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- 1. FCE 311 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING COURSE OUTLINE AND GENERAL OVERVIEW Department of Civil & Construction Engineering University of Nairobi
- 2. Course Description • This course is an introductory part of Soil Mechanics, which focuses on soil formation, soil structures, physical properties of soils, soil classifications, soil compaction and permeability.
- 3. Student Learning Outcomes • Competence in the principles of soil mechanics • Ability to list the relevant engineering properties of soils and their characteristics and describe the factors which control these properties. • Apply laboratory methods of determining the properties of soils.
- 4. Student Learning Outcomes • Ability to identify common situations when the soil becomes a factor in an engineering or environmental problem. • Ability to apply basic analytical procedures to obtain the engineering quantity desired and understand their limitations.
- 5. Teaching Methodology and Techniques • This course relies on lectures and Power Point presentation by the lecturer. Worked examples will be offered. Students will then be required to contribute to discussions based on the explanations and will need to read the corresponding section in the assigned textbook.
- 6. Detailed Course outline: Lesson 1: • Introduction - definitions of Soil Mechanics and Soil. • Soil formation - physical and chemical weathering, residual and alluvial soils, and tropical soils.
- 7. Detailed Course outline: Lesson 2: • Clay mineralogy, soil structure, Lesson 3: • Basic properties, Phase relationships Lesson 4: Physical properties of soils, water content, specific gravity, bulk and dry densities, field densities.
- 8. Detailed Course outline: Lesson 5: • Consistency and plasticity of soils. Lesson 6: • Determination of soil properties by laboratory testing Lesson 7: • Particle size analysis and Lesson 8: Soil description and Classification
- 9. Detailed Course outline: Lesson 9: • Soil compaction, laboratory and field compaction tests. Dry density/water content/air content relationships.
- 10. Laboratory tests • Liquid Limit determination • Plastic Limit determination • Dry Density Determination using Sand Replacement • Particle Size Distribution Determination by Dry Sieving • Compaction Tests • Specific Gravity of Soils
- 11. Assessment • Lectures – Mandatory • Laboratory tests – 10% • CAT – 20% • Final Examination – 70%
- 13. Typical Geotechnical Project construction site Geo-Laboratory ~ for testing Design Office ~ for design & analysissoilsamples soil properties design details 21/07/15
- 15. Shallow Foundations 15 bed rock firm ground ~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground ~ mostly for firm soils or light loads
- 17. Deep Foundations 17 bed rock weak soil P I L E ~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground ~ mostly for weak soils or heavy loads
- 18. Deep Foundations 18 Driven timber piles
- 19. Retaining Walls 19 ~ for retaining soils from spreading laterally Road Train retaining wall
- 20. Earth Dams 20 ~ for impounding water soil reservoir clay core shell
- 22. Concrete Dams 22 Three Gorges Dam, Hong Kong
- 23. Concrete Dams 23
- 24. Earthworks 24 Roadwork ~ preparing the ground prior to construction
- 25. Geofabrics 25 ~ used for reinforcement, separation, filtration and drainage in roads, retaining walls, embankments… Geofabrics used Isiolo Airport
- 26. Reinforced Earth Walls 26 ~ using geofabrics to strengthen the soil
- 27. Soil Nailing 27 ~ steel rods placed into holes drilled into the walls and grouted
- 28. Sheet Piles 28 ~ sheets of interlockingsteel or timber driven into the ground, forming a continuous sheet ship warehouse sheet pile
- 29. Sheet Piles 29 ~ resist lateral earth pressures ~ used in excavations, waterfront structures, ..
- 30. Sheet Piles 30 ~ used in temporary works
- 31. Cofferdam 31 ~ sheet pile walls enclosing an area, to prevent water seeping in
- 32. Landslides 32
- 33. Tunneling 33
- 34. Blasting 34 For ore recovery in mines
- 35. Ground Improvement 35 Impact Roller to Compact the Ground
- 36. Ground Improvement 36 Sheepsfoot Roller to Compact Clay Soils
- 38. Ground Improvement 38 Big weights dropped from 25 m, compacting the ground. Craters formed in compaction
- 39. Environmental Geomechanics 39 Waste Disposal in Landfills
- 40. Instrumentation 40 ~ to monitor the performances of earth and earth supported structures ~ to measure loads, pressures, deformations, strains,…
- 41. Soil Testing Cone Penetration Test Truck
- 42. Soil Testing More Field Tests Standard Penetration TestVane Shear Test
- 43. Soil Testing 43Triaxial Test on Soil Sample in Laboratory
- 44. Soil Testing 44Variety of Field Testing Devices
- 45. Typical Safety Factors 45 Type of Design Safety Factor Probability of Failure Earthworks 1.3-1.5 1/500 Retaining structures 1.5-2.0 1/1500 Foundations 2.0-3.0 1/5000
- 46. Great Contributors to the Developments in Geotechnical Engineering
- 47. Karl Terzaghi 1883-1963 C.A.Coulomb 1736-1806 WJM Rankine 1820-1872 A.Casagrande 1902-1981 L. Bjerrum 1918-1973 A.W.Skempton 1914- G.F.Sowers 1921-1996 G.A. Leonards 1921-1997
- 49. Leaning Tower of Pisa 49 Our blunders become monuments!
- 50. Hoover Dam, USA 50 Tallest (221 m) concrete dam
- 51. Petronas Tower, Malaysia 51 Tallest building in the world
- 54. Geo-engineering at UoN 54 FCE 311 Geotechnical Engineering I FCE 411 Geotechnical Engineering II FCE 511 Geotechnical Engineering III PostGraduate Geotechnical Engineering
- 55. Practicals 55 ~ five practical sessions ~ closed footwear must be worn in the lab
- 56. Some Suggestions 56 Attend the lectures. Develop a good feel for the subject. It takes longer to understand from the lecture notes It is practical, interesting and makes lot of sense.
Editor's Notes
- Cofferdams are often used in temporary works, to enclose the construction area within a continuous sheet pile wall around and protect it from water entering from outside.
- Finally, proof of the pudding is in the eating. Very often we monitor the performances of foundations, tie backs, embankments etc. for a long time after construction, to verify that it is performing to our expectations. Geotechnical engineering involves lots of uncertainty in the soil properties used in the designs and the theories. Instrumentation is a popular method to verify the theories, assumptions, construction methods etc.