Test granular materials failure using Bi-directional simple shear apparatus: A review

Abstract

As widely used natural granular materials, sand and clay have been extensively studied. However, its physical and mechanical behavior, such as the shear behavior and deformation under loading, are still not clear. This is due to the limitation of the testing facility, in which most of the testing apparatus can only add one directional shear stress. The in situ stress condition of soils is usually more complex and has multi-directional shear stress during consolidation and shearing. A bi-directional simple shear apparatus can better replicate the in situ stress condition and has been used by a few researchers. This review summarized the testing facilities and recent advances in bi-directional simple shear testing.