Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Equation with Independent Properties
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 2
Abstract
The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) has traditionally been represented using equations whose fitting parameters do not individually correspond to clearly defined soil properties or to features of the curve. As a result, unique sets of parameters are often nonexistent, and sensitivity analyses and statistical assessments of SWCC parameters become difficult. In order to overcome these difficulties, a new class of equations to represent unimodal and bimodal SWCCs is proposed. The chosen fitting parameters are the air-entry value, the residual suction, the residual degree of saturation, and a parameter that controls the sharpness of the curvatures. The physical meaning for the soil parameters is discussed for different soil types. A unique relation between each of the equation parameters and the individual features of SWCCs is assured. The proposed equations are fitted to data corresponding to a variety of soil types and a good fit is observed.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 130 • Issue 2 • February 2004
Pages: 209 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 23, 2002
Accepted: May 27, 2003
Published online: Jan 16, 2004
Published in print: Feb 2004
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