Geotechnics

lgciv2071  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Geotechnics
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h + 30.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Collin Frédéric;
Language
English
Prerequisites
Basic concepts of soil classification, effective stress, compressibility, shear strength, laboratory and site investigation, design of shallow and deep foundations, as taught in the courses LGCIV1031 and LGCIV1072.
Main themes
The objectives of the course are:
  • To strengthen the knowledge of geotechnical engineering through discussion of advanced concepts: lateral actions, soil-structure interaction, soil anisotropy and heterogeneity.
  • To explain the design principles of geotechnical elements of a construction project: walls, sheet pile walls, piles, soil improvement methods.
  • To familiarize the student with the significance of certain elements on the stability of constructions: groundwater, drainage, monitoring.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 Contribution of the course to the program objectives (N°)
AA1.2, AA1.3, AA2.1, AA2.2, AA4.1, AA5.1, AA5.2, AA5.3, AA6.1
Specific learning outcomes of the course
At the end of the course, students will be capable of:
  • Describing the execution methods for the installation of walls.
  • Designing a retaining wall.
  • Describing soil improvement methods.
  • Modelling an element of a geotechnical project (numerical approach).
  • Calculating deformation and loading of structures interacting with soil.
  • Identifying potentially dangerous situations in presence of groundwater.
  • Describing the behaviour of soft soils, calcareous sands, unsaturated soils.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
  • Retaining walls.
  • Walls and sheet-pile walls.
  • Soil improvement.
  • Constitutive laws of soil behaviour.
  • Introduction to numerical methods (finite elements).
  • Foundation mats and slabs.
  • Pile settlement.
  • Horizontal loading on geotechnical elements.
  • Slope stability.
Teaching methods
Ex-cathedra teaching through the course resources for volume 1.
Supervised exercise sessions in classroom for volume 2.
Evaluation methods
The evaluation conditions are specified during the courses.
Online resources
Available on Moodle.
Bibliography
Supports du cours et documentation sur Moodle.
Faculty or entity
GC


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Civil Engineering

Master [120] in Architecture and Engineering