Soil shear modulus from resonant column, torsional shear and bender element tests

Abstract

This study compares results from three different testing methods: Resonant Column, Torsional Simple Shear, and Bender Element tests to determine shear modulus. The resonant column and torsional shear tests were performed on the same hollow cylinder specimen. The bender element test was performed on a triaxial specimen with the same void ratio and confining stress as well as others. Several effects were studied, among them confining stress, shear strain amplitude and for the bender element, anisotropic confinement. Testing methods and data analysis are discussed in the paper because data interpretation is very important in these tests. Results showed that the shear modulus values were almost identical between the resonant column and torsional shear but varied somewhat with the bender element results. Further research will focus on influence of stress anisotropy preparation methods.