Assesment of the Mechanical Variability of Rock Slabs by Means of Non-Destructive Tests

In this article it is described a systematic test campaign —with the Schmidt- L-type rebound hammer— that was performed at a Sodalite slab of 0:05m thick in a square area of 2:0m of side. This research revealed that the studied ornamental rock has an inherent variability by it-self, in respect to their mechanical strength; and also a spatial variability related to their position, this last with a clear sign of a preferential direction. These variabilities can be detected with the proposed test-campaign and the use of geostatistics; whose conclusions are useful for the the quality control of rock-material-slabs used for ornamental purposes