6 lntroduction
rock engineering;
structural geology;
engineering geology;
soil mechanics;
geotechnical engineering.A1.l Rockmechanics is the study of the statics and dynamics of rocks
and rock masses.
Engineering rock mechanics is the study of the statics and dynamics of
rocks and rock masses in anticipation of the results being applied to
engineering.
Rock engineering involves engineering with rocks, especially the con-
struction of structures on or in rock masses, and includes the design
process.
Structural geology deals with the description and analysis of the structure
of rock masses.
EngineePing geology is the study of geology in anticipation of the results
being applied to engineering.
Soil mechanics is the study of the statics and dynamics of soils.
Geutechnicul engineering is the process of engineering with rocks and/or
soils ’.
41.2 Explain the fundamental purposes of excavation in civil engin-
eering, mining engineering, and petroleum engineering.A1.2 Civil engineering. It is the rock opening, the space resulting from
excavation, that is required in civil engineering - for railways, roads,
water transport, storage and disposal of different materials - often
designed for an engineering life of 120 years.
Mining engineering. It is the excavated rock itself that is required in
mining engineering, plus the ability to transport the rock. Underground
space is created when the rock is removed, e.g. the mine stopes in metal
mines; separate underground space is required to transport the mined
rock/ore to the surface. The design life of mine openings can vary from a
few days (as in longwall coal mining), to some months or years, to many
years, depending on the mine design, methods, and requirements.
Petroleum engineering. Wellbores (deep boreholes) are used to extract
petroleum and so the excavated space is used for transport. The design
life of the wellbores is similar to the mining circumstances: it will depend
on the overall strategy and lifetime of the oil field. Note that, in contrast
to civil and mining engineering, environmental problems such as surface
subsidence and groundwater movement are not caused by the creation
of underground space per se, but by the removal of oil from the reservoir
rock where it is trapped.* In the 1990s, the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
changed its name to the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering. The International Society for Rock Mechanics considered a complementary
change to the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering but
did not go ahead with the change.