BEng Civil Engineering

There is a compulsory field course for Civil Engineering students which incurs a subsidised fee* (approx. £100) that contributes to travel, accommodation and subsistence. You are expected to bring your own wet weather clothing and footwear.

The exact cost and dates of the trip are confirmed at the start of your second year.

* In accordance with current University policy, this fee is restricted to be not more than 1% of the annual tuition fee of the course

The University of Manchester is committed to attracting and supporting the very best students. We have a focus on nurturing talent and ability and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to study here, regardless of your financial circumstances.

For further information about scholarships and bursaries you can explore our undergraduate fees pages , visit scholarships and bursaries , and check the Department's funding pages .

In the previous two modules on the Geotechnics teaching spine in the School of MACE (ie Geotechnics 1 and 2), the students have learnt the fundamental theories of Geotechnical Engineering. In Geotechnics 3, they will learn how to apply these theories to solve challenging Geotechnical Engineering problems. They will be learning the design of foundation of buildings including developing an understanding of the key considerations which affect their design. They will also be learning how the key design aspects will change when such foundations are designed for locations prone to earthquake, and as well learning in detail about the phenomenon of liquefaction.

- To apply the knowledge gained in Geotechnics 1 and 2 for solving challenging geotechnical engineering problems.
- To understand how the foundations of a structure are designed, and appreciate the key considerations affecting their design.
- To understand the effect of earthquake on the design of foundations

The unit comprises of the following 4 topics:
1. Shallow foundations
- Learning about the different types of foundations in general and shallow foundations in particular.
- Learning and understanding how bearing capacity of shallow footings is estimated, and what are the different factors (like soil type, ground water table, load inclination, load eccentricity etc.) which affect the bearing capacity of shallow foundations.
- Learning and understanding how various bearing capacity theories have evolved and how are they applied to perform quick hand calculations.
- Learning and understanding how commercial software PLAXIS 2D could be used to cross check the abovementioned hand calculations and to see the evolution of a failure envelope for various loading cases.

2. Pile foundations
- Learning about different type of pile foundations and the criteria based on which they are classified.
- Learning and understanding how the bearing capacity of piles is estimated, both for individual and group of piles.
- Learning and understanding the application of various pile capacity theories to perform quick hand calculations.
- Learning and understanding how commercial software Oasys PILE could be used to cross check the abovementioned hand calculations estimation and to see the evolution of a load-displacement curve of an individual pile under different loading conditions.

3. Earth pressures and retaining walls
- Learning what is earth pressure and why it is important to be understood for a proper and safe design of an earth retaining structure.
- Learning and understanding about the classic Rankine and Coulomb earth pressure theories.
- Learning and understanding the principles of assessment of the earth pressures.
- Learning and understanding the design of gravity based rigid retaining structures.
- Learning and understanding the design of sheet pile walls.
- Learning and understanding how commercial software Oasys FREW could be used to simulate a staged excavation process and how a sheet pile wall could be designed using the software.

4. Introductory geotechnical earthquake engineering
- Learning and understanding the basic concepts related to the geotechnical earthquake engineering.
- Learning and understanding the pseudostatic and pseudodynamic methods in general.
- Learning and understanding the application of the pseudostatic and pseudodynamic methods for estimating the seismic earth pressure.
- Learning and understanding the phenomenon of liquefaction.

The unit comprises of the following 3 computer-based labs:

1. Hands-on session using PLAXIS2D to see the evolution of a failure envelope for a shallow footing.
2. Hands-on session using Oasys PILE to estimate the ultimate load of an individual pile and to see the development of a load-displacement curve for the same.
3. Hands-on session using Oasys FREW to simulate a staged excavation process and to design a sheet pile wall for stabilising it.

Exam - via script viewing and after the examin Blackboard

Report - Via comments on the individual scripts and class feedback

Lab sessions - during the lab session