Previous year question paper for SM (B-TECH Civil Engineering 5th)

SECTION-A

Unit-I: Soil Formation and Composition

Introduction, soil and rock, Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, origin of soils, weathering, soil

formation, major soil deposits of India, particle size, particle shape, inter-particle forces, soil structure,

principal clay minerals.

Unit-II: Basic Soil Properties

Introduction, three phase system, weight-volume relationships, soil grain properties, soil aggregate

properties, grain size analysis, sieve analysis, sedimentation analysis, grain size distribution curves,

consistency of soils, consistency limits and their determination, activity of clays, relative density of sands.

Unit-III: Classification of soils

Purpose of classification, classification on the basis of grain size, classification on the basis of plasticity,

plasticity chart, Indian Standard Classification System.Unit-IV: Permeability of Soils

Introduction, Darcy`s law and its validity, discharge velocity and seepage velocity, factors affecting

permeability, laboratory determination of coefficient of permeability, determination of field permeability,

permeability of stratified deposits.

SECTION-B

Unit-IV: Effective Stress Concept

Principle of effective stress, effective stress under hydrostatic conditions, capillary rise in soils, effective

stress in the zone of capillary rise, effective stress under steady state hydro-dynamic conditions, seepage

force, quick condition, critical hydraulic gradient, two dimensional flow, Laplace`s equation, properties

and utilities of flow net, graphical method of construction of flow nets, piping, protective filter.

Unit-V: Compaction

Introduction, role of moisture and compactive effect in compaction, laboratory determination of optimum

moisture content, moisture density relationship, compaction in field, compaction of cohesionless soils,

moderately cohesive soils and clays, field control of compaction. 

SECTION-C

Unit-VI: Vertical Stress Below Applied Loads

Introduction, Boussinesq`s equation, vertical stress distribution diagrams, vertical stress beneath loaded

areas, Newmark`s influence chart, approximate stress distribution methods for loaded areas, Westergaard`s

analysis, contact pressure.

Unit-VII: Compressibility and Consolidation

Introduction, components of total settlement, consolidation process, one-dimensional consolidation test,

typical void ratio-pressure relationships for sands and clays, normally consolidated and over consolidated

clays, Casagrande`s graphical method of estimating pre-consolidation pressure, Terzaghi`s theory of onedimensional

primary consolidation, determination of coefficients of consolidation, consolidation

settlement, Construction period settlement, secondary consolidation.

SECTION-D

Unit-VIII: Shear Strength

Introduction, Mohr stress circle, Mohr-Coulomb failure-criterion, relationship between principal stresses at

failure, shear tests, direct shear test, unconfined compression test, tri-axial compression tests, drainage

conditions and strength parameters, Vane shear test, shear strength characteristics of sands, normally

consolidated clays, over-consolidated clays and partially saturated soils, sensitivity and thixotropy.

Unit-IX: Earth Pressure

Introduction, earth pressure at rest, Rankine`s active & passive states of plastic equilibrium, Rankine`s

earth pressure theory, Coulomb`s earth pressure theory, Culmann`s graphical construction, Rebhann`s

construction.