TECHNICAL GEOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
If you can't find the course description that you're looking for in the above list,
please see the following instructions >>
- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2015/2016
- Teacher
- MONICA GHIROTTI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- GEO/05
Training objectives
- The objective of the course is to provide fundamental knowledge and tools necessary to engineering-geology design of open pit mines and underground excavations in rock masses.
Students learn to solve main engineering geology problems which can be encountered in professional practice. The course emphasizes the importance of the geological and geotechnical model for underground excavation, natural slope stability analysis and artificial slope design. Students will learn to characterize the rock masses through geomechanical surveys and classification; evaluate the slope stability conditions using limit equilibrium method and finite element analysis.
The main acquired knowledge will be:
the mechanics of rock and rock masses, their mechanical behaviour and the empirical, experimental and analytical methods used to quantify their characteristics. Special attention is dedicated to the simulation of the mechanical behaviour of rock masses as continuous and/or discontinuous media. Stability of open pit mines, natural rock slopes, and tunnels are provided. Case histories are examined and discussed. Theoretical concepts are implemented in numerical exercises and by a in situ geomechanical survey.
The basic acquired abilities (that are the capacity of applying the acquired knowledge) will be:
- classification of rock masses;
- analysis of stresses under geostatic and tectonic conditions;
- interpretation of experimental results from laboratory tests;
- stability analysis of natural rock slope and open pit mine;
- stability analysis of excavations in rock;
- perform a geomechanical survey. Prerequisites
- Previous knowledge from: Applied Geology, Geology II, Hydrogeology.
Course programme
- The course forecasts 56 hours of teaching divided in frontal lectures, guided tutorial in the labs and a field trip.
- Characterization of rock masses (20 h lectures + 2 h labs) through geomechanical surveys and classification systems;
- interpretation of experimental results from laboratory tests;
- analysis of stresses under geostatic and tectonic conditions;
- geomechanical survey techniques;
- Basic principles of surficial and underground excavation (8 h lectures + 4 h labs)
- Evaluation of the slope stability conditions (10 h lectures + 4 h labs)
- stability analysis of natural rock slope and open pit mine;
- stability analysis of excavations in rock;
- Use of numerical codes: Examine3D (3D Engineering Analysis for Underground Excavations) ; Unwedge (Underground Wedge Stability Software); RocLab (Rock mass strength analysis using the Hoek-Brown failure criterion); Dips; RSS (finite element analisys).
The course includes an excursion (8 h field lab). Didactic methods
- The course is organized as follow:
- frontal lectures on all the course’s topics;
- numerical exercises on some the course topics;
- a field trip finalized to the geomechanical survey of rock masses. Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the exam is to verify at which level the learning objectives previously described have been acquired by an oral examination.
Reference texts
- L. González de Vallejo, Geoingegneria, Pearson Ed., 2005, 717 pp.
E.Hoek Practical rock engineering, 2007; freeware al sito https://www.rocscience.com/learning/hoek-s-corner/books
