5. Shear strength of powdery soils

The results given in this section concern the shear strength of powdery or granular soils. They are obtained from the various types of laboratory tests described above.

In the case of powdery soils, we are mainly interested in the drained characteristics. The corresponding shear tests are therefore carried out with open drainage and at an appropriate speed, in relation to the permeability of the soil. Under these conditions, interstitial overpressure always remains negligible and total and effective stresses are merged. In the remainder of 5 , we use (σ, τ, c, ϕ ) to describe the behavior...