Courses

Highlights the role of geology in engineering minerals; rocks; surficial deposits; rocks and soils as engineering materials; distribution of rocks at and below the surface; hydrologic influences; geologic exploration of engineering sites; mapping; and geology of underground excavations, slopes, reservoirs, and dam sites. Includes field trips.

Studies basic characteristics of geological materials; soil and rock classifications; site investigation; physical, mechanical, and hydraulic properties of geologic materials; the effective stress principle; soil and rock improvement; seepage analysis; stress distribution; and consolidation and settlement analyses. Selected experimental and computational laboratories. Prereq., CVEN 3161 or MCEN 2063. Prerequisites: Requires pre-requisite course of CVEN 3161 or MCEN 2063. Restricted to Civil (CVEN), Environmental (EVEN), or Architectural (AREN) Engineering majors only.

Discusses shear strength, bearing capacity, lateral earth pressures, slope stability, and underground construction. Analyzes and looks at the design of shallow and deep foundations, retaining walls, tunnels, and other earth and rock structures. Selected experimental and computational laboratories. Prereq., CVEN 3708. Prerequisites: Requires pre-requisite course of CVEN 3708 (minimum grade C-). Restricted to College of Engineering majors only.

Focuses on geotechnical design of shallow and deep foundations, including spread footings, mats, driven piles, and drilled piers. Coverage includes bearing capacity, settlement, group effects, and lateral load capacity of the various foundation types. Additional topics include subsurface exploration, construction of deep foundations, and analysis of pile behavior using wave equation and dynamic monitoring methods. Prereqs., CVEN 3718 or instructor consent. Same as CVEN 5728.

Focuses on geotechnical design of shallow and deep foundations, including spread footings, mats, driven piles, and drilled piers. Coverage includes bearing capacity, settlement, group effects, and lateral load capacity of the various foundation types. Additional topics include subsurface exploration, construction of deep foundations, and analysis of pile behavior using wave equation and dynamic monitoring methods. Prereqs., CVEN 3718 or instructor consent. Same as CVEN 5728.

Involves an independent, in-depth study, research, or design in a selected area of civil or environmental engineering. Offerings are coordinated with individual faculty. Students should consult the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering. Numbered CVEN 4840 through CVEN 4878.

Covers fundamental principles of seepage in soils under both saturated and unsaturated conditions and limit equilibrium solution to slope stability problems. The seepage effects on slope stability are analyzed in detail and both conventional slope stability method and the finite element technique are applied to solving the engineering problems. Prereqs., CVEN 3708 and 3718 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Provides students with principles and working knowledge of design and construction procedures in soil stabilization, retaining structures, geosynthetics, and soil reinforcement. Prereq., CVEN 3718 or instructor consent.

Provides an understanding of the use of geotechnical concepts in the analysis and design of environmental systems. Focus is placed on the evaluation of waste containment facilities. Including relevant saturated, unsaturated, and multiphase flow machanisms in cover and liner systems. Includes stability analyses for landfills and geosynthetic interface shear strength. Covers relevant aspects of mining geotechnics and remediation technologies of contaminated sites.

Offers an advanced course in principles of soil mechanics. Coverage includes topics in continuum mechanics; elasticity, viscoelasticity, and plasticity theories applied to soils; the effective stress principle; consolidation; shear strength; critical state concepts; and constitutive, numerical, and centrifuge modeling. Prereq., CVEN 3718. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Same as CVEN 4718.

Same as CVEN 4728. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Studies applications of limiting equilibrium and limit plasticity analysis methods to stability problems ingeotechnical engineering, such as slopes, lateral earth pressures on retaining structures, and bearing capacities of foundations. Also includes elastic and consolidation analysis of deformations in soil structures. Prereq., CVEN 5708 or instructor consent.

Covers theory, design, and construction of earth embankments and waste facilities, including isolation systems. Uses published data, field exploration, and laboratory tests on soils and rock in investigating foundations and construction materials. Involves principles of compaction and settlement, permeability analysis, landslide recognition and control, use of composite clay, and liner systems. Prereq., CVEN 5708 or instructor consent.

Examines fundamental principles of flow through porous media and related engineering problems. Topics include the saturated seepage theory and flow nets; the unsaturated flow theory; suction-saturation and saturation-hydraulic conductivity relationships; nonlinear finite strain consolidation and desiccation theory; laboratory and field testing methods for determining material characteristics; and numerical models for flow-related engineering problems.Prereq., CVEN 3718 or instructor consent.

Nature of rocks and rock masses; engineering properties rock and rock mass; rock mass classifications; planes of weakness; application of rock mechanics to design of rock slopes, underground excavations, and foundations. Prereqs., CVEN 3708 and 3718, or instructor consent.

Introduces computational modeling for geotechnical engineering applications such as the Discrete Element Method (DEM) for granular materials, nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of seepage, coupled soil elastoplastic consolidation, elastoplasicity models for soil and rock, and advanced computational methods for failure in soil and rock. Uses DEM, FEA, and other software programs for analysis. Prereq., CVEN 5708, or instructor consent.

Examines the behavior of soils and foundations subjected to self-excited vibrations and earthquake ground motions. Looks at principles of wave propagation in geologic media; in situ and laboratory determination of engineering properties for dynamic analysis; and applications of these principles and properties in design and analysis of foundations and earth structures subjected to dynamic loading. Prereq., CVEN 5708 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Familiarizes students with the fundamentals of engineering seismology, soil and structural dynamics, and the modern practice of geotechnical earthquake engineering. Focuses on describing earthquake hazards and methods for seismic analysis and design. Recommended prereq., CVEN 5798. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Considers constitutive behavior of cohesive and cohesionless soils including stress-strain, strength, pore water pressure, and volume change behavior under drained and undrained loading conditions. Also includes linear and nonlinear analysis techniquesand determination of constitutive properties in the laboratory. Prereq., CVEN 5708 or instructor consent.

Topics include soil mineralogy, formation of soils through sedimentary processes and weathering, determination of soil composition, soil water, colloidal phenomena in soils, fabric property relationships, analysis of mechanical behavior including compressibility, strength and deformation, and conduction phenomena in terms of physicochemical principles. Involves applications for stabilization and improvement of soils, and disposal of waste materials. Prereq., CVEN 3718 or instructor consent.