FONDAZIONI E OPERE DI SOSTEGNO

Foundations and earth retaining structures (12 ECTS)

Link Classroom to the course (2025-2026): 

https://classroom.google.com/c/MjM1MjQxNjY5MTBa?cjc=omzv7kgl

1st year of the Master of Science (Laurea Magistrale) in Civil Engineering - 1st and 2nd semesters

The course includes about 80 hours of lessons and 40 hours of tutorials.

The exam includes a written test, in which  a simple exercise has to be solved (30 min of duration), and an oral tests consisting of an interview to determine the student's preparation and to evaluate the tutorials prepared during the course.

Classes are held in Italian

Aims

The course is aimed to provide the elemental tools to design earth retaining structures as well as shallow and deep foundations under static and seismic conditions. Earth retaining structures include conventional, earth-reinforced and gabions retaining walls, as well as cantilever and propped diaphragm walls. Both the theoretical and the technological aspects are treated. Different stages of designing are discussed starting from in situ investigation, soil characterisation and soil profile definition, to end up with the choice of the most convenient solution considering both serviceability and ultimate limit states.

Objectives

Successful students will be able: to design earth retaining structures; to evaluate the bearing capacity of shallow foundations, the settlements induced by structure self-weight and the state of stress in the foundation structure; to calculate the bearing capacity and the displacements of a single pile or a pile group, under both axial and lateral loads.

Syllabus

 1.   Geotechnical site investigations

• • tools, extension and frequency of site investigations – boreholes – retrieval of undisturbed samples

  • dynamic and static penetration tests

  • plate loading test, cross hole and down hole tests

  • in situ measurements of pore water pressure

  • in situ measurements of vertical and horizontal displacements

2.   Mechanical characters of natural soil deposits

• undrained shear strength of clays – typical profiles – effect of discontinuities

• effective shear strength: peak, post-peak and residual strength conditions – choice of strength parameters

• evaluation of soil stiffness – typical profiles

• compressibility of clayey deposits – causes of overconsolidation – typical OCR profiles

3.   Retaining structures

• types of retaining wall, steel sheet-piles, reinforced concrete diaphragm walls

• available  solutions to evaluate the earth pressure acting on retaining structures

• effect of pore water pressure on earth pressure acting on retaining structures

• effect of seismic loading on earth pressure acting on retaining structures

• design of retaining structures and safety checks against  ultimate limit states

4.   Shallow foundations

• types of shallow foundations and preliminary design of a foundation element

• design of shallow foundations and safety checks against ultimate limit states:

  • • • bearing capacity of shallow foundations – effect of seismic loading on the bearing capacity – state of stress in the foundation structures

• design of shallow foundations and checks against serviceability limit states:

  • evaluation of absolute and differential settlements – time-settlements relationships – admissible settlements and distortions

• design of pre-loading or vertical drains  to accelerate the consolidation process of foundation soils

5.   Deep foundations

• types of foundation piles and related technologies

• design of deep foundations and safety checks against ultimate limit states:

  • bearing capacity of a single pile or a pile group under axial loading

  • bearing capacity of a single pile or a pile group under transversal loading

  • bearing capacity of micro-piles

  • state of stress in piles under transversal loading

• design of deep foundations and checks against serviceability limit states:

  • displacements of a single pile or a pile group under axial and transversal loading

Suggested texts

• Viggiani (1999). Fondazioni. Hevelius

• Lancellotta (2004). Geotecnica. Zanichelli

Course organisation

Lectures start: Tuesday, 23 September, 8 a.m. - classroom 4

Lectures schedule: Tuesday, classroom 4, 8 a.m. - 10 a.m.; Thursday, classroom 4, 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Student supervision: Thursday, geotechnical library, 11.30 a.m.

Lectures and Exercises

Lectures (approx. 8 CFU) and classworks (approx. 4 CFU) set in the classroom and completed independently by the students with periodic reviews during supervision

Evaluation

Written test: solution of a practical exercise (duration 30 min)

Examination room: Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering - via Eudossiana, 18 - indicated for each call on the infostud website

Oral test: classroom, day and time of the oral exam communicated during the written test

SCAVI E GALLERIE IN AREA URBANA

Deep excavations and tunnelling in urban areas (6 ECTS)

Link Classroom to the course (2025-2026):

https://classroom.google.com/c/MjM1MjQyMDk1OTJa?cjc=b5mznt56

2nd year of the Master of Science (Laurea Magistrale) in Civil Engineering - 2nd semester

The course includes about 40 hours of lessons and 20 hours of tutorials.

The exam consists of an interview to determine the student's preparation and to evaluate the tutorial prepared during the course.

 Aims

Understanding of the soil-structure interaction for earth retaining structures. Ability to design the key elements of a deep excavation project and to evaluate excavation-induced effects on adjacent structures. Familiarity with the methods for assessing the safety of shallow tunnels and for predicting tunnelling-induced soil displacements.

Objectives

Design of deep excavations and tunnels in urban environment, with specific emphasis on the selection of the construction sequence and the methodologies for excavation and support. Evaluation of excavation–induced deformation and damage on pre-existing structures. Understanding of the soil-structure interaction for earth retaining structures. Ability to design the key elements of a deep excavation project and to evaluate excavation-induced effects on adjacent structures. Familiarity with the methods for assessing the safety of shallow tunnels and for predicting tunnelling-induced soil displacements.

 Syllabus

1.   Earth pressure theory

• assessment of earth pressure for active and passive conditions of limit equilibrium

• Rankine solutions – active and passive limit conditions in an infinite slope

• effect of soil-wall roughness on the earth pressure

• solution of the lower bound theorem for the passive earth pressure (Lancellotta solution)

• mobilisation of earth pressure for active and passive conditions of limit equilibrium

• evaluation of the coefficient of earth pressure at rest from in situ testing

2.   Embedded retaining walls

• types of walls and installation procedures

• limit state design and building code prescriptions

• design of cantilever and single-propped walls

• effect of pore water pressure and drainage conditions

• safety checks against hydraulic limit states

• method of the subgrade reaction for soil-wall interaction analyses  

• design of anchors

3.   Deep open excavations

• technological aspects and choice of excavation sequences

• excavations in coarse-grained soils: interaction with groundwater - dewatering interventions

• design of a system of draining wells or well points

• excavations in fine-grained soils: basal heave stability; excess pore water pressure induced by excavation

• evaluation of ground displacements induced by a deep excavation on existing buildings and assessment of induced damage

4.   Tunnelling in urban environment

• soil-tunnel interaction: shallow and deep tunnels in soft ground

• excavation technologies for tunnelling

• stability assessment of shallow tunnels using lower bound and upper bound solutions

• evaluation of ground settlements induced by tunnelling

• long-term settlements induced by tunnelling

5.   Monitoring

• monitoring of deep open excavations

• monitoring of tunnels

Suggested texts

• Ou Chang-Yu (2006). Deep excavation – theory and practice. Taylor & Francis

• Puller M. (1996). Deep excavations – a practical manual. Thomas Telford

Course organisation

Lectures start: Monday, 22 September, 10 a.m. - classroom Caveau

Lectures schedule: Monday, classroom Caveau, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.; Wednesday, classroom Caveau, 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Student supervision: Wednesday, geotechnical library, 3 p.m.

Lectures and Exercises

Lectures (approx. 4 CFU) and classworks (approx. 2 CFU) set in the classroom and completed independently by the students with periodic reviews during supervision

Evaluation

Oral test: classroom, day and time of the oral exam communicated during the written test

Examination room: Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering - via Eudossiana, 18 - indicated for each call on the infostud website