Correlations between the geotechnical parameters of the Antalya tufa rock mass, Southern Turkey

This study presents statistical analyses and correlations between the geotechnical parameters of the Antalya tufa rock mass (ATRM), whose variances have been observed to be large during the interpretation of the laboratory test results. The research covers laboratory geomechanical tests for the examination of porosity, ultrasonic velocity, uniaxial compressive strength, Young’s modulus and tensile strength. These properties are believed to have had a significant influence on the tufa rock mass behaviour. Prior to statistical analyses of the geotechnical parameters, the entire dataset of the ten geotechnical parameters or variables was evaluated to check whether they were normally distributed or not. Upon completion of the normal distribution analyses of the variables, principal component analysis of the dataset was performed to reveal its internal structure. Finally, multiple linear regression analysis was performed to obtain the relationships between the variables. The correlation results revealed that the ATRM could be better characterised by strength parameters (uniaxial compressive and tensile strength) and index parameters (unit weight and porosity).