This study used various test methods to analyze the impact resistance of marble, limestone, and travertine to determine their breaking potential when they are used for interior and exterior floor covering. A total of 17 kinds of natural rocks (7 marbles, 5 travertines, and 5 limestones) were categorized according to their commonly used geological formations and were subjected to various characterization tests (mineralogical and petrographic characteristics, chemical properties, as well as physical and mechanical properties). The rupture energy caused by an impact on natural rocks was determined according to the BS EN 14158 standard, whereas restitution coefficients were determined according to the BS EN ISO 10545-5 standard. The impact resistance, rupture energy, and restitution coefficient of polished natural stone plates that were used in the tests were statistically analyzed. The parameters that affected these variables of natural rocks were plate thickness, mineralogical and petrographic characteristics, and physical and mechanical properties. Finally, the potential fractures of the specimens were classified based on impact resistance, rupture energy, and restitution coefficient.

Conventional geostatistical prediction methods can be used to carry out resource classification in ore beds and for reliability measurements. A field investigation based on lignite thickness data was conducted for resource classification in Eskisehir-Mihaliccik-Koyunagili coal basin. Moreover, a fuzzy logic-based resource classification method has been recently proposed to eliminate the uncertainties encountered in the conduct of conventional resource classification procedure. Fuzzy logic-based classification provides gradual transitions between two adjacent resource classes. In addition, the proposed method can classify each block by assigning a membership degree for handling decision-making problems encountered in conventional resource classification methods.

In this study, surface quality and tangential cutting force and radial width (ae) and axial deep (ap) parameters were investigated in the processing of white marble, which is a natural building material. Five different white marbles were used in the experiments and the taguchi method was applied as the test method. Depending on the number and level of parameters, the L9 orthogonal array was chosen. Cutting forces and surface roughness data were collected for each marble. The optimal level and contribution percentage of each parameter was determined by applying the analysis of variance with the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. The Fr and Ra factors for all marbles were found to be ae:1 mm and ap:1 mm. Depending on the significance level, axial depth of cut (ap) was the primary effective parameter (65-86% for Fr; 42-78% for Ra), while radial depth of cut was the secondary effective parameter (3-24% for Fr; 16-35% for Ra). It can be said that the feed rate parameter was not an effective parameter in general.As a result of regression analysis, a significant relationship of 83% was observed between Ra surface roughness value and mineral grain size. Grain size has been the mineralogical-petrographic feature affecting the surface quality of marbles.