The course aims to provide students with the fundamentals of geotechnical engineering; in particular, the main elements of soil mechanics will be taught.
Course Prerequisites
Mathematics Statics
Teaching Methods
The course includes lessons and examples of applications. Power Point presentations are adopted and shared with students in the dedicated section in the KIRO platform. The course is fully delivered on-line and recordings of all the lessons are shared with the students.
Assessment Methods
The final examination is a written test of one hour which includes questions and exercises. The entire exam takes place in "closed-books" mode.
Texts
- Lancellotta, R. (2012). “Geotecnica” (4a edizione). Zanichelli, pp. 530. - Berardi, R. (2017). “Fondamenti di Geotecnica”. Città Studi, pp. 540. - Atkinson, J. (1997). “Geotecnica Meccanica delle Terre e Fondazioni”. Mc Graw Hill, pp.452. - Holtz, R.D. & Kovacs, W.D. (1981). “An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering”. Prentice-Hall, pp.733. - Lambe, T.W. (1991). “Soil Testing for Engineers”. BiTech Publishers, pp. 165. - Lambe, T. W. & Whitman, R. V. (1990). “Soil Mechanics”. John Wiley & Sons, pp. 576. - Nova, R. (2002). “Fondamenti di Meccanica delle Terre”. Mc Graw Hill, pp.373.
Contents
First teaching module – Historical notes, history of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. Introduction to the problems of geotechnical engineering. Genesis, structure and properties of soils. Second teaching module – Geological-geotechnical investigation. Investigation methods. Extension of investigations. Notes on current regulations. Third teaching module – On-site tests. Standard penetration tests. Cone penetration tests. Dilatometric tests. Pressure tests. Tests with scissometer. Plate load tests. Geophysical investigations. Empirical correlations for the interpretation of the results of SPT and CPT tests. Fourth teaching module – Importance of water in geotechnical engineering. Hydrogeological aspects of subsoil fluids. Notes on fluid mechanics. Filtration process and Darcy's law. Permeability and hydraulic conductivity. Fifth teaching module – Physical properties of soils. Soil composition. Granulometry. Plasticity. Soil classification. Sixth teaching module – Introduction to the mechanical properties of soils. Stresses in the ground. Compressibility and consolidation. Compaction. Shear strength.
