CE4708: GEOTECHNICAL &

FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
 Course Learning Outcomes
1. Describe the settlements of structures and calculation of immediate settlement of structures by
various methods.
2. Design and analysis of shallow foundations by various bearing capacity theories. Calculation of
bearing capacity of deep foundations and machine foundations.
3. Investigation and characterization of soil stratum under the ground.
4. Analysis of consolidation settlement of structures on clayey stratum.
5. Analysis of stability of various types of slopes by using different stability theories.
6. Performance of different laboratory tests and interpretation of results.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Course Outline

 Earth Pressures:
Definition, pressure at rest, active and passive earth pressures. Coulomb's and Rankin's theories. Bell’s
equation for cohesive frictional soils. Earth pressure diagrams for different loading configurations.
 Bearing Capacity of Soils:
Definition of: gross, net, ultimate, safe and allowable bearing capacity. Methods of obtaining bearing
capacity:
Presumptive values from codes, from plate load test. Bearing capacity theories. Bearing capacity from SPT
and CPT data.
 Settlement Analysis:
Definition, total settlement, differential settlement, angular distortion, immediate settlement.
Causes of settlement and methods of controlling settlement. Allowable total and differential settlement,
Methods of calculation of immediate settlement

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Course Outline

 Consolidation
Primary and secondary consolidation settlements. Normally and pre-consolidated soils. Mechanics of
consolidation, theory of one dimensional consolidation, assumptions and validity, Oedometer test:
Determination of compression index and coefficient of consolidation, magnitude and time rate of
consolidation settlement.
 Slope Stability:
Types of slopes, Factors affecting stability and remedies. Types of failure. Methods of analysis,
Ordinary methods of slices, Taylor's stability number method, Swedish circle method.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Course Outline

 Introduction to deep foundations:

Definition of deep foundations, Types of piles, load carrying capacity of piles, group action, negative
skin friction, pile load test. Problems related to piles.
 Soil Dynamics:
Introduction to machine foundations, Sources of dynamic loading, spring-mass-dashpot system,
application to machine foundations, liquefaction.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Recommended Books

 1. Foundation Analysis and Design by Joseph E. Bowles (5th Edition), McGraw- Hill
 2. Principles of Foundation Engineering by Braja M. Das 8th Ed, Thomson- Engineering
 3. Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice by K. Terzaghi and R. B. Peck John Wiley and
Sons, 3rd edition
 4. Elements of Foundation Design by G. N. Smith and E. L. Pole. Harper Collins
Distribution Services (February 12, 1981)
 5. Donald P. Coduto, Foundation Design: Principles and Practices, Prentice Hall; 2nd
Edition (July 20, 2000).

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

CE4708: GEOTECHNICAL &
FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
Lecture 1: Revision of Soil Mechanics

Ahad Ali, M.Sc.

Umer Farooq, M.Sc.
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Civil Engineering
University of Lahore
 Basic Definitions

 Soil
 Soil is an unconsolidated agglomerate of minerals with or without organic matter ( Plants,
animals residue etc. at different stages of decomposition) found at or near the surface of earth
crust, with which and upon which civil engineers build their structures.
 Soil mechanics
 It is the branch of civil engineering technology concerned with the study of soil and its behavior
under different types of loads (external forces, temperature changes, moisture variations etc.)
using principles of engineering mechanics, fluid mechanics, mechanics of dynamics, thermal
mechanics etc.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Basic Definitions ( Cont.…)

 Geotechnical Engineering
 It is the branch of civil engineering which deals with the analysis , design and construction of
foundations, slopes, retaining structures, embankments, tunnels, roads and other systems that are
made of or supported by soil or rock.
 Foundation Engineering
 Foundation engineering is the application of principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics in
the design of foundation elements of the structure.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Soil Formation

Soils are formed by degradation or weathering of rocks.

 Physical/ Mechanical weathering of rocks
 Mechanical weathering is the disintegration of rocks caused by temperature changes, freezing and
thawing erosion/abrasion by flowing water, natural disasters (earthquakes , land slides etc. )
Gravels, sands etc. are product of physical weathering.
 Chemical Weathering
 Weathering caused by decomposition of rock minerals by oxidation , hydration, carbonation,
hydrolysis, desilication and leaching is known as chemical weathering. Clays and organic soils
(peat, muck) are formed by chemical weathering.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Types of Soil Deposits

 Residual Soil Deposit

 Soils formed by weathering of rocks in place are called residual soils.
 Transported Soils Deposits
 Soils formed by weathering of rocks and transporting soil/weathered material and depositing at
some distance from the parent soil is known as transported soil deposit.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Types of Transported Soil Deposits

1. Alluvial Soils
 Materials transported and deposited by running water.
2. Aeolian Soils
 Materials transported and deposited by wind.
3. Glacial Soils
 Materials transported and deposited by glaciers.
4. Marine Deposits
 Materials transported and deposited by ocean waves and currents in shores and off-shore areas.
5. Colluvial Soils
 Materials transported and deposited by gravity.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Soil Fabric and Soil Structure

 Soil Fabric
It refers to the geometrical arrangement of soil particles. This term is generally used for coarse grained
soils.
 Soil Structure
Geometrical arrangements of the particles forming a soil mass as well as the inter particle forces
which may act between them characterizes its structure.
For granular/non cohesive soils as there are no inter particle forces so soil structure is similar to soil
fabric.
For fine grained soils as inter particle forces are high so soil structure is not same to soil fabric.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

 Types of Soil Structure
 Single Grained Structure
This type of structure is found in coarse grained soil
deposits. When soil particles settle out of suspension in
water, the particles settle independently, the force
causing the deposition is gravitational force.
 Honeycomb Structure
It is associated with silt deposits. When particles settle
out of suspension then in addition to gravitational
forces, surface forces also play the role. Particles are
attracted by underlying as well as neighboring particles
forming arches. A combination of arches leads to
formation of honeycomb structure.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

 Types of Soil Structure (Cont.…)
 Flocculated structure
This type of structure exists in case of clayey deposits.
Particles deposit with edge to edge or edge to face contact
between particles. This type of formation occurs due to
net electrical forces between particles being attractive in
nature at the time of deposition.
 Dispersed Structure (For Clayey Soils)
In case of dispersed or oriented structure, the particles
will have face to face contact. This type of formation
occurs due to net forces between adjacent particles being
repulsive in nature. This deposition of structures occurs in
fresh water with lower void ratio as compared to
flocculated structure.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

 Types of Soil Structure (Cont.…)
 Coarse Grained Skeleton Structure
This type of structure is found in composite soils where coarse
grained soils are larger proportion compared to fine grained
soil. The coarse grained soil form the skeleton with particle to
particle contact and the voids between particles will be
occupied by the fine grained particles.
 Cohesive Matrix Structure
This type of structure exists in composite soils where
proportion of fine grained soils is more than coarse grained
soils. In this case the coarse grained particles will be
embedded in fine grained fraction and will be prevented from
having particle to particle contact. This type of structure is
relatively more compressible than the more stable single grain
skeleton structure.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Grain Size Distribution of Soils

  Sieve Analysis
 In sieve analysis, dry soil sample of known weight is shaken mechanically through a series
of woven wire square mesh sieves with successively smaller openings.
 Hydrometer Analysis
 It is done for fine grained soils passing #200 sieve to find out further distribution of fine
soil particles.

 Graph is plotted for the grain size (mm) vs. the percent passing.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Index Properties of Soil

In general
  soil sample consists of soil solids, water and air voids.
1. Volume-Volume relationships.
i. Void Ratio
It is the ratio of volume of voids to volume of solids.
(Expressed in Fraction)
ii. Porosity
It is the ratio of volume of voids to the total volume of soil.
x100

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Index Properties of Soil (Cont.…)

iii.  Degree of Saturation

It is the ratio of volume of water to the total volume of soil.

iv. Air Content

It is the ratio of volume of air voids to the total volume of soil.
)

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Index Properties of Soil (Cont.…)

2.  Weight Weight Relationships

i. Water Content/ Moisture Content
It is the ratio of weight of water to the weight of dry soil mass.

ii. Specific Gravity of Soil

Dry soil specific gravity is ratio of dray unit weight of soil to the unit weight of water.
Bulk specific gravity is ratio of bulk unit weight to the unit weight of water.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Index Properties of Soil (Cont.…)

3.  Weight Volume Relationships

i. Bulk unit weight
ii. Dry unit weight
iii. Saturated unit weight
iv. Submerged unit weight

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Index Properties of Soil (Cont.…)

viii. 

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Compaction

It is  the densification of soil by the removal of air voids from the soil mass.
 Compaction Equipment
i. Smooth wheel rollers
ii. Pneumatic rubber tired rollers
iii. Sheep foot rollers
iv. Vibratory rollers
 Relative Density

Relative Compaction

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Compaction (Cont.…)

 Tests for finding maximum dry density

i. Standard Proctor Test
Read by Yourself
ii. Modified Proctor Test
 Relative Density Test
Performed for finding out the maximum and minimum void ratios. (Read by Yourself)

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Shear Strength of Soil

 Shear
  strength of soil is the internal existing force per unit area that the soil mass can offer to
resist failure and sliding along any plane inside it.
 Mohar-Columb failure criterion

c=cohesion
= normal stress on the failure plane
= angle of internal friction
=Shear strength

=Major principal stress

=minor principal stress
Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018
Shear Strength of Soil (Cont.…)

 Principal Stress
It is the maximum or minimum value of the normal stress acting on the principle plane.
 Major Principle Stress
It is the maximum value of the normal stress acting on the major principal plane.
 Minor Principal Stress
It is the minimum value of the normal stress acting on the minor principle plane.
 Major Principle Plane
It is the plane on which minor principle stress acts.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Shear Strength of Soil (Cont.…)

 Laboratory tests for determining the shear strength of soil

i. Direct Shear Test
ii. Unconfined Compression Test
iii. Triaxial Test
iv. Vane Shear Test

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Direct Shear Test

 This is the shear strength test which is normally performed on granular soils but it can also
be performed for fine grained soils. In this test three different normal stresses are applied
on the soil sample and sample is allowed to fail along a predetermined plane. A graph is
plotted between normal and shear stresses at failure and after that shear strength
parameters (c, ø) are determined.
 Based on drainage conditions during consolidation and sharing it has three types
i. Unconsolidated Undrained (UU)
ii. Consolidated Undrained (CU)
iii. Consolidated drained (CD)

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Direct Shear Test (Cont.…)

 Unconsolidated Undrained (UU)

In UU tests the drainage is not allowed from the sample during consolidation and shearing
stage.
 Consolidated Undrained (CU)
In CU test drainage is allowed during consolidation stage but it is not allowed during shearing
stage.
 Consolidated drained (CD)
In CD test drainage is allowed in both consolidation and shearing stage.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Unconfined Compression Test

 This type of test is performed on clayey soils. In this test a cylindrical soil sample with
height to diameter ratio of 2.0-2.5 is prepared and placed in the machine for testing. As it is
unconfined test therefore minor principle stress (σ3) is zero. Mohar’s circle is also plotted
in this test. It gives only cohesion parameter of the soil.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Triaxial Compression Test

 It is the most accurate shear strength test as it’s set up has more resemblance with field
conditions of soil sample. In this test after saturation, the minor principle stress is applied
and after that the major principle stress (σ1) is applied on the soil sample to fail it. Three
tests are performed on three different confining stresses. Mohar’s circles are plotted and
shear strength parameters (c, ø) are determined. This test can be performed on both
granular and cohesive soils. Based on drainage conditions it also has three types i.e. UU,
CU and CD.
 The detail of these test is same as discussed previously.

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Vane Shear Test

 It is a test which can be performed in the field as well as in the laboratory. This type of test
is generally performed for sensitive clays (clays whose strength reduces significantly due
to disturbances of soil structure).

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Stresses Below Earth Surface

  Using figure stress at depth h1 (point B)

 ,
 +,

 +-

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018

Stresses Below Earth Surface (Cont.…)

 Pore Water Pressure (U)

The normal pressure acting at any point or surface of the soil due to layer of water lying over
it.
 Effective stress (σ’)
Stress acting at any point or surface due to the soil particles.
 Total Stress
It is the stress acting at any point or surface due to total soil mass ( water+ soil particles) lying
over it.
σ=σ’+U

Civil Engineering Department, The University of Lahore 9/17/2018