Академический Документы
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M.B.Jaksa
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Adelaide, S.A., Australia
L.R.Davison
Faculty of the Built Environment, University of West England, Bristol, UK
D.G.Toll
School of Civil & Structural Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
ABSTRACT: As time proceeds the use of computer aided learning (CAL) in undergraduate courses is becoming a more widespread and accepted form of teaching particularly in engineering education. This paper
presents the CAL resources currently available in geotechnical engineering and is an extension and update of
Toll (1999).
This paper presents a list and brief overview of
the various CAL resources currently available in
geotechnical engineering. To date, these resources
include stand-alone PC-based programs, web-based
simulations and courseware and multimedia CDROMs. These resources are divided into these categories and, where available, web URLs and references to relevant papers are given. An excellent
internet site, which lists an extensive source of links
to geotechnical engineering software, is provided by
the Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Software
Directory (www.ggsd.com) which also provides a list
of educational links.
1 INTRODUCTION
Computer aided learning (CAL) offers many advantages over traditional forms of learning. These include:
1. the ability to run simulations of laboratory experiments and design scenarios that allow the student to see the effect on some behaviour by modifying various parameter(s);
2. the material can be delivered in an exciting and
challenging manner;
3. students are able to learn at their own pace, rather
than fitting into a schedule set by the course
timetable;
4. student progress and areas of difficulty can be
automatically monitored;
5. scarce teacher, technician and equipment resources can be diverted to other areas, e.g. research.
Whilst CAL has a number of benefits it also suffers
from a number of limitations. These include:
1. students do not handle soil or rock nor operate test
apparatus, hence, they cannot learn from these
important experiences;
2. students may not appreciate experimental errors
nor the time needed to carry out some geotechnical tests;
3. if the CAL resources are poorly designed, the student may be more concerned with navigating or
playing the software than with learning;
4. hardware limitations may cause the software to
crash or the web-navigator to be unbearably slow,
hence, detracting from the learning experience.
As a consequence, CAL should not be seen as a
panacea but as another tool in the instructors armoury of techniques and delivery modes.
Figure 1. Dams4W.
Figure 2. FallingW.
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Figure 4. Triax4W.
Figure 5. ESP.
Figure 3. Phase.
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manual can be accessed from all parts of the GeotechniCAL software. The reference material is a
collection of Windows Help files, one for each subject: Basic mechanics; Soil mechanics; Groundwater; Foundations; Retaining walls; Slope stability.
Each file contains a structure of short pages, giving
an overview of the subject, leading to levels of increasing detail, plus summaries of case studies and
references to journals and texts. Definitions of terms
are provided by pop-up entries from the glossary.
Many of the diagrams and symbols also have hotspots with pop-up labels and definitions (c.f. 2.2.3).
Tutorial, Davison and Poritt (1999), is a series of
hypertext geotechnical tutorials. The package contains the GeoTutor computer program and paperbased workbooks which, together, introduce the
principles of geotechnical engineering. For each task
in the workbook, there is a corresponding part of
GeoTutor to be selected. GeoTutor enables students
to explore some of the important concepts by manipulating simple models and observing the effect. It
contains activities, spreadsheets and self-assessment
quizzes, linked to the hypertext reference information; all designed to support students working
through the workbook tasks. The activity settings
(including soil parameters and spreadsheet formulae), quiz questions and guided tours are stored in
simple text files which can all be edited by the tutor.
LabSim, Davison (1996), provides students with
the opportunity to carry out triaxial tests on-screen,
as shown in Fig. 7. The emphasis is on understanding soil behaviour and, only secondarily, training in
test procedures. A companion program (Configur)
allows instructors to modify the LabSim simulation,
to reflect their own requirements for technical content, soil types, quiz questions and learning styles.
The main screen of the LabSim simulation depicts a
schematic of the triaxial cell, complete with cell
pressure gauge, pore water pressure gauge, load
cells, drainage ports, clock etc. During the consolidation phase, three plots are displayed (versus time):
Figure 6. Confound.
Figure 7. LabSim.
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mean effective stress, pore water pressure and volume change. During the loading phase, the on-screen
plots are: pore water pressure response, axial stressstrain response, stress paths, and volume change.
Site Investigation, Moran et al. (1997), is a simulation and game supported by a series of tutorial
modules. As shown in Fig. 8, the tutoring modules
are designed to enable students to learn about the basic constituents of a site investigation, to see the
range of information available and its usage. The
game enables students to encounter, through images,
animation, video and audio, the challenges of the
real life site investigation.
Spires consists of 3 separate programs SefCut,
SefDam and SefWeir (Fig. 9). They enable the user to
modify the parameters in standard seepage flow
problems, and calculate the two-dimensional flow
nets. SefCut models flow into an excavation in layered soil supported by a sheet pile wall. Excavation
size, sheet pile depth, layer thickness and permeability can all be altered. SefDam demonstrates flow
through a simple earth dam with a core of different
permeability. The side slopes, crest width, location
and width of the core, upstream and downstream
water levels can all be altered, as well as the permeabilities of the dam and core materials. SefWeir
models flow below an impermeable structure, with
the possibility of including a cut-off. The location
and depth of the cut-off can be altered.
SSI (Soil-Structure Interaction), Davison (1996),
shown in Fig. 10, is a finite element program which
endeavours to teach students SSI without them having to learn the intricacies of finite element theory or
mesh generation. The software presents a number of
SSI problems (walls, embankments, foundations,
tunnels) and within each of these there are a number
of topics (e.g. embedded wall and wall with a
berm under the walls problem). Within each topic
one can vary a number of system parameters (e.g.
soil stiffness and structural dimensions) and examine
the effects of these changes. The program incorpo-
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(www.geo-slope.com)
This CD-ROM (in Portuguese) describes the procedures for characterising and classifying soils according to the HRB and USCS schemes. It describes
the measurement of particle density, water content,
liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit and particle
size distribution. The CD-ROM also includes video
clips of the various tests.
(www.civ.hw.ac.uk/online.html)
Heriot-Watt University, UK, offers two sets of webbased courseware relevant to geotechnics:
Environmental Science A: Coastal Change in the
Moray Firth is designed to support the practical
classes on environmental change in the Moray Firth,
Scotland. To date, the courseware provides a basic
visit to the area around Ardersier, with topological
and geological maps, and aerial and ground photographs.
Topics in Environmental Geotechnics provides
lectures notes, illustrations, lists of references (with
abstracts), case studies, frequently asked questions
and self-assessment tests. It is intended to reinforce
limited class contact time. Materials include the investigation of contaminated land.
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