National University of Sciences & Technology

NUST Institute of Civil Engineering

CE 324: Soil Mechanics II (Spring 2020)

Assignment 3 Due date: May 08, 2020

Problem 1:

A proposed fill is to be placed on the soil profile shown in Figure below. A consolidation test has

been performed on a sample obtained from point A, and this test indicates the preconsolidation

pressure at that point is 200 kPa. Determine whether the silty clay stratum is normally consolidated

or overconsolidated, and compute the overconsolidation ratio (OCR)

Dr. Tariq Mahmood Bajwa / 27 / 04 / 2020

Problem 2:

Soil investigation at a site gave the following information. Fine sand exists to a depth of 10.6 m

and below this lies a soft clay layer 7.60 m thick. The water table is at 4.60 m below the ground

surface. The submerged unit weight of sand γ" is 10.4 kN/m3, and the wet unit weight above the

water table is 17.6 kN/m3. The water content of the normally consolidated clay wn = 40%, its liquid

limit = 45%, and the specific gravity of the solid particles is 2.78. The proposed construction will

transmit a net stress of 120 kN/m2 at the center of the clay layer. Find the average settlement of

the clay layer.

Problem 3:

A 2.5 cm thick sample of clay was taken from the field for predicting the time of settlement for a

proposed building which exerts a uniform pressure of 100 kN/m2 over the clay stratum. The sample

was loaded to 100 kN/m2 and proper drainage was allowed from top and bottom. It was seen that

50 percent of the total settlement occurred in 3 minutes. Find the time required for 50 percent of

the total settlement of the building, if it is to be constructed on a 6 m thick layer of clay which

extends from the ground surface and is underlain by sand

Dr. Tariq Mahmood Bajwa / 27 / 04 / 2020