Paper contribution

Engineering geological parameters of sandstone hosting future highway tunnels, an example from Hungary

Edina Bartakovics; Ákos Török

Proceedings
EUROCK 2026
Pages
1041-1046
Submitted
28 January 2026
Accepted
15 June 2026
Published
12 August 2026

Summary

Abstract

Quartz cemented sandstone is the prevailing lithology of the planned northwestern section of the M0 highway near Budapest (Hungary). For the design of future tunnels, core drillings were made to explore the engineering geological conditions of the missing highway section. The lithotypes of the core drillings shows similarities to outcrops in the Buda Hills. They represent the Oligocene shallow marine to lithoral sandstone series that belongs to the Hárshegy Sandstone Formation. Laboratory tests were made from drill cores using standard test methods to assess their properties. These included measuring different physical parameters such as bulk density, ultrasonic wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength and indirect tensile strength (Brazilian test). Lithological descriptions helped to identify the various lithotypes ranging from fine-grained to coarse-grained varieties. The current paper presents a statistical analysis of the physical parameters, taking into account the lithological variations. The obtained relationships can be used for describing the rock mechanical parameters of sandstones from other regions. The results can help in the design of the supporting system of tunnels, since the calculated equations provide relationships between parameters and can be used as a reference for other construction projects in a similar rock environment.

Contributors

Authors

  1. Edina Bartakovics Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary ORCID 0009-0000-9272-7968
  2. Ákos Török Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary ORCID 0000-0002-5394-4510

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References

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