California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

GSC 321--ENGINEERING GEOLOGY I (Spring, 2009)

 

Dr. Jonathan A. Nourse                                             Office Hours:

Office: Building 8, Room 242C                                       M and W noon-1:30PM

Telephone:  (909) 869-3460                                            Tu 11AM-noon, Th 1-2PM

E-mail:  janourse@csupomona.edu                                  (or make a special appointment)

 

LECTURE (Course #31545): Meets Monday and Wednesday from 3:00-4:15 PM in Bldg 3, Rm 1637

 

LABORATORY: Section 01 (Course #31548) Monday 8:00-10:50 AM, Section 02 (Course #31551) Wednesday 8:00-10:50 AM; Meet in room 4-A634 or at field site (see schedule below--maps will be provided; be prepared to carpool).  Laboratory assignments are generally due one week later.

 

REQUIRED LABORATORY MANUAL:  Nourse, J. A., Marshall, J. S, and Berry, D. R., 2003, Practical Earth Science Exercises, 2nd Edition, Revised Printing, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. 

Do not buy a used copy with pages torn out!!               Assigned reading is given below

 

TEXT:  None required but pertinent readings are placed on reserve in the library*

 

EVALUATION: Points earned in lecture and laboratory will be combined to calculate one grade worth 4 units.  Exams include laboratory material, and laboratory exercises build upon concepts introduced in lecture.  Grades are calculated as follows:

                                                Midterm I                                                                    20%

                                                Midterm II                                                                   20%

Final Exam                                                                    25%

                                                Laboratory Exercises                                                     35%

**No makeup exams or laboratories without a documented emergency or prior consultation.

**You may expect 15% grade deduction per week of class meeting that work is submitted late.

 

Classroom Etiquette

Please turn off cell phones and pagers or put in vibrate mode.  Questions are welcome during lecture (simply raise your hand), but please reserve student discussions for laboratory sessions or breaks.

 

 

TENTATIVE LECTURE AND LABORATORY SCHEDULE:

 

Part 1:  Introduction and Fundamental Geologic Concepts

(Read Exercises 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17 of Laboratory Manual)

 

WEEKS 1-3    (March 30, April 1, 6, 8, 13, 15)

Course Logistics; Introduction / motivation; Web sites of interest; Topographic maps and profiles; Concept of strike / dip and definition of the “daylighting condition”; Classification of rocks, soils and sediments; The geologic time scale; Geologic maps and cross sections; Engineering properties of importance, e.g., strength, porosity, permeability, resistance to weathering and erosion, beneficial and detrimental human aspects of Earth materials.  Applications to mining, petroleum, and groundwater exploration. 

Laboratory Exercise #1 (March 30 or April 1): Introduction to Topographic Maps and Topographic Profiles; Quantitative Analysis using topographic maps

Laboratory Exercise #2 (April 6 or 8):  Water Table Contour Maps and Hydrologic Profiles

Laboratory Exercise #3 (April 13 or 15):  Construction of Geologic Maps and Cross Sections

 

 

Part 2:  Earthquake Faulting:  Mechanisms, Engineering Concerns, Beneficial Applications

(Read Exercises 19 and 20 of Laboratory Manual)

 

WEEK 4  (April 20, 22) Recognition and classification of Normal, Reverse, and Strike-Slip faults—relationship to stress geometry and plate driving mechanisms; Earthquake seismology and magnitude scales; Alquist-Priolo Act and seismic zoning; Response of foundations to seismic shaking; Stereographic projection of fault and fracture plane orientations; Statistical analysis with Stereonets.  Importance of fault geometries in mining, groundwater, and petroleum exploration

Field Laboratory Exercise #4 (April 20 or 22): Recognition and Classification of Faults.  Meet at field site

 

 

Part 3:  Rock Mechanics and Stength Tests

 

WEEK 5 to 6.5 (April 27, 29, May 4)

Relationship of stress to rock deformation; Classic rock mechanics experiments: Uniaxial testing; Compressive strengths of various rocks; Brittle versus ductile failure; Coulomb's law of friction--determination of cohesion, friction angle, and shear strength Coulomb criteria; Effects of clay content, fracture density on rock strength

Field Laboratory Exercise #5 (April 27 or 29):  Field trip to introduce Group Project Sites. Meet at Field Site

Field Laboratory Exercise #6 (May 4 or 6): Slope Stability Problem.  Meet at field site

*Midterm I is scheduled for Monday, April 27, 3:00-4:15PM *

 

Part 4:  Slope Stability: Failure Modes and Mitigation Techniques

(Read Exercise 21 of Laboratory Manual)

 

WEEK 6.5-8 (May 6, 11, 13, 18, 20)

Introduction to slope stability equations; Effects of rock type, weight, weathering, fracturing, clay content, water pressure, and adversely dipping layers on driving stresses and resisting stresses; Stereographic analysis of bedding, foliation, or fracture data from cut slopes;  Safety factor analysis of slopes involving a single daylighting slide plane; Wedge failure involving intersecting planes; Circular failure in cohesionless materials and clay-rich soils; Analysis of moments associated with toppling failure

Field Laboratory Exercise #7 (May 11 or 13):  Group Site Investigation Part I--Preliminary Field Work.  Meet at field site

Field Laboratory Exercise #8 (May 18 or 20):  Group Site Investigation Part II—Analysis and Design Meet at field site

 

 

*Midterm II is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, 3:00-4:15PM*

 

Part 5: Engineering Design of Dams; Hydroelectric Power

 

WEEK 9-10 (May 27, June 1, 3)       

General geologic / hydrologic / rock mechanics considerations in the selection of dam sites; Gravity dams; Safety factor analysis of gravity dams; Effects of uplift pressure; Arch dams; Stress analysis at the abutments; Water budget analysis of reservoirs; Quantification of water seepage from reservoirs; Darcy’s Law and permeability calculations. Surface hydrology and discharge measurement; Hydroelectric power generation; Course wrap-up

**Monday, May 25 is a University Holiday**

**Laboratory will not meet Wednesday, May 27 **

(use this time to finalize group presentations)

 

WEEK 10 Lab: Oral Presentation of Final Projects--Each Group Has 15 Minutes:

Monday Groups Present on June 1, from 8:00 AM to 10:50 AM 

            Thursday Groups Present on June 3, from 8:00 AM-10:50 AM

 

*Final Exam is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 1:40-3:40 PM*

GSC 321--Engineering Geology I

General Course Philosophy and Expectations

 

Objectives:

This course is designed to teach  Civil Engineering students about geologic aspects of their profession and to acquaint Geoscience majors with quantitative engineering applications involving geology.  Effective communication between engineers and geologists is essential to any construction project that involves disturbance of the ground. By the end of this quarter, each student will be very familiar with:

  • classification, names, physical appearances, and engineering properties of various solid earth materials
  • topographic, hydrologic, and geologic maps and associated profile/cross section illustrations
  • methods and techniques for obtaining quantitative information from (a) and (b)
  • geological engineering applications that may include groundwater, mining,  and petroleum resource evaluation, hydrogeology, slope stability, geologic hazard assessment, earthquake fault recognition,  relationship between soil or rock type and intensity of seismic shaking, rock mechanics, dam site analysis, dam/reservoir design,

 

Expectations:

In general, I expect students to exercise self-discipline and to submit well-organized, neat, and careful laboratory reports that reflect pride in workmanship.  Students should take complete, detailed notes and periodically study these notes. Examples from lecture and laboratory will constitute especially important study guides for examinations.  Please utilize my office hours for clarification or assistance with lecture concepts or laboratory assignments.

 

Laboratory Work

·         All work must be submitted with a simple cover page including title of exercise, student name(s), date, course name and number, and supervisor (the person the work is submitted to). 

·         Bind each laboratory assignment securely.  For short reports, this may be accomplished with a sturdy staple; more lengthy reports are better secured with a binder or folder.

  • Visual appeal / presentation is extremely important in the profession.  Here is an unspoken truth of geotechnical and engineering professions:  If your work looks messy, the reader is unlikely to take it seriously or evaluate it carefully.   Each illustration should include a short caption.  A legend or key should explain all symbols, patterns, or colors utilized (commonly, one legend can apply to several illustrations).  All text must be typed or neatly lettered.  Sharp ink and color will add to clarity.
  • Points will be deducted for misidentification of basic earth materials, sloppy presentation, incomplete calculations, calculation errors, scale or measurement errors, construction errors, oversimplification of geometric shapes, misuse of physical principles, unsupported assumptions or conclusions, incorrect grammar or sentence structure, and non-adherence to instructions.
  • Please submit all work on time.  My late policy is as follows:  15% grade deduction per week of class meeting that work is submitted late.

 

Attendance

Attendance is required in lecture and laboratory.  In particular, please make it to lab on time.  Tardiness may result in points deducted from that week’s exercise.

 

Academic Integrity

Refer the University Catalog, p. 58.   I consider academic dishonesty to include any action that takes unfair advantage of fellow students/ colleagues with respect to graded work. All work that you submit with your name on it is expected to represent your own effort.  In the case of group projects, team members should divide the work-load evenly.  Copying of lab work from other students or from previously graded GSC 321 labs is unacceptable.  Unambiguous evidence of copying from old labs will result in a zero score for that week’s exercise.  Use of cell phones (texting) etc. during examinations will not be tolerated and may result in a zero score for the exam(s) affected.