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Geophysics and Beyond: A Look at Geotechnical Engineers

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 Paul Favret has had a lifelong fascination with Geology, Geophysics, and the study of the Earth, in general. In fact, he has even gone a step further by writing and releasing a series of blogs on his passion for introducing readers to this fascinating world. For this post, Paul Favret discusses the job of geotechnical engineers.

Assessing the ground and environment

Every structure built on the ground requires the expertise of a geotechnical engineer to ensure its stability and ability to withstand external forces. The extensive and significant scope of the roles in this field of engineering is varied, not to mention exciting.

For starters, there is geotechnical investigation. The site's ground and the surrounding environment should be assessed even before the structure is designed. Included in evaluating geotechnical properties are the exploration of both the surface and the subsurface, water content measurement, and soil properties analysis. Geotechnical investigation can involve many things, from a simple physical observation of the site to a battery of tests, such as penetration tests, soil sampling, Atterberg limit tests, water content measurement, grain size analysis, and much more.

Eye on foundation design

Next, geotechnical engineers take care of the foundation design. The foundation's design, depth, and type all depend on the planned structure and the following ground properties. Paul Favret mentions these properties below:

• Bearing capacity, or the ability of the ground to fully support the loads and weight of the structure or buildings

• Settlement, or the tendency of the soil to move downward due to the vertical strain the structure imposes on the ground

• Ground movement, or the movement underneath the structure caused by climatic changes, shifts in temperature, slope instability, etc.

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There is much more to geotechnical engineering than what was mentioned in this article, which is exactly what makes this field so exciting, says Paul Favret. Follow his blogs for more geotechnical content.

Are you also fascinated by Geology and Geophysics? Bookmark this Paul Favret page for more related posts and updates.

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