Sarhad University, Peshawar

(Department:Technologies) (Program:Civil Technology)

Examination: Final Term, 2020

Course & Course Code:CT 316 Geology & Earthquake Engineering
*Student Name:Muhammad Uzair Tahir Total Marks:50 (50% Weightage)
*Registration #Su-17-01-079-015 Instructor:Engr. Muhammad SiyabKhan
*Student Email:Engr.uzair98@gmail.com

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE STUDENTS:

Answer All Questions in the same Question Paper under each question/section subsequently.
Before uploading, save the same file in this format FINALEXAM_DEPARTMENT_COURSE_Student
Name_Reg#.doc
Upload it at your SUIT PORTAL before the deadline. Answer Sheet sent through EMAIL will not be accepted.
The total size of this file should not exceed 1MB at the time of uploading it at portal so don’t insert images.
Just type the answers under each question, avoid inserting images and follow the instructions at SUIT Portal.

Attempt All Questions. Each Question Carries 10 marks

QUESTION #1:
A) Write a detail note on Blasting related to ground subsidence.

 Answer:
In underground mining, blasting becomes one of the primary methods of rock
excavation. Studies are undertaken in everything from the effect of the vibration
of the explosion, to the likely impact of the blast on the existent mining
structures, prior to the blasting taking place. As underground blasting is
essentially a controlled cave-in, safety is a massive cause for concern, and all
calculations and potential outcomes are checked and rechecked. Once the blast
has been achieved, the debris is cleared out, and the resultant tunnel is
reinforced. Controlled blasting refers to a series of blasting techniques that can be
employed when one aims to reduce the amount of over break or to control the
extent of the resultant ground vibrations. Controlled blasting techniques include:
Pre-splitting (in which the purpose is to form a fracture plane beyond which the
radial cracks from the blast cannot travel), Trim or Cushion blasting, Smooth,
Perimeter or Contour blasting in underground mines, and muffl e blasting (which
addresses the need to prevent fly-rock from injuring individuals or damaging
surrounding structures).Sometimes, no matter which method was initially
employed, it may prove necessary to blast the same rock/location a second time in
order to reduce the previously blasted portion of rock to a manageable size that
can be easily handled by excavators, and/or crushers and other such machinery.
There are two available methods of secondary blasting. The first is plaster or mud-
cap blasting. This method involves firing a charge of explosive placed on the rock
and covered with clay (or, a “mud-cap”). The concussive force of the blast further
fragments the rock, breaking it up into more manageable pieces. The second
method is pop-shooting, which involved drilling a hole into the too-big blocks of

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 rock and firing a small charge into this hole – in other words, it’s basically blast
hole drilling in miniature.

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Q#2 A)Introduce hydrogeology. Also describe wells, springs, streams and ground water conditions in
terms of hydrogeology.

Solution:

 Hydrogeology:
Hydrogeology (hydro- meaning water, and -geology meaning the study of the Earth) is the area
of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the
Earth's crust (commonly in aquifers). The terms groundwater hydrology, geohydrology,
and hydrogeology are often used interchangeably. Groundwater engineering, another name for
hydrogeology, is a branch of engineering which is concerned with groundwater movement and design
of wells, pumps, and drains. The main concerns in groundwater engineering include groundwater
contamination, conservation of supplies, and water quality.

 WELLS:
One of the most important aspects of groundwater engineering and hydrogeology is water well design
and construction. Proper well design and construction are important to maintain the health of the
groundwater and the people which will use the well. Factors which must be considered in well design
are:
 SPRINGS:
A spring is a point at which water flows from an aquifer to the Earth's surface. It is a component of
the hydrosphere

 Depression spring, is a spring which occurs along a depression, such as the bottom of alluvial
valleys, basins, or valleys made of highly permeable materials.
 Contact Spring, which occurs along the side of a hill or mountain is created when the
groundwater is underlaid by an impermeable layer of rock or soil known as an aquiclude or
aquifuge
 Fracture, joint, or tubular spring, occurs when groundwater running along an impermeable layer of
rock meets a crack (fracture) or joint in the rock.
 Artesian spring, is a spring that typically occurs at the lowest point in a given area. An artesian
spring is created when the pressure for the groundwater becomes greater than the pressure from
the atmosphere. In this case the water is pushed straight up out of the ground.
 Wonky holes, which are freshwater submarine exit points for coral and sediment covered sediment
filled old river channels.
 Karst spring
 Hot springs, has a water temperature significantly higher than the mean air temperature of the
surrounding area.

 STREAMS

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 Streams are created when excess water from rain, snowmelt, or near-
surface groundwater accumulates on the ground surface and begins to run downhill. This
excess water from rain or snowmelt generally occurs when the water accumulates at a faster
rate than the soil and organic matter (e.g., dead and decaying vegetation) can absorb the
water, plants can use it, or the water can be evaporated into the air.

 Ground water conditions in terms of hydrogeology:

The use value of ground water depends fundamentally on the costs of producing or obtaining the water
and its value in the uses to which it is ultimately put. The costs of producing ground water typically
include the costs of extraction and delivery as well as the opportunity cost of using the water right away
rather than leaving it in storage for later use. The value in alternative uses can be expressed by the
willingness of users to pay for the water. Willingness to pay depends in turn upon a number of factors,
including the quality of the water. The quality of ground water should be thought of in terms of its
acceptability for certain uses. Thus the quality of a given source of ground water may not be acceptable
for potable uses but may be sufficient for a wide variety of nonpotable uses. Because extraction and
delivery costs are related to the quantity of ground water, the real question is, What is the availability of
ground water that possesses some desired quality? Ground water quality and the costs of extraction
depend on the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of a given aquifer as well as the economic
circumstances that characterize the particular uses to which ground water is devoted. Both the current
and future values of ground water, then, are determined jointly by the interaction of geologic/hydrologic
factors and economic factors.

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Q#3.
A) Beinga technologist, what is the relation of earthquake engineering with geology? Justify your answer

ANSWR:

Introduction:
Earthquake engineering is a 20th-century development, so recent that it is yet premature to attempt to write its
history. Many persons in many countries have been involved in the development of earthquake engineering and it is
difficult, if not impossible to identify the contributions of each. Many advances in the subject are not well-documented
in the literature, and some of the documentation is misleading, or even incorrect. For example, in some instances,
earthquake requirements were adopted in building codes but were not used by architects and engineers. And in other
instances earthquake design was done by some engineers before seismic requirements were put in the code. A
history of earthquake engineering written now could not present a satisfactory account because of poorly documented
facts and, in addition, there are still many people that remember relevant information and would be severe critics of a
history. To write an acceptable history, it is necessary to wait till most of the poorly known facts have disappeared
from memory and literature, then, with a coherent blend of fact and fiction, history can be written.

Geotechnical seismic engineering is an important area in geotechnical engineering, and its topic is to resolve the seismic
problems related to geotechnical engineering. With development for more than 50 years, the time domain analysis theory
and the frequency analysis theory have been generally established in the geotechnical seismic engineering. However, a
common problem still exists in the time domain analysis theory and the frequency domain theory, which is that the
research methods for geotechnical seismic engineering are still the separate application of time domain or frequency
domain, and no combination of above two is considered. For example, time domain analysis theory can only consider the
time histories of acceleration, velocity, and displacement but not the frequency contents of ground motions. Frequency
domain analysis theory can only consider the frequency contents of ground motions, while time histories of acceleration,
velocity, and displacement are not included. Seismic wave is however a very complex nonstationary signal, whose

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amplitudes and frequencies change with time. Present outcomes in the time domain theory and the frequency domain
theory cannot reflect synthetically the characteristics of geotechnical seismic engineering, very close to an old Chinese
saying “The blind man feels an elephant—to take a part for the whole.” Therefore, research on the time-frequency-
amplitude analysis theory considering the time, frequency, and amplitude can be an important task, which will be a new
direction of geotechnical seismic engineering.

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Q#4:
A) Write a detailed note on earthquake magnitude and intensity? Write strictly in your own words.

Solution:

Earthquake:

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of stored energy in the Earth's crust that
creates seismic waves. ... Earthquakes may occur naturally or as a result of human activities. Smaller
earthquakes can also be caused by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments.

Earthquake magnitude:

Magnitude (MW) is based on physical properties of the earthquake derived from an analysis of all the
waveforms recorded from the shaking. First the seismic moment is computed, and then it is converted to a
magnitude designed to be roughly equal to the Richter Scale in the magnitude range where they overlap. When
initially developed, all magnitude scales based on measurements of the recorded waveform amplitudes were
thought to be equivalent. But for very large earthquakes, some magnitudes underestimate true earthquake size,
and some underestimate the size. Thus, we now use measurements that describe the physical effects of an
earthquake rather than measurements based only on the amplitude of a waveform recording. More on that
later.

Earthquake Intensity:

Whereas the magnitude of an earthquake is one value that describes the size, there are many intensity values
for each earthquake that are distributed across the geographic area around the earthquake epicenter. The
intensity is the measure of shaking at each location, and this varies from place to place, depending mostly on
the distance from the fault rupture area. However, there are many more aspects of the earthquake and the
ground it shakes that affect the intensity at each location, such as what direction the earthquake ruptured, and
what type of surface geology is directly beneath you. Intensities are expressed in Roman numerals, for
example, VI, X, etc.
Traditionally the intensity is a subjective measure derived from human observations and reports of felt shaking
and damage. The data used to be gathered from postal questionnaires, but with the advent of the internet, it's
now collected using a web-based form. However, instrumental data at each station location can be used to
calculate an estimated intensity.
The intensity scale that we use in the United States is called the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, but other
countries use other scale

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Q#5:
A) What are the factors affecting the severity of seismic forces? Explain in your own words.

Solution:
Magnitude:
Scientists assign a number to represent the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. The Richter
magnitude scale, as it is known, is logarithmic, so each step up represents an increase in energy of a factor of
10. The more energy in an earthquake, the more destructive it can be.

Depth:
Earthquakes can happen anywhere from at the surface to 700 kilometers below. In general, deeper earthquakes
are less damaging because their energy dissipates before it reaches the surface. The recent New Zealand
earthquake is thought to have occurred at a more shallow depth than the one last year.

Distance from the epicenter:

The epicenter is the point at the surface right above where the earthquake originates and is usually the place
where the earthquake's intensity is the greatest.

Local geologic conditions:

The nature of the ground at the surface of an earthquake can have a profound influence on the level of damage.
Loose, sandy, soggy soil, like in Mexico City, can liquefy if the shaking is strong and long enough, for
example. That doesn't bode well for any structures on the surface.

Secondary effects:
Earthquakes can occur or produce the landslides, fires, floods or tsunamis. It was not the 2004 Sumatran-
Andaman earthquake that caused so much damage in 2004 but the Indian Ocean tsunami it occurred. Nearly a
quarter of a million people in 14 countries were killed when coastal communities were inundated by the water.

Architecture:
Even the strongest buildings may not survive a bad earthquake, but architecture plays a huge role in what and
who survives an earthquake. The January 2010 Haiti earthquake, for example, was made far worse by poor
construction, weak cement and unenforced building codes.

 Factors affecting the impact of an earthquake

 Distance from the epicentre - the effects of an earthquake is more severe at its centre.

 The higher on the Richter scale, the more severe the earthquake is.
 Level of development (MEDC or LEDC) - MEDCs are more likely to have the resources and technology for
monitoring, prediction and response.
 Population density (rural or urban area). The more densely populated an area, the more likely there are to be
deaths and casualties.

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  Communication - accessibility for rescue teams.
 Time of day influences whether people are in their homes, at work or travelling. A severe earthquake at rush
hour in a densely populated urban area could have devastating effects.
 The time of year and climate will influence survival rates and the rate at which disease can spread.

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