Faculty of Science and Technology

The Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong

SCE 5431
Earthwork Engineering

Lab Session for Earthwork Engineering

Lab Report on Data Recording Sheet and Question Answering

Date of Experiment:

Date of Submission:

Full Name (in BLOCK letters) Student ID

Remark: Please submit this lab report two week after the lab session (5 pm
on or before the due date)
 Rock Quality Designation

Rock Quality Designation TEST

Purpose
- Standard test method for determining Rock Quality Designation (RQD) of rock core,
which is used to describe and classify the rock quality.

Reference Number
- ASTM d6032

Test Property
- RQD

Description of test
- RQD denotes the percentage of intact & sound rock retrieved from a borehole of any
orientation. All 100 (4 in) or longer pieces of intact and sound rock core are summed and
divided by the total length of the core run. Judgment may be required when determining
intact and sound.

Preferred Test Sample Size

- Rock core drill run

Test Specimen Size

- One complete run, as determined by the engineer. Either a drill run, a complete core
through one type of rock, or a complete run through a selected zone of concern (FIG. 1).

Keywords
- Classification, index, logging, quality, rock core, RQD
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 HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIBITY (PERMEABILITY) TEST

Calculations

Drill core quality is rated according to Rock Quality Designation, developed by Deere (1967),
which can be determined by (FIG. 2):

Classification Table

From the RQD index, we can classify rock mass:

RQD Rock mass quality
<25% very poor
25-50% poor
50-75% fair
75-90% good
90-100% excellent
from Deere (1967)
*The test can be easily done by using the RQD equation.
 FIG. 1 Rock sample, an example

FIG. 2 Procedure for determining the RQD

 HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIBITY (PERMEABILITY) TEST

Form 1

Date tested: _________________________ Tested by: ____________________________

Rock description: ________________________________________________________________

Diameter of the cell: _______________________ Length of the cell: ______________________

Table 1. Test Results

Test Sequence Length of core Length of core RQD Description and

No. No. of core pieces smaller than pieces larger Classification
pieces 10 cm than 10 cm

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