MABY5450 Urban Geotechnics Course description

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a system of hardware, software, and procedures designed to support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling and display of spatially referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems. GIS applications use both spatial information (maps) and databases to perform analytical studies.

This course, including both lectures and practices, will cover the fundamental theories and methods of GIS. A series of seminars will enable the students to make practical use of GIS with hands-on experience.

In this course, the students will learn to edit, organize and manipulate spatial data in meaningful ways to solve spatial problems, using ESRI ArcGIS software and different open-source alternatives (QGIS and R).

GIS technology has broad applications in natural and social sciences, humanities, environmental studies, engineering, and management. Examples include: Urban and Regional Planning, Community and Economic Planning and Development, Housing Studies, Transit and Transportation Issues, Land Use, Historic and Archeological Studies, Agriculture and Forestry, Wildlife Habitat Study, Crime Analysis and Policing, Emergency Management and Public Works Utilities, Census and Demographic Studies, Public Health, Contagious Disease Monitoring, and Business uses including Marketing and Advertising. This course will introduce a few selected cases of GIS application in different disciplines.

MABY5410 Advanced soil mechanics

MABY5420 Geotechnical Site Investigation and Ground Modelling

After completing this course, the student has the following learning outcomes, defined as knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

Students have in-depth knowledge of:

• earth pressure theory
• types of retaining walls and design (serviceability and ultimate limit state)
• excavation support systems including tunnels in soft ground and soil stabilisation
• ground movements due to excavation works and effects on the built environment
• basics of parametric 3D modelling
• the observational method in geotechnical engineering and associated instrumentation and monitoring

Skills

Students can:

• calculate the lateral earth pressure
• select and design retaining walls and excavation support systems
• analyse the behaviour of tunnels in soft ground
• quantify the effect of ground movements on structures
• formulate a geotechnical report and a small research publication

General competence

Students:

• can understand the principles of soil strength, stress history and critical state soil mechanics
• can apply plasticity and limit equilibrium methods to analyse earth support systems
• are familiar with excavation-induced ground movements and their impacts on close by structures
• can understand the principles of the observational method in geotechnical engineering
• have an overview of geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring solutions
• have the writing skills to formulate a geotechnical report or a small research publication

Lab assignments must be handed in on Canvas

Students who fail to meet the coursework requirements can be given up to one re-submission opportunity.

Portfolio assessment:

-Perform an individual GIS- analysis from a chosen urban area

-Individual or group in-depth report, approx. 10-15 pages for single students, for groups the page count depends on composition and task. Group size is dependent on complexity of the task, but a median group size of two with up to five participants are anticipated. Students may write the report alone as well.

-Oral presentation

Each student's work will be assessed together as a portfolio with one individual grade at the end of the semester, but all three parts that make up the portfolio must be assessed as 'pass' in order for the student to pass the course. The overall assessment can be appealed.

All aids allowed.

Graded scale A-F.

Two internal examiners. External examiners are used regularly.

John Östh

None