Multi-stage triaxial compression test under a constant cell pressure

Abstract

In this paper, a new procedure for carrying out a series of consolidated-undrained triaxial compression tests with a single specimen is proposed. In the proposed procedure, a high cell pressure is applied to the specimen, and then kept constant until the completion of the test. In the first stage of test, a specified effective cell pressure can be applied by allowing some drainage from the constant pressure, and then it is sheared until failure commences. The same process is repeated for the following stages. With this procedure, the overall testing time is significantly reduced by saving consolidation time of each stage, while performing a series of triaxial tests with a single specimen. In order to verify the applicability of the proposed test, comparisons are made with the results obtained from the standard triaxial compression test and the conventional multi-stage triaxial test. It is shown that the strength parameters determined by using the proposed procedure agree quite well with those obtained from other tests.