MABY5450 Urban Geotechnics Course description

According to the United Nations (UN) another 2.5 billion people will live in urban areas by 2050. Many cities will face challenges including to provide adequate transportation, energy systems and housing. Overcoming these challenges will require to develop new and to upgrade existing infrastructure. This course concerns the mechanical behaviour of soils and geotechnical structures when constructing urban infrastructure. The students will first obtain in-depth knowledge about how to calculate lateral earth pressures and to dimension earth supporting structures. The course will then move on to cover embedded structures with focus on tunnelling in soft ground. Theoretical background will be complemented by practical exercises including parametric 3D modelling of geotechnical structures. Finally, the student will become familiar with methods to assess the potential impact of ground works on the built environment. This course will extensively use examples from both practice and latest research, such as the BegrensSkade II / REMEDY project

Advanced soil mechanics

Geotechnical Site Investigation and Ground Modelling

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• obtained an integrated understanding of fundamental drivers of value, and valuation techniques
• implemented and understood the use of this knowledge in practical settings

Skills

The student is

• able to apply the main valuation techniques to real companies, to form an informed opinion as to the fair value of a company
• able to take complex financial information and distill them into relevant information for the valuation process
• able to present the findings of their analysis verbally and in written and presentation of the fair value of a corporation or project towards their peers

General competence

The student

• has completed demanding case work and presentations as constructive members of a student group
• can resolve discrepancies and argue why they are good solutions to the problem

Lectures, exercises and projects

None.

The exam consists of two parts:

1) 2-hour written exam under supervision, weighted 70%

2) Individual presentation of academic papers, weighted 30%

All assessment parts must be awarded a pass grade (E or better) in order for the student to pass the course. The project reports must be done before the exam.

Assessment part 1) can be appealed. Assessment part 2) can not be appealed.

For (1): All printed and written aids and a calculator that cannot be used to communicate with others.

For (2): all types of materials and equipment are allowed.

The students require a lot of practice to develop their analytical abilities. The subject matter is taught through ordinary lectures, guest lectures, group hand-ins and presentation, as well as discussions relating to case exercises.

The Course is Taught around 4 "blocks", where the first 3 hand-ins are steppingstones to the final report and presentation. Each student group has one case company throughout the course. Each block has the same structure of lectures/discussions, quiz, case work, presentation with feedback. This gives the students a piecemeal approach to the process of analyzing and valuing a publicly listed company.

The students will be given feedback on their Presentation, Writing and Typography skills in relation to their reports and presentations of their case company. The final report and presentation will partly be graded on how convincing, understandable, and well argued the report and presentation are. Succinctly arguing your findings is therefore essential.

The teaching is coordinated with ØABED4100.

The exam consists of two parts:

1) Written group project report, weighted 70%, and

2) Oral group presentation of the project following by individual Q&A, weighted 30%.

The assessment is form of group evaluation with 2-4 students in each group. The project report is approximately 5000 words. The oral presentation should be within 15-20 mins followed by individual Q&A session of 5-10 mins each.

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

Assessment part 1) can be appealed. Assessment part 2) can not be appealed.