LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION TO GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

REFERENCE: Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering by: Braja M. Das

“Virtually every structure is supported by soil or rock. Those that aren’t either fly, float or fall over.”
~Richard L. Handy (1995)
Typical issues addressed by geotechnical engineering include the following:
1. what are the soils and rocks in the subsurface at a construction site?
2. Can the soils and rocks beneath a construction site safely support the proposed project?
3. What groundwater conditions currently exist, how might they change in the future, and what impact do they
have on the project?
4. What will be the impact of any planned excavation, grading or filling?
5. Are the natural or proposed earth slopes stable? If not, what must we do to stabilize them?
6. What kinds of foundation are necessary to support planned structures, and how should we design them?
7. If the project requires retaining walls, what kind would be best and how should we design them?
8. If the project requires a tunnel or underground opening, how would it be excavated and supported?

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS

• Most important task because it provides input data for all subsequent tasks
Site Exploration
And • Usually involves drilling vertical holes called exploratory borings into the
Characterization ground, obtaining and testing samples or conducting test in situ (in place).

• Based on the data gained from site exploration and characterization.

Engineering • Uses soil mechanics and rock mechanics, w/c included empirical, analytical
Analysis and numeral methods.

• Requires the application of engineering judgement,

experience from previous projects and economics.
Design • Geotechnical Engineers are reluctant to deviate too far from
design criteria that have proven worthy in the past.
• This is why understanding customary standards of practice is
very important.
• Geotechnical services during construction phase include the
ff:
Construction
• Examining the soil and rock conditions actually encountered
and comparing them w/ those anticipated in the design.
• Comparing the actual performance w/ that anticipated in
the design.
• Providing quality control testing.

1.2 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING - A GENEREAL PERSPECTIVE

• Soil - is defined as the un-cemented aggregate of mineral grains and decayed organic matter (solid particles) with
liquid and gas in the empty spaces between the solid particles.
• Soil Mechanics - is the branch of science that deals with the study of the physical properties of soil and the
behavior of soil masses subjected to various types of forces.
 • Soils Engineering - is the application of the principles of soil mechanics to practical problems.
• Geotechnical Engineering - is the sub discipline of civil engineering that involves natural materials found close
to the surface of the earth. It includes the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics to the design of
foundations, retaining structures and earth structures.

1.3 SOIL MECHANICS - A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ITS EVOLUTION

▪ According to Skempton (1985), It was in 18th century when the understanding of geotechnical engineering
began in true engineering terms as it is known today. Ancient civilizations flourished along the banks of rivers
(Nile in Egypt, TIgris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, Huang Ho or Yellow river in China and Indus in India).
▪ According to Kensel (1986), there were no evidences that measures were taken to stabilize the foundations or
check erosion caused by flood.
▪ The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy) is the most famous example of problems related to soil bearing capacity in
the construction of structures. Its construction began in 1173 AD and still continuous for over 200 years. The
following details of the tower are enumerated below:
- Weight=15,700 metric tons
- Dia. Of Circular base support=20m ft
- Weak clay layer at depth=11m36 ft below ground
- More than 5m16.5ft out of plumb w/ the 54m179ft height
- It was closed in 1990
- North side soil was excavated for stabilization
- 70 metric tons of earth were removed
- 5 tower leans now.
THERE WERE FOUR MAJOR PERIODS IN GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING BASED ON EMPHASIS AND
NATURE OF STUDY. THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Pre classical (1700 to 1776 AD)
2. Classical Soil Mechanics – Phase 1 (1776 to 1856 AD)
3. Classical Soil Mechanics- Phase 2 (1856 to 1910 AD)
4. Modern Soil Mechanics (1910 to 1927 AD)
1. Pre Classical Soil Mechanics (1700-1776)
This period concentrated on studies relating to natural slope and unit weight of various types of soils, as well as the
semi empirical earth pressure theories. The following soil scientists pioneered this period:
• Henri Gautier (1660-1737) – French royal engineer. In 1717, he studied the natural slopes of soil when
tipped in a heap for formulating the design procedures of retaining walls.
• Bernard Forest de Belidor (1671-1761) – He published a textbook for military and civil engineers in
France. In the book, he proposed a theory for lateral earth pressure on
retaining walls that was a follow-up to Gautier’s (1717) original study.
• Francois Gadroy (1705-1759) – He is a French engineer in 1746. The first laboratory model test results on
a 76-mm-high ( 3 in.) retaining wall built with sand backfill were reported in
1746 by a French engineer. Also observed the existence of slip planes in the
soil at failure.
• J.J. Mayniel (1808) – In 1908, he summarized Gadroy’s study.
2. Classical Soil Mechanics-Phase 1 (1776-1856)
• Charles Augustin Coulomb (1736-1806) - used the principles of calculus for maxima and minima to
determine the true position of the sliding surface in soil behind a retaining wall.
In this analysis, Coulomb used the laws of friction and cohesion for solid
bodies.
• Jacques Frederic Francais (1775-1833) and Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier (1785-1836) – studied
special cases of Coulomb’s work. These special cases related to inclined
backfills and backfills supporting surcharge.
• Jean Victor Poncelet (1788-1867) – An army engineer and professor of mechanics, extended Coulomb’s
theory by providing a graphical method for determining the magnitude of lateral
earth pressure on vertical and inclined retaining walls with arbitrarily broken
polygonal ground surfaces. He was also the first to use the symbol f for soil
friction angle. He also provided the first ultimate bearing-capacity theory for
shallow foundations.
• Alexandre Collin (1808-1890) – An engineer, provided the details for deep slips in clay slopes, cutting, and
embankments.
• William John Macquorn Rankine (1820-1872) - professor of civil engineering at the University of lasgow.
This study provided a notable theory on earth pressure and equilibrium of earth
masses. Rankine’s theory is simplification of Coulomb’s theory.

3. Classical Soil Mechanics-Phase 2 (1856-1910)

• Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy (1803-1858) – In 1856, he published a study on the permeability of sand
filters.
• Sir George Howard Darwin (1845-1912) – A professor of astronomy, conducted laboratory tests to
determine the overturning moment on a hinged wall retaining sand in loose and
dense states of compaction.
• Joseph Valentin Boussinesq (1842-1929) – In 1885, he published the development of the theory of stress
distribution under loaded bearing areas in a homogeneous, semi-infinite, elastic, and isotropic medium.
• Osborne Reynolds (1842- 1912) – In1887, He demonstrated the phenomenon of dilatency in sand.

4. Modern Soil Mechanics (1910-1927)

In this period, results of research conducted on clays were published in which the fundamental properties and
parameters of clay were established.
• Albert Mauritz Atterbeg (1846-1916) – He is a Swedish chemist and soil scientist. He explained the
consistency of cohesive soilsby defining liquid, plastic, and
shrinkage limits. He also defined the plasticity indexas the
difference between liquid limit and plastic limit.
• Jean Fontard (1884-1962) – He carried out investigations on cause of failure of high earth dam at France in
1909. He conducted undrained double-shear tests on clay
specimens to determine shear strength parameters.
• Arthur Langley Bell (1874-1956) – He is a civil engineer from England. He developed relationships for lateral
pressure and resistance in clay as well as bearing capacity of
shallow foundations in clay.
• Wolmar Fellenius (1876-1957) – An engineer from Sweden, developed the stability analysis of saturated clay
slopes (that is, ø = 0 condition).

• Karl Terzaghi (1883-1963) - of Austria developed the theory of consolidation for clays as we know today and
was published in Terzaghi’s celebrated book Erdbaumechanik auf Bodenphysikalisher Grundlage in 1925.
• Father of modern soil mechanics
• Presided the first conference of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
(ISSMFE) held at Harvard University in 1936.
• In 1997, ISSMFE was changed to ISSMGE (International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering)

• Ralph B. Peck (1912-2008) – Godfather of soil mechanics.