 4 cycles of 2 steps (drying and wetting). The process occurred in desiccators, where moisture variation was caused by the vapor technique and silica gel. The monitoring of the specimens degradation was performed with two non-destructive wave propagation techniques: the ultrasonic pulse and the impulse excitation (Sonelastic system). A geotechnical characterization of the siltstones in natural moisture condition was made in parallel, consisting on mineralogical, physical, physical-mechanical, physical-chemical and durability tests. By this methodology, it was possible to estimate the mitigation of the deformability modulus and strength besides the physical- chemical causes of degradation.

Εξετάστηκαν κατ'αρχήν οι σχηματισμοί " σκληρά εδάφη-μαλακοί βράχοι" με βάση τη διεθνή και Ελληνική εμπειρία. Διερευνήθηκαν η γεωλογική σύσταση και δομή, σεισμικότητα, τεχνικογεωλογικοί χαρακτήρες και υδρογεωλογικό καθεστώς αυτών στο πλαίσιο του έργου της Ευρείας Παράκαμψης Πατρών (ΕΠΠ). Συντάχθηκε ο τεχνικογεωλογικός-γεωτεχνικός χάρτης της επριοχής έρευνας, σε κλίμακα 1:5000, αξιολογήθηκαν 170 γεωτρήσεις και διαχωρίστηκαν δύο γεωτεχνικές ενότητες των λεπτομερών αυτών ιζημάτων, Ανώτερη και Κατώτερη, οι οποίες αξιολογήθηκαν σε σχέση με τα υπόγεια τεχνικά έργα (σήραγγες). Οι ενότητες αυτές αποτυπώθηκαν σε μηκοτομές των δύο κλάδων του έργου της ΕΠΠ σε κλίμακα 1:5000/1:1000. Έγινε περαιτέρω τεκμηρίωση των ενοτήτων αυτών με βάση λεπτομερή μικροσκοπική μελέτη-ορυκτολογική ανάλυση, αξιολόγηση των εργαστηριακών και επιτόπου δοκιμών, καταγραφή παραμορφώσεων διατομής του έργου (συγκλίσεις), καθώς και ανάδρομες αναλύσεις. Η έρευνα αυτή αποτελεί χρήσιμο οδηγό διερεύνησης ανάλογων σχηματισμών για τον ασφαλή σχεδιασμό υπόγειων τεχνικών έργων. / The formations " hard soils-soft rocks" were firstly examined, based on the international and Greek territory experience. The geological composition and structure of the formations were investigated, as well as seismicity, engineering geological characteristics and hydrogeological regime of the wider area of Patras Ring Road. The engineering geological-geotechnical map of the examined area was drawn up, on a scale of 1:5000, 170 borehole logs were evaluated and two main geotechnical units in these fine sediments were distinguished, Upper and Lower, in relation to the underground works (tunnels). These Units were shown on sections along the two branches of the project, on a scale of 1:5000/1:1000. This discrimination was furthermore documented through detailed microscopic-mineralogical analysis, evaluation of the in situ and laboratory tests, as well as of the recorded deformations of the tunnels cross sections (convergenes) and finally the performance of back analysis. The investigation comprises a useful guide for the examination of such formations, concerning the safe design of underground works.