Computer Applications in the UCB Geotechnical Laboratories

by Jorge B. Sousa, Univ of California Berkeley, Richmond, United States,
Clarence K. Chan, Univ of California Berkeley, Richmond, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Geotechnical Engineering Congress?1991

Abstract:

The use of personal computers has become an indivisible part of the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) geotechnical testing laboratories. The University has been on the forefront of software and equipment development to improve teaching methodologies and to enhance the power of the tools available for research. The philosophy of software and laboratory equipment development, at the University, has been geared towards systems that are flexible, powerful, and that have a short learning curve. Recognizing that computer literacy and background among students is quite different, those requirements can not necessarily be met with a single system. Systems powerful enough to automate and control complex testing processes, easily implementable by engineers, and flexible in a research environment, are not necessarily rapidly mastered by undergraduate students within a class session. Three software packages are routinely used at the University. The paper focus on the description of these systems, using captured screens, and will also briefly describe some of the testing apparatus they control.

Subject Headings: Laboratory tests | Equipment and machinery | Computer software | Geotechnical engineering | Computing in civil engineering | Colleges and universities | Soil tests

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