A PRECISION TRIAXIAL CELL

THE PAPER DESCRIBES THE INING-2 PRECISION TRIAXIAL CELL. THE MAIN FEATURE OF THIS NEW APPARATUS IS THE SIMPLICITY OF ITS AXIAL LOAD MECHANISM WHEREBY THE LOAD IS TRANSMITTED TO THE SOIL SAMPLE BY A SYSTEM OF WIRES IN TENSION. THE AXIAL LOAD CAN BE ACCURATELY MEASURED AT ALL TIMES DURING A TEST BECAUSE THE FRICTION INHERENT IN THE LOADING MECHANISM IS LESS THAN THAT DEVELOPED IN OTHER KNOWN DESIGNS. THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS FRICTION IS NOT GREATLY AFFECTED BY THE HORIZONTAL LOAD INDUCED BY ECCENTRICITY OR LACK OF HOMOGENEITY IN THE SPECIMEN, AND IT IS PRACTICALLY INDEPENDENT OF CONFINING PRESSURE AND PROGRESS OF AXIAL DEFORMATION DURING A TEST. IN TESTS PERFORMED IN THE NEW CELL, THE ACCURACY OF MEASUREMENT OF AXIAL LOAD IN SAMPLES WITH A CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF 10 SQUARE CM IS PLUS OR MINUS 10 GM PER SQUARE CM. /AUTHOR/