CS3002 - Soil Mechanics and Geology

Introduction to engineering geology and geo-engineering; Basic geology: the Earth as a system, plate tectonics, identification of rocks and minerals in relation to engineering problems, structural geology, the rock cycle, weathering and erosion, volcanoes and earthquakes. Soil Mechanics: seepage analysis (two-dimensional), pore pressure measurements and method of fragments, SEEP/W; response of soils to stress changes, Terzaghi theory, consolidation and one-dimensional settlement, secondary compression; shear strength and compressibility, Mohr Coulomb strength criteria for drained and undrained conditions, triaxial testing, peak and residual strength, stress paths; slope stability, infinite slope analysis, method of slices, Bishop's method, SLOPE/W; site investigation, CPT and other in situ tests, interpretation of CPT data.

Learning Outcomes

• explain the fundamentals of geology and analyse its influence on geotechnical engineering;
• identify different rock types;
• conduct advanced soil tests, analyse and interpret the results, and present them through professional reports;
• critically analyse settlement, seepage and stability problems;
• formulate, evaluate and solve the problems using sound geotechnical engineering principles.

Subject Assessment

• end of semester exam (50% - 70%)
• on-course assessment, some of which may be invigilated (30% - 50%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.