Prof. B V S Viswanadham, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

51
Prof. B V S Viswanadham, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Module 4:
Lecture 2 on Stress-strain relationship
and Shear strength of soils

Contents
 Stress state, Mohr’s circle analysis and Pole, Principal
stress space, Stress paths in p-q space;
 Mohr-coulomb failure criteria and its limitations,
correlation with p-q space;
 Stress-strain behavior; Isotropic compression and
pressure dependency, confined compression, large stress
compression, Definition of failure, Interlocking concept
and its interpretations, Drainage conditions;
 Triaxial behaviour, stress state and analysis of UC, UU, CU,
CD, and other special tests, Stress paths in triaxial and
octahedral plane; Elastic modulus from triaxial tests.

Mohr’s stress circle
 Mohr's circle is a geometric representation of the two-
dimensional stress state and is very useful to perform
quick and efficient estimations.
 It is also popularly used in geotechnical fields such as
soil strength, stress path, earth pressure and bearing
capacity. It is often used to interpret the test data, to
analyze complex geotechnical problems, and to
predict soil behaviours.
 The pole point on Mohr's circle is a point so special
that it can help to readily find stresses on any
specified plane by using diagram instead of
complicated computation.

Mohr’s stress circle: Pole points
 A Pole is a unique point located on the circumference of Mohr’s

circle.
 The point of intersection of Mohr’s stress circle and line drawn
through the pole parallel to a given plane, gives the stresses on
that plane.
 Two pole points can be established,
a) Relating to the direction of action of stresses, and
b) Relating to the direction of planes on which stresses are
acting.
 Usually the pole point relating to the direction of the planes are
in use.

Mohr’s stress circle: Pole points for stresses- Procedure
Step : Project the line from the point (σz, τzx) in the line of action of σz (Vertical)
OR
Project the line from the point (σx, τxz) in the line of action of σx
(Horizontal) till it intersects the circumference of the circle.
The intersection point gives the POLE point Ps for stresses.
τxz
τ σx τ
(σz, τzx)
(σz, τzx)
τzx
σz
σ σ
(σx, τxz) Ps Pole points (σx, τxz) Ps

for stresses
Mohr’s stress circle: Pole points for planes- Procedure
Step : Project the line from the point (σz, τzx) OR (σx, τxz) in the direction of plane on
which these stresses are acting till it intersect circumference of the circle.
The intersection point gives the POLE point Pp for planes.
Pole point for planes
τ (σz, τzx) τxz τ

Pp σx Pp (σz, τzx)
τzx
σz
σ σ
(σx, τxz) Ps (σx, τxz) Ps

Pole point
for stresses
Mohr’s stress circle: Pole points for planes
The pole of a Mohr’s circle is defined thus:
If a line is drawn from the pole to a point on the circle
where the stresses are τi, σi then, in the (x, z) plane the
line is parallel to the plane on which τI and σi act.

Mohr’s stress circle: Use of pole point
σc Objective: To find out stresses σc, σa, τac, and τca on the
τxz
σx τca plane which is inclined at θ to the plane on
which σz acts.
τ τzx
σz Step 1: Locate the pole point for planes
extending point E horizontally. i.e. in
Pp E (σz, τzx) the direction of plane on which σz acts.
σc
σa
τca
σ τac τac
σa
τca
σc
(σx, τxz)
Mohr’s stress circle: Use of pole point
σc Step 2: Draw a line parallel to the plane on
τxz
τ σx τca which σc acts.
Step 3: Extend a line from point D through
τzx centre of the circle till it intersects the
σz
circle.
Stresses on σa plane
Parallel planes
Pp E (σz, τzx)
σc
σa
τca
D(σc, τca)
σ τac τac
(σa, τac)
σa
τca
σc
(σx, τxz) Stresses on σc plane
Use of pole point P to locate stresses (σ , τ ) at angle θ to the
c ca
reference stress direction
 The stress point on the

Mohr circle is found by
simply projecting a line
from Pp parallel to the
plane on which (σc, τca)
acts until it intersects
the circle at point D.

Fundamental relationships by Mohr’s stress circle
The maximum shearing stress, often called the principal
shearing stress, has a magnitude of (σ1-σ3)/2, which
equals the radius of the Mohr circle.
The principal shearing

stress occurs on
planes inclined at 45°.
Principal shearing stresses

Shearing stress on planes at right angles to each other
are numerically equal but are of opposite sign. These
stresses are called conjugate shearing stresses.
Conjugate shearing stresses

The resultant stress on any plane has a magnitude

expressed by and has an obliquity which is
equal to
Obliquity and resultant stress

The maximum of all the possible obliquity angles on the various
planes is called the maximum angle of obliquity αm.
The coordinates of the
point of tangency are the
stresses on the plane of
maximum obliquity and
is less than the plane of
principal shear (i.e.
maximum shear stress).
Since a limiting obliquity

is the criterion of slip and
where as on the plane of
principal shear failure is
liable to happen. Maximum Obliquity
Mohr’s stress circle: Pole point- example
Draw the Mohr stress circle at failure on a cylindrical specimen of

stiff clay with a shear strength of 100 kPa, if the radial stress is
maintained constant at 80 kPa. By using pole point method find the
inclination θ to the radial direction of the planes on which the shear
stress is one-half the maximum shear stress, and determine the
normal stresses acting on these planes.

Mohr’s stress circle: Pole point- Solution
τmax = radius of circle
(All units are in kPa) σ1 = σ3+2τmax = 280
100
τmax =100
σ3 σ1
=80 =280
-100
Step 1: Plot Mohr’s circle based on above information, i.e. radius and two points on
circle.
(All units are in kPa)

100
50 τmax =100
80 280
-100
Step 2: Draw a line at τ = 50 kPa which is half to τmax

(All units are in kPa)

100
50 τmax =100
Pp
80 280
-100
Step 3: As the principal stresses are acting on edges the σ3 point will act as a pole.

Inclination of the plane on which τ =
(All units are in kPa) τmax/2 is, θ = 15° or 75°
100
50 τmax =100
75°
Pp 15°
80 280
σn15° = 267 kPa,
σn75° = 93 kPa
-100
Step 3: Draw line from pole to the intersection of 50 kPa line and Mohr’s circle.

Example problem: Mohr’s circle of total stress
In the figure below, the normal loads applied to the faces of a
soil cube are F1 = 0.45 kN and F2 = 0.30 kN and the shear
loads are F3 = F4 = 0.1 kN. The sides of the soil cube are each
40 mm. Construct the Mohr’s circle of total stress and find the
magnitudes of the principal total stresses and the direction of
the principal planes in the soil .
F1
F3 F4
F2 z F2
x
F4
F3
F1

Solution: Mohr’s circle of total stress
σz = 0.45/(40x40x10-6) = 281.25 kN/m2
σx = 0.30/(40x40x10-6) = 187.5 kN/m2
τxz = τzx = 0.10/(40x40x10-6) = 62.5 kN/m2
(Minor difference
in magnitudes
can be ignored)

Example problem
Pole P

Solution:
1)
2) Establish pole point P or origin of planes. A line through

the pole inclined at an angle α = 35° from the horizontal
plane would be parallel to the plane on the element.
3) The intersection is at point C and we find that
σα = 39 kPa and τα = 18.6 kPa.

Example problem
Note: Resulting
σα = 39 kPa and
τα = 18.6 kPa
are same
because
nothing has
changed
except
orientation in
space of the
element.

Example problem
The stress shown on the element in the figure below:
Required:
a) Evaluate σα , τα
when α = 30°
a
b) Evaluate σ1 and σ3
when α = 30°

Solution
1) Plot the state of stress on the horizontal plane (6, 2) at
point a. Note that the shear stress makes a clockwise
moment about a and therefore is positive.
2) Plot point B (-4,-2). The shear stress on the vertical plane is
negative since it makes a counterclockwise moment.
3) Points A and B are two points on a circle; Construct the
Mohr Circle with center at (1,0).
4) Find the pole, by drawing horizontal line through A or
vertical line through B.
5) Find the state of stress on the plane inclined at angle α =
30°, draw the line PC.  C (1.8, 5.3 ) MPa.
6) Lines drawn from P to σ1 and σ3 establish the orientation of
major and minor principal planes.

Solution

Mohr circles of total and effective stresses
τ Effective stress circle Total stress circle
σ′θ , τ′θ σθ , τθ
θ θ σ
σ′3 σ′1 σ3 σ1
σ′1 = σ1 - u u
σ′3 = σ3 - u
 The effective stress circle has the same diameter as
the total stress circle and is separated from it by the
pore water pressure.
 The stresses τ′θ and σ′θ are the effective stresses

acting on plane inclined at an angle θ
 By examining the circles we note that τ′θ = τθ

σ′θ = σθ - u
 Thus, for a given state of total stress, changes in pore

pressure have no effect on the effective shear stresses,
they alter only the effective normal stresses.
 Use the pole construction on the effective stress
Mohr’s circle to calculate the effective stresses on
any plane is exactly same way as we used the pole
construction to calculate total stresses.
 The position of the pole in the Mohr’s circle of

effective stress is the same as in the Mohr’s circle of
total stress and the locations of the principal planes
of total and effective stresses in the soil are
identical.

Prof. B V S Viswanadham, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

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