In: Civil Engineering
Give short answers to the following: (a) (i) Write the equation for Mohr-Coulomb shear failure criteria for soils. Define the variables in the equation. Also, show how this equation is represented in a graph. Label your graph. (ii) Name two laboratory tests to determine the shear strength of the soils. (b) The soil below a concrete dam has a porosity of 0.4 and density of solids of 2.7 gm/cm3 . To ensure safety against piping, the specifications state that the critical gradient which cause piping should be 6 times the exit gradient. What is the allowable exit gradient?(c) In calculation of consolidation settlement we assume that the consolidation is onedimensional (in vertical direction only). Is this a reasonable assumption? Why? (d) Why the permeability of sand increases with the increase in grain size of the sand? (e) What are the advantages and disadvantages of a triaxial compression test? (f) Unconfined compression test was conducted on a saturated clay. The vertical stress at failure was 200 kN/m2 . Sketch (not to scale) the Mohr circle and find the shear strength parameters for this soil.
GEOTECHNICAL COURCE