Unit Outline

This unit builds on the basic concepts and fundamental principles of engineering geology and soil mechanics and focuses on geotechnical engineering design. It introduces the following topics to students: soil stress path, soil shear strength, critical state model, bearing capacity and serviceability limit of geotechnical structures, footing design, pile foundation design, slope stability, lateral earth pressure and retaining wall design.

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.	Model the behaviour of engineering soils under typical loading conditions using poroelastic model, Mohr-Coulomb failure model and critical state model.
2.	Design typical geotechnical structures such as footing, pile, slope and retaining wall including their documentations to ensure their short-term and long-term stabilities using both total and effective stress analysis methods.
3.	Evaluate the stability of geostructures against typical failure mechanisms using analytical and numerical methods

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	ENG103 or KAA110
Concurrent Pre-requisite	ENG703
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	KNE773 or ENG315 or 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:	Exam	Exam Period	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Quizzes	Refer to Assessment Description	10 %	LO1
Assessment Task 3:	Practical reports	Refer to Assessment Description	10 %	LO2
Assessment Task 4:	Assignments	Refer to Assessment Description	15 %	LO1, LO3
Assessment Task 5:	Design project	Refer to Assessment Description	35 %	LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Exam

Task Description:

A single three-hour closed book examination to cover all materials to be presented in the unit. Data and relevant equations for some questions may be found in the Data and Formula Sheets appended to the exam paper.

Task Length:

3 hours

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply various models to describe the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils	LO1
2	Communicate the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils in terms of total stress, effective stress, stress and strain invariants, and stress path	LO3
3	Formulate the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils under typical loading conditions	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Quizzes

Task Description:

There will be 2 quizzes. The first 2-hour open or closed book quiz is to be held in the middle of the semester while the other quiz is scheduled at the end of the semester, which cover all materials to be delivered till the quiz date.

Task Length:

2 x 2-hours

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply various models to describe the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils	LO1
2	Communicate the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils in terms of total stress, effective stress, stress and strain invariants, and stress path	LO1
3	Formulate the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils under typical loading conditions	LO1

Assessment Task 3: Practical reports

Task Description:

Students are required to attend 2 practical sessions with each of them lasted for 3 hours to conduct laboratory experiments and then submit a practical report for each laboratory experiment in two weeks after the practical session. The practical report 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:

2 x five A4 pages

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply laboratory testing methods to obtain various strength parameters of engineering soils	LO2
2	Design field testing methods to evaluate strength of engineering soils under various field conditions	LO2
3	Communicate strengths of engineering soils under various conditions through laboratory reports	LO2

Assessment Task 4: Assignments

Task Description:

The assignments covering soil shear strength, water flow through soil, and soil critical state model are used to develop, reinforce and test students' understanding of the subject. The assignment is due one week after relevant topic is covered.

Task Length:

No more than 5 questions

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply various models to describe the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils	LO1
2	Communicate the physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils in terms of total stress, effective stress, stress and strain invariants and stress path	LO3

Assessment Task 5: Design project

Task Description:

Your project brief is to conduct a conceptual geohazard assessment of Tasmanian landslides to understand the process associated with the landslides in Tasmanian for the purpose of
designing appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate the potential landslides in Tasmania. In
particular, you are required to: complete a literature review on various slope design method, conduct a survey of Tasmanian landslides, and
conduct preliminary slope stability analysis on one selected Tasmanian landslide. This project will be split into 3 submissions worth 10%, 10% and 15% with due dates in weeks 4, 8 and 12, respectively.

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.

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

Knappett, J.A., Craig, R.F. 2012. Craig's Soil Mechanics, 8th Edition, SPON Press