Unit 1

Environmental cycles – Soil and water – Environmental interaction relating to geotechnical problems – Effect of pollution on soil – water behaviour.

Origin, nature and distribution of soil – Description of individual particle – Soil fabric and structure – Gravitational and surface forces – Intersheet and interlayer bonding in the clay minerals – Basic structural units of clay minerals – Isomorphous substitution – Kaolinite mineral – Montmorillonite mineral – Illite mineral – Electric charges on clay minerals – Ion exchange capacity – Diffused double layer – Adsorbed water – Soil structure – Methods for the identification of minerals (introduction only).

Effect of drying on Atterberg limits – Shrinkage, swelling and cracking characteristics of soil – Electrochemical characteristics of soil-water system – Sensitivity of soil to environment – Soil-water-air interaction – Activity, sensitivity, causes of sensitivity – Influence of exchangeable cations, pH and organic matter on properties of soils – Permeability of soils – Hydraulic conductivity of different types of soils – Darcy’ s law and its validity – Factors affecting permeability

Unit 2

Sources, types and composition of different wastes – Characteristics and classification of hazardous wastes – Generation rates – Potential problems in soils due to contaminants.

Ground water flow – Sources of ground water contamination – Contaminant transport – Pollution of aquifers by mining and liquid wastes – Ground water pollution downstream of landfills – Transport mechanisms.

CPCB rules and regulations on waste handling and management – Criteria for selection of sites for waste disposal – Disposal techniques -Disposal systems for typical wastes.

Ground modification and waste modification techniques in waste management – Ground modification – Mechanical modification, hydraulic modification, chemical modification.

Unit 3

• Mitchell J. “Fundamentals of soil behaviour”, John Wiley and Sons., Third Edition, 2005.
• Robert M. Koerner, “Construction and Geotechnical methods in Foundation Engineering”, McGraw Hill Book Co., 1996.
• Abdel M. O. Mohamed and Hogan E. Antia, “Developments in Geotechnical Engineering”, Elsevier, 1998.
• Hari D. Sharma and Krishna R. Reddy, “Geoenvironmental Engineering – Site Remediation, Waste Containment, Emerging waste management technologies”, John Wiley and sons, 2004.
• Daniel D. E. “Geotechnical Practice for Waste Disposal”, Chapman and Hall. 1993.
• Hsai Yang Fang and John Daniel, “Introduction to Environmental Geotechnology”, CRC press, Taylor and Francis, Second Edition, 2013