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Rock Mechanics Letters

Open Access Research Article

Comparative study of physical and mechanical properties of limestone and sandstone at varying temperature condition

by Rami Moghrabi 1 ,  Ákos Török 1  and  Balázs Vásárhelyi 1,*
1
Department of Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp.3, 1111, Budapest, Hungary
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
RML  2025 2(4):25; https://doi.org/10.70425/rml.202504.25
Received: 29 August 2025 / Accepted: 17 October 2025 / Published Online: 21 October 2025
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Abstract

Limestone and sandstone are widely used in engineering, yet their behavior remains poorly constrained under combined thermal exposure and water saturation. We experimentally evaluate how temperature (22–750 °C) and saturation alter key physical and mechanical properties of these rocks using a consistent test matrix on 136 cores. Mass, density, and ul-trasonic pulse velocity (UPV) were measured before and after heating; the strength was quantified by uniaxial com-pressive strength (UCS) and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS). Both rocks retained capacity up to ~450 °C, with limestone stronger than sandstone. Above this threshold, the strength and UPV declined markedly, reflecting thermal cracking; limestone showed pronounced density loss at high temperature, consistent with mineral decomposition. Saturation reduced strength in both lithologies, with a larger drop in limestone, and changes in density and UPV tracked these trends. The conceptual advance is a side-by-side, cross-property comparison that links thermal and hydraulic states to coupled changes in mass, density, UPV, UCS, and BTS for two common sedimentary rocks. These results provide practical bounds for designing and assessing rock materials and rock-hosted infrastructure exposed to heat and moisture, from tunnels and foundations to fire and geothermal scenarios.

Keywords: Limestone; Sandstone; High temperature; Water saturation; Density; Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV); Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS); Brazilian tensile strength (BTS);
Copyright: © 2025 by Moghrabi, Török and Vásárhelyi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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ACS Style
Moghrabi, R.; Török, �.; Vásárhelyi, B. Comparative study of physical and mechanical properties of limestone and sandstone at varying temperature condition. Rock Mechanics Letters, 2025, 2, 25. doi:10.70425/rml.202504.25
AMA Style
Moghrabi R, Török �, Vásárhelyi B. Comparative study of physical and mechanical properties of limestone and sandstone at varying temperature condition. Rock Mechanics Letters; 2025, 2(4):25. doi:10.70425/rml.202504.25
Chicago/Turabian Style
Moghrabi, Rami; Török, Ákos; Vásárhelyi, Balázs 2025. "Comparative study of physical and mechanical properties of limestone and sandstone at varying temperature condition" Rock Mechanics Letters 2, no.4:25. doi:10.70425/rml.202504.25
APA Style
Moghrabi, R., Török, �., & Vásárhelyi, B. (2025). Comparative study of physical and mechanical properties of limestone and sandstone at varying temperature condition. Rock Mechanics Letters, 2(4), 25. doi:10.70425/rml.202504.25

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