A NOTE ON F I E L D VANE T E S T I N G

O F SILTY SOILS

G. E. B L I G H T National Building Research Institute, Pretoria

The field vane test is usually used to
measure the strength of clays, but it may
also be applied to measurements in silty
soils. Because of the relatively high
permeability of silts, drainage of the soil
surrounding the vane can take place even
during a fairly rapid test.
A method is proposed that enables the
preselection of a test duration such that
the strength measured is that of the fully
drained soil. The procedure has been
developed by both empirical and
theoretical means.
Le seissom6tre de ckantier sert kabituellement
A mesurer la r6sistance au cisaillement des
argiles, mais il peut kgalernent &re utilisb pour
effectuer des mesures sur les sols silteux. DQ
A la pennkabilitk relativernent grande des silts,
le sol entourant les palettes peut se drainer
m&medurant un essai passablernent rapide.
Une rnkthode est suggerke pour permettre un
choix de la durQede l'essai de telle sorte que
la rbsistance au cisaillernent nlesurbe est celle
correspondant aux conditions de drainage
complet du sol. La prockdure a ktk Qtabliepar
des moyens elnpiriqucs et tll60riques.

The in situ vane shear test was originally deve1oped for measuring the shear
strength of clays.' Clays are too impermeable to allow of any significant drain-
age within the duration (2 to 15 minutes) of a normal vane test. The in situ
vane test therefore measures the unchained shear strength of a clay. As the
permeability of silts is so much greater than that of clays, drainage can take
place during a vane test and it becomes possible to measure the fully drained
in situ shear strength. If tests are carried out too quickly, however, the
measurements may correspond to a partially drained condition and be difficult
to interpret.
The object of the present investigation was to develop a method for pre-
selecting a suitable duration for the vane test in silts to ensure the measurement
of a fully drained shear strength.
The materials used in the investigation were as follows:
1. Gold mine tailings or slimes consisting of a finely milled quartzite rock flour,
a typical particle size analysis being as follows:
50 to 95 per cent finer than O.OBmm,
20 to 50 per cent finer than O.Olmm,
5 to 15 per cent finer than 0.002mm.
1. A short history of the development of the vane is given by Bsterberg ( 1958).

Canadian Geoteclmic.aI Journal, 1.01. V, no. 3. Printed in Canada.

Canadian C;esteckmlc.ar journal, vol. v , nu. a. I I I I I C ~ ; ~ u a u a u c r ~

- - - -. -,

Canadian Gesteckmlcai journal, V O ~ . \. , nu. a. I I I I ~ L C U111 u a u a u c r .

BLIGHT: FIELD V A N E T E S T I N G 143

The material is a well-graded cohesionless silt, has an average permeability of

10 ft./year, and an average coefficient of consolidation, e,, of 4000 sq.ft/year.
2. Gypsurn, a waste product of the fertilizer industry. The gypsum has a crystal
size distribution that is similar to that of gold mine slimes, has an average
permeability of 20 ft/year and an average coefficient of consolidation of
6500 sq.ft/year.
Both of these materials are deposited hydraulically to form large enclosed
dams 50 to 2 0 acres in extent.' The vane tests described in this investigation
were carried out in situ from the surface of two such dams.
All vanes used in this investigation had the same proportions, namely:
width of vane blades = D,
height of vane blades = 2D.

PORE PRESSbrRE CHAxGES DURING THE VANE TEST

If a vane test is performed under completely undrained conditions, the follow-

ing sequence of pore pressure changes will occur: (1)As the vane is advanced
to the depth of measurement, displacement of soil by the blades and torque
rod will set up pore pressure. ( 2 ) Additional pore pressure will arise as the
vane is rotated. The volume of soil within which the pore pressure will change
is unknown but is certainly larger than the cylinder swept out by the vane
blades.
In choosing a testing time sufficiently long to ensure full drainage of the soil
affected by the vane, dissipation of pore pressures set up both during insertion,
and during shear must therefore be allowed to occur.

EFFECT OF DELAY BETWEEN INSERTION AND SH!3AR I N FIELD TESTS

An investigation was made into the time required for the dissipation of pore
pressure set up during insertion of the vanes. The tests, using a 30 mm x 60 rnm
vane, were carried out at a depth of 10 ft below the top surface of a slimes dam.
A series of increasing delays were allowed between insertion and the start of
shear. An arbitrary time to failure of one minute was used for the shear stage
of all tests, the results of which are shown in Figure 1. Delay t i m a of between

mu
DELAY BETWEEN INSERTING VANE AND STARTING SHEAR (MINUTES)

FIGURE I. Effect of delay between inserting vane and starting shear

2. The ansthod of constructing slimes dams has been described by Donaldsan ( 1965).
 .04 0 6 . 0 8 0.1 .2 -4 .6 .8 1.0 2 4 6 8 1 0

TEST RATE = (TESTS PER MINUTE)

To ,!PIILURE

FIGURE 2. Effect of test rate on measured shear strength in field vane tests

I and 60 minutes were found to have no signscant effect on measured failure

torques. After a 24-hour delay a 20 per cent increase in shear torque was
recorded. The slimes contains about 1.5 per cent of finely milled un-oxidized
pyrite, and the overnight strength increase can perhaps be ascribed to oxida-
tion of the pyrite by air introduced during insertion of the vane.
These tests established that delay between insertion and the start of shear
has little influence on vane measurements in silts. A set of similar tests on
Norwegian marine clays was reported by Flaate ( 1966). H e noted continuous,
though irregular; small increases in average vane strength with increasing delay
time. The rate of increase of strength appeared to decline for delays of over
four hours. Norwegian marine clays are many times3 less pervious than slimes
and it is probable that pore pressures, due to the insertion of a vane in silts,
largely dissipate within a delay period of one minute.

THE EFFECT OF TIME 'FO FAILURE IN FIELD TESTS

Three vane sizes, namely, 30 mrn x SO mm, 45 mrn x 90 mm, and 60 mm

x 120 mm, were used in this part of the investigation. All measurements were
made at a depth of 10 ft and a delay of one minute between insertion and the
start of shear was observed throughout.
Figure 2 shows results obtained using three vane sizes in slimes and a
30 rnm x 60 mm vane in gypsum. An inverse time scale has been used and
results from tests at slow rates appear to the left of the diagram. The shear
torque at any given rate is expressed as a percentage of that measured in the
slowest tests (28 minutes for the 30 mrn x 60 mm vane in slimes, 25 minutes
for the 45 mm x 90 mm vane, 40 minutes for the 60 mm x 120 mm vane, and
20 minutes for the 30 mrn x 60 mm vane in gypsum).
In each series the torque increased as the time to failure was extended.
Also, full drainage occurred sooner with the smaller vanes. A large vane clearly
affects a larger volume of soil and hence more time is required for a given
degree of drainage to be achieved.
3. According to Simons (1963) Norwegian clays have a permeability of about 1 x 10-8
cm/sec. to 1 X 10-9 cm/sec. as compared with about 1 X 10- 5 cm/sec. for slimes.
BLIGHT: FIELD VANE TESTING 145

The shortest time to failure shown in Figure 2 was 0.1 minute ( 6 sec.). A
number of tests were carried out with a test duration of one second. I t was
found that at this rate the torque increased almost to that at the slowest rate.
This increase is thought to have been caused by the effects of viscous resistance
at high rates of strain and the results are not thought to be relevant to the
present investigation.
By assigning a "degree of drainage" of unity to the torque measured in the
slowest test of each series (V1) and a degree of drainage of zero to the torque
measured in the test of 0.1 minute duration (V,), empirical equalization curves
for each size of vane can be drawn up. If the torque measured in a test of
intermediate duration is V, the corresponding degree of drainage will be:

The time scale may be made dimensionless by using a time factor

where c, - the coefficient of consolidation of the soil under tests, tf = the test
duration or time to failure, and D = the width sf the vane blades. The time
factor takes into account the drainage characteristics of the soil (c,) and the
volume sf soil affected by the vane ( D ) .
The results shown in Fiy r e 2 have been re-plotted as diinensionless equaliza-
tion data ( U versus T ) in Figure 3. The data for slimes appear to cluster about
a single equalization curve. The results for gypsum are less satisfactory, but
show-a sGi'lar trend to those for slimes. ~ h use & of a time factor in d a c e of
I

natural time appears to have eliminated the time displacement shown by the
sets of data in Figure 2.

FIGURE 3. Empirical drainage curve

 VANE BLADES

INFLUENCE

PORE PRESSURE
PRESSURE CO
(b)
8 TORQUE

0
TIME t

FIC:URE 4.( a ) Proportions of vane and sphere of influence. ( b ) Idealized pore pressure
changes in vane test

A theoretical approach to the problem of drainage during the vane test can
only be attempted after making several simplifying assumptions. Drainage
conditions are indefinite as drainage takes place by redistribution of moisture
within a more or less uniform medium of large extent. The boundaries within
which pore pressure changes occur are also ill-defined.
The assumptions that have been made to enable the analysis to be carried
out are as follows:
1. All cxcess pore pressures set up by insertion have dissipated before the start
of shear. This appears to be justified by Figure 1, but may not be justified for
more impervious soils.
2. As the vane is rotated, an excess pore pressure is set up within a sphere of
influence of radius a (see Figure 4a). The excess pore pressure is proportional
to the torque developed at the vane blades and hence to the shear stress on the
surface of potential failure. The pore pressure is assumed to be uniform within
the sphere of influence.
3. Figure 4b shows the idealized relations assumed between toque, pore
and time in the vane test. The torque increases uniformly with time
until failure is reached. If completely undrained conditions could be maintained
within the sphere of influence, the excess pore pressure would rise uniformly to
attain a value uo at failure (time tf). When drainage is possible, the pressure
rises to a value ( <uo) at failure and thereafter declines as further drainage
occurs.
4. The pore pressure on the surface of the sphere of influence remains equal
to the hydrostatic pore pressure at all times. This surface is thus assumed to
represent a drainage surface.
BLIGHT: PEW VANE TESTING 147

.2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 .2 4 6 8 1 0

TIME FACTOR T=

FIGURE 5. Theoretical drainage curves

The differential equation for drainage of excess pore pressure u from an

element within the sphere of influence and at a radius r from its centre is:

where k = the permeability of the soil, e = its void ratio, and y, = the density
of water. The left side of equation ( 3 ) represents the rate of change of pore
water volume due to drainage of excess pore pressure u and has units of T-I.
In addition the rotation of the vane causes a constant displacement of volume
equal to A volume units per unit time per unit volume of soil. ( A has units
T -I. ) Equation ( 3 ) theref ore becomes :

Noting from the principle of effective stress that

(5) de = a, du
where a, = coefficient of compressibility of the soil, and writing

(6 1
it follows that

The initial and boundary conditions to be satisfied are:

when t = 0, u = 0, and
when t > 0, u = 0, at r = a.
Carslaw and Jaeger (1947) give the solution to equation ( 7 ) with boundary
and initial conditions ( 8) as :

The present problem is concerned primarily with drainage on the failure

surface, i.e., for the \vorst case, at T = D/2. Also, only conditions at f '1ure are UG

of interest, i.e., at t = tf when u = %. Using the definition of A given above

together with equation ( 5 ) , A may be written:

A =
Ae - -a-
- , c .-Auo
(l+e)At 1 + e At'
Since uoincreases lineally with t,

and from ( 8 ) , (10) and (11)

Term a, the radius of the sphere of influence has not yet been defined, but
probably lies between D and 3D/2. N7ith the above modifications and with
a = D, equation (9) becomes:

or, writing
no
DV+
6, tf
[' -
4
7 ~
(- 1)"
~ 1
. nrr -,2,2
sin 7 - - E
3 ---I
C,

B'
tf

U will vary from zero in a rapid vane test in which no drainage is possible to
100 per cent in a slow test in which full drainage occurs. The variation of U
with T is shown graphically in Figure 5 for n = D and a = 3D/2.

COMPARISON OF MEASUREMENTS AND THEORY

The empirical drainage curve shown in Figure 3 has been superimposed on

Figure 5 and agrees quite closely with the theoretical n u v e for a = D. The
experimental data in Figure 2 may be fitted to this theoretical curve by plotting
the ordinate values of Figure 2 against their theoretical degrees of drainage
(according to curve I of Figure 5 ) . If the data fit the theory, a straight line
should result and the intercept of the line on the ordinate axis (i.e., at zero
drainage) then represents the shear strength in a completely undrained vane
BLIGHT: FIELD V A N E TESTING

120
I I I
30 MM x 60 MM VANE @

THEORETICAL DEGREE O F DRAINAGE (IN

PER CENT)
FrcunE 6. Pitting experimental data to theory

test. The results of the fitting procedure are shown in Figure 6. Here, also, a
satisfactory fit is evident.
As the purely empirical drainage curve agrees so closely with that derived
by simplified theory, there appear to be good grounds for assuming that the
empirical curve would he perfectly general and would apply to any size of
vane (with proportions D x 2 0 ) operating in soil with any consolidation
characteristics.
It is of interest to consider the application of Figure 3 to vane tests in a
clay having c, = 10 sq. ft per year. If a time to failure of 10 minutes is used in
conjunction with a 30 rnm x 60 rnm vane, then T = 0.02 and U = 6 per cent
( U = 0 according to curve 1of Figure 5). The test duration has to be extended
to close on seven hours in order to raise the degree of drainage to 90 per cent.

The method developed above, summarized by Figures 3 and 5, enables a test

duration for the field vane test to be preselected so that the measurement will
represent a fully drained shear strength. In order to apply the method in
practice, a knowledge of the consolidation characteristics of the soil is
required. It is only necessary to decide on a minimum test duration and an
approximate value for c, will suffice. This may usually be estimated from
experience with similar soils or by simple laboratory testing.

CARSLAW, H. S., and JAEGER, J. C., 1947. Conduction of Heat in Sol%'&(Oxford University
Press ) : 207.
DONALDSON, C . W.,1965. The effects s f capillary action on the consolidation and shear
strength s f silt in a hydraulic fill dam. Proc. 6th I I E ~Conf-
. Sod Me&. and Found.
Eng. ( Montreal ) , 11: 459-63.
FLAATE,K., 1966. Factors influencing the results of vane tests. This JOURNAL 3: 1831.
OSTERBERG, J. O., 1956. Introduction to Symposium on Vune Shear Testing of Soib.
ASTkl STP 193: 1-7.
S I M O N S , N. E., 1963. The influence of stress path on triaxial test results. Laboratory Shear
Testing of Soib, ASTAI STP 361: 270-9.