MABY5430 Foundation Solutions Course description

Foundations are the part of structures to transfer loads from the superstructure to the underlying soil and rock. The foundation design requires the fundamental understanding of soil and rock mechanics and therefore has been one major task for geotechnical engineers. This course starts with the topics regarding the foundation type and design principle and presents analysis and design methods for different foundation types under axial and lateral loading conditions. In addition, great focus is put on the application of industrial standard such as Eurocode 7 and numerical methods into the foundation design where students and lectors work through several worked examples together. Some other topics such as foundation construction and foundations on the special grounds are also briefly introduced in this course.

BYGG2200 Geotechnics or equivalent Bachelors course at another Institution

After completing this course, the student will gain the following knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

Students have in-depth knowledge of:

• various foundation types and principles of foundation selection and design
• design parameters and ground models from lab tests and in-situ investigation for foundation design
• theories and calculation methods of foundation load capacity, structural deformation, and settlement
• assessinng possible damage to buildings due to foundation settlement
• design methods for various foundation types including shallow foundations, rafts, buoyancy foundations, piled foundations
• ground improvement under special soil conditions

Skills

Students can:

• identify foundation types and make proper choice of foundation type for structure
• use key soil parameters and factors for ground conditions which are most relevant for foundation design
• calculate the capacity, deformation and settlement of foundation based on various methods and be familiar with limits of each method
• make the foundation design following industrial standard
• be familiar with FEM method and software to help foundation design

General competence

Students:

• have solid understanding of stress and displacement distribution field around the foundation
• have geotechnical competence to fulfil general foundation design
• can follow industrial standards and use numerical tools for foundation design
• are familiar with measures to work with foundation design under special ground condition

The teaching consists of lectures, exercises and project work.

A project for which a presentation will be made, will be undertaken towards the end of the semester

The following work requirements are mandatory and must be approved to take the exam:

3 written group exercises with 2-4 students in each group. Depending on the class size these exercises may be undertaken by individual students.

In the intervening weeks the students will complete an exercise each week. This exercise will be corrected and the students given feedback.

The exam consists of two parts:

1) Written individual exam under supervision, 3 hours, weighted 70 %, and

2) 15-20 minutes oral presentation of a topic followed by 5-10 minutes Q&A, weighted 30 %.

All assessment parts must be awarded a pass grade (E or better) for the student to pass the course.

Part 1 can be appealed, part 2 can not be appealed.

For the written individual exam, the students will be allowed to bring in paper notes including print outs of the lecture notes. Also they can bring a calculator that cannot be used to communicate with others.

All types of materials and equipment are allowed for oral presentation.

Grade scale A-F

1) One internal examiner

2) Two internal examiner

External examiners are used regularly

Michael Long