Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution - Geotechnical Engineering - Civil Engineering Previous Year Questions

1

2007 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2007

A clay soil sample is tested in a triaxial apparatus in consolidated-drained conditions at a cell pressure of 100 kN/m². What will be the pore water pressure at a deviator stress of 40 kN/m²?

A

0 kN/m²

B

20 kN/m²

C

40 kN/m²

D

60 kN/m²

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2

2007 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2007

The vertical stress at some depth below the corner of a 2m×3m rectangular footing due to a certain load intensity is 100 kN/m². What will be the vertical stress in kN/m² below the centre of a 4m×6m rectangular footing at the same depth and same load intensity?

A

25

B

100

C

200

D

400

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3

2014 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2014 [Session 1]

For a saturated cohesive soil, a triaxial test yields the angle of internal friction (\( \phi \)) as zero. The conducted test is

A

Consolidated Drained (CD) test

B

Consolidated Undrained (CU) test

C

Unconfined Compression (UC) test

D

Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) test

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4

2015 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2015 [Session 2]

Stress path equation for tri-axial test upon application of deviatoric stress is, q = 10√3 + 0.5 p. The respective values of cohesion, c (in kPa) and angle of internal friction, φ are:

A

20 and 20°

B

20 and 30°

C

30 and 30°

D

30 and 20°

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5

2016 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2016 [Session 1]

A drained triaxial compression test on a saturated clay yielded the effective shear strength parameters as \(c' = 15\) kPa and \(\phi' = 22°\). Consolidated Undrained triaxial test on an identical sample of this clay at a cell pressure of 200 kPa developed a pore water pressure of 150 kPa at failure. The deviator stress (expressed in kPa) at failure is __________

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6

2017 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2017 [Session 2]

Consider the following statements related to the pore pressure parameters, \(A\) and \(B\):
P. \(A\) always lies between 0 and 1.0
Q. \(A\) can be less than 0 or greater than 1.0
R. \(B\) always lies between 0 and 1.0
S. \(B\) can be less than 0 or greater than 1.0
For these statements, which one of the following options is correct?

A

P and R

B

P and S

C

Q and R

D

Q and S

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7

2017 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2017 [Session 2]

Following are the statements related to the stress paths in a triaxial testing of soils:
P. If \(\sigma_1 = \sigma_3\), the stress point lies at the origin of the \(p-q\) plot.
Q. If \(\sigma_1 = \sigma_3\), the stress point lies on the \(p\)-axis of the \(p-q\) plot.
R. If \(\sigma_1 > \sigma_3\), both the stress points \(p\) and \(q\) are positive.
For the above statements, the correct combination is

A

P – False; Q – True; R – True

B

P – True; Q – False; R – True

C

P – False; Q – True; R – False

D

P – True; Q – False; R – False

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8

2017 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2017 [Session 2]

Consider a square-shaped area ABCD on the ground with its centre at M as shown in the figure. Four concentrated vertical loads of P = 5000 kN are applied on this area, one at each corner.

The vertical stress increment (in kPa, up to one decimal place) due to these loads according to the Boussinesq’s equation, at a point 5 m right below M, is __________

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9

2018 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2018 [Session 2]

The total horizontal and vertical stresses at a point X in a saturated sandy medium are 170 kPa and 300 kPa, respectively. The static pore-water pressure is 30 kPa. At failure, the excess pore-water pressure is measured to be 94.50 kPa, and the shear stresses on the vertical and horizontal planes passing through the point X are zero. Effective cohesion is 0 kPa and effective angle of internal friction is 36°. The shear strength (in kPa, up to two decimal places) at point X is ______

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10

2019 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2019 [Session 2]

A 2 m × 4 m rectangular footing has to carry a uniformly distributed load of 120 kPa. As per the 2:1 dispersion method of stress distribution, the increment in vertical stress (in kPa) at a depth of 2 m below the footing is ____________

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11

2022 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2022 [Session 2]

Stresses acting on an infinitesimal soil element are shown in the figure (with \(\sigma_z > \sigma_x\)). The major and minor principal stresses are \(\sigma_1\) and \(\sigma_3\), respectively. Considering the compressive stresses as positive, which one of the following expressions correctly represents the angle between the major principal stress plane and the horizontal plane?

A

\(\tan^{-1} \left( \frac{\tau_{zx}}{\sigma_1 - \sigma_r} \right)\)

B

\(\tan^{-1} \left( \frac{\tau_{zx}}{\sigma_x - \sigma_r} \right)\)

C

\(\tan^{-1} \left( \frac{\tau_{zx}}{\sigma_1 + \sigma_x} \right)\)

D

\(\tan^{-1} \left( \frac{\tau_{zx}}{\sigma_1 + \sigma_3} \right)\)

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12

2022 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2022 [Session 2]

A concentrically loaded isolated square footing of size 2 m × 2 m carries a concentrated vertical load of 1000 kN. Considering Boussinesq’s theory of stress distribution, the maximum depth (in m) of the pressure bulb corresponding to 10 % of the vertical load intensity will be _____. (round off to two decimal places)

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13

2022 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2022 [Session 2]

In a triaxial unconsolidated undrained (UU) test on a saturated clay sample, the cell pressure was 100 kPa. If the deviatoric stress at failure was 150 kPa, then the undrained shear strength of the soil is _____ kPa. (in integer)

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14

2022 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2022 [Session 2]

Match the following in Column X with Column Y:

Column X	Column Y
(P) In a triaxial compression test, with increase of axial strain in loose sand under drained shear condition, the volumetric strain	(I) decreases.
(Q) In a triaxial compression test, with increase of axial strain in loose sand under undrained shear condition, the excess pore water pressure	(II) increases.
(R) In a triaxial compression test, the pore pressure parameter "B" for a saturated soil	(III) remains same.
(S) For shallow strip footing in pure saturated clay, Terzaghi's bearing capacity factor \(N_q\) due to surcharge	(IV) is always 0.0.

Which one of the following combinations is correct?

A

(P)-(I), (Q)-(II), (R)-(V), (S)-(V)

B

(P)-(II), (Q)-(I), (R)-(IV), (S)-(V)

C

(P)-(I), (Q)-(III), (R)-(VI), (S)-(IV)

D

(P)-(I), (Q)-(II), (R)-(V), (S)-(VI)

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15

2023 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2023 [Session 2]

An unconfined compression strength test was conducted on a cohesive soil. The test specimen failed at an axial stress of 76 kPa. The undrained cohesion (in kPa, in integer) of the soil is __________.

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16

2023 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2023 [Session 2]

In the given figure, Point O indicates the stress point of a soil element at initial non-hydrostatic stress condition. For the stress path (OP), which of the following loading conditions is correct?

A

\(\sigma_v \) is increasing and \(\sigma_h \) is constant

B

\(\sigma_v \) is constant and \(\sigma_h \) is increasing

C

\(\sigma_v \) is increasing and \(\sigma_h \) is decreasing

D

\(\sigma_v \) is decreasing and \(\sigma_h \) is increasing

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17

2023 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2023 [Session 2]

A consolidated drained (CD) triaxial test was carried out on a sand sample with the known effective shear strength parameters, \(c' = 0\) and \(\phi' = 30°\). In the test, prior to the failure, when the sample was undergoing axial compression under constant cell pressure, the drainage valve was accidentally closed. At the failure, 360 kPa deviatoric stress was recorded along with 70 kPa pore water pressure. If the test is repeated without such error, and no back pressure is applied in either of the tests, what is the deviatoric stress (in kPa, in integer) at the failure? __________

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18

2024 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2024 [Session 2]

Which one of the following saturated fine-grained soils can attain a negative Skempton's pore pressure coefficient (A)?

A

Quick clays

B

Normally-consolidated clays

C

Lightly-consolidated clays

D

Over-consolidated clays

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19

2024 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2024 [Session 2]

A drained triaxial test was conducted on a saturated sand specimen using a stress-path triaxial testing system. The specimen failed when the axial stress reached a value of 100 kN/m² from an initial confining pressure of 300 kN/m².
The angle of shearing plane (in degrees) with respect to horizontal is __________
(rounded off to the nearest integer).

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20

2025 · Civil Engineering · Geotechnical Engineering · Soil Shear Strength and Stress Distribution

Civil Engineering (CE) 2025 [Session 1]

The results of a consolidated drained triaxial test on a normally consolidated clay are shown in the figure. The angle of internal friction is

A

\(\sin^{-1}\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)\)

B

\(\sin^{-1}\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)\)

C

\(\sin^{-1}\left(\frac{2}{3}\right)\)

D

\(\sin^{-1}\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)\)

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