Ελληνικά

Laboratory on Constructions - Geotechnics

Course Description:

Experiments in material science and engineering. Mechanical behaviour under static and dynamic loading. Engineering stress and strain calculations.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Laboratory on materials, Mechanics of the rigid body, Dynamics of the rigid body, Mechanics of deformable solids, Strength of materials.

Course Units

# Title Description Hours
1 Safety and Health Marking and instructions. Precautions and means of personal protection. First Aid. 1Χ3=3
2 Reinforced Concrete-Two Support Beam Four point bending to a beam made of reinforced concrete, in such a way that shear damage occurs. Exhaustion of bearing capacity in shear and calculation of stresses and strains before yield. Study of the brittle (undesirable) case of failure. Determination of stiffness before yield. 1Χ3=3
3 Reinforced Concrete-Two Support Beam Four point bending to a beam made of reinforced concrete, in such a way that flexural damage occurs. Exhaustion of bearing flexural capacity in and calculation of stresses and strains after yield. Study of the ductile (desirable) case of failure. Determination of stiffness after yield. 1Χ3=3
4 Soil- Sand at various densities Measurement of pore water pressure in soil samples at rest and under steady-state groundwater flow. Experimental setup to induce soil liquefaction in the laboratory. Experimental setup to study Darcy's law. Measurement of the hydraulic conductivity/permeability k=(m/s) of sand at various densities. Study of flow problems in soils due to groundwater movement; soil permeability calculations. Critical hydraulic gradient introducing quick condition and piping in sandy soils compared with soil liquefaction. 1Χ3=3
5 Soil- Sand and Retaining Wall Potential collapse conditions of retaining walls. Mobilization of active and passive pressure distribution with wall translation. Simplified pressure distribution at limiting condition. Experimental setup for the study of the degree of wall soil interaction, with measurement of loads and displacements behind a retaining wall. 1Χ3=3
6 Structural systems Bearing systems. Beams, frames, arches and grillages. Degrees of freedom. Dynamic base excitation with various frequencies recording of the response. Resonance curve of a single degree of freedom (SDOF) structure. Dynamic characteristics of a SDOF structure by comparing input motion and response. 1Χ3=3
7 Steel Structures–Simple steel building Basic structural elements of a simple steel roofed structure. Assembling a steel building. Familiarization with basic steel elements (rolled profiles, bolts etc). Tolerances during construction. Construction of steel structures. Fundamentals of designing steel bearing systems 1Χ3=3
8 Steel Structures–Steel cantilever Loading. A) Closed hollow section with medium bending strength and high shear strength B) Open section (double tee) with high bending strength and low torsional strength C) Vulnerable cross-sections to lateral buckling. Cross-section of beams under bending and torsion. 1Χ3=3
9 Five story steel scaled model Earthquake excitation in one direction of a five story steel structure using the earthquake simulator. Three different time histories will be applied. Seismic elastic behaviour of a multi storied building. Floor acceleration. Relation between absolute acceleration and relative displacement of a floor. Scaled model vs prototype structure. 1Χ3=3

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students are able to:

  1. Measure engineering quantities of structural members, structures and soil.
  2. Verify the calculated results using theoretical background
  3. Utilize their knowledge from other courses.

Teaching Methods

Teaching methods Laboratory Exercises
Teaching media Lectures on the board. Slides presentation.
Laboratories YES
Computer and software use YES
Assignments (projects, reports) YES