I’m back, and this time on video

 It's been a long time. I started this blog in 2009, right after I passed the PE, and stopped just as it was getting going. Your comments kept coming for years after I went quiet, and some of you asked for topics I never got to: consolidation, retaining structures, deep foundations.

So I'm picking it back up, this time on YouTube, under my firm, The Geotech Guys.

Episode 1 reworks Problem 1 from this blog, the grain-size curve from August 2009, for today's computer-based exam and ASTM D2487, including the most common trap in USCS classification.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/N1izjKTeny0

The videos are presented by ND, my AI avatar. I write and check the content. Questions go in the YouTube comments. I read them, just like I did here.

Lateral Earth Pressures - Cohesive Soils

 

 

 



I am back after almost 5 years. Last five years have seen me grow as a person, as an engineer, become a father, and move to Texas. I will start writing for this blog soon.

Lateral Earth Pressure

My inability to be able to steal some time out of my schedule leaves me no option but to provide you with some links that might help you. I'll, however, post my take on lateral earth pressure in near future which may be too late for the candidates taking their exam day after tomorrow but may help those who are taking their exams next year or later. I really apologize for the inconvenience and wish all the examinees the very best!

The following link provides a pretty good (and brief) lesson on lateral earth pressure.
http://www.pdhonline.org/courses/c155/c155content.pdf

For any questions, feel free to ask me.

A question by a visitor

Anonymous said...

I'm confused in calculating the effective vertical stress in a sandy gravel soil layer below the graound water level and it is between a sand layer on the top and a clay layer on the bottom.
What unit weight i have to consider the sand unit waight or I need the porosity(n)of the sandy gravel to get the unit waight?

Thanks

geotechie said...

suppose we have a situation like the following:

_____________________________________________

Sand wet unit weight = Ys,w
layer thickness = d1
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
water table @ depth dw, unit weight of water = Yw
Sand saturated unit weight = Ys,sat
______________________________________________

Sandy Gravel
saturated unit weight = Ysg
layer thickness = d2
______________________________________________

Clay
saturated unit weight = Yc
layer thickness = d3

______________________________________________

Effective Stress = Total Stress - Pore Water Pressure

Total Stress at the bottom of clay layer = (Ys,w)(dw) + (Ys,sat)(d1-dw)+ (Ysg)(d2) + (Yc)(d3)

Pore water pressure = (Yw)(d1-dw) + (Yw)(d2) + (Yw)(d3)

Therefore, Effective Stress =
(Ys,w)(dw) + (Ys,sat)(d1-dw)+ (Ysg)(d2) + (Yc)(d3) - (Yw)(d1-dw) - (Yw)(d2) - (Yw)(d3)

= (Ys,w)(dw) + (Ys,sat-Yw)(d1-Yw) + (Ysg-Yw)(d2) + (Yc-Yw)(d3)

Let me know if it helps (or if it does not).

Sorry guys...

I am extremely sorry guys...its been a very busy several weeks...I'll try to post something on retaining walls before the PE exam.

Shear Strength - Problem #3

A Consolidated Undrained (CU) triaxial test is conducted on silt. The effective cell pressure is 4.32 ksf. The deviator stress is 3.45 ksf. The total pore pressure for this test is 2.88 ksf. Draw Mohr's circle of the initial and final condition. Also, show circles that represent total and effective stresses.