WorksheetsSoil Shear Stress
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 5mins
What is the primary source of shear strength in granular soils like sand?
Cohesion between particles
Electrostatic attraction
Frictional resistance between particles
Cementation
In the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, what does the term 'c' represent?
Pore water pressure
Angle of internal friction
Cohesion between particles
Normal stress
Which test is suitable for determining the shear strength of soft clay in the field?
Direct shear test
Triaxial compression test
Vane shear test
Unconfined compression test
What happens when a Mohr circle touches the Mohr-Coulomb envelope?
Soil reaches elastic limit
Soil fails in shear
Pore pressure dissipates
Soil consolidates
Which triaxial test condition allows drainage during both confining pressure and deviator stress application?
Unconsolidated Undrained (UU)
Consolidated Undrained (CU)
Consolidated Drained (CD)
Quick Undrained (QU)
For a normally consolidated clay, what is the expected cohesion value (c') in effective stress terms?
c' > 0
c' = 0
c' < 0
c' = Φ
What is the purpose of the correction factor (λ) in vane shear test results?
To account for soil plasticity
To reduce deviator stress
To increase pore pressure
To measure cohesion
Which stress is ignored in conventional Mohr-Coulomb analysis?
Major principal stress (σ₁)
Minor principal stress (σ₃)
Intermediate stress (σ₂)
Pore water pressure (u)
In a direct shear test, what is plotted to determine the shear strength parameters?
τ vs. σ' (shear stress vs. effective normal stress)
σ₁ vs. σ₃
Pore pressure vs. time
Volume change vs. strain
What does a φ = 0 condition imply in an unconsolidated undrained (UU) triaxial test?
Soil has high friction
Shear strength depends only on cohesion
Pore pressure is zero
Soil is granular
