College of

Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

2
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

3
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

4
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision
% Passing

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

Sieve Size (mm)

 D60
College of
Engineering D30
D10
EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision
D10 = 0.26
Note:
D30 = 1.94
These revision notes are
only a study aid and not
D60 = 10.7
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

6
 College of 69.6% gravel
Engineering 26.7% sand
3.7% silt (approx.)
EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics Coarse or fine??
96.3% (approx.) greater
than 0.06mm so coarse
Revision Primarily sand or gravel??
69.6% (approx.) greater
Note:
than 2mm so gravel
These revision notes are
only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

7
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

8
 College of
Engineering
Unlikely to
have so few
EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics points
Wet mass – dry mass
Mass of moisture /
Revision
dry mass

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or LL = 57%
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

9
 Specific Gravity/Particle Density Tests

College of
Engineering
Gas Jar Large Pyknometer Small Pyknometer
EG-223 Basic m1 m2 m3 m4
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and Just glassware Glassware Glassware + Glassware
questions in the January + soil soil + water + water
and Autumn
Examinations.

10
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

11
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

12
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

13
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

14
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

15
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

16
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

17
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.
wopt = 16.6%
Estimated from graph
ρd-max = 1.82g/cm3
18
 wopt = 16.6%
College of ρd-max = 1.815g/cm3
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:
ρ𝑑 1 + 𝑤𝐺𝑠
These revision notes are 𝐴=1−
only a study aid and not 𝐺𝑠 ρ𝑤
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn 1.815 1+(0.166)(2.69)
Examinations. 𝐴=1− = 0.024 = 2.4%
(2.69)(1)

19
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

20
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

21
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

22
 In a constant head permeameter test, steady state flow is
reached for a total head difference of 27 cm. The sample
diameter is 13 cm and the distance between the points for
College of which the head loss is measured is 15 cm. The time
Engineering needed to collect 200 ml of water from the discharge end
was 1min 20 s. Determine the permeability coefficient in
EG-223 Basic m/s.
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

23
 In a constant head permeameter test, steady state flow is
reached for a total head difference of 27 cm. The sample
diameter is 13 cm and the distance between the points for
College of which the head loss is measured is 15 cm. The time
Engineering needed to collect 200 ml of water from the discharge end
was 1min 20 s. Determine the permeability coefficient in
EG-223 Basic m/s.
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

24
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

25
 During a falling head permeameter test, a standpipe of diameter
1.2cm is filled with water to a level of 1.8m above the discharge
reservoir. After 7min35s, the observed water level in the standpipe
College of is 32cm. The length of the soil sample is 25cm and its diameter is
Engineering 10cm. Determine the permeability coefficient of the soil tested.

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

26
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

27
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

28
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

29
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

30
 Consider the sheet pile wall whose section is illustrated below.
Determine the flow of water under the pile and the safety factor
College of against boiling. The saturated unit weight of the soil is 19 kN/m3.
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

31
 1 10

1
College of 2 9
Engineering 3
3 8
EG-223 Basic 4 7
Soil Mechanics 4 5 6

Revision 4¼
Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or Number of equipotential drops = Nd = 10
all the topics and
questions in the January Number of flow lines = Nf = 4 ¼
and Autumn
Examinations.

32
± 20 % deviation from given solution is accepted
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Δℎ
𝑖=
Revision 𝑙

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

33
 &

College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
Understand
questions in the January these
and Autumn
Examinations. examples

34
 Consolidation: Oedometer Test

College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics • On the dial gauge reading v root time plot, draw a best fit line through the
straightest portion and extrapolate it back to the corrected origin, Ro to eliminate
the initial compression
Revision • Draw the straight line from Ro at a gradient 1.15 times the gradient of the straight
portion of the experimental plot. Where the line cuts the experimental curve is
Note: considered to be the point at which 90% degree of consolidation, (reading is R90)
These revision notes are
• Determine the value of √t90 and hence t90
only a study aid and not • The coefficient of consolidation, cv, is then given as:
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

R0 is the initial reading for

35
primary consolidation, R90
is the reading for 90% of
primary consolidation
 Oedometer tests New this year!

An oedometer test on a specimen of a fully saturated clay gave the

following results for the pressure increment from 200 to 300 kN/m2.
College of The initial thickness of the specimen under no pressure was
Engineering 20mm. Determine the values of mv and cv, including a sketch
showing how the below graph was used to obtain values
EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision Time from Dial gauge

start of √t reading
1/2
Note: loading (min) (min ) (mm)
0 0.000 0.470
These revision notes are
0.25 0.500 0.739
only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the 0.5 0.707 0.825
material in the course or 0.75 0.866 0.893
all the topics and 1 1.000 0.955
questions in the January
2 1.414 1.040
and Autumn
Examinations. 4 2.000 1.117
8 2.828 1.232
16 4.000 1.278
36 32 5.657 1.332
64 8.000 1.378
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

37
 x1.15

0.996

College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

38
 √t90 = 1.35

College of
Engineering If R0 = 0.54 and R90 = 1.03,
R0 = 0.54
𝑅90 − 𝑅0
𝑅100 = + 𝑅0
EG-223 Basic 0.9
Soil Mechanics
1.03 − 0.54
= + 0.54 = 1.084𝑚𝑚
0.9

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the R90 = 1.03
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

39
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

40
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision Time from Dial gauge

start of √t reading
1/2
Note: loading (min) (min ) (mm)
0 0.000 0.470
These revision notes are 0.25 0.500 0.739
only a study aid and not
0.5 0.707 0.825
intended to cover all the
material in the course or 0.75 0.866 0.893
all the topics and 1 1.000 0.955
questions in the January 2 1.414 1.040
and Autumn
4 2.000 1.117
Examinations.
8 2.828 1.232
16 4.000 1.278
41 32 5.657 1.332
64 8.000 1.378
 Look through this example to see how to
Worked Example calculate consolidation settlement time

An embankment for a highway, 5m high above existing ground level, is to be

College of placed on a deposit of clay, which is 8m thick with mv = 0.5m2/MN and cv =
10m2/year. If the final road pavement on top of that layer can tolerate 50mm
Engineering
of settlement after its construction, calculate how soon the pavement can be
placed.
EG-223 Basic Bulk density of the embankment fill is 2200kg/m3. Assume permeable
Soil Mechanics boundaries top and bottom of the clay.
The amount of consolidation settlement (sc) can be found by:

Revision sc = mvΔσH

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

42
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

43
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

44
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

45
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

46
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

47
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Φ’
Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

48
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

49
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

50
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

51
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

52
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

53
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

54
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

55
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

56
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

Circle for this scenario entirely below line – no failure.

57
 College of
Engineering

EG-223 Basic
Soil Mechanics

Revision

Note:

These revision notes are

only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

58
 GROUND INVESTIGATION

• Desk Studies
College of
Engineering
• Walkover Survey

EG-223 Basic • Trial Pits

Soil Mechanics

• Borehole Outputs
Revision
• SPT testing
Note:

These revision notes are

• CPT testing
only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or
all the topics and
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.

59
 Exam
• 2 hours

• 3 questions (30% x 1, 25% x 2)

College of
Engineering
• Questions have multiple parts

EG-223 Basic • Some are more difficult than others

Soil Mechanics
• read through the paper first to see where more
should be given
Revision
• Units are crucial
Note:

These revision notes are

• Mohrs Circles & Flownets need drawing equipment
only a study aid and not
intended to cover all the
material in the course or • Same “Useful Equations” sheet given
all the topics and • memorise all other equations
questions in the January
and Autumn
Examinations.
• No constants will be given
60
• Make your solutions easy to understand