Course No.: CE 341
Course Title: Principles of Soil Mechanics
Credit hours: 4.00
Course Type: Theory
Course Type: Compulsory
Pre-requisites (if any): CE203
Session/Calendar span: November 2023
(Engg. Geology and Geomorphology)
Course coordinator:
Offered to (L/T): L3/T1
Course Teacher(s): Dr. Sarwar Jahan Md Yasin, Dr. Abdul Jabbar Khan
Class Schedule
Dr. S J M Yasin
Dr. Abdul Jabbar Khan
Sec-A
Sat, 3rd pd.
(10:00~10:50 am)
Mon, 2nd pd.
(9:00~9:50 am)
Sun, 3rd pd.
(10:00~10:50 am)
Tue, 2nd pd.
(9:00~9:50 am)
Sec-B
Sat, 4th pd.
(11:00~11:50 am)
Mon, 1st pd.
(08:00~08:50 am)
Sun, 2nd pd.
(9:00~9:50 am)
Mon, 3rd pd.
(10:00~10:50 am)
Sec-C
Sun, 1st pd.,
(8:00~8:50 am)
Tue, 5th pd.,
(12:00~12:50 am)
Sat, 4th pd.
(11:00~11:50 am)
Mon, 1st pd.
(08:00~08:50 am)
Course Outline:
Introduction to geotechnical engineering; formation, type and identification of soils;
soil composition; soil structure and fabric; index properties of soils; engineering
classification of soils; soil compaction; principles of total and effective stresses;
permeability and seepage; stress-strain-strength characteristics of soils;
compressibility and settlement behavior of soils; lateral earth pressure; stress
distribution.
Course Outcomes (COs)
At the end of the course a student should be able toCO1
CO2
CO3
CO4
CO5
CO6
CO7
CO8
express the concept of formation, composition, structure and fabric and index
properties of soils
characterize, identify and classify different types of soils (visual-manual procedure
and engineering classification of soils)
explain the concept of shear strength of soils and to evaluate undrained shear
strength and shear strength parameters (undrained and effective) based on
laboratory tests (unconfined compression test, direct shear tests and different types
of triaxial compression tests) and field test (field vane shear test)
explain the concept of lateral earth pressure and to evaluate active and lateral earth
pressures for designing retaining structures
explain weight-volume relationships of soil and to determine compaction
characteristics of soils and their application in geotechnical design and construction
estimate seepage and thereby to evaluate stability of hydraulic structures
compute increase in vertical stress distribution below the foundation due to various
types of loading.
estimate the rate and amount of foundation settlement applying the concepts of
one-dimensional consolidation theory in geotechnical problems
C2
C4
C2, C5
C2, C5
C2, C5
C5
C3
C5
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Learning Domains
How much learning is expected in
cognitive/ affective/ psychomotor
domain in Engineering Program/
Education ?
Cognitive :
70 ~ 80%
Affective :
10 ~ 20%
Psychomotor : 10 ~ 20%
Relevant to
development of
mental skill,
acquisition and
application of
knowledge; requires
thinking
Relevant to Feelings,
Attitude, Emotion,
Interest, & Valuing
(degree of acceptance
or rejection)
Relevant to acquiring
Skills that require
integration of mental
and muscular /physical
activity/movement of
body parts
Cognitive Domain Learning Taxonomy
6. Create
5. Evaluate
4. Analyze
3. Apply
2. Understand
1. Remember
Revised Bloom’s taxonomy
Category names : Verb
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Topics
Introduction; Basic definitions and relations
soil compaction
Permeability
Principles of total and effective stresses, and
seepage
Compressibility and settlement behavior of soils
Stress distribution
Total (Including 3 class tests)
*
No. of classes
1
3
3
5+1
6+1
5
25 +3
Text Book(s):
1. Principles of Geotechnical Engineering; B.M. Das.
2. Soil Mechanics; M. Palanikumar
Reference Material (book/website):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Foundation Engineering; Ralph B. Peck, Walter E. Hanson, Thomas H. Thornburn
Physical and Geotechnical Properties of Soils; Joseph E Bowels
Geotechnical Engineering – Principles and Practices; Donald P. Coduto
Advanced Soil mechanics; B. M. Das
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering; S.K. Garg
An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering; Robert D. Holtz and William D. Kovacs
Soil Mechanics; R. F. Craig
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering; V. N. S. Murthy
Soil mechanics, also termed as géotechnique or geotechnics -- one of the younger basic civil engineering
disciplines
developed in the beginning of the 20th century
Along with Rock Mechanics provides the theoretical basis for analysis in geotechnical engineering
1776 - Coulomb -- published an important treatise on the failure of soils
1856 - Darcy -- published his famous work on the permeability of soils
1857 -Rankine -- published an article on the possible states of stress in soils
1925 - Karl Terzaghi - published in his most noted work Erdbaumechanik
(Introduction to Soil Mechanics, 1943–44).
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Lecture Schedule (Dr. Sarwar J M Yasin)
2.
Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, History of Development of Soil Mechanics, Course
Objectives
Compactions of Soils and its Specifications
3.
Determination of Field Void Ratio and In-place-density of Soil
4.
Solving Example Problems
5.
Permeability of soil, Darcy’s Principle and its limitations
6.
Factors affecting coefficient of permeability (k), and its determination in the Laboratory
Limitation of Laboratory determination of k (Cohesionless soil), Indirect method of determining k for
cohesive soil and Field Pumping Test for determining Coefficient of Permeability (k)for cohesionless
soil.
1St Class Test
1.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Principle of Effective stress, Seepage Pressure, Quick Condition
Critical Hydraulic Gradient, Conditions for Quick Sand (Boiling Condition), Materials susceptible for
quick condition
Continuity Equation and its graphical interpretations, Flow Nets construction for confined flow problem
Hydraulic force under a structure and safety of Hydraulic structure against Piping. Heaving around sheet
piles on the downstream side.
Filter design to mitigate seepage force; Solving Examples Problems
19.
2nd Class Test
Introduction of the concept of 1D-Consolidation, Normally Consolidate (NC) Clay, Over Consolidate
(OC) Clay, Over Consolidation Ratio (OCR), Causes of Over Consolidation
Determination of Preconsolidation Pressure, Consolidation Test Procedure and Step by step procedure
for establishing void ratio vs. Effective pressure from the laboratory test data
Determination of Coefficient of Compression Index (Cc) , Coefficient of Compressibility (av) and
Coefficient of Volume compressibility (mv), Settlement computation due to Primary Consolidation,
Example Problems for settlement computation
Construction of Field e-log(p) curve for NC and OC clays and settlement calculation equations for NC
and OC clays and Example problems for settlement calculation
Derivation of 1D-Consolidation Equation, Determination of time factor (Tv)
20.
Determination Coefficient of Consolidation (cv), Example problems for settlement rate calculation
21.
Causes of Secondary Consolidation and Settlement due it. Application of 3D-Consolidation (Sand Drain)
22.
3rd Class Test
23
Boussinesq’s Theory for Point Loading
24.
Stress due to Line Load of Infinite Length, Stress due to Line Load of Finite Length
25.
Stress due to Strip area Uniform Pressure and Triangular Pressure
26.
Stress due to Embankment Loading and Circular Loading
27.
Stress due to Rectangular Loading, Solving Example Problems
28.
Stress due to any arbitrary shape of Loading using Newmark’s Influence Chart
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
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Soil
Uncemented aggregate of mineral grains (solid particles) and decayed organic matter with liquid and gas
in the empty space between the solid particles.
Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical Engineering
A branch of science that deals with physical properties of soil and behaviour of soil masses
subject to various types of forces.
In Geotechnical Engineering the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics are applied for
design of foundations and earth related structures.
When a wet soil mass is examined, it is found to be a skeleton of solid particles of different
shapes and sizes forming voids between them, the voids also being of different shapes and sizes.
Three phase diagram of soil mass
V = Total volume of soil mass
Vs = Volume of solid
Vw = Volume of water
Va = Volume of air
Vv = Volume of void = Va + Vw
W = Total weight of soil mass
Ws = Weight of soil
Ww = Weight of water
V = Vs + Vv = Vs+ Vw + Va
W = W s + Ww
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