A Brief Review for

Chapters 1-7
Courtesy of an asshole of a professor. Hes
not a bad person, just one hell of task
giver

Chapter 1
Definitions:
Geotech Eng. Person who performs an
engineering evaluation of earth materials.
Engineering Geologist recognizes &
utilizes geologic data
The difference: if it has anything to do
with computations and application, its a
geotech.
A geologist just performs
studies. So basically its a thinker vs doer

Soil

Mechanics deals with the

mechanics, or motion & forces, of
soil duh

Rock

Mechanics same as above,

only with freakin rocks

The Difference: Soil is soft, rock

is hard., generally. Rocks have a
permanent and strong bond,

Common Types of
Foundations
A.) Shallow
Spread/Pad Footings square,
single column support. Footing
every engineer should know
Strip/Wall footings for walls isnt
it obvious
Combined Rectangular or
trapezoidal, usually when two
pad footings are near each other

Conventional

slab-on-grade
continuous reinforced concrete of
bearing wall footings. Basically a slab
between two parallel wall footings
Post-tensioned slab-on-grade same
as above, only reinforcing steel is
tensioned after cement is in place
Raised wood floor wooden floor is
supported by some sort of foundation
Mat foundation large and thick,
carries multiple columns. Aves would
love that I think

B.) Deep @Pute

Driven Piles long slender
members of wood steel or
concrete, basically punched into
the earth
Other Piles bored, cast-in-place,
composite. Bored means a hole is
dug first before the pile is placed
inside
Piers foundation support on
expansive soil. If youre thinking
concrete near a body of water,

Caisson

just a fancy term for a

BIGGER PIER. I bet the French thought
of this one. Say it like you say
Croissant lol
Mat/raft below ground surface, pile
supported. Distinct from the shallow
mat, they are NOT the same
depending on depth
Floating foundation Underground
basement supports the building
Basement type perimeter footing
supporting wooden floor
- So just what is the difference between
floating and basement?

Qualifying Experience for

Geotech
Development

of PROGRAMS of geotech

investigation
Geotech FIELDS & LAB studies
Analysis of geotech DATA & COMPS
PERFORMANCE eval of construction
Prep or eng evaluation of geotech
REPORTS
Cant think of anything funny so just focus
on keywords

Fields of Expertise
Project

Planning
Mapping
Exploration
Engineering geophysics
Classification & physical properties
Earthquakes
Rock mechanics
Slope stability
Surface waters
Groundwater
Drainage
You might use the anagram SPECS MERGED for all the
first letters. Think of someone who uses glasses like Lou
or whatever

Areas of Responsibility
As Ive said earlier, the difference
between a Geotech & a Geologist is
the
Practical & Applied Applications plus
management
Vs
Theoretical & Study

Types of Projects for

Geotechs
Single

Family Dwellings
Commercial & Industrial Sites
Other private sector projects
Public works projects
Essential facilities
Or, you know, every bloody thing
that needs to stand on soil. Holy
shit we got a no SCOPE over here.

General requirements for

foundation engineering projects
Topography

Marine structures
Utilities Subsurface
Geology Chemical analysis
Site history Available materials
Special features Topography
Available materials Site history
Marine structures Special features
SubsurfaceLab testing
Lab testingUtilities
Chemical analysis Geology
Too long again to make a witty joke. Possible
anagram: MS CATS SLUG

Chapter 2
Wont cover the documents just
yet. I assume the more important
stuff comes first

Exploratory Techniques
A.) Boring (So boring that I feel
sleepy. Dont.)
Auger boring, ASTM1452
Test Boring, ASTMD1586
Large sample test boring
Test boring through hollow stem
auger

Coring (Just add Rotary Coring to

terms)
Soft soil or rock
Swelling clay or soft rock
Rock
Rock, oriented core
Rock, wire line
Integral sampling method

Other methods:
Thin-wall tube, ASTMD1587
Thin-wall tube, fixed piston
Swedish foil
Dynamic sounding
Static penetration
Borehole camera
Pits & trenches
Rotary or cable tool well drill
Percussion drilling
Lack of any vowels makes it hard to
anagram-ize

Types of soil samples from

subsurface exploration
Altered

soil samples that have

been mixed or contaminated by
the drilling process. Altered
meaning Changed. Do not use for
tests.
Disturbed remolded during
sampling process. Can be used
for testing.
Undisturbed relatively
unmoved. Process involves

Factors that cause soil

disturbance
Sample

disturbance
Gravel size particles
Stress relief
Sampling

process
Expansion of gas
Transportation of samples
Removing

the sample from the tube

Preparation of soil specimen for testing

Radiograph wow thats so

useful
Is a device that takes photos by
passing x-rays through the
ground and onto film. Basically to
see the structure of the soil. It
detects:
Voids
Soil cracks
Turning of edges distortions
between layers
Gas-related voids (Still a void

Standard Penetration Test

Punch a thick-walled sampler into soil
Inside diameter Di = 3.81 cm
Outside diamter Do = 5.08 cm
Falling hammer weight = 63.5 kg
Height = 0.76 m
Sampler driven @ 45 cm
Blows recorded @ 15 cm intervals
Correction: 1.67 x N60 x Em x Cb x Cr
xN

Other field tests

Core

penetration test
Vane shear test
Others in boreholes
California bearing ratio
Plate load test

Common man-made & geologic

deposits
A.) Fills
Structural
Uncompacted
Debris
B.) Municipal dump kek
Gonna skip this portion cuz C will
be a long one

C.) Deposits
Residual soil Colluvial
Organic Alluvial
Alluvial Residual soil
Aerolian Glacial
Glacial
Organic
Lacustrine Lacustrine
Marine
Aerolian
Colluvial Marine
Pyroclastic Pyroclastic
Possible anagram CARGO LAMP

Seismic Methods
Refraction
High-res

reflection
Vibration
Uphole downhole crosshole
asshole surveys

Electrical methods
Resistivity
Drop

in potential
E-logs

Others
Magnetic

measurements
Gravity measurements