Triaxial Test

By
Anika Tahsin Nabila
Lecturer
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Islamic University of Technology
 The Triaxial Test
A triaxial test is performed on a sample of soil or rock to determine the
shear strength properties of soil under controlled drainage conditions.

A cylindrical specimen of soil is subjected to confining pressure and loaded

axially till failure.

During the shearing stage, the major principal stress is equal to the sum of
the deviator or deviatoric stress and the minor principal stress which is the
confining pressure.

The confining pressure is necessary to simulate the in-situ stresses that the
soil would experience in the ground, while the normal stress is used to
simulate the additional load that a structure or foundation would place on
the soil.
Types of Triaxial Tests

1) Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) test

2) Consolidated drained (CD) test
3) Consolidated undrained (CU) test

Photo by Pixabay
Terminologies: Consolidated Vs Unconsolidated

● Consolidation is the process of pressing soil under a constant load for a period of time
to make it denser and stronger by allowing excess water to escape.

● In triaxial testing, consolidation is done by applying a constant load to the soil sample
for about 24 hours before the actual test begins.

● A device called a consolidometer is used to apply and measure the rate and amount of
soil compression.

● Consolidation makes the soil more stable and better able to resist forces acting on it.

● If the soil sample is not consolidated before the test, it is called unconsolidated.
Terminologies: Drained Vs Undrained

● In triaxial test, "drained" and "undrained" refer to if the soil sample is allowed to release water
during the test.

● In the "undrained" condition, the soil sample is not allowed to release any water during the test
keeping the drainage valve closed. This is used to simulate situations where the soil is
saturated and cannot drain, like in the case of cohesive soils.

● In the "drained" condition, the soil sample is allowed to release water during the test keeping
the drainage valve open. This is used to simulate situations where the soil is not saturated and
can drain, like in the case of coarse-grained soils.
Overview on procedure

Sample Preparation

1) Undisturbed Sample
2) Remolded Sample

Saturation

The saturation process ensures that all voids within a test specimen are filled with water, and that the
pore pressure transducer and drainage lines are properly de-aired. The most common saturation
method is to apply an incremental increase of the cell and back pressure into the specimen. This
process gradually raises both the cell and back pressure which dissolve any air that may be present in
the specimen.

The back pressure is applied by filling the space between the soil sample and the top porous disc with
water or other fluid, and then pressurizing it.
Overview on procedure

Consolidation stage:

● First stage of triaxial test

● Constant load applied to soil sample in triaxial cell
● Allows soil sample to slowly settle and excess water to drain out
● Simulates process of soil settling that occurs in the field over time
● This process is continued until the volume change ΔV of the specimen is no longer significant, and at least
95% of the excess pore pressure has dissipated.

Shearing stage:

● Measures shear strength of soil and how much force it can withstand before it fails
● Different type of loading applied to soil sample
● Confining pressure applied to entire outer surface of soil sample using rubber membrane or other device
● Confining pressure held constant while axial load is applied to top of soil sample through loading piston
and increased in small increments until soil sample fails
Types of Triaxial Tests
- Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) test: soil sample is not consolidated and pore water
is also not allowed to drain out.

- Consolidated drained (CD) test: soil sample is consolidated under a constant load
and then allowed to drain out.

- Consolidated undrained (CU) test: soil sample is consolidated under a constant

load but not allowed to drain out.

Photo by Pixabay
Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) test

This is the simplest and fastest procedure, with soil specimens loaded without any consolidation
nor dissipation of excess pore water through draining. This test is also known as Q or Quick Test.
σ3 and Δσ are applied fast so that the soil does not have time to settle or consolidate.

This allows the undrained shear strength Cu to be determined, which is suitable for assessing soil
stability. Undrained shear strength is a measure of a soil's ability to resist shear deformation
when it is loaded rapidly without allowing any drainage or dissipation of excess pore pressure. It
is an important parameter in geotechnical engineering, particularly in the design of foundations
and retaining structures.

This test is generally performed on cohesive soil specimens.

r = (σmax - σ3) / 2
Consolidated Drained (CD) test

The Consolidated Drained (CD) test is a type of triaxial compression test used to determine the strength
and deformation characteristics of soil under drained conditions. In a CD test, the soil sample is first
consolidated under a vertical load to simulate in-situ conditions. Once the sample is fully consolidated, a
confining pressure is applied to the sample, and the sample is sheared axially at a constant rate.

During the test, the drainage of water from the soil sample is allowed, meaning that the excess pore
water pressure is allowed to dissipate so that is why more time is needed and it is termed as a S Test or
Slow Test. This simulates the conditions under which the soil will typically experience loads and drainage
conditions in the field.

CD tests are commonly performed on saturated soils with a high permeability, such as sands and gravels,
where drainage is rapid. The test is not suitable for testing cohesive soils such as clays because they have
a low permeability, and the pore water pressure takes a long time to dissipate.
Consolidated Undrained (CU) Test

The Consolidated Undrained (CU) Triaxial Test is a type of soil test that is conducted to determine the
strength characteristics of soils under specific loading conditions. The soil sample is first consolidated to a
specified pressure and then subjected to an undrained (excess pore water is not allowed to go out as the
valve remains closed in the shearing stage) condition incremental load until it fails while the confining
pressure remains the same.

The CU triaxial test is useful for determining the strength characteristics of soft and sensitive soils
(clayey soil) that tend to fail when subjected to excessive loads.

As the soil sample is consolidated but it is later at an undrained condition at shear stage, so the excess
pore water is not allowed to dissipate and thus it is neither fast nor a slow process.
Resources used
1. https://www.gdsinstruments.com/__assets__/pagepdf/000037/Part%201%20Introduction%20to
%20triaxial%20testing.pdf
2. https://www.slideshare.net/hronaldo10/class-8-triaxial-test-geotechnical-engineering
3. Related videos from YouTube