Question

For a saturated clay, the theoretical intensity of contact pressure at the centre is________

(a) q

(b) q/2

(c) ¾ q

(d) q/3

This question was addressed to me at a job interview.

This is a very interesting question from Stress Distribution in division Stress Distribution of Geotechnical Engineering I

Answer 1

Correct choice is (b) q/2

For explanation I would say: The saturated clay is good example of real elastic material. For a real elastic material, the theoretical intensity of contact pressure at the centre is q/2 and infinite at the outer edges. But at the outer edges, due to local yielding, causes the redistribution of pressure making it finite at the edges.