You are on page 1of 2

ENCE 640 Advanced Soil Mechanics Homework No.

1 Due Tuesday, September 18 PART 1: REVIEW OF BASIC UNDERGRADUATE SOIL MECHANICS: SOIL COMPOSITION, CLASSIFICATION READING ASSIGNMENT: Christian and Baecher (2011) Unresolved Problems in Geotechnical Risk and Reliability (in Documents section on Blackboard) The following chapters/sections from Coduto, Yeung, and Kitch (2011) or equivalent (see http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Geotechnical-Engineering-PrinciplesPractices/9780132368681.page for more details): Chapter 1 Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering Chapter 4 Soil Composition Chapter 5 Soil Classification; focus on: Section 5.2 AASHTO Soil Classification System Section 5.3 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) Chapter 6 Excavation, Grading, and Compacted Fill; focus on: Section 6.3 Soil Compaction Concepts Section 6.4 Soil Compaction Standards and Specifications PROBLEMS 1. A 105.0 cm3 volume of clay has a mass of 143 g in its undisturbed state. When the clay specimen is dried it has a mass of 111.3 g. Determine the natural gravimetric moisture content and degree of saturation for the clay. (Assume Gs = 2.70) 2. The average void ratio of a given material is 0.67, the specific gravity of the soil solids is 2.65, and the moisture content is 8%. Calculate the moist unit weight, the volumetric water content, and the degree of saturation. 3. Based on borehole standard penetration tests/samples, the in situ relative density and moisture content for a well graded silty sand are estimated as 85% and 12%, respectively. Estimate: (a) the total unit weight; (b) the equivalent dry unit weight; (c) the void ratio; (d) the porosity; and (e) the degree of saturation. Clearly state the basis for your estimates. 4. A low-lying portion of a project site must be filled using natural soil "borrowed" (i.e., excavated) from elsewhere on the site. The borrow area consists of a good quality loose granular soil having a void ratio of 0.75 and a natural gravimetric water content of 10%. When placed as a fill in the low lying area, this soil will be compacted to a total unit weight of 22 kN/m3. Assuming that no water is added to or removed from the soil during the compaction process and that the specific gravity of solids Gs is 2.7, compute the number of cubic meters of natural soil that must be excavated from the borrow pit in order to provide 100 m3 of compacted fill. 5. A 10,000 ft3 mass of saturated clay had a void ratio of 0.962 and a specific gravity of solids of 2.71. A fill was then placed over this clay, causing it to consolidate. During this process, some of the water was squeezed out of the voids. However, the volume of the solids remained

unchanged. After the consolidation was complete, the void ratio had become 0.758. (a) Compute the initial and final moisture content of the clay. (b) Compute the new volume of the clay. (c) Compute the volume of water squeezed out of the clay. 6. Classify the following soils A through E using the Unified Soil Classification System (you need only provide the two-letter USCS symbol for each soil). A B Percent finer by sieve: 4 48 72 10 37 68 40 25 41 100 19 37 200 13 25 Atterberg limits: LL (%) 32.6 41.3 PL (%) 21.5 22.3 Visual description: Dark Dark brown tan C 51 43 32 22 4 D 97 93 85 76 53 E 100 98 94 75 61 48.3 23.1

Non- 53.4 plastic 31.6

Light Dark Reddish brown grey, brown woody odor

7. A 3.0 ft deep cut is to be made across and entire 2.5 acre site. The average unit weight of this soil is 118 pcf and the average moisture content is 9.6%. It also has a Proctor maximum unit weight of 122 pcf at an optimum moisture content of 11.1%. The excavated soil will be placed on a nearby site and compacted to an average relative compaction of 93%. Compute the volume of fill in cubic yards that will be produced. PART 2: CRITICAL READING You should obtain and read a Terzaghi, Rankine, or Buchanan lecture of your choice (see listings in Documents section on Blackboard). Write a brief (one page maximum) description of the aspect(s) of the paper that you found particularly noteworthy. This should not be a rehashed version of the abstract but rather an explanation of concepts that were new to you, aspects that related to some prior work experience, or other elements of the paper that had particular resonance. Your paper should include a full reference citation of your selected lecture and must be typed.

You might also like