Large Direct Shear Test Apparatus for In Situ Testing of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Sites

To optimize utilization of the closed municipal solid waste (MSW) sites, there is a dire need to establish simple, reliable and cost effective testing methodologies. Characterization of MSW sites is difficult due to non availability of standard procedures and limited worldwide experience. The shear strength is probably the most important parameter for the design of any structure on the closed MSW sites. Direct Shear Test has been widely used for the evaluation of the shear strength of MSW. Because of the obvious limitations of lab testing of MSW samples, a Field Large Size Direct Shear Apparatus was designed. Numerous insitu direct shear tests were performed in a closed MSW sites with the designed apparatus and very encouraging results were obtained. While maintaining simplicity, the apparatus allows strict load and deformation control. This paper highlights the salient design features of the apparatus.