Paper Title
Block Punch Index Based Tensile Strength of Rock Material Estimation: Preliminary Findings

Abstract
Although the direct tensile strength of rock material is an important parameter in engineering studies, direct methods used to determine this parameter are quite difficult and time consuming. Therefore, either indirect tensile methods are preferred in determining the direct tensile strength, or different physical and mechanical properties of the rock material are used to make an estimate. In this article, the relationships between the block punch index (BPI) and direct tensile strength (σt) of rock material were examined, and the usability of BPI in estimating σt was investigated. 12 limestone samples were prepared for experimental studies and the data obtained from the experimental studies were evaluated statistically. The analysis results showed that there is a significant relationship between σt and BPI with a correlation coefficient of 0.91. In this study, an equation is proposed to estimate the σt of limestones using the BPI value. Keywords - Block Punch Index, Direct Tensile Strength, Rock Material