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Effect of rod friction on vane shear tests in very soft organic harbour mud

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Abstract

Very soft organic harbour mud is increasingly used as a filling and construction material in harbour construction and reorganization. The undrained shear strength of such soft sediments is the critical geotechnical soil parameter with regard to any specific construction design. Field and laboratory vane shear testing is a standard method to quickly determine this important parameter. So far, the effect of rod friction on vane shear tests in very soft organic soils is unclear. In this study we present results from laboratory experiments on harbour mud from a construction site in northern Germany. Relations among vane and rod geometry, penetration depth, water content, rod friction and undrained shear strength are derived. Based on these relations the influence of rod friction on vane shear test results is investigated. The results indicate that field and laboratory vane shear test measurements may be significantly influenced by rod friction. Methods are proposed to correct for the rod influence, which is shown to increase with rising water contents.

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Abbreviations

A rod :

effective rod shear area

A vane :

effective vane shear area

Ctot :

total carbon content

s u :

undrained shear strength

s u,tot :

s u + apparent shear strength

d :

vane diameter

D :

rod diameter

DSC:

deep sea carrier

e :

void ratio

f rod :

rod friction

h :

vane height

I P :

plasticity index

R²:

coefficient of correlation

R rod :

rod-induced friction force

SEM:

scanning electron microscope

SSC:

short sea carrier

Stot :

total sulphur content

t :

vane thickness

T :

torque

TOC:

total organic carbon

T rod :

rod-induced torque

T vane :

vane-induced torque

V Gl :

loss on ignition

w :

water content

w L :

liquid limit

w P :

plastic limit

XRD:

X-ray-diffraction

z :

penetration of rod

z crit :

critical penetration of rod

α:

friction-strength-ratio

ν :

coefficient of geometry

ρ :

bulk density

ρ d :

dry density

ρ s :

particle density

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) as part of the DFG Research Center Ocean Margins (RCOM) of the University of Bremen No. RCOM 0539. The authors would like to sincerely thank Matthias Lange of the Research Center Ocean Margins of the University of Bremen for his technical support in connection with this article. Furthermore, we would also like to sincerely thank Bernd Grupe of the Technical University of Berlin who provided the vane shear test apparatus. Our special thanks go to our industry cooperating partners Christoph Tarras from Bremenports Consult GmbH Bremerhaven, Kai Petereit and Michael Lux from PHW Hamburg and Dirk Lesemann from Knabe Beratende Ingenieure GmbH Hamburg for providing the sample material and the presented field data as well as their general support and access.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DFG Research Center Ocean Margins (RCOM), University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Benjamin F. Schlue, Tobias Mörz & Stefan Kreiter

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  1. Benjamin F. Schlue
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  2. Tobias Mörz
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  3. Stefan Kreiter
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Correspondence to Benjamin F. Schlue.

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Schlue, B.F., Mörz, T. & Kreiter, S. Effect of rod friction on vane shear tests in very soft organic harbour mud. Acta Geotech. 2, 281–289 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-007-0047-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-007-0047-7

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