Satisfies the Geotechnical Area Elective

Overviews of basic principles in geotechnical engineering as applied to marine problems, site survey and in situ testing, marine geology and soil properties, shear strength of soils, wave characteristics and impacts, shallow foundations and deadweight anchors, piles and pile anchors, and scour processes. 

The goals of this course are to present fundamental principles and techniques commonly used in the field of marine geotechnical engineering and apply them to the design of offshore facilities. This interdisciplinary course illustrates the connection between fluid, solid and soil mechanics for analyzing offshore engineering problems. Graduate and undergraduate students in fields of civil, mechanical, and ocean engineering would benefit from the concepts of this course.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: (i) Describe marine
geological processes and obtain soil properties for designs from site investigations,
(ii) Determine shear strength of soils, (iii) Calculate wave-induced hydrodynamic loadings, (iv) Calculate bearing capacity and sliding of foundations, and (v) Describe fundamental mechanisms of scour and estimate scour depth.