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Learning outcomes

Understand the assumptions and limitations of four


soil models: Coulomb, Mohr-Coulomb, Tresca and
Taylor.
Know how to select the appropriate soil model to
interpret soil test data.

Importance

All models make assumptions. You must understand these


assumptions to know the limitations of a selected model.
The response of soils depends on many factors including the
drainage condition, the history of loading and the stress path.
You must be able to select and use the appropriate model
that best represents the expected soil condition. Poor choice
and use could lead to misrepresentation and failure.

Key terms

Shear strength of a soil is the maximum internal resistance to applied shearing


forces.
Effective friction angle, , is a measure of the shear strength of soils due to friction.

Cementation, ccm, is a measure of the shear strength of a soil from forces that
cement the particles.
Soil tension, ct, is a measure of the apparent shear strength of a soil from soil suction
(negative pore-water pressures or capillary stresses).
Cohesion, co, is a measure of the intermolecular forces.

Key terms

Undrained shear strength, su, is the shear strength of a soil when sheared at constant
volume.
Apparent cohesion, C, is the apparent shear strength at zero normal effective stress.

Critical state is a stress state reached in a soil when continuous shearing occurs at
constant shear stress to normal effective stress ratio and constant volume.
Dilation is a measure of the change in volume of a soil when the soil is distorted by
shearing.

MODELS TO INTERPRET SHEAR STRENGTH

A soil model is an idealized


representation of the soil to
allow us to understand its
response to loading and other
external events.
A soil model should not be
expected to capture all the
intricacies of real soil behavior.
Each soil model may have a
different set of assumptions and
may only represent one or more
aspects of soil behavior.

Popular soil models


Coulomb
Mohr-Coulomb

Simple

Tresca

Some other soil models


Taylor

Critical

state

COULOMBS SOIL MODEL

Soils, in particular granular soils, are


endowed by nature with slip planes.
Each contact of one soil particle with
another is a potential micro-slip
plane.
Loadings can cause a number of
these micro slip planes to align in the
direction of least resistance.
Thus, we can speculate that a
possible mode of soil failure is slip
on a plane of least resistance.

COULOMBS SOIL MODEL FOR UNCEMENTED,SOILS


Soil fails by impending frictional sliding on a plane

LINEAR FAILURE ENVELOPE


Soils at critical state: = cs,
= p = 0
f (n ) f tan cs

CURVED FAILURE ENVELOPE

Soils at peak state: = p,


= p > 0

f (n ) f tan p (n ) f tan cs p

cs

is the dilation angle (a measure of the soils


ability to expand > increase in volume)

cs is a constant for a given soil and is a fundamental soil property; p is not a constant for a given soil
normal effective stress and the ability of the soil to dilate.

it depends on the

WHAT IS DILATANCY?

Dilation is not a peculiarity of soils,


but occurs in many other materials,
for example, rice and wheat.
The ancient traders of grains were
well aware of the phenomenon of
volume expansion of grains.
However, it was Osborne Reynolds
(1885) who described the
phenomenon of dilatancy and
brought it to the attention of the
scientific community..

Dilation can be seen in action at


a beach.

COULOMBS SOIL MODEL FOR CEMENTED SOILS


f ccm (n ) f tan o

ccm is the cementation strength and o


is the apparent friction angle.
Neither ccm nor o is a fundamental
soil parameter.
Adding the cementation strength to
the apparent frictional strength is
not strictly correct since they are not
mobilized at the same shear strains.

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ISSUES WITH AND USE OF THE COULOMBS MODEL

ISSUES

Coulombs model applies strictly


to two rigid bodies with a
common potential sliding plane.
It is a limiting force model (force
at impending frictional sliding )
It does not consider soil
deformation.
It is independent of the loading
history of the soil.

USE

It can be used for failures that occur


along a slip plane, such as a joint or
the interface of two soils or the
interface between a structure and a
soil.
Stratified soil deposits such as
overconsolidated varved clays
(regular layered soils that depict
seasonal variations in deposition) and
fissured clays are likely candidates
for failure following Coulombs
model, especially if the direction of
shearing is parallel to the direction of
the bedding plane.

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KEY POINTS REGARDING COULOMBS MODEL

f n

tan cs p ,

f ccm n

f tan o

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MOHRCOULOMB (MC) FAILURE CRITERION


Soil fails by frictional sliding on a plane of maximum
stress obliquity
MC failure criterion defines failure when the
maximum principal effective stress ratio,
(1 ) f
,
(3 ) f
called the maximum effective stress obliquity, is
achieved and not when the maximum shear stress
[(1 3 )/2]max
is achieved.

The failure shear stress is then less than the


maximum shear stress.

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MOHRCOULOMB (MC) FAILURE CRITERION

Friction angle
1 f 3 f
sin

OB
2

OA 1 f 3

(1 ) f (3 ) f
(1 ) (3 ) f

Inclination of failure plane to the


plane of the major principal
stress
45



2 4 2

Maximum shear stress


[(1 3 )/2]max

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MOHRCOULOMB (MC) FAILURE CRITERION

Failure stresses for uncemented


soils

(n ) f

1 3 1 3

sin
2
2

1 3
cos
2

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MC FAILURE CRITERION

Uncemented soils

at critical state

3
sincs = 1

1 3 cs

cs

1 3
cos cs
2

At peak state

3
sinp = 1

1 3 p

3
p = 1
cosp
2

MC FAILURE CRITERION

Unsaturated, cemented, cohesive


soils
sino

1 3
2C coto + 1 3

1
f = C tan o 1 1 sin o 3 1 sin o
2

Shear stress

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Normal effective
stress, n

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ISSUES WITH AND USE OF THE MC MODEL

ISSUES

MC model applies strictly to two rigid


bodies with a common potential sliding
plane.
It is a limiting stress model.
It does not consider soil deformation. Soil
deformation is important in real soils.
It is independent of the loading history of
the soil. The strength of real soils is
dependent on loading history.
The shear strength in compression and
extension is the same. Real soils show
different strengths in compression and
extension. Usually, the extension strength is
lower than the compressive strength.

USE

It can be used for long term


(drained condition) stability
calculations and to interpret
the long term strength of
overconsolidated finegrained and dense coarsegrained soils.

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KEY POINTS: MC FAILURE CRITERION

Coupling Mohrs circle with


Coulombs frictional law allows us
to define shear failure based on
the stress state of the soil.
Failure occurs, according to the
MohrCoulomb failure criterion,
when the soil reaches the
maximum principal effective
stress obliquity.

The maximum shear stress is not


the failure shear stress.
Information on the deformation
or the initial stress state of the
soil is not needed to interpret soil
strength using the MC failure
criterion.

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TRESCAS MODEL
Soil fails when the shear stress is one-half the principal stress difference

Trescas failure criterion is used to


interpret the undrained shear strength.
su

(1 ) f (3 ) f
2

(1 ) f (3 ) f
2

The shear strength under undrained


loading depends only on the initial void
ratio or the initial water content or initial
confining pressure.
An increase in initial normal effective
stress, sometimes called confining
pressure, causes a decrease in initial void
ratio and a larger change in excess
porewater pressure when a soil is
sheared under undrained condition.

The result is that the Mohrs circle of total


stress expands and the undrained shear
strength increases. Thus, su is not a
fundamental soil property.

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TRESCAS MODEL

The value of su depends on the


magnitude of the initial confining
pressure or the initial void ratio
(or initial water content).
Analyses of soil strength and soil
stability problems using su are
called total stress analyses (TSA).

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ISSUES WITH AND USE OF THE TRESCAS MODEL

ISSUES

It is a yield criterion for solid bodies that has


been adopted as a failure criterion for soils
(a deformable body).

It is a limiting stress criterion.

It does not consider soil deformation. Soil


deformation is important in real soils.

It is independent of the loading history of the


soil. The strength of real soils is dependent
on loading history.

Compression and expansion strength is the


same. Real soils show different strengths in
compression and in expansion

USE

Short term (undrained


condition) stability
calculations and to interpret
the undrained shear strength
of fine-grained soils.

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KEY POINTS TRESCAS FAILURE CRITERION

For a total stress analysis, which


applies to fine-grained soils, the
shear strength parameter is the
undrained shear strength, su.
Tresca failure criterion is used to
interpret the undrained shear
strength of fine grained soils

The undrained shear strength


depends on the initial void ratio
or initial water content or initial
confining pressure. It is not a
fundamental soil shear strength
parameter.
Information on the deformation
of the soil is not needed to
interpret soil strength using
Tresca failure criterion.

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TAYLORS FAILURE CRITERION


The shear strength comes from sliding friction and the interlocking of soil particles

Taylor (1948) used an


energy method to derive
a simple soil model.
He showed that the
shear strength of soil is
due to sliding friction
from shearing and the
interlocking of soil
particles.

Unlike Coulomb failure


criterion, Taylor failure
criterion does not require the
assumption of any physical
mechanism of failure, such as
a plane of sliding.
It can be applied at every
stage of loading for soils that
are homogeneous and deform
under plane strain conditions
similar to simple shear.

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TAYLORS FAILURE CRITERION: FORMULATION


The shear strength comes from sliding friction and the interlocking of soil particles
Equilibrium:

d f z d z d z

Simplification:
d

f z
z
d

Critical state:

d z
0.
d

f tan cs ; tan cs
z
cs

Peak:

tan cs tan p
z
p

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ISSUES WITH AND USE OF THE TAYLORS MODEL


ISSUES

Applies to two-dimensional stress systems.

An extension of Taylor failure criterion


to account for three-dimensional stress is
presented in Chapter 11.

Neither Taylor nor Coulomb failure


criterion explicitly considers the rotation of
the soil particles during shearing.
Gives a higher peak dilation angle than
Coulomb failure criterion.

USE

Long term stability


calculations of homogeneous
soils.

Cannot be applied to soils


that fail along a joint or an
interface between two soils.

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DIFFERENCES AMONG THE THREE POPULAR FAILURE CRITERIA


Name
Coulomb

Failure criteria
Failure occurs by
impending, frictional
sliding on a slip plane.

Mohr
Coulomb

Failure occurs by
Rigid, frictional
impending, frictional
material
sliding on the plane of
maximum principal
effective stress obliquity.

Tresca

Failure occurs when one- Homogeneous solid Short term (undrained


Triaxial
half the maximum
condition) strength of fineprincipal stress
grained soils
difference is achieved.

* will discuss later

Soil treated as
Rigid, frictional
material

Best used for


Layered or fissured
overconsolidated soils or a
soil where a prefailure
plane exists

Test data
interpretation*
Direct shear

Long term (drained


Triaxial
condition) strength of
overconsolidated finegrained and dense coarsegrained soils

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SUMMARY OF EQUATIONS FOR THE THREE POPULAR FAILURE CRITERIA


Name
Coulomb

Peak
p (n ) f tan (cs p ) ( n ) f tan p

Critical state
cs (n ) f tan cs

unsaturated, cemented soils: f C (n ) f tan o


C co ct ccm

MohrCoulomb

3
sin p 1

1 3 p
(3 ) p 1 sin p

tan 2 45 p
(1 ) p 1 sin p
2

1 3
Cemented soils: sino
2C coto + 1 3

3
sin cs 1

1 3 cs
(3 )cs 1 sin cs

tan 2 45 cs

(1 )cs 1 sin cs
2

C co ct ccm
Inclination of the failure plane to the plane on which
the major principal effective stress acts.
Inclination of the failure plane to the plane

on which the major principal effective stress

p
p =45o +

2
acts. cs 45o cs
2

Tresca

( su ) p

1 3 p
2

( su )cs

1 3 cs
2

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RANGES OF FRICTION ANGLES AND DILATION ANGLES FOR SOILS


Ranges of Friction Angles for Soils (degrees)
r
p
cs
Soil type
Gravel
3035
3550
Mixtures of gravel and
sand with fine-grained
soils
2833
3040
Sand
2737* 3250
Silt or silty sand
2432
2735
Clays
1530
2030
515
*Higher values (3237) in the range are for sands
with significant amount of feldspar (Bolton, 1986).
Lower values (2732) in the range are for quartz
sands.

Typical Ranges of Dilation Angles for Soils


Soil type
p
(degrees)
Dense sand
1015
Loose sand
<10
Normally consolidated clay
0

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TYPICAL VALUES OF SU FOR SATURATED FINE-GRAINED SOILS


Description
Very soft
Soft
Medium stiff
Stiff
Very stiff
Extremely stiff

su (kPa(

su (psf)

< 10
10-25
25 50
50 100
100 200
> 200

<200
200 - 500
500 - 1000
1000 - 2000
2000 - 4000
> 4000

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Quiz 1
Which failure criterion (model) is best suited to analyze
the potential failure of the soil mass shown?
1.
2.

3.
4.

Mohr-Coulomb
Coulomb
Tresca
None of the above

Dense sand

Loose silty sand

Stiff overconsolidated clay

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Quiz 2
The critical state friction angle of a soil is 30 degrees.
If the normal effective stress imposed by a building is
100 kPa, the shear stress (kPa) to cause failure is most
nearly
1.
2.
3.
4.

86.6
100
50
57.7

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Quiz 3
The critical state friction angle of a soil is 30 degrees.
The ratio of the major principal effective stress to the
minor principal effective stress to cause failure is most
nearly
1.
2.
3.
4.

0.5
1
2
3

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PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF FAILURE CRITERIA

Region I. Impossible soil


states. A soil cannot have soil
states above the boundary
AEFB.

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PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF FAILURE CRITERIA

Region II. Impending instability (risky


design).

Region AEFA is characteristic of dilating


soils that show peak shear strength and
are associated with the formation of
shear bands. The shear bands consist of
soils that have reached the critical state
and are embedded within soil zones with
high interlocking stresses due to particle
rearrangement. These shear bands grow
as the peak shear strength is mobilized
and as the soil strain-softens subsequent
to the critical state.

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PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF FAILURE CRITERIA

Region III. Stable soil states (safe


design).

One of your aims as a geotechnical


engineer is to design geotechnical
systems on the basis that if the failure
state were to occur, the soil would not
collapse suddenly but would
continuously deform under constant
load. This is called ductility. Soil states
that are below the failure line or
failure envelope AB would lead to
safe design. Soil states on AB are
failure (critical) states

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KEY POINTS

There are several failure


criteria for soils.
Each criterion has application
to certain soil conditions.
The three popular failure
criteria (Coulomb, MohrCoulomb and Tresca) assume
that soil is a rigid-plastic
material with no deformation
prior to failure.

The Coulomb and MohrCoulomb failure criteria are


applicable to estimate long
term failure.
The Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion also assume that
failure shear strength of soil in
compression and extension is
the same. In reality, the shear
strength at failure in extension
is less than in compression.

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KEY POINTS

Soil states above the peak shear


strength boundary are
impossible.
Soil states within the peak shear
strength boundary and the
failure line (critical state) are
associ-ated with brittle,
discontinuous soil responses and
risky design.
Soil states below the failure line
lead to ductile responses and are
safe.

You should not rely on p in


geotechnical design, because the
amount of dilation one measures
in laboratory or field tests may
not be mobilized by the soil
under construction loads. You
should use cs unless experience
dictates otherwise.
A higher factor of safety is
warranted if p rather than cs is
used in design.

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KEY POINTS

The undrained shear strength, su, applies only to


fine-grained soils.
The undrained shear strength is not a
fundamental soil parameter.
The undrained shear strength depends on the
initial void ratio or initial confining pressure
(consolidation pressure).

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