Environmental Engineering

General characteristics of soils Definition and constitution of soil - Properties of individual soil particles - Structure of clay minerals - Interaction between particles and interstitial fluids - Soil structure - Relationships between phases - Identification and classification of soils: grain size classification and classification based on Atterberg limits (plasticity chart). Description and representation of stress and strain states Application of continuum mechanics to multiphase granular media - Analysis and representation of stress and strain states - Invariants and stress and strain paths - Effective stress principle (overlapping continua): total stress, interstitial pressures, and effective stresses - General definitions of drained and undrained conditions - Lithostatic stress state. Capillarity. Filtration processes Phenomenological aspects - Darcy's law - Laplace's equations - One-dimensional and two-dimensional filtration processes - Experimental determination of permeability coefficient - Solution of governing equations: analytical, graphical, and numerical methods. Siphoning and bottom uplift in excavation. Reference constitutive models Definition of a constitutive model - Load-controlled, deformation-controlled, and mixed-controlled tests - Definition of failure and failure criteria (strength law) - Constitutive relationships: elastic, perfectly plastic, strain-hardening, and non-hardening elasto-plastic. Experimental evidence of soil mechanical behavior Laboratory equipment - Edometric test - Direct shear test - Triaxial compression tests - Stiffness at small deformation levels and its evolution - Compressibility and strength characteristics (peak, critical state, residual) - Plasticization and strain hardening - Sampling. Finite element analysis General problem setup - Definition of subsurface geotechnical model and geotechnical model for the specific problem - Criteria for choosing and calibrating constitutive relationships - Analysis of behavior under loading and stability checks under undrained and drained conditions, and study of consolidation phenomena. Analytical, numerical, limit analysis, and limit equilibrium methods for finite element problems - Consolidation theory: phenomenological aspects - Terzaghi's one-dimensional consolidation theory - Experimental determination of consolidation coefficient - Vertical drains to accelerate consolidation processes. Application problems Resistance to surface loads - Stability of excavation fronts - Pressures on support structures - Calculation of settlements - Evaluation of settlement evolution over time in fine-grained soils.

Having passed the prerequisite exams, in particular Structural Science

 Lancellotta R. - Geotechnics, ed. Zanichelli; ed. 1987 (chapters 1 and 2);  Miliziano S. - Filtration Processes, ed. Hevelius;  Handouts distributed during the course and available on the teacher's webpage: Mechanical behavior of soils: experimental evidence, modeling, and initial applications to finite element problem solving; Laboratory tests; Consolidation processes.  Educational videos.

The course consists of frontal lectures, weekly exercises, and laboratory visits.

The exam consists of a written test, which includes three exercises, followed by an oral exam consisting of three questions. The final evaluation is based on both the written and oral exams.

The course consists of frontal lectures, weekly exercises, and laboratory visits.