2024 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Concrete and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory II
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Mitsuyasu Iwanami / Nobuhiro Chijiwa / Akihiro Takahashi / Mai Sawada / Hiroshi Matsuzaki / Kazuhide Nakayama / Haruka Tomobe / Tomotaka Yoshikawa / Amadou Syll
- Class Format
- Experiment (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-8 Fri
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- CVE.N331
- Number of credits
- 001
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course is the laboratory class focusing on the mechanics of the infrastructures, especially mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete and geotechnical structures.
In the classes on the reinforced concrete, students learn how a reinforced concrete structure is made and how they fail through the experimental work. And in the creative design competition, students get an experience of setting group goal and strategy to tackle a task, building consensus about them in the group, and overcoming technical challenging to achieve the group goal with integrating their knowledge and experiences.
In geotechnical engineering, theoretical solutions do not necessarily capture the actual behaviour of geotechnical structures. Therefore, it is important to know mechanical characteristics of soils and behaviour of geotechnical structures through experiments. The aim of this course is to obtain knowledge of mechanical properties of soil through conducting shear tests and to experience performance evaluation of shallow foundation through physical model test using geotechnical centrifuge.
This course aims to cultivate the basis of civil engineers through the experimental works. Students are expected to understand deeply the mechanical behaviour of reinforced concrete structures and geotechnical structures, and get an experience of the group management in engineering.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Explain the fracture process of reinforced concrete members and the difference in failure pattern.
2) Explain the making process of reinforced concrete members.
3) Propose a group goal and strategy to tackle the task and build consensus for the group.
4) Implement the strategy to achieve the goal by integrating the knowledge about the property of cementitious material and structural design.
5) Understand the influences of void ratio and stress history on shear strength of soil.
6) Accumulate skill and knowledge for design of foundation through prediction of the bearing capacity of shallow foundation.
Keywords
Structural mechanics of reinforced concrete, Soil mechanics, Geotechnical structures
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Classes will be held in each separated group. Students should gather at the room where is instructed, and the understanding of the experiment contents and related matters are checked in advance of the experiment. Sometimes the understanding of the experiment is checked after the class. In every class, students are requested to submit reports.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Class 1: Making of reinforced concrete member Class 2: Tests on the structural performance of reinforced concrete member Class 3: Creative design competition with cementitious material ①design and making specimen Class 4: Creative design competition with cementitious material ②Performance test Class 5: Unconfined compression test on clay, Direct box shear test on sand Class 6: Experiment of bearing capacity of foundation (Competitive Contest on Prediction of Bearing Capacity Using Centrifuge) | Class 1: Understanding the making process of reinforced concrete member and its technical backgrounds. Class 2: Understanding the fracture process of the reinforced concrete member and the difference of the failure patterns. Class 3: Proposing a goal and strategy to win the competition, and building consensus for them. Integrated designing of material property and structural shape for implementing of the strategy is requested. Class 4: Presentation skill to explain your strategy and technical challenges. Class 5: Influences of void ratio and stress history on shear strength of soil. Class 6: Prediction of the bearing capacity of shallow foundation and evaluation of its performance by conducting the geotechnical centrifuge test. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend a certain length of time outside of class on preparation and review (including for assignments), as specified by the Rules on Undergraduate Learning and the Rules on Graduate Learning for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Course materials will be handed out in the first class.
Soil testing (2nd edition), 2010, The Japanese geotechnical society, ISBN978-4-88644-084-6. (In Japanese)
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Murata, Jiro and Kuniaki, Yasuda. (eds.), New Experiment Guidline of Civil Engineering - Concrete (Fourth edition), Gihodo Shupan, ISBN:: 4-7655-1708-X (Japanese)
Niwa, Junichiro, Basic of concrete structure, Suurikougakusha, ISBN: 978-4901683333 (Japanese)
Otsuki, Nobuaki and Miyasato, Shinichi, Concrete Material, Asakura Shotten, ISBN: 978-4-254-26501-9 (Japanese)
Mitsuyasu Iwanami, Hajime Ito, Hiroshi Minagawa and Takahiro Yasuda, Concrete Engineering, Riko Tosho, ISBN: 978-4-8446-0909-4 (Japanese)
Soil mechanics, 1984, H. Yamaguchi, Gihoudo shuppan Co,. Ltd., ISBN: 978-4765513425. (In Japanese)
Guide for civil engineering experiments (Soil mechanics), 1993, T. Kimura and O, Kusakabe. (eds.), Gihoudo shuppan Co., Ltd., ISBN: 978-4765515184. (In Japanese)
Soil mechanics (Civil engineering series No. 8), 1977, K. Ishihara and T. Kimura, Shokokusha Publishing Co., Ltd., ISBN: 4-395-40008-6. (In Japanese)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Report(100%). Students are requested to attend all classes including a guidance.
Related courses
- CVE.E201 ： Concrete Engineering
- CVE.E301 ： Structural Concrete
- CVE.C201 ： Soil Mechanics I
- CVE.C301 ： Soil Mechanics II
- CVE.N231 ： Concrete and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory I
Prerequisites
Students must have successfully completed Structural Concrete (CVE.E301) and Soil Mechanics II (CVE.C301) or have equivalent knowledge.
Other
Students are divided into some groups at the guidance, and students will tale classes with the group members. The order of the classes for each group is informed at the guidance.