Soil Suction‐Potential Model
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 118, Issue 4
Abstract
A suction‐potential model based on the diffusion equation is proposed whereby the suction is predicted at all times and depths in terms of a parameter K and the initial values of suction The model shows that the suction ratio decays exponentially with time. The exponential decay rate is not uniform throughout the expansive soil, but it increases with decreasing distance to the water source. Analysis reveals that the prediction error will not exceed 25% even if K value increases by 100%, suggesting the validity of the model in providing an adequate means for suction determination. Furthermore, close agreement is found between laboratory observations and the theoretical behavior. However, the theoretical estimate of the average suction potential does not agree well with the field observation. The discrepancies may be attributed to the heterogeneities of the soil and to the simplified boundary conditions adopted in the theoretical model.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Abramowitz, M., and Stegun, I. A. (1970). Handbook of mathematical functions. Dover Publication, New York, N.Y.
2.
Aitchison, G. D. (1973). “The instability indices in expansive soils.” Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Expansive Soils, 2, 101–104.
3.
Brackley, I. J. A. (1980). “Prediction of swell heave from suction measurements.” Proc. Regional Conf. for Africa on Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg., Accra, Ghana, 1, 159–166.
4.
Dhowian, A. W., Ruwaih, I. A., Erol, A. O., and Youssef, A. F. (1985). “The distribution and evaluation of the expansive soils in Saudi Arabia.” Proc. 2nd Saudi Engrg. Conf, 1, 308–326.
5.
Dhowian, A. W., Erol, A. O., and Youssef, A. F. (1987). Evaluation of expansive soils and foundation methodology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. General Directorate of Res. Grant Programs, King Abdulaziz for Sci. and Tech., Saudi Arabia.
6.
Dhowian, A. W. (1990). “Simplified heave prediction model of expansive shale.” J. ASTM, 13(4), 323–333.
7.
Johnson, L. D. (1981). “Field test sections on expansive soils.” Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Expansive Soils, 1, 262–284.
8.
Krohn, J. P., and Slosson, J. E. (1980). “Assessment of expansive soils in the United States.” 4th International Conf. on Expansive Soils, 1, 596–608.
9.
Lytton, R. L. (1977). “Foundations in expansive soils.” Numerical methods in geotechnical engineering, Chandrakant S. Desai and John T. Christian, eds., McGraw Hill Book Co.
10.
Lytton, R. L., and Woodburn, J. A. (1973). “Design and performance of mat foundation on expansive clays.” Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Expansive Soils, Haifa, Israel, 1, 301–308.
11.
McKeen, R. G., (1981). “Field studies of airport pavements on expansive clay.” Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Expansive Soils, 1, 241–261.
12.
Oberhettinger, F., and Badii, L. (1973). Table of Laplace transforms. Springer‐Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
13.
Richards, B. G. (1967). “Moisture flow and equilibira in unsaturated soils for shallow foundations.” SPT No. 417, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pa., 4–34.
14.
Richards, B. G., Peter, P., and Exerson, W. W. (1983). “The effect of vegetation on the swelling and shrinkage of soils in Australia.” Geotechnique, London, England, 33, 127–133.
15.
Snethen, D. R. (1981). “Characteristics of expansive soils using soil suction data.” Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Expansive Soils, 1, 54–75.
16.
Snethen, D. R., and Johnson, L. D. (1977). “An investigation of natural microscale mechanism that causes volume changes in expansive clays.” Res. Report No. FHWA‐RD‐77‐75, U.S. Dept. of transp., Washington, D.C.
17.
Yoshida, R. T., Fredlund, D. G., and Hamilton, J. J. (1983). “The prediction of total heave of a slab on grade floor on regional clay.” Can. Geotech. J., 20, 69–81.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 118 • Issue 4 • April 1992
Pages: 521 - 539
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 ASCE.
History
Published online: Apr 1, 1992
Published in print: Apr 1992
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.