Proceedings of the Institution of
Civil Engineers
Geotechnical Engineering 161
October 2008 Issue GE5
Pages 269–273
doi: 10.1680/geng.2008.161.5.269
Mousa F. Attom
Paper 700042 Associate Visiting Professor,
Received 30/07/2007 Civil Engineering Department,
Accepted 09/06/2008 American University of
Sharjah, UAE
Keywords: geotechnical
engineering/statistical analysis/
strength & testing of materials
Investigating anisotropy in shear strength of clayey soils
M. F. Attom, PhD, and N. M. Al-Akhras,
This study investigates the anisotropic behaviour of the
shear strength of overconsolidated clayey soils. The
results of the study will help engineers and scientists to
predict the lateral shear strength of clayey soils from the
ordinary vertical shear strength. The main objective of
this paper is to investigate experimentally the effect of
anisotropy on the shear strength properties of clayey
soil. Fifteen types of clayey soil were obtained from
various locations in the Irbid area, Jordan, and from
different depths. Three undisturbed samples were
obtained from each location at three different
inclinations (horizontal, vertical, and inclined at 458 to
the vertical). Unconfined compression tests were
conducted on all soil samples. It was found that the
unconfined compressive strength values were greater in
the vertical direction than in the inclined and horizontal
directions, and increased as the overconsolidated ratio
increased. It was also noticed that the failure strain in
the horizontal samples was smaller than in the vertical
samples. The anisotropic behaviour of clayey soils almost
disappeared at greater depth for both unconfined
compressive strength and failure stain.
NOTATION
AFH anisotropy factor in horizontal direction
AFI anisotropy factor in inclined direction
D diameter of sample
d sampling depth
L length of sample
OCR overconsolidation ratio
P9c maximum past pressure of soil
Wn natural water content
Yd maximum dry unit weight
1. INTRODUCTION
A material is termed ‘anisotropic’ when its properties depend
on the direction in which the measurements are taken. It is well
known that some properties of overconsolidated clayey soils,
such as shear strength, compressibility, permeability and
swelling, are anisotropic to a limited extent. 1,2 The extent and
magnitude of the anisotropic effects depend on the orientation
of the particle or groups of particles of such soils. 3
Mitachi and Fujiwara4 have reported that anisotropy occurs in
clayey soils when they are overconsolidated for a long period
of time, and are exposed to different depositional progressions.
Geotechnical Engineering 161 Issue GE5
Nabil M. Al-Akhras
Civil Engineering Department,
Jordan University of Science
and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
PhD
Jacobson 5 studied anisotropy in the compressibility of
normally consolidated clayey soils from Stockholm, and
concluded that the clayey soil of Stockholm is isotropic in this
regard. Ward et al.6 studied anisotropy in the compressibility
of overconsolidated London clays and they concluded that it is
anisotropic. A mathematical conceptual model was developed
by Mualem 7 for quantitative evaluation of the anisotropy
factor of the hydraulic conductivity of clay soils. Mualem
indicated that the degree of anisotropy in the hydraulic
conductivity of unsaturated soil may vary considerably from
its value at saturation. Also, Mualem reported that soil layers
with very low permeability tend to display reduced anisotropy
upon desaturation.
Anisotropy in soil shrinkage is commonly assumed to be due to
the opening of cracks. 8 Dabney and Selim 9 studied anisotropy
in the hydraulic conductivity of undisturbed samples of
Fragipan soil. They used samples taken in both the vertical and
horizontal directions from a subsurface horizon of an Olivier
silt loam. They showed in their studies that the hydraulic
conductivity in the horizontal direction is three times that in
the vertical direction.
Little research is reported in the literature concerning the
anisotropy of the shear strength of clayey soils. 1,10 This study
is aimed at investigating the anisotropy effects in
overconsolidated clayey soils with variation of the
experimental parameters soil depth, overconsolidation ratio
and sampling orientation.
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
2.1. Sample extraction
A specially designed tube, 3.6 cm in diameter and 10 cm long,
was used to extract the soil samples. To study the effect of
anisotropy of the soil, undisturbed samples were obtained from
15 different locations at various depths. Three different
sampling directions were utilised in this study: vertical,
horizontal, and inclined at 458 to the horizontal. The tubes
were pushed into the soil in the three directions at each
location on the day of excavation at the desired depth. Each
tube was then sealed in a plastic bag and transferred to the soil
testing laboratory. The soil specimens were removed from the
tube by using a jack. The experimental tests were conducted on
the same day that the specimens were extracted, to minimise
any disturbance effect on the soil samples.
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 To minimise soil disturbance during extraction of the soil
samples, the following precautions were considered.
(a) The end of the tube that was pushed into the soil had a
sharp edge, and was inclined at a 458 angle.
(b) The tube had a small wall thickness (3 mm).
(c) The tube was oiled well before being used to extract the
soil samples.
(d ) When extracting the soil samples, a slight pressure was
applied to the tube when it first contacted the soil; the
pressure was then gradually until the whole tube was
inserted into the soil.
(e) Each sample was sealed in a plastic bag and then carefully
transferred to the laboratory. It remained in the tube to
prevent any disturbance, water evaporation or lateral
expansion. The samples were tested on the day of
extraction.
Another set of undisturbed samples was obtained from each
location for the consolidation test. All samples for the
consolidation test were extracted by pushing the standard
consolidometer ring into the soil vertically, and were then
transferred to the soil testing laboratory. In order to measure
the maximum past pressure (P9c ) of the soil, the standard one-
dimensional consolidation test ASTM D2435 was performed. 11
ASTM D422, D4138 and D2216 respectively. 12
14
Consolidation tests were also conducted on all specimens to
find the maximum past pressure (P9c ) of the soil. Table 1
summarises the initial physical properties of the soils used in
this research
2.3. Unconfined compression test and consolidation
tests
To measure the unconfined compressive strength and failure
strain of the soils in the three directions, the standard
unconfined compression test (ASTM D-2166) was performed on
the extracted undisturbed samples. The samples then were
trimmed by steel saw from both sides to bring their length
down to 7.2 cm in order to make the length-to-diameter (L/d)
ratio equal to 2.
To measure the maximum past pressure of the soil (P9c ), the
standard one-dimensional consolidation test was conducted on
all undisturbed samples. Then an e–log p curve was
constructed for each soil sample, and the maximum past
pressure was determined for each type of soil.
Both the unconfined compression test and the one-dimensional
consolidation test were conducted in accordance with ASTM
standard procedures.

All soil samples were extracted during the period June–August.

This time of year is well known to have a lot of excavation
areas for building construction, and there is no rain in this
time of the year to affect the test results.
2.2. Initial laboratory study
To achieve the goals of this research, 15 samples of clayey soils
were obtained from various excavation areas in the Irbid
district in the northern part of Jordan. Selection of the soils
was based on their different clay content and plasticity index.
Clayey soils in this part of Jordan were formed by the
weathering of feldspar rocks, which mostly contain hydrous
aluminum silicate. The initial physical properties of the soils,
such as grain size distribution, Atterberg limit and natural
moisture content, were determined in accordance with standard
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The variation of the stress–strain curves with different
sampling angle for soil 2 and soil 14 is shown in Figs 1 and 2
respectively. Soils 2 and 14 have been selected because they
are extracted at different depths and from different locations.
Soil 2 was extracted from a depth of 1.2 m and has an
overconsolidation ratio of 9.3, and soil 14 was extracted from a
depth of 5 m and has an overconsolidation ratio of 2.8. It is
clear from the figures that the soil sample with vertical
orientation has the highest unconfined compressive strength,
followed by the sample with the 458 inclined orientation. The
soil sample with the horizontal orientation has the lowest
unconfined compressive strength. The unconfined compressive
strengths at failure for soil 14 in the vertical, inclined and
horizontal directions were 102, 88 and 84 kPa respectively.

Soil Depth: m Wn : % Yd : kN/m3 Gradation Atterberg limits OCR

Sand: % Silt: % Clay: % LL PL PI

1 1.0 18.6 14.2 13 18 69 79.8 40.8 39 10.2

2 1.2 16.7 15.2 21 26 53 65.4 27.8 37.6 9.3
3 1.5 20.3 14.1 23 21 56 69.1 30.9 38.2 8.2
4 1.5 19.2 13.6 19 26 55 59.3 29.1 30.2 6.1
5 2.0 21.3 14.6 25 23 53 62.3 32.9 29.4 6.2
6 2.5 22.3 15.1 29 25 46 58.3 31.2 27.1 6.1
7 2.5 25.4 15.3 18 31 51 62.1 39.5 22.6 4.9
8 3.1 23.7 13.2 8 25 67 75.8 35.4 40.4 5.8
9 3.5 28.7 13.9 18 22 60 77.1 35.8 41.3 4.2
10 4.0 26.4 14.7 22 19 59 65.3 35.9 29.4 3.5
11 4.2 24.7 13.6 11 25 64 78.6 39.6 39 3.2
12 4.5 27.1 13.1 7 21 72 85.1 41.2 43.9 3.7
13 4.9 26.4 14.1 16 21 63 81.3 45.6 35.7 3.5
14 5.0 28.1 13.9 18 17 65 80.2 43.5 36.7 2.8
15 5.0 26.9 15.3 25 18 57 70.8 36.5 34.3 2.1

Table 1. Initial physical properties of the tested soils

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 200
180

Unconfined compressive strength: kPa

Unconfined compressive strength: kPa

150 160

140
100
120
Soil 1
Soil 2
Horizontal 100 Soil 6
50 Soil 7
Inclined 45°
Vertical Soil 9
Soil 12
80 Soil 15
0
0 5 10 15 20 Vertical Inclined 45° Horizontal
Axial strain: % Sample direction

Fig. 1. Variation in stress–strain curve with sampling angle for Fig. 3. Variation in unconfined compressive strength with
soil 2 different sampling directions

200
180

Unconfined compressive strength: kPa

Vertical samples
Unconfined compressive strength: kPa

150
160

Inclined
100 140
samples

120
50 Horizontal Horizontal samples
Inclined 45°
Vertical
100

0
0 5 10 15 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Axial strain: % Depth: m

Fig. 2. Variation in stress–strain curve with sampling angle for Fig. 4. Comparison of unconfined compressive strength for
soil 14 vertical, inclined and horizontal samples for various depths

All soil samples were tested in all three directions. Fig. 3 shows
the variation in the unconfined compressive strength with
sampling direction for selected soil samples. For all the tested
samples the vertical direction gives the highest unconfined
compressive strength, followed by the inclined direction,
followed by the horizontal direction. Soil 15 has the highest
unconfined compressive strength for the three directions
investigated in the study. The unconfined compressive
strengths for soil 7 in the vertical, inclined and horizontal
directions were 164, 151 and 133 kPa respectively.
Figure 4 shows a comparison of the unconfined compressive
strengths for the vertical, inclined and horizontal samples at
different depths. The vertical samples have the highest values
of unconfined compressive strength, followed by the inclined
samples, followed by the horizontal samples. Also, as the
sampling depth increases, the unconfined compressive strength
increases. At shallow depths, between 1 and 2 m, the
unconfined compressive strength has values of about 105, 130,
and 150 kPa for the horizontal, inclined and vertical directions.
As the sampling depth is increased to 5 m, the unconfined
compressive strength is increased to 145, 150 and 170 kPa for
the horizontal, inclined and vertical directions.
Figure 5 presents the effect of depth on the anisotropy factor.
This is defined as the ratio of the unconfined compressive
strength in the inclined or horizontal direction to the
unconfined compressive strength in the vertical direction. It is
clear from Fig. 5 that the anisotropy factor increases, and
becomes closer to unity, as the sampling depth is increased. At
greater depths (more than 6 m), it is expected that the
anisotropy factor will reach a value of about 1. This means that
the soil will becomes isotropic. Also, the rate of increase of the
anisotropy factor for the horizontal direction is greater than for
the inclined directions. At shallow depths (from 1 to 2 m) the
anisotropy factor has an average value of about 0.7 for the
horizontal samples and an average value of about 0.87 for the
inclined sample. As the soil sampling depth is increased, the
horizontal and inclined anisotropy factors become closer to
each other, and both approach unity.
Figure 6 presents the effect of overconsolidation ratio on the
anisotropy of the soil. The anisotropy factor decreased
significantly when the overconsolidation ratio was increased.
At a low OCR value of 2 the anisotropy factors for both
horizontal and inclined samples increased significantly,
approaching unity. This indicates that the soil behaved

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 1·00 1·1

0·95 Inclined samples Isotropic line

1·0
0·90 Inclined samples
Anisotropy factor

Anisotropy factor
0·85 0·9

0·80
0·8
0·75 Horizontal samples

0·70 0·7 Horizontal samples

0·65
0·6
0·60
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Depth: m Failure strain: %

Fig. 5. Variation of anisotropy factor in unconfined Fig. 7. Variation of anisotropy in failure strain with depth
compressive strength with depth

the sampling depth and overconsolidation ratio. The resulting

1·1 mathematical model was found to be
Isotropic line

1·0
AFI ¼ 0:886 þ 0:01219D
0:00308OCR
Inclined sampling 1
Anisotropy factor

0·9 R2 ¼ 0:88

0·8

AFH ¼ 0:771 þ 0:03404D
0:0122OCR

0·7
2
R2 ¼ 0:95
Horizantal sampling

0·6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Overconsolidation ratio, OCR where AFI is the anisotropy factor in the inclined direction,
AFH is the anisotropy factor in the horizontal direction, D is
Fig. 6. Effect of overconsolidation ratio on anisotropy of soil the sampling depth, and OCR is the overconsolidation ratio of
the soil.

isotropically at low values of OCR. At high OCR values the
anisotropy factor decreased significantly, and the difference
between the inclined and the horizontal anisotropy factors
increased. At an OCR value of 10 the anisotropy factors for the
horizontal and inclined directions were 0.7 and 0.87
respectively.
Figure 7 shows the variation of anisotropy with strain at failure
for the horizontal and inclined samples. The anisotropy factor
increased with increasing failure strain. At a low failure strain
of about 1.5% the anisotropy factor for the inclined samples
(0.85) was much greater than that for horizontal samples (0.65).
As the failure strain increased, the anisotropy factor for both
inclined and horizontal samples increased significantly, and
they both aproached a value of 0.95.
3.1. Empirical models
From the test results it was noticed that, as the depth increased
and OCR decreased, the soil unconfined compressive strength
behaviour was increasingly isotropic. It was also observed that
the anisotropy factor was directly affected by the depth and
OCR of the samples. Therefore an empirical model, using
statistical regression, to correlate the anisotropy of the soil with
Equations (1) and (2) are very useful in predicting the value of
the unconfined compressive strength in the inclined or
horizontal direction of the soil based on the depth and
overconsolidation ratio of the soil.
3.2. Comparison with other soils
This study investigated anisotropy in the shear strength of
Jordan clayey soils using unconfined compressive strength
tests. The results of the study showed that the clayey soils
investigated in the study are anisotropic in shear strength. This
result agrees with other results obtained for London natural,
highly overconsolidated clayey soil reported in the literature.
Nishimura et al. 16 reported that London clayey soils obtained
from the Heathrow Terminal 5 airport site exhibited anisotropy
in shear strength. For soil samples taken from depths of 5.2
and 10.5 m below ground level, strong shear strength
anisotropy was observed. The results of this study showed that
the anisotropy of the clayey soil increased with decreasing
sampling depth. This result disagrees with that reported by
Nishimura et al., who concluded that the degree of anisotropy
of London clayey soils appeared to become stronger with
sampling depth. The difference in the results may be attributed
to the difference in the nature of the clayey soils investigated.

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4. CONCLUSION
Based on the results obtained from this study, the following
conclusions may be drawn.
(a) The overconsolidated clayey soil investigated in the study
was found to be anisotropic. The unconfined compressive
strength in the vertical direction was observed to be higher
than that in the inclined or horizontal directions.
(b) The anisotropy of the soil is found to increase with
decreasing sampling depth, and also with increasing
overconsolidation ratio.
(c) The test results indicate that a correlation can be developed
to determine the anisotropy factor based on depth and
overconsolidation ratio
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