Introduction

Embankments, as one of the oldest geostructures, are used in wide range of civil engineering applications including road and railway embankments in transportation, dykes and levees for flood control, embankment dams for impounding water in reservoirs, and tailing embankments for mine waste management. Depending on their application, embankments are employed to prevent flow of water (seepage) in reservoirs, provide shear resistance against slope failure, and minimize differential settlement in road and railway construction.  Failure of slopes and embankments can result in loss of life, destruction, economic losses, and environmental damages.

The design and construction of embankments require a proper understanding of geotechnical behavior of supporting ground materials to carry the overburden embankment loads, suitable construction materials for the embankment, and the long-term post-construction stability.

Objectives

This course will provide detailed information on design and construction of earth embankments. This will include proper site investigation for embankment sites, evaluation of potential construction materials, soil sampling and testing, estimating flow of water in soil (seepage), and stability analyses (settlement, bearing capacity, and slope stability). The course will show how to conduct site investigation for embankment projects (drilling, sampling, lab testing, and in-situ field tests) and will review background geotechnical knowledge required for design and construction of embankments. It will also show how to choose suitable ground materials for constructing various embankments, optimum water for mixing with the soil and compaction of the soil in the filed.

Seepage analysis is an important part of embankment design, and the course will show how to conduct 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional calculation of flow of water through the soil and embankment using simple hand calculations and computer programs (SEEP/W). Stability analysis of the embankments will also be crucial in defining proper shape and slopes of the embankment and it will be done through slope stability analyses (both hand calculation and use of software SLOPE/W).

Limited places.

Week 1: Index properties of the soil, phase relation in soil, particle size distribution of the soil, soil classification and naming, plasticity of the soil, soil mineralogy

Week 2: Soli compaction, Proctor tests, optimum water content of the soil, degree of compaction, field compaction, compaction control

Week 3: Flow of water in soil: Darcy law, hydraulic conductivity, 1-D flow, 2-D flow calculations, seepage examples, use of SEEP/W program

Week 4: Stress in soil, effective stress, impact of flow of water on stress variation, piping failure, soil settlement (immediate and consolidation)

Week 5: Failure in soil, shear strength properties, measuring soil parameters in the land and filed, in-situ field tests

Week 6: Slope stability analysis, modes of failure for embankments, limit equilibrium analysis, methods of slices, use of computer program for slope stability analysis of embankments (SLOPE/W)

M.T. Rayhani

Dr. M.T. Rayhani, P.Eng., is an Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering and the director of Geo-engineering Research Group at Carleton University. He has over a decade of experience in research, teaching and engineering consulting, and has collaborated extensively with industry leaders worldwide.

He has received research grants from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Transport Canada, and other funding agencies. Dr. Rayhani has presented short courses, seminars, and guest lectures on various topics related to frontier research in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering in Canada, the USA, France, Germany, Italy, India, Iran, and other countries.

He holds a Ph.D. degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario and he is the author of over 50 publications in different areas of geo-engineering. Dr. Rayhani is a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.

All of our courses are offered 100% online, through our intuitive Virtual Campus. Topics are taught through:

• – Videos
• – Interactive multimedia content
• – Live classes
• – Texts
• – Case studies
• – Evaluation exercises
• – Additional documentation

The content is updated in each new course edition, so that knowledge is acquired around the latest news and state-of-the-art geotechnical engineering technology.

One of the most interesting aspects of our courses is the use of live videoconferences, in which teachers and students interact in a continuous exchange of knowledge and problem solving. In addition to this, students can make use of the platform’s forum, a meeting point where they can interact with teachers and other students.

A tutoring system will also be established by email, which will resolve any possible doubts about the course, and which will serve as a point of connection for students with specific questions on each module.

Students can also download all course documentation, including texts, videos, video conferences and exercises.

This course would be beneficial to all construction, municipal and transportation practitioners and especially to those involved in the design, approval and maintenance of roads, hughways, dams, excavations, and embankment projects and any other earthworks systems. This course will also be beneficial for practitioners in mining, landfills, and tailing dam projects, as well as levees construction. The course will be of value for those who are new to geotechnical engineering as well as to those who have experience with geotechnical practice.

The course will be of value both for those who are new to embankments as well as to those who have experience with embankments.

At the end of the course, and as accreditation of knowledge acquired and of the technical and practical training, students who correctly complete the corresponding evaluation tests of the geotechnical engineering course will obtain an academic certificate issued by Ingeoexpert. This digital certificate is protected by Blockchain technology, making it unique and tamper-proof, thus enabling companies to verify its authenticity.

It can also be downloaded by students, forwarded by email and shared on social networks, as well as embedded on any website. You can see an example here.

This course will train practitioners that can work in any civil, environmental and geotechnical related projects including the design and construction of roads, highways, railways, hydraulic dams, tailing dams, mining projects, oil sands, municipalities, earthworks projects, and any consulting or construction companies involved with ground materials.