CS2005:03
Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
| Townsville | HECS Band 2 |
39 hours lectures, 39 hours tutorials and practicals. Semester 2.
Engineering classification of soils, engineering characteristics and uses, phase relationships, Atterberg limits, compaction. Origin of soils. Saturated and unsaturated soils, effective stress and pore pressure, capillary effects simple stress states in soils. Permeability and one-dimensional seepage, filter design, quick conditions. Consolidation. Shear strength of soils, Mohr-Coulomb failure theory, direct shear and triaxial testing. Foundation types, bearing capacity of shallow foundations, introduction to stresses beneath footings. Lateral pressures on retaining walls, Rankine earth pressure theory, design of simple retaining walls. Foundations on reactive soils, shrink-swell behaviour, site classification. Simple site investigation, disturbed and undisturbed sampling.
Learning Objectives:
- classify soils from an engineering viewpoint and appreciate their likely characteristics;
- perform standard laboratory classification and compaction tests and specify appropriate methods and standards for field compaction;
- understand and perform calculations relating to moisture/density relationships, total and effective stress and pore water pressure, permeability and one-dimensional seepage in saturated soils;
- determine Mohr-Coulomb strength parameters given the results of standard laboratory strength tests on soil;
- understand and perform simple calculations for stress beneath footings, bearing capacity, and settlement;
- calculate the earth pressures on simple retaining walls and check their stability;
- interpret the results from basic site investigations.
Assessment by examination (50%-70%); on-course assessment (30%-50%).