Effect of the rock properties on sawability of granite using diamond wire saw in natural stone quarries

Sawability of diamond wire saw is a cost-sensitive parameter in natural stone quarries that affects directly the production planning and equipment selection. The present study intended to investigate the effect of rock properties on sawability of diamond wire saw in granite quarries by considering the cutting rate and unit wear as the main sawability criteria. Hourly cutting rate of stone and unit wear of diamond impregnated beads of diamond wire saw were measured during the stone sawing process in 9 granite quarries. Moreover, physico-mechanical rock properties were determined in the laboratory. Statistical regression models were built to quantitatively analyze the effect of individual rock property on the cutting rate and unit wear. Further, the principal component analysis (PCA) and best subset regression with Bayesian information criterion (BIC) were performed in order to determine the combined effect of most influential rock properties on sawability. Valid for all tested granites, the experimental results indicated that the tensile strength, abrasivity, and brittleness are the most influential rock properties for the prediction of stone cutting rate, whereas compressive strength, elasticity, and abrasivity are dominant for prediction of unit wear of diamond beads.