Mix & Match of

Undrained Shear
Evaluation of Strengths
Undrained Shear Strength from different
tests
from In-Situ Tests

Paul W. Mayne Pentre, UK Site

Georgia Institute of Technology (Lambson, et al.
1996, Large Scale
Pile Tests in Clay,
Thomas Telford)

Classical Methods for su in Clays & Silts

Undrained
Shear
Strength
(c = cu = su)

Undrained Strength
Anisotropy and Effects
of Strain Rate, Boundary
Conditions, and Initial
Stress State

Undrained Shear Strength

Undrained Shear Strength of Clays
Classical interpretation from CPT in clays:
Theoretical formulation from critical-state soil
undrained shear strength = cu = su
mechanics for intact clays (Cambridge Univ.):

q t vo su/voDSS = sin'OCR
su =
N kt where 1 - Cs/Cc
Experimental work by MIT with simple shear
Which su ? Nk = 15 device:
HC CIUC PSC CK0UC DSC DSS DS PSE CK0UC CIUE UU UC su/voDSS = 0.23 OCR0.8

Low OCRs (assume = 28o): suDSS 0.2 p

1
 Undrained Shear Strength from Stress History
NC Normalized DSS Undrained Strength
0.4

su/vo'NC (DSS) = sin'

0.3
Intact Clays
su/vo' NC (DSS)

Independently
0.2 obtained by
Bothkennar Mexico City experiments
Amherst AGS Plastic
Hackensack
James Bay
Onsoy
Rissa
(SHANSEP)
0.1 Porto Tolle
Boston Blue
Portsmouth
San Francisco
And theory
Silty Holocene
Wroth (1984)
Cowden
(CSSM)
0.0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
sin'

Shear-Induced Porewater Pressures OC Normalized DSS Undrained Strength

10 Drammen
DSS Undrained Strength, su/vo'

Portsmouth
Portland
Maine
' = 40o Boston Blue
Silty Holocene
Intact 30o Haga
Upper Chek Lok
20o Lower Chek Lok
1
Bangkok
Fissured Atchafalaya
Conn Valley
Paria
Hackensack
su/vo' = sin' OCR McManus
Cowden
Note: = 0.8 Brent Cross
0.1 20
30
1 10 100
40
Overconsolidation Ratio, OCR Fissured 20

Strength Anisotropy Strength Anisotropy

2
 Undrained Strength Anisotropy Undrained Strength Anisotropy
Wroth-Prevost Constitutive Model
0.6
NC Undrained Shear Strength Ratio

CIUC
0.5
KoPSC
0.4
CKoUC
0.3
SS
0.2
DSS
0.1
KoPSE
0
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 CKoUE
Effective Stress Friction Angle (deg)
(Jamiolkowski, et al. 1985; Ladd, 1991)

Undrained Strength by SHANSEP Undrained Strength by SHANSEP

(Koutsoftas
and Ladd,
(Ladd &
1985)
Foott, 1974)

(Ladd, 1991)

Troll Investigation, North Sea Troll Investigation, North Sea

Piezocone Readings (kPa)
Nm = Q (a' = 0) Bq ' (deg)
0 500 1000 1500
0 5 10 15 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 20 25 30 35 40 45
0
0 0 0
Troll, North Sea
5 Amundsen et al (1985)
5 5 5
qt (tip stress) Lab TX
Depth (meters)

10
u2 (shoulder)
Depth (meters)

10 10 10

uo (hydrostatic)
15
15 15 15

20
20 20 20
CPTu

25 25 25 25

30 30 30 30

3
 Troll Investigation, North Sea Troll Site, North Sea (NGI, 1989)

Troll, North Sea

Preconsolidation Stress, p' (kPa) Preconsolidation Stress, p' (kPa)
Overconsolidation Ratio, OCR
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500

0 0 0

qtnet Delta u2
Oed.1985 Oed.1985
5 5 Oed.1989
5 Oed.1989
svo' svo'
Depth (meters)

10

Depth (meters)
CPTu2 10 10

15 Oed.1985
Oed.1989
15
15
20

25
Amundsen et al. (1985) 20
20
' = 29o = 0.85
30
25
25

Troll Site, North Sea (NGI, 1989) Triaxial CKoUC -Troll, North Sea

Preconsolidation Stress, p' (kPa) Troll, North Sea

0 100 200 300 400 500
Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0
0
SCE-CSSM NGI (1989)
5 Oed.1985 5
Oed.1989
svo'
Depth (meters)
Depth (meters)

10 10

15
15
CPTu2
20 TC 1984
20 TC 1987
25 TC 1988
TC 1989
25
30

DSS Strengths - Troll, North Sea Triaxial CKoUE -Troll, North Sea

Troll, North Sea Troll, North Sea

Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa) Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0 0

NGI (1989) NGI (1989)

5 5
CPTu2
TE 1984
Depth (meters)
Depth (meters)

10 10
TE 1987
15 15
TE 1988
CPTu2 TE 1989
20 DSS 1984 20
DSS 1987
25 DSS 1988 25
DSS 1989
30 30

4
 Troll Investigation, North Sea Anchorage, Alaska

(Jamiolkowski, et al. 1985, ICSMFE)

(Ladd, 1991, Terzaghi Lecture, JGE)

Summary POA Undrained Shear Strengths POA Summary: Triaxial Effective Stress Paths
CIUC Triaxial and DSS Tests

10
POA Triaxial Summary OC Envelope
0.77
Triaxial: su/vo' = 0.33 OCR 400
TB 9 (138 ft)
TP11 (155 ft)
Shear Stress, q = (1 - 3)/2 kPa

Overconsolidated TB15 (109 ft)

Strength Ratio, su/vo'

Effective Strength Envelope TB15 (124 ft)

300
' = 27o TB15 (149 ft)
TB25 (69 ft)
c' = 20 kPa TB25 (90 ft)
TB25 (190 ft)
1
200 TB28 (95 ft)
TB31 (126 ft)
TB31 (126 ft)
TB31 (126 ft)
100
0.70
Simple Shear: su/vo' = 0.23 OCR TB39 (115 ft)
TB39 (160 ft)
TB47 (120 ft)
0 TB49 (100 ft)

0.1 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 TB49 (115 ft)

1 10 100 Effective Stress, p' = (1'+3')/2 kPa TB56 (115 ft)

Overconsolidation Ratio, OCR

Summary POA Undrained Shear Strengths

POA Summary: Triaxial Effective Stress Paths
CIUC Triaxial and DSS Tests

POA Triaxial Summary OC Envelope 10

TB 9 (138 ft) Critical State Soil Mechanics
400
TP11 (155 ft) (Modified Cam Clay)
Shear Stress, q = (1 - 3)/2 kPa

o
Normally-Consolidated TB15 (109 ft) ' = 27
Effective Strength Envelope TB15 (124 ft) = 0.75
Strength Ratio, su/vo'

300
' = 27o
TB15 (149 ft)
TB25 (69 ft)
c' = 0 TB25 (90 ft)
TB25 (190 ft)
200 TB28 (95 ft) 1
TB31 (126 ft)
TB31 (126 ft)
DSS Data
TB31 (126 ft)
100
TB39 (115 ft) CIUC Data
TB39 (160 ft) MCC Pred CIUC
TB47 (120 ft)
MCC Pred DSS
0 TB49 (100 ft)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 TB49 (115 ft)
TB56 (115 ft)
0.1
Effective Stress, p' = (1'+3')/2 kPa
1 10 100
Overconsolidation Ratio, OCR

5
 Undrained Shear Strength Anisotropy Undrained Strength Anisotropy

Wroth-Prevost Constitutive Soil Model

0.6 CIUC

NC Strength Ratio, s u/vo'

TC 0.5 KoPSC
TE PSC DSS
PSE POA Bootlegger
0.4 Cove Clay CKoUC
DSS
0.3 SS
Trial & Error Solution
Deterministic Solution
Using Limit Equilibrium 0.2 DSS
Using Limit Plasticity

0.1 KoPSE

0 CKoUE
Stability Analyses on Clays 20 25 30 35 40 45
Effective Stress Friction Angle, ' (deg)

Undrained Strength Anisotropy POA In-Situ and Lab Undrained Strengths

(Jamiolkowski, et al., ICSMFE, 1985) Piezocone Sounding C-28 (TB-33A)

Undrained Shear Strength, su (kPa)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
10
Lab DSS Data

15 Lab Triaxial Data

Soft
Vane Shear
Elevation (meters)

Silt
20 Mudline TC from CPTu
DSS from CPTu
25
Upper
Bootlegger
30 Cove Clay

35 Lower
Bootlegger
40 Cove Clay

45

Port of Anchorage SCPT Undrained Shear Strength of Clays

Tip Stress, qt (MPa) Friction, fs (kPa) Porewater, ub (MPa) Dissipation,t50 (min) Shear Wave, Vs (m/s) Theoretical formulation from critical-state soil
mechanics for intact clays (Cambridge Univ.):
0 1 2 3 4 0 50 100 150 0 1 2 3 1 10 100 0 100 200 300 400 500
10
Mudline

15
su/voDSS = sin'OCR
20

where 1 - Cs/Cc
Depth (meters)

25
Experimental work by MIT with simple shear
30 device:
su/voDSS = 0.23 OCR0.8
35

Low OCRs (assume = 28o): suDSS 0.2 p

40

45