VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY: FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT: CIVIL ENGINEERING

POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA [PGD]: ENGINEERING: CIVIL
LECTURER: MR MOHALE LM & PROF OCHIENG G
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING V (ECGTE5A)
DATE: 6TH FEBRUARY 2025 (9:00 TO 15:00)
SUBJECT LECTURER ALLOCATED ALLOCATED ADDITION
DAY IN EVERY TIME IN A AL
BLOCK DAY IN ONLINE
EACH CLASSES
BLOCK BETWEEN
BLOCKS
Geotechnical Mr LM Mohale TUESDAY 8 HRS 4 HRS
Engineering
[email protected]
(ECGTE5A)

ASSESSMENT AND PRACTICALS ON CAMPUS]

ASSESSMENT AND PRACTICALS ON CAMPUS
Prof GM Ochieng’

EXAMINATION 19 MAY to 20 JUNE 2024

[email protected]

11TH MARCH – 14TH MARCH 2025

25TH MARCH – 28TH MARCH 2025

4TH MARCH – 7TH MARCH 2025

22ND APRIL – 25TH APRIL 2025

14TH APRIL – 17TH APRIL 2025
25TH FEB – 28TH FEB 2025

6TH MAY – 9TH MAY 2025

18TH FEB – 21ST FEB 2025
Project and Mr T Tseladikae WEDNESDAY 8 HRS 4 HRS

4TH FEB – 7TH FEB 2025

Construction
[email protected]
Management
(ECPMC5A)

Environmental Ms M Nditwani THURSDAY 8 HRS 4 HRS

Engineering
[email protected]
(ECEEN5A)
m
Research Dr B Otieno FRIDAY 8 HRS 6 HRS
Project in Civil
bentononyango@gmail
Engineering
.com
(ECRPX5A)
Prof GM Ochieng
[email protected]
Week Date Topics
1 6th February 2025 (Wednesday) Site investigation and Field Practices
09:00 - 15:00 Introduction to Geotechnical Properties of
Soil
Online
Self study (Practicals)
2 25th February 2025 (Tuesday) Shallow Foundations
09:00 – 13:00 Examples
Online Calculations
Self study (Practicals)
3 11th March 2025 (Tuesday) Deep Foundations
09:00 – 13:00 Examples
Online Calculation
Self study (Practicals)
4 14th April Revision
09:00 – 13:00
Online
 PRESCRIBED TEXTBOOK
CATEGORY AUTHOR NAME PUBLISHER ISBN NUMBER
SI Edition Braja M. Das Principles of Cengage 9780357684863
Foundation
Engineering
10th Edition
RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOK
SI Edition MUNI BUDHU Soil Mechanics and Soil Mechanics 0471788309
Foundations Laboratory Manual, by
Michael Kalinski
2nd edition
www.wiley.com/college/
kalinski
Chapter Topic Sub-topics
Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 1 Geotechnical Properties and Soil 1.Introduction
Exploration 2.Grain-Size Distribution
Chapter 2 Geotechnical Properties of Soil 3.Size Limits for Soil
4.Weight –Volume Relationship,
Relative density
5.Atterburg limit
6.Liquidity Index
Activities

7. Soil Classiffication System

8. Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil
9.Steady-State Seepage etc.
 Time breakdown (1st session)
09:00 – 11:00 Introduction: Prof Ochieng G
Study guide

Practical guide
Break (20 minutes)
11:20 – 12: 30 Intro to the course:
Site Investigation and field Practices
Video link:
https://youtu.be/ClCUdEyqm4Q?si=4Gd_OoIzykAz0Csn
Break (5 minutes)
12 :35 – 13: 30 Introduction to Geotechnical Properties of Soil

Break (5 minutes)
13:35 – 14:30 Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH9LQu38mfA
Next session plan
• Shallow foundation
Examples
• Deep foundation
Examples

Q&A
ASSESSMENTS WEIGHT AND DATES
Assessment Date Mark
Test 1 4th March 2025 20%
Venue: R109
09:00 to 11:00
Test 2 22nd April 2025 20%
Venue: R109
09:00 to 11:00
Subject total 50:50%
Exam 19th May to 20 June 2025 100%

Date Topic

Practical 1 5th March 2025 60%

Practical 2 23rd April 2025

INTRODUCTION
What is Geotechnical Engineering; Is one of the speciality in Civil Engineering
where it involves investigating the soil and rocks properties and the effect of
underground water to assist in the design, construction and operation of any
engineering infrastructure.

Roles of Geotechnical Engineers;

• To study soil and rocks properties underground, if they can withstand the proposed
infrastructure;
• To assess the current (existing) groundwater conditions, how it might change in the
future, and what impact they might have on the infrastructure;
• To assess the impact of any planned excavation, grading or filling;
• To recommend a type of foundation to support proposed infrastructure, and how it
should be designed;
• To design foundation that will respond to potential earthquakes.
INTRODUCTION CONT.
Site investigation and characterization: Is the process which involve the study
of underground condition and the engineering properties to determine its
suitability and it related risks measurements.

Site investigation involves;

 Site reconnaissance;
 Data and map study;
 Field investigation;
 Laboratory testing;
 Foundation design.
SITE RECONNAISSANCE
The field reconnaissance consists of "walking the site" and visually assessing the
local conditions. It includes obtaining answers to such questions as:

1. Is there any evidence of previous development on the site?

2. Is there any evidence of previous grading on the site?
3. Is there evidence of landslides or other stability problems?
4. Are nearby structures performing satisfactorily?
5. What are the surface drainage conditions?
6. What types of soil and/or rock are exposed at the ground surface?
7. Will access problems limit the types of subsurface exploration techniques that
can be used?
8. Might the proposed construction affect existing improvements? For example, a
fragile old building adjacent to the site might be damaged by vibrations from
pile driving.
9. Do any offsite conditions affect the proposed development. For example,
potential flooding, mudflows, or rockfalls from offsite might affect the property.
DATA AND MAP STUDY
 The first step in gathering information on a site often consists of reviewing
published sources. Sometimes those efforts reveal the results of extensive
work already performed on the site, which is then used to build a
conceptual model of the site. More often, literature searches provide only
a general understanding of the local soils and rocks.

 Sources of relevant literature include:

• Geologic maps
• Topographical maps
• Soil survey reports
• Aerial maps
• Geotechnical investigation reports
FIELD INVESTIGATION

 Involves drilling boreholes, excavating test pits, and performing in-situ tests ;
 Although information on the soil and rock conditions exposed at the
ground surface is very valuable, geotechnical engineers also need to
evaluate the subsurface (underground) conditions. The geophysical
methods described earlier can provide some insight, but we primarily rely
on soil and rock samples obtained by drilling vertical boles known as
borings, or by digging exploratory trenches or pits.
 These subsurface exploration activities usually are the heart of a site
characterization program, and typically are the most expensive part
because they require the mobilization of both equipment and labour.
FIELD INVESTIGATION Cont.
There are various site explorations methods that can be used during the ground
investigation phase, with each approach chosen based on site condition and
project.
1. Test pit or Exploratory boring.
• Auger
• Boring Rig
• Coring
2. Sampling
• Disturbed samples
• Undisturbed Samples
3. In-situ Tests
4. Soil Profiling
TEST PIT
 Is a shallow excavation dug into the ground to examine the subsurface.

 Test pits are often dug before construction to assess the ground's
suitability for building projects.
TEST PIT
The purpose of Test pit are for;
1. Geotechnical Engineering:
Test pits help geotechnical engineers evaluate the ground's composition
and water conditions. This information is used to determine if the ground
can support a building's foundation.

2. Archaeology:
Test pits help archaeologists identify and catalog artifacts found at an
archaeological site

3. Utility location:
Test pits help contractors locate underground utilities, such as pipes or
cables.
TEST PIT PROCEDURE
 Test pits are usually dug manually or with an excavator.
 The depth of a test pit is typically between 1 and 4.5m.
 The soil composition and layers are examined to understand the
ground conditions
 Any finds are cleaned, identified, and catalogued
GEOTECHNICAL TESTING
 A geotechnical investigation often requires the use of raw data
obtained from in-situ tests as general indicators of soil properties before
an ex-situ testing program is done. The most common in-situ test done
on site are the “penetration test- Standard penetration and Cone
penetration”
 The main advantages of soil penetration tests are:
• Fast and Inexpensive
• Sample collection -SPT
• Soil profiling (Stratification) -DCP
• Soil classification
FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT
 The final results of a site characterization program are usually presented
in a geotechnical investigation report that includes copies of all boring
logs, laboratory test results, cross-sections, etc., along with the engineer's
interpretations.
 These reports are virtually always prepared in the context of a specific
project, and thus include geotechnical recommendations for design of
foundations, slopes, retaining walls, and other features.
 The site investigation and soil testing phase of foundation engineering is
the single largest source of uncertainties. No matter how extensive it is,
there is always some doubt whether the borings accurately portray the
subsurface conditions, whether the samples are representative, and
whether the tests are correctly measuring the soil properties.
 Engineers attempt to compensate for these uncertainties by applying
factors of safety in our analyses.
LABORATORY TESTING
 The most common method of measuring soil and rock properties is to conduct
laboratory tests. Some of these tests may be performed on either disturbed or
undisturbed samples, while others require undisturbed samples. The most performed
are as follows:

1. Moisture content
2. Grading Tests-Sieve analysis; Hydrometer analysis
3. Specific gravity
4. Proctor Compaction
5. Consolidation Test
6. Direct Shear
7. Triaxial Compression
8. California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
9. Atterberg limit
10. Unconfined compressive strength
Discussion
TEA BREAK
GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF
SOIL
 Are the individual solid particles in a soil can have different sizes and shapes,
and these characteristics also have a significant effect on its engineering
behaviour. Therefore, geotechnical engineers often assess particle size and
shape.

 In the field gravels, sands and peats are easily recognisable, but difficulty arise
in deciding when a soil is a fine sand, coarse silt, fine silt or clay.
GRAIN –SIZE DISTRIBUTION
 Grain-Size Distribution: Is the relative abundance of different particle sizes
within a material. The grain-size distribution of soil is measured in the means
of sieve analysis and hydrometer analysis.

 Coarse- grained soil: Sieve analysis

A sieve analysis is a laboratory test that measures the grain-size distribution of a
soil by passing it through a series of sieves. This test is facilitated by the
following standards: South African Standard ( SANS 3001-AG1), British
Standards (BS1377) and American Standard (ASTMD422).

 Fine- grained soil: Hydrometer analysis

Is the method for determining the size distribution of fine soil particles. The
following standards are used: South African Standards (SANS3001-GR3), British
Standard (BS 1377-2) and American Standard (ASTM D7928)
SIZE LIMITS FOR SOIL
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
and The unified soil class system (Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, and
Bureau of Reclamation developed the size limit for gravel, sand, slit and clay
demonstrated on the table below.
Particle size less than 0.002mm are classified as clay
Weight – Volume Relationship
When developing the weight – volume relation of soil particle; The following three
phases are considered.
Weight – Volume Relationship
Practice Examples 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
Weight – Volume Relationship
Practice Examples 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
Weight – Volume Relationship
Practice Examples 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
Relative Density
Is the measure of the degree of compaction in the field. In granular soil the
relative density is calculated using below formula;

Dr = (emax - e) / (emax – emin)

Where
emax= void ratio of the soil in the loosest state

Emin= void ratio in the densest state

E =In-situ void ratio

Relative Density
Relative density can be expressed in terms of dry unit weight, using the formula
below

Where;
γd= in situ dry unit weight
γd(max) = dry unit weight in the densest state, when the void ratio is emin
γd(min) = dry unit weight in the loosest state, when the void ratio is emax
Relative Density
Practice example 2.4
 ATTERBERG LIMITS
This is a combination of tests that differentiates between silts and clays through a property
called plasticity. Plasticity describes the response of a soil to changes in moisture content.

This series includes three separate tests: the liquid limit test, the plastic limit test, and the
shrinkage limit test (ASTM D 427 and D4318).
 Liquid Limit Test
The water content at which the soil stops acting as a liquid and starts acting as a plastic
solid.
 Plastic Limit Test
This is the stage where plastic failure changes to brittle failure.
 Plasticity Index
This is the range of water content within which a soil is plastic.

The Atterberg limits test results help engineers assess the plasticity of a soil and its
consistency at various moisture contents.
LIQUIDITY INDEX
• Is the relative consistency of cohesive soil in the natural state defined by ratio. The formula
is given as;

• LI = (w-PL)/(LL –PL)

Where;
W= In situ moisture content of soil
N.B. In bore logs, the natural moisture content is sometimes shown with resepct to PL and LL,
indicating how close the natural moisture content is to the LL or PL
SHEAR STRENGTH
The primary failure mode of soils is by shear. It occurs when the stress applied on the
soil by imparted load exceeds allowable stress. Therefore, many geotechnical
engineering problems require an assessment of shear strength, including:
• Earth Slopes
• Structural foundations
• Retaining walls
• Tunnel Linings
• Highway pavements
Shear failure occurs when the stresses between the particles are such that they slide
or roll past each other.
Discussion
TEA BREAK
Next session: 25th Feb 2025: 14:00 – 18:00
• Foundation Analysis
• Shallow Foundations: ultimate Bearing Capacity
• Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Theory
• Factor of Safety
• Modification of Bearing Capacity Equations for water table
• General Bearing Capacity Equation
• Bearing Capacity of Shape, Depth and Inclination factors
• Effect of Soil Compressibility
• Scale Effects on Ultimate Bearing Capacity
• Eccentrically Loaded Foundations
Ultimate Bearing Capacity Under eccentric loading
• One-way Eccentricity
• Two-way Eccentricity
Reference
1. Braja M. Das. Principles of Foundation Engineering (2024). 10th Edition. Ceengage.
2. MUNI BUDHU. Soil Mechanics and Foundations. 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc
END OF FIRST SESSION