Geotechnics

Geotechnics

Geotechnics, engineering science that deals with soil as a building material. It is a relatively young science whose basic physical and mechanical relationships were formulated and understood in the 1930s-60s. Geotechnics is the theoretical background for foundations.

Geotechnics deals primarily with the internal behavior of the earth, i.e. the reaction to external influences described by the laws of mechanics and hydraulics. Traditionally, geotechnical problems are divided into three main areas: fracture problems (the strength of the soil), deformation problems (the stiffness of the soil) and flow problems (the permeability of the soil for liquids and gases). Soil most often behaves as a tough material, so fractures are not directly visible, but correspond to large movements (deformations). Only in rare cases is the break visible and possibly catastrophic as in slope landslides in which large masses of soil are involved.

In order to achieve a safe and economical foundation for a building, you must have knowledge of the soil's strength, stiffness and flow parameters. These properties are measured by tests on representative soil samples from the current construction site and by involving the science of geology, as the properties depend strongly on the way the soil was formed.

In general, tests with soil are far more extensive and expensive than similar tests with man-made materials such as steel and concrete. A lot of research has therefore been carried out, whereby general soil models have been developed on the basis of test series on a number of different soil types. These models describe the fundamental relationship between forces and movements in the ground, i.e. how much the soil deforms when it is affected by forces. The current experiments in connection with a project provide the absolute size of the parameters so that the soil model can be applied to the project*

*Source: https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/geoteknik