A. lab report (an introduction)

Soil mechanics is the application of principles of mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems dealing with settlement of foundations, slope stability of earth fills, and design of retaining structures, braced excavations, anchored bulkheads, cofferdams, etc. It involves identification and characterization of soils, laboratory and field testing of soils, evaluation of soil properties such as compressibility, shear strength, permeability, consolidation, etc. and design of foundations, retaining structures, earth structures, and other soil-structure interactions.