EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Organisation of the Module:
Duration:One Term
Teaching and Learning on EG6022 includes:
Lectures: Throughout Term
Tutorials:Include Tutorial Worksheets to support learning
Coursework: Allows students to apply their knowledge, in
particular using computer software for design
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Assessment:
Coursework Portfolio 3000 word portfolio comprising a
detailed design report
100% of total mark
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Main Topics of Study:
• Theme 1: Foundations (Foundation design philosophy and bearing
capacity theories, Introduction to Eurocode 7, ULS and SLS design for
shallow and deep foundations, Settlement of shallow foundations)
• Theme 2: Retaining Structures (Lateral earth pressure
theories, design of gravity and cantilever walls)
• Theme 3: Slope Stability and Stabilisation (Analysis and design of soil
slopes, computer-aided analysis and design, Slope stabilisation
concepts and conceptual design, temporary works)
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Some Suggested Reading – Core:
• Smith, I. (2021) Smith’s Elements of Soil Mechanics. 10th edn.
Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
• Knappett, J. and Craig, R. F. (2019) Craig’s Soil Mechanics. 9th
edn. London: CRC Press.
• Atkinson, J. H. (2007) The mechanics of soils and foundations. 2nd
edn. London: Routledge.
• EG6022 Teaching Materials
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Some Suggested Reading – Recommended:
• Bond, A. and Harris, A. (2008) Decoding Eurocode 7. London: CRC
Press.
• Fleming, K. Weltman, A. Randolph, M and K. Elson (2008) Piling
engineering. 3rd Edition. London: CRC Press.
• Driscoll, R., Scott, P. and Powell, J. (2008) EC7 – Implications for
UK practice Eurocode 7 geotechnical design (CIRIA report C641).
London: CIRIA.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
The Purpose of this Module
The purpose of this module is to provide an introduction to geotechnical
design. This will require that some background material will need to be
covered before moving on to look at how this can be utilised in the
design process.
Some of this background material will have been covered on previous
Modules, so there will be an element of revision and refreshment of
students’ knowledge.
Having covered this background material the Module will the look at
some aspects of specific cases of geotechnical design. Such design
covers a variety of structures and structural interactions.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Design Cases Covered in this Module:
Shallow Foundations
The simplest foundation solution will be a shallow foundation which is typically
constructed by excavating to shallow depth and filling the excavation with concrete.
Deep Foundations – Piles
Piles are used where the near-surface soils are weak and effectively comprise long
buried columnar structures which transmit structural loads to stronger soil layers at
depth.
Retaining Structures
Retaining structures are needed whenever there is a change of level between adjacent
areas of ground and available space is limited.
Design of Slopes
Where ground levels change and there are no limitations on available space these
changes can be accommodated by re-profiling the ground surface.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Soils as Engineering Materials
Soils are fundamentally different from other engineering materials in
that they are not produced under controlled conditions; when dealing
with soils the Engineer has to a large extent accept whatever is present
in the ground.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Soils as Engineering Materials
Engineering design must be carried out in order to prevent failure
occurring in the soil. This is similar to design for other engineering
materials, but a number of specific factors must be taken into account:
1. The soil acts as an extended mass of material in order to carry applied
loads.
2. Soil generally fails in shear.
3. The strength of a soil mass varies with location, sometimes very
significantly.
4. A soil is composed of a number of different phases. In particular, the
influence of groundwater is exceptionally important
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
What is Shear ?
Put simply:
Shear is an action which promotes a tendency for two
surfaces to move over each other
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
When Does Shear occur in Soils ?
Looking at a cubic block of soil at some depth in any soil mass, due to
the surrounding soil there will be a vertical stress acting on the upper
surface of this element and also a horizontal stress acting on the
vertical sides of the element.
In practice this will occur in three dimensions (a triaxial stress system),
but we often simplify this to two dimensions, as shown on the following
slide.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Would there be expected to be any shear forces acting in a simple
case where the vertical and horizontal stresses are equal as shown?
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
When Does Shear occur in Soils ?
It turns out that where the vertical and horizontal stresses acting on the
soil element are equal, there is no shear.
Any tendency for the element to distort due to the stresses will be
equal in all directions and therefore there will not be any tendency for
elements of soil to slide over each other. Rather, there will only be a
tendency for the element to compress.
Now, if the vertical and horizontal stresses are different, this changes
the situation:
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Where the vertical stress is greater than the horizontal stress, the soil
element will tend to distort by shortening and expanding horizontally. In
order for this to happen, movement will have to occur along planes in
the element – this is shear.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
When Does Shear occur in Soils ?
It turns out the shear in soils occurs due to differences in vertical and
horizontal stresses and consequently these are very important in
geotechnical engineering.
To be a little bit more precise, if a soil mass is initially in equilibrium, we
are usually interested in changes in vertical and horizonal stresses,
because it is these changes which will cause changes in equilibrium
and cause the soil to fail.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
When Does Shear Cause Soils to Fail ?
It the most general case, certain shear stresses will be present within
any soil mass.
This does not mean that the soil will fail – all soils will have the ability to
resist a certain level of shear stress.
Soils will only fail when:
The imposed Shear Stress exceeds the Soil’s Shear Strength
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Shear Strength of Soil
In order to assess the shear strength of a soil and carry out analysis to
predict possible soil failure we ideally need to:
• Test Representative Samples of the Soil in the Laboratory
• Adopt a Mathematical Model to predict the Soil Strength
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
Shear Strength of Soil
One of the simplest models of soil failure (and the most commonly
used in day to day analysis) is:
The Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion
This criterion gives a simple mathematical model to determine the soil
shear strength
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
The Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion:
This is simply stated as:
f c n tan
Where: tf is the shear strength of the soil at failure
C is the soil cohesive strength
is the soil angle of internal friction
n is the normal stress on the plane being considered
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
The Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion:
f c n tan
It can be noted that there are two distinct terms here:
The first one (C) is a cohesion term – a measure of the “stickiness”
along the potential failure plane.
The second term is a frictional term – a measure of the frictional
strength on the failure plane.
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
When Does Shear Cause Soils to Fail ?
In order to check whether a soil will fail, it is then necessary to:
• Calculate the applied shear stress on any potential failure planes
• Calculate the soil’s shear strength on that plane
If the applied shear stress exceeds the soil shear strength, this indicates
that the soil will fail in shear on that plane.
Unfortunately, because both the imposed shear stress and soil shear
strength vary with the normal stress on the plane, it is in theory necessary
to check for failure on all possible failure planes
EG6022 – Geotechnical Engineering
The Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion:
Further implications from the failure criterion are that:
The cohesive strength will be the same on every possible failure plane
within the soil mass, unless the strength of the soil changes.
The frictional strength will vary at all points in the soil mass, even
when the soil strength is constant
The second point occurs because the normal stress on any possible
failure plane, sn, will change depending on the location within the soil
mass.
