DCC 3103

GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING
TOPIC 1
INTRODUCTION TO GEOTECHNICS
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
TO GEOTECHNICS
• Soil Mechanics is one of the youngest disciplines of Civil
Engineering involving the study of soil, its behavior and
application as an engineering material.
• According to Terzaghi (1948): "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.“
• Geotechnical Engineering is a broader term for Soil
Mechanics.
SOIL MECHANICS IN GENERAL
• Soil mechanics is a discipline of civil engineering that predicts the
soil performance characteristics utilizing the engineering
techniques of dynamics, fluid mechanics, and other technologies.
• Soil mechanics includes the study of soil composition, strength,
consolidation, and the use of hydraulic principles to deal with
issues concerning sediments and other deposits.
• Soil mechanics is one of the major sciences for resolving
problems related to geology and geophysical engineering.
• Soil mechanics studies are very important for civil engineers
because based on the findings of soil mechanics studies,
engineering structures are constructed. The type of construction,
type of equipment to be used, type of foundation, support
material, and many other aspects of construction works are
largely affected by the soil mechanics studies.
SOIL MECHANICS IN GENERAL
Geotechnical Engineering contains :-
• Soil Mechanics (Soil Properties and Behavior)
• Soil Dynamics (Dynamic Properties of Soils,
Earthquake Engineering, Machine Foundation)
• Foundation Engineering (Deep & Shallow
Foundation)
• Pavement Engineering (Flexible & Rigid Pavement)
• Rock Mechanics (Rock Stability and Tunneling)
• Geosynthetics (Soil Improvement)
ENGINEERING ASPECT OF
SOIL
The term Soil has various meanings, depending upon the general
field in which it is being considered.
To a Pedologist - Soil is the substance existing on the earth's
surface, which grows and develops plant life.
To a Geologist - 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.
To an Engineer - 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.
WHAT IS SOIL?
• All soils originate directly or indirectly from rocks and these are
classified according to their mode of formation. By a combination
of physical and chemical processes rock masses are reduced to
particles ranging in size down to 0.001 mm. Soils result when
collections of these particles are re-deposited, often in bodies of
water, and are compressed and consolidated by further
depositions above.
• The nature of the subsequent soil depends not only on its parent
rocks, but also on the processes and conditions of disintegration,
transport and deposition – and on time. The properties of clay
minerals are important, in particular their very flaky nature.
• Understanding the formation and nature of soils is an important
precursor to understanding their engineering properties and their
behavior under load.
WHAT IS SOIL?
• Soils are, in the main, naturally occurring materials. Engineers
and builders who use soils have to take them as they find them;
soils cannot be manufactured to order in the way of other
materials, such as steel and concrete.
• Soils are also highly variable and complex materials, possessing
engineering properties that may have a wide range of possible
values. Thus, at the start of any design process soils must be
accurately and systematically described; classification is part of
description. The main components of soil description are:
• The nature of the soil: shape, size and distribution of particles
• The state of the soil: density, relative density, water content
• The fabric of the soil: homogeneity or layer sequences, cementing
APPLICATIONS OF SOIL
MECHANICS
1. Foundations
The loads from any structure have to be ultimately transmitted to
a soil through the foundation for the structure. Thus, the
foundation is an important part of a structure, the type and details
of which can be decided upon only with the knowledge and
application of the principles of soil mechanics.
2. Underground and Earth-retaining Structures
Underground structures such as drainage structures, pipe lines,
and tunnels and earth-retaining structures such as retaining walls
and bulkheads can be designed and constructed only by using the
principles of soil mechanics and the concept of ‘soil-structure
interaction’.
APPLICATIONS OF SOIL
MECHANICS
3. Pavement Design
Pavement Design may consist of the design of flexible or rigid pavements.
Flexible pavements depend more on the subgrade soil for transmitting the
traffic loads. Problems peculiar to the design of pavements are the effect of
repetitive loading, swelling and shrinkage of sub-soil and frost action.
Consideration of these and other factors in the efficient design of a pavement
is a must and one cannot do without the knowledge of soil mechanics.
4. Excavations, Embankments and Dams
Excavations require the knowledge of slope stability analysis; deep
excavations may need temporary supports—‘timbering’ or ‘bracing’, the
design of which requires knowledge of soil mechanics. Likewise the
construction of embankments and earth dams where soil itself is used as the
construction material requires a thorough knowledge of the engineering
behaviour of soil especially in the presence of water. Knowledge of slope
stability, effects of seepage, consolidation and consequent settlement as well
as compaction characteristics for achieving maximum unit weight of the
soil in-situ, is absolutely essential for efficient design and construction of
embankments and earth dams.
TYPES OF ROCKS
• Rocks can be defined as compact, semi-
hard mass natural material composed of
one or more minerals. The rocks that are
encountered at surface of the earth or
beneath, are commonly classified into
three groups:
• Igneous rocks
• Sedimentary rocks
• Metamorphic rocks
ROCKS CYCLE
IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Igneous rocks are considered to be the primary rocks
formed by the cooling molten magmas; they have been
formed on or at various depths below earth surface.

• There are two main classes of igneous rocks. The are:-

1. Extrusive (poured out at surface) such as basalt
and rhyolite.
2. Intrusive (large rocks masses which have not
formed in contact with the atmosphere) such as
granite and gabbro
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• Sedimentary rocks are formed by
disintegration and decomposition of any
rock types are transported, redeposit and
partly or fully consolidated or cemented
into a new rock types.
• From our engineering point of view, the
most important rocks that belong to
group are sandstones, limestones and
shales.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
• Metamorphic rocks is transformation of
existing rocks types formed by a process
called ‘metamorphism’; which is the
process of changing the composition and
texture of rocks without melting by heat
and pressure
• Some examples of metamorphic rocks
are gneiss, slate, marble, schist and
quartzite.
EXAMPLE OF ROCK CAN BE
FOUND IN MALAYSIA
• Igneous rock - granite (Tampin, N.S. dan Kuala Lumpur),
rhyolite (Lanchang, Pahang), basalt (Segamat, Johor &
Kuantan, Pahang) and gabbro (Wakaf Tapai, Terengganu).

• Sedimentary rock –sandstone (Panti, Johor), syale(Batu

Arang, Selangor), mudstone (Kg. Laloh, Kelantan) and
lime stone(Langkawi, Kedah).

• Metamorphic rocks - slates (Sg. Aring, Kelantan), phyllite

(Timur-Barat Highway), schist (Mersing, Johor), marble
(Langkawi, Kedah) and Quartzite(Genting Sempah,
Selangor).
TYPE OF SOILS
• On the basis of origin of their
constituents, soil can be divided
into:
•Residual soils
•Transported soils
•Organic soil (Topsoil)
RESIDUAL SOILS
• Residual Soils are those that remain in the place of their
formation as a result of the weathering of parent rocks.
• The depth of residual soils depend primarily on climatic
condition and the time of exposure: in some area, this
depth might be considered.
• In temperate zones residual soil are commonly stiff and
stable.
• An important characteristic of residual soil is that the
sizes of grains are indefinite.
RESIDUAL SOILS

Cut in residual soil of Basalt Residual soil of Granite

TRANSPORTED SOILS
• Transported Soils are that are found
at location far removed from their
place of formation. The transporting
agencies of such as soils are
glaciers, wind and water.
• The soils are name according to the
mode of transportation.
TRANSPORTED SOILS
TRANSPORTED SOILS
ORGANIC SOIL (TOPSOIL)
• Topsoil is defined by the top two to seven inches of soil that
has the greatest organic matter content and microorganisms.
• Organic matter is what is left after plant roots, stems and
leaves decompose.
• Topsoil is made up of carbon and nitrogen, microbes and
larger creatures such as worms, beetles and other insects. A
fertile topsoil also has concentrations of nutrients including
potassium, phosphorus and iron.
• Topsoil varies depending on geographic region and climate, as
well as human activity.
ORGANIC SOIL (TOPSOIL)

Topsoil example. Notice the dark layer of topsoil where the plants
root themselves.
TYPES OF SOIL SAMPLE
Soil samples are often categorized as being either
"disturbed" or "undisturbed"; however, "undisturbed"
samples are not truly undisturbed.
• A disturbed sample is one in which the structure of the
soil has been changed sufficiently that tests of structural
properties of the soil will not be representative of in-situ
conditions, and only properties of the soil grains (e.g.,
grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, and possibly the
water content) can be accurately determined.
• An undisturbed sample is one where the condition of the
soil in the sample is close enough to the conditions of the
soil in-situ to allow tests of structural properties of the soil
to be used to approximate the properties of the soil in-situ.
METHOD OF SOIL SAMPLE
Soil samples are taken using a variety of samplers; some provide
only disturbed samples, while others can provide relatively
undisturbed samples.

• Shovel. Samples can be obtained by digging out soil from the

site. Samples taken this way are disturbed samples.
• Trial Pits are relatively small hand or machine excavated
tranches used to determine groundwater levels and take disturbed
samples from.
• Hand/Machine Driven Auger. This sampler typically consists of a
short cylinder with a cutting edge attached to a rod and handle.
The sampler is advanced by a combination of rotation and
downward force. Samples taken this way are disturbed samples.
METHOD OF SOIL SAMPLE
• Continuous Flight Auger. A method of sampling using an auger
as a corkscrew. The auger is screwed into the ground then lifted
out. Soil is retained on the blades of the auger and kept for
testing. The soil sampled this way is considered disturbed.
• Split-spoon / SPT Sampler. Utilized in the 'Standard Test Method
for Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-Barrel Sampling of
Soils' (ASTM D 1586[1]). This sampler is typically an 18"-30" long,
2.0" outside diameter (OD) hollow tube split in half lengthwise. A
hardened metal drive shoe with a 1.375" opening is attached to
the bottom end, and a one-way valve and drill rod adapter at the
sampler head. It is driven into the ground with a 140-pound (64
kg) hammer falling 30". The blow counts (hammer strikes)
required to advance the sampler a total of 18" are counted and
reported. Generally used for non-cohesive soils, samples taken
this way are considered disturbed.
METHOD OF SOIL SAMPLE
• Modified California Sampler. Utilized in the 'Standard Practice for Thick Wall,
Ring-Lined, Split Barrel, Drive Sampling ofSoils1' (ASTM D 3550). Similar in
concept to the SPT sampler, the sampler barrel has a larger diameter and is
usually lined with metal tubes to contain samples. Samples from the Modified
California Sampler are considered disturbed due to the large area ratio of the
sampler (sampler wall area/sample cross sectional area).
• Shelby Tube Sampler. Utilized in the 'Standard Practice for Thin-Walled Tube
Sampling of Soils for Geotechnical Purposes' (ASTM D 1587[2]). This sampler
consists of a thin-walled tube with a cutting edge at the toe. A sampler head
attaches the tube to the drill rod, and contains a check valve and pressure
vents. Generally used in cohesive soils, this sampler is advanced into the soil
layer, generally 6" less than the length of the tube. The vacuum created by the
check valve and cohesion of the sample in the tube cause the sample to be
retained when the tube is withdrawn. Standard ASTM dimensions are; 2" OD,
36" long, 18 gauge thickness; 3" OD, 36" long, 16 gauge thickness; and 5" OD,
54" long, 11 gauge thickness. It should be noted that ASTM allows other
diameters as long as they are proportional to the standardized tube designs,
and tube length is to be suited for field conditions. Soil sampled in this manner
is considered undisturbed.
METHOD OF SOIL SAMPLE
• Piston samplers. These samplers are thin-walled metal tubes
which contain a piston at the tip. The samplers are pushed into
the bottom of a borehole, with the piston remaining at the surface
of the soil while the tube slides past it. These samplers will return
undisturbed samples in soft soils, but are difficult to advance in
sands and stiff clays, and can be damaged (compromising the
sample) if gravel is encountered. The Livingstone corer,
developed by D. A. Livingstone, is a commonly used piston
sampler. A modification of the Livingstone corer with a serrated
coring head allows it to be rotated to cut through subsurface
vegetable matter such as small roots or buried twigs.
• Pitcher Barrel sampler. This sampler is similar to piston
samplers, except that there is no piston. There are pressure-relief
holes near the top of the sampler to prevent pressure buildup of
water or air above the soil sample.