Question Bank • QB_SUB_SWCE_0261 NAT • 2 Marks

Section 4: Soil and Water Conservation Engineering

Soil Mechanics

Subtopic: Shear strength

Question Statement:

A cohesive-frictional soil has cohesion $c = 15.0\text{ kPa}$ and angle of internal friction $\phi = 30^\circ$. According to the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, the shear strength on a failure plane subjected to a normal stress of $\sigma_n = 60.0\text{ kPa}$ (in kPa) is:

Answer Key:

49.64

Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation

Mohr-Coulomb shear strength equation: $\tau_f = c + \sigma_n \tan\phi = 15.0 + 60.0 \tan(30^\circ) = 15.0 + 60.0 \times 0.57735 = 15.0 + 34.64 = 49.64\text{ kPa}$
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