Research on clay shear strength anisotropy at Šenkovec clay pit

Abstract

The paper deals with influence anisotropy to shear strength of clay and differences in test results of shear strength parameters, cohesion (c) and internal friction angle (φ) considering the direction of testing. Clay is very often the foundation soil of many buildings. There were performed three series of direct shear experiments for each of two different directions in relation to the horizontal, 0° and 90° (18 direct shear experiments in total). The results showed significant differences in the values of the shear strength parameters and to shear strength ultimately with considering to the test direction. Angle of internal friction (φ) is higher by 3.0° or 11.81% in the test at an angle of 0° in relation to the horizontal. A much more significant difference is visible in cohesion (c). The results showed that the cohesion (c) in the 90° test was higher by 14.92 kN/m² or 106.04%.