Soil water retention curves(SWRCs) provide an important means of describing the response of unsaturated soils during drying / wetting processes in terms of variations of degree of saturation, water content or void r...Soil water retention curves(SWRCs) provide an important means of describing the response of unsaturated soils during drying / wetting processes in terms of variations of degree of saturation, water content or void ratio with suction. A key consideration in generating these curves is how to measure the suction. Frequently the filter paper technique is adopted, especially when high suctions are developed, e.g. with plastic clays. As each measurement takes at least a week with this technique, it can take months or years to generate a full SWRC in drying and wetting. Developments in laboratory tensiometers now allow matrix suctions up to about 1.5 MPa to be measured. With such a device it is possible to develop SWRCs for granular soils such as silts and clays in hours or days by continuous measurement. This paper describes an experimental set-up that was developed to measure changes in volume, water content and matrix suction during drying of three granular soils. Limitations of the apparatus and usefulness of the curves are discussed.展开更多
To study the weakly expansive clay obtained from a slope along Wuhan—Shiyan expressway in Hubei Province,soil-water property tests and some unsaturated triaxial tests with suction control were conducted,and the soil-...To study the weakly expansive clay obtained from a slope along Wuhan—Shiyan expressway in Hubei Province,soil-water property tests and some unsaturated triaxial tests with suction control were conducted,and the soil-water retention curve(SWRC) and unsaturated shear strength of this soil were obtained.Results show that the air-entry suction and the residual degree of saturation of the tested soil are 106 kPa and 8%,respectively.The boundary effect zone and the transition zone can be identified on the desorption curve,but the residual zone is not so obvious.The unsaturated shear strength increases as suction increases within the range of controlled suction in the test,and friction angle,b,in the triaxial shear test is 17.6°.Based on the results,constitutive models for predicting the unsaturated shear strength using the SWRC were evaluated,and comparisons between prediction and measurement were made.It is concluded that for engineering purpose,the constitutive model should be carefully selected based on soil properties when predicting the unsaturated shear strength using the SWRC.展开更多
文摘Soil water retention curves(SWRCs) provide an important means of describing the response of unsaturated soils during drying / wetting processes in terms of variations of degree of saturation, water content or void ratio with suction. A key consideration in generating these curves is how to measure the suction. Frequently the filter paper technique is adopted, especially when high suctions are developed, e.g. with plastic clays. As each measurement takes at least a week with this technique, it can take months or years to generate a full SWRC in drying and wetting. Developments in laboratory tensiometers now allow matrix suctions up to about 1.5 MPa to be measured. With such a device it is possible to develop SWRCs for granular soils such as silts and clays in hours or days by continuous measurement. This paper describes an experimental set-up that was developed to measure changes in volume, water content and matrix suction during drying of three granular soils. Limitations of the apparatus and usefulness of the curves are discussed.
基金Supported by the China National Key Technology R&D Program(2006BAJ27B02-02)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(40772180,40728003)Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project(B308)
文摘To study the weakly expansive clay obtained from a slope along Wuhan—Shiyan expressway in Hubei Province,soil-water property tests and some unsaturated triaxial tests with suction control were conducted,and the soil-water retention curve(SWRC) and unsaturated shear strength of this soil were obtained.Results show that the air-entry suction and the residual degree of saturation of the tested soil are 106 kPa and 8%,respectively.The boundary effect zone and the transition zone can be identified on the desorption curve,but the residual zone is not so obvious.The unsaturated shear strength increases as suction increases within the range of controlled suction in the test,and friction angle,b,in the triaxial shear test is 17.6°.Based on the results,constitutive models for predicting the unsaturated shear strength using the SWRC were evaluated,and comparisons between prediction and measurement were made.It is concluded that for engineering purpose,the constitutive model should be carefully selected based on soil properties when predicting the unsaturated shear strength using the SWRC.