SHEARING IN A TRIAXIAL

 increase σ’a above the initial value equal to σ’r by loading through a
ram pushed down by a loading frame

 measure axial displacement ΔL in sample from the displacement of

the ram, then εa = ΔL/L0 where L0 is the initial sample length
displacement load cell
transducer
 measure deviatoric force Fd with a load cell on the ram but need to
account for changing sample area (Ac) when calculating deviatoric
a
stress q:
loading ram

da
r U

A0 dr = 0
Ac

q = (σ'a - σ'r) = Fd/Ac

where Ac = A0(1 - εv)/(1 - εa)

http://www.matest.com/en/Product
A0 is initial sample area s/--1/TRIAXIAL-TESTING-
EQUIPMENT-/traxial-tests#
 DRAINAGE DURING SHEARING IN A TRIAXIAL

 movement of water into or out of the sample may be controlled with a

“drainage tap” on the drainage tube
 we can therefore have either drained or undrained tests depending on
whether the tap is open or closed – not like shear box and oedometer
where drainage will depend on how quickly the soil wants to drain
loading ram to apply
excess a i.e. q
a
r
U r U

drainage tap (closed to stop

water moving into or out of
 vol  v sample - undrained)
v  
vol v
where v = specific volume

 measure volume of water squeezed out of sample (or moving into

it) to get the volume change of the sample or measure change of http://www.matest.com/en/Product
s/--1/TRIAXIAL-TESTING-
pore pressure if undrained EQUIPMENT-/traxial-tests#
 Triaxial Test
• complete stress state is known
a (a, r, and U)
In terms of effective stresses:

U a = a - U r = r - U
r 
r

’r ’a ’

Disadvantages:

• axi-symmetric loading – soil parameters depend on mode of loading – shear

box is plane strain which is more common in engineering applications
 Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion
•combining the Coulomb failure criterion with a Mohr’s circle representation of stress:

’ •failure criterion given by 2 lines:

•’f = c’ + ’tan’p
’p
•define a permissible region within
which Mohr’s circle must lie
c’
c’ ’3 ’1 ’ • failure occurs when circle
touches Coulomb failure line

• normally σ'a=σ'1 and σ'r=σ'3

’p
• the intermediate stress σ'2 does
not appear
 Mohr’s circles for a Drained Triaxial Test

•Mohr’s circles of effective and total stress

’ =  but ’ =  - u have same diameter but are displaced a
distance u from one another
a
•no shear stress on boundaries (ideally)
a & r are principal stresses
r u failure envelope
 plane of failure
plane of failure

’ ’r ’a r a
, ’

u
• pole is at ’r

• failure when effective stress Mohr’s circle reaches Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope

• total stress Mohr’s circles are irrelevant to soil behaviour

 Mohr’s circles for an Undrained Triaxial Test

failure envelope

u0

’ ’a r a
’r
, ’

uf
initial ’a=’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)
 Critical States and peak envelopes in terms of Mohr’s circles

’ CSL
cs

Mohr’s circles for Critical States of either NC or

OC samples define a critical state failure
envelope or “critical state line” CSL and cs
’

’ CSL
cs
peak envelopes defined by Mohr’s circles
plotted at peak of stress: strain curve (in
reality this envelope is curved but often fitted
with a straight line)
’
 Definition of Peak ’

CSL
for clays peak states often defined in terms of a
cohesion intercept, c’ and an angle ’p
’p?
for sands peak state usually defined by a dilation
c’ angle at peak, p, so that ’p =’cs+ p - definition
p
of ’p can therefore be different to that used for clays
’cs

’

peak
failure
 Drained Shearing: Stress-Strain Data
q
q/p'
increasing p' peak
OC

M critical
state
Normally Consolidated (NC) Soil
NC

εa
q εa
-ve OC
dilation

increasing p' v
εa
+ve
comp-
Overconsolidated (OC) Soil ression NC
εa

 we know the complete stress state so we can plot q' and p' rather than τ and σ' as for a shear box

 the stress-strain curves similar to those of a shear box – overconsolidated (OC) will have a peak that
reduces (relative to critical state) for increased stress level p’ – no peak for normally consolidated (NC)

 Critical State is again a state of constant stress (p' and q) and volume while shearing continues

 we should more correctly plot a shear strain εs than the axial strain εa but the latter is easier and they
are related (εs = εa - εv/3). NB εs is not the same shear strain as that which we use for the shear box γ
 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)
qcs

(σ’a = σa – U and σ’r = σr – U)

i.e. p’ = p - U 3 3

p and p’
U0

 if for a usual test Δσr=0 and ΔU=0 then Δq/Δp=3 for total stress path (TSP) and Δq/Δp'=3 for effective
stress path (ESP), i.e. parallel
 distance between TSP and ESP is U which remains unchanged from initial value U0 to final value Uf

 q=q' so the value at critical state (failure) is same for ESP and TSP

 q’cs lies on a Critical State failure envelope, end point of TSP is irrelevant
 Stress Paths: Drained Shearing

q’ M
CSL
 for OC clays stress path will go up to a peak
envelope and return to the CSL
peak
envelope
 for NC clays stress path will just go directly to the
CSL

q’/p’ peak

M critical
p’ state

a

 gradient of CSL is M NB sinФ'= 3M/(6+M)

 Undrained Shearing: Stress-Strain Data

q/p'
peak
OC

M critical
state
NC

εa
-ve OC
dilative

ΔU
εa
+ve
comp-
ressive 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

 NB we should not say “dilation” or “compression” as the volume does not change, but we can say
that the soil is “dilative” or “compressive”
 Stress Paths: Undrained Shearing
p = (σa + 2σr)/3 and p’ = p - U

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

Uf Uf
qcs qcs

3 3

U0 p and p’ p and p’
U0

Normally Consolidated (increasing U) Overconsolidated (decreasing U)

 Volume Changes During Shearing: Shear Box

'v
 S
v shear box
Ho U=0

= S/Ho
v= v/Ho
/’v
peak
OC
tancs
critical
state
NC v

NC

critical
-ve OC state 1D
dilation
OC NCL
v

+ve
comp- log’v
ression NC

 next year we will learn about the critical state theory – this says that when sheared to critical states
loose and dense samples will have the same final specific volume (or void ratio) for a given stress
 Volume Changes During Shearing: Triaxial Apparatus
a
r
u standard drained triaxial
u = 0 r = 0 a +ve

q’/p’
peak
OC
M
critical
state
NC v

NC
a
critical
-ve OC state Isotropic NCL
dilation
OC
v
a
+ve
comp- ln p’
ression NC
 v Shear Box v
Triaxial Apparatus

1D
Isotropic NCL
NCL

Critical state line

Critical state line
log’v
ln p’

 all samples of all stress levels will reach critical states on the same critical state line (CSL) – parallel
to compression lines with intercept at p’=1kPa of Γ

v
1D NCL
Γ
Isotropic
NCL

Critical
state line 

p'=1kPa ln p’