Student ID:

THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

DEPARTMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING
FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATION, MONDAY 6 JUNE 2011

CVEN90050
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Pass and Honours

Exam Duration: Three (3) hours
Reading Time: 15 minutes
This paper has SIXTEEN (16) pages

Authorised Materials:
This is a closed book examination.
Approved Calculator (School of Engineering).
Drawing instruments (drawing compass, rulers, protractors, erasers, pencils).
Access to internet prohibited.
Instructions to Invigilators:
Final Exam paper to be returned together with the script booklet.
Check for stickers that approved calculators must have.
Instructions to Students:
Candidates should attempt ALL SEVEN (7) questions. Read the questions CAREFULLY.
Answers should be written in the script booklet, except for the last few questions (5, 6,
and 7) which must be answered on the exam paper, which must be returned.
BE NEAT AND CLEAR. It is not the instructors job to guess what you really mean.
Include final answers and procedures to obtain them.
Include UNITS. Final numerical answers without units are worthless (unless dimensionless).
Maximum possible mark is 180 in 180 minutes of examination.
Questions are NOT of equal weight. (Marks allocated to each question within parentheses)

Paper NOT to be lodged with Baillieu Library

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 2 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
Write your answers in your script booklet for questions 1 through 4; write your answers in
the exam paper for questions 5 through 7.
GEOTECHNICAL STRENGTH
Question 1:
(a) For standard penetration tests conducted in certain materials and under certain conditions,
the following correction is applied to the measured N value:
N= 15 + 0.5(N-15)
What materials require this correction, under what conditions and why is it applied?
(15 Marks)
(b) An SPT test was conducted at a depth of 15m in a borehole drilled into a sandy gravel. No
groundwater was encountered during the drilling. The numbers of blows recorded from the 3
successive lengths of penetration of 150mm were 9, 15 and 16. Estimate the corrected N
value and explain how you arrived at this value.
(5 Marks)
(Total marks for Question 1 = 20)

Question 2:
A saturated over-consolidated silty clay is estimated to have the effective strength parameters:
c = 5kPa, and

= 25
A specimen of the silty clay is mounted into a triaxial cell and fully consolidated to 400kPa with
a cell pressure of 500kPa and a back pressure of 100kPa. With the drainage then turned off, the
specimen is slowly loaded axially to failure. At failure, the porewater pressure was measured to
be 160kPa and the diameter of the specimen was calculated to be 103.47mm.
Estimate
1. the effective deviator stress at failure ( 1 3 ),
2. the total deviator stress at failure ( 1 3 ), and
3. the load which would be needed to be applied to the loading piston to cause failure.
(25 Marks)

(Total marks for Question 2 = 25)

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 3 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
CONSOLIDATION
Question 3:
A site formation project comprising an extensive filling imposed a surcharge of 200 kPa on the
existing ground surface as shown in Figure 1. Prior to the placement of fill, a piezometer was
installed to measure pore water pressure at point B. Now it is 3 months after the placement of
fill, and the piezometer records a (total) pore water pressure of 198 kPa.
(a) Estimate the pore water pressures at points A, B, C and D prior to the filling.
(4 marks)
(b) Assuming a 1-dimensional consolidation process is occurring in the saturated clay layer and
the coefficient of consolidation Cv of the entire layer can be represented by a single value,
demonstrate that Cv can be estimated to be approximately 0.2 m2/day.
(10 marks)
(c) Predict the excess pore water pressures at points A, B, C and D two years after the
placement of fill.
(14 marks)
(d) Sketch the excess pore water pressure distribution profiles against depth at the following
stages:
Immediately after the placement of fill
Two years after the placement of fill
(4 marks)
(e) Based on the pore water pressure changes as observed in (d) above, comment (with brief
reasoning) whether or not more than half of the total final settlement of the clay layer will
have already taken place two years after the placement of fill.
(3 marks)
Information given in Design Sheets 1 and 2 can be used if appropriate.

(Total marks for Question 3 = 35)

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 4 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________

Existing Ground
Level

Piezometer

Water Table

2m
3m

Well-drained sand

A
5m

5m

Saturated
Clay

C
5m

D
Impermeable rock
Figure 1

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 5 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________

Design Sheet 1

Isochrones for one dimensional Consolidation

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 6 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
Design Sheet 2

Consolidation Curve from Terzaghi Theory

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 7 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
RETAINING WALL (Earth Pressure and Design)
Question 4:
(a) ko, ka and kp are coefficients of lateral earth pressure for the at rest, active and passive
cases respectively. Provide design examples (by sketches on your answer book) where each
of the above particular earth pressure coefficients should be applied (two examples for each
case).
(6 marks)
(b) For the retaining wall as shown in Figure 2, the lateral earth pressure coefficients of the sand
are represented by the curve in Figure 3. It is assumed that there is no friction between the
wall and the soil.
(i) Estimate the effective soil strength parameter of the sand.
(4 marks)
(ii) Assuming the density of the sand is increased significantly after an in-situ ground
improvement treatment, what changes to the lateral earth pressure coefficients (i.e.
ko, ka and kp) of the sand would you expect? Provide an explanation to your answer.
(5 marks)
(iii)Comment on the following statement with an appropriate justification.
If a full active pressure of the wall as shown in Figure 2 is developed, then it can be
assumed that full passive pressure will also be developed.
(5 marks)
(c) Figure 4 shows a cantilever retaining wall.
(i) Indicate all forces that should be taken into account in establishing the stability of the
wall against overturning and sliding. The lines of action and points of application of
these forces should be shown on your diagram.
(5 marks)
(ii) An angle of wall friction of zero for an active thrust will lead to a conservative
design. Why is this so?
(3 marks)
(iii)Ignoring passive earth pressure effects will also lead to a conservative design. Why.
(2 marks)

(Total marks for Question 4 = 30)

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 8 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________

. . .. . . . . . . .
Sand

... .
.
.
.
. .. .
Sand

Figure 2

Figure 3

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 9 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________

SandBackfill

Sand

ClayBase
Figure 4

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 10 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
SHEET PILE WALLS
Question 5:
Write you answers in the space provided below. (You can use the booklet as scratch paper if
you need to for these questions, we will mark only your answers to questions 5, 6 and 7 written
in THIS exam paper)
(a) What is the advisable maximum height to adopt a cantilever sheet pile wall? Tick the correct
answer
(1 marks)
<1 m
<3m
<5m
<10 m

(b) List the three methods of analyses we discussed in class to deal with flexible retaining walls
like sheet pile walls
(2 marks)

(c) If a soil is saturated, what will the degree of saturation S of the soil be? Tick the correct
answer.
(2 marks)
S = 20%
S = 37%
S = 100%
None of the above
It cannot be known in advance

(Total marks for Question 5 = 5)

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 11 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
Question 6:
Write you answers in the space provided below and fill out the blanks where appropriate.
Determine the depth of embedment d for stability, and the anchor force of the anchor using FSM
(factored strength method) of the anchored sheet pile wall depicted below. The groundwater
table is 50m below ground surface. To guide you in finding the results, you are required to
answer the following questions. (For your calculations you may assume that the rotation of the
wall occurs about the point of attachment of the anchor.)

= 18 kN/m3
= 30
= (2/3)
F = 1.2
= (1/2)

(a) Find the appropriate lateral active and passive earth pressure coefficients (also mark the
tables you use next page).
(4 marks)

Factored coefficients
Kax = ........................
Kpx = ........................

Unfactored coefficients
Kax = .......................
Kpx = .......................

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 12 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________

Figure 5. Horizontal component of the active lateral pressure coefficient (Tables K-C, published in Kerisel
and Absi, 1990).

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 13 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________

Figure 6. Horizontal component of the passive lateral pressure coefficient (Tables K-C, published in Kerisel
and Absi, 1990).

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 14 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
(b) Draw the lateral earth pressure distribution diagrams from the soil and a separate diagram
(but next to the previous one) the simplified net porewater pressure distribution (if any).
Identify and number each part or zone of your diagrams.
(3 marks)

(c) Complete the following table (with active and passive forces and moments expressed in
terms of d.
(35 marks)
Part Horizontal force (kN)
No.
1

Moments =

Moment arm from anchor

(m)

Moment (kNm)

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 15 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
(d) Calculate the depth of embedment d (in metres) from the previous step.

(12 marks)

d = _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ metres
(e) Briefly explain how you would determine the anchor force and the designed anchor force.
(10 marks)

(Total marks for Question 6 = 64)

CVEN90050 Geotechnical Engineering

Page 16 of 16
Student ID: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____________________________________________________________________________
COMPACTION AND PAVEMENT DESIGN
Question 7:
Write you answers in the space provided below and fill out the blanks where appropriate.
Find the CBR of the following material, the corrected load versus penetration recordings are
(1 marks)
reproduced in the table below.
Penetration[mm]
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0

Force[kN]
0
0.6806
1.2938
1.8728
2.4200
2.9378
3.4286
3.8948
4.3388
4.763
5.1698
5.5616
5.9408

CBR = _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ %
(Total marks for Question 7 = 1)

Remember to return your exam paper together with the script booklet.

END OF EXAMINATION