QUESTION 1

Shear strength is defined as the maximum shear stress that the soil may sustain
without experiencing failure. Shear strength is a critical parameter in geotechnical
projects. It is needed to derive the bearing capacity, design retaining walls,
evaluate the stability of slopes and embankments, etc.

According to the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion (equation 1), the shear strength
of soils consists of two components, cohesion (c) and frictional angle (φ) and is
also dependent on the normal effective stress (σ').

τ=c+σ’tanφ (1)

Strength parameters (cohesion and friction angle) are derived both from in situ and
laboratory testing.

The most common in-situ tests are the following:

Vane Shear Test.

Standard Penetration Test (SPT)

Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT)

Pressuremeter

The most common laboratory tests are the following:

Direct Shear Test

Unconfined Compression (UCC) Test

Simple Shear Test

Triaxial Compression Test

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Mohr-Coulomb shear strength

The Mohr-Coulomb theory states that the shear strength (τ) is dependent on the
normal stress (σ), internal friction angle (φ), and cohesion (c) as shown in Eq. (1). τ
= c + (σ . Tan φ) (1)

What is Mohr's strength theory?

The Mohr theory is virtually an empirical theory of yield which accounts for the
behavior of permanently deformed materials. As portrayed on a Mohr stress
diagram the theory assumes a functional relation between mean stress and
maximum shear stress on the plane of failure.

What is Mohr's theory of failure?

One theory that is used for the prediction of failure in a ductile material is the
maximum shear stress theory (MSS). The basis of this theory is that failure will
occur when the maximum shear stress exceeds the maximum shear stress that
exists for yielding in a uni-axial test.

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Question 2
Triaxial Shear Test Apparatus
The important apparatus for triaxial shear test are:

1. Triaxial testing machine complete with triaxial cell : This unit have the
provision to insert a cylindrical soil specimen that is sealed by means of rubber
membrane to restrict the entry of lateral fluid. Radial fluid pressure and the
vertical stress is applied by means of a piston arrangement. The unit also have
the provision to prevent the drainage of specimen. The fluid pressure in the cell
can be measured by means of a pressure gauge.

2. Equipment for loading

3. Equipment to measure load and Deformation : Proving is used to measure the

load application by the piston. A dial guage is used to measure the deformation
of the specimen
Triaxial Shear Test Principle
A cylindrical specimen, generally having a length to diameter ratio of 2, is used in
the test and is stressed under conditions of axial symmetry in the manner.

The normal size of the sample will be 76mm x 38mm & 100mm x 50mm. The
sample is subjected to three principal stresses. Among this three  stresses, two are
stress due to water pressure that is within the confining cell. The two values are
equal. The application of a load on the top of the cell by means of a ram as shown
above, is the applied third stress. This stress is different from other two stresses.
The sample tested has its ends sealed by top cap and bottom pedestal by rubber O-
rings. If these involves pore pressure measurement, porous stones can be placed at
the bottom and the top of the specimen. Pressure transducers are used to measure
the pressure that is developed inside the specimen. The triaxial shear testing can be

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conducted by two steps: Step 1: The soil sample is prepared and set in the triaxial
cell. Then the confining pressure is applied. Step 2: Here, deviator stress is applied,
which is an additional axial stress. This induces shear stresses within the sample.
The axial stress applied is increased till the soil sample fails. The applied stresses,
axial strain and the pore water pressure is measured for both the above steps.
Triaxial Shear Test Procedure
The specimen can be prepared either remoulded or undisturbed. Undisturbed soil
can be tested on soils that have sufficient cohesion. In order to make remoulded
soils, cohesive soil is collected and compacted properly. Care is taken while
preparing the cohesion less soils. The triaxial shear test can be conducted in
different variations. The most commonly employed types are:

1. Unconsolidated Undrained Test (UU)

2. Consolidated Undrained Test (CU)

3. Consolidated Drained Test (CD)

1. Unconsolidated Undrained Test (UU)
As the name tells, the soil sample is subjected to cell pressure with no provision of
drainage. Here the cell pressure is maintained to a constant value and the applied
deviator stress is increased till the sample fails. This is called as quick test.

2. Consolidated Undrained Test (CU)

Here, during the application of cell pressure on the sample, drainage is permitted.
And the deviator stress is applied keeping the cell pressure constant and no
provision of further drainage.

3. Consolidated Drained Test (CD)

This test is also called as drained or slow test. Here the deviator stress is increased
by allowing the drainage to happen as it was and the cell pressure is also kept

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constant. Here the rate of loading is applied slowly so that excess pore pressure is
not developed within the sample The prepared specimen is enveloped in the
membrane and positioned in the triaxial cell. To this, the desired lateral pressure is
applied. Till the specimen fails, the lateral pressure is applied. The vertical
deformation and the load readings are recorded. The main objective of the test is to
determine the values of cohesion and angle of internal friction. To determine these
values, three different lateral pressure values have to be tested on the sample.

Advantages of Triaxial Test

1. The stress distribution on the failure plane is uniform.

2. The specimen is free to fail on the weakest plane

3. There is complete control over the drainage.

4. Pore pressure changes and the volumetric changes can be measured directly.

5. The state of stress at all intermediate stages upto failure is known. The Mohr
circle can be drawn at any stage of shear.

6. This test is suitable for accurate research work and the apparatus adaptable
to special requirements such as extension test and tests for different stress
paths.
Disadvantages of Triaxial Test

1. The apparatus is elaborate, bulky and costly.

2. The drained test takes place a longer period in comparison with a direct
shear test.

3. It is not possible to determine the cross sectional area of the specimen at

larger strains, as the assumption that the specimen remains cylindrical does
not hold good.

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 4. The strain conditions in the specimen are not uniform due to frictional
restraint produced by the loading cap and the pedestal disc. This leads to the
formation of the dead zones at each end of the specimen.

5. The consolidation of the specimen in the test is isotropic, whereas in the

field, the consolidation is generally anisotropic.

Question 3

Unconfined Compression Test - UC Test

Purpose:

The primary purpose of Unconfined Compression Test is to determine the

unconfined compressive strength, which is then used to calculate the
unconsolidated undrained shear strength of the clay under unconfined conditions.
According to the ASTM standard, the unconfined compressive strength (qu) is
defined as the compressive stress at which an unconfined cylindrical specimen of
soil will fail in a simple compression test. In addition, in this test method, the
unconfined compression strength is taken as the maximum load attained per unit
area, or the load per unit area at 15% axial strain, whichever occurs first during the
performance of a test.

Significance:

For soils, the undrained shear strength (su) is necessary for the determination of
the bearing capacity of foundations, dams, etc. The undrained shear strength (su) of
clays is commonly determined from an unconfined compression test. The
undrained shear strength (su) of a cohesive soil is equal to one half the unconfined
compression strength (qu) when the soil is under the f = 0 condition (f = the angle
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of internal friction). The most critical condition for the soil usually occurs
immediately after construction, which represents undrained conditions, when the
undrained shear strength is basically equal to the cohesion (c). This is expressed as:

Then, as time passes, the pore water in the soil slowly dissipates, and the
intergranular stress increases, so that the drained shear strength (s), given by s = c
+ s‘tan f , must be used. Where s‘ = intergranular pressure acting perpendicular to
the shear plane; and s‘ = (s - u), s = total pressure, and u = pore water pressure; c’
and φ’ are drained shear strength parameters. The determination of drained shear
strength parameters is given in Experiment 14

Equipment:

Compression device, Load and deformation dial gauges, Sample trimming

equipment, Balance, Moisture can.

Unconfined Compression Test Procedure:

1. Extrude the soil sample from Shelby tube sampler. Cut a soil specimen so
that the ratio (L/d) is approximately between 2 and 2.5. Where L and d are
the length and diameter of soil specimen, respectively.
2. Measure the exact diameter of the top of the specimen at three locations
120° apart, and then make the same measurements on the bottom of the
specimen. Average the measurements and record the average as the diameter
on the data sheet.
3. Measure the exact length of the specimen at three locations 120° apart, and
then average the measurements and record the average as the length on the
data sheet.
4. Weigh the sample and record the mass on the data sheet.

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 5. Calculate the deformation (∆L) corresponding to 15% strain (ε). Where L0 =
Original specimen length (as measured in step 3).
6. Carefully place the specimen in the compression device and center it on the
bottom plate. Adjust the device so that the upper plate just makes contact
with the specimen and set the load and deformation dials to zero.
7. Apply the load so that the device produces an axial strain at a rate of 0.5% to
2.0% per minute, and then record the load and deformation dial readings on
the data sheet at every 20 to 50 divisions on deformation the dial.
8. Keep applying the load until (1) the load (load dial) decreases on the
specimen significantly, (2) the load holds constant for at least four
deformation dial readings, or (3) the deformation is significantly past the
15% strain that was determined in step 5.
9. Draw a sketch to depict the sample failure.
10.Remove the sample from the compression device and obtain a sample for
water content determination. Determine the water content.
Unconfined Compression Test Analysis:
1. Convert the dial readings to the appropriate load and length units, and enter
these values on the data sheet in the deformation and total load columns.
(Confirm that the conversion is done correctly, particularly proving dial
gauge readings conversion into load)
2. Compute the sample cross-sectional area
3. Compute the strain
4. Computed the corrected area,
5. Using A’, compute the specimen stress,
6. Compute the water content, w%.
7. Plot the stress versus strain. Show qu as the peak stress (or at 15% strain) of
the test. Be sure that the strain is plotted on the abscissa. See example data.
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 8. Draw Mohr’s circle using qu from the last step and show the undrained shear
strength, su = c (or cohesion) = qu/2. See the example data.
QUESTION 4

Mohr-coulomb strength parameters

Stability analysis of a rock slope requires assessment of shear strength parameters,
that is, cohesion (c) and angle of internal friction (ϕ) of the rock mass. Estimates of
these parameters are usually not based on extensive field tests. Mehrotra
(1992) carried out extensive block shear tests to study the shear strength
parameters of rock masses. The following inferences may be drawn from this
study:
1. The rock mass rating (RMR) system can be used to estimate the shear strength
parameters c and ϕ of the weathered and saturated rock masses. It was observed
that the cohesion (c) and the angle of internal friction (ϕ) increase
when RMR increases (Figure 16.1).

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Calculation from soil shear strength parameters
Shear strength parameters indirectly allow determining the shaft and base
contributions of characteristic ground resisting load, Rs;k and Rb;k, through
appropriate capacity formulations. Because the ground is the material that absorbs
all the actions through the pile, the selection of characteristic values for
geotechnical parameters shall take account of the following (EN 1997, 2004):
 Geological and other background information, such as data from previous
projects;

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 Variability of the measured property values and other relevant information, for
example from existing knowledge;
 Extent of the field and laboratory investigation;
 Type and number of samples;
 Extent of the zone of ground governing the behaviour of the geotechnical
structure;
 Limit state being considered;
 Ability of the geotechnical structure to transfer loads from weak to strong
zones in the ground.

To obtain the design value of ground resisting load via the present approach,
partial factors γM may be applied either to the characteristic ground properties Xk,
to the characteristic resisting loads Rk or to both.

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 REFERENCE

Barton, N. (2013). Review of a new shear-strength criterion for rock joints.

Engineering geology, 7(4), 287-332.

Barton, N., & Choubey, V. (2017). The shear strength of rock joints in theory and
practice. Rock mechanics, 10(1), 1-54.

Bishop, A. W., & Henkel, D. J. (2012). The measurement of soil properties in the
triaxial test.

Park, S. S. (2011). Unconfined compressive strength and ductility of fiber-

reinforced cemented sand. Construction and building materials, 25(2),
1134-1138.

Shen, J., Priest, S. D., & Karakus, M. (2012). Determination of Mohr–Coulomb

shear strength parameters from generalized Hoek–Brown criterion for
slope stability analysis. Rock mechanics and rock engineering, 45(1), 123-
129.

Taylor, H. P. (2012). Shear strength of large beams. Journal of the Structural

Division, 98(11), 2473-2490.

Zuan, P., Yang, L., & Fei, L. (2022). Particle breakage behavior in frozen sands
during triaxial shear tests based on the energy principle. Cold Regions
Science and Technology, 199, 103571.

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