production
Skip to Content

EG3027: GEOTECHNICS 1A (2014-2015)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

 

Aimed principally at students interested in civil engineering. It aims to familiarise students with the fundamental concepts involved in soil mechanics and engineering geology. The first course in the civil engineering programme that includes the importance of soil mechanics and therefore foundations in the structural design. The main emphasis is understanding the main principles of soil mechanics through the introduction of laboratory tests commonly used to obtain the engineering properties of different types of soil such as sand and clay. Discussion of the consequences of some soil failures (such as in the case of Tower of Pisa) are also introduced.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term First Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Ana Ivanovic

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

None.

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The course provides an introduction to engineering geology covering topics such as the formation and classification of rocks, weathering processes, plate tectonics, aggregates, groundwater, fluvial and coastal processes and site investigation.  The main part of the course is devoted to a study of the engineering behaviour of soils.  This commences with origin of soil through the introduction to soil classification and a description of the phase composition of soils.  Following a study of the shear strength of soils and consolidation aspects of foundation engineering are covered such as stress distribution, bearing capacity and settlement of foundations.

Further Information & Notes

Available only to students following an Honours degree programme.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination paper worth 90% of the final mark and laboratory log book assessment worth 10% of the final course mark.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Feedback

The course includes a laboratory exercise associated with experimental tests of soil for which the students will be given a feedback. Students can receive feedback on their progress with the Course on request at the weekly tutorial/feedback sessions. A class feedback will be given on a mini SCEF forms run half way throughout the course.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

Compatibility Mode

We have detected that you are have compatibility mode enabled or are using an old version of Internet Explorer. You either need to switch off compatibility mode for this site or upgrade your browser.