Fundamentals Of Engineering Geology

Fundamentals of Engineering Geology F G Bell Butterworths London · Boston · D u r b a n · Singapore · Sydney · T o r o n t o · Wellington All rights reserved. N o part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder, applications for which should be addressed to the Publishers. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. This book is sold subject to the Standard Conditions of Sale of Net Books and may not be re-sold in the U K below the net price given by the Publishers in their current price list. First published 1983 © Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd 1983 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Bell, F. G. Fundamentals of engineering geology. 1. Geology I. Title 550'.246231 QE26.2 ISBN 0-408-01169-6 Filmset by Northumberland Press Ltd, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear Printed in England by Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and London Foreword Few of today's technical problems can be solved merely by the application of the disciplines of a single field of knowledge. In engineering construction, in particular, the interface between structural loadings imposed and the capacity of the geological conditions to support these loadings must be more carefully studied than was necessary only a few decades ago. Sites which have been previously unloaded are hard to find. The relationship between the nature of the geological support and its concomitant loading becomes of increasing significance. This volume considers the wider view by describing—in welcome detail— the changes which may take place in various geological sites. Dr Bell emphasises this aspect by interleaving geomorphological processes between studies of general geological conditions and descriptions of tests of soils and rocks. Such an attack underlines the need for a study of the indicators presented to the Engineer by the geological history of the site. Aerial photographic site investigation can be used to depict not only the surface of the ground, but also sub-surface features with evidences of past and possible future movements and erosions. Such surveys give confidence that the link between loading and the reaction of the site can be predicted. For example, warning of possible movement in periglacial material, left at the edge of the last melting ice sheet of 10000 years ago, may be given. This volume adds to the series of excellent treatises, which D r Bell has either written or edited, on the characteristics of the support given by soils and rocks to engineering construction. He is to be congratulated on his latest thorough study and on the masterly linkages he has achieved between geology, geotechnics, rock and soil mechanics and foundation design. W. Fisher Cassie Emeritus professor of civil engineering University of Newcastle upon Tyne Preface This text concerns itself with the basic principles or fundamentals of engineering geology. It therefore deliberately avoids those applied aspects of the subject such as site investigation, geophysical exploration, etc. One of the reasons for this is that the text has been written as a companion volume to the author's Engineering Geology and Geotechnics (Butterworth, 1980) which deals with the applied aspects of engineering geology. A more obvious reason for writing this book is that there is no other which covers the subject matter in such depth. Yet another reason for this emphasis is the pace at which geotechnical theory has developed. Indeed, most of the current journals in engineering geology and geotechnical subjects have made their appearance within the last twenty years. This pace of change brings with it the need for a textbook which surveys the releva