Contribution de la géophysique à l’étude de certains matériaux locaux destinés à la réalisation des ouvrages d’art au Cameroun

Abstract

The ever-increasing demographic explosion in the world in general, and in Cameroon in particular, has resulted in a growing demand for infrastructure (roads, motorways, bridges, viaducts, etc.) to move people and goods. The construction of these structures requires the use of large quantities of materials in general, and local materials in particular, hence the importance of mapping them. However, these structures often suffer numerous disasters due to tectonic activity in the earth's crust. It is therefore necessary not only to map local materials but also to assess the disasters that can occur on the road network with a view to optimising the use of these materials in the construction and maintenance of these infrastructures. To this end, using in situ and remotely sensed data, coupled with geometric and photogrammetric information systems, a map of the road network was drawn up and an inventory made of the various accidents it may be subject to. 376 faults and fractures intercepting the road network were mapped, including 256 fractures, 117 faults, 3 linear structures corresponding to fractures in one of their portions and faults in their extension. The map of local materials was then produced, providing information on the location of eight different types of rock and two types of soil generally used in road construction in particular, and in the construction of engineering structures in general, namely gneiss, basalt, granite, quartzite, schist, mica schist, gabbro, sandstone, lateritic soil and sandy- clay soil.