Geosynthetics & Reinforced Soil Structures

Online Certification Course, IIT Madras

January – April 2017
Strength Analysis of Reinforced Soil

1. What is the minimum height to diameter ratio of a soil sample for triaxial tests?
a) 2
b) 1
c) 3
d) Any ratio.

2. What is the expression of deviator stress in triaxial tests?

a) 1–3
b) 1+3
c) (1–3)/2
d) (1+3)/2

3. What type of test is a triaxial compression test?

a) Strain controlled
b) Stress controlled
c) It is immaterial
d) None of the above

4. A soil having shear strength properties of c=10 kPa, =30 is tested in triaxial
compression at a confining pressure of 100 kPa. What is the limiting deviator stress?
a) 100 kPa
b) 93.33 kPa
c) 334.64 kPa
d) 234.64 kPa

5. What is the friction angle of saturated clay in undrained tests?

a) 0
b) 10
c) Very high
d) Difficult to decide

6. What is the friction angle of an unsaturated clay soil in undrained tests?

a) 0
b) Very low
c) Very high
d) Cannot say

7. Some factors that affect the strength of reinforced soil are,

a) Friction angle of soil
b) Interaction between soil and reinforcement
c) Strength of the reinforcement
d) Grain size distribution of soil

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8. At low deviator stresses, the modulus of reinforced soil as compared to that of
unreinforced soil will be,
a) Higher
b) Lower
c) Same
d) Difficult to say

9. The reinforcement is likely to rupture under the following conditions,

a) Pure compression loads,
b) High confining pressures
c) Low tensile strength of reinforcement
d) Highly angular soils

10. For a given reinforcement, the influence of reinforcement on the strength of

reinforced soil reduces under the following conditions,
a) As the confining pressures decreases
b) As the confining pressures increases
c) As the spacing between the reinforcement layers increase
d) As the fines content of soil increases

11. What is the pullout capacity of a reinforcement layer of width 0.5 m and length 5 m
buried in a granular soil having friction angle of 35. The interface friction angle is
28 and the normal pressure at reinforcement level is 75 kPa.
a) 199.4 kN
b) 262.6 kN
c) 131.3 kN
d) 99.7 kN

12. The friction angle of the reinforced soil ______ when the failure is by pullout of
reinforcement layers.
a) Increases
b) Decreases
c) Remains constant
d) Cannot say.

13. An unreinforced soil has failed at a vertical pressure of 300 kPa when the confining
pressure was 100 kPa. The same soil has failed at a vertical pressure 350 kPa when
the soil is reinforced. The friction angle of the reinforced soil and the additional
confining pressure developed are,
a) 33.75, 16.67 kPa
b) 58.1, 44.37 kPa
c) 30, 16.67 kPa
d) 35, 23.35 kPa

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14. The additional confining pressure due to reinforcement is estimated as 50 kPa. If the
friction angle of the unreinforced soil is 35, what is the apparent cohesion in the
reinforced soil?
a) 48.02 kPa
b) 43.3 kPa
c) 25 kPa
d) 41.5 kPa

15. For a given reinforcement layout, the friction angle of the reinforced soil increases
when
a) Larger interaction factors
b) Higher strength of reinforcement layers
c) Larger friction angles of the soil
d) At higher confining pressures.

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