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Shear Strength of Unsatuted Soil
Shear Strength of Unsatuted Soil
Test Procedures
1) Specimen preparation:
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2) Sample "consolidation":
3) Load to failure:
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Failure Criteria
( 3 u)
w
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Test Results How can we determine the shear strength of
unsaturated soils?
a) Three-dimensional plots
Plane '
b
(ua uw)
'
c'
(3 ua)
'
c'
(3 ua)
c'
(ua uw)
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2) Undrained triaxial shear tests
Required Results
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Shear Strength Equations For Linear Behavior
or
ff = c + ( f u a ) f tan '
where
c = c ' + ( u a u w ) f tan
b
ff
= c + ( - u a ) f tan + (u a u w ) f tan "
For zero matric suction, the pore air and pore water
pressure are equal. The third term in the equations is
zero. Therefor the friction angle ' is the same.
Setting the two equations equal (for matric sunction > 0):
-uaf tan' + (ua uw)f tanb = - uwf tan ' + (ua uw)f tan"
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Stress Point Envelopes (Stress Paths)
q = 1/2 (1 - 3)
p = 1/2 (1 + 3)
q
qf
a p
3f pf 1f
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For unsaturated soil, the stresses are given in terms of the
net normal stress to give:
q = 1/2 (1 - 3)
p = 1/2 (1 + 3) - ua
rf = (ua - uw)f
Comparing the extended Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope
with the stress point envelope, gives:
Multistage Testing
Testing a single sample under increasing matric suction
using cyclic loading or sustained loading procedure.
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Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils
Homework Assignment
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