Module 5 Shear Strength (Part 2)
Module 5 Shear Strength (Part 2)
The stress condition is known only at failure. The conditions prior to failure are
indeterminate and, therefore, the mohr circle cannot be drawn.
In direct shear test ,the stress distribution on the failure plane (horizontal plane) is not
uniform. The stresses are more at the edges and lead to the progressive failure, like
tearing of a paper. Consequently, the full strength of the soil is not mobilised
simultaneously on the entire failure plane.
The area under shear gradually decreases as the test progresses. But the corrected area
cannot be determined and therefore, the original area is taken for the computation of
stresses.
The orientation of failure plane is fixed. This plane may not be the weakest plane.
Control on the drainage conditions is very difficult. So, only drained tests can be
conducted on highly permeable soils.
The measurement of pore water pressure is not possible in direct shear test.
The side walls of the shear box causes lateral restraint on the specimen and do not
allow it to deform laterally.
SUMMARY OF COMMON SHEAR STRENGTH TESTS
Test Type Applicability Advantages Disadvantages
Direct Shear Test a. Effective strength a. Simple and a. Only for drained conditions
parameters for coarse inexpensive b. Failure plane forced to
grained and fine grained
b. Thin sample allows for occur at joint in box
soils
rapid drainage of fine c. Non-uniform
grained soils
distribution of stress
and strain
d. No stress-strain data
Triaxial Shear Test a. Effective and total a. Easy to control a. Apparatus more
strength parameters drainage complicated than
Lab Vane Shear Test a. Undrained shear a. Very rapid and a. Not applicable to soils
strength of 100% inexpensive with fissures, silt
Compaction
1. Compaction is the process by which solid soil particles are packed more
closely together by mechanical means.
3. It is a rapid process.
4. It is an artificial process.
Consolidation:
1. Consolidation is the process by which soil particles are packed more closely
together under the application of static loading
4. It is a natural process.
MOHR’S CIRCLE
Otto Mohr, a German scientist devised a graphical method for the determination of stresses
on a plane inclined to the major principal planes. The graphical construction is known as
Mohr’s circle. In this method, the origin O is selected and the normal stresses are plotted
along the horizontal axis and the shear stresses on the vertical axis.
To construct a Mohr circle, first mark major and minor principal stress on X axis, Mark the
centre point of that as C. A circle is drawn with c as centre and CF as radius. Each point on
the circle gives the stresses ? and ? on a particular plane. The point E is known as the pole of
the circle.
1. Mohr’s circle can be drawn for stress system with principal planes inclined to co-ordinate
axes
2. Stress system with vertical and horizontal planes are not the principal planes
MOHR-COULOMB THEORY
The soil is a particulate material. The shear failure in soils is by slippage of particles due to
shear stresses. According to Mohr, the failure is caused by a critical combination of normal
and shear stresses. The soil fails when the shear stress on the failure plane at failure is a
unique function of the normal stress acting on that plane. Since the shear stress of the failure
plane is defined as the shear strength (s) the equation for that can be written as
S= f ( )
The Mohr theory is concerned with the shear stress at failure plane at failure. A plot can be
made between the shear stresses and the normal stress at failure. The curve defined by this is
known as the failure envelope.
The shear strength of a soil at a point on a particular plane was expressed by Coulomb as a
linear function of the normal stress on that plane as,
In this C is equal to the intercept on Y axis and phi is the angle which the envelope make with
X axis
Depending upon the drainage conditions, there are three types of tests
Unconsolidated-Undrained condition
Consolidated – Undrained condition
Consolidated-Drained condition
Test
A soil specimen of size 60 x 60 x 25 mm is taken. It is placed in the direct shear box and
compacted. The upper grid plate, porous stone and pressure pad is placed on the specimen.
Normal load and shear load is be applied till failure
Presentation of results
Stress – strain curve
Failure envelope
Mohr’s circle
Merits
1. the sample preparation is easy
2. as the thickness of the sample is very less, the drainage is quick
3. it is ideally suited for conducting drained tests on cohesionless soils
4. the apparatus is relatively cheap
Demerits
1. the stress conditions are known only at failure
2. the stress distribution on the failure plane is not uniform
3. the area of shear gradually decreases as the test progresses
4. the orientation of the failure plane is fixed
5. control of drainage conditions is very difficult
6. measurement of pore water pressure is not possible
Demerits
1. The apparatus is elaborate, costly and bulky
2. The drained test takes a longer period as compared with that in a direct shear test
3. The strain condition in the specimen are not uniform
4. It is not possible to find out the cross sectional area of the specimen accurately under large
strains
5. The test simulates only axi symmetric problems
6. The consolidation of the specimen in the test is isotropic whereas in the field, consolidation is
generally anisotropic.
1. Stresses
Deviator stress=P/A
Principal stresses
4. Compressive strength
A compressive force is applied to the specimen till failure. The compressive load can be
measured using a proving ring..
Presentation of results
In this test the minor principal stress is zero. The major principal stress is equal to the
deviator stress. The Mohr circle can be drawn for stress conditions at failure.
Merits
1. The test is convenient, simple and quick
2. It is ideally suited for measuring the unconsolidated undrained shear strength of intact
saturated clays
3. The sensitivity of the soil can be easily determined
Demerits
1. The test cannot be conducted on fissured clays
2. The test may be misleading for soils of which the angle of shearing resistance is not zero.
Shear strength S
T
τ=
2 H D
ПD { + }
2 6
D = Diameter of vane
Demerits
1. The test cannot be conducted on the fissured clay or the clay containing silt or sand
laminations
2. The test does not give accurate results when the failure envelope is not horizontal
The test is carried out on a soil sample confined in a metal box of square cross-section which
is split horizontally at mid-height. A small clearance is maintained between the two halves of
the box.The soil is sheared along a predetermined plane by moving the top half of the box
relative to the bottom half. The box is usually square in plan of size
60 mm x 60 mm. A typical shear box is shown.
If the soil sample is fully or partially saturated, perforated metal plates and porous stones are
placed below and above the sample to allow free drainage. If the sample is dry, solid metal
plates are used. A load normal to the plane of shearing can be applied to the soil sample
through the lid of the box.
Tests on sands and gravels can be performed quickly, and are usually performed dry as it is
found that water does not significantly affect the drained strength. For clays, the rate of
shearing must be chosen to prevent excess pore pressures building up.
As a vertical normal load is applied to the sample, shear stress is gradually applied
horizontally, by causing the two halves of the box to move relative to each other. The shear
load is measured together with the corresponding shear displacement. The change of
thickness of the sample is also measured.
A number of samples of the soil are tested each under different vertical loads and the value of
shear stress at failure is plotted against the normal stress for each test. Provided there is no
excess pore water pressure in the soil, the total and effective stresses will be identical. From
the stresses at failure, the failure envelope can be obtained.
• Large samples can be tested in large shear boxes, as small samples can give misleading
results due to imperfections such as fractures and fissures, or may not be truly representative.
• Samples can be sheared along predetermined planes, when the shear strength along fissures
or other selected planes are needed.
The disadvantages of the test include:
• The failure plane is always horizontal in the test, and this may not be the weakest plane in
the sample. Failure of the soil occurs progressively from the edges towards the centre of the
sample.
• There is no provision for measuring pore water pressure in the shear box and so it is not
possible to determine effective stresses from undrained tests.
• The shear box apparatus cannot give reliable undrained strengths because it is impossible to
prevent localised drainage away from the shear plane.
Triaxial test
The triaxial test is carried out in a cell on a cylindrical soil sample having a length to diameter ratio of 2. The usual
sizes are 76 mm x 38 mm and 100 mm x 50 mm. Three principal stresses are applied to the soil sample, out of which
two are applied water pressure inside the confining cell and are equal. The third principal stress is applied by a
loading ram through the top of the cell and is different to the other two principal stresses. A typical triaxial cell is
shown.
The soil sample is placed inside a rubber sheath which is sealed to a top cap and bottom pedestal by rubber O-rings.
For tests with pore pressure measurement, porous discs are placed at the bottom, and sometimes at the top of the
specimen. Filter paper drains may be provided around the outside of the specimen in order to speed up the
consolidation process. Pore pressure generated inside the specimen during testing can be measured by means of
pressure transducers.
First stage: In this, a soil sample is set in the triaxial cell and confining pressure is then applied.
Second stage: In this, additional axial stress (also called deviator stress) is applied which induces shear stresses in
the sample. The axial stress is continuously increased until the sample fails.
During both the stages, the applied stresses, axial strain, and pore water pressure or change in sample volume can be
measured.
Test Types
There are several test variations, and those used mostly in practice are:
UU (unconsolidated undrained) test: In this, cell pressure is applied without allowing drainage. Then keeping cell
pressure constant, deviator stress is increased to failure without drainage.
CU (consolidated undrained) test: In this, drainage is allowed during cell pressure application. Then without
allowing further drainage, deviator stress is increased keeping cell pressure constant.
CD (consolidated drained) test: This is similar to CU test except that as deviator stress is increased, drainage is
permitted. The rate of loading must be slow enough to ensure no excess pore water pressure develops.
In the UU test, if pore water pressure is measured, the test is designated by .
In the CU test, if pore water pressure is measured in the second stage, the test is symbolized as .
During the shearing process, the soil sample experiences axial strain, and either volume change or development of
pore water pressure occurs. The magnitude of shear stress acting on different planes in the soil sample is different.
When at some strain the sample fails, this limiting shear stress on the failure plane is called the shear strength.
H = height of vanes in cm
——–>(1)
Consider the sheared surface to be composed of a number of elementary rings of thickness dr.
Total shear resistance on the top and bottom of the surface of the cylinder
—————-(2)
If the top of the vane is above the soil surface and depth of the vane inside the sample is ,
then
1. Push into the clay, the vane and rod below the bottom of the bore hole, ensuring the
verticality of the central rod.
2. Rotate the vanes at a constant speed of per minute by suitable equipment.
3. The test can be conveniently used to determine the sensitivity of the soil.
The shear strength of the soil under undrained conditions is equal to the apparent cohesion.
The vane shear test can be used to determine the sensitivity of the soil. After the initial test,
the vane is rotated rapidly through several revolutions such that the soil becomes remoulded.
The test is repeated on the remoulded soils and the shear strength in remoulded condition is
determined. Thus,
Sensitivity,
ii. It is ideally suited for the determination of the undrained shear strength of non-fissured
fully saturated clay.
iii. The test can be conveniently used to determine the sensitivity of the soil.
iv. The test can be conducted in soft clays situated at a great depth, samples of which are
difficult to obtain.
DISADVANTAGE OF VANE SHEAR TEST
i. The test can not be conducted on the clay containing sand or silt laminations or the fissured
clay.
ii. The test does not give accurate results when the failure envelope is not horizontal.