Spring 2019 OCEN 265

SYLLABUS
OCEN 265 - Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
Spring 2019

LECTURE TIME: Monday and Wednesday, 9:10 am - 10:00 am, Room HEB 118

LAB TIMES: Sec. 501 – Tuesday, 8:50 am - 10:50 am, Room CVLB 116C
Sec. 502 – Monday, 10:10 am - 12:00 pm, Room CVLB 116C

INSTRUCTOR: Ahmed Al-Ramthan

Graduate Assistant Lecturer
Department of Ocean Engineering
Texas A&M University
Office: CVLB 236 Desk #20
E-mail: [email protected]

OFFICE HOURS: Ahmed Al-Ramthan: W 10:15 am - 12:15 pm, or by appointment

Mindo Choi: T 11:00 am -12:00 pm, or by appointment

LAB. COORDINATOR: Mike Linger

Office: CVLB 116B
Email: [email protected]

LAB. TA: Mindo Choi

Office: DLEB 405G
Email: [email protected]

CLASS NOTES: Published on e-campus (http://ecampus.tamu.edu)

TEXTBOOK: - Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 8th Edition

Das, B. and Sobhan, K. (2012), CENGAGE Learning
- Geotechnical Engineering: Unsaturated and Saturated Soils, 1st Edition
Briaud, J.L. (2013), Wiley

LAB MANUAL: - Prof. Giovanna Biscontin’s Geotechnical Laboratory Manual

posted on eCampus

Course Catalog Description:

Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering (2-2). Credit 3. Physical properties of soils, classification systems, soil
exploration, permeability, consolidation, compaction and shear strength. Laboratory tests conducted to determine the
physical and engineering soil properties needed for application in geotechnical engineering design.

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Spring 2019 OCEN 265

Course Evaluation:
Item Credit
Laboratories 25%
Midterm Exam 35%
Final Exam 35%
Class Attendance and Participation 5%

Grading Policy:
A: above 90%, B: 80 to 89%, C: 70 to 79%, D: 60 to 69%, F: below 59%.
➢ Students must be aware that the course load is significant due to the extension of the material contents and the
effort placed on the assignments, lab sessions, reporting and assessment.
➢ Students must not request partial credit after obtaining results from assignments, reports, and exams.
➢ No make-up exams will be granted.

Course Objectives:
Students shall acquire a knowledge of the physical properties of soils; understand the natural processes of soil
formation; be able to classify soils according to accepted classification systems; become familiar with commonly used
methods of soil exploration; understand and apply the basic principles of steady seepage, consolidation, shear strength
and compaction; and understand existing laboratory test methods for evaluating basic soil properties.

Professional Content:
Engineering science, Preparation for engineering practice, Design experience, Engineering design incorporating
engineering standards and realistic constraints.

Outcomes Addressed:
1. Ability to apply knowledge of basic mathematics through differential equations, science and engineering.
2. Ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret the resulting data.
3. Ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams.
4. Ability to formulate and solve civil engineering problems.
5. Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.
6. Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written forms.
7. Recognition of the need to engage in a life-long learning including continuing education.
8. Ability to use modern tools, techniques and computation methods necessary for civil engineering practice.

Class Web Page:

The course is administered through eCampus.
All reading and homework assignments, solutions, notices, additional materials and handouts will be posted on
eCampus ONLY. Due dates and times will be posted on eCampus. It is your responsibility to check eCampus
frequently, comply with instructions posted there and access course materials.

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Spring 2019 OCEN 265

Instructional Materials:
1. Class Notes and Handouts (Available through eCampus).
2. Textbook and Laboratory Manual (See page 1).
3. Supplemental Reading:
• Coduto, D.P., Yeung, M.R. and Kitch, W.A. (2011). Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices. 2nd
Ed. Prentice Hall.
• McCarthy, D.F. (2007). Essentials of Soil Mechanics and Foundations. 7th Ed. Prentice Hall.
• Budhu, M. (2015). Soil Mechanics Fundamentals. 1st Ed. John Wiley & Sons.
• Holtz, R.D., Kovacs, W.D. and Sheahan, T.C. (2011). An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering. 2nd Ed.
Pearson.
• Craig, R.F. (2004) Craig’s Soil Mechanics, 7th Ed. Spon Press.
• Lambe, T.W. and Whitman, R.V. (1969) Soil Mechanics, John Wiley & Sons.
• Randolph, M. and Gourvenec, S. (2011). Offshore Geotechnical Engineering. 1st Ed. CRC Press.
• McCarron, W.O. (2011). Deepwater Foundations and Pipeline Geomechanics. J. Ross Pub.
• Aubeny, C. (2017). Geomechanics of Marine Anchors. 1st Ed. CRC Press.

Participation:
Attendance to class and lab is required. Part of the final grade will be based on participation and attendance. Short
pants and/or open toe shoes are not allowed in the lab. If a weekly quiz is missed for a documented university
excused absence, then the missing work will either be compensated with a similar quiz or the quiz will not be
counted in your final average at the discretion of the instructor. In the case of missing a lecture, it is the student’s
responsibility to follow the course contents through the instructor’s notes posted on eCampus, and to submit on time
the corresponding assignments.

Tentative Laboratory Schedule:

Schedule is subject to modifications if necessary and will be updated throughout the semester.
Lab.
Week of Topic Quiz Assignment
Session
- Jan. 14 - 25 No Lab: Submission of safety certification - -
Safety Contract
1 Jan. 28 - Feb. 1 Safety / Water content / Atterberg limits Quiz 1
Agreement
2 Feb. 4 - 8 Sieve analysis / Hydrometer analysis Quiz 2 Lab. 1 Report
3 Feb. 11 - 15 Proctor compaction test Quiz 3 Lab. 2 Report
4 Feb 18 - 22 Hydraulic conductivity Quiz 4 Lab. 3 Report
5 Feb 25 - Mar. 1 Instrumentation Quiz 5 Lab. 4 Report
6 Mar. 4 - 8 Direct shear test Quiz 6 Lab. 5 Report
Spring Break – No Lab
7 Mar. 18 - 22 Triaxial Unconfined Undrained test Quiz 7 Lab. 6 Report
8 Mar. 25 - 29 Triaxial Consolidated Drained test Quiz 8 Lab. 7 Report
9 Apr. 1 - 5 Consolidation Analysis Quiz 9 Lab. 8 Report
- Apr. 8 - 12 No Lab - -
- Apr. 22 - 26 No Lab - Lab. 9 Report

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Laboratories:
Every student is enrolled in a 2-hr laboratory session each week. The laboratories complement and expand the subjects
illustrated in the lectures with practical, hands-on experience in laboratory testing for the characterization of soil
properties.
The procedures are illustrated in the laboratory manual (available on eCampus). The students should get familiar with
them before the scheduled laboratory session. Testing procedures will be assessed at the beginning of each laboratory
session in the form of a quiz (10% value), and complemented by the corresponding report (90% value). Summing up
to 100% credit per session effort. Laboratory reports are due a week after. Late work will be penalized 50%. Two
weeks grace period will be granted to submit the assignment; otherwise zero credit will be given. The quiz grade
cannot be used to substitute for a missed lab.
Individual, written laboratory reports are required for each experiment. Each student is expected to follow the Aggie
Code of Honor which states that “Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal, nor do they tolerate those who do,” and is
responsible for his/her own laboratory data collection and analysis, drawings, and final lab reports. Copying lab data,
drawings, and/or reports from students, the internet, or other sources of published solutions is considered an Honor
Code violation and will result in a grade of “0” for the assignment and/or a grade of “F” for the course and/or
submission of the infraction to the university Academic Honor Council and/or other penalties as outlined in the Texas
A&M University Rules.

Homework:
Homework will be given in a regular basis; however, it will not be graded. Solutions will be posted on eCampus one
week after each homework is assigned.

Examinations:
There will be one midterm and one final exam. These exams will consist of both theoretical questions and calculation
problems. The questions or problems that appear on the exams will be inspired by class notes and homework problems
relating to the pertinent material. Exams are closed book. Additionally, bring a calculator and a pencil to the exams.
There is no scheduled “make-up” exam. If a major exam is missed for a valid university excused reason, then you
will be given a similar exam, or the missed exam will not be counted in your final average at the discretion of the
instructor.

Midterm Exam: Monday, March 4, 2019; 9:10 am – 10:00 am, Room HEB 118

Final Exam: Friday, May 3, 2019; 8:00 am – 10:00 am, Room HEB 118
(http://registrar.tamu.edu/Registrar/media/REGI_SpecPDFDocs/Spring-2019-Final-Exam-Schedule.pdf)

Excused Absences (excerpt from Student Rules http://student-rules.tamu.edu):

7.1 The student is responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to the instructor to substantiate the reason for
absence. Among the reasons absences are considered excused by the university are the following: (1Muster)
7.1.1 Participation in an activity appearing on the university authorized activity list. (see List of Authorized and
Sponsored Activities)
7.1.2 Death or major illness in a student’s immediate family. Immediate family may include: mother, father, sister,
brother, grandparents, spouse, child, spouse’s child, spouse’s parents, spouse’s grandparents, stepmother, step-
father, step-sister, step-brother, step-grandparents, grandchild, step-grandchild, legal guardian, and others as
deemed appropriate by faculty member or student’s academic Dean or designee.
7.1.3 Illness of a dependent family member.
7.1.4 Participation in legal proceedings or administrative procedures that require a student’s presence.

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7.1.5 Religious holy day. (See Appendix IV.)

7.1.6 Injury or Illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class.
7.1.6.1 Injury or illness of three or more days. For injury or illness that requires a student to be absent from classes
for three or more business days (to include classes on Saturday), the student should obtain a medical confirmation
note from his or her medical provider. The Student Health Center or an off-campus medical professional can provide
a medical confirmation note only if medical professionals are involved in the medical care of the student. The medical
confirmation note must contain the date and time of the illness and medical professional’s confirmation of needed
absence.
7.1.6.2 Injury or illness less than three days. Faculty members may require confirmation of student injury or illness
that is serious enough for a student to be absent from class for a period less than three business days (to include
classes on Saturday). At the discretion of the faculty member and/or academic department standard, as outlined in
the course syllabus, illness confirmation may be obtained by one or both of the following methods:
a. Texas A&M University Explanatory Statement for Absence from Class form available at
http://attendance.tamu.edu.
b. Confirmation of visit to a health care professional affirming date and time of visit.
7.1.6.3 An absence for a non acute medical service does not constitute an excused absence.
7.1.7 Required participation in military duties.
7.1.8 Mandatory admission interviews for professional or graduate school which cannot be rescheduled.
You will be expected to comply with both 7.1.6.2.a and 7.1.6.2.b to receive an excused absence.

Academic Integrity Statement:

“An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.”
Students are expected to understand and abide by the Aggie Code of Honor presented on the web at:
http://student-rules.tamu.edu/aggiecode No form of scholastic misconduct will be tolerated. Academic misconduct
includes cheating, fabrication, falsification, multiple submissions, plagiarism, complicity, etc. These are more fully
defined in the above web site. Violations will be handled in accordance with the Aggie Honor System Process
described on the web site.

Copyright Statement:
The handouts used in this course are copyrighted. By “handouts,” it is meant that all materials that have been generated
for this course including those materials generated in all previous semesters. Such materials include but are not limited
to syllabi, quizzes, exams, problem sets, worked problems, materials presented on my internet site, in-class materials,
review sheets, additional problem sets, and/or solutions prepared for these materials. Because these materials are
copyrighted, you do not have the right to copy them, or possess copies of them outside of the normal course uses for
which they were intended. Certain violations of these copyrights can be treated as violations of academic integrity
and will be handled in accordance with the Aggie Honor System Process described on the following web site:
http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil
rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students
with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of
their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services,
currently located in the Disability Services building at the Student Services at White Creek complex on west campus
or call 979-845-1637. For additional information, visit http://disability.tamu.edu.

It is your responsibility to notify me early in the semester and contact the Office of Disability Services if you
intend to exercise your rights under the ADA. The Office of Disability Services is in complete charge of

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administering the ADA provisions. The Office of Disability Services has very strict rules regarding scheduling
and timing. You must clear your participation in the ADA program with the Office of Disability Services early
in the semester.

Family Educational and Rights to Privacy (FERPA):

FERPA is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of educational records by limiting access to these records, to
establish the right of students to inspect and review their educational records and to provide guidelines for the
correction of inaccurate and misleading data through informal and formal hearings. To obtain a listing of directory
information or to place a hold on any or all of this information, please consult the Admissions & Records Office.
Items that can never be identified as public information are a student’s social security number or institutional
identification number, citizenship, gender, grades, GPR or class schedule. All efforts will be made in this class to
protect your privacy and to ensure confidential treatment of information associated with or generated by your
participation in the class.

Laboratory Safety and Policy:

Safety is a priority at Texas A&M University!

While it may seem unlikely that an accident could happen to you, you should know the accident rate in universities
is 10 to 100 times greater than in the chemical industry. To help prevent accidents, safety notes are included in
the laboratory manual. In addition, relevant Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are in a laboratory binder and
guidelines are posted. Pay close attention to this information - our goals are to avoid accidents in the laboratory,
and to respond promptly and appropriately should an accident occur.

Safety depends on you!

It is your responsibility to follow the instructions in the lab manual and any additional guidelines provided by your
instructor. It is also your responsibility to be familiar with the location and operation of safety equipment such as
eyewash units, showers, fire extinguishers, chemical spill cleanup kits etc. Questions about chemicals can be
answered by referring to the appropriate Material Safety Data Sheet. If you need help deciphering an MSDS, please
see your instructor.

Safety is a primary concern in all of the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Geotechnical Engineering
laboratories. Both the Undergraduate laboratory (RM-117) and Graduate laboratory (RM- 116D) are outfitted with
equipment that could cause injury if one is not alert while performing experiments. Following is an outline of
general policy and “Do’s and Don’ts” in these laboratories. Safety is everyone’s concern.

1. No food or drink is allowed in the laboratories.

2. Wear appropriate protective clothing. Avoid open-toed shoes, sandals, shorts and shirts with dangling
sleeves. Tie back long hair and avoid dangling jewelry.

3. Ovens:
➢ The large ovens in both rooms are set at 105 degrees C. Use properly insulated gloves to handle objects you
are retrieving out of the oven. The gloves are placed near the oven for this purpose. Please return the
gloves to the table by the oven.
➢ The microwave ovens are used for moisture determination in SOILS ONLY. Never place more than
ONE soil sample at a time (in its aluminum dish) in a microwave oven during this process. Check that a
heat sink (in the form of a ceramic bowl) is in the microwave to avoid explosions.

4. There are two fire extinguishers in the Undergraduate laboratory and one extinguisher in the Graduate

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laboratory. Please observe the mounting locations on the walls and make a mental note of their access.

5. Safety glasses are in a large white cabinet on the north wall of the Undergraduate Laboratory. Should you
need to use a hammer or blunt instrument to break up dried soil samples, then all members of the laboratory
group will be required to wear safety glasses during this process, including the teaching assistant.

6. Each laboratory island has a sink with two faucets. One faucet provides hot and cold tap water and is used for
cleanup only. The other faucet has a white button on it and is labeled “DW” (distilled water).

7. During some sessions noise from machinery (such as sieve shakers) may get loud. If this becomes a problem,
please notify the teaching assistant and ear protection will be provided on an as-needed individual basis.

8. Barrels are provided for used soil when the experiment is completed. Never throw trash (foil cups, paper, plastic,
etc.) in these barrels. There are trash bins provided for garbage.

9. At the end of each laboratory session always clean all the instruments and other materials used. A paper towel
dispenser hangs on the wall for cleanup.

10. Counterbalanced Load Frames:

➢ There are four double load frames in the Undergraduate laboratory and two double load frames in
the Graduate laboratory. These frames are safe to operate when using the correct procedure. Never touch these
frames when not in use.

➢ When using the loading frames:

✓ Never have your head under the top counterweight. The weight may fall while making adjustments to
the set up. This typically occurs at least once a semester. You want to make sure the weight does not
fall on you, and especially your head.

Students are required to:

• complete and sign (accept) a Student Safety Contract Agreement (LSA) on eCampus before the first laboratory
class in order to be allowed to participate in the laboratory activities.
• complete the mandatory training: "Hazard Awareness in Engineering Research"; and also, the "Laboratory
Safety" under "Group- Specific Training".
• pass a quiz on safety procedures in the geotechnical laboratories based on the information in this syllabus, lab
manual and trainings above. Questions about safety will also be included in quizzes administered at the beginning
of other laboratory sessions during the semester.
Ask your teaching assistant about this form before entering the laboratory, if you have not been asked to complete
one during the first laboratory lecture.

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