The student is expected to:

- know and understand the course topics;

- be capable of applying the acquired knowledge to solve standard practical problems,

- be autonomous in the engineering judgment and be capable of individuating the limitations of the approaches employed.

1. Stability of rock slabs along inclined slopes under static and dynamic conditions. The mechanical response of joints under monotonic and cyclic loads: experimental evidence and mathematical/rheological modelling. The pseudo-static approach (LEM) and the Newmark method

2. Stability of dry granular deposits along inclined slopes under static and dynamic conditions. From continuum to discontinuum: the localization condition for solid materials. Displacement based numerical analyses. The theory of controllability. Comparison between LEM and FEM. Elastic versus elasto-plastic dynamic numerical analyses: the amplification effect and the role of the H/l ratio.

3. Stability of cemented deposits along inclined slopes under static and dynamic conditions. The mechanical behavior of bonded materials: experimental evidence and constitutive modelling. The compaction banding in porous bonded materials. The role of both anisotropy and time-dependency of the constitutive relationship. From primary to tertiary creep: the visco.-plasticity.

4. Stability of saturated deposits along inclined slopes under static and dynamic conditions. The time evolution of slow movements induced by the water-table oscillation. The static liquefaction of loose sands: experimental evidence and the mechanical interpretation. The Lade instability line. Flow-slides induced by rapid sedimentation processes. The cyclic liquefaction of sands. Factors governing the unstable process.

5. Stability of partially saturated deposits along inclined slopes under static and dynamic conditions. The hydraulic and mechanical behavior of soils under partially saturated conditions. The Richards equation for seepage. The retention curve. The Bishop stress tensor. Condition of instability of an infinite slope in partially saturated soils.

6. Stability of single rock blocks. Kinematic admissibility: translational and rotational mechanisms. The role of water. Theory of Louis. Evolving/coupled LEM analysis. Stability of multiple blocks. The Discrete Element Method

7. Stability of rock mass slopes. Shear failures. Flexural-toppling instabilities. Eulerian instabilities of slabs.

8. Rotational and complex 2 and 3 dimensional stability analyses in soils. The Taylor graphs, the Janbu coefficients. The friction circle method. The slice methods: Fellenius, Bishop, Janbu, Morgenstern-Price and Sarma methods. Shear failures. Flexural-toppling instabilities. Eulerian instabilities of slabs. £D applications of the slice method. The wedge method. The Progressive failure. The hydro-mechanical coupling. The Terzaghi-Rendulic approach. The reservoir case.

9. Risk mitigation strategies: prevention and protection. The hydraulic interventions: the drainage trenches (description, design under stationary and transitional conditions), the sub-horizontal drainage pipes (description, design under stationary and transitional conditions), draining wells, drainage tunnels, drainage buttresses. The vegetation: hydraulic and mechanical issues. Slope re-profiling: terraces, reinforced embankments, reinforced slopes. Structural interventions: nets, tie bars and bolting, anchored walls, piles, wells. Sheltering structures: embankments, nets and artificial tunnels.