Properties of Soft and Hard Rock | Spring 2017 | Richard Eichler

Homework: - preparation for final exam

- voluntary additional lecture performance (deadline for submission: June 4, 2017)
submission by email to eichler@gmit.edu.mn
The following tasks may help you to prepare for the final exam. But not all topics of the lecture are
covered by the following tasks. The final exam may include tasks regarding all topics of the lecture.
Consequently for preparation you have to consider your personal lecture notes.
If you want to improve your lecture performance please send the solution of the homework to me as a
scan by email. Submission not later than June 4, 2017. It is okay if you help each other. But each student
has to submit his / her own document! The document you send to me has to be done hand written (no
computer typing!). Write sentences to explain what you are doing and which formulas you use and why.

Task 1:
Soils are sometimes named by short expressions, depending on the grain sizes. What does the following
expressions mean?
a) csa,FGr b) msa*,FSa c) si,Cl d) CSa

Task 2:
A sample of soil was taken from a location below ground water level. The sample has a volume of
2.5 liters ( 2500 ml ). The sample is analyzed in lab. Situation 1: Right after excavation the weight of the
sample is m1 = 5222.5 g Situation 2: After some days of dewatering at a temperature of 20 C the weight
is m2 = 4547.5 g Situation 3: After dying the soil in an oven at a temperature of 105 C the weight is m3
= 4372.5 g The soil is mainly consisting of quartz grains, the grain density is s = 2,65 g/cm.
a) Calculate the volume of grains in the soil sample. What is the percentage?
b) Calculate the volume of water in situation 1. What is the percentage?
c) Calculate the volume of water in situation 2. What is the percentage?
d) Explain what is the meaning of drainable porosity. How can you calculate it? Calculate the drainable
porosity in this example?

Task 3:
The grain size distribution of soil is analyzed by a sieving analysis. On each sieve remains a certain
amount of the soil: sieve 6.3mm: 10.4g; sieve 2mm: 41.6g; sieve0.63mm: 156g; sieve 0.2mm: 260mm;
sieve 0.063mm: 46.8g; rest pan: 5.2g.
a) Complete the table and draw the line of grain size distribution in the diagram (use template in
separate pdf-file).
b) What can be calculated by the Hazen-Formula kf = 0,0116 d102 ? Calculate the result.

Task 4:
There is a river with a depth of 7 m. The water level of the river is the same as the ground water level. At
the right embankment the level of the surface is 2 m above ground water level. Below the river there is
a pipe line. At the deepest point the pipe line is 3 m below the river bed. Sometimes in raining periods,
the water level is 4 m higher. Because of that a dike will be built in future.
a) Calculate the vertical stress in location A.
b) The strength of the pipe line was adjusted to the stress in point A considering a safety of 1,3. What is
the strength of the pipe line (it means: what is the maximum vertical stress the pipeline can resist)?
c) Calculate the vertical stress in location B before the dike will be built.
c) Calculate the maximum height of the dike, which is okay regarding the strength of the pipeline

Helpful formulas:
v = h ; h = v (1- sin ) ; = + p

Task 5:
In a lab test water flow and water pressure is investigated by a Darcy Test. The design of the test is
shown in the sketch. The hydraulic conductivity of the soil is kf = 1 10-4 m/s. The height of the sample is
8 m. The width of the sample is 3 m, and in the 3rd dimension it is only 1 m. Consequently the cross
section area of the sample is A = 3 m.
a) Calculate the hydraulic gradient inside the soil.
b) Calculate the water flow through the soil.
c) Calculate the water pressure inside a soil sample at location A, B and C

Helpful formulas:
Q=vA=kiA ; i=h/l
Task 6:
For field-investigation of compressibility of soil the plate load test is common.
a) Explain the equipment and the procedure of this test. Draw a sketch of the test equipment and define
the elements.
b) Draw the graph of the test into a diagram. Define the names of the axis.
c) Explain the meaning of virgin load (first load), unload, and reload. And what is the meaning of the
constrained modulus.

Task 7:
The triaxial test is used in order to investigate the ration of vertical stress and horizontal stress as well as
shear stress in the case of failure of soil.
a) Draw a sketch of the test equipment and name the elements.
b) Explain the function of triaxial test, and which parameters are measured directly.
c) There were done 3 Triaxial-tests. For each test it was measured the horizontal stress (v = 1)
and the vertical stress (h = 3). Draw a diagram with the 3 Mohr Circles by using the given
values of v and h. Draw the line of the Mohr-Coulomb-Criterion and determine the friction
angle of and the cohesion c.
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
v in kN 45,0 56,2 69,0
h in kN 5,0 7,8 11,0

Task 8:
Calculate the active earth pressure and the passive earth pressure to the retaining wall.

Helpful formulas:
Ea, = Ka h2 ; Ea,w = w h2 Ea,q = Ka q h ; Ea,c = - 2 c h ;
Ep, = Kp h2 ; Ep,w = w h2 Ep,q = Kp q h ; Ep,c = + 2 c h ;
Ka = (1 - sin ) / (1 + sin ) ; Kp = (1 + sin ) / (1 - sin )

Task 9:
Explain the meaning of cohesion. For which saturation Sr cohesion is working. What will be the influence
of cohesion to the active earth pressure and to the passive earth pressure (explain by the example of
task 8 layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3).
Task 10:
Explain what happens if vertical stress (compressive stress) to a sample of soil is increased.
a) in case of dry soil
b) in case of soil with saturation Sr = 1 and high hydraulic conductivity
c) in case of soil with saturation Sr = 1 and very low hydraulic conductivity (consolidation effect)

Task 11:
In nature there are several types of weathering hard rock formation.
a) The state of weathering is classified in 6 steps (from V0 to V5). Explain in short what is the
meaning of the 6 categories.
b) List 3 different types of weathering processes and define if the processes are physical
weathering or biochemical weathering.

Task 12:
The hardness of hard rocks can be investigated for example by the Brinell test or by Poldi-Method.
Explain how the tests are done and what is the difference.

Task 13:
The properties of Hard Rock Formation is influenced by cracks and joints.
a) What is the influence of joints to the strength of the hard rock formation?
b) What is the influence of joints to the hydraulic conductivity of the hard rock formation?
c) Chose one parameter which is describing how much the rock formation is influenced by joints (RQD,
or K) and explain what is done to determine this parameter.