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ACTIVITY # 1

1. What are folds? Classify and describe different types of folds.

 Folds are one of the most common geological structures found in rocks. When set of
horizontal layers are subjected to compressive forces, they bend either upward or
downward. The bend notice in rocks are called folds.
 Symmetrical and asymmetrical folds
- When the axial plane divides a fold into two equal part in such a way that one half is
the mirror image called symmetrical folds.
- If the compressive forces responsible for folding are not of the same magnitude
formed asymmetrical fold.
 Plunging and non-plunging folds
- The plunge of a fold has already been described as the inclination of the fold axis to
the horizontal plane.
- A non-plunging fold are mutually parallel and either converging or diverging.
 Open and closed folds
- If the thickness of beds is uniform throughout the folds are called open fold.
- If the beds are thinner in the limbs portion and thicker at crest and trough are called
closed fold.
 Similar and parallel folds
- Similar folds where the shape or pattern of fold remain the same at depths.
- Parallel folds where the crest and trough become pointed and angular.
 Overturned folds
- The order of superposition of beds in that limbs will be in reversed order.
 Chevron folds
- Some folds have sharply bent, angular crest and trough.
 Isoclinal folds
- The limbs will be mutually parallel to great extent (vertical/horizontal).
 Fan folds
- The limbs dip towards each other with reference to their axial plane.
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 Domes and basins

- Dome, resembles an upper hemisphere and the dip are found in all sides from
common central top point.
- Basin is like a bowl and the slopes are just opposite
 Drag folds
- Minor asymmetrical folds within major folds but confined only to incompetent beds
which are sandwiched between competent formations.
 Anticline and syncline
- When the beds are bend upward called anticline (convex upward).
- When the beds are bend downward called syncline (convex downward).
 Geanticlines and geosynclines
- It is the anticline and syncline with a normal shape but have a very large magnitude.

2. Give and define the behaviors of rocks to stress and strain.

 Plastic
- Ability to bend while under stress and does not return to its original shape after
relaxation of the stress.
 Elastic
- Ability to recover stress after its stress has been reduces or remove.
 Brittle
- Tend to break or fracture at stresses higher than its elastic limit.
 Stress
- A force per unit area of a particular point.
o Compressive – layers are pushed or squeeze together from opposite direction.
o Tensional – forces pulling away from one another in opposite direction.
o Shear – due to the movement parallel to but in a parallel direction along fault
boundary.
 Strain
- A change in size (volume), shape or both while an object is undergoing stress.
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3. Distinguish between strike and dip.

 Strike
- Refers to the direction in which a geological structure is present.
- As the direction of the trace of the intersection between the bedding plane.
 Dip
- Means slope or inclination.
- Expressed both as direction and amount.
- Is the direction along which the inclination of the bedding plane occurs.

4. Define outcrops and give examples that are present in the Philippines.
 Any geological formation exposed on surface.
 Examples
1. Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, Burgos, Ilocos Norte
2. Biri Rock Formation, Biri Island, Northern Samar
3. Nakabuang Arc, Sabtang Island, Batanes
4. Alapad Rock, Batan, Batanes
5. Apo Island Rock Formation, Negros Oriental
6. “Boto ni Kukarog”, Bagamanoc, Catanduanes

5. Explain how folds are recognized in the field of civil engineering.

 Folds developed in the areas of work are important for a civil engineer. If these
structures are not thoroughly investigated, any civil engineering project standing
on or driven through the folded rock may prove not only uneconomical but also
unsafe.
 Always consider the presence of folds when designing and constructing structures
such as traffic and hydropower tunnels, selection of sites for dams and reservoirs
and even fixing alignments of roads, bridges and highways.
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ACTIVITY # 2

1. Define “Unconformities” and how they formed.

- Unconformity is one of the common geological structure found in rocks. It is
somewhat different from other structures like folds, faults and joints in which the rock
are distorted, deformed or dislocated at a particular place. Unconformity is a product
of diastrophism and involve tectonic activity in the form of upliftment and subsidence
of land mass.

2. What are “Joints”?

- Joints are fractures found in all types of rocks. They are cracks or openings formed
due to various reasons. The presence of joints divides the rock into number of parts or
blocks. Through the joints may be described as mere cracks in rocks, they differ
mutually. Joints, like cleavages of minerals, occur oriented in a definite direction and
as a set.

3. Classify and describe various types of joints.

- Strike joints or Dip joints are joints parallel to the strike and dip of adjacent beds
respectively.
- Oblique joints if the strike direction of joints parallel neither to the strike nor dip
direction of adjacent beds.
- Bedding joints if the strike direction, dip direction and dip amount coincides
completely with the attitude of adjacent beds.
- Tension or Shear joint are formed due to either tensional forces or shearing forces.
This classification is based on the origin of joints

4. Explain the effects of joints in various civil engineering projects.

- Joints resembles fault by appearing as fractures in rock are not as dangerous as faults.
The region affected by joint are not liable to recurrence of joints in future as happens
in the case of faults. Places where joints occur are not very unstable for foundation
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purposes. However the area affected by joints can be easily improved by methods
such as suitable cement grouting or plugging. Therefore this method is not
economical and time consuming. Not economical because it will need more materials
use on construction, not just for strong foundation but also to fill the fracture in order
to attain stable ground. Also it is time consuming because it is not easy to fill the
fracture and it needs further study or calculation.

Rock Mechanics

1. What is rock mechanics?

- It is a branch of mechanics concerned with the response of rock and rock masses to
the force fields of their physical environment.
- Discipline that uses the principles of mechanics to describe the behaviour of rock on
engineering scale.

2. What are the scope of rock mechanics? Explain each scope.

- Civil Engineering: Evaluation of geological hazards, selection of construction
materials and selection and layout of construction site.
- Mining Engineering: Analysis stability, design of blasting operation, and design of
support systems.
- Petroleum Engineering: Design of instrumentation program and evaluation of
excavation characteristics.
- Geology: Studies of deformation at high temperature and pressure.

3. Give the different applications of rock mechanics in the field of civil engineering.
- Surface Structure are structural elements that are able to transfer load basically
through membrane stresses. Surface structures have small thickness compare to their
other dimensions. The examples are Low rise (housing), High rise (tower) and High
load (dams).
- Transportation Routes are the regular path that is followed by a movement of
people or goods. For examples are highway/railway, canals and pipelines.
- Shallow Excavation is defined as being anything less than 1.5 metres deep, which is
not very deep; a relatively short person could comfortably see over the top. For
example quarries, strip mines and trenches.
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- Deep Excavation is defined as being any excavation which is more than 4.5 metres
in depth and considerable a height indeed. Like mines, tunnels and underground
chambers (power stations, storage).
- Energy Development is defined as the development of obtaining, distributing, and
exploiting the energy sector and is based on sustainability principles. Like petroleum,
geothermal and nuclear (power plant and waste disposal).

4. Give and define each mechanical characteristics of rocks.

- Density is the term for how heavy an object is for its size. Density is usually
expressed in units like grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc or g/cm3), kilograms per
cubic meter, and pounds per cubic inch. Rocks considerably in high density, so the
density of a rock is often a good identification tool and useful for distinguishing.
- Specific Gravity is the ratio of the mass (weight) of a rock to the mass of the same
volume of water. Water has a density of 1.0 g/cm3, so the numeric value of specific
gravity for a rock is the same as that for density. Specific gravity is a ratio, so it has
no unit. It is also easier to measure than density.
- Strength of a material defined as the lode under which the material cracked and
disintegrated. The experimental definition of strength is determined by increasing the
lode observing at the point at which the first crack appeared. Obviously that criteria
can’t applied to a piece of rocks which is completely surrounded by other rock at the
depth in the earth’s crust.
- Strain is the deformation cause by the stress, strain may be dilation which is a change
in volume or distortion which change in the form or both. The application of stress to
a material causes it to deform. Axial strain is the deformation along the direction
loading. Lateral strain is the lateral extension perpendicular to the direction of
loading. Poisson’s ratio is the lateral strain divided by axial strain.
- Stress is force per unit area acting on a plane at any point within a material. There are
three types of stress. Compressive stress is an equal forces that act towards a point
from opposite directions. Tensile stress is an equal forces that pull away from each
other. Shear stress is an equal forces that operate in opposite directions across the
body.
- Porosity is an index of the amount of the groundwater that can be stored in the
saturated formation. Porosity is the ratio between the total voids or pores of particular
rocks to the total volume of the same rocks. It is usually expressed in percentage of
the bulk volume of the rocks. There are two types of porosity. Primary porosity,
before the formation and secondary porosity, after the formation.
- Permeability is the capacity of porous medium to transmit water or liquid in other
words, a relative easy to flow of a liquid under unequal pressure. It’s a factor how a
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rock will act as a source of water for a well. A rock permeable when the rock has got
many connected pore space.

Geological and Geophysical Investigation in Civil Engineering

1. What is site investigation? What are the purpose of site investigation?

 The process of determining the layers of natural soil deposits that will underlie a
proposed structure and their physical properties is generally referred to as site
investigation.
1.1. Selection of the type and the depth of foundation suitable for a given structure.
1.2. Evaluation of the load-bearing capacity of the foundation.
1.3. Estimation of the probable settlement of a structure.
1.4. Determination of potential foundation problems (for example, expansive soil,
collapsible soil, sanitary landfill, and so on).
1.5. Establishment of ground water table.
1.6. Prediction of lateral earth pressure for structures like retaining walls, sheet pile
bulkheads, and braced cuts.
1.7. Establishment of construction methods for changing subsoil conditions.

2. Give and explain the geophysical methods of investigation.

 There are many kinds of geophysical methods of investigation. These method are:
 Gravimetric method
 Magnetic method
 Electrical method
 Seismic method
 Radiometric method
 Geothermal method
 Gravity method represent a set of geophysical methods which make use of the
natural gravity field of the earth.
 Density of the material is the controlling physical property.
 In gravimetric method, the nature of distribution of gravity g on the surface is
analyzed. The gravity is influenced positively if the causative body is heavier,
larger and occurs at a shallow depth.
 The gravimeter, used in relative gravity measurement is a mass loaded spring.
If the subsurface has a relatively heavier body, the gravity pull is more there
(+g) and the spring extends becoming longer. If the subsurface has relatively a
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lighter body there the gravity pull is less (-g) and the spring contracts and
become shorter.
 Magnetic Methods – like gravity methods, these investigations also take advantage
of natural magnetic field associated with the earth and its relation to subsurface
geology.
 The main controlling physical property in magnetic method is magnetic
susceptibility.
 The magnetic methods are based on the fact that the magnetic bodies present
in the earth’s surface contribute to the magnetic field of the earth.
 In general, when the magnetic field of the earth or one of its components is
measured on the surface, bodies possessing magnetic moments different from
those of the surrounding rocks contribute to the deviations in the measured
quantities. From the magnetic anomalies, it is possible to locate anomalous
objects.
 The different parameters measured during magnetic investigations are total
magnetic field (intensity and direction) and different space components
 Magnetic surveys have a certain inherit limitations. Hence for unique and
accurate solutions, magnetic prospecting is often carried out along with the
gravity or other methods.
 Electrical Method are numerous and more versatile, they are more popular because
they are successful in dealing with a variety of problems like groundwater studies,
subsurface structure, and many others.
 In electromagnetic methods, electrical conductivity, magmatic permeability
and dielectric constant of subsurface bodies are the relevant properties.
 Seismic method of study is based on the principle that subsurface rock formations
bear different elastic properties. Because of this, the velocities of propagation of
seismic waves through the subsurface layers of earth, suffer reflection or critical
reflection arrive at the surface of the earth where they are detected by geophones.
From the time taken by the waves to travel through the subsurface formation and
from the seismic wave velocities of the media. It is possible to determine the depth of
various elastic boundaries.
 Elastic property differences in rocks is the controlling property.
 With the help of geophones fixed at suitable intervals on the ground, the
different seismic waves reaching the surface are recorded and from the times
of their arrival, time –distance curves are constructed. The direct waves are
the first to reach the geophones placed between point and the distance beyond
the point is called the critical distance.
 Depending upon whether reflected waves or refracted waves are used in the
investigation, there are two types of methods, namely, seismic reflection
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method and seismic refraction method. A geophone an amplifier and a

galvanometer are the basic units required for reflected or refracted wave
registrations.
 Radiometric Methods controlling property is natural radioactivity of rocks and ores.
 The normal radioactivity is different in different types of rocks. In igneous
rocks, it decreases with decreasing acidity. If rock contains radioactivity ore
bodies, such areas will exhibit very high radioactivity, giving rise to
anomalies during surveys. Thus based on the study of radioactivity. It is not
only possible to distinguish different rock types but also to detect radioactive
ore bodies. The profile drawn clearly brings out the subsurface lithology,
structure and ore body.
 Geothermal methods find application in deep structural studies, ore deposits,
groundwater studies, for delineation of salt-water fresh water interfaces. Etc.

3. What are the geological conditions necessary for construction of dams?

 There are 4 types of dams: gravity dams, buttress dams, arch dams and earth dams.
 Gravity dam is a solid concrete or masonry structures that withstands the
water pressure, by virtue of its weight. All forces acting on the dam are
assumed to be directly transmitted to the foundation rocks. They are generally
of triangular profile and are among the safest.
 Buttress dam have a continuous upstream face, supported at regular intervals,
by buttress walls on the downstream side. They are lighter than solid dams
and likely to induce greater stresses at the foundation, since most of the load
passes through the buttress walls and is not spread uniformly over the
foundation.
 Arch dam is an arch-shaped, convex at the upstream side. Major portion of
the thrust forces acting on the dam are transmitted by arch action, onto the
abutment rocks. Structural efficiency is higher than that of gravity dams, the
presence of sound abutments is a prime necessity and uses less amount of
concrete.
 Earth dam is a non-rigid structures, built with naturally available materials
such as earth and rock. Ideal, where the dam site is weak to support concrete
dams, or where competent rocks are found at great depths.
 The geological conditions of a dam are narrow river valley, occurrence of bedrock at
shallow depth, competent rocks to offer stable foundation and proper geologic
structures.
 Narrow valley means smaller dam is required, and hence, lower costs.
Defective valleys include: deceptive narrowing due to thick superficial
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deposits, narrowing due to rock outcrops and presence of soluble material like
gypsum, renders the rocks unsuitable.
 The presence of strong bedrock near the surface, reduces the cost of the
foundation. The site should be explore using electrical resistivity or seismic
refraction methods, to assess the nature of the bedrock. The presence of buried
river valleys, huge boulders gives rise to problems, as they are composed of
lose material.
 Igneous rocks are safer than sedimentary ones Suitability of site depends on:
the existing rock type, the extent of weathering undergone, the extent of
fracturing, the occurrence of geological structures and the mode and number
of rock types.
 Proper geologic structures are undisturbed strata, disturbed strata, tilted beds,
folded strata, faulted strata and jointed strata.

4. What are the geological conditions necessary for construction of tunnels?

 The geological conditions necessary for construction of tunnels are types of rocks,
geological structures, ground water conditions and overbreak.
 Igneous rocks are competent, but difficult to work with and do not require
lining. Sedimentary rocks are less competent, compared to igneous.
Sandstones, shale etc. are soft, easy to work and requires lining. Metamorphic
rocks like gneisses are similar to granites.
 Geological structures are effect of joints, effect of faults, effect of folds and
effect of undisturbed or tilted strata.
 Tunnel axis passing entirely through impervious formations, tunnel axis
mostly above the water table and tunnel axis below the water table.
 Tunneling through hard rocks requires the removal of some rocks outside the
proposed perimeter. This excess quantity of rock removed, is called the
‘overbreak’. Geological factors governing the amount of overbreak are: the
nature of the rocks, orientation of the joints and orientation of bedding planes.

5. What are the geological conditions necessary for construction of roads?

 The geological conditions necessary for construction of roads are topography
(lithological characters, consolidated hard rock, unconsolidated material), geological
structures, weathering, and groundwater conditions.
 Topography or the landform of a region is single most important factor that
controls the selection of alignment of a road project. Topographic maps would
reveal the existence of various land features like valleys and the inflowing
streams, the hills and their undulations, the plateaus and the plains with all
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their varying configuration from place to place. Obviously, knowledge of all

such features is not only important but very essential for a right alignment.
 Geological surveys should invariably provide all possible details regarding the
composition, texture, structure and origin of rocks and sediments making the
ground through which the proposed alignment of the highways has to pass.
 The structural features of rocks, especially in those of sedimentary and
metamorphic origin, have very important bearing upon the design of cuts as
well as on the stability of the road as a whole. A given rock might be quite
hard and otherwise sound for a cut as road foundation.
 In some cases, when the strata along or under a cut is composed of layers of
rocks of different hardness, the softer layers get weathered at a faster rate than
the overlying or underlying harder rocks. This generally results in
undermining which might cause slips or falls of the whole face. Sometimes,
when the top layers are weathered too heavily, the slope might experience a
persistent rock fall or debris-fall type of situation from above.
 It is always necessary to investigate thoroughly the position of water table of
the area. Not only that, water bearing qualities should also be known along the
proposed route. It is quite likely that a water bearing zone (aquifer) might be
intersecting the base or slopes of an alignment. Specific care and design
would be required for these natural water conduits. These are always to be
taken as weak and hazardous zones in the road.

Wave Theory, Modulus of Elasticity, Grouting

1. Define wave. Enumerate and explain the types of wave theory.

- A wave is a disturbance that transfers energy through matter or space.
- Body Waves travel through the interior of the Earth. Seismic waves falls into two
types of body waves. P-Waves (Primary Waves/ Compressional/ Longitudinal) fastest
seismic waves and are predominantly compressional waves. As a P-Wave passes, the
material compresses in the same direction the wave is moving, and then extends back
to its original thickness once the wave has passed. S-Waves (Secondary /Shear
/Transverse Waves) second-fastest seismic waves. They travel over half speed of P-
waves, are shear waves and they move by material flexing or deforming sideways
(shearing) from the direction of wave travel, and then returning to its original shape
once the wave passes
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- Surface Waves travel only at the surface of the Earth. All surface waves travel
slower than body waves. Types of surface waves are Rayleigh waves named after
Lord Rayleigh (both scientist and mathematician), an English aristocrat. Set off by the
combined effect of P- and S- waves on the earth’s surface and sometimes called as
Rolling Waves. Love waves (L-waves) named after Augustus Love, an English
mathematician and physicist who first modeled them mathematically. It involves
surface shearing sideways and then returning to its original form as each wave passes.
Love waves are faster than Rayleigh waves. In Rayleigh waves, the surface of the
earth rises up and sinks down in crests and troughs, similar to waves on the surface of
water. During a major earthquake, people who are outdoors commonly see Rayleigh
waves moving across the surface of the earth and can feel the ground rising and
falling as the waves pass beneath them.

2. Give the factors influencing the wave velocity.

- The speed of a wave is dependent on four factors: wavelength, frequency, medium,
and temperature. Wavelength is the distance between two successive crests or
troughs of a wave. Frequency describes the number of waves that pass a fixed place
in a given amount of time. Temperature is when the speed of waves increase as
temperature increases. This is due to the increased kinetic energy of the air molecules
and the decrease in density. Medium as wave travels through a medium/materials,
different properties affect the wave speed such as:
o Density, the higher the density the slower the wave
o Elasticity, waves travel faster through materials that are more elastic
o Rigidity, how strongly the material resists being bent sideways and is able to
straighten itself out once the shearing force has passed. The more rigid the
material, the faster the waves
o Compressibility, how much the material can be compressed into smaller
volume and the more compressible the material, the faster the P- waves

3. Give the importance of modulus of elasticity for the design of engineering

structures.
- Modulus of Elasticity is used to express the deformability of rocks, which is very
important for the design of structures determined by static and dynamic methods.
Statics and dynamics modulus of elasticity are important for: tunnel projects, rock
destruction and drilling, slope consistency, pillar configuration, embankments and
many other civil applications. Extensively used for analysis of structural
deformations, creep, shrinkage and crack control.

4. What are the four types of deformation?

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4.1.Young’s Modulus (E) – the ratio of uniaxial compressive (or tensile) stress to the
resultant strain
4.2. Bulk Modulus (K) – is the change in volume under hydrostatic pressure (stress to
strain)
4.3. Shear Modulus (u) – is the ratio of shearing (or torsional) stress to shearing strain
4.4. Poisson’s Ratio – is a measure of the geometric change of shape under

5. What is grouting? What are the grouting materials used and the modes of grouting?
- Injection of appropriate materials under pressure into certain parts of the earth's crust
through specially constructed holes in order to fill, and therefore seal, voids, cracks,
seams, fissures, or other cavities in soils or rock strata.
- Grouting can stiffen and strengthen the soil layer by increasing its density, increasing
the lateral stresses, and acting as a reinforcement.

Grouting Materials
Suspension – grout particles in suspension in a liquid medium such as cement +
water, clay and etc.
Emulsions – minute droplets of liquid in suspension, for example asphalt or bitumen
with water
Solutions – liquid homogenous mixture of two or more materials. Chemical Grouts
such as sodium silicate and calcium chloride mixed together in liquid form and
solidified into a gel.

Modes of Grouting
Permeation or Penetration Grouting – filling joints, cracks, pore spaces in non-
cohesive soil or rock with a grout without disturbing the formation. Permeation
grouting helps strengthen sands and gravels, and repairs structural formations. The
process produces a solidified mass to support increased load and fill voids in the soil
Compaction or Controlled Displacement – grout remains more or less intact as it
exerts pressure on soil. It increases the soil density, thus increasing shear strength,
bearing capacity and eliminating settlements. Applications are Improve bearing
capacity of the soil/rock and Densifying and strengthening foundation soils against
sinkhole formations.
Jet Grouting or Replacement-Displacement – grout material is injected in the form
of a jet to form a grouted column. Applications of Jet Grouting are for construction of
horizontal barriers, Control of groundwater, Tunneling, Support for excavation,
Underpinning foundations (stabilizing foundations), and various foundation structures
(footings and slabs).