Use the Tab and Up, Down arrow keys to select menu items.
Properties and behaviour of rocks. Formation, properties and classification of soils. Strength and stiffness of soils. Applications to slopes, retaining walls, and site characterisation.
Soil Mechanics provides essential background and concepts for soil characterisation and classification, and the evaluation of mechanical behaviour of soils under applied loads. It is the first core course in our CNRE qualifications focusing on soil as an engineering material. ENCN253 is taught as a conventional single-semester course comprising lectures, tutorials and laboratories. The concepts and calculations learned in ENCN253 are used extensively in Geotechnical Engineering (ENCN353), Advanced Geotechnical Engineering (ENCN452) and Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering (ENCN454) courses in the Second and Third Professional Years. The course content has been developed on the assumption that ideas and understanding, as opposed to rote-learned formulae, are the backbone of successful engineering – our aim is to understand the behaviour of soil, and then use this knowledge to solve practical engineering problems and make decisions.
At the conclusion of this course you should be able to:- Interpret data and measurements from standard lab tests for the purpose of soil characterisation and classification (Module 1 and Lab activities);- Understand and apply the “Principle of Effective Stress” and explain its importance and relevance to geotechnical problems (Module 2);- Calculate static soil stresses (total and effective, vertical and horizontal) and pore water pressure for field deposits and lab test specimens (Module 2 and 3);- Describe and compare the stress-strain and deformation response of ‘loose’ and ‘dense’, ‘normally consolidated’ and ‘overconsolidated’ soils and explain the effects of confining pressure and density on soil stress-strain behaviour (Module 3);- Analyse flow of water through soil using fundamental fluid mechanics principles (Module 4);- Describe the geological and geomorphological processes responsible for the formation of soils, and relate geological processes to the likely nature and distribution of soils in different environments (Module 5)
Subject to approval of the Dean of Engineering and Forestry
ENCI252, ENCI271
For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering Head of Department
TO PASS: You cannot pass this course unless you achieve a mark of at least 40% in the final exam. Assignments: All assignments can be done individually or in pairs. If done in pairs a single submission for marking is required and both students receive the same mark. It is important that both students play an equal role in completing the assessment as the internal assessment is designed to prepare you for the formal assessments. All assignments must be submitted by the due date. Late submissions will not be accepted. If a student is unable to complete and submit an assignment by the deadline due to personal circumstances beyond their control they should discuss this with the lecturer involved as soon as possible.Assignments should be submitted to the drop box marked “ENCN 253” located on the 2nd floor of the Civil/Mech. Eng. building, adjacent to the civil computer suite. Official departmental coversheet should be used for all submissions. Assignments submitted without a coversheet will receive a mark of zero. Special consideration: Students may apply for special consideration if their performance in an assessment is affected by extenuating circumstances beyond their control. Applications for special consideration should be submitted via the Examinations Office website http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/exams/ within five days of the assessment. Where an extension may be granted for an assessment, this will be decided by direct application to the Department and an application to the Examinations Office may not be required. Special consideration is not available for items worth less than 10% of the course, tutorials and laboratories.Students prevented by extenuating circumstances from completing the course after the final date for withdrawing, may apply for special consideration for late discontinuation of the course. Applications must be submitted to the Examinations Office within five days of the end of the main examination period for the semester.Tutorials: There will be 8 Soil Mechanics tutorials (i.e. Module 1-4, weeks 1-8) and 3 Geology tutorials (i.e. Module 5, weeks 9-11). At the end of each tutorial you will be asked to hand in your work. Each tutorial is worth 0.5%. In order to obtain the full 5% of the course grade associate with tutorials you will need to attend and hand in a good attempt for 10 tutorials. Late submissions will not be accepted.If a student is unable to attend a tutorial due to personal circumstances beyond their control they should discuss this with the lecturer involved as soon as possible.Labs: All laboratory reports must be done in group. If you need to swap lab groups due to a clash, please speak to Siale Faitotonu in the first instance. Marking queries: Students are not permitted to contact the markers. Should you wish to discuss the marking of a piece of coursework, please contact the Course Coordinator.
There are no specific recommended text book that are required for the course, but extensive notes and reference material will be provided. Useful references includes the following:• Holtz, R.D. and Kovacs, W.D. (1981). An introduction to Geotechnical Engineering. Prentice-Hall, 1st Edition, pp. 733.• Powrie, W. (2004). Soil Mechanics: concepts and applications. SPON Press, pp. 741.• Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering. Ceneage Learning, 7th Edition, pp. 666.
Domestic fee $919.00
International fee $5,000.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering .