Assignment

SHEAR RESISTANCE
1. What is Mohr- Coulombs strength theory for soils? Sketch typical strength envelopes for a clean sand. 2. Discuss the shear characteristics of cohesion less soils and cohesive soils. 3. Give different types of shear tests based on drainage conditions. Explain how the pore water pressure

variation and volume change take place during tests. Also enumerate the field conditions which necessitate each of these tests. 4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of triaxial compression test in comparison with direct shear test. 5. For which type of soil. UC test would give good results? Draw a Mohr circle for this test. How do you consider the change in the area of specimen which takes place during the test in the final results? 6. What is critical void ratio? How would you determine it in the laboratory? Also explain the conditions causing liquefaction of sand. 7. Discuss modified failure envelope. What are its advantages and disadvantages over the standard failure envelope? 8. Discuss the shear characteristics of partially saturated soils. 9. Discuss how the shear test conditions are decided. Where would you use the effective stress analysis and where the total stress analysis? 10. What is stress path? Give its importance. Which different stress paths are generally used by engineers? Draw stress path for embankments, excavation, active earth pressure and passive earth pressure.