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Soil Shear Strength Soil Shear Strength Mohr Mohr- -Coulomb Coulomb

Model Model
Lecture No. 10
October 17, 2002
The Angle of Dilation The Angle of Dilation
The angle of dilation is
the measure of the
change in volumetric
strain with respect to the
change in shear strain.
Soils that have positive
value of dilate during
shearing and those that
have negative value of
contract during shearing.
The value of at critical state is zero.
In Mohrs circle of strain shown above, is given by:
( )
|
|
.
|

\
|

+
=
|
|
.
|

\
|

+
=

max
3 1 1
3 1
3 1 1
sin sin
zx

Peak and Critical Shear Strengths Peak and Critical Shear Strengths
The peak shear
strength,
p
, is the
peak shear stress
attained by a dilating
soil as shown in figure
on the left.
The angle of dilation at
peak shear stress is
denoted by
p
.

zx

cs

The shear stress attained by all soils at large shear


strains (>10%), when = 0, is the critical state
shear strength denoted by
cs
.
Residual Shear Strength Residual Shear Strength
For certain soils, if the
shearing is continued to
very large shear strains
(>50%), the shear
strength drops below the
critical state shear strength
as shown in the figure.

zx

cs

r
Residual Residual
State State
This strength is called the residual shear
strength and is denoted by
r
.
For certain fissured soils, for example the stiff clays
of the Prairies, the residual shear strength is only
a fraction of the critical state shear strength.
For such soils, stability calculations must be
based on the residual shear strength values.
Shear Strength of Soils Shear Strength of Soils Key Points Key Points
The friction angle at critical state,
cs
, is a
fundamental soil parameter and therefore, it is
not influenced by external factors such as level of
normal effective stress or drainage conditions.
The friction angle at peak stress for dilating soils,

p
, is not a fundamental soil parameter but
depends on the capacity of the soil to dilate.
At low normal effective stresses,
p
has very high
values whereas at high normal effective stresses,

p
is almost equal to
cs
.
The Friction Model only gives information of the
soil shear strength when slip is initiated. It does
not give any information on the strains in the soil
at failure.
The Mohr The Mohr- -Coulomb Model Coulomb Model
When conducting a shear strength test on a soil
sample, we apply normal total stresses at the
boundaries of the sample and measure the
generated pore water pressures to infer the normal
effective stresses on the boundary.
The Friction Model is unable to give us the effect
of distribution of stresses within the soil sample on
the soil strength.
As we have seen before, such distribution can be
readily obtained using a Mohrs Circle of Stress.
Therefore, the Mohrs Circle of Stress can be
combined with Coulombs Friction law to obtain
the Mohr-Coulomb Model.
The Mohr The Mohr- -Coulomb Model (Continued..) Coulomb Model (Continued..)
Mohr-Coulomb Model allows us to define shear failure of a soil
mass based on its state of stress.
Referring to the
figure on the left,
lets draw a
Coulomb failure
line AB and
subject a
cylindrical soil
specimen to
principal stresses
so that the Mohrs
circle of stress
touches the
Coulomb failure
line.
We are now able to define the
critical state angle of friction
(
cs
) in terms of the principal
stresses at failure.
The Mohr The Mohr- -Coulomb Model (Continued..) Coulomb Model (Continued..)
The critical state angle of friction (
cs
) represents
the slope of the Coulomb failure line and is given
by:
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
(

+

=

f 3 f 1
f 3 f 1
cs


1
sin
The failure plane or the slip plane is inclined at
an angle to the plane on which the major
principal effective stress acts:
2
45
cs


+ =
o
The Mohr The Mohr- -Coulomb Model (Continued..) Coulomb Model (Continued..)
The maximum shear
stress,
max
, defined
below is not the
failure shear stress:
( ) | | 2
f 3 1 max
=
Failure occurs when
the soil reaches the
maximum effective
stress obliquity:
( )
( )
f 3
f 1

In simple terms, the shear stress at


the point where the Coulomb line
touches the Mohrs Circle of Stress is
the failure shear stress,
f
.
The Mohr The Mohr- -Coulomb Model (Continued..) Coulomb Model (Continued..)
The state of the
soil is elastic
within the conical
area enclosed by
the Coulombs
failure line and
the curve AEF
representing the
peak stresses.
On the Coulomb
failure line, the
soil is at failure.
A soil cannot have a stress state that plots in the
shaded area outside the Coulombs failure line and
the curve AEF of peak stresses.
Cohesion Cohesion Fact or Fiction? Fact or Fiction?
Figure on the top right shows
that the strength envelope
formed by peak strength data
is curved and therefore, it
cannot be described by a
simple linear equation.
However, in some textbooks
(including Craig!!), youll find
peak strength data described
by means of a best-fit
straight line as shown in
figure on bottom right,
having an equation of the
form:
+ = tan c
p
[c is the intercept on [c is the intercept on axis axis
and is termed as and is termed as cohesion cohesion.] .]
Cohesion (Continued..) Cohesion (Continued..)
Such an approach of
using a best-fit
straight line is
conceptually
flawed. For at least
three reasons, it is
also potentially
dangerous.
It can lead to the overestimation of the actual
peak strength at either low or high effective
stresses, depending on where the best-fit line is
drawn. For the figure above, the peak strength at
low and high effective stresses will be
overestimated, leading to unsafe design of slopes
and deep foundations.
Cohesion (Continued..) Cohesion (Continued..)
It is not advisable to use peak strength in
design. Peak strength can only be sustained as
long as the soil is dilating. A soil cannot dilate
forever and eventually its strength must fall to
critical state value defined by
cs
(Coulomb
failure line).
The use of c can mislead a designer into
thinking that the soil essentially an
uncemented material will have some
strength in addition to its frictional strength
that can still be developed when normal
effective stress is zero.
Cohesion (Continued..) Cohesion (Continued..)
c often referred to
as true cohesion in
many books is
nothing but a purely
mathematical effect
caused by the fitting
of a tangent to a
curve as shown in
figure on the right.
True cohesion is only present for cemented soils
for which there is a better word rock. You must
remember that anyone referring to the presence of
a great deal of true cohesion is probably talking
about rock rather than soil.

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