f tan c
Where:
f = Shear Stress at Failure
' = Effective Normal Stress
' = Effective Friction Angle
c' = Effective Cohesion
2. You have been given the results of a direct shear test on a well-graded sand (SW)
sample. The Mohr-Coulomb effective stress failure criteria given to you from the test
results are an effective friction angle of 33 degrees and an effective cohesion of 8.5
psi. Do you think these results are reasonable? Provide an explanation of your
answer.
' = 33 is reasonable for sands. However, for sands c' 0. Therefore, a c' = 8.5
psi would not be reasonable. The soil may have been misclassified or the test
was not run properly.
3. List the soil shear strength tests covered in class.
Direct Shear
Triaxial (CD, CU, UU)
Unconfined Compression
Page 1 of 8
4. Write the equation for the Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criteria for total stresses in soils
and detail the variables.
f tan c
Where:
f = Shear Stress at Failure
= Normal Stress
'= Friction Angle
c = Cohesion
5. You are given three soil samples. Soil Sample 1 is a silty sand. Soil Sample 2 is a
fat clay. Soil Sample 3 is a lean clay. You are told to conduct the following triaxial
tests on the samples: a slow test on Sample 1, a rapid test on Sample 2, and a quick
test on Sample 3. What triaxial tests are you conducting on each sample? Provide
the common test names and 2 letter abbreviations.
Soil Sample 1 Slow Test = CD (Consolidated Drained)
Soil Sample 2 Rapid Test = CU (Consolidated Undrained)
Soil Sample 3 Quick Test = UU (Unconsolidated Undrained)
6. The direct shear test has been shown to be an effective test for determining the
shear strength parameters (i.e. Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criteria) for coarse grained
soils, especially sands. What is the major shortcoming of this test?
The major shortcoming is the direct shear test forces the soil sample to fail along
a fixed plane and not its preferred plane.
7. You have completed an unconfined compression test on a CL soil sample. The
unconfined compression strength is 1120 psf. What is the undrained shear strength
of this soil?
Su = qu/2 = 1120 psf/2 = 560 psf.
8. Write the equation that relates unconfined compressive strength to undrained shear
strength and detail the variables.
Su = qu/2
Where:
qu = Unconfined Compression Strength
Su = Undrained Shear Strength
Page 2 of 8
Shear Stress
10. Identify the relative density of the sands in the direct shear test results shown on
Page 4. What is the major cause of the shear strength difference between the two
samples if you are told that they are from the same soil deposit?
Dense
Dilation is the
difference!
Loose
Dense
Expansion
Compression
Volume Change
Shear Displacement
Shear Displacement
Loose
Page 3 of 8
Confining Stress
()
(psf)
Peak
Residual
2000
1405
1405
2500
1695
1695
3500
2270
2270
Test
Page 4 of 8
3000
Peak & Residual: ' = 30, c' = 250 psf
Best Fit Line
2500
' = 30
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
Confining Stress
()
(psf)
Peak
Residual
2050
1600
1350
2500
2000
1700
3350
2650
2400
Test
Page 5 of 8
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
c' = 0 psf 0
(SP)
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
Page 6 of 8
PROBLEM #3 GIVEN:
The results from three (3) Consolidated Undrained triaxial tests conducted on samples
from a normally consolidated CL soil deposit are presented in Table 3.
Table 3. CU Results on normally consolidated CL sample.
Test
Minor Principal
Stress at Failure
('3f)
(psi)
Major Principal
Stress at Failure
('1f)
(psi)
Pore Pressure @
Failure (udf)
(psi)
11
32
16.25
49.6
8.75
22.5
67.4
10
REQUIRED:
Determine the Effective Stress Mohr-Coulomb Shear Strength Parameters (i.e. effective
friction angle and effective cohesion) for this soil.
SOLUTION:
Effective Stress Mohr-Coulomb Envelope: '= 30, c' = 0 psi. See Figure C.
40
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
35
30
' = 30
25
20
15
10
5
0
c' = 0 psi
(NC Clay) 0
'3
'3
'3
'1f
'1f
'1f
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Page 7 of 8
40
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
35
30
' = 24
25
20
15
10
5
0
c = 0 psi
(NC Clay) 0
'3
'3
'3 '1f
'1f
'1f
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Page 8 of 8