CE 486 – Geotechnical Planning and Design Report

Prof. David J. White

(Geotechnical/Materials Engineering)
422 Town
djwhite@iastate.edu
294-1463 (office)

Introduction:

How do you plan a site investigation?

How many holes, where, how deep, what samples and why?
What to test them for and how many tests should be done?
How do you know if these are correct?
What are the key elements required for design?

Review Checklist for Geotechnical Engineering Design Submittal

You cannot plan a site investigation until you understand what is needed for
design and you cannot understand what is needed for design until you know
about soil properties which you understand by doing site investigation and
getting dirty. (quote from Andrew Bowden)

What is geotechnical site investigation?

The process whereby all relevant information concerning the site of a proposed
civil engineering or building development and its surrounding area is gathered.

What are the quality indicators of a good investigation?

Critical Success Factors: (Gabriel, 2001)

 Identification of ground hazards.
 Provision for better management of ground risk.
 Provision of better value for clients and users.

What are the investigation and conceptual design objectives?

 To assess the general suitability of the site.

 To enable an adequate and economic design to be prepared, including
the design of temporary works, ground improvement techniques,
foundations, retaining structures, slopes, groundwater control
schemes.
 To plan the best method of construction, and to foresee difficulties and
delays which may arise for whatever reason?
 The design of remedial works if any failures have occurred.
 To explore sources of indigenous materials for use in construction (e.g.
compacted fill)

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  To select areas for the disposal of waste or surplus material.
 To carry out safety checks on existing slopes, dams or structures.
 To determine the changes which may arise in the ground and
environmental conditions, either naturally or as a result of the works,
on adjacent works and on the environment in general.

How do you plan a site investigation and develop conceptual design?

If you do not know what you should be looking for in a site investigation,
you’re not likely to find much of value . (quote from Glossop 1968)

A site investigation should be planned by experienced personnel ***and will

normally be carried out in stages, as follows:

1. Evaluate the client’s requirements.

2. Carry out the desk study.
3. Consider possible conceptual designs.
4. Evaluate hazards and start risk register.
5. Set up the geological model (see example by Hoek 1999).
6. Carry out borings, test pits, in situ tests and evaluate pore water pressure
distribution.
7. Perform laboratory and field tests and determine design parameters.
8. Write the report.
9. Develop conceptual design and revise if necessary.
10. Carry out further inspections, testing, etc., at the groundwork stage of
construction to verify assumptions (see flow chart).

(***Note: “experienced personnel” is a relative phrase. No matter how much experience ones
gains, there is always more to experience. CE486 will provide opportunities for you to learn
through experience!)

What does “conceptual design” mean? …the identification of

acceptable design solutions by qualitatively assessing the
advantages and disadvantages of a number of possible
design schemes without, however, carrying out a detailed
analysis.

Three main elements of a conceptual design:

1. Development of the geologic model;
2. Identification and evaluation of hazards; and
3. Geotechnical conceptual design of the project
o Foundations (deep, shallow, settlements – total/differential)?
o Retaining Structures (gravity walls, mechanically stabilized earth)?

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 o Pavements (HMA, PCC, Subabse, stabilized subgrade)?
o Ground improvements (compaction, excavation and replacement,
aggregate piers, etc.)
o Slope stability and reinforcement?
o Groundwater and surface water management (water retention
areas, dams)?

Key Elements of successful Geotechnical Engineering Design:

1. Knowledge of precedents (case studies and past experiences)

2. Familiarity with soil mechanics procedures (CE 360, CE460, CE 467,
CE483)
3. Understanding of geology
4. Search for all possible failure mechanisms
5. Develop a cynical pessimistic approach

Bad geotechnical design is where you put the wrong parameters into the wrong
analysis and get the wrong answer. Good geotechnical design is where you put
the wrong parameter into the wrong analysis and get the right answer! This is
because in good design we assess how wrong our parameter determinations are
and how wrong our analyses are and make a compensating correction based on
precedent.

Development of the geological model:

Key Aspects:

 One of the major problems in geotechnical engineering is the risk of

encountering unexpected geological conditions. Failure to anticipate
such conditions is generally due to an inadequate geological
understanding of the site.
 Ground conditions at a site are a product of its total geology and
geomorphological history.

Conceptual Design: - Key activity in any design!

When planning a site investigation it is necessary to assess the possible

engineering solutions that may be adopted to deal with the specific engineering
solutions that may be adopted to deal with the specific project under
consideration so that the required geotechnical parameters are obtained.

The following points should be addressed:

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  What structures will be built on site and what are the possible
foundation alternatives? Is it a question of deformation or of strength or
both? Could shallow foundations suffice or is there a possibility that
piles might be the most effective solution? (Normally, the site
investigation should be planned with both possibilities in mind).
 Are temporary (e.g. sheet pile) or permanent soil retaining structures
(e.g. MS wall) needed?
 Is it a slope stability problem? Is it a long term situation, for example,
the stability of a natural slope? Is the soil intact or fissured?
 What types of pavements would be suitable and economical and will
the subgrade material need to be over excavated and replaced or
stabilized (e.g. treat with cement or add a geogrid)?
 Have there been large trees on the site that have been cut down? Why
is this an important question?????
 Do we know the most critical distribution of pore water pressure?
 If the problem is short term can we use total stress analysis? If so,
what is the most reliable method of measuring the undrained shear
strength of the clay in questions? (insitu vane, direct shear, CPT,
SPT?). Should undrained triaxial tests be carried out? (compression or
extension?, what size of sample?, what type of sampler? – CE360)
 If a deep excavation is required will de-watering be involved, and how
will the sides of the excavation be supported?
 Are detention ponds/dams needed on site and is the soil type
conducive to these types of structures?

Is short, the list of factors to be considered in a site investigation and conceptual

design is immense.

Deliverables:

1. Geological model with summary of geotechnical engineering

parameter values.
2. List and briefly description of potential hazard conditions.
3. Identify the geotechnical systems that warrant conceptual design
(use this handout and checklist as starting point). Description of
design methodologies selected and reference list.
4. For each geotechnical system identify at least one alternative for
comparison.
5. Identify the most effective geotechnical system by considering
technical issues, constructability, economics, and sustainable
features.

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 CE 486: Civil Engineering Design II, Spring 2010

Review Checklist for Design Submittal:

Geotechnical Engineering Section

The geotechnical section of the project should address the following items, and the efforts and
their outcomes should be included in the report.

1. Summary of site conditions including geological model and summary of geotechnical

engineering parameter values (e.g. friction angle, hydraulic conductivity, etc.)
a. Summaries existing boring log information and laboratory test data
b. Recommend additional testing (see section 4 below)?

2. List and briefly describe potential hazard conditions

a. Groundwater table – excavations?
b. Sinkholes?
c. Slope instability/landslides?
d. Drainage issues?
e. Soft and compressible soils?
f. Low shear strength soils?
g. Expansive soils?
h. Existing or adjacent structures?
i. Sites access?
j. Others?

3. Identify geotechnical systems that warrant conceptual design and identify the specific
design features. Briefly describe the design approach and cite references. The minimum
required information for each geotechnical system is presented below as a guide.
a. Foundations – shallow/deep (size, length, spacing, materials)
b. Retaining walls (geometry, wall type – gravity versus mechanically stabilized
earth, drainage features)
c. Dams ( geometry, material cross section, 2-D flow net, check for “quick
condition”)
d. Pavement systems (subgrade, subbase, and pavement materials and
thicknesses)
e. Embankments and compacted structural fills (material – preferable from on-site,
moisture/density compaction criteria, lift thicknesses, compaction equipment,
quality control/assurance test plan)
f. Soil stabilization (admixture types, construction requirements)
g. Ground improvement (type, layout, special features?)
h. Slopes (geometry, ground water table location, soil profile, 2-D limit equilibrium
analysis to evaluate factor of safety against instability)
i. Others?

4. Identify engineering parameter values for each geotechnical system and make
reasonable estimates for these values as needed, and recommend additional field or
laboratory testing as needed.
a. Cohesion and friction angle
b. Elastic modulus
c. Hydraulic Conductivity
d. Density
e. Moisture content
f. Others?

5. Identify effective alternatives for each system by considering (1) technical issues, (2)
constructability, (3) economic, and (4) sustainable features.

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