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Mechanical Properties

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Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Physical properties that determine the behavior of ground that is under mechanical stress.

Mechanical properties of ground determine the behavior of the ground under stress in a mechanical way; for example, settlement of ground under a foundation, subsidence due to underground excavation or extraction of gases and fluids, tunnel and slope stability, and “breaking” of rock or cemented soils. Deformation is the change in volume or shape of ground under stress in which rheology and viscosity may be important. Strength commonly denotes a stress condition at which the ground fails (breaks) when a threshold in stress conditions is exceeded. Constitutive models are the aggregate term for relations that describe the chemical-physical-mechanical behavior of ground.

Ground materials are diverse and may be gases, fluids, solids (i.e., minerals, grains, and aggregates of grains or minerals) and any mixture of these and also include man-made ground, such as fills and waste dump...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Geology, ESA, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Robert (H. R. G. K.) Hack

Authors
  1. Robert (H. R. G. K.) Hack
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Correspondence to Robert (H. R. G. K.) Hack .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, Ontario, Canada

    Peter Bobrowsky

  2. London, United Kingdom

    Brian Marker

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Hack, R.(. (2018). Mechanical Properties. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_197-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_197-1

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