2022 Mechanics of Geomaterials

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Academic unit or major
Graduate major in Civil Engineering
Instructor(s)
Sawada Mai 
Class Format
Lecture    (Livestream)
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Tue3-4(H119A)  Fri3-4(W931)  
Group
-
Course number
CVE.C401
Credits
2
Academic year
2022
Offered quarter
2Q
Syllabus updated
2022/5/2
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
English
Access Index

Course description and aims

Soil consists of soil particles, water, and air. The engineering properties of soil are greatly influenced by the ratio of these components. Unsaturated soil mechanics is an essential part of geotechnical engineering, which is necessary to deal with problems related to disaster prevention and geoenvironment — such as rainfall induced slope failure and seepage in waste facilities. The purpose of this course is to provide knowledge of water and heat transfers, and strength and deformation of unsaturated soil.

Student learning outcomes

Through the course, students will be able to:
­- understand mechanism and modeling of water retention, governing equations for seepage, and infiltration control using soil water retention.
­- understand heat transfer between the atmosphere and ground, thermal properties of unsaturated soil, governing equations for heat transfer, and use of heat insulation.
­- understand contribution of suction to strength and deformation of unsaturated soil, and apply to problems of slope stability during rainfall.
­- deliver a clear lecture based on their understanding of some papers on the topics above.

Keywords

Unsaturated soil, Water retention, Seepage, Thermal properties, Slope stability

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills Intercultural skills Communication skills Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Lectures, exercises, and presentations. In lecture and exercise classes, attendance is confirmed by submission of assignments.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Porewater pressure in unsaturated soil To understand porewater pressure in unsaturated soil
Class 2 Water retention and permeability To understand mechanism of water retention and permeability in unsaturated condition
Class 3 Unsaturated seepage flow To understand governing equations for unsaturated seepage flow and boundary conditions
Class 4 Exercise 1 To do exercises on unsaturated seepage flow
Class 5 Application of unsaturated seepage flow – capillary barrier – To understand infiltration control using difference in hydraulic properties of sand and gravel
Class 6 Heat transfer and thermal properties To understand thermal properties of unsaturated soil and governing equations for heat flow
Class 7 Use of heat insulation of soil To understand use of heat insulation of soil in various fields
Class 8 Presentation 1 To read papers on unsaturated seepage flow and deliver a lecture
Class 9 Strength parameters To understand contribution of suction to strength parameters
Class 10 Slope stability during rainfall To understand slope stability analysis during rainfall infiltration
Class 11 Exercise 2 To do exercises on slope stability of unsaturated soil
Class 12 Stress variables To understand stress variables (effective stress) that control strength and deformation of unsaturated soil
Class 13 Presentation 2 To read papers on mechanical behavior of unsaturated soil and deliver a lecture
Class 14 Summary Lesson reviews, comments on assignments, and Q & A

Out-of-Class Study Time (Preparation and Review)

Students are expected to review each class and submit assignments. For presentation classes, students are required to prepare presentation slides and practice presentations.

Textbook(s)

Handouts and papers will be provided in class.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Fredlund, D. G., & Rahardjo, H. (1993). Soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. John Wiley & Sons.
Jury, W. A., & Horton, R. (2004). Soil physics. John Wiley & Sons.
地盤工学会不飽和地盤の挙動と評価編集委員会 (2005). 不飽和地盤の挙動と評価, 丸善出版 [in Japanese]

Assessment criteria and methods

Assignments(40%),Presentations(40%),Attendance(20%)

Related courses

  • CVE.C201 : Soil Mechanics I
  • CVE.C310 : Foundation Engineering
  • CVE.C402 : Stability Problems in Geotechnical Engineering
  • CVE.C202 : Soil Mechanics II
  • CVE.C311 : Geotechnical Engineering in Practice

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

No prerequisites are necessary, but enrollment in the related courses is desirable.

Contact information (e-mail and phone)    Notice : Please replace from "[at]" to "@"(half-width character).

Mai Sawada(sawada.m.af[at]m.titech.ac.jp, 2798)

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