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07-Str-B1: Undated paper

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

  1. Question 1 Site investigation equipment for a foundation in sand
  2. Question 2 Factor of safety for the short-term stability of a cut in saturated clay
  3. Question 3 Is the undrained friction angle zero for both soils?
  4. Question 4 Safe bearing capacity against allowable bearing capacity in dense sand
  5. Question 5 When to prefer a mat foundation
  6. Question 6 Footing size from the SPT profile, and Terzaghi bearing capacity
  7. Question 7 Design axial capacity of a belled drilled shaft
  8. Question 8 Overturning and sliding stability of a cantilever retaining wall
  9. Question 9 Anchored sheet pile wall by free earth support

Start with Question 1 →

National Examinations — May 2019 — 07-Str-B1 Geotechnical Design. Three-hour, OPEN-BOOK exam; any calculator is permitted provided the candidate records its make and model. Format: Section A carries five discussion questions of 7 marks each, of which the candidate answers any four; Section B carries four problems of 24 marks each, of which the candidate answers any three (4 × 7 + 3 × 24 = 100 marks). Every question is worked here, because the set is a study resource rather than a marked script.

Reference texts: Das, B.M., Principles of Foundation Engineering (9th ed., Cengage) — SPT-based allowable bearing pressure, Terzaghi bearing capacity, drilled-shaft capacity, retaining walls, sheet-pile walls; Das, B.M., Principles of Geotechnical Engineering (9th ed., Cengage) — effective stress, shear strength, lateral earth pressure; Canadian Geotechnical Society, Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual (CFEM, 4th ed., 2006) — Canadian practice for site investigation, SPT and CPT interpretation, tolerable settlement, raft and deep foundations; Craig, R.F. / Knappett, J.A., Craig's Soil Mechanics (8th ed., CRC Press) — undrained strength, slope stability, anchored sheet-pile design; Reese, L.C. and O'Neill, M.W., Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design Methods (FHWA) — the alpha method for shafts in clay.

Assumptions declared once, applied throughout. Unit weight of water $\gamma_w = 9.81\ \text{kN/m}^3$; atmospheric reference pressure $p_a = 101.3\ \text{kPa}$; the SPT blow counts quoted in Question 6 are already corrected to $N_{60}$, as the paper states, so no further energy or overburden correction is applied. All wall and sheet-pile results are per metre run of wall. Where the paper says "make suitable assumptions providing justification", the assumption is stated in a highlighted note beside the step that uses it, in the form the exam rubric asks for.