Soil Pressures and Earth Retaining Structures

TEACHING UNIT 1. SOIL MECHANICS Prerequisites Design and planning of research campaigns Geotechnical investigation Soil Samples Preliminary Investigations and Field Surveys Drilling and Sampling Techniques In-Situ Tests for Soils and Rock Masses TEACHING UNIT 2. MAIN FIELD TESTS Concepts of identification and strength Identification and condition tests Strength tests Introduction to the triaxial test. Prerequisite concepts Definition of the triaxial test Interpretation of the triaxial test Practical applications of the triaxial test TEACHING UNIT 3. SOIL AND ROCK TESTS Deformability test Interpretation of the edometric test Compaction and reuse tests Laboratory Tests for Rock Characterization In-Situ Tests for Rock Characterization TEACHING UNIT 4. DEFINITION OF SERVICE LIMIT STATES Definitions and Concepts Stress Distributions in Soil Estimation of Settlements in Granular Soils Estimation of Settlements in Cohesive Soils Other Methods and Other Deformations TEACHING UNIT 5. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EARTH PRESSURES Coulomb’s Fundamental Hypotheses Soil Mechanics According to Terzaghi and Rankine Coefficients of at-rest earth pressure. Empirical relationships of Jaky and Mayne Winkler Modulus Numerical Models (2D/3D FEM, LEM, DEM) Earthquakes and Their Mechanical Effects on the Ground TEACHING UNIT 6. RIGID (NON-SHIFTING) WALLS Introduction to the design of rigid walls Design and calculation of gravity walls Construction procedures and geometry of gravity walls Classification and stability of rigid walls Masonry systems Other rigid walls TEACHING UNIT 7. FLEXIBLE (SHIFTING) WALLS Principles of flexible behavior Design and specifications for gabion and screen walls Continuous reinforced concrete retaining walls Pile and micropile walls Types of wall anchors Excavations using sheet piles and trenches TEACHING UNIT 8. GENERAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS Construction Procedures for Walls Monitoring Instruments for Ground Movement and Monitoring Major Soil Problems (Expansive, Collapsible, and Liquefiable Soils; Anthropogenic Fills; Soil Improvement Treatments) Selection of Standard Cross-Sections and Drainage Design