() Modified AASHO Test of

effort = WL of rammer x height of fall x no.

(Hints: Compactive
no. of layers]
x
ows/ayer
7.C. The specisic gravity
fdry soil and waler requircd to conpact
soil is 2.65.
of solids ofa the
Deternnine the quantity
soil in a Proctor mould having 8
a moisture content
a void ratio of 0.6 and-at
= 10 cm and H = 12.7 cm, at
20%. [Ans: 1652 gm; 330 c]
test samples of 7.5 cm bcight and
3.75 cin SHEAR STRENGTTH
7.7. Three identical triaxial
at a moisture content of 15%
and a dry density of
iameler are to be prepared quantity of oven-dried soil
and volume of 8.1 Introduction: When an external load is applicd on a soil mass,
48 gm/cc. Determine the total sbearing stresses are induced in it.If the shear stress developed on any plane
55.2 cc]
ater required for the purpose. [Ans: 367.8gin,
the from following data in the soil exceeds a certain limiting value, failure of the soil occurs. The
7.8. Determine the CBR value of a given soil
maximum shear stress which a given soil can withstand is called its shear
otaincd from a laboratory CBR test:
strength.
ad (kg) 0 19.8 50.1 | 81.8 120.0 170.1 421.7 605.9 699.3 662.88| The factors governing the shear strength of a soil are:
7.5 10.0 12.5
De iration
m)
0.S
0
| 1 15 202 50 )internal friction, i.e.,the resistance due to particle interlocking
(ii). cobesion, i.e., the resistance due to the internal structural bond
which tends to hold the particles together.
the load-penetration and determine the CBR valuc of the soil. According to Coylomb's law, the shear strength, t, of a soil is given by:
otmnent on the test res ults. [Ans. 23.7%]
curve

T c + tan o. .8.1)
wliere, normal stress acting on the soil
c cobesion

angle ofintemal friction

The factors and
c are called the shear
parameters of a soil.
When cxpressed graphically, eqn. (8.1) can be
ine called the failure envelope. The represcnted by a straight
gencral form of failure envelope for a
cohesionless, a cohesive and a c -p soil are shown in Fig. 8.1 (a), (6) and
(c)
respectivcly.

(a) (b)
Plg.8.1
 Problems in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engneerlng
182
The shear parame ters ofany soil depend not only on the nature of the sol.
but also on such factors like moisture content and loading conditions.
At very
ofintemal
low molsture contenta cobesive soil may developa certain amount
friction. Likewise at high moisture contents a cobesionless soil may show the
signs of having an apparent cohesion.
8.2 Mohr'sclrcle of stress: Thisisa graphicalrepresentation ofthestress
conditionainasoil mass whichenables onetofindouthestresses.devcloped
on anyIn pline within thesoil ductoan cxtemal loading system.
a stressed material, a plane which is subjected to only a normal stress,
but no shesr stress, is called a principal plane. Through any poiat in the
material, two such planes exist. These planes are called the major and the
minor principal planes, and are orthogonal to each other. If the principal
stresses, and oz, are known, the normal stress o and shear stress t on a
o (ii);Join AB. It intersects the o-axis at C.
plane inclined at an angle Bto the major principal plane is given by,
a- , cos2 8.2)
and, sin 20 (8.3)
Equations (8.2) and (8.3) can be represented by a Mobr Circle, as
illustrated in Fig. 8.2. The co-ordinatesof any point on thecircumferenceof
thecircle give the stress conditions on a particular planerepresented by that
point
Shear Strength
B Pole Tie concepl of tlhe pole, n the osigu »f the plancs. in vejy urîu;
in such problems where the locatioius of tue principal planes asc not knoWIl.
Consider the soil element subjected to a system of external stresscs as
shown in Fig. 8.3. It is required to determine the normal and shear
stre s«s
acting on the plane AA, inçlined at an angle 0 to the horizontal.
Considering the free body diagram of the clement it can be proved that
the element can be in
equilibrium only il, ayTy
The procedure for drawing the Mobr Circle and locating the pole are as
follows
:)Choose the co-ordinate axes and select a vector scale.
(ii) Locate the points A and B such that they represent the stresses on
the horizontal and vertical boundaries respectivcly, of the element.
iv) WithC as centre and CA = CB as radius, draw the Mohr circle.
(v) The point A represents the stress conditions on the horizontal
plane. From A, draw a straight line parallel to this plane. It intersects the
circumference at P. Again, if from B a line is drawn parallel to the vertical
plane (since the point B represents the stresses acting on this planc), it wil
intersect the circle at the same point P. This is the pole of Mohr's circle.
yA

(0,0)
QlT
A
Txy
Ty y ( (y)
A29 N
Hajor Principal
Stress
Fig.8.3
(vi) From the pole P draw a line parallel to the plane on which the
inorStressPrincipal stresses are required. This line intersects the circle at Q. The co-ordinates of
Q give the normal and shear stresses on the given plane AA.
Thus, the pole may be de fined ás a particularpoint onthe Mobr'scircle
such that, ifa line is drawn from this point making it parallelto anygiven
Fia. 8.2
 plane within the soil mass, then, the co-ordinates
of the point of intersection suchthat coulomb's eguation is satisfied as the point P lies on the failure
of thisTin With theCirele wil representthestresses acting onthat plane. envelopc.In ordertodetermine thelocation ofthis plane,join PA and PC.
8.3.1 Sign convention: The following sign conventions are normally Now, LPCB LPAC+ LAPC
followed for plotting the stress co-ordinates: As AC = PC, LAPC LPAC = a

Normal stress: Compressive stresses are taken as positive and tensile LPCB- a + a =2 a.
stresses as negátive.
andd Again, sin DF | OB, LPGF - LPCB 2a
However, soils can with stand only compression
not tension. Hence the normal stress on any plane a
of In A PDG, LPGF- LPDG + LDPG
soil element which is in static equilibrium is always 2a + 90° [ : PG L DE, LDPG - 90" ]
or,
positive. a 45 + ¢/2 .(8.4)
shear stress is determined on the basis of or,
Sh ar stress: The sign of a In Fig. 8.4, the plane BB, drawn at (45° + / 2 ) to the major principal
the direction of its moment about any arbitrary point
inside thc soil mass. If the moment acts in the anti- plane, represents the failure plane.
It can be proved that, at failure the relationship between the two principal
clockwise direction, the shearstress is positive, whereas
if it acts in the clockwise direction, the shear stress is stresses is given by,
negative. Og tan (45" + ¢/2) + 2etan (45+ ¢/2) .(8.5)
83.2 Location of thefailure plane: Fig. 8.4 represents a soil sanple
and a minor principal stress o3. As or, O1 og N +2e VN (8.6)
subjected to a major princigal stress oj
lhe sample ison the vereeof failure, the Mohr circle bas touched the failure where, N low value tan (45° + ¢/2) (8.7)
cnvelope at P. Evidently, the pole of the Mohr circle is at A.
The highest point on the circumference of the Mohr circle is the
crown
8.4 Determination of Shear Strength: The following tests are employed
R. The line AR is inclined to the o-axis at 45°. Thc corresponding plane
in for the evaluation of the shear strength of a soil:
maximum sbear sress, A. Laboratory tests:
the soil is MN, which is the plane subjected to the
Tmar However,the potentialfailure planeinthe soil is not MN but theplane 1. Direct Shear Test

represented by the poin P, because the stress co-ordinates given by P are

2. Triaxial Compression Test

B 3 Unconfined Compression Test.

B. Field Test
1. Vane Shear Test
For a detailed description of the test procedures, the reader is referred to
any standard text book of Soil Mechanics. Only the essential points regarding
the computation of shear strength will be highlighted here.

8,4.1 Direct Shear Test: In this test, soil samples compacted at known
densities and moisture contents in a shear box of 6.cmx 6cm size, which can
besplitinto two halves,is sheared by applying a gradually increasinglateral
D
load. Threc identical samples of a solt are tested under dilerent vertical
compressive stresses and the corresponding shear stresses at failure are
B determinced. A graph is then plotted between normal stress and shear stress,
Results of each test are represented by a single point. Three points obtained
from the three tosts are jolnocd by a stralght line whlch is the failure envelope
for the given soil. The slope of this line gives the angle of
intemal friction,
while the intereopt from the T-axls glives the value of cohesion of the soil.
ig 4.
 In this test, cylindrlcal soll speclniens M AV
8A2 Trarlal Compresslon Tes!:
o t 3.8 cm diameter and 7.6
cm height, cenclosed in an impermeablc
the triaxial cell. An all-round cell
rubber
pressure, O3,
AL- Al (.10
membrane, are placed inside where, V initial volume of the specimen
vertical
sample. Simultaneously, a gradually increasing 20%.
is applied on theuntil AV change in volumedue to drainage.
cither the sample fails, or its axial strain exceeds
stress is applied length of the specimen
initial
Stress vs. strain curves are plotted to detenmine the normal stress at failure. L
principal stress, a1, is AL change in length ofthe specimen
This stress isçalledthe deviator stress, O The major
obtained from|the following relation (refer Fig. 8.5): B4.3 Unconfined Compression Test: This is a special case of triaxial test in
8.8) wbich o3- 0. We bave, from eqn. (8.5)
o1 os tan* (45"+ o/2) + 2ctan (45° ¢/2)
As O3 0, for an unconfined compression test,
o1 2ctan (45° ¢/2) (8.11)
A number of tests on identical specimens will give the same value of
o1. Thus, only one equation is available while two unknowns, viz., c and o,
are involved. Hence, eqn. (8.11) cannot be solved without having a prior
knowledge of any one of the unknowns.
Due to this reason, the unconfined com-
pression test is employed to determine
the shear parameters of purely cobesive
(a) (b) (c soils only. For such
soils, - 0', and
hence, Torque
Fig.85 Head
o 2clan 45° 2c
Three samples ofa soil are tested under different cell pressures. From the The vertical stress o1 at failure, Torque Rod
results, threc Motircircles are constructed, and a common tangent is drawn known as the unconfined compressive
to them. This is the failure eavelope. strength and denoted by gu is obtained
The normal stesa at any point the test is determined by dividing
by dividing the nommal load at failure by 7 Vanes
the normal load obtained from the reading of the proving ring by the the corected area, as givén by
cross-sectional area of the sample. Due to the bulging eqn. (8.9)
ofthe sample during
shear, the cross-spctional area should be modifed using the following Thus, 9u 2 c
cquation:
A Ap1 - e)
I8.9) or, (8.12)
where Accorrected area X8.4.4 Vane Shear Test: This is a field
Ap initial area test used for the direct determination of
e axial strain AL/L the shear strength of
where, AL axial compression soil. Generally
a

L initial length
thistest is conducted in soft clay situated Vanes
at a great depth, samples of which are
In the drained triaxial tests, the volume of the sample may change during diticult to obtain.
the test due to expulsion or absorption of water. In that case, the corrected The apparatus consists
area should be determined from:
of four metal
blades, called vanes, mounted on a steel
rod, as shown in Fig. 8.6. The device is
pushed slowly upto the desired depth
Fig. 8.6
 the torque ro0d.
and is rotatcd at a uniform speed by applying a torque through
dial fitted to the rod. Failure
The amount of torque applied is recorded
occurs when the vane can be rotated
on
witbout
a

any furtber increase in the torque. and, sin2

0. coulomb's equation reduces to
For a cohesive soil, ¢ Hertce o 2 kg/cm* and o3 1.1 kg/cm
S C Here,
Thus, for a cobesivesoil, the shear strength is cqual to its cobesion. In a vane The given plane is inclined at 30 to the major principal stress. But the
be determined from: direction of major principal stress is perpendicular to the major principal
shear test, the cohesion, and hence the shear strength can
plane. Hence the angle of inclination between the given plane
and the májor
c .(8.13) principal plane is,
0 90- 30° 6 0

where, T torque applied (- P.a) 1), cos (2 x 60")

H height of the vanc
- 1.55 (0.45)(cos 120")
D diameter ofthe vane.
stresses developed in a soil exceeds its
-1.55 (0.45) (-1/2)
8.5 Sensitivity: When the shear
shear strcngth, the soil fails by shear and loses
its strength. However, if thee - 1.325 kg/cm
soil is left in that state for some time, regains
it somc of its original strength.
is a mcasure of its capability of regaining slreDg
Thc sensitivity of a soilbeen and ) sin (2 x 60)
has caused in the soil. It is expressed as,
alter a disturbance
undisturbcd state
-
(0.45) (sin 120") 0.39 kg/cm
R - AS S. Shearstrength ininthe ..(8.14)
shear strength the remoulded state
(Qoo-aja
On the basis of the sensitivity, cla yey soils
divided in the following
are T(Kg/cm)
categories: 075
Sensitivity Nature of clay
Insensitive 133Kg/cm
Low sensitive 0-50 0(133,0-39)
1-2
Medium sensitive
2-4
Scnsitive
4-8 0-225
8 16 Extra sensitive 0:39Kg,
>16 Quick clay o cmAs0 120
75 10A 125 15 C -75 25
EXAMPI.ES
(Kg/cm)
stresS of 2
'roblem 8.1. A soil sample is subjected to a najor princial
Deteminc the normal and
kg/cu and a nmiuor principal stress of 1.1 kg/cm*.
shear sirrssts acting ou a plaue inclincd at 30° to the major principal
stress.
Fig..8.7
method: Tue normal suess, O and the shear
Solvtion: (a) Analyrical
ltr*, 1 m nuy plar inelincl nt O tu thr nmajor principal plaur is given by: (b) Graphical method: The graphical solution is shown in Fig 8.7. The
pdure is slated below
Cos 20 2.0 kg/em* and og 1. kg/cu
(i)The Mohr circle is drawn with o
 Mola- Cdand Faaluu
adoua

2TCar o 3-D Sruas

s$Tuade

LTCa z
2LTP z2
TC=PC
LTPe = LPTe

LTeR = 1d0-2
TQR
+L8-2 +30 18

Falu Ed

o
 S 4+ an

OCOPPe

= ()

AORS
oS-
oRe
OR
= os Ce
OR =QS

9R Co
A

ATRC

Sin 3)
2 o+
on,

(sA)-9o(4 s4) 2 ta5 2

N F l u va)s
NRN
 R

F di S

eaion in

Lnao