Unit - 5 Geological Investigation in Civil Engineering: Geological Conditions Necessry For Construction of Dams

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UNIT – 5

GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS NECESSRY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS:


A DAM may be defined as a solid barrier constructed at a suitable location across a river
valley with a view of impounding water flowing through that river.
SELECTION OF SITES
Topographically:
It would be a narrow gorge or a small valley with enough catchments area available behind
so that when a dam is placed there it would easily store a calculated volume of water in the
reservoir created upstream.
This should be possible without involving significant uprooting of population, loss of
cultivable land due to submergence or loss of existing construction.
Technically:
 The site should be as sound as possible: strong, impermeable and stable.
 Strong rocks at the site make the job of the designer much easy: he can evolve best
deigns.
 Impermeable sites ensure better storage inventories.
 Stability with reference to seismic shocks and slope failures around the dam,
especially upstream, are a great relief to the public in general and the engineer in
particular.
 The slips, slides, and slope failures around and under the dam and susceptibility to
shocks during an earthquake could prove highly hazardous.
Constructional:
 The site should not be far off from deposits of materials which would be required
for its construction.
 All types of major dams require millions of cubic meters of natural materials - earth,
sand, gravel and rock -for their construction.
Economically:
 The benefits arising out of a dam placed at a particular site should be realistic and
justified in terms of land irrigated or power generated or floods averted or water
stored.
 Dams are invariably costly structures and cannot be placed anywhere and
everywhere without proper analysis of cost-benefit aspects.
Environmentally
 The site where a dam is proposed to be placed and a reservoir created, should not
involve ecological disorder, especially in the life cycles of animals and vegetation
and man.
 The fish culture in the stream is the first sector to suffer a major shock due to
construction of a dam. Its destruction may cause indirect effects on the population.
 These effects require as thorough analysis as for other objects. The dam and the
associated reservoir should become an acceptable element of the ecological set up
of the area.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERS FOR INVESTIGATION


Geology of the Area
Preliminary geological surveys of the entire catchments area followed by detailed
geological mapping of the reservoir area have to be conducted. These should reveal
 main topographic features, natural drainage patterns,
 general characters and structures of rock formations such as their stratification,
folding and faulting and igneous intrusions, and
 the trend and rate of weathering and erosion in the area.
Geology of the site Lithology.
 The single most important feature that must be known thoroughly at the site and
all around and below the valley up to a reasonable depth is the Lithology, i.e. types
of the rocks that make the area.
 Surface and subsurface studies using the conventional and latest techniques of
geological and geophysical investigations are carried out.
 Such studies would reveal the type, the composition and textures of the rocks
exposed along the valley floor, in the walls and up to the required depth at the base.
 Rocks are inherently anisotropic materials, showing variation in properties in
different directions.
 Complex litho logy definitely poses challenging design problems.
Structures
 This involves detailed mapping of planes of weakness like bedding planes,
schistosity, foliation, cleavage, joints, shear zones, faults and fault zones, folding and
the associated features.
 While mapping these features, special attention is given to recording their attitude,
spacing and nature.
 Shear zones have to be searched, mapped and treated with great caution.
 In some cases, these may be developed to such an extent that the rock may
necessitate extensive and intensive rock treatment (e.g. excavation, backfilling and
grouting etc.).
Following is a brief account of the influence of more important structural features of rocks
on dam foundations
Dip and Strike
 The strength of sound, unfractured stratified rock is always greater when the
stresses are acting normal to the bedding planes than if applied in other directions.
 This being so, horizontal beds should offer best support for the weight of the dam.
 But as is shown in a latter section, the resultant force is always inclined
downstream.
 the most UNFAVOURABLE strike direction is the one in which the beds strike
parallel to the axis of the dam and the dip is downstream
 It must be avoided as far as possible.
 Therefore, other conditions being same, beds with upstream dips are quite
favourable sites for dam foundations.
Faults
These structures can be source of danger to the dam in a number of ways. Thus,
 The faulted rocks are generally shattered along the rupture surfaces;
 Different types of rocks may be present on either side of a fault plane. Hence, sites
with fault planes require great caution in calculating the design strength in various
sections of the dam.
 Dams founded on beds traversed by fault zones and on major fault planes are more
liable to shocks during an earthquake compared to dams on non-faulted rocks.
GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS NECESSRY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF TUNNELS:
Tunnels may be defined as underground routes or passages driven through the ground
without disturbing the overlying soil or rock cover.
Tunnels are driven for a variety of purposes and are classified accordingly.
Chief classes of tunnels are:
Traffic Tunnels, hydro-power tunnels and public utility tunnels.
Geological Investigations
These determine to a large extent solutions to following engineering problems connected
with tunnelling:
Selection of Tunnel Route (Alignment).
There might be available many alternate alignments that could connect two points
through a tunnel.
The final choice would be greatly dependent on the geological constitution along and
around different alternatives
Selection of Excavation Method.
Tunnelling is a complicated process in any situation and involves huge costs which would
multiply manifolds if proper planning is not exercised before starting the actual excavation.
And the excavation methods are intimately linked with the type of rocks to be excavated.
Choice of the right method will, therefore, be possible only when the nature of the rocks
and the ground all along the alignment is fully known.
This is one of the most important aim and object of geological investigations.
Selection of Design for the Tunnel.
The ultimate dimensions and design parameters of a proposed tunnel are controlled,
besides other factors, by geological constitution of the area along the alignment. Whether
the tunnel is to be circular, D-Shaped, horse-shoe shaped or rectangular or combination of
one or more of these outlines, is more often dictated by the geology of the alignment than
by any other single factor.
Thus, in self-supporting and strong rocks, either, D-shape or horse-shoe shape may be
conveniently adopted but these shapes would be practically unsuitable in soft ground or
even in weak rocks with unequal lateral pressure.
Assessment of Cost and Stability.
These aspects of the tunnelling projects are also closely interlinked with the first three
considerations.
Since geological investigations will determine the line of actual excavation, the method of
excavation and the dimensions of excavation as also the supporting system (lining) of the
excavation, all estimates about the cost of the project would depend on the geological
details.
Similarly tunnels passing through hard and massive rocks even when left unsupported may
be regarded as stable.
Assessment of Environmental Hazards
The process of tunnelling, whether through rocks or through soft ground, and for
whatsoever purpose, involves disturbing the environment of an area in more than one way.
The tunnelling methods might involve vibrations induced through blasting or ground
cutting and drilling, producing abnormal quantities of dust and last but not the least,
interference with water supply system of the nearby areas.
A correct appreciation of geological set up of the area, especially where tunnel alignment
happens to be close to the populated zones, would enable the engineer for planning and
implementing plans aimed at minimizing the environmental hazards in a successful
manner.
GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN TUNNELLING
Lithology
It has already been mentioned that information regarding mineralogical composition,
textures and structures of the rocks through which the proposed tunnel is to pass is of great
importance in deciding
 the method of tunneling
 the strength and extent of lining and, thus the cost of the project.
Hard and Crystalline Rocks
� These are excavated by using conventional rock blasting methods and also by tunnel
boring method
� In the blasting method, full face or a convenient section of the face is selected for
blasting up to a pre-selected depth
� These are loaded with predetermined quantities of carefully selected explosives of
known strength.
� The loaded or charged holes are ignited or triggered and the pre-estimated rocks get
loosened as a result of the blast.
� The blasting round is followed by a mucking period during which the broken rock is
hauled out of the excavation so created.
� The excavations in hard and crystalline rocks are very often self-supporting so that
these could be left unlined and next round of blasting in the new face created is undertaken,
ensuring better advance rate.
� Rocks falling in this group include granites, diorites, syenites, gabbros, basalts and all
the related igneous rocks, sandstones, limestones, dolomites, quartzites, arkose, greywackes
and the like from sedimentary group and marbles, gneisses, quartzites, phyllites and slates
from the metamorphic groups.
� When any one of these rocks is stressed, such as during folding or fractured as during
faulting, tunnelling in these rocks proves greatly hazardous.
� Rock bursts which occur due to falling of big rock blocks from roofs or sides due to
release of stresses or falling of rock block along fractures already existing in these rocks
often cause many accidents.
Soft Rocks
� This group includes shales, friable and poorly compacted sandstones, chalk and porous
varieties of limestones and dolomities, slates and phyllites with high degree of cleavage and
also decomposed varieties of igneous rocks.
� Their excavation cost, volume for volume, might be lower than those in hard rocks.
� Hence, temporary and permanent lining becomes necessary that would involve extra
cost and additional time.
Rocks like clays, shales, argillaceous and ferruginous sandstones, gypsum bands and
cavernous limestones have to be viewed specially with great caution during tunnelling
Geological Structures Dip and Strike
These two quantitative properties of rocks determine the attitude (disposition in space) of
the rocks and hence influence the design of excavation (tunnel) to a great extent.
Three general cases may be considered.
Horizontal Strata
When encountered for small tunnels or for short lengths of long tunnels, horizontally
layered rocks might be considered quite favourable.
In massive rocks, that is, when individual layers are very thick, and the tunnel diameter
not very large, the situation is especially favourable because the layers would then over
bridge flat excavations by acting as natural beams
But when the layers are thin or fractured, they cannot be depended upon as beams; in such
cases, either the roof has to be modified to an arch type or has to be protected by giving a
lining.
Sides of tunnels, however, could be left unsupported except when the rocks are
precariously sheared and jointed.

Moderately Inclined Strata.


Such layers that are dipping at angles up to 45o may be said as moderately inclined.
The tunnel axis may be running parallel to the dip direction, at right angles to the dip
direction or inclined to both dip and strike directions.
In the first situation, that is, when the tunnel axis is parallel to the dip direction the layers
offer a uniformly distributed load on the excavation.
The arch action where the rocks at the roof act as natural arch transferring the load on to
sides comes into maximum play.
Even relatively weaker rocks might act as self-supporting in such cases. It is a favourable
condition from this aspect.
It also implies that the axis of the tunnel has to pass through a number of rocks of the
inclined sequence while going through parallel to dip
In the second case, that is, when the tunnel is driven parallel to strike of the beds (which
amounts to same thing as at right angles to the dip), the pressure distributed to the exposed
layers is unsymmetrical along the periphery of the tunnel opening; one half would have
bedding planes opening into the tunnel and hence offer potential planes and conditions for
sliding into the opening.

Application of Geological Investigations: Folding

Folding
Folds signify bends and curvatures and a lot of strain energy stored in the rocks. Their
influence on design and construction of tunnels is important from at least three angles:
Firstly, folding of rocks introduces considerable variation and uncertainty in a sequence of
rocks so that entirely unexpected rocks might be encountered along any given direction.
This situation becomes especially serious when folding is not recognized properly in
preliminary or detailed surveys due either to its being localized or to misinterpretation.
Secondly, folding of rocks introduces peculiar rock pressures.
In anticlinal fold, loads of rocks at the crest are transferred by arch action to a great extent
on to the limbs which may be highly strained
These conditions are reversed when the folds are of synclinal types. In such cases, rocks of
core regions are greatly strained.
Again, the axial regions of folds, anticlinal or synclinal, having suffered the maximum
bending are more often heavily fractured.
The alignment of a tunnel passing through a folded region has to take these aspects in full
consideration.
When excavations are made in folded rocks, the strain energy is likely to be released
immediately, soon after or quite late to tunnelling operations, very often causing the
dreaded rock bursts.
Thirdly, folded rocks are often best storehouses for artesian water and also ideal as aquifers.
When encountered during tunnelling unexpectedly, these could create uncontrollable
situations.
The shattered axial regions being full of secondary joint systems are highly permeable.
As such very effective drainage measure are often required to be in readiness when
excavations are to pass through folded zones.
Application of Geological Investigations: Faulting

FAULTING
Similarly, fault zones and shear zones are highly permeable zones, likely to form easy
avenues for ground water passage.
Inclined fault planes and shear zones over the roof and along the sides introduce additional
complications in computation of rock pressure on the one hand and of rock strengths on
the other.
This discussion leads to a general conclusion: wherever tunnel is intersected by fault planes
or shear zones, it is to be considered as passing through most unsafe situations and hence
designed accordingly by providing maximum support and drainage facilities.
Ground Water Conditions
Determination of ground water conditions in the region of tunnel project is not to be
under-estimated at any cost.
In fact ground water level via tunnel axis is a major factor governing computations of
overhead loads on tunnels and also in the choice of method of tunnelling.
Groundwater conditions effect the tunnel rocks in two ways
Firstly, through its physico-chemical action, it erodes and corrodes (dissolves) the
susceptible constituents from among the rocks and thereby alters their original properties
constantly with the passage of time.
It might have already done much of this type of job when the tunnel is excavated through
such water-rich rocks.
Secondly, it effects the rock strength parameters by its static and dynamic water heads.
Such an action may become highly pronounced when an artesian acquifer is actually
intercepted by tunnel excavation.

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