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What is Soil Mechanics?

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Definition of Soil Mechanics The term ‘soil mechanics’ was coined by Dr. Karl Terzaghi in 1925 when his book Erdbaumechanic on the subject was published in German. According to Terzaghi, ‘Soil mechanics is the application of the laws of mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles produced by the mechanical and chemical disintegration of rock, regardless of whether or not they contains an admixture of organic constituents’. Soil mechanics is, therefore, a branch of mechanics which deals with the action of forces on soil and with the flow of water in soil. The soil consists of discrete solid particles which are neither strongly bonded as in solids nor they are as free as particles of fluids. Consequently the behaviour of soil is somewhat between that of a solid and fluid. It is not, therefore, surprising that soil mechanics draws heavily from solid mechanics and fluid mechanics. As the s

What is Soil in Geotechnical Engineering.

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Definition of Soil The word ‘soil’ is derived from the Latin word solium which, according to Webster’s dictionary, means the upper layer of the earth that may be dug or plowed; specifically, the loose surface material of earth in which the plants grow. The above definition of soil is used in the field of agronomy (The application of soil and plant sciences to land management and crop production) where the main concern is in the use of soil for raising crops. In geology, earth’s crust is assumed to consist of unconsolidated sediments, called mantle or regolith, overlying rocks. The top soil contains a large quantity of organic matter and is not suitable as a construction material or as a foundation for structure. The top soil is removed from the earth’s surface before the construction of structure. The term ‘ soil ’ in the soil engineering is defined as an unconsolidated material , composed of solid particles , produced by the disintegration of rocks . The void space

Syllabus of Geotechnical Engineering

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Geotechnical Engineering   1. Basic Concepts: -   Definition of soil and soil mechanics , common soil mechanics problems in Civil Engineering. Principal types of soils. Important properties of very fine soil. Characteristics of main Clay mineral groups. Weight volume relationship and determination of specific gravity from pycnometer test. Field density from sand replacement method and other methods.  2. Index Properties: -  Grain size analysis. Stokes’s law and Hydrometer analysis. Consistency and sensitivity of Clay, Atterbeg Limits, Flow Index and Toughness Index. Underlying theory of shrinkage limit determination. Classification of coarse and fine grained soils as per Indian Standard.  3. Compaction:  - Definition and object of compaction and concept of O.M.C. and zero Air Void Line. Modified proctor Test. Factors affecting compaction Effect of compaction on soil properties and their discussion. Field compaction methods- their comparison of performance and relati

GATE 2016 Syllabus

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Civil Engineering Section 1: Engineering Mathematics Linear Algebra: Matrix algebra :-Systems of linear equations; Eigen values and Eigen vectors.  Calculus:- Functions of single variable; Limit, continuity and differentiability; Mean value theorems, local maxima and minima, Taylor and Maclaurin series; Evaluation of definite and indefinite integrals, application of definite integral to obtain area and volume; Partial derivatives; Total derivative; Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.  Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE): First order (linear and non-linear) equations; higher order linear equations with constant coefficients; Euler-Cauchy equations; Laplace transform and its application in solving linear ODEs; initial and boundary value problems. Partial Differential Equation (PDE): Fourier series; separation of variables; solutions of one- dimensional