Soil Mechanics –I [CENG 3103].

For 3rd Year Civil Eng. Dept.

What do you expect from this Course?

Course Content
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Physical Characteristics of Soils
Chapter 3 - Effective Stress and Pore Water Pressure

Chapter 4 - Soil Permeability and Seepage

Chapter 5 - Compressibility and Consolidation of Soils
Chapter 6 - Compaction
Soil Mechanics-I (CENG3103) Lectures By Alemshet Bekele[2023] 1
 Chapter 1 - Introduction

Contents:

1.1. Definition of Soil Mechanics

1.2. Soil, Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics

1.3. Formation of soils

1.4. General types of soils

1.5. Solution Framework to Soil-Related Problems

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 1.1. Definition of Soil Mechanics
Definition of Mechanics

- “Is a branch of physics concerned with the motion of bodies

under the action of forces/loads” and

- Which relates the relationship between force/load, matter, and

motion among physical objects

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 1.1. Definition of Soil Mechanics
The Definition of an Engineering Soil
and Rock (After Terzaghhi & Peck)
“Soil is a natural aggregate of mineral, grains that can
be separated by such gentle mechanical means” Karl Terzaghi

“ Rock is a natural aggregate of minerals connected by

permanent cohesive forces ” Ralph
B.Peck

▪ Soil Mechanics is one of the youngest disciplines

of Civil Engineering which studies about:
• Soil,
• Its behavior and
• Application as an engineering material

“Soil mechanics is the application of:

• the laws of mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems
• dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles
• produced by the mechanical and chemical disintegration of rocks regardless of whether they contain an
admixture of organic constituents”

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 1.1. Historical Background
• Geotechnical engineering has been practiced since ancient times. The first known building code was the
Sumerian Code, found in present day Iraq, and written between 1868 to 1857 BC. It was soon followed by
the code written by emperor Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), the founder of the Babylonian Empire. In the
Code, there were detailed punishments prescribed for poorly built foundations and buildings.
• Chinese engineers developed stone mat foundations 5,000 years ago for buildings placed upon marshy
soils of the Yangtze River by linking the stones with lead keys.
• Egyptian thinking was deeply rooted in their soil. The word “Egypt” meant “dark soil” in the ancient Coptic
language.
• In Persia, aqueducts (“kanats”) were dug into mountains 10,000 years ago that are still in daily use today.
They supply endless water without pumps.
• In Peru, steep slopes were stabilized with terraces for cultivation 8,500 years ago. The Inca’s developed
their famous road system (the Qhapaq Ñan) extending from Columbia to present-day Argentina.
• In 1729, Bernard Forest de Belidor published a textbook for military and civil engineers in France. In the
book, he proposed a theory for lateral earth pressure on retaining walls that was a follow-up to Gautier's
(1717) original study.
• In 1776, French scientist Charles Augustin Coulomb used the principles of calculus for maxima and
minima to determine the true position of the sliding surface in soil behind a retaining wall.
• In 1856, French engineer, Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy published a study on the permeability of sand
filters. He defined the term "coefficient of permeability" or "hydraulic conductivity" of soil.
• In 1908, Albert Mauritz Atterberg, a Swedish chemist and soil scientist, defined clay-size fractions, in 1911,
he explained the consistency of cohesive soils by defining liquid, plastic, and shrinkage limits and the
plasticity index.
• After 1927, Karl Terzaghi became as the father of modern soil mechanics. He was the president of
International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE) from 1936 to 1957. ISSMFE
became ISSMGE IN 1997.present-day

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1.2. Soil Problems in Geotechnical Engineering

Pavement
Reservoir

Rock Face
CLAY CORE
Gravel Gravel Rock
Soil as a Construction Material: - Bed Filter Toe

• When the civil engineer uses soil as construction material, he must select: -
• Type of soil
• Method of placement, and then control the actual placement
• Where: -
• Clay core: impermeable clay keeps leakage low.
• Rock toe: heavy, highly permeable rock adds considerable stability to the dam.
• Gravel bed: prevents large rocks on the face from sinking into the clay.
• Gravel filter: prevent washing of soil particles from the core into the voids of
the rock toe.
• Rock facing prevents erosion of the core by rain or water in the reservoir.
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1.2. Soil Problems in Geotechnical Engineering

Overlying Structure

Natural Slope

Slip Surface

Slopes and Excavations: -

• When a soil surface is not horizontal, there is a component of gravity
tending to move the soil downward.
• If along a slip surface in the soil, the shear stress from gravity or any
other source (such as moving water, the weight of an overlying structure, or
an earthquake) exceeds the shear strength of the soil along the surface,
a shear rupture and movement can occur
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1.2. Soil Problems in Geotechnical Engineering
Underground and Earth Retaining
Structure: -
• Any structure built below the ground
surface has forces applied to it by the soil
in contact with the structure. The design
and construction of underground and
earth-retaining structures constitute an
important phase of civil engineering.

Retaining Wall

Anchor

Passive Side Active Side

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1.3. Formation of Soils
Weathering of Physical

Formation Rocks Chemical

of Soils
Decomposition of Organic Matter
(Ex. Peat, Humus, Muck etc.)

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1.3. Formation of Soils
Factors

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1.4. General types of soils

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1.4. General types of soils

Specific types of soils

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1.5. Solution Framework to Soil-Related Problems
A. Soil Mechanics
▪ Includes Stress-strain
properties, theoretical Engineering
analysis for soil masses Judgement
B. Geology, Exploration Based on
Standards
▪ Composition of actual
soil masses
C. Experience
Solutions to Soil-
▪ Which designs or models Related Problems
worked well or not under
what conditions?
D. Economics
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