Engineering Geological Models IAEG Commission 25

Abstract

IAEG Commission C25 on the ‘Use of Engineering Geological Models’ has recently completed a report entitled “Engineering Geological Models—An Introduction” to be published in the Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment. This paper summarizes the key findings of this report. The report notes that the generation and use of engineering geological models should be a fundamental activity for any geotechnical project. Such models are an essential tool for engineering quality control and provide a transparent way of identifying project-specific, critical engineering geological issues and parameters. Models should also form the basis for designing the scope, the method and assessing the effectiveness of site investigations. However, whilst the idea of models in engineering geology has existed for several decades, there has been little published to date that systematically distinguishes the different model types and how and when they might be used. The reader is referred to the full report for additional background, examples and details.