Civil Engineering


438. Foundation Design. Slope stability. Application of soil mechanics principles to designing shallow foundations (footings and mats) and deep foundations (piles and drilled shafts.). Placement and compaction of soil for support of structures and pavements. Slope stability. Lateral earth pressure theory and its application to the design of basement and retaining walls, anchored bulkheads, and braced excavations. Methods of excavation and dewatering for construction. Two lectures, one two-hour problem period or laboratory period. Fall  (Cr.3) 

Prerequisite: CIVL 308, CIVL 318.  Steel design; concrete design.

Course Goals:     

  1. Introduce students to the application of soil-mechanics principles to a wide variety of geotechnical structures (foundations and slopes), including use of structural analysis and design where relevant.

  2. Educate students to the difference between analysis and design in geotechnical and structural engineering, and how safety and other issues are incorporated into the design process.

  3. Introduce students to the role of economics in the geotechnical design process.

  4. Introduce students to the role of construction documents (plans and specifications) in the construction of geotechnical structures.

  5. Illustrate the role of professional ethics in geotechnical engineering practice.

  6. Illustrate the integration of input from various civil engineering specialties into the analysis and design of geotechnical structures.

  7. Educate students how to prepare one type of civil engineering professional work product (calculations), including how to integrate and verify results from computer analyses.

 

Course Objectives:

 

The student will:

  • Have a broad understanding of the application of soil mechanics principles to a wide range of geotechnical applications.

The student will be able to:

  • Perform a geotechnical analysis and design of a footing bearing on soil or rock.

  • Perform a geotechnical and structural analysis of a mat foundation.

  • Perform a geotechnical and structural analysis of a driven pile or drilled shaft bearing in soil or rock and subjected to axial load.

  • Perform an analysis of an unsupported soil slope.

  • Perform a geotechnical analysis and design of a basement wall supporting coarse-grain soil.

  • Perform a geotechnical analysis and design of a gravity (traditional or modern) and cantilever retaining wall supporting coarse-grain soil.

  • Perform a geotechnical and structural analysis and design of an anchored bulkhead utilizing steel sheet piling and supporting in coarse-grain soil.

  • Perform a geotechnical and structural analysis and design of a braced excavation utilizing steel sheet piling and supporting in coarse-grain soil.

 

Course Syllabus

 

Textbook:  Geotechnical Engineering Foundation Design , John N. Cernica, 1st Edition, Wiley, 1995

 

Reference:  Geotechnical Engineering: Soil Mechanics, John N. Cernica, 1st Edition, Wiley, 1995.

 

Topics:

  1. Design concepts.  2 lecture

  2. Foundations (overview).  1 lecture

  3. Shallow foundations [Report Nos. 1-4].  10 lectures

  4. Deep foundations [Report Nos. 5 and 6].  9 lectures

  5. Ground improvement.  1 lecture

  6. Slopes (overview).  1 lecture

  7. Unsupported slopes and RSS [Report No. 7].  3 lectures

  8. Lateral earth pressure theory.  2 lectures

  9. Basement walls.  1 lecture

  10. Rigid retaining walls and modern alternatives [Report No. 8].  4 lectures

  11. Anchored bulkheads [Report No. 9].  3 lectures

  12. Braced excavations [Report No. 10].  3 lectures

  13. Examinations (three).  6 hours

Computer Usage:  Mandatory use of dedicated software for mat-foundation analysis, slope-stability analysis and geotechnical design of an anchored bulkhead.  Optional, but encouraged, use of spreadsheet and mathematical software for calculations and plotting.

 

Course Project:  Written homework for this course is achieved through the use of ten analysis and design reports that are crafted to along the lines of simple, entry level work tasks likely to be encountered in design practice.

 

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

 

Prepared by:     Prof. John S. Horvath, Ph.D., P.E.       Date: April 29, 2001