,Dedicated to the Cause of Students
,FOREWORD
Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering i s a long titl e befitting a major work. I a m please d t o introduc e thi s super b volum e
destined fo r a readership o f students , professors, an d consultants . What make s thi s text differen t
from othe r books o n these subjects that appear eac h year and why am I recommending i t to you? I
have been workin g and teaching in the area o f geotechnical engineering for 2 5 years. I have rea d
and use d score s o f textbook s i n m y classe s an d practice . Dr . Murthy' s tex t i s b y fa r th e mos t
comprehensive tex t I have found. You will find tha t his organization of the subjec t matter follows
a logical progression. Hi s example problems are numerous and, like the text, start from fundamenta l
principles an d progressivel y develo p int o mor e challengin g material . The y ar e th e bes t se t o f
example problems I have seen i n a textbook. Dr . Murthy has included ample homewor k problem s
with a rang e o f difficult y mean t t o hel p th e studen t ne w t o th e subjec t t o develo p his/he r
confidence an d t o assis t th e experience d enginee r i n his/he r revie w o f th e subjec t an d i n
professional development .
As the technical editor I have read the entire manuscript three times. I have been impressed by
the coverage , th e clarit y o f the presentation, and the insight s into the hows an d why s of soil an d
foundation behavior. Ofte n I have been astonished at Dr. Murthy's near-conversational approac h t o
sharing helpfu l insights . You ge t th e impressio n he' s righ t ther e wit h yo u guidin g yo u along ,
anticipating your questions, and providing instruction and necessary informatio n as the next step s
in the learning process. I believe you will enjoy this book an d that it will receive a warm welcom e
wherever it is used.
I thank Dr. Murthy for his commitment to write this textbook an d for sharing his professional
experience wit h us. I thank him for his patience in making corrections and considering suggestions .
I thank Mr. B. J. Clark, Senior Acquisitions Editor at Marcel Dekker Inc. , for the opportunity to be
associated wit h such a good book. I likewise express my appreciation to Professor Pierr e Foray of
1'Ecole National e Superieur e d'Hydrauliqu e e t d e Mecaniqu e d e Grenoble , Institu t Nationa l
Polytechnique de Grenoble, Franc e for his enthusiastic and unflagging support while I edited the
manuscript.
MarkT. Bowers, Ph.D., P. E.
Associate Professo r o f Civil Engineerin g
University o f Cincinnati
, FOREWORD
It give s m e grea t pleasur e t o writ e a forewor d fo r Geotechnical Engineering: Principles an d
Practices o f Soil Mechanics an d Foundation Engineering. Thi s comprehensive, pertinen t an d up-
to-date volum e i s wel l suite d fo r us e a s a textboo k fo r undergraduat e student s a s wel l a s a
reference boo k fo r consultin g geotechnica l engineer s an d contractors . Thi s book i s well writte n
with numerous example s o n applications o f basic principles to solve practical problems.
The earl y histor y o f geotechnical engineerin g and the pioneering wor k of Kar l Terzaghi in
the beginning of the last century are described i n Chapter 1 . Chapters 2 and 3 discuss methods of
classification o f soil and rock, the chemical and the mechanical weathering of rock, and soil phase
relationships an d consistenc y limit s fo r clay s an d silts . Numerou s example s illustrat e th e
relationship between th e differen t parameters . Soi l permeabilit y an d seepag e ar e investigate d in
Chapter 4 . Th e constructio n o f flo w net s an d method s t o determin e th e permeabilit y i n th e
laboratory an d in the field ar e also explained .
The concep t o f effective stres s an d the effect o f pore wate r pressure o n effective stress ar e
discussed i n Chapter 5. Chapter 6 is concerned with stress increas e i n soil caused b y surface loa d
and methods to calculate stress increase caused by spread footings, rafts, an d pile groups. Several
examples ar e give n in Chapter 6 . Consolidation o f soils an d the evaluation of compressibility in
the laborator y b y oedomete r test s ar e investigate d i n Chapte r 7 . Determinatio n o f draine d an d
undrained shea r strengt h b y unconfine d compression, direc t shea r o r triaxia l test s i s treate d i n
Chapter 8.
The importan t subjec t o f soi l exploratio n i s discusse d i n Chapter 9 , includin g the us e o f
penetration tests such as SPT and CPT in different countries . The stability of slopes i s investigated
in Chapte r 10 . Methods usin g plain an d circula r sli p surface s t o evaluat e stabilit y ar e describe d
such a s th e method s propose d b y Bishop , Fellenius , Morgenstern , an d Spencer . Chapte r 1 1
discusses method s t o determine activ e an d passive eart h pressure s actin g o n retaining and shee t
pile walls .
Bearing capacity an d settlemen t o f foundation an d the evaluation of compressibilit y i n the
laboratory b y oedometer test s are discussed i n Chapters 12 , 13 , and 14 . The effec t o f inclination
and eccentricit y o f the loa d o n bearing capacit y is also examined . Chapte r 1 5 describes differen t
pile types , th e concep t o f critica l depth , method s t o evaluat e th e bearin g capacit y o f pile s i n
cohesive and cohesionless soils , an d pile-driving formulae. The behavior of laterally loade d pile s
is investigated in Chapter 1 6 for piles in sand and in clay. The behavior of drilled pier foundation s
VII
,FOREWORD
Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering i s a long titl e befitting a major work. I a m please d t o introduc e thi s super b volum e
destined fo r a readership o f students , professors, an d consultants . What make s thi s text differen t
from othe r books o n these subjects that appear eac h year and why am I recommending i t to you? I
have been workin g and teaching in the area o f geotechnical engineering for 2 5 years. I have rea d
and use d score s o f textbook s i n m y classe s an d practice . Dr . Murthy' s tex t i s b y fa r th e mos t
comprehensive tex t I have found. You will find tha t his organization of the subjec t matter follows
a logical progression. Hi s example problems are numerous and, like the text, start from fundamenta l
principles an d progressivel y develo p int o mor e challengin g material . The y ar e th e bes t se t o f
example problems I have seen i n a textbook. Dr . Murthy has included ample homewor k problem s
with a rang e o f difficult y mean t t o hel p th e studen t ne w t o th e subjec t t o develo p his/he r
confidence an d t o assis t th e experience d enginee r i n his/he r revie w o f th e subjec t an d i n
professional development .
As the technical editor I have read the entire manuscript three times. I have been impressed by
the coverage , th e clarit y o f the presentation, and the insight s into the hows an d why s of soil an d
foundation behavior. Ofte n I have been astonished at Dr. Murthy's near-conversational approac h t o
sharing helpfu l insights . You ge t th e impressio n he' s righ t ther e wit h yo u guidin g yo u along ,
anticipating your questions, and providing instruction and necessary informatio n as the next step s
in the learning process. I believe you will enjoy this book an d that it will receive a warm welcom e
wherever it is used.
I thank Dr. Murthy for his commitment to write this textbook an d for sharing his professional
experience wit h us. I thank him for his patience in making corrections and considering suggestions .
I thank Mr. B. J. Clark, Senior Acquisitions Editor at Marcel Dekker Inc. , for the opportunity to be
associated wit h such a good book. I likewise express my appreciation to Professor Pierr e Foray of
1'Ecole National e Superieur e d'Hydrauliqu e e t d e Mecaniqu e d e Grenoble , Institu t Nationa l
Polytechnique de Grenoble, Franc e for his enthusiastic and unflagging support while I edited the
manuscript.
MarkT. Bowers, Ph.D., P. E.
Associate Professo r o f Civil Engineerin g
University o f Cincinnati
, FOREWORD
It give s m e grea t pleasur e t o writ e a forewor d fo r Geotechnical Engineering: Principles an d
Practices o f Soil Mechanics an d Foundation Engineering. Thi s comprehensive, pertinen t an d up-
to-date volum e i s wel l suite d fo r us e a s a textboo k fo r undergraduat e student s a s wel l a s a
reference boo k fo r consultin g geotechnica l engineer s an d contractors . Thi s book i s well writte n
with numerous example s o n applications o f basic principles to solve practical problems.
The earl y histor y o f geotechnical engineerin g and the pioneering wor k of Kar l Terzaghi in
the beginning of the last century are described i n Chapter 1 . Chapters 2 and 3 discuss methods of
classification o f soil and rock, the chemical and the mechanical weathering of rock, and soil phase
relationships an d consistenc y limit s fo r clay s an d silts . Numerou s example s illustrat e th e
relationship between th e differen t parameters . Soi l permeabilit y an d seepag e ar e investigate d in
Chapter 4 . Th e constructio n o f flo w net s an d method s t o determin e th e permeabilit y i n th e
laboratory an d in the field ar e also explained .
The concep t o f effective stres s an d the effect o f pore wate r pressure o n effective stress ar e
discussed i n Chapter 5. Chapter 6 is concerned with stress increas e i n soil caused b y surface loa d
and methods to calculate stress increase caused by spread footings, rafts, an d pile groups. Several
examples ar e give n in Chapter 6 . Consolidation o f soils an d the evaluation of compressibility in
the laborator y b y oedomete r test s ar e investigate d i n Chapte r 7 . Determinatio n o f draine d an d
undrained shea r strengt h b y unconfine d compression, direc t shea r o r triaxia l test s i s treate d i n
Chapter 8.
The importan t subjec t o f soi l exploratio n i s discusse d i n Chapter 9 , includin g the us e o f
penetration tests such as SPT and CPT in different countries . The stability of slopes i s investigated
in Chapte r 10 . Methods usin g plain an d circula r sli p surface s t o evaluat e stabilit y ar e describe d
such a s th e method s propose d b y Bishop , Fellenius , Morgenstern , an d Spencer . Chapte r 1 1
discusses method s t o determine activ e an d passive eart h pressure s actin g o n retaining and shee t
pile walls .
Bearing capacity an d settlemen t o f foundation an d the evaluation of compressibilit y i n the
laboratory b y oedometer test s are discussed i n Chapters 12 , 13 , and 14 . The effec t o f inclination
and eccentricit y o f the loa d o n bearing capacit y is also examined . Chapte r 1 5 describes differen t
pile types , th e concep t o f critica l depth , method s t o evaluat e th e bearin g capacit y o f pile s i n
cohesive and cohesionless soils , an d pile-driving formulae. The behavior of laterally loade d pile s
is investigated in Chapter 1 6 for piles in sand and in clay. The behavior of drilled pier foundation s
VII
