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Properties and behaviour of rocks. Formation, properties and classification of soils. Strength and stiffness of soils. Applications to slopes, retaining walls, and site characterisation.
This course provides an introduction to the subject of soil mechanics, which is the basis for the use of soils as an engineering material in geotechnical engineering. In particular, this course covers the characterisation of soil for engineering purposes, the compression of soil, strength under drained conditions, the influence of groundwater, and the geologic origin of soils.
At the conclusion of this course you should be able to:1 Describe the geological and geomorphological processes responsible for the formation of soils (Washington Accord WA1), (UC EIE3.2 Characterise and classify soils for the purposes of engineering assessment. (Washington Accord WA1), (UC EIE4, GA2).3 Interpret Proctor compaction curves to recommend appropriate moisture conditioning and density targets for engineered fills. (Washington Accord (WA1)4. Apply analytical methods to the flow of water through the ground to calculate flow rates, heads and pore pressures for two-dimensional flow. (EIE3, WA1, WA2, WA5)5. Calculate total and effective stresses for one-dimensional soil profiles (Washington Accord WA1), (UC EIE3)6. Estimate model parameters for the one-dimensional compression of soils, and apply this model to estimate settlements due to changes in soil loading. (Washington Accord WA1, WA2. WA5), (UC EIE3)7. Analyse the development of settlement with respect to time. (EIE3, WA1, WA5)8. Describe the shear stress – shear strain behaviour of soils under drained conditions. (EIE1, EIE3, EIE5), WA1)9. Estimate the drained shear strength using friction angles. (EIE3), WA1, WA2)
Subject to approval of the Dean of Engineering and Forestry
ENCI252, ENCI271
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Mark Stringer
Robin Lee
Siale Faitotonu
• All aspects of the course are potentially examinable. • Assignment deadlines will be posted on the LEARN page. • Late submissions will attract a penalty of 10% per day. Please contact the lecturer as soon as possible if you will be unable to submit an assignment by the deadline due to extraordinary personal circumstances or illness. • Completed Assignments and laboratory reports (where required) should be submitted electronically through the LEARN site. • Students are required to attend their scheduled laboratory session. Students without a valid reason for missing their scheduled session will be awarded zero marks. • Safety shoes are required for entry into Civil Engineering Laboratory sessions – this affects Lab B of this course. Students arriving without safety shoes will be unable to attend the laboratory and will be awarded zero marks. • Students are not permitted to contact the markers. Should you wish to discuss the marking of a piece of coursework, please contact the Course Coordinator.Special Considerations Any student who has been impaired by significant exceptional and/or unforeseeable circumstances that have prevented them from completing any major assessment items, or that have impaired their performance such that the results are not representative of their true level of mastery of the course material, may apply for special consideration through the formal university process. The applicability and academic remedy/action associated with the special consideration process are listed for each assessment item below. Please refer to the University Special Consideration Regulations and Special Consideration Policies and Procedures documents for more information on the acceptable grounds for special consideration and the application process. Special Consideration for AssignmentsAn extension will be granted for evidence-supported requests. Extensions will typically be for up to one week, but the duration will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students seeking an extension must contact the relevant lecturer (or course coordinator) as soon as possible with evidence of their situation, and preferably before the due date.Special Consideration for LaboratoriesStudents who are unable to attend the laboratory for reasons falling within the scope of the special considerations policy will be offered a virtual laboratory to complete. Students must contact the course co-ordinator as soon as possible in these scenarios. Special Consideration for Final ExamStudents with special consideration assessed moderate or higher will be offered an equivalent alternative exam that will replace their original exam mark. This exam will be held close to the exam period. Dates will be advertised in due course.Students who are unable to sit the final exam due to exceptional and/or unforeseeable circumstances will be offered an equivalent alternative test close to the original test. See comment about severity scores.Communications related to the alternative examination will be sent to your official UC email account. The offer to sit an alternative examination will be accompanied by a list of potential dates/times as well as a specified time within which we expect to hear your response. If the offer is declined, the original examination mark will be used to compute your final course grade. A failure to respond within the specified timeframe will be interpreted as a declined offer.
Tony Waltham; Foundations of Engineering Geology ; 3rd Edition; Spon Press, 2009.
William Powrie; Soil Mechanics: Concepts and Applications, 3rd Edition. CRC Press ; 3rd; CRC Press, 2014.
• Powrie, W. (2014). Soil Mechanics: concepts and applications. SPON Press. o Library Shelfmark: TA710.P889o Note the 2014 edition is available to you for download as a complete e-book.• Holtz, R.D. and Kovacs, W.D. (1981). An introduction to Geotechnical Engineering. Prentice-Hall, 1st Edition, pp. 733. o Library shelfmark TA710.H564
If hard copies of the assignments are requested by the lecturer, they should be submitted to the drop box marked "ENCN 253" located on the ground floor of the Engineering CORE building. If the lecturer requests an electronic submission, then assignments should be submitted through the LEARN website. In the case of electronic submission, students must follow the naming convention and file format specified by the lecturer.Official departmental coversheets should be used for all submissions. Assignments submitted without a coversheet will receive a mark of zero.
Domestic fee $1,122.00
International fee $6,238.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Civil and Environmental Engineering .