Geotechnics

Period: Second semester

Course Unit Contents:  Soil formation. Properties of grains and aggregates. Difference between granular and cohesive soils. Classification systems and necessary tests (particle size analysis, Atterberg limits, etc.). Stresses and strains in soils under isotatic conditions. Water in the soil and principle of effective stresses, coupled and uncoupled soil-water behavior. Darcy's law, permeability coefficient, and its determination in the laboratory and in the field. Filtration laws and solution methods. Effects of filtration on soil stability. Natural deposition process and edometric compressibility of clayey soils. Consolidation theory and time-dependent compressibility. Application examples with settlement calculations for edometric loading conditions. Shear strength of soils and failure criteria. Laboratory tests for characterizing shear strength and deformability of soils. In-situ tests for determining the main parameters of a soil. Some applications.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods: Frontal lectures, exercises, laboratory lessons and seminars