{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T21:35:57Z","timestamp":1767908157936,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,6]],"date-time":"2021-04-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1617667200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This work evaluates the effect of high temperatures and cooling methods on the drillability of Prada limestone. Samples from boreholes drilled during the design stage of the Tres Ponts Tunnel in the Catalan south Pyrenean zone (Spain) were subjected to temperatures of 105, 200, 300, 400, and 600 \u00b0C, and then cooled at a slow rate or by quenching. Sievers\u2019 J-value (SJ) and brittleness (S20) were determined on thermally treated samples, and the drilling rate index (DRI) was calculated for each temperature. The results show that thermal treatment implied a sustained increase in the drillability of the rock of up to 40% at 600 \u00b0C and a change in the drillability category (from medium to high). At 600 \u00b0C, SJ and S20 tripled and doubled, respectively, the initial values obtained for the intact rock. The results were inconclusive about the influence of the cooling method on the drilling performance of Prada limestone for the tested range of temperatures. The substantial improvement observed in the drillability of Prada limestone when heated, measured in terms of DRI, could help in the development of novel thermally-assisted mechanical excavation methods. Additionally, strong correlations between drillability variables (i.e., SJ and S20) and physical and mechanical variables of Prada limestone (i.e., P- and S-wave velocities, uniaxial compression strength, elastic modulus, and Poisson\u2019s ratio) are proposed. Correlations will help make preliminary predictions of drillability based on properties such as uniaxial compression strength and ultrasound wave velocities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/app11073286","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,6]],"date-time":"2021-04-06T10:34:12Z","timestamp":1617705252000},"page":"3286","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Thermal Effects on the Drilling Performance of a Limestone: Relationships with Physical and Mechanical Properties"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4445-2896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"V\u00edctor","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda de la Construcci\u00f3n y de Proyectos de Ingenier\u00eda Civil, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Val\u00e8ncia, Cam\u00ed de Vera s\/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda Elvira","family":"Garrido","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda del Terreno, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Val\u00e8ncia, Cam\u00ed de Vera s\/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6354-4994","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"Hidalgo Signes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda del Terreno, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Val\u00e8ncia, Cam\u00ed de Vera s\/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain"}]},{"given":"Aniello","family":"Basco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Caserta, Italy"}]},{"given":"Tiago","family":"Miranda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ISISE, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2947-9441","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Tom\u00e1s","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Civil, Escuela Polit\u00e9cnica Superior de Alicante, Universidad de Alicante, P.O. Box 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jafrearsci.2016.09.025","article-title":"Examining the relation between rock mass cuttability index and rock drilling properties","volume":"124","author":"Yetkin","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Afr. Earth Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1016\/j.petrol.2011.01.011","article-title":"An experimental investigation into the drilling and physico-mechanical properties of a rock-like brittle material","volume":"76","author":"Ranjith","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Pet. Sci. Eng."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"406","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tust.2010.11.013","article-title":"The drillability assessment of rocks using the different brittleness values","volume":"26","author":"Yarali","year":"2011","journal-title":"Tunn. Undergr. 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