Soil Engineering for Non-Soils Engineers and Technicians

Day 1  

Welcome an Couse Introduction

• Review of soil properties and applications
• General soil behavior, structure and fabric
• Soil classification via USS, USDA, OSHA
• Testing standards for soil properties
• Typical soil properties

Soil Investigations, Boring Logs, Reporting, and Specifications

• Scoping the field investigation
• Understanding soil and rock core logs
• Interpreting soils reports
• Incorporating reasonable soil specifications

Demonstration of Field Classification and Testing of Soil Samples

• Sheloy tube and SPT samplers
• Classification demonstrations
• Field tests of strength

Vertical Earth Pressures and Stresses

• Total and effective stresses
• Distribution of loads to undying layers
• Effects of water table fluctuations
• Dynamic effects on soil

Soil Strength and Foundations

• Types of strength, shear strength, module, unconfined compression, California Bearing Ratio
• Angle of internal friction and cohesion
• Foundation bearing capacity
• Class studies and examples of strength parameters used in design practice

Day 2  

Importance of Water in Soil

• Measuring of estimating soil permeability
• Seepage forces and buoyancy effects
• Application to compaction control, pavement design, foundation and wall design, dewatering

Lateral Earth Pressures on Walls and Basements, Trenches, and Bracing

• Active, passive, and at-rest lateral earth pressures
• Effects of water on earth pressures
• Backfill compaction and soil reinforcement
• Trenching and bracing procedures

Class Project

How and Why Soil Compresses and Settles

• Causes of settlements
• Allowable amounts of settlement
• Methods to control and mitigate settlement
• Foundation design based on settlement

Soil Compaction and Field Control

• How to compact soil (sands and clay)
• Laboratory and field test procedures
• Compaction specifications and acceptance criteria
• Freeze-thaw and shrink-sell cycling and implications

Excavation Support

• Interpreting soil type for OSHA compliance
• Methods to determine stability and safety
• Design excavation support systems

Applications of Geosynthetic in Soil

• Reinforcement, filtration, erosion control
• Specfications and test procedures

Soils Trivia and Adjournment

• William Likos

  Professor & Chair Geological Engineering

  William Likos, PE, is the Gary Wendt Professor and Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Likos’ expertise is in the area of geotechnical engineering, with particular emphasis on unsaturated soil mechanics and expansive clay behavior. Unsaturated soil mechanics is widely considered one of the most important frontiers in geotechnical engineering, with historical applications in slope and excavation stability, foundation engineering, and expansive soil hazards and emerging applications in waste containment, energy, and sustainability. Dr. Likos has established himself as a national leader in this area by publishing one of the first textbooks dedicated to the subject, publishing extensively in the top refereed journals, and serving in leadership roles on national committees. 

• James Tinjum

  Associate Professor

  James M. Tinjum, PE, PhD, F.ASCE, is an Associate Professor and outgoing Director of the Geological Engineering Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Tinjum has 35 years of solid waste experience, beginning in 1990. Prior to his engagement as a faculty member at UW–Madison in 2008, he worked for 15 years in industry for prominent engineer-procure-construct firms and a Fortune 50 company. He has specialized technical knowledge in geoenvironmental and remediation engineering for landfills with industrial waste (lime kiln dust, cement kiln dust, foundry residuals, paper mill sludge, coal combustion residuals), municipal solid waste (particularly landfill liner and cover systems and the monitoring, recovery, and value-added use of landfill gases), and hazardous waste. He conducts research in waste geotechnics and waste containment systems; the beneficial reuse of industrial byproducts (e.g., for subgrade improvement and cementitious stabilization of pavement layers); life cycle environmental analysis of geo systems; remediation of contaminated sites; and fate and transport of landfill gas emissions. Dr. Tinjum developed these interests not only through industry practice and applied research, but also through discussions and interactions with practitioners participating in his nationally/internationally attended engineering short course programs. In applied practice, Dr. Tinjum has participated in nearly 100 solid waste projects. 

• Program Director

  James Tinjum

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