Department of Civil Engineering

Assignment
Learning
Outcomes

Programme
Outcomes

University of Moratuwa

Module - CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-1

Marks
10%
Some design aspects of an earth dam - i
Ability to classify soils and select the most suitable borrow pit
materials for the construction of an earth dam
Ability to assess soil compaction
Ability to estimate the volume of soil required from the borrow
area for the construction of the earth dam
Ability to discuss the suitability of different soils for construction
purposes
Application of knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
2
Effective communication
1
In-depth technical competence in at least one engineering discipline
2
Ability to undertake problem identification, formulation and solution
3

1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Ability to utilize a systems approach to design and operational
performance
6. Individual and team work
7. Understanding of the social, cultural, global and environmental
responsibilities of the professional engineer, and the need for
sustainable development
8. Understanding of the principles of sustainable design and development
9. Understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities and
commitment to them
10. Expectation of the need to undertake life-long learning and capacity to
do so

0 not covered under this

2covered to a greater extent

2
2
2
2
1
0

1 covered to some extent

3 one of the main themes of the subject

Lecturer
Prof. S. A. S. Kulathilaka
Student Name
Registration Number:
Date of Assignment:
Initial Submission Date:

Date Due:
Re Submission Date:

Assessed By:
Signature

Date

Lecturers Remarks

B.Sc Engineering, Semester III, CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-I

Page 1 of 6

Department of Civil Engineering

University of Moratuwa

Important
1. Please note that plagiarism is treated as a serious offence and therefore the work you
produce must be individual and original.
2. All sources of information must be referenced using Harvard Referencing where
a reference list/Bibliography should be included at the end of the assignment. (You
may
refer
the
information
given
in
http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm)
3. Please note that the submission date given for the assignment (14 days after the date of
performance for the laboratory session) is the final date that you can submit the
assignment. If the given submission date is a public holiday, redefined submission
deadline will be at 1300 hr of the immediate following working day. Late submissions
will be graded lower.
4. Assignments returned to students for corrections must be re-submitted within 10
days
5. Failure to re-submit the previously marked assignment with the re-submitted
assignment will mean that results cannot be released for the respective unit.
Plagiarism
Although research and discussion form an essential part of the assignment, deliberate
copying of the work of others or unacknowledged copying from printed or electronic
sources is NOT permitted. Disciplinary actions will be taken against those who are found
guilty of plagiarism. Signing of this sheet is required to indicate your compliance with the
above regulations.
Students Signature: ..

Date: .

Students Comments, (Prior to the submission) if any:

..
...
.
..
Students feedback, (After the the submission) if any:

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B.Sc Engineering, Semester III, CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-I

Page 2 of 6

Department of Civil Engineering

University of Moratuwa

SOME DESIGN ASPECTS OF

AN EARTH DAM
SOIL MECHANICS

SOIL MECHANICS LABORATORY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL
ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF MORATUWA
SRI LANKA

B.Sc Engineering, Semester III, CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-I

Page 3 of 6

Department of Civil Engineering

University of Moratuwa

Some design aspects of an earth dam

There is a proposal to repair a 20 m long completely breached segment of a
homogeneous earth dam in Anuradhapura district. It was decided to use locally
available soil for the above construction. As a junior engineer attached to the
divisional secretariat, you are assigned to oversee the above project. After a
preliminary investigation on potential borrow areas in the vicinity, three borrow
areas were identified.
(The data sets for each student will depend on his/her index number. Refer to
the guidance given in the handout)
(a). Using the given data, classify the soils available in the borrow areas using the
Unified Soil Classification System and recommend the most suitable borrow area
for the above construction.
(b). As per the specifications, water loss though the dam should be less than 0.01
m3/s. What is the basic soil property that governs the seepage through soils?
Specify additional tests to be conducted on the selected soil to estimate the water
loss through the dam. Briefly explain the testing procedure.
(c). The dam will be constructed by compacting soil in layers. It is specified that a
relative compaction in excess of 98 % should be achieved. Specify a suitable layer
thickness for the selected fill material. Recommend types of compaction
machinery to be used.
(d). The adequacy of compaction should be checked by conducting insitu density tests
after the placement and compaction of each layer. Briefly explain two insitu
density tests that can be conducted to check the above. Name the laboratory soil
test required to determine the maximum dry density of soil. Briefly explain the
testing procedure. Using the corresponding data given in Table 4, comment on
the adequacy of compaction and suggest remedial measures if compaction
appears to be insufficient.
(e). Estimate the volume of soil required from the borrow area for the construction of
the 20 m long segment of the earth dam (Assume that the average dry density of
the earth dam is 98 % of maximum dry density).
(f). The excavated soil from the borrow area will be directly loaded to trucks of 15 m3
volume and transported to the dam site. If the bulk density of soil is decreased by
15 % due to excavation, estimate the number of truck loads required for the
above construction (assume 2 % loss of soil during transportation).

B.Sc Engineering, Semester III, CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-I

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Department of Civil Engineering

University of Moratuwa

Guidance to select the data sets

Let N = Last two digits of your index number - 15p
Select the integers N and p such that, 0 p 6 and

1 N 15

Then, N = 5n + m
Select the integers n and m such that, 1 m 5 and

0n2

Finally, select your data sets from the following tables (your data sets will depend on
your m, n and p values).

Table 1: Appropriate borrow areas

m
Borrow areas

1
1,2,3

2
2,4,6

3
4,5,6

4
3,4,5

5
2,5,6

Table 2: Sieve analysis results of soils from borrow areas

Particle
size (mm)
19.0
12.7
10.0
5.0
3.36
2.35
1.18
0.600
0.300
0.150
0.075

Borrow
area 1
100.0
99.0
97.0
90.0
79.0
70.0
56.0
50.2
42.1
37.0
29.0

Borrow
area 2
92.0
88.5
85.0
73.0
65.0
60.0
36.0
26.0
19.0
14.0
9.0

Percentage finer
Borrow
Borrow
area 3
area 4
83.0
89.5
70.0
83.4
64.8
78.0
44.0
64.0
37.0
55.0
30.5
43.3
22.0
36.5
14.0
30.3
11.5
25.2
9.0
21.1
8.0
20.0

Borrow
area 5
87.0
74.0
72.0
59.0
52.0
43.0
31.1
26.5
21.8
12.0
8.6

Borrow
area 6
80.6
77.0
74.0
67.0
58.0
49.0
45.0
44.0
42.5
41.0
39.0

Table 3: Data on borrow pit materials

Borrow area 1
Borrow area 2
Borrow area 3
Borrow area 4
Borrow area 5
Borrow area 6

LL
%

PL
%

dmax
kg/m3

Optimum
moisture
content %

Specific
gravity

Natural
moisture
content %

61.0
45.0
44.6
48.0
43.0
61.2

40.8
41.0
34.8
30.0
37.2
37.8

1555
1854
1889
1825
1865
1570

24.3
17.0
14.3
16.9
14.1
27.4

2.65
2.61
2.69
2.64
2.65
2.53

19.9
15.2
11.3
9.6
10.2
23.4

B.Sc Engineering, Semester III, CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-I

Natural
bulk
density
kg/m3
1480
1740
1755
1740
1754
1515

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Department of Civil Engineering

University of Moratuwa

Table 4: Insitu density test data

n
1

Location
number

Moisture
content %

Bulk
density
kg/m3

Location
number

Moisture
content %

Bulk
density
kg/m3

Location
number

Moisture
content %

Bulk
density
kg/m3

1
2
3
4
5
6

12.6
13.4
12.9
12.9
13.7
13.9

2110
2090
2058
2068
2085
2080

1
2
3
4
5
6

16.8
15.7
18.0
12.1
16.9
17.4

2039
1810
1945
1860
2010
2011

1
2
3
4
5
6

8.8
9.2
12.1
11.2
8.1
8.9

1860
1930
1990
1985
1880
1940

Table 5: Data on dam cross section

m
x1 = x2 (m)
H (m)

3
50
35

2,5
60
45

1,4
70
50

H w H 2(n 1) ; H w in meters
n
0
wt(m)
15

1
20

2
25

wt

Hw

x1

wt

B.Sc Engineering, Semester III, CE 2042 Soil Mechanics and Geology-I

x2

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