SUGGESTIONS OF

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING II

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS: (ANSWER ANY TEN) 1x10=10

1. The maximum permissible settlement for raft foundation on plastic clay for
R.C. structure is
(a) 100mm (b) 75mm (c) 60mm (d) 50mm

2. According to Rankine’s analysis minimum depth of foundation is

𝑞 1− sin ɸ 𝑞 1+ sin ɸ 𝑞 1− sin ɸ 2
(a) [ ] (b) [ ] (c) [ ] (d)
ƴ 1+sin ɸ ƴ 1−sin ɸ ƴ 1+sin ɸ
𝑞 1+ sin ɸ 2
[ ]
ƴ 1−sin ɸ

3. The maximum permissible settlement for isolated foundation on plastic clay

for R.C. structure is
(a) 75mm (b) 60mm (c) 50mm (d) 25mm

4. The weight of hammer used in standard penetration test is

a) 50kg b) 60kg c) 63.5 kg d) 75 kg

5. In Terzaghi’s bearing capacity analysis , the soil wedge immediately below

the footing remains in a state of -----a)Plastic equilibrium b) radial shear c)
elastic equilibrium d) linear shear

6. The minimum depth of foundation in clayey soils should be limited to –

a) 500mm b) 700mm c) 900mm d)1200mm

7. In the plate load test for determining the bearing capacity of soil, the size of
square bearing plate should be a) <300mm b)300-750mm c)750-1000mm
d) >1000mm

8. The SPT value is recorded for the penetration of split barrel sampler for a
penetration of

(a) 15cm (b) 30cm (c) 45cm (d) 60cm

9. Terzaghi’s bearing capacity factors Nc, Nq, Ny are functions of

a) cohesion only b)angle of internal friction c)both a & b d)none

10. No bulging of soil is observed in

a) Local shear failure b) General shear failure c)Punching shear failure d)None
11. According to IS specification , the minimum depth of foundation in sand
should be a) 700mm b)800mm c)900mm d)1200mm

12. As per Terzaghi’s equation, the bearing capacity of strip footing resting on
cohesive soil (c= 10kN/m2 ) for unit depth and unit width (assume Nc = 5.7) is
a) 47 kN/m2 b)57 kN/m2 c)67 kN/m2 d)77 kN/m2
13. According to Terzaghi’s theory , the ultimate bearing capacity at ground
surface for a purely cohesive soil and for a smooth base of a strip footing is
a) 2.57 C b)5.14 C c)5.7 C d) 6.2 C
14. Bearing capacity of a soil strata supporting a footing of size 3 m x 3 m will not
be affected by the presence of ground water table located at a depth which is
a) 1.0 m below the base of footing b)1.5 m below the base of footing c)2.5 m
below the base of footing d)3 m below the base of footing
15. Rise of water table in cohesion less soils up to ground surface reduces the
net ultimate bearing capacity approximate by
a) 25% b)50 % c)75% d)90%

16. A combined footing is generally used when

a) Number of columns is more than two and they are spaced far apart
b) Number of columns is two and they are spaced closed to each other
c) Number of columns is two and they are spaced far apart
d) There is only one column.
17. Minimum centre to centre spacing of friction piles of diameter (D)as per IS
code is
a) 1.5D
b) 2 D
c) 2.5 D
d) 3 D
18. Failure of soil is sudden in the case of
a) Local shear failure
b) General shear failure
c) Punching shear failure
d) Both (b) & (c)
19. Terzaghi’s equation of ultimate bearing capacity for a strip footing may be
used for square footing resting on pure clay soil with the correction factor
a) 0.4
b) 0.6
c) 1.3
d) 1.2
20. In Engineering News Record formula for determining the safe load carrying
capacity of a pile , the factor safety used is
a) 2.5
b) 3
c) 4
d) 6
21. The value of bearing capacity factor for cohesion Nc, for piles as per Meyerhof
is taken as
a) 6.2
b) 9.0
c) 5.14
d) 5.17
22. The load carrying capacity of an individually friction pile is 200 kN. What is
the total load carrying capacity of a group of 9 such piles with group
efficiency factor of 0.8?
a) 1800 kN
b) 1640 kN
c) 1440 kN
d) 900 kN
23. In case of footing on the surface or shallow depth is very dense sand, which
one of the following types of failure is likely to occur?
a) Punching shear failure
b) Local shear failure
c) General shear failure
d) Any one
24. The net ultimate bearing capacity of a purely cohesive soil
a) depends on width of footing and is independent of depth of footing
b) depends on depth of footing and is independent of width of footing
c) depends on both depth and width of footing
d) is independent of both depth and width of footing
25. When the total weight of soil excavated for the foundation equals the total
weight of the structure for construction , the foundation is called
a) Mat or raft foundation
b) Shallow foundation
c) Floating foundation
d) Machine foundation
26. In the case of a pile foundation , negative skin friction may occur at a level
a) Lower than the design load
b) Higher than the designed load
c) Equal to the designed load
d) Of any magnitude
27. Minimum number of pile in a group in sand
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 6
28. In SPT, the test uses a thick walled sample tube , with an outside diameter
a) 45 mm
b) 50 mm
c) 55 mm
d) 60mm
29. From a site, 10m overburden had been removed in the past. the soil at this
site is the example of
a) normally consolidated
b) over consolidated
c) under consolidated
d) none of the above
30. According to IS 1904-1986, the minimum depth of foundation from the
natural ground surface should be
 a) 0.0m
b) 0.5 m
c) 0.75 m
d) 1 m.
31. Compression index is equal to
∆𝑒
a) 𝜎𝑓
𝑙𝑜𝑔
𝜎0
∆𝑒
b) 𝜎𝑓
𝜎0
∆𝑒
c) 𝜎0
𝑙𝑜𝑔
𝜎𝑓

d) none of this
32. Contact pressure beneath a rigid footing foundation in cohesion less soil is
a) less at edges than center
b) more at edges than at center
c) uniform throughout
d) none of these
33. Well foundation is generally preferred for
a) Bridges
b) residential building
c) machine foundation
d) none of these.
34. Consolidation settlement is pre dominant in
a) Sand
b) Silt
c) Clay
d) Gravel
35. For a clay liquid limit of 60% Cc is
a) 0.45
b) 0.045
c) 4.5
d) 0.0045
36. Mechanical stabilization of soil is done with the help of
a) Cement
b) Lime
c) Bitumen
d) proper grading
37. Lime stabilization is very effective in treating
a) sandy soil
b) silty soil
c) non- plastic soil
d) plastic clayey soil
38. The diameter of vibrofloat used in stone columns in case of stiff clays is
a) 0.5m
b) 1.5m
c) 1.8m
 d) All
39. Driving a hollow steel pipe with a detachable bottom plate down the desired
depth is
a) Sand compaction
b) Vibrofloation
c) Stone column
d) None
40. Compaction effort of vibrating roller is primarily dependent on
a) static weight
b) Roller speed
c) Drum diameter
d) All

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS: (each question carries 5 marks)

1.
a) Briefly describe all the types of shallow foundation.

b) A strip footing 1 m wide is laid at a depth of 2m in c- Ø soil having the

following characteristics. Calculate ultimate bearing capacity by Terzaghi’s
analysis. Take the following values of bearing capacity factors: for Ø = 28° Nc
= 32, Nq= 18, Ny=16. Take c= 20kN/m2, Υ=18 kN/m3.

2.
a) Briefly describe all the types of deep foundation.

b) A 2m wide strip footing is founded at a depth of 1.5 m below the ground level,
in a homogeneous bed of dense sand, having the following properties:- Ø=36°, Υ=
1.85 t/𝑚3 Determine the following: i)Ultimate Bearing capacity ii) Net
Ultimate Bearing capacity iii) Net Safe Bearing capacity iv) Safe Bearing
capacity

3.
a) What are the assumptions of Terzaghi’s Analysis .
b) bearing capacity or pressure. A strip footing 1 m wide is laid at a depth of 2m
in c-Øsoil having the following characteristics. Calculate ultimate bearing
capacity by Terzaghi’s analysis. Take the following values of bearing capacity
factors: for Ø= 28° Nc = 32, Nq = 18, Ny =16. Take c= 20kN/m2, Υ=18 kN/m3

4.
a) A square footing 1.5 x 1.5 m is located at a depth of 1 m. The soil has the
following properties Υ = 17.5 kN/m3,c= 20kN/ m2 and Ø=20° . Using I.S
 method calculate the net ultimate bearing capacity of the soil. Footing base
and ground are horizontal.[for Ø =20° , Nc= 14.83, Nq= 6.4, Ny= 2.9]

5.
a) Briefly describe the test procedure any one of the following to determine
bearing capacity of shallow foundation –
i) Plate load test
ii) SPT test

b) A strip footing 1 m wide is laid at a depth of 2m in c-ф soil having the

following characteristics. Calculate ultimate bearing capacity by Terzaghi’s
analysis. Take the following values of bearing capacity factors: for θ= 28° Nc =
32, Nq = 18, Ny =16. Take c= 20Kn/m2, Υ =18 Kn/m3

6.
a) A timber pile is being driven with a drop hammer weighting 20 kN & having
a free fall of 1 m .Total penetration of the pile in the last five blows is
30mm.Determine the load carrying capacity of pile using the Engineering
News Formula.
b) A group of 12 piles ,each having a diameter of 500mm and 30m long
,supports a raft foundation .The piles are arranged in 3 rows and spaced at
1.25 m c/c . The properties of the foundation soil are as follows
Υ =11kn/ m3 , qu=75kn/ m2 , Ø =o°
Assuming α=0.80 and Fs=2.5 , Determine the capacity of the pile group.

7. A n RCC Pile of 18m overall length is driven into a deep stratum of soft clay
having unconfined compressive strength of 3.5t/m2.The diameter of the pile is
30cm .Determine the safe load that can be carried by the pile with a factor of
safety of 3.

8. A group of 20 piles , each having a diameter of 40mm and 10m long, are
arranged in 4 rows at a spacing 1.0 m c/c .the capacity of each pile is 380kN
.Determine the group capacity of the pile .

9. Plate load tests were conducted in a c- Ø soil, on plates of two different sizes and
following results were obtained:-
LOAD SIZE OF PLATE SETTLEMENT
40KN 0.3m × 0.3m 25mm
100KN 0.6m × 0.6m 25mm
Find the size of square footing to carry a load of 800KN at the same specified
settlement of 25mm.
10.
 A strip footing 2 m wide carries a load intensity of 400 kN/ m2 at a depth of
1.2 m in sand. The saturated unit weight of sand is 19.5 kN/ m3 and unit
weight above water table is 16.8 kN/ m3. The shear strength parameters are
c= 0 and Ø = 35°. Determine the factor of safety with respect to shear failure
for the following cases of location of water table:
i) Water table is 4 m below G.L
ii) Water table is 1.2 m below G.L
iii) Water table is 2.5 m below G.L
iv) Water table is 0.5 m below G.L
v) Water table at G.L itself. Use Terzaghi’s equations.

11.
Determine the safe pile capacity of a pile of length 10 m and dia. of 0.5 m
installed in a uniform deposit of sand having ф= 30° and γ= 19kN/m2. Assume
factor of safety 2.5, water table is at a large depth.

12.
a) A clay soil tested in a consolidometer, showed a decrease in void ratio from
1.25 to 1.10, when the pressure was increased from 0.25 kgf/ cm2 to 0.5 kgf/
cm2 . if the clay thickness is 4 m, calculate the consolidation settlement.
[Ans: 267 mm]
b) A 8 m thick sand layer overlies a thick layer of clay of 6 m height below which
there is another sand layer. For the clay layer, mv = 0.18 cm2 / kgf. Calculate
the consolidation settlement if the pressure was increased from 0.5 kgf/ cm2
to 1 kgf/ cm2 .

13.
a) A sand layer 4 m thick is underlain by a clay layer 2.5 thick. Bulk density of
sand and clay layer are 20 kN/ m3 and 18 kN/m3 initial void ratio of clay layer
is 1.30 and compression index is 0.22. calculate the final settlement of clay
layer due to increase in pressure of 30 kN/ m2 at the mid height of clay layer.

14.
a) Describe two methods of ground improvement for cohessionless soil and
two methods for cohesive soil.
b) What is geosynthetics ?what are the types, function and applications of
geosynthetics?
15. A normally consolidated clay stratum of 3 m thickness has two permeable
layers at its top & bottom .The liquid limit & the initial void ratio of clay are 36%
 & 0.82 respectively, while the initial overburden pressure at the middle of clay
layer is 2 Kg/cm2. Due to the construction of a new building the pressure
increase s by 1.5 Kg/cm2,compute the probable consolidation settlement of the
building.

16. A 3 m thick saturated clay layer is overlain by a 4 m thick sand layer and is
underlain by rock . The unit weight of the sand & clay are 1.72 t/m3and 1.85
t/m3respectively.The clay has a liquid limit of 53% & a void ratio of 0.65. A
concentrated load of 200 t is applied on the ground surface .Compute the
probable consolidation settlement of the clay ,
(i) Considering the entire clay layer
(ii) Dividing the clay layer into three sub-layers of equal thickness.

17.
a) Draw a net sketch of a open well, point out all of its components.
b) What are the methods to rectify tilts and shifts? Draw neat sketch.
c) What are the precautions in avoiding tilts and shifts?

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