Experimental application and accuracy assessment of 2D-DIC in meso-direct-shear test of sandy soil

The examination of the meso-mechanical properties of soils is fundamental to understand its macro-behaviour. This paper aims to evaluate the potential application of Digital Image Correlation (DIC), an optical image pro-cessing approach, in direct shear test (DST) for soils. Hence, a new shear box was designed to investigate the close behaviour of granular materials. The noise-floor and shear displacement accuracy were discussed to assess the reliability of DIC, besides the effectiveness of the new box was also examined. The distribution of the dis-placements, strains, and shear angle were measured under four different normal stresses. From the results, the immediate settlement, and the dilative behaviour of the sand during shearing were observed. Furthermore, the investigation revealed a strain concentration at the interface between the boxes, where a shear band was formed. The use of DIC opens up new ways in soil mechanics, overcoming some limitations of the conventional DST.

Automated summary

This study aims to evaluate the potential application of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) in direct shear test (DST) for soils. A new shear box was designed to investigate the behavior of granular materials, and measurements of displacements, strains, and shear angle were conducted under different normal stresses. Observations were made on the immediate settlement, dilative behavior, and the formation of a shear band at the interface between the boxes. The use of DIC in soil mechanics opens up new possibilities and overcomes some limitations of conventional DST.