Objectives: To determine the unconfined compressive strength of a cohesive soil sample.

To relate reults to the properties and behavior of the soil sample. Standard Reference: ASTM D 2166 - Standard Test Method for Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cohesive Soil Significance: For soils, the undrained shear strength (su) is necessary for the determination of the bearing capacity of foundations, dams, etc. The undrained shear strength (su) of clays is commonly determined from an unconfined compression test. The undrained shear strength (su) of a cohesive soil is equal to one-half the unconfined compressive strength (qu) when the soil is under the f=0 condition (f=the angle of internal friction). The most critical condition for the soil usually occurs immediately after construction, which represents undrained conditions, when the undrained shear strength is basically equal to the cohesion. Equipments: 1 Unconfined Compressive Apparatus 1 Electric Balance 1 Vernier Caliper 1 Cutter Data and Results: (not yet official coz we dont understand the one the was uploaded. Hehe) Deformation Dial Rdg. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 42 Interpretation: ____ Graph: ____ Load Dial Rdg. 1 0 86 168 268 392 420 545 668 775 792 Load Dial Rdg. 3 0 58 89 120 151 187 220 248 265 Load Dial Rdg. 3 0 54 108 162 223 279 335 375 385

Conclusions: From the laboratory testing investigation on unconfined compressive strength of soil, the following concluding remarks are drawn. The unconfined compression test is a type of unconsolidated undrained test that is commonly used for clay specimens. In this test, the confining pressure is 0. An axial load is rapidly applied to the specimen to cause failure. At failure, the total load minor principal stress is zero. Moreover, in the experiment, the compressive strength of the soil sample was found out

to be ____. It was observed that the load dial continuously increases even after the failure. This indicates high cohesion of soil particles within the sample as well as the compactness of the sample. Recommendations: There are a number of sources of error in the unconfined compression test. One of the largest sources is the use of an unrepresentative sample of soil. The soil may be unrepresentative because it is not the same as, or perhaps even similar to the bulk of the soil found in the ground. The sample can also be unrepresentative if the sample is too short which causes significant end effects. End effects are caused by the top and bottom loading plates that grip the sample. They can increase the strength of a soil sample by preventing the formation of the weakest failure plane. If the sample is too long, we find that it tends to buckle. A length-to-width ratio of two to three is recommended to avoid this problem. PS: Just add the details if needed. :D