Civil Engineering

308. Soil Mechanics. Origins and basic properties of soil. Principles of soil behavior under gravity stresses, fluid seepage, and one-dimensional compression. Shear strength of soils. Introduction to soil as an engineering material for support of structures and pavements. Three Lectures. Spring  (Cr.3) 

Prerequisites: ENGS 230, 303.  Principles of normal, shear, and principal stresses; Mohr's circle of stress; Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion; Bernoulli's equation

Corequisite: CIVL 318.

 

Course Goals:     

  1. Provide a basic background in soil mechanics and an introduction to the use of soil as an engineering material.

Course Objectives:

 

The student will be able to

  • Solve for basic mechanical soil propertied utilizing phase diagram and fundamental weight-volume relationships.

  • Classify a soil sample according to Unified Soil Classification System, and AASHTO methods.

  • Solve for the amount of seepage, for different practical problems (ex. under a concrete dam, or a sheet pile wall, or through an earth-fill dam, etc.) based n soil permeability and the concept of flow nets.

  • Compute vertical and horizontal total and effective geo-static stresses within a soil profile, and know its significance.

  • Calculate the amount of consolidation settlement due to change in effective stresses and its time rate.

  • Use the principles of shear strength testing using direct shear, triaxial and unconfined compression methods to understand the stress-strain-strength behavior of sands and clays under drained and undrained conditions.

  • Apply Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion to solve for shear strength parameters of sands and clays.

 

Course Syllabus

 

Textbook:  Cernica, John N., Geotechnical  Engineering: Soil Mechanics, 1st Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995. (Spring 98, 99, 00); Coduto, Donald P., Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1999. (Spring 01)

 

Topics:

  1. Origins and identification of soil.  2 lectures

  2. Basic weight density-volume relationships.  3 lectures

  3. Soil identification and sampling.  1 lecture

  4. Overburden stresses. 5 lectures

  5. Permeability, seepage, and capillarity.  10 lectures

  6. One-dimensional compression and consolidation.  8 lectures

  7. Shear strength.  5 lectures

  8. Soil placement and compaction.  2 lectures

  9. Pavement subgrades.  2 lectures

  10. Testing (2 tests, final examination).  6 hours

Computer Usage:  Geotechnical Modules for Stress, Seepage, and Settlement calculations.  Also use of word processing, spreadsheet, mathematical, and drafting software for report preparation.

 

Course Projects (including major items of equipment and instrumentation used):

  1. Seepage analysis using flownets

  2. Analysis and design of areal fills and preloads, including use of vertical drains

 

ABET category content as estimated by faculty member who prepared this course description:  Engineering Science: 3 credits (100%)

 

Prepared by:   Dr. Fathey Elsaid, Ph.D., P.E.     Date: November 22, 2000