Chapter 1: Introduction

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Engineering structures are bound to undergo damage at some point in their

lifetime. The damage could develop because of continuous usage, degradation,
environmental factors, earthquakes or acts of terrorism. The failure of structures,
especially large scale ones, could lead to disasters and loss of precious life and
property. Therefore, research in structural health monitoring (SHM) has become an
area of interest for an increasing number of academics and laboratories; especially to
develop in-service and on-line health monitoring techniques (Annamdas 2007). These
kinds of SHM techniques are not just limited to structure but are also extended to
structure-soil interface because stability of structure depends on soil beneath it.
Additionally, if the soil is not capable of carrying sufficient load, due to loose
compaction or improper stabilization or improper study, can be destructive for any
structure constructed
The term soil has different connotations for scientists belonging to different
disciplines. The definition given to a soil by an agriculturist or a geologist is different
from the one used by a civil engineer. To an agriculturist soil merely means the top
layer of the earth which is responsible for supporting plant life. Even to a geologist
soil is the thin outer layer of loose sediments within which plant roots are present. A
geologist refers to the rest of earth’s crust as rock irrespective of how strong or weak
the bonding forces of the sediments or for a civil engineer, soils mean all naturally
occurring, and relatively unconsolidated earth material organic or inorganic in
character that lies about the bed rock (Ranjan and Rao 2000).
According to Terzaghi (Ranjan and Rao 2000), soils can be broken down into their
constituent particles relatively easily such as by agitation in water on the other hand
rocks are an agglomeration of mineral particles which are bonded together by strong
molecular forces. Often this distinction between soils and rocks is not clear cut. Many
a hard soil can be termed as soft rock or vice-versa. Rocks can be massive bedrock or
large fragments of gravel, pebbles, etc. within a soil. Soil mechanics is the branch of
civil engineering that concerns the applications of the principles of mechanics
hydraulics and to a smaller extent, chemistry, to engineering problems related to soils.
The study of the science of soil mechanics equips a civil engineer with basis scientific
tools needed to understand soil behavior.

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1.2 CIVIL ENGINEERING PROBLEMS RELATED TO SOILS

1.2.1 Introduction to soil interface

A civil engineer has to deal with soils in their diverse roles. Every civil engineering
structure whether it be building, a bridge, a tower, an embankment, a road pavement,
a railway line, a tunnel or a dam, has to be founded on the soil and thus shall transmit
the dead and live loads to the soils stratum. Soil is therefore the ultimate foundation
material which supports the structure. The proper functioning of the structure will
therefore depend critically on the success of the foundation element resting on the
subsoil. Here the term foundation is used in the conventional sense namely a
substructure that distributes the load to the ultimate foundation namely the soil. Soil is
also the most abundantly available construction material as barrages for storing water.
In modern times the use of earth for building dams for construction pavements for
highways and airfields is an important aspect of civil engineering. In the design and
construction of underground structures such as tunnels, conduits, power houses,
bracings for excavations and earth retaining structures the role of soil is again very
crucial. Since the soil is indirect contact with the structure it acts as a medium of load
transfer and hence for any analysis of forces acting on such structures one has to
consider the aspect of stress distribution through the soil. This however cannot be
done by considering the behavior of the structure in isolation of the soil or by treating
the soil independently of the structure. The structure too causes stresses and strains in
the soil while the stability of the structure itself is affected by soil behavior. The soil-
structure interface should be well defined; else there can be problems like uneven
settlement due to improper compaction or failure at interface due to low bearing
capacity of soil. These types of problems can be solved using
1) Proper study of settlements
2) Improving the stability of soils by grouting techniques

Figure 1 shows some examples of structures resting on soil surface. The soil structure
interfaces are highlighted in the figure.

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Figure 1: Examples of structures resting on soil surface a) Dam b) Tall building

c) Road way d) Canal

1.2.2 Motivations

Most of structural failures are reported due to poor soil structure interaction. In the
recent past we have seen failures in foundation of several structures during major
earthquakes. These is because of the soil exactly beneath the structure was unable to
sustain the vibration developed due to earthquake. If suppose we properly study the
soil structure interaction and try to reduce or dampen the vibrations due to earth quake
and thus we can reduce the level of severity. This aspect as motivated to understand
the soil structure interface.

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Most of pavements in and around Hyderabad has suffered damages during rains due
to uneven settlement. Even this aspect also provided to modification factor for us to
peruse this project. Leakages at the dam down stream side also results due to poor soil
structure interaction. The reduction of seepage or leakage can greatly enhance the life
of the dam. Even this aspect also provided as motivation. In countries like India
irrigation canals mostly do not have proper pipelines or canal lining, due to which
wastage of water is at its maximum, also this leads to the structural damage of the
canals. These damages are due to the improper study of soil structure interaction. This
aspect as motivated to understand the soil structure interface.

1.3 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

The present project aims to address some of the soil-structure interface issues to some
extent; the following are its specific objectives

1) Soil strength gain by grouting: To increase the strength of selected soil

specimens by grouting with different grouting agents like cement, Mgcl2,
bitumen, flash and stone dust
2) Permeability test: To reduce the permeability of the soil by adding different
admixtures like cement, Mgcl2, bitumen.
3) Settlement control: To analyze settlement for a model constructed in
geotechnical laboratory and to suggest methods to control settlement.
4) Dissolving rate of specimens: To determine the dissolving rate of soil
specimens treated (grouted) for 18 days to know the amount of weight
reduced per unit time.
5) Acid attacks on metals: To observe influence of acid and corrosion effects on
metals.
The project aimed to address broad range of soil structure interface problems in
civil engineering

1.4 REPORT ORGANIZATION

This finial year project report consists of 5 chapters. In this introductory chapter 1,
overview of soil structure related problems, motivations and objectives and scope of
project.

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In Chapter 2, a literature review of the topics on soil structure interactions and the
grouting techniques adopted in the past and also in the present project are discussed
briefly
.
In Chapter 3, based on concepts outlined in Chapter 2, a detailed experimental
procedure for various categories of experiments and also experimental studies are
discussed.
In Chapter 4 the results of various experiments and experimental studies are listed
according to categories vice
In Chapter 5, the conclusions are for whole project according to the category wise
for experiments and experimental studies are given in this chapter. This is followed by
a list of my publications and a comprehensive list of references cited in this research.