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GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING:
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES
Second Edition

Donald P. Coduto
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Man-chu Ronald Yeung
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
William A. Kitch
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Prentice Hall
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About the cover photo

The Tower of Pisa began to tilt during its construction during the 12th century. By the time construction was completed
in 1370, the tower was tilting approximately 2° to the south. The tilt of the tower gradually increased over the centuries
until it reached 51⁄2° in 1990, by which time the top of the tower was approximately 41⁄2 meters out of plumb. The tower
was closed to the public in 1990 for fear that it might collapse, and a major international effort was undertaken to
restore it to a safe condition. The cover photo shows the technique used to stabilize the tower. It involved carefully
removing soil from under the foundation on the north side of the tower with the drilling equipment shown in the photo.
This allowed the tower to settle back to the north and reduced the tilt by 1⁄2°, moving the top of the tower back to the
north by 1⁄2 meter. The tower is now back to the position it was in during the 1830s and has not moved significantly since
being stabilized. The tower was reopened to the public in 2001 (Burland et al. 2003 and 2009).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-603428-5
ISBN-10: 0-13-603428-4
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Contents

Preface ix

Chapter 1 Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering 1

1.1 Geotechnical Engineering Design Process 2
1.2 Historical Development 4
1.3 Modern Geotechnical Engineering 14
1.4 Accuracy of Geotechnical Engineering Analyses 16
1.5 A Pictorial Overview of Geotechnical Engineering 16
Chapter 2 Engineering Geology 28
2.1 The Geologic Cycle 29
2.2 Rocks 30
2.3 Rock-Forming Minerals 35
2.4 Structural Geology 37
2.5 Weathering 43
2.6 Soil Formation, Transport, and Deposition 45
2.7 Rock and Soil as Geomaterials 56
Summary 59
Questions and Practice Problems 61
Chapter 3 Site Exploration and Characterization 64
3.1 Project Assessment 65
3.2 Literature Search 66
3.3 Remote Sensing 67
3.4 Field Reconnaissance and Surface Exploration 69
3.5 Subsurface Exploration 69
3.6 Soil and Rock Sampling 82
3.7 Groundwater Exploration and Monitoring 87
3.8 Ex Situ Testing 88
3.9 In Situ Testing 89
3.10 Geophysical Exploration 106
3.11 Synthesis and Interpretation 108

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3.12 Economics 112

3.13 Geotechnical Monitoring During Construction 113
Summary 113
Questions and Practice Problems 115

Chapter 4 Soil Composition 121

4.1 Soil as a Particulate Material 122
4.2 The Three Phases 122
4.3 Weight–Volume Relationships 124
4.4 Particle Size and Shape 138
4.5 Clay Soils 148
4.6 Plasticity and the Atterberg Limits 151
4.7 Structured Versus Unstructured Soils 155
4.8 Organic Soils 156
Summary 157
Questions and Practice Problems 158

Chapter 5 Soil Classification 164

5.1 USDA Soil Classification System 164
5.2 AASHTO Soil Classification System 167
5.3 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) 171
5.4 Visual–Manual Soil Classification 180
5.5 Supplemental Soil Classifications 182
5.6 Applicability and Limitations 185
Summary 186
Questions and Practice Problems 187

Chapter 6 Excavation, Grading, and Compacted Fill 190

6.1 Earthwork Construction Objectives 192
6.2 Construction Methods and Equipment 193
6.3 Soil Compaction Concepts 213
6.4 Soil Compaction Standards and Specifications 215
6.5 Field Considerations and Monitoring 227
6.6 Suitability of Soils for use as Compacted Fill 235
6.7 Earthwork Quantity Computations 237
6.8 Lightweight Fills 241
6.9 Deep Fills 243
Summary 244
Questions and Practice Problems 245

Chapter 7 Groundwater—Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow 251

7.1 Hydrology 252
7.2 Principles of Fluid Mechanics 255
7.3 One-Dimensional Flow Through Soil 268
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7.4 Flow Through Anisotropic Soils 284

Summary 287
Questions and Practice Problems 288
Chapter 8 Groundwater—Multidimensional Flow and Applications 295
8.1 Multidimensional Flow 295
8.2 Flow Net Solution for Two-Dimensional Flow 298
8.3 Numerical and Physical Modeling of Two-Dimensional Flow 316
8.4 Two- and Three-Dimensional Flow to Wells 320
8.5 Groundwater Control 329
8.6 Contaminant Control and Remediation 337
8.7 Soil Migration and Filtration 341
Summary 350
Questions and Practice Problems 352
Chapter 9 Stress 361
9.1 Simplifying Assumptions 362
9.2 Mechanics of Materials Review 363
9.3 Mohr Circle Analyses 368
9.4 Sources of Stress in the Ground 378
9.5 Geostatic Stresses 378
9.6 Induced Stresses 381
9.7 Superposition 392
9.8 Effective Stresses 395
9.9 Effective Stress Under Steady State Flow 405
9.10 Stresses in Layered Strata 408
Summary 409
Questions and Practice Problems 410
Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement 419
10.1 Physical Processes 422
10.2 Changes in Vertical Effective Stress 423
10.3 Distortion Settlement 426
10.4 Consolidation Settlement—Physical Processes 427
10.5 Consolidation (Oedometer) Test 432
10.6 Consolidation Status in the Field 444
10.7 Compressibility of Sands and Gravels 446
10.8 Consolidation Settlement Predictions 448
10.9 Secondary Compression Settlement 461
10.10 Crusts 463
10.11 Settlement of Unsaturated Soils 463
10.12 Heave Due to Unloading 464
10.13 Accuracy of Settlement Predictions 464
Summary 465
Questions and Practice Problems 467
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Chapter 11 Rate of Consolidation 478

11.1 Terzaghi’s Theory of Consolidation 478
11.2 Consolidation Settlement Versus Time Computations 489
11.3 The Coefficient of Consolidation, cv 499
11.4 Accuracy of Settlement Rate Predictions 504
11.5 Consolidation Monitoring 506
11.6 Other Sources of Time Dependent Settlement 512
11.7 Methods of Accelerating Settlements 514
Summary 518
Questions and Practice Problems 520

Chapter 12 Soil Strength 527

12.1 Strength Analyses in Geotechnical Engineering 527
12.2 Shear Failure in Soils 529
12.3 The Drained and the Undrained Conditions 536
12.4 Mohr–Coulomb Failure Criterion 539
12.5 Shear Strength of Saturated Sands and Gravels 545
12.6 Shear Strength of Saturated Clays 550
12.7 Shear Strength of Saturated Intermediate Soils 563
12.8 Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils 564
12.9 Shear Strength Evaluation 564
12.10 Shear Strength at Interfaces Between Soil and Other Materials 583
12.11 Uncertainties in Shear Strength Assessments 584
Summary 585
Questions and Practice Problems 587

Chapter 13 Stability of Earth Slopes 593

13.1 Terminology 595
13.2 Modes of Slope Instability 597
13.3 Analysis of Slope Stability 604
13.4 Quantitative Analysis of Slides 605
13.5 General Procedures in a Limit Equilibrium Analysis of a Slide 606
13.6 Planar Failure Analysis 608
13.7 Infinite Slope Analysis 611
13.8 Swedish Slip Circle Method (F ! 0 Analysis) 613
13.9 Method of Slices 618
13.10 Chart Solutions 627
13.11 Miscellaneous Issues 629
13.12 Seismic Stability 631
13.13 Stabilization Measures 636
13.14 Instrumentation 643
Summary 648
Questions and Practice Problems 649
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Contents ix

Chapter 14 Foundations 655

14.1 Shallow Foundations 656
14.2 Deep Foundations 658
Summary 671

Chapter 15 Spread Footing Design 673

15.1 Bearing Pressure 673
15.2 Bearing Capacity 675
15.3 Settlement 685
15.4 Spread Footings—Summary and Design Concerns 698
Summary 703
Questions and Practice Problems 704
Chapter 16 Earth Retaining Structures 709
16.1 Externally Stabilized Systems 709
16.2 Internally Stabilized Systems 714
16.3 Design of Earth Retaining Structures 717
Summary 719
Chapter 17 Lateral Earth Pressures 720
17.1 Lateral Earth Pressures and Wall Movement 720
17.2 Classical Lateral Earth Pressure Theories 726
17.3 Equivalent Fluid Pressure 742
17.4 Groundwater Effects 744
Summary 747
Questions and Practice Problems 748
Appendix A Recommended Resources for Further Study 751
Chapter 1—Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering 751
Chapter 2—Engineering Geology 752
Chapter 3—Site Exploration and Characterization 752
Chapter 4—Soil Composition 753
Chapter 5—Soil Classification 753
Chapter 6—Excavation, Grading, and Compacted Fill 753
Chapters 7 and 8—Groundwater—Fundamentals and One-Dimensional
Flow and Multidimensional Flow and Applications 753
Chapter 9—Stress 754
Chapters 10 and 11—Compressibility, Settlement, and Rate
of Consolidation 754
Chapter 12—Soil Strength 755
Chapter 13—Stability of Earth Slopes 755
Chapters 14 and 15—Foundations and Spread Footing Design 756
Chapters 16 and 17—Earth Retaining Structures and Lateral Earth
Pressures 757
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Appendix B Unit Conversion Factors 758

English Units 758
SI and Metric Units 758
Conversion Factors 759
Appendix C Field Identification of Soils 761
C.1 Equipment 761
C.2 Procedure 761
C.2.1 Color and Smell 761
C.2.2 Fine Versus Coarse Grain Determination 762
C.2.3 Coarse Grained Soil Classification 762
C.2.4 Fine Grained Soil Classification: Distinguishing Silts from Clays 763
C.2.5 Completing Classification 765
Appendix D Finite Difference Solutions to Flow Problems 766
D.1 Finite Difference Formulation 766
D.2 Application to Two-Dimensional Flow 769
D.3 Solving Finite Difference Problems 772
D.4 Applications Using Spreadsheets 773
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Preface

This second edition of Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices reflects our
experiences using the first edition with our own students over the past 12 years, as well
as constructive suggestions we received from faculty, students, and practicing engineers.
Some topics have been condensed or eliminated, while others have been expanded,
clarified, or added. The primary target audience remains the same: undergraduate civil
engineering students in their first geotechnical engineering course.

WHAT IS NEW IN THIS EDITION

This edition benefits from the addition of two new co-authors: Man-chu Ronald Yeung
and William A. Kitch. The three of us are colleagues at Cal Poly Pomona. Each brings
unique experiences and skills to the manuscript, and we believe the final product has
benefitted from this collaboration.
We have strengthened the coverage of “principles” to facilitate a better under-
standing of fundamental geotechnical engineering concepts and to provide a firmer
foundation for more advanced studies. These discussions include extensive narratives
intended to impart an understanding of the underlying physical processes, not just an
ability to do computations. The book also retains a “practices” component, which intro-
duces students to the practical application of these principles to real engineering prob-
lems. Although this book is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on geotechnical
engineering practice, we have found that a mix of theory and application facilitates the
most effective learning.
Every chapter has some updates, some of which are quite extensive. The most
noteworthy improvements include the following:

• The chapter on soil strength has been updated to provide more in-depth cover-
age of the underlying physical behavior.
• The chapter on slope stability has been enhanced.
• The coverage of structural foundations has been expanded to two chapters.
• A new appendix, Finite Difference Solutions to Flow Problems, has been added.
• Stand-alone chapters on geoenvironmental engineering, dams and levees, soil
improvement, and geotechnical earthquake engineering have been eliminated.

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Key points from these chapters have been condensed and moved to other
locations.
• Many of the homework problems have been updated and new homework prob-
lems have been added.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This new edition would not have been possible without the help and support of many
people. First and foremost, we thank Christopher Sandoval, who is one of our alumni
and a practicing geotechnical engineer. Chris handled a great deal of the organizational
and editorial work, allowing us to focus our energies on the detailed contents of the
manuscript. We also thank Holly Stark and Clare Romeo at Pearson Prentice-Hall, and
Gowri Vasanthkumar at Laserwords, who provided professional advice and support
throughout the writing and editing process. Finally, we thank our families for their
patience and understanding.
DONALD P. CODUTO
MAN-CHU RONALD YEUNG
WILLIAEM A. KITCH
CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA
JANUARY 2010