Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

0 – Introduction
(課程簡介)

Table of Contents
Section Contents Remark
1 Karl Terzaghi – the Father of Soil Mechan-
ics
a. Life of Terzaghi
b. Influences of Terzaghi
2 Ref. A: Soil Mechanics in Engineering
Practice, 3rd ed., by Terzaghi / Peck / Mesri
a. Contents of the book
b. Why pick this book
3 Ref. B: Soil Mechanics, SI version, by
Lambe & Whitman
a. Contents of the book
b. Why pick this book
4 Ref. C: Advanced Soil Mechanics, by Das
a. Contents of the book
b. Why pick this book

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

1. Karl Terzaghi – the Father of Soil Mechanics (德植基、土壤力學之父)

(Lambe & Whitman, 1979)

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

(a) Life of Terzaghi (德植基生平) 1883-1963

♦ 1883.10.2, born in Prague / Czech (布拉格 / 捷克)
♦ 1925, published a book entitled: Theoretical Soil Mechanics
- The birth of soil mechanics (土壤力學之濫觴)
♦ 1925-29, at MIT, established the 1st soil mechanics program in US
- Soil mechanics became a discipline in civil engineering (土壤力學成
為土木工程之其一領域)
♦ 1938~, at Harvard University, provided a course on engineering geology
♦ Honors, Norman Medal / ASCE / 1930, 1943, 1946, and 1955
♦ Nine honorable doctorate degrees from universities in eight countries
♦ Served many years as President of the International Society of Soil Me-
chanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE, now called ISSMGE; in
which “G” for geotechnical)
♦ Books written: Theoretical Soil Mechanics (1925), Soil Mechanics in En-
gineering Practice (1948, 1967, 1996), From Theory to Practice in Soil
Mechanics (1960)
♦ Main contributions on subjects: consolidation theory, foundation design
and construction, cofferdam analysis, and landslide mechanisms, etc.
(b) Influences of Terzaghi (德植基影響)
♦ Terzaghi’s most important contribution to the profession was his ap-
proach to engineering problems, which he taught and demonstrated.
♦ To commemorate Terzaghi’s great work: Terzaghi Lecture / Award (ASCE,
USA)
Note: Rankine Lecture / Award (ICE, UK)

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

2. Ref. A: Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice, 3rd edn., by Terzaghi /

Peck / Mesri
(a) Contents of the book (3 parts, 11 chapters, 60 articles)
♦ Part I: Physical properties of soils
- digest of research findings (more current)
- more contents in 3rd edition
♦ Part II: Theoretical soil mechanics
- basic theories of elasticity / plasticity (no change with time)
♦ Part III: Problems of design and construction
- the “art” in the design and construction of earth works / foundation
engineering
- semi-empirical approaches
- problems of ground improvement, slope stability, foundation, earth
dams, etc.
(b) Why pick this book?
♦ A classic work in geotechnical engineering
♦ Approaches in dealing with geotechnical engineering problems (taught
and demonstrated by Terzaghi)
- a thorough understanding and synthesizing: (i) basic theories of me-
chanics, (ii) fundamental behaviors of materials, and (iii) observation-
al techniques

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

Terzaghi’s Approach for Solving Geotechnical Engineering Problems

Geotechnical Engineering Problems

(Soil / Rock / Water)

Understanding fundamental Application of

properties & behaviors of basic theories
earthen materials of mechanics

Simplification of real /
Application of observa- complex problems
tional techniques to the (modeling)
actual responses of earthen
materials

Approximate solutions to the

complex problems (with or
without the help of physical
testing or numerical techniques)

Improvements on: (1)

material data by more
precise testing, (2)
The solution close or
No geotechnical model
good enough to the
by more advanced
real problems ?
theories or more ac-
curate numerical
simulations
Yes

Completion of prob-
lem solving

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

3. Ref. B: Soil Mechanics, SI version, by Lambe & Whitman

(a) Contents of the book
♦ Part I: Soil Problems Encountered
♦ Part II: Nature of Soils
- formation, description, stresses, etc.
♦ Part III: Dry Soils
- stress-strain relationship / cohesionless soils
- applications to retaining walls, slopes, shallow foundations, etc.
♦ Part IV: Soils with Water (No or Steady Flow)
- stress-strain relationships / drained shear strength
- seepage
- applications to retaining walls, slopes, shallow foundations, etc.
♦ Part V: Soils with Water (Transient Flow)
- pore water pressure / undrained shear strength
- consolidation
- applications to retaining walls, slopes, shallow / deep foundations, etc.
(b) Why pick this book?
♦ A classic work in geotechnical engineering
♦ Stress path concept
♦ Examples and summary of main points in each chapter
♦ Brief introduction of geotechnical engineering masters

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Advanced Soil Mechanics 0 – Introduction

4. Ref. C: Advanced Soil Mechanics, by Das

(a) Contents of the book
♦ 2D & 3D stress-strain relationships / elastic equilibrium
♦ Shear strength of soils
♦ Permeability and seepage problems
♦ Consolidation issue of soils
(b) Why pick this book?
♦ More recent text book
♦ More detailed / advanced in some topics

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