Geo Technical Engineering Introduction

SIVA1

Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering

ground

SIVA Copyright 20012

Typical Geotechnical Project

construction site

Geo-Laboratory~ for testing

Design Office~ for design & analysis

soil samples

soil properties

design details

SIVA Copyright 20014bed rock

firm ground

Shallow Foundations~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground

~ mostly for firm soils or light loads

SIVA Copyright 2001

Shallow Foundations


bed rock

weak soil

Deep Foundations

PILE

~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground

~ mostly for weak soils or heavy loads


Deep Foundations

Driven timber piles, Pacific Highway


Retaining Walls~ for retaining soils from spreading laterally

Road

Train

retaining wall


Earth Dams~ for impounding water

soil

reservoirclay core shell


Concrete Dams

reservoir

soil

concrete dam


Concrete Dams

Three Gorges Dam, Hong Kong


Concrete Dams


Earthworks

Roadwork, Pacific Highway

~ preparing the ground prior to construction


Construction hazard

~ an unwelcome visitor at an earthwork site.

A dead Anaconda python (courtesy: J. Brunskill)

What does it have to do with Geo?#!


Geofabrics~ used for reinforcement, separation, filtration and drainage in roads, retaining walls, embankments…

Geofabrics used on Pacific Highway


Reinforced Earth Walls~ using geofabrics to strengthen the soil


Soil Nailing~ steel rods placed into holes drilled into the walls

and grouted


Sheet Piles

~ sheets of interlockingsteel or timber driven into the ground, forming a continuous sheet

ship

warehouse

sheet pile


Sheet Piles

~ resist lateral earth pressures

~ used in excavations, waterfront structures, ..


Sheet Piles

~ used in temporary works


Sheet Piles

~ interlocking sections


Cofferdam~ sheet pile walls enclosing an area, to prevent water seeping in


Landslides


Shoringpropping and supporting the exposed walls to resist lateral earth pressures


Tunneling


Blasting

For ore recovery in mines


Ground Improvement

Impact Roller to Compact the Ground


Ground Improvement

Sheepsfoot Roller to Compact Clay Soils


Ground Improvement

Smooth-wheeled Roller


Ground Improvement

Big weights dropped from 25 m, compacting the ground.

Craters formed in compaction


Environmental Geomechanics

Waste Disposal in Landfills


Instrumentation~ to monitor the performances of earth and earth supported structures

~ to measure loads, pressures, deformations, strains,…

SIVA Copyright 2001

Soil Testing

Cone Penetration Test Truck – Lavarach Barracks, Townsville

SIVA Copyright 2001

Soil Testing

More Field Tests

Standard Penetration TestVane Shear Test


Soil Testing

Triaxial Test on Soil Sample in Laboratory


Soil Testing

Variety of Field Testing Devices


Typical Safety FactorsType of Design Safety

FactorProbability of Failure

Earthworks 1.3-1.5 1/500

Retaining structures

1.5-2.0 1/1500

Foundations 2.0-3.0 1/5000


Some unsung heroes of Civil Engineering…

… buried right under your feet.

foundations soil exploration

tunneling

Great Contributors to the Developments in Geotechnical Engineering

Karl Terzaghi1883-1963

C.A.Coulomb1736-1806

WJM Rankine1820-1872 A.Casagrande

1902-1981

L. Bjerrum1918-1973

A.W.Skempton1914-

G.F.Sowers1921-1996

G.A. Leonards1921-1997

Siva’s teacher in USA – deserves gold frame

Siva’s teacher in USA – deserves gold frame

Geotechnical Engineering Landmarks


Leaning Tower of Pisa

Our blunders become monuments!


Hoover Dam, USA

Tallest (221 m) concrete dam


Petronas Tower, Malaysia

Tallest building in the world


and….

Monuments


Some Suggestions

Thou shall not wait till the last minute.


Exams

My mama always said, “Exam is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are gonna get”


Geo-engineering at JCU

CS2005Geo-engineering I



PostgradMEngSc/PhD


Practicals

~ five practical sessions

~ closed footwear must be worn in the lab


Laboratory Staff

Neville Hines & Rudd Rankine


Soil Testing

Being Pushed around by my Supervisors

Purdue University, USA


Quizzes

about 4-6, 50 minutes each open book

How?

Why? to reinforce main points provides a wake up call form of assessment


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


Some Suggestions

Work in groups.


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.