An international coursework on the design of a retaining structure and a building competition

A Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative carried out between Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) is presented. The initiative included the design of a soil-nailed/anchored/propped/reinforced earth retaining wall system supporting a sandy backfill, by building an analogue in the laboratory and subsequently the performance of a failure analysis. The objective was to develop an accurate prediction of the behaviour of the above geotechnical system, given detailed information regarding soil, boundary, and initial conditions, as well as the relevant geotechnical and structural loading. To address the coursework, students were encouraged to use any available empirical correlations for design purposes, in addition to the development of simple, accurate computer code for making predictions and/or other design/ analysis calculations. Students significantly benefited from the project as they managed to visualise the different available retaining wall configurations and obtain valuable experience from their laboratory based work. In addition, they had the opportunity to collaborate with students from another university and engage in meaningful discussions on comparing experimental results against empirical and/or analytical predictions.