CIVL4270-Summary Notes (2871) PDF

CIVL4270 Geotechnical Investigation & Testing
Summary Course Notes
Professor David Williams

Email: D.Williams@uq.edu.au
CRICOS Provider No 00025B

| Geotechnical Engineering Centre
Topics
• Introduction
• Applications and overview of geotechnical
investigation, sampling and testing
• Purpose of geotechnical investigation and testing

2 | Geotechnical Engineering Centre
Topics
• Geotechnical investigation methods, including:
– Test pitting
– Borehole drilling
– Soil sampling
– Rock coring
– In situ testing
– Cone penetration testing of soil profiles
– Geophysical testing methods

Topics
• Planning a geotechnical investigation and testing
program
• Laboratory testing methods for soils, their
applications and limitations, and their
interpretation
• Laboratory testing methods for rocks, their
applications and limitations, and their
interpretation
• Soil geotechnical parameter assessment

Scope of CIVL4270 and Interactions
with Other Courses
• CIVL4270 focusses on:
– Geotechnical investigation and in situ testing of soil and
rock profiles for the purposes of design of structures
(e.g. buildings, retaining walls, embankments, slopes,
underground openings, pavements, etc.)
– Geotechnical laboratory characterisation and
parameter testing of soil and rock samples
– Selection of geotechnical parameters for soils (slurries
through to hard), rock fill, and weathered rock, which
may be treated as “continua”
– Selection of rock mass parameters (down-rating of
parameters for intact specimens based on
discontinuities) is covered in MINE 3121 and CIVL4280
Soil Mechanics
• What is Soil Mechanics?
– Mechanical behaviour of soil and soil masses
– Part of broader subject of geomechanics – mechanical responses
of all geological materials, including rocks
• Applications in civil, mining and petroleum engineering
practice:
– Ground improvement to support structures
– Excavation and compaction
– Shallow footings for light-weight structures
– Piled foundations for heavier structures
– Retaining structures
– Embankments and dams
– Cut and fill slopes, and pavements
– Tunnelling in soft ground
Soil Mechanics “Continua”
• Soils are generally considered (tested and
analysed) as “continua”
• Soils are generally sufficiently fine-grained to be
readily sampled and tested in laboratory
• Soil behaviour may be represented by mass
parameters

Key Soil Parameters
• Classification:
– Particle size distribution
– Plasticity (represented by Atterberg limits)
• Shear Strength:
– Direct shear, triaxial or vane
• Compressibility:
– Immediate settlement of permeable soils
– Primary consolidation and creep of low permeability
soils, and creep of rock fill
• Hydraulic Conductivity:
– Field and/or laboratory to assess rate of compression
Rock Mechanics
• What is Rock Mechanics?
– Mechanical behaviour of rock and rock masses
– Part of broader subject of geomechanics – mechanical
responses of all geological materials, including soils
• Applications in civil, mining and petroleum
engineering practice:
– Drilling, blasting & cutting, and reinforcement & bolting
– Mine shafts and open pits
– Oil & gas and water wells
– Underground excavations and tunnels
– Rock cuts, and rock fill embankments & dams
Rock “Discontinua”
• How does Rock Mechanics differ from Soil
Mechanics?
– Soils are generally considered (sampled, tested and
analysed) as “continua”
– Rock mass behaviour is dominated by discontinuities:
• Intact rock can readily be sampled and tested
• Rock discontinuities are difficult to test
• Laboratory-determined intact rock parameters (shear strength
and stiffness) are conventionally down-rated using largely
empirical Rock Mass Classification systems (established from
observed behaviour of tunnels in discontinuous rock)

Key Rock Parameters
• Classification:
– Colour
– Weathering and discontinuities
– Type and sub-type
• Shear Strength:
– Point load index
– UCS, Triaxial, Hoek cell and Direct shear
– ITS and Fracture Toughness
• Compressibility/Modulus
• Hydraulic Conductivity:
– Field and/or laboratory
Evolution of Geotechnical
Investigation and Testing (Mayne)
What is needed is empirical judgement coupled with numerical judgement
Most commonly-
used Geotech
Textbooks
Terzaghi

Atterberg 12 | Geotechnical Engineering Centre
Most Commonly-Used Geotechnical
Investigation Methods for Soils
SCPTu should
be added

• In situ testing:
– SPT remains favoured down borehole test method,
despite its empiricism – Over-used and extended
– CPTu is supplanting geotechnical boreholes:
• Same cost/day as boreholes, but 10 times faster
• Geotechnical parameters are inferred
• Laboratory testing:
– Atterberg limits and PSD remain basis of soil
classification, to which should be added field mc
– Conventional triaxial and direct shear tests for shear
strength and oedometer for consolidation and
permeability remain dominant, but are diminished
• Geophysics:
– Increasingly used due to high-speed computers
• Analytical models:
– (Simplified) closed-form solutions are less-used
– Models are used in numerical codes
• Numerical simulation:
– Taking over from closed-form solutions
– Insufficient attention is paid to parameter selection
(Garbage in = Garbage out)
• Probabilistic models, only where sufficient data
are available (which is increasingly rare)
Laboratory Testing of Soils
• Over-use of (remoulded) Plasticity Index and
empirical correlations with Geotech parameters
• Limited number (discrete points)
• Lengthy test durations
• Affected by sample disturbance
• Expensive – Cost and (time) per specimen:
– Undrained Triaxial = $600 (2 to 3 days)
– Drained Triaxial = $1,500 (5 days)
– Oedometer = $600 (2 weeks)
– Automated Consolidation = $800 (2 to 3 days)
– Permeability = $600 (1 to 2 weeks)
Phase Relationships for Soils
• Gravimetric moisture content (Civil Eng):
w = Mass of water/Mass of solids, expressed as a %
• Total moisture content (Mining Eng):
wt = Mass of water/Mass of solids + water, expressed as
a%
• Degree of saturation:
S = Volume of water/Volume of voids
• Dry density and Wet density:
dry = Gs/(1 + e) = Gs/(1 + w.Gs/S), wet = dry . (1 + w)
w.Gs = S.e, w as a decimal
Gs ~ 2.65 for normal mineral matter
Main Geotechnical Parameters for
Soils
Is soil “cohesive” or
• Shear strength: “frictional”, “undrained” or
– cu = Undrained shear strength (clayey soils) “drained”?
– c’ = Apparent (drained) cohesion (clayey soils)
– ' = Friction angle (for sandy and drained clayey soils)
– r' = Residual friction angle (landslides)
• Consolidation: Is soil “elastic”, “plastic” or

– E = Young's Modulus (Eu and E’) non-linear elasto-
– Cc = Compression Index plastic?
– Cs = Swelling Index A soil’s permeability
– pc' = Preconsolidation stress decreases several orders
– OCR = Overconsolidation ratio of magnitude from a slurry
to hard, and a further
– SP = Swelling potential
several orders of
• Permeability: magnitude on
desaturation
– k = Hydraulic conductivity (saturated and unsaturated)
Why Investigate the Ground?
• All structures must ultimately be supported on
natural ground – there are no “sky-hooks”
• Natural ground is highly heterogeneous,
representing >> uncertainty than manufactured
structural materials such as concrete and steel
• Natural ground is affected by natural hazards
such as flooding rains, droughts and earthquakes
• We can’t “see” below ground, and can only
“investigate” a minute fraction of ground
• Unforeseen “failures” happen

Purpose of Program – Key Points
• A geotechnical investigation and testing program
should:
– Define ground profile to an appropriate depth for
geotechnical structure being considered (e.g. to twice
width of structure or footings)
– Determine depth of soft sediments and depth to firm
bearing strata or rock
– Determine depth to water table, if relevant
– Determine in situ consistency of strata
– Recover soil and rock samples for classification and
geotechnical parameter testing (for shear strength,
deformation and permeability)
• Geotechnical investigation and testing
requirements for geotechnical structures:
– Building foundations:
• Definition of bearing capacity
• Estimated magnitude and rate of deformations under applied
loads
– Earth retaining structures and basement excavations:
• Definition of bearing capacity
• Definition of drainage requirements
• Estimation of structural, translational, rotational and overall
stability

– Fill embankments, and natural and cut slopes:
• Definition of foundation and abutment bearing capacity,
deformation and permeability
• Slope stability assessment
– Water and mine tailings storage dams:
• Definition of foundation and abutment bearing capacity,
deformation and permeability
• Borrow material search, classification and geotechnical
parameters
• Earthen dam stability assessment
– Critical infrastructure, e.g. a power station, major
processing plant, etc.:
• Definition of foundation bearing capacity, deformation and
permeability
Investigation Methods – Key Points
• Geotechnical investigation methods fall under:
– Simple test pitting and shallow augering, and sampling
– Geophysical testing and logging (profiling)
– Cone penetration and dilatometer testing, including:
– Cone and sleeve resistances and pore water pressure
– Lateral earth pressure
– Boreholes, including logging and:
• In situ (down-hole) testing:
– Standard Penetration Testing (and disturbed sampling)
– Vane shear strength testing of soft (usually clayey) soils
– Pressuremeter testing of stiff clayey soils and weathered rocks
• Sampling:
– Thin-walled tube sampling for laboratory parameter testing
– Rock coring for logging and testing, etc.
Test Pitting and Shallow Augering
• Suited to investigations for:
– Borrow material searches for earthen structures
– Lightly-loaded structures, e.g. houses, low level
commercial buildings
• Test pitting:
– Allows disturbed and “undisturbed” (in pit walls and
base) sampling
– Facilitates accurate logging to limited depth (<3 m)
• Shallow augering:
– Disturbed and lagged sampling
– Poor logging
Geophysical Profiling
• Methods include:
– Seismic Refraction
– Seismic Reflection
– Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW), Multi-
Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and
Continuous Surface Wave (CSW) for subsurface
shear wave velocity
– Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
– Microgravity Modelling
– Magnetics

Geophysical Profiling
– Resistivity
– Electromagnetic Surveys
– Induced Polarisation Sections
– Cross Borehole Tomography
– Borehole Geophysical Logging
• Require validation/calibration by direct sampling

METHOD BASIS APPLICATIONS
Geophysical
Seismic
Refraction
Profiling
Travel time of refracted seismic
(acoustic) waves
Location of shallow, stiffer strata of
higher shear wave velocity
Seismic Travel time of reflected seismic Location of deeper strata of different
Reflection (acoustic) waves shear wave velocity
Resistivity Resistivity of ground to current Hydrogeology and location of strata and
plumes of different resistivity
GPR Transmission of high-frequency, Location of objects and strata of
electromagnetic waves different dialectric constant
Microgravity Relative differences in gravity Location of voids, and lower/higher
density regions
Magnetics Localised variations in Earth’s Location of magnetic ore bodies, objects
magnetic field and groundwater
Electromagnetic Ratio of primary to secondary Location of regions of different
electrical currents conductivity
Induced Induced electrical polarisation in Location of sulfide ore bodies and
Polarisation time or frequency domains objects that induce “batteries”
Cross Borehole Extending geophysical survey below Improved location of features at depth
ground via boreholes
Logging Using geophysical techniques to log Including density, resistivity, conductivity,
boreholes magnetic, and temperature logging
Borehole Drilling
• Boreholes are advanced in soil by:
– Solid stem augering (to shallow depth), allowing:
• Allowing only disturbed and lagged sampling
– Hollow stem augering, rotary wash boring, hydraulic
drilling, cable drilling, or sonic drilling, allowing:
• Standard Penetration Testing (and disturbed sampling) of sands
• Vane shear strength testing of soft (usually clayey) soils
• Pressuremeter testing of stiff clayey soils and weathered rock
• Thin-walled tube sampling for laboratory parameter testing
• Boreholes are advanced in rock by:
– Rotary wash boring, or sonic drilling, allowing:
• Coring of weathered to fresh rock
• Pressuremeter testing of weathered rock
Sonic Drilling
(http://www.boartlongyear.com/sonic-drilling)
• Employs high-frequency, resonant (sonic) energy

to advance a casing or core barrel
• When resonant sonic energy coincides with
natural frequency of drill string, resonance occurs,
resulting in maximum energy delivery to face
• At same time, friction immediately adjacent to drill
string is substantially minimised, resulting in 2 to 3
times faster sampling than conventional drilling
and sampling
• Provides a continuous, relatively undisturbed core
sample through any type of formation
In Situ Test Methods

Pressuremeter Testing of Stiff Soils
and Weathered Rock

Thin-Walled Tube Sampling of Fine-
Grained Soils

Coring of Weathered to Fresh Rock
Core barrel
Wireline

Coring of Weathered to Fresh Rock

Borehole Logging
• Soils:
– Colour (white to black, and anything in between)
– Plasticity (high or low)
– Consistency (loose to dense, if coarse; soft to hard, if
fine)
– Description (based on Unified Soil Classification)
• Rocks:
– Colour
– Weathering and discontinuities
– Type and sub-type
• Groundwater (depth, salinity, etc.)
Soils – Visual Unified Soil
Classification
• Coarse-grained:
– Predominantly Gravel (G; >2 mm) or Sand
(S; 0.06-2 mm)
– Well-graded (W; covering a wide range) or Poorly-
graded (P; uniform or gap-graded)
• Fine-grained:
– Predominantly Clay (C; <0.002 mm) or Silt (M; 0.06-
0.002 mm)
– High plasticity (H; Liquid Limit >50%) or Low plasticity
(L; LL<50%)
– Could be organic Silt or Peat (dark colour, with fibrous
roots and smell)
Soils – Visual Particle Size
Distribution
SOIL SIZE (mm)

Boulders >200
Coarse-grained
Cobbles 60-200
Can see and feel particles
Gravel 2-60 (by sieving)
Sand 0.06-2 Clear water on drilling
Silt 0.002-0.06 Fine-grained
Clay <0.002 Can’t see or feel particles
(by hydrometer)
Coloured water on drilling

Soils – Visual Particle Size
Distribution
• Clear water return on drilling implies coarse-
grained soils only:
– Rounded sand or gravel particles implies truth
– Angular particles implies cut coarser particles
• Coloured water return on drilling implies fine-
grained soils present:
– In absence of sand or gravel, implies silt/clay only
– In presence of rounded coarse implies truth
– In presence of angular coarse implies coarser still

Geology – Rocks
• Rock types:
– Igneous (e.g. basalt, granite)
– Sedimentary (e.g. sandstone, siltstone, claystone)
– Metamorphic (e.g. quartzite, phyllite, schist)
• Weathering:
– Fresh → Slightly weathered → Moderately weathered
→ Highly weathered → Extremely weathered →
Residual soil
• Discontinuities:
– Joints, faults, slickensides, foliation, cleavage, bedding,
sheared zones, cavities
Classification of Weathered Rock
DEGREE OF SYMBOL DESCRIPTION
WEATHERING
Fresh F No visible signs of decomposition or discolouration. Rings
under hammer impact.
Slightly SW Slight discolouration inward from open fractures.
weathered
Moderately MW Discolouration throughout. Weaker minerals e.g. feldspar
weathered decomposed. Strength somewhat reduced, but cannot be
broken by hand or scraped by knife. Texture preserved.
Highly HW Most minerals somewhat decomposed. Can be broken by
weathered hand with effort or scraped by knife. Texture becoming
indistinct, but fabric preserved.
Extremely EW Minerals decomposed to soil, but fabric and structure
weathered preserved. Easily crumbed or penetrated.
Residual soil RS Advanced decomposition to soil. Rock fabric and structure
completely destroyed.
Rock Mass Parameters
• Weathered rock may be considered continuous,
as for soil
• Unweathered rock mass parameters are generally
controlled by discontinuities
• It is difficult to test rock discontinuities
• Hence, intact rock specimens are generally tested
and parameters obtained “down-rated” to allow for
discontinuities

Rock Mass Discontinuities
DISCONTINUITY DESCRIPTION
Fracture Any separation or break in a rock mass.
Joint Most common fracture, along which no displacement has occurred.
Fault Fracture along which displacement has occurred due to tectonic
activity, and water can freely move causing weathering.
Slickenside Weak (residual strength), pre-existing failure surface, from faulting,
landslide, or expansion.
Foliation plane Continuous foliation surface resulting from orientation of mineral
grains during metamorphism.
Foliation shear Shear zone from folding or stress relief in metamorphic rocks.
Cleavage Stress fractures from folding. Mainly in shales and closely-spaced.
Bedding plane Contacts between sedimentary rocks. Can contain weak minerals.
Mylonite Intensely sheared zone. Fabric crushed and pulverised.
Cavity Openings in soluble rocks e.g. limestone resulting from groundwater
movements, or in igneous rocks e.g. rhyolite from gas pockets.
Classification of Joints Based on
Spacing and Rock Quality Designation
DESCRIPTION JOINT SPACING (m) ROCK MASS
DESIGNATION
Very wide ≥3 Solid
Wide 1 to 3 Massive
Moderately close 0.3 to 1 Blocky/Seamy
Close 0.05 to 0.3 Fractured
Very close < 0.05 Crushed
RQD (% > 100 mm) VELOCITY INDEX ROCK MASS

(Intact core recovery) (Field/Lab P-Wave Velocity) QUALITY
90 to 100 1.0 to 0.8 Excellent
75 to 90 0.8 to 0.6 Good
50 to 75 0.6 to 0.4 Fair
50 to 25 0.4 to 0.2 Poor
25 to 0 0.2 to 0.0 Very poor
Program Planning – Key Points
• Planning of a geotechnical investigation and
testing program must take account of:
– Scope set by client – This may need to be informed
– Scale, type and stage of project
– Existing knowledge, e.g. surface terrain maps,
geological maps, previous investigations of site and its
surroundings, geotechnical knowledge, etc.
– Required bearing capacity, deformation tolerances, and
permeability
– Geotechnical investigation and testing methods
available that suit requirements
– Dial Before You Dig and check services by GPR
Planning a Geotechnical
Investigation and Testing Program
• A small-scale geotechnical investigation, e.g. for
borrow materials for a small dam, typically
involves:
– Test pitting and soil sampling
– Soil classification testing
• A medium-scale geotechnical investigation, e.g.
for a medium-size building, retaining structure, or
a medium-size slope or dam, typically involves:
– Boreholes, logging, in situ testing and sampling
– Cone penetration and/or geophysical testing to infill
soil/geological/groundwater profile between boreholes
– Soil classification and geotechnical parameter testing
Planning a Geotechnical
Investigation and Testing Program
• A large-scale geotechnical investigation, e.g. for a
high-rise building, major retaining structure, or a
large-scale slope or dam, typically involves:
– Deep boreholes into rock, logging, in situ testing and
sampling of soil and rock
– Cone penetration of soil profile, and geophysical testing
to infill soil/geological/groundwater profile between
boreholes
– Soil classification and geotechnical parameter testing
– Rock core logging and geotechnical parameter testing
• Refer to Tutorial Examples

Laboratory Classification Testing of
Soils – Key Points
• Physical:
– Particle size distribution:
• Sieving (dry or wash) for coarse-grained particles or
agglomerates – Think about what you are trying to represent
• Hydrometer (“unhindered” settling, over-estimates % passing)
for fine-grained particles
• Laser sizing (dilute slurry, can’t “see” particles finer than lens
aperture, giving 0% passing this size) for fine-grained particles
– Quicker and cheaper than hydrometer, but unreliable for very
fine-grained soils
– In situ moisture state and Atterberg limits for plasticity:
• Tested on -0.425 mm fraction only
– Specific gravity
Laboratory Classification Testing of
Soils – Key Points
– Unified Soil Classification:
• A common description of soils
• Geotechnical parameters and behaviour, and Engineering Use
• Chemical:
– Emerson Class Number (screening for erodability)
– Electrical conductivity and pH
– Mineralogy, particularly clay minerals
• Note that Physical, Chemical and Biological
processes interact:
– Chemistry and Biology (bacteria) contribute to Physical
Geotech parameters

Unified Soil Classification
MAIN SOIL TYPES DETAILS PREFIX

Coarse-grained soils (< 50% passing 0.06 mm)
GRAVEL predominant > 2 mm G
SAND predominant 0.06 to 2 mm S
Fine-grained soils (> 50% passing 0.06 mm)
Inorganic CLAY Above A-Line C
SILT M
Below A-Line
Organic soils O
Fibrous organic soils
PEAT (no suffix) Pt

Unified Soil Classification
SUB-DIVISION DETAILS SUFFIX
Coarse-grained soils (< 5% passing 0.06 mm)
Well-graded (spread of sizes) W
Poorly-graded (uniform or gap-graded) P
Coarse-grained soils (> 12% passing 0.06 mm)
Clay fines Above A-Line C
Silt fines Below A-Line M
Fine-grained soils (> 50% passing 0.06 mm)
Low plasticity LL < 35% (clay) or 50% (silt) L
Intermediate plasticity 35% < LL< 50% (clay only) I
High plasticity LL > 50% H
Particle Size Distribution of Soils
CLAY SILT SAND GRAVEL COBBLES BOULDERS
100
90 Pure CLAY Silty CLAY Uniform SAND
80
70
% PASSING
60
Well-graded
50 Cobbly GRAVEL
40
30 Poorly-graded Sandy GRAVEL
20
10 Well-graded Sandy GRAVEL
0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
PARTICLE SIZE (mm)
51
Plasticity of Soils (Atterberg Limits)
• Of particles passing 0.425 mm:
SOIL Semi-
VOLUME Solid solid
Plastic Liquid
SL PL LL
GRAVIMETRIC MOISTURE CONTENT, w
– Shrinkage Limit, SL = w at which soil reaches its
minimum volume on drying from LL
– Plastic Limit, PL = minimum w at which soil deforms
plastically
– Liquid Limit, LL = minimum w at which soil flows
– Plasticity Index, IP = LL – PL
Plasticity Chart for Soils
60 Dry strength and stickiness
increase with increasing High plasticity
50
Plasticity Index, and dilatancy

(permeability) decreases
PLASTICITY INDEX (%)
40
Intermediate
plasticity CH
30
Low plasticity CI OH
20
or
MH
CL OL
10
CL-ML or
ML ML
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
LIQUID LIMIT (%)
Engineering Use Chart (Lambe and
Whitman, 1979)
Compressibility
Shear strength
Permeability
Workability

Slaking and Dispersion of Soils

Laboratory Parameter Testing of
Soils – Key Geotechnical Parameters
• Shear strength:
– Direct shear (planar):
• Dry (as-sampled) or Wet (near-saturated)
– Triaxial (axi-symmetric):
• Dry (as-sampled), suction-controlled or Wet (near-saturated)
– Vane shear (for soft clays):
• Nominally “undrained”
• Mohr-Coulomb straight line strength envelope
( = c + n tan ):
– 1773 – Coulomb proposed a straight line
– 1882 – Mohr proposed a (curved) fit to Mohr circles
– At some time they were combined, as a straight line?
• Compressibility:
– Oedometer (1-D, rigid wall and ends)
– Rowe cell (1 or 3-D, flexible top)
– Slurry consolidometer (1-D, rigid walls and ends, allows
settling from a slurry)
• Conventional analysis (Cc, Cs, mv, cv):
– Terzaghi “theory”: – actually based upon curve fitting
– No “theory” for constant rate of stress increase testing
– more “realistic”? – but Terzaghi incremental loading
can be simulated by holding increments

• (Saturated) Hydraulic Conductivity:
– Constant head for k > 10-4 m/s – Clean sands &
gravels
– Falling head for 10-4 m/s < k > 10-7 m/s – sandy & silty
clays
– Consolidometer, indirectly from k = cv.mv.w, for
k < 10-7 m/s – Clays
• Analysis (q = -k.A.i and k = a.eb):
– k is most variable of geotechnical parameters
– Generally saturated (unsaturated k is difficult to
measure)
– k is often wrongly assumed to be constant!
Hydraulic Conductivity of Soils
• Darcy’s law (S > 85%, which applies in many
cases):
q = -k.A.i
where q = volumetric flow rate per unit time, k = hydraulic
conductivity, A = cross-sectional flow area, i = hydraulic
gradient, and -ve since flow is in direction of decreasing
head
• For fine-grained soils:
k = a.e-b
where fitting parameters a and b are derived from
consolidometer test results

What Materials Have Shear
Strength?
• Air?
• Water?
• Slurries?
• Soils:
– Coarse- (gravel, sand) or fine-grained (silt, clay)?
– Frictional or cohesive, or both?
– Drained, undrained or partially-drained?
– Peak, ultimate (remoulded) or residual (sheared)?
• Rocks:
– Intact?
– Discontinuities?
Estimating Undrained Shear Strength su
of Clayey Soils = fn. (effective stress)
• For normally consolidated clayey soils:
(Skempton, 1957):
(su/v’)nc ~ 0.11 + 0.0037 IP ~ 0.25, typically
where IP = Plasticity Index in %
• For overconsolidated clayey soils:
(su/v’)oc ~ (su/v’)nc . (OCR)m
where OCR = Overconsolidation Ratio
m = Empirical constant dependent on soil
type ~ 0.8, typically

Typical Shear Strength vs. Depth
Profile for Clayey Soil
Shear strength
UNSATURATED
Suction effect
water table
SATURATED
Self-weight effect
Depth
Shear Strength Testing of Soils
Peak (small strain)
• Peak, ultimate
Ultimate (large strain)
SHEAR
STRESS ?
and residual Residual
shear: (very large strain in clayey soils)
SHEAR STRAIN
• Testing at:
– As-sampled moisture content, or
– Saturated (worst case)
– Various scales (typically < 100 mm)
– Various overburden stresses (typically 1 MPa)

SHEAR STRESS Peak
Dry Ultimate
Wet
~1% >10%
SHEAR STRAIN
NORMAL STRAIN
Dry
SHEAR STRAIN
Compression Wet
Shear Stress, Normal

Strain and Shear Strain
VOID RATIO
Wet
Measurements for Soils
Dry
SHEAR STRAIN
Shear Strength Testing of Soils
• Represents “element testing”:
– Overburden stress is first applied, undrained or drained
– Specimen is then sheared, undrained or drained
• Purposes:
– Soil shear strength provides a means of assessing:
• Bearing capacity – How much load can soil support?
• Geotechnical slope stability – Is slope stable?
– Loading situations:
• Undrained (during construction) and drained (long-term)
loading of clays
• Drained loading of sands
• Undrained earthquake loading

Direct Shear Strength Testing of Soils
• Testing methodology:
– “Undisturbed” clayey specimen is trimmed to fit shear
box, or poured (sandy soil)/remoulded (clayey soil) into
box
– Specimen is conventionally surrounded with water
(although it can also be tested unsaturated)
– Normal stress is applied by dead weights, recording
settlement/swell with time
– Specimen is sheared, recording shear stress,
settlement/dilation and shear displacement
– Single or multi-stage shearing under higher normal
stresses (doubling each stage) is undertaken
• Applications:
– Shear failure along a defined plane
– Sands, silts, clays, aggregates, and soil/material
interfaces
– Peak and ultimate, plus residual shear
– Testing as-sampled (in situ) or saturated (worst case)
– 60 mm, 100 mm and 300 mm boxes
– Maximum particle size ~1/10th of shear box dimension,
to limit single particle contacts dominating
– 1 MPa or 10 MPa normal stress, representing ~50 to
500 m of overburden (assuming a unit weight of
20 kN/m3)
Peak, Ultimate and Residual Shear
Strengths (by Direct Shear)
N
With normal stress removed during reversals

ADVANTAGES LIMITATIONS
Quick and easy to set up for any Defined shear plane, not
soil type allowing failure along plane of
weakness
Defined shear plane, No control of drainage, except
appropriate for slope instability by varying rate of shearing
Can determine interface shear Non-uniform stress distribution,
strength and principle stresses rotate
during shearing
Can determine residual shear Area correction is required,
strength except for purely frictional soils
Difficult to ensure full saturation
Interpretation of Direct Shear
Strength Test Results
SHEAR STRESS, 
Single-stage:
(, n)
NORMAL STRESS, n
SHEAR STRESS, 
Multiple-stage: 4x
’
c’ 2x
NORMAL STRESS, n
Alternative Interpretation of Direct
Shear Strength Test Results
SHEAR STRESS, 
Curved strength envelope

Secant ’ values,
c decreasing with increasing normal stress
NORMAL STRESS, n

Triaxial Shear Strength Testing of
Soils
– “Undisturbed” clayey specimen is trimmed to
length:diameter ratio of 2:1, or remoulded (clayey
soil)/poured (sandy soil) as a cylinder, and sleaved
– Specimen is mounted in triaxial cell surrounded with
water and back-saturated (or maintained unsaturated)
– Confining pressure is applied hydraulically, recording
settlement/swell with time if allowed to drain
– Specimen is sheared by increasing/decreasing axial
stress, recording settlement/dilation/volume change
– Single or multi-stage shearing under higher confining
stresses (doubling each stage) is undertaken
Soils
1
3 3
1
Initially, 1= 3 = overburden stress

Specimen is failed in compression by
increasing 1 or in extension by decreasing 1
Soils
• Applications:
– Compression (e.g. loading) shear failure along a plane
at 45o + /2 or by barrelling
– Extension (e.g. excavation) shear failure by necking
– Best-suited to clays and silts
– Peak and ultimate shear
– Testing as-sampled (in situ) or saturated (usual; worst
case)
– 38 mm, 50 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm diameter
– Typically 1 MPa normal stress, representing ~ 50 m of
overburden (assuming a unit weight of 20 kN/m3)

Triaxial Shear Strength Failure of
Soils Under Compression
Plastic failure (barrelling) Brittle failure (shear plane) Intermediate failure

Soils
Shear failure is not constrained Setting up sand specimens is
to a pre-determined surface difficult
Applied stresses are principle Strength obtained from small
stresses, and hence easier to size specimens give
interpret unrealistically high estimates of
Drainage can be controlled and strength for highly fissured clays
varied, and pore water Saturated testing requires pre-
pressures measured saturation of unsaturated soils,
Strengths obtained for good by application of a back-
quality intact clays agree well pressure (> 200 kPa), typically
with field estimates overnight (Refer Head, 1984)

Conventional Interpretation of
Triaxial Shear Strength Test Results
SHEAR STRESS, 
Single-stage:
max
(1 - 3)/2
(1 + 3)/2
 3’ STRESS, ’  1’
SHEAR STRESS, 
Multiple-stage: 4x
’
2x
c’
STRESS, ’
Alternative Interpretation of Triaxial
SHEAR STRESS, 
Curved strength envelope
STRESS, ’
Tangential ’ values,
decreasing with increasing applied stress

Stress Path Interpretation of Triaxial
• Total stress paths:
– MIT:
s = (1 + 3)/2 and t = (1 - 3)/2
– Cambridge:
p = (a + 2r)/3 and q = (a - r)/2
• Effective stress axes:
– MIT:
s’ = (1’ + 3’)/2 and t’ = (1’ - 3’)/2 = t
– Cambridge:
p’ = (a’ + 2r’)/3 and q’ = (a’ - r’)/2
where 1 = a, 3= r, 1’ = a’, 3’ = r’

Typical Stress Paths
(Atkinson, 1993)

Increase in Shear Strength Due to
Matric Suction

Vane Shear Strength Testing of Soft
Soils

Vane Shear Strength Testing of Soft
Soils
– Vane of length L and diameter D (where L:D = 2:1) is
inserted to test depth
– Vane is rotated at a slow rate of 6° to 12° per minute,
measuring torque T generated, until a maximum torque
is reached (and recorded as peak)
– Vane is rotated three full revolutions, scribing a
cylindrical failure surface around vane, and then re-
sheared to give remoulded torque
– Torques are converted to shear strengths sv:
sv = T/[.(D2.H/2 + D3/6)]

Vane Shear Strength of Soft Soils
(Peak and Remoulded)
Applied
torque
D Applied
torque
Resisting
H torque
H
Surface area
  DH
D
D
Shear vane Equivalent rotated cylinder of soil

Shear Strength vs. Consolidation
Testing of Soils
STRAIN, e
STRESS
STRAIN,  STRESS
Shear Strength Consolidation
Difference is essentially boundary conditions

Consolidation Testing of Soils
• Represents “element testing”:
– Loading on specimen is increased geometrically
(doubling each stage) to overburden + applied stress,
then unloaded, to fully drained in each stage
• Purposes:
– Applicable to low hydraulic conductivity clayey soils
– Magnitude of consolidation/swell under
loading/unloading
– Rate of consolidation/swell at each
increment/decrement

Immediate Settlement, Primary
Consolidation and Creep of Soils

Interpretation of 1-D Consolidation
Testing of Soils – Magnitude

Testing of Soils – 3-D Effects

Testing of Soils – 3-D Effects

Testing of Soils – Rate

Soil Moduli
Et < Es < Eit < Eu/r
Eu/r
Eit
Es Et
STRESS
SHEAR
SHEAR STRAIN




Soil Creep Estimates
• Creep of low permeability soils and rock fill is a
catch-all to cover long-term settlement not
described by theory; often poorly understood
• Creep ~ constant per log cycle of time
• Coefficient of secondary consolidation:
– < 0.001 mm/mm thickness for OC clays
– 0.005 for NC clays, increasing to 0.02 with increasing
organic content
– 0.02 to 0.1 for Peat
– 0.01 to 0.04 for rock fill

Laboratory Consolidation Testing of
Soils
• Anisotropy can be assessed by testing soils at
different orientations
• For stiff clayey soils, machine stiffness corrections
may become significant
• Swelling pressure (pressure required to prevent
soil from swelling) may also be determined
• Variations to conventional incremental/
decremental consolidation testing include constant
rate of strain consolidation testing
• Can be applied to granular soils and weak rocks
• Slurry & High stress consolidometers are available
1-D Oedometer Testing of Soils
– Specimen is cut using oedometer ring
– Specimen and ring are mounted in oedometer cell and
conventionally surrounded with water (although it can
also be tested unsaturated)
– Stress is applied by dead weights, incrementing at
twice previous weight (or half on unloading); each
stress is maintained for 24 hours
– During loading/unloading, specimen settlement/swell is
measured with time
– Extending duration at a particular stress, secondary
consolidation/creep may be estimated
• Applications:
– Approximating 1-D loading/
unloading of:
• Large extent on a relatively thin layer
• Relatively thin layer at depth
– Typically 75 mm diameter ring
– Maximum particle size ~1/10th of ring dimension, to
limit single particle contacts dominating
– 1 MPa or 10 MPa normal stress, representing ~50 to
500 m of overburden (assuming a unit weight of 20
kN/m3)
Test procedure and calibrations Test results often under-
have been standardised and are estimate rate of settlement
reproducible
Due to rigid ends, resulting Due to rigid ends, applied stress
settlement/swell is uniform is non-uniform
Test results provide a In conventional test, there is no
reasonable estimate of means of controlling drainage,
settlements, provided they are nor of measuring pore water
properly interpreted pressures

Rowe Cell Testing of Soils

– Specimen is cut to size or formed in cell
– Stress is applied hydraulically, with vertical or 3-D
(vertical and lateral) drainage allowed, incrementing at
twice previous stress (or half on unloading); each
stress is maintained for 24 hours
– During loading/unloading, average specimen
settlement/swell is measured with time
– Pore water pressure may be measurable locally
– Extending duration at a particular applied stress,
secondary consolidation/creep may be estimated

• Applications:
– Approximating 1-D
loading/unloading of:
• Large extent on a relatively thin layer
• Relatively thin layer at depth
– Typically 75 mm diameter, also 150 mm and 250 mm
– Maximum particle size ~1/10th of ring dimension, to
limit single particle contacts dominating
– Typically 1 MPa normal stress, representing ~50 m of
overburden (assuming a unit weight of 20 kN/m3)

Reasonably standardised and Test results often under-
reproducible estimate rate of settlement
Due to flexible top, applied stress
Due to flexible top, settlement/
is ~ uniform swell is non-uniform
Applicable to both 1-D and 3-D More complex and variable
Pore water pressures can be testing methodology makes
measured and drainage controlled interpretation more difficult
Can be automated, since stress is Time consuming and difficult
hydraulically applied to set up
Test results provide a reasonable
estimate of settlements
Slurry Consolidometer Testing of
Slurries – UQ

High Stress/Suction Consolidometer
Testing of Rock Fill – UQ

Other Key Laboratory Tests on Soils
– Compaction
• Compaction is expulsion of air from a soil by
mechanical means, which generally occurs
instantaneously
• Compaction testing of clayey soils:
– Standard Compaction
– Modified Compaction (4.5 x compactive effort of
Standard)

Laboratory Compaction Curves
Zero Air Voids Line

DRY DENSITY (t/m3)
Mod MDD
Modified
Std MDD
Standard
Mod OMC Std OMC
GRAVIMETRIC MOISTURE CONTENT (%)

Explanation – It’s All to do with
Compaction!

Compaction!
• Laboratory Modified compaction applies ~4.5 times
compactive effort of laboratory Standard compaction,
while typical field compaction applies a compactive effort
somewhere between these, closer to Modified
• Turning point for laboratory Modified compaction moves
upwards from that of laboratory Standard compaction,
roughly parallel to (full saturation) Zero Air Voids Line
• Laboratory Modified compaction testing achieves a higher
MDD at a lower OMC than Standard
• Lower Modified OMC is typically closer to natural
gravimetric moisture content of available clayey borrow,
avoiding need to moisture condition

Compaction!
• Both laboratory compaction methods compact material to
similar degrees of saturation
• Previous experience has been that dry density specified
based on Standard laboratory compaction testing is
generally exceeded in field, indicating that same field
compaction equipment should be capable of achieving
specified Modified dry density
• Appropriate compaction specifications are:
– -1 to +3% of OMC for both Standard and Modified
– A minimum of 98% Standard MDD, or 95% of Modified MDD

Compaction of Sandy Soils
• Minimum and Maximum Density of sandy soils:
– Density Index or Relative Density:
DI = (1/Minimum laboratory dry – 1/Measured field
dry)/(1/Minimum laboratory dry – 1/Maximum laboratory dry)
• dry = Dry density
• Minimum laboratory dry is achieved on loose pouring into a
metal compaction mould
• Maximum laboratory dry is achieved by high amplitude
vibratory compaction under a heavy weight in a metal
compaction mould

California Bearing Ratio
• California Bearing Ratio (CBR):
– Assessed on soils compacted to dry density and
moisture content of interest
– Based on penetration testing of California limestone,
for which CBR = 100% is assigned
– Commonly used as basis of road pavement thickness
design:
• CBR of subgrade and traffic loading dictate Base
overall pavement thickness CBR ≥ 80%
Increasing CBR
• CBR of underlying layer and traffic loading Sub-base
dictate CBR of overlying layer
• Base layer minimum CBR = 80% Subgrade

Geotechnical Parameter Assessment
– Key Points
• Key geotechnical parameters:
– Shear strength, which dictates bearing capacity
– Compressibility, under applied loading
– Permeability or hydraulic conductivity, which dictates
how quickly compression occurs under applied loading,
or rate of seepage occurs
• Geotechnical parameter assessment must reflect:
– Appropriate stress regime
– Magnitude and rate of loading/unloading
– Drainage paths and permeabilities
• Examples follow
Interpretation of Shear Strength Data
Data points
Conventional Mohr-Colomb (c, , after Colomb, 1776)
Curved line  only (after Mohr, 1874)
Straight line  only
SHEAR STRESS (kPa)
Secant 

c
INCREASING DENSITY & STRENGTH?
NORMAL STRESS (kPa)

Choice of Design Shear Strength
Parameters
1. Mean (average), Median (middle) or Mode (most
common)?
2. Mean – One Standard Deviation = (Lower) 32nd
percentile if data are normally distributed
3. (Lower) 25th percentile (adopted by French
Commission Internationale Des Grands
Barrages – CIGB)
4. Mean – Two Standard Deviations (lower 5th
percentile – Overly conservative
5. Lowest bound – Extremely conservative

Settling, Desiccation and Oedometer
Consolidation of Tailings
SLURRY SEDIMENTATION DESICCATION CONSOLIDATION
TEST % solids Column Air-drying Oedometer
POROSITY 0.75 0.8 to 0.6 0.6 to 0.45 0.45 to 0.37
DRY DENSITY 0.75 0.85 1.40 1.65
(t/m3)
(SG = 2.8)

Normally consolidated
Overconsolidated
CPTu
Interpretation
(Schmertmann,
1978)
Under-
consolidated

Interpretation of CPTu Profiles
CORRECTED qt (MPa)
0 1 2 3 4 5
0
2 Heavily OC (desiccated) tailings
4 Desiccation
OC tailings - fluctuating water table -induced
6
NC tailings
Normally-consolidated tailings (multiple spigot)
DEPTH (m)
10
Zone of under-consolidated
12 Underconsolidated tailings
tailings at depth (previous
14 fixed single discharge)
16
Stiff foundation
18
T3-Upstream
20

Piezocone (CPTu) Undrained Shear
Strength Factors
Nk = (qc – σv0)/su (1)
Nc = qc/su (2)
Nkt = (qt – σv0)/su (3)
Nke = (qt – u)/su (4)
NΔu = Δu/su (5)
where qc is uncorrected cone resistance, σv0 = total
vertical stress, su is undrained shear strength as
determined from in situ vane shear testing, qt is
corrected cone resistance, u is measured pore water
pressure, and Δu is difference between measured pore
water pressure and hydrostatic
Piezocone Undrained Shear Strength
Factors
FACTOR QUOTED RANGE TYPICAL VALUE
Nk 11 to 19 15 (17 if OC)
Nc 9 to 20 15
Nkt 11 to 19 15 (17 if OC)
Nke 1 to 13 9
NΔu 2 to 20 10

Tailings Liquefaction Potential
(Robertson, 1986) – A Screening Test
Unlikely to liquefy
Potentially
liquefiable

Plate Load Testing for Bearing
Capacity and Settlement

Geology – Rocks
• Rock types:
– Igneous (e.g. basalt, granite)
– Sedimentary (e.g. sandstone, siltstone, claystone)
– Metamorphic (e.g. quartzite, phyllite, schist)
• Weathering:
– Fresh → Slightly weathered → Moderately weathered
→ Highly weathered → Extremely weathered →
Residual soil
• Discontinuities:
– Joints, faults, slickensides, (metamorphic) foliation,
cleavage, (sedimentary) bedding, sheared zones,
(dissolution) cavities
Modes of Shear Failure of Rock
(Miller, 1965)
ROCK TYPE FAILURE FORM

Fine-grained, massive, e.g. basalt, Sudden, explosive, brittle
quartzite, dolomite, strong
limestone
Fine-grained sedimentary, e.g. soft Plastic yielding
limestone, siltstone, tuff
Sandstone, granite, schist parallel Brittle fracture, stiffness increases
to foliation as micro-fissures close
Metamorphic, e.g. marble, gneiss Inelastic yielding, stiffness
Schist perpendicular to foliation increases as micro-fissures close
Rock salt Inelastic yielding and continuous
creep

Shear Strength Testing of Intact
Rock Core
• Test methods include:
– Point load index (tensile) in field or laboratory:
• Diametral or axial
– Unconfined Compressive Strength, without or with
strain gauging (for Young’s modulus and Poisson’s
ratio)
– Triaxial (confined)
– Hoek cell (Brown, 1981)
– Direct shear (intact and discontinuities)
– Brazilian Indirect Tensile Strength
– Fracture Toughness

Stress-Strain Models for Intact Rock
and Rock Fill
DESCRIPTION STRESS-STRAIN MODEL
Elasto-plastic with work-
hardening for fractured
rock (Goodman, 1999)
Hoek-Brown criterion
(1981) for rock masses
Frictional rock fill (Leps,

1970)

Classification of Weathered Rock
DEGREE OF SYMBOL DESCRIPTION
WEATHERING
Fresh F No visible signs of decomposition or discolouration. Rings
under hammer impact.
Slightly SW Slight discolouration inward from open fractures.
weathered
Moderately MW Discolouration throughout. Weaker minerals e.g. feldspar
weathered decomposed. Strength somewhat reduced, but cannot be
broken by hand or scraped by knife. Texture preserved.
Highly HW Most minerals somewhat decomposed. Can be broken by
weathered hand with effort or scraped by knife. Texture becoming
indistinct, but fabric preserved.
Extremely EW Minerals decomposed to soil, but fabric and structure
weathered preserved. Easily crumbed or penetrated.
Residual soil RS Advanced decomposition to soil. Rock fabric and structure
completely destroyed.
Rock Mass Discontinuities
DISCONTINUITY DESCRIPTION
Fracture Any separation or break in a rock mass.
Joint Most common fracture, along which no displacement has occurred.
Fault Fracture along which displacement has occurred due to tectonic
activity, and water can freely move causing weathering.
Slickenside Weak (residual strength), pre-existing failure surface, from faulting,
landslide, or expansion.
Foliation plane Continuous foliation surface resulting from orientation of mineral
grains during metamorphism.
Foliation shear Shear zone from folding or stress relief in metamorphic rocks.
Cleavage Stress fractures from folding. Mainly in shales and closely-spaced.
Bedding plane Contacts between sedimentary rocks. Can contain weak minerals.
Mylonite Intensely sheared zone. Fabric crushed and pulverised.
Cavity Openings in soluble rocks e.g. limestone resulting from groundwater
movements, or in igneous rocks e.g. rhyolite from gas pockets.
Classification of Joints Based on
Spacing and Rock Quality Designation
DESCRIPTION JOINT SPACING (m) ROCK MASS
DESIGNATION
Very wide ≥3 Solid
Wide 1 to 3 Massive
Moderately close 0.3 to 1 Blocky/Seamy
Close 0.05 to 0.3 Fractured
Very close < 0.05 Crushed
RQD (% > 100 mm) VELOCITY INDEX ROCK MASS

(Intact core recovery) (Field/Lab P-Wave Velocity) QUALITY
90 to 100 1.0 to 0.8 Excellent
75 to 90 0.8 to 0.6 Good
50 to 75 0.6 to 0.4 Fair
50 to 25 0.4 to 0.2 Poor
25 to 0 0.2 to 0.0 Very poor
Rock Mass Classification Systems
(http://www.rocscience.com/hoek/corner/3_Rock_mass_classification.pdf)
• Ritter (1879) – Empirical approach to determining

support requirements for tunnel design
• Terzaghi (1946) – Rock loads, carried by steel
sets, estimated on basis of a descriptive
classification
• Lauffer (1958) – Proposed that stand-up time for
an unsupported span is related to rock mass
quality in which span is excavated
• Extended by Pacher et al. (1974) – Now forms
part of general tunnelling approach known as
New Austrian Tunnelling Method
• Deere et al. (1967) – Rock Quality Designation
index (RQD) provides a quantitative estimate of
rock mass quality from drill core logs
• Multi-parameter classification schemes (Wickham
et al., 1972; Bieniawski, 1973, 1989; Barton et al.,
1974) – Developed from civil engineering case
histories, incorporating all components of
engineering geological character of rock mass:
– Wickham et al. (1972) – Describing quality of a rock
mass and selecting appropriate support on basis of
their Rock Structure Rating (RSR) classification, based
on relatively small tunnels supported by steel sets
– Bieniawski (1976) – Geomechanics Classification or
the Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system, incorporating
significant changes over time in ratings assigned to
different parameters
– Laubscher (1977, 1984), Laubscher and Taylor (1976)
and Laubscher and Page (1990) – Modified Rock Mass
Rating system for mining
– Barton et al (1974) – Tunnelling Quality Index (Q) for
determining rock mass characteristics, and tunnel and
excavation support requirements. Numerical value of
Q varies on a logarithmic scale from 0.001 to a
maximum of 1,000, depending on RQD, joint sets, joint
roughness, joint alteration, and water and stress

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CIVL4270 Geotechnical Investigation & Testing

Summary Course Notes

Professor David Williams

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• Consolidation: Is soil “elastic”, “plastic” or

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• Require validation/calibration by direct sampling

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• Employs high-frequency, resonant (sonic) energy

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SOIL SIZE (mm)

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RQD (% > 100 mm) VELOCITY INDEX ROCK MASS

• Refer to Tutorial Examples

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MAIN SOIL TYPES DETAILS PREFIX

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Plasticity Index, and dilatancy

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shear: (very large strain in clayey soils)

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Shear Stress, Normal

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With normal stress removed during reversals

Curved strength envelope

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Initially, 1= 3 = overburden stress

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Plastic failure (barrelling) Brittle failure (shear plane) Intermediate failure

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Curved strength envelope

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Shear vane Equivalent rotated cylinder of soil

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Difference is essentially boundary conditions

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