Shear Strength

Definition

Shear strength is the maximum magnitude of shear stress that a material can withstand.

Introduction

The following describes the frictional nature of soils and the stress states and parameters used to describe the strength. Followed by a description of the effect of the pore water pressure developed within the soil, the drainage of this pore pressure, and large amounts of strain.

Shear Strength of Soils

The shear strength of a soil is a result of inter particle friction, with a component of cohesive strength. This shear strength (S) is most commonly represented by a linear Mohr-Coulomb failure surface.

$$\mathrm{S}=\mathrm{c}+\sigma tan\mathrm{\varphi }$$

where, σ is the stress normal to the plane on which the shear stress is evaluated, and c and ϕ are material properties which represent the component of the strength resulting from cohesion and the angle of friction, respectively. ϕ is the angle between the direction of σ and the direction of the resultant of σ + S (Terzaghi et al. 1996).

Effective Shear...