108 Shear strength - Undrained Shear Strength

In the case of fissured clays the failure envelope at low values of all-round pressure is
curved, as shown in Figure 4.10. This is due to the fact that the fissures open to some
extent on sampling, resulting in a lower strength and only when the all-round pressure
becomes high enough to close the fissures again does the strength become constant.
Therefore, the unconfined compression test is not appropriate in the case of fissured
clays. The size of a fissured clay specimen should be large enough to represent the mass
structure, otherwise the measured strength will be greater than the in-situ strength.
Large specimens are also required for clays exhibiting other features of macro-fabric.
Curvature of the undrained failure envelope at low values of all-round pressure may
also be exhibited in heavily overconsolidated clays due to relatively high negative pore
water pressure at failure causing cavitation, i.e. pore air comes out of solution.
The results of unconsolidated–undrained tests are usually presented as a plot of cu
against the corresponding depth from which the specimen originated. Considerable
scatter can be expected on such a plot as the result of sampling disturbance and
macro-fabric features if present. For normally consolidated clays the undrained strength
is generally taken to increase linearly with increase in effective vertical stress 0v (i.e. with
depth if the water table is at the surface); this is comparable to the variation of cu with 03
(Figure 4.11) in consolidated–undrained triaxial tests. If the water table is below the
surface of the clay the undrained strength between the surface and the water table will be
significantly higher than that immediately below the water table due to drying of the clay.
The following correlation between the ratio cu / 0v and plasticity index (Ip) for
normally consolidated clays was proposed by Skempton:

cu
0
¼ 0:11 þ 0:0037Ip ð4:13Þ
v

The consolidated–undrained triaxial test enables the undrained strength of the clay to
be determined after the void ratio has been changed from the initial value by consolida-
tion. The undrained strength is thus a function of this void ratio or of the corresponding

Figure 4.11 Consolidated–undrained triaxial test: variation of undrained strength with con-
solidation pressure.