CVEN 5480 - Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (3)

Introduction of unsaturated soil, stress-state variables, soil water suction and soil water characteristic curves, hydraulic function curves, flow in unsaturated soil, shear strength and slope stability analysis, lateral earth pressure and retaining structures design, and compressibility and volume change analysis for unsaturated soils. Prerequisite(s): Students must have taken the undergraduate course CVEN 3130 Soil Mechanics (2). Principles of soil mechanics, index properties of soils, particle size and gradation, soil identification and classification, permeability of soils, failure criteria, concept of effective stress in soils, shear strength and shear testing, settlement and consolidation tests.