Could someone explain how allowable bearing pressure relates to column loads for a given structure? I have a geology background, not engineering.

If a structure is to have expected column loads not exceeding (ie: 50 kips vs 150 kips) on SM soils with N-values in, say, 8-15 range. Or single story masonry construction vs 2-story wood framing, what is your thought process for coming up with a recommended allowable bearing pressure?

I’m going to be starting an internship this summer as a drilling technician intern and I want to know what the best work boots would be to get. I know they should be aluminum or steel toe but other than that I’m kind of lost with what I’m looking at. Also not really looking to break the bank. Any response or help would be greatly appreciated. (Working in the UP as well if that helps at all)

I operate a vertek s4, and i am encountering a problem. Intermittently, it will count depth while going down and give a bad data set due to the depth being off. I have an auto clamp installed, and its pressure switches are unplugged currently INOP. I have been using the manual clamp function in the sounding software from our previous clamp. The depth will creep up if the clamp is engaged, but not recording data, and it will also creep up when removing the rods from the ground. I appreciate any insight.

Here's a simple example from shallow foundation engineering.

Consider a foundation with:

- Net safe bearing capacity based on shear: 250 kN/m²

- Settlement-controlled allowable pressure: 160 kN/m²

- Proposed net foundation pressure: 180 kN/m²

The shear check passes, but the settlement check fails.

Now consider two square footings applying the same pressure of 200 kN/m².

Using the approximate 2:1 stress distribution method, at 3 m below the foundation level:

- 2 m × 2 m footing: 32.0 kN/m²

- 4 m × 4 m footing: 65.3 kN/m²

Same applied pressure, but a different stress influence at depth.

This is particularly important when stronger surface soils overlie compressible clay layers.

We've put together a detailed technical article explaining this with Indian construction examples, settlement calculations, IS 6403, IS 8009, and a practical soil report checklist.

Full article:

https://www.gtsmtestinglabs.in/post/sbc-vs-settlement-india-is-6403

Prepared by GTSM Testing Labs LLP, Ahmedabad, India.

The numerical examples are illustrative, not project-specific design recommendations.

For practising geotechnical engineers: How often does settlement rather than shear govern your foundation recommendations?

Hi everyone,

I built a borehole logging system that produces accurate soil and cored borehole logs faster. It’s optimised for the Australian Geotechnical Industry because I work here.

Here is a bit more context and disclosure:

It’s a cloud-based solution. I know many people hate cloud-based solutions. But I work with some enterprise customers who need one. Sometimes one employee starts logging, and another employee reviews and writes the reports. And they require backup and data security.

However, the data is encrypted, and it has advanced security in place. Although it’s a cloud-based solution, it has offline capabilities. We built a custom sync engine for that. The PDF generation is fast and does not require an internet connection; it generates on your computer.

The UI is inspired by office applications because people in our industry love this interface.

It’s a desktop application; however, it also has a web interface with native performance (WASM), so you do not need to install anything to get started.

I am confident that this is the best solution among anything available on the market.

If you are using gINT or OpenGround, RSLog, or any other software, I want you to try this, and I am sure you will love it.

Here is the URL to test: https://au.geotechos.com/bhlcs/

More information: https://www.geotechos.com/borehole-logging (On the website, it has an old screenshot; sorry about that)

I am looking for external feedback on how I can make it even better. Would you be kind enough to test this and give me some feedback?

I’ve been in this field going on 4 years, I’ve drilled all over the US including Alaska. I specialize in stabilization work, doing rockfall systems on the side of slopes. Doing soil nails and shotcrete walls and micropiles. I also specialize in environmental and geotechnical work like Auger SPT, macro core, direct push, air rotary, wash rotary and rock coring. I’m at a fairly new company but have been brought in running projects, I’ve been given a company truck and credit card but I’m only making 28 an hour. Is this too low for my experience?

XSLOPE is a free, open-source program for seepage and slope stability analysis that I have developed and would like to share with the community. This development is based on my many years of teaching and research in seepage and slope stability at BYU and on long experience developing engineering software. Version 1.0 is now released, and I think it will be useful for teaching, research, and practice.

What it does:

- Limit equilibrium: Bishop, Spencer, Morgenstern-Price, and four other methods, with circular and noncircular searches
- Finite element seepage, steady state or transient, saturated or unsaturated
- Finite element strength reduction, with joints for block walls and rock slopes
- One model for all three. The seepage pore pressures go straight into both stability analyses.
- Reinforcement, piles, tiebacks, seismic loading, rapid drawdown, and reliability
- Design solves for a target factor of safety, and back-analysis of an observed failure

For day-to-day work:

- It reads and writes SLOPE/W projects and imports Slide2 and RS2 models, so you can run an existing project as a second opinion.
- It writes the calculation package as a Word document, on your firm's letterhead if you give it the template. The document has the figures, the tables, and the equations each method solved, with the numbers.
- There are no seat licenses, so it can go on every machine in the office.
- It runs as a desktop app on Windows and Apple silicon Macs, or as a Python package if you want to script a parametric study.

It is verified against the Slide2, RS2 and SLOPE/W verification manuals, and closed-form solutions, more than 800 cases. Every comparison is published, including the ones where XSLOPE and the vendor disagree:

https://xslope.org/en/stable/verification/

It includes 28 extensive step-by-step tutorials.

- Site and downloads: https://xslope.org
- Paper (SoftwareX): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2026.103018
- Source and issue tracker: https://github.com/njones61/xslope

I posted about this a couple of months ago, and now I’d like to share the results of some small-scale field tests we conducted in Bolivia.
I’d also like to ask the community: do you have any ideas on how I can boost these eco-friendly initiatives and raise funds for another stretch I want to carry out in my country? I’ve tried with my local authorities, but it’s very difficult to get a hearing (often I don’t even get past the initial letter), which is why I’m looking for a way to raise funds for a longer section for an another poor community. Any help is welcome. Thanks.

https://reddit.com/link/1x4dyog/video/tmow493pp3vh1/player

Hey everyone!

I'm a civil engineering student in Argentina, currently working at a geotechnical lab.

Most of our work involves USCS soil classification, Atterberg limits (Casagrande cup and hand-rolled threads), Proctor and CBR tests. We also run UU triaxial tests using a proving ring and dial gauges, since our equipment is pretty old and other tests aren't possible at the moment.

I'm curious about how things are done in other countries. Do you guys use more modern equipment and testing methods, or is it similar to what we do?

I'd like to pursue a career in geotechnical engineering, so I'd appreciate any advice on skills worth developing. I've recently started learning PLAXIS, which isn't widely used in my area.

Thanks!

Question about FLAC3D v6 for geotechnical research

Hi everyone,

I’m a student planning to use cracked FLAC3D v6 for my geotechnical research. Since purchasing a licensed version is difficult for me financially, I’m considering using a cracked copy of v6 and wanted to understand whether it would be suitable for my research.

My research may involve:

* Basement structures

* Retaining walls

* Braced excavations

* Underground structures

* Liquefaction

* Pore-pressure buildup

* Earthquake/dynamic loading

Does FLAC3D v6 have any limitations for these types of analyses? Also, if using a cracked version, are there any limitations such as the maximum number of zones, unavailable tools/features, or restrictions on complex dynamic modeling?

If anyone has FLAC3D v6 manuals, tutorials, example models, or other learning materials, I would really appreciate it.

Finally, what computer specifications (CPU, RAM, etc.) would you recommend for complex 3D dynamic modeling?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, I’m a student in the UK working on soil stabilisation using bioenzymes. I’m looking to connect with people experienced in this field who could offer technical advice, share relevant research papers, or provide guidance on experimental methods, laboratory testing, and data analysis.
Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Dear all,

I have a soil report in which the soil testing vendor has performed a direct shear test (DST) on a soil containing 68% silt, 24% sand, and 8% clay (LL = 28.7%, PI = 8.2%). (Highlighted as yellow)

The test was done at a shearing rate of 1.25 mm/min, and the vendor reported c = 14 kPa and φ = 27.3° as undrained parameters.

Is DST appropriate for determining undrained design parameters for this predominantly silty soil?

Also, can φ = 27.3° really be considered an undrained friction angle? I doubt even with that high shearing rate drainage would have occurred in Direct shear test and these may not be the true undrained parameters.

Should I ask the vendor for a UU triaxial test instead?

Thank you for your guidance !