F.A.L.

CONDUCIVE ENGINEERING REVIEW CENTER

2ND Floor, Cartimar Bldg. C.M. Recto Avenue, Quiapo, Manila

Geotechnical Engineering 1
Prepared by: Christiane Jercel E. Junio, CE

SOIL PROPERTIES, SOIL TESTS AND INCIDES, AND SOIL

[ ][ ]
CLASSIFICATION
I. SOIL PROPERTIES:
REVIEW PROBLEMS:
SITUATION 1:
One cubic meter of wet soil weighs 19.80 kN. If the specific
gravity of soil particles is 2.70 and water content is 11%:
1. Determine the void ratio. (0.485)
3
2. Determine the dry unit weight. (17.84 kN/m )
3. Determine the degree of saturation. (61.25%)

SITUATION 2:
3
In its natural state, a moist soil has a volume of 0.00935 m and
VS = volume of soil solids weighs 178 N. The oven dried weight of the soil is 154 N. If GS
VW = volume of water in the voids = 2.67 N, determine the following:
VA = Volume of air in the voids 4. Determine the moisture content. (15.6%)
VV = Volume of Voids 5. Determine the moist unit weight. (19.04 kN/m )
3

VT = VS + VV = VS + VW+ VA 6. Determine the dry unit weight. (16.47 kN/m )

3

WT = WW + WS 7. Determine the void ratio. (0.59)

Void Ratio: 8. Determine the porosity (0.37)
9. Determine the degree of saturation. (70.6%)
Porosity:

Relationship between e and n:

SITUATION 3:
3
Undisturbed soil obtained from a test pit 0.0283 m in volume is

And found to have a wet weight of 0.459 kN. The dry weight of the
sample is 0.376 kN. If the specific gravity of the soil is 2.70:
10. Compute the void ratio. (0.9936)
3
Degree of Saturation: 11. Compute the volume of the voids. (0.0141 m )
12. Compute the effective unit weight of such a soil if it were
Moisture Content or Water Content: 3
submerged below the ground water table. (8.37 kN/m )
Specific Volume:
SITUATION 4 NOVEMBER 2010:
Unit Weight:
3
The unit weight of a soil sample is 1900 kg/m and the unit
3
weight of the soil particles is 2,660 kg/m . The soil has a
moisture content of 12%. The void ratios corresponding to the
densest and loosest state of the soil are 0.42 and 0.63,
For dry unit weight: S = 0
For saturated unit weight: S = 1 respectively.
3
13. Determine the dry unit weight of the soil. (16.64 kN/m )
14. Determine the void ratio of the soil. (0.57)
Relationship between S, e, w, GS:
15. Determine the relative density of the soil. (29.52%)

Other important relationships:

SITUATION 5:
Air Void Ratio: 3
An embankment with a total volume of 20000 m is to be
constructed as part of a highway project. The soil to be used in
the embankment will come from the a borrow pit where the
Hydraulic Gradient:
average moist unit weight and water content of the soil is 17.6
3
Effective Unit Weight: kN/m amd 12% respectively. Assuming that the soil will be
3
Relative Density: compacted to a dry density of 18.2 kN/m at a moisture content
of 16%.
 F.A.L. CONDUCIVE ENGINEERING REVIEW CENTER
2ND Floor, Cartimar Bldg. C.M. Recto Avenue, Quiapo, Manila

16. Compute the weight of the dry soil required. 20. Determine the plasticity index. (31)
17. Compute the volume of the borrow. 21. Determine the moisture content. (47.6%)
18. Compute the total quantity of water in liters that must be 22. Determine the liquidity index. (0.568)
added to the fill during compaction to bring about a desired final
moisture content of 16%. SITUATION 7:
The Atterberg Limits of a clay soil are: Liquid limit = 75%;
II. SOIL TESTS AND SOIL INDICES Plastic limit; and Shrinkage limit = 25%. If a sample of this soil
3
Liquid Limit (LL): has a volume of 30 cm at the liquid limit and a volume 16.6
3
cm at the shrinkage limit:
( )
23. Determine the specific gravity of solids. (2.71)
Where: 24. Determine the shrinkage ratio. (1.614)
(for most solids) 25. Determine the volumetric shrinkage. (80.72%)
Shrinkage Limit (SL):

SITUATION 8:
Atterberg Limit tests were performed on a silty clay. The water
Where:
contents obtained in the plastic limit test were 31.6%, 33.5%,
m1 = mass of the wet soil pat in the dish at the beginning of the
and 30.9%. The following data were obtained in the liquid limit
test (g)
test.
m2 = mass of the dry soil in the pat (g)
3 No. of Blows Water Content
v1 = initial volume of the soil in the pat (cm )
3 12 54.8%
v2 = volume of the oven-dried soil pat (cm )
3 18 54.2%
= density of water (g/cm )
23 52.9%
Shrinkage Ratio (SR):
35 51.9%
Shrinkage Limit (SL):

Plasticity Index (PI): 23. Determine the liquid limit. (53%)

Shrinkage Index (SI): 24. Determine the plastic limit. (32%)

25. Determine the plasticity index. (21%)
Consistency Index (CI):

Liquidity Index (LI): SITUATION 9:

Flow Index (FI): The laboratory test results of standard Proctor test are given in
( )
the following table. The volume of the proctor mold is 943.3
Toughness Index: (TI): cm .
3

Weight of moist soil in Moisture Content (%)

19. In a specific gravity test with pycnometer, the following mold (kg)
observed readings are available: 1.68 9.9
Weight of the empty pycnometer = 7.50 N 1.71 10.6
Weight of pycnometer + dry soil = 17.30 N 1.77 12.1
Weight of pycnometer + dry soil + water filling the remaining
1.83 13.8
volume = 22.45 N
1.86 15.1
Weight of pycnometer + water = 16.30 N
1.88 17.4
Determine the specific gravity of the soil solids, ignoring the
1.87 19.4
effect of temperature. (2.68)
1.85 21.2

SITUATION 6:
22. Determine the maximum dry unit weight of compaction.
A soil has a liquid limit of 61 and a plastic limit of 30. A moisture 3
(16.81 kN/m )
content test performed on an undisturbed sample of this soil
23. Determine the optimum water content. (15.1%)
yielded the following results:
Mass of soil + can before placing in oven = 96.2 g
Mass of soil + can after removal in oven = 71.9 g
Mass of can = 20.8 g
 F.A.L. CONDUCIVE ENGINEERING REVIEW CENTER
2ND Floor, Cartimar Bldg. C.M. Recto Avenue, Quiapo, Manila

III. SOIL CLASSIFICATION: Percent passing the No. 4 sieve = 80

Sieve Analysis Percent passing the No. 200 sieve = 58
Effective Size (D10) – this parameter is the diameter in the The liquid limit and plasticity index of the soil are 30 and 10,
particle-size distribution curve corresponds to 10% finer. respectively. Classify the soil using the AASHTO Classification
System. (A – 4(3))
Uniformity Coefficient (CU):

Coefficient of Gradation or Coefficient of Curvature (CC):

Sorting Coefficient (SN): √

SITUATION 11:
A sample of a dry coarse-grained material of 500 grams was
shaken through a nest of sieves and the following results are
obtained:
Sieve No. Opening (mm) Mass retained (g)
4 4.75 0.0
10 2.00 14.8
20 0.85 98.0
40 0.425 90.1
100 0.15 181.9
200 0.075 108.8
Pan --- 6.4

25. Determine the effective size. (0.10 mm)

26. Determine the uniformity coefficient. (4.5)
27. Determine the coefficient of curvature. (0.72)

SITUATION 12:
Classify the following soil using the United States Department
of Agriculture Textural Classification Chart.
Particle-size SOIL
distribution (%) A B C D
Gravel 12 18 0 12
Sand 25 31 15 22
Silt 32 30 30 26
Clay 31 21 55 40

28. Determine the Classification of Soil A. (Gravelly Clay

Loam)
29. Determine the Classification of Soil C. (Clay)

30. For a given soil, the following are known:

Percentage passing No. 4 sieve = 70
Percentage passing No. 200 sieve = 30
Liquid Limit = 33 Plastic Limit = 12
Classify the soil using the Unified Soil Classification System.
Give the group symbol and the group name. (SC)

31. The results of the particle-size analysis of a soil are as

follows:
Percent passing the No. 10 sieve = 100