Influence of Suction History on Hydraulic and Stress-Strain Behavior of Unsaturated Soils
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16, Issue 6
Abstract
An experimental study was performed to investigate the effects of suction history on the hydraulic and stress-strain behavior of unsaturated soils. Test results show that, even if the same path of net stress and suction was followed during triaxial shearing, the stress-strain and strength behavior are different between specimens experiencing different suction histories. When the maximum suction experienced in the past was less than the residual suction, the specimen that experienced higher past suction produced higher shear strength. This is because the specimen was subjected to a higher suction, i.e., a higher average skeleton stress, and thus became overconsolidated. In contrast, when the maximum suction experienced in the past was higher than the residual suction, the specimen that experienced higher past suction produced lower shear strength. This is because, in this particular case, the high suction induced structural damage in the specimen, which impacts the stress-strain behavior during subsequent shearing. High suction greater than the residual suction was applied using the vapor equilibrium method by putting the soil sample in a glass desiccator with saturated salt solution. The wide suction history effects should be taken into account in constitutive modeling of unsaturated soils.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude for the grants provided by the National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB047001) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11272194).
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16 • Issue 6 • December 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 14, 2014
Accepted: Aug 13, 2015
Published online: Dec 7, 2015
Discussion open until: May 7, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
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