Advanced Soil Mechanics

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

The teaching method is mainly plenary theory exposition and tutorial lectures, giving a good balance between, detailed theory exposition of the concepts, principles and the fundamentals using audio visual information technology with the resolution, by the students, of problems that apply and shows the practical application in real works of the thought subjects.

Learning Outcomes

This module provides the fundamentals of the mechanical behaviour of soils, namely the matters related with the constitutive modelling of stress-shear strength-deformation. At the end of the module the student should have acquired knowledge and skills to deeply understand the mechanical behaviour of different types of soils under structural loading.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Review of the basic concepts of sedimentary and residual soils

2. Normally and over-consolidated soils. Processes that will cause over-consolidation in soils. Secondary consolidation.

3. Stress-Strain behaviour of sands. Peak and constant volume shear resistance. Dilatancy. Liquefaction  by upward seepage and by cyclic loading.

4. Stress strain behaviour of saturated clays. Drained and undrained loading. Dilatancy. Peak, volume constant and residual shear strength. Undrained shear strength. Effective and total stress analysis.

5. Critical state. Elasticity and plasticity in soils. Yield surface, normality and yield hardening laws. Models of Cam-clay and modified Cam-clay.

6 - Partial saturated soils. Suction. Characteristic curves. Stress-strain relations.

7- Natural Bonded and artificial cemented soils. Stress-strain behaviour.. Stable, metastable and critical states.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

Soil Behaviour and Critical State Soil Mechanics, David Muir Wood, 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press (1991)

Mecânica dos Solos. Conceitos e Princípios Fundamentais, Matos Fernandes, M., Vol 1, 3ª edição, Edições FEUP (2012)

Mecânica dos Solos. Introdução à Engenharia Geotécnica, Matos Fernandes, M., Vol 2, 2ª edição, Edições FEUP (2015)

Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practise, Fredlund, D; Rahardjo, H; Fredlund, M, Jown Wiley (2012).

An Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Foundations, C. R. Scott, 3rd edition, Springer (1994)

Resistência ao Corte em Obras de Terra - Alguns Conceitos e Definições, Lemos, L.J.L., Universidade de Coimbra (2015)