Unit Outline

This unit analyses how the characteristics of earth materials may influence the design, construction, stability and life of engineering structures and consists of two components: engineering geology and soil mechanics. The engineering geology component will serve as an introduction to geology, engineering geology, rock evaluation and geophysical methods and impact of geology on design and stability of engineering structures such as slopes, cuttings, quarries, tunnels, dams and bridges. The soil mechanics part will introduce soil classification, soil phase relationships, soil compaction, Darcy's law and water seepage through soils, Terzaghi's effective stress principle, and soil consolidation theory and test. Students will prepare to achieve the stated learning outcomes in this unit through attending a series of lectures, tutorials, field trip and laboratory practicals.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Identify earth materials and geological processes in laboratory and in the field on the basis of their characteristic properties.
2.	Apply geological and geophysical methods to discover essential information on distributions and properties of the earth materials.
3.	Classify engineering soils in a systematic and unified manner according to Australian and international standards.
4.	Apply Darcy's law and Terzaghi's effective stress principle to evaluate soil permeability, deformation, and strength properties during the processes of water seepage through soils and soil consolidation.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	KAA110 OR ENG103 OR JEE135
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	KNE273

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	A whole-day engineering geology field trip	Week 9	10 %	LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Soil Mechanics Project - Soil Consolidation	Week 14	6 %	LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Soil Mechanics Quizzes	Refer to Assessment Description	4 %	LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 4:	Engineering Geology Online Quizzes	Refer to Assessment Description	10 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 5:	Soil Mechanics Practicals	Refer to Assessment Description	12.50 %	LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 6:	Soil Mechanics Tutorials	Refer to Assessment Description	12.50 %	LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 7:	Geology Practicals and Quizzes	Refer to Assessment Description	15 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 8:	Final Exam	Exam Period	30 %	LO2, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: A whole-day engineering geology field trip

Task Description:

A whole-day guided field trip is to be conducted on a Sunday in the middle of the semester.
The field trip will provide the opportunity to view Earth materials in a real world situation. A field
observation task will be carried out on the day. Examination will be made of the results of near surface processes including the influence of structures. A hypothetical road-construction engineering task in the area investigated is set as an assignment to be handed in one week later.

Task Length:

A whole day

Due Date:

Week 9

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Discover the physical properties of the earth materials in fields	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Soil Mechanics Project - Soil Consolidation

Task Description:

Students are required to conduct a project related to soil consolidation and summarize the analysis by completing a report with no more than 5 pages excluding the appendix

Task Length:

5 A4 pages

Due Date:

Week 14

Weight:

6 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Communicate and formulate the physical-mechanical behaviour of soils in typical engineering applications	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Soil Mechanics Quizzes

Task Description:

Soil mechanics quizzes will be held during the tutorial sessions in Weeks 9 and 12

Task Length:

one hour for each quiz

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

4 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Classify typical soils using unified soil classification system	LO3
2	Apply soil mechanics principles to solve soil settlement issues under short-term and long-term conditions	LO4

Assessment Task 4: Engineering Geology Online Quizzes

Task Description:

There will be several online quizzes from week 1 to week 6 and each of them includes several multiple-choice questions related to engineering geology.

Task Length:

Several multiple-choice questions in each online quiz

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Classify typical rocks	LO1
2	Understand distributions and properties of typical rocks	LO2

Assessment Task 5: Soil Mechanics Practicals

Task Description:

The practicals include soil visual classification according to the unified soil classification
system, Atterberg liquid and plastic limits tests, soil compaction and soil consolidation. A laboratory report is to be completed after each practical, which should at least include the following sections: introduction, method or setup of the test apparatus, results & analyses, discussions, conclusions and references if any.

Task Length:

4 soil mechanics practical in weeks 8-11 and 2 x 3-hours for each student

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

12.50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Classify typical soils using the unified soil classification sytem	LO3
2	Formulate the physical-mechanical behaviours of soils in engineering applications	LO4

Assessment Task 6: Soil Mechanics Tutorials

Task Description:

There are 4 assignments covering soil characteristics, Darcy's law, Terzaghi's effective stress and soil consolidation theory. The assignments will be distributed when relevant topics are covered. They are used to develop, reinforce and test students' understanding of the subject.

Task Length:

No more than 5 questions in each tutorial

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

12.50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Classify typical soils according to the unified soil classification system	LO3
2	Formulate the physical-mechanical behaviours of typical soils especially the consolidation and settlement behaviours of fine-grained soils	LO4

Assessment Task 7: Geology Practicals and Quizzes

Task Description:

The first four practical exercises build skills to identify and describe the properties of Earth
materials, including minerals igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. A test of these skills is scheduled for part of the fifth practical session, which is held in the form of identifying and describing minerals and rocks selected by lecturers. Tasks are set for the final three sessions to recognise, understand and interpret surface and near surface structures and the impact these can have on near surface
landscapes and Earth processes.

Task Length:

4 x A4 Pages

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify typical igneous, metamorphic and sediment rocks and typical geological processes	LO1
2	Discover the physical-mechanical properties of rocks and soils in various engineering applications	LO2

Assessment Task 8: Final Exam

Task Description:

A single two-hour closed book examination to cover both engineering geology and soil
mechanics. Engineering geology part consist of multiple choice question and short answer questions while soil mechanics part involves in physical and mathematical calculations. Data and relevant equations for some questions may be found in the Data and Formula Sheets appended to the exam paper.

Task Length:

Two hours

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

For Engineering Geology part:
A practical manual is required for geology. It is recommended to read each of the practicals prior to the sessions. The complete manuals can be purchased through UniPrint (cost around $16). Alternatively you can download each practical from MyLO.

For Soil Mechanics part:

Any textbooks about soil mechanics or foundation engineering such as the following textbook
Knappett, J.A., Craig, R.F. 2012. Craig's Soil Mechanics, 8th Edition, SPON Press. Full text is available at library.