This system features electro-hydraulic closed-loop digital servo control of the shear and normal loads for test automation. Loads or deformations for both the shear and normal actuators can be prescribed for automatically performing conventional direct shear tests as well as more advanced tests. This system can be easily programmed to perform tests such as the constant normal stiffness test where the normal load is a function of a prescribed stiffness for simulating actual compressibility of a ground shear plane (e.g. soil-pile interaction).
The GCTS Direct Shear Test System is especially well suited to test coarse granular materials because of its large sample size and high load capacity.
A major advantage over conventional motorized system is that this system eliminates vibrations that can disturb or densify granular specimens.
The SDS-100 is mounted on a convenient cart with caster that not only supports the apparatus but also houses the hydraulics inside.