Duration
30h Th, 22h Pr, 2d FW
Number of credits
| Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Architectural Engineering | 5 crédits | |||
| Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering | 5 crédits | |||
| Master of Science (MSc) in Geological and Mining Engineering | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Fundamental concepts of Geology and Engineering Geology are introduced. These notions are needed to understand with efficiency other topics and courses linked to earth sciences and applications.
Globally the course content includes introduction, Earth composition, minerals and rocks, igneous rocks and magmatic processes, sedimentary processes and rocks, stratigraphy, geological maps and cross-sections, metamorphic rocks, folds, faults, and rock deformation, weathering, soils, mass wasting, erosion, fluvial, coastal and marine erosion and sedimentation, georesources and environmental issues, Engineering geology for civil construction works, seismic hazard, geological aspects in dam, tunnel or waste disposal construction, ...
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- understand and exploit theoretical and practical geological concepts;
- explain the main geological processes in function of basic laws from physics, chemistry and biology;
- predict and detect local geological specificities of a study site in view of future works or exploitation;
- identify the main minerals and rocks from macroscopic samples;
- read and interpret geological maps in the function of a given future land use project;
- understand potential environmental impacts of the main civil engineering projects;
- conceive and design attenuation measures to be taken for decreasing this environmental stress.
Exercises and practical courses are led by an assistant helped by two student-instructors. They will help each student to develop his self-sufficient capacities in practical and real case studies.
The not compulsory reading of reference books (most of them in English) will allow additional documentation and understanding of scientific texts on this topic (in English).
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, II.1, II.2, V.1, V.2 of the BSc in Engineering.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
This course is based on elementary notions of physics, chemistry and biology. No official prerequisite course is compulsory.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course is composed of "ex-cathedra" lectures (35 hours) and practical courses (25 hours).
The practical sessions are organized in direct relation to the topics covered by the theory lectures. Usually, two hours of lecture are followed by a practical session of two hours (except for the two first half-days of the semester).
The foreseen time schedule is the Thursday morning of the second semester of the academic year.
In addition, a one-day geological trip will allow to figure out and visualize the geological conditions around Liege. The very particular geological context helps to understand and interpret the global geological conditions of Western Europe. An additional half-day on the field will be used for measuring the dip and direction of geological stratifications, and for visiting karstic erosion problems and slope instabilities. The field-trip dates will be fixed together with the students.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face 2nd semester: Thursday am 8h30-12h30
Recommended or required readings
A pdf copy of all slides is made available on E-Campus. This is only a summary of what was said and shown during the lectures.
Minimun one of these two reference books is adviced:
- 'Geology for Engineers & Environmental Scientists' 2ème Edition, A.E. KEHEW, 1995, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-303538-7
- 'Géologie - Bases pour l'Ingénieur', 2ème Edition, A. Parriaux, 2009, Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, 581 p., ISBN: 2-88074-810-4
Reading one of them will allow the student to have more details and examples than collected during the lectures.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Additional information:
Oral exam including practical skills (30%) about minerals and rocks identification, and geological map interpretation.
With open questions, the evaluation is mainly based on understanding the concepts and processes, but it requires memorization. Indeed, good knowledge and perfect command of the fundamentals are needed for preparing accurate and adequate answers.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
2nd semester: Thursday am
The time and place should be checked on CELCAT.
Contacts
Alain Dassargues 04/3662376 Alain.Dassargues@uliege.be Tom Debouny (assistant): Tom.Debouny@uliege.be