Geotechnical Engineering > Foundation Engineering

One of the most common debates in foundation engineering is whether a foundation beam should be analyzed with soil support or as a suspended beam spanning only between its supports. Neither approach is universally correct; the appropriate choice depends on the beam’s function, the foundation system, and the expected behavior of the supporting soil. Before discussing the analysis, it is important to clarify terminology. Although […] Read More

Deep Piles or Ground Improvement? Temporary Heavy-Load Foundations on Expansive Soil Near Water When engineers must support heavy temporary loads in a confined shoreline area, one common question arises: Should we use deep piles, or a shallow foundation with ground improvement? At first glance, deep piles may appear to be the obvious answer, especially when expansive soils and nearby water are involved. However, real geotechnical […] Read More

Geotechnical engineering is one of the five main branches in civil engineering, which can further be categorized into soil mechanics, foundation engineering, retaining structures and excavations. Geotechnical engineering is a branch that interacts with all other branches, after all, every structure needs foundation system. Geotechnical engineering failures are usually among the costliest to fix, if the fix is possible at all in the first place. […] Read More

The Hidden “Spring” in the Ground: Understanding Residual Stress in Driven Piles When a pile is driven into the ground, it isn’t just a piece of concrete or steel sitting passively in the dirt. It is a massive, pre-loaded system—essentially a giant elastic spring trapped in a “tug-of-war” with the surrounding soil. For decades, engineers often ignored this internal struggle, but modern deep foundation analysis […] Read More

It is not possible to describe or even summarize foundation design principles in a single post. So first of all, we refer the readers to other posts we made in Geotechnical engineering and foundations. Below we did not distinguish shallow or deep foundations. We will only list some major points to consider below: Bearing capacity Settlement, such as elastic settlement for all soils and primary […] Read More