INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI

Department of Civil Engineering

CVP321 Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

MEMORANDUM

To: CVP321 Students Date: Oct 9 – Oct 20, 2023

From: Sumeet Kumar Sinha

Subject: Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) Triaxial Compression Test

Purpose:

The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to determine:

1. The effect of confining stress on the shear strength of clays under UU test.
2. The total stress shear strength parameters (c,ϕ) of the clays under UU test.
Students should learn about the UU test and how they are affected by the confining stress.
Additionally, they should be able to obtain the total stress shear strength parameters (c,ϕ) from
different clay samples under UU test.

ASTM and IS Standard Methods:

 IS 2720 (PART XI) – Determination of the Shear Strength Parameters of a Specimen tested
in Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression without the measurement of Pore Water
Pressure
 ASTM D2850-23 – Standard Test Method for Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial
Compression Test of Cohesive Soil

Equipment:

Special:
1. Triaxial Sample Framer, Wire Saw, and Cradle (Figure 1)
2. Seamless Rubber Membrane (0.2 to 0.3 mm thick), Membrane Stretcher for 38 mm diameter
specimen, and Rubber O-rings (Figure 2)
3. Triaxial Test cell – Should be capable of withstanding the pressure required for testing and
there should be a mechanism of applying axial load. The base of the cell shall be provided
with a suitable central pedestal with drainage outlets with valves.
4. Water Reservoir, and Compressor for applying pressure to the triaxial cell.
5. Non-Porous metal/plastic end caps
6. An apparatus for applying and measuring the desired pressure on the fluid within the cell.
7. Proving Ring - Capable of measuring up to 300 kg.
8. Dial gauge of least count 0.01 mm

General:
9. Spatula, Grease/oil
10. Vernier calipers, Stopwatch, and Weighing balance of 0.1 gm accuracy.
11. Tin cans.
12. Oven (Temperature maintained between 105 oC and 110 oC)
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Figure 1. Tools used for the extraction of the soil specimen from a soil cake: Sample Farmer, Spatula, Cradle,
and Wire Saw (from left to right).

Figure 2. Tools used for the preparation of the extracted soil specimen for testing in the triaxial apparatus:
Membrane Stretcher, Triaxial cell base, non-porous metal/plastic End Caps, O-rings, and Rubber Membrane
(from left to right).

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Procedure:

Specimen Preparation

A cylindrical soil specimen (of 32 mm in diameter and 76 mm in length) is trimmed from a

prepared soil cake (see Figure 3) using the procedure outlined below.

1. From the given soil cake sample, trim both of its ends such that the length of the trimmed
soil cake sample is about 90 mm in length (see Figure 3 (a)).
2. Take the sample farmer and grease its base with oil. Lift the plunger (the top rod) and
gently place the soil cake over the base. Make sure, the sample can rotate freely to 360
degrees. Now secure the plunger in place using the ball bearing (see Figure 3 (b)).
3. Choose the side of sample farmer to trim the specimen (using wire saw) to a diameter of
38 mm diameter. Note: Depending on the side of trimming, the sample farmer would result
in soil specimen of diameter of 38 mm or 56 mm.
4. Slowly rotate the sample and trim the soil (vertically down) by pushing the wire saw against
the frame of the sample farmer (see Figure 3 (c)). Clean the wire using tissue as you cut. If
required apply grease/oil. Once trimming is complete the specimen would be of diameter
38 mm (see Figure 3 (d)). Note: Trim small chunks of soil at a time.
5. Release the plunger and lift it up. Simultaneously, slightly tilt the soil farmer and gently
place the trimmed sample in the cradle (see Figure 3 (e)).
6. Again, trim the specimen by pushing the wire saw against the longitudinal edges of the
cradle (see Figure 3 (f)). Use the soil trimmed for determining the water content, separately
for the top and the bottom of the specimen. The initial water content is then taken as the
average of the two readings.
7. The sample is now trimmed to the length of 76 mm and has diameter of 38 mm (see Figure
3 (f)) and is now ready to be placed in the triaxial cell.

(a)
Soil cake

(b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

Soil Cake on Trimming of Sample Trimmed Sample of Place Sample on Trim Sample for
Sample Farmer Diameter 38 mm the Cradle Length of 76 mm

Figure 3. Illustration of steps for specimen preparation (from left to right).

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Performing the UU Test

8. Clean the base of the triaxial cell to ensure there is no blockage of drainage. Place the
plastic bottom cap at the center of the triaxial cell.
9. Gently place the specimen above the bottom cap (see Figure 4 (a)). Now place the top cap
(See Figure 4 (b)).
10. Apply the membrane to the membrane stretcher as shown in Figure 4 (c). Use your mouth
to apply suction to the membrane and then gently place the membrane above the specimen.
Now, place two O-rings on either end of the membrane (see Figure 4 (d)) stretcher and
place them on the top and bottom caps to airtight the specimen as shown in Figure 4 (e).
11. Close the triaxial cell and tighten the three bottom screws. Note: All the screws should be
tightened equally with two screws at a time to ensure proper sealing and level condition.

Figure 4. Illustration of steps for placing the specimen in the triaxial cell (from left to right).

12. Move the triaxial cell to the loading frame and place it onto the bottom platen. Fix dial
gages to measure the vertical compression and the load of the specimen. Set the
deformation rate of 1.25 mm/min. Note: Before placing the triaxial cell the bottom platen
should be lowered to its lowest point.
13. Slowly raise the bottom platen until there is 5 millimeters gap between the top cap and the
loading ram. Release the air valve located at the tip of the triaxial cell.
14. Switch on the pressure pump and fill the cell with water from the reservoir. Once the cell
is filled with water, close the air valve. Now, apply the desired cell pressure and wait for a
minute.
15. Slowly raise the bottom platen to make the load ram in contact with the top cap. When the
load gage just starts to deflect, the contact is established. Re-establish zero in both the strain
dial gauge and the proving ring dial gauge.
16. Now apply gradual compression by raising the machine's bottom at the controlled
displacement rate of 1.25 mm/min. Record readings from both the strain dial gauge and the

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 proving ring dial gauge at intervals of 25 seconds throughout the compression process.
Note: the least count values for both the strain dial gauge and the load dial gauge. Note the
load cell number and use its calibration chart for determining load.
17. The test is complete when either the specimen fails or a vertical deformation of 20% is
achieved, depending on whichever condition is met first.
18. After completion of the test, release the cell pressure and drain the water from the cell to
the reservoir. Lower the bottom platen and gently take out the triaxial cell back to the
workbench.
19. Open the triaxial cell, to view the failed sample. Remove the o-rings from the top cap and
gently slide down the membrane to its bottom. Take a picture of the failed sample and take
a note of its deformation. If feasible and distinctly visible, measure the angle of failure
from the horizontal plane.
20. Take a core sample from the failed specimen to determine the moisture content using the
oven-drying method. The water content measurement can be then used to test any leakage
to the soil specimen. Note: For an undrained test, the water content taken before the test
and after the test should be the same.
21. Throw the sample in the soil bin and clean the workstation area as well as all the tools used
in the experiment.

Water
Reservoir Cell Pressure
Gage

Loading
Frame

Figure 5. A view of the triaxial test setup.

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Formula and Calculation:

𝑃𝑃 𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜
𝑞𝑞 = ; 𝐴𝐴𝑐𝑐 =
𝐴𝐴𝑐𝑐 1−𝜀𝜀

𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
ε=
𝐿𝐿𝑜𝑜

Where, q = Deviatoric Stress

P = Deviatoric Load
Ao = Initial Area
Ac = Corrected Area at Failure
ε = axial strain
ΔL = change in length
Lo = Initial length of sample

Action in the laboratory:

1. Prepare a soil specimen from the given soil cake using the trimming method on a sample
farmer.
2. Test the specimen for the UU test at three confining stresses in a triaxial cell. Draw the
Mohr column failure envelops for the three tests to determine the total stress shear strength
parameters (c,ϕ).

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Deliverables:

Your report for the UU Test lab should include the subject, test standards, equipment (in one-two
line max), soil, procedure (describe very briefly), results, discussion, and appendices containing
the tables and figures summarizing the test results. The sections (excluding appendices) should be
within one and half pages.

The discussion section should answer the following questions:

• Describe the UU test and discuss why it is a total stress analysis and not an effective stress
analysis. Why it is not useful to measure the pore pressure in this test.
• Describe the stress-strain behavior and the failure pattern of the soil specimens observed
during the UU test.
• Discuss the shear strength parameters of the soils obtained from the test. How does the
confining stress affect the UU shear strength. Also discuss how does the shear strength
parameters varied for different soils and its interpretation for civil engineering applications.

The attachments should include the following tables and figures:

• Table 1. Summary of sample dimensions, moisture content, and measured shear strength.
• Table 2. Stress-strain response during the UU test for different soil specimens.
• Figure 1. Loading frame/Triaxial Loading frame arrangement for conducting the UU test.
• Figure 2. Plot between Axial stress (q) and Axial strain (ε) in %.
• Figure 3. Sample condition after failure clearly depicts the failure line/angle.
• Figure 4. Determination of the shear strength parameters (c,ϕ) using the Mohr Circles for all
the test specimens.

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Observations Tables:

Table 1. Summary of specimen dimension, moisture content, and measured shear strength.

SPECIMEN SPECIFICATION Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3

Initial diameter, Do (mm)

Initial length, Lo (mm)

Initial Area, Ao (cm2)

Initial Volume, Vo (cm³)
Mass of empty Cradle (gm)
Mass of Cradle with specimen (gm)
Mass of specimen (gm)
Bulk Density (kg/m3)

WATER CONTENT Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3

Before Test Before Test Before Test
After After After
Sample taken from Test Test Test
Top Bottom Top Bottom Top Bottom

Container No.
Wt. of Container (gm)
Wt. of Cont. + Wet Soil (gm)
Wt. of Cont. + Dry Soil (gm)
Wt. of Water (gm)
Wt. of Dry Soil (gm)
Water Content (%)
Bulk Density (gm/cc)
Dry Density (gm/cc)
Degree of Saturation, S (%)

SHEAR STRENGTH Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3

Confining Stress, σ3 (kPa)
Deviatoric Stress, q (kPa)
Major Principal Stress, σ1 (kPa)
Axial Strain at Failure, ε (%)
Cohesion, c (kPa)
Friction Angle, ϕ (degrees)

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Table 2. Stress-strain response during the UU test for Specimen No 1.
Proven Ring Constant (N/div) ____________________________________________________
Least count of deformation dial gauge, LC (mm/div) __________________________________

Specimen No. 1 _________________ Confining Stress _________________

Deformation, Corrected
Elapsed Strain Load Deviatoric
# ΔL Area, Ac
Time Stress, q (N/cm²)
Div mm ε =ΔL/Lo (cm²) Div N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

Specimen No. 2 _________________ Confining Stress _________________

Deformation, Corrected
Elapsed Strain Load Compressive
# ΔL Area, Ac
Time Stress, q (N/cm²)
Div mm ε =ΔL/L o
(cm²) Div N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
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Specimen No. 3 _________________ Confining Stress _________________
Deformation, Corrected
Elapsed Strain Load Compressive
# ΔL Area, Ac
Time Stress, q (N/cm²)
Div mm ε =ΔL/Lo (cm²) Div N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

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