H23HG3: Hydraulics and Geotechnics 3

Unit 1
Basics of groundwater
hydrology and geotechnical
engineering

Dr Dariusz Wanatowski
School of Civil Engineering
The University of Nottingham
(January 2008)

Outline of Unit 1
1.1 Basic groundwater hydrology
1.2 Typical forms of geotechnical structure
1.3 Basic problems in geotechnical
engineering
1.4 Basic soil mechanics
1.5 Summary
1.6 Example problems

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1.1 Basic groundwater
hydrology

Hydrologic cycle

What is ground water? How is it formed?

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 Basic groundwater hydrology

Saturated and unsaturated zone

• Subsurface water occurs in two different zones

unsaturated (aeration) zone
 located immediately beneath the land surface
 both water and air in the soil voids

saturated zone
 located beneath the unsaturated zone
 all soil voids are full of water
 water in this zone is referred to as groundwater

Basic groundwater hydrology

Saturated and unsaturated zone

Unsaturated zone

Saturated zone

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 Basic groundwater hydrology

Saturated and unsaturated zone

• Groundwater flow and fluid pressure

can create serious geotechnical
problems

• In this module, flow of water in soil

will only be discussed in saturated
porous media

1.2 Typical forms of

geotechnical
structure

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 Typical forms of geotechnical structure

Geotechnical engineering
Geotechnical Engineering → a branch of civil
engineering that deals with soil, rock, and ground
water, and their relation to the design, construction,
and operation of engineering projects.
Other terms → soil engineering
→ ground engineering
→ foundation engineering
→ soil mechanics (geomechanics)

Typical forms of geotechnical structure

Geotechnical engineering
Geotechnics → the combined efforts of geotechnical
engineering and engineering geology

(after Coduto, 1999)

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 Examples of geotechnical engineering
construction

Natural
slope Cut
slope Embankment Road
dam embankment Construction
on soft soil

Building Tunnel
foundation Supported
excavation
(not to scale)
Offshore
(after Atkinson, 1985) foundation

Study of groundwater is essential for engineers who construct dams,

tunnels, water conveyance channels, mines, and other structures.

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Is there anything in common for all these

structures?
Jumeirah

Deirah 12

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The Leaning Tower of Pisa

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 The Leaning Tower of Pis
Pisa
(in 1990
1990 → the top was 5.6 m
off plumb)

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The 2004 Nicoll Highway collapse in Singapore

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São Paulo tunnel collapse (15 January 2007)

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1.3 Basic problems in

geotechnical
engineering

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 Basic problems in geotechnical engineering

Typical issues addressed by

geotechnical engineers

• What soil and groundwater conditions currently exist

and how might they change in the future?
• Can the soils or rocks beneath a construction site
safely support the proposed project?

• What kind of foundation is necessary to support

planned structures?
• Are the natural or proposed earth slopes stable?
If not, what must be done to stabilize them?
• How will the site respond to potential earthquakes?
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Basic problems in geotechnical

engineering

Problems in geotechnical engineering

can be divided into two main types:

1. Problem of equilibrium (stability)

2. Problem of compressibility
(settlement)

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 Basic problems in geotechnical
engineering (cont.)

1. Problem of equilibrium (stability)

The load imposed to the soil

The magnitude and distribution of stress

that is induced in the soil by this load

The resistance that the soil can afford

(shear strength)

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Basic problems in geotechnical engineering

Problems of equilibrium

Slope
Stability

Bearing
Capacity of
Foundation
Sink in, bearing capacity failure
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 Basic problems in geotechnical
engineering (cont.)
2. Problem of compressibility
(settlement)

The value of the total settlement that will occur

The rate at which this value will be achieved

e.g., sponge

The ground settlement is too large

The ground cannot be too compressible
even though no failure has occurred
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Basic problems in geotechnical

engineering (contd.)

Water may contribute to both

types of problem. Therefore,
successful design of
geotechnical structures requires
adequate consideration of
groundwater effects.
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1.4 Basic soil mechanics

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Basic soil mechanics

• Analysis of stress and strain

• Stress-strain behaviour, stiffness

and strength

• Special stress-strain states

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 Basic soil mechanics

Analysis of stress and strain (contd.)

1. Stress = Force / Area

σ = F / A, kN/m2 (kPa)
2. Strain = change in length / original length
ε = ∆L /L0, (%)

Hooke’s law: σ = Ε ε
E = Young’s modulus
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Basic soil mechanics

Analysis of stress and strain (contd.)

Why the relation between stress and strain is so important?

Stresses Strains
Instability & Settlements
Loads on soil

normal stress normal strain

σ = Fn / A ε = δz / zo
shear stress shear strain
τ = Fs / A γ = δh / zo
What types of stress and strain can you see in the figures?

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 Basic soil mechanics

Analysis of stress and strain (contd.)

Stresses and strains in soils occur in all
directions and to do settlement and
stability analyses it is often necessary to
relate the stresses in a particular direction
to those in other directions.

• normal stress • normal strain

σ = Fn / A ε = δz / zo
• shear stress • shear strain
τ = Fs / A γ = δh / zo
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Basic soil mechanics

Stress and strain – Mohr circle

• Values of normal stress and shear stress must

relate to a particular plane within an element of soil.
• In general, the stresses on another plane will be
σ’z
different. τ’xz θ
τ’zx
σ’1
σ’x

σ’3

• To visualise the stresses on all the possible planes,

a graph called the Mohr circle is drawn by plotting a
point (normal stress, shear stress) for a plane at
every possible angle.
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 Basic soil mechanics

Stress and strain – Mohr circle (contd.)

• There are special planes on which the shear stress
is zero (i.e. the circle crosses the normal stress axis).
• The state of stress (i.e. the circle) can be described
by the normal stresses acting on these planes.
• These are called the principal stresses

major principal stress σ'1

minor principal stress σ'3
τ' σ’z
τ’xz θ
τ'xz
τ’zx
σ’1
σ'x 2θ σ’x
σ'3 σ'z σ'1 σ'

τ'zx σ’3

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Basic soil mechanics

Stress and strain - Rigid mechanics

Can we use this concept in soil mechanics?

Example – retaining wall

Soil

retaining wall

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 Basic soil mechanics

Stress and strain - Rigid mechanics

(contd.)

• When soils fail they develop distinct slip

surfaces.
• Slip surfaces divide soil or rock into blocks
and the strains within each block may be
neglected compared with the relative
movements between blocks, so the principles
of rigid body mechanics are applicable to
failure of slopes and foundations.

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Basic soil mechanics

Stress and strain - Rigid mechanics

(contd.)

• Equilibrium is examined by resolution

of forces in two directions (together with
moments about one axis)

• This is done most simply by

construction of a polygon of forces.

• If the polygon of forces closes then the

system is in equilibrium.

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 Basic soil mechanics

Stress and strain - Rigid mechanics

(contd.)
• The following figure P
T
shows a set of forces T W
acting on a triangular P
N
block behind a N
W
retaining wall.
Forces on a body Polygon of forces

• If W, T and N are all known, we can determine the

force P that needs to be applied on the retaining wall to
maintain the stability of the soil block.
• Similarly the compatibility of displacements is
examined most conveniently by construction of a
displacement diagram.

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Basic soil mechanics

Stress-strain behaviour, stiffness

and strength
• The analyses developed for stresses and
strains using Mohr circles are not dependent
on the material and they are equally
applicable for steel, concrete, soil or rock.

• In order to analyse any kind of structure or

solid it is necessary to have relationships
between stresses and strains. These are
called constitutive relationships.

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 Basic soil mechanics

Stress-strain behaviour, stiffness

and strength (contd.)
Stiffness ⇒ the gradient of the stress-
strain curve

Stress, σ’

Gradient = stiffness

Strain, ε
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Basic soil mechanics

Stress-strain behaviour, stiffness

and strength (contd.)
The link between stresses and strains is
governed by the properties of the material.
Isotropic stress, σ’

σ’
Shear stress, τ’

τ’
dσ’ σ’ γ
dεv dτ’
εv dγ τ’
Volumetric strain, εv Shear strain, γ

Material parameters (elastic behaviour):

• Change of size: bulk modulus K = dσ
σ’/dεεv
• Change of shape: shear modulus G = dττ’/dγγ
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 Basic soil mechanics

Stress-strain behaviour, stiffness

and strength (contd.)
Strength ⇒ the maximum value of stress that can
be sustained

Strength of materials (after Atkinson, 1985)

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Basic soil mechanics

Special stress and strain states

• The state of stress in the ground is three
dimensional.
• The algebra for 3-D states becomes quite
complex.
• It is also difficult to
represent general states on
flat paper.
• In practice, the majority
of geotechnical problems are
General case
simplified into 2-D or 1-D
conditions.
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 Basic soil mechanics

Special stress and strain states

(contd.)
σ’a
V0

• Isotropic
σ’r σ’r
∆V

• One-dimensional

• Axisymmetric

• Plane strain
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Basic soil mechanics

Special stress and strain states

(contd.)
σ’a
V0
Isotropic:

Equal stresses in all directions.

σ'a = σ’r σ’r σ’r

p' = σ'a = σ'r = mean stress ∆V

εv = ∆V / V0 = volumetric strain

Applicable to triaxial tests before shearing.

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 Basic soil mechanics

Special stress and strain states

(contd.)
σ’z
One-dimensional:

Horizontal strains (εh) are zero. ∆H

H0
σ'z = vertical stress
εh=0 εh=0
εv = ∆V / V0 = ∆H / H0
= ∆e / (1+e0) = volumetric strain

where e0 is the initial void ratio

(before stress increment)
Applicable to oedometer tests and in the ground below
wide foundations, embankments and excavations.
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Basic soil mechanics

Special stress and strain states

(contd.)
Axial symmetry Plane strain
(triaxial)
σ’1, ε1
σ’a, εa σ’2
ε2 = 0

σ’r, εr σ’r, εr
σ’3, ε3
σ’a ≠ σ’r εa ≠ εr
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 1.5 Summary

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Summary - 1

• Geotechnical engineering is a
branch of civil engineering that deals
with soil, rock, and underground
water, and their relation to the
design, construction, and operation of
engineering projects.

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 Summary - 2
• Problems in geotechnical engineering
can be broadly divided into
equilibrium/stability and
compressibility/deformation.

• Many problems in geotechnical

engineering require the solution of a
flow in porous media.

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Summary - 3

• The theories of basic mechanics

(equilibrium and compatibility) and of
material behaviour (stiffness and
strength) apply equally in geotechnical
engineering.

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 Summary - 4

• The state of stress (including pressure

induced by water) in the ground is
complex. Therefore, simple 1-D or 2-D
theories can be employed to analyse
soil behaviour.

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1.6 Example problems

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Problem 1. Equilibrium of forces using
a force polygon
The figure shows a rigid
triangular block of soil
with a slip surface. W
W
T P
Two of the forces, acting N
on the block, are known 45°

to be W=160kN and
T=60kN.
Determine, using polygon of forces, the value
of P to ensure the equilibrium of the block.

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We can determine the force P by constructing the

polygon of forces which shall be closed to ensure the
equilibrium.
P =75kN
100kN

W
W N
T P
N
45° W =160kN
T =60kN
Forces on a body ⇒ Polygon of forces

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Problem 2. Stress analysis using
a Mohr circle
The figure shows an
element of soil behind a
retaining wall. σv
σh σh
The effective vertical and
horizontal stresses are
σv=300kPa, σh=100kPa σv
and these are principal
stresses.
Draw the Mohr stress circle and determine
the maximum shear stress.

53

σv = σ1 = 300kPa
τ (kPa)
200 σh = σ3 = 100kPa

τmax =100kPa
τf=87kPa

σf=150kPa
30° 60°

0 100 200 300 400 σ (kPa)

-100

-200

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 Problem 3. One-dimensional stress
and strain state

At the beginning of oedometer test, the void

ratio and thickness of the specimen was
0.891 and 19mm respectively.

Find the final void ratio ef if the soil

consolidated by 3.52mm.

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∆V ∆H ∆e
Volumetric strain: ε v = = =
V0 H 0 1 + e0
Void ratio change: ∆e = e0 – ef

We have ∆H=3.52mm, σ’z

initial void ratio e0=0.891
and initial thickness H0=19mm ∆H
H0

εh=0 εh=0
0.891- ef 3.52
= ⇒ ef=0.54
1+0.891 19

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