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16-Civ-B3 Geotechnical Design: December 2018

Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)

  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

Start with Question 1 →

Paper format. National Examinations, December 2018 — 16-Civ-B3 Geotechnical Design. Three hours, open book, any non-communicating calculator. Section A holds five discussion questions worth 7 marks each (answer any four); Section B holds four design questions worth 24 marks each (answer any three). The examinable total is therefore 4 × 7 + 3 × 24 = 100 marks. Page-1 Note 6 requires the candidate to name the source of every design chart and of every assumed value, so each chart read and each assumption below is attributed where it is used. All nine questions are solved here, because the set is a study resource rather than a timed sitting.

Reference texts. B. M. Das, Principles of Foundation Engineering, 9th ed. (bearing capacity, settlement, retaining walls, pile foundations); B. M. Das, Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9th ed. (shear strength, lateral earth pressure); Canadian Geotechnical Society, Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual (CFEM), 4th ed. (Canadian practice, factors of safety, site investigation); R. F. Craig, Craig's Soil Mechanics, 9th ed. (effective stress, slope stability); D. P. Coduto, Foundation Design: Principles and Practices, 2nd ed. (SPT interpretation, shallow foundation design).

Check — conventions used throughout this paper. Unit weights printed on the figures are taken as bulk (saturated below a water table) values; effective unit weights use γw = 9.81 kN/m3. Where the exam omits a number that the solution needs, the assumption is stated in the question where it is used, with its source, as page-1 Notes 1, 6 and 7 direct.