book

Geotechnical Problem Solving

by John C. Lommler

April 2012

Intermediate to advanced

358 pages

11h 19m

English

Wiley

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1.2.1 Introduction to Problem Solving1.2.2 Advanced and Expert Practice1.2.3 Theories Can Be Wrong…1.2.4 Seeing is Better than Not Seeing …1.2.5 Why is Standard Engineering Practice Changing?1.2.6 An Example of Increasing Complexity of Standard Practice …1.2.7 Helping You See …
1.3.1 Introduction1.3.2 Summary of Problem-Solving Approach1.3.3 Geotechnical Overview and Approach1.3.4 What Do I Do? Answer: The Graded Approach1.3.5 Geotechnical Investigations for $15 per Foot1.3.6 Geotechnical Problems1.3.7 Bearing Capacity1.3.8 Summary1.3.9 Additional Material
1.4.1 Mistakes1.4.2 Errors1.4.3 Mistakes and Errors – Closing Remarks

2.1.1 Introduction to Soil Classification2.1.2 Soil Properties Suggested by Classification Tests2.1.3 Examples of Soil Classification Problems2.1.4 A Word about Units and Normalization2.1.5 Soil Classification – Concluding Remarks2.1.6 Additional Reading Material
2.2.1 Introduction to Soil Stresses2.2.2 Isotropic and Linearly Elastic versus Anisotropic and Non-Linearly Elastic2.2.3 Anisotropic Materials and Anisotropic Stresses2.2.4 Soil Strains2.2.5 Additional General Information on Soil Stresses and Strains2.2.6 Additional Specific Information on Stresses and Strains
2.3.1 Introduction to Soil Shear Strength2.3.2 Soil Cohesion and Friction2.3.3 Soil Shear Strength2.3.4 Additional Soil Shear Strength Information – General2.3.5 Additional Information and Second-Order Terms2.3.6 Additional Information – Non-Linear Failure Envelopes
2.4.1 Introduction to Direct Shear Testing2.4.2 Direct Shear Rotation of Principle Stresses2.4.3 Use of the Direct Shear Test to Determine Internal Friction Angle, ϕ2.4.4 The Direct Shear Test – Details2.4.5 How Can the Direct Shear Test Go Wrong?2.4.6 Evaluating Results of Direct Shear Tests2.4.7 Concluding Remarks about the Direct Shear Test
2.5.1 Introduction to the Steady State Line2.5.2 Hydrostatic Stresses and Volume Changes2.5.3 Shearing Stresses and Volume Changes2.5.4 Clays – SSL versus CSL
2.6.1 Introduction to Static Equilibrium and Limit States2.6.2 What Are Limit States?2.6.3 Competition between Rankine and Coulomb Equations
2.7.1 Introduction to Unsaturated Soils2.7.2 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics – Soil Suction and Soil Tension2.7.3 Analysis of Unsaturated Soils2.7.4 Expansive and Collapsible Soils2.7.5 Depth of Wetting2.7.6 The Soil Water Characteristic Curve2.7.7 Additional Study of Unsaturated Soils
Introduction3.1.1 A Brief Geotechnical History and Overview of Clay Settlement3.1.2 Time Rate of Consolidation Issues3.1.3 Time Rate of Consolidation Corrections – The Asaoka Method3.1.4 A Few Lessons Learned from Field Measurements of Settlement3.1.5 Closing Remarks on Clay Settlement Calculations
3.2.1 Introduction3.2.2 Settlement of Sands – General3.2.3 The Granular Soil Identification Problem3.2.4 Identification of Loose Granular Soils3.2.5 Identification of Dense Granular Soils3.2.6 Analyzing the Sand Settlement Problem3.2.7 Janbu Method of Settlement Calculation3.2.8 Estimating Settlements – Why Did We Over-Estimate the Settlement?3.2.9 Additional Sand Settlement Information – Specific
3.3.1 Introduction to Collapsible Soils3.3.2 Soil with a Metastable Collapsible Structure3.3.3 Collapse Settlement of Dry Loose Sandy Soil with a Stable Structure3.3.4 Standard Laboratory Testing of Collapsible Soils
3.4.1 Background and History of Bearing Capacity3.4.2 Allowable Bearing Pressure3.4.3 How Structural Engineers Use Allowable Bearing Pressures3.4.4 Advanced Bearing Capacity Material
3.5.1 Deep Foundations – What Are They?3.5.2 Allowable Load Capacity of Deep Foundations3.5.3 Case Histories and Full-Scale Load Tests
3.6.1 Introduction of Laterally Loaded Piles and Shafts3.6.2 L-Pile Program Use – A Few Pointers3.6.3 L-Pile Soil Input Parameters3.6.4 Lateral Pile/Shaft Group Reduction Factors
4.1.1 Lateral Earth Pressure Introduction4.1.2 Lateral Earth Pressure – The Problem4.1.3 Coulomb Earth Pressure Equations4.1.4 Rankine Earth Pressure Equations4.1.5 Including Cohesion into Active and Passive Earth Pressures4.1.6 Equivalent Fluid Pressure4.1.7 Lateral Earth Pressures for Wet Soil versus Submerged Soil4.1.8 Friction between Retained Fill and Wall – Curved Failure Surfaces4.1.9 Seismic Earth Pressure4.1.10 Suggested Further Reading
4.2.1 Introduction to Retaining Walls4.2.2 Design of Gravity Retaining Walls4.2.3 Issues with Static Equilibrium Analyses of Walls4.2.4 Design of Cantilevered Retaining Walls4.2.5 Design of MSE Retaining Walls4.2.6 Design of Sheet-Pile Walls4.2.7 Design of Soldier-Pile Walls4.2.8 What Kind of Wall Would You Use Here?
4.3.1 Introduction to Tieback Walls4.3.2 Retaining Structures with One Row of Tiebacks4.3.3 Retaining Structures with Multiple Rows of Tiebacks
5.1.1 Introduction – Why Not Just Pick the Best Number?5.1.2 How Do we Know that Our Designs Are Safe?5.1.3 What is Reliability and How is it Used in Design?5.1.4 Certainty and Uncertainty5.1.5 Factors of Safety and Reliability
5.2.1 Limit State Design – General5.2.2 Let's Stop and Think about this for a Moment5.2.3 Geotechnical LRFD Design
5.3.1 LRFD and ASD Spread Footing Analyses – An Overview5.3.2 A Spread Footing LRFD Design Approach5.3.3 Development of Spread Footing Load-Settlement Curves5.3.4 Development of a Spread Footing Service and Strength Resistance Chart5.3.5 Other Spread Footing LRFD Considerations – Eccentricity and Sliding
5.4.1 LRFD Piles – Overview5.4.2 Geotechnical LRFD Codes for Piles and Drilled Shafts5.4.3 Development of a Driven-Pile Axial Strength Resistance Chart5.4.4 Development of a Driven-Pile Axial Service Resistance Chart
5.5.1 LRFD Drilled Shafts – Overview5.5.2 Development of a Drilled-Shaft Axial Strength Resistance Chart5.5.3 Development of a Drilled-Shaft Axial Service Resistance Chart5.5.4 Drilled-Shaft Load-Settlement Curves
5.6.1 Introduction5.6.2 Slope Stability by the Beam Analogy Method5.6.3 Slope Stability – ASD and LRFD Analysis Methods5.6.4 Three Basic Slope-stability Problem Types5.6.5 Closing Thoughts on LRFD Slope-Stability Analyses
6.1.1 How Do Geotechnical Engineers Miss the Big Picture?6.1.2 The Big Picture – What a Soils Engineer Should Know about the Geologic Setting before Going to the Job Site6.1.3 Bedrock6.1.4 Structural Problems6.1.5 Previous Land Usage6.1.6 Paleo Channels6.1.7 Jerry's Closing Comment and a Thought from Ralph Peck
6.2.1 Have Hand Calculations Died?6.2.2 What about the Graded Approach and Balance?
6.3.1 What is the Biggest Problem?6.3.2 How do We Solve the Biggest Problem?
6.4.1 Geotechnical Engineering Topics are Endless6.4.2 Closing

Overview

Devised with a focus on problem solving, Geotechnical Problem Solving bridges the gap between geotechnical and soil mechanics material covered in university Civil Engineering courses and the advanced topics required for practicing Civil, Structural and Geotechnical engineers. By giving newly qualified engineers the information needed to apply their extensive theoretical knowledge, and informing more established practitioners of the latest developments, this book enables readers to consider how to confidently approach problems having thought through the various options available. Where various competing solutions are proposed, the author systematically leads through each option, weighing up the benefits and drawbacks of each, to ensure the reader can approach and solve real-world problems in a similar manner

The scope of material covered includes a range of geotechnical topics, such as soil classification, soil stresses and strength and soil self-weight settlement. Shallow and deep foundations are analyzed, including special articles on laterally loaded piles, retaining structures including MSE and Tieback walls, slope and trench stability for natural, cut and fill slopes, geotechnical uncertainty, and geotechnical LRFD (Load and Resistance Factor Design).