Analysis of simple shear tests with cell pressure confinement
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Carraro, JAH
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The high cost of offshore infrastructure provides continuous encouragement for optimisation of design practices. Development of a more rational method to interpret results from simple shear tests with cell pressure confinement can reduce costs and improve reliability of offshore infrastructure. This paper addresses a commonly overlooked issue affecting design parameter selection: specimen shape varies from right cylinder to oblique cylinder after loading along a single shearing direction. Thus, horizontal stresses are not always equal to the cell pressure and their magnitude varies throughout the specimen’s lateral surface. An analysis is proposed that accounts for changing specimen geometry and lateral surface area during shearing and for the actual effect of cell pressure during testing. The analysis also describes how the intermediate principal stress can be assessed. Test results for medium dense silica sand are interpreted following de Josselin de Jong’s alternative shearing mechanism hypothesis. Conventional interpretation methods yield conservative design parameters for this soil. Failure states develop when the intermediate principal effective stress is halfway between major and minor principal effective stresses. Typical results for the soil tested show equipment performance meets standard direct simple shear requirements for shear strain rate, vertical stress and specimen height control.
Date Issued
2017-01-01
Date Acceptance
2016-05-16
Citation
Geomechanics and Geoengineering: an international journal, 2017, 12 (3), pp.169-180
ISSN
1748-6025
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Start Page
169
End Page
180
Journal / Book Title
Geomechanics and Geoengineering: an international journal
Volume
12
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Geomechanics and Geoengineering on (14 June 2016) available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17486025.2016.1193635
Identifier
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17486025.2016.1193635
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Geological
Engineering
laboratory test
plane strain
intermediate principal stress
principal stress rotation
offshore sediments
STRENGTH
SOILS
SANDS
Geological & Geomatics Engineering
0499 Other Earth Sciences
0503 Soil Sciences
0905 Civil Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2016-06-14