Geotechnical Engineering and Earth’s Materials and Processes
engineering in action GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING AND Earth’s Materials and Processes Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com Rebecca Sjonger
WHAT IS GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING What do skyscrapers bridges and tunnels have in common Rocks and soil support them all Earth’s materials are beneath everything from homes to landfills Geotechnical engineers sample study and test these materials They design foundations and supports to suit the ground conditions They consider the natural processes that affect new and developed sites Their work helps make buildings stable and safe for the people who use them To create strong foundations geotechnical engineers include materials such as steel bars in their designs Engineering and science Many closely related science and engineering fields focus on Earth’s materials and processes Each field has a different goal For example geologists are scientists who want to discover as much as they can about how Earth and its materials formed Geotechnical engineers also investigate Earth’s materials However they apply what they learn and find practical solutions For example when they study soil it is so their designs work with the properties of that soil These properties include soil texture how it holds water and how it compacts or joins together under pressure Geoenvironmental engineers specialize in solving environmental problems created by people’s use of Earth’s materials One area of focus for these engineers is improving polluted soil 4
Eight steps to success Geotechnical engineers follow a series of steps to design build and test solutions such as innovative foundations The process for creating strong safe designs is as follows Steps in the design process Define the problem Identify criteria and constraints Brainstorm ideas Select a solution Build a prototype Improve the design Test the prototype Communicate the solution KARL VON TERZAGHI The Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT in the United States built on a new site in 1916 Within a few years it faced a big problem The new buildings were sinking into the soil John Freeman was one of the lead engineers working with MIT He knew exactly whose help they needed Austrian Karl von Terzaghi had written the first book about soil mechanics in 1924 It described what happens to soil under different conditions MIT offered von Terzaghi a one-year teaching job in the United States They hoped that he could also explain why their school buildings were sinking The professor stayed for an extra three years and advised MIT on its soil issues During that time soil mechanics gained attention around the world It marked the beginning of the modern field of geotechnical engineering Karl von Terzaghi studied mechanical and structural engineering before focusing on soil mechanics 5
