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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Engineering : Civil

Undergraduate Course: Engineering Geology and Surveying 2 (CIVE08022)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Engineering CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course will provide an introduction to the discipline of engineering geology and to practical engineering surveying techniques. It will allow an understanding of how the fundamental principles of geological sciences influence the design and construction of engineering structures and provide an understanding and practical experience of how engineering surveying techniques are used in civil engineering projects.
Course description The course includes a number of Lectures and Tutorials during the Weeks 1 - 10 on key fundamental concepts of Geology that are important for Civil Engineers. On Week 11 the students are introduced, at a residential Field Trip, to land surveying techniques and methodologies using a combination of Lectures, Seminars and practical surveying tasks.

Geology Lectures (Mondays, Wks 1-10):

L1 Introduction to course and to engineering geology

L2 Plate tectonics & Igneous Rocks

L3 Minerals & sedimentary rocks

L4 Metamorphic Rocks & Structural Geology

L5 Structural Geology (2)

L6 Stress & Mohr circles

L7 Failure envelopes

L8 RQD/ Rock mechanics etc

L9 Geohazards & Earthquakes

L10 Difficult Grounds & Site investigations

Surveying Lectures/Seminars (Tuesdays, Wks 9-10):

L1 & 2. Introduction to surveying and the Surveying Field Trip. Applications, principles, sequence of planning and executing a survey. Categories: geodetic and plane. Objectives: establishment of relative positions, setting out. Measurements: direct or indirect linear measurement; angular measurement; height difference. Fixing the position of a point: trilateration; offset; traverse; triangulation.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs Contribution towards the Surveying field trip to cover accommodation costs.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. demonstrate a basic knowledge of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks, their formation and occurrence in different tectonic environments;
  2. demonstrate an ability to interpret geological maps and construct elementary geological cross-sections and infer subsurface structure;
  3. recognise and describe common geological formations of relevance to civil engineering and demonstrate a basic knowledge of investigation techniques and mitigation strategies for difficult ground.
  4. undertake topographical surveys using theodolites or total stations and perform levelling and traverse surveys, asses their accuracy and adjust closure errors;
  5. produce a scale plan of an area and apply surveying techniques to set out simple construction elements from given data
Reading List
Geology:
Waltham, A.C. Foundations of Engineering Geology. 3rd Edition, Blackie Academic and Professional, 2009.

Excellent concise text organised in page-wise units on specific topics. Highly recommended. Good value. The 2nd edition is
perfectly adequate as well.

Other useful texts:

Blyth, F.G.H. and de Freitas M.H. A Geology for Engineers 7th Edition. Edward Arnold, 1984.

West, G. The Field Description of Engineering Soils and Rocks. Open University Press, 1991.

For more background on geology:

Marshak, S. Earth: Portrait of a Planet. 3rd Edn. 2008. W.W. Norton. Probably the best of the illustrated mega-textbooks.
Good web-links to GoogleEarth images. Used as a source in the course. Copies to be installed on Student Reserve

Surveying:
Surveying for Engineers 3rd Edition , Uren and Price, Macmillan, 1994 Elementary Surveying 8th Edition, Elfick, Fryer, Brinker and
Wolf , Harper Collins 1994

Suggested:
Engineering Surveying 5th Edition Schofield, Butterworth Heinemann 2001
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information 10 Geology Lectures: (Weeks 1 - 10)
8 Geology Tutorial hours (Weeks 2 - 9)
2 Surveying Lectures (Weeks 9 - 10)
6 Surveying Lectures/Seminars (Week 11)
22 Fieldwork Hours (Week 11)
KeywordsEngineering Geology,Surveying,fieldwork
Contacts
Course organiserDr Christopher Beckett
Tel: (0131 6)51 7119
Email: Christopher.Beckett@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Craig Hovell
Tel: (0131 6)51 7080
Email: c.hovell@ed.ac.uk
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