Civil Engineering Orientation Module 4 : Geotechnical Engineering

Question 1

is the technical specialty that deals with soil and rock as supporting materials for structures.

Answer 1

Geotechnical Engineering

Question 2

It deals with the various foundation types that work between the structure and the ground. In addition, it deals with the stability of soil or rock slopes whose failure may cause loss of human lives or damage to property.

Answer 2

Geotechnical Engineering

Question 3

is a basic science that is concerned with the study of the history of the Earth, the
rocks of which it is composed and the changes that it has undergone or is undergoing.

Answer 3

Geology

Question 4

the science of rocks and earth processes

Answer 4

Geology

Question 5

the application of geologic
fundamentals to engineering

Answer 5

Engineering Geolory

Question 6

Examples of Engineering Geology

Answer 6

mapping of active seismic faults that are to be avoided when making plans for human habitat development, roadway
construction, or power plant construction.

Question 7

are formed from rock as it is acted upon by physical, chemical, and biological forces.

Answer 7

Soil

Question 8

Engineering viewpoint of making soil

Answer 8

soil is any earth material that can be removed with a spade, shovel or bulldozer and is the product of natural weathering

Question 9

Geological viewpoint of making soil

Answer 9

soil may be considered
as the superficial unconsolidated mantle of disintegrated
and decomposed rock material

Question 10

Pedological viewpoint of making soil

Answer 10

soil is the weathered transformation product of the outermost layer of the solid crust differentiated into horizons varying in type and amounts of mineral and organic constituents,
usually unconsolidated and of various depths.

Question 11

serve as parent material for natural soil formation

Answer 11

Rocks

Question 12

rocks that are solidified from a molten or partly molten siliceous solution.

Answer 12

Igneous Rocks

Question 13

molten or partly molten siliceous solution

Answer 13

Magma

Question 14

When magma cools and solidifies in direct contact with the atmosphere

Answer 14

Extrusive cooling

Question 15

When magma cools and solidifies in the subsurface

Answer 15

Intrusive cooling

Question 16

formed naturally by consolidated or unconsolidated transported materials.

Answer 16

Sedimentary Rocks

Question 17

rocks that form as a result of subjecting
igneous or sedimentary rocks to elevated temperatures and pressures.

Answer 17

Metamorphic rocks

Question 18

the study of the ways in which rocks or sediments are arranged and
deformed on the earth.

Answer 18

Structural Geology

Question 19

Any rock unit that is
recognizable and mappable in the field

Answer 19

Formation

Question 20

boundaries between formations

Answer 20

Contacts

Question 21

two-dimensional
view of rock distribution

Answer 21

Map view

Question 22

a view of a vertical slice of
the earth

Answer 22

Geological cross section

Question 23

combination of those two
representations and gives a 3-D view of formations and contacts

Answer 23

Block Diagram

Question 24

Geological structures regularly encountered in civil engineering work

Answer 24

folds, faults, joints and unconformities

Question 25

wavy undulations developed in the rocks of the Earth's crust due to horizontal compression resulting from gradual cooling of the Earth's crust, lateral deflection and intrusion of magma in the upper strata.

Answer 25

Folds

Question 26

rocks bent around an imaginary line

Answer 26

Fold Axis

Question 27

where the continuity of the rock mass breaks.

Answer 27

Fracture

Question 28

fractures in crustal strata along which appreciable shear displacement of the adjacent rock blocks have occurred relative to each other, probably due to tectonic activities.

Answer 28

Faults

Question 29

fracture along which the shear displacement has taken place

Answer 29

Fault plane

Question 30

a fracture where little or no movement has taken place.

Answer 30

Joint

Question 31

Occur in several sets and are approximately parallel within a specific set.

Answer 31

Discontinuities

Question 32

a material whose physical, mechanical property, etc., are not all the same in each direction.

Answer 32

Anisotropic

Question 33

the surface/ plane of separation between two series of rock beds/geological formations that belong to two different geologic ages and they are, in most cases, different in their geologic structure.

Answer 33

Plane of Unconformity or the Unconformity

Question 34

occurs when there is erosion of a layer or layers of deposited rock followed by the deposition of new sedimentary rock on top.

Answer 34

Unconformity

Question 35

happens when the ages of the layers of rock that are abutting each other are discontinuous

Answer 35

Unconformity

Question 36

Sedimentary layer deposited over eroded horizontal sedimentary layer

Answer 36

Disconformity

Question 37

Sedimentary layer deposited over eroded angular(tilted or folded) rock

Answer 37

Angular unconformity

Question 38

Sedimentary layer deposited over eroded igneous or metamorphic rock.

Answer 38

Nonconformity

Question 39

a branch of mechanics that studies the mechanical properties of various types of soil and its strength at different moisture-content levels

Answer 39

Soil Mechanics

Question 40

the Father of Modern Soil Mechanics

Answer 40

Karl von Terzaghi

Question 41

old proverb that should be consulted

Answer 41

stitch in time saves nine

Question 42

Unit used in phase system

Answer 42

SI units

Question 43

A material is______ if it contains continuous voids

Answer 43

Permeable

Question 44

interaction between soils and percolating water

Answer 44

Seepage

Question 45

a phenomenon by which the soil on the downstream sides of some hydraulic structures get lifted up due to excess pressure of water.

Answer 45

Piping

Question 46

The pressure transmitted through grain to grain at the contact points through a soil mass

Answer 46

intergranular or effective pressure

Question 47

pressure that is responsible for the decrease in the void ratio or increase in the frictional resistance of a soil mass.

Answer 47

Effective pressure

Question 48

Happens if the pores of a soil mass is filled with water and if a pressure-induced into the pore water tries to separate the grains

Answer 48

pore water pressure or neutral stress

Question 49

The effect of this pressure is to increase the volume or decrease the frictional resistance of the soil mass.

Answer 49

pore water pressure or neutral stress

Question 50

This theory states that constant ratios exist between stresses and strains.

Answer 50

Elastic theory

Question 51

A portion of the applied stress is transferred to the soil skeleton, which in turn causes a reduction in the excess pore pressure. This process, involving a gradual compression occurring simultaneously with a flow of water out of the mass and with a gradual transfer of the applied pressure from the pore water to the mineral skeleton is called _______

Answer 51

Consolidation

Question 52

process that involves an increase in the water content due to an increase in the volume of the voids.

Answer 52

Swelling

Question 53

One of the most important and the most controversial engineering properties of soil

Answer 53

Shear Strength

Question 54

strength or ability of the soil to resist sliding along internal surfaces within a mass.

Answer 54

Shear Strength

Question 55

The field and laboratory investigations required to obtain the essential information on the subsoil

Answer 55

Soil Exploration or Soil Investigation

Question 56

one of the most important parts of Foundation Engineering and at the same time the most neglected part of it.

Answer 56

Soil Exploration or Soil Investigation

Question 57

2 types of slopes

Answer 57

I. Natural slopes 2. Manmade slopes

Question 58

Slopes that exist in nature and are formed by natural causes

Answer 58

Natural slopes

Question 59

term used to designate a constant slope of infinite extent.

Answer 59

Infinite slopes

Question 60

slopes that are limited in extent

Answer 60

Finite slopes

Question 61

an extremely important consideration in the design and construction of earth darns.

Answer 61

Slope stability

Question 62

The important factors that cause instability in a slope and lead to failure

Answer 62

1. Gravitational force 2. Force due to seepage of water 3. Erosion of the surface of slopes due to flowing water 4. The sudden lowering of water adjacent to a slope 5. Forces due to earthquakes

Question 63

the removal of a certain weight of soil and may thus lead to an increased stability as far as mass movement is concerned.

Answer 63

Erosion

Question 64

Structures that are built to retain vertical or nearly vertical earth banks or any other material

Answer 64

Retaining walls

Question 65

walls that resist movement because of their heavy sections

Answer 65

Gravity walls

Question 66

similar to cantilever walls except that the stem of the walls span horizontally between vertical brackets known as counterforts.

Answer 66

Counterfort walls

Question 67

similar to counterfort walls except the brackets or buttress walls are provided on the opposite side of the backfill.

Answer 67

Buttressed walls

Question 68

walls that are more flexible than the other types.

Answer 68

Sheet pile walls

Question 69

earth materials that constitute relatively the thin outer shell

Answer 69

Crust

Question 70

materials that are made up of small crystalline units

Answer 70

Minerals

Question 71

a naturally occurring inorganic substance composed of one or more elements with a unique chemical composition, unique arrangement of elements (crystalline structure) and distinctive physical properties

Answer 71

Mineral

Question 72

a hard, compact and naturally occurring earth material composed of one or more minerals and is permanent and durable for engineering applications.

Answer 72

Rock

Question 73

the subject concerned with the study of the response of rock to an applied disturbance caused by natural or engineering processes.

Answer 73

Rock Mechanics

Question 74

the engineering applications of the basic principles and the information available in the subjects of engineering geology and rock mechanics in an economic way.

Answer 74

Rock Engineering

Question 75

a large extent of rock, from several metres to few kilometres, which can include many discontinuities of different forms.

Answer 75

Rock Mass

Question 76

the steepest inclination of the plane to horizontal.

Answer 76

Dip or True Dip

Question 77

the inclination of any arbitrary line on the plane to horizontal, which is always less than the true dip

Answer 77

Apparent Dip

Question 78

the trace (or intersection) of the dipping plane with the horizontal reference plane. It is also the orientation of the horizontal line drawn on the dipping plane. It is perpendicular to the dip direction.

Answer 78

Strike

Question 79

the interface between a superstructure and its supporting soil

Answer 79

Foundation

Question 80

the study of different types of foundation and their proper applications. It is the application and practice of the fundamental principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics (i.e., geotechnical engineering) in the design of foundations of various structures

Answer 80

Foundation Engineering

Question 81

types of foundations:

Answer 81

1. Cantilever footings 2. Combined footings 3. Mat foundations

Question 82

normally comprises two footings connected by a beam called a strap. A strap footing a special case of a combined footing

Answer 82

Cantilever Footing

Question 83

is a long footing supporting two or more columns in one row

Answer 83

Combined footing

Question 84

large footing usually supporting several columns in two or more rows

Answer 84

Mat or Raft Foundatios

Question 85

is the direction of the horizontal line (projection) of the line of dip, measured clockwise from the north which can be in the range of 0° to 360°.

Answer 85

Dip Azimuth

Question 86

the maximum bearing capacity of soil at which the soil fails by shear

Answer 86

Ultimate Bearing Capacity

Question 87

a pressure that is safe from shear failure criteria.

Answer 87

Allowable Bearing Pressure

Question 88

a pressure that is safe from settlement criteria

Answer 88

Safe Bearing Pressure

Question 89

piles that are used when the horizontal load per pile exceeds the value suitable for vertical piles; used in combination with vertical piles.

Answer 89

Batter Piles or Inclined Piles or Raker Piles

Question 90

if the lateral load acts on the pile in the direction of batter.

Answer 90

In-Batter Piles or Negative Batter Piles

Question 91

if the lateral load acts in the direction opposite to that of the batter.

Answer 91

Out-Batter Piles or Positive Batter Piles

Question 92

installed by excavating; belong to the same category as piles.

Answer 92

Piers

Question 93

a pile, cast-in-sity, with a diameter less than 0.75m (2.5 ft).

Answer 93

Small Diameter Pile

Question 94

a pile with a diameter greater than 0.75m (2.5 ft); also called a drilled piers, drilled shafts, and drilled caissons in the USA.

Answer 94

Large Diameter Bored Cast-In-Situ Pile

Question 95

piers which develop their support from end-bearing on strong soil, “hardpan” or rock; the overlying soil is assumed to contribute nothing to the support of the load imposed on the pier.

Answer 95

Straight-Shaft End Bearing Piers

Question 96

piers which pass through overburden soils that are assumed to carry none of the load and penetrate far enough into an assigned bearing stratum to develop design and load capacity by side wall friction between the pier and bearing stratum.

Answer 96

Straight-Shaft Side Wall Friction Piers

Question 97

piers with combined side wall friction and end bearing assigned a role in carrying the design load.

Answer 97

Combination of Straight Shaft Side Wall Friction and End Bearing Piers

Question 98

frequently termed soil stabilization; in its broadest sense, an alteration of any property of a soil to improve its engineering performance.

Answer 98

Soil Improvement