Hi, and welcome to Applied Geotechnics and Engineering
Geology at UNSW.
To start with, you need to know that this course is
divided into two parts.
Part A focuses on Engineering Geology.
So that's the "geo" part of geotechnical engineering.
My aim here is to give you a good understanding of geology,
including how geological materials are formed,
their characteristics, and how to describe them
both in geological terms and engineering terms.
By the end of the course, I hope you have an improved
understanding of the various challenges
different geological environments may
have for all of our different types of engineering projects.
The second part of the course covers Applied Geotechnics.
So that represents the design stage
of your geotechnical project.
This will require you to study the conventional methods
for the design and analysis of common geotechnical
constructions so that it includes shallow foundations,
deep or pile foundations, retaining walls, et cetera.
I know that for many of you this will
be your final course in geotechnical engineering,
so I do hope you gain an appreciation of some
of the complexities of geotechnical engineering.
To do well in the course, you'll need
to review some of the content from your previous engineering
courses.
And in particular, from Soil Mechanics.
So hopefully you'll have a reasonable understanding
of the basic way that we classify
soils, how soils behave as we impose stresses
or strains on them, and the impact that groundwater has
on our engineered structures.
We'll also provide you with some online revision sources,
so if you've forgotten things over the break
you can catch up.
What I'd expect at the end of this course is
that you should be able to know or relate the real world
geological environment--
so complete with all the complexity and variability--
to your existing knowledge of your classroom soil.
So the stuff that you learn about in Soil Mechanics.
You should also be able to take your geological and soil
mechanics knowledge and perform basic geotechnical engineering
designs.
So if you want to know more about this and what I'm after,
please go and look at the course profile.
So that'll be on Moodle, and you'll probably
get a copy of it in class as well.
So have a look at the learning outcomes
we're after, maybe also look at the Engineers Australia
Competency Standards, see how they link together.
To help you through this whole journey of this course,
we've created this Moodle site for you.
In that Moodle site, you'll be able to find
a whole heap of resources.
So not only things like lecture notes and past papers,
but a heap of digital assets that we've created.
So we're trying to focus on getting those learning outcomes
doing the best job we can.
I really encourage you to try and take
full advantage of all the things we've developed for you.
So what have we developed?
We've got a 3D digital rock collection.
So no longer do you need to squeeze
into the corridor with 500 students to look at our rocks.
You can look at 3D digital versions,
even when you're not on campus.
We've created some animations for you.
So these animations teach you the basics of geology,
how different soils and rocks form,
so that you'll understand those geological processes
and what they mean for engineering.
When we're doing engineering of the ground,
we really need to be able to think
and visualise and communicate in three dimensions.
And that can be quite a challenge.
So what we've done is we've given you a few resources.
There's a block modelling visualisation tool.
And there's a stereonet plotting type tool
where you can visualise and plot data in three dimensions.
So have a go at that, try and get your head
around these 3D visualisations.
As you may know by now, there's an important part
of the course, which is understanding the real world.
We can't learn that just by sitting in a lecture theatre.
We can't learn that by looking at a textbook.
We've got to get out into the field.
And that's why the geological component of the course
includes a number of field trips,
and then assignments related to those.
Now there are an awful lot of you.
So it's really unfeasible for me, and probably unsafe,
to take all 500 of you out on site.
So what we've done is we've created a virtual me that
will give you some assistance.
So I'll take you through ways to get ready for the field trip,
and also give you tips out on site
through videos and interactive tools.
One of the interactive tools we've done
is we've created a 360 degree interactive activity.
So we'll immerse you in Bronte before you go there
so you'll know what you're going to be looking at,
know what you're going to be mapping and recording data.
So it should help when you get down there.
So make sure you watch them.
I think you'll enjoy them.
I hope you do, you get to look at me.
And also, make sure you learn from them so that they maximise
on site time out in the field, you don't have to spend days
out there, and also you'll get better marks.
Finally, for the second part of our course,
we've developed six Moodle lessons.
And the six Moodle lessons link to the topics
of applied geotech and link to your workshops.
So the idea is that you will go and do those Moodle lessons
before the workshop.
They'll take you through a work solution like an exam question.
And at the end of it, they'll also
do a parametric simulation, so you
can learn about the effect of different parameters on, say,
a retaining wall for example.
So make sure you go through those.
They'll really help with your workshops.
Make sure you also go through them
before the exam, because it'll help you with your exam
questions as well.
In conclusion, overall, I really hope you enjoy the course.
I hope that you can learn as much as you can this semester.
I'm sure that are things that you'll learn,
the knowledge you gain will be extremely helpful
in your career, even if you take some evil, dark path
and avoid geotechnical engineering.
I invite you to be active, and to think and behave
as a professional, and not just as a student in this course.
Give me lots of feedback.
What would you like?
What are you thinking?
I'm looking forward to seeing you in class.
See you later.