WESTERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Lapaz, loilo City

GEOLOGY FOR ENGINEERING

IGNEOUS ROCKS
Rocks is assemblies of minerals; it is formed by various minerals or rock fragments come together or consists of a large number of
accumulations of a single mineral. It is found it the majority of 8 element minerals as rock builder, representing more than 98% of the
weight of the continental crust.

PETROLOGY-Is a branch of geology, which deals with study of rocks (Petro=rock, Logos=study)
Igneous rocks form when magma (molten rock material) freezes and solidifies. Igneous rocks are the foundation of the Rock Cycle.
Rock cycle shows how rocks are created, changed, and recycled

Magma consists mostly of liquid rock matter, but may contain crystals of various minerals, and may contain a gas phase that may be
dissolved in the liquid or may be present as a separate
gas phase.

Nature of Magma
• Composed of three portions – liquid, solid and gas
• Liquid portion = melt
– Mobile ions in solution
• Silicate ion, K+1, Ca+1, Na+1, Fe+2, Mg+2
• Solid component = silicate minerals
– May contain silicate minerals
• Formed early or undergoing melting
– Slow forming produces large crystals
• Gaseous portion = volatiles
– Most commonly H2O, CO2 and SO2
– May propel magma to surface
– Can enhance melting

Molten mass comprising most abundant elements in earth – Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, K, H & O. Where the SiO2 is most abundant amongst all.
Temperature of Magma- 10400 to 12000 C

2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF IGNEOUS ROCK

 Extrusive igneous rocks are found when the magma is thrown out from the volcanoes or pushed slowly up through the cracks
in the earth's crust. As the molten rock reaches the surface it usually spreads out and cools relatively rapidly resulting in small
crystals or sometimes no crystals at all.
 Intrusive igneous rocks are formed from deeply buried magmas that cool very slowly within the crust of the earth, thus
forming larger crystals.

DIFFERENT IGNEOUS INTRUSION

 Dikes are small (<20 m wide) shallow intrusions that show discordant relationship to the rocks in which
they intrude. Discordant means that they cut across preexisting structures. They may occur as isolated
bodies or may occur as swarms of dikes emanating from a large intrusive body at depth. Those that fill
cracks or fractures, cutting across such layered structures are called dikes.
 Sills are also small (<50 m thick) shallow intrusions that show a concordant relationship with the rocks
that they intrude. It is usually being fed by dikes, but these may not be exposed in the field. Tabular
masses intruded between rock layers are called sills, If the magma was injected into sedimentary layers
along bedding planes, the igneous sheet formed.
 Laccoliths are somewhat large intrusions that result in uplift and folding of the preexisting rocks above
the intrusion. They are also concordant types of intrusions. It may happen that the magma is forced
through a comparatively small aperture in the layers and reaches an area where it is actually able to lift
up the layers of overhead rock. A bun-shaped intrusion or laccolith is then formed.

Plutons
` Although they may show sharp contacts with the surrounding rocks into which they intruded, at deeper levels in the crust the
contacts are often gradational.
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  Lopoliths are relatively small plutons that usually show a concave downward upper surface. This shape may have resulted
from the reduction in volume that occurs when magmas crystallize, with the weight of the
overlying rocks causing collapse of into the space once occupied by the magma when it had a
larger volume as a liquid.
 Batholiths are very large intrusive bodies, usually so large that their bottoms are rarely
exposed. Sometimes they are composed of several smaller intrusions.
 Stocks are smaller bodies that are likely fed from deeper level batholiths. Stocks may have
been feeders for volcanic eruptions, but because large amounts of erosion are required to
expose a stock or batholith, the associated volcanic rocks are rarely exposed.

COMPOSITION TYPE OF IGNEOUS ROCK

 Felsic rocks contain quartz, Na-rich plagioclase feldspar, and K-feldspar. The concentration of dark minerals, including
hornblende, biotite, and pyroxene in felsic rocks is low. Felsic rocks are usually the lightest in color.

 Intermediate rocks typically contain hornblende, biotite or pyroxene, and plagioclase feldspar with nearly equal amounts of
Ca and Na. Feldspar and Mg- and Fe-rich minerals are present in about equal proportions. These rocks tend to be darker than
felsic rocks and lighter in color than mafic and ultramafic rocks; gray shades are most common.

 Mafic and ultramafic rocks primarily contain Mg-rich and Fe-rich silicate minerals, olivine and pyroxene. Ultramafic rocks are
composed almost entirely of olivine and pyroxene. Mafic rocks also contain Ca-rich plagioclase feldspar. These rocks tend to
be dark gray to black in color, because the dark Mg- and Fe-rich minerals are more prevalent than the light-colored feldspar.

TEXTURE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

Phaneritic or Course grained
 Slow cooling, larger crystals
 Coarse texture
 Intrusive or plutonic
Example: Granite

Aphanitic or Fine grained

 Rapid cooling, smaller crystals
 Finer texture, mineral grains too
small to see with the unaided eye
• Extrusive or volcanic
Example: Basalt
Vesicular
 many pits from gas escape
 Extrusive rock
Example: Basalt
Pyroclastic
 Fused rock fragments & ash from an explosive eruption
 Extrusive rock (made during an eruption) Example: Tuff
Glassy
 no obvious minerals
 This is an extrusive rock that cooled very quickly
Example: Obsidian

Porphyritic
 2 distinct grain sizes, large & small
 Two phases of cooling:
Intrusive phase: large crystals
Extrusive phase: fine crystals
Example: Andesite

Different Igneous Rocks

ULTRABASIC ROCKS
- consist mainly of mafic minerals and contain little or no feldspar. They are coarse-grained, mostly dark in colour, and have a
high specific gravity (3.0 to 3.3).

 Picrite - Contains a little feldspar, up to about 10-12%; the bulk of the rock is made of olivine and augite or hornblende, and
olivine crystals may be enclosed in the other mafic mineral.

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  Serpentinite (or serpentine-rock) -results from the alteration of peridotite by the action of steam and other magmatic fluids
while the rock is still hot. Red and green colored serpentinite bodies occur.

BASIC ROCKS
- some of which are economically important as construction stone, road-stone and aggregate, have a large content of
ferromagnesian minerals which give the rocks a dark appearance. Specific gravity ranges from about 2.9 to 3.2.

 Gabbro - is a coarse grained mafic plutonic igneous rock composed of varied percentages of pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar,
amphiboles, and olivine. A dark gray, green or black granular rock similar in appearance to diorites. Like granite, gabbro is
found in batholiths, but it also founds small stocks, dikes, sills, and volcanic necks. Gabbro which is a durable construction
material for all purposes, has a high degree of compressive strength (average is 26,000 psi), and low absorbability. Gabbro is
chiefly used for road materials.

 Dolerite -The chemistry of this intrusive rock corresponds to gabbro but its texture is finer. Dolerite forms dykes, sills, and
other intrusions. The rock is dark grey in colour, except where its content of feldspar is greater than average. Dolerite is
important as a road-stone for surfacing because of its toughness, and its capacity for holding a coating of bitumen and giving
a good 'bind'. In its unweather state dolerite is one of the strongest of the building stones and used for vaults and strong-
rooms, as in the Bank of England.

 Basalts - A group of very dense fine grained igneous rocks whose colors range from black to dark gray to green to purplish. All
basalts contain a great deal of lime, magnesium and iron. They are a fine grained equivalent of gabbro and closely related to
the andesite.

INTERMEDIATE ROCK
 Diorites - are intermediate plutonic igneous rocks composed mainly of plagioclase feldspars (usually andesine), hornblende,
and/or pyroxenes. Depending upon mineral composition, diorites are colored salt-and-pepper, gray, bluish gray, to dark gray,
and may have a greenish cast. A family of rocks that resemble dark granite, and are most often found in sills, dikes, and
stocks.

 Andesite-are fine-grained volcanic rocks, are common as lava flows in orogenic regions and occasionally form small
intrusions. They are compact, sometimes vesicular, often brown in color, and in total extent are second only to basalts

ACID ROCKS
-The acid plutonic rocks, granite and granodiorite, make the greater part of the large batholiths, found in the cores of
mountain fold-belts; they also form smaller masses in the upper levels of the Earth's crust, and they are the most abundant of all
plutonic rocks

 Granite - An intrusive igneous rock with an even texture. Any light colored, coarse to medium grain rock may be called
granite. Granite is gray, pink, or red, with crushing strength ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 pounds per square inch.
Unweather granites are strong and durable rock suitable for bridge piers, sea walls, and foundations of buildings. Its chief
defect lies in the fact that when heated and chilled, the quartz and feldspar grains expand or contract at different rates
sometimes causing the rock surface to crumble or peel.

ALKALINE
- rock because it contains alkali-feldspars, rich in Na and K. Rocks of this group are not abundant by comparison with the
world's granites; where they are locally well developed, however, they can be quarried and used for construction;

 Syenite-Orthoclase or other alkali feldspar usually forms over half the rock, with smaller amount of plagioclase (oligoclase);
the dark minerals may be biotite, hornblende, or a pyroxene; and apatite, sphene, zircon and opaque iron oxides are
accessories. The texture is coarse-grained, sometimes porphyritic. Hand specimen are usually pale colored.

 Trachyte -This is typically a pale coloured rough-looking lava (Greek trachys, rough) having porphyritic crystals of orthoclase
in a groundmass composed mainly of feldspar microliths, with a small amount of biotite or hornblende.

Pegmatitic Granite pegmatite Diorite pegmatite Gabbro pegmatite

Phaneritic Granite
(coarse-grained)
Phaneritic and porphyritic
Aphanitic
(fine-grained)
Aphanitic and porphyritic
Aphanitic and vesicular
Pyroclastic
(clasts < 2 mm)
Pyroclastic
(clasts > 2 mm)
Glassy and massive
Glassy and vesicular
Diorite Gabbro Peridotite
Porphyritic granite Porphyritic diorite Porphyritic gabbro
Rhyolite Andesite Basalt
Rhyolite porphyry Andesite porphyry Basalt porphyry
Vesicular andesite Vesicular basalt
Rhyolite tuff Andesite tuff Basalt tuff
Rhyolite breccia Andesite breccia Basalt breccia
--------------------------Obsidian------------------------
--------Pumice------- Scoria

USE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

Igneous rocks have a wide variety of uses. One important use is as stone for buildings and statues.

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Granite is used both in building construction and for statues. This is also used in making ornaments. These are also used in decorative
monuments, bridges, and commercial buildings. It's available in large quantities and has good strength.

Diorite was used extensively by ancient civilizations for vases and other decorative artwork and is still used for art today.

Pumice - Pumice is used to smooth skin or scrape up grime around the house. When pumice is placed into giant washing machines
with newly manufactured jeans and tumbled, the result is “stone-washed” jeans.

Andesite - These fine-grained rocks are important for ornament business. They are chosen for their fine blending and their not so edgy
stone

Basalt - This is used in the building and construction process. It is used in flooring, cobblestone, countertops, and railroad track ballast.

Gabbro - When polished, it can be used for multiple purposes like making cork surface, floor tiles, facing stone and cemetery markers