Engineering Rock Mechanics

22 Geological setting

moved about. Thus, the rock blocks could be well developed and hence

more likely to be unstable.

42.5 In the first Glossop lecture3 on geology for engineers, Fookes

(1997) quotes from Glossop's 1968 Rankine lecture: "What you

look for should be suggested by the natural environment and by

the nature of the construction problem to be solved." Explain why

this quotation is critically important for rock mechanics and rock

engineering.

A2.5 We have explained that engineering rock mechanics can be studied
generically but, when there is a specific engineering project to consider,
we need to establish the engineering objective. Then, the engineering
structure located on or in the rock mass is tailored directly to the
engineering objective. So the quotation refers to the fact that different

3Fookes I? G. (1997) Geology for Engineers: the geological model, prediction and

performance. Q. 1. Eng. Geol., 30,293-424.