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Seismic behaviour of retaining walls, shallow and deep foundations, embankments, and slopes. Liquefaction. Case studies, design applications, and advanced methods of analysis.
The Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering course is the second elective course in geotechnical engineering in the undergraduate curriculum for civil and natural resources engineering students. The course extends the skills and knowledge acquired in the preceding geotechnical engineering courses (ENCN253, ENCN353 and ENCN452) to seismic problems.ENCN454 is an introductory course in geotechnical earthquake engineering that provides essential background and methodologies for engineering assessment and design of structures in seismic regions. The focus of the course is on engineering assessment concepts and their application to seismic evaluation of land, buildings and infrastructure. These include evaluation of site response, retaining structures, foundations, soil-structure interaction and stability of slopes under earthquake loads. All topics are discussed through well-documented case histories using field observations on the performance of land, buildings and infrastructure during recent strong earthquakes. The tutorials and computational labs are based on hands-on approach and use of computational tools that are commonly used in the earthquake engineering practice. These tools are demonstrated in tutorials and are then used in the homework for the four assignments.
At the conclusion of this course you should be able to:Classify and evaluate earthquake sources/loads, and associated geotechnical earthquake hazards.Explain key concepts in the seismic assessment of engineering structures.Interpret the behaviour of soils and geotechnical structures during earthquakes.Apply simplified design-oriented methods for liquefaction assessment, and seismic analysis and design of retaining walls, embankments, bridges and building foundations.Analyse the response of sites, earth structures and soil-structure systems under earthquake loads.
ENCN452
ENCI620
The course consists of four sections on earthquake parameters and loads, dynamic behaviour of soils and site response analysis, soil liquefaction, and seismic assessment (and design) of slopes and engineering structures. Each section is then broken down in modules as summarized below. Earthquake Parameters and Loads (9 lectures)Module 1: Seismology and tectonics (2 lectures)Module 2: Seismic faults and earthquake parameters (2 lectures)Module 3: Strong ground motion (3 lectures) Module 4: Seismic Hazard Analysis - SHA (2 lectures)Dynamic Behaviour of Soils and Site Response Analysis (9 lectures)Module 1: Seismic waves (2 lectures)Module 2: Dynamic stress-strain relationships of soils (2 lectures)Module 3: Equivalent linear analysis (3 lectures)Module 4: Effects of local soil soils (site conditions) (2 lectures)Soil Liquefaction (8 lectures)Module 1: Liquefaction susceptibility and triggering analysis (3 lectures)Module 2: Liquefaction-induced ground deformation (2 lectures)Module 3: Effects of liquefaction on foundations (3 lectures)Seismic Assessment of Slopes and Engineering Structures (8 lectures)Module 1: Seismic analysis and design of retaining structures (2 lectures)Module 2: Seismic analysis of slopes (2 lectures)Module 3: Seismic soil structure interaction (2 lectures)Module 4: Analysis concepts for performance-based design (2 lectures)The course is delivered in 34 lectures and 4 tutorials. The material will be presented using slide presentations and clarification notes on the whiteboard. The latter is an essential component in the delivery of lectures integrating various concepts and highlighting key content and considerations.The tutorials are used to introduce conventional methods and tools for seismic analysis. These methods/tools are directly used in the homework for the assignments. An independent study including preparation for lectures, scrutiny of concepts and example calculations is an essential component for making this course most effective for you.
Misko Cubrinovski
Gabriele Chiaro
1. A minimum pass mark of 50% in the final exam is required in order to pass the course.2. All assignments must be submitted by the due date. Late submissions will not be accepted. If a student is unable to complete and submit an assignment by the deadline due to personal circumstances beyond their control they should discuss this with the lecturer involved as soon as possible.3. Aegrotat eligibility: Aegrotat provisions are intended to assist students who have covered the work of a course but have been prevented by illness or other critical circumstance from demonstrating their mastery of the material or skills at the time of assessment” [UC Calendar].4. All assignments should be done individually.
Electronic files of course materials including lecture notes, assignments and course information will be made available through LEARN.
Domestic fee $1,080.00
International fee $5,250.00
* 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.
This course will not be offered if fewer than 15 people apply to enrol.
For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering .