88 Effective stress

Buoyant unit weight of soil,  0 ¼ 20  9:8 ¼ 10:2 kN/m3 .

For column AD, of unit area, resultant body force
¼ 11ð10:2 þ 2:3Þ ¼ 137 kN
i.e. effective vertical stress at A ¼ 137 kN/m2 .

The calculation is now given for point B.

2:4
Loss in total head between B and C ¼  8 ¼ 1:6 m.
12
Average value of vertical component of seepage pressure between B and C, acting
in the opposite direction to gravity
1:6
¼  9:8 ¼ 2:6 kN=m3
6
Hence, 0B ¼ 6(10:2  2:6) ¼ 46 kN/m2 .

Example 3.4
Using the flow net in Figure 3.8(a), determine the factor of safety against failure by
heaving adjacent to the downstream face of the piling. The saturated unit weight of the
soil is 20 kN/m3.
The stability of the soil mass EFGH in Figure 3.8(a), 6 m by 3 m in section, will be
analyzed.

By inspection of the flow net, the average value of total head on the base GH is
given by

3:5
hm ¼  8 ¼ 2:3 m
12

The average hydraulic gradient between GH and the soil surface EF is

2:3
im ¼ ¼ 0:39
6
0 10:2
Critical hydraulic gradient, ic ¼ ¼ ¼ 1:04
w 9:8
ic 1:04
Factor of safety, F ¼ ¼ ¼ 2:7
im 0:39

PROBLEMS

3.1 A river is 2 m deep. The river bed consists of a depth of sand of saturated unit
weight 20 kN/m3. What is the effective vertical stress 5 m below the top of the sand?
3.2 The North Sea is 200 m deep. The sea bed consists of a depth of sand of satur-
ated unit weight 20 kN/m3. What is the effective vertical stress 5 m below the top
of the sand?
 Problems 89

3.3 A layer of clay 4 m thick lies between two layers of sand each 4 m thick, the top
of the upper layer of sand being ground level. The water table is 2 m below
ground level but the lower layer of sand is under artesian pressure, the piezo-
metric surface being 4 m above ground level. The saturated unit weight of the
clay is 20 kN/m3 and that of the sand 19 kN/m3; above the water table the unit
weight of the sand is 16.5 kN/m3. Calculate the effective vertical stresses at the
top and bottom of the clay layer.
3.4 In a deposit of fine sand the water table is 3.5 m below the surface but sand to
a height of 1.0 m above the water table is saturated by capillary water; above this
height the sand may be assumed to be dry. The saturated and dry unit weights,
respectively, are 20 and 16 kN/m3. Calculate the effective vertical stress in the
sand 8 m below the surface.
3.5 A layer of sand extends from ground level to a depth of 9 m and overlies a layer
of clay, of very low permeability, 6 m thick. The water table is 6 m below the
surface of the sand. The saturated unit weight of the sand is 19 kN/m3 and that of
the clay 20 kN/m3; the unit weight of the sand above the water table is 16 kN/m3.
Over a short period of time the water table rises by 3 m and is expected to remain
permanently at this new level. Determine the effective vertical stress at depths of
8 and 12 m below ground level (a) immediately after the rise of the water table
and (b) several years after the rise of the water table.
3.6 An element of soil with sides horizontal and vertical measures 1 m in each
direction. Water is seeping through the element in a direction inclined upwards at
30 above the horizontal under a hydraulic gradient of 0.35. The saturated unit
weight of the soil is 21 kN/m3. Draw a force diagram to scale showing the
following: total and effective weights, resultant boundary water force, seepage
force. What is the magnitude and direction of the resultant body force?
3.7 For the seepage situations shown in Figure 3.9, determine the effective nor-
mal stress on plane XX in each case (a) by considering pore water pressure

Figure 3.9