Hydromechanical Behaviors of Unsaturated Soils
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 7
Abstract
In this paper, the hydromechanical behavior of unsaturated soils is explored. A constitutive model is proposed to describe the coupled hydraulic and mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils. The compression stiffness parameters, such as , , , and , are analyzed, taking into account the influences of suction, degree of saturation, and net mean stress. Based on the volume change behavior under constant suction and the water retention properties, the relationship between the degree of saturation and volume change has been investigated under both net mean stress and suction. The proposed model is capable of describing the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils for either isotropic compression or triaxial compression. Indeed, the simulation results of three cases of suction-controlled laboratory tests show good agreement with experimental data.
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Acknowledgments
This work was carried out as part of project No. 51278099 of the National Natural Science Fund of China (NSFC). The constructive suggestions by Professor Daitao Sheng at the University of Newcastle, Australia, are very appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 7 • July 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 11, 2013
Accepted: Aug 4, 2014
Published online: Sep 12, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 12, 2015
Published in print: Jul 1, 2015
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