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The triaxial test has been extensively used to evaluate both saturated and unsaturated soil behaviors. The conventional triaxial test apparatus for saturated soils cannot be used to test unsaturated soils due to difficulties in soil volume and suction measurement. In 1961, a suction-controlled triaxial test apparatus was developed to investigate behavior of unsaturated soils. Since this development, the suction-controlled test has been widely used for unsaturated soil characterization. Most important concepts concerning unsaturated soil mechanics were developed based upon results from suction-controlled tests. However, the suction-controlled triaxial test on unsaturated soils, which is a drained test, is usually laborious, time-consuming, and costly, and may not be justifiable for routine engineering projects. The constant water content (undrained) test has been widely used to investigate saturated soil behaviors. However, for unsaturated soils, due to difficulties in direct, rapid, and reliable suction measurement, the constant water content test was rarely used for unsaturated soil behavior evaluation. In addition, accurate volume change measurement of unsaturated soils was a great challenge for researchers. Recently, the Modified State Surface Approach (MSSA) has been developed to calibrate unsaturated soil behaviors. According to MSSA, both results from suction-controlled and constant water content triaxial tests can be used for constitutive behavior calibration on unsaturated soils. In this study, a new triaxial test system was developed to investigate unsaturated soil behaviors through constant water content triaxial tests. To measure soil suction variation during testing, a new type of high-suction tensiometer was developed based on a commercial miniature pressure transducer. A 15 bar air-entry ceramic disc was used as the filter of the high-suction tensiometer. After saturation and calibration, this new type of high-suction tensiometer could be utilized for matric suction measurement on unsaturated soils with a maximum measurable suction up to 1100 kPa determined via a free evaporation test. To measure the volume change of unsaturated soils during triaxial testing, a photogrammetry-based method was developed by integrating photogrammetry, optical-ray tracing, and least-square estimation techniques. Through two validation tests on a stainless steel cylinder and a saturated sand specimen, the average point and total volume change measurement accuracy were determined to be approximately 0.065 mm and 0.05%, respectively. With this method, the conventional triaxial test apparatus for saturated soils can be used for triaxial testing on unsaturated soils without any modification. In addition to total volume change measurement, the newly developed photogrammetry-based method can also be used to investigate the deformation characteristics of soils during triaxial testing such as full-field deformation, volumetric strain non-uniformity, full-field strain distribution, and shear band evolution process. To evaluate the performance of the new triaxial testing system, a series of constant water content triaxial tests were carried out on unsaturated soils. New methods were proposed to characterize shear strength of the tested unsaturated soils. Also, an example was given to calibrate the constitutive behavior of an unsaturated soil based on results from the constant water content triaxial tests. Analysis results indicated that the proposed triaxial testing system is a cost effective and time efficient alternative to the suction-controlled triaxial testing system. In geotechnical and highway engineering, many projects involve unsaturated soils at shallow depths with low confining stresses (less than 100 kPa). To investigate the behavior of unsaturated soils at low confining stresses, the new triaxial testing system was simplified to a modified unconfined compression testing system. In this simplified system, negative air pressure (i.e., vacuum pressure) was used to provide the low confining stress for the triaxial tests. The high-suction tensiometers were used to monitor soil matrix suction variation during testing. A photogrammetric method was utilized for deformation measurements of unsaturated soils during triaxial testing. A series of undrained triaxial tests was also carried out to demonstrate the use of the modified unconfined compression testing system for unsaturated soil behavior evaluation under different confining stresses.
Suction-controlled triaxial tests have been widely used to characterize unsaturated soils. However, this type of test requires sophisticated and therefore expensive equipment, and is very time consuming because of the low permeability of unsaturated soils. Only a few research universities can afford the equipment, which limits the advancement and implementation of unsaturated soil mechanics. This paper proposes a new triaxial testing system for unsaturated soils based upon minor modifications on the conventional triaxial test apparatus for saturated soils. Instead of controlling suction, high-suction tensiometers are adopted to monitor matric suction variations during constant water content triaxial testing. Also, a photogrammetry-based method is used to measure volume changes of unsaturated soil specimens during triaxial testing. To evaluate the capabilities of the proposed testing system, a series of constant water content triaxial tests were performed on unsaturated soils with different moisture content. Matric suction and volume variations during testing were monitored by the high-suction tensiometers and the photogrammetry-based method, respectively. New methods were also proposed to analyze the test results. Analysis results showed that the proposed system is cost effective and efficient for unsaturated soil characterization.
New theories and testing techniques related with Unsaturated Soil Mechanics have proven to be valuable tools to study a broad spectrum of geo-materials which includes rocks, rock fills, frozen soils and domiciliary solid wastes. These new theories and testing techniques have permitted the analysis of several traditional problems from a new perspective (e.g., swelling or collapsible soils and compacted soils or pavements materials), and they have also shown their efficiency to study new energy-related problems like CO2 sequestration and nuclear waste disposal. Advances in Unsaturated Soils is a collection of papers from the 1st Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils organized in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in February 2013. The volume includes 76 research papers coming for all over the world, as well as 7 keynotes papers by well known international researchers. The contributions present a variety of topics including: • Advances in testing techniques • Unsaturated soil behavior • Constitutive modeling and microstructure • Numerical modeling • Geotechnical problems Advances in Unsaturated Soils is expected to become a useful reference to academics and professionals involved in Unsaturated Soil Mechanics.
The testing of unsaturated soils requires greater care and effort than that of saturated soils. Although unsaturated soil mechanics has been embraced by geotechnical engineering, engineering practice has not yet caught up as the characterization of unsaturated soils is difficult and time-consuming, and made harder still by a lack of standards. Laboratory Tests for Unsaturated Soils collates test procedures to cover all laboratory tests for characterising unsaturated soils. It covers the background, theory, test procedures, and interpretation of test results. Each test procedure is broken down into simple stages and described in detail. The pitfalls of each test and the interpretation of the test results are explained. Test data and calculation methods are given, along with many numerical examples to illustrate the methods of interpretation and to offer the presentation of typical results. The book is especially useful for students and researchers who are new to the field and provides a practical handbook for engineering applications.
The definitive guide to unsaturated soil— from the world's experts on the subject This book builds upon and substantially updates Fredlund and Rahardjo's publication, Soil Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils, the current standard in the field of unsaturated soils. It provides readers with more thorough coverage of the state of the art of unsaturated soil behavior and better reflects the manner in which practical unsaturated soil engineering problems are solved. Retaining the fundamental physics of unsaturated soil behavior presented in the earlier book, this new publication places greater emphasis on the importance of the "soil-water characteristic curve" in solving practical engineering problems, as well as the quantification of thermal and moisture boundary conditions based on the use of weather data. Topics covered include: Theory to Practice of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics Nature and Phase Properties of Unsaturated Soil State Variables for Unsaturated Soils Measurement and Estimation of State Variables Soil-Water Characteristic Curves for Unsaturated Soils Ground Surface Moisture Flux Boundary Conditions Theory of Water Flow through Unsaturated Soils Solving Saturated/Unsaturated Water Flow Problems Air Flow through Unsaturated Soils Heat Flow Analysis for Unsaturated Soils Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils Shear Strength Applications in Plastic and Limit Equilibrium Stress-Deformation Analysis for Unsaturated Soils Solving Stress-Deformation Problems with Unsaturated Soils Compressibility and Pore Pressure Parameters Consolidation and Swelling Processes in Unsaturated Soils Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice is essential reading for geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, and undergraduate- and graduate-level civil engineering students with a focus on soil mechanics.
In recent decades the development of unsaturated soil mechanics has been remarkable, resulting in momentous advances in fundamental knowledge, testing techniques, computational procedures, prediction methodologies and geotechnical practice. The advances have spanned the full spectrum of theory and practice. In addition, unsaturated materials exhibiting complex behaviour such as residual soils, swelling soils, compacted soils, collapsing soils, tropical soils and solid wastes have been integrated in a common understanding of shared behaviour features. It is also noteworthy that unsaturated soil mechanics has proved surprisingly fruitful in expanding to other neighbouring areas such as swelling rocks, rockfill mechanics, and freezing soils. As a consequence, geotechnical engineering involving unsaturated soils can be now approached from a more rational and systematic perspective leading towards an improved and more effective practice. Unsaturated Soils contains the papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soil (Barcelona, Spain, 6-8 September 2010). They report significant advances in the areas of unsaturated soil behaviour, testing techniques, constitutive and numerical modelling and applications. The areas of application include soil-atmosphere interaction, foundations, slopes, embankments, pavements, geoenviromental problems and emerging topics. They are complemented by three keynote lectures and three general reports covering general issues of modelling, testing and applications. Unsaturated Soils is a comprehensive record of the state-of-the art in unsaturated soil mechanics and a sound basis for further progress in the future. The two volumes will serve as an essential reference for academics, researchers and practitioners interested in unsaturated soils.
Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, held in Carefree, Arizona, April 2-6, 2006. Sponsored by the Geo-Institute of ASCE; International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Committee TC6 on Unsaturated Soils; Canadian Geotechnical Society. This Geotechnical Special Publication contains 219 papers documenting the experience of researchers and practitioners from around the world concerning a vast array of unsaturated soil problems. Theoretical and methodological advances in laboratory testing of shear strength and volume change behavior, suction measurement techniques, soil water characteristic behavior, constitutive and numerical modeling, microscale modeling, foundation behavior, heave of slabs and pavements, evapotraspirative covers, geophysical applications, liquefaction and soil dynamics, pavements and slopes, soil-atmospheric interaction, desiccation and shrinkage, in situ testing, seepage, flow of water and gas, and design of waste depositories with emphasis on temperature effects are among the topics dealt with in the framework of unsaturated soil behavior. Materials addressed include natural soils, both expansive and nonexpansive, chemically stabilized soil, geosynthetics, geocomposite soils, and bentonite products.
This volume presents the work of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers on unsaturated soil mechanincs. Topics covered include: innovative experimental techniques; new experimental data on compacted, collapsible and swelling soils; and advances in constitutive modelling.
This volume details recent global advances in laboratory and field testing of unsaturated soils. Coverage includes mechanical, hydraulic, and geo-environmental testing and applications of unsaturated soil monitoring to engineering behavior of geo-structures.
This volume presents selected papers presented during the 4th International Conference on Transportation Geotechnics (ICTG). The papers address the geotechnical challenges in design, construction, maintenance, monitoring, and upgrading of roads, railways, airfields, and harbor facilities and other ground transportation infrastructure with the goal of providing safe, economic, environmental, reliable and sustainable infrastructures. This volume will be of interest to postgraduate students, academics, researchers, and consultants working in the field of civil and transport infrastructure.