Exploitation with a chain saw cutting machine has been the ordinary industrial practice in marble excavation for over thirty years, due to its ability to adapt to difficult environments and to guarantee a high level of safety during the cutting phase. Nevertheless, the presence of impurities in the calcite matrix, e.g. quartz, leads to the problem of rapid and unusual wear on cutting tools.
In this study, two laboratory tests were selected and carried out to estimate the rock's wear potential: the CERCHAR Abrasivity test and the Soil Abrasion Test Apparatus (SATA).
The results highlight a high degree of abrasivity in dry conditions, which was satisfactorily reduced by using water and additives. This mixture, typically used in tunnelling applications, is intended to decrease the wear from rock excavation and a significant reduction of this phenomenon has been noticed.
The exploitation of Carrara marble is an ancient practice that has taken place since Roman times, and is a significant part of the region's economy even today. Over the centuries, Carrara marble has been used in some of the world's most iconic monuments and buildings, including the Pantheon, the Taj Mahal, and the British Museum. Commonly, the wear phenomenon linked to the Carrara marble exploitation process is negligible, since the commonly used technologies, such as the chainsaw and the diamond wire are capable of easily cutting blocks of marble, mainly composed of calcite (3rd degree of the Mohs scale). However, in recent years, the wear issue has become more topical in the Carrara quarries, since in several areas the required productivity was not guaranteed due to the strong abrasiveness of the marble, which can hide (and in extreme cases completely block) the chainsaw cutting machine.
Wear is a critical issue affecting mining and quarrying, as it directly impacts efficiency and operating costs (Ellecosta et al. 2019). Many different factors have to be considered when investigating the wear process, such as the excavated material proprieties, the water content, the relative quartz content, the excavation technique, the characteristics of the cutting tools, etc. (Alber 2008, Rauch et al. 2018 and Di Giovanni et al. 2023). Between marble and tools, during the cutting process, a mutual destruction takes place, which is wanted on the rock side but is suffered on the side of the tool (Mancini & Cardu 2001). Therefore, to minimize these effects, the shape and composition of the tools must be properly designed.
