Patent ID: 8375802

Claim:
An apparatus for evaluating mechanical properties of a geo-material test specimen, comprising: a first platen having a loading surface; a second platen having a loading surface, the loading surface of the second platen being spaced from the loading surface of the first platen so as to define a test specimen receiving space there between; a shaft having first end and a second end, the first end contacting the first platen; and a rotatable cam having at least one lobe extending from a peripheral surface thereof, the cam being positioned relative to second end of the shaft such that the lobe is engagable with the second end of the shaft in such a way that a cyclical axial load is applied to the test specimen when the test specimen is positioned in the test specimen receiving space between the first platen and the second platen and the cam is rotated so as to cause the lobe to cyclically apply an axial force to the shaft.