The University of Sydney Faculty of Engineering (School of Civil Engineering)

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THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

(School of Civil Engineering)

CIVL 2410/CIVL 5504 SOIL MECHANICS

November 2010 Time allowed: Three hours

Candidates should attempt FOUR questions.

Question 1 is compulsory and is worth 40%. The remaining questions are each
worth 20%.

Battery Powered Programmable calculators may be used.


____________________________________________________________________________

Question 1

a) 28 g of dry soil is placed in a container which has a volume of 100 cm3. The container is
then filled with water, and the mass of the water and soil in the container is measured as
118 g. Determine the specific gravity of the soil.

b) A 2 m thick clay layer has free draining layers above and below it. Due to construction
loads a final settlement of 4 cm is expected for the clay layer. If cv = 0.001 m2/day how
much settlement will occur in 12 months. Assume that consolidation is one-dimensional.

c) A 20 mm thick sample of clay is subjected to one-dimensional compression in an


oedometer apparatus. A vertical effective stress increase from 70 kPa to 200 kPa
produces a settlement of 0.8 mm. Determine Cr if the intial void ratio = 0.9, the pre-
consolidation stress = 140 kPa, and Cc = 0.35.

d) A cuboidal specimen of soil is in equilibrium with effective stresses σ′x = σ′y = σ′z = 50
kPa. Determine the normal strain in the y direction and the volume strain when the
specimen is subjected to changes of stress ∆σx = 10 kPa, ∆σy = 20 kPa, and ∆σz = -20
kPa. Assume that the soil responds elastically with properties E′ = 55 MPa, ν′ = 0.25, and
the loading is fully drained.

(Question 1 continued over page)


e) A 6 m thick fill has been compacted at optimum with a moisture content of 10% and a
bulk unit weight of 21 kN/m3. After construction the water table rises so that the fill
surface is 2 m below the water surface. Determine the total and effective stresses 3 m
below the top of the fill (that is, 5 m below the water surface). Take Gs = 2.6.

f) Figure 1 shows a bulldozer pushing dry sand. Use Rankine’s method to determine the
horizontal force per metre of blade (into the page) that the bulldozer must produce to
push the sand, shown in Figure 1, out of the way.

Rankine’s method assumes a frictionless blade, but in reality there will be friction
between the bulldozer blade and the sand. Would you expect this to increase or decrease
the force required. You must explain briefly your answer.

1.5 m Sand c´ = 0, φ´ = 38o, γdry = 18 kN/m3

Figure 1

g) A specimen of a clayey soil has been subjected to an undrained test in a triaxial apparatus
and the following stresses have been measured at failure σ1 = 123 kPa, σ3 = 37 kPa, u =
22 kPa. If c′ = 3 kPa calculate the shear stress you would expect to measure at failure if a
specimen of this soil was loaded to failure in a drained shear box test with a normal
effective stress of 25 kPa.

h) Figure 2 shows a cylindrical sand specimen subject to upwards flow of water. If the
void ratio, e = 0.5 and specific gravity, Gs = 2.75 determine the critical hydraulic
gradient at which piping will occur. At this hydraulic gradient what will be the height
of the water in the manometer, h2 if L = 0.5 m and h1 = 0.1 m.

Water out

h1

h2
L Sand

Water in

Figure 2
Question 2

The soil stratigraphy at the site of a proposed land reclamation consists of a deep deposit of
sand which is overlain by a 2 m thick clay layer. The land reclamation, which covers a large
area, results in the clay layer experiencing a gradual increase of stress by 120 kN/m2 over a
period of 6 months followed by a rapidly placed extra load of 80 kN/m2 which is applied for 6
months before being rapidly removed. The stress, time history is shown in Figure 3 below. It
may be assumed that the clay layer is free to drain from its upper and lower boundaries, and
has properties cv = 0.75 m2/yr, and mv = 0.002 m2/kN.

a) Use a numerical method, with ∆z = 0.5 m, to determine the settlement of the clay layer
at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months.

b) What will be the final settlement of the clay layer.

c) Explain the intended purpose of the extra load, and comment on whether you think it
meets its objective.

d) To check the progress of the consolidation the pore pressure is measured at the centre
of the clay layer. If the pore pressure measured is different to that predicted by the
numerical analysis suggest 4 possible explanations.

250

200
Applied Stress (kPa)

150

100

50

0
0 6 12 18 24

Time (months)

Figure 3
Question 3

A long road embankment, 8 m wide, is to be constructed across a flood plain where the soil
consists of 8 m of clay overlying impermeable rock. At one location the settlement of the clay
surface is measured to enable a check on the elastic properties assumed in design.
Measurements are taken at two points, A, under the centre of the embankment, and B, 1 m to
the side of the embankment, as shown in Figure 4.

During construction, which occurred quickly, a uniform stress of 40 kPa was applied to the
soil. The immediate settlement at A was measured as 16 mm. After 2 years a settlement of
28.5 mm was measured at A. If cv = 3.2 m2/yr

a) Determine the final settlement under the centre of the embankment at A. Assume the
embankment is constructed of highly permeable material.

b) Using the immediate and final settlements at A estimate the elastic properties E′ and ν′.

c) Determine the immediate settlement that should occur at point B.

d) If the instrumentation at A had been damaged would you have been able to estimate the
elastic properties from measurement at point B only? Explain your answer.

8m 1m

A B

CLAY
8m

IMPERMEABLE
ROCK

Figure 4
Question 4

Two tall buildings with foundations (20 m × 20 m) have been constructed at a site where the
soil profile consists of 3 m of dense silty sand overlying a 7 m thick clay layer, which overlies
impermeable rock. The water table is at a depth of 2 m below the surface of the sand. There is
a gap of 5 m between the two buildings as shown in Figure 5.

Investigation of the soil properties beneath the building have indicated that the silty sand is
partly saturated above the water table with γbulk = 19 kN/m3, while below the water table γsat =
20 kN/m3. The properties of the clay are γsat = 18.5 kN/m3, e = 0.86, compression index, Cc =
0.4, re-compression index, Cr = 0.1 over-consolidation ratio, OCR = 3.5, and cv = 1.2 m2/yr.

a) If the foundations of both buildings apply a uniform pressure of 400 kPa to the
ground, determine the differential settlement between points A and B (see Figure 5)
and hence the tilt of the building.

b) How tall would the buildings have to be for this tilt to cause the two towers to touch.

c) How long would it take for 50% of this tilt to occur.

d) Discuss briefly a couple of options that could be used to reduce the tilting.

5 m
10 m
A B

10 m

20 m

Figure 5 Plan view of the two foundations


Question 5

Figure 6 shows part of a tailings dam situated adjacent to a river. To prevent contaminated
water entering the river a porous drain pipe is installed beneath the dam. The pipe is pumped
dry. Assume that the dam and underlying soil are homogeneous and have similar properties
with an isotropic permeability k = 0.5 m/day.

(i) Use a flow net to calculate the flow into the drain. Mark the boundary conditions
clearly on your flow net.

You may trace the picture into your exam book or draw directly on the picture
below. If you do the latter you must hand this page in with your answer book to
obtain any credit for this question.

(ii) Piezometers, to measure the water pressures have been installed at two locations
A and B. Determine what water pressures should be measured at these points.

(iii) If the drain is working effectively but a higher than expected water pressure is
measured at point A suggest what could be the reason.

50

40

Water
30

20 River

10 A B
Drain pipe

0
Impermeable Rock

Figure 6 (drawn to scale)

Figure 6 Section through valley (Figure is not drawn to scale)

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