The program in geotechnical engineering emphasizes advanced study and research in the areas of soil dynamics, ground improvement, problems of dynamic soil-structure interaction, numerical modeling of soil and foundation systems, and soil exploration using seismic methods. Also special emphasis is given to transportation problems, in particular pavement materials, design and management. Department provides a focus for each student's program through course work and research in geotechnical, transportation materials and infrastructure evaluation engineering projects.
Courses
Pavement design principles for new and rehabilitated pavements. Material characterization, flexible and rigid pavement design, laboratory and field data collection and analysis, pavement-management practices. Deflection back calculation and pavement-design software.
Pavement management system, pavement condition evaluation, non-destructive testing, performance modeling techniques, pavement preservation and maintenance, life-cycle cost analysis, bridge management system.
Mechanical behavior of pavement materials, including laboratory characterization methods, constitutive models, and field testing and assessments. Modeling approaches used to predict pavement responses and performance under traffic and environmental loading.
Identification of sustainable geotechnical and environmental properties of the solid waste; geotechnical and environmental design techniques, and their application in constructing a sustainable disposal site to enhance the environment and benefit society. Reduction, reuse and recycling of waste; site selection methodologies; the principles of decomposition of the waste, long term settlement and stability of waste materials; mass balance computational procedures assessment of natural attenuation and gas migration and gas collection and recovery.
Elasticity and plasticity models; stress-strain relations for soils; failure criteria; elastic solutions for half-space and layered systems; one- and three-dimensional consolidation theory; computer applications.
Earth pressure theories; stability of natural slopes and open cuts; stability of built embankments, earthquake effects, rapid drawdown and seepage problems, slope-stabilization techniques; retaining walls; computer application in slope stability.
Subsurface investigations; site preparation and improvement; flexible retaining structures; caissons; drilled shafts; underground structures; pile foundations; foundations subjected to dynamic loads; marine structures; environmental effects of construction.
Review of basic vibration theories as applied to soil dynamics; elastic wave propagation in soils; elements of seismic soil explorations; dynamic soil properties; laboratory evaluation of dynamic soil properties; liquefaction; machine foundations; fundamentals of soil-structure interaction; earthquake engineering; computer applications.
Relationship between physical properties and selected chemical and mineralogical characteristics emphasizing fine-grained and colloidal fractions; problems affecting site use, including weak, compressible soil; high shrink-swell potential and erodibility; stabilization techniques, including compaction, earth reinforcement, drainage and erosion control, admixture stabilization, precompression, grouting.
Seismicity; size of earthquakes; estimation of ground motion parameters; seismic hazard analysis; site response analysis; design ground-motion building-code provisions; soil-structure interaction effects and formulation; simplified models; solutions in frequency and time domains.