The Eiffel Tower & Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering. It deals with the design,

construction, and operation of engineering projects while taking into account soil, rock, and
underground water. Soil conditions need to be known in order to sufficientl support
structures. The environ!ent !ust also be taken into account in order to reduce health and
safet ha"ards. Engineering geolog is i!portant for geotechnical engineers to have
knowledge of because the !ust know the characteristics of the soil and rock for!ation of the
land. Geotechnical engineers are involved in the constructions of earth structures, including
da!s and retaining walls# foundations, including floor slabs and footings# subsurface
facilities, including tunnels and pipelines.
The foundation of the Eiffel Tower was ver i!portant because it needed to be able to
successfull hold a load of about $%,%%% tons. The foundation of the structure also needed to
be able to last without causing an !ajor proble!s that would har! or hurt the structure. &n
fault foundation could have caused a toppling of the Eiffel Tower, or cracks that would
cause pieces of the tower to fall off.
The foundation was dug about '% feet into the ground and contained about (% feet of concrete,
!assive li!estone blocks and ( laers of cut stone. &n in-depth analsis of the soil below the
Eiffel Tower was co!pleted and necessar to understanding the durabilit of the soil.
Through the analsis, geotechnical engineers discovered so!e hard soil in the area, but a
!ajorit of the soil was soft and not appropriate for the foundation of the structure. It was also
noted that this area was prone to flooding which !akes the soil even weaker.
&s a result of the weak soil, Gustave Eiffel created a two-sste! foundation for the Eiffel
Tower. Eiffel)s two separate sste!s were called the dr foundation and the co!pressed air
sste!. The soil that was closest to the riverside was where !ost of the weak soil rested.
Eiffel decided that because of this the foundation near the riverside should be dug deeper than
the foundation located on the drer side of the site. The deeper foundations were blasted with
co!pressed air and certain !etalco!ponents that have been used in underwater construction.
*hen the digging portion was co!pleted, fast-dring ce!ent was poured. This ce!ent was
used for the base of the foundation piers. &fter, large li!estone blocks were placed on top of
the ce!ent and covered b laers of cut stone.
The Eiffel Tower)s base is co!posed of four legs. In these legs are ( anchor bolts that are
each (+ feet long and , inches in dia!eter. -ne part of Eiffel)s plan for the foundation of the
structure was the place!ent of a hdraulic jack. The hdraulic jack was used to enable the
raising or lowing of the platfor! to !ake certain it was level.
Te.t /eferences0
$. Eiffel tower0 Infor!ation on how it was built. 1(%$$2. /etrieved fro!
http033www.essort!ent.co!3eiffel-tower-infor!ation-built-$45'+.ht!l. &ccessed ' 6ece!ber
(%$$.
(. -rfano, 7. 1(%%4, Septe!ber $$2. 7acts about the eiffel tower. /etrieved fro!
http033www.brighthub.co!3engineering3civil3articles3,89++.asp.. &ccessed ' 6ece!ber (%$$.
9. https033sites.google.co!3site3engineeringtheeiffeltower3the-eiffel-tower-geotechnical-
engineering
I!age /eferences0
$. :eg of Eiffel Tower. http033far!9.static.flickr.co!3(%943('9$,4(%'+;eac%'e(c5%.jpg.
&ccessed ' 6ece!ber (%$$.
(. 7oundation of Eiffel Tower. http033www.jjonnes.co!3asets-et3i!age-%9.jpg. &ccessed '
6ece!ber (%$$.