Microcrack Pattern Propagations and

Rock Quality Designation of Batu Caves

Limestone
Nur Irfah Mohd Pauzi
Universiti Putra Malaysia
MTDRC, Level 9, Engineering Block, Faculty of Engineering,
43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: irfah@uniten.edu.my

Husaini Omar
Associate Professor, Universiti Putra Malaysia
MTDRC, Level 9, Engineering Block, Faculty of Engineering,
43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: husaini@eng.upm.edu.my

Bujang Kim Huat

Professor, Universiti Putra Malaysia
MTDRC, Level 9, Engineering Block, Faculty of Engineering,
43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: bujang@eng.upm.edu.my

Halina Misran
Senior Lecturer, Universiti Tenaga Nasional
Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering,
KM 7, Jalan Ikram-Uniten, 43009, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: halina@uniten.edu.my

Zainuddin Md. Yusoff

Senior Lecturer, Universiti Putra Malaysia
MTDRC, Level 9, Engineering Block, Faculty of Engineering,
43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
e-mail: zmy@eng.upm.edu.my

ABSTRACT
Microcrack pattern of limestone with various grade of natural weathering were studied to examine the
microcrack initiation and propagations in relation to Rock Quality Designation (RQD) and shear
strength parameters such as shear stress and normal stress. The degree of natural weathering were
determined using Schmidt hammer test and it was found that as the weathering grade increased from
grade I to grade IV, the microcrack length changed from ca. 500 m to a longer length of ca. 800 m.
The increased in microcrack length were coupled with the increased in width of the cracks as observed
using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Furthermore, it was suggested that the microcrack length
of limestone is inversely proportional to RQD value with confidence level of 60%. However, the
microcrack length of limestone was observed to be directly proportional with shear stress and normal
stress with confidence level of 95% and 99% respectively.

KEYWORDS:

microcrack propagations of limestone, rock quality designation, grade of

weathering, scanning electron microscope

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INTRODUCTION
Cracks were produced when the local stress exceeds the local strength. The local stress may be
augmented by twin lamellae interactions, kink bands and deformation lamellae, stress concentrations at
grain boundary contacts and around inter-crystalline cavities (Krantz, 1983). Microcrack pattern that was
produced around crystalline cavities for limestone rock was the main concern in this research. Limestone
was a sedimentary rock that was encountered in many constructions of engineering projects worldwide.
Limestone was known to have dissolve properties which could easily dissolve in the rain. Limestone rock
consists of calcium and carbonate minerals which define in chemical terms as CaCO3. Most researcher
has classified the rock to have physical properties of slightly resistance than most igneous rocks but more
resistant than most other sedimentary rocks. Limestone was partially soluble especially in acid, and
therefore forms many erosion landforms. Such erosion landscapes were known as karsts. Limestone has a
low water absorption capacity, medium compressive strength, quite low porosity and resistant to
weathering impact.
Limestone can be in crystalline, clastic, granular or massive, depending on the method of formation.
Limestone can be found in many colors especially on weathered surfaces. The colors were different due
to the impurities such as clay, sand, organic remains, iron oxide and other materials that can be found on
the limestone surface. The hardness of limestone based on Mohs scale was 3-4, the compressive strength
was between 60 to 120 N/mm2, and the density was between 2.5 to 2.7 kg/cm3.
Limestone rock was made of calcium carbonate in the form of the mineral calcite. Precipitation came
from the rain collects some carbon dioxide and produces a weak acid, known as carbon acid of which
calcite. Thus the calcium carbonate was vulnerable to when this acid reaches the limestone structure that
will cause the limestone to dissolve. Limestone which was categorized as carbonaceous rock weathers
based on the classification given in Fig. 1. The grade of weathering of carbonaceous rock can be divided
into five grade of weathering namely grade I unweathered rock, grade II and grade III slight to
moderate weathering and dissolution ,and finally grade IV and grade VI rock mostly dissolved to
weathered to residual soil. The knowledge of grade of weathering in limestone rock was used as an
indication for collecting samples of different grade of weathering. Based on Fig. 1, the higher the location
of the limestone, the higher the degree of weathering since the top location of the Batu Caves are prone to
rainfall compared to the bottom location.

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Figure 1: Degree of weathering in carbonaceous rocks i.e. Batu Caves Limestone, Kuala
Lumpur
Many studies were done to investigate the effect of weathering on strength of the rock in relation to
change of color of rock and bonding of the rock grains (Deere and Patton, 1971) but not many researches
has been done on the study of crack propagation causes by natural weathering processes. Feng et.al
(2009) has observed the process of initiation, propagation and coalescence on cracks under the influence
of the chemical corrosion. The results indicated that the effect of chemical corrosion was quite
complicated depending on chemical ions and their concentrations and pH values, mineral components of
rock, geometry and the number of flows. Their studies was almost the same as weathering studies of
microcrack pattern but the differences was that they used chemical corrosion as agent of weathering. This
paper attempted to study the microcrack behavior in natural weathering process in relation to RQD and
shear strength parameters such as normal stress and shear stress.
The microcrack propagations in limestone as studied by Pauzi et. al. (2009) at Bukit Chuping
Limestone in Perlis area indicated that the crack which are produced by weathering process are studied
and analyzed in detail using SEM method. Weathering of carbonaceous rock like limestone starts from
the dissolving of the rock into smaller particles. Limestone rock is made of calcium carbonate in the form
of the mineral calcite. Precipitation coming from the rain collects some carbon dioxide and produces a
weak acid, known as carbon acid of which calcite. Thus the calcium carbonate is vulnerable to when this
acid reaches the limestone structure that will cause the limestone to dissolve. The process of dissolve of
the rock can be seen from the micropores, crack length and crack propagations of rocks from collected
samples at different grade of weathering. The increased in crack length and micropores of limestone is
increase as the weathering grade increase from grade I (unweathered rock) to grade VI (dissolved or
residual soil).

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Both studies shows that the crack propagation either by dissolving it in the chemical solutions or by
exposing it to the rain which also causing the dissolving of limestone started to propagates easier with
higher chemical content and high degree of weathering.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The experimental procedure was conducted to correlate the microcrack propagations with RQD
parameters. The samples are collected at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur. The detail description, sample
preparation, determination of microcrack propagation, determination of RQD, and determination of shear
strength are explained in details in this section.

DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLES
The samples were taken from Batu Caves area. It was located at Gombak district which is 13
kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was selected as study area for collecting limestone
samples because the limestone there has existed almost 400 million years.
The color of the limestone samples collected from the Batu Caves Karst Formation was mainly white
colored with small beige-colored on the rock surface. Schmidt hammer test was used to determine the
grade of weathering of limestone. The Schmidt hammer was developed for non-destructive testing of
concrete hardness and only later applied to estimate rock strength. It consists of a spring loaded mass that
was released against a plunger when the hammer was pressed onto the stone surface. The plunge impacts
the surface and mass recoils, while the rebound value of the mass was measured by sliding pointer.
Schmidt hammer rebound values were often used to predict the uniaxial compressive strength of rocks
and rate of weathering. The details of the rock descriptions of sample A1 to sample F1 is shown in Table
1. The samples were collected based on different grade of weathering. The higher value of Schmidt
hammer test showed the higher strength of the samples and the less the grade of weathering.

Table 1: Samples description in terms of grain size, grade of weathering and Schmidt hammer
Sample No.
A1
B1
C1
D1
E1
F1

Grain Size (mm)

0.1 0.2
0.1 0.18
0.15
0.1 0.12
0.11
Small grains

Grade of Weathering
I
II
III - IV
IV - V
V - VI
VI

Schmidt Hammer (N)

12-22
12-20
11-18
10-16
6-15
5-10

SPECIMEN PREPARATION
Specimens were prepared by slicing the samples into thin sliced section with 2 cm thick using cutter
machine. Six specimens were prepared for SEM microcrack analysis. The specimens were then placed on
the microscope stub and left it dried on an oven with 20oC temperature for one day. The specimens were
coated with copper layer with thickness of 0.1 mm using coating machine by Polaron Equipment Ltd. The
coating takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete. The coated specimens were ready to be tested with
the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).
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DETERMINATION OF MICROCRACK PROPAGATIONS

SEM images of the specimens were taken using LEO 1455 at variable pressure at acceleration voltage
of 20 kV. The specimens can be observed in their natural state. The SEM is also equipped with 4
quadrant, back-scattered electron and detector type 225, which was manufactured by K.E. Development
LTD, Cambridge, England. The process of capturing microcrack was done by first identifying the
microcrack on the specimen. The crack was measured either horizontally or vertically. Any micropores
were also measured from the image. The different specimens for different grade of weathering were
tested. The author has labeled the specimen as Sample A1 to Sample F1 for easier references in terms of
grade of weathering and location of samples although the sample has been transform into specimen.

DETERMINATION OF RQD
RQD was determined from the rotary percussion drilling. The rotary percussion drilling tools was set
up using tripod, air compressor, drilling bits and split spoon sampler. A hole was drilled to pulverize the
rock using a rapid pneumatic hammer often known as down the hole hammer. Air compressor was needed
to drive the tools. The air also flushes the cuttings and dust from the borehole. Rotation of 10-30 radiuses
per minute to ensure the borehole was straight, and circular in cross section. The readings of the soil strata
are recorded for every 1 meter. Rock samples are also collected. The samples were labeled and put inside
box sampler. RQD was determined using the Equation (1). The drilling procedure was repeated for
another 2 more determinations with the locations not farther away from the original point.
RQD =

x 100%

Eq. (1)

DETERMINATION OF SHEAR STRENGTH

Shear strength test was done to determine the friction angle, cohesion, normal stress and shear stress
of limestone rock. The Robertson direct shear box was used for shear strength determinations. The normal
loads used for shear strength testing were 5 kN, 10 kN, 20 kN, 30 kN and 40 kN. The normal load was
applied to the desired load. The loads were locked at constant normal load. The shear forced was applied
and the shear displacement readings were recorded for every increment of 0.5 kN. Shear stress versus
shear displacement was plotted to determine the highest shear stress applied. Furthermore, shear stress
versus normal stress was plotted to determine the friction angle and cohesion values.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

MICROCRACK INITIATIONS AND PROPAGATION ANALYSIS
The microstructure analysis of SEM image showed that the initiations of microcrack in Batu Caves
limestone occur at the microcrack length of ca. 500 m or less. This was proved in Sample A1 (Fig. 2a).
It was analyzed that there were three microcracks started to propagate.
As the weathering increased to Grade II, the microcrack length has become smaller with microcrack
length ca. 100 m. The result in Sample B1 (Fig. 2b) indicated that the microcrack length was measured
to be in the range of 90 m to 182 m. The microcrack length has started to have a gap which was called
as micropores with the width of 88 m. The micropores would be a placed for water to seep through the
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internal bonding. Thus it will reduce the bonding between the grains. But the internal bondings are still
strong at this stage.
In Sample C1 with the grade weathering III to IV, the weathering processed has caused the
microcrack length to be multiple in numbers. The microcrack length has become smaller with the length
ca. 100 m or less but the micropores has widened with the width of 105 m. A number of micropores
which was developed as the weathering increased causing the slightly loose bonding between the grains.
The microcrack length was to propagate into a smaller microcrack length but wider micropores in Fig. 2c.
The multiple microcrack length has shortened into ca. less than 50 m in Sample D1 with grade of
weathering IV to V. There was no sign of micropores in sample D1 (Fig. 2d) but in sample E1, the
micropores has widen in width ca. 100 m to 400 m. The widening of micropores has caused the
internal bonding to become weak. The microcrack length was also increased in length to ca. 800 m in
Sample E1 (Fig 2e).
In Sample F1, the microcrack length was maintained in between 300 m to 700 m. However, the
micropores widen with the width of 82 m to 277 m. The internal bonding between the grains is weak
and loose because of the larger micropores which reduce the strength of the rock. The large width of
micropores is shown in Fig. 2f.

(a)

(b)

Figure 2: (a) Sample A1 (grade I), (b) Sample B1 (grade II), (c) Sample C1(grade III IV) (d)
Sample D1 (Grade VI V), (e) Sample E1(Grade V-VI) and (f) Sample F1(Grade VI)
Continued on the next page

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(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Figure 2: (a) Sample A1 (grade I), (b) Sample B1 (grade II), (c) Sample C1(grade III IV) (d)
Sample D1 (Grade VI V), (e) Sample E1(Grade V-VI) and (f) Sample F1(Grade VI)
Table 3: SEM microcrack pattern analysis
Sample Label No

Grade of Weathering

Micropores / Void
(m)

Crack Length
(m)

Internal Bonding

A1

No void

585, 486, 516

Strong

B1

II

88

182, 90, 167

Strong

C1

III-IV

105

197, 145, 110, 94

Slightly loose

D1

IV-V

No void

110, 55, 54, 38

Slightly loose

E1

V-VI

402, 137, 150

137, 276, 800

Weak bonding

F1

VI

277, 82, 166, 111

321, 305, 700

Week bonding

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The microcrack pattern can be plotted into a histogram analysis to see the most frequent and
maximum crack length of the limestone rock. The highest microcrack length is 585 micrometers, the
lowest microcrack length is 37.7 micrometers and the average microcrack length is 202.5 micrometers.
The plot of the histogram is shown in Fig. 3. The highest micropore is 402 micrometers, the lowest
micropore is 88.1 micrometers and the average micropore is 176.4 micrometers. The plot of histogram for
micropore is shown in Fig. 4.

Crack Length
Crack Length (micrometers)

600
500
400
300
Crack Length

200
100
0
1

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Microcrack No.

Figure 3: Crack length of limestone samples

Micropores (micrometer)

Mircopores
500
400
300

200

Mircopores

100
0
1

Micropores No.

Figure 4: Micropores of limestone samples

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RQD OF LIMESTONE ROCK

Three boreholes logging data are determined at Batu Caves Karsts formation sites. The boreholes
indicated that the rocks are encountered at the depth of 3 meter and below. The depth of the borehole
logging is 6 meters. The soil strata of the borehole logging are mainly limestone rock which has slightly
fractures. RQD of limestone rock at Batu Caves from three different bore hole logging is shown in Table
4. The average value of RQD is 51.67%. The RQD value of 51.67% means that the quality of rock is in
the range of poor to good quality of rocks.

Table 4: RQD for limestone rock at Batu Caves Karsts formation

Test Parameters
Core Length (cm)
length of core more the
10 cm (cm)
RQD (%)

BH 1
200
85 + 25 = 110

BH 2
200
74 + 33 = 107

BH 3
200
30 + 21 + 42 = 93

55.0

53.5

46.5

SHEAR STRENGTH OF LIMESTONE

The shear strength of limestone rock are tested for 5 different normal loading which are 5 kN, 10 kN,
20 kN, 30 kN and 40 kN. A series of shear strength test are carried out to determine the shear
displacement, shear test, normal stress and shear stress. Results of shear stress versus shear displacement
are plotted in Fig. 5. The highest shear stress is 6.5 MPa; the highest normal stress is 23.7 MPa. The shear
stress versus normal stress is also plotted to get the friction angles and cohesion values of limestone. The
friction angle is 530 and the cohesion is 0.987 MPa. The plot of shear stress versus normal stress with the
equation display is shown in Fig. 6.

7000

Shear Stress (kN/m2 )

6000
5000

Normal Load 5 kN

4000

Normal Load 10 kN
Normal Load 20 kN

3000

Normal Load 30 kN

2000

Normal Load 40 kN

1000
0
0

Shear Displacement (mm)

Figure 5: Shear stress versus Shear Displacement for Batu Cave limestone
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9
8

y = 1.351x + 0.987

Shear Stress (MPa)

7
6
5
Shear stress vs Normal Stress

Linear (Shear stress vs Normal

Stress)

3
2
1
0
0

Normal Stress (MPa)

Figure 6: Shear stress vs. normal stress for Batu Cave limestone

CORRELATIONS OF MICROCRACK PATTERN AND RQD OF

LIMESTONE
Microcrack pattern of limestone is compared with RQD from the borehole logging. The microcrack
length values are plotted against RQD values. In sample D1, there are multiple microcrack can be
observed but only the maximum length is plotted against RQD value. The same case for sample E1 and
Sample F1, only the maximum length are taken for analysis. The details of RQD, microcrack and grade of
weathering are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: RQD, microcrack length, grade of weathering and descriptions of rock

BH No.

Microcrack
Length (m)
110

Sample No.

Grade of Weathering

Descriptions of Rock

BH1

RQD
(%)
55.0

Sample D1

IV V

Rock mostly dissolved

BH2

53.5

276

Sample E1

V-VI

Rock mostly dissolved

BH 3

46.5

321

Sample F1

VI

Rock mostly dissolved/

residual soil

Theoretically, microcrack length increases with decreasing RQD values. The result in Fig. 7 shows
that RQD is inversely proportional to the microcrack length. The standard error bars together with the R2
= 0.607 are shown in the plotted graph. Microcrack length is at the maximum when the degree of
weathering increased. Since there are other parameters which would also affecting the microcrack length
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such as degree of weathering, the mineral crystallization of limestone rock and micropores. More
experimental series need to be carried out to evaluate the crystalline of minerals in limestone related to its
microcrack length for limestone rock.

RQD vs Microcrack Length

70
60

RQD (%)

50
40

y = -0.0318x + 59.164
R = 0.6073

30
20
10
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Microcrack Length (micrometer)

Figure 7: RQD versus Microcrack Length

CORRELATIONS OF MICROCRACK PATTERN AND SHEAR STRENGTH OF
LIMESTONE
Shear strength parameters are important parameters in determining the stability of limestone rock.
The cohesion and friction angles will determine the safe height or safe angle for Batu Caves formation.
Previously, the cohesion and friction angle have been determined. The limestone rock has high friction
angle but low cohesion values. Further analysis of the data, the shear stress and normal stress is correlated
with its microcrack length to know their correlations. The shear stress is linearly proportional with
microcrack length with confidence level of 95%.Normal stress is also linearly proportional with
microcrack length with confidence level of 99%. Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 show the shear stress and normal stress
plot respectively.

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Shear Stress vs. Microcrack Length

6
y = 0.0109x + 1.3693
R = 0.9504

Shear Stress (MPa)

5
4
3
2
1
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Microcrack Length (micrometer)

Figure 8: Shear Stress versus Microcrack Length

Normal Stress vs. Microcrack Length

14
y = 0.0402x - 1.2784
R = 0.9998

Normal Stress (MPa)

12
10

8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Microcrack Length (micrometer)

Figure 9: Normal stress versus Microcrack Length

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CONCLUSIONS
Microcrack pattern that are produced around crystalline cavities for limestone rock are the main
concern in this research. The microcrack pattern of limestone rock is related to its RQD and shear
strength. It can be concluded that RQD value is inversely proportional with microcrack length. The RQD
value is inversely proportional to microcrack length, shear stress is linearly proportional with microcrack
length and normal stress is linearly proportional with microcrack length with confidence level of 61%,
95% and 99% respectively.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Science and Technology Malaysia (MOSTI)
for supporting the research under FRGS grant with grant number 01101034 FRGS. Thanks to Universiti
Tenaga Nasional and Universiti Putra Malaysia for the laboratory facilities.

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