NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

M. ENGG. (CIVIL) FALL SEMESTER, 2024

SOIL INVESTIGATION AND TESTING (CE-534)
ASSIGNMENT-I
Dated: 29-04-2024 submission date: 06-05-2024

Instructions:
1. The assignment can be handwritten or typed both will be ok.
2. The assignment should be submitted in hard copy.
3. Note: - RN = Last two digits of your roll number.
4. Question No. 6 should be submitted separately, and can also be acceptable in a form a
of group of maximum three students.

Q. No.
1
a) Prepare a flow chart for subsurface exploration.
b) Describe the fundamental characteristics of a good subsoil investigation report.
c) What key information about the properties of soil is generally required during field and
laboratory investigations?
2
a) Briefly describe different methods of boring suitable for hard soils and soft rocks.
b) Fill in Table 1 with brief answers. Also determine the thickness of the sampling tube with
75 mm external diameter and area ratio required is 20%. In what type of clay would such a
high area ratio be required?
Table 1 Suitability of boring methods for various types of soil
Cohesive
Granular Soils Sand and Clay Rock mass
Clay
Auger boring
Auger and shell boring
Wash boring
Percussion drilling
Rotary drilling

c) Prepare a typical borelog for a borehole driven up to 25ft with a 10 ft clay layer underlain
by 5ft sand layer which subsequently lying on a hard stratum.
3
a) Draw a neat and clean sketch for SPT test setup and label each component.
b) Determine the total amount of work done for an SPT test conducted on a site. The SPT
resistance value was obtained to be 20+RN/10 and the seating value was noted to be 5.
c) Ground plus three stories residential buildings (ground plus two) are planned to be
constructed on an area of 21,000+RN sq. ft flat land. The client needs to have soil testing
for the said area. The structure is RCC lightweight structure. It is required that a quotation
may be provided keeping into consideration the above information provided. The quotation
must cover the charges for field testing, laboratory testing and soil investigation report.

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a) A site selected for an airfield was later on found to appear cracks in the runway and
building constructed particular the issue of cracks become significant after rain and
heavy vehicular movements. Diagnose the possible geotechnical issues associated with
it.
b) A site for a gas field is existing in a low laying area, the groundwater table is near
surface, the salinity content is very high in the soil and water samples tested in the
laboratory. The soil profile consisted of low plastic silt and clayey up to a depth of 30
ft. machine foundations and other related installations are to be made on the site. Give
your recommendations for the selection of the suitable type of foundations and any
precautionary measures that must be taken.
c) A site is selected for the construction of a highway. The local material is consisted of
ML-CL type of soil. Good quality borrowed material is far from the site. Give your
recommendations as a geotechnical engineer to handle with the issue.

5
a) What is geophysical exploration and what is the significance of geophysical
exploration.
b) Which equipment are generally used for geophysical exploration for a multi-story
building project and for oil exploration.
c) Estimate the depth of exploration for an embankment as shown in the figure.

6
a) Prepare a flowchart for the phases and sizes of a civil engineering project. Also provide
the geotechnical involvement and benefit in each phase of the project. What key
information is to be gathered in each phase of the project.
b) Site is consisted of a coastal belt existing in seismically active zone. The SPT blow
counts are averaged around 10. The soil exhumed is mainly consisted of loose silty
sand. The groundwater table is elevated. Frame your findings and recommendations for
the site survey conducted. The recommendations for foundation type, bearing capacity,
limiting settlement etc. for a ground plus two story would be based upon the site survey,
pictures, information gathered at the site and laboratory testing of the samples collected
from the site.

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