Tri-axial Test

Triaxial Shear Tests

The triaxial shear test is the most versatile of all of the methods for testing the
shear strength of soil and finding its cohesion (c) and angle of internal friction (φ).
It can measure the total, as well as the effective stress parameters, and can be
conducted on any type of soil. Drainage conditions can be controlled, and pore
water pressure and volume changes can be measured accurately. The failure plane
is not forced in this test, and the stress distribution of the failure plane is fairly
uniform. Specimens can fail on any weak plane or can simply bulge
This type of test may take several days to complete, because it is necessary to apply
deviator stress at a very slow rate to ensure full drainage from the soil specimen.
DIRECT SHEAR APPARATUS TRIAXIAL SHEAR APPARATUS
100 % saturated soil specimen
The three primary triaxial tests conducted in the laboratory each
allow the soil response for differing engineering applications to be
observed. These are:
• Unconsolidated-undrained test (UU)
• Consolidated-undrained test (CU)
• Consolidated-drained test (CD)
Consolidation Phase ( Phase One)

- No consolidation -Consolidation
-No volume change -Volume will change
-No strength gain -Strength gain
Where:
c = undrained shear strength or cohesion
∅ = angle of internal friction/angle of shearing resistance
𝜎1 = major principal stress, maximum normal stress, total vertical
stress
𝜎3 = minor principal stress, minimum normal stress, cell pressure,
lateral pressure, chamber confining stress or all-around stress
∆𝜎 = deviator stress or diameter of Mohr circle or plunger stress
𝜎𝑓 = normal stress at failure plane
𝜏𝑓 = shear stress at failure plane
𝜃 = angle that the failure plane makes with the major principal stress
 Unconsolidated-undrained test (UU)
The unconsolidated undrained (UU) test is the simplest and fastest. The soil
specimens are loaded, and only the total stresses are controlled and recorded.
This allows determination of the undrained shear strength, cu, which is suitable
for assessing the soil stability in the short-term (e.g., during or directly following
a construction project). The test is generally performed on cohesive soil
specimens; however, remolded sand samples can also be tested.
Trial 1

Trial 2
Situation 1. An unconsolidated undrained test was
conducted on a saturated clay. The cell pressure was 200 kPa
and failure occurred under a deviator stress of 220 kPa.
1. Determine the angle of shearing resistance.
2. Determine the maximum principal stress at failure.
3. Determine the undrained shear strength
Ans.
• 0˚
• 420 kPa
• 110 kPa
Situation 2. A tri-axial test was performed on a clayey soil under
unconsolidated undrained conditions. The major and minor stresses
at failure were 144 and 48 kN/𝑚2 respectively.
4. Find the angle of friction of this soil.
5. Find the cohesion of this soil.
Ans.
• 0˚
• 48 kPa
 Situation 3. Soil samples were taken from different parts of the site. Three
sets of tri-axial tests were conducted. Soil tests on sample were performed using
UU soil test.
Test Confining pressure Total axial stress at
(kPa) Failure
1 0 60
2 50 110
3 100 160

6. Compute the friction angle.

7. Compute the undrained cohesion of the soil.
Ans.
• 0˚
• 30 kPa
Situation 4. The major and minor principal stresses acting in a
stressed material are 80 kPa compression and 20 kPa tension,
respectively.
8. What is the max shear stress acting at the point.
9. What value of normal stress acts on the plane.
10. Determine the value of the shear stress acting on a plane that is 30 deg.
Counterclockwise from the major principal plane.
Ans.
• 50 kPa
• 30 kPa
• 43.3 kPa
 Unconfined-Compression
Test
-Special type of UU-Test
- No confining pressure
Situation 5. A cylindrical specimen of saturated clay 4.50 cm-𝜙
and 9cm long is tested in an unconfined compression apparatus.
1. Find the cohesion of the specimen if it failed at an axial load of 45 kg. The
specimen’s length after the test was 8.10 cm.
2. Compute the angle of inclination of the failure plane with respect to the
principal stresses.
Ans.
• 124.91 kPa
• 45˚
Situation 6. A cylindrical specimen of saturated soil fails under a
stress of 150 kPa in an unconfined compression test. The failure
plane makes an angle of 52˚ with the horizontal.
3. Compute the angle of internal friction of the soil.
4. Compute the cohesion of the soil.
5. Compute the shearing stress at the failure plane.
Ans.
• 14˚
• 58.6 kPa
• 72.77 kPa
 Consolidated-Drained Test
- Slow Test or Effective Stress Test
- Valve is open in phase one and phase two
- Pore water pressure is equal to zero
The test is consolidated, meaning to say we are allowing the soil to
gain strength. Thus, the higher the confining pressure, the stronger
the soil will be
Situation 7. The data shown in the table were obtained in a
consolidated-drained triaxial test of three identical specimens.
Test No. Minor Principal Stress (kPa) Major Principal Stress (kPa)
1 50 230
2 100 385
3 150 540

1. Compute the angle of internal friction (Ans: 30.81º)

2. Compute the cohesion of the soil (Ans: 21.3 kPa)
3. Compute the shearing stress at a depth of 6m below the ground if a phreatic
line is located 2m below the ground surface and the soil has a dry unit weight
of 16 kN/m^3 and a saturated unit weight of 20 kN/m^3. (Ans: 64.7 kPa)
Shear Phase (Phase two)
Situation 8 . A consolidated-drained tri-axial test is conducted on a
normally consolidated clay. The cell pressure is 100 kPa and the
applied axial stress at failure is 200 kPa.
1. Compute the angle of shearing resistance. (Ans: 30º)
2. Determine the shear stress at failure. (Ans: 86.6 kPa)
3. Compute the angle of inclination of the failure plane with respect to the
major principal planes. (Ans: 60º)
4. Determine the normal stress at the failure plane.(Ans: 150 kPa)