Study on Shear Strength Tests and Failure Process for Soils Under Different Moisture Content

Gaofeng Chen; Xiqi Liu; Chenyuan Zhang

doi:10.2991/978-94-6239-783-5_19

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Study on Shear Strength Tests and Failure Process for Soils Under Different Moisture Content

Authors

Gaofeng Chen¹^{, 2}^{, *}, Xiqi Liu¹^{, 2}, Chenyuan Zhang³

¹Pearl River Water Resources Research Institute, Guangzhou, 510611, China

²Key Laboratory of Water Security Guarantee in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Marco Greater Bay Area of Ministry of Water Resources, Foshan, 528244, China

³School of Civil Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

^*Corresponding author. Email: 863225578@qq.com

Corresponding Author

Gaofeng Chen

Available Online 30 September 2026.

DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-783-5_19 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: soil; shear strength; moisture content; failure process
Abstract: In the field of geotechnical engineering, the relationship between the shear strength and water content of soil has always been regarded as the key and difficult issue in research. This paper investigates unconsolidated undrained rapid shear tests on saturated-unsaturated remolded soil samples, covering a range of moisture content gradients (1.1%, 10.1%, 14.9%, 19.9%, 24.2%, 29.9%, 37.7%) and normal stress levels (50kPa, 100kPa, 200kPa, 300kPa, 400kPa respectively). All tests were completed utilizing a revised SDJ-1 strain-type direct shear device and the NI Lab VIEW data acquisition system from the United States. Analysis of the test data indicates that total cohesion exhibits an initial increasing followed by a decreasing trend with rising moisture content, while the total internal friction angle shows an increasing trend when moisture content decreases. The contribution of anelasticity, cohesion and matrix suction for shear strength under various moisture contents and conventional normal stresses was analysised. The failure process of saturated- unsaturated soils was disclosured.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title: Proceedings of the 2026 2nd International Conference on Resilient City and Safety Engineering (ICRCSE 2026)
Series: Advances in Engineering Research
Publication Date: 30 September 2026
ISBN: 978-94-6239-783-5
ISSN: 2352-5401
DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-783-5_19 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - CONF
AU  - Gaofeng Chen
AU  - Xiqi Liu
AU  - Chenyuan Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
TI  - Study on Shear Strength Tests and Failure Process for Soils Under Different Moisture Content
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 2nd International Conference on Resilient City and Safety Engineering (ICRCSE 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 182
EP  - 192
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-783-5_19
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-783-5_19
ID  - Chen2026
ER  -

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