Prayush Rajbhandari 074/MSStE/016

1) During a soil exploration program. The following choices were available for soil sampling.
a) Shelly tube A:
Outside Diameter, Do= 76.2 mm
Inside Diameter, Di= 73 mm
b) Shelly tube B:
Outside Diameter, Do= 88.9 mm
Inside Diameter, Di= 85.725 mm
c) Split Spoon Sampler:
Outside Diameter, Do= 50.8 mm
Inside Diameter, Di= 35 mm
Calculate the area ratio for each case and determine which sampler will be appropriate for the
following soil categorization test.

a) Grain size distribution

b) Atterberg limit
c) Consolidation
d) Unconfined compression

Solution,

We know,

Area Ratio= AR = x100 %

a) Shelly tube A:
.
Area Ratio= AR = x100 % = 8.959% <10% So it can be considered as undisturbed

The samples obtained from Shelly tube A being undisturbed can be used for Grain size
distribution, Atterberg limit, Consolidation and Unconfined compression tests.

b) Shelly tube B:
. .
Area Ratio= AR = x100 %=7.544% <10% So it can be considered as undisturbed
.

The samples obtained from Shelly tube B being undisturbed can be used for Grain size
distribution, Atterberg limit, Consolidation and Unconfined compression tests.

c) Split Spoon Sampler:

.
Area Ratio= AR = x100 % = 110.665% >10% So it is considered as disturbed

The samples obtained from Split Spoon Sampler being disturbed can be used for Grain
size distribution and Atterberg limit but cannot be used for Consolidation and Unconfined
compression tests.
 Prayush Rajbhandari 074/MSStE/016

2) Following are the results of SPT in sand. Determine the correct SPT Number (N1)60 at various depth.
Note that the water table was not observed within a depth of 10.5m below the ground surface.
Assume that unit weight of sand is 17.3kN/m3.

Depth(m) N60
1.5 8
3.0 7
4.5 12
6.0 14
7.5 13
Refer to above example, estimate the average soil friction angle (ϕ’) for z=0 to z=7.5m.

Solution,

For overburden pressure correction effective overburden pressure and hence unit weight
of soil must be known.

ϒsoil=17.3kN/m3
σ0= ϒsoilx Z

Here no water table is observed at 10.5 m.

σ0’= σ0 – u= σ0 – 0 = σ0
Where u is pore water pressure.
And σ0’ is effective overburden pressure at corresponding depth.

N’=CNN

Where, N’= Corrected value of observed N

CN= Correction factor for overburden pressure

From Peck, Hanson and Thornburn (1974), we have

CN= 0.77 Log10(2000/ σ0’), where σ0’ is in kN/m2

S.N. Depth(m) N60 σ0 ’ CN (N1)60 (N1)60 Rounded

1 1.5 8 25.95 1.4529 11.6232 12
2 3.0 7 51.9 1.2211 8.5478 9
3 4.5 12 77.85 1.0855 13.0262 13
4 6.0 14 103.8 0.9893 13.8505 14
5 7.5 13 129.75 0.9147 11.8911 12
 Prayush Rajbhandari 074/MSStE/016

According to Peck, Hanson and Thornburn (1974) the relation between N 60 and ϕ’ is given by,
Φ’(Deg)= 27.1+0.3N60-0.00054[N60]2

S.N. Depth (m) N60 Φ’(Deg)

1 1.5 8 29.465
2 3.0 7 29.173
3 4.5 12 30.622
4 6.0 14 31.194
5 7.5 13 30.908
 Prayush Rajbhandari 074/MSStE/016

3) A four storey reinforced concrete frame structure office building will be built on a site where soils
are expected to be of average quality and uniformity. The building will have a 30mX40m footprint
and is expected to be supported on spread footing foundation located 1m below the ground
surface. The site appears to be in its natural condition, bed rock is 30m below the ground surface.
Determine the required number and depth of the boring.

Solution,

To determine the depth of office building, Sowers and Sowers provided the following expression,
Db=3S0.7 (For light steel or narrow concrete building) and
Db=6S0.7 (For heavy steel or wide concrete building)
Where, Db= Depth of boring, in meters
S= Number of Stories
Using,
Db=6S0.7= 6x40.7=15.834m
Say Db= 16 m <30m
(So boring does not need to reach the bed rock)

The number of boring required is a minimum of 5, in which boring should be done at each corner
and one at the center of the area. If there is greater variation in soil properties between two
nearby bore holes, additional bore holes may be required.