Introduction to Geotechnical
Engineering
ground
N. Sivakugan
SIVA
Duration: 13 mins
1
Typical Geotechnical Project
Geo-Laboratory
~ for testing
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soil properties
Copyright  2001 construction site
Design Office
~ for design & analysis
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Shallow Foundations
~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground
~ mostly for firm soils or light loads
firm
ground
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bed rock
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Shallow Foundations
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Deep Foundations
~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground
~ mostly for weak soils or heavy loads
P
I
L
E
weak soil
bed rock
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Deep Foundations
Driven timber piles, Pacific Highway
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Pier Foundations for Bridges
Millau Viaduct in France (2005)



Cable-stayed bridge
Supported on 7 piers, 342 m apart
Longest pier (336) in the world
A separate slideshow on the construction is
in the bottom drawer
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Pier Foundations for Bridges
Millau Viaduct in France (2005)
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9
Retaining Walls
~ for retaining soils from spreading laterally
retaining
wall
Road
Train
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Earth Dams
~ for impounding water
reservoir
clay
core
shell
soil
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Concrete Dams
reservoir
concrete dam
soil
12
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Concrete Dams
Three Gorges Dam, Hong Kong
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Concrete Dams
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Earthworks
~ preparing the ground prior to construction
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Roadwork, Pacific Highway
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Construction hazard
~ an unwelcome visitor at an earthwork site.
What does it have
to do with Geo?#!
A dead Anaconda python (courtesy: J. Brunskill)
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Geofabrics
~ used for reinforcement, separation, filtration and
drainage in roads, retaining walls, embankments…
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Geofabrics used on Pacific Highway
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Reinforced Earth Walls
~ using geofabrics to strengthen the soil
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Tunneling
MSE (Mechanically
stabilised Earth) wall
Chile (2006) – during my sabbatical leave
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Tunneling
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Soil Nailing
~ steel rods placed into holes drilled into the walls
and grouted
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Retaining Walls
Rock anchors to support the vertical walls
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22
Sheet Piles
~ sheets of interlockingsteel or timber driven into
the ground, forming a continuous sheet
warehouse
ship
sheet pile
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Sheet Piles
~ resist lateral earth pressures
~ used in excavations, waterfront structures, ..
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Sheet Piles
~ used in temporary works
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Sheet Piles
~ interlocking sections
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Cofferdam
~ sheet pile walls enclosing an area, to
prevent water seeping in
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Cofferdam
~ sheet pile walls enclosing an area, to
prevent water seeping in
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Landslides
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Shoring
propping and supporting the exposed walls to
resist lateral earth pressures
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Excavations
Chile (2006) – during my sabbatical leave
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Mining
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Blasting
For ore recovery in mines
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Earthquake Engineering
Loma Preita Earthquake, San Francisco (1989)
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Ground Improvement
Impact Roller to Compact the Ground
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Ground Improvement
Sheepsfoot Roller to Compact Clay Soils
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Ground Improvement
Smooth-wheeled Roller
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Ground Improvement
Big weights dropped
from 25 m, compacting
the ground.
Craters formed in compaction
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Environmental Geomechanics
Waste Disposal in Landfills
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Instrumentation
~ to monitor the performances of earth and
earth supported structures
~ to measure loads, pressures, deformations,
strains,…
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Soil Testing
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Vane Shear Test
Standard Penetration Test
More Field Tests
Soil Testing
Triaxial Test on Soil Sample in Laboratory
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Soil Testing
Variety of Field Testing Devices
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Soil Testing
Purdue University, USA
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Being Pushed around by my Supervisors
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Typical Safety Factors
Type of Design
Safety
Factor
Probability of
Failure
Earthworks
1.3-1.5
1/500
Retaining
1.5-2.0
structures
Foundations 2.0-3.0
1/1500
1/5000
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Some Civil Engineering marvels ….
foundations
soil
exploration
tunneling
… buried right under your feet.
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Soil Testing
Cone Penetration Test Truck – Lavarach Barracks, Townsville
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Dynamic Compaction
JCU site visit to Townsville Port in 2003
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Sheet pile at Woolcock St
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Soil Nailing at Strand
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JCU Dynamic cone penetration rig
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JCU Dynamic cone penetration rig
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Pile driving rig – Ross River Dam
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Pile driving rig – Ross River Dam
A pile group
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Sea wall in Brisbane (2005)
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Courtesy: Coffey Geosciences Pty Ltd.
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Great Contributors to the Developments
in Geotechnical Engineering
Karl Terzaghi
1883-1963
L. Bjerrum
1918-1973
C.A.Coulomb
1736-1806
A.W.Skempton
1914-
WJM Rankine
1820-1872
Siva’s teacher in USA –
deserves gold frame
G.F.Sowers
1921-1996
A.Casagrande
1902-1981
G.A. Leonards
1921-1997
Purdue University (USA), 1986
Mini-Me
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Geotechnical Group: Postgrads & staff
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Geotechnical Engineering Landmarks
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Our blunders become monuments!
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Hoover Dam, USA
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Tallest (221 m) concrete dam
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Petronas Tower, Malaysia
Tallest building in the
world
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Monuments
and….
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Geo-engineering at JCU
CS2005
Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
CS3002
Soils & Foundations
CS4001
Foundations & Rocks
Postgrad
MEngSc/PhD
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Practicals
~ five practical sessions
~ closed footwear must be worn in the lab
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Safety
Rio de Janeiro
We have pride in our high safety standards
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Quizzes
How?


about 4-6, 50 minutes each
open book
Why?



reinforce main points
provide a wake up call
form of assessment
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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
33
35
39
42
35
Total 54
?
70
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Some Suggestions
Attend the lectures.
It takes longer to understand
from the lecture notes
Develop a good feel for the subject.
It is practical, interesting and
makes lot of sense.
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Some Suggestions
Work in groups.
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Some Suggestions
Thou shall not wait till the last minute.
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Exams
My mama always said, “Exam is like a box
of chocolates; you never know what you
gonna get”
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Recipe for Success
I like soils… I like soils….I like soils….
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