AN ADVANCED ASSESSMENT OF MECHANICAL FRACTURE PARAMETERS OF SANDSTONES DEPENDING ON THE INTERNAL ROCK TEXTURE FEATURES

In this paper, sandstones from three Czech localities were subjected to mechanical fracture tests in order to obtain their properties. Carboniferous sandstone from the Staric site was primarily different from the two other Cretaceous sandstones from Podhorni Ujezd and Javorka localities in the type of grain contact, as well as in their mineralogical composition of the rock matrix and cement. These differences were primarily reflected in different rock porosities. An advanced assessment of the fracture response of the chevron notch specimens made of sandstones subjected to three-point bending test was carried out by means of the GTDiPS program suggested for processing the loading diagrams. Bending Young's modulus, mode I fracture toughness and fracture energy were subsequently calculated for all tested sandstone samples. Obtained outcomes show that the sandstone from the Staric mine exhibits several times higher values of investigated properties than the Podhorni Ujezd and Javorka sandstones. This was a result of a higher degree of rock compaction, siliciferous rock cement and, therefore, relatively low total porosity. Internal rock texture and mineralogical composition of matrix or cement are thus one of the most important factors influencing the values of mechanical fracture parameters of sandstones.