What is Geotechnical Engineering?
Just as we are already aware that there are many different aspects of engineering disciplines, so is Geotechnical Engineering one of those aspects. Geotechnical Engineering is a branch of engineering that deals primarily with the study of the behaviour of soils under the influence of loading forces and soil-water interactions.
As such, the knowledge of this discipline can never be overemphasized as it is applied to the design of foundations, earth dams, clay liners, retaining walls as well as geosynthetics for waste containment. It can also be known as Geotechnics, a branch of Civil Engineering that deals with the behaviour of earth materials. It utilizes the principles of soil and rock mechanics for solving engineering problems.
WHO IS A GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER?
A Geotechnical Engineer is a graduate of Geotechnical Engineering whose primary duty is to design foundations, temporary excavation supports, through route selection for railways and highways as well as an increasingly important area of landfill disposal of wastes and groundwater contamination. He also carried out field and laboratory investigations to ascertain the engineering properties of site soils and other geomaterials.
HISTORY OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING?
Historically, humans make use of materials for flood control, building foundations and as construction materials for buildings. Many years ago, in 2000 BCE, it was found that in ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia, there were traces of dykes, dams and canals as well as within the settlements of Daro And Arappa in the Indus Valley.
As the cities grew in size, structures were erected supported by formalized foundations. Until the 18th century, however, no theoretical basis for soil design was in sight and the field of engineering was perceived as an art discipline, rather than a science due to past experience.
Classical Geotechnical Mechanics began in 1773 with Charles Coulomb’s introduction of mechanics in soil problems. Other relevant developments during this period include – Henry Darcy’s definition of hydraulic conductivity, Joseph Boussinesq’s theory of stress distribution and Albert Atterberg’s examination of clay consistency, just to mention a few.
Then, modern geotechnical engineering began in 1925 with the publication of Erdbaumechanik by Karl Terzaghi.
GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION
Geotechnical Engineers perform geotechnical investigations to ascertain to obtain information on the physical properties of soil and rock underlying a site to design earthworks and foundations for proposed structures.
A geotechnical investigation would include surface exploration and subsurface exploration of a site. Subsurface exploration involves the use of soil sampling and laboratory testing of the soil samples obtained.
Surface exploration on the other hand includes geologic mapping, geophysics method and photogrammetry, where the site engineer walks around the site to observe its physical condition of the site.
SUMMARY
In summary, Geotechnical Engineering is a branch of engineering which studies the behaviour of soils under influence of loading forces as well as water interactions. It’s a branch of Civil Engineering due to the fact that it deals with the behaviour of earth materials.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Geotechnical Engineering is a very lucrative discipline because as a Geotech Engineer, you can work with a Mining Engineer or a Civil Engineer since both disciplines deal with the soil or earth generally. A further study could help in discovering new technologies in the design of foundations, earth dams and clay liners just to mention a few.
What caught my attention is when you said that designing foundations, temporary excavation, and others are the primary duty of a geotechnical engineer. This reminds me of my aunt’s plan to have a high-story building installed for her before 2024 ends. I could imagine the importance of the role of a geotechnical engineer in making sure that the foundation of the building is going to be sufficient for safety reasons.
Thanks for pointing out that designing foundations and temporary excavation are two of the primary duty of a geotechnical engine. With this in mind, I will ask my sister to consider hiring a consulting team before the construction of her 9-story building starts next month. She wants to make sure the soil and the ground where the building is going to be installed are strong enough to support the building’s weight, so your tips must be helpful to them.