Engineering Geology 65 (2002) 269 283 www.elsevier.

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Correlation of TBM and drilling machine performances with rock brittleness

S. Kahraman*
Geological Engineering Department, University of Nig de, 51100 Nig de, Turkey Received 3 May 2001; accepted 19 November 2001

Abstract The correlations between three different methods of measuring brittleness and both drillability and borability were statistically investigated using the raw data obtained from the experimental works of different researchers. Strong exponential relationships between the penetration rates of tunnel boring machine (TBM) and the brittleness of B1 (the ratio of compressive strength to tensile strength) and B2 (the ratio of compressive strength minus tensile strength to compressive strength plus tensile strength) were found. There is no correlation between the penetration rates of the diamond drilling tool and the brittleness values. Strong exponential correlations exist between the penetration rates of rotary drills and the brittleness of B1 and B2. However, no correlation between the penetration rate of rotary drills and the brittleness of B3 (the product of percentage of fines in impact strength test and compressive strength) was found. The penetration rate of percussive drills does not exhibit a correlation with the brittleness of B1 and B2, but the penetration rate of percussive drills is strongly correlated with the brittleness of B3. It was concluded that each method of measuring brittleness has its usage in rock excavation depending on practical utility. D 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Keywords: Rock brittleness; TBMs; Rotary drills; Percussive drills

1. Introduction Rotary and percussion drilling equipment is widely used in rock excavation. Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are ubiquitous in civil engineering applications. Having some prior knowledge of the potential performance of the selected rock drilling equipment or boring machines is very important in rock excavation projects for the planning and the cost estimation

Fax: +90-388-225-0112. E-mail address: kahramans@ttnet.net.tr (S. Kahraman).

purposes. Drillability and borability can be predicted from a combination of machine characteristics and rock properties. Uniaxial compressive strength is the most widely used parameter for predicting the performance of tunnelling machines and drilling rigs (Paone and Madson, 1966; Paone et al., 1969a,b; Barendsen, 1970; Fowel and McFeat-Smith, 1976; Brown and Phillips, 1977; Poole and Farmer, 1978; Aleman, 1981; Hughes, 1986; Karpuz et al., 1990; Bilgin et al., 1996, Kahraman, 1999). In addition, a wide range of empirical tests has been used to predict the performance of drilling or boring machines. Among these are: Schmidt hammer, Taber abrasion, point load, cone

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Table 1 The test data of Model TBM (Howarth et al., 1986) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 1.307 1.269 1.244 1.717 0.093 0.439 Dry unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 64.7 44.1 36.6 35.1 93.6 49.9 Dry tensile strength (MPa) 6.3 3.3 2.4 3.0 4.2 3.0 B1 a B2a

Ipswich sandstone Gosford sandstone Mt. Crosby sandstone Helidon sandstone Carrara marble Ulan marble Thrust: 3.16 kN, rpm: 14. a Calculated by the author.

10.3 13.4 15.3 11.7 22.3 16.6

0.82 0.86 0.88 0.84 0.91 0.89

indenter, Shore hardness, drilling rate index (DRI) and coefficient of rock strength (CRS) (McFeat-Smith and Fowel, 1977; Howarth, 1986; Nilsen and Ozdemir, 1993; Li et al., 2000). Recently, rock mass classification systems, such as Q-system and RMR-system, have been used for the estimation of TBM performance (Alber, 1996; Barton, 1999). Evans and Pomeroy (1966) theoretically showed that impact energy of a cutter pick is inversely proportional to brittleness. Singh (1986) indicated that

cuttability, penetrability and Protodyakonov strength index of coal strongly depended on the brittleness of coal. Singh (1987) showed that a directly proportional relationship existed between in situ specific energy and brittleness of three Utah coals. Go ktan (1991) stated that the brittleness concept might not be a representative measure of rock cutting-specific energy consumption. Brittleness is one of the most important mechanical properties of rocks. However, there is no avail-

Fig. 1. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for the model TBM (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 1).

S. Kahraman / Engineering Geology 65 (2002) 269283 Table 2 The laboratory test data of impregnated diamond bits (Clark, 1979) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 15.60 3.35 1.65 4.62 2.49 1.40 5.87 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 34.2 143.5 233.1 296.8 343.7 449.4 394.8 Tensile strength (MPa) 2.5 10.8 12.4 15.4 16.4 30.8 18.6 B1a

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B2a

Alabama limestone Rockville granite Charcoal granite Basalt Taconite Taconite Sioux Quartzite Thrust: 4.54 kN, rpm: 1000. a Calculated by the author.

13.5 13.3 18.8 19.3 21.0 14.6 21.2

0.86 0.86 0.90 0.90 0.91 0.87 0.91

Table 3 The field test data of impregnated diamond bits (Clark, 1979) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 2.95 0.89 0.20 1.14 3.86 5.44 1.62 3.75 2.79 1.02 1.65 1.85 2.18 2.46 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 154.0 322.7 343.7 449.4 68.6 123.2 208.0 142.1 134.4 224.0 121.8 183.4 172.9 177.1 Tensile strength (MPa) 9.5 15.4 16.8 26.6 5.1 7.3 12.0 7.4 7.7 14.4 4.7 8.5 10.1 8.1 B1 a B2a

Granite Taconite Taconite Taconite Trap rock Anorthosite Gabbro Granite Granite Granite Limestone Marble Marble Gabbro

16.2 20.9 20.5 17.0 13.5 16.9 17.3 19.2 17.5 15.6 25.9 21.6 17.1 21.9

0.88 0.91 0.91 0.89 0.86 0.89 0.89 0.90 0.89 0.88 0.93 0.91 0.89 0.91

Thrust: 4.54 kN, rpm: 600. a Calculated by the author.

Table 4 The laboratory test data of impregnated diamond bits (Howarth, 1987) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 13.26 8.44 16.44 10.44 12.57 17.89 17.89 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 234.0 100.5 137.1 202.4 219.8 93.6 49.9 Tensile strength (MPa) 15.2 13.5 8.0 8.2 16.4 4.2 3.0 B1 a B2a

Ashgrove granite Beenleigh hornfels Moogerah microsyenite Caboolture Trachyte Mt. Morrow basalt Carrara marble Ulan marble

15.4 7.4 17.1 24.7 13.4 22.3 16.6

0.88 0.76 0.89 0.92 0.86 0.91 0.89

Thrust: 770 N, rpm: 750, water pressure: 552 kPa, water flow rate: 2 l/min. a Calculated by the author.

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Fig. 2. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for impregnated diamond bits tested in the laboratory (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 2).

able published material on the relationship between brittleness and both drillability and borability. In this study, the correlations between brittleness and both

drillability and borability were analyzed using the raw data obtained from the experimental works of different researchers. Rock properties and perform-

Fig. 3. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for impregnated diamond bits tested in the field (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 3).

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Fig. 4. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for impregnated diamond bits tested in the laboratory (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 4).

ance data obtained from the different researchers were listed in the respective tables. The calculation of brittleness values and generation of the plots were performed by the author.

2. Brittleness nyi (1966) defined brittleMorley (1944) and Hete ness as the lack of ductility. Materials such as cast

Table 5 The field test data of rotary drills (Bilgin et al., 1993; Kahraman, 1999) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 57 78 60 94 81 91 87 61 97 203 167 174 185 243 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 88.7 88.7 88.7 64.9 64.9 64.9 64.9 82.4 77.5 48.9 21.4 13.5 45.5 10.5 Brazilian tensile strength (MPa) 6.0 6.0 6.0 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 6.3 5.5 4.5 2.2 1.5 5.3 1.0 % fines in impact strength test 15.0 15.0 15.0 24.8 24.8 24.8 24.8 26.0 35.0 35.0 30.1 29.6 46.0 22.0 B1a B2a B3a

Soma/Is klar marl-1 Soma/Is klar marl-1 Soma/Is klar marl-1 Soma/Is klar marl-2 Soma/Is klar marl-2 Soma/Is klar marl-2 Soma/Is klar marl-2 Soma/Ksrakdere marl Soma/Is klar limestone Tunc bilek/panel 36 marl-1 Tunc bilek/panel 36 marl-2 Tunc bilek/Beke marl Orhaneli marl Seyito mer marl

14.8 14.8 14.8 14.7 14.7 14.7 14.7 13.1 14.1 10.9 9.7 9.0 8.6 10.5

0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.86 0.87 0.83 0.81 0.80 0.79 0.83

1330.5 1330.5 1330.5 1609.5 1609.5 1609.5 1609.5 2142.4 2712.5 1711.5 644.1 399.6 2093.0 231.0

Bit: 251 mm WC tri-cone bit, thrust: 50 59 kN, rpm: 118 120. a Calculated by the author.

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iron and many rocks usually terminating by fracture at or only slightly beyond the yield stress have been defined as brittle by Obert and Duvall (1967). Ramsay (1967) defines brittleness as follows: when the internal cohesion of rocks is broken, the rocks are said to be brittle. The definition of brittleness as a mechanical property varies from author to author. However, it may be stated that with higher brittleness

the following facts are observed (Hucka and Das, 1974):

 

low values of elongation, fracture failure,  formation of fines,  higher ratio of compressive to tensile strength,  higher resilience,

Fig. 5. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for rotary drills observed in the field (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 5).

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higher angle of internal friction, and formation of cracks in indentation.

Different definitions of brittleness have been summarised and discussed by Hucka and Das (1974). The three equations used in this study are as follows: B1 rc rt rc rt rc rt 1

B2

mm and a spacing between adjacent cutters of 7.5 mm. Penetration rates, rock properties and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 1. The performance characteristics of the model TBM were analysed using the method of least squares regression. The equation of the best-fit line, the 95% confidence limits and the correlation coefficients (r) were determined for each regression. Penetration rates were correlated with the brittleness values. The plots of the penetration rates as a function of the brittleness values are shown in Fig. 1. It is seen that there are exponential relationships between the penetration rates and the brittleness of B1 and B2. 3.2. Diamond drilling Clark (1979) reported the drilling performances of impregnated diamond bits tested on seven rock types in the laboratory and on 21 rock types in the field (Tables 2 and 3). Laboratory drilling experiments were carried out with AX size bits with a medium hard matrix. The drill rig was an electrohydraulic diamond drill with instrumentation for measuring thrust, rotary speed and torque. Field drilling experiments were performed with a trailer-mounted diamond drill machine equipped with hydraulic thrust. Howarth (1987) reported the performance characteristics of a diamond drilling tool in crystalline and sedimentary rock types. The type of diamond drilling tool used was a thin-walled impregnated bit with water flushing. The impregnated bit had an outer

B3 qrc

where, B1, B2 and B3 equals brittleness, rc is uniaxial compressive strength, rt is tensile strength, and q is the percentage of fines formed in Protodyakonov (1963) impact test.

3. Evaluation of some experimental data 3.1. Tunnel boring Howarth et al. (1986) reported the performance characteristics of a model TBM in six sedimentary rock types. The model TBM had an overall diameter of 106 mm and was fitted with six tungsten carbidetipped square-faced drag bits of dimensions 9.5 9.5

Table 6 The laboratory test data of percussion drilling (Howarth, 1987) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 18.64 19.16 20.20 15.90 15.38 20.15 24.10 32.39 38.51 53.96 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 234.0 100.5 137.1 202.4 219.8 93.6 49.9 44.1 36.6 35.1 Tensile strength (MPa) 15.2 13.5 8.0 8.2 16.4 4.2 3.0 3.3 2.4 3.0 B1 a B2a

Ashgrove granite Beenleigh hornfels Moogerah microsyenite Caboolture Trachyte Mt. Morrow basalt Carrara marble Ulan marble Gosford sandstone Mt. Crosby sandstone Helidon sandstone Thrust: 441 N, air pressure: 450 kPa. a Calculated by the author.

15.4 7.4 17.1 24.7 13.4 22.3 16.6 13.4 15.3 11.7

0.88 0.76 0.89 0.92 0.86 0.91 0.89 0.86 0.88 0.84

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Table 7 The laboratory test data of percussion drilling (Selim and Bruce, 1970) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 82.55 90.40 52.20 44.90 41.00 20.60 40.00 37.10 25.60 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 54.1 103.7 144.1 198.2 234.2 312.8 396.5 451.3 473.5 Tensile strength (MPa) 9.5 6.4 10.8 14.3 12.4 17.5 18.7 31.1 21.4 B1 a B2a

Mankato stone Kasota stone Rockville granite Rainbow granite Charcoal granite Dresser basalt Jasper quartzite AuroraTaconite A Babbitt Taconite B

5.7 16.2 13.3 13.9 18.9 17.9 21.2 14.5 22.1

0.70 0.88 0.86 0.87 0.90 0.89 0.91 0.87 0.91

Operating pressure: 632.7 kPa, feed pressure: 492 kPa. a Calculated by the author.

diameter of 31.9 mm and an internal diameter of 28.1 mm. Drilling data, rock characteristics and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 4.

The data in Tables 2 4 were analysed using the least square regression method. Penetration rates vs. the brittleness values are plotted and it is seen that

Table 8 The field test data of percussion drilling (Schmidt, 1972) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 13.28 20.83 34.29 34.80 18.29 52.32 91.44 32.51 21.84 26.42 22.86 31.50 17.02 48.26 21.34 15.49 13.97 21.34 27.69 46.23 40.64 33.78 38.10 28.45 32.51 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 418.64 208.09 89.63 222.50 220.74 97.01 125.13 156.42 307.21 154.66 203.52 171.18 286.82 99.83 360.99 368.37 364.51 374.70 208.09 68.89 131.46 186.30 127.59 176.10 225.31 Tensile strength (MPa) 14.62 7.59 8.65 17.65 18.42 4.22 6.40 15.82 20.74 9.14 13.01 12.51 28.26 5.76 30.44 22.21 28.89 24.96 15.11 5.13 10.55 13.99 7.10 12.72 11.81 B1 a B2a

Humboldt iron silicate Hornblende schist Granite pegmatite Wausau quartzite Wausau argillite Winona dolomite Mankato stone New Ulm quartzite Jasper quartzite Rockville granite Charcoal granite Diamond gray granite Dresser basalt Shiely limestone ron taconite Mt. I Aurora taconite Babbitt taconite Babbitt diabase Ely gabbro Trap rock Anorthosite Duluth basalt Marble Primax gabro Iron ore Operating pressure: 703 kPa. a Calculated by the author.

28.6 27.4 10.4 12.6 12.0 23.0 19.6 9.9 14.8 16.9 15.7 13.7 10.2 17.3 11.9 16.6 12.6 15.0 13.8 13.4 12.5 13.3 18.0 13.8 19.1

0.93 0.93 0.82 0.85 0.85 0.92 0.90 0.82 0.87 0.89 0.88 0.86 0.82 0.89 0.84 0.89 0.85 0.88 0.86 0.86 0.85 0.86 0.89 0.87 0.90

S. Kahraman / Engineering Geology 65 (2002) 269283 Table 9 The field test data of percussion drilling (Kahraman, 1999) and calculated brittleness values Rock type Penetration rate (cm/min) 71 82 170 158 115 121 108 119 Unconfined compressive strength (MPa) 123.8 123.8 20.1 20.1 68.0 51.3 51.3 51.3 Brazilian tensile strength (MPa) 6.6 6.6 1.2 1.2 6.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 % fines in impact strength test 17.1 17.1 29.6 29.6 16.6 17.8 17.8 17.8 B1a B2 a

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B3a

Pozant limestone Pozant limestone Altered sandstone Altered sandstone Bahc e dolomite Erikli limestone Erikli limestone Erikli limestone

18.8 18.8 16.7 16.7 11.3 7.3 7.3 7.3

0.90 0.90 0.89 0.89 0.84 0.76 0.76 0.76

2117.0 2117.0 595.0 595.0 128.8 913.1 913.1 913.1

Bit diameter: 76 mm, rock drill power: 14 15.5 kW, bpm: 3000 3600, pulldown pressure: 60 70 bar, blow pressure: 100 120 bar, rotational pressure: 60 65 bar. a Calculated by the author.

there is no correlation between the penetration rates and the brittleness values (Figs. 2 4). 3.3. Rotary drilling Bilgin et al. (1993) and Kahraman (1999) measured the drilling performance of rotary blast hole drills in the open pit mines of Turkish Coal Enterprises and

determined the physical and mechanical properties of the rocks drilled. Impact strength tests were carried out with the device designed by Evans and Pomeroy (1966). Performance results, rock properties and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 5. Using the method of least squares regression, the penetration rates of rotary drills were correlated with the brittleness values. Exponential relationships bet-

Fig. 6. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for percussive drills tested in the laboratory (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 6).

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Fig. 7. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for percussive drills tested in the laboratory (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 7).

ween the penetration rates and the brittleness of B1 and B2 were found (Fig. 5a,b). There is no correlation between the penetration rate and the brittleness of B3 (Fig. 5c).

3.4. Percussive drilling Howarth et al. (1986) carried out percussion drilling tests on 10 sedimentary and crystalline rocks. The

Fig. 8. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for percussive drills tested in the field (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 8).

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percussion drilling tool was a simple wedge indenter (tungsten carbide insert) located on the end of a drill steel that was driven by an Atlas Copco RH571 compressed air-powered percussion drill with water flushing. Penetration rates, rock properties and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 6.

Selim and Bruce (1970) reported the penetration data of percussive drills determined from nine rocks drilled in the laboratory. Two drills were used in the experiments. The drill included in this study was a 6.67-cm bore jackleg type. The drill was backstroke rifle-bar-rotation machine and bit diameter was con-

Fig. 9. Penetration rate vs. brittleness for percussive drills observed in the field (the graphs were plotted by the author using the data in Table 9).

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Fig. 10. The correlation between the brittleness of B1 and B2 (the graph was plotted by the author using the data in Table 8).

fined to 3.81-cm cross bits. Penetration rates, rock properties and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 7. Schmidt (1972) reported the performance characteristics of two percussive drills mounted on a truck in 25 rock types. The drill included in this study was a standard drifter having a bore diameter of 6.67 cm. Bit

type was H-thread carbide and bit diameter was 5.08 cm. Penetration rates, rock properties and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 8. Kahraman (1999) measured the drilling performance of hydraulic top hammer drills in open pits, motorway sites and quarries and determined the physical and mechanical properties of the rocks

Fig. 11. The correlation between the brittleness of B1 and B3 (the graph was plotted by the author using the data in Table 5).

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drilled. Impact strength tests were carried out with the device designed by Evans and Pomeroy (1966). Performance results, rock properties and calculated brittleness values are given in Table 9. The data in Tables 6 9 were evaluated using regression analysis. As it is seen in Figs. 6 9a,b, there is no correlation between the penetration rate and the brittleness of B1 and B2. However, the penetration rate is strongly related with the brittleness of B3. The relation between the penetration rate and the brittleness of B3 follows a power function (Fig. 9c).

ness of B3 is different from that of the brittleness of both B1 and B2. Moreover, Hucka and Das (1974) stated that there is no uniformity in different formulation of brittleness.

5. Conclusions Brittleness, defined differently by different authors, is an important mechanical property of rocks, but the correlations between the brittleness and both drillability and borability have not been clearly explained yet. The relationships between three different methods of brittleness and both drillability and borability were statistically examined using the raw data obtained from the experimental works of different researchers. There are strong exponential relationships between the penetration rates of TBM and the brittleness of B1 and B2. There is no correlation between the penetration rates of diamond drilling tool and the brittleness values. Exponential relationships with high correlation coefficients between the penetration rates of rotary drills and the brittleness of B1 and B2 were found. However, no correlation between the penetration rate of rotary drills and the brittleness of B3 was found. There is no correlation between the penetration rate of percussive drills and the brittleness of B1 and B2, but the pene-

4. Correlations among the three different methods of measuring brittleness To see whether a method of measuring brittleness differs from the other methods, the data in Tables 1 9 were analysed using the least square regression method. It was seen that there is a strong logarithmic relationship between the brittleness of B1 and B2. Fig. 10 was given as an example. As seen in the examples of Figs. 11 and 12, there is no correlation between the brittleness of B3 and the brittleness of both B1 and B2. Consequently, it can be said that the brittleness of B3 is different from the brittleness of both B1 and B2. This is probably because the method of measuring brittle-

Fig. 12. The correlation between the brittleness of B2 and B3 (the graph was plotted by the author using the data in Table 5).

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S. Kahraman / Engineering Geology 65 (2002) 269283 Brown, E.T., Phillips, H.R., 1977. Recording drilling performance for tunnelling site investigations. Rept to CIRIA (UK), Technical Note, No. 81, 120 pp. Clark, G.B., 1979. Principles of Rock Drilling. Colorado School of Mines, Colorado, 91 pp. Evans, I., Pomeroy, C.D., 1966. The Strength Fracture and Workability of Coal. Pergamon, 277 pp. Fowel, R.J., McFeat-Smith, I., 1976. Factors influencing the cutting performance of a selective tunnelling machine. Tunnelling 76, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, London, 3 11. Go ktan, R.M., 1991. Brittleness and micro-scale rock cutting efficiency. Min. Sci. Technol. 13, 237 241. nyi, M., 1966. Handbook of Experimental Stress Analysis. Hete Wiley, New York, 115 pp. Howarth, D.F., 1986. Review of rock drillability and borability assessment methods. Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. (Sect. A: Min. Ind.) 95, A191 A201. Howarth, D.F., 1987. The effect of pre-existing microcavities on mechanical rock performance in sedimentary and crystalline rocks. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 24, 223 233. Howarth, D.F., Adamson, W.R., Berndt, J.R., 1986. Correlation of model tunnel boring and drilling machine performances with rock properties. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 23, 171 175 [Technical Note]. Hughes, H.M., 1986. The relative cuttability of coal-measures stone. Min. Sci. Technol. 3 (2), 95 109. Kahraman, S., 1999. Rotary and percussive drilling prediction using regression analysis. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 36, 981 989 [Technical Note]. lu, A.G., Dinc Karpuz, C., Pasamehmetog er, T., Mu ftu oglu, Y., 1990. Drillability studies on the rotary blasthole drilling of lignite overburden series. Int. J. Surf. Min. Reclam. 4, 89 93. Li, X., Rupert, G., Summers, D.A., Santi, P., Liu, D., 2000. Analysis of impact hammer rebound to estimate rock drillability. Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 33 (1), 1 13. McFeat-Smith, I., Fowel, R.J., 1977. Correlation of rock properties and the cutting performance of tunnelling machines. Proc. of a Conference on Rock Engineering, The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 581 602. Morley, A., 1944. Strength of Materials. Longman, London 35 pp. Nilsen, B., Ozdemir, L., 1993. Hard rock tunnel boring prediction and field performance. In: Bowerman, L.D., Monsees, J.E. (Eds.), Proc. of the Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conf., Boston, MA, pp. 833 852. Obert, L., Duvall, W.I., 1967. Rock Mechanics and the Design of Structures in Rock. Wiley, New York, 278 pp. Paone, J., Madson, D., 1966. Drillability studiesimpregnated diamond bits. USMB RI 6776, 16 pp. Paone, J., Madson, D., Bruce, W.E., 1969a. Drillability studies laboratory percussive drilling. USMB RI 7300, 22 pp. Paone, J., Bruce, W.E., Virciglio, P.R., 1969b. Drillability studies statistical regression analysis of diamond drilling. USMB RI 6880, 29 pp. Poole, R.W., Farmer, I.W., 1978. Geotechnical factors affecting tunnelling machine performance in coal measures rocks. Tunn. Tunn. 10, 27 30.

tration rate of percussive drills is strongly related with the brittleness of B3. Besides, the brittleness of B3 is different from the brittleness of both B1 and B2. The lack of correlation between the penetration rate of rotary drills and the brittleness of B3 is probably due to the fact that the brittleness of B3 is obtained from the impact test. Similarly, the absence of correlation between the penetration rate of percussive drills and the brittleness of B1 and B2 is probably due to the fact that the brittleness of B1 and B2 is obtained from compressive and tensile strengths. That the rock-breaking process in rotary drilling is different from that in percussive drilling explains better this situation. Percussion is the dominant factor in percussive drilling, whereas thrust and crushing are the dominant factors in rotary drilling. It can be concluded that there is no uniformity in different formulations of brittleness. Each should be used separately in rock excavation, depending on practical utility. Brittleness, which is a combined property, is one of the most important properties of rocks. Knowing the degree of the brittleness of rock would lead to an improved excavation technology. Thus, further research is necessary in this area. For example, whether fracture toughness can be used as an alternative to brittleness should be investigated. References
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