Employability of hydraulic structures of limestone and basalt units around toprakkale - yumurtalik (east mediterranean )

The İskenderun Gulf is an important location for Turkey and Yumurtalık area, which is located in the Eastern Mediterranean. The region has been developed into a significant port city since Botaş, Demirçelik factories and its large industrial zone have constructed. The best way of the transportation is shipping from the region to the worldwide. The construction of onshore and inshore structures is the significant engineering process. Generally in terms of its being economical, the main aim of the armourstone is to protect the coast from wave effects and to provide a secure harbour for ships. Natural rocks with various quality and size are used for these structures. The rock quarry rock should not be too far from the construction site where the armourstone would be built and should be resistant to corrosion and disintegration by the time. Thus, The study area in Yumurtalık region is required to investigate the performance and the quality of the rocks which could be avaliable to be resistant for the corruption and to intact be for the armourstone under the specifications of current international standarts. Four various rocks are examined for the quality assessment based on the CIRIA/CUR (1991; 2007) and Lienhart (1998). As a result of laboratory test durability assessments and field performance of the rocks indicate that the massive basalt and micritic limestone are capable for the armourstone and they could be used for the breakwater construction. However, vesicular basalt and recrystallize limestone are modarate rocks, and the other rocks in the study area are very poor rocks for armourstone. However, CIRIA/CUR and Lienhart (1998) classifications are in good agreement with the in-situ observations and the results of the laboratory tests. Furthermore, as compared with the ratings among the rocks that are based on the CIRIA/CUR (1991; 2007) and Lienhart (1998), it is concluded that quantitative approacment of the limits in rating system should be modified.