Modified Rowe cell equipped with vane shear device of soft cohesive soil

Abstract

The correlation between undrained shear strength, su, and overconsolidation ratio, OCR of soft clay is vital for geotechnical analysis and design especially for preloading technique on land reclamation and slurry pond. The oedometer and triaxial or vane shear tests, which are commonly used to determine this relationship are time-consuming. A modified Rowe cell equipped with a vane shear blade was developed to overcome this constrain. The vane shear bland was mounted at the middle of the base of modified Rowe cell and inside the soil sample. The su value was measured using the vane blade preinstalled in the soil sample during the consolidation. The relationship between su and OCRof a studied kaolin was developed based on the results obtained from the modified Rowe cell.The relationship was represented by a power function similar to the previous studies on clayey soils, indicating the validity of test results from the modified Rowe cell. The modified Rowe cell is a rational and user-friendly alternative device for both research and practical design, which can overcome the problem of time-consuming test procedure and sample disturbance due to the insertion of vane shear blade.