Engineering Geology

Building on geological bodies:

• Foundations for buildings of all kinds,
• Hydro dams,
• Assessment, securing and construction of artificial embankments and slopes.

Building in geological materials:

•  Tunnels, galleries and caverns,
• Underground reservoirs.

Building with geological materials:

• Hydro dams for water reservoirs,
• Remediation of contaminated underground,
• Conservation and restoration of historic buildings.

The main focus of engineering geology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg is on “geological risk management” in the “Mittelgebirge” and alpine landscapes. The growing settlements in these risk areas are highly vulnerable by landslides, mudslides, rock falls and avalanches.

Typical questions to engineering geologists by communal and federal authorities refer to the issue, where and at which size landslides will develop and when they will occur. It has also to be assessed if settlements and infrastructure are located in the area at risk. The survey methods include qualitative and quantitative techniques (aerial surveys, geodetic surveying, direct motion measurements, soil and rock mechanic measurements). The risk assessment is carried out in the form of statistical analysis to receive information that covers a large area or by soil-mechanical modeling for finite geological bodies.