Middle East Technical University
Civil Engineering Department CE 366-FE1
Geotechnical Engineering Division (www.ce.metu.edu.tr/~ce366)
Spring’ 2008-2009
Homework 2
Regulations:
Due date: May 06, 2009, Wednesday at 17:00
Submission: You will submit the homework to your own official sections’ assistants;
Sec1: Abdullah Sandıkkaya (K1-102)
Sec2: Selman Sağlam (K1-247)
Sec3: Sevinç Ünsal (K1-115)
Sec4: Menzer Pehlivan (K1-115)
Sec5: Zeynep Çekinmez (K1-102)
Help: You can ask your questions about the homework to the assistants during their
office hours listed on the web.
Team: The homework has to be done individually. Improper collaborations will get
zero.
Answers: The answers to the homework questions will be posted on the bulletin board,
next to the soil mechanics laboratory.
Q1) For the mat foundation shown in the figure below, calculate base pressures at each corner
and check the safety of the foundation. Given that qall = 100 kPa.
Note that : i) Column loads are given on the figure.
ii) Thickness of the mat is 2.5 m ( γconcrete = 24 kN/m3)
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Q2) Determine the dimensions of the trapezoidal footing (i.e. B1 and B2) given below for a
uniform soil pressure of 400 kPa (Consider the weight of footing also. Take γconcrete = 24
kN/m3).
Q3) Calculate the base pressures at the corners of an unsymmetrical mat foundation shown
below without considering weight of the mat. Column loads are given in Table 1.
Table 1. Column Loads
Column Load
# (kN)
1 300
2 350
3 350
4 300
5 400
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Q4) Considering the single footing the plan and section views of which are given in the figure
below. Calculate the base pressures at each corner under given loading conditions (Use
modified formula if it is required).
Q5) An eccentrically loaded wall footing is shown in the figure below. Determine the
maximum base pressure using Modified Pressure Distribution.
V=2500 kN/m
M=2500 kN.m/m
1.5 m
1m 1m 1.5 m
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Q6) A mass housing construction requires a retaining structure to be built along its northern
boundary, where two blocks will be residing nearby. You are provided the dimensions of the
retaining structure for the preliminary design stage, as well as the results of the soil
investigations. Your task is to investigate the stability of the retaining structure by considering
overturning, sliding effects and bearing capacity failure. Assume that soil-wall interface is
frictionless and the amount of lateral movement of the soil mass has fully mobilized the active
earth pressure condition. Allowable bearing capacity is evaluated as all = 200 kPa. Do not
consider the passive resistance of the 1m thick soil at the downhill section. Neglect the
vertical component of the active earth pressure in your computations. Following these steps
will guide you through the solution process:
i) Prepare a sketch and show all the forces acting on the wall. Calculate the
magnitudes of these forces.
ii) Investigate the overturning stability of the wall. Recall that FSmin=2.0.
iii) Compute the factor of safety against sliding. (FSmin=1.5)
iv) What are the maximum and minimum base pressures under the retaining
structure? Are they within allowable limits? Sketch the pressure
distribution under the base slab.
v) Based on these computations, what might be the likely failure mode(s) (if
any) of the cantilever retaining wall ? Suggest a solution to overcome
these stability issues, briefly discussing potential impacts of your
modifications on sliding, overturning and bearing resistance.
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0,6m
10°
Granular Backfill
c = 0 kPa
φ = 350
γ = 19 kN/m3
8m
1m 1,2m
1m
Base Slab, γconc = 24 kN/m3
6m
Foundation Soil
c = 0 kPa
φ = 300
δ = 1/2 φ
Q7) The gravity retaining wall shown supports a highway cut. Geometry of the wall is given
as presented in the sketch. Soil properties of the natural backfill and the foundation soil are
presented. It is already known that the most critical failure wedge makes an angle of 600 with
the horizontal. Investigate;
* F.S against overturning
* F.S against sliding.
Hints:
• Sketch all the forces, with the appropriate angles which they act.
• Calculate the mass of the mobilized soil wedge.
• Calculate the magnitude of the resultant active thrust on the wall by
constructing a scaled force polygon. (Use Coulomb’s active earth pressure
theory).
• Neglect the passive resistance of the wall.
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0,5m
Clayey Silty
Sand
c = 10 kPa
cw = 5 kPa
5m
(Adhesion b.w.
soil and wall)
γconc = 24 kN/m3 φ = 300
δ =1/2φ (Friction
b.w soil and
60
°
70
wall)
°
γ = 18 kN/m3
1m
0,75m 2,18m
3,43m
Foundation Soil
c = 5 kPa
φfound = 350
δ =1/2φ (Friction
b.w soil and
wall)
Q8) Analyze the reinforced earth wall using strip reinforcement. Place the strips at 1m
spacings both vertically and horizontally. Ignore the weight of the concrete face panels.
* Design for tie-breaking and pull-out of galvanized steel strips. Yield tensile strength of the
strips are 240 MPa. Width of the strips are selected as 100 mm and corrosion rate is 0.0025
mm/year. Approximate service life of the wall is 40 years. Use a factor of safety of F.S=3.0
for both pullout and tie-break resistance. Backfill has an internal friction angle of 320 and
unit weight of 18 kN/m3. Assume that the friction angle between steel strips and soil is 70%
of the soil-soil friction angle. Also assume that Rankine’s lateral earth pressure distribution is
valid. Prefer using variable strip lengths for each level.
* Compute the F.S against sliding of the wall.
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1m
Backfill
φ=320
γ=18 kN/m3
10m
Original
Ground
0,5m
Failure wedge trace Strip lengths are not
constant throughout wall
height, shown for
illustrative purposes !
Q9) An excavation is made and the site is supported by using braces.
The properties of the clay and sand layers are given below;
Sand layer (φ = 30o and γ = 19 kN/m3 )
Clay layer (γ = 19 kN/m3 and cu = 40 kPa)
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Do not consider ground water table.
Determine:
a) Factor of safety against bottom heave,
b) Strut loads for each level for the long braced system (Horizontal struts are spaced at every
5 meters).
Q10) An anchored sheet pile wall is constructed by driving a line of piling into a soil of
saturated unit weight of 21 kN/m3 and of shear strength parameters of c’ = 10 kN/m2 and Ø’ =
27o. Backfilling to a depth of 8 m is placed behind the piling. The backfill has a saturated unit
weight of 20 kN/m3, a dry unit weight of 17 kN/m3 and shear strength parameters of c’ = 0
and Ø’ = 35o. Tie rods are spaced at 2.5m centres, 1.5m below the surface of the backfill. The
water level in front of the wall and the water table behind the wall are both 5m below the
surface of the backfill. Using the free earth support method, determine the depth of
penetration required and the force in each tie rod for a factor of safety of 2.0 with respect to
passive resistance.
Q11) An excavation in sand is to extend to a depth of 8 m below the existing horizontal
ground surface. Existing buildings near the site may be assumed to be equivalent to a uniform
surcharge of 25 kN/m2. Cantilever sheet piling will be used to support the vertical sides of the
excavation. Coefficients of active and passive earth pressures have been estimated as 0.24 and
4.2 respectively. The groundwater table may be assumed to be below the expected depth of
penetration, and the bulk unit weight of the soil is 17.5 kN/m3.
With a factor of safety of 2.5 with respect to passive resistance, obtain an equation of the
form,
d3 + A.d2 + B.d + C = 0
for the depth of penetration d of the sheet piling, where A, B and C are constants, and
determine the depth of penetration.
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