Experiment

Direct shear test

Objectives
To determine the angle of internal friction () for a given cohesionless soil (sand) sample.
Introduction
A direct shear test is a laboratory or field test which measures the shear strength properties of
soil. The U.S. and U.K. standards defining how the test should be performed are ASTM D 3080,
AASHTO T236 and BS 1377-7:1990 respectively.
The test is performed three times by changing the magnitude of normal load on specimen. A
specimen (soil sample) is placed in a shear box and confining stress is applied vertically to the
specimen while the lower part of the specimen is pulled laterally until the sample fails. Direct shear
tests can be performed under several conditions. The sample can be either saturated or unsaturated
before the test is run but can be run at the in-situ moisture content. In this lab experiment
cohesionless and unsaturated sample is used. The advantages of the direct shear test over other shear
tests are the simplicity of setup and equipment used and relatively inexpensive and the disadvantage
is lateral pressure and stresses on planes other than the plane of shear are not known during the test.
[1]

Theory
From Coulombs equation,
For effective stress parameters,
S = c + (n - u)tan
u is pore water pressure
Because u = 0 and c = 0 for cohesionless soil (sand) for unsaturated samples, the equation can be
rearranged.
S = n tan
By drawing the graph of shear strength (S) vs. normal stress (n), the angle of internal friction ()
can be determined.

Figure 1: Graph of shear strength vs. normal stress

By drawing the graph of shear stress vs. shear displacement, shear strength can be determined.

Figure 2: Graph of shear stress vs. shear displacement

Apparatus
Shear box

Figure 3: Shear box [2]

Direct shear machine

Figure 4: Direct shear machine [3]

Procedure

1.
2.
3.
4.

Internal dimensions of direct shear container were measured.

The apparatus were arranged using grated plates at top and bottom of the soil sample.
The desired normal load was then applied.
The soil container was placed on the machine and make sure there was no connection
between two parts of the container.
5. The lateral load was then applied at the rate approximately 1.25mm for minutes and the
readings of shear displacement and shear force were taken from the monitor.
6. 3 to 6 steps were repeated for three times by changing the magnitude of normal load.

Conclusion

Shear strength of soil becomes very important when designing of any kinds of
structures and also computing the safe bearing capacity of foundations and the earth pressure behind
the retaining walls. In highway engineering soil masses usually fail in shear under highway loads so
it essential to determination of angle of internal friction because it depends on type of the soil. The
shear strength parameters of soils in its every condition can be calculated by this test.

References

1. Direct shear test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2016. Direct shear test - Wikipedia, the
free

encyclopedia.

[ONLINE]

Available

at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_shear_test. [Accessed 07 March 2016].

2. direct shear test soil box - Google Search. 2016. direct shear test soil box - Google Search.
[ONLINE]
Available
at: https://www.google.lk/search?
q=direct+shear+test+soil+box&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=677&source=lnms&tb
m=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz4OKxoK7LAhVlQpoKHXLbCRoQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=
nx-V_Nu_4I4w0M%3A. [Accessed 09 March 2016].
3. direct shear test - Google Search. 2016. direct shear test - Google Search. [ONLINE]
Available
at:https://www.google.lk/search?
q=direct+shear+test&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=677&source=lnms&tbm=isch&s
a=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI3v2Doq7LAhWmNpoKHYiYD78Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=tifPTp6O
MO7WCM%3A. [Accessed 09 March 2016].