Soil Mechanics II

Chapter 4

Shear Strength of Soil

Shear Strength
o Soil failure usually occurs in the form of “shearing” along
 internal surface within the soil.
o The shear strength of a soil mass is the internal resistance per unit
area that the soil mass can offer to resist failure and sliding
along any plane inside it.
o The safety of any geotechnical structure is dependent on the
strength of the soil.
o Shear strength determination is a very important aspect in
geotechnical engineering. Understanding shear strength is the
basis to analyze soil stability problems like:
• Bearing capacity.
• Lateral pressure on earth retaining structures
• Slope stability
Introduction
Slope Failure in Soils

Failure due to inadequate

strength at shear interface
Shear Failure in Soils
Bearing Capacity Failure
Transcosna Grain Elevator Canada
(Oct. 18, 1913)

West side of foundation sank 24-ft

Shear Strength in Soils
 The shear strength of a soil is its resistance to
shearing stresses.
 It is a measure of the soil resistance to deformation
by continuous displacement of its individual soil
particles
 Shear strength in soils depends primarily on
interactions between particles
 Shear failure occurs when the stresses between the
particles are such that they slide or roll past each
other
Shear Strength in Soils (cont.)
 Soil derives its shear strength from two
sources:
 Cohesion between particles (stress
independent component)
 Cementation between sand grains
 Electrostatic attraction between clay particles
 Frictional resistance between particles (stress
dependent component)
Shear Strength of Soils; Cohesion
 Cohesion (C), is a measure of the forces that
cement particles of soils
Shear Strength of Soils; Internal Friction
 Internal Friction angle (f), is the measure of the
shear strength of soils due to friction
 Normal and Shear Stresses
on a Plane
 At every point in a stressed body, there are three
planes on which the shear stress is zero.
 These planes are known as principal planes. The
plane with maximum compressive stress is called
major principal plane , and that with the minimum as
the minor principal plane.
 The third principal plane is subjected to a stress
which is the value intermediate between and , and is
known as intermediate plane.
 The intermediate plane is less important in stress
analysis
 To determine the normal stress and the shear stress
on a plane EF that makes an angle with the plane
AB, we need to consider the free body diagram of
EFB shown in Figure 10.1b. Let and be the normal stress
and the shear stress
 By summation of forces in x and y directions we
have;

 And

 we can see that we can choose the value of in such a way that
will be equal to zero. Substituting = 0, we get
 For given values of and , Eq. (10.5) will give two
values of that are 90° apart.
 This means that there are two planes that are at right
angles to each other on which the shear stress is
zero.
 Such planes are called principal planes.
Example
 Mohr’s Circle
 The normal stress and shear stress that act on any
plane can also be determined by plotting a Mohr’s
circle.
 The following sign conventions are used in Mohr’s
circles:
 Compressive normal stresses are taken as positive,
and shear stresses are considered positive if they
act on opposite faces of the element in such a way
that they tend to produce a counterclockwise
rotation.
 Mohr’s circle
 The radius of the Mohr’s circle is equal to

Because the ordinates (that is,

the shear stresses) of points N
and S are zero, they represent
the stresses on the principal
planes.
The abscissa of point N is
equal to and the abscissa for
point S is
 Construction of Mohr’s Circle
1. Plot σy, xy as point M
2. Plot σx, xy as point R
3. Connect M and R
4. Draw a circle of diameter of the line
RM about the point where the line
RM crosses the horizontal axis (denote
this as point O)
Sign Normal Shear Stresses
Convention Stresses
Positive Compression Counter
clockwise
rotation

Negative Tension Clockwise

rotation

o The points R and M in Figure above represent the stress conditions on plane AD and
AB, respectively. O is the point of intersection of the normal stress axis with the line
 Mohr–Coulomb Failure Criterion
 Mohr (1900) presented a theory for rupture in
materials that contended that a material fails because
of a critical combination of normal stress and
shearing stress and not from either maximum
normal or shear stress alone.
 For most soil mechanics problems, it is sufficient to
approximate the shear stress on the failure plane as
a linear function of the normal stress.
 This linear function can be written as
 Mohr–Coulomb Failure Criterion

 The preceding equation is called the Mohr–Coulomb

failure criterion.
 In saturated soil, the total normal stress at a point is
the sum of the effective stressand pore water
pressure (u), or

 The effective stress is carried by the soil solids. The

Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, expressed in terms
of effective stress, will be of the form

 C’ and are called shear strength parameters

 Mohr–Coulomb Failure Criterion

 The value of c’ for sand and inorganic silt is 0.

 For normally consolidated clays, c’ can be
approximated at 0. Overconsolidated clays have
values of c’ that are greater than 0. The angle of
friction, , is sometimes
referred to as the drained
angle of friction Typical
values of for some
granular soils are
given in Table 12.1.
 The significance of can be explained by referring to
Figure 12.1, which shows an elemental soil mass.
 Let the effective normal stress and the shear stress
on the plane ab be and , respectively.
 Figure 12.1b shows the plot of the failure envelope
defined by shear eq. If the magnitudes of ’ and on
plane ab are such that they plot as point A in Figure
12.1b, shear failure will not occur along the plane.0
 If the effective normal stress and the shear stress on
plane ab plot as point B (which falls on the failure
envelope), shear failure will occur along that plane.
 A state of stress on a plane represented by point C
cannot exist,
 because it plots above the failure envelope, and
shear failure in a soil would have occurred already.

 Fig 12.1
 Laboratory Test for Determination
of Shear Strength Parameters
 There are several laboratory methods available to
determine the shear strength parameters (i.e. C’,’ and
C,) of various soil specimens in the laboratory.
 Direct shear test
 Triaxial test
 Direct simple shear test
 Plane strain triaxial test
 Torsional ring shear test
 The direct shear test and the triaxial test are the two
commonly used techniques for determining the shear
strength parameters.
 Direct Shear Test
 The direct shear test is the oldest and simplest form
of shear test arrangement.
 The test equipment consists of a metal shear box in
which the soil specimen is placed. The soil
specimens may be square or circular in plan.
 The size of the specimens generally used is about 51
* mm 51 mm or 102 mm *102 mm across and about
25 mm high.
 Shear force is applied by moving one half of the box
relative to the other to cause failure in the soil
specimen.
 If the soil sample is fully or partially saturated,
perforated metal plates and porous stones are placed
below and above the sample to allow free drainage.
 If the sample is dry, solid metal plates are used. A
load normal to the plane of shearing can be applied
to the soil sample through the lid of the box.
 Tests on sands and gravels can be performed quickly,
and are usually performed dry as it is found that
water does not significantly affect the drained
strength. For clays, the rate of shearing must be
chosen to prevent excess pore pressures building up.
 As a vertical normal load is applied to the sample, shear stress
is gradually applied horizontally, by causing the two halves of
the box to move relative to each other.
 The shear load is measured together with the corresponding
shear displacement. The change of thickness of the sample is
also measured.
 A number of samples of the soil are tested each under different
vertical loads and the value of shear stress at failure is plotted
against the normal stress for each test.
 Provided there is no excess pore water pressure in the soil, the
total and effective stresses will be identical.
 From the stresses at failure, the failure envelope can be
obtained
Example
Example
 Advantages of direct shear
test.
 The sample preparation is easy. The test is
simple.
 As the thickness of the sample is relatively
small, the drainage is quick and pore
pressure dissipates very rapidly.
 It is ideally suited for conducting drained tests
on cohesionless soils.
 The apparatus is relatively cheap.
 Disadvantages of direct shear
test
 The stress conditions are known only at
failure.
 The orientation of the failure plane is fixed.
This plane may not be the weakest plane.
 Control on the drainage conditions is very
difficult.
 The measurements of pore water pressure is
not possible
 The side walls of the shear box cause lateral
restraint on the specimen and do not allow it
to deform laterally.
 TRIAXIAL TEST
 The triaxial shear test is one of the most reliable
methods available for determining shear strength
parameters. It is used widely for research and
conventional testing.
 In this test, a soil specimen about 36 mm in diameter
and 76 mm (3 in.) long generally is used.
 The specimen is encased by a thin rubber membrane
and placed inside a plastic cylindrical chamber that
usually is filled with water or glycerine.
 The specimen is subjected to a confining pressure by
compression of the fluid in the chamber. (Note: Air is
sometimes used as a compression medium.)
 To cause shear failure in the specimen, one must
apply axial stress (sometimes called deviator stress)
through a vertical loading ram.
 The axial load applied by the loading ram
corresponding to a given axial deformation is
measured by a proving ring or load cell attached to
the ram.
 Connections to measure drainage into or out of the
specimen, or to measure pressure in the pore
water (as per the test conditions), also are provided.
 The following three standard types of triaxial
tests generally are conducted:
 1. Consolidated-drained test or drained test
(CD test)
 2. Consolidated-undrained test (CU test)
 3. Unconsolidated-undrained test or undrained
test (UU test)
Setting up the sample Sample is covered with a
Cell is completely filled with water
in the triaxial cell rubber membrane and
sealed
 Specimens failed on undrained triaxial compression test
 Consolidated-Drained
Triaxial Test
 In the CD test, the saturated specimen first is
subjected to an all around confining pressure, , by
compression of the chamber fluid.
 As confining pressure is applied, the pore water
pressure of the specimen increases by uc (if drainage
is prevented).
 This increase in the pore water pressure can be
expressed as a nondimensional parameter in the
form
 Now, if the connection to drainage is opened,
dissipation of the excess pore water
pressure, and thus consolidation, will occur.
With time, uc will become equal to 0.
 Next, the deviator stress, d, on the specimen
is increased very slowly.
 The drainage connection is kept open, and
the slow rate of deviator stress application
allows complete dissipation of any pore water
pressure that developed as a result (∆ud=0).
 Several tests on similar specimens can be conducted
by varying the confining pressure.
 With the major and minor principal stresses at failure
for each test the Mohr’s circles can be drawn and the
failure envelopes can be obtained.
 For normally consolidated clay

 Also, the failure plane will be inclined at an

angle of =45 + /2 to the major principal plane,
 Overconsolidation results when a clay initially is
consolidated under an all-around chamber pressure
of c and is allowed to swell by reducing the chamber
pressure to . The failure envelope obtained from
drained triaxial tests of such overconsolidated clay
specimens shows two distinct branches (ab and bc in
Figure 12.25). The portion ab has a flatter slope with
a cohesion intercept, and the shear strength equation
for this branch can be written as
 The portion bc of the failure envelope
represents a normally consolidated stage of
soil and follows the equation
 If the triaxial test results of two overconsolidated soil specimens
are known, the magnitudes of and c’ can be determined as
follows.

 Once the value of is known, we can obtain c as

A consolidated-drained triaxial test on a

clayey soil may take several days to
complete.
This amount of time is required because
deviator stress must be applied very
slowly to ensure full drainage from the
soil specimen. For this reason, the CD
type of triaxial test is uncommon.
 Example

Example
Example
 Consolidated-Undrained
Triaxial Test
 The consolidated-undrained test is the most common
type of triaxial test.
 In this test, the saturated soil specimen is first
consolidated by an all-around chamber fluid
pressure, 3, that results in drainage.
 After the pore water pressure generated by the
application of confining pressure is dissipated, the
deviator stress, d, on the specimen is increased to
cause shear failure.
 During this phase of the test, the drainage line from
the specimen is kept closed. Because drainage is not
permitted, the pore water pressure, ud, will increase
 Unlike the consolidated-drained test, the total and
effective principal stresses are not the same in the
consolidated-undrained test.
 Because the pore water pressure at failure is
measured in this test, the principal stresses may be
analyzed as follows:

Tests on several similar

 The preceding equations show that
specimens with varying
confining pressures may
be conducted to determine
the shear strength
parameters
 For sand and normally consolidated clay, we can
write
 And

 Which equals
Example
 Unconsolidated-Undrained
Triaxial Test
 In unconsolidated-undrained tests, drainage
from the soil specimen is not permitted during
the application of chamber pressure 3.
 The test specimen is sheared to failure by the
application of deviator stress, d, and drainage
is prevented. Because drainage is not
allowed at any stage, the test can be
performed quickly.
 This test usually is conducted on clay specimens and
depends on a very important strength concept for
cohesive soils if the soil is fully saturated.
 The added axial stress at failure (d)f is practically the
same regardless of the chamber confining pressure.
This property is shown in Figure 12.33. The failure
envelope for the total stress Mohr’s circles becomes
a horizontal line and hence is called a f=0 condition.