GEOTECHNICAL

PROPERTIES
Lecture 01
Asst. Prof. Kristian Azul
SOIL MECHANICS
APPLICATIONS
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FOUNDATIONS

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FOUNDATIONS

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EARTH DAMS

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SOIL NAILING SYSTEM

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BRACED EXCAVATION

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FOUNDATION
• Low, artificially built part of a structure which
transmits the load of the structure to the
ground.
• The ground where it rests is called the
foundation bed.

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FOUNDATION
• To distribute the load of the structure over a large
bearing area so as to bring intensity of loading
within the safe bearing capacity of the soil lying
underneath.
• To load the bearing surface at a uniform rate so
as to prevent unequal settlement.
• To prevent the lateral movement of the
supporting material.
• To secure a level and firm bed for building
operations.
• To increase the stability of the structure as a
whole.

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TYPES OF FOUNDATION
• Shallow
• Deep

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SHALLOW FOUNDATION
• Spread footings
• Wall footings
• Mat foundation
• Has depth-of-embedment-to-width ratio < 4

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DEEP FOUNDATION
• Piles and drilled shaft foundations
• Used when the top layers are not good
enough to carry the structure

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FOUNDATION DESIGN
• Design of foundations of structures such as
buildings, bridges, and dams generally
requires a knowledge of such factors as:
• The load that will be transmitted by the
superstructure to the foundation system
• The requirements of the local building code
• The behavior and stress-related deformability
of soils that will support the foundation system
• The geological conditions of the soil under
consideration

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 PARTICLE SIZE
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DISTRIBUTION

COARSE-GRAINED:
Sieve Analysis

Uniformity Coefficient of
Coefficient Curvature
FINE-GRAINED:
Hydrometer Analysis

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 WEIGHT-VOLUME
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RELATIONSHIPS Water Content

Degree of Saturation

Specific Gravity
Void Ratio

Porosity

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RELATIONSHIPS Dry Unit Weight

Moist Unit Weight

Saturated Unit Weight

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RELATIONSHIPS
Relative Density

emax = void ratio of the soil in the loosest state

emin = void ratio in the densest state
e = in situ void ratio

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ATTERBERG LIMITS

The liquid limit of a soil is determined by

Casagrande’s liquid device (ASTM Test
Designation D-4318) and is defined as the
moisture content at which a groove closure of 12.7
mm (1/2 inch) occurs at 25 blows.

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ATTERBERG LIMITS

The plastic limit is defined as the moisture content

at which the soil crumbles when rolled into a
thread of 3.18 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter (ASTM
Test Designation D-4318).

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ATTERBERG LIMITS

The shrinkage limit is defined as the moisture

content at which the soil does not undergo any
further change in volume with loss of moisture
(ASTM Test Designation D-427).

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ATTERBERG LIMITS

Plasticity Index Liquidity Index

relative consistency of a
cohesive soil in the natural state

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 SOIL CLASSIFICATION:
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AASHTO
• American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) System
• It is used mainly for the classification of
highway subgrades. It is not used in
foundation construction.
• For qualitative evaluation of the desirability of
a soil as a highway subgrade material, a
number referred to as the group index has
also been developed.

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AASHTO

• The higher the value of the group index for a

given soil, the weaker will be the soil’s
performance as a subgrade. A group index of
20 or more indicates a very poor subgrade
material.

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 SOIL CLASSIFICATION:
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AASHTO

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USCS
• Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
• The system is currently used in practically all
geotechnical work.
• The following symbols are used in the
system:

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 SOIL CLASSIFICATION:
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USCS

Plasticity Chart
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USCS

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 HYDRAULIC
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CONDUCTIVITY
• Darcy (1856) proposed the following equation
for calculating the velocity of flow of water
through a soil:

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 HYDRAULIC
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CONDUCTIVITY
• The value of the hydraulic conductivity of
soils varies greatly. In the laboratory, it can be
determined by means of:
• CONSTANT-HEAD permeability test
(granular soils)
• FALLING-HEAD permeability test (fine-
grained soils)

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 HYDRAULIC
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CONDUCTIVITY

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 HYDRAULIC
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CONDUCTIVITY

Constant Head Test Falling Head Test

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STEADY STATE SEEPAGE

Flow line - path that a water particle would follow

in traveling from the upstream side to the down-
stream side
Equipotential line - a line along which water, in
piezometers, would rise to the same elevation
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Seepage (per unit length of the structure)

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SOIL STRESSES
• Total stress
• Effective stress
• Pore water pressure

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HOMEWORK
A. For the given soil profile, determine the
total stress, pore-water pressure and
effective stress.
B. Also, plot these stresses and their variations
with depth.

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HOMEWORK

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 SHEAR STRENGTH OF
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SOIL
• Soil failure usually occurs in the form of
“shearing” along internal surface within the
soil.
• Thus, structural strength is primarily a
function of shear strength.
• Shear strength is the soil’s ability to resist
sliding along internal surfaces within the soil
mass.

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SHEAR FAILURE
• Slope stability

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SHEAR FAILURE
• Shallow foundation

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 SHEAR STRENGTH OF
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SOIL
• Shear strength in soils is the resistance to
movement between particles due to physical
bonds from:
• Particle interlocking
• Atoms sharing electrons at surface contact
points
• Chemical bonds (cementation) such as
crystallized calcium carbonate

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 SHEAR STRENGTH
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FACTORS
• SOIL COMPOSITION: mineralogy, grain size and
grain size distribution, shape of particles, pore
fluid type and content, ions on grain and in pore
fluid.
• INITIAL STATE: State can be describe by terms
such as: loose, dense, overconsolidated, normally
consolidated, stiff, soft, etc.
• STRUCTURE: Refers to the arrangement of
particles within the soil mass; the manner in
which the particles are packed or distributed.
Features such as layers, voids, pockets,
cementation, etc, are part of the structure.

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 SHEAR STRENGTH OF
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SOIL
• To determine the shear strength of soil Mohr-
Coulomb Yield Criterion is used

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 SHEAR STRENGTH OF
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SOIL
Determination of shear strength
parameters (c and ϕ) in the laboratory

DIRECT SHEAR
UNCONFINED
TEST TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST
TEST
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REFERENCES
• https://www.quora.com/Why-isolated-footing-is-necessary
• http://www.ardaman.com/FileRepository/Portfolios/70214ad2-da57-4277-9b66-2233e06bcaf9.jpg
• https://www.soilnailsystem.com/new/industry-news/design-procedures-of-soil-nail-wall/
• http://www.aawill.com/brigham.html
• https://civiltoday.com/geotechnical-engineering/foundation-engineering/deep-foundation/176-
pile-foundation-definition-types
• https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi9tJmSp9vcAhWEvLwK
HZkmD-oQjxx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcivildigital.com%2Fpile-foundation-classification-
of-pile-foundations-pile-installation-methods%2F&psig=AOvVaw0F1W_6SNMhxL4-
wAK335ad&ust=1533743772721674
• https://www.ranker.com/list/tallest-buildings-in-the-world/ranker-travel
• https://www.brighthub.com/education/homework-tips/articles/124775.aspx
• https://www.cobaltrecruitment.com/news-blog/item/top-10-most-impressive-civil-engineering-
projects-of-all-time
• https://www.getyourguide.com/las-vegas-l58/full-or-half-day-hoover-dam-tour-t24593/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slope_stability_analysis
• https://www.saobserver.net/news/mabel-lake-road-gives-away-reduced-to-single-lane/

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING II
GEOTECHNICAL
PROPERTIES
Lecture 01
Asst. Prof. Kristian Azul