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Geotechnical Engineering Example Exam Questions

Geotechnical Engineering (Auckland University of Technology)

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ENBU701 Geotechnical Engineering

Final Review
1. Following are the results of sieve analysis for a soil sample.
a) Make the necessary calculations and draw particle-size distribution curve.
b) Based on USCS, calculate the percentage of gravel, sand, and fine particles in the soil sample.
c) Determine Cc and Cu from the graph and find the soil grading condition.

Sieve Sieve opening Mass retained on Cumulative mass Percent finer than
no. diameter (mm) each sieve (g) above each sieve (g) each sieve (%)
4 4.75 5
6 3.35 30
10 2 44
20 0.85 85.5
40 0.43 122
60 0.25 65
100 0.15 41.5
200 0.075 37.2
Pan - 18.4
𝐷60
𝐶𝑢 =
𝐷10
𝐷30 2
𝐶𝑐 =
𝐷60 × 𝐷10

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2. Classify each soil based on USDA Textural Classification System

Particle-size % Soil A Soil B Soil C Soil D

Gravel 10 13 5 0
Sand 40 27 65 2
Silt 30 55 20 77
Clay 20 5 10 21

(sand|silt|clay) × 100
𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 =
100 − gravel

3. The laboratory test results of a standard Proctor test are given in the table.
a. Plot the compaction curve.
b. Determine the maximum dry unit weight and the optimum moisture content of the soil based on compaction curve.
c. Considering the field compaction criteria for relative compaction R=97% and moisture content of w=wopt3%, would
you accept the field compaction work of a contractor results in dry unit weight of 16.5kN/m3 and moisture content of
9%. Justify your answer based on the compaction curve.

Moisture Dry unit

content weight
(%) (kN/m3)
10 15.45
12 16.8
14 17.3
16 16.9
18 15.6
20 14.9

4. A sandy soil has a hydraulic conductivity of 0.025cm/sec and a void ratio of 0.5. The soil is compacted
that caused a reduction in its void ratio. Estimate the hydraulic conductivity of the compacted soil if the
void ratio reduces to 0.05.
𝑒3
𝑘 = 35 (1+𝑒) 𝐶𝑢0.6 (𝐷10 )2.32

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5. For the dam shown in figure below with the height of 20m, determine the seepage rate, in m3/day/m length.

𝑞 = 𝑘 𝐿 tan𝛼 sin𝛼

𝑑 𝑑2 𝐻2
𝐿= − √(𝑐𝑜𝑠2 𝛼 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝛼
)
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼

𝛼 = 35o

𝐻 = 15m

𝑘 = 3 × 10−4 cm/sec

𝛽 = 30o

𝐵 = 8m

6. For the following soil profile, calculate the total stress, pore pressure, and effective stress at points A, B ,
C and D. Groundwater is located at the bottom of Layer I.
Layer Thickness Soil Parameters
I H1=3.5m e = 0.65; Gs = 2.57
II H2=4.5m e = 0.30; Gs = 2.05
III H3=2.5m e = 0.75; Gs = 3.01

𝐺𝑠 𝛾𝑤 (𝐺𝑠 +𝑒)𝛾𝑤
𝛾𝑑𝑟𝑦 = 1+𝑒
, 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 = 1+𝑒

σ = σ′ + 𝑢 , 𝛾𝑤 = 9.81kN/m3

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7. A rectangular shallow foundation with cross section plan of 3m × 2m is constructed on the ground
surface to support a column load of 2400kN. Determine the vertical stress increase at point 𝐴’ located at
a depth of 6m below the ground surface.

∆𝜎𝑧 = 𝑞 𝐼3
𝐵
𝑚=
𝑧
𝐿
𝑛=
𝑧

8. A direct shear test was conducted on a dried sand sample in a shear box with internal dimensions
of 60mm (width) × 60mm (length) × 19mm (height). The sample failed under a normal force of
0.45kN at a shear force of 250N. Determine the angle of internal friction of the sand (𝜙’).

𝜏𝑓 = 𝑐′ + 𝜎′ tan 𝜙 ′

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9. A shallow foundation with cross section plan of 2m × 10m is constructed at a depth of 5m in a saturated
clay layer with OCR = 1. The applied stress under the foundation caused by the column load is 120kN/m2.
The undrained shear strength of the saturated clay is 𝑐𝑢 = 130kN/m2 and its plasticity index is 40. A rigid
rock layer is located at 𝐻 = 10m below the bottom of foundation.
a) Estimate the elastic settlement of the foundation.
b) Considering a short-term construction, explain if the design comply with the NZ Building Code
requirement for shallow foundation (max settlement ≤ 2.5cm).
∆𝜎 𝐵
𝑆𝑒 = 𝐴1 𝐴2
𝐸𝑠

𝐸𝑠 = 𝛽 𝑐𝑢 (kN/m2)

10. Following table presents the results of a direct shear tests conducted on a dry sand soil sample with the
dimensions of 40mm (W) × 40mm (L) × 20mm (H).
a) Plot the normal stress versus shear stress to find the shear strength envelop of the soil.
b) Determine the shear strength parameters of the soil.
Test Normal force Shear force
no 2
(kN/m ) (kN/m2)
1 64 40.8
2 112 64.7
3 192 111.6
4 288 167.3
𝜏𝑓 = 𝑐′ + 𝜎′ tan 𝜙 ′
120

100
Shear stress (kN/m2)

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Normal stress (kN/m2)
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11. A rigid shallow foundation with cross section plan of 4m × 8m is constructed at a depth of 2m in sand.
The bedrock is located at depth of 7m below the ground surface.
a) Calculate elastic settlement at the centre of the foundation.
b) Considering that, based on the NZ Building Code, the maximum settlement of shallow foundations must
not exceed 2.5cm, assess the design’s ability to comply with the code for a short-term construction.
𝑆𝑒(𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑑) = 0.93 𝑆𝑒(𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟)
1−𝜇𝑠2
𝑆𝑒(𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟) = Δ𝜎 𝛼 𝐵′ 𝐼 𝐼
𝐸𝑠 𝑠 𝑓 2m
∆𝜎 =350kN/m2

At the center: 𝛼 = 4 and 𝐵′ = 𝐵/2

At the corner: 𝛼 = 1 and 𝐵′ = 𝐵 8,000

Σ𝐸𝑠(𝑖) Δ𝑧
𝐸𝑠 = 𝑧̅
6,000
1−2𝜇𝑠
𝐼𝑠 = 𝐹1 + 1−𝜇𝑠 2
𝐹
𝐿 𝐻
𝑚′ = 𝐵 , 𝑛 ′ = 𝐵′ 10,000

𝐻 = depth of the bedrock − depth of the foundation

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