General Engineering Geological Properties of Carbonates in Croatian Karst Available to Purchase

Many data in numerous carbonate lithologies and stratigraphic horizons enabled the drawing of conclusions about general and average engineering–geological properties of carbonate rock masses in the Croatian segment of the Adriatic carbonate platform (AdCP). In general, physical and mechanical properties of carbonate rock material depend more on mineral and lithological composition, occurrence of micro–fractures, texture, structure and diagenetic processes than on weathering. On the contrary, the elaborated data display a great dependence of engineering–geological properties of carbonate rock masses on weathering processes along favored pathways, discontinuity sets, fault planes or crushed zones. The increase of weathering intensity in carbonate rocks usually causes: opening of discontinuities adjacent to the surface, increase of discontinuity persistence, decrease of block size and widening of discontinuities.