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TOPICS
EAT 314
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
INTRO TO GEO ENG
LECTURER : MR. ZUHAYR BIN MD. GHAZALY
H/P : 014-7170838
WHAT IS GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING ?
• Branch of civil engineering concerned with the
engineering behavior of earth materials.
• Uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock
mechanics to investigate subsurface conditions and
materials, evaluate stability of natural slopes and
man-made soil deposits, assess risks posed by site
conditions, design earthworks and structure
foundations, etc.
• Typical geotechnical engineering project begins
with a review of project needs to define the
required material properties.
SITE INVESTIGATION
• A site investigation program is necessary to provide
information for design and construction and for
environmental assessment.
• Purposes are :
o To evaluate the general suitability of the site for the
proposed project.
o To enable an adequate and economical design to be
made.
o To disclose and make provision for difficulties that may arise
during construction due to ground and local conditions.
1. Issues in Geotechnical Engineering.
2. Purpose and planning of site investigation.
3. Methods of sampling.
4. In-situ testing.
5. Preparation of site investigation report.
• Issues :
o In 18th century, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
o Problems related to soil-bearing capacity.
o Supported by a circular base having a diameter of 20 m.
o The tower has tilted in the past to the east , north, west,
and finally to the south.
o A weak clay layer exists at a depth of about 11 m below
the ground surface compression, which caused the tower
to tilt.
• Planning of a site investigation depends on the
type, size, and importance of the structure, the
client, the engineer’s familiarity with the soils at the
site, and local building codes.
• Developed in phases :
I. Collection of available information i.e. site plan, type, size,
loading conditions, previous geotechnical reports,
topographic maps, geologic maps, etc.
II. A site visit to provide a general picture of the topography
and geology of the site.
III. Detailed soils exploration to investigate soil strata,
groundwater conditions, obtain disturbed and
undisturbed samples for lab tests, and in-situ tests.
IV. Write a report.
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• Rotary drilling
BORING METHODS o Rapidly rotating drilling bits attached to the bottom of
drilling rods cut and grind the soil and advanced the
• Test boring can be advanced in the field by several borehole down.
methods. o Can be used in sand, clay, and rock.

• Simplest is the use of augers.

• Boreholes up to a depth of about 3 to 5 m. Soil
exploration work for highways and small structures.
• Soil samples collected are disturbed and can be
used to conduct lab test i.e Atterberg Limits, grain-
size determination, etc.

• Wash boring • Percussion drilling

o A casing about 2 to 3 m long is driven into the ground.
o The soil inside casing then is removed by means of a
chopping bit that is attached to a drilling rod.
o Water is forced through the drilling rod, and it goes out at a
very high velocity through the holes at the bottom of the
chopping bit.
o Particularly through hard soil and rock.
o A heavy drilling bit is raised and lowered to chop the hard
soil.
o Casing may be required. The chopped soil particles are
brought up by the circulation of water.

• Spilt-spoon sampler :
METHODS OF SAMPLING
• During the advancement of the boreholes, soil
samples are collected at various depths for further
analysis.
• Standard Split Spoon
o Split-spoon sampler is attached to the drilling rod and then
lowered to the bottom of the borehole.
o Driven into the soil at the bottom of the borehole by means
of hammer blows. Hammer blows occur at the top of the
drilling rod.
o Blow count, N – SPTN (usually 1.5 m intervals).
o Soil sample collected inside the spilt tube then is removed
and transported to the lab in a small glass jars.

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• Thin-wall Tube
o Used for obtaining fairly undisturbed soil samples.
o Thin-wall tubes are made of seamless, thin tubes and
commonly are referred to as Shelby tubes.
o To collect samples at given depth, first remove the drilling
tools. The sampler is attached to a drilling rod and lowered
to the bottom of the borehole. Then it is pushed
hydraulically into the soil. It then is spun to shear off the
base and is pulled out. Sampler is sealed and taken to lab
for testing.
• Piston Sampler :
• Borehole Pressuremeter Test
o In-situ measurement for the stress-strain modulus.
o Consists of a pressure cell and two guard cells.
o The test involves expanding the pressure cell inside a borehole and
measuring the expansion of its volume.
• Cone Penetration Test
o A 60° cone with a base area of 10 cm 2 is pushed into the soil. And the
cone resistance, qc to penetration is measured.
o Most cone penetrometers that are used commonly have friction sleeves
that follow the point.
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• Piston Sampler
o Useful when highly undisturbed samples are required.
o The cost is high.
o Consists of a thin-wall tube with a piston. Sampler first is
lowered to the bottom of the borehole, then thin-wall tube
is pushed into the soil hydraulically-past the piston. The
pressure is released through a hole in the piston rod.
o Presence of the piston prevents distortion in the sample by
neither letting the soil squeeze into the sampling tube very
fast nor admitting excess soil.
o Sample obtained are disturbed less than those by Shelby
tubes.
IN-SITU TESTS
• Depending on the type of project and the
complexity of the subsoil.
• Soil properties evaluated from in-situ tests yield more
representative values – sample disturbance during
soil exploration is eliminated.
• Vane Shear Test
o When soft clay is encountered during the advancement of
a borehole, the undrained shear strength of clay can be
determined by conducting a vane shear test in the
borehole.
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8. Details of foundation recommendations and alternatives.

SITE INVESTIGATION REPORT 9. Any anticipated construction problems.
10. Limitations of the investigation.
• Prepared for use by the planning and design office.
• Should contain following information : • Graphic representations :
1. Scope of investigation 1. Site location map.
2. General description of the proposed structure for which the 2. Location of borings with respect to the proposed
exploration has been conducted. structure.
3. Geologic conditions of the site. 3. Boring logs.
4. Drainage facilities at the site. 4. Laboratory tests results.
5. Details of boring. 5. Other special presentations.
6. Description of subsoil conditions as determined from the soil
samples collected.
7. Groundwater table as observed from the boreholes.