PURPOSE OF GEOTECHNICS Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Examples of geotechnical problems ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE AND DOCUMENTATION Approach Development of classes Requirements, objectives, program and literature Evaluation

Specific Objectives

ITEM 1. Basic knowledge of the main types of problems encountered and solved in the subject and general aspects of its organization (focus, development of classes, programs, literature and evaluation).

Dedication

1.1 PHASES OF THE SOIL AND PARAMETRES. 1.2 THE SIZE OF SOLID PARTICLES. GRANULOMETRY 1.3 CONSISTENCY OF THE SOIL. ATTERBERG'S LIMITS. CHARTS OF PLASTICITY 1.4 SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM Exercises, supplemented by additional concepts of theory

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability and solving exercises related to the quantification of the state of a soil. Determination of the relationship between weight and volume of different phases within it. The student must understand that soil is a porous medium in which the interstices left by the mineral particles that compose it (solid phase) may be liquid water and/or air (liquid or gas phases, respectively). Must meet the tests aimed at identifying and classifying a real soil with the classification criteria accepted in the geotechnical environment and some aspects of deformation and movement of water within the soil explained intuitively to liaise with the concepts introduced in item 4. Practice and deepening of concepts, knowledge and developments

Dedication

2.1 BASIC CONCEPTS OF CONTINUUM MECHANICS 2.2 MOHR CIRCLES 2.3 TOTAL AND EFFECTIVE STRESS 2.4 LAMBE AND CAMBRIDGE STRESS REPRESENTATION 2.5 CONCEPTS OF ELASTICITY AND PLASTICITY 2.6 EXAMPLES OF STRESS PATHS. ELASTIC SOLUTIONS Exercises, supplemented by additional concepts of theory

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability and problem solving exercises in relation to the following: stress units in the SI and others, total stress and effective stress, Mohr circle, invariant matrix stresses and strains, paths of stresses in invariant planes (confinement and shear stress), and one-dimensional stress conditions. Justification by matrix algebra equations of tangential normal stress on a plane of arbitrary slope, and the invariants of the matrix stress and strain. Knowledge of typical values and orders of magnitude of vertical and horizontal stresses in a soil due to weight-saturated conditions. Practice and deepening of concepts, knowledge and developments

Dedication

Basic identification and classification of soils. Visual and tactile identification and classification and determination of basic geotechnical parameters (grain size distribution, Atterberg limits and unified clasification of soils). Water flow in saturated soil. Concepts of flow, unit flow, hydraulic gradient, permeability, critical gradient and flotation. Determination of the permeability with constant and variable head permeameters and experimental determination of the critical gradient achieving flotation. Compaction and oedometer and triaxial tests. Consolidation and strength of compacted soils. Compaction methods and curve. Collapse and swelling and shear strength of compacted soils.

Specific Objectives

Direct experimenting with soils of different types and characteristics and knowledge, understanding and capability of visual and tactile identification of soils and of the experimental determination of basic geotechnical parameters (grain size distribution, Atterberg limits and unified clasification). Experimenting with water flow in saturated soil and knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability with the concepts of flow, unit flow, hydraulic gradient, permeability, critical gradient and flotation and of the determination of permeability with constant and variable head permeameters and of the critical gradient achieving flotation Direct experimenting with soil compaction and compacted soils in oedometer and triaxial tests and knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability with the compaction of soils, the phenomena of collapse and swelling and the development of standard triaxial and oedometer tests.

Dedication

3.1 TRIAXIAL TEST 3.2 OEDOMETRIC TEST 3.3 SHEAR TEST 3.4 EXPERIMENTAL BEHAVIOUR OF SAND AND CLAYS Exercises and problems complemented with additional concepts of theory

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability on the experimental techniques mostly used in soil mechanics. Knowledge and understanding of the determination of the value of the parameters used in soil behavior models under arbitrary stress states and of the relationship between actual soil behavior and the idealized models used to study it. Knowledge and understanding of different types of tests: identification, permeability and mechanical. As for the latter group, differentiation of tests imposing a certain state of stress and measuring the deformations (oedometer test) from those that, additionally, reach the failure state of the soil (triaxial and direct shear tests). Practice and deepening of the concepts, knowledge and developments

Dedication

Dedication

4.1. BASIC CONCEPTS: SURFACE TENSION AND CAPILLARY ASCENSION 4.2 THE EFFECT OF SUCTION ON UNSATURATED SOILS 4.3 COMPACTED SOILS AND PROCTOR TEST

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability of the most relevant aspects of soil properties in unsaturated state, the concept of suction and its application to soil retention curves, the definition of effective stress, the phenomena of collapse and swelling, the description of specific laboratory tests for these soils, the compaction curve and the process of compaction in practice, including various procedures, how the compaction conditions influence the final characteristics of compacted soil and the control methods.

Dedication

5.1 INTRODUCTION 5.2 CRITICAL STATE CONSTITUTIVE MODEL: CAM CLAY 5.3 MOHR-COULOMB SHEAR STRENGTH 5.4 UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH 5.5 LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM AND SAFETY FACTOR OF A SLOPE Exercises and problems, supplemented with additional concepts from theory

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability and exercise and problem solving concerning triaxial tests both on sands and clays (including the determination of drained and undrained modulus of deformation), representing results of triaxial tests through paths in stress invariant planes (determination of the strength obtained in a test, including the drained and undrained concepts) and in the void ratio versus stress plane, pore pressure generation in undrained tests (determination of Skempton parameter from tests), Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion (cohesion and internal friction angle), undrained shear strength (justification and calculation), constitutive equations (function and necessity), elastic and elasto-plastic models (concept, foundations and basic equations); and Cam-Clay model (approach, development and reproduction of typical behaviors). Knowledge of typical values and orders of magnitude of the internal friction angle, undrained shear strength and dilatancy parameters and of specific models for different soil types and different states of them. Knowledge of some relationships between soil moisture and strength and between the earth pressure coefficient at rest and the friction angle of soils. Practice and deepening of the concepts, knowledge and development

Dedication

6.1 HYDRAULIC HEAD AND WATER TABLE 6.2 EQUATION OF WATER CONTINUITY AND DARCY LAW. 6.3 SEEPAGE FORCES, CRITICAL GRADIENT AND LIQUEFACTION 6.4 GRAPHICAL METHOD FOR FLOW PROBLEMS Exercises and problems, supplemented with additional concepts of theory

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability and problem solving of exercises in relation to the following: concepts of flow and water flow, hydraulic head, Darcy law, permeability, aquifers, equivalent permeability and flow in layered soil, flotation, hydraulic and critic gradients, interpretation of all types of flow networks in saturated soil (flow, hydraulic gradients, pore pressure) and determination of graphical flow networks and excavation drainage (in the excavation itself, with wells or with well-pints) in simple cases (isotropic saturated and homogeneous soils or simple heterogeneous and anisotropic soils). Knowledge of typical values and orders of magnitude of permeability of soils, and flotation situations (critical hydraulic gradients, and pore and total pressure, etc.).. Knowledge and understanding of the concepts of water table, 'filtration forces', and drains and filters, earth dams and the equations of motion and water flow. Practice and deepening of concepts, knowledge and developments

Dedication

7.1. COMPONENTS OF SOIL DEFORMATION. CONSOLIDATION 7.2. PRIMARY CONSOLIDATION PROCESS 7.3. EQUATION OF PRIMARY CONSOLIDATION. SOIL DEFORMATION IN OEDOMETRIC CONDITIONS 7.4. ONE-DIMENSIONAL EQUATION OF CONSOLIDATION. NON-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH. DEGREE OF CONSOLIDATION 7.5. SOLUTION OF THE EQUATION OF THE VERTICAL FLOW WITH ONE-DIMENSIONAL CONSOLIDATION 7.5.1. Uniformly distributed load on finite strata 7.5.2. Variation of piezometric levels in finite layer 7.5.3. Approximate expression for the degree of consolidation 7.5.4. Variable external load 7.6. SIMPLIFIED APPROACH CASES WITH NO VERTICAL FLOW 7.6.1. Radial consolidation 7.6.2. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional consolidation 7.7. SECONDARY CONSOLIDATION Exercises and problems complemented with additional concepts from theory

Specific Objectives

Knowledge, understanding and reasoning ability and problem solving of exercises in relation to pore pressures, recoverable and irrecoverable deformations measured with different parameters and degrees of consolidation and settlements produced in various cases of soil stratigraphy and draining or impervious bottom layers in primary consolidation processes upon the effect of external loads and / or variations in piezometric heights in oedometric conditions, and with the approximate approach of radial, two-dimensional and three dimensional consolidation. Knowledge of typical values and orders of magnitude of coefficients of compressibility, oedometric modules and coefficients of consolidation of different soil types and for different conditions. Knowledge and understanding of the components of soil deformation and of the concepts of instantaneous and delayed deformations with time and with effective stress, the processes of primary and secondary consolidation, the equations of primary consolidation (soil deformation in oedometric conditions) and one-dimensional consolidation in dimensional and dimensionless terms, the solution of the equation of one-dimensional consolidation for vertical flow produced by uniformly distributed load on finite layer and changes in piezometric levels, the approach for variable external load, and the secondary consolidation. Practice and deepening of concepts, knowledge and development

Dedication