Geological and Geotechnical Assessment of Aggregates Used in Nagar Parker District Tharparkar Sindh Pakistan

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to determine the geology of granite and evaluate the engineering properties of the samples to make recommendations for the construction industry. The study area is situated in the Nagar Parker complex in Pakistan, which is located in the extreme south-east of the Thar District and the desert of the Sindh Province, near the Run of Kutch (240° 15′–35 30′ N, 70° 40′–58 07′ E), and it covers ca. 500–1,000 km2. In this region, several Quaternary deposits, subordinate and dispersed Jurassic–Tertiary sandstones and clays are overlying the Nagar Igneous Complex basement. According to international standards, there are various possible aggregate sources. However, only a few of them have been reviewed for suitability reasons. Six quarries in Nagar Parker, Pakistan, were selected for evaluation as coarse aggregate in concrete construction and civil engineering works in this research. Although the aggregates from the six quarries are specified and already widely used in the Sindh Province, there is a lack of studies on their geological properties. The results of the presented research revealed that samples from Dhedvero, Karai, Nagarparkar, Mokrio, Dinsi and Wadlai meet all of the international standard requirements for aggregates. Geotechnical, petrographic and geochemistry laboratory tests were conducted in this research and included bulk density, water absorption, specific gravity test, index of flakiness and elongation, soundness aggregate test, crushing value aggregate, impact value aggregate and abrasion value of Los Angeles. Furthermore, chemical alkali-silica reaction potential test and petrographic examination were tested. As a result, we evaluated the properties of granite, which is a crystalline igneous rock with a visibly crystalline structure and texture, made up of feldspar, i.e., potash feldspar and oligoclase. The evaluated minerals are compatible with the standards of civil engineering works and can be used as a concrete aggregate. The evaluated three types of minerals included Dhedvero simple intrusion, Nagar pink granite and grey granite.