CEG 6201            Experimental Determination of Soil Properties Fall 01

 

Class Location:  T R 7th Period (1:55-2:45), ??? Weil, T 8‑10 Period, Soil Lab

Instructor: Prof. F. C. Townsend, 392‑0926, 208 Reed Lab

References: Bishop & Henkel, "The Measurement of Soil Props. in the Triaxial Test" 1962; EM 110‑2‑1906 Soil Lab Testing; ASTM

Grading: Mid‑term & Final, 3 Lab Reports

    7.5 pt. scale; i.e. 100‑92.5 = A, 85‑92.5 = B, etc.

Goal: This class is designed to present lab testing techniques, and the development of soil parameters and constitutive models.

Objectives: Students are expected to be able to perform geotechnical laboratory tests, reduce data, interpret results, and verify soil models/behavior.

Outcomes: The course requires students to be able to conduct experiments, communicate effectively as teams, and use engineering spreadsheets to reduce/analyze data.

 

Week

Date

Subject

Lab

1

Aug 22

Intro to Course, Consolidation

CRS

2

Aug 27

Consolidation

CRS

3

Sept 5

Permeability

Permeability

4

Sept 10

Types of TXL Test

Permeability

5

Sept 17

Data Reduction

TXL

6

Sept 24

Spec. Prep, Back Pressure

TXL

7

Oct 1

Stress Paths

TXL

8

Oct 8

Instrumentation, End restraint

TXL

9

Oct 15

Intro to Elasticity

 

10

Oct 22

Intro to Elasticity

 

11

Oct 29

Plasticity, Homecoming

 

12

Nov 5

Plasticity

 

13

Nov 12

CSSM

 

14

Nov 19

Thanksgiving (No Classes)

 

15

Nov 26

Finite elements

PLAXIS

16

Dec 3

Centrifugal Modeling

 

 

Reports: Data reduction & graphs can be shared. Report content will represent individual effort. Please make an effort to uti­lize your own words/sentences vs. those of references. Please reference all quotes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              NOTES CONCERNING CEG 6201 LAB REPORTS

 

Introduction

 

The introduction section sets the stage as to why we are doing this research. Problem statement.  Example: (1) CRS tests provide an alternative to conventional oedometer tests for find­ing parameters to calculate magnitude & rate of settlement.  But are the results compatible?  or (2) What is the effect of stress path on f? (3) What is the effect of gradient on coefficient of permeability?

 

Purpose and Scope

 

This section states objectives and "what was done to achieve this objective".  Example: The purpose of this permeability test was to determine values for k, and evaluate the effects of gradi­ent and flow direction on k values.  These objectives were achieved by performing a double burette (ASTM D5084) test using various gradients and flow directions.

 

The introduction, purpose and scope, should tell the reader WHY (problem), objective, and WHAT/ HOW experiment was done.

 

Literature Review

 

For this section, present a brief review of those references that you will refer to in data analysis, or background you feel the reader should have to understand the report.  However, omit BASICS! Example: Carpenter and Stephenson (1885) observed that k decreased as i increased, which is contrary to Darcy's Law.  Do Not explain Darcy's Law.

 

Material (Soil), Test Equipment, and Procedure

 

A brief description on soil type, i.e., classification, visual description, grain‑size curves.

Specimen preparation‑ Compacted, undisturbed, pluviated, water contents, densities

Test equipment & Procedure ‑ Refer to ASTM or COE specs. wherever possible, and just note exceptions.

 

Presentation and Analysis of DATA

 

Make use of summary tables and graphs to present results and make "points" that will be in analysis of data. Place raw data in appendix. Alibis go here. Back‑up each spread‑sheet with example hand calculations.

 

Conclusions

 

1. Be concise

2. Each conclusion should be backed‑up in data analysis section

3.  For every purpose, there must be a conclusion

References