Hysteresis of Unsaturated Hydromechanical Properties of a Silty Soil
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
Laboratory tests to examine hysteresis in the hydrologic and mechanical properties of partially saturated soils were conducted on six intact specimens collected from a landslide-prone area of Alameda County, California. The results reveal that the pore-size distribution parameter remains statistically unchanged between the wetting and drying paths; however, the wetting or drying state has a pronounced influence on the water-entry pressure, the water-filled porosity at zero suction, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. The suction stress values obtained from the shear-strength tests under both natural moisture and resaturated conditions were mostly bounded by the suction stress characteristic curves (SSCCs) obtained from the hydrologic tests. This finding experimentally confirms that the soil-water retention curve, hydraulic conductivity function, and SSCC are intrinsically related.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 507 - 510
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 28, 2011
Accepted: May 30, 2012
Published online: Aug 1, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
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