16-Civ-B3 Geotechnical Design

Questions by sitting

December 2019

1. Question 1: Critical height of an unsupported cut in saturated clay
2. Question 2: Improving the factor of safety of a failing slope
3. Question 3: When to design on undrained strength, and how to measure it
4. Question 4: Expansive clay as retaining-wall backfill
5. Question 5: When a mat foundation is preferred
6. Question 6: Width of a square footing on normally consolidated clay
7. Question 7: Design axial capacity of a belled drilled shaft
8. Question 8: Overturning stability of a gravity retaining wall
9. Question 9: Schmertmann settlement, and ten more storeys

December 2018

1. Question 1: Short-term versus long-term factors of safety for slopes
2. Question 2: SPT or CPT for sandy soils
3. Question 3: Design with undrained shear strength, and how it is measured
4. Question 4: When to prefer the λ method over the α or β method
5. Question 5: Active zone in expansive soils; negative skin friction on piles
6. Question 6: Ultimate capacity of a driven pile by two methods
7. Question 7: Sizing 25 square footings from SPT data, and their bearing capacity
8. Question 8: Gravity retaining wall — overturning, sliding, and the effect of a rising water table
9. Question 9: Schmertmann settlement of a continuous footing; Rankine pressure in a φ u = 0 clay

May 2018

1. Question 1: Equipment for the Reliable Determination of Settlement Behaviour in Sands
2. Question 2: Factor of Safety for the Short-Term Stability of a Slope Excavated in Saturated Clay
3. Question 3: Designing with Undrained Shear Strength — When, and How It Is Measured
4. Question 4: Why a Steep Excavation in Clay Stands Unsupported for a Short Time
5. Question 5: When to Prefer a Mat Foundation
6. Question 6: Design Axial Capacity of a Belled Drilled Shaft in Clay
7. Question 7: Corrected SPT Profile in a Sand Deposit
8. Question 8: Factors of Safety of a Cantilever Retaining Wall against Overturning and Sliding
9. Question 9: Schmertmann Settlement of a Continuous Footing on an Erratic Sand

December 2017

1. Question 1: Shallow or deep foundations for a five-storey hotel
2. Question 2: Short-term stability of a natural slope in soft clay
3. Question 3: Terzaghi's bearing-capacity equation versus the general equation
4. Question 4: Plate load test in saturated clay — proof of size independence
5. Question 5: When to prefer the CPT over the SPT
6. Question 6: Stability of a cantilever retaining wall
7. Question 7: Bored pile group in clay — number, layout, efficiency and settlement
8. Question 8: Allowable bearing pressure on a strip footing from a 25 mm settlement limit
9. Question 9: Friction angle from the SPT and design of a 3 m square footing

May 2017

1. Question 1: Selecting site-investigation equipment for a silty deposit
2. Question 2: Choice of triaxial or direct shear test for three field problems
3. Question 3: Why field SPT values are corrected, and what governs a footing on dense sand
4. Question 4: Why a steep excavation in clay stands unsupported for a short time
5. Question 5: When the CPT is preferred to the SPT
6. Question 6: Design axial capacity of a belled bored pile in layered clay
7. Question 7: Terzaghi and general bearing-capacity equations with a moving water table
8. Question 8: Anchored sheet pile wall by the free-earth-support method
9. Question 9: Ultimate capacity of a pile group with negative skin friction

December 2016

1. Question 1: Foundation choice for a shopping complex on 5 m of peat over glacial till
2. Question 2: Shear-strength parameters for short-term slope stability in clay
3. Question 3: Earth pressure and the relative movement of the retaining structure
4. Question 4: Site-investigation plan for shallow foundations in clay with punching shear
5. Question 5: When to prefer the CPT over the SPT
6. Question 6: Design axial capacity of a belled drilled pier in clay
7. Question 7: Friction angle from SPT data, and design of a 3.0 m square footing
8. Question 8: Short-term stability of a canal bank on a trial slip circle
9. Question 9: Overturning and sliding stability of a cantilever retaining wall

May 2016

1. Question 1: Governing criterion for a shallow foundation on dense sand
2. Question 2: Unsupported cuts in clay, and strength gain in clay embankments
3. Question 3: Ten-storey building on a deep soft clay: site investigation and foundation choice
4. Question 4: Field methods for soil strength, and their limitations
5. Question 5: Influence of the water table on bearing capacity in sand
6. Question 6: Schmertmann settlement of a strip footing from a CPT profile
7. Question 7: Cantilever retaining wall: overturning and bearing capacity
8. Question 8: Ultimate capacity of a driven pile through clay into dense sand
9. Question 9: Excavation over a weak inclined seam: planar sliding

December 2015

1. Question 1: Rationale for SPT Results in Foundation Design in Coarse-Grained Soils
2. Question 2: The Adhesion Factor in Augered Cast-in-Place Pile Capacity
3. Question 3: The Rationale of the "Phi Equals Zero" Concept
4. Question 4: Foundation Selection for a Shopping Complex on 5 m of Expansive Clay
5. Question 5: Site Investigation and Design Criteria for a Highway Embankment in Expansive Soil
6. Question 6: Cantilever Retaining Wall — Factors of Safety against Overturning and Sliding
7. Question 7: Friction Angle from SPT and Design of a 2.5 m Square Footing
8. Question 8: Consolidation Settlement of a Footing over a Normally Consolidated Clay
9. Question 9: Short-Term and Long-Term Stability of a Slope on a Circular Failure Surface

May 2015

1. Question 1: Shaft Adhesion in Soft Clay versus Stiff Clay
2. Question 2: Does the Bearing Capacity of a Strip Footing on Sand Change with Time?
3. Question 3: Earth Pressure and the Relative Movement of the Retaining Structure
4. Question 4: Site Investigation Plan for a Ten-Storey Hotel on Sand with a Shallow Water Table
5. Question 5: Investigation and Design of a Highway Embankment Slope in Expansive Soil
6. Question 6: Ultimate Bearing Capacity of a Square Footing on Sand beneath a Clay Cover
7. Question 7: Load Carrying Capacity of a Sixteen-Pile Group in Soft Clay
8. Question 8: Consolidation Settlement of a Rectangular Footing over a Normally Consolidated Clay
9. Question 9: Factor of Safety of a Gravity Retaining Wall against Overturning

December 2014

1. Question 1: In-situ determination of bearing capacity, and the right test for a sand
2. Question 2: Shear-strength parameters for long-term slope stability in expansive soil
3. Question 3: Earth pressure and relative wall movement; how passive pressure is generated
4. Question 4: Site-investigation plan for a piled hotel on clay, and the properties required
5. Question 5: Retaining wall for highway slope stabilisation in clay
6. Question 6: Design axial capacity of a driven H-pile in layered clay
7. Question 7: Friction angle from SPT and design of a 2.0 m by 3.0 m footing
8. Question 8: Stress increase beneath an embankment at points A, B and C
9. Question 9: Width of a square footing for a short-term factor of safety of 2
10. Question 10: Factor of safety against overturning of a gravity retaining wall

May 2014

1. Question 1: Limitations of the Terzaghi bearing-capacity equation
2. Question 2: Investigating the short-term stability of a soft clay slope
3. Question 3: Investigating settlement of a sand supporting a 10-storey hotel
4. Question 4: Why a plate load test in saturated clay is size-independent
5. Question 5: A 5 m retaining structure on a restricted urban site
6. Question 6: Stability of a cantilever retaining wall
7. Question 7: Bored pile group in clay — number of piles, group efficiency and settlement
8. Question 8: Short-term factor of safety of a slope on a circular failure surface
9. Question 9: Width of a square footing for a short-term factor of safety of 2

December 2013

1. Question 1: Selecting in-situ equipment for bearing capacity and settlement in sand
2. Question 2: Choice of method for the short-term capacity of a pile in soft clay
3. Question 3: Explaining active failure behind a yielding wall with Mohr circles
4. Question 4: Why long-term slope stability is checked with a smaller margin
5. Question 5: Expansive clay backfill: problems and design measures
6. Question 6: Allowable bearing pressure of a 1 m square footing in sand
7. Question 7: Ultimate capacity of a driven concrete pile by two methods
8. Question 8: Overturning and sliding stability of a cantilever retaining wall
9. Question 9: Undrained stability of a canal bank cut in saturated clay

May 2013

1. Question 1: Load transfer in a pile founded on a very competent stratum
2. Question 2: Practical limitations of the SPT in foundation design
3. Question 3: Pile load tests alongside the alpha, beta and lambda methods
4. Question 4: Short-term versus long-term slope stability of a clay embankment dam
5. Question 5: Why settlement usually governs foundation design
6. Question 6: Factor of safety of a two-layer slope by the method of slices
7. Question 7: Anchored sheet pile wall by the free earth support method
8. Question 8: Stress increase by the 2:1 method and consolidation settlement
9. Question 9: Stability of a cantilever retaining wall against overturning and sliding
10. Question 10: Belled drilled pier: point bearing, skin resistance and selection

Undated paper

1. Question 1: Choosing one in-situ test for foundation design in sand
2. Question 2: Factor of safety for the short-term stability of a cut in saturated clay
3. Question 3: True or false — is the undrained friction angle zero for both soils?
4. Question 4: True or false — safe versus allowable bearing capacity in dense sand
5. Question 5: When to prefer a mat foundation
6. Question 6: Sizing 25 square pads on sand from SPT data, then checking Terzaghi
7. Question 7: Design axial capacity of a belled bored pile in clay
8. Question 8: Overturning and sliding of a cantilever retaining wall
9. Question 9: Anchored sheet pile wall by the free earth support method