The use of building stones in roof, wall and foundation and breakwaters and port buildings and road infrastructure

roof

In Iran, stone is not used for covering roofs, but as a roof covering in some regions of Iran, it can be used both in terms of durability and price, provided that the selected stone has the following characteristics:

1. It can be divided into thin and flat layers.

2. Be light.

3. It has good durability and bending resistance.

4. Impenetrable and non-porous and frost-resistant.

These features are usually found in slate. Of course, rocks such as chlorite schists and mica schists also have these characteristics to some extent.

Wall and foundation

Stones are usually used irregularly and without shape for the foundation and retaining walls. The volume of these stones is between 0.002 and 0.005 cubic meters and smaller pieces are used to fill the space between them. Usually, in order to save costs, the stones that are available in the area are used. For this purpose, the following points should be considered:

1. It is better to use relatively hard stones with specific weight and high compressive strength.

2. Do not use stones that have layers and are highly soluble.

3. Do not use porous stones.

4. Igneous and sedimentary rocks whose softening coefficient is more than 0.7 should be used.

5. The absence of clay minerals or non-homogeneous parts and joints and cracks in these types of stones is necessary.

Dolomite limestone and sandstone are the most suitable stones for this purpose.

Breakwaters and port buildings

A breakwater is a structure that is built to protect the basin and port facilities against the forces of waves, to ensure the safe entry of ships, to ensure port activities throughout the year, to create dedicated basins, to prevent the sedimentation of shells in the port area and to exploit sea lands.

Breakwaters are one of the most complex marine structures and great care must be taken in their design and construction so that they are not destroyed by hydraulic and chemical factors during their operation and provide their technical and economic efficiency.

Rock mass breakwaters are the most common type of breakwaters implemented around the world. These breakwaters are made using ore. Rock mass breakwaters are very good absorbers for waves and due to their geometrical shape and structure, they have a very long life and stability. Among the advantages of this type of breakwater, the following can be mentioned:

• Stone materials are usually available from local quarries.

• It is possible to implement these types of structures with relatively simple equipment.

• The damage of this type of structure is gradual and can be repaired in different stages.

• The structure has the necessary flexibility against wave conditions exceeding the design wave values.

• The structure is not very sensitive to different settlements due to its flexibility.

In using stone for breakwaters and port buildings, due to special conditions (presence of waves, salts, tides, environmental chemical factors), the following points should be taken into account and suitable stones should be selected.

1. The stones used must be durable, without joints and have a high specific weight.

2. Stones must have proper impact and abrasion resistance.

3. Do not be layered.

4. To resist the chemical agents in the environment.

Basalt, peridotite, amphibolites, quartzites, hard sandstones have the above-mentioned characteristics.

Road infrastructure

No matter how strong the natural ground of the road bed is, it still does not resist the influence of atmospheric factors, especially the influx of water and temperature changes, as well as the forces coming from the wheels of cars, and it will be damaged sooner or later. This is why usually a multi-layer skeleton is built on the natural road bed, which is usually strong and durable, so that it can withstand the effects of atmospheric factors and pressure from vehicles. The stones used for road infrastructure should be selected according to the type of road and the geological and morphological conditions of the area. To choose a stone, you should pay attention to the following:

1. It consists of homogeneous granulation.

2. It should be non-porous even if possible.

3. It should be hard and have a high specific weight (more than 2.3 tons per cubic meter).

4. It has a high compressive strength (more than 100 MPa).

5. The softening coefficient should be more than 0.9.

6. The amount of water absorption should be less than 1%.

7. The impact resistance should be more than 15 kg of force per cubic centimeter.

8. There should be no clay minerals, gypsum and water-soluble materials.

9. There should be no alteration and weathering in the stone.