Last modified: 25 Mar 2016 11:34
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.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | None. | Sustained Study | No |
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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.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
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.
There are no assessments for this course.
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.
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