Shear Vane
The Shear Vane is a hand held instrument used for determining soil shear strength.
Hand shear vane tests are generally undertaken in cohesive (silt/clay) soils exposed in the base or walls of trial pits, or intact blocks of soil arising from unsupported excavations below 1.2m depth.
The test provides a direct indication of the undrained shear strength of the soil, which can be used to verify assessments of soil consistency; and provides a more accurate estimate of the net allowable bearing capacity for foundation design.
Method
The vane of the instrument is pushed into the soil, it is then twisted until the soil “fails”.
The pointer on the dial face will stay in place to enable the reading to be recorded.
The unit of measurement is in kPa.
