Unit Outline

This unit builds on the basic concepts and fundamental principles of engineering geology and soil mechanics covered in a prerequisite unit. It gives an introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, and provides the basic concepts and mechanics necessary for geotechnical design. Through this unit, students will develop an understanding of the factors influencing soil strength, and apply this understanding to explore the stability of slopes, retaining walls and foundations. This unit is aimed to investigate the stability of the ground, and the stability of any structures built in or on the ground. An understanding of the factors influencing the ability of the ground to withstand loads of various types is essential for all civil engineers. It emphasizes understanding principles and applying them to practical situations. The aim is to give students the necessary skills to design, construct and supervise geotechnical projects.

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	Describe the behaviour of engineering soils under typical loading conditions in terms of total stress, effective stress, stress and strain invariants, and stress history according to poroelastic model, Mohr-Coulomb failure model and critical state model.
2	Design appropriate testing methods to determine the drained and undrained shear strengths of engineering soils in laboratory and field.
3	Evaluate the stability of geostructures against typical failure mechanisms using analytical and numerical methods.
4	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.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	ENG221
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	ENG421

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Personlized comments may be provided for report-based assessment tasks besides providing marking rubrics.

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:	In-class quiz	Refer to Assessment Description	10 %	LO1
Assessment Task 2:	Practicals	Refer to Assessment Description	10 %	LO2
Assessment Task 3:	Tutorials	Refer to Assessment Description	15 %	LO1, LO3
Assessment Task 4:	Design projects	Refer to Assessment Description	35 %	LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 5:	Final exam	Exam Period	30 %	LO1, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: In-class quiz

Task Description:

10 minutes in-class quiz in each week from week 2 to week 11 to cover the materials dlivered in previous or current week. Use of Generative AI is not permitted in this task.

Task Length:

10 minutes each

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply the poroelastic model, Mohr-Coulomb failure model and critical state model to describe physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils	LO1
2	Communicate physical-mechanical behaviour in terms of total stress, effective stress, stress and strain invariants, and stress history	LO1
3	Formulate the behaviour of engineering soils under typical loading conditions	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Practicals

Task Description:

Only Pracs 1 and 2 requires laboratory reports while results from Pracs 3 are to be reported in the separate design projects and no reports are required for Pracs 3. The laboratory reports should at least include the following sections: introduction,
method or setup of the test apparatus, results & analyses, discussions, conclusions and references if any. The pracs are scheduled in weeks 2, 4 and 7. Use of Generative AI is permitted in this task provided it is acknowledged and a clear statement of how it was used is included.

Task Length:

2 x five A4 pages

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


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

Assessment Task 3: Tutorials

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 assignments will be due in week 2, 4, 6 and 8. Use of Generative AI is permitted in this task provided it is acknowledged and a clear statement of how it was used is included.

Task Length:

4 x 1 to 3 questions

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply the poroelastic model, Mohr-Coulomb failure model and critical state model to describe physical-mechanical behaviour of engineering soils	LO1
2	Communicate physical-mechanical behaviour in terms of total stress, effective stress, stress and strain invariants, and stress history	LO3

Assessment Task 4: Design projects

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:
1) conduct preliminary slope stability analysis on one selected Tasmanian landslide, and
2) design the bearing capacity and settlement of shallow and deep foundations in the landslide area.
This project will be split into 2 submissions worth 15% and 20% due in week 8 and 12, respectively. Use of Generative AI is permitted in this task provided it is acknowledged and a clear statement of how it was used is included.

Task Length:

15 pages

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply a systematic approaches to the conduct and management of the engineering design project	LO3
2	Apply creative approaches to identify and develop alternative concepts, solutions and procedures and identify new technological opportunities	LO4
3	Apply systematic principles of engineering design	LO4
4	Appreciate contextual factors impacting the foundation engineering discipline	LO4

Assessment Task 5: Final 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. Use of Generative AI is not permitted in this task.

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.

To satisfy ILO1, an average mark of at least 50% is required on assessment relating to ILO1 in Tutorial and Quiz or Final Exam.

To satisfy ILO2, an average mark of at least 50% is required on assessment relating to ILO2 in Practical.

To satisfy ILO3, an average mark of at least 50% is required on assessment relating to ILO3 in Design Project.

To satisfy ILO4, an average mark of at least 50% is required on assessment relating to ILO4 in Design Project or Final Exam.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.