Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering

behavior of earth materials. Geotechnical engineering is important in civil engineering, but also has
applications in military, mining, petroleum and other engineering disciplines that are concerned with
construction occurring on the surface or within the ground. Geotechnical engineering uses principles
of soil mechanics androck mechanics to investigate subsurface conditions and materials; determine
the relevant physical/mechanical and chemical properties of these materials; evaluate stability of
natural slopes and man-made soil deposits; assess risks posed by site conditions;
design earthworksand structure foundations; and monitor site conditions, earthwork and foundation
construction.[1][2]
A typical geotechnical engineering project begins with a review of project needs to define the
required material properties. Then follows a site investigation of soil, rock, fault distribution
and bedrock properties on and below an area of interest to determine their engineering properties
including how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction. Site investigations are needed
to gain an understanding of the area in or on which the engineering will take place. Investigations
can include the assessment of the risk to humans, property and the environment from natural
hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes, soil liquefaction, debris flows and rockfalls.
A geotechnical engineer then determines and designs the type of foundations, earthworks, and/or
pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be built. Foundations are
designed and constructed for structures of various sizes such as high-rise buildings, bridges,
medium to large commercial buildings, and smaller structures where the soil conditions do not allow
code-based design.
Foundations built for above-ground structures include shallow and deep foundations. Retaining
structures include earth-filled dams and retaining walls. Earthworks
include embankments, tunnels, dikes and levees, channels, reservoirs, deposition of hazardous
waste and sanitary landfills.
Geotechnical engineering is also related to coastal and ocean engineering. Coastal engineering can
involve the design and construction of wharves, marinas, and jetties. Ocean engineering can involve
foundation and anchor systems for offshore structures such as oil platforms.
The fields of geotechnical engineering and engineering geology are closely related, and have large
areas of overlap. However, the field of geotechnical engineering is a specialty of engineering, where
the field of engineering geology is a specialty of geology.
Contents
[hide]

1History

2Practicing engineers

3Soil mechanics
3.1Soil properties

4Geotechnical investigation

5Foundations
5.1Shallow foundations

5.1.1Footings

5.1.2Slab foundations
5.2Deep foundations
6Lateral earth support structures

6.1Gravity walls

6.2Cantilever walls

6.3Excavation shoring

7Earthworks
o

7.1Excavation

7.2Filling

7.3Compaction

8Ground Improvement

9Slope stabilization
o

9.1Slope stability analysis

10Offshore geotechnical engineering

11Geosynthetics

12See also

13Notes

14References

History[edit]
Humans have historically used soil as a material for flood control, irrigation purposes, burial sites,
building foundations, and as construction material for buildings. First activities were linked to
irrigation and flood control, as demonstrated by traces of dykes, dams, and canals dating back to at
least 2000 BCE that were found in ancient Egypt, ancientMesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, as
well as around the early settlements of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa in the Indus valley. As the cities
expanded, structures were erected supported by formalized foundations; Ancient Greeks notably
constructed pad footings and strip-and-raft foundations. Until the 18th century, however, no
theoretical basis for soil design had been developed and the discipline was more of an art than a
science, relying on past experience.[3]
Several foundation-related engineering problems, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, prompted
scientists to begin taking a more scientific-based approach to examining the subsurface. The earliest
advances occurred in the development of earth pressure theories for the construction of retaining
walls. Henri Gautier, a French Royal Engineer, recognized the "natural slope" of different soils in
1717, an idea later known as the soil's angle of repose. A rudimentary soil classification system was
also developed based on a material's unit weight, which is no longer considered a good indication of
soil type.[3][4]
The application of the principles of mechanics to soils was documented as early as 1773
when Charles Coulomb (a physicist, engineer, and army Captain) developed improved methods to
determine the earth pressures against military ramparts. Coulomb observed that, at failure, a distinct
slip plane would form behind a sliding retaining wall and he suggested that the maximum shear
stress on the slip plane, for design purposes, was the sum of the soil cohesion, , and friction ,
where is the normal stress on the slip plane and is the friction angle of the soil. By combining
Coulomb's theory with Christian Otto Mohr's 2D stress state, the theory became known as MohrCoulomb theory. Although it is now recognized that precise determination of cohesion is impossible
because is not a fundamental soil property,[5] the Mohr-Coulomb theory is still used in practice today.
In the 19th century Henry Darcy developed what is now known as Darcy's Law describing the flow of
fluids in porous media. Joseph Boussinesq (a mathematician and physicist) developed theories of
stress distribution in elastic solids that proved useful for estimating stresses at depth in the
ground; William Rankine, an engineer and physicist, developed an alternative to Coulomb's earth
pressure theory. Albert Atterberg developed the clay consistency indices that are still used today for
soil classification.[3][4] Osborne Reynoldsrecognized in 1885 that shearing causes volumetric dilation
of dense and contraction of loose granular materials.
Modern geotechnical engineering is said to have begun in 1925 with the publication
of Erdbaumechanik by Karl Terzaghi (a civil engineer and geologist). Considered by many to be the

father of modern soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, Terzaghi developed the principle of
effective stress, and demonstrated that the shear strength of soil is controlled by effective stress.
Terzaghi also developed the framework for theories of bearing capacity of foundations, and the
theory for prediction of the rate of settlement of clay layers due to consolidation.[3][5][6] In his 1948
book, Donald Taylor recognized that interlocking and dilation of densely packed particles contributed
to the peak strength of a soil. The interrelationships between volume change behavior (dilation,
contraction, and consolidation) and shearing behavior were all connected via the theory
of plasticity usingcritical state soil mechanics by Roscoe, Schofield, and Wroth with the publication of
"On the Yielding of Soils" in 1958. Critical state soil mechanics is the basis for many contemporary
advanced constitutive models describing the behavior of soil.[7]
Geotechnical centrifuge modeling is a method of testing physical scale models of geotechnical
problems. The use of a centrifuge enhances the similarity of the scale model tests involving soil
because the strength and stiffness of soil is very sensitive to the confining pressure. The centrifugal
acceleration allows a researcher to obtain large (prototype-scale) stresses in small physical models.

Practicing engineers[edit]
Geotechnical engineers are typically graduates of a four-year civil engineering program and some
hold a masters degree. In the USA, geotechnical engineers are typically licensed and regulated as
Professional Engineers (PEs) in most states; currently only California and Oregon have licensed
geotechnical engineering specialties. The Academy of Geo-Professionals (AGP) began issuing
Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering (D.GE) certification in 2008. State governments will typically
license engineers who have graduated from an ABET accredited school, passed the Fundamentals
of Engineering examination, completed several years of work experience under the supervision of a
licensed Professional Engineer, and passed the Professional Engineering examination.[8]

Soil mechanics[edit]

A phase diagram of soil indicating the weights and volumes of air, soil, water, and voids.

Main articles: Soil mechanics and Rock mechanics

In geotechnical engineering, soils are considered a three-phase material composed of: rock
or mineral particles, water and air. The voids of a soil, the spaces in between mineral particles,
contain the water and air.

The engineering properties of soils are affected by four main factors: the predominant size of the
mineral particles, the type of mineral particles, the grain size distribution, and the relative quantities
of mineral, water and air present in the soil matrix. Fine particles (fines) are defined as particles less
than 0.075 mm in diameter.

Soil properties[edit]
Main article: Soil mechanics
Some of the important properties of soils that are used by geotechnical engineers to analyze site
conditions and design earthworks, retaining structures, and foundations are: [2]
Specific weight or Unit Weight
Cumulative weight of the solid particles, water and air of the unit volume of soil. Note that the
air phase is often assumed to be weightless.
Porosity
Ratio of the volume of voids (containing air, water, or other fluids) in a soil to the total volume
of the soil. Porosity is mathematically related to void ratio the by[9]
here e is void ratio and n is porosity
Void ratio
The ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of solid particles in a soil mass. Void ratio is
mathematically related to the porosity by[9]
Permeability
A measure of the ability of water to flow through the soil. It is expressed in units of velocity.[10]
Compressibility
The rate of change of volume with effective stress. If the pores are filled with water, then the
water must be squeezed out of the pores to allow volumetric compression of the soil; this
process is called consolidation.
Shear strength
The maximum shear stress that can be applied in a soil mass without causing shear failure.[11]
Atterberg Limits
Liquid limit, Plastic limit, and Shrinkage limit. These indices are used for estimation of other
engineering properties and for soil classification.

Geotechnical investigation[edit]

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Main article: Geotechnical investigation

Geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists perform
geotechnical investigations to obtain information on the physical
properties of soil and rock underlying (and sometimes adjacent to)
a site to design earthworks and foundations for proposed
structures, and for repair of distress to earthworks and structures
caused by subsurface conditions. A geotechnical investigation will
include surface exploration and subsurface exploration of a site.
Sometimes, geophysical methods are used to obtain data about
sites. Subsurface exploration usually involves in-situ testing (two
common examples of in-situ tests are the standard penetration
test and cone penetration test). In addition site investigation will
often include subsurface sampling and laboratory testing of the soil
samples retrieved. The digging of test pits and trenching
(particularly for locating faults andslide planes) may also be used to
learn about soil conditions at depth. Large diameter borings are
rarely used due to safety concerns and expense, but are
sometimes used to allow a geologist or engineer to be lowered into
the borehole for direct visual and manual examination of the soil
and rock stratigraphy.
A variety of soil samplers exist to meet the needs of different
engineering projects. The standard penetration test (SPT), which
uses a thick-walled split spoon sampler, is the most common way
to collect disturbed samples. Piston samplers, employing a thinwalled tube, are most commonly used for the collection of less
disturbed samples. More advanced methods, such as ground
freezing and the Sherbrooke block sampler, are superior, but even
more expensive.
Atterberg limits tests, water content measurements, and grain size
analysis, for example, may be performed on disturbed samples
obtained from thick walled soil samplers. Properties such as shear
strength, stiffness hydraulic conductivity, and coefficient
of consolidation may be significantly altered by sample disturbance.
To measure these properties in the laboratory, high quality
sampling is required. Common tests to measure the strength and
stiffness include the triaxial shear and unconfined compression
test.

Surface exploration can include geologic mapping, geophysical

methods, and photogrammetry; or it can be as simple as an
engineer walking around to observe the physical conditions at the
site. Geologic mapping and interpretation of geomorphology is
typically completed in consultation with a geologist or engineering
geologist.
Geophysical exploration is also sometimes used. Geophysical
techniques used for subsurface exploration include measurement
of seismic waves (pressure, shear, and Rayleigh waves), surfacewave methods and/or downhole methods, and electromagnetic
surveys (magnetometer, resistivity, and ground-penetrating radar).

Foundations[edit]

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Main article: Foundation (engineering)

A building's foundation transmits loads from buildings and other
structures to the earth. Geotechnical engineers design foundations
based on the load characteristics of the structure and the properties
of the soils and/or bedrock at the site. In general, geotechnical
engineers:
1. Estimate the magnitude and location of the loads to be
supported.
2. Develop an investigation plan to explore the subsurface.
3. Determine necessary soil parameters through field and lab
testing (e.g., consolidation test, triaxial shear test, vane
shear test, standard penetration test).
4. Design the foundation in the safest and most economical
manner.
The primary considerations for foundation support are bearing
capacity, settlement, and ground movement beneath the

foundations. Bearing capacity is the ability of the site soils to

support the loads imposed by buildings or structures. Settlement
occurs under all foundations in all soil conditions, though lightly
loaded structures or rock sites may experience negligible
settlements. For heavier structures or softer sites, both overall
settlement relative to unbuilt areas or neighboring buildings, and
differential settlement under a single structure, can be concerns. Of
particular concern is settlement which occurs over time, as
immediate settlement can usually be compensated for during
construction. Ground movement beneath a structure's foundations
can occur due to shrinkage or swell of expansive soils due to
climatic changes, frost expansion of soil, melting of permafrost,
slope instability, or other causes.[citation needed] All these factors must be
considered during design of foundations.
Many building codes specify basic foundation design parameters
for simple conditions, frequently varying by jurisdiction, but such
design techniques are normally limited to certain types of
construction and certain types of sites, and are frequently very
conservative.[citation needed]
In areas of shallow bedrock, most foundations may bear directly on
bedrock; in other areas, the soil may provide sufficient strength for
the support of structures. In areas of deeper bedrock with soft
overlying soils, deep foundations are used to support structures
directly on the bedrock; in areas where bedrock is not economically
available, stiff "bearing layers" are used to support deep
foundations instead.

Shallow foundations[edit]

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Main article: Shallow foundation

Example of a slab-on-grade foundation.

Shallow foundations are a type of foundation that transfers building

load to the very near the surface, rather than to a subsurface layer.
Shallow foundations typically have a depth to width ratio of less
than 1.
Footings[edit]
Footings (often called "spread footings" because they spread the
load) are structural elements which transfer structure loads to the
ground by direct areal contact. Footings can be isolated footings for
point or column loads, or strip footings for wall or other long (line)
loads. Footings are normally constructed from reinforced
concrete cast directly onto the soil, and are typically embedded into
the ground to penetrate through the zone of frost movement and/or
to obtain additional bearing capacity.
Slab foundations[edit]
A variant on spread footings is to have the entire structure bear on
a single slab of concrete underlying the entire area of the structure.
Slabs must be thick enough to provide sufficient rigidity to spread
the bearing loads somewhat uniformly, and to minimize differential
settlement across the foundation. In some cases, flexure is allowed
and the building is constructed to tolerate small movements of the
foundation instead. For small structures, like single-family houses,
the slab may be less than 300 mm thick; for larger structures, the
foundation slab may be several meters thick.
Slab foundations can be either slab-on-grade foundations or
embedded foundations, typically in buildings with basements. Slabon-grade foundations must be designed to allow for potential
ground movement due to changing soil conditions.

Deep foundations[edit]

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Pile-driving for a bridge in Napa, California.

Main article: Deep foundations

Deep foundations are used for structures or heavy loads when
shallow foundations cannot provide adequate capacity, due to size
and structural limitations. They may also be used to transfer
building loads past weak or compressible soil layers. While shallow
foundations rely solely on thebearing capacity of the soil beneath
them, deep foundations can rely on end bearing resistance,
frictional resistance along their length, or both in developing the
required capacity. Geotechnical engineers use specialized tools,
such as the cone penetration test, to estimate the amount of skin
and end bearing resistance available in the subsurface.
There are many types of deep foundations including piles, drilled
shafts, caissons, piers, and earth stabilized columns. Large
buildings such asskyscrapers typically require deep foundations.
For example, the Jin Mao Tower in China uses tubular steel piles
about 1m (3.3 feet) driven to a depth of 83.5m (274 feet) to support
its weight.
In buildings that are constructed and found to undergo
settlement, underpinning piles can be used to stabilise the existing
building.[citation needed]

There are three ways to place piles for a deep foundation. They
can be driven, drilled, or installed by use of an auger. Driven piles
are extended to their necessary depths with the application of
external energy in the same way a nail is hammered. There are
four typical hammers used to drive such piles: drop hammers,
diesel hammers, hydraulic hammers, and air hammers. Drop
hammers simply drop a heavy weight onto the pile to drive it, while
diesel hammers use a single cylinder diesel engine to force piles
through the Earth. Similarly, hydraulic and air hammers supply
energy to piles through hydraulic and air forces. Energy imparted
from a hammer head varies with type of hammer chosen, and can
be as high as a million foot pounds for large scale diesel hammers,
a very common hammer head used in practice. Piles are made of a
variety of material including steel, timber, and concrete. Drilled piles
are created by first drilling a hole to the appropriate depth, and
filling it with concrete. Drilled piles can typically carry more load
than driven piles, simply due to a larger diameter pile. The auger
method of pile installation is similar to drilled pile installation, but
concrete is pumped into the hole as the auger is being removed. [12]

Lateral earth support structures[edit]

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Main article: Retaining wall

A retaining wall is a structure that holds back earth. Retaining walls
stabilize soil and rock from downslope movement or erosion and
provide support for vertical or near-vertical grade changes.
Cofferdams and bulkheads, structures to hold back water, are
sometimes also considered retaining walls.
The primary geotechnical concern in design and installation of
retaining walls is that the weight of the retained material is
creates lateral earth pressure behind the wall, which can cause the
wall to deform or fail. The lateral earth pressure depends on the
height of the wall, the density of the soil,the strength of the soil, and
the amount of allowable movement of the wall. This pressure is

smallest at the top and increases toward the bottom in a manner

similar to hydraulic pressure, and tends to push the wall away from
the backfill. Groundwater behind the wall that is not dissipated by a
drainage system causes an additional horizontal hydraulic pressure
on the wall.

Gravity walls[edit]
Gravity walls depend on the size and weight of the wall mass to
resist pressures from behind. Gravity walls will often have a slight
setback, or batter, to improve wall stability. For short, landscaping
walls, gravity walls made from dry-stacked (mortarless) stone or
segmental concrete units (masonry units) are commonly used.
Earlier in the 20th century, taller retaining walls were often gravity
walls made from large masses of concrete or stone. Today, taller
retaining walls are increasingly built as composite gravity walls
such as: geosynthetic or steel-reinforced backfill soil with precast
facing; gabions (stacked steel wire baskets filled with rocks), crib
walls (cells built up log cabin style from precast concrete or timber
and filled with soil or free draining gravel) or soil-nailed walls (soil
reinforced in place with steel and concrete rods).
For reinforced-soil gravity walls, the soil reinforcement is placed
in horizontal layers throughout the height of the wall. Commonly,
the soil reinforcement is geogrid, a high-strength polymer mesh,
that provide tensile strength to hold soil together. The wall face is
often of precast, segmental concrete units that can tolerate some
differential movement. The reinforced soil's mass, along with the
facing, becomes the gravity wall. The reinforced mass must be built
large enough to retain the pressures from the soil behind it. Gravity
walls usually must be a minimum of 30 to 40 percent as deep
(thick) as the height of the wall, and may have to be larger if there
is a slope or surcharge on the wall.

Cantilever walls[edit]
Prior to the introduction of modern reinforced-soil gravity walls,
cantilevered walls were the most common type of taller retaining
wall. Cantilevered walls are made from a relatively thin stem of
steel-reinforced, cast-in-place concrete or mortared masonry (often
in the shape of an inverted T). These walls cantilever loads (like a

beam) to a large, structural footing; converting horizontal pressures

from behind the wall to vertical pressures on the ground below.
Sometimes cantilevered walls are buttressed on the front, or
include a counterfort on the back, to improve their stability against
high loads. Buttresses are short wing walls at right angles to the
main trend of the wall. These walls require rigid concrete footings
below seasonal frost depth. This type of wall uses much less
material than a traditional gravity wall.
Cantilever walls resist lateral pressures by friction at the base of the
wall and/or passive earth pressure, the tendency of the soil to
resist lateral movement.
Basements are a form of cantilever walls, but the forces on the
basement walls are greater than on conventional walls because the
basement wall is not free to move.

Excavation shoring[edit]

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Shoring of temporary excavations frequently requires a wall design

which does not extend laterally beyond the wall, so shoring extends
below the planned base of the excavation. Common methods of
shoring are the use of sheet piles or soldier beams and lagging.
Sheet piles are a form of driven piling using thin interlocking sheets
of steel to obtain a continuous barrier in the ground, and are driven
prior to excavation. Soldier beams are constructed of wide flange
steel H sections spaced about 23 m apart, driven prior to
excavation. As the excavation proceeds, horizontal timber or steel
sheeting (lagging) is inserted behind the H pile flanges.
In some cases, the lateral support which can be provided by the
shoring wall alone is insufficient to resist the planned lateral loads;
in this case additional support is provided by walers or tie-backs.
Walers are structural elements which connect across the
excavation so that the loads from the soil on either side of the
excavation are used to resist each other, or which transfer
horizontal loads from the shoring wall to the base of the excavation.

Tie-backs are steel tendons drilled into the face of the wall which
extend beyond the soil which is applying pressure to the wall, to
provide additional lateral resistance to the wall.

Earthworks[edit]
See also: Earthworks (engineering)

Excavation[edit]
Excavation is the process of training earth according to requirement
by removing the soil from the site.

Filling[edit]
Filling is the process of training earth according to requirement by
placing the soil on the site.

Compaction[edit]

A compactor/roller operated by U.S. Navy Seabees

Compaction is the process by which the density of soil is increased

and permeability of soil is decreased. Fill placement work often has
specifications requiring a specific degree of compaction, or
alternatively, specific properties of the compacted soil. In-situ soils
can be compacted by rolling, deep dynamic compaction, vibration,
blasting, gyrating, kneading, compaction grouting etc.

Ground Improvement[edit]
Ground Improvement is a technique that improves the engineering
properties of the treated soil mass. Usually, the properties modified
are shear strength, stiffness and permeability. Ground improvement
has developed into a sophisticated tool to support foundations for a
wide variety of structures. Properly applied, i.e. after giving due
consideration to the nature of the ground being improved and the

type and sensitivity of the structures being built, ground

improvement often reduces direct costs and saves time.[13]

Slope stabilization[edit]

Simple slope slip section.

Main article: Slope stability

Slope stability is the potential of soil covered slopes to withstand
and undergo movement. Stability is determined by the balance
ofshear stress and shear strength. A previously stable slope may
be initially affected by preparatory factors, making the slope
conditionally unstable. Triggering factors of a slope failure can be
climatic events can then make a slope actively unstable, leading to
mass movements. Mass movements can be caused by increases
in shear stress, such as loading, lateral pressure, and transient
forces. Alternatively, shear strength may be decreased by
weathering, changes in pore water pressure, and organic material.
Several modes of failure for earth slopes include falls, topples,
slides, and flows. In slopes with coarse grained soil or rocks, falls
typically occur as the rapid descent of rocks and other loose slope
material. A slope topples when a large column of soil tilts over its
vertical axis at failure. Typical slope stability analysis considers
sliding failures, categorized mainly as rotational slides or
translational slides. As implied by the name, rotational slides fail
along a generally curved surface, while translational slides fail
along a more planar surface. A slope failing as a flow would
resemble a fluid flowing downhill.

Slope stability analysis[edit]

Main article: Slope stability analysis

Stability analysis is needed for the design of engineered slopes and
for estimating the risk of slope failure in natural or designed slopes.
A common assumption is that a slope consists of a layer of soil
sitting on top of a rigid base. The mass and the base are assumed
to interact via friction. The interface between the mass and the
base can be planar, curved, or have some other complex geometry.
The goal of a slope stability analysis is to determine the conditions
under which the mass will slip relative to the base and lead to slope
failure.[14]
If the interface between the mass and the base of a slope has a
complex geometry, slope stability analysis is difficult and numerical
solution methods are required. Typically, the exact geometry of the
interface is not known and a simplified interface geometry is
assumed. Finite slopes require three-dimensional models to be
analyzed. To keep the problem simple, most slopes are analyzed
assuming that the slopes are infinitely wide and can therefore be
represented by two-dimensional models. A slope can be drained or
undrained. The undrained condition is used in the calculations to
produce conservative estimates of risk.
A popular stability analysis approach is based on principles
pertaining to the limit equilibrium concept. This method analyzes a
finite or infinite slope as if it were about to fail along its sliding
failure surface. Equilibrium stresses are calculated along the failure
plane, and compared to the soils shear strength as determined
by Terzaghis shear strength equation. Stability is ultimately
decided by a factor of safety equal to the ratio of shear strength to
the equilibrium stresses along the failure surface. A factor of safety
greater than one generally implies a stable slope, failure of which
should not occur assuming the slope is undisturbed. A factor of
safety of 1.5 for static conditions is commonly used in practice.

Offshore geotechnical engineering[edit]

Main article: Offshore geotechnical engineering

Platforms offshore Mexico.

Offshore (or marine) geotechnical engineering is concerned with

foundation design for human-made structures in the sea, away
from thecoastline (in opposition to onshore or nearshore).[15] Oil
platforms, artificial islands and submarine pipelines are examples
of such structures. There are number of significant differences
between onshore and offshore geotechnical engineering.[15]
[16]

Notably, ground improvement (on the seabed) and site

investigation are more expensive, the offshore structures are

exposed to a wider range ofgeohazards, and the environmental
and financial consequences are higher in case of failure. Offshore
structures are exposed to various environmental loads,
notably wind, waves and currents. These phenomena may affect
the integrity or the serviceability of the structure and its foundation
during its operational lifespan they need to be taken into account
in offshore design.
In subsea geotechnical engineering, seabed materials are
considered a two-phase material composed of 1) rock
or mineral particles and 2) water.[17][18] Structures may be fixed in
place in the seabedas is the case for piers, jettys and fixedbottom wind turbinesor may be a floating structure that remain
roughly fixed relative to its geotechnical anchor point. Undersea
mooring of human-engineered floating structures include a large
number of offshore oil and gas platforms and, since 2008, a
few floating wind turbines. Two common types of engineered
design for anchoring floating structures include tensionleg and catenary loose mooring systems. "Tension leg mooring
systems have vertical tethers under tension providing large
restoring moments in pitch and roll. Catenary mooring systems
provide station keeping for an offshore structure yet provide little
stiffness at low tensions."[19]

Geosynthetics[edit]

A collage of geosynthetic products.

Main article: Geosynthetics

Geosynthetics are a type of plastic polymer products used in
geotechnical engineering that improve engineering performance
while reducing costs. This
includes geotextiles, geogrids, geomembranes, geocells,
and geocomposites. The synthetic nature of the products make
them suitable for use in the ground where high levels of durability
are required; their main functions include: drainage, filtration,
reinforcement, separation and containment. Geosynthetics are
available in a wide range of forms and materials, each to suit a
slightly different end use, although they are frequently used
together. These products have a wide range of applications and are
currently used in many civil and geotechnical engineering
applications including: roads, airfields, railroads, embankments,
piled embankments, retaining structures, reservoirs, canals, dams,
landfills, bank protection and coastal engineering. [20]

See also[edit]

Engineering portal

Civil engineering

Deep Foundations Institute

Earth structure

Effective stress

Geology

Engineering geology

Rock mass classifications

Seismology

Geoprofessions

International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical

Engineering

Karl von Terzaghi

Land reclamation

Landfill

List of publications in geotechnical engineering

Mechanically stabilized earth

Observational method (geotechnics)

Offshore geotechnical engineering

Sediment control

Soil mechanics

Soil physics

Soil science

Plaxis