Please note! Course description is confirmed for two academic years, which means that in general, e.g. Learning outcomes, assessment methods and key content stays unchanged. However, via course syllabus, it is possible to specify or change the course execution in each realization of the course, such as how the contact sessions are organized, assessment methods weighted or materials used.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  1. Student is familiar with influence of soil structure and microstructure on soil properties and soil behaviour and real soil behaviour.
  2. Student understand the principles and limitations of elasto-plastic  constitutive models, including Mohr-Coulomb and critical state soil  models (e.g. Modified Cam Clay). Student can predict how the given model  will approximate soil behaviour on various stress paths
  3. Student understand in detail the principles of flow of water in saturated soils and can calculate simple problems which involve flow of water
  4. Student understand the principles of limit analysis and how it has been used in different methods to compute equations for bearing capacity, including these in the Eurocode
  5. Student understand the principles of calculating settlements using elastic half-space solution and non-linear stress-strain relations and can calculate settlements of foundations with number of methods
  6. Student understand the soil-structure interaction and can compute problems involving soil-structure interaction using iterative solution
  7. Student can assess slope stability and earth pressure using number of methods
  8. Student are introduced to anisotropic critical state soil model. General understanding of the model, as well as understanding of how anisotropy affects soil behaviour is expected.
  9. Student is familiar with soil testing in the laboratory and know limitations of said tests
  10. Additionally, students will improve their ability to communicate the outcomes of his/her work both in written and oral forms, their ability to work in a group, develop further their critical thinking abilities, as well as the ability to self-learn and to support life-long learning.

Credits: 5

Schedule: 01.03.2021 - 08.04.2021

Teacher in charge (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022): Wojciech Solowski

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Wojciech Solowski

Contact information for the course (valid 03.02.2021-21.12.2112):

The main contact point during the course is the forum: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/mod/forum/view.php?id=590167

For questions related to the course itself, before enrollment, please email Wojciech Sołowski.

CEFR level (applies in this implementation):

Language of instruction and studies (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022):

Teaching language: English

Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    The course introduces students to advanced geotechnical engineering. Initially, the course will link soil microstructure to the soil behaviour. Furthermore, the course will also show limitations of constitutive models in approximating some aspects of real soil behaviour.
    The course will shortly explain the Mohr Coulomb model within a more general framework for constitutive modelling, building on description given in Finite Element Method course. Moreover, the course will concentrate on Critical State Soil Mechanics. The course will also present number of laboratory experiments, as well as gradually introduce more advanced calculation methods.

    The course participants should gain deeper understanding of the soil behaviour as well as recognise the approximations (and associated limitations) of typical engineering calculations.

    The course is a pre-requisite for the Numerical Methods in Geotechnics course where critical soil mechanics as well as more advanced soil models will be used for more accurate solution of engineering problems.

  • Applies in this implementation:

    The course will be fully on-line, and possible to attend whether you are in Finland or abroad. The learning outcomes of the course will remain largely the same as in the case of contact teaching. That is because the graduates should have comparable knowledge, despite the fact that the teaching had to be organised in remote fashion.

    The laboratory exercises will be virtual and based on data from previous experiments

    Note that some classes may not be recorded, or recorded only partially, so participation in person is always encouraged. Participation in the classes, in particular exercises and laboratory exercises, gives you the  opportunity to ask the teachers questions about the assignments and design project. Otherwise, you need to ask those questions on forum. Some classes (e.g. on risk based design) may rely on pre-recorded content. For those, detailed instructions will follow.

    Note that emails are not a means of communication encouraged in the course, and should be only used in circumstances when asking question on the forum is not possible.

Assessment Methods and Criteria
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    The final assessment criteria will be agreed upon during first lecture of the course. The suggestion is:

    Laboratory: 1/6
    Exercises: 1/6
    Design Project: 1/6
    Lectures: 1/2
    Each part must be passed.
    Assessment of the lectures will be mainly done during the lectures (partial exams). It is expected that 3 tests will be made. Should the test is not attended or failed, the student has to pass it individually. The course will have no final exam.

  • Applies in this implementation:

    During the first lecture the decision will be made about the assessment of the lectures. This either could be the 3 tests described, or essays combined with online quizzes. All the students would follow the same assessment, that means that either everyone is having tests during the lectures, or everyone is writing essays and having online quizzes counted towards the lecture grade.



Workload
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    5cr, 135h

    Laboratory and associated activities (22 h):

    - laboratory exercises: 10h

    - laboratory report: 12 h

    Exercises and associated activities (44 h):

    - exercises: 5 x 2 h

    - homeworks: 12 h

    - design project: 22 h

    Lectures and associated activities (69 h)

    - lectures: 26h

    - tutorials 6h

    - preparation for lectures/ lecture tests: 13h

    - preparations for partial exam tests 3 x 8 h

     

  • Applies in this implementation:

    The workload is computed for a traditional course. As the course is taught remotely, the workload may differ from that for original course. 

    The workload is also very dependent on your background, previous knowledge and experience. It is largely expected that for the majority of students, the remote teaching will not cause much change in the workload. However, especially those who rely on discussions with friends and peers in their learning, may see that the workload is higher, as the peer help is more difficult to come by in virtual setting. Therefore, to reduce the workload, please ask the questions on the forums, and read the forums to find the answers.


DETAILS

Study Material
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    Will be given during the course. The course will use number of different sources, including:

    1. Geotechnical engineering : unsaturated and saturated soils, Briaud, J.-L.

    2. Smith's Elements of Soil Mechanics. Smith I.M. 

  • Applies in this implementation:

    The discussion forum  is the main way to communicate in the course and seeking help. The questions may also be asked during all the exercise sessions and lectures. Any other ways of communication with the teachers are discouraged. In particular, emails should be used only in matters not related to course content. Asking questions about the course material, assignments, exercises, etc. should be done using the discussion forum, or during the classes.


Substitutes for Courses
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    none

Prerequisites
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    For Aalto students: Geotechnics GEO-E1020 (obligatory course), Finite Element Method in Geomechanics (GEO-E1050) 

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals

    9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

    12 Responsible Production and Consumption

FURTHER INFORMATION

Details on the schedule
  • Applies in this implementation:

    The attending of exercise sessions is obligatory. The classes may not be fully recorded, and the teachers bear no responsibility for any gaps in the recordings.