General Details About Geotechnical Engineering

Page 1

General Details About Geotechnical Engineering Have you ever thought about how a construction company knows that is it safe to build on a particular stretch of land? This is where geotechnical engineering play a major role. A geotechnical engineer is someone who specializes in knowing the behavior of earth materials. This type of engineering is part of civil engineering, but it can be used with all kinds of construction that's to be completed on or in the ground. Soil and rock mechanics and testing are the basis of geotechnical engineering. To figure out the wisest approach to build on or in the ground, a geotechnical engineer may also investigate and evaluate natural stresses, stability of slopes, deposits and chemical properties. Analysis does come into play in many cases in this process, however as technology advances there are numerical techniques that are replacing analysis a lot more. Geotechnical engineers spend lots of time putting together project proposals and requests for testing to be done. A lot of people will be involved since this career demands a lot of teamwork, as with most buildings. The kinds of projects they typically work on include but are not limited to: tunnels, channels, embankments, reservoirs, dams, and building marinas or wharves. A geotechnical engineer will go over the outcome, on a lot of the projects, and decides what earth materials are necessary to make the project successful. Then, as stated above, they start the investigation process to determine the properties they might run into on the land for intended use and often the land adjacent to as well. The majority of the investigation process is to protect the future structure from various natural disasters like landslides, earthquakes, flooding and so forth. Sometimes land will demand what is referred to as “ground improvement." This is the process when engineering properties will be either added or taken away from the soil to enhance the land's potency, firmness and permeability. In the long run, participating in ground improvement can lower cost and save time. After the investigation process is completed, a geotechnical engineer will design the foundation according to the data they have obtained in the investigation process. For the structure or building to last, they are going to need a specific foundation. The design process will also want to be able to build foundations that'll be safe and economical as they possibly can. The concept of geotechnical engineering has evolved over time. Humans have always utilized the soil to help manage flooding, irrigation and the construction of buildings and homes. Thus the beginnings of this specified engineering date all the way back to before 2000 BCE when people started building dams and canals. Scientists began looking more closely at the subsurfaces of the earth before building things, once the Leaning Tower of Pisa had problems with its foundation. More recent geo engineering literature was published in 1925 by a gentleman name Karl Terzaghi who many think of as the founder of this form of engineering. He was the man that discovered the concept of effective stress and discusses how it affects soil. If you would like more detailed information on the actual practice of this career, there are many geotechnical engineering books available. Some of them contain concepts and examples that a geotechnical engineer would use and may give you more insight on what they work on every single day. Purchasing geotechnical engineering handbooks may be a good investment since they're useful and convenient references for methods and equations once you start working on J.ROSS PUBLISHING

Page 1


General Details About Geotechnical Engineering projects as an engineer. Have you ever thought about how a construction company knows that is it safe to build on a particular stretch of land? T...

Document Tags: geotechnical engineering handbook, geotechnical engineering books http://www.jrosspub.com/

J.ROSS PUBLISHING

Page 2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.