Unconfined Compression Test

1
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department
Measurement of Shear Strength of Soil with

Unconfined Compression Test
Shear Strength of Soil
Shear strength of soil is the internal resistance of soil to shearing forces.
Determination of the shear strength of soil is one of the most important aspects of
geotechnical engineering. Ultimate shear strength and the deformation behavior of
soil under an applied load are critical for design of foundations, earth structures,
retaining structures, and many others. Shear strength is fundamentally due to the
combination of friction between particles and the work required to cause the sample
to change in volume, or: 1) Inter-granular friction, , and 2) Dilation, or volume
change, . Naturally, any factor which influences friction or volume change will
influence the strength of a specimen.
The most influential factors (state
parameters) that affect volume change include void ratio and confining stress (3).
Grain shape and roughness are two factors that influence friction.
Shear strength at failure is normally defined by Mohr-Coulomb Failure criteria.
Mohr-Coulomb Failure criteria
Material fails with the combined effect of normal stress (n) and shear stress ().
According to Mohr,
f = f ()
Figure 1 Mohr-Column Failure Envelope

In most of the soil mechanics problems, failure envelope is considered as a straight line,
given by the equation,
failure = c + n tan
EGCE 324L (Soil Mechanics Laboratory)

Instructor: Binod Tiwari, PhD
Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
2
Where,
c is the cohesion
is the angle of friction.
n is the normal stress on the failure plane at failure.
This equation is called Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criteria.
The strength parameters c and are determined from the slope and intercept on a Mohr
diagram of a best-fit line tangent to a series of Mohr circles at failure. The influence of
inter-granular friction, dilation, and true cohesion are assumed to be represented by these
two parameters.
In saturated soil,
= + u
and
failure = c'+ n ' tan '

Where,
c is the effective stress value of cohesion (very small)

is the effective stress (or drained) angle of friction.
n is the normal stress on the failure plane at failure.
Table 1 Typical values of drained angle of internal friction angles for sands and silts
For sand and gravel, c = 0 (they are called cohesionless soil)

For normally consolidated and remolded clays, c = 0

Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
3
For over consolidated clays, c = f (OCR)
Below the shear envelope
- failure does not occur
At and above shear envelope
- failure occurs
Inclination of Plane of Failure
Figure 2 Stress systems in a soil mass

Here,
1 = Major principal stress

3 = Minor principal stress
We can draw Mohr circle for the stress condition shown above as shown in the figure 3.
Figure 3 : Failure envelope developed from the Mohr Circle

Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
4
Lets extend failure envelope to touch the x-axis at f.
Then, at a plane inclined at an angle of from major principal axis,
+ 900 = 2
Therefore,
= 45 0 +
From figure,
1 ' = 3 ' tan 2 (45 0 +
'
2
) + 2c' tan(45 0 +
'
2
Here, c and are the effective shear strength parameters.

For earth structures and soil-structure interaction (foundations) the Factor of
Safety against failure is given by:
Strength of soil
FS =
Shear stress to soil

Determination of Shear Strength
Shear strength of soil can be measured in laboratory or in-situ.
Laboratory Measurement
There are different methods to measure shear strength of soil in laboratory.
a. Direct Shear Test

b. Triaxial Shear Test
c. Unconfined Compression Test
d. Simple Shear Test
e. Ring shear device
Figure 4 : Sketch of an unconfined compression test device

Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
5
Unconfined Compression Test

Application
Unconfined compression test gives shear strength of soil. Shear strength is

important in all types of geotechnical designs and analyses.
Equipment
Strain controlled unconfined compression test device
Scale
Balance sensitive to 0.1 g
Moisture cans
Oven
Procedure
1. Get three trimmed soil specimens provided to you.
2. Measure the dimensions of the specimen (diameter and length).
3. Measure the weight of the specimen.
4. Load the samples into the unconfined compression device. They should be placed
in between two platens.
5. Lower the upper platen slowly (or raise the lower platen depending upon the
machine), just to make contact with the top of the soil specimen.
6. Set the vertical displacement dial gauge and loading proving ring dial gauge to
zero.
7. Lower the upper platen (or raise the lower platen) at the speed of 0.5%/min.
8. Record the load and displacement dial gauge readings at every 5 or 10 seconds
depending on the type of the soil. Usually the readings are taken at every 0.01
inch of displacement.
9. The compression load goes on increasing, peaks, and then decreases.
10. After it starts to decrease, stop the test.
11. Reverse the platen movement, and remove the specimen.
12. Draw a free hand sketch of the specimen after failure.
13. Determine the moisture content of the specimen.
14. Repeat this procedure for two more specimens.
Calculations
1.
Calculate axial strain.
L
L
L = Vertical deformation of the specimen.

2. Calculate vertical load on the specimen.
Vertical load = Load cell reading x 1 Lb
3. Calculate the corrected area of the specimen (Ac) Ac =
A0
1
A0 = Initial cross-sectional area i.e. x D2/4

4. Calculate the stress on the specimen.
Load
Ac

Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
6
5. Plot versus axial strain. Peak is qu. Then calculate su.
su =
qu
2
Figure 5 Stress-strain curve and Mohr circle generated from UC Test
Table 2 Relationship between consistency and UC strength

Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
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Soil Mechanics Laboratory
Unconfined Compression Test Laboratory Data Sheet

I. GENERAL INFORMATION
Tested by:
Lab partners/organization:
Client: USUF
Boring no.: NA
Recovery date: NA
Soil description:
Date tested:
Project: 324L
Recovery depth: NA
Recovery method: NA
II. TEST DETAILS

Initial specimen area, Ao:
Initial specimen diameter, Do:
Initial specimen length, Lo:
Initial specimen volume, Vo:
Moist mass of specimen, M:
Dry mass of specimen, Ms:
Moisture content, w:
Total unit weight, :
Dry unit weight, d:
Specimen preparation method: Hand Compaction
Deformation indicator type: Dial gauge
Axial strain rate, 1/t:
Deformation dial gauge conversion factor, KL: x10-3 in
Force measurement instrument type: Load cell
Proving ring dial gauge conversion factor, KP: 1 lb
III. MEASUREMENTS AND CALCULATIONS
Load
Axial
Axial
Deformation
Reading
Deformation
Load
Reading
(GP)
(P)
(GL)
(L)
Axial
Strain
(1)
Corrected
Area
(A)
Axial
Stress
()
EQUATIONS:
1 = L/Lo
A = Ao/(1-1)
1 = P/A
L = GLKL
P = GPKP
su = qu/2
Unconfined compressive strength, qu:

Undrained shear strength, su:

Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
8

Tested by:
Client: USUF
Boring no.: NA
Recovery date: NA
Soil description:
Date tested:
Project: 324L
Recovery depth: NA
Recovery method: NA
II. TEST DETAILS

Dry unit weight, d:
Load
Axial
Axial
Deformation
Reading
Deformation
Load
Reading
(GP)
(P)
(GL)
(L)
Axial
Strain
(1)
Corrected
Area
(A)
Axial
Stress
()
EQUATIONS:
1 = L/Lo
A = Ao/(1-1)
1 = P/A
L = GLKL
P = GPKP
su = qu/2


Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008
9

Tested by:
Client: USUF
Boring no.: NA
Recovery date: NA
Soil description:
Date tested:
Project: 324L
Recovery depth: NA
Recovery method: NA
II. TEST DETAILS

Dry unit weight, d:
Load
Axial
Axial
Deformation
Reading
Deformation
Load
Reading
(GP)
(P)
(GL)
(L)
Axial
Strain
(1)
Corrected
Area
(A)
Axial
Stress
()
EQUATIONS:
1 = L/Lo
A = Ao/(1-1)
1 = P/A
L = GLKL
P = GPKP
su = qu/2


Spring 2008
Date: 4/21/2008

Unconfined Compression Test

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1

Civil & Environmental Engineering Department

Measurement of Shear Strength of Soil with

Figure 1 Mohr-Column Failure Envelope

EGCE 324L (Soil Mechanics Laboratory)

failure = c'+ n ' tan '

c is the effective stress value of cohesion (very small)

For sand and gravel, c = 0 (they are called cohesionless soil)

EGCE 324L (Soil Mechanics Laboratory)

Below the shear envelope

- failure does not occur

At and above shear envelope

Inclination of Plane of Failure

Figure 2 Stress systems in a soil mass

1 = Major principal stress

Figure 3 : Failure envelope developed from the Mohr Circle

EGCE 324L (Soil Mechanics Laboratory)

1 ' = 3 ' tan 2 (45 0 +

Here, c and are the effective shear strength parameters.

Shear stress to soil

a. Direct Shear Test

Figure 4 : Sketch of an unconfined compression test device

EGCE 324L (Soil Mechanics Laboratory)