Lesson 5

CVE 104
CVE 104
GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEER
GEOLOGY
MODULE FOR CIVIL
1 – INTRODUCTION
ENGINEERS
MODULE 3.2 – MINERALS AND

CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing this module, the student must

be able to know:
• Main Minerals found in rocks

• Secondary Minerals found in rocks
• Silicate Minerals (Quartz and Feldspar)
• Importance of Minerals for Civil Engineering
MAIN MINERALS FOUND IN ROCKS
The rocks are mineral assemblages; either by the combination of various
minerals or pieces of stone, or by the accumulation of a large number of
single minerals. The common rock-forming minerals are formed mainly of
combinations of these important elements, and most of them are silicates.
Main minerals: Mass forming minerals play a role in their nomenclature.

They take up to 20 to 30 different minerals.
➢ Common examples are Quartz, Feldspar, Nepheline, Olivine etc. They
play a role in the name of these rock minerals.
Accessory minerals: tourmaline, magnetite, zircon, etc. There are also

minerals that rarely enter into the masses and have no effect on their
naming.
Secondary minerals: New minerals that have formed as a result of various
environmental factors of the existing main minerals, mostly due to the
effects of decomposition, metamorphism and melt, and their composition.
➢ Common examples are Kaolin, Serpentine, Chlorite, Zeolite etc.
❖Silicate Minerals
Of the hundred or so elements known, only eight are abundant at the
Earth’s surface. These, in decreasing order of abundance, are oxygen
(O), silicon (Si), aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na),
potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg). The common rock-forming
minerals are formed mainly of combinations of these important
elements, and most of them are silicates.
The most obvious difference visible in hand specimens between two

minerals in a rock is often that one is light coloured and the other is
dark coloured. Generally, the dark coloured silicates contain iron
and magnesium as essential elemental constituents, whereas the
light-coloured silicates contain aluminium and alkalis. A simple
division into these two principal groups of rock-forming silicates is
therefore employed in this chapter.
❖In Magmatic Rocks

➢ Quartz
➢ Feldspar: Orthoclase, Plagioclase
➢ Feldspathoid: leucite, nepheline;
Sodalite
➢ Pyroxene: Rozenite, Enstatite,
Hypersthene, Augite, Diallage,
Diopside
➢ Amphibole: Hornblende
➢ Mica: Biotite, Muscovite
➢ Peridot: Olivine
❖In Sedimentary Rocks
➢Magmatic rock
fragments (especially
quartz and feldspar)
➢Clay minerals
➢Calcite, Dolomite
➢Siderite
➢Limonite
❖In Metamorphic Rocks

➢ Quartz
➢ Feldspar
➢ Biotite, Muscovite
➢ Hornblende
➢ Epidote
➢ Garnet
➢ Sillimanite
➢ Andalusite
➢ Calcite
➢ Serpentine
➢ Talc
➢ Chlorite
SECONDARY MINERALS FOUND IN ROCKS
➢ The most important ones are Tourmaline, Magnetite, Ilmenite,

Rutile, Apatite, Zircon and Topaz.
SILICATE MINERALS
❖QUARTZ
➢ It is found in Magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary masses.
➢ Crystal system Hexagonal,
➢ Density is 2.65 and hardness is 7.
➢ Usually colorless and transparent.
➢ Other elements that come into crystal structure can offer different
colors. In this case, it gets different names. Some contain liquid or
gaseous inclusions.
➢ Quartz has no cleavage.
➢ It offers its own unique twinning.
➢ The face of the fracture is conchoidal, glassy and oily.
➢ Itis not affected from acids apart from flora.
➢ Quartz which is pure and clean is used in optical and chemical industry
and ceramic industry
➢ Bright and colorful varieties (Amethyst, Satin, Agate, etc.) are used in
making ornaments.
SILICATE MINERALS
❖QUARTZ
There are many types of quartz. The most important ones are;
Chalcedony; Chrysoprase; Heliotrope; Agate; Flintstone; Jasper; Silicified
Tree; Opal;
➢ If quartz sand and gravel are to be used as building material, it is necessary to

carry out the analysis thoroughly.
➢ When the quartz and its species used as aggregates in cement and it starts to
harden with high alkali cement, hydrotreatment occurs and Na, K etc. The
alkalis are released.
➢ All silicates, especially opal, chalcedony and agate, and siliceous minerals reacts
with alkalis, causing the concrete material to expand, crack, breakdown and
eventually reduce its strength.
➢ Therefore, cement-aggregate reactions become important according to the size
and importance of the structure to be constructed.
SILICATE MINERALS
❖QUARTZ
SILICATE MINERALS
❖FELDSPARS
Feldspars The chief members of the feldspar group of rock-forming silicates are K-
feldspar or potassium feldspar, and the plagioclase feldspars. Feldspars have two
cleavages, which can be seen to meet at right angles in certain faces or sections of the
crystal.
Another feature possessed by all feldspar crystals is zoning. As they grow by
crystallization of the magma, and as the composition of the remaining liquid is slowly
changed, shells of new material (which are different in composition from that of the
previous ones) are added to the crystal to give concentric zones, ranging from calcium rich
near the core to sodium rich at the periphery.
Various types of Diagrammatic

feldspar crystal, representation of
showing the two a feldspar crystal,
feldspar ‘split open’ to
cleavages. show the nature
of zoning.
SILICATE MINERALS
❖FELDSPARS
K-Feldspar (or orthoclase feldspar) occurs in igneous rocks which
are relatively rich in silica. Plagioclase feldspars are the most
abundant and important silicate minerals in igneous rocks and are
used for their classification. In silica-rich igneous rocks over 80% of
the volume may be feldspars, whereas in silica-poor igneous rocks
about half the volume may be plagioclase feldspar.
➢ Feldspars hardness ranges to 6 - 6.5 and their specific weights are

2,60-2,76. They are found in different proportions in the
composition of Magmatic stones and play an important role in
naming these rocks.
➢ It is also found in metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.
SILICATE MINERALS
❖FELDSPARS
Decomposition of Feldspars:
➢ As a result of the decomposition events, quartz occurs with clay
minerals that are soluble in water.
➢ Factors affecting decomposition; Climate, temperature, humidity,
the effect of superficial acid waters and fumaroles or
hydrothermal processes which are deeply magic.
➢ The shape and depth of the variable increase in volume is the
result of decomposition of 5-30%.
➢ The carrying capacity of the decomposition mass and pressure
resistance are reduced. When building on such masses, it is
necessary to pay attention to disintegration events.
IMPORTANCE OF MINERALS FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
➢ Many minerals are used as building materials in the construction industry.

➢ The concrete is generally obtained with a mixture of gravel, sand, cement
and water.
➢ Aggregate (aggregate): sand, gravel, crushed stone (blasted rock),
slag(slag) as concrete (concrete) course used forth e construction or
artificial or both types often broken in various sizes up to 10cm or broken
granular material stack (sand + gravel + natural rock material consisting of
crushed stone).
➢ Gypsum(gypsum); (CaSO4.2H2O-Mohshardness2); colorless or white color
is converted in to plaster losing some of the water at 120°C. Plaster is
used in indoor and outdoor applications.
➢ Various clay minerals have been used in mud bricks, bricks, tiles since
ancient times.
➢ Feldspar and feldspathoids, which are found in the composition of many

masses, they can be very dangerous for engineering because they are
decomposed by environmental factors.
➢ The behaviors of fully matured clay minerals vary with increasing water
uptake rate and progressive dissociation time.
➢ Therefore, if feldspars are encountered in the basement, applications are
carried out, ranging from project changes to new measures to extend the
construction time.
➢ In such cases, a series of precautions are taken, such as removal of the
dissimilar part, placement of the foundation in a firm-to-undeformed
section, selection of the concrete quality with the appropriate foundation
system and construction of a good drainage network.
➢ The concrete is generally obtained with a mixture of gravel, sand, cement and water
depending on the importance and size of the engineering structure to be built, the chemistry
of each of these components forming concrete may be primary importance.
➢ Especially aggregate (sand-gravel) which is added to concrete and constitutes 75-85% by
weight of concrete is either naturally extracted from the earth’s crust or artificially broken
by rock masses.
➢ If quartz sand and pebbles are to be used as aggregates in a dam body concrete, they must
be well studied.
➢ The high alkaline cement in the concrete is affected by the hydration caused by the
hardening of the concrete and the alkali such as sodium-potassium in the cement are released.
➢ Quartz, opal, chalcedony, agate, tridymite sand and gravel composed of siliceous minerals and
silicates reacts with the alkalis released in the concrete, causes expansion, cracking and
fracturing of the concrete.
➢ This results in concrete can be easily damaged by being non-resistant against external
influences. The volume percentages of the silica minerals constituting the aggregate
component in the concrete are as follows; Opal 0-20%; Calcinedon 5%; Acid volcanic mass 3%.
REFERENCE
• GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS BY DR. OZDEMIR, A. (LECTURE
NOTES)
• GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS BY MCLEAN, A.C. & GRIBBLE,
C.D. (TEXTBOOK)

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CVE 104

MODULE 3.2 – MINERALS AND

After completing this module, the student must

• Main Minerals found in rocks

Main minerals: Mass forming minerals play a role in their nomenclature.

Accessory minerals: tourmaline, magnetite, zircon, etc. There are also

The most obvious difference visible in hand specimens between two

❖In Magmatic Rocks

❖In Sedimentary Rocks

❖In Metamorphic Rocks

➢ The most important ones are Tourmaline, Magnetite, Ilmenite,

➢ If quartz sand and gravel are to be used as building material, it is necessary to

Various types of Diagrammatic

➢ Feldspars hardness ranges to 6 - 6.5 and their specific weights are

➢ Many minerals are used as building materials in the construction industry.

➢ Feldspar and feldspathoids, which are found in the composition of many

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