CEE 437 Lecture 1
April 1, 2008Thomas Doe
Bill Dershowitz
Outline
Course IntroductionGeology and EngineersBrief History of GeologyGlobal StructurePlate TectonicsThe Rock Cycle and Material Differentiation
Instructors
Thomas Doe, Golder AssociatesMS, PhD, Geology, Mining Engineering, WisconsinFractures, Fracture fluid flow, geo-characterization, in situ stressTunnels, hydroelectric projects, petroleum reservoirs, mine inflow
William Dershowitz, Golder AssociatesMS, PhD MITFractures, fluid flow and rock mass stabilityProbabilistic simulation, fracture network modelingRadioactive waste R&D, Petroleum reservoirs, mining applications (block caving)
Class Overview
Basic Treatment of Physical GeologyEmphasis on Material PropertiesEmphasis on Pacific Northwest
Geo-CharacterizationSite CharacterizationGeophysics
Rock EngineeringGeohydrology
Preliminary SyllabusCEE 437 Syllabus, Rev. 2008-04-03
Week Day Date Student Presentation Lecturer Quiz Project LectureTextbook -Waltham
1 Tue 1-Apr Doe Overview: Earth as an Engineering Material Ch. 1
1 Thu 3-Apr DoePlate tectonics, rock cycle, mineral introduction Ch. 9,10
2 Tue 8-Apr Dershowitz Origin and Classification of Soils Ch. 13,26,36
2 Thu 10-Apr Dershowitz Landslides and slope stability Ch. 33, 34,35
3 Tue 15-AprGeologic History of Puget Sound
DoeWeathering, Sediments and Clay Minerals
3 Thu 17-AprCoal Mines of Newcastle, Washington
Doe Glacial Sediments and Subsidence
4 Tue 22-AprGeologic History of Olympic Peninsula
Dershowitz Q1 (to 4/17)Structural Geology, Rock Deformation Ch. 6,7,8
4 Thu 24-AprGeological Issue Effecting Construction of I-5 through Seattle Dershowitz P1 Rock Fractures Handouts
5 Tue 29-AprThe Seattle Fault
West Geologic Aspects of Seismic EventsCh. 10, Handouts
5 Thu 1-May Foundations on Peat DoeRock-forming minerals; mineral deformation
6 Tue 6-May Rock Slope Stability Problems in I-90 Doe P2 Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks6 Thu 8-May Sylwester Q2 (to 5/6) Engineering Geophysics7 Tue 13-May Fracture Image Logging Technologies Doe7 Thu 15-May Doe
8 Tue 20-May Dershowitz Rock Mass ClassificationCh. 24-25, Appendix
8 Thu 22-May Dershowitz Q3 (to 5/20) P3 Slopes and Foundations in Rock Ch. 32,35,36
9 Tue 27-May Tunneling for Sound Transit Dershowitz Tunnels and Underground Openings Ch. 38-39
9 Thu 29-May Seattle Watershed Geology Dershowitz Ch. 1810 Tue 3-Jun Rock Tunnel Failures in the Alps Dershowitz Handouts10 Thu 5-Jun Dershowitz Q4 (to 6/3) P4 Leftovers Ch. 27,37,40
Ch. 3-4, 13-17, (28-30)
Site Characterization Techniques Ch. 19-23
Ch. 2-5
Groundwater and Geologic Settings
What We Can and Can’t Do
Cannot doProvide enough to pass the state engineering geology testProvide a comprehensive engineering geology curriculum
Can doProvide an appreciation of the importance of geology in engineeringProvide a good overview of issues of Pacific Northwest significance
Course Grading
Quizzes (4 drop 1) 25%Projects 30%Field Trip 20%Presentation 10%Class Participation 10%Engineer as Artist Notes 5%
Geology SubdivisionsAcademic – earth history and fundamental processes
Mineralogy, Petrology – Rocks, mineral and originsStratigraphy – classification and definition of beds (sedimentary)Structure/Tectonics – earth structure and originsGeochemistryGeophysicsGeomorphology
Applied – applications to specific industries, engineering and environment
Petroleum Geology/GeophysicsEconomic Geology (Minerals)Environmental Geology (geophysics, geochemistry)HydrogeologyEngineering Geology (geophysics, geochemistry)
Geo-engineeringGeotechnical Engineering – Soil MechanicsRock Mechanics – as it saysGeological Engineering
Three Uses of Geology in Engineering
Evaluate and predict the distribution of materials with specific engineering properties
Subsurface evaluation – uncertainty and propertiesAvailability of materials
Evaluate the actions of geologic processes on engineering structures
SeismicFloodSlopes
Evaluate the impact on engineering development on human and natural environments
What is Engineering Geology?Critical Question: How do geomaterials perform? How do they move?Granular materials
River sedimentsGlacial sedimentsSoilsWeathered Materials
Hard RockRock properties usually secondary (except deep mining and excavation concerns)Fractures and discontinuities
Rock as and Engineering Material
HeterogeneousHighly variable
Treat probabilistically, probability density functionsTreat with geologic insight
AnisotropicDirectional
Strength, elastic constants vary with directionTreat using tensor properties
Scale DependentMineral/Crystalline scaleRock Sample ScaleRock Mass Scale
Heterogeneity
Rock properties vary from location to location (sometimes very drastically)Reduce by explorationTreat mathematically by probabilistic methodsReduce through geologic insight
Anisotropy
Depends on scaleMineral propertiesRock fabric/textureRock fracturing
Properties affectedPermeabilityStrengthElastic properties
Represent properties as tensors
Scale Effects
Behavior depends on the scale of critical processBehavior depends on what aspect of geology controls critical behaviors
Differentiation
Geologic processes work by differentiationCrustal-scale processesMagmatic differentiationSedimentary differentiation
Case Study – Snoqualmie Rock Slope Failures
Rock slide on I-90, September 11500 cubic yardsThree fatalitiesInterstate closure for over 12 hours
Why Did it Fail Now?
Why was it stable?Fracture roughnessFracture persistence
Why did it fail?Water inflow/pore pressureWeathering degradationBad luck?