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Roads and Engineering Construction, 97, 7, pp. 70-73, 1959-08-01
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Soil mechanics around the world
Legget, R. F.
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N A T I O N A L R E S E A R C H C O U N C I L
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D I V I S I O N O F B U I L D I N G R E S E A R C H
Soil illechqnics Around the World
by
R.OBERT
F. LEGGET
A N A L Y ? E B
Reprinted from R o a d s a n d E n g i n e e r i n g C s n s t r u c t i o n V o l . 9 7 , N o . 7 J u l y , 1 9 5 9 , P . 7 0 - 7 3I
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I
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Soil Mechqnics Around the World
ROBERT F. LEGGETDireclor Division of Building Research N.R.C.
That soil mechanics is now an active branch of civil engineering study in many countries was vividly demonstrated by what was seen dur-ing a recent journey around the world. Studies of soil mechanics dur-ing the journey were incidental to attendance at a private meeting of building research directors of the English-speaking world, held in Aus-tralia, and to visits on the return journey to Singapore, India and Pak-istan in connection with special build-ing research problems. Such indi-vidual interest has, however, been ex-pressed in these brief visits, that this summary account is now presented for general record.
Journey
The journey around the world occupied two months. Three weeks were spent in Australia, one week in Honolulu, a week in New Zealand, and a corresponding period in India, with a further week taken for the return from England to Canada by sea. Thirty-one thousand miles were covered, involving brief visits to 15 countries, with the opportunity of seeing at least something of soil mechanics activity during the prin-cipal stops.
Honolulu
In Honolulu, little opportunity was available for studying the interesting local soils. Even a superficial knowl-edge of local geology, however, was enough to guide one to unusual fea-tures of the local soil deposits when-ever exposed to view, with layers of
volcanic ash appearing in most soil profiles. Soil mechanics is an active subject of research at the University of Honolulu. Attendance at a meet-ing of the local Section of the Amer-ican Society of, Civil Engineers, at which a paper was given on pro-posed extensions to the Honolulu Air-port, showed clearly that these local soil studies are being well integrated into practical civil engineering design. Hawaiian soil problems have received unusual attention because of the troubles encountered at the Wilson Tunnel. A brief visit was paid to the portal of this vehicular tunnel, now complete after quite incredible diffi-culties during construction.
New Zeolond
New Zealand is a land equally in-teresting from the geological point of view, having, therefore, its full share of unusual soil problems. The visit was timed just too late to participate in the second Australian and New Zealand Conference on Soil Mechan-ics and Foundation Engineering, held at University College, Christ-church, in January, L956. Impres-sions of the Conference were still fresh in the minds of New Zealand hosts, however, and so something of the enthusiasm displayed at this Soils Conference on the other side of the world was readily shared. The pro-ceedings of this Conference have now been published, and include a Cana-dian paper by Messrs. E. N. Webb and M. S. Kisch on Soils Investiga-tion for the Hamilton Falls Hydro Development in Labrador.
The Soils Bureau of the
Depart-ment of Scientffic and Industrial Re-search, located in Wellington, was visited, and useful talks had with Mr. K. S. Birrell, its head and a soil physicist, and Dr. R. D. Northey and his two professional assistants. A similar visit was made to the Soil Mechanics Laboratories of Canter-bury College under the guidance of Professor H. J. Hopkins and Mr. P. J. Alley. Work on the use of rammed earth for house building, and into the special problems of Loess (which is widespread in New Zealand) was seen and discussed.
The iriterest in soil mechanics of the New Zealand Railway Adminis-tration and of the Department of Works was clearly brought out in discussions with senior engineers of these two organizations. In all appli-c a t i o n s o f s a i l m e appli-c h a n i appli-c s i n New Zealand, geological consider-ations have vital importance, not only because of the varied local geology, but also because of the earthquake hazards to which New Zealand is subject. The highlight of this visit to New Zealand was provided by two days spent in the good company of the late Dr. W. N. Benson, a famous geologist with a very real appreciation of the engineering properties of soils which he demonstrated in two mem-orable days spent in the field in the vicinity of Dunedin in the south island.
Austroliq
In Australia. the same enthusiasm for soil mechanics work was found at the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney, and in the Soil Division of
the Commonwealth Scientific and In-dustrial Research Organization. Mr. G. D. Aitchison of the latter or-ganization carries out his work in close association with the University of Melbourne, where soil mechanics is under the direct charge of Dr. H. H. Trollope. Instruction at tbis Uni-versity is being given in a unique course in "Earth Science". This ap-peared to be an ideal approach, and it was proving to be most satisfactory, even in its early stages, at Melbourne. Through a careful integration of dis-ciplines, soil chemistry, engineering geology, soil mechanics and soil phy-sics are combined in one joint lecture and laboratory course of a character which is well worthy of study by other universities.
Some practical applications of soil mechanics were seen in the work being carried out in the research laboratories of the Snowy Mountain Hydro-Electric Authority, all aimed at its application in the great works being constructed by this unusual engineering organization, responsible
DR. F. M. LEA (LEFT),
R. F. LEGGET,
AND LT..GEN.
SIR
HAROLD
WILLIAMS
(DIRECTOR,
C.B.R.I.
OF INDIA),
AT
C.B.R.I.
ROORKEE,
INDIA.
DR.
W. N. BENSON
(CENTRE),
WITH DEAN WILLIAMS
AND A GRADUATE
STUDENT
FROM OTAGO UNIVERSITY,
DUNEDIN,
NEW ZEALAND,
NEAR
ABANDONED
TUNNEL
EXPERIMENTAL
MODEL
OF EARTH
DAM UNDER
STUDY
IN SOIL
MECHANICS
LAB.,
SNOWY
MOUNTAIN
HYDRO.
ELECTRIC
SCHEME,
COOMA,
N.s.W.,
AUSTRALIA.
for one of the most daring joint power and irrigation schemes now under construction anywhere in the world. Notable amongst these struc-tures is the Adaminaby Dam on the Eucumbene River. Just started at the time of the visit, with the site then all cleared, the dam is now complete to its height of 380 ft., with its crest 1,900 ft. long and its base 2,600 ft. wide, all constructed from soil and rock obtained from adjacent borrow pits, to the extent of 9.5 million cubic yards. An excellent soil mechanics laboratory had been established at the Authority's construction headquarters. An engineering geologiSt (Mr. D. G. Moye) is a full-time member of the Authority's staff.
Singopore
The return journey from Australia was made by way of Singapore and India, with little prior thought that anything of interest in connection with soil studies would be seen in Singapore. Even as the QANTAS
TYPICAL
EXPOSURE
OF NEW ZEALAND
LOESS
AT TIMARU.
SOUTH
ISLAND,
NEW
ZEALAND,
SHOWING
HOW THIS
SOIL
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PROTECTED
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BY
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'plane taxied in at the Singapore air-port; in the intense tropical heat which featured this entire section of the journey, soil problems were clear-ly evident, however, in the excava-tions being carried out in the bright red lateritic soil which characterizes this area. It was found that this air-port is the second which Singapore has had to build in the short space of 20 years, so vital an air traffic centre has it become. Extensions were even then being constructed, with
critical drainage problems because of
the local soil conditions seen from the 'plane even before arrival. The local Department of Public Works
was found to be fully appreciative of
soil investigations. A new prestressed
concrete bridge was visited, the foundations of which had been care-fully designed, using the most modern of soil mechanics techniques. An in-teresting experiment was seen on one
of the great housing developments of
the Singapore Improvement Trust, this being a trial building made of compacted soil, resulting from the visit of Mr. Middleton, a soils expert from UNESCO. who had been visit-ing eastern countries to render tech-nical assistance.
Indio
Soil interest in Singapore was
mere-ly an introduction to the keen interest and widespread activity in soil me-chanics which was found during an all-too-brief visit to India. The Central Board of Irrigation, many years before 1947 (the year of partition), had gained a world-wide reputation
for its civil engineering research work,
which included pioneer soil studies. This and other early work is now being extended in all the engineering research laboratories visited. Some of these were amongst the 17 major research laboratories of the Indian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Outside New Delhi is the Road Research Laboratory, with its Soil Division one of the most active in the organization. Studies were seen in progress, in a very well-equipped laboratory, into the properties of black cotton soils, lateritic soils, soil stabilization, the use of soil in build-ing, and even into the rutting of soil roads by the wheels of bullock carts. At Roorkee, to the north of Delhi, is located the Central Building Re-search Institute of India. Despite the
wlde field which this splendid organi-zation has to cover, soil mechanics
also occupies an important place in its
programme, under the direction of Assistant Director Dinesh Mohan. Again, a well-equipped soils labor-atory was found, and much interest-ing work in progress, particularly into the properties of black cotton soil. Adjacent to C.B.R.I. is the University of Roorkee, now being developed as the leading engineering university under the able guidance of Dr. A. N. Khosla, so well known for his earlier work for the Central Board of Irriga-tion. Founded well over a . century ago as the Thomason College of En-gineering, this university will gradual-ly become better known as it pioneers in the higher education of Indian engineers. Soil mechanics already occupies an important place in its developing programme of instruction.
The Irrigation Research Laboratory
of the United Provinces is also located
at Roorkee, again well equipped with a good soil mechanics laboratory. Upon entering this laboratory, on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, I was presented with a typewritten statement of three questions which the staff wished me to answer on the basis of my knowledge of North American soil mechanics work. The questions, which may be of general interest. were:
l. The effect of acid treatment on the expansive properties of clays?
2. The effect of exchangeable ions on the shear consolidation and permeability properties of soils? 3. The effect of mineral constitu-ents of soils on their engineering properties?
In the face of such keen interest, I was as much embarrassed by the
shortness of my visit as by my
inabil-ity to give really good answers to those keen Indian workers, who are applying soil mechanics so well to the practice of irrigation.
Pqkisfon
A brief visit to Pakistan in order to visit the Warsak project on the Northwest Frontier, where problems are those of rock mechanics rather than of soil mechanics. still showed continuing interest in soil mechanics through talks which I had with engin-eers of the Department of Public Works of West Pakistan. A night
flight from Karachi formed the final stage of the journey to London, ancient soil problems being glimpsed as the great 'plane landed in the early morning hours at Damascus. Brief visits with soil mechanics workers in London completed the delightful chain of interest in soil mechanics which I had been privileged to experience since I had left Canada.
lmpressions
Despite the widely varied types of countries visited, their differing back-grounds and varying experience, there were certain dominant impressions regarding soil mechanics created in my mind as I looked back over the visits. These may be briefly summar-ized as follows:
(a) All round the world there is a steadily awakening interest in the scientific study of soils, and in the application of results to engineering practice;
(b) In every country there was an obvious blending of basic scien-tific study and the engineering applications of soil research; (c) The influence of Great Britain,
particularly through her grad-uate schools. was evident in the background of most of the re-search workers met during the tour;
(d) Surprisingly, however, most of the better equipment which was seen was of West German origin, beautifully made, deliv-ered always as promised, and excellent in service;
(e) To an extent not yet encoun-tered in North American soil mechanics work, there was widespread appreciation of the necessity for always considering ing local geology in connection with all major soil problems; (f) In every country there waS
ex-pressed a keen desire, bY the workers with whom I sPoke, for the development of closer links with fellow workers in Canada, the work of whom was known
to a. quite surprising degree; and
(g) In this, and in manY other waYs, the human side of soil mechan-ics was perhaPs the most inter-esting and the most satisfYing of all the experiences which I was so privileged to gain.
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