The geotechnical engineering practical

All students taking the bachelor’s degree programme in Civil Engineering must complete a two-semester geotechnical engineering practical during their studies.

 

Over the course of six sessions, students will perform and assess the following experiments:

 

- Determining the bulk density of non-cohesive soils as part of a lab experiment

- Determining the liquid limits of cohesive soils

- Determining the bulk density of non-cohesive soils through dynamic probing

- Determining the volume of solid objects through buoyancy weighing

- Determining the Proctor density

- Determining the hydraulic permeability of soils with constant and decreasing pressure altitude

- Determining the load-dependent constrained moduli of a cohesive soil through compression testing

- Determining the shear parameters using direct shear testing

- Determining the shear parameters and the E modulus of a cohesive soil sample through uniaxial compression testing

The Geotechnical engineering lab

Geotechnical engineering is an important discipline within civil engineering. The aim of this field is to determine and describe the technical construction properties of building foundations. Both soils and bedrock are investigated here.

The lab equipment

• Universal testing equipment for shear, compression, and triaxial tests on soils

• Test press for determining the compressive strength of rock samples and the shear parameters of cohesive soil samples

• Mobile point load testing equipment to easily determine the compressive strength of rock samples in situ

• Inclinometer probe to measure horizontal deformations of bored piles and to monitor landslides

• Geophone to measure vibrations in buildings

• Equipment to determine the liquid limits of cohesive soils using the Casagrande method

• Various dynamic probes

• Laboratory test stands for determining the hydraulic permeability of soils

• Proctor cabinet

• Sieving machine

• PLAXIS 2D, PLAXIS 3D, Fides, GGU

• ...

The lab workstations

Students working on their bachelor’s or master’s thesis in the Geotechnical engineering lab have exclusive access to a small office with two computer workstations.