WSM21502 Advanced Soil Mechanics

Hiroshima University Syllabus

Japanese

Academic Year 2025Year School/Graduate School Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering (Master's Course) Division of Advanced Science and Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Program

Lecture Code WSM21502 Subject Classification Specialized Education

Subject Name Advanced Soil Mechanics

Subject Name
（Katakana）ドシツリキガクトクロン

Subject Name in
English Advanced Soil Mechanics

Instructor KIDO RYUNOSUKE

Instructor
(Katakana) キド　リュウノスケ

Campus Higashi-Hiroshima Semester/Term 1st-Year, Second Semester, 3Term

Days, Periods, and Classrooms (3T) Tues1-2,Fri1-2

Lesson Style Lecture Lesson Style
(More Details) Face-to-face, Online (simultaneous interactive)

Credits 2.0 Class Hours/Week 4 Language of Instruction B : Japanese／English

Course Level 5 : Graduate Basic

Course Area（Area） 25 : Science and Technology

Course Area（Discipline） 13 : Civil Engineering

Eligible Students B4, M, D

Keywords Soil Mechanics, Unsaturated Soil, Granular Mechanics, Python, Finite Element Method (FEM), Discrete Element Method (DEM)

Special Subject for Teacher Education 　 Special Subject 　

Class Status
within Educational
Program
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced
Evaluation
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)

Class Objectives
/Class Outline This course revisits soil mechanics learned in the 2nd and 3rd years of undergraduate studies while covering topics insufficiently explained, such as unsaturated soil mechanics and granular mechanics, which govern the mechanical behavior of soils.

Students will acquire basic Python programming skills (variables, lists, functions, graph plotting, etc.), which are useful for efficient data organization and academic writing.

The course introduces numerical analysis techniques (e.g., finite element method, discrete element method) to help students understand the characteristics and workflow of these methods.

Class Schedule lesson1 Orientation (Course introduction, software installation for exercises, etc.)
lesson2 Review of Basic Physical Quantities & Python Basics (1) (Variable definitions, arithmetic operations, lists)
lesson3 Review of Permeability & Seepage & Python Basics (2) (Conditional statements, loops, functions)
lesson4 Review of Soil Compaction & Python Basics (3) (File input/output, graph plotting)
lesson5 Review of Consolidation & Python Basics (4) (File input/output, graph plotting)
lesson6 Review of Shear Strength & Python Basics (5) (File input/output, graph plotting)
lesson7 Module Review Exercise (1)
lesson8 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (1) (Surface tension, suction, water retention forms)
lesson9 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (2) (Water retention properties, hysteresis)
lesson10 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (3) (Shear characteristics)
lesson11 Module Review Exercise (2)
lesson12 Behavior of Soil as a Continuum and Discontinuum (1)
lesson13 Behavior of Soil as a Continuum and Discontinuum (2)
lesson14 Behavior of Soil as a Continuum and Discontinuum (3)
lesson15 Module Review Exercise (3)

There will be no final exam or deadline-based reports; all assessment is based on in-class exercises.

Text/Reference
Books,etc. I provide original handouts.

PC or AV used in
Class,etc. Handouts, Microsoft Teams

(More Details)

Learning techniques to be incorporated Quizzes/ Quiz format

Suggestions on
Preparation and
Review Sessions 1–7: Students are advised to review undergraduate soil mechanics (soil mechanics textbooks from 2nd and 3rd year courses) beforehand. Additionally, since Python exercises will be conducted, students should install Anaconda distribution on their laptops and confirm that Spyder runs properly before the course begins.
Sessions 8–15: Follow the instructions given before each lecture.

Requirements

Grading Method Submission of in-class exercises (each session): 50 points
Module Review Exercises (3 in total): 50 points

Practical Experience

Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it

Message This course is designed to reinforce soil mechanics concepts while helping students acquire research-relevant knowledge and programming skills. Additionally, it offers an opportunity to experience numerical analysis methods.
Students who do not specialize in soil mechanics or geotechnical engineering are also welcome.
However, students who are already proficient in Python and numerical analysis (especially FEM) may find this course less challenging, so please take that into consideration before enrolling.

Other

Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes.
Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

Academic Year	2025Year	School/Graduate School	Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering (Master's Course) Division of Advanced Science and Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Program
Lecture Code	WSM21502	Subject Classification	Specialized Education
Subject Name	Advanced Soil Mechanics
Subject Name （Katakana）	ドシツリキガクトクロン
Subject Name in English	Advanced Soil Mechanics
Instructor	KIDO RYUNOSUKE
Instructor (Katakana)	キド　リュウノスケ
Campus	Higashi-Hiroshima	Semester/Term	1st-Year, Second Semester, 3Term
Days, Periods, and Classrooms	(3T) Tues1-2,Fri1-2
Lesson Style	Lecture	Lesson Style (More Details)	Face-to-face, Online (simultaneous interactive)

Credits	2.0	Class Hours/Week	4	Language of Instruction	B : Japanese／English
Course Level	5 : Graduate Basic
Course Area（Area）	25 : Science and Technology
Course Area（Discipline）	13 : Civil Engineering
Eligible Students	B4, M, D
Keywords	Soil Mechanics, Unsaturated Soil, Granular Mechanics, Python, Finite Element Method (FEM), Discrete Element Method (DEM)
Special Subject for Teacher Education		Special Subject
Class Status within Educational Program (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced Evaluation (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Class Objectives /Class Outline	This course revisits soil mechanics learned in the 2nd and 3rd years of undergraduate studies while covering topics insufficiently explained, such as unsaturated soil mechanics and granular mechanics, which govern the mechanical behavior of soils. Students will acquire basic Python programming skills (variables, lists, functions, graph plotting, etc.), which are useful for efficient data organization and academic writing. The course introduces numerical analysis techniques (e.g., finite element method, discrete element method) to help students understand the characteristics and workflow of these methods.
Class Schedule	lesson1 Orientation (Course introduction, software installation for exercises, etc.) lesson2 Review of Basic Physical Quantities & Python Basics (1) (Variable definitions, arithmetic operations, lists) lesson3 Review of Permeability & Seepage & Python Basics (2) (Conditional statements, loops, functions) lesson4 Review of Soil Compaction & Python Basics (3) (File input/output, graph plotting) lesson5 Review of Consolidation & Python Basics (4) (File input/output, graph plotting) lesson6 Review of Shear Strength & Python Basics (5) (File input/output, graph plotting) lesson7 Module Review Exercise (1) lesson8 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (1) (Surface tension, suction, water retention forms) lesson9 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (2) (Water retention properties, hysteresis) lesson10 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (3) (Shear characteristics) lesson11 Module Review Exercise (2) lesson12 Behavior of Soil as a Continuum and Discontinuum (1) lesson13 Behavior of Soil as a Continuum and Discontinuum (2) lesson14 Behavior of Soil as a Continuum and Discontinuum (3) lesson15 Module Review Exercise (3) There will be no final exam or deadline-based reports; all assessment is based on in-class exercises.
Text/Reference Books,etc.	I provide original handouts.
PC or AV used in Class,etc.	Handouts, Microsoft Teams
(More Details)
Learning techniques to be incorporated	Quizzes/ Quiz format
Suggestions on Preparation and Review	Sessions 1–7: Students are advised to review undergraduate soil mechanics (soil mechanics textbooks from 2nd and 3rd year courses) beforehand. Additionally, since Python exercises will be conducted, students should install Anaconda distribution on their laptops and confirm that Spyder runs properly before the course begins. Sessions 8–15: Follow the instructions given before each lecture.
Requirements
Grading Method	Submission of in-class exercises (each session): 50 points Module Review Exercises (3 in total): 50 points
Practical Experience
Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it
Message	This course is designed to reinforce soil mechanics concepts while helping students acquire research-relevant knowledge and programming skills. Additionally, it offers an opportunity to experience numerical analysis methods. Students who do not specialize in soil mechanics or geotechnical engineering are also welcome. However, students who are already proficient in Python and numerical analysis (especially FEM) may find this course less challenging, so please take that into consideration before enrolling.
Other
Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes. Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

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