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Environmental and energy geotechnics

* Exchange students do not have to consider this information when selecting suitable courses for an exchange stay.

Course Unit Code224-0255/01
Number of ECTS Credits Allocated5 ECTS credits
Type of Course Unit *Compulsory
Level of Course Unit *Second Cycle
Year of Study *First Year
Semester when the Course Unit is deliveredSummer Semester
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
Language of InstructionCzech
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites Course succeeds to compulsory courses of previous semester
Name of Lecturer(s)Personal IDName
RAP35prof. Ing. Naďa Rapantová, CSc.
Summary
In the field of Environmental and Energy Geotechnics, geotechnics is connected on an interdisciplinary basis with environmental science issues and the use of geothermal energy through ground heat exchangers including the use of foundation structures.
In the course the knowledge of geotechnics in connection with its application in the field of environmental protection is synthesized. In addition to the specification of the impacts of geotechnical structures on the natural environment, the methods of their prediction and limitation of human impacts on the environment (slope deformations, effects of tunneling, changes in hydrogeological conditions, landfilling, etc.) are analyzed.
Upon completion of this course the student will receive extensive information from the fields of natural science (transfer of pollution and heat in the rock environment) including basic tools used in the field of environmental engineering. Basic types of geohazard and environmental risks arising from construction activities will be defined. Students will be acquainted with methods of technical solution of surface and underground landfilling of liquid and solid wastes (including radioactive), evaluation of their impact on the environment and system of preventive and reparative measures. Part of the subject is also the environmental impact of mining activities, especially with regard to the abandonment of mines (flooding of mines, stability of shafts, subsidence basins, redevelopment of tailings and ponds, etc.). In the field of energy geotechnics, students will be familiarized with the problems of technical solution and design of systems for exploitation of low-potential geothermal energy through drillied heat exchangers and foundation and ground structures.
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
The aim is to cover a wide range of topics (see annotation) so we approached the students with basic terminology, principles and methods in the given subject and their practical application.
Course Contents
Lectures:
1. Geotechnics and the environment. Impact of building structures on individual components of the environment (geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, etc.).
2. Geotechnical risk assessment, management and sustainability. Risks and their evaluation - types of risks, risk management. Baseline ("Baseline") study. Environmental Impact Assessment EIA, Risk Analysis, Feasibility Study.
3. Geohazards. Types of geohazards - endogenous and exogenous (eg earthquakes, slope instability - landslides, floods, droughts). Survey, critical assessment. Preventive and reparative measures.
4. Soil and groundwater contamination. Sources of contamination, types of contaminants. Mobility of contaminants, transport mechanisms.
5. Investigation of contaminated sites, soil and water sampling. Remediation - Selection of the remedial method (In-situ methods, Ex situ, Containment reactive barriers, etc.).
6.-7.Construction of waste dumps (including mining). Types of waste, characterization and properties. Design of engineering barriers - covers, liners, underground impermeable walls. Application of geosynthetics in geo-environmental engineering - geotextiles, geocomposites, geomembranes, geosynthetic clay liners. Structural elements - stability of geotechnical structures of landfills (modification of slopes). Environmental impacts of landfills and their elimination (degassing, closure - remediation).
8.-9. Environmental impacts of mining activities – abandonment of mines. Mining waste - tailings, tailings dams, leaching fields - construction and remediation. Geotechnical problems of mining activities - stability of quarry walls - dewatering ("depressurization"). Environmental impacts of abandoned mines - flooding, shafts stability, gas emanations.
10. Monitoring of legacies from mining, potential use of old mine workings and mine water.
11. Energy geotechnics. Low-potential (shallow) and high-potential (deep) geothermal systems. Exploitation of geothermal energy - open-loop and closed-loop systems.
12. Thermal energy storage in the rock environment (BTES, ATES).
13-14. Possibilities of exploitation and storage of heat through geotechnical constructions, foundation structures (eg energy piles), underground structures (eg heat exchangers in tunnel lining), earth structures (horizontal heat exchangers).

Practical training:
1.- 4.Project design of municipal waste landfill.
5.-7. Calculations of contaminant transport in groundwater - analytical calculations, including using freeware BIONAPL, BIOPLUME, etc.
8-12. Designing a system of drilling heat exchangers.
13-14. Literature review on the selected topic in the field of environmental and energy geotechnics.
Recommended or Required Reading
Required Reading:
Sarsby, Robert W.. (2013). Environmental Geotechnics (2nd Edition). ICE Publishing. Online version available at: https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpEGE00003/environmental-geotechnics/environmental-geotechnics.

CIBSE. (2013). Ground Source Heat Pumps - CIBSE TM51: 2013. CIBSE. Online version available at: https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpGSHPCIBE/ground-source-heat-pumps/ground-source-heat-pumps
Vybrané publikace dostupné online z časopisu Geotechnika ISSN 1211-913X. Dostupné http://geotechnika-casopis.cz/obsah.php.
Sarsby, Robert W.. (2013). Environmental Geotechnics (2nd Edition). ICE Publishing. Online version available at: https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpEGE00003/environmental-geotechnics/environmental-geotechnics.
Recommended Reading:
Droege, Peter. (2008). Urban Energy Transition - From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Power. Elsevier. Online version available at:https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpUETFFFR3/urban-energy-transition/urban-energy-transition

Selected publications from journal Environmental Geotechnics
E-ISSN 2051-803X

Brandon, Thomas L. Valentine, Richard J.. (2017). Geotechnical Frontiers 2017 - Geotechnical Materials, Modeling, and Testing - Selected Papers from Sessions of Geotechnical Frontiers 2017, March 12-15, 2017, Orlando, Florida. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Online version available at: https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpGFGMMTS6/geotechnical-frontiers/geotechnical-frontiers

Toth, Aniko Bobok, Elemer. (2017). Flow and Heat Transfer in Geothermal Systems - Basic Equations for Describing and Modeling Geothermal Phenomena and Technologies. Elsevier. Online version available at:https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpFHTGSBE7/flow-heat-transfer-in/flow-heat-transfer-in
Vybrané publikace dostupné online z časopisu Geotechnika ISSN 1211-913X. Dostupné http://geotechnika-casopis.cz/obsah.php
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures, Tutorials, Project work
Assesment methods and criteria
Task TitleTask TypeMaximum Number of Points
(Act. for Subtasks)
Minimum Number of Points for Task Passing
Credit and ExaminationCredit and Examination100 (100)51
        CreditCredit33 18
        ExaminationExamination67 30