Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering

engineering discipline, which would not have been in the curriculum a

century ago. It is also taught as geomechanics or geo-engineering, with

slightly different interpretations on what it includes. The two key

components here are soil mechanics and foundation engineering. It has

some overlap with rock mechanics, geology, and pavement engineering. A

good geotechnical engineer must have a thorough understanding of soil

mechanics and foundation engineering, and at least a fair knowledge of

rock mechanics, geology, and pavement engineering.

“Geo” is earth. Geology, geodesy, geomorphology, and geography are

distinct disciplines that deal with specific aspects of earth. All humankind’s

activities occur on, in, or with the earth, and many of our most needed

resources such as water, oil and gas, and mineral ores come from the earth

(Mitchell 2020). In addition, earth itself provides the most abundant and

low-cost construction materials in the form of soils, rocks, and aggregates.

Geotechnical engineering deals with the engineering aspects of

geomaterials, which include soils, rocks, and aggregates. Most of our

discussions in this book will be limited to soils and aggregates. Rocks are

discussed in rock mechanics, a specialized area covered separately, often as

a civil engineering elective or a postgraduate course