Triaxial shear test

A triaxial shear test is a common method to measure the mechanical properties of many deformable solids, especially soil, sand, clay, and other granular materials or powders. There are several variations on the test, discussed below.

Basic Concept

For loose granular materials like sand or soil, the material is contained in a cylindrical latex sleeve with a flat, circular metal plate or platen closing off the top and bottom ends. This cylinder is placed into a bath of water to provide pressure along the sides of the cylinder. The top platen can then be mechanically driven up or down along the axis of the cylinder to squeeze the material. The distance that the upper platen travels is measured as a function of the force required to move it, as the pressure of the surrounding water is carefully controlled. The net change in volume of the material is also measured by how much water moves in or out of the surrounding bath.

The principle behind a triaxial shear test is that the stress applied in the vertical direction (along the axis of the cylinder) can be different than the stress applied in the horizontal directions (along the sides of the cylinder). This produces a non-hydrostatic stress state, which contains shear stress.

A solid is defined as a material that can support shear stress without moving. However, every solid has an upper limit to how much shear stress it can support. The triaxial tester is designed to measure that limit. The stress on the platens is increased until the material in the cylinder fails and forms sliding regions within itself, known as shear bands. A motion where a material is deformed under shear stress is known as shearing. The geometry of the shearing in a triaxial tester typically causes the sample to become shorter while bulging out along the sides. The stress on the platen is then reduced and the water pressure pushes the sides back in, causing the sample to grow taller again. This cycle is usually repeated several times while collecting stress and strain data about the sample.

During the shearing, a granular material will typically have a net gain or loss of volume. If it had originally been in a dense state, then it typically gains volume, a characteristic known as Reynolds' dilatancy. If it had originally been in a very loose state, then compaction may occur before the shearing begins or in conjunction with the shearing.

From the triaxial test data, it is possible to extract fundamental material parameters about the sample, including its angle of internal friction, apparent cohesion, and dilatancy angle. These parameters are then used in computer models to predict how the material will behave in a larger-scale engineering application. An example would be to predict the stability of the soil on a slope, whether the slope will collapse or whether the soil will support the shear stresses of the slope and remain in place. Triaxial tests are used along with other tests to make such engineering predictions.

Types of Triaxial Tests

There are several variations on the basic concept of triaxial testing. These are given the following labels (corresponding test standard in parentheses):

*CD — Consolidated drained
*CU — Consolidated undrained (ASTM D4767)
*UU — Unconsolidated undrained (ASTM D2850)

References

*Holtz, R. and Kovacs, W. (1981), An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, Prentice-Hall, Inc. ISBN 0-13-484394-0
*Head, K.H. (1998), Effective Stress Tests, Volume 3, Manual of Soil Laboratory Testing, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-97795-0.

ee also

* Geotechnical engineering
* Soil mechanics
* Civil engineering
* Effective stress
* Earthworks
* Granular material
* Important publications in geotechnical engineering