TREVI FOUNDATIONS GEOTECHNICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, AKURE

LABORATORY TEST EXPERIMENT PROCEDURES (TRIAXIAL TESTS)

GENERAL

FILLING THE RESERVOIR

Ensure that all valves are locked, except the water supply and vacuum release valves a. Put on the compressor pump and raise the black valve at the centre of the pump b. Open the valve outlet on the pump to let air into the gauge c. Open up all the valves to allow the air into the water keg and into the reservoir.

DE-AIRING THE WATER IN THE RESERVOIR

Ensure that all the valves are closed except the vacuum supply valve a. b. c. d. e. Put on the vacuum pump and release the black valve on top of it Run till satisfied that there are no more air bubbles rising within the reservoir Close the valve on top of the vacuum pump Close vacuum supply Open the vacuum release valve to release the pressure within the reservoir

FILLING THE AIR- WATER BLADDERS

Note: fill one bladder at a time, always start from cell pressure AIR a. Open air valve leading to bladder b. Close air valve when bladder stands erect, do not rotate the air knob WATER a. b. c. d. e. Open water inlet from reservoir Open deaired water inlet valve on panel Open water valves leading to bladder, do not open valve leading to cell (chamber) Open vent at the top of the air water bladder When it is filled, close the vent and close all the valves

UNCONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL TEST

A. B. C. D. Prepare Sample as specified in General. Setup sample inside Triaxial Cell as specified in General. Setup Air-Water Bladder as specified in General. Filling up the Triaxial chamber (Cell). a. Open De-aired water inlet valve to allow water into the system. b. Open valve B and C c. Switch volume change apparatus to By Pass. d. Open CP valve at the bottom of the cell. e. Open vent at the top of the cell to allow air to escape. f. Wait until water fills the chamber and displaces all the air in the cell. g. Close the vent at the top of the cell and all preceding water valves.

E. Applying pressure to the cell a. Using valve A, turn the knob clockwise to increase the pressure to the calculated overburden pressure by checking the pressure on the pressure transducer. Overburden Pressure = gh Bulk Density = Mass/Volume Mass Weight of sample Volume volume of mould h depth at which sample was recovered g - Acceleration due to gravity = 9.80665 m/s2 b. Open the valve to transfer the pressure into the cell chamber Check the pressure transducer to see if the pressure is still the same, if not increase to desired pressure. F. Applying pressure to the sample a. Setup the machine and set strain to 0.05mm/min. b. Setup the Datacomm software and activate channels 1, 6 and 9 to take readings c. Zero all transducer readings and set delay to 5secs. d. In time begin test to match up after software has begun to record (say about 2 secs after). e. Continue test up to 1 minute after failure of soil sample, reduction in the axial load or constant axial load corresponds to a failure state of sample.

G. Post test a. Open cell pressure valve and air release valves to drain off excess pressure b. Dissemble cell quickly c. Take out test sample and remove rubber membrane with the help of membrane stretcher d. Weigh the soil sample e. Sketch failure shape and failure plane in tested soil sample f. Take out soil from centre of the sample for water content determination

CONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST

A. B. C. D. E. Prepare the sample as specified in General. Setup sample in triaxial cell as specified in General. Setup air water bladder as specified in general. Setup the Volume Change apparatus as specified in General. Filling Up the Triaxial Cell a. Open the de-aired water inlet valve to allow water into the system b. Open Valves B and C c. Switch the volume change apparatus to by pass d. Open Valve Cp at the base of the cell chamber e. Open all the vents at the top of the chamber f. Wait until water fills the cell and displaces all the air in the air g. Close up all the vents and all valves h. Zero and measure the initial steady pore pressure of the specimen at this point by monitoring the pore pressure reading via the datacomm software i. F. Applying cell pressure ( To prevent swelling of the specimen when saturating) a. Ensure that the compressor pump is on b. Open valves A,B, C, and D c. Put on the pressure transducer at the top of the panel d. Using the pressure knob A, by turning clockwise increase the pressure to desired level e. Open the valve CP to transfer the pressure into the chamber f. Keep valve CP, A, C, and D open, close valve B g. Measure the steady pore pressure within the specimen at this point by monitoring the pore pressure reading via the datacomm software h. G. Applying Back Pressure (Saturation Stage) a. Open Valves A, B, C, and D b. Using pressure knob A, turn clockwise to increase pressure to the desired level ( ensure you keep a differential pressure between 5 10 % depending on the specimen type), by monitoring the pressure transducer c. Open valve BP at the base of the cell to transfer the pressure to the specimen d. Keep valve BP, A, C, and D open, close valve B H. % Saturation ( Skepton Value) Determination a. Measure the steady pore pressure within the specimen by monitoring the pore pressure reading via the datacomm software b. Increase the Cell pressure by a differential ( anything above 30kpa) c. Measure the steady pore pressure within the specimen by monitoring the pore pressure reading via the datacomm software d. Determine the skepton value by calculating

If saturation is not satisfactory ( within 0.95 0.99), increase back pressure to a differential of between 5- 10kpa Ensure that at least 95% saturation is achieved or when there is no more saturation, stop saturation. I. e. Close all unneeded valves Consolidation a. Close all valves b. Open valves A, B, C, and D c. Increase pressure to equal the addition of the overburden pressure of the soil at natural depth + current back pressure Consolidation Pressure = Calculated Overburden Pressure + Back Pressure

Transfer the pressure to the cell by opening the valve CP at the base of the cell chamber. Setup the volume change apparatus and switch it to measure volume change Measure the initial reading of the volume change apparatus Open valve BP at the base of the cell to allow excess drainage from the specimen into the volume change apparatus h. Leave the setup to consolidate for 24 hours and take readings as usual for consolidation test J. Compression (Shearing Stage) a. Only the valves leading to CP and the Pore pressure transducer valves should be left open b. Setup the Tritest machine and datacomm software to begin shearing of the specimen c. Take deformation and pore pressure readings until he sample fails K. Post test a. Open cell pressure valve and air release valves to drain off excess pressure b. Dissemble cell quickly c. Take out test sample and remove rubber membrane with the help of membrane stretcher d. Weigh the soil sample e. Sketch failure shape and failure plane in tested soil sample f. Take out soil from centre of the sample for water content determination

d. e. f. g.