CEng 487 - SOIL MECHANICS II

Lecture Notes
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter

1:
2:
3:
4:

Shear Strength of Soils.

Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations.
Lateral Earth Pressure.
Slope Stability.

References:
1. Teferra, A. & Mesfin, L., 1999. Soil Mechanics, AAU
2. Budhu M., 2000. Soil Mechanics and Foundations, Wiley and Sons.
3. Cernica, J. N., 1995. Geotechnical Engineering - Soil Mechanics, Wiley and sons.
4. Prakash, S., 1995. Fundamentals of Soil Mechanics, Prakash Foundation.
5. Das, B. M., 1995. Principles of Foundation Engineering, PWS pub. Co.
6. Bowles, J. E., 1996. Foundation Analysis and Design, Joseph E. Bowles, McGraw-Hill.

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

CHAPTER ONE
SHEAR STRENGTH OF SOILS
1.0

Introduction
The safety of any geotechnical structure is dependent on the strength of the soil. If

the soil fails, a structure founded on it can collapse, endangering lives and causing
economic damages. Soils fail either in tension or in shear. However, in the majority of soil
mechanics problems (such as bearing capacity, lateral pressure against retaining walls,
slope stability, etc.), only failure in shear requires consideration. The shear strength of
soils is, therefore, of paramount importance to geotechnical engineers. The shear
strength along any plane is mobilized by cohesion and frictional resistance to sliding
between soil particles. The cohesion c and angle of friction

of a soil are collectively

known as shear strength parameters.

In this chapter we will define, describe, and determine the shear strength of soils.
When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

Determine the shear strength of soils.

Understand the difference between drained and undrained shear strength.
Determine the type of shear test that best simulates field conditions.
Interpret laboratory and field test results to obtain shear strength
parameters.

Sample Practical Situation: You are the geotechnical engineer in charge of a soil
exploration program for a dam and a housing project. You are expected to specify
laboratory and field tests to determine the shear strength of the soil and to recommend
soil strength parameters for the design of the dam.

1.1

Definitions of Key Terms

Shear strength of a soil ( ) is the maximum internal resistance to applied shearing

stresses.
Angle of internal friction ( ) is the friction angle between soil particles.
Cohesion (c) is a measure of the forces that cement soil particles.
Undrained shear strength of a soil (Su) is the shear strength of a soil when sheared at
constant volume.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

1.2

Coulombs Frictional Law

You may recall Coulombs frictional law from your courses in statics and physics. If

a block of weight W is pushed horizontally on a plane (Fig. 1.1a), the horizontal force (H)
required to initiating movement is:

H W

(1.1)

is the coefficient of static friction between the block and the horizontal plane.
The coefficient of friction is independent of the area of contact. It is, however,
Where

strongly dependent on the nature of the surface in contact the type of material, the
condition of the surface, and so on. Furthermore, in most materials the coefficient of
static friction is larger than the kinetic coefficient. The angle between the resultant force
R and the normal force N (Fig. 1.1) is called the friction angle,

tan 1 .

Figure 1.1: (a) Slip plane of a block. (b) A slip plane in a soil mass.

In terms of stresses, Coulombs law is expressed as:

f n tan

(1.2)

f (= T/A, where T is the shear force at impending slip and A is the area of the
plane parallel to T) is the shear stress when slip is initiated, and n (= N/A) is the normal
where

stress on the plane on which slip is initiated. Coulombs law requires the existence or the
development of a critical sliding plane, also called slip plane or failure plane. In the case
of the block the slip plane is at the interface between the block and the horizontal plane.

1.3

Mohrs Circle for Stress

The stress states at a point within a soil mass can be represented graphically by a

very useful and widely used devise known as Mohrs circle for stress. The stress state at
a point is the set of stress vectors corresponding to all planes passing through that point.
For simplicity, we will consider a two-dimensional element with stresses as shown in Fig.
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

1.2a. Lets draw Mohrs circle. First, we have to choose a sign convention. In soil
mechanics, compressive stresses and clockwise shear are generally assumed to be
positive. We will also assume that z x .

Figure 1.2: Stresses on a two-dimensional element and Mohrs circle.

The two coordinates of the circle are ( z , zx ) and ( x , zx ). Recall from your
strength of materials course that, for equilibrium xz zx . Plot these two coordinates
on a graph of shear stress (ordinate) and normal stress (abscissa) as shown by A and B
in Fig. 1.2b. Draw a circle with AB as the diameter. The circle crosses the normal stress
axis at 1 and 3, where shear stresses are equal to zero. The stresses at these points are
the major principal stress, 1 , and the minor principal stress,
The principal stresses are related to the stresses

3.

x , z and zx by the following

relations:
2

x
x
2
1 z
z
zx
2
2

(1.3)

z x
x
2
z
zx
2
2

(1.4)

The angle between the major principal stress plane and the horizontal plane ( ) is:

tan
The stresses on a plane oriented at an angle

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

zx
1 x

(1.5)

to the major principal stress plane are:

1 3 1 3

cos 2
2
2

(1.6)

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

In the above equations

1 3
sin 2
2

(1.7)

is positive for clockwise orientation. The maximum shear

stress is at the top of the circle with magnitude:

max
The stress

1 3
2

(1.8)

z acts on the horizontal plane and the stress x acts on the vertical

plane. If we draw these planes in Mohrs circle, they intersect at a point, P. Point P is
called the pole of the Mohr circle. It is a special point because any line passing through
the pole will intersect Mohrs circle at a point that represents the stresses on a plane
parallel to the line. Let us see how this works. Suppose we want to find the stresses on
a plane inclined at angle

to the horizontal plane as depicted by MN in Fig. 1.2a. Once

we locate the pole, P, we can draw a line parallel to MN through P as shown by MN in Fig.
1.2b. The line MN intersects the circle at N and the coordinates of N, ( , ) represent
the normal and shear stresses on MN.

EXAMPLE 1.1
A sample of soil 100 mm100 mm is subjected to the forces shown in Fig. E1.1a.
Determine (a) 1 , 3 and

; (b) the maximum shear stress, and (c) the stresses on a

plane oriented at 30 clockwise to the major principal stress plane.

Figure E1.1a
Strategy. There are two approaches to solve this problem. You can either use Mohrs
circle or the appropriate equations. Both approaches will be used here.

1.4

Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criteria

Coulomb (1776) suggested that the shear strength of a soil along a failure plane

could be described by:

f c n tan

(1.9)

f is the shear strength on the failure plane, n is the stress normal to the
plane, c is the cohesion and the angle of internal friction of the soil. The two
parameters c and are called shear strength parameters.
where

To understand the concept behind Eq. (1.9), consider two blocks A and B (Fig.
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

1.3a) of unit area that are in contact with each other and are subjected to the normal and
shear stresses shown. The interface between the blocks is not smooth and contains
friction. Under a constant normal stress, the shear stress is increased from zero to the
maximum

f , forcing the two blocks to slide along their contact area. When n =0, the

shear stress has to be mobilized to a maximum value of c to make the sliding possible. If

then for the values of >0, has to be

increased to overcome the resistance to sliding tan caused by friction (Coulombs
frictional law). Consequently, the summation of c and tan represents the
the friction angle between blocks A and B is

maximum shear stress needed to slide the two blocks on the plane of contact (slip or
failure plane). In a real soil, if a predetermined sliding plane is forced to occur, the soil
below and the soil above the failure plane will not act as rigid bodies but will deform,
causing a volume change around the sliding and forming a shear band (Fig. 1.3b).

Figure 1.3: (a) Mechanical concept of sliding. (b) Soil deformation and a shear band.

In a coordinate system with

n plotted as abscissa and as ordinate, Eq. (1.9)

is represented by the line shown in Fig. (1.4a). This equation was originally written in
terms of total stress and was only partially successful in predicting the shear strength of
real soils. Coulombs failure criterion was subsequently redefined as:

f c ' n' tan '

(1.10)

Figure 1.4: Coulombs failure criteria: (a) total stress (b) effective stress.
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

where

f is the shear strength, n is the effective normal stress, c is the effective

cohesion, and

' the effective angle of internal friction of the soil. In both the total and

effective stress conditions, the shear stress is solely taken by the soil particles, since the
liquid in the voids which is normally water has no resistance to shear. The tensile
strength of soils is commonly ignored and therefore cohesion is the minimum shear
strength at zero normal stresses.

Figure 1.5: Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion.

Figure 1.5 shows the total and effective stress states at failure point represented
by Mohrs circles. It is apparent that the shear stress at every plane in the total stress
Mohrs circle is the same as in the effective stress Mohrs circle. The difference between
normal stresses in two perpendicular directions in the total and effective stress is equal
to:

z x ( z' u ) ( x' u ) z' x'

(1.11)

Thus, the radiuses of both the total and effective stresses are identical. The horizontal
distance of the two circles is equal to the pore water pressure u.
Any point F at the failure plane represents the normal and shear stresses on a
failure plane at a specified point in a soil. These stresses must also satisfy the equilibrium
conditions at the point, which is represented by Mohrs circle of stress. This implies that,
at failure, Mohrs circle of stress must be tangent to the line expressed by Eq. 4.9 (or
4.10). This condition known as the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is shown in Fig. 1.5.
From geometry of Fig. 1.5, the theoretical angle between the failure plane and the
major principal plane is given by the following equation:

90 '

2
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

'
45 0
2

(1.12)

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

'

From figure 1.5, a relationship between the state of stress ( 1 and

'

'

( x , z , or

3' ) or

zx ) and the shear strength parameters c and ' may be formulated by

equating the radius of Mohrs circle R to the distance of the center of the circle from the
failure envelope, CF, in which,

R CF

z' x'

zx2 OB cos ' OC sin '

(1.13)

This equation can be written in terms of the principal stresses ( zx 0 ) as follows:

1' 3'

OB cos ' OC sin '

'

(1.14)

'

Considering OB = c and OC = ( 1 3 ) 2 , we have

1' 3' 2c ' cos ' ( 1' 3' ) sin '

(1.15)

Or,

1' 3'

'
'
1 sin
cos '
'
' 1 sin
' 1 sin
2c '

2
c
1
3
1 sin
1 sin '
1 sin '
1 sin '

3' 1'

'
1 sin '
' 1 sin

2
c
1 sin '
1 sin '

(1.16)

(1.17)

Or using some trigonometry manipulations,

1' 3' tan 2 (45

'
'
) 2c ' tan(45 )
2
2

(1.18)

3' 1' tan 2 (45

'
'
) 2c ' tan(45 )
2
2

(1.19)

If the cohesion c, is small or zero, then Eqs. (1.15 to 1.19) can be rearranged as follows:

' 3'
sin ' 1'
'
1 3

(1.20)

3' 1 sin '

1' 1 sin '
or

1' 1 sin '

3' 1 sin '
3'
'
1'
'
2
2

tan
(
45

)
or

tan
(
45

)
2
1'
2
3'

(1.21)

(1.22)

EXAMPLE 1.2
At a point in a soil mass, the total vertical and horizontal stresses are 240 kPa and 145
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

kPa respectively whilst the pore water pressure is 40 kPa. Shear stresses on the vertical
and horizontal planes passing through this point are zero. Calculate the maximum excess
pore water pressure to cause the failure of this point. What is the magnitude of the shear
strength on the plane of failure? The effective shear strength parameters are c = 10 kPa
and

' = 300.

Strategy. You are given the initial stress state. You should first check whether the initial
stress state is below the failure envelope, and then use the appropriate equations to
calculate the excess pore water pressure and the shear strength at failure.

1.5

Drained and Undrained Shear strength

Drained condition occurs when the excess pore water pressure developed during

loading of a soil dissipates, i.e. u 0 , resulting in volume changes in the soil. Loose
sands, normally consolidated clays and lightly overconsolidated clays tend to compress
or contract, whilst dense sands and heavily overconsolidated (OCR > 2) clays tend to
expand during drained condition.
Undrained condition occurs when the excess pore water pressure cannot drain, at
least quickly from the soil, i.e. u 0 . During undrained shearing, the volume of the soil
remains constant. Consequently, the tendency towards volume change induces a
pressure in the pore water. If the specimen tends to compress or contract during shear,
then the induced pore water pressure is positive. It wants to contract and squeeze water
out of the pores, but it can not. Positive pore water pressures occur in loose sands,
normally consolidated clays and lightly overconsolidated clays. If the specimen tends to
expand and swell during shear, the induced pore water pressure is negative. It wants to
expand and draw water into the pores, but it can not. Negative pore water pressures
occur in dense sands and heavily overconsolidated (OCR > 2) clays.
During the life of the geotechnical structure, called the long-term condition, the
excess pore water pressure developed by a loading dissipates and drained condition
applies. Clays usually take many years to dissipate the excess pore water pressure.
During construction, and shortly after, called the short-term condition, soils with low
permeability (fine-grained soils) do not have sufficient time for the excess pore water
pressure

to

dissipate

and

undrained

condition

applies.

The

permeability

of

coarse-grained soils is sufficiently large that under static loading conditions the excess
pore water pressure dissipates quickly. Consequently undrained condition does not apply
to clean coarse-grained soils under static loading. Dynamic loading, such as during an
earthquake, is imposed so quickly that even coarse-grained soils do not have sufficient
time to dissipate the excess pore water pressure and undrained condition applies.
The shear strength of a fine-grained soil under undrained condition is called the
undrained shear strength, Su. The undrained shear strength Su is the radius of Mohrs
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

total stress circle; that is:

Su

1.6

1 3 ( 1' u ) ( 3' u ) 1' 3'

2
2
2

(1.23)

Laboratory Shear Strength Tests

Different methods are available for testing shear strength of soils in a laboratory.

The following are the more commonly used testing methods:

1. Direct shear test.
2. Triaxial compression test.
3. Unconfined compression test.
1.6.1

Direct Shear Test

The direct shear test is the oldest and the simplest type of shear test. It was first

devised by Coulomb (1776) for the study of shear strength. The test is performed in a
shear box, illustrated in Figure 1.6. The box consists of two parts, one part fixed and the
other movable. Usually the box is a square of sides equal to 5 cm. The soil sample is
placed in the box. A vertical normal force N is applied to the top of the sample through a
metal platen resting on the top part of the box. Porous stones may be placed on the top
and bottom part of the sample to facilitate drainage.

Figure 1.6: Schematic of direct shear apparatus.

The sample is subjected to shearing stress at the plane of separation AA (Fig. 1.6)
by applying horizontal forces T. The horizontal force can be applied either at a constant
speed (strain controlled test) or constant load (stress controlled test) until failure
occurs in the soil. In most routine soil tests the strain controlled test is used. Failure is
determined when the soil can not resist any further increment of horizontal force.
The above procedure is repeated for several values (three or more) of normal
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

forces. By plotting the normal stresses and corresponding shear stresses from the results
of such tests, a failure envelope is obtained as shown in Fig. 1.7. Note that the normal
stress n N A , and the shear stress T A , where A is the cross-sectional area of the
soil specimen. For example, if the normal and horizontal forces for the second test are
represented by N2 and T2, respectively, the coordinate point for test 2 is given as
( 2 N 2 A , 2 T2 A ). The corresponding Mohrs circle for this case is shown in Fig. 1.7
and the shear strength parameters and c could be measured directly from this figure.
It is not possible to obtain other deformation parameters such Youngs modulus and
Poissons ratio from direct shear test.

Figure 1.7: Plotted direct shear test results and a Mohr circle.

In direct shear test, drainage should be allowed through out the test because there
is no way of sealing the specimen. Once the shear phase starts and one part of the
specimen moves in relation to the other part, a gap opens. Water can flow through this
gap, and drainage control becomes impossible. The only solution is, therefore, to allow
full drainage throughout the test, and keep excess pore water pressure equal to zero. In
sands, due to their high permeability, dissipation of excess pore water pressure is
immediate, and the test can be conducted quickly. In clayey soils full drainage may
require long testing time to allow for dissipation of excess pore water pressure. Some
practical engineers still attempt to perform undrained direct shear test in clayey soils by
shearing the soil very quickly. However, this may lead to totally erroneous results.

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 10

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

1.6.2

Triaxial Compression Test

A widely used apparatus to determine the shear strength parameters and the
stress-strain behavior of soils is the triaxial apparatus. The essential features of a triaxial
test apparatus together with a soil sample are shown in Fig. 1.8. The soil sample is
protected by a thin rubber membrane and is subjected to pressure from water that
occupies the volume of the chamber. This confining water pressure (also called radial
pressure) enforces a condition of equality on two of the total principal stresses, i.e.

2 3 . Vertical or axial stresses are applied by a loading ram (plunger), and therefore,
the total major principal stress 1 is the sum of the confining pressures and the
deviatoric stress applied through the ram. In a traditional triaxial compression test, the
confining pressure

3 is kept constant whilst the major principal stress 1 is increased

incrementally by the loading ram until the sample fails.

Figure 1.8: Schematic diagram of a triaxial compression apparatus (Budhu, pp. 225).

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 11

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

Facilities to measure the pore water pressure and the volume change at any stage
of the test are available. To eliminate any end constraint effects on the test results, the
height of the specimen is made to be twice the diameter. Specimen diameter are
normally either 38 mm or 100 mm, however some cells have been manufactured to
accommodate larger diameter. Specimens are either undisturbed or remolded depending
on the type of material. To construct a failure envelope for a soil, a test has to be
performed several times with different confining pressures using ideally identical
samples.
The triaxial apparatus is versatile because we can independently control the
applied axial and radial loads, conduct tests under drained and undrained conditions,
and control the applied displacements or stresses. Recorded measurements include
deviatoric stress at different stages of the test, vertical displacement of the ram, volume
change and pore water pressure. The average stresses and strains on a soil sample in a
triaxial compression apparatus are as follows:
Axial stress: 1

Pz
3
A

(1.24)

Pz
A

(1.25)

Deviatoric stress: 1 3
Axial strain: 1

z
H0

(1.26)

Radial strain: 3

r
r0

(1.27)

V
1 2 3
V0

(1.28)

2
3

(1.29)

Volumetric strain: p
Deviatoric strain: q

( 1 3 )

Where Pz is the axial load on the ram, A is the cross-sectional area of the soil sample, r0
is the initial radius of the soil sample, r is the change in radius, V0 is the initial volume,

V is the change in volume, H0 is the initial height, and z is the change in height. The
area of the sample changes during loading, and at any given instance the area is:

V
V0 1

V0 A0 (1 p )
V V0 V

H H 0 z
1 1

z
H 0 1

H0

(1.30)

Where A0 (= r0 ) is the initial cross-sectional area and H is the current height of the
sample.
A variety of stress paths can be applied to soil samples in the triaxial apparatus.
However, only a few stress paths are used in practice to mimic typical geotechnical
problems. We will discuss the tests most often used, why they are used, and typical
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Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

results obtained.

(A) Consolidated Drained (CD) Test

The purpose of a CD test is to determine the drained shear strength parameters

'

and c. The effective elastic moduli for drained condition E is also obtained from this test.
A CD test is performed in two stages. The first stage is consolidating the soil to a desired
effective stress level appropriate to field conditions by pressurizing the water in the cell
and allowing the soil sample to drain until the excess pore water pressure dissipates. In
the second stage, the pressure in the cell (cell pressure or confining pressure) is kept
constant and additional axial loads or displacements are added very slowly until the soil
sample fails. The displacement rate (or stress rate) used must be slow enough to allow
the excess pore water pressure to dissipate. Because the permeability of fine-grained
soils is much lower than coarse-grained soils, the displacement rate for testing
fine-grained soils is much lower than for coarse-grained soils. Drainage of the excess
pore water pressure is permitted throughout the test and the amount of water expelled
is measured. Since the CD test is a drained test, a single test can take several days if the
permeability of the soil is low (e.g. clays). The results of CD tests are used to determine
the long-term stability of slopes, foundations, retaining walls, excavations, and other
earthworks. For remolded and normally consolidated clays, the cohesion c parameter
from a CD test is essentially very small and can be assumed to be zero for all practical
purposes.

(B) Consolidated Undrained (CU) Test

The purpose of a CU test is to determine both the undrained (cu,
(c,

u ) and drained

' ) shear strength parameters. The undrained elastic moduli Eu and effective elastic

moduli E are also obtained from this test. The CU test is conducted in a similar manner
to the CD test except that after isotropic consolidation, the axial load is increased under
undrained condition and the excess pore water pressure is measured. As explained in
section 1.5, the excess pore pressure developed during shear can either be positive or
negative. This happens because the sample tries to either contract or expand during
shear. Positive pore pressures occur in loose sands and normally consolidated clays.
Negative pore pressures occur in dense sands and heavily overconsolidated clays.
The CU test is the most popular triaxial test because you can obtain both drained
and undrained shear strength parameters, and most tests can be completed within a few
minutes after consolidation compared with more than a day for a CD test. Fine-grained
soils with low permeability must be sheared slowly to allow the excess pore water
pressure to equilibrate throughout the test sample. The results from CU tests are used to
analyze the stability of slopes, foundations, retaining walls, excavations and other
earthworks. For remolded and normally consolidated clays, the cohesion c parameter
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 13

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

from a CU test is also essentially very small and can be assumed to be zero.

(C)

Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) Test

The purpose of a UU test is to determine the undrained shear strength (Su) of a

saturated soil. The UU test consists of applying a cell pressure to the soil sample without
drainage of pore water followed by increments of axial stress. The cell pressure is kept
constant and the test is completed very quickly because in neither of the two stages
consolidation and shearing is the excess pore pressure allowed to drain. In the UU test,
pore water pressures are usually not measured.

1.6.3

Backpressure
Backpressure is a technique used for saturating soil specimens. It is accomplished

by applying water pressure u0 within the specimen, and at the same time changing the
cell pressure

cell of an equal amount. Therefore, the net confining pressure

c cell u 0 remains unchanged. Backpressuring has no influence on the calculations.

In most cases, a backpressure of 300 kPa is sufficient to ensure specimen saturation and
it should be applied in steps as shown in the table below.

1.6.4

Unconfined Compression (UC) Test

The UC test is the simplest and quickest test used to determine the shear strength of a
cohesive soil. An undisturbed or remolded sample of cylindrical shape, about 38 mm in
diameter and 76 mm in height is subjected to uniaxial compression until the soil fails.
Since the sample is laterally unconfined, only cohesive soils can be tested. The sample is
tested quickly and there is no drainage. Therefore, it is a special case of the UU test in
which

3 =0. However, rather than in a triaxial cell, the test is performed in a mechanical

apparatus specially manufactured for this purpose. Figure 1.9 shows an unconfined
compression test apparatus.

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Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 14

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

Figure 1.9: (a) Direct shear test apparatus, (b) UC test apparatus.
EXAMPLE 1.3
A CU test gave the following data. Sample diameter = 38 mm, and height = 76 mm. The
pore pressures at failure (peak points) are 10, 61.6, 113.2 kPa for

3 =100, 200, 300

kPa, respectively. Determine: (a) the deviatoric stress axial strain curve and modulus
of elasticity of the soil, and (b) the shear strength parameters (effective and total).

Example 1.4
The following result was obtained from CU tests on specimens of a saturated clay.
Determine the shear strength parameters (effective and total).

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Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 15

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

1.7

Field Tests
Sampling disturbances and sample preparation for laboratory tests significantly

affect the shear strength parameters. Consequently, a variety of field tests have been
developed to obtain more reliable soil shear strength parameters by testing soils in-situ.
In the following sections some of the most popular field tests are described.

1.7.1

Shear Vane
In soft and saturated clays, where undisturbed specimen is difficult to obtain,

the undrained shear strength is measured using a shear vane test. A diagrammatic view
of the shear vane apparatus is shown in Fig. 1.20. It consists of four thin metal blades
welded orthogonally (900) to a rod where the height H is twice the diameter D (Fig. 1.20).
Commonly used diameters are 38, 50 and 75 mm.

Figure 1.20: Shear vane apparatus.

The vane is pushed into the soil either at the ground surface or at the bottom of a
borehole until totally embedded in the soil (at least 0.5 m). A torque T is applied by a
torque head device (located above the soil surface and attached to the shear vane rod)
and the vane is rotated at a slow rate of 60 per minute. As a result, shear stresses are
mobilized on all surfaces of a cylindrical volume of the soil generated by the rotation. The
maximum torque is measured by a suitable instrument and equals to the moment of the
mobilized shear stress about the central axis of the apparatus. The undrained shear
strength is calculated from:

Su

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

T
D ( H / 2 D / 6)
2

(1.31)

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 16

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

1.7.2

Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) was developed around 1927 and it is perhaps

the most popular field test performed mostly in coarse grained (or cohesionless)
soils. The SPT is performed by driving a standard split spoon sampler into the ground by
blows from a drop hammer of mass 64 kg falling 760 mm (Fig. 1.21). The sampler is
driven 150 mm into the soil at the bottom of a borehole, and the number of blows (N)
required to drive it an additional 300 mm is counted. The number of blows N is called the
standard penetration number.

Figure 1.21: Standard Penetration Test (Budhu, 248)

Various corrections are applied to the N values to account for energy losses,
overburden pressure, rod length, and so on. It is customary to correct the N values to a
rod energy ratio of 60%. The rod energy ratio is the ratio of the energy delivered to the
split spoon sampler to the free falling energy of the hammer. The corrected N values are
denoted as N60. The N value is used to estimate the relative density, friction angle, and
settlement in coarse grained soils. The test is very simple, but the results are difficult to
interpret.
Typical correlation among N values, relative density, and

' , for coarse grained

soils are given in Table 1.2 below (Budhu, 248).

Table 1.2: Correlation of N, N60, Dr, , and for coarse grained soils.
N

N60

Description

(kN/m3)

Dr (%)

(0)

05
5 10
10 30
30 50
> 50

03
39
9 25
25 45
> 45

Very loose
Loose
Medium
Dense
Very dense

11
14
17
20
>

0 15
16 35
36 65
66 85
> 86

26 28
29 34
35 40
38 45
> 45

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

13
16
19
21
21

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 17

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

The SPT is mostly used in coarse grained soils. However, in some countries, for
example, Japan and the United States, it is also used in fine-grained soils. Table 1.3
below shows, correlation of N60 and Su for saturated fine grained soils.
Table 1.3: Correlation of N60, and Su for fine grained soils.
N60

Description

Su (kPa)

02
35
69
10 15
15 30
> 30

Very soft
Soft
Medium
Stiff
Very stiff
Extremely stiff

< 10
10 25
25 50
50 100
100 200
> 200

1.7.3

Cone Penetration Test (CPT)

The Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT) is an in situ test used for subsurface exploration

in fine and medium sands, soft silts and clays. The apparatus consists of a cone with a
35.7 mm end diameter, projected area of 1000 mm2 and 600 point angle (Fig. 1.22) that
is attached to a rod. An outer sleeve encloses the rod.

Figure 1.22: CPT apparatus (Budhu, 250)

The thrusts required to drive the cone and the sleeve 80 mm into the ground at a
constant rate of 10 mm/s to 20 mm/s are measured independently so that the end
resistance or cone resistance and side friction or sleeve resistance may be estimated
separately. A special type of the cone penetrometer, known as piezocone has porous
elements inserted into the cone or sleeve to allow for pore water pressure
measurements.
The cone resistance qc is normally correlated with the undrained shear strength.
One correlation equation is:
Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 18

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

Su
where

qc z
Nk

(1.32)

z represents the total overburden pressure above the cone tip, and Nk is a

cone factor that depends on the geometry of the cone and the rate of penetration.
Average values of Nk as a function of plasticity index Ip can be estimated from

N k 19

I p 10
5

; I p 10

(1.33)

Results of cone penetrometer tests have also been correlated with the friction angle. A
number of correlations exist. Based on published data for sand (Roberston and
Campanella, 1983), you can estimate

' using:

q
' 35 0 11.5 log c ' ; 25 0 ' 50 0
30 z 0

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

(1.34)

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 19

Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

Appendix:

Eccentric Loads

Meyerhof (1963) proposed an approximate method for loads that are located
off-centered (or eccentric loads).

Soil Mechanics II: Lecture Notes

Instructor: Dr. Hadush Seged 20