Civil Engineering Laboratory

School of Engineering and Technology, CQU

DIRECT SHEAR TEST (DST)

1. Background

DST is the one of the most fundamental tests in geotechnical engineering. Direct shear test is
also known as the shear box test because we use a box to perform the test. The test is useful
when a soil mass is likely to fail along a thin zone under plain strain conditions. By plain
strain we mean that the strain in the third direction is assumed to be zero. In many situations
the soil-structure interaction can be idealised as plain strain. For instance, take a look at the
retaining wall below, the displacement that is likely to occur in the third Y direction is very
small. This results in very small strains (almost zero) in the Y direction as the length of the
retaining wall is very large in the Y direction as well. Similar situation arises for a strip
footing (length of a strip footing is usually more than five times its width), and slope failures
in soil.

Figure 1. Plain strain conditions behind a retaining wall (left); failure plane of soil behind the
wall (DS stands for direct shear and DSS stands for direct simple shear)
Figure 2 shows a schematic of the test.
 Figure 2. Illustration of the direct shear test

The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion suggests that the shear strength (τ-tau) of a granular soil
(i.e. sand) with no cohesion is:

   ' tan 
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………… (1)

We can see from the above equation that the shear strength of the soil is dependent on the
normal effective stress σ' and friction angle φ (phi).

In this test we will find the friction angle of a sand for an applied normal effective stress.
Therefore, we will be able to predict the shear strength of our sand.

At this stage are you able to guess why this test is called direct shear? What is so direct about
it?

The shear box is designed such that one part of the box can move with respect to the other,
therefore applying shear force to the sample. The plane of failure is predefined (it is at the
interface of the two parts) as shown above in Figure 2 with a dashed line.

2. Material

We will need dry sand for this test. We will perform a total of 6 tests. For each test we will
need around 250 grams of sand.

3. Equipment
Figure 3 shows the DST equipment that we have at CQU. The following equipment/tools are
required for the test:

 Direct Shear Machine with Shear box accessories

 Plastic funnel
 Electronic Scales

 Vernier callipers

 Compacting block

 Tamping rod

 Grid plates

 Spatula or straight edge to level the sand

Vertical displacement transducer

Horizontal displacement transducer

Load cell measuring horizontal force

Figure 3. Direct shear apparatus at CQU (left); Shear box and accessories (right)

4. Sample Preparation
Loose samples
1. Measure the depth of the shear box.
2. Weigh out about 250 gm of sand, record the exact weight of the sand taken.
3. After placing the base plate with serration facing up, pour the sand gently into the shear box
using a funnel to produce a loose sample.
4. Using a spatula, level the sand surface to obtain a sample depth of approximately 25 mm.
5. Weigh the unused sand, using a callipers measure the depth to the sand surface from the top
of the box and calculate the initial density (mass of sand in the box divided by its volume).
6. Place the other base plate on top (serration facing down) and put the loading plate on top.

Dense samples
1. Weigh out about 250 gm of sand, record the exact weight of the sand taken.
2. After placing the base plate with serration facing up, pour sand into the shear box using a
funnel and roughly level the surface to obtain a sample thickness of approximately 30 mm
and then place the top platen on top of the soil.
3. Using a tamper or pneumatic hammer (depending on availability), apply vibration to the soil
until no further reduction of sample height is detected. This vibration allows a dense sample
to be created.
4. Remove the platen and measure the depth to the sand surface. Calculate the initial density as
before (this density is higher than before, simply because we have more sand in now but the
volume is the same).
5. Place the other base plate on top (serration facing down) and put the loading plate on top.

6. Test procedure

Once the sample is prepared, place the shear box into the compartment for testing. Look out
for the cut grooves on the box to dictate proper placing of the box inside the compartment.
Make sure that the vertical and horizontal linear transducers are connected to the screws
correctly. In the tests the vertical pressure is controlled by air pressure. Make sure the air
supply tubes are correctly connected at the back of the equipment and the supply is turned on.
We are testing dry sand, therefore there is no need to add water.

The rate of shear is to be set at 1 mm/min. Terminate the test after a shear displacement of
about 10 mm. The data is stored automatically. At the end of the test, use your USB drive to
collect the data. Do not forget to remove the screws before you start the shearing phase.
Otherwise, we shear the screws and damage them!

7. Data sheet

We are going to perform six tests. Three for dense sand and three for loose sand. The normal
stress will be set at 25, 50 and 100 kPa for both dense and loose sand tests. The following
data will be recorded for each test.

Dense sand Loose sand

1 2 3 1 2 3
Mass of
sand (g)
Sample
height
(mm)
Sample
volume
(mm3)
 Initial dry
density
(kg/m3)
Vertical 25 50 100 25 50 100
stress
(kPa)

Test recordings:

Time (mins) Horizontal Vertical Horizontal Normal

displacement displacement (mm) force (N) stress
(mm) (kPa)

10

Reports:

Your report should address the following:

In your own words describe the procedure you have followed in bullet points and in no more
than one page. Plot the following graphs and discuss the trends that you see for dense and
loose sands.

1. Plot of horizontal force/shear force vs horizontal displacement for all tests in three
subplots (each subplot with two curves, dense and loose sand at the same stress level).
2. Plot of horizontal stress/shear stress vs horizontal displacement for all tests in three
subplots (each subplot with two curves, dense and loose sand at the same stress level)
3. Plot of vertical displacement vs horizontal displacement for all tests in two plots (one plot
for dense sand and the other for loose sand)
4. Plot of shear stress vs normal stress for all tests in in three subplots (each subplot with
two curves, dense and loose sand at the same stress level)
5. From the above plots of shear stress vs normal stress identify the peak friction and
constant volume friction angle by plotting linear trend lines of all the test data (best fit
lines through the origin).
6. From the plot of vertical displacement vs horizontal displacement find the peak dilation
angles for dense sand under three different stress levels (25, 50 and 100 kPa). Do you
observe a change in dilation angle with stress level?

Clearly label your graphs, use markers and different line types and provide legend for the
graphs with appropriate caption. Provide axes titles with correct units in brackets and symbol.
Provide meaning of the symbol in the title; for instance, Shear Stress, τ (kPa).

Australian Standards/References:

Please review AS 1289.6.2.2-1998 obtained from our library and gain a better understanding
of the test before entering the lab.