CIVL2106

Soil Mechanics
Sérgio D.N. Lourenço
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Hong Kong
Delivery mode
• Face-to-face.
• Lectures to be recorded in first 2-weeks.

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Teaching assistants
• FOK Pak Hei, jonfph@connect.hku.hk (Atterberg
Limits)
• DAI Quanwei, qdai@connect.hku.hk ,
(Permeability)
• LI Ruoying, liry@connect.hku.hk , (Consolidation)
• CHEN Ke, u300806@connect.hku.hk, (Shear box)
• LIU Chong, chongliu@connect.hku.hk ,
(Assignments)
• ZHANG Shuaihao, szhang07@connect.hku.hk ,
Assignments
• QI Rui (Coordinator), ruiqi000@connect.hku.hk,
(Assignments)

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Reading
• Textbooks
• Craig’s Soil Mechanics (older editions)

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Reading
• Textbooks

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Reading
• Textbooks for download from HKUL

• Other electronic resources

http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/soilmech/classific
ation/default.htm
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Study strategy
• Follow the lectures
• Read textbooks

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What is soil mechanics?
• Soil mechanics describes the mechanical
behaviour of granular materials as they are
compressed or sheared, and as water flows
though them

techbullion.com
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Why is soil mechanics
important?
• Soil mechanics provides fundamental
knowledge to design geotechnical
structures:
• Foundations
• Excavations and lateral support
• Slope stability H-piles
• Dams
• Reclamation
• Site formation
• Ground improvement
• Landfills
• Other infrastructure for waste (including
nuclear) storage, energy production and Retaining wall
water management.
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Why is soil mechanics
important?
• When soil mechanics principles are not
followed…
• Leaning tower of Pisa – differential settlement
• Teton dam collapse – piping
• Sinking buildings in Niigata earthquake – dynamic
liquefaction

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What will you study?
➢Soil mechanics fundamentals
1. Basic characteristics of soils
2. Effective stress Part 1
3. Consolidation
4. Seepage
5. Shear strength Part 2

6. Unsaturated soils & foundations

38 hours

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What will you study?
➢Laboratory sessions
1. Atterberg limits
2. Permeability test (constant head)
3. Oedometer test
4. Shear box test

➢Assignments: 4

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Lectures plan (part 1)
• 01 September Th: Introduction; [CLASSIFICATION] Origin and
formation; composition; grading (PSD)
• 05 September M: [CLASSIFICATION] Atterberg limits
• 08 September Th: [CLASSIFICATION] Phase relations
• 15 September Th: [EFFECTIVE STRESS] Effective stress
• 19 September M: [COMPACTION] Compaction
• 22 September Th: [CONSOLIDATION] Consolidation process,
total settlement, mv; drained and undrained loading
• 26 September M: [CONSOLIDATION] Oedometer test procedure;
overconsolidation and preconsolidation pressure

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Lectures plan (Part I)
• 29 September Th: [CONSOLIDATION] Consolidation time
prediction, drainage path, Cv
• 03 October M: [CONSOLIDATION] Consolidation by dewatering;
drains and surcharge to accelerate consolidation
• 06 October Th: [SEEPAGE] Darcy’s law, 1-D seepage; Constant
and falling head tests; field measurement of permeability; scale
and anisotropy effect
• READING WEEK
• 17 October M: [SEEPAGE] 2-D Flownets
• 20 October Th: [SEEPAGE] Critical hydraulic gradient and
seepage forces

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Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Characterize soil as an engineering material
• Conduct laboratory experiments and analyze
and interpret the data
• Apply consolidation, seepage and shear
strength properties to solve engineering
problems
• Analyze the response of soil under external
loading

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Assessment
• Written exam (60%)
• Closed book. Relevant sheet(s) will be provided.
• Assignments (20%)
• Four assignments.
• Your final write up of your solutions must be your own
work.
• Late submission will be treated according to the
Department’s policy.
• Laboratory work (20%)
• Four laboratory reports.
• Check the Department website for your schedule.
• Mandatory sessions. Exceptions only with medical
certificates.
• Check the lab report guidelines on Moodle

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Comments & questions?
• Approach teacher and teaching assistants
during each lecture or laboratory session

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Next lecture
• Basic characteristics of soils
• Origin of soils
• Composition of soils
• Grain size distribution

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