Understanding Fluid Mechanics, Materials, and Earth Science
Fluid Mechanics is the branch of continuum mechanics (which in turn is a branch of physics) that studies the motion of fluids (gases and liquids) and the forces that cause them. A fundamental feature that defines a fluid is its inability to resist shear (which causes a lack of defined shape). It also studies the interactions between the fluid and the boundary that limits it.
The Strength of Materials is a discipline of mechanical engineering and structural engineering that studies deformable solids using simplified models. The resistance of an element is defined as its ability to resist efforts and applied forces without breaking, permanent deformation, or deterioration.
Geophysics is the science that deals with the study of Earth from a physics perspective. As an experimental discipline, the study uses quantitative methods for physicists and physics of reflection and refraction of wave mechanics, and a number of methods based on measuring the severity of electromagnetic fields, magnetic or electrical phenomena, and radioactive elements. It’s therefore a branch applied to predicting the behavior of soils, rocks, and other components, aimed at making the Earth a habitable place for human activities.
Geomechanical studies the movement of soils. Field studies conducted by Schlumeberger science show that it helps optimize the drilling and production of complex reservoirs. They consist of one or more minerals or mineraloids.
The process by which rock fragments become smaller, or will dissolve to form new compounds, is known as weathering.
Soil Types
There are basically three types of soil: the unevolved, the recently evolved, and highly evolved, according to the degree of profile development, the nature of the evolution, and the type of humus.
Undeveloped Soils
These are raw soils very close to bedrock. They have little input of organic matter and lack a B horizon. Examples include soils in polar regions, such as polygonal soils, Reg (or stony deserts), and ergs, deserts of sand. There are three basic types: ranker soils, steppe soils, and rendzina soils.
Ranker soils are more or less acidic and have a humus-like moder or mor. They may result from erosion if they are pending, the contribution of colluvial material, or climate, such as soils and alpine tundra. The typical humus is mull and are basic soils.
Evolved Soils
These are soils that have perfectly formed three horizons. We find all kinds of humus, and some independence from the parent rock. The typical soils are brown soils, leached podzolic, podzols, ferruginous lateritic, pseudogley, gley, and halomorphic (solonchaks, alkaline, and solods solonetz).
Difference Between Rock and Soil
The terms rock and soil, in the meanings that are used by the civil engineer and unlike the supposed geological rock concept (which refers to all elements of the earth’s crust), imply a clear distinction between two types of materials. We call rock any material that poses a high resistance, and soil, conversely, any natural element composed of minerals separable by mechanical means of low intensity, such as agitation in water or pressure with the fingers. The definition includes the word ‘natural’ to exclude any formation where the human hand was involved, such as manufacturing or waste products. Rock is any material involving a high resistance, and soil, conversely, any natural element composed of minerals separable.