Necessity of reconsideration of the evaluation process for sedimentary rocks used in construction of breakwaters in the south of Iran

In 2013, due to the poverty of desirable stones in the south of Iran, the regulations for the use of stone in breakwaters and protection structures were prepared to provide a codified standard for quality control before and during the construction. Despite the promulgation of guideline usage of rock in rubble mound breakwater , the quality of construction in the majority of rock mass structures is still not favorable, the reasons for which can be attributed to: high abundance of harmful clay minerals within the range of extractable depth of the existing formations, high heterogeneity in the quality of the extracted rock, The extension of the life of the constructed structures beyond the initial assumptions of the design, the insufficiency of the existing standards for medium and long term serviceability, and in general the dominant effect of mineralogy on the overall performance of sedimentary rocks in rock mass structures.