Introduction to

Soil Mechanics
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CHAPTER 1

Introduction
Soil:
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natural resource
provide food
shelter
construction material
support for structures
many more..

 Soil was used historically

o In ancient periods people practiced building on solid/stable
foundations. No theoretical basis for design, trial and error
experience.

 Coulomb (1773) used soil mechanics principles to

protect fortresses from cannon fire.
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He realized that wedge ABC applied lateral force
that could topple the fortress
He improved the soil friction on plane BC

 Rapid growth in the industry (20th century) required

more stable and economic foundations of the civil
engineering facilities
Karl Terzaghi published
Erdbaumechanik (1925) in
which he laid foundation for
soil mechanics and showed
the importance of soils in
the engineering.
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 Soil mechanics is subset of Geotechnical

Engineering
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Used in the analysis and design design of
geotechnical systems such as:
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Dams
Tunnels
Canals and waterways
Foundations for bridges, buildings
Roads
Solid waste disposal
etc

 Dams

 Embankments

 Tunnels

 Bridge Foundations

 Building Foundations

 Roads

 Waste Disposal

Approximate Calculations:
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o Every application of soil mechanics involves uncertainty
because of the variability of soils

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o Many of the calculations in soil mechanics are not exact
but approximate values

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o Experience and approximate calculations are important for
successful application of soil mechanics

Uncertainties of soils performance may make a geotechnical

engineer to compromise between sophisticated and simple
analyses.

Stability, however, should never be compromised for economy.

 Geotechnical engineers work are

often invisible after completion of
construction

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However, structural and architectural
beauty of buildings would not exist if
the foundation of the building is not
designed satisfactorily

 No matter how well structurally the buildings, roads,

airports, dams, etc. are designed they will fail if they
are not founded on stable soil
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Successful civil engineering is heavily dependent on
geotechnical engineering

 Safe and economic design of structures on soils rely

on our ability to do so
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Poor engineering analysis, design, construction and
quality control may result in failures => damage lives
and property
Some types of failures may be
caused by natural hazards, like
earthquakes, and may be
difficult to prevent
o Geotechnical engineers duty must be
directed towards mitigating damage to
lives and property

 We learn from failures and try to prevent it in the

future
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Much has been added to the understanding about
soil behavior since the founding of soil mechanics by
Terzaghi in 1925
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Through research and experience learning is
continuing