ABSTRACT

Geotechnical design is based on codes, good practice and experience using a combination of empirical, theoretical and, increasingly, numerical methods. Codes of practice and guidelines can be national, regional, local or company based and can lead to different solutions even if the ground conditions are similar. This is because geotechnical design is based on experience of working with regional soils and rocks, and because construction techniques vary from country to country. However, the knowledge of the ground conditions depends on the extent and quality of the geotechnical investigations. Such knowledge and the control of workmanship are usually more significant to fulfilling the fundamental requirements than is precision in the calculation models and partial factors (Eurocode 7). This is particularly the case with glacial soils as the erosion, transport and deposition processes lead to spatially variable composite soils that do not necessarily conform to classic models for soil behaviour based on sedimented soils.