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Lecture 1

The document discusses the importance of geology in civil engineering, highlighting various branches of geology and their relevance to engineering practices. It emphasizes that civil engineers must understand geological principles to effectively evaluate site conditions, reduce costs, and ensure safe construction methods. The collaboration between geologists and civil engineers is crucial for successful project planning and execution.

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9 views14 pages

Lecture 1

The document discusses the importance of geology in civil engineering, highlighting various branches of geology and their relevance to engineering practices. It emphasizes that civil engineers must understand geological principles to effectively evaluate site conditions, reduce costs, and ensure safe construction methods. The collaboration between geologists and civil engineers is crucial for successful project planning and execution.

Uploaded by

xdr5xab
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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• Do you think a civil engineer

needs to know the fundamental


of geology?
Building collapse
Fundamentals of Engineering
Geology
1- Introduction

1.1 The Science of Geology


The word Geology is derived from the Greek
"Geo" the earth and "logy” the science, thus it is
"Earth Science". Geology is the science study of
the solid earth, that examines the earth, its form
and composition and the changes which it has
undergone and is going.
1.2 Branches of Earth Sciences

1- Petrology: The investigation of the rocks forming the earth.

2- Mineralogy : It studies the minerals, their properties,


location, and uses.

3- Structural Geology: How rocks are distributed and


deformed.
4- Geochemistry: It is a study of the chemistry of rocks and the
distribution of major and trace elements in rocks and
minerals. This can lead to an understanding of how a particular
rock has originated, this will lead, in the broadest sense, to a
knowledge of the chemistry of the upper layers of the earth.
5- Geological Mapping: The distribution and types of rocks at the
earth’s surface is found by making a geological survey and is recorded
on geological maps. This information about rocks is superimposed on a
topographic base map.

6- Geophysics : studies the earth using physical principles ( seismic


survey , magnetic survey , thermal survey , etc. ).

7- Stratigraphy: studies the rock layers. Through this, scientists can


infer the earth history.

8- seismology: studies the earthquakes: reasons and distribution.


• 9- Paleontology: studies the (fossils) which means
remains of animals and plants. That’s helps to
understand the history of life in earth.

• 10- Physical Geology: It is the study of different


geological processes (weathering, erosion and
deposition).
• 11- Hydrology, Hydrogeology :
• Hydrology studies the, distribution, movement, quality and
quantity of all waters of the earth.
• Hydrogeology studies the distribution and movement of
groundwater.

• 12- Mining & Petroleum Geology: It is the investigation for


economical mineral ores, natural gases and petroleum and
their structures.

• 13- Engineering Geology : The science that links between


geology and civil engineering
• .

• 14- Environmental Geology: It deals with environmental problems


caused by geological phenomena such as ; earthquakes, volcanoes
, landslides , and surface and underground water contamination.
• 15- Marine Geology: It deals with marine sediments and their
associated phenomena, petroleum resources using marine
geophysical methods.
• 16- Remote Sensing: It deals with investigation and identification
of natural earth resources by means of satellites and airborne
surveys.
• 17- Volcanology: It deals with the study of volcanoes, their
formation , types and distributions.
• 18- Glaciology: It deals with the study of glaciers , their types and
distributions.
• 19- Geochronology : It is the science of estimating ages using
radioactive elements.
• 1.3 Relevance of Geology to Civil Engineering
• The application of geological principles in engineering
investigations has a great benefits for engineering sciences and vice
versa for geological sciences in case of well drilling. So both are
closely related and are important in site investigations.
• The cooperation between geologists and civil engineers resulted
in introduction of " Soil Mechanics" science.
• Soil mechanics is the branch of science that deals with the study of
the physical properties of soil and the behavior of soil masses
subjected to various types of forces.
• Soils engineering is the application of the principles of soil
mechanics to practical problems.
• Geotechnical engineering is the subdiscipline of civil engineering
related to site investigation that involves natural materials found
close to the surface of the earth. Therefore, the civil engineers
must therefore have enough understanding of geology for the
following reasons:
• 1- To understand how and when to use the
consultants expert, evaluate their reports,
judge their reliability, and recognize how
their finding helps the project.
• 2- When reading reports, or studying
geological maps, he must have a complete
understanding of the meaning of geological
terms and be able to grasp geological concepts.
• 3- knowing the area's geology helps the
engineer to reduce cost, choose the right tools
and find the safe construction methods.
• 4- In some cases, the excavated rocks may be used as
constructional material.

• 5- knowing the area's geology helps the engineer to avoid


the future risk that could affect the project.

• 6- In modest projects, or in those involving the


redevelopment of a limited site, the demands on the
geological knowledge of the engineer or the need for
geological advice will be less.
• The exploration of a site to assess the feasibility of
a project , to plan and design appropriate
foundations, and to draw up bills of quantity for
excavation normally requires that most of the
following information be obtained:

• 1- what rocks and soils are present, including the sequence of


strata , the nature and thicknesses of superficial deposits
and the presence of igneous.

• 2- how these rocks are distributed over , and under the site.

• 3- the frequency and orientation of joints in the different


bodies of rock and the location of any faults.
• 4- the presence and extent of any weathering of the rocks, and
particularly of any soluble rocks such as limestone.

• 5- the groundwater conditions, including the position of the water


table , and whether the groundwater contains noxious material in
solution , such as sulphates, which may affect cement with which it
comes in contact.

• 6- the presence of economic deposits which may have been extracted


by mining or quarrying.

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