CE 48300 – Geotechnical Engineering II

Credits and contact hours:

  • 3 credits
  • Lecture that meets 2 times per week for 75 minutes per meeting for 15 weeks

Specific course information:

  • Catalog description: Subsurface investigations and techniques for sampling soils, lateral earth pressures, and stability of retaining structures; stability of earth slopes; shallow and deep foundations design.
  • Prerequisites: Satisfactory performance in CE383 is essential for success in CE483. Reading of chapters 3-6 early in the semester would be a way to take remedial action if needed.
  • Course status: Technical Elective

Specific Goals for the course:

  • Student learning outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course the student shall be able to:
    • understand limit states related to the performance of geotechnical systems
    • design a basic site investigation program and obtain soil properties from in situ test results
    • select the best foundation solution for different types of civil engineering projects
    • design deep and shallow foundations for routine projects and supervise their construction
    • assess safety factors against slope stability failures
    • perform the geotechnical design of different types of soil retaining structures
  •  Relationship of course to program outcomes
    • Outcome 1: An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
    • Outcome 5: An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
    • Outcome 6: An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.

Topics:

  • LIMIT STATES
    • Introduction to the different types of limit states: ultimate limit state, serviceability limit state
  • LATERAL EARTH PRESSURES
    • At-rest, active and passive stresses
  • ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF RETAINING STRUCTURES
    • Gravity walls, cantilever walls, mechanically stabilized walls, gabion walls and sheet pile walls
  • IN SITU TESTING METHODS
    • Soil borings and SPT, CPT
  • ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF SHALLOW AND DEEP FOUNDATIONS
    • Types of shallow and deep foundations and their construction processes, failure due to limit bearing capacity, settlement analysis
  • SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS
    • Slope stability analysis using various design procedures