Civil Engineering MCQAE Level Civil Engineering

The tendency for general shear failure of an isolated footing in sand, in general, decreases with

Soil MechanicsSoil MechanicsMEDIUM

Choose the correct answer

A

decreasing footing depth

B

increasing footing width

C

decreasing soil-grain compressibility

D

increasing relative density of the sand

Correct Answer

A. decreasing footing depth

Why is this the answer?

General shear failure is associated with dense sands and shallow depths. As the depth of the footing increases, the failure mode tends to shift from general shear to local or punching shear. Therefore, decreasing the depth increases the likelihood of general shear failure, while increasing the depth decreases it.

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This MCQ belongs to WBPSC AE Previous Years Questions Series. Full tests include timed attempts, rank comparison and subject-wise analysis.

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