"The objectives of the symposium were to review the state of knowledge of the vane shear test (VST) and to provide the latest information on test theory, methods, and interpretation for the purpose of improved standardization of the field and laboratory vane tests."--Overview.

A recent effective stress model of vane shear strength testing in soils can relate measured torques to vane shear strengths using theoretical analysis in terms of effective stress parameters. The strength estimates are based on known in situ stresses and soil parameters derived from laboratory testing. The model may be applied, for example, in obtaining theoretical estimates of conventional undrained vane shear strengths for comparison with field data and for use in stability analyses. However, the model incorporates a correction factor 'uv', analogous to Bjerrum's field vane shear strength correction factor 'u', intended to compensate for pore-pressure and shearing-rate effects. This correction factor must be evaluated before reliable torque or shear strength estimates can be made in any given case. To facilitate this, the paper presents correlations of 'uv' with both liquid limit and plasticity index, based on world-wide data from clays and silts. The correlations are compared with independent data from Norwegian clays.

This book presents a one-stop reference to the empirical correlations used extensively in geotechnical engineering. Empirical correlations play a key role in geotechnical engineering designs and analysis. Laboratory and in situ testing of soils can add significant cost to a civil engineering project. By using appropriate empirical correlations, it is possible to derive many design parameters, thus limiting our reliance on these soil tests. The authors have decades of experience in geotechnical engineering, as professional engineers or researchers. The objective of this book is to present a critical evaluation of a wide range of empirical correlations reported in the literature, along with typical values of soil parameters, in the light of their experience and knowledge. This book will be a one-stop-shop for the practising professionals, geotechnical researchers and academics looking for specific correlations for estimating certain geotechnical parameters. The empirical correlations in the forms of equations and charts and typical values are collated from extensive literature review, and from the authors' database.