Understanding the deformation mechanism of shear band for granular materials can predict granular structure failure and prevent natural disaster in the engineering fields. In this work, based on the Couette flow principle, a plane shear testis proposed to loosen the boundary constraint condition of the sample. The process of deformation and properties of shear band are studied through a series of plane shear tests and numerical simulations. The results show that the deformation process and pattern of shear band can be observed by the proposed plane shear test clearly, and the influences of vertical pressure and shear rate on the properties of shear band are investigated. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.