Geotech Engg High Yield Question Booklet

Geotech

Q.1 Match List - I (Type of soil) with List - II (Mode of transportation and deposition) and select the correct
answer using the codes given below the lists :
List – I
A. Lacustrine soils B. Alluvial soil
C. Aeolian soils D. Marine soils
List – II
1. Transportation by wind
2. Transportation by running water
3. Deposited at the bottom of lakes
4. Deposited in sea water
Codes :
A B C D
(A) 1 2 3 4
(B) 3 2 1 4
(C) 3 2 4 1
(D) 1 3 2 4
Q.2 Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists :
List-I
A. Loess B. Peat
C. Alluvial soil D. Marl
List-II
1. Deposited from suspension in running water
2. Deposits of marine origin
3. Deposited by wind
4. Organic soil
Codes :
A B C D
(A) 3 4 2 1
(B) 4 3 1 2
(C) 4 3 2 1
(D) 3 4 1 2
Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series
Gate academy official Telegram – GATE ACADEMY CS IT : https://t.me/GATE_ACADEMY_CS_IT http://onlinetestseries.gateacademy.co.in

2 Geotech : High Yield Question Bank | GATE 2021-22 [Civil]

Q.3 A certain soil has the following properties:
Gs = 2.71, n = 40% and w = 20%. The degree of saturation of the soil (rounded off to the nearest
percent) is ______.
Q.4 An earth embankment is to be constructed with compacted cohesionless soil. The volume of the
embankment is 5000 m3 and the target dry unit weight is 16.2 kN/m3 . Three nearby sites (see figure
below) have been identified from where the required soil can be transported to the construction site. The
void ratios (e) of different sites are shown in the figure. Assume the specific gravity of soil to be 2.7 for
all three sites. If the cost of transportation per km is twice the cost of excavation per m3 of borrow pits,
which site would you choose as the most economic solution? (Use unit weight of water  10 kN/m3 ).
(A) Site X (B) Site Y (C) Site Z (D) Any of the sites
Q.5 A soil deposit has a void ratio of 1.0 if the void ratio is reduced to 0.60 by compaction, the percentage
volume loss is
(A) 10% (B) 20% (C) 30% (D) 40%
Q.6 A sand sample has a porosity of 30% and specific gravity of solids as 2.6. What is its degree of
saturation at moisture content of 4.94%?
(A) 40% (B) 35% (C) 30% (D) 25%
Q.7 How many cubic metres of soil having void ratio of 0.7 can be made from 30 m3 of soil with void ratio
of 1.2?
(A) 36.6 m3 (B) 30.0 m3 (C) 25.9 m3 (D) 23.2 m3
Q.8 In a shrinkage limit test, the volume and mass of a dry soil pat are found to be 50 cm3 and 88 g
respectively. The specific gravity of the solids is 2.71 and the density of water is 1 g/cc. The shrinkage
limit (in % up to two decimal places) is ________.
Q.9 A given cohesionless soil has emax  0.85 and emin = 0.50. In the field, the soil is compacted to a mass
density of 1800 kg/ m3 at a water content of 8%. Take the mass density of water as 1000 kg/m3 and Gs
as 2.7. The relative density (in %) of the soil is
(A) 56.43 (B) 60.25 (C) 62.87 (D) 65.71
Q.10 A fine-grained soil has 60% (by weight) silt content. The soil behaves as semi-solid when water content
is between 15% and 28%. The soil behaves fluid-like when the water content is more than 40%. The
‘Activity’ of the soil is
(A) 3.33 (B) 0.42 (C) 0.30 (D) 0.20


Q.11 Sieve analysis on a dry soil sample of mass, 1000 g showed that 980 g and 270 g of soil pass through
4.75 mm and 0.075 mm sieve, respectively. The liquid limit and plastic limits of the soil fraction passing
through 425  sieves are 40% and 18%, respectively. The soil may be classified as
(A) SC (B) MI (C) CI (D) SM
Q.12 The laboratory test results of a soil sample are given below :
Percentage finer than 4.75 mm = 60
Percentage finer than 0.075 mm = 30
Liquid Limit = 35 %
Plastic Limit = 27 %.
The soil classification is
(A) GM (B) SM (C) GC (D) ML -MI
Q.13 Soil samples A and B have void ratios of 0.65 and 0.85 respectively. If 1.8 m3 of soil sample A and
2.5m3 of soil sample B are mixed and compacted in a mould to a volume of 3m3 to form sample C.
Which of the following correctly represents the porosity of sample C.
(A) 22.84% (B) 18.59% (C) 17.02% (D) 20.24%
Q.14 Embankment fill is to be compacted at a density of 20 kN/m3 . The soil of the borrow pit is at a density
of 15kN/m3 . What is the estimated number of trips of 8 m3 capacity truck for hauling the soil required
for compacting 150 m3 fill of embankment? (Assume that the soil in the borrow area and that in the
embankment are at the same moisture content).
(A) 25 (B) 20 (C) 15 (D) 40
Q.15 The in-situ dry unit weight of a medium coarse sand used as subgrade for a highway was 15 kN/m3 . It
was decided to improve that soil by mechanical stabilization. When 4.8 kN of a mixture of dry sand and
silt was added to 1m3 of this subgrade, the volume was increased by 18%. Assuming that average
specific gravity as 2.7 and unit weight of water as 9.81kN/m3 , the reduction in porosity of soil achieved
was
(A) 4.92% (B) 8.13% (C) 6.72% (D) 3.13%
Q.16 The liquid limit of a soil is 40% and plastic limit is 28%. When the soil is dried from the plastic limit,
the volume change is 20% of the volume at plastic limit. The corresponding volume change from the
liquid limit to dry state is 30% of its volume at liquid limit.
(i) The shrinkage limit of the soil is
(A) 11.15% (C) 8.92% (B) 6.74% (D) 7.29%
(ii) The shrinkage ratio is
(A) 2.73 (C) 1.49 (B) 1.67 (D) 2.33
Common Data for

Questions Q.17 & Q.18
Water is flowing through the permeability apparatus shown in the figure. The coefficient of permeability
of the soil is ‘k’. m/s and the porosity of the soil sample is 0.50.


0.4 m
Soil 0.8 m
R
0.4 m
Q.17 The total head, elevation head and pressure head in meters of water at the point R shown in the figure
are
(A) 0.8, 0.4, 0.4 (B) 1.2, 0.4, 0.8
(C) 0.4, 0, 0.4 (D) 1.6, 0.4, 1.2
Q.18 What are the discharge velocity and seepage velocity through the soil sample?
2 4
(A) k, 2k (B) k, k
3 3
4 2
(C) 2k, k (D) k, k
3 3
Q.19 The difference between the free water levels in two wells 48 m apart in an aquifer is 0.6 m. It took an
interval of 8 hours between detecting the traces of a tracer material at the two wells in succession. The
porosity of the aquifer is 25%. The coefficient of permeability of the aquifer is______ cm/sec.
Q.20 Water flows from P to Q through two soil samples, Soil 1 and Soil 2, having cross sectional area of 80
cm2 as shown in the figure. Over a period of 15 minutes, 200 ml of water was observed to pass through
any cross section. The flow conditions can be assumed to be steady state. If the coefficient of
permeability of Soil 1 is 0.02 mm/s, the coefficient of permeability of Soil 2 (expressed in mm/s) would
be ________.
600 mm
300 mm
P Soil 1 Soil 2 Q
150 mm 150 mm
Q.21 Two soil specimens with identical geometric dimensions were subjected to falling head permeability
tests in the laboratory under identical conditions. The fall of water head was measured after an identical
time interval. The ratio of initial to final water heads for the test involving the first specimen was 1.25. If
the coefficient of permeability of the second specimen in 5 times that of the first, the ratio of initial to
final water heads in the test involving the second specimen is
(A) 3.05 (B) 3.80 (C) 4.00 (D) 6.25
Q.22 Seepage is occurring through a porous media shown in the figure. The hydraulic conductivity values
(k1 , k2 , k3 ) are in m/day.



Impervious
15 m
P 10 m
3m k1 = 2 k2 = 3 k3 = 1 3m
Q
20 m 10 m 20 m 10 m
The seepage discharge ( m3 / day per m) through the porous media at section PQ is
7 1 9 3
(A) (B) (C) (D)
12 2 16 4
Common Data for

A sand layer found at sea floor under 20 m water depth is characterised with relative density = 40%,
maximum void ratio = 1.0, minimum void ratio = 0.5, and specific gravity of soil solids = 2.67. Assume
the specific gravity of sea water to be 1.03 and the unit weight of fresh water to be 9.81 kN/m3
Q.23 What would be the effective stress (rounded off to the nearest integer value of kPa) at 30 m depth into
the sand layer?
(A) 77 kPa (B) 273 kPa (C) 268 kPa (D) 281 kPa
Q.24 What would be the change in the effective stress (rounded off to the nearest integer value of kPa) at 30
m depth into the sand layer if the sea water level permanently rises by 2 m?
(A) 19 kPa (B) 0 kPa
(C) 21 kPa (D) 22 kPa
Q.25 A soil sample has an average grain diameter as 0.03 mm. The size of interstices is one-eighth of the
mean grain diameter. Considering  of water as 0.075 g/cm, the water will rise in the clay to a height of
(A) 2.4 m (B) 3.0 m (C) 3.6 m (D) 4.0 m
Q.26 A unit volume of a mass of saturated soil is subjected to horizontal seepage. The saturated unit weight is
22 kN/m3 and the hydraulic gradient is 0.3. The resultant body force on the soil mass is
(A) 1.98 kN (B) 6.6 kN (C) 11.49 kN (D) 22.97 kN
Q.27 The relationship between the specific gravity of sand (G) and the hydraulic gradient (i) to initiate quick
condition in the sand layer having porosity of 30% is
(A) G  0.7i  1 (B) G  1.43 i  1 (C) G  1.43 i  1 (D) G  0.7 i  1
Common Data for

The flow net around a sheet pile wall is shown in the sketch. The properties of the soil are permeability
coefficient = 0.09 m/day (isotropic), specific gravity = 2.70 and void ratio = 0.85. The sheet pile wall
and the bottom of the soil are impermeable.


10m
1.5m
3m
Q.28 The seepage loss (in m3 per day per unit length of the wall) of water is
(A) 0.33 (B) 0.38 (C) 0.43 (D) 0.54
Q.29 The factor of safety against the occurrence of piping failure is
(A) 3.55 (B) 2.93 (C) 2.60 (D) 0.39
Q.30 Water is flowing at a steady rate through a homogeneous and saturated horizontal soil strip of 10 m
length. The strip is being subjected to a constant water head (H) of 5 m at the beginning and 1 m at the
d 2H
end. If the governing equation of flow in the soil strip  0 is (where x is the distance dx along the
dx 2
soil strip), the value of H (in m) at the middle of the strip is____________.
Q.31 Two observation wells penetrated into a confined aquifer and located 1.5 km apart in the direction of
flow, indicated head of 45 m and 20 m. If the coefficient of permeability of the aquifer is 30 m/day and
porosity is 0.25, the time of travel of an inert tracer from one well to another is
(A) 416.7 days (B) 500 days (C) 750 days (D) 3000 days
Q.32 A well of diameter 20 cm fully penetrates a confined aquifer. After a long period of pumping at a rate of
2720 litres per minute, the observations of drawdown taken at 10 m and 100 m distances from the centre
of the well are found to be 3 m and 0.5 m respectively. The transmissivity of the aquifer is
(A) 676 m 2 /day (B) 576 m 2 /day (C) 526 m 2 /day (D) 249 m 2 /day
Q.33 An inclined aquifer has 9 m total head at end P and 4 m total head at end Q (shown in figure).
P
Q
50 m 100
The depth of aquifer normal to the direction of flow is 3.20 m and for the soil, coefficient of
permeability  0.9 mm/s . The discharge through the aquifer per unit width is
(A) 0.28 lit/s (B) 0.16 lit/s (C) 0.32 lit/s (D) 0.43 lit/s
Q.34 A non-Homogeneous soil deposit is shown in figure, the equivalent permeability is


z
2k 3
Direction
of ow
3k
k 2z
3
z 2z
3 3
11 18 24 4
(A)k (B) k (C) k (D) k
18 11 13 3
Q.35 A cut is made in a stiff, saturated clay that is underlain by a layer of sand. What should be the height of
the water “z” in the cut so that the stability of the saturated clay is not lost. (  w  10 kN/m3 )
3m g sat = 20
5m z 5m
kN/m3
A
g sat = 18 kN/m3
(A) 1 m (B) 1.5 m (C) 2 m (D) 2.5 m

Q.36 A 1.25 m layer of soil having porosity of 0.35 and specific gravity of 2.65 is subjected to an upward
seepage head of 1.85 m. What depth of coarse sand would be required above the existing soil to provide
a factor of safety of 2 against piping. Assume that coarse sand has the same porosity and specific gravity
as that of soil.
Q.37 Calculate the seepage through an earth dam resting on an impervious foundation.
The relevant data are given below :
Height of a dam = 60.0 m
Upstream slope = 2.75 : 1 (H : V); Downstream slope = 2.50 : 1 (H : V)
Free board = 2.5 m; Crest width = 8.0 m; Length of drainage blanket = 120.0 m
Co-efficient of permeability of the embankment material in x-direction  8 107 m/s ; y – direction
 2 107 m/s .
0.3L 8m
2.5 m C B
2.75 : 1
57.5 m
A F H
L
D 120 m
Q.38 The results of a consolidation test on an undisturbed soil, sampled at a depth of 10 m below the ground
level are as follows:
Saturated unit weight : 16 kN / m3


Pre-consolidation pressure : 90 kPa
The water table was encountered at the ground level. Assuming the unit weight of water as 10 kN / m3 ,
the over-consolidation ratio of the soil is
(A) 0.67 (B) 1.50 (C) 1.77 (D) 2.00
Q.39 The void ratio of a soil is 0.55 at an effective normal stress of 140 kPa. The compression index of the
soil is 0.25. In order to reduce the void ratio to 0.4 an increase in the magnitude of effective stress (in
kPa, up to one decimal place) should be _______.
Q.40 The following data given for the laboratory sample
 '0  175 kPa, e '0  1.1  '0   '0  300 kPa, e  0.9
If thickness of the clay specimen is 25 mm, the value of coefficient of volume compressibility is _____
10 4 m 2 /kN .
Q.41 Excess pore pressure distributions within the thickness of a soil sample tested in oedometer sometime
after loading is shown in the figure below labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4. Which one of these figures, refers to a
situation where the operator forgot to put on the porous stones at the top and bottom of the sample
before the test?
1 2 3 4
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4

Q.42 The time for a clay layer to achieve 90% consolidation is 15 years. The time required to achieve 90%
consolidation, if the layer were twice as thick, 3 times more permeable and 4 times more compressible
would be
(A) 70 years (B) 75 years (C) 80 years (D) 85 years
Q.43 Identical surcharges are placed at ground surface at sites X and Y, with soil conditions shown alongside
and water table at ground surface. The silty clay layers at X and Y are identical. The thin sand layer at Y
is continuous and free draining with a very large discharge capacity. If primary consolidation at X is
estimated to complete in 36 months, what would be the corresponding time for completion of primary
consolidation at Y?
Site x Site y
(A) 2.25 months (B) 4.5 months (C) 9 months (D) 36 months


Q.44 A 20 m thick clay layer is sandwiched between a silty sand and a gravelly sand layer. The layer
experiences 30 mm settlement in 2 years. Given :
  U 
2
   for U  60%
TV   4  100 
1.781  0.933log (100  U ) for U  60%
 10
Where TV is the time factor and U is the degree of consolidation in %.
If the coefficient of consolidation of the layer is 0.003cm 2 /s , the deposit will experience a total of 50
mm settlement in the next _____ years.
Q.45 At a reclamation site for which the soil strata is shown in figure, a 3 m thick layer of a fill material is to
be laid instantaneously on the top surface. If the coefficient of volume compressibility, mv for clay is
2.2 10 4 m 2 /kN . The consolidation settlement of the clay layer due to placing of fill material will be
(A) 69.5 mm (B) 139 mm (C) 228 mm (D) 278 mm
Common Data for

Figure shows the geometry of a strip footing supporting the load bearing walls of a three storied building
and the properties of clay layer.
G S
1m g bulk = 18 kN/m3
Strip footing
GWT
1.2 m
Clay layer
6m
Cc = 0.08, e0 = 0.40
g sat = 20 kN/m3
Q.46 If the pressure acting on the footing is 40 kPa, the consolidation settlement of the footing will be
(A) 0.89 mm (B) 8.9 mm (C) 89.0 mm (D) None of these
Q.47 If the elastic modulus and the Poisson's ratio of the clay layer are respectively 50 103 kPa and 0.4 and
if the influence factor for the strip footing is 1.75, the elastic settlement of the footing will be
(A) 0.41 mm (B) 1.41mm (C) 14.1 mm (D) None of these


Common Data for

Q.48 A saturated undisturbed sample from a clay strata has moisture content of 22.22% and specific weight of
2.7. Assuming  w  10 kN/m3 , the void ratio and the saturated unit weight of the clay, respectively are
(A) 0.6 and 16.875 kN / m3 (B) 0.3 and 20.625 kN / m3
(C) 0.6 and 20.625 kN / m3 (D) 0.3 and 16.975 kN / m3

Q.49 Using the properties of the clay layer derived from the above question, the consolidation settlement of
the same clay layer under a square footing (neglecting its self-weight) with additional data shown in the
figure below (assume the stress distribution as 1 H : 2V from the edge of the footing and  w  10 kN/m3 )
is
(A) 32.78 mm (B) 61.75 mm (C) 79.5 mm (D) 131.13 mm

Q.50 In a standard proctor test, 1.8 kg of moist soil was filling the mould (volume = 944 cc) after compaction.
A soil sample weighing 23 g was taken from the mould and ovendried for 24 hours at a temperature of
1100 C . Weight of the dry sample was found to be 20 g. Specific gravity of soil solids is G = 2.7. The
theoretical maximum value of the dry unit weight of the soil at that water content is equal to
(A) 4.67 kN / m3 (B) 11.5 kN / m3 (C) 16.26 kN / m3 (D) 18.85 kN / m3
Q.51 A soil yielded a maximum dry unit weight of 18 kN/m3 at a moisture content of 16% during a standard
proctor test. What is the degree of saturation of the soil it its specific gravity is 2.65?
(A) 98.42% (B) 95.50% (C) 84.32% (D) 75.71%
Q.52 Match List-I (Type of soil) with List-II (Compaction equipment) and select the correct answer using the
codes given below the lists:
List-I List-II
A. Wet clays and silts 1. Smooth wheel rollers
B. Crushed rock 2. Vibrators
C. Fill soils 3. Pneumatic tyred rollers
D. Sands 4. Grid rollers



Codes :
A B C D
(A) 4 2 3 1
(B) 3 1 4 2
(C) 4 1 3 2
(D) 3 2 4 1
Q.53 If the effective shear stress strength parameters of a soil are c = 10 kPa and   300 , the shear strength
on a plane within the saturated soil mass at a point where the total normal stress is 300 kPa and pore
water pressure is 150 kPa will be
(A) 90.5kPa (B) 96.6kPa (C) 101.5 kPa (D) 105.5 kPa
Q.54 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 () are :
(A) 20 and 200 (B) 20 and 300 (C) 30 and 300 (D) 30 and 200
Q.55 In a drained triaxial compression test conducted on dry sand, failure occurred when the deviator stress
was 218 kN/m 2 at a confining pressure of 61 kN/m 2 .
What is the effective angle of shearing resistance and the inclination of failure plane to major principal
plane?
(A) 340 , 620 (B) 340 , 280 (C) 400 , 250 (D) 400 , 650
Q.56 A clay soil sample is tested in a triaxial apparatus in consolidated-drained, conditions at a cell pressure
of 100 kN / m 2 . What will be the pore water pressure at a deviator stress of 40 kN / m 2 ?
(A) 0 (B) 20 kN / m 2 (C) 40 kN / m 2 (D) 60 kN / m 2
Q.57 A drained triaxial compression test on a saturated clay yielded the effective shear strength parameters as
c '  15 kPa and  '  220 .
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
_______.
Q.58 A conventional drained triaxial compression test was conducted on a normally consolidated clay sample
under an effective confining pressure of 200 kPa. The deviator stress at failure was found to be 400 kPa.
An identical specimen of the same clay sample is isotropically consolidated to a confining pressure of
200 kPa and subjected to standard undrained triaxial compression test. If the deviator stress at failure is
150 kPa, the pore pressure developed (in kPa, up to one decimal place) is ________.
Q.59 A field vane shear testing instrument (shown alongside) was inserted completely into a deposit of soft,
saturated silty clay with the vane rod vertical such that the top of the blades were 500 mm below the
ground surface. Upon application of a rapidly increasing torque about the vane rod, the soil was found to
fail when the torque reached 4.6 N-m. Assuming mobilization of undrained shear strength on all failure
surfaces to be uniform and the resistance mobilized, on the surface of the vane rod to be negligible, what
would be the peak undrained shear strength (rounded off to the nearest integer value of kPa) of the soil?


Top view (plane)
Torque
Vane rod
Vane
Torque
blae
Vane rod
15
mm 100 mm
Elevation
50 mm

Q.60 A 25 kN point load acts on the surface of an infinite elastic medium. The vertical pressure intensity in
kN / m 2 at a point 6.0 m below and 4.0 m away from the load will be
(A) 132 (B) 13.2 (C) 1.32 (D) 0.132

Q.61 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.
P
B P
P M C
A P 4m
4m
D
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 ______.
Q.62 A water tank is supported by a ring foundation having outer diameter of 10 m and inner diameter of 7.5
m. The ring foundation transmits uniform load intensity of 160 kN/m 2 . Compute the vertical stress
induced at a depth of 4 m, below the centre of ring foundation, using
(a) Boussinesq analysis
(b) Westergaard’s analysis, taking   0.
Q.63 The base of a tower consists of a equilateral triangular frame, on the corners of which the three legs of
the tower is supported. The total weight of the tower is 600 kN, which is equally carried by all the three
legs. Compute the increase in the vertical stress in the soil caused at a point 5 m below one of the legs.



B
6m 6m
A C
6m
Q.64 A retaining wall of height 8 m retains dry sand. In the initial state, the soil is loose and has a void ratio
of 0.5,  d  17.8 kN/m3 and   300 . Subsequently, the backfill is compacted to a state where void ratio
is 0.4,  d  18.8 kN/m3 and   350 . The ratio of initial passive thrust to the final passive thrust,
according to Rankine's earth pressure theory, is
(A) 0.38 (B) 0.64 (C) 0.77 (D) 1.55
Q.65 Two soil profile are used as backfill behind a retaining wall as shown in the figure, where  t is total unit
weight and c' &  ' are effective cohesion and effective angle of shearing resistance. Find the resultant
active earth pressure per unit length on the retaining wall in kN/m is
2m g1 = 15kN/m3 c ' = 0, f ' = 300
2m g 2 = 20 kN/m3 c ' = 0, f ' = 400
(A) 31.7 (B) 35.2 (C) 57.8 (D) 57

Q.66 A homogeneous gravity retaining wall supporting a cohesionless backfill is shown in the figure. The
lateral active earth pressure at the bottom of the wall is 40 kPa.
Cohesionless
Gravity backfill
Retaining 6m
Wall
P
4m
The minimum weight of the wall (expressed in kN per m length) required to prevent it from overturning
about it’s toe (Point P) is
(A) 120 (B) 180 (C) 240 (D) 360
Q.67 In a certain sea shore, the height of a retaining wall with smooth vertical back is 4.4 m. The foundation
is over an expansive collapsible soil and has a horizontal surface at the level of the top of the wall and
carries a UDL of 197 kPa. The unit weight and angle of internal friction are 19 kN/m3 and 300 ,
respectively. What is the nearest magnitude of the total active pressure per metre length of this sea shore
wall?
(A) 270 kN/m (B) 360 kN/m (C) 450 kN/m (D) 640 kN/m
Q.68 Using u  0 analysis and assuming planar failure as shown, the minimum factor of safety against shear
failure of a vertical cut of height 4 m in a pure clay having Cu  120 kN/m 2 and  sat  20 kN/m3 is


4m
Potential
Failure Plane
(A) 1 (B) 10 (C) 6 (D) 20

Q.69 Surcharge loading required to be placed on the horizontal backfill of a smooth retaining vertical wall so
as to completely eliminate tensile crack is
2c
(A) 2c (B) 2cK a (C) 2c K a (D)
Ka
Q.70 The soil profile at a site consists of a 5 m thick sand layer underline by a c   soil as shown in figure.
The water table is found 1 m below the ground level. The entire soil mass is retained by a concrete
retaining wall and is in the active state. The back of the wall is smooth and vertical. The total active
earth pressure (expressed in kN/m2) at point A as per Rankine's theory is ______.
1m g bulk = 16.5 kN/m3
g sat = 19 kN/m3 , g w = 9.81 kN/m3

4m
f ' = 320
3m g sat = 18.5 kN/m3 , g w = 9.81 kN/m3

c ' = 25 kN/m 2 , f ' = 240
A
Q.71 A rigid smooth retaining wall of height 7m with vertical backface retains saturated clay as backfill. The
saturated unit weight and undrained cohesion of the backfill are 17.2 kN/m3 and 20 kPa respectively.
The difference in the active lateral forces on the wall (in kN per meter length of wall, up to two decimal
places), before and after the occurrence of tension cracks is _______
Q.72 An infinite slope is to be constructed in a soil. The effective stress strength-parameters of the soil are
c '  0 and  '  300. The saturated unit weight of the slope is 20 kN/m3 and the unit weight of water is
10 kN/m3 . Assuming that seepage is occurring parallel to the slope, the maximum slope angle for a
factor of safety of 1.5 would be
(A) 10.890 (B) 11.300 (C) 12.480 (D) 14.730
Q.73 The factor safety of an infinite soil slope shown in the figure having the properties
c  0,   350 ,  dry  16 kN/m3 and  sat  20 kN/m3 is approximately equal to
300
8m
10 m
(A) 0.7 (B) 0.8 (C) 1.0 (D) 1.2



Q.74 An infinitely long slope is made up of a c- soil having the properties: cohesion (c) = 20 kPa, and dry
unit weight (  d ) = 16 kN/m3. The angle of inclination and critical height of the slope are 400 and 5 m,
respectively. To maintain the limiting equilibrium, the angle of internal friction of the soil (in degrees) is
_______.
Q.75 For the construction of a highway, a cut is to be made as shown in the figure.
Potential
shear surface
2m
4m
Point A
The soil exhibits c '  20 kPa,  '  180 and the undrained shear strength = 80 kPa. The unit weight of
water is 9.81 kN/m3 . The unit weights of the soil above and below the ground water table are 18 and
20 kN/m3 respectively.
If the shear stress at point A is 50 kPa, the factors of safety against the shear failure at this point,
considering the undrained and drained conditions, respectively, would be
(A) 1.6 and 0.9 (B) 0.9 and 1.6 (C) 0.6 and 1.2 (D) 1.2 and 0.6
Q.76 For the trial slip circle shown in figure, calculate the factor of safety.
[Data: weight of the soil  346 kN/m , unit weight of soil  19 kN/m3 , Cu  20 kN/m 2 ]
r=
700 9
m
5m
Q.77 A canal of 5m depth having side slopes 1V : 1H is proposed to be constructed using a soil with
u  150 , Cu  30 kN/m 2 e  0.9, G  2.7 . The unit weight of water may be taken as 10 kN/m3 . Taylor’s
stability number method shall be used to analyse the slope. The stability numbers against the mobilised
friction angles are shown below:
For m  150 , S n  0.08
For m  100 , S n  0.113
For m  70 , S n  0.126
When there is sudden draw down of water in the canal, the factor of safety against failure of bank
slopes, is
(A) 2.9 (B) 2.5 (C) 1.3 (D) 1.9


Q.78 A cut of 10 m deep is to be made in a saturated clay soil with q  18 kN/m3 , Cu  30 kN/m 2 and u  0 .
A hard stratum exists at a depth of 20 m below the ground surface. The Taylor’s stability number table is
given below for   0 condition for different slope angles (i).
Depth factor D f
i
1 1.5 2 3
0
45 0.164 0.175 0.177 0.180
300 0.133 0.164 0.172 0.178
220 0.113 0.153 0.166 0.175
150 0.083 0.158 0.150 0.167
The angle of slope (i) at which failure occurs is

(A) 450 (B) 150 (C) 300 (D) 220
Q.79 The ultimate bearing capacity of a soil is 300 kN/m 2 ,the depth of foundation is 1 m and unit weight of
soil is 20 kN/m3 . Choosing a factor of safety of 2.5, the net safe bearing capacity is
(A) 100 kN/m 2 (B) 112 kN/m 2 (C) 80 kN/m 2 (D) 100.5 kN/m 2
Common Data for

The unconfined compressive strength of a saturated clay sample is 54 kPa

Q.80 The value of cohesion for the clay is
(A) Zero (B) 13.5 kPa (C) 27 kPa (D) 54 kPa
Q.81 If a square footing of size 4 m  4 m is resting on the surface of a deposit of the above clay, the ultimate
bearing capacity of the footing (as per Terzaghi’s equation) is
Q.82 The width of a square footing and the diameter of a circular footing are equal. If both the footings are
placed on sandy soil, the ratio of the ultimate bearing capacity of circular footing to that of square
footing will be
4 3 2
(A) (B) 1 (C) (D)
3 4 3
Q.83 The following two statements are made with reference to the calculation of net bearing capacity of a
footing in pure clay soil (   0 ) using Terzaghi's bearing capacity theory. Identify if they are True or
False.
I. Increase in footing width will result in increase in bearing capacity.
II. Increase in depth of foundation will result in higher bearing capacity
(A) Both statements are True (B) Both statements are False
(C) I is True but II is False (D) I is False but II is True


Q.84 The bearing capacity of a rectangular footing of plan dimensions 1.5 m  3m resting on the surface of a
sand deposit was estimated as 600 kN/m 2 , when the water table is far below the base of the footing. The
bearing capacities in kN/m 2 , when the water level rises to depths of 3m , 1.5 m and 0.5 m below the
base of the footing are
(A) 600, 600, 400 (B) 600, 450,350 (C) 600,500, 250 (D) 600, 400, 250
Q.85 A square footing ( 2 m  2 m ) is subjected to an inclined point load, P as shown in the figure below. The
water table is located well below the base of the footing. Considering one-way eccentricity, the net safe
load carrying capacity of the footing for a factor of safety of 3.0 is ______kN.
The following factors may be used:
Bearing capacity factors:
N q  33.3 , N   37.16 ;
Shape factors :
Fqs  Fs  1.314 ;
Depth factors :
Fqd  Fd  1.113 ;
Inclination factors :
Fqi  0.444 , Fi  0.02
P
GL
300
1m
0.85 m Unit weight = 18 kN/m3

2m Cohesion = 0
Friction angle = 350
Q.86 The plate load test was conducted on a clayey strata by using a plate of 0.3m  0.3m dimension, and the
ultimate load per unit area for the plate was found to be 180 kPa. The ultimate bearing capacity (in kPa)
of a 2 m wide square footing would be
(A) 27 (B) 180 (C) 1200 (D) 2000
Q.87 Consider the following statements:
For a rigid footing placed at the ground surface on sand, the contact pressure
1. is maximum at the edges.
2. is zero at the edges.
3. distribution is parabolic.
4. is uniform throughout the base of the footing.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(A) 1 and 3 only (B) 1 and 4 only (C) 2 and 3 only (D) 2 and 4 only


Q.88 A strip footing 2 m wide carries a load intensity of 400 kN/m 2 at a depth of 1.2 m in sand. The saturated
unit weight of sand is 19.5 kN/m3 and unit weight above water table is 16.8 kN/m3 . The shear strength
parameters are c  0 and   350 . Determine the factor of safety with respect to shear failure for the
following cases of location of water table:
G.L.
D = 1.2 m
4.0 m
B=2m
(A) Water table is 4 m below G.L.

(B) Water table is 1.2 m below G.L.
(C) Water table is 2.5 m below G.L.
(D) Water table is 0.5 m below G.L.
(E) Water table is at G.L. itself.
Use Terzaghi’s equations.
Assume general shear failure, N q  41.4 and N r  42.4
Q.89 A strip footing of 2.5 m width with its base at a depth of 1.5 m below ground surface, rests on a
saturated clay. The clay properties are.
Cu  40 kN/m 2 u  00
C '  10 kN/m 2 '  200
The water table is at 3m below ground surface and  bulk  19 kN/m3 .
The bearing capacity factors may be taken from the following table :
 Nc Nq Nr
00 5.7 1 0
200 17.7 7.4 5
The ultimate bearing capacity of the soil for short term stability condition is
(A) 256.50 kN/m 2 (B) 412.34 kN/m 2 (C) 506.65 kN/m 2 (D) 280.50 kN/m 2
Q.90 Using Peck – Hansen’s equation find net safe bearing pressure (KN/ m 2 ) below the foundation for the
data shown in fig. Total permissible settlement is 40 mm. The SPT is conducted at 1.5 m interval as
shown in figure and observed value of SPT are 10, 15, 20 at a depth of 1.5 m, 3 m, 4.5 m respectively,
the unit wt. of soil shown in figure



^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
g = 18 kN/m3 D
f 1.5 m
3m
g = 18 kN/m3 1.5 m
GWT
1.5 m
g sat = 20 kN/m3
Take g w = 10 kN/m3
Q.91 The ultimate load capacity of a 10 m long concrete pile of square cross section 500 mm  500 mm driven
into a homogeneous clay layer having undrained cohesion value of 40kPa is 700 kN . If the cross section
of the pile is reduced to 250 mm  250 mm and the length of the pile is increased to 20 m , the ultimate
load capacity will be
(A) 350 kN (B) 632.5kN (C) 722.5kN (D) 1400 kN
Q.92 A single vertical friction pile of diameter 500 mm and length 20 m is subjected to a vertical compressive
load. The pile is embedded in a homogeneous sandy stratum where: angle of internal friction ()  300 ,
2
dry unit weight (  d )  20 kN/m3 and angle of wall friction. ()  . Considering the coefficient of lateral
3
earth pressure (K) = 2.7 and the bearing capacity factor ( N q )  25, the ultimate bearing capacity of the
pile (in kN) is____________.
Q.93 A pile of diameter 0.4 m is fully embedded in a clay stratum having 5 layers, each 5 m thick as shown in
the figure below. Assume a constant unit weight of soil as 18kN/m3 for all the layers.
Using  - method (   0.15 for 25 m embedded length) and neglecting the end bearing component, the
ultimate pile capacity (in kN) is ________.
G S
Pile dia = 0.4 m, L = 25 m
5m c = 40 kPa
5m c = 50 kPa
g = 18 kN/m3 5m c = 60 kPa
for all layers
5m c = 70 kPa
5m c = 80 kPa
Q.94 Two identical concrete piles having the plan dimension 50cm  50cm are driven into a homogeneous
sandy layer as shown in the figures. Consider the bearing capacity factor Nq for   300 as 24.
If QP1 and QP 2 represent the ultimate point bearing resistances of the piles under dry and submerged
conditions, repectively, which one of the following statement is correct?



Dry sand
20 m g = 18 kN/m3
f = 300
Saturated sand
g sat = 19 kN/m3
20 m
f = 300
(A) QP1  QP 2 by about 100% (B) QP1  QP 2 by about 100%

(C) QP1  QP 2 by about 5% (D) QP1  QP 2 by about 5%
Q.95 A 0.5  0.5m square concrete pile is to be driven in a homogeneous clayey soil having undrained shear
strength, cu = 50 kPa and unit weight,  = 18kN/m3 . The design capacity of the pile is 500 kN. The
adhesion factor  is given as 0.75. The length of the pile required for the above design load with a
factor of safety of 2.0 is
(A) 5.2 m (B) 5.8 m (C) 11.8 m (D) 12.5 m
Common Data for

A group of 16 piles of 10 m length and 0.5 m diameter is installed in a 10 m thick stiff clay layer
underlain by rock. The pile-soil adhesion factor is 0.4; average shear strength of soil on the sides is 100
kPa; undrained shear strength of the soil at the base is also 100 kPa
Q.96 The base resistance of a single pile is?
(A) 40.00kN (B) 88.35kN (C) 100.00kN (D) 176.71kN
Q.97 Assuming 100% efficiency the group side resistance is
(A) 5026.5kN (B) 10000 kN (C) 10053.1kN (D) 20106.0 kN
Q.98 For the soil profile shown in figure below, the minimum number of precast concrete piles of 300 mm
diameter required to safely carry the load for a given factor of safety of 2.5 (assuming 100% efficiency
for the pile group) are equal to
5000 kN
(A) 10 (B) 15 (C) 20 (D) 25



Q.99 A group of nine piles in a 3  3 square pattern is embedded in a soil strata comprising dense sand
underlying recently filled clay layer, as shown in the figure. The perimeter of an individual pile is 126
cm. The size of pile group is 240cm  240cm . The recently filled clay has undrained shear strength of 15
kPa unit weight of 16 kN/m3 .
2m Recently ﬁlled clay
5m Dense sand
240 cm
240 cm
The negative frictional load (in kN, up to two decimal places) acting on the pile group is _______.
Q.100 For the (3  3) pile group shown in the figure, the settlement of pile group, in a normally consolidated
clay stratum having properties as shown in the figure, will be
500 kN
G S
Normally Consolidated
Clay
5m
7m
g sat = 20 kN/m3
Cc = 0.027
e0 = 1.05
Hard Stratum
200 mm dia
0.5 m
0.5 m
Top view
(A) 13.2 mm (B) 12.775mm (C) 7.345mm (D) none of these
Q.101 A 10 m long, 250 mm diameter pile is provided in a uniform deposit of sand (having   300 ). The water
table is at ground level. The average saturated unit weight of sand is 20 kN/m3 . The critical depth occurs
at a depth of 15 times of diameter of pile. Take coefficient of earth pressure (k) as 2.2 and friction angle
2
between pile and soil as  . The Bearing capacity factor, N q is 23. Using factor of safety 3, the safe
3
load carrying capacity of the pile is ______.  Take  w  10kN/m3 
(A) 389.89 kN (B) 77.98 kN (C) 233.96 kN (D) 155.95 kN



Q.102 A group of 16 piles (diameter = 500 cm, length = 14 m, centre to centre spacing = 1 m) arranged in a
square pattern passes through a recent fill (thickness = 3 m) overlying a soft clay deposit (thickness = 5
m) which is consolidating under the fill load and rests in a stiff clay strata. All the strata are saturated.
The soil properties of different strata are :
Unit Strength Adhesion
Type weight parameters paramete
of ( ) r
soil 3 cu (kPa)  u
kN/m ()
Fill 16 50 0 0.60
Soft
17 20 0 0.40
clay
Stiff
21 70 0 0.45
clay
Estimate the ultimate load capacity (Qu ) of the pile group.
3m Fill
5m 1m 1m 1m Soft
clay
Stiff
6m clay
Fig. (a)
B = 3.5 m
Fig. (b)
Q.103 Match the List-I (Boring methods) with List-II (Field conditions) and select the correct answer using
the codes given below the lists:
List-I
A. Auger Boring
B. Wash Boring
C. Percussion Drilling
D. Rotary Drilling


List-II
1. Below water table in all soil types except hard soils and rocks
2. Large diameter boreholes over 150 mm in size
3. Explorations for shallow foundations and highways
4. Bouldery and gravelly strata.
Codes :
A B C D
(A) 3 1 4 2
(B) 1 2 4 3
(C) 2 3 4 1
(D) 3 1 2 4
Q.104 A sampling tube has an inner diameter of 72 mm and an outer diameter of 75 mm. The area ratio is
_________.
Q.105 Which of the following statements is TRUE for degree of disturbance of collected soil sample?
(A) Thinner the sampler wall, lower the degree of disturbance of collected soil sample
(B) Thicker the sampler wall, lower the degree of disturbance of collected soil sample
(C) Thickness of the sampler wall and the degree of disturbance of collected soil sample are unrelated
(D) Degree of disturbance of collected soil sample is proportional to the inner diameter of the sampling
tube.
Q.106 A core cutter of 130 mm height has inner and outer diameter of 100 mm and 106 mm respectively. The
area ratio of the core cutter (in % up to two decimal places) is __________.
Q.107 During the subsurface investigations for design of foundations, a standard penetration test was
conducted at 4.5 m below the ground surface. The record of number of blows is given below :
Penetration depth (cm) Number of blows
0 – 7.5 3
7.5 – 15 3
15 – 22.5 6
22.5 – 30 6
30 – 37.5 8
37.5 – 45 7
Assuming the water table at ground level, soil as fine sand and correction factor for overburden as 1.0,
the corrected ‘N’ value for soil would be
(A) 18 (B) 19 (C) 21 (D) 33



Answers

1. B 2. D 3. 81.3% 4. A 5. B

6. C 7. D 8. 19.90 9. D 10. C
11. A 12. A 13. B 14. A 15. C
16. A, C 17. C 18. A 19. 3.33 20. 0.045
21. A 22. B 23. C 24. B 25. D
26. C 27. C 28. B 29. C 30. 3
31. C 32. B 33. A 34. B 35. A
7
36. 2.2 37. (65.77  10 ) 38. B 39. 417.3 40. 7.619
41. C 42. C 43. C 44. 4.43 45. B
46. D 47. B 48. C 49. B 50. D
51. B 52. C 53. B 54. B 55. D
56. A 57. 104.37 58. 125 59. B 60. D
61. 190.81 62. 23.11, 17.57 63. 4.641 64. C 65. A
66. A 67. B 68. C 69. D 70. 69.25
71. 46.60 72. A 73. A 74.   22.460 75. A
76. 1.14 77. B 78. D 79. B 80. C
81. C 82. C 83. B 84. A 85. 439.55
(A) 3.87,
(B) 3.12,
86. B 87. C 88. (C) 3.64, 89. A 90. 435.5
(D) 2.605,
(E) 2.24
91. B 92. 6174.61 93. 1625.77 94. A 95. C
96. D 97. C 98. C 99. 472.32 100. D
101. B 102. 9996.5 103. A 104. 8.5 105. A
106. 12.36 107. C




Geotech Engg High Yield Question Booklet

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geotech Engg High Yield Question Booklet

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Common Data for

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

Common Data for

Common Data for

(A) 1 m (B) 1.5 m (C) 2 m (D) 2.5 m

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4

Where TV is the time factor and U is the degree of consolidation in %.

(A) 69.5 mm (B) 139 mm (C) 228 mm (D) 278 mm

Common Data for

Common Data for

(A) 0.6 and 16.875 kN / m3 (B) 0.3 and 20.625 kN / m3

(C) 0.6 and 20.625 kN / m3 (D) 0.3 and 16.975 kN / m3

(A) 32.78 mm (B) 61.75 mm (C) 79.5 mm (D) 131.13 mm

(A) 4.67 kN / m3 (B) 11.5 kN / m3 (C) 16.26 kN / m3 (D) 18.85 kN / m3

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

(A) 5 kPa (B) 10 kPa (C) 15 kPa (D) 20 kPa

(A) 132 (B) 13.2 (C) 1.32 (D) 0.132

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

2m g1 = 15kN/m3 c ' = 0, f ' = 300

2m g 2 = 20 kN/m3 c ' = 0, f ' = 400

(A) 31.7 (B) 35.2 (C) 57.8 (D) 57

(A) 1 (B) 10 (C) 6 (D) 20

g sat = 19 kN/m3 , g w = 9.81 kN/m3

3m g sat = 18.5 kN/m3 , g w = 9.81 kN/m3

(A) 0.7 (B) 0.8 (C) 1.0 (D) 1.2

For m  150 , S n  0.08

For m  100 , S n  0.113

The angle of slope (i) at which failure occurs is

Common Data for

The unconfined compressive strength of a saturated clay sample is 54 kPa

0.85 m Unit weight = 18 kN/m3

(A) Water table is 4 m below G.L.

C '  10 kN/m 2 '  200

The water table is at 3m below ground surface and  bulk  19 kN/m3 .

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

(A) 350 kN (B) 632.5kN (C) 722.5kN (D) 1400 kN

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

(A) QP1  QP 2 by about 100% (B) QP1  QP 2 by about 100%

Common Data for

(A) 10 (B) 15 (C) 20 (D) 25

2m Recently ﬁlled clay

(A) 13.2 mm (B) 12.775mm (C) 7.345mm (D) none of these

(A) 389.89 kN (B) 77.98 kN (C) 233.96 kN (D) 155.95 kN

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

Estimate the ultimate load capacity (Qu ) of the pile group.

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

1. B 2. D 3. 81.3% 4. A 5. B

Telegram Channel : GATE ACADEMY ‐ CS IT : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGPqc8IajHf8yUnFtFJ4Vg Online Test Series

You might also like