The first granite specimens ordered from Granitos do Norte arrived at the university last Thursday. These blocks were first measured to verify that their dimensions are within the tolerances required for the planned tests (200.0 x 100.0 x 50.0 ± 0.5 [mm]).

As the overall dimensions were found to meet the criteria, a larger order will be placed in the next few weeks in order to start conducting the preliminary tests. These tests will include the determination of the friction coefficient of the blocks in order to compare different materials, and static tests such as Tilting and Settlement tests. Afterwards the shaking table tests will be initiated