Proceedings ISC-2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.

)
2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

Influence of vane size and equipment on the results

of field vane tests
H. hnberg, R. Larsson & C. Berglund
Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Linkping, Sweden

Keywords: field vane test, clay, equipment, vane size, disturbance, shear strength, fibre effect
ABSTRACT: The field vane test is commonly used for determination of undrained shear strength in fine-grained
soils throughout the world and the test has been standardised in many countries. The standards prescribe demands
for the equipment and execution of the test. They are based on comprehensive research regarding the effect of
different factors on the results. In most standards, a certain number of vanes of different sizes are specified for
use depending on the shear strength of the soil. The tests are interpreted in the same way and are expected to
yield the same result regardless of the size of the vane used. However, in spite of the numerous investigations of
the effect of different factors on the test results, the effect of the actual size of the vane has been studied only to
a limited extent. A new investigation in Sweden has shown that the size of the vane can affect the results in
different ways depending on the type of soil. It is therefore recommended to use as far as possible the standard
size of the vane on which the bulk of the experience is based and, in cases where larger or smaller vanes are to
be used, to check whether there is any effect of size on the results.

1 DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIELD VANE TEST

The field vane test was originally developed by the
Geotechnical Commission of the Swedish State
Railways between 1914 and 1922. Similar devices
were used in Germany in the 1920s and by the British
Army in the 1940s. The development of the modern
field vane test started at the Swedish Geotechnical
Institute (SGI) in the late 40s (Carlsson 1948), and
Skempton (1948) used similar equipment in the U.K.
The investigations comprised studies of the shape of
the rupture surface and influences of the rate of
rotation, the length of the vane shaft protruding below
the casing for the vane, the number of wings (vane
blades) and the relation between height and diameter
of the vane, among other aspects.
A recommended equipment and test procedure were
presented by Cadling and Odenstad (1950). This
equipment consists of a set of three vanes with four
wings having a height-diameter ratio of 2:1. During
installation, the vane is protected in a robust casing
and the turning rods are also encased in hollow drilling
pipes. The whole system is pushed down until the tip
of the casing is about half a metre above the test level.
The vane and inner rod system are then pushed out of

the casing and advanced until the free length between

the casing and the upper end of the vane is at least
5 times the diameter of the vane. The rotation of the
vane should be slow, resulting in failure between 2
and 4 minutes after start of the test, with an ideal time
of 3 minutes (Flodin 1958). After the test, the vane is
retracted into the casing, whereby any soil sticking to

Fig. 1. The field vane equipment, (from Andrsen and Bjerrum

1957)
271

the wings is scraped off and the vane is again protected

during the advance of the equipment to the next test
level.
The use of the field vane test spread rapidly and
similar equipment was also used mainly in Canada,
Norway, the UK and the USA. Experience from
practical applications and research was gathered and
the American Society for Testing and Materials,
ASTM, arranged special conferences on the field vane
test in 1956, 1966 and 1987. Practical experience
showed that the undrained shear strength evaluated
from the field vane tests has to be corrected,
particularly in high-plastic soils. The Swedish
Geotechnical Institute (1969), Andrasson (1974),
Helenelund (1977) and Larsson et al. (1984)
successively proposed corrections with respect to the
liquid limit of the soil, and Bjerrum (1973) presented
similar correction factors based on the plasticity index.
Experience has also shown that the evaluated
undrained shear strength from the field vane tests
should also be corrected with respect to the
overconsolidation ratio (Aas et al. 1986, Larsson and
hnberg 2003).
Other research on the field vane test has been aimed
at estimating the anisotropy of the undrained shear
strength and the mobilisation of the shear strength in
various parts of the shear surface (e.g. Silvestri et al.
1993). In this context, vanes with different heightdiameter ratios and vanes with a diamond shape have
been used. La Rochelle et al. (1973) and Roy and
Leblanc (1988) studied the effect of the design of the
wings and particularly the thickness of their tips. The
effect of disturbance at insertion of the vane and the
effect of a waiting time before starting the test, as well
as that of rate of rotation, were studied by Aas (1965),
Wiesel (1973), Torstensson (1977), and Roy and
Leblanc (1988). The effects of the latter factors may
be assumed to be involved in the correction factors
(Larsson et al. 1984). The latter research has not
significantly affected the design of the field vane
equipment, the performance of the test or the existing
standards, but has emphasised the need to conform with
the standards.
Apart from an investigation by Arman et al. (1975),
research concerning the influence of the actual size of
the vane has mainly been performed in organic soils
(Golebiewska 1976, Landva 1980). The results showed
that there is a significant size effect in such soils.
However, this has similarly had no effect on the
standards.

272

2 NEW EQUIPMENT
Relatively simple lightweight equipment was
developed in Sweden during the 60s. In this equipment,
no casing is used, but there is a slip coupling between
the vane and the rods. The vane is pushed directly to
the test level. The rod friction is first measured and
then separated from the total torque required to rotate
the equipment. This equipment has proved to yield
results compatible with the original SGI equipment in
the soft homogeneous clays for which it was designed,
but great care has to be taken to pre-drill any dry crust
and stiffer layers above the soft clay. The lightweight
equipment may also cause greater disturbance in
layered soils and the results have often been found to
differ from those obtained with the heavier equipment
in deeper profiles, particularly in varved and layered
soils. The slip coupling is often incorporated in the
old type of equipment in order to avoid any influence
of internal friction in the rod and casing system.
A new generation of field vane equipment has
recently been introduced. This is adapted to modern
drill rigs and incorporates casings, electrical rotation
of the vane, electronic measurement of the time and
torque, and automatic storage of the measured data.
In general, the geometric design and dimensions of
the equipment are the same as for the traditional type.
However, for manufacturing reasons the previous cast
bronze casing for the vane, which was shaped to
exactly accommodate the vane, has been replaced by
a solid cylindrical casing with two slots at right angles
to each other. This has caused some concern for a larger
disturbed zone in front of the casing because of a larger
displaced soil volume.

3 GEOMETRY OF THE FAILURE SURFACE

The geometry of the shear surface in vane tests with
four or more wings has been found to be cylindrical
and the evaluation of the test is based on that
assumption. However, is has also been found that the
diameter of the cylinder is not necessarily the same as
that of the vane. Skempton (1948) found that the
diameter of the shear surface was somewhat larger than
the vane and proposed the relation Dshear surface =
1.05 Dvane. However, this fixed relation does not affect
the ratio between the shear strengths evaluated from
different vanes with the same H/D value. Golebiewska
(1976) found that the shear surface in organic soils is
located at a distance outside the perimeter of the vane,
which is constant for a particular type of soil. This
was also found by Landva (1980), who showed that
2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

the shear zone in peat extends far outside the perimeter

of the vane. This has a large effect on the evaluated
shear strength and the smaller the vane is the higher
the evaluated shear strength becomes. This effect is
assumed to be related to the fibrous nature of the
organic soils and the longer the fibres are, the larger
the effect can be expected to be. In principle, this
introduces major uncertainties regarding the relevance
of the field vane test in fibrous peat. The possible
influence should be considered also in more
decomposed organic soils and other soils with a
significant fibre content.

4 DISTURBANCE EFFECTS
Several types of disturbance effect occur when the vane
is inserted in the ground. When using a casing, there
is a heavily disturbed zone just below the tip of the
casing. This effect is intended to be avoided by pushing
the vane a sufficiently longer distance to be outside
this disturbed zone. The current specification in the
procedure recommended by the Swedish Geotechnical
Society (1993) is that the free distance between the
vane and the casing must be between 0.35 and 0.5 m
depending on the size of the vane and its casing. This
figure is based on investigations performed with the
original design of the casing.
At insertion of the vane itself, there are two types
of disturbance effect. Depending on the volume of soil
displaced by the vane, the soil in its vicinity becomes
more or less disturbed and the soil adjacent to the
blades becomes almost completely remoulded, Fig. 2.
If the excess pore pressure created at insertion is
allowed to dissipate and the soil reconsolidates, most
of these effects are eliminated, at least in normally
consolidated soils. Investigations by Aas (1965),
Wiesel (1973) and Torstensson (1977) have shown that
these disturbance effects are significant, particularly
in low-plastic clays. They can also vary greatly
between different soils of the same plasticity, Fig. 3.
The average disturbance at insertion is incorporated
in the correction factors for the test (Larsson et al.
1984). The disturbance is related to the cross-sectional
area of the vane and particularly to the thickness of
the wings towards their edges. La Rochelle et al. (1973)
and Roy and Leblanc (1988) found a linear relation
between the disturbance effects and the thickness of
the wing edge in tests performed with the normal
procedure. The vanes are therefore often manufactured
with wings that decrease in thickness towards the edge.
However, the vanes have to be designed also with
consideration to maximum torque and wear. The
thicknesses of both the vane shafts and the wings are

Fig.2. Schematic picture of heavily disturbed zones in vane tests

(Cadling and Odenstad 1950).

Fig. 3. Degree of disturbance evaluated as the relation between

shear strengths measured directly after installation of the vane
and strengths measured after 1 day of reconsolidation before the
test (Larsson et al. 1984).

Proceedings ISC2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.)

273

therefore often the same for vanes of different sizes.

This entails that vanes with smaller diameters can be
expected to disturb the involved soil volume more than
vanes with larger diameters.

Sweden. The diameters of the shafts and the

thicknesses of the wings are the same for all of them.

7 RESULTS
5 BACKGROUND TO THE NEW
INVESTIGATION
There were mainly three reasons for the new
investigation (hnberg et al. 2001):
In tests in deep soil profiles in Sweden, it had been
observed that a change to a smaller vane,
necessitated by the increase in shear strength with
depth, may be associated with a sudden decrease in
measured shear strength at the depth for the change
and a considerably lower increase in measured shear
strength with depth thereafter.
Most of the Swedish experience refers to vanes of
the normal size of 65 x 130 mm. However, larger
vanes are sometimes used in order to increase the
accuracy and resolution of tests in soft soils. A
discussion has thereby emerged as to whether the
results from the two vane sizes are fully compatible.
New equipment with somewhat altered design and
new measuring devices had been introduced on the
market and questions had arisen as to whether the
results from these are entirely compatible with those
from the traditional equipment.

The first part of the investigation showed that there

was a large difference in results depending on the size
of the vane. For the tests with the SGI equipment, the
small vane showed shear strengths that were only about
85% of those obtained with the normal vane, Fig. 4.
The corresponding relation for the Nilcon equipment
was about 0.89:1. This difference is larger than could
be expected from reported Canadian investigations,
which indicated differences of 23% for a
corresponding change in vane size. However, this
figure relates only to a change in thickness of the wing
tip in relation to the diameter of the vane.
On the other hand, there was no significant
difference in the results obtained with the different
types of equipment. The new design of the casing
therefore did not appear to have any influence on the
results even in this obviously easily disturbed clay. The
apprehension about the new design causing
significantly greater disturbance could thereby be
largely dismissed.
As expected, there was no difference between the
mechanical and electronic measurements except for a
better resolution in the latter. However, the electronic

Shear strength value, kPa

6 SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

0

274

40

60

80

100

10
Average relation = 0,85:1

Depth, m

The largest part of the investigation was performed in

a deep clay profile at Munkedal where apparently
different results had been obtained with vanes of
normal and small size. Here, four types of equipment
were tested: original SGI equipment, lightweight
Nilcon equipment, a new Geotech equipment and a
prototype of new ENVI equipment. For the SGI and
the Nilcon equipment, both normal and small-size
vanes of 55 x 110 mm were used. Parallel tests were
also performed with mechanical and electronic
measurement of the applied torque and rotation.
Supplementary tests were then performed using the
same equipment with normal and small vanes at a
location with very homogeneous soil conditions and
repeatable test results.
Tests with normal and large-size vanes were
performed in three areas, two with high-plastic clays
and one with organic clay. The large vane had a size
of 80 x 160 mm. The three vane sizes used are those
normally supplied with the equipment and used in

20

15

20

25

30

Normal vane 65mm

diameter
Small vane 55 mm
diameter

35

Fig. 4. Example of results from parallel tests with normal and

small vanes in Munkedal clay.
2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

120

with the small vane are here about 4% lower in the

clay but somewhat higher in the organic soil on top.
The average relation is fairly consistent in the clay,
although there is a certain scatter in the results obtained
with the small vane, Fig. 6.
Shear strength value, kPa
0

10

20

30

40

10

Depth, m

measurement of the torque and rotation of the rods

showed another aspect of the lightweight equipment
that had not been previously taken into consideration.
In tests with this equipment, measurements are made
first of the torque required to overcome the rod friction
and then the total torque. It is then assumed that the
rod friction remains constant throughout the test. This
is a fair assumption as long as the rod friction
constitutes only a small fraction of the total torque. In
tests in deep clay profiles, particularly when using
small vanes, the rod friction may amount to more than
half of the total torque, in which case a significant
uncertainty may arise. This is illustrated by a test curve
from a deep level in Munkedal in Fig. 5. The curve
shows that there is a small peak in the rod friction and
that this decreases with further rotation. It is impossible
to judge whether the curve has flattened out when the
slip coupling is engaged or the rod friction continues
to decrease, but this question has a significant effect
on the evaluated shear strength.
The supplementary tests with normal and small
vanes were performed in a profile of high-plastic clay
with organic soil in the upper layer at Sundholmen.
Repeated test series with both SGI and Nilcon
equipment had here shown that the results are very
even and fully compatible when the normal vane is
used (Larsson and hnberg 2003). The results obtained

15

20

Normal vane
-"-

Mean value
25

Small vane

-"30

Mean value

Fig. 6. Results from tests with normal and small vanes at

Sundholmen

100

Torque, Nm

80

60

Extrapolated rod friction

40

20

0
0

50

100

150

Rotation, degrees
Fig. 5. Uncertainty in the evaluation of the results from lightweight
field vane equipment at high rod friction.

One investigation using normal and large vanes has

been performed by Flygfltsbyrn AB in high-plastic
clay at Kvibergslnken in Gothenburg. A large number
of comparative tests were performed and all results
fell within a narrow band without any significant
difference between the two vane sizes.
Another such investigation was performed in highplastic clay at Ndinge north of Gothenburg. The
results here showed a consistent difference with about
5% higher values for the large vane, Fig. 7.
A further investigation was performed in clayey
organic soil at Sderleden in southern Gothenburg. The
results here had a larger scatter than in the previously
investigated clays, partly because of a significant shell
content. The average relations differed by up to 5%
at individual test levels, but the curves were intertwined
and the average difference in the total results was less
than 0.5%. In this soil, it may be assumed that a
possible greater disturbance by the normal vane is more
or less offset by a larger fibre effect from the organic
matter than for the large vane.

Proceedings ISC2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.)

275

9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Shear strength value, kPa

0

10

15

20

25

Depth, m

10
Normal vane, D=65mm
"-"

12

Large vane, D=80mm

14

"-"

Fig. 7. Results from tests with normal and large vanes at Ndinge.

8 DISCUSSION
The results in this investigation in principle show that
for tests in clay the larger the vane the higher the shear
strength values are, provided that the thicknesses of
the shafts and wings are the same. This can be related
to the fact that the relative influence of the disturbance
at installation of the vane increases with decreasing
vane size. The difference in evaluated shear strength
is often insignificant but can be considerable in easily
disturbed soils, particularly for small vanes.
This effect is counteracted in organic soil by the
fact that the fibre content will cause the shear surface
to be located a certain distance outside the perimeter
of the vane. This may result in the opposite trend that
small vanes yield higher shear strength values than
larger ones.
The measured shear strength values are converted
to undrained shear strength by empirical correction
factors. These factors include the effect of normal
disturbance and possible discrepancies from the
assumed shear surface. However, they are based on
empirical experience from mainly the normal vane and
do not compensate for possible unusual effects, such
as effects of vane size.

276

The investigation has shown that the new types of field

vane equipment in principle yield results that are
compatible with the traditional types. However, for one
make only a prototype was tested.
A change to a smaller vane may result in
considerably lower measured shear strength. This
should be considered and, if possible, avoided.
High rod friction calls for an early change of vane
size and is also a considerable source of uncertainty in
evaluating the results. Use of lightweight equipment
without casings should therefore be avoided in deep
profiles and stiff clays.
A change to a larger vane normally entails that the
spread in the test results decreases and that the accuracy
of the measured values increases. However, it may also
cause somewhat different results to be obtained.
Depending on the type of soil, they may be both higher
and lower than those obtained with the normal vane.
It is therefore recommended that some kind of
calibration be performed when using a larger vane,
particularly in clays. This can be done by parallel tests
with the normal vane and/or direct simple shear tests
in the laboratory, depending on the character of the
investigation and the demand for highly accurate
determinations of the shear strength.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This investigation was performed by the Swedish
Geotechnical Institute in cooperation with the
manufacturers Geotech AB and ENVI AB, the
consulting companies Flygfltsbyrn AB, Forsgrens
Konsultbyr, Geogruppen AB and Jacobsson &
Widmark AB, and Chalmers University of Technology.

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