Guide To Learn
The following properties of soils are used by geotechnical engineers in the analysis of site conditions and design of earthworks, retaining structures and foundations. Unit Weight Total unit weight: Cumulative weight of the solid particles, water and air in the material per unit volume. Note that the air phase is often assumed to be weightless. […]
Soil is usually composed of three phases: solid, liquid and gas. The mechanical properties of soils depend directly on the interactions of these phases with each other and with applied potentials (e.g., stress, hydraulic head, electrical potential and temperature difference). The solid phase of soils contains various amounts of crystalline clay and non-clay minerals, non-crystalline […]
Soil mechanics is a discipline that applies the principles of engineering mechanics, e.g., kinematics, dynamics, fluid mechanics and mechanics of material, to predict the mechanical behaviour of soils. Together with rock mechanics, it is the basis for solving many engineering problems in civil engineering (geotechnical engineering), geophysical engineering and engineering geology. Some of the basic […]
The civil engineer has many diverse important encounters with soil. Apart from the testing and classification of various types of soils in order to determine its physical properties, the knowledge of soil mechanics is particularly helpful in the following problems in civil engineering. Geotechnical engineers are typically graduates of a four-year civil engineering programme and […]
Knowledge of the use of soil extends into prehistoric times, when man started constructing dwellings for living and roads for transportation. In the more primitive civilizations, soil was used by man as a construction material for foundations of structures and for the structures themselves. The knowledge of soils for the foundations, bunds and roads was […]
Soil engineering, soil mechanics or geotechnical engineering is one of the youngest disciplines of civil engineering involving the study of soil, its behaviour and application as an engineering material. Geotechnical engineering is the application of laws of mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles produced by […]
Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem is a complex system exhibiting emergent properties. Systems ecology […]
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants and animals. Ecosystem ecology examines physical and biological structure and examines how these ecosystem characteristics interact.
Introduction of new elements, whether biotic or abiotic, into an ecosystem tends to have a disruptive effect. In some cases, this can lead to ecological collapse or trophic cascading and the death of many species within the ecosystem. Under this deterministic vision, the abstract notion of ecological health attempts to measure the robustness and recovery […]
From an anthropological point of view, many people see ecosystems as production units similar to those that produce goods and services. Among some of the most common goods produced by ecosystems is wood by the forest ecosystems and grass for cattle by the natural grasslands. Meat from wild animals, often referred to as bush meat […]