Collapse Behavior of Compacted Silty Clay in Suction-Monitored Oedometer Apparatus
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 7
Abstract
This paper presents a methodology to investigate the collapse behavior of unsaturated soils using suction-monitored oedometer tests. By incorporating independent suction measurement, the oedometer apparatus is capable of following the same stress paths as in double oedometer tests, while continuously monitoring the suction. The proposed method has been used to investigate the collapse behavior of a compacted silty clay and to confirm the uniqueness of the loading-collapse surface as identified from loading and wetting paths. A new mathematical form of the yield surface within an elastoplastic framework is proposed on the basis of test results over a wide range of suctions (0 to ) and net stresses (up to ). The fundamental assumptions of the newer type of elastoplastic framework, which incorporate the degree of saturation within their stress variables, are evaluated, and the limitations of such models are identified. The collapse behavior of samples with different fabrics induced by differing compaction characteristics is also investigated within an elastoplastic framework. The difference in fabric, which is observed through a petrological microscope, can be presented in a quantitative way with different model parameters.
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Acknowledgments
The writers are grateful for the financial support provided to the first writer by the Anandamahidol Foundation, Thailand, for his studies at Imperial College London.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 7 • July 2007
Pages: 867 - 877
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 17, 2006
Accepted: Jan 2, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2007
Published in print: Jul 2007
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