Advanced Soil Mechanics

Course objectives

The main aim of the course is the improvement of the student’s knowledge into the field of mechanical behaviour of both granular and clayey soils. In detail, the main objectives of the course are the following: i) improve the knowledge of experimental techniques in laboratory and in situ for soil mechanics characterization ii) improve the knowledge of mechanical behaviour of soil through the study of advanced constitutive models appropriate to describe the main aspects of soil features; iii) increase the student’s capability to set up soil geotechnical models to solve different classes of boundary values problems.At the end of the course the student will acquire the following ability: i) carried out an experimental program to define the mechanical properties of soils, elaborate and interpret test results; ii) select the adequate constitutive model to solve specific boundary values problems; iii) set up geotechnical soil model to approach different categories of boundary values problems.

Channel 1
SALVATORE MILIZIANO Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Lessons: Basics of geotechnics: Definition of soil; Composition and structure of soils; Principle of effective stresses; Definitions of drained and undrained conditions; Reference constitutive models: Definition of constitutive model; Stress-controlled, strain-controlled tests and mixed-controlled tests; Definition of failure and failure criterion; Advanced constitutive models for sandy and clayey soils and calibration procedures; Experimental data on the mechanical behavior of soils: Small strain stiffness and its evolution; Strength (peak,. critical state, residual); Yielding and hardening; Sampling. Boundary value problem: Definition of geotechnical model with reference to the specific case of study; Selection criteria of constitutive models; serviceability and limit state analyses; Undrained and drained conditions and consolidation process; Limit analyses, Limit equilibrium methods; Numerical methods. Practice exercises: Laboratory: Sample opening and description of general features - Evaluation of water content, unit weight of soil and specific weight of grains; grading and evaluation of Atterberg limits; Preparation, performing, elaboration and interpretation of oedometric, triaxial and direct shear tests. Numerical analyses: Setup of numerical models to study the response of geotechnical engineering structures: closed form solutions; numerical analyses of continua; limit analyses; limit equilibrium methods.
Prerequisites
Having passed Soil Mechanics, Structural Science, and all the prerequisite exams required by the academic regulations
Books
Along with the lecture notes available on the website, recommended textbooks are: Soil behaviour and critcal state soil mechanics, di DM Wood, Cambridge University Press Geotechnical modelling di DM Wood, CRC press.
Frequency
The attendance of lectures and experimental laboratory activities is required in-person
Exam mode
Oral exam
  • Lesson code1019501
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseCivil Engineering
  • CurriculumIngegneria Civile (percorso valido anche ai fini del conseguimento del doppio titolo italo-francese e italo-spagnolo)
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDICAR/07
  • CFU6