“Earthquake geotechnical engineering” focuses on the characterization of earthquakes from a geotechnical engineering perspective and on the effects of earthquakes on soil volumes at the laboratory and territorial scales.
Classroom lectures are delivered through digital presentations which can be downloaded from the Moodle platform in PDF format. Relevant references (e.g., textbooks, scientific articles) are provided for consultation by students; however, materials pertaining to these references are not distributed by the lecturer.
Learning Objectives
The course will provide engineering students with theoretical knowledge and practical experiences in laboratory and in-situ testing as well as software-based analyses of earthquake geotechnical engineering problems.
Prerequisites
An adequate understanding of fundamental principles of geotechnical engineering and soil mechanics is expected and required to appreciate and benefit from the course syllabus and to successfully complete the exam. Students are strongly advised to review or acquire a sufficient level of competence in the following topics:
• soil classification
• index properties
• in-situ stress states and the principle of effective stress
• soil strength and stiffness
• laboratory and in-situ testing methods
Classroom time will not be allocated to the review of the above topics.
The course exam is structured into three classroom quizzes, an individual project and an oral examination.
The course grade is calculated as the sum of the scores obtained for each component of the exam as follows:
Exam component Max points
Classroom quizzes (3) 15
Individual project 9
Oral exam 12
Total 36
If the calculated sum exceeds 30, then final grade is «30 e lode».
It is not mandatory to take all exam components. However, the oral examination is mandatory.
It is not mandatory to take all classroom quizzes, but if not all quizzes are taken, the total course grade will not be set higher than 24, regardless of the points effectively obtained.
If the grade of the oral examination is ≤3, the examination is failed, and the oral examination must be retaken, regardless of the points obtained in quizzes and individual project.
If the grade of the individual project is ≤3, the project is failed and will not contribute to the total exam grade. The project can be re-submitted in an improved version.
Classroom quizzes are in the form of 20 true-false questions. Forty-five minutes are allowed to complete the quizzes. The scoring of each quiz is performed according to the following table:
Number of correct answers Score
n ≥ 19 5
17 ≤ n < 19 4
15 ≤ n < 17 3
13 ≤ n < 15 2
10 ≤ n < 13 1
n < 10 0
The topic of the individual project is selected with the student based on personal interest and suitability with respect to the course syllabus. The ultimate decision is taken by the lecturer. The individual project can involve calculations and/or technical reporting, depending on the selected topic. The technical report is to be written according to a reference template. Individual mentoring sessions can be requested by email but are not mandatory. The individual project must be submitted to the lecturer at least one weeks before the oral examination session. The scoring criteria for the individual project are as follows:
• contents: 4 points
• structure: 3 points
• format: 2 points
Course program
The syllabus comprises three parts. Part I focuses on an introductory description of seismic hazards, the genesis of earthquakes, the physical phenomena induced by earthquakes, and the quantitative characterization of earthquakes for engineering purposes. Part II addresses soil dynamics, providing an insight into the behavior of soils in presence of seismic loading at small, intermediate and high strain levels and at failure. The estimation of dynamic soil parameters from in-situ and laboratory testing methods is also addressed. Part III addresses the concept of seismic hazard as well as some of the main territorial effects of soil behavior in dynamic and cyclic conditions, including site response analysis and seismic liquefaction.
Course syllabus
Part I – Earthquakes and seismic hazards
• Introduction to earthquakes and seismic hazards
• Seismology and earthquakes
• Seismic waves
• Earthquake characterization
• Strong ground motion
Part II – Soil dynamics
• Introduction to soil dynamics
• Soil behavior domains
• Measurement of dynamic soil properties
• Low-strain soil behavior
• Intermediate-strain soil behavior
• High strain soil behavior
• Soil behavior at failure
Part III - Territorial earthquake geotechnical engineering
• Seismic hazard analysis
• Site response analysis: site effects
• Site response analysis: estimation methods
• Seismic liquefaction initiation: simplified methods
• Seismic liquefaction: estimation of effects