Influence of Fabric and Scale Effects on Wetting-Induced Compression of Compacted Soil

One-dimensional wetting-induced compression behavior of compacted soils is often studied in the laboratory using the single- or double-oedometer method. Samples prepared and tested in the laboratory may exhibit different compression behavior than soil in the field because of differences in soil fabric and differences in the size of the soil mass involved in each case. To examine the importance of these differences, this paper compares results of standard oedometer tests on compacted soil with those from samples tested in a very large oedometer. Large samples were prepared using a method to simulate compaction and fabric developed under field conditions.