Course aims:

To understand the mechanical behaviour of the soil as building support, as load and as building material.
To be able to determine the mechanical properties of the soil, the settling of the foundation and the pushing force of slopes.
To elaborate the technical report of the mechanical properties of the soil.

Course Entry Requirements:

Not necessary.

Course contents:

1. Introduction. Short history. The structure of soil. The classification of soils. The soil as three phase system. The solid phase of the soil. The granular composition of the soil. 2. The physical and mechanical properties of the soil. The liquid phase of the soil. The effect of surface phenomenon on clay soils. The capillary water. The free water. 3. The mechanical effect of water on soil. Stopping the under pressure effect (ascending hydrodynamic motion). The frozen water. 4. Soil compressibility. General aspects. Elastic compressibility. The compaction law and the principle of effective pressures. The lateral restrained compressibility. 5. The influence of the soil’s state of stress history. The influence of cyclic loads. The influence of anisotropy. 6. The soil’s behaviour under shear force. The soil’s shear force bearing capacity. 7. Types of experimental methods. The factors that influence the soil’s shear force bearing capacity. 8. The state of stress in the soil massive. General aspects. Normal stresses from the soil’s self-weight. 9. The influence of anisotropy. The influence of limited thickness of the deformable layer. 10. The settling of the foundation terrain. The nature of strains. Methods for determining the settling of the terrain. 11. The pushing force of the slope. General aspects. The rest pushing force of the slope. Methods for determining the pushing force. 12. Methods based on the formation of the collapsing prism. The active pushing force – Coulomb’s theory. . 13. Aspects regarding methods for the determination of the pushing force of slopes.

Teaching methods:

Presentation, discussions, examples, laboratory experiments.

Learning outcomes:

Students will be able to identify the types of soils and to use their properties determined by laboratory and in-situ experiments. Students will be able to analyze the state of stress in the soil massive. Students will be able to determine the settling of the soil and the pushing force of the slopes.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Written exam (50% of final grade), 1 practical problem (20% of final grade), laboratory portfolio (30% of final grade).

Recommended reading:

V. Farcas, A.Popa,, Geotehnica. Teorie si exemple de calcul, Ed. UTPress,, Cluj-Napoca, 2014, 295.
V. Farcas, N. Ilies, Geotehnica. Îndrumător de laborator,, Ed. UTPress,, Cluj-Napoca, 2014, 180.
A. Popa,, Geotehnică, Exemple de calcul, Seria didactica, Cluj-Napoca, 1994, 120.