Week 2 Problem Set
Situation #1
A layer of clay 7.6 m thick is overlain by a deposit of sand 15.2 m thick to ground
surface.
When the water table is at ground surface level, the saturated unit weight of the sand
was
determined to be 24 kN/m³ for which its dry unit weight of 20 kN/m³. The saturated unit
weight of the clay is 18.8 kN/m³. When the ground water table lowered by 10 m, the degree
of
saturation of the sand above the water table was lowered to 20%. At the mid-height of the
clay
layer,
1. Determine the effective pressure, in kPa, before the lowering of the water table
2. Determine the effective pressure, in kPa, after lowering of the water table.
3. Determine the effective pressure, in kPa, when there is no water in the sand layer but
remain
in moist condition at the same degree of saturation.
Situation #3
The results of a consolidated drained tri-axial soil test conducted on a consolidated
clay are as follows:
Chamber confining pressure = 300 kPa
Deviator stress at failure = 450 kPa
1. Evaluate the angle of friction of the soil sample in degrees.
2. Evaluate the shear stress on the failure plane in kPa.
3. Evaluate the normal stress on the plane of maximum shear in kPa.
Situation #4
A circular plate of radius r = 280 mm is vertically submerged in water with its top edge
2 m below the liquid surface.
1. Evaluate the total force acting on one side of the gate in kPa.
2. Obtain the location of the force from the center of gravity of the plate in mm.
3. Obtain the location of the force from the liquid surface in mm.
Situation #5
According to the Boussinesq’s theory, the vertical stress at a point below the surface of
a semi-infinite, homogeneous, isotropic soil mass due to a point load Q applied at the
ground surface is given by the equation:
Evaluate the vertical stress in kPa at a point below the ground for Q = 3100 kN.
1. If the point is 3 m directly below the point of application of the load
2. If the point is 6 m directly below the point of application of the load.
3. If the point is 6 m below the load but 3 m horizontally from its line of application.
p = (0.477 QN) / z²
N = 1 / [1 + (r/z)²]^2.5
Situation #6
According to the Westergaard theory, the vertical stress at a point below the surface of
a semi-infinite, homogeneous, isotropic soil mass due to a point load Q applied at the
ground surface is given by the equation:
p = (0.318 QN) / z²
N = 1 / [1 + 2(r/z)²]^1.5
Calculate the vertical stress in kPa at a point below the ground for Q = 3000 kN and the
point is 6 m below the load but 3 m horizontally from the line of the load application.
Situation #7
An open cylindrical vessel 1.3 m in diameter and 2.1 m high is 2/3 full of water. If
rotated about the vertical axis at a constant angular speed of 90 rpm, determine the
amount of water in liters that will be spilled out.
Situation #8
A closed cylindrical tank placed in a horizontal position on a truck 1.5 m. in diameter
and 6 m long. It is completely filled with water. If the truck travels horizontally
forward at an acceleration of 4 m/s², determine the total force acting on the rear end of
the container in kN.
Situation #11
A sample of saturated soil has 42% water content and the specific gravity of the soil
grains is 2.6. Determine the dry density of the soil mass in g/cm³.
Situation #14
Water flows at 22 liters/sec. through 500 m of 150 mm diameter pipeline having a
coefficient of friction of 0.02. Calculate the head loss for that length of pipeline.
Situation #15
A rectangular plate 1.2 m wide by 2 m long is vertically submerged half in oil having
[Link]. of 0.96 and half fresh water such that its shorter edge is flushed with the top
surface of the upper liquid and parallel to it. Obtain the total force acting on the
lower half of the plate in kN.
Situation #16
A 500 kN load is transmitted by a column footing on the surface through a rectangular
footing 1.5 m x 2.5 m. Assuming that the pressure on the underlying soil formation
spreads on 2 vertical to 1 horizontal. Evaluate the pressure exerted by the footing on a
soil 2.7 m below the footing.
Situation #17
An irrigation canal with trapezoidal cross-section has the following dimensions: Bottom
width = 2.50 m, depth of water = 0.90 m, side slope = 1.5 horizontal to 1 vertical, slope
of the canal bed = 0.001, coefficient of roughness = 0.025. The canal will serve clayloam
Riceland for which the duty of water per hectare is 4.0 liters/sec. Using Manning’s
Formula, estimate the number of hectares served by the irrigation canal.
Situation #18
A ship, with vertical sides near the waterline, weighs 45 MN including its cargo and has
a draft of 6.7 meters in seawater (s.g. = 1.026). Unloading 2 MN of its cargo, the draft
decreases to 6.4 m. With its cargo reduced, the ship enters a harbor of fresh water.
Evaluate the draft of the ship in fresh water, in meters.
Situation #19
An improvised barometer uses a liquid which was observed to weigh 0.80 times of mercury.
At the base of the mountain the barometer reads 1000 mm. At the same instant, another
barometer of the same kind at the top of the mountain reads 600 mm. Determine the height
of the mountain in kilometer.
Situation #20
An engineer wanted to determine the weight of a piece of wood having a rectangular cross
section and certain length with only a carpenter’s tape available and a curing tank
containing water 1.8 m deep. He recorded the cross section of the wood to be 50 mm x 150
mm and the length is 1.5 m. Placing the wood vertically into the curing tank, he noticed
that 0.50 m projects out of the water as it floats. Solve for the weight of the wood in
Newtons.
Situation #21
A vertical rectangular gate 1.5 m wide and 3 m high is hinged at the bottom with the
shorter edge horizontal. On one side of the gate, water stands level with its top of the
gate, on the other side, water stands 2.5 m. below the top. Evaluate the force applied
horizontally at the top of the gate to open it.
Situation 22
A rectangular irrigation canal is 5.8 m wide and 1.2 m deep has a hydraulic slope of
0.001 and a roughness coefficient of 0.013. Evaluate the appropriate depth of the canal
in meters using the more appropriated dimensions but adhering to the same discharge and
slope.
Situation 23
The sector gate consists of a cylindrical surface of which AB is the base. Water is on
level with the top of the gate. The length of the gate perpendicular to the paper is 10
m. Evaluate the horizontal force on the gate in kN. Radius R = 9 m
Situation 24
The sector gate consists of a cylindrical surface of radius R, 60°, of which AB is the
base. Water is on level with the top of the gate. Evaluate the total vertical force on
the gate in kN if R = 9 m and the length of the plate perpendicular to the paper is 10 m.
Situation 25
A water tank has a sloping inclined at 60° with the horizontal. The total depth of water
in the tank is 8 m. A water jet issues from an orifice located on the inclined side of
the tank under a hydrostatic head of 5 m, or that orifice is located 3 m. Vertically
above the bottom of the tank. Coefficient of velocity is 1.0. Neglecting air resistance
on the jet. Determine the horizontal distance on the ground traveled by the jet from the
center of the orifice in meters.
Situation 26
A column is to be supported by a square footing, 2.0 m on a side on a founding depth of
2.0 m into a cohesionless soil deposit. The unit weight of the soil is 16 kN/m³ and the
angle of friction is 25 degrees. Using Terzaghi’s formula for general shear failure,
evaluate the concentric load in kN, that the footing can safely support using a factor of
safety of 3.0 against bearing capacity failure.
**Hint:** Nc = 25.1 Nq = 12.7 Ny = 8.34
Situation 27
A three layer soil has the following properties from top to bottom. Estimate the rate of
flow in the vertical direction per square meter of layer in liters/hr. if the hydraulic
gradient is 0.50.
| Layer | k (cm/sec) | Thickness (m) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 × 10⁻⁴ | 4 |
| 2 | 3.2 × 10⁻² | 4 |
| 3 | 4.1 × 10⁻⁵ | 6 |
Situation 28
A layer of soil having an initial void ratio of 1.0 is 6 m thick. Under a compressive
load applied above it, the void ratio decreased by one-half. Evaluate the reduction in
the thickness of layer.
Situation 30
The unit weight of a liquid is variable and is given by the relation δ = 13 + 0.5h, where
δ in kN/m³ and h is the depth of the liquid from the surface in meters. Determine the
gage pressure in kPa at a depth of 3 m.
Situation 31
A prism of dimensions 1.5 m x 1.0 m x 2.0 m weighs 32.4 kN in water, determine its
specific gravity.
Situation 32
A soil has a bulk density of 3.3 g/cm³ and water content 15%, determine the dry density
of the sample.
Situation 33
A layer of soft clay having an initial void ratio of 1.0 is 8 m thick. Under a
compressive load applied above it, the void ratio decreases to one fourth. Evaluate the
reduction in the thickness of the clay layer in meters.
Situation 34
The dry unit weight of a soil mass is obtained to be 16 kN/m³. If water is added to the
soil mass so that the water (moisture) content is 25%, evaluate the unit weight of the
soil in kN/m³.
Situation 35
A 3 m. diameter pipeline of length 2200 m. conveys water between reservoirs at the rate
of 10 m³/sec. What must be the difference in water surface elevation between the two
reservoirs, in meters, neglect minor loss. Coefficient of friction is 0.018.
Situation 36
The velocity head of the flow at one section is 6 m. Evaluate the velocity head in meters
at the next section if the velocity of the flow increases by one-half that of the
previous section.
Situation 37
Water 3.4 m deep flows at a rate of 12 cu.m/sec in a trapezoidal channel 3 m at the base
and 5 m wide at the water surface. Evaluate the discharge velocity in m/s.
Situation 38
Evaluate the plastic settlement, in meters, on a layer of plastic clay due to an increase
of pressure caused by loads above it under the following conditions.
Initial intergranular pressure = 200 kPa
Increase in intergranular pressure = 120 kPa
Thickness of clay layer = 8 m
Coefficient of consolidation = 0.315
Void ratio of the clay = 1.132
Situation 39
A sphere of radius 450 mm is immersed in seawater (s.g. = 1.026) by anchoring it to the
bottom of the seabed. The mooring line was observed to have a tension of 800 N. Evaluate
the specific weight of the sphere, in kN/m³.
Situation 40
A jet of water 30 mm in diameter and having a velocity of 8 m/s strikes against a plate
at right angles. Determine the force in N at the plate when it is moving towards the
nozzle at 5 m/s.
