BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Department of Civil Engineering 1

SOIL MECHANICS LECTURE NOTES by ENGR. DOMINGO R. POJARDA

I. Course Outline
A. Soil in Engineering
- Introduction, Geotechnical Engineering—A General Perspective, Soil Mechanics—A Brief
Overview of Its Evolution, General Approach to Solving Geotechnical Problems

B. Formation of Soil and Soil Deposits

- Introduction, The Planet Earth—Its Origin and Composition, The Earth’s Surface, The
Geological Cycle, The Major Types of Rock, Clay Minerals, Rock Weathering, Water-
Transported Soils, Wind-Transported Soils, Glaciers, Residual Soils, Sedimentary Deposits

C. Subsurface Exploration
- Introduction, Scope of Exploration Program, Site Reconnaissance,
Sub-surface Exploration, Borings, Test Pits, Field Tests, Boring Logs

D. Physical and Index Properties of Soils

- Introduction, Void Ratio and Porosity, Water Content and Degree of Saturation, Specific
Gravity, Relative Density of Granular Soils, Consistency of Clays; Atterberg Limits, Soil
Classification

E. Flow of Water in Soils

- Introduction, Flow Through Circular Capillary Tubes, Darcy’s Law, Laboratory Permeability
Tests, Authenticity of k Values from Laboratory Tests, Field Tests for Permeability, Factors that
Influence Permeability

F. Capillarity
- Introduction, Surface Tension, Pressure, Curvature, and Surface-Tension Relationship,
Capillary Rise in Tubes, Capillary Tubes of Variable Radius, Capillary Phenomenon in Soils,
Capillary Forces, Shrinkage, Swelling, and Frost Heave

G. Seepage
- Introduction, Seepage Forces, Quick Condition, Elements of Flow Net Theory, Flow Nets—
Two-Dimensional Flow, Boundary Conditions, Drawing of Flow Net for Two-Dimensional
Flow, Determination of Seepage Quantity from Flow Nets, Seepage Through Earth Dams
 BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Civil Engineering 2
SOIL MECHANICS LECTURE NOTES by ENGR. DOMINGO R. POJARDA

H. Stresses in Soils
- Introduction, Effective Stress, Stresses Due to Surface Loads; Boussinesq’s Equations,
Distribution of Pressure from Point Load, Pressure Caused by Uniformly Loaded Line of Finite
Length, Uniformly Loaded Circular Area, Pressure Caused by Uniformly Loaded Rectangular
Area, Total Load on Rectangular Area in Undersoil, Newmark’s Influence Chart, Approximate
Estimate of Vertical Stress,

I. Course Requirements

1.Class Standing( Quizzes, Recitation, Board works, Seat works) 25 %

2. Exams

a. Midterm/Final Exam 35%

b. Final Exam 35%

3. Plus Factor 5%

____________

100%

CLASSROOM POLICY ( TEN COMMANDMENTS)

1. Always be prepared with any activity in the classroom. Generally, NO

ANNOUNCEMENT shall be made for any evaluation that shall take place

next meeting.

2. Provide yourselves ALWAYS with

a. scientific calculator

b. lecture note for soil mechanics only

c. textbook and at least one reference book (reviewers not allowed)

d. blue or black inked pen and technical pencil

 BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Civil Engineering 3
SOIL MECHANICS LECTURE NOTES by ENGR. DOMINGO R. POJARDA

e. straight edges

f. long size bond paper (8.5” x 13”)

3. NO LONG HAIR (for Boys), NO WEARING of head caps earrings (for boys) or any
body piercing objects (boys and girls) inside the classroom

4. NO CHEATING during examinations or recitation. ANYONE caught will

automatically receive a final grade of 5.0.

5. No borrowing or asking for any exam paraphernalia during class evaluation.

6. No one will be allowed to leave the room not until answer sheets are submitted.

7. Present your exam solution legibly, orderly and neatly. NO ERASURE.

Corresponding points shall be deducted for any item with alteration.

8. Cell phones are strictly banned during examinations. Any one caught with an active
or switched on phones during examinations will be considered cheating. During
regular meeting, cell phones must be on silent modes. This applies to students who
are enrolled in soil mechanics.

9. Use only blue or black inked pen during examination. Long sized bond paper is the
official answer sheet. No tearing of any part of your answer sheet. Write your solution

on the front page (the one containing your name) and the back page as scratch page.
Anyone violating this rule will make your examination futile or invalid.

10. Always occupy your designated seat. Maintain cleanliness and orderliness inside the

classroom. Wastes must be disposed of properly. When arranging seats, lift them,
Don’t push or pull the chairs.
 BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Civil Engineering 4
SOIL MECHANICS LECTURE NOTES by ENGR. DOMINGO R. POJARDA

III References
1. An introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
by Robert D. Holtz and William D. Kovacs Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

2. Principles of Geotechnical Engineering

by Braja M. Das, 5th Edition Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning

3. Geotechnical Engineering by C. Venkatramaiah John Willey and Sons

Essentials of Soil Mechanics and Foundations

4. Basic Geotechnics 6th Edition

By David F. McCarthly Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersy

5. Soils and Foundations (6th Edition)

By Cheng Liu and Jack B. Evett
Pearson, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River,New Jersey

6. Soil Mechanics (2ND ed) 2007

By Muni Budhu, John Wiley Publishing

7. www.icivil_engineering.com

8. www.soil_engineering.com

9. Elements of Soil Mechanics_7e

10. GeotechnicalEngineering_V.N.Murphy