Module Name: Geotechnology

Staff involved: Dr. David Durney (Macquarie University)

Module Objectives: This short unit aims to provide an insight into the aims, purposes and techniques of geotechnolgy which may not otherwise be available to geoscience students (geologists, geophysicists and geomorphologists) and will help to bridge the gap between general undergraduate study in geoscience and professional applications of the subject. It offers practical experience in materials testing applicable to extraction, construction and environmental works and surface processes, as well as techniques that may be useful in some Honours studies. In doing so, it develops a further understanding of the fundamental physical behaviour of earth materials.

Module program: The work is laboratory- and field-based and deals with physical behaviour of rock and soil:

• basic concepts of physical and mechanical quantities and behaviour
• engineering classifications of rock and soil
• measurement devices, instrumentation and their use
• evaluation of soil/water and rock/moisture/weathering characteristics by means of standard tests: Atterberg limits, consolidation, compaction, permeability and strength
• a choice of more specialized practical work on (one of): soil shear strength (shear box test), rock-slope stability (kinematic analysis), or rock deformability (non-linear and time-dependent).

Format, duration and timing: Not offered in 2004.

Assumed Knowledge: Third year geology, geophysics or geomorphology.

Text and/or reference material: General Reference: Blyth, F.G.H. & de Freitas, M.H., 1982. A geology for engineers. 7th edition, Arnold.
More specialized reference and reading material will be made available or listed for consultation.

Assessment: Practical work and tutorial exercises.

Module contact person and coordinator:

Dr. D.W. Durney
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Macquarie University, NSW 2109.
Phone: (02) 9850 8408
Fax: (02) 9850 8428
E-mail: ddurney@atlas.es.mq.edu.au

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