FAULTS

Unit- II
Structural Geology: Brief idea about
ENGINEERING stratification, apparent dip, true dip,
strike and unconformities, Folds:
GEOLOGY Definition, parts of a fold, classification,
causes relation to engineering
operations.
Faults: Definition, parts of a fault,
classification, cause relation to
engineering purposes.
Course Outcome Joints: Definition, attitude, joint set, joint
CO Title Level systems, classification, cause in relation
Number to engineering Operations
Students will be able to explain the fundamentals of the
CO1 Engineering properties of Earth materials, minerals, Engineering Geology: Geological
various types of rocks. considerations in the Engineering projects
Students will be able to examine the role of geologists
like tunnels, Highways, foundation, dams,
CO2 in Civil Engineering projects and overcoming problems reservoirs.
related Geological Engineering.
Earthquake: Definition, terminology,
Study will develop knowledge of using mitigation earthquake waves, intensity, recording
CO3 techniques for a given range of stress, rock mass and of earthquake, factors to be considered
scale condition.
and methods in earthquake proof
construction
FAULTS
FAULTS
From the Civil engineering point of view, faults are the most
unfavorable and undesirable geological structures at the site for
any given purpose.
i.e. for location of reservoir; as foundations site for construction of
dams, importance bridges or huge buildings, for tunneling; for
laying roads, railways tracks, etc.
This is because faults considerably weaken the rocks and render
the sites in which they occur as unfavorable places for all
constructional purposes.
 FAULTS
Further, as long as the faults are active, the site is unstable and
susceptible to upward, downward or sideward movement along the
fault plane, thereby making the places highly hazardous for
foundation purposes.
Thus, by virtue of the harm they are capable of causing, faults are
necessarily investigated with special care in dealing with any major
construction.
 CRACK : FRACTURE : JOINT: FAU LT
A fracture can If relative faults may be
A line on the sometimes form a displacement described as
surface of deep, wide crack does not take fractures along
something in the rock place on either which relative
along which it
Fractures can side of fracture displacement of
has split
provide access plane, it is called adjacent blocks
without for fluids, a joint. has taken place.
breaking like water or hydro
apart. carbons, to move
into the rock.
CRACK : FRACTURE : JOINT: FAULT
TERMINOLOGY
Dip and Hade
PARTS OF A FAULT

Dip & Hade

The dip of the fault is its inclination with the horizontal as measured in
a vertical plane at right angles to the strike.

The hade is the angle which the fault makes with the vertical.
FOOT WALL AND HANGING
WALL

When the fault plane is inclined, the faulted

block which lies below the fault plane is
called the “foot wall” and the other block
which rests above the fault plane is called
“hanging wall”. In this case of vertical faults,
naturally the faulted blocks cannot be
described as foot wall or hanging wall.
FOOT WALL AND HANGING
WALL
NATURE OF FAULT
PLANE
Rarely the displacement during faulting occurs
along a single fault plane.
In many cases, faulting takes place along a
number of parallel fractures, Such a zone which
contains a number of closely spaced sub-parallel
fractures along which the relative displacement
has taken place is called shear zone or fault
zone.
A fault plane may be plain or straight or may be
curved or irregular, it may be horizontal or
inclined or vertical.
Fault Plane is the planar surface of the fracture along which relative
displacement of the blocks takes place during the process of faulting.
When it is not planar, the same surface is simply described as fault
surface.
FAULT ZONE/
SHEAR ZONE
In many cases, it may be a small region with definite thickness and
distinct composition having numerous closely placed parallel fractures
within itself along which there have been clear displacements.
FAULT ZONE/ SHEAR ZONE = it forms a zone on either side of
which major faulting has taken place.
PARTS OF A FAULT
Slip
The displacement that occurs during faulting is
called the slip. The total displacement is known as
the next slip. This may be along the strike direction
or the dip direction or along both.
HEAVE AND THROW

The horizontal component of displacement is

called “heave” and the vertical component of
displacement is called “throw”
In vertical faults, there is only throw, but no
heave. In horizontal faults, there is only
heave, but no throw.
HEAVE AND THROW
 MAGNITUDE OF FAULTS
Like folds, faults also have considerable
range in their magnitude. Some occur for
short distance, while other can be traced for
very long distances.
In some cases displacement may be less
than a centimeter while in other it may be
many or even kilometers.
The magnitude of faulting obviously depend
on the intensity and the nature of shearing
stresses involved.
MAGNITUDE OF FAULTS
CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES
OF FAULTS
Like folds, faults also have been classified
on the basis of different principles as
• Types of displacement along the plane.
• Relative movement of foot wall and
hanging wall.
• Types of slip involved.
• Mode of occurrence of faults
 CLASSIFICATION OF FAULTS :
On the basis of apparent movement
1.NORMAL FAULT:-A dip-sip fault in which the block above the fault
has moved downward relative to the block below.
DISPLACEMENT ON NORMAL
FAULT
Horst : consists of two subparallel normal faults that dip away from
each other so that the block between the two faults remains high.
Graben: consists of a block that has dropped down between two
subparllel normal faults that dip towards each other.
HORST AND GRABEN, NEVADA
2. Reverse fault : Fault in which hanging wall appears to have
moved up with respect to foot wall.. Generally, inclined above 45 degrees.
THRUST FAULT : Varieties of Reverse fault in which hanging wall has moved up
relative to footwall and fault dip at angles below 45 degrees.
NAPPE
This term is used for extensive blocks of rocks that have been
translated to great distances, often ranging to several hundred
kilometres along a thrust plane.
A sheet that has moved sideways over neighbouring strata as a result
of an overthrust or folding.
STRIKE-SLIP FAULT
defined as faults in which faulted blocks have been moved against each other in
horizontal direction.

There are two types of strike slip faults:

A] Right lateral strike-slip fault (dextral): Where the side
opposite the observer moves to the right.
B] Left lateral strike-slip fault (sinistral): Where the side
opposite the observer moves to the left.
4. HINGE FAULTS
Also called pivotal faults or rotational faults. A hinge fault is
characterised by movement of the disrupted blocks along a medial
point called the hinge point. The movement is rotational.
 TYPES OF DISPLACEMENT
ALONG THE PLANE
Based on this principle, faults are divisible into transitional
faults and rotational faults.
1. Transitional faults
In the case of transitional faults, the type of displacement of
the foot wall with reference to the hanging wall is uniform
along the fault plane.
2. Rotational faults
In the case of the rotational fault the displacement varies
from place to place.
TYPES OF DISPLACEMENT
ALONG THE PLANE
TYPES OF SLIP INVOLVED
Slip has been already described as the
displacement along the fault plane.
1. Strike Fault
If the displacement is along the strike direction
of the fault plane, such a fault is described as
strike fault in which net slip is parallel to the
strike of the fault.
2. Oblique slip fault
On the other hand. If the displacement occurs
partly along the strike direction of the fault
plane, such a fault is called an oblique slip
fault.
OBLIQUE SLIP FAULT
OBLIQUE SLIP FAULT
CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES
OF FAULTS
Mode of Occurrence
Radial Faults
When a set of faults occur on the surface and appears to be
radiating from a common point, they are called radial faults.
Enechelon Faults
These refer to a series of minor faults which appear to be
overlapping one another.
Arculate or Peripheral Faults
These also refers to a set of relatively minor faults which have
curved outcrop and are arranged in a peripheral manner,
enclosing more or less a circular area.
CLASSIFICATION AND
TYPES OF FAULTS
CLASSIFICATION AND
TYPES OF FAULTS
 CLASSIFICATION AND
TYPES OF FAULTS
Miscellaneous
Step Faults
When a set of parallel normal faults occur at a regular
interval, they give a step-like appearance and are called
step faults.
Parallel Faults
As the name indicates, these are a set of parallel normal
faults with the same strike and dip. They are like step faults
but may or may not have a regular interval.
STEP FAULTS
PARALLEL FAULTS
 RECURRENCE OF
FAULTING
Faulting occurs when shearing resistance of the
geological formation is overcome by the tectonics
forces. Occurrence of faulting is often accompanied
by earthquakes and it is an indication of subsurface
instability of the region concerned.
Thus, faulting may be treated as an attempt to reach
stability. Because of the hard, rigid and solid nature of
the rock masses involved, this stability is not achieved
in one stroke but by repetition of the process. Thus
once if a faulting occur in a place, it shall remain
active for some time, i.e. subsequent recurring faulting
takes place there only.
RECURRENCE OF
FAULTING
This is so because this fault plane offers the
least resistance for the readjustment of the
blocks concerned and for the release of
accumulated energy in the rock. Once the
stability is attained, faulting may not recur or,
even if faulting takes place, it would be of
mild intensity. Such faults which have not
been affected in the known history are called
dead faults.
 CAUSES OF FAULTING
Faults may occur due to various causes, among them
tectonic causes are responsible not only for most of
the faults but also for faults of grater magnitude.
It may be recollected that faults develop mainly due to
shear and sliding failures resulting from tectonic
forces.
It is natural that compression and tensional forces be
mutually interlinked because if in one part of the crust
there is compression, in the adjacent part there will be
tension.
In addition to these main causes, sometimes, the
formation of magmatic intrusions such as bysmaliths,
may also contribute to faulting, though on a very small
scale. Occasionally, local settlement under the
influence of gravity may also cause minor faulting.
CAUSES OF FAULTING
 EFFECTS OF FAULTING
The faulting phenomenon produces dislocation in
lithology and topography. Hence, they offer evidences
to recognize faults in the field. Proper geological
investigation followed by geological mapping enables
one to detect the occurrence of faults in any area.
Slickness, fault drags, brecciation, mineralization
zones, repetition and omission of strata and offsets of
beds are some of the lithological evidences of Faulting.
Topographical evidences include various surface
features like, offset ridges, parallel deflection of valley,
reversal of drainage, straight reverse courses, and a
straight and steep coastal lines.
EFFECTS OF FAULTING
 O U T C OM E S OF T OP IC ….
Students will be able to explain the fundamentals of the geological
structures like fault and it allied formations.
Students will be able to examine the role of fault in civil engineering
projects and overcoming problems related to it.
Study will develop knowledge of using mitigation techniques for a given
range of stress, rock mass and scale condition.
 FAQ’S
1) faults and its various parts in detail.

2) Mention the various parts of fault.

3) Dip, hade, throw and heave of a fault.

54
 REFERENCES

Engineering Geology: Parbin Singh

Engineering Geology : D.S Arora

NPTEL

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