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TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Ayala Blvd., Ermita, Manila, Philippines


College of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department

College of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department

CE410-4B
Soil Mechanics, Lec

Assignment no. 1
Introduction to Soil Mechanics

Teves, Kirt Angelo P.


12-205-047
Date of Submission: June 25, 2015

Engr. Jesus Ray M. Mansayon


Instructor

1. Soil Mechanics, Geotechnical Engineering and Foundation Engineering

Soil Mechanics
Soil Mechanics is the branch of geothecnical engineering concerned
with rhe engineering mechanics and properties of soil, whereas rock
mechanics is concerned with the engineering mechanics and properties
of rock, usually but not necessarily the bedrock. Soil mechanics applies
the basic principles of mechanics including kinematics, dynamics, fluid
mechanics and the mechanics of materials to soil.
Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering, as the name implies, concerns the
application of civil engineering technology to some aspect of the earth.
Usually, the geothecnical engineer is concerned only with the natural
materials found at or near the surface of the earth. Civil engineer can
call the earthen materials soil and rock.
Foundation Engineering
Foundation Engineering applies geology, soil mechanics, rock
mechanics, and structural engineering to the design and construction
of foundations for civil engineering and other structures. The
foundation engineering must be able to predict the performance of
response of the foundation soil to the loads imposed by the structure.

Source: Holtz R. D., Kovacs W. D. (1981) An Introduction to Geotechnical


Engineering. Engelwoods Cliffs, New Jersey: PRENTICE HALL
2. Major Periods of Geotechnical Engineering

Preclassical Period of Soil Mechanics (1700 1776)


This period concentrated on studies relating to natural slope and unit
weights of various types of soils, as well as the semiempirical earth
pressure theories. In 1717 a French royal engineer, Henri Gautier
(16601737), studied the natural slopes of soils when tipped in a
heap for formulating the design procedures of retaining walls. The
natural slope is what we now refer to as the angle of repose. According
to this study, the natural slope of clean dry sand and ordinary earth
were 31 and 45 , respectively. Also, the unit weight of clean
dry sand and ordinary earth were recommended to be 18.1 kN/m3
(115 lb/ft3) and 13.4 kN/m3 (85 lb/ft3), respectively. No test results on
clay were reported. In 1729, Bernard Forest de Belidor (16711761)
published a textbook for military and civil engineers in France. In the
book, he proposed a theory for lateral earth pressure on retaining walls
that was a follow-up to Gautiers (1717) original study.

Classical Soil Mechanics Phase I (1776 1856)


During this period, most of the developments in the area of
geotechnical engineering came from engineers and scientists in
France. In the preclassical period, practically all theoretical
considerations used in calculating lateral earth pressure on retaining
walls were based on an arbitrarily based failure surface in soil. In his
famous paper presented in 1776, French scientist Charles Augustin
Coulomb (17361806) used the principles of calculus for maxima and
minima to determine the true position of the sliding surface in soil
behind a retaining wall. In this analysis, Coulomb used the laws of
friction and cohesion for solid bodies. In 1820, special cases of
Coulombs work were studied by French engineer Jacques Frederic
Francais (17751833) and by French applied mechanics professor
Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier (17851836). These special cases
related to inclined backfills and backfills supporting surcharge.
In 1840, Jean Victor Poncelet (17881867), an army engineer and
professor of mechanics, extended Coulombs theory by providing a
graphical method for determining the magnitude of lateral earth
pressure on vertical and inclined retaining walls with arbitrarily
broken polygonal ground surfaces. Poncelet was also the first to use
the symbol f for soil friction angle. He also provided the first ultimate
bearing-capacity theory for shallow foundations. In 1846 Alexandre
Collin (18081890), an engineer, provided the details for deep
slips in clay slopes, cutting, and embankments. Collin theorized that in
all cases the failure takes place when the mobilized cohesion exceeds
the existing cohesion of the soil. He also observed that the actual
failure surfaces could be approximated as arcs of cycloids.
The end of Phase I of the classical soil mechanics period is
generally marked by the year (1857) of the first publication by William
John Macquorn Rankine (18201872), a professor of civil engineering
at the University of Glasgow. This study provided a notable theory on
earth pressure and equilibrium of earth masses. Rankines theory is a
simplification of Coulombs theory.
Classical Soil Mechanics Phase II (1856 1910)
Several experimental results from laboratory tests on sand appeared in
the literature in this phase. One of the earliest and most important
publications is one by French engineer Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy
(18031858). In 1856, he published a study on the permeability of
sand filters. Based on those tests, Darcy defined the term coefficient of
permeability (or hydraulic conductivity) of soil, a very useful parameter
in geotechnical engineering to this day.
Sir George Howard Darwin (18451912), a professor of astronomy,
conducted laboratory tests to determine the overturning moment on a
hinged wall retaining sand in loose and dense states of compaction.
Another noteworthy contribution, which was published in 1885 by

Joseph Valentin Boussinesq (18421929), was the development of the


theory of stress distribution under loaded bearing areas in a
homogeneous, semiinfinite, elastic, and isotropic medium. In 1887,
Osborne Reynolds (18421912) demonstrated the phenomenon of
dilatency in sand.
Modern Soil Mechanics (1910 1927)
In this period, results of research conducted on clays were published in
which the fundamental properties and parameters of clay were
established. The most notable publications are described next.
Around 1908, Albert Mauritz Atterberg (18461916), a Swedish
chemist and soil scientist, defined clay-size fractions as the percentage
by weight of particles smaller than 2 microns in size. He realized the
important role of clay particles in a soil and the plasticity thereof. In
1911, he explained the consistency of cohesive soils by defining liquid,
plastic, and shrinkage limits. He also defined the plasticity index as the
difference between liquid limit and plastic limit (see Atterberg, 1911).
In October 1909, the 17-m (56-ft) high earth dam at Charmes,
France, failed. It was built between 19021906. A French engineer,
Jean Fontard (18841962), carried out investigations to determine the
cause of failure. In that context, he conducted undrained
Geotechnical Engineering after 1927
The publication of Erdbaumechanik auf Bodenphysikalisher Grundlage
by Karl Terzaghi in 1925 gave birth to a new era in the development of
soil mechanics. Karl Terzaghi is known as the father of modern soil
mechanics, and rightfully so. Terzaghi was born on October 2, 1883 in
Prague, which was then the capital of the Austrian province of
Bohemia. In 1904 he graduated from the Technische Hochschule in
Graz, Austria, with an undergraduate degree in mechanical
engineering. After graduation he served one year in the Austrian army.
Following his army service, Terzaghi studied one more year,
concentrating on geological subjects. In January 1912, he received the
degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences from his alma mater in Graz. In
1916, he accepted a teaching position at the Imperial School of
Engineers in Istanbul. After the end of World War I, he accepted
a lectureship at the American Robert College in Istanbul (19181925).
There he began his research work on the behavior of soils and
settlement of clays and on the failure due to piping in sand under
dams. The publication Erdbaumechanik is primarily the result of this
research.
In 1925, Terzaghi accepted a visiting lectureship at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where he worked until 1929. During that time,
he became recognized as the leader of the new branch of civil
engineering called soil mechanics. In October 1929, he returned to
Europe to accept a professorship at the Technical University of Vienna,
which soon became the nucleus for civil engineers interested in soil
mechanics. In 1939, he returned to the United States to become a

professor at Harvard University. The first conference of the


International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
(ISSMFE) was held at Harvard University in 1936 with Karl Terzaghi
presiding. The conference was possible due to the conviction and
efforts of Professor Arthur Casagrande of Harvard University. About
200 individuals representing 21 countries
attended this conference.
Source: Das B. M. (2006) Principles of Geotechnical Engineering 7th Edition.
Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning
3. Origin of Soil
Soils are the unconsolidated layers that cover the earths surface. For a
civil engineer soil consists of particles of different size and shape with minor
bonds between them forming a structure that undergoes a deformation
when subjected to natural or artificial forces. For an environmental engineer
soil is a product of the enironment, and its formation is a function of climate,
organisms, parent rock of material, relief and time. (Jenny, 1940).
Soils are derived from the weathering of parent rocks. Weathering or
disentigration of rock is of two types: physical and chemical. The physical
weathering is the action of the forces associated with wind, water, glaciers
and succesive freezing and thawing. The chemical agents and water,
oxygen and carbon dioxide. In the physical weathering the mineralogical
composition of the parent rock does not change and the resulting soil
inherits similar minerals. In the chemical weathering the alteration of the
minerals of the paernt rock created new minirals. The process of soil
formation is controlled by semi-independent factors of time, climate,
organisms and topography. The time factor controls the equilibrium of the
process that may take more than a million years (FitzPactrick, 1983)
Source: Aysen A. (2002) Soil Mechanics: Basic Concepts and Engineering
Applications. Lisse, The Netherlands: AA. Balkema Publishers
4. Soil and Rock
Soil is defined as a natural aggregate of mineral grains, with or without
organic constituents, that can be separated by gentle mechanical means
such as agitation in water. By contrast rock is considered to be a natural
aggregate of mineral grains connected by strong and permanent cohesive
forces. The process of weathering of the rock decreases the cohesive
forces binding the mineral grains and leads to the disintegration of bigger
masses to smaller and smaller particles. Soils are formed by the process of
weathering of the parent rock. The weathering of the rocks might be by
mechanical disintegration, and/or chemical decomposition.
Rock can be defined as a compact, semi-hard to hard mass of natural
material composed of one or more minerals. The rocks that are encountered

at the surface of the earth or beneath, are commonly classified into three
groups according to their modes of origin. They are igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic rocks.
Source: Murthy V. N. S. (2003) Geotechnical Engineering Principles and
Practices of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. New York, NY:
Marcel Dekker. Inc

5. Soil Types
On the basis of origin of their constituents, soils can be divided into two
large groups:
1. Residual soils, and
2. Transported soils.
Residual soils are those that remain at the place of their formation as a
result of the weathering of parent rocks. The depth of residual soils
depends primarily on climatic conditions and the time of exposure. In some
areas, this depth might be considerable. In temperate zones residual soils
are commonly stiff and stable. An important characteristic of residual soil is
that the sizes of grains are indefinite. For example, when a residual sample
is sieved, the amount passing any given sieve size depends greatly on the
time and energy expended in shaking, because of the
partially disintegrated condition.
Transported soils are soils that are found at locations far removed from
their place of formation. The transporting agencies of such soils are
glaciers, wind and water. The soils are named according to the mode of
transportation. Alluvial soils are those that have been transported by
running water. The soils that have been deposited in quiet lakes, are
lacustrine soils. Marine soils are those deposited in sea water. The soils
transported and deposited by wind are aeolian soils. Those deposited
primarily through the action of gravitational force, as in land slides, are
colluvial soils. Glacial soils are those deposited by glaciers. Many of these
transported soils are loose and soft to a depth of several hundred feet.
Therefore, difficulties with foundations and other types of construction are
generally associated with transported soils.
Organic and Inorganic Soils
Soils in general are further classified as organic or inorganic. Soils of
organic origin are chiefly formed either by growth and subsequent decay of
plants such as peat, or by the accumulation of fragments of the inorganic
skeletons or shells of organisms. Hence a soil of organic origin can be
either organic or inorganic. The term organic soil ordinarily refers to a
transported soil consisting of the products of rock weathering with a more
or less conspicuous admixture of decayed vegetable
matter.

Source: Murthy V. N. S. (2003) Geotechnical Engineering Principles and


Practices of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. New York, NY:
Marcel Dekker. Inc
6. Fields of Application of Soil Mechanics

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.
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.
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.
Excavations, Embankments and Dams
Excavations require the knowledge of slope stability analysis; deep
excavations may need temporary supportstimbering 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.

Source: http://theconstructor.org/geotechnical/applications-of-soil-mechanics/6347/

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