Geotechnical

Engineering Research Laboratory Edward L. Hajduk, D.Eng, PE

One University Avenue Lecturer
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854
Tel: (978) 934‐2621 Fax: (978) 934‐3046
e‐mail: Edward_Hajduk@uml.edu
web site: http://faculty.uml.edu/ehajduk
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Updated September 4, 2013

14.531 ADVANCED SOIL MECHANICS

FALL 2014
R - 6:30-9:20 PM in KI-302
Instructors: Edward L. Hajduk, D.Eng, PE
Pasteur Hall Room 105D (PA105D)
E-Mail: Edward_Hajduk@uml.edu
Office Hours: See office door or website. Also by appointment.

Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor

Corequisite: None

Textbook: Soil Mechanics, Lambe, T.W. and Whitman, R.V., (John Wiley and
Sons)

Helpful Textbooks (not required but good for a geotechnical engineer to have):
 Principles of Soil Mechanics, R.F. Scott (Addison-Wesley)
 Soil Mechanics, R.F. Craig (Taylor & Francis Group)
 Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering, C.S. Desai and J.T. Christian
(McGraw-Hill)
 Mohr Circles Stress Paths and Geotechnics, R. H. G. Parry (Taylor & Francis
Group)
 An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, R.D. Holtz and W.D. Kovacs
(Prentice-Hall)

Supplemental Course Material (Available via course website or Internet):

 Elastic Solutions for Soil and Rock Mechanics, H.G. Poulos and E.H. Davis
(Wiley and Sons)
http://research.engr.oregonstate.edu/usucger/PandD/PandD.htm
 Critical State Soil Mechanics, Andrew Schofield and Peter Wroth
(http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~viesca/articles/Schofield_&_Wroth_CriticalState
SoilMechanics.pdf)
 Soil Mechanics, Arnold Verruijt (Delft University of Technology -
http://ocw.tudelft.nl/fileadmin/ocw/courses/DredgingProcesses/res00020/embedd
ed/SoilMechBook.pdf)

Additional Course Material (e.g. lecture slides):

 As determined by Instructor. To be made available via course website. Email, or
via Internet.

14.531 Syllabus Rev 09-14 Page 1 of 4

 Geotechnical Engineering Research Laboratory Edward L. Hajduk, D.Eng, PE
One University Avenue Lecturer
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854
Tel: (978) 934‐2621 Fax: (978) 934‐3046
e‐mail: Edward_Hajduk@uml.edu
web site: http://faculty.uml.edu/ehajduk
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Course Description
Theories of soil mechanics and their application. Drained and undrained stress-strain
and strength behavior of soils. Lateral earth pressures, bearing capacity, slope stability,
seepage and consolidation. Lab and in-situ testing.

Basis of Course Grade:

Component % of Grade
Weekly Assignments 50%
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%

Grading will NOT be conducted on a curve; it is theoretically possible for the whole
class to earn an A or an F. You will have one (1) week from when assignments and/or
exams are returned to discuss your grade.

Assignments, with the noted exception of the course project, will have 20% late penalty
deduction from the earned points for each day past the assignment due date. Note the
assignment due date will be determined by the Instructor and told to students in class
the day the assignment is given. Any assignment extensions will also be told to
students in class. Assignments must be handed directly to the Instructor unless
directed otherwise by the Instructor. For example, an assignment due on a Friday is
turned in the following Monday. The student earned a grade of 82/100 points for the
assignment. The assignment is three days late (Saturday is 1 day late, Sunday is 2
days late, Monday is 3 days late). 20% of 82 points is 16.4 points, times 3 equals 49.2
points. The final assignment grade = 82 - 49.2 = 32.8 points.

Grading Breakdown (based on total percentage from components listed above):

A ≥ 93%
90% ≤ A- < 93%
87% ≤ B+ < 90%
83% ≤ B < 87%
80% ≤ B- < 83%
77% ≤ C+ < 80%
73% ≤ C < 77%
70% ≤ C- < 73%
65% ≤ D < 70%
F < 65%

14.531 Syllabus Rev 09-14 Page 2 of 4

 Geotechnical Engineering Research Laboratory Edward L. Hajduk, D.Eng, PE
One University Avenue Lecturer
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854
Tel: (978) 934‐2621 Fax: (978) 934‐3046
e‐mail: Edward_Hajduk@uml.edu
web site: http://faculty.uml.edu/ehajduk
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Honor and Ethics:

Engineers have a trust placed on them by society to ensure that the public safety is held
paramount. People constantly depend on engineers to provide safe bridges, buildings,
drinking water, etc. This trust must not be violated. For this reason, no form of
academic dishonesty will be tolerated in this class. No electronic devices of any type,
with the exception of calculators, are allowed during exams. Students caught using
electronic devices other than calculator will be given a grade of zero. Students are
encouraged to work together on homework assignments and class projects (if
assigned). However, any evidence of direct copying of a homework assignment will
result in a zero grade for that assignment for all students involved. You must cite and
acknowledge all people and sources used in your work. Students submitting academic
work for an individual grade are individually held to not plagiarize. Plagiarism is defined
as representing the words or ideas of another as one's own work in any academic
exercise. For assignments other that the course project, materials from outside
sources must be documented using the American Society of Civil Engineers Author-
Date format detailed at http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=29606. For additional
details on academic dishonesty, go to the UML’s Academic Integrity Policy at
http://www.uml.edu/catalog/undergraduate/policies/academic_dishonesty.htm.

Email Policy:
When required, I will send class information to students via email using the Intercampus
Student Information System (iSiS) system. iSiS sends emails to your UML student
email address. Every student who registers for courses at the University of
Massachusetts – Lowell receives a UML student email address. If you have not already
setup your student email, contact the UML Information Technology Department at 978-
934-4357 (934-HELP) or visit http://www.uml.edu/it/shared/EMail_Students.html.
Students are responsible for checking your UML email account for messages from me
for this course.

Academic Support:
Please contact me privately if you need accommodations because of a disability. The
University’s Policy for Students with Disabilities will be followed for this course
(http://www.uml.edu/student-services/disability/policy.html).

14.531 Syllabus Rev 09-14 Page 3 of 4

 Geotechnical Engineering Research Laboratory Edward L. Hajduk, D.Eng, PE
One University Avenue Lecturer
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854
Tel: (978) 934‐2621 Fax: (978) 934‐3046
e‐mail: Edward_Hajduk@uml.edu
web site: http://faculty.uml.edu/ehajduk
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Tentative Course Schedule:

Number of L&W
TOPIC(S)
Lectures Section
Introduction and The Nature of Soil
 Phase Relations
 Soil Mineralogy
1.5 Part I & Part II
 Index Properties
 Soil Classification
 Interparticle Forces
Dry Soil
 Principal Stresses
 Stress Paths
 Stress Distributions
 Stress-Strain Behavior of Sands
4.5  Strength of Sands Part III
 Mohr-Coulomb Theory
 Lateral Earth Pressure
 Rankine Theory
 Bearing Capacity & Settlement of Shallow
Foundations
Soil with Water – No Flow or Steady Flow
 Effective Stress Concept
 1 & 2 Dimensional Flow
 Permeability & Flow Nets
4 Part IV
 Drained Stress-Strain and Strength Behavior
 Stability of Drained Slopes and Retaining Walls
 Bearing Capacity and Settlements of Shallow
Foundations under Drained Conditions
Soil with Water – Transient Flow
 Pore Pressure during Undrained Loading
 Consolidation Theory
3  Stress-Strain and Strength during Undrained Part V
Loading
 Slopes, Retaining Walls, and Shallow
Foundations during Undrained Loading
Key Dates:
November 26: Class (Thursday Class Schedule on a Wednesday)
November 27: No Class (Thanksgiving)
December 3: Last Day to Withdraw with Grade of W.
TBD: Last Day to submit Graduate Clearance Form for Fall degree.

14.531 Syllabus Rev 09-14 Page 4 of 4