In this module you will study the behaviour of rock and soil used for the purposes of man’s utilisation. It is  suitable for students who wish to build upon their geological and/or other technical knowledge gained in first year courses in a practical way to enable you to learn about the design of structures constructed of, or within rocks and soils. It is suitable for non specialised students with a good level of numeracy. The module is taught using lectures, group exercises at the CSM test mine and practical work in the CSM geomechanics laboratory. There will be two assignments during the academic year which are: Report of the rock laboratory tests and Rock mass classification.

A prerequisite is a completion of CSM first year modules or possible direct entry second year candidates.

This course is recommended as a gateway to various disciplines such as the civil engineering, mining and minerals engineering, surface and underground construction and environmental fields with, for example, structures such as the channel tunnel, large scale dams and open pit mines requiring geotechnical expertise to enable safe design.

By the end of this module you should understand the different rock and soil models commonly used in geotechnical engineering and have acquired the analytical and mathematical skills required for geotechnical modeling and design.

The module provides an introduction to the engineering description of rock, rock mass classification and applied rock engineering and includes the engineering description of soil, soil classification and a basic knowledge of site investigation practice and principles.  The module develops problem solving skills, team-working skills and provides simulated industrial experience in the CSM test mine, providing an opportunity for students to design the reinforcement requirements for an underground excavation based on their own field mapping data.

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

1 appreciate both rock and soil behaviour in the context of the geotechnical and related industries;

2 describe and classify an engineering soil or rock;

3 design a basic site investigation programme and understand the standard site investigation tests and their uses;

4 recognise the influence of factors controlling the engineering behaviour of a rock or soil;

5 understand rock engineering in the context of the geotechnical and related industries;

6 visualise discontinuity data using stereograms;

7 perform rock mass mapping and apply empirical design methodology;

8 comprehend the influence of factors controlling the engineering behaviour of rock masses;

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

9 use relevant information and understand its influence on engineering behaviour of rock or soil;

10 evaluate and apply knowledge of a range of different concepts relating to material behaviour;

11 apply this knowledge to a variety of design applications;

Personal and Key Transferable/ Employment Skills and  Knowledge:

12 manage learning using resources for the discipline; an ability to develop working relationships of a professional nature within the discipline;

13 interact effectively within a team/learning group, giving and receiving information and ideas and modifying responses where appropriate;

14 select appropriate data from a range of sources and develop research strategies;

15 identify key areas of problems and choose appropriate tools/methods for their resolution in a considered manner.

- introduction and review of applications of rock engineering applied to the geotechnical, civil and mining/minerals industry; 

- engineering description of rock; 

- factors affecting the strength behaviour of rock; 

- rock failure criteria; 

- design methodology (analytical, observational and empirical);

- rock mass classification, geotechnical mapping and application to support design of underground excavations; 

- visualisation of geological data using stereograms; 

- rock mass-support interaction and empirical support design; 

- observational design methodology and associated instrumentation applied to underground excavation design; 

- development of Hoek and Brown strength parameters for rock masses using the GSI approach;

- application of geosynthetics to the geotechnical engineering industry;

- aspects of foundation engineering are covered including simple bearing capacity determination for shallow foundations, aspects influencing founding depth and the detrimental aspects of groundwater;

- the module provides a general review of engineering soil description, soil classification and associated laboratory tests, including tri-axial testing; 

- the concept of effective stress: effect of groundwater, pore water pressure, engineering material behaviour;  

- shear strength behaviour of different soil types;  

- short and long-term behaviour;

- site investigation: principles, objectives and rationale; 

- stages of a site investigation programme, design and implementation; 

- test methods used in site investigation, laboratory and field-based; 

- drilling and sampling techniques; 

- reporting of results, preparation of site investigation report; 

- guidance on design and inspection of tips and related structures.

If a student is referred or deferred, the failed / non-completed component(s) will be re-assessed at the same weighting as the original assessment.

Basic Reading:

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Web based and Electronic Resources:

https://www.rocscience.com/learning/hoeks-corner

Other Resources:

BS 5930. 1999. Code of Practice for Site Investigations. BSI

Reading list for this module: