CIVL 7132 Advanced Soil Mechanics
Spring 2015 - Homework 4
1. Given an element with stresses as indicated in the figure below, find (a) the major and minor principal
stresses and the orientation of the planes on which they act, (b) the stresses on a plane inclined at 30°
from the horizontal, (c) the maximum shear stress and the inclination of the plane on which it acts.
2. A soil sample is under a biaxial state of stress. On Plane 1 the normal and shear stresses are (13, 4) and
on Plane 2 the stresses are (5.8, -2). The planes are not orthogonal. Find (a) the major and minor principal
stresses in the soil and (b) the angle between the two planes. (HINT: a perpendicular bisector to the line
between the two points on the Mohr circle will pass through the center of the Mohr circle.)
3. The figure below shows an element of soil at the interface between two dry sand layers on a 28° slope.
The interface is 10 ft below the ground surface and for both sand layers ' = 34° and Ko = 0.44. Assume
that the shear stress is zero on both the vertical and horizontal planes (i.e, the horizontal and vertical
normal stresses are principal stresses). (a) Draw the Mohr circle for this point and (b) determine the normal
and shear stresses acting on the layer interface (i.e., the 28° plane).
4. In a direct shear test on a specimen of cohesionless sand, the vertical normal stress on the specimen is
240 kPa and the horizontal shear stress at failure is 160 kPa. Determine by means of the Mohr circle the
magnitude and direction of the principal stresses at failure.
5. Two conventional CD triaxial compression tests were conducted on specimens of dense, angular, dry
sand at the same void ratio. Test A had a confining pressure of 150 kPa, while in Test B the confining
pressure was 600 kPa; these stresses were held constant throughout the test. At failure, Tests A and B had
maximum principal stress differences of 600 and 2550 kPa, respectively. For both tests: (a) plot the Mohr
circles at failure, (b) determine the friction angle ' assuming c' = 0, (c) determine the shear stress on the
failure plane at failure, and (d) determine the orientation of the failure plane in the specimen.
6. A triaxial specimen of loose sand is consolidated non-hydrostatically with 1 = 15 and 3 = 10 kPa.
The sample is then failed by holding the vertical stress constant and decreasing the horizontal stress (this
is a lateral extension test). The angle of internal friction is 30° (c = 0). (a) Draw the Mohr circles at the
end of the consolidation phase and at failure. (b) What will be the major and minor principal stresses at
failure?
7. Another sample of the same sand is consolidated in the same way but failed by holding the vertical
stress constant and increasing the horizontal stress (this is a lateral compression test). (a) Draw the Mohr
circles at the end of the consolidation phase and at failure. (b) What will be the major and minor principal
stresses at failure?
