SHEAR STRENGTH

1. Principle of effective stress

2. Measurement of strength parameters
3. Strength tests based on drainage conditions
4. Skempton’s pore pressure coefficients
5. Stress paths
6. Shear strength of cohesionless soils
7. Strength and deformation behavior
8. Dilatancy
9. Critical void ratio
10. Liquefaction of soils
11. Shear strength of saturated cohesive soils
12. Triaxial testing
13. Normally and over consolidated clays.

CONSOLIDATION
1. Mechanism of consolidation: The compression of a saturated soil under a steady static
pressure is known as consolidation. It is entirely due to expulsion of water from the voids.

According to Terzaghi (1943), “a decrease of water content of a saturated soil without

replacement of the water by air is called a process of consolidation.” When saturated
clayey soils—which have a low coefficient of permeability—are subjected to a
compressive stress due to a foundation loading, the pore water pressure will immediately
increase; however, because of the low permeability of the soil, there will be a time lag
between the application of load and the extrusion of the pore water and, thus, the
settlement. This phenomenon, which is called consolidation

2. Primary consolidation:
3. Stress history
4. Pre-consolidation pressure
5. Terzaghi’s one-dimensional consolidation theory and equation
6. Solution by Fourier series and finite difference methods
7. Determination of coefficient of consolidation
8. U versus T relationship for different forms of initial excess pore water pressure
distribution
9. Degree of consolidation under time-dependent loading
10. secondary compression.

PERMIABILITY AND SEEPAGE

1. Darcy’s law
2. Validity of Darcy’s Law
 3. Coefficient of Permeability in the Field
4. Equation of Continuity
5. Use of Continuity Equation for Solution of Simple flow problems
6. Flow nets
7. Hydraulic uplift force under structure
8. Flow nets in anisotropic material
9. Construction of flow nets for hydraulic structures on non-homogeneous sub soils
10. Directional variation of permeability in anisotropic medium
11. Seepage through earth dams
12. Entrance, discharge and transfer condition of line of seepage through earth dams
13. Flow net construction for earth dams – filter design.

EFFECTIVE STRESSES
So far, the discussion has been based on consideration of total stresses. It is to be noted that the
strength and deformation characteristics of a soil can be understood better by visualizing it as a
compressible skeleton of solid particles enclosing voids. The voids may completely be filled with
water or partly with water and air. Shear stresses are to be carried only by the skeleton of solid
particles. However, the total normal stresses on any plane are, in general, the sum of two
components.
Total normal stress = component of stress carried by solid particles + pressure in the fluid in the
void space.
This visualization of the distribution of stresses between solid and fluid has two important
consequences:
1. When a specimen of soil is subjected to external pressure, the volume change of the specimen
is not due to the total normal stress but due to the difference between the total normal stress
and the pressure of the fluid in the void space. The pressure in the fluid is the pore pressure u.
The difference which is called the effective stress d may now be expressed as
σ’ = σ-u (Equation 1)
2. The shear strength of soils, as of all granular materials, is largely determined by the frictional
forces arising during slip at the contacts between the soil particles. These are clearly a function
of the component of normal stress carried by the solid skeleton rather than of the total normal
stress. For practical purposes the shear strength equation of Coulomb is given by the expression
s = c' + (σ - u) tan φ' = c' + σ' tan φ ' (Equation 2)

where c'= apparent cohesion in terms of effective stresses

 φ' = angle of shearing resistance in terms of effective stresses
σ = total normal pressure to the plane considered
u = pore pressure.
The effective stress parameters c' and φ' of a given sample of soil may be determined provided
the pore pressure u developed during the shear test is measured. The pore pressure u is
developed when the testing of the soil is done under undrained conditions. However, if free
drainage takes place during testing, there will not be any development of pore pressure. In such
cases, the total stresses themselves are effective stresses.