Evaluation of Some Properties of Rocks found in the Central Zone of the east slope of Medellin

Abstract

The increasing and constant urban growth on the hillsides of the city of Medellín face large construction problems due to the presence of subsurface rock fragments. Such a fact motivates geotechnical engineers to characterize the materials present, soil or rock. This paperpresents some mechanical properties of the rocks found on the eastern hillsides of Aburra Valley which were measured on intact cylindrical rock cores and rock outcrops. The studied geological units are the San Diego Stock (KgD) and the Dunite of Medellín (KuM) and the measured rock properties are the uniaxial compressive strength, the static and dynamic module, the compressive shear wave velocity and the dynamic shear stiffness modulus.