Geotechnical engineering

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Geotechnical engineering is an important subset of civil engineering dealing with engineering performance of earth materials. Geotechnical engineering uses the principles of soil and rock mechanics to determine:

A drilling machine for foundation piles.
  • subsurface conditions and materials;
  • relevant physical/mechanical and chemical properties of these materials;
  • stability of natural slopes and man-made soil deposits;
  • risks posed by site conditions;

which should be used in a process of design of:

and in monitoring of:

Foundations built for above-ground structures include shallow and deep foundations. Retaining structures include earth-filled dams and retaining walls.

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References [edit]

  1. Terzaghi, K., Peck, R.B. and Mesri, G. (1996), Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice 3rd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-08658-4
  2. Holtz, R. and Kovacs, W. (1981), An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, Prentice-Hall, Inc. ISBN 0-13-484394-0