Petrographic and engineering properties of sandstones from the Sneinton formation, Nottinghamshire, England

The Sneinton Formation occurs at the base of the Mercia Mudstone Group and consists of sandstones with interbedded siltstones and mudstones. The sample material was obtained from core from a 63 m deep borehole sunk near Epperstone some 10 km north of Nottingham. The petrographic characteristics, namely quartz content, clay size content, packing density and particle size distribution of the sandstones, were determined for a series of depths. In addition, the density, porosity, compressive and indirect tensile strengths, hardness, modulus of deformation, Poisson's ratio and slake durability index were determined for the same depth intervals. The petrographic characteristics then were correlated with the physical and mechanical properties and the significance of the relationships assessed by Student's t value. The individual physical and mechanical properties also were the correlated with each other and the significance of the relationships similarly assessed.