General description of natural materials. Soils. Formation, estructure, sedimentary basins, residual soils, cemented soils. Hard soils and soft rocks. Discontinuities in masive rocks.Creep. Geomechanical analisys: continuum media, discrete elements, joints.

Specific Objectives

An introduction to geomaterials is carried out.

Dedication

Flow and deformation coupling. Formulation based on displacements and pressures. Undrained conditions, undrained shear strength. Consolidation. Drained conditions. Extension of the coupled formulation to the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of porous media (including vapour migration). Generalized constitutive laws for mechanical, hydraulic and thermal. Introduction to numerical methods in geotecnical analysis. Excavation and construction of elements. Initial stresses. Mesh extension. Structural elements. Application to cases that use simple models in order to become familiar with boundary value problems, initial conditions and boundary conditions, intervals, structural elements, properties of programs.

Specific Objectives

Development of the formulation Development of the formulation. To be able to incorporate of eliminate terms associated to processes depending on the type of problems to be solved. To learn the basic aspects of numerical methods applied for the solution of geotechnical problems. Practical session to introduce geotechnical modelling.

Dedication

Stress strain response of clays. Critical state theory and Cam-clay model Typical behaviour fo sands. State parameters. Liquefaction. Cyclic movility. Analitical and numerical simulation of oedometric and triaxial tests in saturated soils using coupled models.

Specific Objectives

To understant the experimental response of argilaceous soils subjected to a general stress-strain path. To be able to anticipate, in a qualitative way, the response in a laboratory experiment. Understanding the experimental response of granular soils subjected to general stress-strain solicitations. To be able to anticipate, in a qualitative way, the response in a laboratory experiment. To learn using modelling tools and its application to simulate laboratory tests including parameter determination and stablishing the capabilities and limitations of the equations considered.

Dedication

Suction. Behaviour of unsaturated soils: expansion and collapse deformations. Elastic models. State variables. Models for unsaturated geomaterials. Barcelona Basic Model and other models. Swelling and collapse. Shear strength. Expansive and collapsible soils. Soil structure. Compaction criteria and representation of compaction in the models. Swelling pressure. Simulation of oedometric and triaxial tests in unsaturated soils using coupled models. Embankment construction, effect of rain. Earth dam construction, reservoir filling and rapid drawdown.

Specific Objectives

To introduce the basic concepts of unsaturated soils, and the deformations proces taking place. To show the different state variables that can be used in constitutive models according to different model capabilities. To describe the derivation of models for unsaturated geomaterials and to understand the physical processes that help to derive the macroscopic models. To understand the processes of expansión/swelling in soils, the applications that can be considered or the problems that may appear due to expansion/swelling in soils, how the structure is modified during swelling and collapse, and how these processes are represented in constitutive models. To reach, by means of practice, the knowledge of the response of unsaturated and saturated soils and the models that can be used to reproduce the response against loading and inundation proceses.

Dedication

Behaviour of bonded soils. Results of oedometric and triaxial tests. Description of processes causing the bonding and their influence on the response of geomaterials. Extension of models to incorporate bonding. Introduction of the concept of residual strength. Softening by bonding degradation. Drained and undrained conditions. Progressive failure. Application to slope failure.

Specific Objectives

Understanding the mechanisms that explain the features observed in cemented/bonded soils. To understand how the mehanisms are related with the stress-strain response. To stablish the way that constitutive models can be modified to incorporate the effect of soil bonding, starting from basic models usually applied in geotechnique. Failure of some geotechnical structures can only be explained by means of progressive failure. For this, models that incorporate a stress-strain curve with a residual strength after the peak-strength can be used.

Dedication

Behaviour of soils at small strains. Nonlinear elasticity. Characterization by means of geofisical testing and laboratory resonant column. Application of small strain elasticity theory for the analysis of history cases such as tunnels in urban areas. Instrumentation systems.

Specific Objectives

To introduce the deviations that occur on the elastic response of the geomaterials at zones that undergo small strain, for instance, because these are far from the zone of larger influence. To understand, based on applications, the effects that may induce the variable stiffness of the ground depending the solicitation level, on the movements of geotechnical constructions, mainly on the underground constructions.

Dedication

Global Evaluation

Dedication

Structural anisotropy in soils and soft rocks. Induced anisotropy. Mechanical and hydraulic anisotropy. Static liquefaction and liquefaction under cyclic loading. Models for geomaterials including dynamic effects. Thermal behaviour of soils. Frozen soils. Vapour in soils. Thermo-hidro-mecanical problems. Creep in soils and rocks. Physical processes that explain creep of geomaterials. Secondary consolidation.

Specific Objectives

To understand the causes for mechanical and hydraulic anisotropy that occur in geomaterials. To understand the liquefaction phenomenon, and to learn the engineering aspects that are involved. To understand and apply non-isothermal conditions to geomaterials. To understand and apply processes associated to delayed response of geomaterials.

Dedication

Particular aspects of geotechnical analisis using finite element method.Coupled and uncoupled analysis. History cases, modelling methodology, assumptions to develop a geotechnical model from a real case.

Specific Objectives

To be able ot determine the added value that a numerical analysis may bring to the study of a geotechnical problem and to be able to determine the level of complexity required in the model (processes, dimensionality, constitutive models). To be able to transform a real problem into a model. Proces of model verification and validation.

Dedication