Ateneo de Davao University

Graduate School of Engineering & Architecture

CE 707 - Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Problem Set 1
(Review of Fundamental Soil Testing)

Question Answer Reference Solution

File
1 The results of a sieve analysis of a soil were as follows: Here

US Sieve Designation Mass retained (g) US Sieve Designation Mass retained (g)
¾” 0 #10 3.5
½” 1.7 #14 1.1
3/8” 2.3 #35 30.5
¼” 8.4 #45 45.3
#4 5.7 #80 25.4
#7 12.9 #200 7.4

The total mass of the soil sample was 147.2 grams.

(a) Plot the grain-size distribution curve.
(b) Determine the percentage of Gravel, Sand, and Fine Materials based on (b.1) AASHTO and (b.2) USCS
standards.
(c) Determine the effective grain size, uniformity coefficient, coefficient of gradation, and sorting coefficient.
2 Following are the results of hydrometer analysis from a dry 50-gram clay sample. Here

Time (min) Hydrometer reading, Time (min) Hydrometer Check the

R reading, R hydrometer
0.25 51 30 42 analysis
0.50 48 60 40 bookmark
1 47 120 38
2 46 240 34
4 45 480 32
8 44 1440 29
15 43 2880 27

Assuming that Gs = 2.75, and the corrections pertaining to the test are all equal to zero, (a) determine the % of silt
and clay. (b) Plot the particle size distribution curve. ATSM 152H hydrometer was used during the test.

3 The following results were obtained from a liquid limit test on a clay using the Casagrande cup device. Here

Mass of Container Mass of Container and Wet Mass of Container

Test No. Blow Count
(grams) Soil (grams) and dry soil (grams)
1 45.3 57.1 54.4 28
2 43.0 59.8 56.0 31
3 45.2 61.7 57.9 22
4 45.6 58.4 55.3 18

Determine the following: (a) liquid limit, (b) average flow index (c) liquidity index , and (d) consistency index if the
natural water content is 38% and the plastic limit is 23%.

4 Following are the results of a liquid limit test using a fall cone. (a) Estimate the liquid limit. Here

Cone penetration, d (mm) Moisture content (%)

15 29.5
26 35.5
34 38.5
43 41.5

(b) If we assume that only one liquid limit test is conducted using the fall cone for the soil reported such that w =
29.5% at depth of penetration of 15 mm. Search for literatures that will estimate the liquid limit using this one trial
only. Cite the study accordingly.
5 The following results were recorded in a shrinkage limit test using mercury. Here

Mass of container 17.0 grams

Mass of wet soil and container 72.3 grams
Mass of dish 132.40 grams
 Ateneo de Davao University
Graduate School of Engineering & Architecture
CE 707 - Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Problem Set 1
(Review of Fundamental Soil Testing)

Mass of dish and displaced mercury 486.1 grams

Mass of dry soil and container 58.2 grams
Volume of wet soil 32.4 cm3
Determine the shrinkage limit.

6 Classify the following soil using the US Department of Agriculture textural classification chart. Here
Soil % Sand % Silt % Clay
A 20 20 60
B 55 55 40
C 45 35 20
D 50 15 35
E 70 15 15
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7 Following are the results of the soil testing from five soil samples. Classify the soil using the AASHTO classification Buhati!
system and give the group indexes.
Soil % Passing in % Passing in % Passing in Liquid Limit Plastic
Sieve No. 10 Sieve No. 40 Sieve No. 200 Limit
A 100 92 80 56 23
B 85 55 45 28 20
C 48 28 6 - NP
D 90 76 34 37 25
E 92 74 32 44 35
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8 Classify the following soils using the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). Give the group symbols and group Buhati!
names.
Soil % Passing in % Passing in Liquid Limit Plastic Additional Data
Sieve No. 4 Sieve No. 200 Limit
A 99 76 60 32
B 60 40 26 4
C 92 48 30 8
D 100 45 36 22
E 94 3 - NP Cu = 4.5, Cc = 1.2
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9 A standard proctor test was carried in the laboratory for a fine-grained soil having a natural water content of 6%. The Here
following data were recorded.
Diameter of mold = 101.40 mm
Height of mold = 116.70 mm
Mass of mold = 4196.50 grams
Specific Gravity of Solids = 2.69

Unit Weight
Water Content Determination
Determination
Mass of wet Mass of can Mass of can
Mass of can
soil and mold and wet soil and dry soil
(grams)
(grams) (grams) (grams)
6257 105.05 103.10 42.10
6356 100.69 97.9 40.90
6400 114.71 110.7 42.70
6421 134.26 128.5 42.50
6400 109.34 104.8 41.80
(a) Determine the two laboratory compaction parameters.
(b) Draw the Zero Air Voids (ZAV) line. Also draw the air voids line corresponding to the saturation at the maximum
dry density.

10 A modified Proctor compaction test was carried out in a clayey sand in a cylindrical mold that has a volume of 944 Here
cm3. The specific gravity of the soil grains is 2.68. The moisture content and the mass of the six compacted
specimens are given below.

Moisture 5.0 7.0 9.5 11.8 14.1 17.0

content
(%)
 Ateneo de Davao University
Graduate School of Engineering & Architecture
CE 707 - Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Problem Set 1
(Review of Fundamental Soil Testing)

Mass of 1776 1890 2006 2024 2005 1977

moist
specimen
in the
mold (g)
a. Using the compaction test data, determine the optimum moisture content and the maximum dry unit weight.
b. Plot the zero-air void (ZAV) curve and check whether it intersects the compaction curve.
c. Plot the void ratio and the degree of saturation against the moisture content.
d. What are the void ratio and degree of saturation at the optimum moisture content?
11 A sand cone test was conducted for quality control during the compaction of sandy clay. The data are as follows: Here

Sand Calibration
Mass of Proctor mold 4178 grams
Mass of Proctor mold and sand 5609 grams
Volume of mold 0.00095 m3
Cone Calibration
Mass of sand cone apparatus and jar filled with sand 5466 grams
Mass of sand cone apparatus with remaining sand in jar 3755 grams
Field Test Results
Mass of sand cone apparatus and jar filled with sand 7387 grams
Mass of excavated soil 2206 grams
Mass of sand cone apparatus with remaining sand in jar 3919 grams
Water content of excavated soil 9.2%
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12 The results of a constant-head permeability test for a fine sand sample having a diameter of 150 mm and a length of Here
300 mm are as follows:
 Constant head difference = 500 mm
 Time of collection of water = 5 minutes
 Volume of water collected = 350 cm3
 Temperature of water = 240C
Determine the hydraulic conductivity for the soil at 200C.
13 For a falling-head permeability test, the following values are given: Here
 Length of specimen = 200 mm
 Area of soil specimen = 1000 mm2
 Area of standpipe = 40 mm2
 At time t = 0, the head difference was 500 mm
 At time t = 180 sec, the head difference was 300 mm
Compute the hydraulic conductivity of the soil in cm/sec.
14 The hydraulic conductivity of sandy soil may be estimated according to the Carrier equation (Carrier, 2003). The
equation is:
⎡ 100% ⎤ 1 𝑒
𝑘 = 1.99 × 10 ⎢ ⎥
⎢∑ 𝑓 ⎥ 𝑆𝐹 1+𝑒
⎣ 𝐷 . ×𝐷 .
⎦
where
𝑆𝐹 = shape factor
𝑓 = fraction of particles between two sieve sizes, in % (Note: subscript 𝑙 denotes larger sieve, subscript 𝑠
denotes smaller sieve)
𝐷( ) = [𝐷 ] . × [𝐷 ] .
= all units are in centimeters

Estimate the hydraulic conductivity of the coarse-grained soil in Problem 1 at a void ratio of 0.77 and shape factor of
7.