Course Details
Course Information Package
| Course Unit Title | SOIL MECHANICS I | ||||||||
| Course Unit Code | CEG210 | ||||||||
| Course Unit Details | |||||||||
| Number of ECTS credits allocated | 5 | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes of the course unit | By the end of the course, the students should be able to:
| ||||||||
| Mode of Delivery | Face-to-face | ||||||||
| Prerequisites | CEG209 | Co-requisites | NONE | ||||||
| Recommended optional program components | NONE | ||||||||
| Course Contents | Principles of Soil Behaviour and Soil Classification: Introduction in Soil Mechanics. Definition of saturated soils, water content, specific gravity, dry and bulk densities. Phase relationships with numerical examples. Classification of soils. Sieve analysis and grading curve for granular soils. Plasticity of cohesive soils, Atterberg limits. Plasticity Index. Soil description by visual inspection using standard methods. Laboratory work for phase relationships, sieve analysis and measurement of Atterberg limits. Water in soil and Flownets: Flow of groundwater in soils. Total head and water pressure. Soil permeability, hydraulic gradient and rate of flow. Creation of flownets with flowlines and equipotentials and seepage calculation for flowrate and water pressure. Several examples of flownet calculations solved in class. Measurement of soil permeability in the laboratory using the constant head test. Stresses in soils: Concepts of total stress, pore water pressure and effective stress explained and demonstrated through examples. Importance of groundwater level in the calculation of stresses. Stress changes calculated below the centre and corner of foundations, based on Fadum’s chart and Boussinesq’s formulae. Examples solved in class. Stress changes under the centre of circular footings. Settlement and Consolidation: One-dimensional compression theory of soils. Soil stiffness and settlement of soils. Calculation of settlement based on elastic theory. Consolidation of clays. Consolidation settlement and consolidation time calculated through examples. Oedometer test in the laboratory and consolidation measurement. Use of oedometer test data to calculate actual consolidation in clays and solution of practical examples for estimating foundation settlements. Site Improvement: Methods of site improvement for different site conditions, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Chemical Stabilization, Surface and Dynamic Compaction. Compaction of earthfill for engineering projects. Importance of field compaction and on-site control. Measurement of maximum dry density and optimum water content from compaction tests. | ||||||||
| Recommended and/or required reading: | |||||||||
| Textbooks |
| ||||||||
| References |
| ||||||||
| Planned learning activities and teaching methods | The course will be presented through formal lectures and tutorial sessions in class, as well as laboratory classes with hands-on experience by the students. The lectures will present to the student the course content and allow time for questions and discussion. Numerical examples are also solved in class and tutorial questions are provided for private study. Part of the material will be presented using visual aids such as powerpoint slides. The aim is to familiarize the student with the different and faster pace of presentation and also allow the instructor to present related material (photographs etc) that would otherwise be very difficult to do. Notes shall be taken by the students in class during lectures. In addition, all of the course material, including laboratory sheets, will be made available through the class website and also through the university’s own e-learning platform. Finally, the instructor will be available to students during office hours or by appointment in order to provide any necessary additional tutoring. | ||||||||
| Assessment methods and criteria |
| ||||||||
| Language of instruction | English | ||||||||
| Work placement(s) | NO | ||||||||
