CIE 446 - Geotechnical Engineering

Topic -2-

Review of Shear Strength of Soils

 OUTLINE

• REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES

• BEHAVIOUR OF SANDS

• SHEAR STRENGTH OF SANDS

• BOLTON’S CORRELATION

• BEHAVIOUR OF CLAYS

• SHEAR STRENGTH OF CLAYS

 REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES
• Soils are divided into cohesive and non-cohesive soils

• Non-cohesive soils have no shear strength when unconfined

• Cohesive soils contain clay minerals and exhibit plasticity

• In engineering practice, plasticity is defined as the ability to be rolled

into thin thread before breaking into pieces
 Clay is cohesive and plastic
 Sand is non-cohesive and non-plastic
 REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES

Soil Types

Non-Cohesive Cohesive Soils

Soils

Clay Cemented
Sand

Sand Gravel Silt

 REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES
Soil types according to particle size distribution
REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES
 REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES
Soil Composition
 REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES

Weight-Volume Relationships
 REVIEW OF SOIL TYPES
Important parameters related to soil behavior
 BEHAVIOR OF SANDS

• Sands are known to have high permeability

• Arrangement of sand particles allows water to easily escape from

pores (void space) under applied loads

• Possibility of developing excess pore pressure is minimal

• Drained conditions are considered in design

• Relative density of a sand is the main factor that affects its behavior
 BEHAVIOR OF SANDS
LOOSE SAND (CONTRACTIVE) DENSE SAND(DILATIVE)

A loose sand sample bulges A dense sample has a clear

with no clear failure plane failure plane
BEHAVIOR OF SANDS
 SHEAR STRENGTH OF SANDS

Shear strength of sand comes from:

• Friction between particles
• Particle rearrangement
• Interlocking between particles (Dilative behavior)

Shear strength tests on sands:

• Triaxial Test
• Direct Shear Test
 SHEAR STRENGTH OF SANDS

The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is used to define shear strength of

soils at different confining effective stresses
SHEAR STRENGTH OF SANDS
 SHEAR STRENGTH OF SANDS

In general, the shear strength of sand is affected by three major factors:

 SHEAR STRENGTH OF SANDS
Peak and Critical State Friction Angles
 BOLTON CORRELATION

𝜙𝑝 = 𝜙𝑐 + 𝐴𝜓 𝐼𝑅 = 𝜙𝑐 + 5 − 2 𝑘 − 1 𝐼𝑅 Bolton (1986)

100𝜎′𝑚𝑝
𝐼𝑅 = 𝐼𝐷 𝑄 − ln − 𝑅𝑄 1
𝑝𝐴 𝜎′𝑚𝑝 = 𝜎′ + 𝑘𝜎′3
𝑘+1 𝑝

Plane strain conditions 𝒌=𝟏

Triaxial compression conditions 𝒌=𝟐

𝐷𝑅
𝐼𝐷 =
100
ID = relative density, ranging from 0 to 1
 BOLTON CORRELATION
Iterations steps to get peak friction angle

For fast convergence:

Assume an initial value of fp

𝜙𝑝 = 𝜙𝑐 + 𝐴𝜓 𝐼𝑅
Recall

Repeat 𝜎′𝑝 = 𝑁𝑝 𝜎′3

1
𝜎′𝑚𝑝 = 𝜎′ + 𝑘𝜎′3
𝑘+1 𝑝
1 + sin 𝜙𝑝
𝑁𝑝 =
1 − sin 𝜙𝑝
100𝜎′𝑚𝑝
𝐼𝑅 = 𝐼𝐷 𝑄 − ln − 𝑅𝑄
𝑝𝐴
 FOUNDATION DESIGN ON SANDS
Use ɸp and apply factor of safety
Use of in-situ tests is recommended

Design Approaches:
Approach 1: Estimate ɸp from in situ tests. Use c=0 and ɸ = ɸp.

Approach 2: Perform consolidated drained Triaxial tests and plot the

Mohr circle. c’ and ɸ’ become curve fitting parameters.
 BEHAVIOR OF CLAYS

• Clays posses a very low permeability

• Excess pore pressure develops under applied loads because water

will not have time to drain

• Load application faster than water dissipation

• Undrained conditions are assumed in design

BEHAVIOR OF CLAYS
 BEHAVIOR OF CLAYS
Shear Strength of clays comes from:
• Stress history
• Water content and degree of saturation
• Clay mineral (particle size)

Shear Strength tests on clays:

• Direct Shear Test (unconsolidated-undrained)
• Unconfined Compression Test
• Consolidated Drained or Undrained Triaxial Test
 SHEAR STRENGTH OF CLAYS
• Clay exhibits apparent cohesion strength under undrained
conditions. This is called undrained shear strength su
SHEAR STRENGTH OF CLAYS
DEFORMATIONS IN CLAY

Cs
Swelling-Recompression line
 DEFORMATIONS IN CLAY
Consolidation Review