Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology

Description of soils and rocks for engineering purposes, formation of deposits, minerals and rocks, Quaternary geology, general geology. Stresses and stress changes in soils. Soil stiffness parameters. Calculation of settlements under footings and embankments. Ground water regimes and flow of water through porous media. Brief introduction on strength of soils and stability. Digital tools are to be used in several exercises.

Knowledge

The candidate should have knowledge of:

• The constitution of the earth crust with special emphasise on Norwegian conditions
• Formation processes of soil and rock types
• Properties of soils and rocks resulting from the formation processes
• Classification and identification of soil
• Stresses in soil, including effective stresses and porepressures
• Settlements resulting from loading the soil
• Seepage of water through soil.

Skills

The candidate is able to:

• Understand where different soils may be located in the terrain based on knowledge of Quarternary geology
• Identify common minerals and rock types
• Calculate stresses and settlements below embankments and foundations
• Estimate the time dependence of settlements
• Calculate ground water seepage, for example the flow rate into a construction pit.

General competence

The candidate:

• Knows what is dealt with in the subject areas of Engineering geology and Geotechnics and has acquired methodology and terminology
• Can perform practical engineering work within geotechnical problems
• Can perform simple laboratory tests in the laboratories at NTNU within geotechnics and geology.

Lectures, assignments. Laboratory work and demonstrations.