510879 - APPLIED GEOLOGY AND LABORATORY

courses

ID:

510879

Duration (hours):

83

CFU:

SSD:

GEOLOGIA APPLICATA

Year:

2025

Date/time interval

Primo Semestre (01/10/2025 - 10/01/2026)

Course Objectives

The following skills will be provided to the student: ability to describe and classify the geological issues in a engineering geology viewpoint; ability to analyze the territory for the research and the exploitation of natural resources; knowledge of the basic principles of water dynamics (surface and hypogean waters); understanding and processing of fundamental data collected on the field; Knowledge of the main geological issues related to civil engineering works; Knowledge of the main physical and mechanical characteristics of soils and laboratory tests for their determination; Ability to describe and classify of a soil; Knowledge of the main problematic soils for civil engineering works.

Course Prerequisites

The course is part of the basic training in Geological Sciences. To better follow the course the student has to have acquired an adequate knowledge about the basic geological courses: mineralogy (clay mineral) and petrography (rock classification), structural geology (main deformation structures), geomorphology (landslide classification).

Teaching Methods

The course is composed by three modules: 1) hydrogeology, 2) engineering geology, 3) direct and indirect surveys. The class compounds of lectures,. In the module 2 the lectures are integrated with laboratory works, which aim to put into practice the techniques for the soil characterization. In the module 3 the lectures are integrated with field excursions.

Assessment Methods

Assessment of learning outcomes takes place during the course , with three written in-progress tests at the end of each module (the final grade is the average of the three grades). In the case of students who have not achieved a passing grade in any of the three in itinere tests, a final written exam is scheduled. The in itinere tests and the final exam consist of open-ended questions.

Texts

- L. Scesi, M. Papini, P. Gattinoni Principi di Geologia Applicata - Ed. CEA Milano. - Luis Gonzalez de Vallejo, Mercedes Ferrer (2011). Geological Engineering. CRC Press, ISBN 9781439892213 - Cestari F. Prove geotecniche in sito. Ed Geograph - Celico, P. (2003). Elementi di idrogeologia per lauree in scienze geologiche, scienze della natura, scienze ambientali e ingegneria ambientale. Liguori Editore Srl. -Civita, M. (2005). Idrogeologia Applicata e Ambientale. CEA. Cohen, A. J. B., &Cherry, J. A. (2020). Conceptual and Visual Understanding of Hydraulic Headand Groundwater Flow. The Groundwater Project. https://doi.org/10.21083/978-1-7770541-6-8 - Freeze, R. A., & Cherry, J. A. (1979). Groundwater. Prentice-Hall. https://fc79.gw-project.org/italiano - Woessner, W. W., &Poeter, E. P. (2020). Hydrogeologic Properties of Earth Materials and Principles of Groundwater Flow. The Groundwater Project. https://doi.org/10.21083/978-1-7770541-2-0 - Appunti del docente, articoli scientifici e altro materiale fornito dal docente.

The course is made by three modules: Module 1. Physical properties of water and geological Materials – Subsurface water flow and Darcy’s Law – Energy, hydraulic head, and hydraulic gradient – Types of aquifers – Wells and piezometers – Hydrogeological parameters – Components of a hydrogeological basin – Types of springs and spring hydrographs – Coastal aquifers – Flow system reconstruction and hydrological computations – Interactions between groundwater and surface water bodies – Water balance of hydrogeological basins and GIS-Based applications – Conceptual hydrogeological model. Module 2. Engineering geology definition. Engineering geology problems. The geological materials: earth, rock, rock mass and structurally complex formations. Physics, indices and mechanical properties. Consistency limits and interactions between earth liquid and solid phases. Classification systems of soil and rock. Problematic soil. Laboratory practical activities: laboratory tests for the measure of physical and mechanical properties of soils. Measure of water content, bulk density. Grain size analysis. Atterberg limit tests. Module 3. Underground prospecting, direct and indirect site investigation surveys, aims and using. Drilling techniques: drilling logs, sampling procedure, technical description and quality rating of sampling. Test and measures for soils: cone penetration test, vane test, flat dilatometer test, pressurometer, static plat load test. Test and measures for rock.