CE 363 Soil Mechanics – 2018 Fall – Section 1

Instructor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Nejan HUVAJ SARIHAN

Room: K1-247 Email: nejan@metu.edu.tr Phone: 2105489
Lecture Hrs: Tuesdays 8:40 – 10:30 (TH-1) Wednesdays 08:40 – 11:30 (TH-6)
Office Hour: Tuesdays 10:40 – 12:00, or send an email to me for a meeting time

Assistants: Hilmi Bayraktaroğlu, Berkan Söylemez, Yılmaz Emre Sarıçiçek, Yağızer Yalçın
Assistants’ contact information and office hours will be announced at ODTUClass.

Course website: https://odtuclass.metu.edu.tr

COURSE CONTENT
Approx.
TOPIC
lecture hours
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. BASIC PROPERTIES OF SOILS
6
Phase relations; particle size analysis; Atterberg limits; soil classification; soil compaction.
3. EFFECTIVE STRESS
Principles of effective stress; stresses due to self weight; pore pressures in the zones below and above 4
the water table; excess pore pressure; mechanics of consolidation.
4. SEEPAGE
Darcy's law; measurement of permeability; flow nets; estimation of rate of seepage, pore pressure, and 6
likelihood of liquefaction from flow nets; effect of seepage on effective stress.
5. CONSOLIDATION THEORY
Oedometer test; coefficients of compressibility; compression index; Terzaghi's theory of one- 7
dimensional consolidation; coefficient of consolidation; degree of consolidation.
6. SHEAR STRENGTH
Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion; shear strength tests; shear strength of sands, and of saturated and 6
unsaturated clays.
7. LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE
Coefficients of active and passive earth pressure, and of earth pressure at rest; Rankine's theory of earth 5
pressure; Coulomb's wedge theory.
8. STABILITY OF SLOPES
Translational slides: block and wedges analysis; infinite slopes. Rotational slides: short-term stability of 7
saturated clays; method of slices for short and long term stability.

TEXT-BOOK: Craig's Soil Mechanics (2012), 8th Edition, by J. Knappett and R.F. Craig.
(Available at METU Library Reserve section) (See prescribed pages on the course website)
GRADING: 23%+23% Two Midterm exams
30% Final Exam
16.5% Laboratory work (11×1.5)
7.5% Homework (3+3+1.5)
LABORATORY WORK
Lab. Set 1: Intro; Sieve analysis; Atterberg limits; determination of specific gravity of solids; hydrometer
test; compaction test.
Lab. Set 2: Unconfined compression test; unconsolidated-undrained triaxial test; direct shear test;
laboratory vane test; consolidation test; constant head permeability test.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
* If you miss one exam, and if you have a medical report, you will be given a makeup exam after the final
exam date.
* There are 11 lab experiments (in 6 lab sessions). Lab attendance is compulsory. If you do not attend a lab
session, you cannot submit the reports of that lab.
* There will be 3 homeworks.