UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA Faculty of Engineering END OF SEMESTER EXAMINATION FEBRUARY 2007 CE 310 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING (Two and a Half

f Hours) (Answer all questions. All questions carry equal marks)

1. (a) Describe the theory of electrical resistivity method. (b) A seismic survey carried out to investigate the subsurface conditions at a level site gave the following results. Distance from the shot point (m) Arrival time (milliseconds) 7 15 12 26 18 34 25 38 30 40

(10 Marks) building

35 41

Determine the subsurface conditions of the building site.

(10 marks)

2. (a) State four assumptions made in the slope stability analysis using Taylors method. (4 marks) (b) A natural flat ground is cut to form a channel having a depth of 15 m and side slopes of 60. The ground consists of a uniform soil having strength parameters of c = 25 kPa and = 20 o . The saturated unit weight of soil was found to be 19.0 kN/m3. Assuming that the same factor of safety must be allowed for both cohesion and friction determine the factor of safety under the following conditions; (i) When the channel is completely full of water (ii) After a sudden drawdown of the channel from full level (6 marks) (10 marks)

Using the normal notation Taylors stability numbers for a 60 slope are as given below.

()
cd H

0 0.191

5 0.162

10 0.138

15 0.116

20 0.097

25 0.079

3. (a) A 4 x 4 group of driven concrete piles each of 0.3 m diameter and length 15 m spaced at 0.9 m in both directions, passes through a 25 m thick homogeneous saturated clay deposit underlain by a hard incompressible rock. Using the data given below, calculate the safe carrying capacity for the pile group. Ignore the possibility of block failure. (12 marks) Effective unit weight of clay = 18 kN/m3 Undrained shear strength of clay ( c u ) b at the level of base of pile = 60 kN/m2 Average undrained shear strength of clay ( cu ) av over the length of pile = 40 kN/m2 Adhesion between concrete and clay = 0.4 cu Efficiency of the pile group = 0.7 (b) Using the equivalent raft concept, estimate the consolidation settlement of this pile group, under a load of 1600 kN. Assume that the coefficient of volume compressibility of the clay ( mv ) is constant with a value of 0.150 m2/MN. You may refer the chart given in Fig. Q3 for calculation purposes (Consider no more than three layers, for the computations). (8 marks)

Fig. Q3

4. (a)

A gravity retaining wall shown in Fig.Q4 has a smooth back. The horizontal backfill consists of a sandy soil of bulk unit weight 18 kN/m3 with effective shear strength parameters of c =0, = 34.7. The ground water table is at a considerable depth below the base. Assuming that the unit weight of masonry wall and concrete base = 22 kN/m3, (i) Determine the horizontal thrust on the retaining wall per metre length, if the soil is in the active Rankine state, taking a mobilisation factor of 1.2. (6 marks) (ii) Evaluate the stability of the wall against overturning about the toe A. (6 marks) Ignore the effect of passive resistance at front of the wall. 1.0 1.0

All dimensions are in metres Not to scale

1.5

2.0

A
Fig. Q4
(b) (i)

0.5 2.0

Instead of the gravity wall above, a geotextile reinforced earth wall (of same depth of 4 m) is proposed to be constructed using the same back fill material. Evaluate the design lateral earth pressure at the base level of the wall. (3 marks) (ii) Determine the vertical spacing of geotextiles required at the base level, if the allowable tensile strength of geotextiles is 12.5 kN/m. Use a global factor of safety of 1.4. (5 marks)

5. (a) Describe the use of preloading with plastic drains and Quick lime piles as methods of ground improvement, with regard to the method of implementation and mechanism of improvement. (8 marks)

(b) investigation?

What is an Undisturbed Sample in the context of site (3 marks)

Define the following terms and describe briefly how they can be used as indications of the degree of sample disturbance. (i) Inside clearance (ii) Outside clearance (iii) Area ratio (3 marks) (3 marks) (3 marks)