Course syllabus adopted 2022-02-11 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).
Overview
- Swedish nameGeoteknik
- CodeACE235
- Credits7.5 Credits
- OwnerTKGBS
- Education cycleFirst-cycle
- Main field of studyGlobal systems, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- ThemeEnvironment 1 c
- DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
- GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail
Course round 1
- Teaching language Swedish
- Application code 74117
- Maximum participants15
- Block schedule
- Open for exchange studentsNo
- Only students with the course round in the programme overview.
Credit distribution
Module | Sp1 | Sp2 | Sp3 | Sp4 | Summer | Not Sp | Examination dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0122 Examination, part A 3 c Grading: TH | 3 c | 0 c | 0 c | 0 c | 0 c | 0 c |
|
| 0222 Project, part B 4.5 c Grading: UG | 4.5 c | 0 c | 0 c | 0 c | 0 c | 0 c |
In programmes
Examiner
Mats Karlsson- Senior Lecturer, Geology and Geotechnics, Architecture and Civil Engineering
Eligibility
General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Specific entry requirements
The same as for the programme that owns the course.Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Aim
The overall aim is to understand the role of geotechnics and the geotechnical setting in built environment and sustainable development. Within the course the students gain technical knowledge, tools and system level understanding of soil mechanics, geotechnics and geotechnical construction. As part of the course, scientific and theories are presented and developed, in conjunction with empirical techniques to describe and model the behaviour of soil and groundwater for the design of geotechnical structures. All construction must be founded on soils and rocks, which are variable natural materials and hence entails uncertainties, i.e. in material properties, methods of analyses and various geotechnical concepts. The uncertainties stem from different sources: they can be of geological origin, or caused by issues in site investigation and laboratory techniques etc. The course is part of the natural progression in the topic area of "ground resources and construction in the ground".Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
Engineering geology:
- Assessing different soil layers and how they have been formed with a focus on geotechnical applications.
Solid mechanics:
- Be able to describe and know Hooke's Law and common failure criteria used in geotechnical engineering in particular.
Soil Mechanics:- Assess the characteristics of soils and rocks based on field and laboratory investigations for foundations and infrastructure construction.
- Assess groundwater conditions linked to construction and utilities.
- Calculate stresses in soil.
- Describe the deformation properties for the one-dimensional deformation analyses with respect to the soil's stress history.
- Assess and apply the strength of soil in drained and undrained conditions.
Geotechnical application:
- Summarize principles for the design process in relation to e.g. Eurocodes.
- Describe briefly the different types of foundation methods and ground improvement techniques and their linkage with economy, the CO2 impact and sustainable development.
- Perform settlement analyses for the design of foundations under vertical loads.
- Perform simplistic analysis of slope stability, and demonstrate awareness on how climate change can affect stability problems.
- Perform earth pressure calculations of retaining structures for simple cases during undrained and drained conditions, and determine the length of the wall and the forces is the supports
Content
Engineering geology:
- Introduction to basic engineering geology with a focus on geotechnical applications.
Solid mechanics:
- Introduction to solid mechanics with focus on geotechnical applications and common failure criteria in geotechnics.
Soil Mechanics:- Phase relationships of soil, such as compaction, consistency limits, grain size distribution, classification, frost susceptibility.
- Pore pressure and groundwater levels from geotechnical perspective.
- Total and effective stress, vertical and horizontal stresses, Mohr's stress circle.
- Types of deformation, drained and undrained deformation, stress history, deformation modules, consolidation and creep.
- Field and laboratory methods for determination of deformation properties.
- Friction, failure criterion for soil, field and laboratory methods for determining soil strength.
Geotechnical application:
- Serviceability and ultimate limit states for geotechnical structures, variability and the method based of partial coefficients.
- Introduction to foundations and deep foundations, slope stabiity and the common ground improvement methods.
Organisation
Teaching is mainly based on lectures where theory is mixed with typical examples. Practical exercises are mostly scheduled tutorials (involving instruction and small problem-based exercises), supplemented with scheduled teacher-lead exercises, consultations and e-learning. Analysis of results from field and laboratory tests, as part of design project, are an important part of the course.Literature
Literature is a selection of books Geoteknik version 5 (in Swedish by Göran Sällfors) as well as additional materials in Canvas.Craig's Soil Mechanics, 8th Edition or later (Knappett & Craig) is not required but used in later courses in geotechnics
Examination including compulsory elements
The examination of the course consists of two parts. A project assignment and a written exam. The project is carried out in groups and the written exam tests basic knowledge covered in the course.The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.