The Vane Cone: A New Device for Soil Shear Strength Measurement

Abstract A considerable number of in-situ tests have been devised for measuring field soil shear strength parameters. These tests include, among many others, cone penetration and vane shear devices. The conventional form of each of these two devices controls the type of soil deformation, which may limit the use of the measured soil shear resistance data. In this study both vane and cone devices were combined together in one device known as vane-cone apparatus. The use of this apparatus allows deforming the soil vertically and tangentially. Consequently, the related vertical and tangential soil shear resistances can be measured. Theoretical plasticity analysis of cohesive soil is used to predict the radial and tangential stress distribution around a cone with different apex angles. Using both of these stress distributions, a relation between vane-cone resistances and soil shear strength parameters is developed. Experimental data are used to verify the developed analysis and to compare between the vane, cone, and vane-cone devices.