TUMANGAN, Ma.

Estela Leonor Angela Laboratory Activity: Module 1

CE161P-2 / E02
1. What is the average rate of a Geotechnical Engineer in the following region and how

many geotechnical engineers do they have (on estimates)?

• America – Geotechnical engineers in this region earn around $76,000 per year, upon

entry though is only $55,000 per year. There are over 5,325 geotechnical engineers in

America, last recorded in 2021.

• Europe – Geotechnical engineers in this region earn around £32,499 to £42,499 per

year. There are over 30,000 geotechnical engineers in Europe.

• Middle East – the average earnings in this region is around AED 145,000 per year

however it varies from country to country. It can be as low as AED 37,000 and as

high as AED 305,000. The current geotechnical engineers in this region is estimated

to be 20,000.

• China – Geotechnical engineers in this region earn around ¥200,000 per year. It

ranges from ¥144,000 to ¥250,000 per year based on experience. The average number

of geotechnical engineers in China are 10,000 engineers.

• Southeast Asia – the average earnings in this region is estimated to be $8,500. The

lowest will be around $5,000 and the highest is $10,000 per year. The geotechnical

engineers are estimated to be 15,000.

2. Based on you research and insights. Why do you think one region pays higher than

the other region?

Among the five regions above, America has the highest pay for geotechnical

engineers. California, one of the states in America, has complications geologically and

seismically. Thus, they need a lot of experienced geotechnical engineers due to the high risk

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

 of seismic exposure and consequences (Crotty, 2015). Not only in California, but also in

other states like Oklahoma and Texas. Geotechnical engineers are needed to mitigate the

problems associated with the human-caused earthquakes from unconventional oil and gas

recovery and other energy exploration. America is known to these kinds of activities; thus,

they pay higher salary to do this job.

A big aspect that I see, too, is geography. The demand of geotechnical engineers is

influenced by the locations of different nations. There are countries like the Philippines

where there is a great need for geotechnical engineers. This may be due to the soil conditions

that need special attention from geotechnical engineers in the Philippines, where different

types of soil conditions are present. European countries, on the other hand, have a very

different range of soil types and conditions. This implies that the soil state of the regions is a

major factor in geotechnical engineers' rise or decline.

3. What is the difference in work of a geotechnical engineer vs. foundation engineer?

Geotechnical Engineers are civil engineers that is more concerned with the behavior

of earth materials. They deal with the principles and methods of soil ad rock mechanics for

the solutions of engineering problems and designs. Moreover, geotechnical engineers

examine the subsurface conditions and materials of it. They determine the relevant physical,

mechanical, and chemical properties of the materials. They design Earthworks and retaining

structures such as dams, embankments, sanitary landfills, deposits of hazardous wastes,

tunnels, and structure foundations. They monitor drilling operations and assess what they are

going to do to the Earth and how to design it.

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

 Meanwhile, Foundation Engineers are civil engineers that specializes in conducting

professional assessments and test of the foundations of a building or structure before giving

appropriate action, which is a report to contract repair work or modify construction plans

based on the results of the assessments. They evaluate foundations and structural problems

which is helpful in mitigating risks and safety concerns. They also determine the type of

foundation (shallow or deep) that is best suitable for the structure or the construction site.

This helps them know the extent of foundation damage or failure (ThomasEngineering, n.d.).

4. In your opinion, which comes first in a project, geotechnical engineer, or geodetic

engineer? Or do they work at the same time? Explain why you think so.

Geodetic Engineering focuses on the gathering of physical data on the surface of the

Earth with the use of precision instruments. Geodetic engineers gather data using surveying

instruments, conduct topological surveys, and calculate the specific points on the Earth’s

surface (PRC, n.d.). On the other side, geotechnical engineers need to study the condition of

the soil.

Therefore, in my opinion, they work at the same time for efficiency and effectivity in

the construction site. If both of them share both of their findings, then the civil engineer in

charge will determine the best operation to take on the said construction. Both of them will

be able to help the civil engineer decide whether they should continue this construction on

this specific site or not.

5. Read 2 latest (not older than 2019) journal article study that is about latest trend,

technology, and innovation for geotechnical engineering. Please use legitimate

sources, use library of Mapua. And provide the following for each article/study.

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

 • Paper Title: Application of soft computing techniques for shallow foundation

reliability in geotechnical engineering.

Author: Rahul Ray, Deepak Kumar, Pijush Samui, Lal Bahadur Roy, A.T.C. Goh,

Wengang Zhang

Year Published: 2021

Problems and Challenges Addressed in the Study: Focuses on the application of

three soft computing techniques including Minimax Probability Machine Regression

(MPMR), Particle Swarm Optimization based Artificial Neural Network (ANN-PSO)

and Particle Swarm Optimization based Adaptive Network Fuzzy Inference System

(ANFIS-PSO) to study the shallow foundation reliability based on settlement criteria.

Methodology on Conducting the Study: Experimental

Findings, Discussion and Interpretation on the Study: For the reliability analysis,

a shallow foundation of dimension (1.5 m × 3 m) resting at a depth Df (= 1.0 m) on

soil having hard strata at a depth of 5 m is considered. The range of soil parameters is

normalized and taken as input for the reliability analysis using MPMR, PSO-ANN

and PSO-ANFIS.

Conclusion and Contribution to Geotechnical Engineering Industry of Study: In

this paper, reliability analysis based on settlement criteria of shallow foundation on

clay was studied using MPMR, PSO-ANN, and PSO-ANFIS. These models were

comprehensively compared based on various fitness parameters. All three models

based on the reliability index shows that the models have good prediction capability.

Besides, it was found that MPMR outperformed in predicting the settlement of

shallow foundation based on various fitness parameters. It can be used as a reliable

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

 soft computing technique for the prediction of shallow foundations settlement on

clay. Further, this study can be used for the prediction of the settlement of other types

of foundation.

• Paper Title: Review of Application and Innovation of Geotextiles in Geotechnical

Engineering

Author: Hao Wu; Chongkai Yao; Chenghan Li; Miao Miao; Yujian Zhong; Yuquan

Lu; Tong Liu

Year Published: 2020

Problems and Challenges Addressed in the Study: Geotextiles are mostly used as

geosynthetics, which is made of synthetic or natural polymeric materials that are used

in contact with soil or other geotechnical materials. These are used in geotechnical

engineering because of its high strength, however, its materials used involves

environmental problems that causes soil pollution. This paper aims to review the

composition and functions of geotextiles in geotechnical engineering.

Methodology on Conducting the Study: This paper reviewed the present situation

of new geotextiles and their application in geotechnical engineering through

analyzing their individual application, together with their material composition. They

also studied this by determining the effect of each type of geotextile and its

application. For the analysis of the intelligent geotextiles, they reviewed its

application based on the case study conducted by other researchers that includes field

test for evaluation of slope stability, and benefit of a geotechnical reinforcement.

Findings, Discussion and Interpretation on the Study: This paper found out the

natural geotextiles have high initial tensile strength, however, due to the

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

 biodegradability of natural fibers, the performance of natural geotextiles will decrease

with the passage of time, which can lead to the failure of the later reinforcement when

used in road construction. Thus, intelligent geotextiles are presented to resolve the

problems of natural geotextiles. This intelligent geotextile does not only increase the

strength of the structure, but also monitor the needs and the possible failure and

damage that can occur. The results of the study proved that the modified geotextile

has higher strength and anti-degradation. The test conducted for the intelligent

geotextiles prove that POF integrated geotextile provides a solution for distributed

measurement of high, strain and no negative influence of moisture on sensor fibers.

Moreover, in the field test for evaluation of slope stability, it proves that intelligent

geotextile is applicable in structural health monitoring. Moreover, they also found out

that there are other materials that can be integrated in the geotextiles for it to have

higher strength, but it is only limited due to the high cost of production.

Conclusion and Contribution to Geotechnical Engineering Industry of Study:

Geotextiles have an essential function in geotechnical engineering such as separation,

filtration, drainage, reinforcement, barrier, and erosion protection. However, it faces

potential problems of soil pollution. This study concluded that the Natural

Geotextiles, which is composed of plant fiber conforms to the green concept; Thus,

reducing environmental pollution. The durability of this natural geotextile can be

improved by adding a few synthetic fibers, and when the intelligent geotextile is

applied to the reinforcement of the structure, health monitoring can be carried out.

Fiber-optic sensors are integrated into geotextiles to detect prevention of failure and

damage risk of the structure. This paper concluded that high performance geotextile is

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

 always a crucial direction of geotextile development. To increase the performance in

detecting defects of geotextiles, modification of geotextiles is needed. The researchers

foresee that in the future, this can be integrated with nanofibers to have a unique

property that can be beneficial in the geotechnical industry.

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122

Reference Articles:

• Ray, R., Kumar, D., Samui, P., Roy, L. B., Goh, A. T. C., & Zhang, W. (2021).

Application of soft computing techniques for shallow foundation reliability in

geotechnical engineering. Geoscience Frontiers, 12(1), 375-383. Retrieved from:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987120301213

• Wu, H., Yao, C., Li, C., Miao, M., Zhong, Y., Lu, Y., & Liu, T. (2020). Review of

application and innovation of geotextiles in geotechnical engineering. Materials,

13(7), 1774. Retrieved from: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/7/1774

TUMANGAN, Ma. Estela Leonor Angela Section: E02 3Q2122