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Reg. No. :

Question Paper Code : 40306

B.E./B.Tech. DEGREE EXAMINATIONS, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021.

Fourth/Fifth Semester

Civil Engineering

CE 8491 — SOIL MECHANICS

(Common to Environmental Engineering)

(Regulations 2017)

Time : Three hours Maximum : 100 marks

Answer ALL questions.

PART A — (10 × 2 = 20 marks)

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1. List the three most common clay minerals. Which one is usually more
problematic for civil engineers?

2. Define the following : (a) flow index (b) Toughness index.

3. To what height would water rise in a glass capillary tube of 0.01 mm diameter?
Assume Ts = 73 × 10−6 N/mm .

4. Write the relationship between seepage velocity and discharge velocity.

5. List the assumptions made in Boussinesq theory.

6. Draw the typical e-log p relationship for NC clay and OC clay.

7. Draw typical sketches of failure envelopes of saturated clay as obtained from

undrained and drained shear tests.

8. Write the equation for shear strength according to Mohr-Coulomb failure

theory.

9. Differentiate the modes of failure of infinite slope and finite slope.

10. List various slope protection measures.

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PART B — (5 × 13 = 65 marks)

11. (a) (i) A soil has bulk unit weight of 20.l kN/m3 and water content of 15%.
Calculate the water content if the soil partially dries to a unit
weight of 19.4 kN/m3 and the void ratio remains unchanged. (5)
(ii) Discuss briefly the factors influencing compaction. (8)

Or
(b) A soil sample has a liquid limit of 20% and plastic limit of 12%. The
following data are also available from sieve analysis : (13)
Sieve size % passing
2.032 mm 100
0.422 mm 85
0.075 mm 38
Classify the soil according to Unified Classification and IS Classification.

12. (a) (i) Explain the laboratory determination of coefficient of permeability

using falling head method and derive the expression to calculate
coefficient of permeability. (7)
(ii) Find the total stress, effective stress and pore water pressure at a
depth of 6 m below ground level, given the following data. The
water table is 2 m below ground level. The dry unit weight of the

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soil is 17.66
20.81 kN/m3.
kN/m3 and saturated unit weight of the soil is

Or
(6)

(b) (i) For a homogeneous earth dam 32 m high and 2 m free board, a flow
net was constructed with four flow channels. The number of
potential drops was 20. The dam has a horizontal filter at the base
near the toe. The coefficient of permeability of the soil was
9 × 10−2 mm/s. Determine the anticipated seepage, if the length of
the dam is 100 m. (7)
(ii) Calculate the coefficient of permeability of a soil sample, 6 cm in
height and 50 cm2 in cross sectional area, if a quantity of water
equal to 430 ml passed down in 10 minutes, under an effective
constant head of 40 cm. (6)

13. (a) (i) A line load of 100 kN/metre run extends to a long distance.
Determine the intensity of vertical stress at a point, 2 m below the
surface and (1) directly under the line load, and (2) at a distance of
2 m perpendicular to the line. Use Boussinesq’s theory. (6)
(ii) Explain log “t” method for the determination of coefficient of
consolidation. (7)

Or

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(b) (i) A sand fill compacted to a bulk density of 18.84 kN/m3 is to be
placed on a compressible saturated marsh deposit 3.5 m thick. The
height of the sand fill is to be 3 m. If the volume compressibility mv
of the deposit is 7 × 104 m2 /kN , estimate the final settlement of the
fill. (6)
(ii) Explain the procedure to use Newmarks influence chart to find the
stress below the loaded soil mass. (7)

14. (a) (i) Two samples of a soil were subjected to shear tests. The results
were as follows :
Test No. σ3 (kN/m2) σ1 (kN/m2)
1 100 240
2 300 630

Find the shear strength parameters. If a further sample of the same

soil was tested under a minor principal stress of 200 kN/m2, what
value of major principal stress can be expected at failure? (8)
(ii) Explain vane shear test and derive the equation to get the shear
strength. (5)

Or
(b)
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(i) A series of undrained shear box tests (area of box = 3600 mm2) were
carried out on a soil with the following results :
Normal load (N) 280 560 1080
Shear force at failure (N) 240 320 460

Determine the cohesion and angle of friction of the soil with respect
to total stresses. (8)
(ii) Prove that the unit cohesion of a saturated clay sample is half its
unconfined compressive strength. (5)

15. (a) Find the factor of safety of a slope of infinite extent having a slope
angle = 25°. The depth of failure surface is 6 m. The slope is made of clay
having c′ = 20 kN/m2, φ ′ = 20°, γ b = 17.24 kN/m3 and γ sat = 19.14 kN/m3
under the following conditions: (i) when the soil is dry, (ii) when water
seeps parallel to the surface of the slope, and (iii) when the slope is
submerged. (13)

Or
(b) Explain with neat sketch friction circle method of slope stability analysis.
(13)

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PART C — (1 × 15 = 15 marks)

16. (a) The soil profile at a building site consists of dense sand up to 2 m depth,
normally loaded soft clay from 2 m to 6 m depth, and stiff impervious
rock below 6 m depth. The ground-water table is at 0.40 m depth below
ground level. The sand has a density of 18.5 kN/m3 above water table and
19 kN/m3 below it. For the clay, natural water content is 50%, liquid limit
is 65% and grain specific gravity is 2.65. Calculate the probable ultimate
settlement resulting from a uniformly distributed surface load of
40 kN/m2 applied over an extensive area of the site. (15)

Or
(b) A soil in the borrow pit is at a dry density of 17 kN/m3 with a moisture
content of 10%. The soil is excavated from this pit and compacted in an
embankment to a dry density of 18 kN/m3 with a moisture content of
15%. Compute the quantity of soil to be excavated from the borrow pit
and the amount of water to be added for 100 m3 of compacted soil in the
embankment. (15)

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