GEOTECHNICAL EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING (CIEN E4242)

2026

  516 Hamilton Hall (4:10-6:40 pm)

• Stress Wave Propagation (1-, 2- and 3-D)
• Field and Laboratory Testing. Soil Properties under Cyclic Loading
• Soil Models (Complex Modulus, Hardin-Drnevich, Ramberg-Osgood)
• Seismic Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundation
• Seismic Design of Retaining Walls, including Displacement Limit Design
• Stability and Permanent Displacement of Slopes (Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Structures, and Landfills)
• Seismic Response Analysis of Horizontal Ground
• Liquefaction: Testing, Prediction and Remediation
• Ocean Bed Liquefaction 
• Breakwater Design Against Storm/Tsunami

Textbooks (recommended)
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Towhata, I., Springer, 684 pp., 2008.
Soil Behavior for Earthquake Geotechnics, Ishihara, K., Oxford University Press, 360 pp., 1996. [out of print]

Seismic Ground Response Analysis, Yoshida, N., Springer, 2015.
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Kramer, S.L., Prentice Hall, Inc., 653 pp., 1995.
Principles of Soil Dynamics, Das, B.M., PWS Publishing Company, 592 pp., 1993.

---

Tentative Schedule

Class #	Date	Contents
1	1/26	Introduction One-Dimensional Wave Propagation Longitunal Wave in a Bar (Infinite and Short Bars)
2	2/2	Torsional Waves in a Bar Resonant Column Device Determination of Gmax using resonant column device Fundamentals of vibration (free vibration)
3	2/9	Free Vibration with damping Determination of D using resonant column device Empirical Relationships for Determining Gmax Gmax for Cohesionless and Cohesive Soils 2D/3D Wave Propagation Dynamic Equation of Motion, Constitutive Relationship
4	2/16	Body Waves: Navier's Equation, Compressional Wave, Shear Wave, Relationship between vp and vs [Nuclear explosion wave vs earthquake wave] Surface Waves: Rayleigh Wave, Love Wave In-Situ Measurements Up-hole Test, Down-hole Test, Cross-hole Tests, etc.
5	2/23	Lab Measurements  Cyclic behavior: Strain Level Effects, G/Go~gamma, D~gamma Relationships for Sand and Clay Laboratory Tests: Bender Tests, Small Strain Measurements, Improved Cyclic Triaxial Tests Soil Models for Cyclic Loading Linear Viscoelastic Models, Complex Modulus Model ... Masing Rule
6	3/2	Bilinear Model Hardin-Drnevich (Hyperbolic Model) Ramberg-Osgood Model
7	3/9	Calibration of Cyclic Models Soil Liquefaction - Mechanism of Liquefaction - Cyclic Simple Shear and Cyclic Triaxial Tests Liquefaction and Cyclic Mobility Stress Path, Steady State, Phase Transformation Excess Pore Water Pressure and Stress Path Method Liquefaction Potential based on Simplified Method
	3/16	Spring break (3/16-20)
8	3/23	Liquefaction Potential based on In-situ Tests Remediation Methods Seismic Response Analysis Multi-layer Wave Propagation ProShake Program (link)
9	3/30	Mid-term
10	4/6	Final Project Earth Retaining Structures Coulomb Earth Pressure Theory (review) Dynamic Earth Pressure Theory (Mononobe-Okabe Analysis) Displacement-Limit Design of Retaining Walls
11	4/13	Slopes Seismic Stability Analysis Planar Mechanism: Extended Francais-Culmann Analysis Circular Mechanism: Extended  Taylor Charts
	4/16	Burmister Lecture
12	4/20	Permanent Displacement Analysis Seismic Factor of Safety on Planar Mechanism Critical Yield Acceleration Permanent Displacement
13	4/27	Response and Liquefaction of Ocean Bed Subject to Wave Loading Cyclic Stresses due to Wave Loading Liquefaction Strength considering Principal Stress Rotation Liquefaction Analysis
14	5/4
	5/11	Final (5/8-5/15)

5/20 Commencement