University of Nairobi

Department of Civil and Construction Engineering

3 RD YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER, 2017/2018 ACADEMIC YEAR

FCE 311 – GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING TUTORIAL I AND ADDITIONAL NOTES

1. The dry density ρd of a soil is 1.8 g/cm3. What is its dry unit weight γd? Find the
bulk density ρ if the unit weight is 19.6 kN/m3.

2. The moisture content of a saturated soil wsat is 35% and the relative density ‘Gs’ of
its particles is 2.7. Find the void ratio ‘e’ and the porosity ‘n’. What will be the
degree of saturation Sr and the air content ‘A’ if the moisture content ‘w’ gets
reduced to 5% on drying?

3. The mass M of an undisturbed sample is 1250 g and its volume is 630 cm3. On
oven drying, the sample weighs 1102 g. The average relative density Gs of soil is
2.68. Find the bulk density, natural moisture content w, dry density ρd, void ratio e,
degree of saturation Sr, and the air content A. What will be the density and unit
weight on full saturation?

4. The dry unit weight γd of a soil having 15% moisture content is 17.5 kN/m3. Find
bulk unit weight γ, saturated unit weight γsat, and submerged unit weight γsub.
Assume Gs=2.7.

5. The in situ moisture content w1 of a soil is 15% and the bulk density ρ1 is 1.85
g/m3. Due to rains the moisture content w2 increases to 20%. Find the bulk density
ρ2 and the bulk unit weight.

6. The void ratio e of a soil sample is 0.7 and the relative density Gs is 2.72. Find the
moisture content w and the bulk unit weight γ, if the degree of saturation is 80%.

Page 1 of 5
7. A borrow area soil has a natural moisture content w1 of 8% and a bulk density of
1750 Kg/m3. Relative density of soil is 2.65. The soil is used for an embankment to
be compacted at 15% moisture content w2 to a dry density ρd of 1,800 Kg/m3. Find
the amount of water to be added to 1.0 m3 of borrow soil. How many cubic metres
of excavation is required for 1.0 m3 of compacted embankment?

8. Distinguish between

a) Water content and air content

b) Percent voids and percentage air voids
c) Bulk density and bulk unit weight
d) Saturated unit weight and submerged unit weight
e) Specific gravity of soil particles and specific gravity of soil mass

9. With the usual notations, show that;

(Take na as the percentage air voids which is the ratio of volume of air, Va, present
in soil mass to the total volume of soil mass, V, expressed as a percentage).

10. A soil sample assumed to consist of spherical grains all of same diameter will have
maximum void ratio when the grains are arranged in a cubical array. Find void
ratio and dry unit weight. Take unit weight of grains as 20 kN/m3.

11. 1,000 m 3 of earthfill is to be constructed. How many cubic metres of soil is to be

excavated from borrow pit in which the void ratio is 0.95, if the void ratio of
earthfill is to be 0.7?

12. In an earthen embankment under construction the bulk unit weight is 16.5 kN/m3 at
water content of 11%. If the water content is to be raised to 15%, compute the
quantity of water required to be added per cubic meter of soil? Assume no change
in the void ratio.

Page 2 of 5
 ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Things to remember
1. Remember the basic definitions of w, e, s, Sr, etc.
2. Draw a phase diagram.

Gs for some minerals

Quartz, 2.65
Kaolinite, 2.65
Feldspar, 2.54-2.57
Halloysite, 2.55

The Gs of soils is typically estimated as 2.65 if not given.

Average Specific Gravity Values

For example,
For soil particles larger than 2mm, the weight is W1 and the volume is V1.
For soil particles smaller than 2mm, the weight is W2 and the volume is V 2.

Incorrect calculation
Gs1  Gs 2
2
Correct calculation

(W1  W2 ) 1
Gs  avg  
(V1  V2 ) (V1  V2 )
(W1  W2 )
1
Gs  avg 
W1 V1 W2 V2

(W1  W2 ) W1 (W1  W2 ) W2
1
Gs  avg 
1 1
P1  P2
G s1 Gs 2

P is the weight fraction

Page 3 of 5
DENSITY INDEX

In case of coarse grained soils, the in situ state of compaction is expressed in terms
of density index Id defined as;

e max  e
Id 
e max  e min

where,
e = natural void ratio
emax = maximum void ratio (loosest state)
emin = minimum void ratio (densest state)

Since the volume of soil of a given dry mass is proportional to (1+e), density index
can also be expressed as;

Vmax  V
Id 
Vmax  Vmin

where,
V = volume in the natural state
Vmax = maximum volume of soil of the same dry mass as in the natural
state
Vmin = minimum volume of the soil mass

Density index can be expressed in terms of density (or unit weight);

1 1

 d min d
Id 
1 1

 d min  d max

where,
ρ = dry density in the natural state
ρmax = maximum dry density
ρmin = minimum dry density

The density index of a natural soil deposit very strongly affects its engineering
behaviour. The density index may vary from zero in its loosest possible state
(e=emax) to 1 (100%) in its densest possible state (e=emin). Qualitatively, it is
described by terms ‘very loose’, ‘loose’, ‘medium dense’, ‘dense’ and ‘very
dense’.

Page 4 of 5
 FURTHER TUTORIALS

13. The natural dry density of a sandy deposit is 1.79g/m3. Laboratory tests give the
maximum dry density of 1.9g/cm3 and the minimum dry density of 1.66 g/cm3.
Find the density index. The value of G is 2.67.

14. A sample of sand has a volume V of 1,000 cm3 in its natural state. On drying and
compaction by vibration, its minimum volume Vmin = 850 cm3. When gently
poured in a measuring cylinder, the maximum volume Vmax is 1,350 cm3. Find the
density index.

Page 5 of 5