A Testing Device for Shear Strength of Sliding-Zone Soil and Its Application

Abstract

The shear strength of sliding-zone soil is the focus of slope stability evaluation. The shear strength of undisturbed sliding-zone soil is hard to attain by traditional testing method owning to its softy and high water content. A new testing method and device is put forward in this paper, in which the shear test of sliding-zone soil can be conducted in the circular knife, which reduces the disturbance and improves the accuracy. Meanwhile, the shear strength of soil under different water content can be obtained. In combination with the microscopic test technique, the microstructures of the shear surface of the sliding zone can also be observed. Results show that: (1) the method and device for determining the strength of the sliding-zone soil are effective and can be used to study the strength of the sliding-zone soil. (2) Due to the shear stress, minerals in the middle zone break away from their original position and they are squeezed into smaller ones. (3) It’s proved that the landslides are related to the watercourse formed initially in the sliding zone.