STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

AND ROCKS MECHANICS

Presented by Group 4

P RES ENTATION B Y GR OUP 4 | 03 F EB RUARY 2 02 3

 01 Geological Maps

TODAY'S 02 Study of structures

03 Rock Mechanics
TOPICS

P RES ENTATION B Y GR OUP 4 | O3 F E BR UARY 20 2 3

STRUCTURAL
GEOLOGY
It is very important in the field of civil
engineering since it is the basis of
construction projects for buildings, bridges,
dams, roads, etc. and It serves as a tool for
prevention and mitigation in the control of
geological risks.
 STRUCTURAL
GEOLOGY
Importance of structural Geology in the Civil Engineering Practices

►To recognize potential difficult ground conditions prior to detailed

design and construction.
►It helps to identify areas susceptible to failure due to geological hazards.
►To establish design specifications.
►To have best selection of site for engineering purposes.
►To have best selection of engineering materials for construction.
►Geologic structures determine ground stability, and where to build cities.
 GEOLOGICAL
MAPS USED FOR:
Geologic maps
• are uniquely suited to solving problems involving Earth resources, hazards, and
environments. Geologic maps represent the distribution of different types of rock
and surficial deposits, as well as locations of geologic structures such as faults and
folds.

Geologic Maps
• are the primary source of information for various aspects of land-use planning
including the siting of buildings and transportation systems. And perhaps most
importantly for the people of New Mexico, such maps help identify ground-water
aquifers, aid in locating water-supply wells, and assist in locating potential
polluting operations, such as landfills, safely away from the aquifers.
 GEOLOGICAL
MAPS USED FOR:
Digital Geologic Maps
• are interactive electronic documents that put earth science issues into geospatial
frameworks. They capture the size, the shape, the depth, and the physical and
chemical contexts of earth materials, and they blend data display with the results
of interpretive research.
 GEOLOGICAL
MAPS USED FOR:
Geological Map Descriptors

• When recording observations, geologists use descriptive terms and rock names
that are in common use or unique to an area. These terms are then synthesized and
rewritten into formal map unit descriptions that are published with the map. With
the advent of GIS and the ease with which digital maps can be obtained and
queried, geologists are recognizing the importance of a well-defined, standard
terminology in order to help users, at a desktop computer or on the Internet, query
simultaneously two maps made by different geologists.
 GEOLOGICAL
MAPS USED FOR:
Geological Map Databases

• The main goal in many geological surveys no longer is to create a single geologic
map but to create a database from which many types of geologic and engineering
geology maps can be derived. This requires a database design or "data model" that
is sufficiently robust to manage complex geologic concepts such as three
dimensional (spatial) and temporal relations among map units, faults, and other
features.
 ELEMENTS OF
GEOLOGIC MAPS
Color

• It represent various types of geologic features or units (a particular type of rock

with a known age range), Geologic units are indicated by colors that can range
from yellows and reds to purples and browns.

Letter
• The set is usually composed of an initial capital letter followed by one or two
lowercased letters. The capital letter represents the age of the geologic unit. The
lower-cased letters indicate the geologic unit's name or the type of rock of which
it is comprised.
 ELEMENTS OF
GEOLOGIC MAPS
Contact and fault lines

• When two geologic units are located next to each other, the place where they
meet is called a contact. The two main types of contacts are depositional contacts
and faults.

Depositional contacts are created when geologic units are composed under, over, or next to each other. The place
where they meet is called a depositional contact and is indicated by a thin line.

Faults are cracks or fractures in Earth's crust (outer portion of Earth's surface) caused by the movement of land
masses, called plates, on either side of the fault line. When plates move suddenly, the result is an earthquake,

A fault line (a thick line with the same geologic unit on both sides of the line) indicates geologic units that have
been moved by faults after they have been formed. Fault lines are especially important for geologic maps of
where faults are known to be active.
 FAULTS AND JOINTS

And their bearing in Construction Engineering

FAULTS

• Is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock,

Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other. This
movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake or
may occur slowly, in the form of creep. Faults may range in
length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers.
FAULTS AND JOINTS

And their bearing in Construction Engineering

 FAULTS AND JOINTS

And their bearing in Construction Engineering

3 MAIN TYPES OF FAULTS

Normal faults
• form when the hanging wall drops down.
Reverse faults
• form when the hanging wall moves up.
Trans current or Strike-slip
• faults have walls that move sideways, not up or down.
 FAULTS AND JOINTS

And their bearing in Construction Engineering

JOINTS

• brittle-fracture surface in rocks along which little or no

displacement has occurred. Present in nearly all surface rocks,
joints extend in various directions, generally more toward the
vertical than to the horizontal.
FAULTS AND JOINTS

And their bearing in Construction Engineering

 FAULTS AND JOINTS

Significance of Faults and Joints in Engineering Construction

FAULTS

Roads and Railway tracks along slopes

►Fault zones are highly undesirable for construction of roads and railway, due
to the possibility of landslides.

Ground water occurrence

►Fault zones, being heavily fractured, provides space for storage of ground
water and permits their movement.
 FAULTS AND JOINTS

Significance of Faults and Joints in Engineering Construction

FAULTS

Ore minerals
►Fault zones are often rich in minerals They favor different process that
eventually lead to mineral formation.

Location of reservoirs
►Faults cause leakage of water, if present in the reservoir basin.
►Downstream dipping faults cause excess uplift pressure.
►Fault zone occurring in the upstream of the river, leads to erosion and
accelerated reservoir silting.
 FAULTS AND JOINTS

Significance of Faults and Joints in Engineering Construction

JOINTS

Location of dams and reservoirs

►Too many joints in a site, will render it unsuitable for construction of dams
They act as avenues for serious leakage of water Upstream dipping joints are
less harmful.

Occurrence of Landslide
► Landslides take place, when the surface slope of the hills and the dip of the
beds are in the same direction.
►Joints facilitate the heavy percolation of water.
►This water comes in contact with clayey material below the ground, producing
fine lubricating materials, which causes the slipping of over lying rocks.
 FAULTS AND JOINTS

Significance of Faults and Joints in Engineering Construction

JOINTS
Quarrying
►Depending on conditions, joints can play a helpful or harmful role in quarrying
Joints cut in situ rocks, which can be easily extracted, without the use of
explosives.
►Too many joints, on the other hand, render quarrying useless, due to excessive
decay of rocks.

Tunneling
►Joints can severely hamper the strength of rocks.
►They may cause rocks to fall from the roof of the tunnel.
►Joints can cause the ground to be the saturated with water, decreasing
strength of the rocks.
►They may act as sites for the development of solution cavities in limestone
terrain.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
Attitudes Of Beds And Outcrops

Beds
• are the layers of sedimentary rocks that are distinctly different from overlying and underlying subsequent beds of different
sedimentary rocks.
►Layers of beds are called strata.
►They are formed from sedimentary rocks being deposited on the Earth's solid surface over a long period of time.

Outcrops
• were formed by the intrusion of molten granite into preexisting country rock at a depth of about ten miles below the surface.
Over millions of years, erosion removed thousands of feet of overlying rock, exposing the more resistant bodies of granite.
Any Geological formation on the surface is called an Outcrop.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
Attitudes Of Beds And Outcrops

An Outcrop is the exposed rock

►So named because the exposed rock "crops out."

A bedding attitude is defined as the strike and dip of a bed.

Strike
• is the direction of a line produced by the intersection of an imaginary horizontal plane with an inclined bed. From previous
laboratories you should know that based on the Principle of Original Horizontality sedimentary beds are originally deposited
as a series of horizontal layers one on top of another. Such beds would have an infinite number of strike lines as the
intersection of an imaginary horizontal plane with a horizontal bed is an infinite number of lines oriented from 0° to 360"
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
Attitudes Of Beds And Outcrops

In contrast, if a bed is inclined relative to the horizontal, then its intersection with an imaginary horizontal plane produces one and only one line
(Figure 2). The direction of this line is the strike of the bed.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
Dip
• is the angle between the imaginary horizontal plane and the inclined bed measured in a plane oriented at 900 to the strike
line. In all of the above illustrations strike and dip is defined for an inclined layer such as a bed or lamination or rock
stratigraphic unit (eg, a member or formation). However, the orientation of any planar surface can be expressed by its strike
and dip. For example, the orientation of a fault or foliation surface is commonly given as its strike and dip.
►VERTICAL ROCK HAS A DIP OF 90°
►HORIZONTAL ROCK HAS A DIP OF ZERO
INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
Anticlines and synclines
• are the up and down folds that usually occur together and are caused by compressional stress.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
Anticlines
• are folds in which each half of the fold dips away from the crest.

Synclines
• are folds in which each half of the fold dips toward the trough of the fold. You can remember the difference by noting that
anticlines form an "A" shape, and synclines form the bottom of an "S".
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
After erosion has occurred, geologists can use the patterns of rocks on the surface to determine where anticlines and
synclines exist. In the block diagram, the top of the block represents the ground surface and what would be shown on a
geologic map. The sides of the block show the underground geology. In anticlines, as seen on the ground, the oldest
rocks are in the center of the fold. In synclines, the youngest rocks are in the center of the fold.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
ROCK MECHANICS

• Rock mechanics is the theoretical and applied science of the mechanical behavior of rock. Also deals with issues in
geosciences related to rock mass characterization and rock mass mechanics, such as applied to petroleum industry or high
depths, tunnel design, rock breakage, and rock drilling. It is that branch of mechanics concerned with the response of rock
to the force fields of its physical environment. Rock mechanics is concerned with the application of the principles of
engineering mechanics to the design of structures built in or of rock.

• The structure could include-but not limited to-a drill hole, a mining shaft, a tunnel, a reservoir dam, a repository
component, or a building Rock mechanics is used in many engineering disciplines, but primarily used in Mining, Civil,
Geotechnical, Transportation, and Petroleum Engineering.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
It is convenient to subdivide Rock Mechanics into 2 branches.

a) Structural rock mechanics, which is concerned with the stability of engineering structures in which the material is
predominantly rock.

b) Comminution, which is concerned with the reduction of rock to small fragments by the
application of external forces as in drilling, blasting cutting and grinding.
Both these branches of rock mechanics involve the control of rock deformation and fracture
processes.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A ROCK

• Physical properties of rocks are of interest and utility in many fields of work, including geology petrophysics, geophysics,
materials science, geochemistry, and geotechnical engineering. The scale of investigation ranges from the molecular and
crystalline up to terrestrial studies of the Earth and other planetary bodies.

DENSITY
• Density varies significantly among different rock types because of differences in mineralogy and porosity. Knowledge of
the distribution of underground rock densities can assist in interpreting subsurface geologic structure and rock type.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

• Those properties of a material that define its behavior under applied forces are known as mechanical properties.

Strength
►The ability or capacity of a material to withstand or support a load without fracture is called strength.
►A strength of rock is a function of the confining pressure.
► The strength of rock is defined as the pulling force, required to rupture a rock sample.
Hardness
►The ability of a material to resists scratching abrasion penetration or wear on it known as
hardness or the ability of a material resists plastic deformation.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

Porosity
►Is the percentage of void space in a rock.
►Is defined as the ratio of the volume of the voids or pore space divided by the total volume.
►Rocks with rounded grains are usually softer and more cumbly than rocks with interlocking grains. So, porous rocks tend to
be softer than non-porous rocks.
►Common Porous rocks;
►Sandstone
►Limestone
►Clay

Permeability
►The property of rocks that is an indication of the ability for fluid to flow through rocks.
High permeability will allow fluids to move rapidly through rocks.
Permeability is affected by the pressure in a rock.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

Elasticity of rocks
►The ability of a material to regain its original shape and size after the removal of external load is known as elasticity.
►Is the property of matter that causes it to resist deformation in the volume of the shape.
Stress
►Is the force applied to an object?
►Stress is equal to the force per unit area.
►S=F/A
►Confining
►Compression
►Tension
►Shear
►Rocks under stress may show strain or deformation.
►Deformation can be
►Elastic strain
►Ductile strain or plastic deformation
►Fracture
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

Strain
►Is a change in shape or size resulting from applied forces.
►Rocks only strain when placed under stress.
►Strain is equal to ALength/Original length

Young's Modulus
►The tendency of an object to deform along an axis when opposing forces are applied along that axis
►Defined as tensile strain or stress/strain.
►Change of shape and size.

Shear Modulus
►An object's tendency to shear when acted upon by opposing forces.
►Defined as shear stress over shear strain.
►Change of shape but not size.
 INTRODUCTION TO ROCK
MECHANICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

Bulk Modulus
►The tendency of an object to deform in all directions when uniformly loaded in all directions.
►Defined as Bulk strain or volumetric stress/volumetric strain,
►Change of shape but not in size.

Plasticity
►The ability of a material to withstand permanent deformation without failure is known as plasticity
►Plasticity of rocks is a respond of rocks to load beyond the elastic limit
►Defined as the property which enables a material to be deformed continuously and permanently without rupture during the application of force.
 DETERMINING DYNAMIC ROCK
PROPERTIES
Typical Rock Properties Rock Properties Referenced to Blasting Actions

►Modulus of Deformation-Young's Modulus-E Young's Modulus

►Modulus of Rigidity - Shear Modulus-G ►Is a measure of the resistance of a solid to transmit load.
►Modulus of Volume Expansion - Bulk Modulus-K ►Allows transmission of longitudinal stress from shock
►Poisson's Ratiou - μ wave impact.
Bulk Modulus
►Bulk Density-p
►Is a measure of the resistance of a solid to change in volume Allows transmission
►Compressive Strength-σC
of transverse stress resulting from shock wave impact
►Tensile Strength-σT
Poissons' ratio
►Detines the amount of borehole expansion that can occur under dynamic loading
just
before rock/ore failure Maximum amount of hoop' stress that can he tolerated before
cracks are generated.
Compressive strength
►Dictates the level of crushing that will occur at the borehole wall.
Tensile strength
►Dictates the level of tensile stress when crack formation will occur Can have
supersonic cracking as well as interstitial cracking.
 DETERMINING DYNAMIC ROCK
PROPERTIES
Rock Properties Referenced to Blasting Actions

Dynamic or Static Local or Global

►Fragmentation of rock/ore is a dynamic process, not a static one.
►Rock/ore appears to be much stronger in the dynamic case, than the static one ►If rock/ore cure is used, samples must be obtained that have not
(the rule of thumb is to assume that dynamic such as compressive and tensile strength been exposed to dynamic process like blasting operations.
are twice the values of static properties). ►Properties that are acquired using static test methods can be
►Degree of fit (correlation with measurement properties) is better with dynamic
considered to be 'local' properties since individual samples taken at one
rock/ore parameters
time can define only a small portion of a rock or ore mass-prejudiced
►Easier and less expensive to get dynamic rock properties using dynamic loading
infavour of strength. May be useful in determining rock or ore properties
such as detonating explosive charges.
with a small confined blasting area or volume (typically within one or two
►Rock/ore core strength values do not appear to correlate well with dynamic values
burden distance Using dynamic value testing methods, a complete
►Dynamic properties are preferred in computer models relating the dynamic
processes of blasting action to dynamic properties of the material being blasted. rock/ore mass can be characterized.
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