DEFINICIONES Y CONCEPTOS PRINCIPALES Pérdida

RESEARCH GROUP: Annalisa Bandini, Paolo Berry, Daniela Boldini, Stefano Bonduà, Villiam Bortolotti, Ro- berto Bruno, Marianna Vannini

KEYWORDS: nanoindentation, bimrocks, rockburst, Magnetic Resonance, Rock Impact Hardness Number

The research on the rock materials and rock mass- es characterization, in situ and in laboratory, cov- ers a large number of themes and the main topics concern with:

a) rock materials

• study of the relationships between microstruc- ture and mechanical response of rocks under stat- ic and dynamic loading conditions;

• determination of the nano and micromechani- cal properties through instrumented indentation techniques and scratching;

• characterization of the rocks internal structures through Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MRI im- ages and NMR curves);

• measurement of the acoustic emissions (AE) during compression and tensile tests, to study rockburst phenomena;

• development of innovative and non-conven- tional investigation techniques to determine the strength of irregular shaped specimens;

• non destructive characterization techniques (ultrasounds, dye penetrant inspection, image analysis);

b) rock masses

• characterization of the mechanical strength of structurally complex rock masses (bimrocks). In the research activities, in addition to standard investigation techniques, non-conventional tests are specifically designed for particular applica- tions and issues. With regard to non-convention- al tests, a strength index (Rock Impact Hardness Number), a procedure for AE monitoring of rock samples under compression and instrumented indentation techniques, totally innovative in the Rock Mechanics field, have been developed. As concerns the rock masses, the research group has designed and performed non-conventional shear tests (Bim Test) for bimrocks. Moreover, the research team also utilizes a 3D camera probe for cored and drilled holes, to examine the rock masses structures, with continuous logging and a software for images processing.

Geoengineering and Natural Resources – Mines and Quarries, Geothermal, Excavations

Fig. 1. Rock Impact Hardness Number: fractur- ing induced by stresses on a marble’s sample.

Fig. 2. MRI: internal section of a rock of biocal- carenite saturated with water.

MAIN PUBLICATIONS

Bandini A., Berry P., Sebastiani M., Bemporad E. (2014) Nanomechanical characterization of brit- tle rocks. Nanomechanical Analysis of High Per- formance Materials. Springer Publication, Series: Solids Mechanics and its application Tiwari, Atul (Ed), vol. 203, cap. 11, pp. 209-229, ISBN: 978- 94-007-6918-2.

Bandini A., Berry P. (2013) Influence of Marble’s Texture on its Mechanical Behavior. Rock Mechan- ics and Rock Engineering, 46: 785-799.

Bandini A., Berry P., Bemporad E., Sebastiani M. (2012) Effects of intra-crystalline microcracks on the mechanical behavior under indentation of a marble. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 54: 47-55.

Bandini A., Berry P. (2012) Multi-scale investi- gations on the mechanisms affecting the strength and deformability of a marble varying in texture. Proc. 46th US Rock Mechanics Geomechanics Sym- posium. ARMA 2012. Chicago (USA) 24-27 June 2012. Curran Associates, Inc.: vol. 2, pp. 957-965, ISBN: 978-162276514-0.

Coli N., Berry P., Bruno R., Boldini D. (2012) The contribution of geostatistics to the character- isation of some bimrock properties. Engineering Geology 137-138: 53-63.

Coli N., Berry P., Boldini D. (2011) In situ non-conventional shear tests for the mechanical characterisation of a bimrock. International Jour- nal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 48: 95- 102.

Coli N., Berry P., Bruno R., Boldini D. (2011) An integrated geostatistical-geomechanical approach for the characterization of a bimrock. Proc. 45th _US

Rock Mechanics Symposium. San Francisco (USA) June 26-29, 2011.

Coli M., Livi E., Berry P., Bandini A., Jia X.N. (2010) Studies for rockburst prediction in the Carrara Marble (Italy). Proc. 5th _{International}

Symposium on In-situ Rock Stress (ISRSV). Beijing (China) 25-27 August 2010, London: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group A Balkema Book, vol. 1, pp. 367-373, ISBN: 978-0-415-60165-8.

Bandini A., Berry P. (2010) A suggested approach to study variability of impact hardness strength in heterogeneous rock materials. Proc. Geoflori-

da2010. West Palm Beach (FL, USA) 20-24 Feb- ruary 2010. RESTON, VA 20191-4400 USA: ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers, GSP n. 199, p. 1227-1236. ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-7844- 1095-0.

Gombia M., Bortolotti V., Brown R.J.S., Camaiti M., Cavallero L., Fantazzini P. (2009) Water Vapor Absorption in Porous Media Polluted by Calcium Nitrate Studied by Time Domain Nuclear Mag- netic Resonance. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2 113, 10580- 10586.

Coli N., Berry P., Boldini D., Bruno R. (2009) Investigation of block geometrical properties of the Shale-Limestone Chaotic Complex bimrock of The Santa Barbara open pit mine (Italy). Proc. 3rd _{Canada-US Rock Mechanics Symposium & 20}th

Canadian Rock Mechanics Symposium. Toronto (ON, Canada) 9-15 May 2009.

Bonduà, S., Bruno, R., Muge, F. (2002) Geosta- tistical Simulation of Ornamental Stone Images: Results Analysis by Mathematical Morphology. Proc. IAMG 2002 Annual Conference of the In- ternational Association for Mathematical Geology. Berlin (Germany) 15-20 September 2002. RESEARCH PROJECTS

PRIN 2007 Advanced techniques for monitoring and characterizing mine and quarry activities to preserve the safety and the environment during expoitation. National Coordinator: Prof. P. Berry. Joint Research Project between Dept. of Earth Sciences-University of Firenze and DICAM-Uni- versity of Bologna on “Scientific support regarding the engineering aspects related to the Allori panel, in the framework of the 3rd _{Operative Agreement}

between the Dept. Earth Sciences and ENEL Pro- duction S.p.A. Gem/Business Unit Santa Barbara, related to the mining site of Santa Barbara (AR)”. Coordinator: Prof. P. Berry.

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