ABSTRACT
Soil mechanics may be dened as the study of the engineering behaviour of soils, with respect to the design of civil engineering structures made on or within the earth. Examples of such structures include embankments and cuttings, dams, retaining walls, tunnels, basements, subsurface waste repositories, and the foundations of buildings and bridges. An embankment, cutting or a retaining wall often represents a major component, if not the whole, of a civil engineering structure, and is usually (for better or for worse) clearly visible in its nished form (Figure 1.1). Tunnels and basements are generally only visible from inside the structure, while foundations and underground waste repositories-once completedare not usually visible at all. By denition, the foundation forms only a part of the structure that it supports. Although out of sight, it is nonetheless important: if it is decient in design or construction, the entire building may be at risk (Figure 1.2).
