Duration
20h Th, 10h Pr, 10h Labo., 20h Proj., 2d FW
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course focuses on the rehabilitation of land and recycling of soils in urban areas rather than the consumption of new land to combat urban sprawl. This frequently implies the need to manage land, from excavation to reuse or landfill, through excavation and treatment for improvement and/or remediation.
Lessons relate to the geomechanical aspects associated with these principles of land rehabilitation in urban areas and to the management of the pollution that is frequently detected.
Geomechanical aspects: reminder of some basic notions on the geomechanical properties of soils and land in urban areas. Stability calculations and support dimensionng during excavation works. Techniques for soil improvement before reuse, introduction to engineered landfills.
Management of polluted soils: General concepts on polluted soils: main pollutants in urban soils, fate of pollutants and impacts on urban soils and groundwater. Characterisation of polluted urban soils (mainly lab tests). On-site and ex-situ soil remediation technologies for soil recycling (in-situ remediation techniques are not covered in this course, see GEOL0313 for that).
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, the students will be able to:
- Understand the needs of land and soil recycling in urban areas
- Apply the concepts of recycling to study cases
In particular, for RePIC students, the first part of the group project will be simplified and replaced by the requirement to familiarise themselves with general information on the case study (e.g. a simplified description of the geology and geomechanical properties of the sites under investigation).
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, IV.1, IV.2, IV.3, IV.5, V.1, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5, VII.6 of the MSc in civil engineering.
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, I.3, II.1, II.2, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, IV.1, IV.2, IV.5, V.1, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5, VII.6 of the MSc in geological and mining engineering.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Notions on mechanics and geomechanics, basics of chemistry. Fluid transfer into soils. Geology.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course is composed of "ex-cathedra" lectures, seminars by industrial experts, laboratories and case studies.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Theoretical classroom courses.
Laboratory work.
Group work based on real case studies (polluted sites).
During the semester, three debriefing sessions on the progress of the group work are scheduled as part of the course timetable (dates to be announced in class). These debriefings are based on a PowerPoint type presentation given by the group members. Attendance and participation by all students at these sessions is compulsory.
Field visit (soil treatment plant) and seminars with external speakers.
Attendance at seminars and field visit is compulsory.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
- MyULiège
Further information:
PDF copies of course materials made available to students.
Exam(s) in session
January exam session
- In-person
oral exam
August-September exam session
- In-person
written exam
Written work / report
Further information:
Work carried out by groups of students (composition of the groups defined by the teachers).
The assessment is based on the writing, by each group of students, of a report (approximately 30 pages) and a presentation of the report at the oral exam during the January session. This 20-minute presentation is given using a powerpoint type presentation. It is followed by questions from the teachers on the presentation and the subjects covered in the course.
The assessment procedures are the same for the second sitting. However, if a failure is due to the report being of insufficient quality, students are required to submit an improved version of it by a date prior to the examination, to be agreed in advance with the teaching staff.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The course is taught in English.
However, the context and the accessibility of information and data mean that some material may only be available in French. For example, legal texts and reference guides, extracts from soil study reports, etc.
Some seminars (with external speakers) may also be given in French.
In order to make this course accessible without pre-requisites, some parts may be partly redundant with other courses (e.g. with the the courses GEOL0277 Groundwater quality and protection, GEOL0313 Site remediation and GCIV2058 Environmental Geotechnics). These redundancies are clearly identified in the syllabus presented during the first class session.
Contacts
Serge Brouyère: Serge.Brouyere@uliege.be
Frédéric Collin: f.collin@uliege.be