Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi

Soil Engineering Lab

REPORT TITLE (06)

Direct Shear Test

Submitted By:
Abhinav Kumar

Disclaimer: This presentation is for educational purposes only. Opinions or points of

view expressed in this presentation represent the view of the presenter, and does not
necessarily represent the official position or policies of IIT Delhi. Nothing in this
presentation constitutes legal advice. The individuals appearing in this presentation, if
any, are depicted for illustrative purposes only and are presumed innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law. Under no circumstance shall we have any liability to
you for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the data or
reliance on any information provided. Your use of the document and your reliance on
any information is solely at your own risk

1
Objective: Method for determination of shear strength of soil (Badarpur Sand) with a maximum
particle size of 4.75 mm in drained conditions using Direct Shear Test apparatus.
Apparatus:
1. Direct Shear Test Apparatus-
Loading Frame, Weights, Proving Ring, Micrometer Dial Gauge, Sample Trimmer or Core Cutter,
Stop Watch, Balance, Spatula, Straight Edge, Shear box grid plates, porous stones, base plates,
loading pad and water jacket shall conform to IS: 11229-1985.
(a) Upper and lower parts
of shear box coupled
together with two pins.
(b) Grid plates - 2 pairs
(c) Stone plates
(d) 4 Base plate
(e) Top plate
(f) Loading pad, and the
balance of 1 kg capacity,
sensitive to 0.1 g.
2. Weights - for providing the
required normal loads.

Testing methods and Procedures:

1. Specimen Preparation (Remoulded)

Cohesionless soil (Badarpur Sand) with relative density 70% was tamped
in the shear box itself with the base plate and grid plate or porous stone
as required in place at the bottom of the box.
2. Undisturbed Specimen -Specimens of required size shall be prepared
from the undisturbed specimen collected from field in accordance with
IS: 2720 (Part 1)-1983.
3. Consolidated Drained Test-The shear box with sample and perforated
grid plates and porous stones was fitted into the load frame. After
application of normal stress which is done in increments [ IS: 2720 (Part
15)-1986, the sample was allowed to consolidate. When the consolidation
has completely occurred, the shear test should be done at such a slow
rate that at least 95 percent pore pressure dissipation occurs during the
test in this calculated time factor. At the end of the test, the specimen
should be removed from the box and the final moisture content
measured. A minimum of three (preferably four) tests were made on
separate specimens of the same density at different normal stresses.

Shear Box Assembly

2
4. Strain controlled direct shear machine consists of shear box, soil container, loading unit, proving ring,
dial gauge to measure shear deformation and vertical deformation. A proving ring is used to indicate the
shear load taken by the soil along the shearing plane.

Calculations:
1. From the calibration chart of the proving-ring, the loads corresponding to the load dial readings
obtained during the test was calculated. The loads so obtained divided by the corrected cross-sectional
area of the specimen gives the shear stress in the sample. The corrected cross-sectional area shall be
calculated from the following equation:
Corrected Area (Ac) = Ao(1 - (δ/3))
where,
Ao = initial area of the specimen in cm2 and
δ = displacement in cm.
2. The longitudinal displacement at a particular load was either noted directly from the strain dial
readings or calculated as the product of the corresponding time reading and the strain rate, allowing for
the compression of the proving-ring, where applicable. The stress longitudinal displacement readings
were plotted and the maximum stress and corresponding longitudinal displacement together with the
normal load applied during the test recorded.
3. The maximum shear stress and the corresponding longitudinal displacement and applied normal stress
were recorded for each test and the results were presented in the form of a graph in which the applied
normal stress is plotted as abscissa and the maximum shearing stress is plotted as ordinate to the same
scale. The angle which the resulting straight line makes with the horizontal axis and the intercept which
the straight line makes with the vertical axis shall be reported as the angle of shearing resistance and
cohesion intercept respectively.
4. i. Shear Stress = (Proving ring reading x Proving ring constant)/Acorrected
ii. Horizontal displacement = (Horizontal dial gauge reading) x (Least count of horizontal dial gauge)
iii. Vertical displacement = (Vertical dial gauge reading) x (Least count of vertical dial gauge)
5. Shear stress at failure needs to be calculated for all three tests performed at three different normal
stresses to plot the failure envelope.

3
Load Comp.
(kN) Division Calibration for Proving Ring No- 15927
0 0
1600
0.3 141 1400
0.6 282 1200

Comp. Division
0.9 425 1000
1.2 567 800
1.5 712 600
1.8 856 400
2.1 1002 200
2.4 1145 0
2.7 1291 0 1 2 3 4
3 1438 Load (kN)

Loading Yoke Proving Ring

Vertical Dial Gauge

Holding Screw

Frame

Motor

Counter Weight Horizontal Dial Gauge

Lever Arm

Direct Shear Test Assembly

4
Data Table
DIRECT SHEAR TEST
Proving Ring
Soil Weight 160 gm No. 15927
Length (L) 60 mm
Normal Load Least Count
Width (B) 59.90 mm (kN): 0.17970 of
Normal Stress
Height (h1) 36.5 mm (kPa): 50 PR (mm) 0.002
Badarpur
h2 9.2425 mm Soil Type : Sand VDG (mm) 0.002
Sample
Thickness
(H) 27.26 mm Density(gm/cc) 1.633 HDG (mm) 0.002

Vertical Proving Horizontal Vertical Cummulative Shear

Horizontal SF
Dial Ring displ. displ. Divisions of Stress
Dial Guage (kN)
Guage Reading (mm) (mm) PR (KPa)

15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.0000
15.03 25.00 11.00 0.05 -0.006 11.00 0.02 6.512 0.130 -0.0002
15.05 50.00 20.00 0.10 -0.010 20.00 0.04 11.860 0.237 -0.0004
15.04 75.00 28.00 0.15 -0.008 28.00 0.06 16.632 0.332 -0.0003
15.03 100.00 33.00 0.20 -0.006 33.00 0.07 19.634 0.391 -0.0002
15.01 125.00 38.00 0.25 -0.002 38.00 0.08 22.647 0.450 -0.0001
14.99 150.00 42.00 0.30 0.002 42.00 0.09 25.073 0.497 0.0001
14.98 175.00 46.00 0.35 0.004 46.00 0.10 27.508 0.545 0.0001
14.95 200.00 50.00 0.40 0.010 50.00 0.11 29.950 0.592 0.0004
14.93 225.00 53.00 0.45 0.014 53.00 0.11 31.801 0.628 0.0005
14.88 250.00 56.00 0.50 0.024 56.00 0.12 33.658 0.663 0.0009
14.84 275.00 58.00 0.55 0.032 58.00 0.12 34.919 0.687 0.0012
14.80 300.00 61.00 0.60 0.040 61.00 0.13 36.788 0.722 0.0015
14.75 325.00 63.00 0.65 0.050 63.00 0.13 38.059 0.746 0.0018
14.71 350.00 65.00 0.70 0.058 65.00 0.14 39.334 0.770 0.0021
14.65 375.00 67.00 0.75 0.070 67.00 0.14 40.613 0.793 0.0026
14.58 400.00 68.00 0.80 0.084 68.00 0.14 41.290 0.805 0.0031
14.52 425.00 70.00 0.85 0.096 70.00 0.15 42.578 0.829 0.0035
14.47 450.00 72.00 0.90 0.106 72.00 0.15 43.869 0.852 0.0039
14.40 475.00 73.00 0.95 0.120 73.00 0.16 44.555 0.864 0.0044
14.33 500.00 74.00 1.00 0.134 74.00 0.16 45.243 0.876 0.0049
14.26 525.00 76.00 1.05 0.148 76.00 0.16 46.546 0.900 0.0054
14.20 550.00 77.00 1.10 0.160 77.00 0.16 47.240 0.912 0.0059
14.13 575.00 78.00 1.15 0.174 78.00 0.17 47.937 0.924 0.0064
14.05 600.00 78.00 1.20 0.190 78.00 0.17 48.020 0.924 0.0070
13.99 625.00 79.00 1.25 0.202 79.00 0.17 48.720 0.935 0.0074
13.93 650.00 80.00 1.30 0.214 80.00 0.17 49.423 0.947 0.0079
13.85 675.00 80.00 1.35 0.230 80.00 0.17 49.509 0.947 0.0084

5
13.78 700.00 80.00 1.40 0.244 80.00 0.17 49.596 0.947 0.0090
13.71 725.00 81.00 1.45 0.258 81.00 0.17 50.304 0.959 0.0095
13.64 750.00 81.00 1.50 0.272 81.00 0.17 50.392 0.959 0.0100
13.56 775.00 82.00 1.55 0.288 82.00 0.17 51.104 0.971 0.0106
13.47 800.00 82.00 1.60 0.306 82.00 0.17 51.194 0.971 0.0112
13.42 825.00 83.00 1.65 0.316 83.00 0.18 51.909 0.983 0.0116
13.32 850.00 84.00 1.70 0.336 84.00 0.18 52.628 0.995 0.0123
13.26 875.00 84.00 1.75 0.348 84.00 0.18 52.721 0.995 0.0128
13.18 900.00 84.00 1.80 0.364 84.00 0.18 52.814 0.995 0.0134
13.14 925.00 85.00 1.85 0.372 85.00 0.18 53.538 1.006 0.0136
13.07 950.00 84.00 1.90 0.386 84.00 0.18 53.002 0.995 0.0142
13.00 975.00 84.00 1.95 0.400 84.00 0.18 53.097 0.995 0.0147
12.95 1000.00 84.00 2.00 0.410 84.00 0.18 53.191 0.995 0.0150
12.87 1025.00 84.00 2.05 0.426 84.00 0.18 53.287 0.995 0.0156
12.81 1050.00 84.00 2.10 0.438 84.00 0.18 53.382 0.995 0.0161
12.76 1075.00 84.00 2.15 0.448 84.00 0.18 53.478 0.995 0.0164
12.69 1100.00 83.00 2.20 0.462 83.00 0.18 52.936 0.983 0.0169
12.65 1125.00 83.00 2.25 0.470 83.00 0.18 53.032 0.983 0.0172
12.55 1150.00 82.00 2.30 0.490 82.00 0.17 52.487 0.971 0.0180
12.53 1175.00 83.00 2.35 0.494 83.00 0.18 53.224 0.983 0.0181
12.45 1200.00 81.00 2.40 0.510 81.00 0.17 52.035 0.959 0.0187
12.38 1225.00 82.00 2.45 0.524 82.00 0.17 52.773 0.971 0.0192
12.32 1250.00 81.00 2.50 0.536 81.00 0.17 52.224 0.959 0.0197
12.25 1275.00 81.00 2.55 0.550 81.00 0.17 52.319 0.959 0.0202
12.19 1300.00 81.00 2.60 0.562 81.00 0.17 52.415 0.959 0.0206
12.13 1325.00 81.00 2.65 0.574 81.00 0.17 52.511 0.959 0.0211
12.07 1350.00 80.00 2.70 0.586 80.00 0.17 51.957 0.947 0.0215
12.02 1375.00 80.00 2.75 0.596 80.00 0.17 52.053 0.947 0.0219
11.97 1400.00 80.00 2.80 0.606 80.00 0.17 52.149 0.947 0.0222

6
 Soil Proving Ring
Weight 160 gm No. 15927
Length (L) 60 mm
Width (B) 59.90 mm Normal Load (kN): 0.35940 Least Count of
Height Normal Stress
(h1) 36.5 mm (kPa): 100 PR (mm) 0.002
Badarpur
h2 9.2425 mm Soil Type : Sand VDG (mm) 0.002
Sample
Thickness
(H) 27.26 mm Density(gm/cc) 1.633 HDG (mm) 0.002

Vertical Horizontal Proving Horizontal Vertical Cummulative Shear

SF
Dial Dial Ring displ. displacement Divisions of Stress
(kN)
Guage Guage Reading (mm) (mm) PR (KPa)
20.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.0000
20.01 25.00 18.00 0.05 -0.002 18.00 0.04 10.656 0.107 -0.0001
20.02 50.00 32.00 0.10 -0.004 32.00 0.07 18.976 0.189 -0.0001
20.03 75.00 44.00 0.15 -0.006 44.00 0.09 26.135 0.260 -0.0002
20.05 100.00 55.00 0.20 -0.010 55.00 0.12 32.724 0.326 -0.0004
20.05 125.00 64.00 0.25 -0.010 64.00 0.14 38.143 0.379 -0.0004
20.05 150.00 72.00 0.30 -0.010 72.00 0.15 42.983 0.426 -0.0004
20.05 175.00 79.00 0.35 -0.010 79.00 0.17 47.241 0.468 -0.0004
20.05 200.00 86.00 0.40 -0.010 86.00 0.18 51.514 0.509 -0.0004
20.05 225.00 92.00 0.45 -0.010 92.00 0.20 55.202 0.545 -0.0004
20.05 250.00 96.00 0.50 -0.010 96.00 0.20 57.699 0.568 -0.0004
20.05 275.00 101.00 0.55 -0.010 101.00 0.21 60.807 0.598 -0.0004
20.05 300.00 104.00 0.60 -0.010 104.00 0.22 62.720 0.616 -0.0004
20.04 325.00 108.00 0.65 -0.008 108.00 0.23 65.243 0.639 -0.0003
20.03 350.00 111.00 0.70 -0.006 111.00 0.24 67.170 0.657 -0.0002
20.01 375.00 112.00 0.75 -0.002 112.00 0.24 67.891 0.663 -0.0001
19.98 400.00 116.00 0.80 0.004 116.00 0.25 70.436 0.687 0.0001
19.96 425.00 118.00 0.85 0.008 118.00 0.25 71.774 0.699 0.0003
19.93 450.00 120.00 0.90 0.014 120.00 0.26 73.115 0.710 0.0005
19.91 475.00 124.00 0.95 0.018 124.00 0.26 75.683 0.734 0.0007
19.87 500.00 125.00 1.00 0.026 125.00 0.27 76.425 0.740 0.0010
19.84 525.00 127.00 1.05 0.032 127.00 0.27 77.781 0.752 0.0012
19.80 550.00 128.00 1.10 0.040 128.00 0.27 78.530 0.758 0.0015
19.77 575.00 129.00 1.15 0.046 129.00 0.27 79.280 0.764 0.0017
19.73 600.00 130.00 1.20 0.054 130.00 0.28 80.033 0.770 0.0020
19.68 625.00 133.00 1.25 0.064 133.00 0.28 82.023 0.787 0.0023
19.65 650.00 134.00 1.30 0.070 134.00 0.29 82.784 0.793 0.0026
19.60 675.00 137.00 1.35 0.080 137.00 0.29 84.785 0.811 0.0029
19.57 700.00 138.00 1.40 0.086 138.00 0.29 85.553 0.817 0.0032
19.53 725.00 140.00 1.45 0.094 140.00 0.30 86.945 0.829 0.0034
19.50 750.00 140.00 1.50 0.100 140.00 0.30 87.097 0.829 0.0037

7
19.45 775.00 141.00 1.55 0.110 141.00 0.30 87.873 0.835 0.0040
19.41 800.00 142.00 1.60 0.118 142.00 0.30 88.652 0.841 0.0043
19.35 825.00 143.00 1.65 0.130 143.00 0.30 89.434 0.847 0.0048
19.32 850.00 143.00 1.70 0.136 143.00 0.30 89.592 0.847 0.0050
19.28 875.00 143.00 1.75 0.144 143.00 0.30 89.751 0.847 0.0053
19.24 900.00 143.00 1.80 0.152 143.00 0.30 89.910 0.847 0.0056
19.19 925.00 143.00 1.85 0.162 143.00 0.30 90.070 0.847 0.0059
19.16 950.00 144.00 1.90 0.168 144.00 0.31 90.861 0.852 0.0062
19.11 975.00 144.00 1.95 0.178 144.00 0.31 91.023 0.852 0.0065
19.06 1000.00 144.00 2.00 0.188 144.00 0.31 91.185 0.852 0.0069
19.02 1025.00 143.00 2.05 0.196 143.00 0.30 90.714 0.847 0.0072
18.97 1050.00 144.00 2.10 0.206 144.00 0.31 91.512 0.852 0.0076
18.92 1075.00 142.00 2.15 0.216 142.00 0.30 90.403 0.841 0.0079
18.89 1100.00 142.00 2.20 0.222 142.00 0.30 90.566 0.841 0.0081
18.84 1125.00 142.00 2.25 0.232 142.00 0.30 90.729 0.841 0.0085
18.81 1150.00 142.00 2.30 0.238 142.00 0.30 90.893 0.841 0.0087
18.76 1175.00 141.00 2.35 0.248 141.00 0.30 90.416 0.835 0.0091
18.72 1200.00 141.00 2.40 0.256 141.00 0.30 90.580 0.835 0.0094
18.69 1225.00 139.00 2.45 0.262 139.00 0.30 89.457 0.823 0.0096
18.67 1250.00 137.00 2.50 0.266 137.00 0.29 88.330 0.811 0.0098
18.60 1275.00 136.00 2.55 0.280 136.00 0.29 87.845 0.805 0.0103
18.59 1300.00 135.00 2.60 0.282 135.00 0.29 87.358 0.799 0.0103
18.55 1325.00 135.00 2.65 0.290 135.00 0.29 87.518 0.799 0.0106
18.52 1350.00 134.00 2.70 0.296 134.00 0.29 87.029 0.793 0.0109
18.50 1375.00 133.00 2.75 0.300 133.00 0.28 86.538 0.787 0.0110
18.45 1400.00 130.00 2.80 0.310 130.00 0.28 84.741 0.770 0.0114

8
 Soil Proving Ring
Weight 160 gm No. 15927
Length (L) 60 mm
Least Count
Width (B) 59.90 mm Normal Load (kN): 0.53910 of
Height Normal Stress
(h1) 36.5 mm (kPa): 150 PR (mm) 0.002
Badarpur
h2 9.2425 mm Soil Type : Sand VDG (mm) 0.002
Sample
Thickness
(H) 27.26 mm Density(gm/cc) 1.633 HDG (mm) 0.002

Vertical Horizontal Proving Horizontal Vertical Cummulative Shear

SF
Dial Dial Ring displ. dispL. Divisions of Stress
(KN)
Guage Guage Reading (mm) (mm) PR (KPa)

19.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.00 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.0000
-
19.03 25.00 13.00 0.05 -0.006 13.00 0.03 7.696 0.051 0.0002
-
19.04 50.00 22.00 0.10 -0.008 22.00 0.05 13.046 0.087 0.0003
-
19.05 75.00 35.00 0.15 -0.010 35.00 0.07 20.790 0.138 0.0004
-
19.07 100.00 49.00 0.20 -0.014 49.00 0.10 29.154 0.193 0.0005
-
19.09 125.00 62.00 0.25 -0.018 62.00 0.13 36.951 0.245 0.0007
-
19.11 150.00 73.00 0.30 -0.022 73.00 0.16 43.580 0.288 0.0008
-
19.13 175.00 84.00 0.35 -0.026 84.00 0.18 50.231 0.332 0.0010
-
19.14 200.00 95.00 0.40 -0.028 95.00 0.20 56.905 0.375 0.0010
-
19.15 225.00 104.00 0.45 -0.030 104.00 0.22 62.402 0.410 0.0011
-
19.17 250.00 114.00 0.50 -0.034 114.00 0.24 68.518 0.450 0.0012
-
19.18 275.00 122.00 0.55 -0.036 122.00 0.26 73.451 0.481 0.0013
-
19.19 300.00 131.00 0.60 -0.038 131.00 0.28 79.003 0.517 0.0014
-
19.19 325.00 139.00 0.65 -0.038 139.00 0.30 83.971 0.549 0.0014
-
19.21 350.00 145.00 0.70 -0.042 145.00 0.31 87.745 0.572 0.0015
-
19.21 375.00 154.00 0.75 -0.042 154.00 0.33 93.350 0.608 0.0015
-
19.21 400.00 159.00 0.80 -0.042 159.00 0.34 96.546 0.628 0.0015
-
19.21 425.00 168.00 0.85 -0.042 168.00 0.36 102.186 0.663 0.0015
-
19.21 450.00 174.00 0.90 -0.042 174.00 0.37 106.017 0.687 0.0015
-
19.21 475.00 180.00 0.95 -0.042 180.00 0.38 109.862 0.710 0.0015
-
19.21 500.00 185.00 1.00 -0.042 185.00 0.39 113.108 0.730 0.0015

9
 -
19.21 525.00 189.00 1.05 -0.042 189.00 0.40 115.754 0.746 0.0015
-
19.20 550.00 194.00 1.10 -0.040 194.00 0.41 119.021 0.766 0.0015
-
19.20 575.00 199.00 1.15 -0.040 199.00 0.42 122.300 0.785 0.0015
-
19.18 600.00 204.00 1.20 -0.036 204.00 0.43 125.591 0.805 0.0013
-
19.17 625.00 209.00 1.25 -0.034 209.00 0.44 128.893 0.825 0.0012
-
19.15 650.00 212.00 1.30 -0.030 212.00 0.45 130.971 0.837 0.0011
-
19.12 675.00 216.00 1.35 -0.024 216.00 0.46 133.675 0.852 0.0009
-
19.11 700.00 220.00 1.40 -0.022 220.00 0.47 136.388 0.868 0.0008
-
19.08 725.00 224.00 1.45 -0.016 224.00 0.48 139.111 0.884 0.0006
-
19.05 750.00 227.00 1.50 -0.010 227.00 0.48 141.222 0.896 0.0004
-
19.02 775.00 230.00 1.55 -0.004 230.00 0.49 143.340 0.908 0.0001
18.99 800.00 234.00 1.60 0.002 234.00 0.50 146.089 0.924 0.0001
18.97 825.00 237.00 1.65 0.006 237.00 0.50 148.223 0.935 0.0002
18.93 850.00 241.00 1.70 0.014 241.00 0.51 150.991 0.951 0.0005
18.89 875.00 246.00 1.75 0.022 246.00 0.52 154.397 0.971 0.0008
18.85 900.00 249.00 1.80 0.030 249.00 0.53 156.557 0.983 0.0011

Shear Stress vs Horizontal Displacement

50KPa 100KPa 150KPa

200
Badarpur Sand
180

160

140
Shear Stress (kPa)

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Horizontal Displacent (mm)

10
 Shear stress vs Normal stress
160.00

140.00

120.00
Shear Stress (kPa)

100.00

80.00
y = 0.9266x + 4.4213
60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Normal Stress (kPa)

Normal stress (kPa) Shear stress (kPa)

50 53.538
100 91.51
150 146.20

Cohesion (C) 4.42 kPa

Angle of Shearing Resistance (Ø) 42.82°

11
 Vertical Vs Horizontal Displ. Curve
50 kPa 100 kPa 150 kPa

0.5

0.4

0.3
Vertical Displ. (mm)

0.2

0.1

0
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00

-0.1
Horizontal Displ. (mm)

Individual Discussion:
1. The loading cap tilted downwards (as shown in fig) on the
motor side (opposite to proving ring) from where horizontal
displacement was applied, due to removal of the sand sample
from the gap created due to shearing of upper half and lower
half shear box.
2. It is a Floating Box type test in which upper half box is floating
due to application of vertical loading resulting in lateral
confinement thus generating sufficient friction which holds the
upper half of shear box. Tilting of Loading Cap

12
 3. In the shear box test, the specimen is not failing along its weakest plane but along a
predetermined or induced failure plane i.e. horizontal plane separating the two halves of the
shear box. This is the main drawback of this test.
Moreover, during loading, the state of stress cannot be evaluated. It can be evaluated only at
failure condition. Also, failure is progressive.
4. The angle of shearing resistance of sands depends on state of compaction, coarseness of grains,
particle shape and roughness of grain surface and grading. It varies between 28° (uniformly
graded sands with round grains in very loose state) to 46° (well graded sand with angular grains in
dense state).
5.
Soil Type Angle of Shearing Resistance Cohesion (C)
(Ø)
Badarpur Sand 42.82° 4.42 kPa
Yamuna Sand 31.70° 18.9 kPa

6. Direct shear test is simple and faster to operate. As thinner specimens are used in shear box, they
facilitate drainage of pore water from a saturated sample in less time. This test is also useful to
study friction between two materials – one material in lower half of box and another material in
the upper half of box.
7. In general, loose sands expand and dense sands contract in volume on shearing. There is a void
ratio at which either expansion contraction in volume takes place. This void ratio is called critical
void ratio. Expansion or contraction can be inferred from the movement of vertical dial gauge
during shearing.

References:
1. IS: 2720 (Part 13):1986 Methods of test for soils: Direct shear test. Reaffirmed- 2016.
2. IS: 11229-1985.
3. IS: 2720 (Part 15)-1986
4. ASTM D 3080 - 04

13