Mechanical Performance and Reliability Assessment of Dense Madinah Basalt for Construction Applications

Mechanical Performance and Reliability Assessment of Dense Madinah Basalt for Construction Applications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Mechanical Performance and Reliability Assessment of Dense Madinah Basalt for Construction Applications Hassan A. Abas, Hussain Alsadiq This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9234169/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Dense basalt is widely used in construction, but its engineering evaluation is often limited to compressive strength or bulk density, which do not fully represent material performance. These approaches do not fully capture moisture sensitivity, internal continuity, or brittle-failure reliability. This study presents an integrated ASTM-based assessment of dense Madinah basalt for construction applications. Physical, mechanical, and ultrasonic properties were determined using standardized ASTM procedures. Mechanical tests were conducted under dry and saturated conditions. Reliability was evaluated using a two-parameter Weibull model and incorporated into a performance-based classification framework. The mean dry compressive strength was 146.76 MPa, and the 5% fractile strength was 130.44 MPa. The Weibull modulus was 20.76, indicating low strength scatter. Saturation reduced compressive strength by 17.7%, with a wet-to-dry ratio of 0.823. Dry flexural strength averaged 22.33 MPa, and the wet-to-dry ratio was 0.861, corresponding to a 13.9% reduction. Flexural modulus ranged from 40.57 to 81.33 GPa, with a mean value of 60.04 GPa. Ultrasonic testing gave average compression- and shear-wave velocities of 4754.67 and 2519.98 m/s, respectively, and a calculated dynamic Young’s modulus of 42.09 GPa. Density showed a positive relationship with compressive strength \(\:\left({R}^{2}=0.795\right)\) , while the ultrasonic results confirmed strong internal continuity and compact structure. Dense Madinah basalt showed high strength, high stiffness, moderate moisture -induced degradation, and good probabilistic reliability, supporting its classification as a structural-grade dimension stone for regional construction use. Madinah basalt uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) performance-based classification dynamic Young’s modulus Weibull reliability analysis Dimension stone Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9234169","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626016164,"identity":"172a9529-9a07-4402-b888-7aa9aceef453","order_by":0,"name":"Hassan A. 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These approaches do not fully capture moisture sensitivity, internal continuity, or brittle-failure reliability. This study presents an integrated ASTM-based assessment of dense Madinah basalt for construction applications. Physical, mechanical, and ultrasonic properties were determined using standardized ASTM procedures. Mechanical tests were conducted under dry and saturated conditions. Reliability was evaluated using a two-parameter Weibull model and incorporated into a performance-based classification framework. The mean dry compressive strength was 146.76 MPa, and the 5% fractile strength was 130.44 MPa. The Weibull modulus was 20.76, indicating low strength scatter. Saturation reduced compressive strength by 17.7%, with a wet-to-dry ratio of 0.823. Dry flexural strength averaged 22.33 MPa, and the wet-to-dry ratio was 0.861, corresponding to a 13.9% reduction. Flexural modulus ranged from 40.57 to 81.33 GPa, with a mean value of 60.04 GPa. Ultrasonic testing gave average compression- and shear-wave velocities of 4754.67 and 2519.98 m/s, respectively, and a calculated dynamic Young\u0026rsquo;s modulus of 42.09 GPa. Density showed a positive relationship with compressive strength \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\left({R}^{2}=0.795\\right)\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e, while the ultrasonic results confirmed strong internal continuity and compact structure. Dense Madinah basalt showed high strength, high stiffness, moderate moisture -induced degradation, and good probabilistic reliability, supporting its classification as a structural-grade dimension stone for regional construction use.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Mechanical Performance and Reliability Assessment of Dense Madinah Basalt for Construction Applications","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-21 03:42:12","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9234169/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"22506cbc-6109-4d3c-b909-be74f4ca4d7a","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 21st, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-08T12:08:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-06T18:37:23+00:00","index":22,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-03T19:50:33+00:00","index":21,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-08T12:25:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-21 03:42:12","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9234169","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9234169","identity":"rs-9234169","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}