Little-known Information About Geotech Engineering And Testing

By Christine Meyer


Engineering is wide in scope. Geotechnical study is one of its many branches. As the name connotes, it deals with analyzing the behavioral tendencies of earth material commonly known as soil. The study of earth material is an aspect of civil engineering, and thus it automatically links geotech engineering and testing to it.

In connection to this, this type of soil study is connected to almost all types of this study like mining, construction and many more. Therefore, today, these skills are applied in almost all areas. In reality, most activities usually involve engineering activities that are applied to the ground. However, mans activities do not simply transform these simple earthwork activities into engineering. In the past, these activities were not done with any knowledge about soil study or skills. This practice began gradually and was mostly used at the beginning of the eighteen century.

As a discipline, it is concerned with analyzing soil quality. The soil is made up of many elements such as rocks or minerals, air, and water. Their nature keeps changing over time owing to natural and human forces and occurrences. Therefore the properties as they appear at the time of the study were not so a few years ago. On the same note, they would also change over the coming years. Going by this fact, soil properties should be investigated to determine the suitability of the intended use at the actual time of need. It is not an activity whose old results can be used in the present.

When the geotechnical professionals investigate the surface materials, they can determine the properties of the soil under; chemical and non chemical. They will also be able to determine the suitability of the soil depending on the human and natural activities. They also do the assessment of risks that can be brought about by earthworks, constructions, and mining. Therefore, they can tell how the surface can be affected by the earthworks.

The process of determining the engineering properties of the soil are done in steps. The steps will first begin by what you know and then progress to the unknown factors. The activity is thus handled as if it is a project. While following the steps, guidelines regarding the qualities are used to confirm that the soil is suitable for construction.

The whole project is broken into smaller working projects and carried out one after the other before reaching any conclusion. Site visiting is the initial step to have a general view of the area as influenced by the surroundings. The aim is to carry out a risk assessment to humans as would be caused by both natural and human forces and make necessary recommendations regarding the same.

Disasters such as earthquakes, mass wasting, rock falls and mudslides can be avoided or their influences reduced with proper geotechnical procedures. After soil properties are determined, a geotechnical engineer then prescribes the kind of foundations suitable as per the soil qualities. Any human improvements needed are also determined. The outcome of the soil survey can also dictate changes of initial construction designs and sizes. They can either be reduced or increased expanded or even raised high depending on the soil conditions.

As a discipline on its own, geotechnical engineering will interrelate other disciplines like history. This is mostly because people will use soil for many things and how it is used will affect the soil properties at a specific time.




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