Engineering Geological Field Course II (Rocks)

Abstract

This field course focuses on characterizing and classifying rocks and rock masses in the field as done in preliminary and advanced stages of engineering geological site assessments.

Objective

The objectives of this field course are to provide the student the necessary skills to carry out field mapping investigations and rock mass data acquisitions for assessing the rock mass conditions, focusing on quantifying geologic elements that have a primary influence on the project at hand, and processing and interpreting the acquired data in order to developing a geomechanical site model.

Content

This course covers standard and advanced methodologies and techniques to characterize rocks and rock masses in the perspective of specific engineering objectives. This includes field assessments of rock masses and properties (lithology, discontinuities, rock and rock mass strength, degree of weathering, etc.) from a range of outcrop types, quantifying their associated discontinuity networks, digital mapping and characterization of fractures in terms of their engineering relevance, understanding the local stress field, and the use of geomorphology in engineering geology field investigations. Obtained field datasets will be processed with state-of-the-art software solutions, visualized, and discussed. Finally, rock mass stability assessments of surface and underground scenarios will be carried out using numerical simulations. The integration and correlation of data acquired from different mapping techniques and areas (aerial/terrestrial photograph interpretation, surface outcrop mapping, underground outcrop mapping, core logging) is also part of this course. Relevant software programs will be introduced during the course and applied by the students.

Resources