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Chapter 2

The document discusses different methods for determining the strength properties of soils, including shear strength and failure criteria. It describes laboratory tests such as direct shear tests, consolidated drained triaxial tests, consolidated undrained triaxial tests, and unconfined compression tests. These tests are used to obtain parameters like the friction angle, cohesion, and undrained shear strength of soils which are important for analyzing soil strength and stability of geotechnical structures.

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Solomon Mehari
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
95 views

Chapter 2

The document discusses different methods for determining the strength properties of soils, including shear strength and failure criteria. It describes laboratory tests such as direct shear tests, consolidated drained triaxial tests, consolidated undrained triaxial tests, and unconfined compression tests. These tests are used to obtain parameters like the friction angle, cohesion, and undrained shear strength of soils which are important for analyzing soil strength and stability of geotechnical structures.

Uploaded by

Solomon Mehari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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 The safety of any geotechnical structure is dependent on the

strength of the soil.

 Soil fails ------------structure collapses

 Strength of a soil is very important to engineers

 Strength ----------- shear strength


Angle of obliquity---
angle of internal friction
Mohr’s Circle
Example 2.1
Answer
Answer
Example 2.2
Answer
Answer
Answer
Example 2.3
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion
• Soils by nature have slip planes.

• Each contact of one soil particle with another is a potential micro slip plane.

• Loadings cause these micro slip planes to align in the direction of least resistance.

• Possible mode of soil failure is slip on a plane of least resistance.

• In 1976 Coulomb observed that if the thrust of a soil against a retaining wall
caused the wall to move forward slightly, an essentially straight slip plane is
formed in the retaining soil.
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion
• If Coulomb’s equation is plotted on graph, σn’ Vs τ’ we get a straight
line if φ’ = φ’cr.
• Therefore, Coulomb’s law may be used to model soil behavior at
critical state.
• What about modelling peak behavior for Type II soils?
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion

• The geometry of soil grains and their structural arrangements are much more complex than the
disc analogy. In real soils, the particles are randomly distributed and often irregular. Shearing of a
given volume of soil would cause impeding slip of some particles to occur up the plane while
others down the plane.
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion
• For cemented soil, Coulomb’s frictional law can be written as;

C
σ‘n
Failure Criteria
Coulomb’s Criterion

φ
φ
Failure Criteria
Taylor’s Failure Criterion
• Taylor (1948) used an energy method to derive a simple soil model.

• He assumed that the shear strength of soil is due to sliding friction from shearing and the
interlocking of soil particles.

• Assume a rectangular soil element sheared by a shear stress of τ under a constant vertical
effective stress σ’z.

• Assume the increment of shear strain is dϒ and the increment of vertical strain is dεz

• τ dϒ = the external energy (force x distance moved in the direction of force x strain)

• tanφ σ’z dϒ = the internal energy ( work done by friction)

• ±σ’zdεz = work done by the movement of the soil against the vertical effective stress
Failure Criteria
Taylor’s Failure Criterion
• For equilibrium;
Failure Criteria
Taylor’s Failure Criterion
• Unlike Coulomb’s failure criterion, Taylor’s doesn’t require the
assumption of any physical mechanisms of failure, such as plane of
sliding. It can be applied at every stage of loading for soil that are
homogeneous and deform under plane strain condition.
Failure Criteria
Taylor’s Failure Criterion
Failure Criteria
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion
• Mohr’s circle can be used to determine the stress within a soil mass.

• Combining Mohr’s circle for finding stress state with Coulomb’s


frictional law, generalized failure criterion can be developed.
Failure Criteria
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion
Point of tangency [(σ’n)f, τ’f]

Object: to find a relationship


between the principle effective
stresses and φ at failure.

(σ’1)f
Failure Criteria
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion
Failure Criteria
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion

• It is a limiting stress criterion, requires that stresses in the soil mass


can’t lie within the shaded region called Region of impossible stress
state. .
• The soil can’t have a stress states greater than the failure stress.
Failure Criteria
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion
Failure Criteria
Tresca Failure Criterion

• The shear strength of a fine-grained soil under undrained condition is


called the undrained shear strength, su
• The Tresca failure criterion is used to interpret the undrained shear
strength of a soil.
• The undrained shear strength is the radius of the Mohr total stress
circle.
Failure Criteria
Tresca Failure Criterion

• The shear strength under undrained loading depends only on the initial
void ratio or the initial water content.

• An increase in initial normal effective stress (confining pressure) causes a


decrease in initial void ratio and a larger change in excess pore water
pressure.

• Su is not a fundamental soil property, it depends on the magnitude of the


initial confining pressure or the initial void ratio.
Failure Criteria
Tresca Failure Criterion
Failure Criteria
Tresca Failure Criterion
Laboratory Tests
• Some terms
• Long-term condition: life of the geotechnical structure

• Short-term condition: during construction and shortly after

• Undrained shear strength, Su: shear strength of fine grained soil under undrained
condition.

• Total stress analysis (TSA): analysis of soil strength and soil stability problems
using Su.

• Effective stress analysis (ESA): analysis of soil strength and soil stability problems
using c’ and φ’.
Laboratory Tests
Shear Box or Direct Shear Test

• Useful when a soil mass is likely to fail along a thin zone under plane
strain condition.
• From the recorded data, you can find φ’p, φ’cs, τp, τcs, α, Su (if fine-
grained soils are tested quickly)
From the recorded data, you can find
φ’p, φ’cs, τp, τcs, α, Su (if fine-grained
soils are tested quickly)
Laboratory Tests
Consolidated Drained (CD) Test

• Purpose is to determine the drained shear strength parameters φ’cs,


and φ’p.
• To analyze long-term loading of a soil mass.
• φ’p, φ’cs, τp, τcs, and E’, E’s (Δσ Vs ε1) can be obtained
Laboratory Tests
Consolidated Drained (CD) Test
Laboratory Tests
Consolidated Drained (CD) Test
Some Practical Application of CD Triaxial Tests
Laboratory Tests
Consolidated Undrained (CU) Test

• Purpose of the test is to determine the undrained and drained shear


strength parameters (Su, φ’cs, and φ’p)
• Same manner as the CD test except after isotropic consolidation the
axial load is increased under undrained condition and excess pore
water pressure is measured.
Laboratory Tests
Consolidated Undrained (CU) Test
Laboratory Tests
Consolidated Undrained (CU) Test
Some Practical Application of CU Triaxial Tests
Laboratory Tests
Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) Test

• Purpose of the test is to determine the undrained shear strength, Su


of a saturated soil.

• Application of a cell pressure to soil sample without drainage of pore


water followed by increments of axial stress.

• Test is completed very quickly.


Laboratory Tests
Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) Test
Laboratory Tests
Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) Test
Laboratory Tests
Unconfined Compression (UC) Test
• Purpose of this test is to determine the undrained shear strength of saturated clays quickly.

• No radial stress is applied to the sample (σ3 = 0).

• The axial load Pz is increased rapidly until the soil sample fails, it can’t support any
additional load.

• The results of a UC test are used to


• Estimate the short term bearing capacity of fine grained soils for foundations.

• Estimate short term stability of slopes

• Determine the shear-strain characteristics under fast (undrained) loading condition.


or

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