CLE1004- SOIL MECHANICS AND
FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
Dr. Divya Priya B
School of Civil Engineering (SCE)
VIT Vellore.
If you can grow food in it, get paid to
analyze it, or get college credit for
playing with it, it’s soil; otherwise it’s
dirt.
What’s the subject is about?
“Why You Should Study
Geotechnical Engineering”
or
“Who Needs a Foundation
Engineer Anyway???”
Importance
5
Importance
5
Importance
5
Introduction
All Civil Engineering begins
with Geotechnical
Engineering
ground
8
Soil Behaviour Introduction
“Concrete and Steel are textbook
materials; Soil is not.”
Soil is heterogeneous
Homogeneous
Heterogeneous
Soil is nonconservative
Before After
Conservative
Before After
Nonconservative
(but that doesn’t mean it’s liberal)
Soil is nonlinear
Stress
Strain
Linear
Stress
Strain
Nonlinear
Father of Soil Mechanics
Karl Von Terzaghi
His early professional life was
spent in a search for a rational
approach to earthwork
engineering problems. His
efforts were rewarded with
the publication in 1925 of his
famous book Erdbaumechanik
on soil mechanics: this
publication is now credited as
being the birth of soil
mechanics.
Soil Mechanics\ Geotechnical Engg.
A specialty of civil engineering
Deals with
Branches of Geotechnical Engineering
• Soil Mechanics
• Rock Mechanics
• Foundation Engineering
• Geoenvironmental Engineering
• Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
• Geologic Engineering
Retaining Walls
Prevent soils from spreading laterally
Sheet Piles
~ sheets of interlocking steel or timber driven into
the ground, forming a continuous sheet
warehouse
ship
sheet pile
25
Sheet Piles
~ resist lateral earth pressures
~ used in temporary works
~ used in excavations, waterfront structures
26
Tunneling
27
Earth Dams
~ for impounding water
reservoir
clay
core shell
soil
28
Landslides
29
Earthworks
~ preparing the ground prior to construction
Roadwork, Pacific
Highway
30
Donghai bridge, China – longest sea bridge in the world
Typical Geotechnical Project
Geo-Laboratory Design Office
~ for testing soil properties
~ for design & analysis
construction site 41
Geotechnical Engineering Problems
How will the groundwater
conditions impact the
engineering project?
Teton Dam Failure (1975)
Geotechnical Engineering Problems
What will be the
impact of excavations,
grading, or filling?
Collapse of Nicoll
Highway,Singapore,
2004
Geotechnical Engineering Problems
Are natural or proposed earth slope stable?
(from Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute, 2001)
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
Effects of earthquakes
1964 Niigata Earthquake 1967 Caracas Earthquake
(from Kramer – (from Alshibli 2001)
www.ce.washington.edu 1996)
Introduction
Course Objectives
To impart the fundamental concepts of soil
mechanics and understand the bearing capacity
To understand the concept of compaction and
consolidation of soils
To understand the design aspects of foundation
To evaluate the stress developed in the soil
medium
To study the stability of slopes
Expected Course Outcome
Compare the various engineering and index properties
of soil.
Explain the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and seepage
actions.
Examine the stress distribution at any point below the
ground level.
Evaluate the shear strength of the soil using Mohr Soil.
Discuss the soil investigation techniques for advanced
explorations and to conduct the field test like SPT &
PLT.
Evaluate the safe bearing capacity of shallow foundations
Estimate load carrying capacity of pile foundations and
to compute the lateral earth pressure.
What do we learn in this course?
Soil Properties and Compaction
Effective Stress Principle and Permeability
Stress Distribution and Consolidation
Shear Strength Behaviour
Soil Exploration
Bearing Capacity and Settlements of Shallow
Foundations
Pile Foundations and Slope Stability
Current events and applications
Assessment Methodology (Theory Component)
Methodology Max. Marks Weightage Due Date
(tentatively)
Quiz I 10 10 13-01-2020
Continuous 50 15 As per calendar
Assessment I
Quiz II 10 10 17-02-2020
Continuous 50 15 As per calendar
Assessment II
Digital Assignment 10 10 1-04-2020
Additional Permitted as per the University specifications
(If NPTEL course is chosen, then a written request should be sent to the course faculty on
Learning or before 31-12-2019; requests after this will not be considered; this additional learning will
be considered only after the approval of the course faculty)
Text Books & References
K.R.Arora, “Soil mechanics and Foundation
Engineering” Std Publishers, New Delhi. (2011).
Braja M. Das, “Principles of Geotechnical
Engineering”, Cengage learning pvt. Ltd, 8th
Edition, (2014).
Holtz D. and Kovacs, W.D., “An Introduction to
Geotechnical Engineering”, Prentice Hall. 2nd
Edition, (2011).
Do’s and Don’ts
Punctuality
No to Mobile phones
No Talking- Allowed to Day Dream
Attendance
No Change of dates- Quizzes
On-Time submission- No due date extension
Interactive sessions/ Discussions
Clarifications- At the end of the class
Seek help/guidance when needed
