NDEJJE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
YEAR THREE: KAMPALA CAMPUS

CIV3105: Geotechnical Engineering, II Test

Duration: 1:30 Hours Date: 12th April, 2024.
Instructions:

1. The paper consists of Three questions on two (2) pages

2. Attempt All questions for full marks.
3. Where necessary, use 𝛾𝑤 = 9.81 𝑘𝑁⁄𝑚3

Question One
A two-story reinforced concrete framed office building is to be built on a proposed site in
Kampala. Preliminary geotechnical investigations at the project site revealed the type of
soils to be medium dense sand. The sand has a void ratio e = 0.72, specific gravity of soil
solids G = 2.65, and the angle of shearing resistance 𝜙 = 35°. The design requires a square
footing of width 2.5 m is positioned at a depth of 2 m from the ground surface. Adopting
a factor of safety of 2.5, find the safe load on the footing for the following water table
positions:

(i) at 5 m from the ground surface,

(ii) at 1.5 m from the base of the footing, and
(iii) at 1.2 m from the ground surface.

𝛾𝑤 (𝐺𝑠 +𝑒𝑆𝑟 )
State any assumptions made. Use 𝛾 = 1+𝑒

Question Two
An eccentrically loaded rectangular footing of size 1.8 m × 1.8 m is placed at a depth of 1.8m.
Undrained triaxial tests (soil not saturated) give 𝜙 = 36° and c = 20 kPa. It is loaded with an
axial load of 1800 kN and Mx = 450 kNm; My = 360 kNm; the soil unit weight, 𝛾 = 18.00
kN/m3; the water table is at a depth of 6.1 m from the ground surface. Compute the safe net
allowable bearing load on the footing if the factor of safety is 3.0 and that settlement is
negligible. Use the Hansen bearing-capacity equations.

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Question Three
A bearing wall carries a dead load of 120 kN/m and a live load of 100 kN/m. It is supported on
a 400mm deep continuous footing. The underlying soils are medium sands with 𝑐 ′ = 0, 𝜙 =
37° and 𝛾 = 19.2 kN/m3. The groundwater table is at great depth. Compute the minimum
footing width required to maintain a factor of safety of at least 2 against a bearing capacity
failure.

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Equations for Square, Circular, and Rectangular Foundations
q u = 1.3cNc + γDf Nq + 0.4γBNγ For Square Foundations

q u = 1.3cNc + γDf Nq + 0.3γBNγ For Circular Foundations

B 1 B
q u = cNc (1 + 0.3 × L ) + γDf Nq + 2 γBNγ (1 − 0.2 × L) For Rectangular Foundations
d
Equivalent unit weight, γ̅ = γ′ + B (γ − γ′ )

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