And if there is no volume change?

Undrained Loading

 For a saturated soil, if the soil is undrained the volume of the soil MUST remain constant and the pore pressure MUST change
if the external total stresses are changed
σ0 σ0 + Δσ

σ0 σ0 + Δσ
U0 off0 + ΔU
U

 For isotropic loading, increase of total stress ∆σ will be entirely taken by the pore water pressure (because it is incompressible)
and so ∆u=∆σ and ∆σ′=0

 More generally, for changes of load that are not isotropic (e.g. shearing), the volume must still be constant but ∆u≠∆σ and ∆σ′≠0
 UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL TESTS
 movement of water into or out of the sample may be controlled with a “drainage tap”
on the drainage tube
 if we closed the tap the sample is undained no matter how long we take to do the
test – not like shear box or oedometer where whether soil is drained or undrained
will depend on how quickly it is loaded and the soil permeability

loading ram to apply

excess σa i.e. q
σa
σr U
σr
U

drainage tap (closed to stop

water moving into or out of
sample - undrained)

 In an undrained test volume change is zero and we measure change of

pore pressure http://www.matest.com/en/Product
s/--1/TRIAXIAL-TESTING-
EQUIPMENT-/traxial-tests#
 Mohr’s circles for a Drained Triaxial Test

failure envelope
τ
σa

σr φ’ σ’r σ’a σr σa
u σ, σ’

• failure when effective stress Mohr’s circle reaches Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope
 Mohr’s circles for an Undrained Triaxial Test

failure envelope
τ
u0

φ’ σ’a σr σa
σ’r
σ, σ’

uf
initial σ’a=σ’r

• as pore pressure U changes, so distance between total and effective stress Mohr’s circles changes (in this case final value, Uf
has increased)
 Undrained Shearing: Stress-Strain Data

q'/p'
peak
OC

M critical
state
NC

εa
OC
-ve

ΔU
εa

+ve NC

 stress-strain curves will look very similar to drained tests BUT there will be zero volume change and instead the pore pressure changes

 soils that want to dilate (OC) but cannot because volume is constant will have a decreasing pore pressure while soils that want to
compress (NC) will have an increasing value
 Stress Paths: Drained Shearing

q’
total stresses p = (σa + 2σr)/3 critical state failure
envelope (CSL)
effective stresses p' = (σ'a + 2σ'r)/3
Uf
q = q’ = (σa - σr) = (σ'a - σ'r)
q’cs
total stress
(σ’a = σa – U and σ’r = σr – U) path

i.e. p’ = p - U effective 3 3
stress path

p and p’
U0

 for a usual test Δσr=0 and ΔU=0 then gradient is 3 for total stress path and effective stress path

 distance between TSP and ESP is U which remains unchanged from initial value U0 to final value Uf

 q’cs lies on a Critical State failure envelope, end point of TSP is irrelevant
 Stress Paths: Undrained Shearing
total stresses p = (σa + 2σr)/3

effective stresses p' = (σ'a + 2σ'r)/3

q = q’ = (σa - σr) = (σ'a - σ'r)

q’ q’
critical state failure critical state failure
envelope (CSL) envelope (CSL)

Uf Uf
qcs = 2Su qcs = 2Su
total stress
path
effective 3
stress path
3

U0 p and p’ p and p’
U0

Normally Consolidated (increasing U) Overconsolidated (decreasing U)

 The undrained shear strength Su is qcs/2

 undrained shearing – critical states
q’
q’/p’ CSL  Su is used extensively in design (see
qcs = 2Su year 2)
D
M
CB
qcs = 2Su
A &E
E
D C B A p’ v
normal compression
εa line (NCL)
-ve D E
v
isotropic
C
∆u NCL
swelling
E εa lines
D C B A
+ve B
A
ln p'
CSL  Having samples at the same v would
be difficult to do in practice,
lnp’ because if you reduce the initial p’
on the soil it actually swells
 just like drained tests, all the stress paths should reach a unique CSL

 Su is therefore unique for one value of v (or e)

 Su increases as v reduces and Su for A (or B, C, D) is greater than Su for E

Limitations of Theory
sheep!
• works well for normally consolidated clays where
deformations in sample quite uniform

goats!

• formation of a shear plane in

overconsolidated clays gives premature failure
initial q’
ideal

final

actual

εa
 Undrained Shearing in a Shear Box
σv
τ ∆S  no control of drainage so it can only be done by shearing quickly (impossible
∆v
in a sand)
Ho U=?
 pore pressures in sample will change but they are unknown (no measurement in
a shear box)
γ= ∆S/Ho
εv= ∆v/Ho  undrained shear strength, Su, normally taken at maximum τ for overconsolidated
or critical state for normally consolidated

 vertical (and volumetric strain) should be zero

τ
overconsolidated
Su  because pore pressure u unknown the vertical effective stress σ'v cannot be
Su calculated and nor can the angle of shearing resistance φ’

normally
consolidated

γ
 Undrained Isotropic Loading
 volume of the soil MUST remain constant and the pore pressure MUST change if the external total stresses are changed

σ0 σ0 + Δσ

σ0 σ0 + Δσ
U0 off0 + ΔU
U

 For isotropic loading, increase of total stress ∆σ will be entirely taken by the pore water pressure (because it is incompressible)
and so ∆u=∆σ and ∆σ′=0
 Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Test
 a common procedure to determine the undrained shear strength Su of the soil in the ground

σ a

σ r U

 samples retrieved in plastic or steel tubes and ends

are covered in wax to ensure that water content
does not change hence void ratio e or specific
volume v are unchanged
 if the sample dries e will reduce and it will get
stronger and if it gets wet it will swell, e will increase http://www.matest.com/
 drill a borehole at site to recover samples and it will get weaker en/Products/--
(Year 2) 1/TRIAXIAL-TESTING-
EQUIPMENT-/traxial-
tests#

 apply any cell pressure σr in the triaxial that you want as

it will make no difference to radial effective stress σ'r

 shear the sample by applying the deviator force Fd – the

result will not depend on the cell pressure you chose
 Stress Paths: Unconsolidated Undrained Test
 if for undrained loading the initial effective stresses will not change as we increase the total stresses (i.e. the cell pressure) then also
the shearing stage cannot be affected.
 so if we just want the undrained shear strength it does not matter what cell pressure we apply – the effective stresses will always be
the same

σa = σr initially
q’ q’
critical state failure critical state failure
σr envelope (CSL) envelope (CSL)
u

Uf Uf
qcs qcs
 any change of σr would
give the same change of U

p and p’ p and p’
U0 U0

 effective stress path will be the same no matter what the total stress path – only the pore pressure will change (but the change of
pore pressure remains the same)
 effective stress path (and hence strength) depends on the soil (NC or OC) not what stresses you apply

 Su = qcs/2 (it is radius of the Mohr’s circle not the diameter)

 Mohr’s Circles: Unconsolidated Undrained Test
 In terms of Mohr’s circles:

σa = σr initially

τ’ effective
stresses φ′cs alternative σr
total stresses u
Su

σ’a σr
σr σa σa  any change of σr would
σ’r σ, σ’
give the same change of U

u
u