Applied Geology in Civil Engineering

Applied Geology in Civil Engineering

Geology aims to reconstruct the history of the earth from these origins (the age of the oldest known rocks approaches 4 billion years ago) to the present day through the study of accessible constituent materials to observation.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, WEGENER formulates the hypothesis of continental drift, but it is only since about thirty years that plate tectonics or global tectonics has given a coherent framework to much observation even disparate.

In any civil engineering project, the geologist intervenes, in collaboration with the project manager and in liaison with the various specialties (structural engineer, road technician, Surveyors etc.), with several steps:

• ·         At the beginning of the studies, in the choice of the sites according to the technical requirements (related to the topography or to structural constraints) or economic, and in the definition of the recognitions to be carried out; at this level it is essential for the geologist to identify the major constraints related to the nature of the terrain, the structure, and the morphology.
• ·         During geotechnical studies, in the interpretation of results, in their interpolations, to refine knowledge and control hypotheses.
• ·         During the course of the works, in the eventual reorientation of the project because of results that do not conform to the initial hypotheses, or if an incident occurs (landslide, water inflow, faults ...)

The main concern of a project owner is to adapt as best as possible the structure he designs to the geological and geotechnical conditions prevailing on the site. It must anticipate and determine the reactions to the new efforts that will be applied to it.

To do this, he expects the geologist to provide him with a representation of the terrain that best reflects the current geometric and physical reality, accompanied by a comment highlighting possible anomalies.

 

Applied Geology in Civil Engineering

To be effective in this field, the geologist must be sufficiently familiar with the principles of the calculation methods as well as the technical particularities of the works. He must strive to gather as much geometrical data as possible (detailed structure of the site) and measured values representative of the physical, mechanical and hydraulic properties of the materials, obtained by appropriate means of recognition.