Geo.

Testing, Instrumentation & Monitoring

MULTI-STAGE CONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED
TRIAXIAL TEST DEMONSTRATION

LABORATORY TESTING PROCEDURE

SETTING UP

1. Put a piece of filter paper and a de-aired porous disk in the bottom of the mold.
2. Tamp the sample in the mold, remove the mold and then move the sample
together with porous disk to the pedestal of the triaxial apparatus.
3. Fit a piece of rubber membrane on to the inside of the membrane stretcher and
apply suction.
4. Place the membrane over the specimen.
5. Release the suction so that the membrane clings to the specimen at the correct
height.
6. Roll the lower end of the membrane over the cell base pedestal.
7. Roll the upper end of the membrane and remove the membrane stretcher.
8. Seal the lower end of membrane with two O-rings with the aid of an O-ring
stretcher.
9. Place a piece of filter paper and a de-aired saturated porous disc on the top of the
specimen.
10. Encircle the specimen with an O-ring stretcher on which another two rubber O-
rings are mounted.
11. Place the top loading cap on the top filter paper.
12. Seal the membrane on to the top cap with the two O-rings
13. Remove the O-ring stretcher.
14. Make sure the specimen axis is vertical and the top cap horizontal.
15. Ensure that the surface of the cell base pedestal is clean (free of soil particles)
and that the sealing ring is clean and properly fitted.
16. Carefully lower the cell body into position over the specimen with the cell piston
raised to its maximum extent. Take care not to knock against the specimen or the
drainage connection. Position the cell correctly and progressively tighten the
clamping screws.
17. Allow the piston to fall slowly into contact with the top cap. A good fit confirms
proper alignment. If there is any eccentricity of the top cap, remove the cell
body and correct the alignment.
18. Bring up the outer end of the piston against the load ring.
19. Fill the cell with de-aired water through cell pressure valve from the supply
system with the air bleed on the top of the cell body open. Close the cell
pressure valve when water begins to emerge from the air bleed. Close the air
bleed.

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SATURATION

1. Raise the cell pressure to about 20 kPa. Open the cell pressure valve.
2. Circulate CO2 through the specimen at about 20 kPa for 30 to 60 minutes,
depending on the permeability of the specimen. Pass CO2 into the specimen
through the CO2 valve and release it through the back pressure valve.
3. Circulate de-aired water through the specimen for 30 to 60 minutes, depending
on the permeability of the specimen.
4. Close the CO2, back pressure and cell pressure valves.
5. Increase the cell pressure by 50 kPa. Open the cell pressure valve.
6. Raise the back pressure to 10 kPa below the cell pressure. Open the back
pressure valve.
7. Open the pore pressure valve. Pore pressure will rise to approximately the same
as the back pressure.
8. Close the back pressure and cell pressure valves.
9. Raise the cell pressure by 50 kPa. Open the cell pressure valve.
10. Observe the rise of the pore pressure.
11. Calculate B value.
12. Repeat step 6 to 11 until B > 95%.
13. Close all valves.
14. Plot B value against cell pressure.

CONSOLIDATION

1. Increase cell pressure such that the effective confining pressure is the required
consolidation pressure.
2. Set the two knobs on the volume change indictor to volume change and flow
up or flow down.
3. Reset the reading to zero.
4. Open cell pressure and then pore pressure valves. Wait until the pore pressure is
steady.
5. Start recording the volume change and pore pressure change.
6. Open back pressure valve for dissipation of excess pore pressure.
7. Stop recording when consolidation is 95% complete.
8. Close back pressure valve.
9. Plot volume change against square root of time.
10. Plot pore pressure against time (log scale).

COMPRESSION

1. The back pressure value should remain closed during compression.

2. Set the speed controller of the compression machine to 0.76 mm/min.
3. While the cell piston is still well clear of the top loading cap, switch on the
motor.
4. Stop the motor when the piston nearly touches the top cap of the specimen.
5. Start the motor again and record the load, axial displacement and pore water
pressure.

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6. Stop the compression machine when failure is approached according to the
appropriate criterion. Impending failure may be indicated by, e.g. the
development of a surface of failure within the specimen, or by flattening of the
deviator stress/strain curve. The machine should also be stopped when a pre-
determined strain is reached. The maximum principal stress ratio ()
provides a useful indication.
7. Immediately reverse the motor to reduce the axial force rapidly until it just
reaches zero, and record the corresponding axial displacement reading. The
unloading rate could be set as 0.3mm/min.
8. Sketch the configuration of the specimen.
9. Allow enough time for the pore pressure to reach equilibrium before proceeding
further.
10. Raise the cell pressure to the level required for the next stage and wait for the
pore pressure to stabilize.
11. Maintain back pressure at the same level as previously unless it is necessary to
lower it in order to achieve the next effective confining pressure.
12. Consolidate the specimen. Calculate the new consolidated dimensions.
13. Remake contact between the cell piston and the top cap.
14. Resume application of the axial load at the appropriate rate of strain until failure
is again approached as in step 5. Maximum strain is limited to 8% in each stage.
15. Repeat the previous steps in order to apply a total of three stages of loading.

COMPLETION

1. Open the back pressure valve.

2. Reduce the cell pressure and back pressure at the same time to zero. Always
keep cell pressure larger than back pressure.
3. Close all valves and unplug the lines.
4. Open air bleed and cell pressure valve to release water from the cell.
5. Reverse the motor.
6. Remove the cell from the loading machine.
7. Remove O-rings and membranes.
8. Make sketches of the specimen as viewed from two directions at right angles to
illustrate the mode of failure.
9. Remove specimen from the base pedestal.
10. Weigh the specimen together with the porous discs, filter paper and membranes.
11. Dissemble the specimen and weigh several portions of the specimen to determine
the moisture contents.
12. Measure the moisture content at the failure slip surface separately.
13. Clean the apparatus.