ADVANCED STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
Course Name Course ID Prerequisite
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY ESR411 ESR303,ESR399
Time Table for Course Lectures
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY (ESR411)
Week Lecture
1
Chapter one: mechanical principles. P[1][2][3]
- Force
- Force and acceleration.
- Units of measurements.
- Composition and resolution of forces.
- Lithostatic pressure. Differential forces.
2
Stress:
- Concept of stress. Calculation of stress.
Strain:
- Definition.
- Three stages of deformation.
- Elastic deformation.
- Stress-Strain diagrams.
- Factor controlling behavior of materials.
3
Chapter two: geometric analysis of folds Basic definitions:
Anticline. Synformal anticline. Syncline. Antiformal syncline. Overturned folds.
Antiforms and synforms. Anticlinotia and synclinoria.
4
Geometric analysis of folds:
- Geometric analysis of folded surfaces
Limbs, hinges and inflections. Hingelines, axial surfaces and axial traces.
- Geometric coordination of hingelines and axial surfaces.
- The difference between hingeline and fold axis.
- Cylindrical and non-cylindrical folds.
5 First Quiz Exam 6
Chapter three: mechanics and causes of folding.
- Types of folding
- Flexure folding. Shear folding. Flow folding.
7
- Dynamics of folding - Ultimate causes of folding
- Tectonic processes. Non-tectonic processes.
8 Midterm Exam.
9
Chapter four: joints
- Principles of failure by rupture - Tension fractures. Shear fractures.
- Experimental data. Release fractures. Torsion.
- Relation of rupture to stress.
- Stress ellipsoid. Principal stresses. Stress difference. Compressive stress.
- Relation of rupture to strain.
- Strain ellipsoid. Strain axes.
- Genetic classification of joints
- Causes of joints. Extension joints. Release joints. Conjugate joints. Sheeting.
Exfoliation. Tension fractures. Columnar joints 10 Second Quiz Exam
11
Chapter five: mechanics of faults.
- Relation of fault to the stress orientation.
- Factor controlling the attitude of faults.
- Heterogeneity of forces.
- Inhomogeneity of rocks.
12
- Effect of rupture.
- Plasticity.
- Tension fracture.
- Stress ellipsoid and strain ellipsoid.
13
Chapter six: kinematic analysis Strategy and definition
1- Rigid body movements
- Translation: general concept, displacement vector, slip on faults, determining slip using projection, and computing dilational spreading of dike walls.
- Rotation: general concept, stereographic evaluation, and multiple rotations.
2- Non-rigid body movements - General concept
- The ground rules
- Computing changes in line length and geologic - Examples - Changes in the angle between lines and geologic examples - Angular shear
- Strain ellipse, strain equations, Mohr circle strain diagram 14 - Strain ellipsoid and plane strain and its application
- Dilational changes
- Rotational and non-rotational strain - Finite and infinitesimal strain 15 Final Exam
References:
[1] Structural Geology, 3rd ed., by Billings, M.P., 1972. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
[2] Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions, 1st ed., by Davis, G.H., 1984. (), John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
[3] Structural Geology and its Economic Applications, by Fares, M.I., and Mourad I. Youssef, 1960 (in Arabic).
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY (ESR411) Time Table for Lab Work Course
Week Lab. Work
1 Orientation of stress ellipsoid:P[1]
- Determination of the principal stress axes which cause certain geologic structure.
- Revision on the distribution of stress axes related to normal, strike-slip and thrust faults as well as folds.
- Exercises on the orientation of faults with respect to stress ellipsoid.
2 Brittle rock failure:
- Determination of magnitudes of stress causing failure
- Determination the normal and shear stress on a plane due to failure under confining pressure
- Exercise on constructing the Mohr diagram. Problem no. (13-2)
3 - Mohr envelop and it use in determination of rock properties at failure under different conditions
- Angle of internal friction - Coulomb coefficient
- Coulomb coefficient of internal friction - Importance of fluid pressure
- Exercises: problem no. (13-4) and (13-5).
4 - Definition of normal and shear strain - Axes of strain ellipsoid
- Projection of objects, circles, and ellipse (Fig. (14-4) - Strain fields and Flinn diagram
5 Plotting of strain axes of conglomerates on Flinn diagram 6 - Path of coaxial strain using a plasticine model (pure shear)
- Strain fields
- Expansion and shrinkage cards
- Position of structural shapes in coaxial strain ellipsoid 7 Pure Shear:
- Coaxial shear strain using computer card deck - Diagrams of different cards.
8 Practical Midterm Exam
9 Willmann method to construct strain ellipsoid using strain fossils 10 - Fry's method to construct the strain ellipsoid and its applications
- Determination of dialation magnitude
11 Application of strain trajectories on Wadi Ablah samples 12 Practical Final Exam
Reference:
[1] Structural Analysis and Synthesis: A Laboratory Course in Structural Geology, by Rowland, S.M., 1986. Blackwell Scientific publications.
