Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
Level and Major: Undergraduate
Course Title: Soil Mechanics
Prerequisite: Strength of Materials (I), Engineering Geology
Division: Civil Engineering
Number of Credits: 3
Lecturer: Prof. Mir Mohammad Hosseini
Course Description:
The course introduces soil mechanics and foundation engineering to the students; teaches the
students how to solve certain fundamental problems related to consolidation, shear strength, and
design of shallow and deep foundations; and familiarizes students with relevant terms and soil tests
so that they can work effectively with geotechnical engineering specialists. The course features soil
basics, including their derivation, identification and classification. The principles of water flow in
soils, settlement and heave, and shear strength of soils will be discussed. Consolidation problems,
factors of safety for foundations, and foundation settlement prediction will also be covered.
Course Goals and Objectives:
An introduction to the basic principles and fundamental concepts of soils behavior based on their
physical-mechanical attributes and considering their application in engineering problems.
Course Topics
 Weight-volume relations of soils
 Soils identification and classification
 Soils compaction
 Water flow in the soil
 Stress distribution in soil
 Soil consolidation
 Mohr's circle and soil shear resistance
The course aims to
Evaluate and classify soils including soil and water weight-volume relationships.
Evaluate the state of stress and shear strength of a soil mass.
Estimate seepage volume and settlement through a compressible soil mass.
Find the bearing capacity of shallow and deep foundations.
Compute the footing thickness required for a building system.
Identify and calculate the parameters needed for the design of foundations, including footing
settlement, end bearing of piles, and earth pressure coefficients.
Reading Resources
1. Das, B. M. and Sobhan K. (2014). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering. 8 th Edition,
Cengage Learning, Stamford, CT, USA
2. Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice, 3rd Edition Karl Terzaghi,
1
Evaluation
Quizes 5%
Homework 15%
Midterm 30%
Final 50%
2