STANDARD: ASTM D3080, BS 1377:7, AASHTO T236 NF P094071-1/2

To determine the shearing strength of the soil using the direct shear apparatus. In many engineering problems such as design of foundation, retaining walls, slab bridges, pipes, sheet piling, the value of the angle of internal friction and cohesion of the soil involved are required for the design. Direct shear test is used to predict these parameters quickly. The laboratory report cover the laboratory procedures for determining these values for cohesionless soils.

Strain controlled direct shear machine consists of shear box, soil container, loading unit, proving ring, dial gauge to measure shear deformation and volume changes. A two piece square shear box is one type of soil container used.A proving ring is used to indicate the shear load taken by the soil initiated in the shearing plane.