Summary

Commitment to study soft rocks requires the understanding of two distinct areas from what we know as Science: engineering and geology. In this context, this report aims to expose to the scientific community the necessity of turning evaluations about soft rocks back to the scene, well treated in the eighties and nineties in Brazil. Nowadays, geologists and civil engineers from technical and scientific acquaintances, have not given substantial importance to this subject, as discussed in several occasions before. It is currently advisable to incorporate this theme in the agenda, since the substantial demand for infrastructure, such as the High Speed Train between the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Campinas, new airports expansions and constructions, highways and railways development, slopes stability in urban areas, etc. All these are indispensable to hold future (and actual) demands taking into account a regular sequence. Being in the interface between soil and rock masses, summing the relationship between two different points of view, qualitatively and quantitatively, the understanding of what a soft rock means ends up generating a diversity of classifications and interpretations, without actually bringing trustful parameters to support safe engineering projects. An overview about soft rocks will take, considering geological and geotechnical concepts, characterization and classifications, testing procedures, as analyzed in the available scientific literature.

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