ENG4070 Geotechnical Engineering

Task 1

a) State the three main classes of rock and outline the main features of their formation.
b) Give one example of how each type of rock is used in construction.
c) Briefly outline the Bowen Series of rock classification and indicate to what extent this can explain the weathering characteristics of rocks.
d) What are the most important mechanical characteristics of rocks used in the following situations:
i) as foundations for roads
ii) as facings for structures
iii) as aggregate for concrete
iv) as building stone.
e) Outline where soil is used as a construction material and compare this with alternative materials that could be used such as in a dam.
f) Explain the difference in strength between rock mass and the same material taken out of a quarry.
g) How is this shown in the RQD assessment of rock strength?
h) Analyze case studies involving tunneling and the problems posed by the discontinuous nature of rock mass.

a) Briefly explain what a brownfield site is and how this differs from other sites.
b) How would you approach a ground survey in a brown filed site and show how this might differ from aground survey on other sites.
c) Explain the difference between a disturbed and an undisturbed soil sample.
d) Outline the laboratory tests that can be done only on undisturbed samples.
e) Outline how soils are classified.
f) How is plasticity used in the classification of soils?
g) Discuss the sampling of soil in situ giving an example of the measurement of bulk density and also ofshear strength.
h) Discuss the relative merits of in situ testing and laboratory.
i) Evaluate how much soil sampling is needed in a soil survey on a site and what are the dangers of too little or too much sampling?

Task 3