INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI

Department of Civil Engineering

CVP321 Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

MEMORANDUM

To: CVP321 Students Date: September 2024

From: Sumeet Kumar Sinha

Subject: Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) Test

Purpose: The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to determine:

1. The peak shear strength and undrained shear strength of clays under UCS test.
2. Stress-strain behavior, failure angle and their repeatability for two tested specimens at same
water content.

ASTM and IS Standard Methods:

 IS 2720 (PART X) – Determination of Unconfined Compressive Strength

 ASTM D2166-06 – Standard Test Method for Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cohesive
Soil

Equipment:

Special:
1. Constant density mould (M) (Figure 1(a))
2. Plungers with different sizes (P) (Figure 1(a))
3. Base plate (B)
4. Mechanical compaction equipment (Figure 1(b))
5. Loading cap and base cap (Figure 2)
6. Sample extractor with hydraulic lever (Figure 4(a))
7. Triaxial loading frame and Triaxial cell. (Figure 6 (a) and Figure 6(b))
8. Proving ring of capacity 1000 N with least count 0.2 N respectively
9. Dial gauge of least count 0.01 mm

General:
10. Stopwatch
11. Vernier calipers and scale
12. Balance of accuracy 0.1 g
13. Grease or oil
14. Spatula
15. Bowl and tin cans.
16. Scratching tool.
17. Polythene bag
18. Oven (Temperature maintained between 105 oC and 110 oC)

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Figure 1. (a) Plungers of varying sizes P1 to P7 (descending order of height); Steel Mould and Base Plates; (b)
Mechanical compaction equipment.

Figure 2. Loading cap (left) and bottom cap (right)

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Procedure:

Sample Preparation

1. Arrange the plungers and their corresponding steel moulds (P1-P6 and M1-M6) in descending
order of their height, as illustrated in Figure 1(a).
2. Place the metal base plate on a stable and level surface.
3. Assemble the first set of three moulds (M1, S, M2) on the base plate (B2), following the
configuration shown in Figure 3(a).
4. Measure and add the specified quantity of soil into the assembled moulds by calculating the
weight of soil required for achieving the dry density corresponding to its moisture content.
5. Position the plunger P1 at the top of the soil-filled moulds (M1, S, and M2). Begin the
compaction process either by manual force or, for enhanced precision, by using mechanical
compaction equipment (Figure 1(b)).
6. After complete compaction (as indicated in Figure 3(b)), gently rotate the top mould to remove
it, ensuring both the mould and plunger come out, as shown in Figure 3(c).
7. Now place the next smaller size moulds (M3 in this case) on the top of the steel mould as shown
in Figure 3(d).
8. Place the base plate (B1) on top of mould M3 as shown in Figure 3(e). Invert the moulds as
shown in Figure 3(f).
9. Now remove the base plate B2 from the top (Figure 3(g)) and then compress the soil in mould
M3 using the plunger P3.
10. Repeat steps 6 to 9, by replacing the steel mould (Mi) with the next smaller size mould (Mi-1)
till you reach the final steel mould(S) size of the sample.
11. Extract the sample from the specimen mould (S) using a sample extractor (Figure 4(a)). The
extracted sample (Figure 4(b)) is now ready for testing.

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Figure 3. Illustration of sample preparation by constant density method using steps (a) – (h).

Figure 4. (a) Sample extractor with hydraulic lever; (b) Extracted sample.
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Performing the UCS Test

1. Set up the triaxial loading arrangement for compression testing, incorporating the soil sample,
the base cap and loading cap, as illustrated in Figure 5.
2. Close the triaxial cell securely (see Figure 6(b) and place it onto the bottom platen of the
loading frame (see Figure 6(a)).
3. Fix a dial gauge to measure the vertical compression and the load of the specimen.
4. Adjust the gear position on the load frame to give suitable deformation rate. The deformation
rate of 1.25 mm/min is used to conduct the UCS test on soil specimens of 38 mm diameter (see
Figure 7(a)).
5. Initiate the machine by activating it, causing the bottom plate to rise. This action establishes
contact between the proving ring plunger and the dial gauge with the triaxial cell. Once contact
is established, reestablish zero in both the strain dial gauge and the proving ring dial gauge.
6. 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 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.
7. The test is complete when either the specimen fails or a vertical deformation of 20% is
achieved, depending on whichever condition is met first.
8. After completion of the test, take a picture of the deformation of the sample. If feasible,
measure the angle of failure from the horizontal plane.
9. Now, take a core sample from the failed specimen to determine the moisture content using the
oven-drying method.
10. Throw the sample in the soil bin and clean the testing area.

Figure 5. Placement of Sample in Triaxial Cell.

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Figure 6. (a) Triaxial Loading Frame; (b) Triaxial Cell

Figure 7. (a) Adjusting Strain Rate; (b) Sample After Failure

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Formula and Calculation:

𝑞 = ;𝐴 =

ε=

𝑠 = ; 𝛼 = (45 + 𝜙/2)

Where, q = Unconfined compressive strength

P = The peak deviatoric load within axial strain, ε = 20%
Ao = Initial Area
Ac = Corrected Area at Failure
ε = axial strain
ΔL = change in length
Lo = Initial length of sample
su = Undrained shear strength or the cohesion (c)
α = failure angle with major principal plane
ϕ = angle of internal friction.

Action in the laboratory:

1. Prepare mixture of the given soil sample at the optimum moisture content (OMC) and its
corresponding dry density.
2. Make the specimen using the constant density method.
3. Test two specimens for the UCS test using a triaxial cell and check its repeatability.

Deliverables:

The discussion in the submitted report should cover the following points. You must strictly follow
the template provided as the sample report shared on Canvas.

 Discuss the importance of the strength determination from the UCS test and its application
in practice.
 Discuss the stress-strain behavior, failure angle, and their repeatability for the tested soil
specimens.
 Summarize (in Table 2) and discuss the unconfined shear strength and failure angles obtained
for different soils tested in lab.

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The attachments should include the following tables and figures:

 Table 1. Summary of sample dimensions, moisture content, and measured shear strength.
 Table 2. Summary of Unconfined Compression Test results on different soils as OMC.
 Table 3. Stress-strain curve during the UCS test for each specimen.
 Figure 1. Loading frame/ Triaxial Loading frame arrangement for conducting the UCS test.
 Figure 2. Plot between Axial stress (q) in kPa and Axial strain ( ε) in %.
 Figure 3. Sample condition after failure clearly depicting the failure line/angle.

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Observations Tables:

Table 1. Summary of sample dimensions, moisture content, and measured shear strength.

SPECIMEN SPECIFICATION Sample 1 Sample 2

Soil
Target Water Content (%)
Measurement of Mould I II Avg I II Avg

Initial diameter, Do (mm)

Initial length, Lo (mm)

Initial Area, Ao (cm2)

Initial volume, Vo (cm³)

Weight of the UCS mould (gm)
Weight of UCS mould with specimen (gm)
Mass of specimen (gm)
Bulk Density (kg/m3)

WATER CONTENT Sample 1 Sample 2

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 Sample 1 Sample 2

Unconfined Compressive Strength, q (kPa)
Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa)
Axial Strain at Failure, ε (%)

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Table 2. Summary of Unconfined Compression Test results on different soils as OMC.

Shear Strength Properties Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 Soil 4

Soil Specimen
Water Content at OMC, w (%)
Maximum Dry Density, MDD (kg/m3)
Unconfined Compressive Strength, q (kPa)
Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa)
Axial Strain at Failure, ε (%)

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Table 3. Stress-strain curve during the UCS test for Specimen No 1.
Proven Ring Constant (N/div) __________________________________
Least count of deformation dial gauge, LC (mm/div) __________________________________
Specimen No. 1 __________________________________
Deformation, ΔL Strain Corrected Load
Elapsed Compressive
# ε Area, Ac
Time Div mm Div N Stress, q (N/cm²)
=ΔL/Lo (cm²)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
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Specimen No. 2 __________________________________
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
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45

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