Geotechnical engineering

1. SIVA
1
Introduction to Geotechnical
Engineering
N. Sivakugan
ground
Duration: 11 min 56 s

2. SIVA Copyright  2001
2
Typical Geotechnical Project
construction site
Geo-Laboratory
~ for testing
Design Office
~ for design & analysis
soil properties

4. SIVA Copyright  2001
4
bed rock
firm
ground
Shallow Foundations
~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground
~ mostly for firm soils or light loads

5. SIVA Copyright  2001
Shallow Foundations

6. SIVA Copyright  2001
6
bed rock
weak soil
Deep Foundations
P
I
L
E
~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground
~ mostly for weak soils or heavy loads

7. SIVA Copyright  2001
7
Deep Foundations
Driven timber piles, Pacific Highway

8. SIVA Copyright  2001
8
Retaining Walls
~ for retaining soils from spreading laterally
Road
Train
retaining
wall

9. SIVA Copyright  2001
9
Earth Dams
~ for impounding water
soil
reservoir
clay
core shell

10. SIVA Copyright  2001
10
Concrete Dams
reservoir
soil
concrete dam

11. SIVA Copyright  2001
11
Concrete Dams
Three Gorges Dam, Hong Kong

12. SIVA Copyright  2001
12
Concrete Dams

13. SIVA Copyright  2001
13
Earthworks
Roadwork, Pacific Highway
~ preparing the ground prior to construction

14. SIVA Copyright  2001
14
Construction hazard
~ an unwelcome visitor at an earthwork site.
A dead Anaconda python (courtesy: J. Brunskill)
What does it have
to do with Geo?#!

15. SIVA Copyright  2001
15
Geofabrics
~ used for reinforcement, separation, filtration and
drainage in roads, retaining walls, embankments…
Geofabrics used on Pacific Highway

16. SIVA Copyright  2001
16
Reinforced Earth Walls
~ using geofabrics to strengthen the soil

17. SIVA Copyright  2001
17
Soil Nailing
~ steel rods placed into holes drilled into the walls
and grouted

18. SIVA Copyright  2001
18
Sheet Piles
~ sheets of interlockingsteel or timber driven into
the ground, forming a continuous sheet
ship
warehouse
sheet pile

19. SIVA Copyright  2001
19
Sheet Piles
~ resist lateral earth pressures
~ used in excavations, waterfront structures, ..

20. SIVA Copyright  2001
20
Sheet Piles
~ used in temporary works

21. SIVA Copyright  2001
21
Sheet Piles
~ interlocking sections

22. SIVA Copyright  2001
22
Cofferdam
~ sheet pile walls enclosing an area, to
prevent water seeping in

23. SIVA Copyright  2001
23
Landslides

24. SIVA Copyright  2001
24
Shoring
propping and supporting the exposed walls to
resist lateral earth pressures

25. SIVA Copyright  2001
25
Tunneling

26. SIVA Copyright  2001
26
Blasting
For ore recovery in mines

27. SIVA Copyright  2001
27
Ground Improvement
Impact Roller to Compact the Ground

28. SIVA Copyright  2001
28
Ground Improvement
Sheepsfoot Roller to Compact Clay Soils

29. SIVA Copyright  2001
29
Ground Improvement
Smooth-wheeled Roller

30. SIVA Copyright  2001
30
Ground Improvement
Big weights dropped
from 25 m, compacting
the ground.
Craters formed in compaction

31. SIVA Copyright  2001
31
Environmental Geomechanics
Waste Disposal in Landfills

32. SIVA Copyright  2001
32
Instrumentation
~ to monitor the performances of earth and
earth supported structures
~ to measure loads, pressures, deformations,
strains,…

33. SIVA Copyright  2001
Soil Testing
Cone Penetration Test Truck – Lavarach Barracks, Townsville

34. SIVA Copyright  2001
Soil Testing
More Field Tests
Standard Penetration Test
Vane Shear Test

35. SIVA Copyright  2001
35
Soil Testing
Triaxial Test on Soil Sample in Laboratory

36. SIVA Copyright  2001
36
Soil Testing
Variety of Field Testing Devices

37. SIVA Copyright  2001
37
Soil Testing
Being Pushed around by my Supervisors
Purdue University, USA

38. SIVA Copyright  2001
38
Typical Safety Factors
Type of Design Safety
Factor
Probability of
Failure
Earthworks 1.3-1.5 1/500
Retaining
structures
1.5-2.0 1/1500
Foundations 2.0-3.0 1/5000

39. SIVA Copyright  2001
39
Some unsung heroes of Civil Engineering…
… buried right under your feet.
foundations soil
exploration
tunneling

40. Great Contributors to the Developments
in Geotechnical Engineering

41. Karl Terzaghi
1883-1963
C.A.Coulomb
1736-1806
WJM Rankine
1820-1872 A.Casagrande
1902-1981
L. Bjerrum
1918-1973
A.W.Skempton
1914-
G.F.Sowers
1921-1996
G.A. Leonards
1921-1997
Siva’s teacher in USA –
deserves gold frame

42. Geotechnical Engineering Landmarks

43. SIVA Copyright  2001
43
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Our blunders become monuments!

44. SIVA Copyright  2001
44
Hoover Dam, USA
Tallest (221 m) concrete dam

45. SIVA Copyright  2001
45
Petronas Tower, Malaysia
Tallest building in the
world

46. SIVA Copyright  2001
46
and….
Monuments

48. SIVA Copyright  2001
48
Geo-engineering at JCU
CS2005
Geo-engineering I
CS3002
Geo-engineering I
CS4001
Geo-engineering I
Postgrad
MEngSc/PhD

49. SIVA Copyright  2001
49
Practicals
~ five practical sessions
~ closed footwear must be worn in the lab

50. SIVA Copyright  2001
50
Laboratory Staff
Neville Hines & Rudd Rankine

51. SIVA Copyright  2001
51
Quizzes
 about 4-6, 50 minutes each
 open book
How?
Why?
 to reinforce main points
 provides a wake up call
 form of assessment

52. SIVA Copyright  2001
52
Past CS2005 Grades
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
HD 5 1 1 3 3 0
?
D 4 2 3 2 9 6
C 15 12 6 7 7 2
P 12 8 8 6 10 8
P- 6 0 2 4 1 5
N 12 10 12 14 9 13
X 0 0 3 3 3 1
Total 54 33 35 39 42 35

53. SIVA Copyright  2001
53
Some Suggestions
Attend the lectures.
Develop a good feel for the subject.
It takes longer to understand
from the lecture notes
It is practical, interesting and
makes lot of sense.

54. SIVA Copyright  2001
54
Some Suggestions
Work in groups.

55. SIVA Copyright  2001
55
Some Suggestions
Thou shall not wait till the last minute.

56. SIVA Copyright  2001
56
Exams
My mama always said, “Exam is like a box
of chocolates; you never know what you
are gonna get”