PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS ONTARIO.
NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS ~May 2014
07-BLD-A6 GEOTECHNICAL MATERIALS AND ANALYSIS
3 HOURS DURATION
NOTES:
1. This is @ closed book examination,
2. Read all questions carefully before you answer
3. Should you have any doubt regarding the interpretation of a question,
you are encouraged to complete the question submitting a clear
statement of your assumptions.
4, ‘The total exam value is 100 marks
5, One of two calculators can be used: Casio or Sharp approved models.
6, Drawing instruments are required.
7. All required charts and equations are provided at the back of the
examination.
8 YOU MUST RETURN ALL EXAMINATION SHEETS.NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS May 2014
6 GEOTECHNICAL MATERIALS AND ANALYSIS
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS
Question (4x 5=20 marks)
State the correct answer for each of the questions below and provide reasons to
JUSTIFY THE STATEMENT IN YOUR ANSWER BOOK.
(@_| Which one of the sandy soils shown in Figure 1 below; Sand A, Sand B or Sand C
will possibly have a coefficient of uniformity, Cy= 1.
(| Which one of the sandy soils shown in Figure 1 below; Sand A, Sand B or Sand C
will have a higher effective internal friction angle (g).
OO000a800
“Sand A
COD oe
Sand B
OCOD
Sand C
Figure 1
(Gi) | Which one of the soils SW, MH or CH will have a higher dry density and also a
higher optimum moisture content?
Gv) | Which one of these soils’ saturated hydraulic conductivity can be determined using @
constant head test:
Soil A: Expansive clay; Soil
iacial till; Soil C: Silt; Soil D: Sand
o
CS, Sa
A) Plocculated B) Dispersed Oriented
Figure 2
A compacted fine-grained soil will typically have either a flocculated or dispersed
structure as shown in Figure 2 based on the initial water content used for
compaction. What type of soil structure will be created in fine-grained clay when it is
compacted wet of optimum conditions?NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS ~May 2014
6 GEOTECHNICAL MATERIALS AND ANALYSIS
Question (10 marks)
Figure 3 below shows a flow net for a sheet pile. Label all the key features of the flow
net. In this flow net several of the features are wrong. Highlight at least three mistakes
providing your explanations of what they are.
Question 3; (10 marks)
A saturated soil (ie., S = 100%) in a container, that is subjected to a total stress o is
shown in Figure 4. The level of water in a standpipe represents the pore-water pressure
in the soil (Le. hydrostatic pore-water pressure). What will be the effective stress at the
level of the standpipe intake, if an additional stress Ao is applied on top of the total stress
under i) undrained and ii) drained condition? Express the effective stress as a
function of, 6, AG, u, (static pore-water pressure) and/or te (excess pore-water pressure).
Ignore the self-weight of the soil. Provide comments on the results.