The Invisible World We Can’t Live Without
And who we should be thanking for it!
Take a moment and realize where you are right now. Are you in your home? Driving over a bridge? On the 35th floor of a building? Regardless, all of those structures have one thing in common — foundations.
A foundation is a structure that transfers the load of a building or other structure to the ground. The purpose of a foundation is to provide support for the structure and to prevent it from settling or collapsing.
Without foundations, the very world we live in would not exist. And yet, it is something the everyday person will never get to see. Once it goes into the ground it’s gone.
So who can we thank for this invisible world? Geotechnical engineers.
Geotechnical engineers are essential in the design and construction of a wide range of civil engineering projects, as they are responsible for understanding the behavior of earth materials and how they can be used in construction. Some specific tasks that geotechnical engineers may be responsible for include:
- Designing foundations for structures such as buildings, bridges, and roads.
- Analyzing the stability of slopes and embankments.
- Designing retaining structures such as retaining walls and seawalls.
- Conducting soil and rock mechanics tests to understand the properties of earth materials.
- Evaluating site conditions for construction projects.
- Providing recommendations for ground improvement techniques.
Geotechnical engineers are under the soil/geotechnical engineering branch of civil engineering that deals with the behavior of earth materials and their applications in construction. It focuses mainly on the design and construction of foundations, slopes, and earth-retaining structures, as well as the analysis of soil and rock mechanics. The most difficult part of being a geotechnical engineer is the ability to interpret soil properties and identify their strength. Unlike concrete and steel, whose material properties have been developed in manuals and codes, soil properties are not as clear-cut.
Soil experiences several types of forces under a load of a structure, including compressive, shear, and tension forces. Compressive forces are caused by the weight of the structure pushing down on the soil, while shear forces are caused by the sliding or shifting of the soil beneath the structure. Tension forces occur when the soil is pulled apart, typically along the edges of the structure’s foundation. Additionally, soil can also experience lateral forces due to wind or earthquakes. The soil must be able to withstand these forces in order to support the building and prevent it from settling or collapsing. It is up to geotechnical engineers to design these force-resisting systems.
The history of geotechnical engineering can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where people utilized the properties of soil and rock to build walls, pyramids, roads, and more.
One of the earliest recorded examples of geotechnical engineering is the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, which was built around 2500 BC. The pyramid was constructed using a combination of sand, clay, and stone, and was designed to withstand the weight of the large blocks of stone used in its construction. The ancient Romans also made significant contributions to the field of geotechnical engineering, with their use of concrete and the development of various types of foundations and retaining structures.
In the 19th century, geotechnical engineering underwent significant advancements with the development of the science of soil mechanics. This was largely due to the work of Karl von Terzaghi, who is considered the father of soil mechanics. Terzaghi’s work laid the foundations for the modern understanding of soil behavior and the design of foundations and retaining structures.
In the 20th century, geotechnical engineering continued to evolve with the development of advanced techniques for analyzing and predicting the behavior of soil and rock. This included the development of computer models and the use of geotechnical instrumentation to monitor soil behavior during construction. Today, geotechnical engineering is quite literally the foundation of any construction project.
We at civils.ai are trying to create google maps of the underground to aid in the design and construction of foundations for years to come! As engineers, it is important that we always consider the needs of our society as well as innovate where possible. Nothing is more valuable than the time spent building our future and with our platform, we can help launch the engineering profession forward.
