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.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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 18th, in lessons room A11 - DICCA Dept., Villa Cambiaso

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