Engineering Geology

Academic year 2021-2022

3rd Year Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Cairo University

Lecture 2: Geologic Principles

Dr. Mohamed Mohy & Dr. Mohamed Ismael

Department of Mining, Petroleum, and Metallurgical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
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Cairo University
 Content
• Geologic time
• Plate Tectonics
• Earth System
• Earth Internal Structure
• Minerals
• Rock Classes and Rock Cycle

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 Geologic Time
• Eons divided into Eras

PreCambrian (Age of Bacteria, 542 million to ~ 4

billion years ago);
Paleozoic (Age of the Fishes, 542 to 252.2 million
years ago);
Mesozoic (Age of the Reptiles, 252.2-65.5
million years ago);
Cenozoic (Age of the Mammals, 65.5 million
years ago-present).
• Eras are divided into Periods.

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 Plate Tectonics
• Plate tectonics, theory dealing with the dynamics of Earth’s
outer shell, the lithosphere, that revolutionized Earth
sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding:
1. Mountain-building processes,
2. Volcanos,
3. Earthquakes,
4. The evolution of Earth’s surface and reconstructing
its past continental and oceanic configurations.

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Plate Tectonics

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 Plate Tectonics
• The seven major tectonic plates.

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 Plate Tectonics

Video 1
Plate tectonics animation

[Link] 7
 Plate Tectonics
• A look to the future!

Video 2

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[Link]
 Earth System
• The Earth is a system consisting of four major parts.

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 Earth System
• Geosphere: comprises the solid Earth and includes both Earth’s
surface and the various layers of the Earth's interior.
• Atmosphere: gaseous envelope that surrounds the Earth and
constitutes the transition between it and the vacuum of space.
• Hydrosphere: includes all water on Earth (including surface
water and groundwater).
• Biosphere: the life zone of the Earth and includes all living
organisms, and all organic matter that has not yet
decomposed.
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Earth Internal Structure

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 Earth Internal Structure
Earth’s Curst: is relatively thin and rocky. There are two types
of the Curst;
 Continental Curst (consists of different rock types), and
 Oceanic Crust ( composes of basalt rock).

Earth’s Mantle: occupies more than 82% of the Earth’s volume.

Earth’s Core: composes of Iron – Nickel – with minor Oxygen, silicon and Sulfur elements.
Temperature and pressure increase with depth in the Earth's interior .
 At only 100 km depth, the temp reaches up to ~1300°C.
 At the Earth's centre, the temperature reaches >6700°C.
 The pressure in the crust increases ~280 bars for every kilometre depth.
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 Minerals
• The elements of the Earth's crust are
composed of inorganic chemical
compounds called minerals (more than
2000 minerals).

• The minerals are the main sources to

produce all daily used objects, such as:
cars, smart phones, computers,
construction and building materials, …..
etc.

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 Minerals
Mineral, Soil, and Rock?

Mineral: compounds of chemical elements:

fixed properties. Atoms arranged in orderly
repeating 3D array: crystalline
Soil: mixture of weathered mineral, often one
ore few meters thick; may divide into plant-rich
topsoil and clay-rich subsoil.
Rock: mixtures of minerals: variable properties.

QUESTION: is steel a mineral?

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 Minerals
We use minerals in everyday life!
• Glass (Quartz)
• Lead in pencil (Graphite)
• Toothpaste (Fluorite)
• Coins (Chalcopyrite, from which most
copper metal are made)
• Make-up (Talc, Muscovite)

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 Physical Properties of Minerals
1- Color:
Color is sometimes an extremely diagnostic property of a mineral.

Magnetite (gray) Sulfur (yellow)

Note: for some minerals, it is not at all diagnostic because minerals can take on a
variety of colours. These minerals are said to be allochromatic.
For example, Quartz can be clear, white, black, pink, blue, or purple.
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 Physical Properties of Minerals
2- Streak ‫المخدش‬:
Streak is the color of the mineral in powdered form when scratched. Often it is different
than the color of the mineral in non-powdered form.
A good example is distinguishing Gold (yellow streak), and Chalcopyrite (black streak).

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Which one is Gold?
 Physical Properties of Minerals
3- Hardness ‫الصالبه‬:
• Hardness is a measure of the
mineral’s resistance to scratching.
• The Mohs scale is a set of 10 minerals
whose hardness is known.
• The softest mineral, talc, has a Mohs
scale rating of one.
• Diamond is the hardest mineral and
has a rating of ten.

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 Physical Properties of Minerals
4- Cleavage ‫الكسر أو االنفصام‬:

• Minerals tend to break along lines or

smooth surfaces when hit sharply.

• Those planes are called cleavage

planes which have weak chemical
bonding.

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 Physical Properties of Minerals
5- Specific Gravity ‫الثقل النوعي‬:
Specific Gravity or the relative density of a mineral is a comparison or ratio of the weight of
the mineral to the weight of an equal amount of water.

SG of Gold is 19.32!!!

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 Physical Properties of Minerals
6- Odor ‫الرائحة‬:
Most minerals have no odor unless they are acted upon in one of the following ways:
moistened, heated, breathed upon, or rubbed. For example, Pyrite gives egg odor under
heating.
7- Magnetism ‫المغناطيسة‬:
Magnetism is the characteristic that allows a mineral to attract or repel other magnetic
materials.
8- Transparency ‫الشفافيه‬:
Lodestone
It is the ability of mineral to allow light to pass through it

Diamond 21
 Minerals
• These minerals are mixed together in various proportions
to form different rock classes.

• Rocks of the Earth's crust are grouped into three major

classes: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

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 Rock Classes and Rock Cycle
Rock Classes:

1- Igneous rock (Basalt and Diorite),

2- Metamorphic rock (Quartzite and

Marble), and

3- Sedimentary rock (Sandstone and

Limestone).

A simplified sketch of the rock cycle

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 Rock Classes and Rock Cycle

Video 3
Rock Cycle

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[Link]
 1- Igneous Rock
A mafic dike
crosscutting
sedimentary
layers,
California,
USA.

Magmatism: the formation of igneous rocks by

the solidification of magma.
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 1- Igneous Rock
Granite
• Intrusive igneous rocks cool slowly and therefore
develop larger mineral crystals visible to the eye.
• Magma consolidates below the Earth’s surface and
remains surrounded by older, pre-existing rock is
called intrusive (plutonic) igneous rock.

• When magma reaches the surface, it emerges as

lava, which solidifies to form extrusive (volcanic)
igneous rock.
• Extrusive igneous rocks cool very rapidly on the
land surface or ocean bottom and thus develop Basalt
smaller, microscopic size crystals.
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 1- Igneous Rock
The importance of igneous rocks in Engineering

• Igneous rocks are resistant to breakage and pressure when they are
fresh even if it is fractured.

• It can be used in material engineering services when their resistance

ranges between 1500-2000 Kg/cm2.

• Basalt and Granite rocks are highly used in construction purpose.

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 2- Sedimentary Rocks
• Mineral alteration occurs when the minerals in igneous

rocks are transformed chemically into new minerals.

• In the process of mineral alteration, solid rock is

weakened, softened, and fragmented, yielding particles of

many sizes and mineral compositions.

• When transported by a fluid medium—air or water—

these particles are known collectively as sediments.

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 2- Sedimentary Rocks
• Sediment accumulates (deposits) are more or less horizontal layers, called
strata/beds.
• Individual strata are separated from those below and above by surfaces called
stratification planes or bedding planes.

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2- Sedimentary Rocks

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 2- Sedimentary Rocks
Engineering Properties of Sedimentary Rocks
• Physical and mechanical properties of the rocks should be
determined by laboratory tests. The results should be
numbered and used in basic and static calculations.
• The rocks have a certain carrying power (Strength). Rocks that
are over loaded by forces change structure and shape, so the
upper structures can be damaged.
• Limestone is used as a building material for producing lime,
aggregate, gravel and building stone. The resistance of the
limestone to be used in this area must be at least 200 Kg/cm2
with respect to water absorption, less abrasion, and porosity.
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 3- Metamorphic Rocks
• Metamorphic rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks (Parent Rock) by
intense heat (600 C◦) and pressure (500 MPa ≈ 5000 Bar ≈ 5000 ‫)ضغط جوي‬,
which alter rock structure and chemical composition.

• Heat and pressure are produced by various processes, including but not
limited to: tectonic activity, deep burial, and contact with magma.

• Metamorphic rock type depends on the parent rocks (pre-existing rocks),

the process through which a rock’s structure is changed by heat and
pressure. Parent rocks can be Igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic
rocks.
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 3- Metamorphic Rocks
Examples for metamorphic changes

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 3- Metamorphic Rocks
Examples for metamorphic changes

• Limestone Marble
• Sandstone Quartzite
• Granite Gneiss
• Basalt Schist

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 3- Metamorphic Rocks
Foliation: any planar arrangement of mineral grains or structural features
within a rock, it can often look like twisted layers in rock.
• Non-foliated rocks are formed in environments where stress (pressure) is
minimal.
• Foliated rocks are formed in environments where stress (pressure) is maximal.

Foliated
Non-foliated

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 3- Metamorphic Rocks
Engineering Properties of Metamorphic Rocks

• Rocks showing foliation are not preferred as construction materials in terms of

strength.
• The strengths of the foliated metamorphic rocks, are decreasing along the
foliage planes.
• Marbles are preferred as a good building material. It is the building material
that is required in the building coverings.
• Schists and similar rocks create landslide hazards in road constructions.

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Thank you.

Questions?

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