Course Catalogue.

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• Understand the impact of freeze-thaw on foundation performance in a cold climate
• Predict the influence of permafrost degradation on the response of shallow and deep foundation systems
• Identify the proper foundation type for frozen soils
• Design shallow and deep foundations on frozen soils

Description
Permafrost, or perennially frozen ground, is the ground that remains in frozen condition for two or more consecutive years, and permafrost regions extend over 24% of the terrestrial surface of the Northern Hemisphere. Both shallow and deep foundations have long been used in cold regions to support structures and infrastructure situated on frozen grounds.

This course presents various design techniques that can be used for the design of shallow and pile foundations in permafrost regions. The long-term stability of these foundations is mainly governed by the settlement behaviour of frozen soils, which is impacted by temperature change and global warming. Therefore, both bearing capacity and creep settlement analyses of shallow and pile foundations will be discussed for both ice-poor and ice-rich conditions.

All key concepts will be explained, and emphasis will be placed on the practical application of the information provided.

Course Outline

• Permafrost depth and distribution
• Engineering characteristics of frozen ground
• Fundamental concepts required for foundation design in permafrost
• Site investigation for foundation projects in frozen soils, subsurface exploration, soil data, climate data
• Common foundation types used in permafrost, shallow foundations used in frozen soils
• Bearing capacity analysis for shallow foundations
• Creep settlement of foundations in frozen soils
• Deep foundations used in permafrost
• Bearing capacity analysis for pile foundations
• Creep settlement of pile foundations in frozen soils
• Impact of climate change on foundation behaviour in warming permafrost

Who Should Attend

Those who deal with construction-related geotechnical engineering issues or need to build background on geotechnical analyses and design, including:

• Civil, Environmental and transportation engineers/technicians
• Geologists, city and public works officials/planners