PGE525 – Rock Mechanics

Prof.Dr. Cavit Atalar

#Section1
Topics
a Introduction
b Elements
c Minerals
d Rocks
A Plate Tectonics
B Common Rock Forming Mineral in Rocks
C STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH
D Hardness and specific gravity
E GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND DISCONTINUITIES
a Introduction

• ROCK MECHANICS
• Rock mechanics is a multidisciplinary subject combining geology,
geophysics, and engineering and applying the principles of mechanics to
study the engineering behavior of the rock mass. With wide application, a
solid grasp of this topic is invaluable to anyone studying or working in
civil, mining, petroleum, and geological engineering.

• The earth materials that constitute relatively the thin outer shell, called
crust, of the Earth are soils and rocks. These materials are made up of small
crystalline units known as minerals. A mineral is basically a naturally
occurring inorganic substance composed of one or more elements with a
unique chemical composition,unique arrangement of elements (crystalline
structure) and distinctive physical properties.
Elements

• An element is a substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons: another
way of saying this is that all of a particular element's atoms have the same atomic
number.

• Elements are chemically the simplest substances and hence cannot be broken down
using chemical reactions. Elements can only be changed into other elements using
nuclear methods.

• Although an element’s atoms must all have the same number of protons, they can have
different numbers of neutrons and hence different masses. When atoms of the same
element have different numbers of neutrons, they are called isotopes.

• The only liquid elements at standard temperature and pressure are bromine (Br) and
mercury (Hg). Although, elements caesium (Cs), rubidium (Rb), Francium (Fr) and
Gallium (Ga) become liquid at or just above room temperature.
The Most Abundant Elements in the universe

With only one proton, hydrogen is the simplest, lightest element, followed by
helium, which has two protons. Oxygen atoms have eight protons.
At 75 percent, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, followed
by helium at 23 percent, then oxygen at 1 percent. All of the other elements
make up the remaining 1 percent.
The most abundant element in the Earth's crust is oxygen, making up 46.6% of
Earth's mass. Silicon is the second most abundant element (27.7%), followed by
aluminum (8.1%), iron (5.0%), calcium (3.6%), sodium (2.8%), potassium (2.6%).
and magnesium (2.1%). These eight elements account for approximately 98.5%
of the total mass of the Earth's crust.
The Periodic Element Table Chart
• In the periodic table above, black squares indicate elements which
. are solids at room temperature (about 22ºC)*, those in blue squares
are liquids at room temperature, and those in red squares are gases
at room temperature.
• Most of the metals are solids under "ordinary" conditions (i.e., 25ºC,
1 atmosphere of pressure, etc.), with the exception of mercury (Hg,
element 80), which solidifies at -39ºC, and is a freely-flowing liquid
at room temperature. Gallium (Ga, element 31) melts at 30ºC,
slightly above room temperature, but is often indicated as a liquid
on periodic tables, since the solid metal literally melts when held in
the hand (since body temperature is about 37ºC). (Since cesium
melts at 28ºC, and francium at 27ºC, they are also indicated in blue
on some tables, but anyone who holds cesium in their hands won't
be holding much of anything afterwards! See the page on alkali
metals for more on cesium's high reactivity.)
• Several of the nonmetals are gases in their elemental
form. Elemental hydrogen (H, element 1), nitrogen (N, element 7),
oxygen (O, element 8), fluorine (F, element 9), and chlorine (Cl,
element 17) are all gases at room temperature, and are found
as diatomic molecules (H2, N2, O2, F2, Cl2). Bromine (Br, element 35),
also found as a diatomic molecule (Br2), is a liquid at room
temperature, solidifying at -7.2ºC. The noble gases of Group 8A (He,
Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn) are all gases at room temperature (as the
name of the group implies); since they are all unreactive, monatomic
elements, their boiling points are extremely low.
Physical States — Melting Points, Boiling Points, and Densities of Elements
 Minerals

A naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, crystalline substance which has a fixed structure
and a chemical composition which is either fixed or which may vary within certain
defined limits.
Some minerals have a definite fixed composition, e.g. quartz is always SiO2,
andcalcite is always CaCO3. However, other minerals exhibit a range of compositions
between two or more compounds called end-members. For
example, plagioclasefeldspar has a composition that ranges between end-members
anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) and albite (NaAlSi3O8), so its chemical formula is written as (Ca,
Na)(Al, Si)AlSi2O8.
There are also minerals which form both by inorganic and organic processes. For
example, calcite (CaCO3) is a common vein mineral in rocks, and also a shell-forming
material in many life forms. Calcite of organic origin conforms to the above definition
except for the requirement that it be inorganic. This is an inconsistency in the
definition of a mineral that is generally overlooked.
 COMMON ROCK-FORMING MINERALS

There are almost 5000 known mineral species, yet the vast majority
of rocks are formed from combinations of a few common minerals,
referred to as “rock-forming minerals”. The rock-forming minerals are:
feldspars, quartz, amphiboles, micas, olivine, garnet, calcite, pyroxenes.
quartz** calcite biotite** hematite - K-feldspars** dolomite
muscovite** limonite - Ca/Na feldspars** clay minerals** amphiboles**
pyrite - pyroxenes** gypsum chlorites pyrrhotite - olivines** anhydrite
garnets** chromite - epidotes** halite magnetite
make up the bulk of the Earth's crust and mantle (>90%). These, along with
an additional 20 less common minerals, serve as the basis for naming most
of the rocks exposed on the Earth's surface. Nearly all common rocks can
be named by determining the presence of one, two, or a few of the
minerals.
Rocks

Rocks are formed from minerals or mineroids solidified into one. A rock
could be made up of either one or more than one minerals combined
together. The six minerals amphibole, feldspar, mica, olivine,
pyroxene, and quartz are the most common rock-forming minerals
and are used as important tools in classifying rocks, particularly igneous
rocks.
Rocks are divided into three basic
types, igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic, depending upon how
they were formed. Plate tectonics provides an explanation for how rocks
are recycled from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic and back to
igneous again.
Rock Cycle

All rocks are connected in a cycle of creation, change, and destruction called the Rock
Cycle. The rock cycle begins with molten rock (magma below ground, lava above
ground), which cools and hardens to form igneous rock. Exposure to weathering and
erosional forces, break the original rock into smaller pieces. The smaller material (now
called sediment) is carried away by rivers, wind, glaciers, and other means and is
eventually deposited elsewhere. These sediments can then be buried and lithified
(hardened), forming sedimentary rock.
Sedimentary rock can be deeply buried, subjected to heat and pressure, which over
time, cause it to change its structure into a new rock, a metamorphic rock.
Metamorphism is a big word meaning change. Eventually, these metamorphic rocks
may be heated to the point where they again melt into magma.
Note that the rock cycle doesn't always have to work in this order; sometimes igneous
rocks can be buried and metamorphosed, skipping the sedimentary rock phase, and
sometimes sedimentary and metamorphic rocks can be uplifted and eroded to form
new sedimentary rocks. It is also possible for rocks to remain unchanged in stable
regions for long periods of time.
Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is the most important concept in modern geology. Seafloor and continents move around on Earth’s
surface, The plates are made up of the lithosphere.

The lithosphere is divided into major and minor plates. The seven major plates are; the African, Antarctic, Eurasian, North
American, South American, India-Australian, and the Pacific plates. Some of the minor plates include the Arabian,
Caribbean, Nazca, and Scotia plates.

Plate boundaries are the edges where two plates meet. Most geologic activities, including volcanoes, earthquakes,
and mountain building, take place at plate boundaries. How can two plates move relative to each other?

Divergent plate boundaries: the two plates move away from each other.

Convergent plate boundaries: the two plates move towards each other.

Transform plate boundaries: the two plates slip past each other.

The type of plate boundary and the type of crust found on each side of the boundary determines what sort of geologic
activity will be found there.
Common Rock Forming Mineral in Rocks

The Common Rock Forming Mineral in Igneous rocks,

Sedimentary rocks, and Metamorphic rocks.
STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH

The shape of the Earth is commonly described as a spheroid. It has an equatorial diameter of 12,757.776
km and a polar diameter of 12,713.824 km. The total mass of the Earth is estimated as 5.975 × 1024 kg and
its mean density as 5520 kg/m3. Detailed scientific studies have indicated that the Earth is composed of
three well-defined shells: crust, mantle and core. The topmost shell of the Earth is the crust, which has a
thickness of 30–35 km in continents and 5–6 km in oceans. The oceanic crust is made up of heavier and
darker rocks called basalts while the continental crust consists of lightcoloured and light-density granitic
rocks. The Earth is basically an elastic solid, and when expressed in terms of oxides, it has silica (SiO2) as the
most dominant component, its value lying more than 50% by volume in oceanic crust and more than 62%
in the continental crust. Alumina (Al2O3) is the next important oxide varying between 13% and 16%. The
zone of materials lying between the crust and a depth of 2900 km is known as the mantle, which is made
up of extremely basic materials (very rich in iron and magnesium but quite poor in silica). The mantle is
believed to be highly plastic or ductile solid in nature. The innermost structural shell of the Earth known as
the core starts at a depth of 2900 km below the surface and extends right up to the centre of the Earth at
6370 km. The materials of the core are probably iron and nickel alloys. The outer core is believed to have no
shear resistance, which makes it almost a liquid, whereas the inner core is a ductile solid. The core has a
very high density, more than 10,000 kg/m3, at the mantle–core boundary.
Structure of the Earth (Note: not to scale)
Hardness and specific gravity

Hardness and specific gravity

are the most useful diagnostic
physical properties of a mineral.
Hardness is tested by scratching
the minerals of known hardness
with a specimen of the mineral
of unknown hardness. In
practice, a standard scale of 10
minerals, known as the Mohs
scale of hardness is used for this
purpose. The hardness of
minerals increases from 1 for
talc to 10 for diamond.
Specific gravity

The specific gravity of a mineral is the ratio

of its weight to the weight of an equal
volume of water at a standard temperature,
generally 4°C. The specific gravity of the
common silicate minerals forming soils and
rocks is about 2.65. For minerals forming
the ores, the specific gravity may be as high
as 20, for example, native platinum has a
specific gravity of 21.46. Most minerals have
specific gravity in a range of 2–6. Table
provides the specific gravity values of some
common minerals.
 GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND DISCONTINUITIES
Geological structures, such as folds, faults, joints and unconformities, encountered in
geological mapping. Orientation (or attitude) of a plane (rock bed, discontinuity plane
or sloping ground) in space is described in terms of strike (S-S) and dip (ψ), or dip (ψ)
and dip direction (D) (Figure). The strike of a plane is the direction of a line considered
to be drawn along the plane so that it is horizontal. It is basically a trace of the
intersection of the inclined plane with the horizontal reference plane. It is obvious that
there will be only one such direction for any particular rock bed/discontinuity
plane/sloping ground. The line of maximum inclination on the inclined plane is called
the line of dip. The dip (ψ) of a plane is its maximum inclination to the horizontal plane,
measured at right angles to the strike. For a horizontal plane, the dip is 0° and for a
vertical plane, the same is 90°. Dip always refers to the true dip. Apparent dip is the
inclination of any arbitrary line on the plane to the horizontal, and it is always smaller
than the true dip. Dip direction (or dip azimuth) is the direction of the horizontal trace
of the line of dip, expressed as an angle (α) measured clockwise from the north. It varies
from 0° to 360°. In Figure, the rock bed strikes north–south, and therefore α is 90°.
 Folds
Folds are defined as wavy undulations developed in the rocks of
the Earth’s crust due to horizontal compression resulting from
gradual cooling of the Earth’s crust, lateral deflection and
intrusion of magma in the upper strata. Different elements of a
fold are shown in Figure .An anticline is an upfold where the
limbs dip away from the axis of fold on either side. A syncline is
a downfold where the limbs dip towards the axis of the fold on
either side. Anticline and syncline can be noticed easily in Figure
. The highest point on the arch of an anticline is called the crest
of the fold and the lowest point on the syncline is called the
trough. The sloping sides of a fold are called limbs. A reference
plane that divides a fold into two equal halves is called an axial
plane. The line of intersection of the axial plane and the surface
of any constituent rock bed is called the axis of the fold, the
inclination of which with the horizontal is called the plunge of
the fold. In anticlines, the older rock beds generally occupy a
position in the interior (or core) of the curvature, whereas in
synclines, the rock beds in the interior are generally the
youngest beds.
 Faults
Faults are fractures in crustal strata along which appreciable shear
displacement of the adjacent rock blocks have occurred relative to each
other, probably due to tectonic activities. The fracture along which the
shear displacement has taken place is called a fault plane. In general, the
term ‘fault’ includes both the fault plane and the displacement that has
occurred along it.

Figure shows inclined faults, namely normal fault (Figure a) and reverse
fault (Figure b), where the fault plane is inclined to the vertical. The total
displacement AC that occurs along the fault plane is called the net slip.
The amount of net slip may vary from only a few tens of millimetres to
several hundred kilometres. The vertical component AB of the net slip AC
is called the throw or vertical slip, and the horizontal component BC of
the net slip AC is called the heave or horizontal slip.
References

[1] Emsley, J. 1998, The Elements, 3rd edition. Clarendon, Oxford University Press.
[2] Tarbuck, E.J., Lutgens, F.K., and Tasa, D.T. 2017, Earth Science, 15th edition, Pearson
[3] Sivakugan, S., Shukla, S.K., and Das, B.M. 2013. Rock Mechanics, An Introduction, CRC Press