1 Geotechnical Engineering—A Historical Perspective

For engineering purposes, soil is defined as the uncemented aggregate of mineral grains and decayed
organic matter (solid particles) with liquid and gas in the empty spaces between the solid particles. Soil is
used as a construction material in various civil engineering projects, and it supports structural foundations.
Thus, civil engineers must study the properties of soil, such as its origin, grain-size distribution, ability to
drain water, compressibility, shear strength, and load-bearing capacity. Soil mechanics is the branch of
science that deals with the study of the physical properties of soil and the behavior of soil masses subjected
to various types of forces. Soil engineering is the application of the principles of soil mechanics to practical
problems.

Geotechnical engineering is the subdiscipline of civil engineering that involves natural materials found close
to the surface of the earth. It includes the application of the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics
to the design of foundations, retaining structures, and earth structures.

2 Natural Soil Deposits-General

During the planning, design, and construction of foundations, embankments, and earth-retaining
structures, engineers find it helpful to know the origin of the soil deposit over which the foundation is to
be constructed because each soil deposit has its own unique physical attributes.
Most of the soils that cover the earth are formed by the weathering of various rocks. There are two general
types of weathering:
(1) Mechanical weathering and
(2) Chemical weathering.

Mechanical weathering is the process by which rocks are broken into smaller and smaller pieces by
physical forces, including running water, wind, ocean waves, glacier ice, frost, and expansion and
contraction caused by the gain and loss of heat.

Chemical weathering is the process of chemical decomposition of the original rock. In the case of
mechanical weathering, the rock breaks into smaller pieces with- out a change in its chemical composition.
However, in chemical weathering, the original material may be changed to something entirely different. For
example, the chemical weathering of feldspar can produce clay minerals. Most rock weathering is a
combination of mechanical and chemical weathering.

Soil produced by the weathering of rocks can be transported by physical processes to other places. The
resulting soil deposits are called transported soils. In contrast, some soils stay where they were formed and
cover the rock surface from which they derive. These soils are referred to as residual soils.
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 Transported soils can be subdivided into five major categories based on the transporting agent:

1. Gravity transported soil

2. Lacustrine (lake) deposits
3. Alluvial or fluvial soil deposited by running water
4. Glacial deposited by glaciers
5. Aeolian deposited by the wind

In addition to transported and residual soils, there are peats and organic soils, which derive from the
decomposition of organic materials.

2.1 Residual Soil

Residual soils are found in areas where the rate of weathering is more than the rate at which the weathered
materials are carried away by transporting agents. The rate of weathering is higher in warm and humid
regions compared to cooler and drier regions and, depending on the climatic conditions, the effect of
weathering may vary widely.
Residual soil deposits are common in the tropics. The nature of a residual soil deposit will generally depend
on the parent rock. When hard rocks, such as granite and gneiss, undergo weathering, most of the materials
are likely to remain in place. These soil deposits generally have a top layer of clayey or silty clay material,
below which are silty or sandy soil layers. These layers in turn, are generally underlain by a partially
weathered rock, and then sound bedrock. The depth of the sound bedrock may vary widely, even within a
distance of a few meters.
In contrast to hard rocks, there are some chemical rocks, such as limestone, that are chiefly made up of
calcite (CaCo3) mineral. Chalk and dolomite have large concentrations of dolomite minerals [Ca Mg (Co3)2].
These rocks have large amounts of soluble materials, some of which are removed by groundwater, leaving
behind the insoluble fraction of the rock. Residual soils that derive from chemical rocks do not possess a
gradual transition zone to the bedrock. The residual soils derived from the weathering of limestone-like
rocks are mostly red in color. Although uniform in kind, the depth of weathering may vary greatly. The
residual soils immediately above the bedrock may be normally consolidated. Large foundations with heavy
loads may be susceptible to large consolidation settlements on these soils.

2.2 Gravity Transported Soil

Residual soils on a steep natural slope can move slowly downward, and this is usually referred to as creep.
When the downward soil movement is sudden and rapid, it is called a landslide. The soil deposits formed by
landslides are colluvium. Mud flows are one type of gravity transported soil. In this case, highly saturated,
loose sandy residual soils, on relatively flat slopes, move downward like a viscous liquid and come to rest in
a more dense condition. The soil deposits derived from past mud flows are highly heterogeneous in
composition.
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 2.3 Alluvial Deposits

Alluvial soil deposits derive from the action of streams and rivers and can be divided into two major
categories: (1) braided-stream deposits , and (2) deposits caused by the meandering belt of streams.

Deposits from Braided Streams

Braided streams are high-gradient, rapidly flowing streams that are highly erosive and carry large amounts
of sediment. Because of the high bed load, a minor change in the velocity of flow will cause sediments to
deposit. By this process, these streams may build up a complex tangle of converging and diverging
channels, separated by sandbars and islands.
The deposits formed from braided streams are highly irregular in stratification and have a wide range of
grain sizes. Figure 2.1 shows a cross section of such a deposit. These deposits share several characteristics:

1. The grain sizes usually range from gravel to silt. Clay-sized particles are generally not found in deposits
from braided streams.
2. Although grain size varies widely, the soil in a given pocket or lens is rather uniform.
3. At any given depth, the void ratio and unit weight may vary over a wide range within a lateral distance of
only a few meters.

Meander Belt Deposits

The term meander is derived from the Greek work maiandros, after the Maiandros (now Menderes) River in
Asia, famous for its winding course. Mature streams in a valley curve back and forth. The valley floor in
which a river meanders is referred to as the meander belt. In a meandering river, the soil from the bank is
continually eroded from the points where it is concave in shape and is deposited at points where the bank is
convex in shape, as shown in Figure 2.2. These deposits are called point bar deposits, and they usually
consist of sand and silt-sized particles. Sometimes, during the process of erosion and deposition, the river

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 abandons a meander and cuts a shorter path. The abandoned meander, when filled with water, is called an
oxbow lake. (See Figure 2.2.)

During floods, rivers overflow low-lying areas. The sand and silt-size particles carried by the river are
deposited along the banks to form ridges known as natural levees (Figure 2.3). Finer soil particles
consisting of silts and clays are carried by the water farther onto the floodplains. These particles settle at
different rates to form backswamp deposits (Figure 2.3), often highly plastic clays.

2.4 Lacustrine Deposits

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 Water from rivers and springs flows into lakes. In arid regions, streams carry large amounts of
suspended solids. Where the stream enters the lake, granular particles are deposited in the area
f o r m i n g a delta. Some coarser particles and the fine particles; that is, silt and clay, that are
carried into the lake are deposited onto the lake bottom in alternate layers of coarse-grained and
fine-grained particles. The deltas formed in humid regions usually have finer grained soil deposits
compared to those in arid regions.

2.5 Glacial Deposits

During the Pleistocene Ice Age, glaciers covered large areas of the earth. The glaciers advanced and retreated
with time. During their advance, the glaciers carried large amounts of sand, silt, clay, gravel, and boulders.
Drift is a general term usually applied to the deposits laid down by glaciers. Unstratified deposits laid down by
melting glaciers are referred to as till. The physical characteristics of till may vary from glacier to glacier.

2.6 Aeolian Soil Deposits

Wind is also a major transporting agent leading to the formation of soil deposits. When large areas of sand lie
exposed, wind can blow the sand away and redeposit it elsewhere. Deposits of windblown sand generally take
the shape of dunes (Figure 2.5).
As dunes are formed, the sand is blown over the crest by the wind. Beyond the crest, the sand particles roll
down the slope. The process tends to form a compact sand deposit on the windward side, and a rather loose
deposit on the leeward side, of the dune.

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 2.7 Organic Soil

Organic soils are usually found in low-lying areas where the water table is near or above the ground surface.
The presence of a high water table helps in the growth of aquatic plants that, when decomposed, form organic
soil. This type of soil deposit is usually encountered in coastal areas and in glaciated regions. Organic soils
show the following characteristics:
1. Their natural moisture content may range from 200 to 300%.
2. They are highly compressible.
3. Laboratory tests have shown that, under loads, a large amount of settlement is derived from secondary
consolidation.

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