Geotechnical Engineering

• Geotechnical
engineering is the branch
of engineering concerned
with the analysis, design
and construction of
foundations, slopes,
retaining structures,
embankments, tunnels,
levees, wharves, landfills
and other systems that
are made of or are
supported by soil or rock.
 Geotechnical Engineering Standards
• ASTM's geotechnical engineering standards are instrumental in
specifying, testing, and investigating the physical/mechanical
properties and characteristic behaviors of surface and
subsurface earth materials that are relevant to a construction
project.
• Such earth materials include soil, dimension stones, slate, soil-
cement mixtures, ground water, bituminous geomembranes,
slurry, rock mass, aquifers, and geotextiles.
• These geotechnical engineering standards allow engineering
firms and construction companies to examine the elastic
characteristics, flow, and erosion behavior of the said earth
materials to ensure safety and prevent unforeseen hazards
related to the erection of civil structures.
• ASTM D7263 - 09(2018)e2 Standard Test Methods for Laboratory
Determination of Density (Unit Weight) of Soil Specimens
• D653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
• D698 Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of
Soil Using Standard Effort (12,400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3))
• D854 Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water
Pycnometer
• D1557 Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics
of Soil Using Modified Effort (56,000 ft-lbf/ft3 (2,700 kN-m/m3))
• D1587/D1587M Practice for Thin-Walled Tube Sampling of Fine-
Grained Soils for Geotechnical Purposes
• D2166/D2166M Test Method for Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cohesive Soil
• D2216 Test Methods for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of
Soil and Rock by Mass
• D2487 Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil
Classification System)
• D2488 Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual
Procedures)
• D3550/D3550M Practice for Thick Wall, Ring-Lined, Split Barrel, Drive Sampling of
Soils
• D3740 Practice for Minimum Requirements for Agencies Engaged in Testing and/or
Inspection of Soil and Rock as Used in Engineering Design and Construction
• D4220/D4220M Practices for Preserving and Transporting Soil Samples
• D4318 Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils
• D4753 Guide for Evaluating, Selecting, and Specifying Balances and Standard
Masses for Use in Soil, Rock, and Construction Materials Testing
• D6026 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Geotechnical Data
• You can also check the DPWH Design,
Guidelines, Criteria and Standards
 Soil Mechanics
• Soil Mechanics involves the study of soil, its
behavior and application as
an engineering material.
•  Engineers are concerned
with soil's mechanical properties:
permeability, stiffness, and strength.
 Importance of the soil mechanics for the Civil Engineers

1. In Foundations: 
• All the civil Engineering structures, ultimately rest on the
soil.
• They transfer their whole load to the soil, so we have to
construct the foundations to retain these structures. In
case of the hard soil/ having sufficient strength we can
provide the shallow foundations.
If we know the strength of the soil then we can decide
which type of foundation is to be used.
• If the soil is weak in strength then we have to provide the
deep foundations like pile foundation, well foundation etc.
2. In Earthen Dams: 
• There are so many earthen dams constructed to retain
the water.
• The soil to be used for the construction of these
earthen dams must be suitable enough to use it in its
construction.
• Various properties of the soil, like it permeability,
strength, and density are checked on regular basis to
know if the soil compacted to required density or not.
• The earthen dams are costly structure and also they
have a high risk of getting failed, so they must be
constructed with great care, so it is very important to
study the properties of the soil.
3. In Embankments:
• There are embankments constructed to raise the
levels of the highways on the plains because there
are chances of the floods etc, and also it is required
to keep the foundation of the pavement above the
water table.
• The embankments are generally constructed of the
soil, which is tested for its various properties.
There is need to design a economical embankment
which is only possible by studying the various soil
properties.
4. In Canals or other retaining and under ground
structures: 
• The canals also are formed by the soil which are to be
constructed to be impermeable and of enough strength.
• The retaining structure like the retaining walls, are
constructed to retain the earth.
• The earth properties are important to know about.
• The properties like the earth pressure, shear strength
etc gives us the idea to design the retaining structure.
• The soil strata is constantly investigated by the geologist
to give the idea of the type of construction to be carried
further in case of the tunnelling.
 Sieve
• A utensil consisting of a wire or plastic mesh
held in a frame, used for straining solids from
liquids, for separating coarser from finer
particles, or for reducing soft solids to a pulp.
 Methods of Soil Classification
1. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
2. AASHTO Soil Classification System
 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

• The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

is a soil classification system used
in engineering and geology to describe
the texture and grain size of a soil. The
classification system can be applied to
most unconsolidated materials, and is
represented by a two-letter symbol. Each
letter is described below (with the exception
of Pt):
 AASHTO Soil Classification System

• The AASHTO Soil Classification System was

developed by the American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials,
and is used as a guide for the classification of
soils and soil-aggregate mixtures for highway
construction purposes. 
 Construction Soil Testing

• As a result, you need to identify the

characteristics of the soil to determine its
ability to support your structure. Soil
testing enables you to assess the suitability of
the soil, providing you with vital data for
informed decision making and planning.
• Various tests on soil are conducted to decide
the quality of soil for building construction.
Some tests are conducted in laboratory and
some are in the field.
– Moisture Content Test on Soil
 The importance of Strong Foundations for Buildings

• The strength of a building lies in

its foundation. The main purpose of
the foundation is to hold the structure above
it and keep it upright.
• The foundation must be built such that, it
keeps the ground moisture from seeping in
and weakening the structure.
 Types of Foundation and their Uses

• Following are different types of foundations

used in construction:
1. Shallow foundation
• Individual footing or isolated footing
• Combined footing
• Strip foundation
• Raft or mat foundation
2. Deep Foundation
• Pile foundation
• Drilled Shafts or caissons
 Types of Shallow Foundations

1. Individual Footing or Isolated Footing

– Individual footing or an isolated footing is the
most common type of foundation used for
building construction. This foundation is
constructed for single column and also called as
pad foundation.
2. Combined Footing
– Combined footing is constructed when two or
more columns are close enough and their isolated
footings overlap each other. It is a combination of
isolated footings, but their structural design
differs.
3. Spread footings or Strip footings and Wall
footings
– Spread footings are those whose base is more
wider than a typical load bearing wall foundations.
The wider base of this footing type spreads the
weight from the building structure over more area
and provides better stability.
4. Raft or Mat Foundations
– Raft or mat foundations are the types of
foundation which are spread across the entire
area of the building to support heavy structural
loads from columns and walls.
5. Pile Foundations
– Pile foundation is a type of deep foundation which
is used to transfer heavy loads from the structure
to a hard rock strata much deep below the ground
level.
– Pile foundations are generally used for soils where
soil conditions near the ground surface is not
suitable for heavy loads. The depth of hard rock
strata may be 5m to 50m (15 feet to 150 feet)
deep from the ground surface.
– Pile foundation resists the loads from structure by
skin friction and by end bearing. Use of pile
foundations also prevents differential settlement
of foundations.
6. Drilled Shafts or Caisson Foundation
– Drilled shafts, also called as caissons, is a type of
deep foundation and has action similar to pile
foundations discussed above, but are high
capacity cast-in-situ foundations. It resists loads
from structure through shaft resistance, toe
resistance and / or combination of both of these.
The construction of drilled shafts or caissons are
done using an auger.
Fig: Drilled Shafts or Caisson Foundation
(Source: Hayward Baker)
– Drilled shafts can transfer column loads larger
than pile foundations. It is used where depth of
hard strata below ground level is location within
10m to 100m (25 feet to 300 feet).
– Drilled shafts or caisson foundation is not suitable
when deep deposits of soft clays and loose, water-
bearing granular soils exists. It is also not suitable
for soils where caving formations are difficult to
stabilize, soils made up of boulders, artesian
aquifer exists.
 Keywords to remember
1. Sieve
2. Soil mechanics
3. Unified Soil Classification System
4. AASHTO Classification System
5. Isolated footing
6. Combined footing
7. Mat foundation
8. Pile
9. Sieve analysis
10.ASTM
11.AASHTO
12.Saturated soil
13.Plastic limit
14.Liquid limit
15.Permeability
 Water Resources Engineering
• Water Resources
Engineering is a specific
kind of civil
engineering that
involves the design of
new systems and
equipment that help
manage human water
resources. 
• The quantitative study of the hydrologic cycle --
the distribution and circulation of water linking
the earth's atmosphere, land and oceans. The
waters of the earth are found on land, in the
oceans and in the atmosphere. The core
science of water resources engineering is
hydrology.
• Analysis and design of systems to control the
quantity, quality, timing and distribution of
water to meet the needs of the human
habitation and the environment.
 Technical Areas That Are Fundamental To
Water Resources Engineering
• They are the following categories:
 Subsurface hydrology
 Surface water and climate
 Hydrogeochemistry and water chemistry
 Erosion, sedimentation and geomorphology
 Water policy, economics and system analysis
• Subsurface hydrology- concerned with the
occurrence and movement of water below the
surface of the earth
• Surface water and climate studies- concerned
with the occurrence and movement of water
above the surface of the earth
• Hydrogeochemistry- concerned with the
chemical changes in water that is in contact
with earth materials
• Erosion, sedimentation and geomorphology –
deals with the effects of sediment transport
on landforms
• Water policy, economic and environmental
constraints in the design and operation of
water resource systems
 Hydraulic Structure
• Hydraulic structures are used to regulate ,
measure, and/or transport water in open
channels.
• Hydraulic structures can generally be grouped
into three categories: (1) flow measuring
structures such as weirs (2) regulation
structures such as gates and stilling basins (3)
discharge structures such as culverts
 Weir
• A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the
width of a river that alters the flow
characteristics of water and usually results in a
change in the height of the river level. There
are many designs of weir, but commonly water
flows freely over the top of the weir crest
before cascading down to a lower level.
 Types of Weirs
1. According to the form of crest
a. sharp crested
d. broad crested
2. According to the shape
a. rectangular
 Standard
 Contracted

b. triangular
c. trapezoidal
d. Semi-circular
e. parabolic
 Parshall Flumes
• It provides a convenient alternative to weirs
for measuring flow rates in open channels
where high head losses and sediment
accumulation are of concern.
• Such cases include flow measurement in
wastewater treatment plant and irrigation
channels.
 Spillways
• Used to discharge water that cannot be
passed through a diversion system or stored in
the reservoir behind a dam.

• Spillway typically function infrequently and

only at times of flood, and their design
adequacy is critical to the safety of the dam
structure itself.
 Types of Spillways
1. Uncontrolled
2. Controlled
• Chute spillway – also called trough spillways are
normally used with earth or rock embankment,
and are normally designed to minimize
excavation by setting the invert profile to
approximate the profile of the natural ground.

• Shaft spillway- includes various configurations

of crest designs, with or without gates, all of
which transition into a tunnel system
immediately downstream from the crest.
• Side channel spillway- consist of an overflow
weir discharging into a narrow channel in
which the direction of flow is approximately
parallel to the weir crest.

• Limited service spillways- are designed to

operate very infrequently, and with the
knowledge that some degree of damage or
erosion will occur during operations.
 Gates
• Gates are used to regulate the flow in open
channels.

• They are designed for either overflow or

underflow operation, with underflow
operation appropriate for channels in which
there is a significant amount of floating debris.
• Two common types of gates are : vertical gates
and radial gates (also called tainter gates).

• Vertical gates- are supported by vertical

guides with roller wheels, and large
hydrostatic forces usually induce significant
frictional resistance to raising and lowering
the gates.
Sometimes referred to as vertical lift gates, sluice
gates and vertical sluice gates.
 Types of Culvert
• Pipe Culvert (Single or Multiple)
Pipe culverts are widely used culverts and
rounded in shape
• Pipe Arch Culvert (Single or Multiple)
• Box Culvert (Single or Multiple)
• Arch Culvert
• Bridge Culvert
 Dams
• A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of
water or underground streams. Reservoirs created
by dams not only suppress floods but also provide
water for activities such as irrigation, human
consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and
navigability. 
• A dam is a barrier that restricts or stops the flow of
water, helps suppress floods, as well as providing
irrigation, industrial, and aquaculture uses.
 Different parts & terminologies of Dams:

• Crest: The top of the Dam. These may in some

cases be used for providing a roadway or
walkway over the dam.
• Parapet walls: Low Protective walls on either
side of the roadway or walkway on the crest.
• Heel: Portion of Dam in contact with ground
or river-bed at upstream side.
• Toe: Portion of dam in contact with ground or
river-bed at downstream side.
• Spillway: It is the arrangement made (kind of
passage) near the top of dam for the passage
of surplus/ excessive water from the reservoir.
• Abutments: The valley slopes on either side of
the dam wall to which the left & right end of
dam are fixed to.
• Gallery: Level or gently sloping tunnel like
passage (small room like space) at transverse or
longitudinal within the dam with drain on floor
for seepage water. These are generally
provided for having space for drilling grout
holes and drainage holes. These may also be
used to accommodate the instrumentation for
studying the performance of dam.
• Sluice way: Opening in the dam near the base,
provided to clear the silt accumulation in the
reservoir.
• Free board: The space between the highest
level of water in the reservoir and the top of
the dam.
• Dead Storage level: Level of permanent
storage below which the water will not be
withdrawn.
• Diversion Tunnel: Tunnel constructed to divert
or change the direction of water to bypass the
dam construction site. The dam is built while
the river flows through the diversion tunnel.
 Kinds of Dams
1. Diversion Dam
2. Buttress Dam
3. Embankment Dam
4. Cofferdam
5. Storage Dam
6. Detention Dam
7. Gravity Dam
1) Diversion Dam
– Like the name says, a diversion dam is used to divert
water. They provide pressure to push water into
ditches, canals, or other areas used for conveyance.
Diversion dams are typically lower in height and have a
small water storage area in it’s upstream.
2) Buttress Dam
– Buttress dams can take many forms, but they all consist
of a sloping deck supported by intervals of buttresses.
There are three main buttress dams, including: multiple
arch type, massive head type, and deck type. Buttress
dams usually use less concrete than other dams but are
not necessarily cheaper.
3) Embankment Dam
– An embankment dam is a large , artificial dam that
is constructed with natural excavated materials or
industrial waste materials, such as compacted
plastics, and various compositions of soil, sand,
rock, and clay.   
4) Cofferdam
– A cofferdam is a temporary, portable dam used for
a variety of projects including bridge repair,
shoreline restoration, pipeline installation, and
many other construction projects. A cofferdam is
used to close off some or all of a construction area. 
5) Storage Dam
– These dams are not mean to divert or keep water
out, but to keep water in. Storage dams are
constructed to store water during the rainy seasons,
supply water to the local wildlife, and store water for
hydroelectric power generation, and irrigation.
Storage dams are the most common types of dams.
6) Detention Dam
– Detention dams are specifically constructed for flood
control by retarding flow downstream, helping
reduce flash floods (to some extent). The water is
retained in a reservoir to be later gradually released.
• 7) Gravity Dam
– A gravity dam is a massive, man-made concrete
dam designed to hold large volumes of water.
Because of the heavy concrete used, it is able to
resist the horizontal thrust of the water, and
gravity essentially holds the dam to the ground.
They are used to block rivers in wide valleys and
must be built on a strong foundation of bedrock.
 Most Efficient Cross Sections (MES)

• Also known as the most economical sections, these

are sections, which, for a given slope S, channel
cross-sectional area A, and roughness n, the rate of
discharge is maximum.
• With A, n and S constant, Q is maximum when the
hydraulic radius R is maximum, and since R=A/P,
then R is maximum if P is minimum.
• Therefore, the most efficient section is the one that
have the least wetted perimeter and therefore
requires the least cost of grading and lining.
Proportions for Most Efficient Sections
1. Rectangular Section
2. Trapezoidal Section

• The most efficient trapezoidal section has a

top width (x) equal to the sum of the sides
(2y), which is a proportion for a half-hexagon.
• The best of all efficient trapezoidal section is
the half-regular hexagon (all sides are equal).
3. Triangular Section

• Therefore the most efficient triangular section

is the 90˚V- notch.
4. Circular Sections
• A circular channel will have its maximum
discharge when the depth of flow d is 93.8%
of the diameter D.
• The velocity is maximum when the depth is
82% of the diameter D.
5. Semi-circular sections
 Terms to Remember:
1. Hydraulics
2. Hydrology
3. Weirs
4. Culvert
5. Bridge
6. Dam
7. Factor of safety against sliding
8. Factor of safety against overturning
9. Open channels
10.Spillway
11.Hydrostatic force
12.Pump
13.Turbine
14.Open channel
 Transportation Engineering
• Transportation
engineering or transport
engineering is the application
of technology and scientific
principles to the planning,
functional design, operation
and management of facilities
for any mode of transportation
in order to provide for the safe,
efficient, rapid, comfortable,
convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible
movement of people and goods
transport.
 Activity/ Transportation
• Group yourselves into 5.
 Modes of Transportation
• Road transport
• Railway transport
• Airways transport
• Water transport
• Pipelines transport
• Ropeways
 Road transport
• The major mean of transport
• Advantages are:
– Construction cost and maintenance cost is low
compared to railways.
– Cost of transport is less compared to transport by
air.
– Everybody has the right to ingress and egress.
– Can be used with different types of customers.
• Disadvantages are:
– Accident rates are higher.
– Limited capacity of loads.
– Cost of transport is high.
 Railway transport

• Advantages are:
– Cost of transport is cheap especially for long
distances.
– Accident rates are few as compared to road
transport.
– Heavier load can be transported in one instance.
• Disadvantages:
– Not suitable for hilly areas.
– Construction cost and maintenance.
 Airway Transport
• The travel by air is fairly costly but the saving
in time is considerable.
• Heavy packages cannot be transported by
airways.
 Water transport
• The water transportation can be done either
by inland water transportation or by ocean
transportation.
• Inland water transportation is either in the
form of canal or river transportation.
 Pipeline transportation
• Useful for transportation of liquids and gases.
 Road Classification

• DPWH
1. National Primary
a. Directly connects Major Cities (at least around 100,000
people)
Cities within Metropolitan Areas are not covered by the
criteria
2. National Secondary
a. Directly connects Cities to National Primary Roads,
except in Metropolitan Area
b. Directly connects Major Ports and Ferry Terminals to
National Primary
• Road
c. Directly connects Major Airports to National
Primary Road
d. Directly connects Tourist Service Centers to
National Primary Roads or other-
e. Directly connects Cities (not included in the
category of Major Cities)
f. Directly connects Provincial Capitals within the
same Region
g. Directly connects to Major National Government
Infrastructure to National Primary
h. Roads or Other National Secondary Roads
• 3. National Tertiary
a. Other existing roads under DPWH which perform a local
function
• 4. Provincial Roads (Local Roads)
a. Connect Cities and Municipalities without traversing National
Roads
b. Connect National Roads to Barangays through rural areas
c. Connect to Major Provincial Government Infrastructure
• 5. Municipal and City Roads (Local Roads)
a. Roads within the Poblacion
b. Roads that connect to Provincial and National Roads
c. Roads that provide Inter-Barangay connections to Major
Municipal and
e. City Infrastructure without traversing Provincial Roads
• 6. Barangay Roads (Local Roads)
Other Public Roads (officially turned over) within the Barangay
and not
covered in the above definitions.
• 7. Expressways
Highways with limited access, normally with interchanges; may
include
facilities for levying tolls for passage in an open or closed
system.
• 8. Bypasses
are roads or highways that avoid a built-up area, town or city
proper to let through traffic flow without interference from local
traffic reduce congestion and improve road safety where a toll
for passage is levied in an open or closed system.
 Interchange
• In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road
junction that uses grade separation, and typically one
or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least
one highway to pass through the junction without
interruption from other crossing traffic streams. It
differs from a standard intersection, where roads
cross at grade. Interchanges are almost always used
when at least one road is a controlled-access
highway (freeway or motorway) or a limited-access
divided highway (expressway), though they are
sometimes used at junctions between surface streets.