Core MSc modules common to all five MSc courses (Soil Mechanics, Soil
Mechanics & Engineering Seismology, Soil Mechanics & Environmental
Geotechnics, Soil Mechanics & Business Management, Soil Mechanics &
Sustainable Development
CONSOLIDATION AND SEEPAGE
LECTURER Dr C O’Sullivan (Room 528A);
30 hours of contact time (lectures and tutorials)
INTRODUCTION
This course includes lectures, tutorials, group work and pc lab sessions. The subject is
dealt with in a theoretical and analytical manner, yet ties in with many of the more
practical applied courses to be studied this year.
The subject deals with the flow of water in compressible and incompressible soil strata.
Particular attention is given to the formulation of the governing equations, boundary
conditions and to their use in the solution of engineering problems.
The course will enable the student to formulate, in a realistic way, the solutions to real
engineering problems; either by direct analytical or numerical methods.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course is broken down into the following sections:
Introductory session covering what is to be studied and why.
Principle of effective stress.
Physical phenomenon observed in the field.
Flow of water through soil - physics of flow, Darcy's law, covering history, experimental
determination, mathematical derivation and its validity.
Continuity and volume change.
Development of Terzaghi 1xD, Terzaghi-Rendulic 3xD, and Biot consolidation
equations.
Develop seepage equations - Laplace equation.
Solutions and boundary conditions (confined and unconfined):
a.
1xD consolidation - Fourier series and Laplace transform, introducing the
time factor Tv and the degree of consolidation U; time stepping finite
difference solutions.
b.
2xD and 3xD approaches from Carrillo and Barron assumptions for drains.
c.
Seepage - finite element, finite difference, flow net, aquifer and pumping
well solutions including Dupuit's assumption.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
Lamb and Whitman. Soil Mechanics. (Wiley)
Terzaghi, Peck and Mesri. Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. (Wiley)
Verruijt. Groundwater Flow. (Macmillan).
Other books and papers which have some relevance will be mentioned in the lecture
courses.
STRENGTH AND DEFORMATION
SUBJECT LECTURER Professor J B Burland (Room 502)
30 hours of contact time (lectures and tutorials)
INTRODUCTION
In geotechnical engineering we are dealing with a highly complex range of materials.
Unlike most other construction materials, the geotechnical engineer has to make do with
what nature has provided. Because of their particulate nature and the wide ranges of
particle sizes, shapes, grading and packing arrangements, the development of
mathematical models to describe and predict the behaviour of soils is a difficult and
challenging task. Developing an understanding of the mechanical properties of soils
forms an important part of geotechnical engineering.
The aim of this course is to explore, in some detail, the mechanical properties of soils
and to develop appropriate mathematical models to describe and predict the
engineering behaviour of the ground. By the end of the course you will be familiar with
modern approaches to determining the strength and stiffness of soils and the
application of these properties in practice.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Topic
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The concept of effective stress.
Concepts of stress and strain, stress paths and earth pressure at rest.
Shear strength and failure criteria.
Drained strength of sands and clays, peak, post-rupture and residual strength,
the Critical State Concept, the work of Hvorslev.
Ideal porous elastic materials.
Compressibility of natural clays.
The Critical State framework and the work of Rendulic.
Elastic-plastic volume change of clays.
Undrained strength.
The stress-strain behaviour of clays.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS FOR BOTH COURSES
The course is self contained with full notes, but students are referred to the following
basic texts:
ATKINSON and BRANSBY, The Mechanics of Soils, McGraw-Hill (out of print but
copies in Library).
ATKINSON, An Introduction to the Mechanics of Soils and Foundations, McGraw-Hill.
CRAIG, Soil Mechanics, Spon Press, seventh edition.
LAMB and WHITMAN, Soil Mechanics, Wiley.
MUIR WOOD, Soil Behaviour and Critical State Soil Mechanics, Cambridge.
MITCHELL, Fundamentals of Soil Behaviour, Wiley.
PARRY, Mohr Circles, Stress Paths and Geotechnics, Spon, second edition.
TERZAGHI, PECK and MESRI, Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice, Wiley.
Other books and papers which have some relevance will be mentioned in the lecture
courses.
EMBANKMENTS & EARTHWORKS
SUBJECT CO-ORDINATOR Dr J R Standing (Room 528B)
COURSE TEACHERS Dr J R Standing (Room 528B) and Professor R J Jardine (Room
530)
21 contact hours (lectures and tutorials)
COURSE STRUCTURE
About 17 hours of lectures and contact time in the Spring Term.
LECTURE CONTENTS
The course deals with the principles of soil mechanics as applied to earthworks and
embankments, including water-retaining embankments. Topics dealt with are the pore
pressures generated in fills during construction, in long-term operation and in reservoir
operation, and the boundary conditions which give rise to them; the properties of all
types of fill materials, and the influence of construction techniques on these properties;
the effect of weather conditions on fill placing; and materials which cause problems in
earth-moving.
The course includes lectures, supported by tutorial sessions on soft clay foundation
engineering. The principal focus of the course is on embankments, but much of the
material is also relevant to cuttings, tunnels and other foundation problems. The topics
covered include: genesis of soft clays; mechanical properties and permeability; pore
pressure and ground deformation response to loading; aspects of consolidation; vertical
drains; single stage and multi-stage stability; field monitoring and case histories.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
None. Full course notes will be given.
STABILITY OF SOIL SLOPES
SUBJECT CO-ORDINATOR: Dr Stavroula Kontoe (Room 535)
LECTURERS: Dr Stavroula Kontoe (Room 535), Dr Clark Fenton (Room 534)
21 hours of contact time (lectures and tutorials)
INTRODUCTION
The course is designed to provide a detailed background to slope stability studies. It
includes discussion of the classification of mass movement and landslide types, a
thorough review of limit equilibrium methods of stability analysis, and detailed
discussions of current ideas of the conditions leading to the failure of soil slopes.
Methods of investigating existing slopes and landslides, and of the main methods of
slope design and stabilisation are reviewed.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course comprises about 21 contact hours of lectures and tutorials during the Spring
Term. The lectures are grouped as follows:
Lecture group 1 (SK)
Classification of 'Mass Movement'.
Landslide classification: geomorphological
classification by liquidity index of sliding soil, geometry and/or morphology; geotechnical
classification by degree of 'drainage', and as 'first-time' or reactivated movement.
Lecture group 2 (SK)
General methods of stability analysis. Simplified and rigorous limit equilibrium analysis
of planar, circular and non-circular movements.
Lecture group 3 (CHF, SK)
Slope and landslide investigation and instrumentation. Location of shear surfaces;
movement observations. Slope stabilisation methods: ground profile modification,
drainage, retaining structures, other methods.
Lecture group 4 (SK)
Case studies. 'First-time' landslides and theories of landslide generation: 'softening' and
progressive failure. Factors to be considered for design: rate effects, anisotropy,
sample-size, etc. Landslide reactivation and residual strength.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
Ambranson, L W, Lee T S, Sharma S and Boyce G M (2002) “Slope stability and
stabilization methods” 2nd edition. Wiley, N Y.
Bromhead, E N (1992) “The stability of slopes”, Blackie A & P, London.
Duncan, J M and Wright S G (2005) “Soil Strength and Slope Stability”, Wiley, N J.
FOUNDATIONS
LECTURER Dr Lidija Zdravkovic (Room 532)
21 hours of contact time
INTRODUCTION
The course draws extensively on the material covered in the first term particularly on the
strength and deformation of soils. The objectives of the course are to provide a revision
of the fundamentals of foundation analysis, in particular bearing capacity theory, and
then to introduce students to the most recent developments in foundation analysis and
design.
COURSE STRUCTURE
16 lectures and 5 tutorials
TOPIC
Behaviour of design and foundations
Bearing Capacity
Pile foundations
Types of Piles and Defects
Piles in Clay
Negative Friction
Bored Piles
Pile Groups
Piles in Sand
Lateral Loading of Piles
Pile Testing Procedure
Settlement
Elastic Stresses Beneath Loaded Areas
Elastic Displacement Theory
Methods of Settlement Prediction on Clays
Accuracy of 1xD Settlement Predictions for Stiff 'Elastic' Materials
Accuracy of 1xD Settlement Predictions on Soft Normally Consolidated Materials
Settlement on Sand and Granular Materials
Serviceability and Damage
Soil/Structure Interaction
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
FLEMING, W G K et al, Piling Engineering, 2nd ed, Surrey University Press.
CRAIG, R F, Soil Mechanics, 5th ed, Van Nostrand, Reinhold (UK)
TOMLINSON, M, Foundation Design and Construction, 6th ed, Longman Scientific and
Technical & WHITAKER, T The Design of Piled Foundations, Pergamon Press
EARTH PRESSURES
LECTURER Professor D M Potts (Room 505)
17 lectures and 4 tutorials
INTRODUCTION
This course covers the design and analysis of a variety of different earth retaining
structures. In particular it considers: types of retaining structure, design requirements,
Rankine states of stress, Coulomb method, approximate methods using current failure
surfaces. Mobilisation of earth pressures. Layered soils. Water pressures. Tension
cracks. Earth pressures due to surcharges. Earth pressures due to compaction.
Design of gravity retaining walls. Design of embedded cantilever walls. Design of
propped/anchored embedded cantilever walls, effect of prop position, effect of wall
stiffness. Multi propped/anchored walls, the critical height of a vertical cut, the critical
depth of excavation, prop loads and bending moments, numerical methods.
COURSE STRUCTURE
16 lectures and 5 tutorials
TOPICS
Classification of earth retaining structures.
Design requirements.
Mobilisation of earth pressure.
Gravity walls.
Embedded cantilever walls.
Single propped embedded cantilever walls.
Multi-propped walls.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
None. Full course notes will be given.
ANALYSIS AND CONSTITUTIVE MODELLING
LECTURER Dr L Zdravkovic (Room 532)
33 hours of contact time (lectures and tutorials)
INTRODUCTION
The course begins by considering general design requirements, fundamental theoretical
considerations and conventional methods of analysis used in geotechnical design. The
majority of the course then concentrates on finite element analysis: the full theoretical
background of the finite element method is derived for linear materials in 2D problems;
the necessary adjustments are then explained for the method to be used for analysing
nonlinear problems; the boundary conditions specific to geotechnical problems are
presented; elastic and elasto-plastic constitutive laws for soil behaviour are introduced;
the necessary requirements for 3D analysis are presented; finally some restrictions and
pitfalls of the method are illustrated to point out that method is good and viable only if
used in the correct way.
The objective of the course is to arm students with sufficient knowledge about finite
element analysis so that they can assess and compare the capabilities of available
commercial software, as well as to judge the credibility of numerical results that they
may obtain, or review, in the future.
COURSE STRUCTURE
24 lectures
9 tutorials
TOPICS
Geotechnical analysis
Finite element theory for linear materials
Geotechnical considerations
Elastic constitutive models
Elasto-plastic behaviour
Simple elasto-plastic models
Nonlinear finite element analysis
3D analysis
Restrictions and pitfalls.
RECOMMENDED TEXT
Potts D M and Zdravkovic, L (1999). Finite element analysis in geotechnical
engineering: Theory, Thomas Telford, London.
A full set of lecture notes will also be provided.
LABORATORY AND FIELD TECHNIQUES
SUBJECT CO-ORDINATOR Professor R J Jardine (Room 530)
INTRODUCTION
The course describes the techniques used to characterise soil properties and quantify
the mechanical behaviour of soils.
COURSE STRUCTURE
30 contact hours (25 lectures and 5 tutorials) over the Autumn term
LECTURERS
Professor R J Jardine
(RJJ - Room 530)
In addition, half-day practical laboratory sessions are undertaken; these are organised
by Professor M Coop. Two colloquia are held in which the students present summaries
of their practical soil mechanics work.
LECTURE CONTENTS
Lectures
1-8
Lecturer
RJJ
Topics
Drilling
and
sampling;
in-situ
testing
and
interpretation: SPT; vane; cone; pressuremeter.
Measurement of soil suction.
9 - 17
RJJ
Field
instrumentation;
settlement
gauges;
extensometers; inclinometers; piezometers etc;
measurements of in-situ stresses and permeabilities;
suction measurements and air entry.
18 - 25
RJJ
Laboratory methods: role and scope of lab tests;
fundamentals of stress-strain and strength measurements; minimising errors for forces,
stresses, pore pressures and strains; transducers and control systems; practical
applications.
GROUND INVESTIGATION
INTRODUCTION
The Engineering Geology Course comprises three main elements; Ground Profiles,
Ground Investigation, Engineering Geology of Soils and Rocks and field work. Further
details are given below.
SUBJECT CO-ORDINATOR Dr C H Fenton (Room 534)
INTRODUCTION
This course explains, by example, the reasons why a correct description of the profile of
strata on site is crucial for safe and economic ground engineering presents a rationale
for the design of ground investigations.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course starts with 6 hours of lectures, supported by field work later in the term
when the principles of soil description will be practised. This forms the first part of the
course in which the geological factors that can influence the design of a ground
investigation are considered. These are based upon the need to create a conceptual
model of the ground and its response to natural and engineered change. The course
describes the types of data that have to be used (qualitative and quantitative) and how
they may be employed to assist engineering design. The course is supported by field
trips to Kent and Bristol during the First Term.
LECTURERS
Prof J B Burland - (JBB Room 502)
Dr C H Fenton - (CHF Room 534)
LECTURE CONTENTS
Lectures
Lecturer
Week 2
JBB
Week 3
CHF
Topics
Significance of profiles and engineering description of
soils
Design of Ground Investigation & Ground Models
Week 4
CHF
Possible site visit
Week 5
CHF
Desk studies and Walk-over surveys
Week 6
CHF
Maps and sections
Week 7
CHF
Week 8
CHF
Site Investigation - Aspects of Invasive Ground
Investigation
Uncertainty and Risk Management
Week 9
CHF
Soils & the Quaternary Environment
Week 10
CHF
Parameter Determination
Week 11
CHF
Ground Investigation Tutorial (In-class coursework)