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Source: Triaxial shear test

In materials science, a triaxial shear test is a common method to measure the mechanical properties of many deformable solids, especially soil (e.g., sand, clay) and rock, and other granular materials or powders. There are several variations on the test. In a triaxial shear test, stress is applied to a sample of the material being tested in a way which results in stresses along one axis being different from the stresses in perpendicular directions. This is typically achieved by placing the sample between two parallel platens which apply stress in one (usually vertical) direction, and applying fluid pressure to the specimen to apply stress in the perpendicular directions. (Testing apparatus which allows application of different levels of stress in each of three orthogonal directions are discussed below.)
The application of different compressive stresses in the test apparatus causes shear stress to develop in the sample; the loads can be increased and deflections monitored until failure of the sample. During the test, the surrounding fluid is pressurized, and the stress on the platens is increased until the material in the cylinder fails and forms sliding regions within itself, known as shear bands. The geometry of the shearing in a triaxial test typically causes the sample to become shorter while bulging out along the sides. The stress on the platen is then reduced and the water pressure pushes the sides back in, causing the sample to grow taller again. This cycle is usually repeated several times while collecting stress and strain data about the sample. During the test the pore pressures of fluids (e.g., water, oil) or gasses in the sample may be measured using Bishop's pore pressure apparatus.
From the triaxial test data, it is possible to extract fundamental material parameters about the sample, including its angle of shearing resistance, apparent cohesion, and dilatancy angle. These parameters are then used in computer models to predict how the material will behave in a larger-scale engineering application. An example would be to predict the stability of the soil on a slope, whether the slope will collapse or whether the soil will support the shear stresses of the slope and remain in place. Triaxial tests are used along with other tests to make such engineering predictions.
During the shearing, a granular material will typically have a net gain or loss of volume. If it had originally been in a dense state, then it typically gains volume, a characteristic known as Reynolds' dilatancy. If it had originally been in a very loose state, then contraction may occur before the shearing begins or in conjunction with the shearing.
Sometimes, testing of cohesive samples is done with no confining pressure, in an unconfined compression test. This requires much simpler and less expensive apparatus and sample preparation, though the applicability is limited to samples that the sides won't crumble when exposed, and the confining stress being lower than the in-situ stress gives results which may be overly conservative. The compression test performed for concrete strength testing is essentially the same test, on apparatus designed for the larger samples and higher loads typical of concrete testing.