italian version

Aims :

The course is intended primarily to give basic preparation in geotechnical engineering, by fundamentals of soil mechanics and soil behaviour.

Topics :

Basic characteristics and classification of soils. The principle of effective stress. Coefficient of earth pressure at rest.
Fundamentals of continuum mechanics. State of stress and strain in elastic soil. State of stress within a linear elastic half-space for different uniformly loaded areas.
Steady flow through soil. Darcy’s law. Coefficient of permeability. Seepage force and critical hydraulic gradient. Piping. General hydrodynamic equation, Laplace’s equation and its solutions. Flow nets.
Consolidation process. One-dimensional consolidation theory. Oedometer test. Compressibility and stress history. Preconsolidation pressure and overconsolidation ratio. Secondary compression.
Stress-strain and strength characteristics. Lab soil testing (direct shear test, triaxial tests). Mechanical behaviour of sands and of clays. Shear strength parameters.
Stability problems. Limit equilibrium method. Active and passive pressure. Earth retaining walls.

Textbooks :

Lecture notes, by E. Fratalocchi.
LANCELLOTTA R. “Geotecnica”. Zanichelli Ed.
COLOMBO-COLLESELLI “Fondamenti di geotecnica”. Zanichelli Ed.

Exam :

Written and oral test.

Tutorial Session :

Thursday 16:30-18:30