THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

FINAL EXAMINATION – JUNE 2013

CVEN3201: APPLIED GEOTECHNICS AND ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

(1) TIME ALLOWED – TWO (2) HOURS

(2) READING TIME – TEN (10) MINUTES

(3) THIS EXAMINATION PAPER HAS FIVE (5) PAGES

(4) TOTAL NUMBER OF QUESTIONS – FOUR (4).

(5) TOTAL MARKS = 100.

(6) ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS.

(7) ALL QUESTIONS ARE NOT OF EQUAL VALUE. MARKS FOR EACH
QUESTION ARE SHOWN ON THE EXAMINATION PAPER.

(8) ALL ANSWERS MUST BE WRITTEN IN INK. EXCEPT WHERE THEY ARE
EXPRESSLY REQUIRED, PENCILS MAY BE USED ONLY FOR DRAWING,
SKETCHING OR GRAPHICAL WORK

(9) CANDIDATES MAY BRING CLASS NOTES, TEXT BOOKS, AND

ELECTRONIC CALCULATORS INTO THE EXAMINATION.

(10) THIS PAPER MAY BE RETAINED BY CANDIDATE.

For all questions you may make and highlight appropriate assumptions where you
consider that the information given is not adequate. At the end of each question you
should briefly discuss the impact that such assumptions have on your answer.

P a g e 1/5
QUESTION 1
(25 marks)

Figure 1 shows two adjacent columns; column A is located at the boundary of the
property and therefore its foundation must be combined with the foundation of
column B. A single rectangular footing should be designed for the two columns so
that the pressure distribution under the footing becomes uniform.

Both columns have a dimension of 0.4m×0.4m. Column A carries a vertical load of

500kN. Column B is at a distance of 3m (c/c) from column A and carries a load of
750kN.

The deep foundation soil is cohesionless with a friction angle of =40o and a unit
weight of =20kN/m3. There is no sign of water in the soil.

Use the Hansen’s theory of bearing capacity and determine the minimum size of the
footing assuming a factor of safety of 4 in your design. The embedment depth of the
footing is insignificant and the effects of embedment on bearing capacity can be
ignored.

PA=500 kN PB=750 kN

0.2m 3m

SECTION
L

Column A Column B
B 0.4m
0.4m

PLAN
Figure 1

P a g e 2/5
QUESTION 2
(15 marks)

Figure 2 shows a 3m×3m square footing founded on sand at a depth of 2m below the
ground level. Standard Penetration Tests have been carried out at different depths in
the soil and the SPT N-values are as shown in Figure 2. SPT results indicate the
density of the sand varies with depth. A plate load test has also been conducted at the
site using a 0.3m diameter plate loaded at a depth of 0.7m below the ground level. The
pressure-settlement curve of this test is presented in Figure 3.

Estimate the settlement of the square footing under a load of 1800kN.

Plate test
1800 kN
0.3m 1m
N=12
2m
2m
3m
N=16
2m
N=20
2m
N=26

3m

N=30

Figure 2

Pressure
(kPa)
400

300

200

100

Settlement
0
0 2 4 6 8 mm
Figure 3

P a g e 3/5
QUESTION 3
(30 marks)

A square group of 9 circular concrete piles is arranged with 3 rows and 3 columns and
a centre to centre spacing of 1.5 m. The piles have a diameter 750mm and are to be
driven to a depth of 12m in a deep layer of sandy soil. The sand has a friction angle of
35o, an average density of 70%, a unit weight of 18kN/m3, and a Young’s modulus of
75MPa. There is no sign of water in the soil.

a) Calculate the allowable vertical bearing capacity of each individual pile assuming a
factor of safety of 4.

b) Calculate the ultimate vertical bearing capacity of the pile group, taking into
account the block failure of the entire group as well as the capacity of individual
piles.

c) Calculate the vertical settlement of a single pile when it is loaded to 3000kN. You
may assume that the Young’s modulus of the concrete pile is 22500MPa.

d) Determine the settlement of the pile group, assuming that the group has a rigid pile
cap which carries a total load of 22500kN.

e) Discuss the effects of the water table on the vertical capacity of piles if during a
sustained flooding the water table rises to the ground level.

P a g e 4/5
QUESTION 4
(30 marks)

A 12m quay wall is going to be built from sheet piling to retain 6m of sand. The wall
is anchored 1m below the ground level at the top of the wall. The water table on both
sides of the wall is 3m below the top of the wall.
The sand has the following properties:
c=0
=33o
t=18 kN/m3 above water table
s=20 kN/m3 below water table

a) Calculate the overall factor of safety of the wall against rotation about the anchor
point (point O). You don’t need to consider any surcharge on top of the wall.

b) Cargo is often stored on top of the quay wall and applies a uniform pressure of q
(kPa) on top of the wall. Determine the maximum pressure that can be applied by
the cargo so that the factor of safety against rotation of the wall around the anchor
point (point O) does not fall below 1.3.

c) There is fluctuation in water level in front of the wall and in the soil. Explain the
effects of water level on the factor of safety of the wall if the water table rises up or
drops down. You don’t need to perform any calculation for this section.
Cargo pressure (part b only)

1 1.m
Td
O
3.0m

4 2

3.0m

6m

6 3

Figure 4

END OF PAPER

P a g e 5/5