Course Catalogue.

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

• Appreciate the importance of geology in soil mechanics.
• Determine index properties of soils.
• Characterize and classify different soils.
• Understand how water changes the states of soils.

Description
Geotechnical engineering is a branch of civil engineering that deals with the mechanical behaviour of soil and rock and their interaction with structures. Most engineers responsible for the design and construction of structure, energy and transportation systems need a working understanding of basic geotechnical engineering concepts to gain confidence in dealing with various soil and foundation-related problems that they encounter on engineering projects.

This course is designed so that participants can better understand basic concepts of geotechnical mechanics (origin and formation of soil, soil types, index properties, and classification).

Course Outline

• Origin and formation of soil: soil types
• Phase relationships in soil: index properties
• Soil description and classification
• Particle size distribution: Sieve analysis and Hydrometer tests
• Consistency of soil: clay minerals, Atterberg limits
• Stress in soil: total and effective stress

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