Geotechnical Engineering courses offered under the MSc and MGeotech programmes:
The Geotechnical Engineering Division offers several courses during a year. Courses are typically delivered once every 2 years, although these are subject to changes within the group. You are advised to register for the courses, that you require to undertake, at the beginning of the academic year when you are submitting your registration forms. More information regarding registration for these courses may be obtained from our postgraduate administrator, Ms Rowen Geswindt. Please note that it remains your responsibility to confirm with her, closer to the time of the course being delivered, whether any changes have been effected with regards to course dates and venue.
The following is a list of courses, with a brief description for each, which is generally offered for both MSc and MGeotech students:
Laboratory and Field Techniques:
This course aims to develop an advanced understanding of laboratory and field techniques. Topics include: Laboratory methods-role and scope of laboratory tests; fundamentals of stress-strain and strength measurements; stresses, pore pressures and strains; transducers and control systems; practical applications. The theoretical and practical aspects of in situ tests in geotechnical engineering are also given. Tests to be discussed include: dynamic cone penetrometer standard penetration test, field vane, piezocone, dilatometer, pressuremeter etc. Geophysical methods are also included. Emphasis is placed on the use of in situ test results for determining engineering properties of soil for design. Field instrumentation, settlement gauges, extensometers, inclinometers, piezometers, geotechnical data correlation charts, measurements of in-situ stresses and permeability, etc. are also covered.
Foundation Design:
This course aims to furnish participants with the necessary knowledge and design skills required to ensure stability of both the ground, and any structure built in or on the ground. It will introduce participants to the application of theories of soil mechanics, applied mathematics and physics to provide solutions to the serviceability and ultimate limit states of geotechnical structures. Topics include: review of soil mechanics; working stress approach, limit state design; analysis and design of shallow and deep foundations; determination of settlement of structures; use of foundation design standards such as Eurocodes, SANS 10160; etc.
Slope Stability and Lateral Earth Supports:
This course focuses on stability of natural slopes and stability considerations related to man-made cuts and fills. Participants will be introduced to the different slide mechanisms, the conditions of their occurrence, the theories and principles governing stability of slopes. It will also cover the selection, design and performance of earth retention structures, consequently equipping participants with the fundamentals and working tools needed for the design and analyses of earth retaining structures and systems.
Soil modelling and Numerical Methods:
Numerical analyses of geotechnical engineering problems are becoming more and more common in industrial practice. Complex problems dealing with elasto-plastic behaviour of soil under drained and undrained conditions require numerical analysis for implementing proper design. It is necessary to identify the appropriate soil constitutive model and the model parameters that should be used for the analysis of different field problems. At the same time, it is necessary to understand the fundamentals behind the appropriate use of these soil constitutive models in numerical schemes for solving different field problems. This course provides an introduction to the different soil constitutive models and their use in numerical analysis.
Advanced Soil Mechanics:
The course covers the advanced concepts and theories in soil mechanics fundamental to geotechnical engineering such as: Shear Strength of Soils; Stress- Strain Behaviour; Drained and Undrained Shear Strength; Stress Paths; Critical State Soil Mechanics, Failure Criteria; Constitutive Models Soil Deformation Analysis; Stress Distribution in Soil; Settlement of Soil; Consolidation Theory.
Geosynthetics Engineering:
This course aims to introduce advanced students to geosynthetics and their applications in the built environment and it covers important considerations in the use of geosynthetics to solve civil engineering problems. It includes methods of analysis, design, construction and field monitoring of structures constructed with geosynthetics. Topics include the behaviour and interaction of these materials in filtration, drainage, separation, reinforcement, erosion control and barrier functions.
Rock Mechanics:
This course provides an introduction to the theory of rock mechanics and its applications in construction and mine operations. Students are presented with the fundamental concepts of stress and strain in isotropic and anisotropic rocks and they conduct stress analyses using data collected in the laboratory and the field. Rock mass structures and classification schemes are introduced, and students learn how these govern rock slope stability and underground rock excavation methods in a given stress environment. Rock control and support systems utilized in underground and surface excavations and their related safety requirements are discussed. Rock mechanics topics surrounding blasting and the stability of impoundment dams and tailings dumps are also presented.
Ground Improvement Techniques:
This course aims to introduce students to the concepts underpinning a range of ground improvements and soil remediation techniques and an appreciation of how these techniques are applied in practice. The course covers important design and construction aspects associated with ground improvement techniques including: Mechanical methods (compaction, vibrotechniques), Hydraulic methods (groundwater lowering, preloading, vertical drains, electro-osmosis), Physical/chemical methods (admixtures, grouting, deep soil mixing, ground freezing), Inclusions (rigid inclusions, soil reinforcements) and contaminated land and remediation.
Research Communication & Methodology:
This is an enrichment course which is offered through the department of chemical engineering. Although the credits earned from this course do not count towards the award of the degree, it is a compulsory course which all MSc students are required to take. The main focus of this course is based on research philosophy. Out of the many areas which are covered, the following are some of them: hypothesis development and research methodology, literature review skills and research communication.
Groundwater:
This course teaches the physical processes that control the flow of water below the subsurface, surface-water groundwater interactions, transport of solutes, groundwater hydraulics and aspects of drilling and well completion. It aims to give participants a sound understanding of flow in porous media, including soil and groundwater. It prepares students on topics related to Groundwater supply, Groundwater Recharge, Aquifer Characterisation, and Contamination of the subsurface. Furthermore, the application of these principles of Hydrogeology to Dewatering, Mining, Petroleum and Remediation will also be outlined.