Courses at Seoul National University

Advanced Soil Mechanics

(Graduate | Springs from 2026)

This course provides a graduate-level treatment of soil mechanics, focusing on strength, deformation, and seepage. It begins with three-dimensional stress and strain, highlighting stress invariants and stress paths widely used in soil mechanics. The course then discusses the strength and stiffness characteristics of soils and their dependence on soil state. Critical state soil mechanics is introduced as a modern framework for describing state-dependent soil behavior and as a foundation for advanced constitutive modeling. Finally, the course covers three-dimensional seepage through generalized forms of Darcy’s law and governing equations, as well as key aspects of unsaturated soil mechanics, including matric suction, water retention behavior, and relative permeability.

Computational Geomechanics

(Graduate | Autumns from 2026)

This course introduces computational methods for analyzing the mechanics and multiphysics of granular and porous materials with particular focus on geomaterials. It is organized into two components: constitutive modeling and poromechanics. The constitutive modeling component covers elastoplastic models for geomaterials, including J2 plasticity, Mohr–Coulomb plasticity, and critical state plasticity, together with stress-point integration algorithms for incorporation into nonlinear finite element analysis. The poromechanics component introduces the governing equations for coupled fluid flow and solid deformation in porous media based on continuum mechanics and their numerical solution using mixed finite element methods.

Geotechnical Testing and Modeling

(Undergraduate | Springs from 2026)

This course introduces methods for testing and modeling in geotechnical engineering. The testing component provides hands-on laboratory experiments for evaluating basic soil properties, shear strength, and consolidation characteristics, and discusses in-situ methods such as the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Cone Penetration Test (CPT) with emphasis on parameter interpretation and engineering application. The modeling component focuses on how soil parameters derived from testing are incorporated into numerical analysis software and applied to the analysis and design of geotechnical systems. Exercises emphasize the integration of experimental characterization and numerical modeling and demonstrate its application to representative problems in geotechnical engineering.

Geotechnical Engineering

(Undergraduate | Autumns from 2026)

Introduction to Computational Mechanics

(Summer 2021)