Investigation of Tensile Testing of Compacted Soils.

The investigation reported herein describes the development of a hollow cylinder testing device and an indirect tensile testing device and the feasibility of using this equipment for determining the tensile properties of compacted cohesive soils. Hollow cylinder, indirect tensile, and double punch tests were conducted on compacted specimens of Vicksburg buckshot clay CH, Vicksburg lean clay CL, and a sandy clay mixture SC from Degray Dam. Unconfined compression tests were also conducted to provide comparative compressive properties of the materials. The test results showed that hollow cylinder tests produce the highest measured tensile strengths of comparable specimens, followed in decreasing order by indirect tensile and double punch tests, and that tensile strength increases as the plasticity of the soil increases. Modified author abstract