GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING PRACTICE PROBLEMS
SITUATION I 12. What would be the magnitude of the additional horizontal
A clay layer 5 m thick rests beneath a deposit of submerged sand thrust due to this surcharge?
8m thick. The top of the sand is located 3m below the surface of A. 14.69 KN C. 62.78 KN
a body of water. The saturated unit weight of the sand is 25 B. 44.28 KN D. 81.50 KN
kN/m3 and of the clay 20 kN/m3. 13. What would be the location of the additional horizontal thrust
due to this surcharge?
1. Evaluate the total vertical pressure at mid-height of the clay A. 3.25 m C. 2.84 m
layer, in kPa. B. 3.15 m D. 2.92 m
A. 300 B. 329 C. 279 D. 250
SITUATION IV
2. Evaluate the pore water pressure at mid-height of the clay
A sheet pile wall is shown below:
layer, in kPa
A. 128 B. 132 C. 139 D. 157 3m
3. Obtain the intergranular stress at mid-height of clay, in kPa. m = 19.62kN/m3
T
A. 161 B. 122 C. 172 D. 147 1m
A 1.2 m height highway embankment of large lateral extent is to
be placed over a surface clay deposit of 10 m thickness which is
underlain by sand as shown in the figure below. 6m Soil Parameters:
= 30O
Ka = 0.30
Kp = 3.00
sat = 19.49 kN/m3
14. Determine the minimum value of embedment depth d for
stability, in meters.
A. 4.39 B. 4.35 C. 4.28 D. 4.42
15. Using the minimum value of d, determine the tension in the
rod per meter length of pile in kN.
A. 169 B. 172 C. 176 D. 167
16. Determine the total passive force in the sheet pile in kN.
4. Compute the ultimate settlement expected under the A. 279 B. 808 C. 274 D. 800
embankment.
A. 9.66cm B. 6.96cm C. 8.78cm D. 7.88cm SITUATION V
A braced sheet pile to be used in an open cut in sand is shown in
SITUATION II Figure. Assume that the sheet piles are hinged at strut levels B
Retaining wall has a height of 6m and a cohesion of 10 KPa. The and C. Struts are spaced longitudinally at 2.5-m center-to-center
ground water table is located at a depth of 3 m below the ground spacing.
surface the soil is supporting a surcharge load of 10 KPa. The
dry unit weight and saturated weight of soils are 16 KN/m3 and
21 KN/m3 respectively. Angle of internal friction is 30°.
5. Determine the critical depth.
A.1.46m B. 1.54m C. 1.60m D. 1.40m
6. Determine the total lateral stress at the base of the wall before
the tensile crack occur in kPa.
A. 56.20 B. 48.40 C. 58.20 D. 66.00
7. Determine the total lateral stress at the interface of the two
soils before the tensile crack occur in kPa.
A. 6.90 B. 8.20 C. 7.80 D. 7.20
8. Determine the total lateral force before tensile crack occur in
kN.
A. 121.75 B. 83.65 C. 96.24 D. 222.21
SITUATION III
A vertical wall with a smooth face is 7.20m high and retains soil
with an angle of friction of 27°. Unit weight of soil is 20KN/m3. 17. Determine the Strut Load at B.
9. Determine the total active force in kN. A. 136.5 C. 45.5
A. 194.67 B. 195.22 C. 193.85 D. 194.12 B. 242.68 D.161.78
10. Determine the total active force if the wall retains a sloping
backfill which makes an angle of 9° with the horizontal in kN. 18. Determine the moment of the wale at A.
A. 203.21 B. 202.56 C. 201.89 D. 200.87 A. 54.60 kN.m C. 106.64 kN.m
11. Determine the total active force if the wall retains a soil with a B. 42.66 kN.m D. 136.5 kN.m
uniform surcharge of 10KPa on a horizontal level.
A. 230.25 B. 221.71 C. 224.23 D. 228.65
SITUATION VII
A 6 m-high smooth, vertical wall retains 4 m of sandy backfill
underlain by 2 m of clayey gravel. The entire soil mass is in the
“Don’t limit your challenges.
active state. Øsand = 34°; Øclayey gravel = 31°; and Øclayey gravel = 5
kPa. If a uniform surcharge of 25 kPa is placed at the ground
Challenge your limits.”
level on top of the retained soil mass.
