A full, incremental consolidation test can be completed in 24 to 48 hours on most materials. Capable of running up to 32 steps, this compact LoadTrac-III system (12” w x 14” d x 21” h) has the same features that Geocomp customers have come to expect :

• a user-friendly interface
• stand-alone capability
• units flexibility
• in-house calibration capability
• consistency
• repeatability
• and reliability of test results.
  

Other testing capabilities include fully automated constant load
and constant volume swell tests. Once a sample is placed into
the load frame, the test conditions programmed, and the test
started, the system performs the complete test without intervention
by the user. The computer automatically increments to the
next stress by using conditions specified by the user, who can
view partial test results, change test parameters or manually
override the control at any time during a test, even remotely
over a network.

This system utilizes a high speed, precision micro-stepper motor to apply the vertical load to the soil specimen.

The direct simple shear (DSS) test is useful on projects where stability of soft soils is a major concern, such as embankments on soft ground, excavation into soft soils, canals and levees. The DSS test is superior to other methods of measuring shear strength because it gives a direct measurement of average shear strength for field failure conditions without the need for any correction factors. In fact, research conducted during the past 40 years, particularly that of Professor Charles Ladd at MIT and that of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, has shown that the most accurate way to determine in-situ undrained shear strength for stability is with DSS tests.