OVERVIEW

Geotechnics is a specific Civil Engineering field, wich deals with natural soils and rocks identification and charachterization techniques, from the technical point of view and, moreover,  with the methods to analize the soil-structure interactions, in order to predict/verify both the Ultimate and the Service Limit States.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Geotechnical sampling and characterization of natural soils and rock masses, both on-site and in laboratory; mechanical behaviour of soils and rock masses; analyses of the seepage in porous media, both in the steady state and in the transient one (consolidation); implementation of the Semi-Probabilistic ULS Method (the Italian Building Code: D.M. 14/1/2008 with respect to it’s relevant Geotechnical Part)); design of the shallow foundations (single block – beam – slab) and retaining systems (rigid wall), most typically used in the Architectural Engineering building field; illustration of the most relevant typologies of deep foundations and deformable retaning systems; slope stability analyses.

LEARNING OUTCOMES (FURTHER INFO)

Identification of the proper geotechnical on-site sampling and characterization methods; Competence on the principal standard testing methods for natural soils and rocks, both by on-site and laboratory techniques; Knowledge on the soil-structure interaction behavoiour in general and, most properly, in the practical cases of the shallow foundations and the ret-walls ususally adopted within the field of the Architectural Engineering.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures (~ 90 h) and solved examples (~ 20 h) in-aula delivered by the teacher; visit to the geotechnical laboratory (~ 1 h for each of, say, 3 ten-students’ groups), in order to see the main and typical testing techniques and methods of soils and rocks; Two written tests (not compulsory – duration of 3 h.rs each) autonomally solved in-aula by the students, usually held at the end of each one of the two accademic semesters (mid-february, end of may).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Geological classifications of rocks and soils; Sampling methods and tchniques; On-site acquisition of the phreatic level oscillations (piezometric readings) and the slopes’ displacements (inclinometers’ monitoring); Technical classifications of soils; Constitutive laws and their parameters, as from both laboratory and on-site standard geotechnical tests; Seepage analyses in steady state conditions; The consolidation phenomenon (transient seepage); The Limit Equilibrium concept; The bearing capacity and design of shallow foundations; Hints on the deep foundations’ typologies; Design of rigid retaining walls systems; Hints on the deformable retaining systems; Trench walls’ stability assessment.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Course’s Notes, digitally distributed by the teacher on Students’ flash-USB supports at the Course's beginning

“The Mechanics of Soils and Foundations” by J.H. Atkinson – Routledge

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ROBERTO PASSALACQUA (President)

RICCARDO BERARDI

ROSSELLA BOVOLENTA

LESSONS

LESSONS START

september the 20th

Class schedule

GEOTECHNICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The assessment aims to verify the acquired Student's capacity to make the proper physico-mechanical characterization of soils, rocks and rock masses – to perform the analyses of seepage phenomena and slope stability – the design and assess of shallow foundations and rigid retaining walls; the final test accomplishment shall testify the ability of being able to deal with the above listed Geotechnical Engineering issues.

Exam schedule