RESEARCH OF REGULARITIES OF STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS OF SERPENTINITES OF ZHITIKARINSKY DEPOSIT

Abstract

When forming chrysotile-asbestos deposits, the key process is serpentinization of rocks. Serpentinization, the
process of changing (hydration) of ultrabasic rocks under the influence of thermal water solutions, which is
expressed in the replacement of anhydrous magnesium
silicates with minerals of the serpentine group.
Spatial variability of physical and mechanical properties
of serpentine rocks is largely determined by their genesis, structure, and material composition. In this study, the physical and mechanical properties of rocks composing the instrument array of the Zhitikarinsky quarry have been determined. The obtained values of mechanical characteristics were statistically analyzed. The research methods were laboratory tests for strength under uniaxial compression, tension, and regression analysis of the obtained data. During strength tests for uniaxial compression, the values of vertical load, vertical stress, average vertical strain, longitudinal strain, and transverse strain were recorded. Graphs of the growth of vertical stress in the rock sample and the dependence of vertical stress on the vertical deformations of the sample were obtained. In the course of the tensile strength test, the maximum breaking force for correctly shaped samples was recorded (the Brazilian method) and the surface areas of the samples were determined. According to the results of tests and statistical data processing, the values of the uniaxial compression strength σсж, the modulus of deformation Eд, and the tensile strength σр were obtained for ten types of rocks collected in the adjacent rock mass of Zhitikarinsky quarry. Regression analysis was used to establish correlations between the values of physical and mechanical characteristics. Strength characteristics naturally decrease with increasing degree of serpentinization of rocks, depending on the mineral type of serpentinization.