NICET Geotech case studies
NICET Geotech · Put your knowledge to work in context.
CMT-Soils is one of the Civil Engineering Technology certification programs listed by NICET, the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, a nonprofit based in Alexandria, Virginia. It sits alongside CMT-Asphalt, CMT-Concrete and optional CMT-Performance Examinations in NICET's construction materials testing (CMT) family, so it is aimed at engineering technicians who sample, classify and test soils in the field and laboratory and who support earthwork and foundation quality control on construction projects. The NICET Geotech case studies are 5 cases and about 2,976 words.
1Nuclear Gauge Failures Backed by a One-Point Proctor
You are the CMT technician on a four-story steel-framed building with a slab-on-grade. Structural fill beneath the slab is placed in 12-in.
606 words, about 3 min2Proofroll Failure: Pumping Silty Clay Under a Warehouse Slab
Subgrade for a 60,000 ft² warehouse slab is a low-plasticity silty clay at 1.5 to 3 ft above the seasonal high water table. The specification requires proofrolling with a loaded tandem-axle dump truck and acceptance with no rutting deeper than 1/2 in.
588 words, about 3 min3Lime Modification of Expansive Clay With a Sulfate Question
Subgrade for a new single-story medical office is a highly plastic clay: liquid limit 52, plastic limit 14, 88% passing the No. The specification requires the upper 3 ft of the building pad to be select fill with LL of 35 or less and PI of 15 or less, or lime-modified on-site soil meeting those same limits.
592 words, about 3 min4Oversize Correction Turns a Passing Density Into a Failure
Roadway embankment fill is a gravelly sand with about 30% of the total dry mass retained on the 3/4-in. The laboratory ran ASTM D698 on the minus-3/4-in.
573 words, about 3 min5Borrow Source Approval With Straddling Atterberg Results
A contractor submits a borrow pit as the source of select fill for a 40,000-yd³ grading job. The specification requires PI of 15 or less and LL of 35 or less in the top 2 ft of subgrade, and PI of 25 or less below that.
617 words, about 3 min