Soil mechanics and flow through porous media

CIVIL-203 / 5 credits

Teacher: Karapiperis Konstantinos

Language: English

Summary

The course introduces students to the fundamentals of the mechanics of soils and fluid-infiltrated porous media. The first part is devoted to the constitutive behavior of soils in dry conditions, while the second part accounts for the presence of pore water.

Content

  • Soil structure and phases, porosity, grain size distribution, soil classification
  • Micromechanics, stress and strain within a soil mass
  • Linear elasticity, geostatic stresses, stresses induced by loads, elastic halfspace solutions
  • Nonlinear elasticity, oedometric compression, general stress-strain behavior
  • Behavior under shear (direct shear, triaxial compression tests), dilatancy, shear strength, Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion
  • Basic constitutive models of plasticity, introduction to the concept of Critical State
  • Pore water pressure, effective stress, saturation, undrained behavior
  • One-dimensional flow through soils, seepage forces, laboratory measurement of permeability, Darcy's law
  • Two-dimensional flow through soils, flow nets, influence of soil anisotropy
  • Pore pressure development during undrained loading
  • One-dimensional consolidation and its analytical/numerical solution

Keywords

Soil mechanics, underground flow, effective stress, constitutive relationships, elasticity,
failure criteria

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

Mécanique des  milieux continus (pour GC) CIVIL-205

Géologie CIVIL-211

Important concepts to start the course

Mechanics of deformable media, linear elasticity theory

Learning Outcomes

  • Formalize a problem linked to the field of soils and underground flows.
  • Hypothesize on the behavior of geomaterials.
  • Apply analytical and numerical techniques for the solution of underground flow problems.
  • Interpret laboratory test results.

Transversal skills

  • Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
  • Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking

Teaching methods

Ex cathedra course, audio-visual means, in-class exercises, practical laboratory sessions.

Expected student activities

Active participation, home study, solution of provided exercises, preparation of laboratory reports.

Assessment methods

Written exam during the summer session (70%), intermediate test (20%), lab reports (10%).

Supervision

Office hours Yes
Assistants Yes
Forum Yes

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Bibliography

Lecture notes uploaded on Moodle
Geotechnical engineering by R. Lancellotta - CRC Press (2002)
An Introduction to Soil Mechanics by A. Verruijt - Springer (2018)

Ressources en bibliothèque

Moodle Link

Prerequisite for

Geotechnical Engineering, Rock mechanics

In the programs

  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Soil mechanics and flow through porous media
  • Lecture: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: mandatory

Reference week

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