INTRODUCTION

TO SOIL
MECHANICS
CE 151 – LECTURE 1
DEFINITIONS OF SOIL

 General:

Soil is the surface layer of

the earth, composed of
fine rock material
disintegrated by geological
processes; and humus, the
organic remains of
decomposed vegetation.
 DEFINITIONS OF SOIL
 In Soil Science:
Soil is the substance existing
on the earth’s surface, which
grows and develops plant life.

Soil Science Society of

America:
soil - The unconsolidated
mineral or organic material on
the immediate surface of the
Soil Science - the branch of
Earth that serves as a natural science concerned with the
medium for the growth of land formation, nature, ecology, and
plants. classification of soils.
 DEFINITIONS OF SOIL

 In Geology:
Soil is the material in the relative thin surface zone
within which roots occur and all the rest of the crust is
grouped under the term ROCK, irrespective of its
hardness.
Soil is an accumulation of loose material from
mechanical and chemical weathering of rocks (also
relocated) and containing a large admixture of various
organic substances on the Earth's surface.

Geology- the science that deals with the earth's physical structure and
substance, its history, and the processes that act on it
 DEFINITIONS OF SOIL
 In Geology:

Regolith - the layer of unconsolidated rocky material covering bedrock.

 DEFINITIONS OF SOIL
 In Engineering:
Soil is the un-aggregated or un-cemented
deposits of mineral and/or organic particles or
fragments covering large portion of the earth’s
crust.
FUNCTIONS OF SOIL

 As a Medium for Plant Growth

 As a System for Water Supply and
Purification
 As a Recycling System for Nutrients and
Organic Wastes
 As a Habitat for Soil Organisms
 As an Engineering Medium
SOIL ENGINEERING and
SOIL MECHANICS
 Soil Engineering is the application of the principles
of Soil Mechanics to practical problems.

 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.
SOIL ENGINEERING and
SOIL MECHANICS
 Soil Mechanics is the application of engineering
mechanics to the solution of problems dealing with
soils as a foundation and a construction material.

 Other names for Soil Mechanics:

Geotechnique, Geotechnics, Geomechanics or
Geotechnical Engineering in a broader sense
Do you know who is the
Father of Soil Mechanics?

 To be continued….
Do you know who is the
Father of Soil Mechanics?
SOIL ENGINEERING and
SOIL MECHANICS
 Charles Agustin Coulomb (1773)
 was the first person to use mechanics to solve soil
problems

 Karl Terzaghi (1883 – 1963)

 is the undisputed father of Soil Mechanics
 his publication “Erdbaumechanik” in 1925 laid the
foundation of Soil Mechanics which brought
recognition to importance of soils in engineering
SOIL ENGINEERING and
SOIL MECHANICS
Soil Mechanics is the application of laws of
mechanics and hydraulics to engineering
problems dealing with sediments and other
unconsolidated accumulations of solid
particles produced by the mechanical and
chemical disintegration of rocks regardless
of whether or not they contain an admixture
of organic constituent.

(Terzaghi, 1948)