Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices, 2/e, is ideal or junior-level soil mechanics or introductory geotechnical engineering courses. This introductory geotechnical engineering textbook explores both the principles of soil mechanics and their application to engineering practice. It offers a rigorous, yet accessible and easy-to-read approach, as well as technical depth and an emphasis on understanding the physical basis for soil behavior. The second edition has been revised to include updated content and many new problems and exercises, as well as to reflect feedback from reviewers and the authors’ own experiences.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix Chapter 1 Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering 1 1.1 Geotechnical Engineering Design Process 2 1.2 Historical Development 4 1.3 Modern Geotechnical Engineering 14 1.4 Accuracy of Geotechnical Engineering Analyses 16 1.5 A Pictorial Overview of Geotechnical Engineering 16 Chapter 2 Engineering Geology 28 2.1 The Geologic Cycle 29 2.2 Rocks 30 2.3 Rock-Forming Minerals 35 2.4 Structural Geology 37 2.5 Weathering 43 2.6 Soil Formation,Transport, and Deposition 45 2.7 Rock and Soil as Geomaterials 56 Summary 59 Questions and Practice Problems 61 Chapter 3 Site Exploration and Characterization 64 3.1 Project Assessment 65 3.2 Literature Search 66 3.3 Remote Sensing 67 3.4 Field Reconnaissance and Surface Exploration 69 3.5 Subsurface Exploration 69 3.6 Soil and Rock Sampling 82 3.7 Groundwater Exploration and Monitoring 87 3.8 Ex Situ Testing 88 3.9 In Situ Testing 89 3.10 Geophysical Exploration 106 3.11 Synthesis and Interpretation 108 3.12 Economics 112 3.13 Geotechnical Monitoring During Construction 113 Summary 113 Questions and Practice Problems 115 Chapter 4 Soil Composition 121 4.1 Soil as a Particulate Material 122 4.2 The Three Phases 122 4.3 Weight—Volume Relationships 124 4.4 Particle Size and Shape 138 4.5 Clay Soils 148 4.6 Plasticity and the Atterberg Limits 151 4.7 Structured Versus Unstructured Soils 155 4.8 Organic Soils 156 Summary 157 Questions and Practice Problems 158 Chapter 5 Soil Classification 164 5.1 USDA Soil Classification System 164 5.2 AASHTO Soil Classification System 167 5.3 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) 171 5.4 Visual—Manual Soil Classification 180 5.5 Supplemental Soil Classifications 182 5.6 Applicability and Limitations 185 Summary 186 Questions and Practice Problems 187 Chapter 6 Excavation, Grading, and Compacted Fill 190 6.1 Earthwork Construction Objectives 192 6.2 Construction Methods and Equipment 193 6.3 Soil Compaction Concepts 213 6.4 Soil Compaction Standards and Specifications 215 6.5 Field Considerations and Monitoring 227 6.6 Suitability of Soils for use as Compacted Fill 235 6.7 Earthwork Quantity Computations 237 6.8 Lightweight Fills 241 6.9 Deep Fills 243 Summary 244 Questions and Practice Problems 245 Chapter 7 Groundwater–Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow 251 7.1 Hydrology 252 7.2 Principles of Fluid Mechanics 255 7.3 One-Dimensional Flow Through Soil 268 7.4 Flow Through Anisotropic Soils 284 Summary 287 Questions and Practice Problems 288 Chapter 8 Groundwater–Multidimensional Flow and Applications 295 8.1 Multidimensional Flow 295 8.2 Flow Net Solution for Two-Dimensional Flow 298 8.3 Numerical and Physical Modeling of Two-Dimensional Flow 316 8.4 Two- and Three-Dimensional Flow to Wells 320 8.5 Groundwater Control 329 8.6 Contaminant Control and Remediation 337 8.7 Soil Migration and Filtration 341 Summary 350 Questions and Practice Problems 352 Chapter 9 Stress 361 9.1 Simplifying Assumptions 362 9.2 Mechanics of Materials Review 363 9.3 Mohr Circle Analyses 368 9.4 Sources of Stress in the Ground 378 9.5 Geostatic Stresses 378 9.6 Induced Stresses 381 9.7 Superposition 392 9.8 Effective Stresses 395 9.9 Effective Stress Under Steady State Flow 405 9.10 Stresses in Layered Strata 408 Summary 409 Questions and Practice Problems 410 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement 419 10.1 Physical Processes 422 10.2 Changes in Vertical Effective Stress 423 10.3 Distortion Settlement 426 10.4 Consolidation Settlement–Physical Processes 427 10.5 Consolidation (Oedometer) Test 432 10.6 Consolidation Status in the Field 444 10.7 Compressibility of Sands and Gravels 446 10.8 Consolidation Settlement Predictions 448 10.9 Secondary Compression Settlement 461 10.10 Crusts 463 10.11 Settlement of Unsaturated Soils 463 10.12 Heave Due to Unloading 464 10.13 Accuracy of Settlement Predictions 464 Summary 465 Questions and Practice Problems 467 Chapter 11 Rate of Consolidation 478 11.1 Terzaghi’s Theory of Consolidation 478 11.2 Consolidation Settlement Versus Time Computations 489 11.3 The Coefficient of Consolidation, 499 11.4 Accuracy of Settlement Rate Predictions 504 11.5 Consolidation Monitoring 506 11.6 Other Sources of Time Dependent Settlement 512 11.7 Methods of Accelerating Settlements 514 Summary 518 Questions and Practice Problems 520 Chapter 12 Soil Strength 527 12.1 Strength Analyses in Geotechnical Engineering 527 12.2 Shear Failure in Soils 529 12.3 The Drained and the Undrained Conditions 536 12.4 Mohr—Coulomb Failure Criterion 539 12.5 Shear Strength of Saturated Sands and Gravels 545 12.6 Shear Strength of Saturated Clays 550 12.7 Shear Strength of Saturated Intermediate Soils 563 12.8 Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils 564 12.9 Shear Strength Evaluation 564 12.10 Shear Strength at Interfaces Between Soil and Other Materials 583 12.11 Uncertainties in Shear Strength Assessments 584 Summary 585 Questions and Practice Problems 587 Chapter 13 Stability of Earth Slopes 593 13.1 Terminology 595 13.2 Modes of Slope Instability 597 13.3 Analysis of Slope Stability 604 13.4 Quantitative Analysis of Slides 605 13.5 General Procedures in a Limit Equilibrium Analysis of a Slide 606 13.6 Planar Failure Analysis 608 13.7 Infinite Slope Analysis 611 13.8 Swedish Slip Circle Method ( Analysis) 613 13.9 Method of Slices 618 13.10 Chart Solutions 627 13.11 Miscellaneous Issues 629 13.12 Seismic Stability 631 13.13 Stabilization Measures 636 13.14 Instrumentation 643 Summary 648 Questions and Practice Problems 649 Chapter 14 Foundations 655 14.1 Shallow Foundations 656 14.2 Deep Foundations 658 Summary 671 Chapter 15 Spread Footing Design 673 15.1 Bearing Pressure 673 15.2 Bearing Capacity 675 15.3 Settlement 685 15.4 Spread Footings–Summary and Design Concerns 698 Summary 703 Questions and Practice Problems 704 Chapter 16 Earth Retaining Structures 709 16.1 Externally Stabilized Systems 709 16.2 Internally Stabilized Systems 714 16.3 Design of Earth Retaining Structures 717 Summary 719 Chapter 17 Lateral Earth Pressures 720 17.1 Lateral Earth Pressures and Wall Movement 720 17.2 Classical Lateral Earth Pressure Theories 726 17.3 Equivalent Fluid Pressure 742 17.4 Groundwater Effects 744 Summary 747 Questions and Practice Problems 748 Appendix A Recommended Resources for Further Study 751 Chapter 1–Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering 751 Chapter 2–Engineering Geology 752 Chapter 3–Site Exploration and Characterization 752 Chapter 4–Soil Composition 753 Chapter 5–Soil Classification 753 Chapter 6–Excavation, Grading, and Compacted Fill 753 Chapters 7 and 8–Groundwater–Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow and Multidimensional Flow and Applications 753 Chapter 9–Stress 754 Chapters 10 and 11–Compressibility, Settlement, and Rate of Consolidation 754 Chapter 12–Soil Strength 755 Chapter 13–Stability of Earth Slopes 755 Chapters 14 and 15–Foundations and Spread Footing Design 756 Chapters 16 and 17–Earth Retaining Structures and Lateral Earth Pressures 757 Appendix B Unit Conversion Factors 758 English Units 758 SI and Metric Units 758 Conversion Factors 759 Appendix C Field Identification of Soils 761 C.1 Equipment 761 C.2 Procedure 761 C.2.1 Color and Smell 761 C.2.2 Fine Versus Coarse Grain Determination 762 C.2.3 Coarse Grained Soil Classification 762 C.2.4 Fine Grained Soil Classification: Distinguishing Silts from Clays 763 C.2.5 Completing Classification 765 Appendix D Finite Difference Solutions to Flow Problems 766 D.1 Finite Difference Formulation 766 D.2 Application to Two-Dimensional Flow 769 D.3 Solving Finite Difference Problems 772 D.4 Applications Using Spreadsheets 773