INTRODUCTION

The triaxial test is carried out in a cell and is so named because three principal stresses
are applied to the soil sample. Two of the principal stresses are applied to the sample by a
water pressure inside the confining cell and are equal. The third principal stress is applied by
a loading ram through the top of the cell and therefore may be different to the other two
principal stresses. A diagram of a typical triaxial cell is shown below.



A cylindrical soil specimen as shown is placed inside a latex rubber sheath which is sealed to a
top cap and bottom pedestal by rubber O-rings. For drained tests, or undrained tests with pore
pressure measurement, porous disks are placed at the bottom, and sometimes at the top of the
specimen. For tests where consolidation of the specimen is to be carried out, filter paper drains
may be provided around the outside of the specimen in order to speed up the consolidation
process.
Pore pressure generated inside the specimen during testing may be measured by means
of pressure transducers. These transducers must operate with a very small volume change, since
fluid flowing out of the specimen would cause the pore water pressure that was being measured
to drop.

Stresses


From vertical equilibrium we have o o
a r
F
A
= +
The term F/A is known as the deviator stress, and is usually given the symbol q. Hence we can
write q =
a
-
r
=
1
-
3
(The axial and radial stresses are principal stresses)

If q = 0 increasing cell pressure will result in:
- volumetric compression if the soil is free to drain. The effective stresses will increase and
so will the strength
- increasing pore water pressure if soil volume is constant (that is, undrained).
- Increasing q is required to cause failure.





o
r
o
r
= Radial stress (cell
pressure)
o
a
= Axial stress
F = Deviator load
o
r
u
Strains
From the measurements of change in height, dh, and change in volume dV we can determine:
- Axial strain
a
= -dh/h
0

- Volume strain
v
= -dV/V
0


where h
0
is the initial height, and V
0
the initial volume. The conventional small strain
assumption is generally used.
It is assumed that the sample deforms as a right circular cylinder. The cross-sectional
area, A, can then be determined from
It is important to make allowance for the changing area when calculating the deviator stress,
q =
1
-
3
= F/A

Test procedure
There are many test variations. Those used most in practice are
UU (unconsolidated undrained) test.
Cell pressure applied without allowing drainage. Then keeping cell pressure constant
increase deviator load to failure without drainage.

CIU (isotropically consolidated undrained) test.
Drainage allowed during cell pressure application. Then without allowing further
drainage increase q keeping
r
constant as for UU test.


CID (isotropically consolidated drained) test
Similar to CIU except that as deviator stress is increased drainage is permitted. The
rate of loading must be slow enough to ensure no excess pore pressures develop.
As a test for investigating the behaviour of soils the triaxial test has many advantages over the
shear box test:
A =
A

1 +
dV
V
1 +
dh
h
=
A

1 -
1 -
o o
v
a
0
0
|
\

|
.
|
|
|
|
|
\

|
.
|
c
c


- Specimens are subjected to uniform stresses and strains
- The complete stress-strain behaviour can be investigated
- Drained and undrained tests can be performed
- Pore water pressures can be measured in undrained tests
- Different combinations of confining and axial stress can be applied
Typical results from a series of drained tests consolidated to different cell pressures would be as
follows.

The triaxial test gives the strength in terms of the principal stresses, whereas the shear box gives
the stresses on the failure plane directly. To relate the strengths from the two tests we need to use
some results from the Mohr circle transformation of stress.

q
c
a
t
o
o
1
o
3
Increasing cell
pressure