DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering AES1730

MSc EXAMINATION 2013 FIRST PERIOD DATE: 8 November 2013 TIME: 15.00 17.00 Part 2 Applied questions

Write your name and student number clearly on each answer sheet Clearly identify the answer to each question in answer sheet - Note that the questions carry unequal marks No formula sheet is allowed Necessary definitions are given in the text

Weight on final mark: 0.6

Question 1 (25 marks) A vertical cut is designed in a homogeneous saturated clay, Fig. 1(a). The clay has a unit weight sat = 20 kN/m3. The average undrained strength of the clay is su = 20 kN/m2. The cut will have a height of Hs = 4 m. a) Determine the Factor of Safety, FoS, against the potential sliding mechanism along the line A-A indicated in Fig.1(a) (15 marks); b) Determine the FoS against the same sliding mechanism if a vertical load F = 20 kN/m were applied at the soil surface (Fig. 1b) (5 marks); c) Is the FoS against the assigned sliding mechanism changing as a function of the distance d of the load from the vertical cut? (5 marks);
d=1m

3m A

F = 20 kN/m

Hs = 4 m

A Hs = 4 m 3m A

LAA

saturated clay = 20 kN/m3 su = kN/m2 A

(a) Figure 1: vertical cut in clay: (a) without load and (b) with load.

(b)

Question 2 (20 marks) With reference to Figure 2, calculate a) the hydraulic head, h, as a function of s (10 marks); b) and the pressure, u, as a function of s (10 marks).
10 k1 = k2 / 4 8 u B = 10 kPa B 6 z (m) 2 4 C 2 1 A 0 0 2 4 x (m) 6 8 10 uA = 20 kPa s

Figure 2: 1D seepage in a layered soil

Question 3 (20 marks) Samples of an undisturbed soil were tested in a triaxial apparatus. The relevant data of the tests are summarised in table 1, where: p0 = ( a0 + 2r0 ) / 3 is the mean effective stress at the end of the isotropic consolidation stage; qf = (af - rf ) is the deviator stress at failure;

uf

is the pore water pressure change (with respect to the end of the isotropic consolidation stage) measured at failure. Compression stresses are assumed to be positive, CD stands for standard consolidated-drained triaxial test and CU for standard consolidated-undrained triaxial test.

Table 1. Triaxial tests data at failure Standard stress path Mean effective stress at the end of the consolidation stage p0 (kPa) Deviator stress at failure Pore pressure change at failure uf (kPa)

qf (kPa)

CU CU CD

100 200 200

90 150 300

40 100 ---

a) Evaluate the shear strength parameters of the soil (15 marks); b) Based on the value of the shear strength parameters, which type of soil do you expect to have been tested? (5 marks).

Question 4 (35 marks) The soil deposit is made of a silty sand layer (1), over a clay layer (2), in turn resting on a confined aquifer (3). The initial pore water pressure distribution is given by the stand-pipe measurements in (Fig. 3a). Geometry and properties of the layers are summarised in Table 2. Due to pumping, the piezometric head in the lower confined aquifer is expected to lower by 5 m (Fig. 3b).
Table 2. Soil layers data
Average Thickness overconsolidation ratio H OCR (m) 1 silty sand 2 clay 10 10 (-) 4 1 Initial void ratio e0
average

layer

Friction angle

Saturated unit weight

Unit weight above the water table

sat

(-) 0.545 0.750

(-) 35 25

(kN/m3) 21. 20.

(kN/m3) 18. ----

Figure 3: (a) stratigraphic profile and initial piezometric heads; (b) expected piezometric heads after pumping.

a) Draw the vertical total and effective stress profile (both vertical and horizontal components) with reference to the initial condition (Fig. 3a) (20 marks); b) Draw the vertical component of the total and of the effective stress expected in the long term, after pumping (10 marks); c) Are you expecting the surface to settle or to heave as a consequence of lowering the piezometric head in the aquifer? Justify your answer (5 marks).