School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

  Semester 2, 2017

 
CVEN9513
 

 
ADVANCED FOUNDATION
  ENGINEERING

COURSE DETAILS
Units of Credit 6
Contact hours 35 hours
Class & Workshop Short Course:
9-11 August Room: Civil Engineering Building (H20), Room 109
14-15 August Room: Civil Engineering Building (H20), Room 109

Lecturer Associate Professor Dunja Perić

email: peric@k-state.edu

Course Coordinator Dr Babak Shahbodagh-Khan

and Lecturer email: b.shahbodagh@unsw.edu.au

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course will cover analysis and design of shallow foundations and limitations of methods, analysis methods of
single piles and pile groups, structural design of Mat foundations, analysis and construction methods of sheet pile
walls, drilled shafts, and earth retaining structures. The course will also cover a basic background of soil mechanics
including principles of critical state soil mechanics. In addition, it will introduce students to the analysis of foundations
using numerical methods.

ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering to Bachelor of Civil Engineering standard.

OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the state of the art of analysis and design in foundation
engineering and in-depth knowledge of the theory of soils and foundations. By the end of the course, successful
students will be able to apply theoretical, empirical and numerical analysis and design techniques to foundation
engineering problems.

The course is designed to address the learning objectives and outcomes below and the corresponding Engineers
Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Professional Engineers as shown. The full list of Stage 1 Competency
Standards may be found in Appendix A.

Learning Objectives & Outcomes  EA Stage 1 Competencies 
To introduce students to advanced topics concerned with analysis and
  design in foundation engineering. To have the students understand PE1.1‐PE1.3, PE1.5, PE2.1‐PE2.3  
and be able to apply the techniques of analysis and design. 
Be able to apply advanced theoretical, numerical, empirical and design
  PE1.1‐PE1.6, PE2.1‐PE2.3, PE3.2‐PE3.4 
techniques to foundation engineering problems. 
For each hour of contact it is expected that you will put in at least 1.5 hours of private study. 

CVEN9513– Semester 2, 2017 – Course Profile - 1

TEACHING STRATEGIES
An example of the approaches to learning is:

Private Study  Review lecture materials and textbook

 Do set problems and assignments
 Reflect on class problems and assignments
 Download materials from Moodle
 Keep up with notices and find out marks via Moodle
Lectures  Find out what you must learn
 See methods that are not in the notes/textbooks
 Follow worked examples
 Hear announcements on course changes
Assessments (Final exam, assignments)  Demonstrate your knowledge and skills
 Demonstrate higher understanding and problem solving

COURSE PROGRAM
Day Time Topic Lecturer

Wednesday, 9:00- Introduction: design methods (ASD and LRFD), computational analysis DP
09/08 12:30 methods (FEM and FDM) in foundation engineering
Geotechnical properties of soils: stresses and strains, critical state soil
mechanics
Wednesday, 13:30– Bearing capacity of shallow foundations: failure modes, Terzaghi ‘s DP
09/08 17:00 theory, Meyerhof’s theory, effect of ground water table, and eccentrically
loaded shallow foundations
Thursday, 9:00 – Mat foundations: types of mat foundations, bearing capacity and DP
12:30 differential settlement, structural design by use of rigid and flexible methods,
10/08 piled mat foundations

Thursday, 13:30 Pile foundations: types of piles, bearing capacity of piles for axial DP
– compression and extension, settlement analysis of single pile, laterally
10/08 17:00 loaded piles, capacity, settlement and consolidation of group piles

Friday, 11/08 9:00 – Drilled shafts: construction, load transfer mechanism and allowable DP
12:30 bearing capacity for axially and laterally loaded shafts

Friday, 11/08 13:30 Lateral pressure and earth retaining structures: Rankine and Coulomb’s DP
– theories, gravity and cantilever walls, mechanically stabilized earth retaining
17:00 walls

Monday, 14/08 9:00 – Sheet pile walls: construction, cantilever sheet pile walls, anchored sheet DP
12:30 pile walls

Monday, 14/08 13:30 Project based learning- Simplified and state-of-the-art predictions of DP
17:00 failure load of a test pile. The predictions of failure load of an open ended
steel pipe pile will be obtained based on: 1) in situ tests (SPT, CPT and
MASW), and 2) by using the state of the art Imperial College Pile Design
Methods.
Tuesday, 9:00 – Numerical Analysis of Foundations: Finite element analysis of shallow BSK
15/08 12:30 foundations in plane-strain condition
Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the ability of the method
to provide accurate solutions to conventional problems and also insights
into novel problems.

CVEN9513– Semester 2, 2017 – Course Profile - 2

 Tuesday, 13:30 Dynamics of Piles and Pile Groups: Analytical and numerical methods for BSK
15/08 17:00 dynamic analysis of single piles and pile groups embedded in semi-infinite
media

ASSESSMENT
1. Assignment (1) due on October 4 value: 25%

2. Assignment (2) due on October 25 value: 25%

3. Final exam held in the formal exam period value: 50%

Notes:
 The final exam is open-book and you may bring any textbooks or course materials to the exam.
 The Coordinator reserves the right to adjust the final scores by scaling if agreed to by the Head of School.
 Exam scripts will not be returned.
 A mark of at least 40% in the final examination is required before the class work is included in the final mark.
 Assignments should be either handed to the lecturer, or handed in to the School Office. They may also be posted
by express mail to the lecturer (a copy must be retained by the student). Email and fax submissions will not be
accepted. Include a stamped and self-addressed envelope with the assignment so it can be returned when
marked.
 Late work may not be accepted or assessed, or may be penalized. If you have a good reason for being unable to
submit your work on time, it is important that you let your lecturer know promptly. There are two kinds of provisions
made for students who have good reasons for late submission, as detailed in the next two points.
 Students who are late with assignments may apply to the subject coordinator for an extension. You must apply for
an extension before the due date. Extensions may be refused if you do not present documented medical or other
evidence of illness or misadventure. An extension is only for a short period, usually no more than a week.
 Where a longer period is needed, you should apply for Special Consideration. You must make a formal application
as soon as practicable after the problem occurs and within three working days of the assessment to which it refers.
The application must be made on the ‘Request for Consideration’ form available from NewSouth Q. The completed
application form must be submitted to NewSouth Q.
 All Distance/Short course mode students are expected to sit their final examination on Kensington campus
(Sydney). If you reside further than 40 Km from the Kensington campus, and you wish to sit your exam externally
(by distance), you must register for an external exam by the UNIVERSITY CENSUS DATE (Semester 1: 31st
March; Semester 2: 31st August) more information found here.

RELEVANT RESOURCES
The following references may be particularly useful. Although it is not necessary to purchase a book for this course,
Principles of Foundation Engineering by Das (2015) is a good textbook that would be valuable inclusions in any
geotechnical engineer’s personal library.

 Das B.M., (2015) “Principles of Foundation Engineering”, 8th Edition, Cengage Learning.
 Coduto, D.P., Kitch, W.A. and Yeung, M.R. (2015) “Foundation Design: Principles and Practices”, 3rd Edition,
Prentice Hall.
 Wood, D.M., Soil Behavior and Critical State Soil Mechanics, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
 Jardine R., Chow, F., Overy, R. and Standing, J. ICP deigns methods for driven piles in sands and clays,
Thomas Telford Publishing, London, 2005.
 Budhu, M. Soil Mechanics and Foundations, J. Wiley & Sons, 2007.
 Reddy J.N. An Introduction to the Finite Element Method, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 2006.
 Potts D.M., Zdravkovic L. Finite Element Analysis in Geotechnical Engineering, Thomas Telford Publishing,
London, 2001.
 Bowles J.E. (1996) “Foundation Analysis and Design”, 5TH Edition McGraw-Hill
 Tomlinson, M. J. (2001) “Foundation Design and Construction”, 7th Edition, Pearson.
 Poulos H.G. and Davis E.H. (1980) “Pile Foundation Analysis and Design” Wiley
 Puzrin, A.M., Alonso, E.E. and Pinyol, N.M. “Geomechanics of failures”. Springer. 2010.
 Alonso, E.E., Pinyol, N.M. and Puzrin, A.M. “Geomechanics of failures: Advanced Topics”. Springer. 2010.
 Powrie W., (2004) “Soil Mechanics: Concepts and Applications”, 2nd Edition, Spon Press.

CVEN9513– Semester 2, 2017 – Course Profile - 3

DATES TO NOTE
Refer to MyUNSW for Important Dates available at:

https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/KeyDates.html

PLAGIARISM
Beware! An assignment that includes plagiarised material will receive a 0% Fail, and students who plagiarise may fail
the course. Students who plagiarise are also liable to disciplinary action, including exclusion from enrolment.
Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work or ideas as if they were your own. When it is necessary or desirable to
use other people’s material you should adequately acknowledge whose words or ideas they are and where you found
them (giving the complete reference details, including page number(s)). The Learning Centre provides further
information on what constitutes Plagiarism at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism

ACADEMIC ADVICE
(Formerly known as Common School Information)
For information about:
 Notes on assessments and plagiarism,
 School policy on Supplementary exams,
 Special Considerations: student.unsw.edu.au/special-consideration
 Solutions to Problems,
 Year Managers and Grievance Officer of Teaching and Learning Committee, and
 CEVSOC.
Refer to Academic Advice on the School website available at:
http://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/civil-engineering/resources/academic-advice

CVEN9513– Semester 2, 2017 – Course Profile - 4

Appendix A: Engineers Australia (EA) Competencies 

Stage 1 Competencies for Professional Engineers 

 
Program Intended Learning Outcomes 
 

PE1.1 Comprehensive, theory‐based understanding of underpinning fundamentals 

PE1.2 Conceptual understanding of underpinning maths, analysis, statistics, computing 
PE1: Knowledge 
and Skill Base 

PE1.3 In‐depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge 

PE1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions 

PE1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice 

PE1.6 Understanding of scope, principles, norms, accountabilities of sustainable engineering practice 

PE2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex problem solving 
Application Ability 
PE2: Engineering 

PE2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources 

PE2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes 

PE2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects 

PE3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability 

PE3.2 Effective oral and written communication (professional and lay domains) 
and Personal Attributes 
PE3: Professional 

PE3.3 Creative, innovative and pro‐active demeanour 

PE3.4 Professional use and management of information 

PE3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct 

PE3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership 

CVEN9513– Semester 2, 2017 – Course Profile - 5