UNSATURATED SOILS: ADVANCES IN GEO-ENGINEERING

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON UNSATURATED SOILS,

E-UNSAT 2008, DURHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, JULY 2–4 2008

Unsaturated Soils: Advances

in Geo-Engineering

Editors

D.G. Toll & C.E. Augarde

School of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, UK

D. Gallipoli & S.J. Wheeler

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
CRC Press/Balkema is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK

Typeset by Vikatan Publishing Solutions (P) Ltd., Chennai, India

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cromwell Press Ltd, Towbridge, Wiltshire.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without written prior permission from the publisher.

Although all care is taken to ensure integrity and the quality of this publication and the information herein, no
responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the author for any damage to the property or persons as a result
of operation or use of this publication and/or the information contained herein.

Published by: CRC Press/Balkema

P.O. Box 447, 2300 AK Leiden, The Netherlands
e-mail: Pub.NL@taylorandfrancis.com
www.crcpress.com – www.taylorandfrancis.co.uk – www.balkema.nl

ISBN: 978-0-415-47692-8 (hbk + CD-rom)

 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Table of Contents

Preface XIII
Organisation XV

Keynotes
Unsaturated soil mechanics in earth and rockfill dam engineering 3
E.E. Alonso & N.M. Pinyol
Recent developments in the techniques of controlling and measuring suction in unsaturated soils 33
P. Delage, E. Romero & A. Tarantino
Developments in modelling the generalised behaviour of unsaturated soils 53
A. Gens, L. do N. Guimarães, M. Sánchez & D. Sheng
A thermo-hydro-mechanical stress-strain framework for modelling the performance of clay
barriers in deep geological repositories for radioactive waste 63
L. Laloui, B. François, M. Nuth, H. Peron & A. Koliji

Advances in testing techniques

A novel suction-controlled true triaxial apparatus for unsaturated soils 83
L.R. Hoyos, A. Laikram & A.J. Puppala
A simple shear apparatus for testing unsaturated soils 89
S. Tombolato, A. Tarantino & L. Mongiovì
A device for simultaneous measurement of acoustic and hydraulic properties in unsaturated soils 97
L.A. George, M.M. Dewoolkar & C. Wei
A modified triaxial apparatus to reduce testing time: Equipment and preliminary results 103
J.C. Rojas, C. Mancuso & F. Vinale
A large physical model to simulate flowslides in pyroclastic soils 111
L. Pagano, M.C. Zingariello & F. Vinale
Climatic chamber to model soil-atmosphere interaction in the centrifuge 117
J. Tristancho & B. Caicedo
Experimental determination of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in compacted silt 123
J.J. Muñoz, V. De Gennaro & E. Delaure
Testing for coefficient of permeability of a sandy soil in the residual state zone 129
N. Ebrahimi-Birang, D.G. Fredlund & L. Samarasekera
Preparation of unsaturated soils by oedometric compression 135
B. Caicedo, J.C. Ulloa & C. Murillo

V
Influence of sample height on the soil water characteristic curve 141
C.N. Khoury & G.A. Miller
Observations of unsaturated soils by Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy
in dynamic mode 145
S.D.N. Lourenço, D.G. Toll, C.E. Augarde, D. Gallipoli, A. Congreve, T. Smart & F.D. Evans
Recent advances in ESEM analysis of partially saturated geomaterials 151
C. Sorgi, V. De Gennaro, H.D. Nguyen & P. Delalain
Study of desiccation crack evolution using image analysis 159
S. Costa, J. Kodikara & N.I. Thusyanthan
Theoretical analysis of the effect of temperature, cable length and double-impedance
probe head on TDR water content measurement 165
A. Tarantino & A. Pozzato
Effect of dry density on the relationship between water content and TDR-measured
apparent dielectric permittivity in compacted clay 173
A. Pozzato, A. Tarantino, J. McCartney & J. Zornberg
Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR) – Principles, limitations and accuracy 181
R. Becker, A. Scheuermann, S. Schlaeger, C. Huebner & N. Wagner
Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR) – On the use in geohydraulics
and geotechnics 189
A. Scheuermann, A. Bieberstein, Th. Triantafyllidis, C. Huebner, R. Becker, S. Schlaeger & N. Wagner
Water content dynamics in unsaturated soils – Results of experimental investigations
in laboratory and in situ 197
A. Scheuermann
A new high capacity tensiometer: First results 205
J.C. Rojas, L. Pagano, M.C. Zingariello, C. Mancuso, G. Giordano & G. Passeggio
Evaluation of suction measurement by the tensiometer and the axis translation technique 213
S.D.N. Lourenço, D.G. Toll, C.E. Augarde, D. Gallipoli, F.D. Evans & G.M. Medero
A system for field measurement of suction using high capacity tensiometers 219
J. Mendes, D.G. Toll, C.E. Augarde & D. Gallipoli

Engineering behaviour
Water retention behaviour and hydraulic properties
Water retention properties of Boom clay: A comparison between different
experimental techniques 229
T.T. Le, P. Delage, Y.J. Cui, A.M. Tang, A. Lima, E. Romero, A. Gens & X.L. Li
Determination of soil suction state surface in pure and composite clays by
filter paper method 235
M. Biglari, A. Shafiee & I. Ashayeri
Soil water retention curves for remolded expansive soils 243
K.C. Chao, J.D. Nelson, D.D. Overton & J.M. Cumbers
Hydromechanical couplings in confined MX80 bentonite during hydration 249
D. Marcial, P. Delage & Y.J. Cui

VI
Effect of temperature on the water retention capacity of FEBEX and MX-80 bentonites 257
M.V. Villar & R. Gómez-Espina
Soil-water characteristic curves and void ratio changes relative to suction
for soils from Greece 263
M.E. Bardanis & M.J. Kavvadas
Prediction of soil-water retention properties of a lime stabilised compacted silt 271
M. Cecconi & G. Russo
Time dependency of the water retention properties of a lime stabilised compacted soil 277
D.V. Tedesco & G. Russo
Retention and compressibility properties of a partially saturated mine chalk 283
H.D. Nguyen, V. De Gennaro, P. Delage & C. Sorgi
Effect of grain size distribution on water retention behaviour of well graded coarse material 291
C. Hoffmann & A. Tarantino
Water retention functions of sand mixtures 299
E. Imre, I. Laufer, K. Rajkai, A. Scheuermann, T. Firgi & G. Telekes
Permeability of a heavily compacted bentonite-sand mixture as sealing and buffer element
for nuclear waste repository 305
S.S. Agus & T. Schanz

Volumetric behaviour
Volumetric behaviour of compacted London Clay during wetting and loading 315
R. Monroy, L. Zdravkovic & A. Ridley
Stress path dependence of hydromechanical behaviour of compacted scaly clay in wetting
and drying suction controlled oedometer tests at constant vertical net stress 321
C. Airò Farulla
Long-term behaviour of lime-treated expansive soil submitted to cyclic wetting and drying 327
O. Cuisinier & D. Deneele
Hydro-mechanical properties of compacted sand-bentonite in a semi-arid climate 335
H. Bilsel & A. Iravanian
Grain size effects on rockfill constitutive behaviour 341
A. Ramon, E.E. Alonso & E.E. Romero
The influence of suction on stiffness, viscosity and collapse of some volcanic ashy soils 349
E. Bilotta, V. Foresta & G. Migliaro
Role of critical volumetric water content and net overburden pressure on swelling
or collapse behavior of compacted soils 355
I. Ashayeri, A. Shafiee & M. Biglari
The changes in stress regime during wetting of unsaturated compacted clays
when laterally confined 361
J.L. Brown & V. Sivakumar
Compression-induced suction change in a compacted expansive clay 369
A.M. Tang, Y.J. Cui & N. Barnel
Theoretical modelling of the compaction curve 375
N. Kurucuk, J. Kodikara & D.G. Fredlund

VII
Prediction of the residual void ratio of clayey soils after drying based on their
initial state, physical properties and structure 381
M.E. Bardanis & M.J. Kavvadas
An evaluation of soil suction measurements using the filter paper method
and their use in volume change prediction 389
J.M. Cumbers, J.D. Nelson, K.C. Chao & D.D. Overton
Validation of a swelling potential index for expansive soils 397
J.L. Zheng, R. Zhang & H.P. Yang

Shear behaviour
Effect of moisture content on tensile strength and fracture toughness of a silty soil 405
M.R. Lakshmikantha, P.C. Prat, J. Tapia & A. Ledesma
Tensile strength of some compacted fine-grained soils 411
A.J. Lutenegger & A. Rubin
Unsaturated characteristics of rammed earth 417
P.A. Jaquin, C.E. Augarde & L. Legrand
Experimental study of the influence of suction on the residual friction angle of clays 423
V. Merchán, J. Vaunat, E. Romero & T. Meca
Ultimate shear strength of unsaturated soils 429
T.B. Hamid
Critical State conditions for an unsaturated artificially bonded soil 435
D.G. Toll, Z. Ali Rahman & D. Gallipoli
Determination of the shear strength behavior of an unsaturated soil in the high suction
range using the vapor pressure technique 441
T. Nishimura, H. Toyota, S.K. Vanapalli & W.T. Oh
Effect of suction on compressibility and shear behaviour of unsaturated silty soil 449
A.R. Estabragh & A.A. Javadi
Mechanical behaviour of an unsaturated clayey sand 453
A. Mirzaii, S.S. Yasrebi & B. Gatmiri
Shear strength of unsaturated soil and its influence on slope stability 459
O. Tomboy, V. Whenham, M. De Vos, R. Charlier, J. Maertens & J.-C. Verbrugge
Behaviour of a silt used in flood embankment construction in Indonesia 465
G. McCloskey, M. Sanchez, M. Dyer & M. Kenny
Strength and yielding of unsaturated compacted silt from Beijing – Kowloon
railway embankment 471
J.K. Liu & L.Y. Peng
Estimation of the shear strength of lean clay based on empirical equations
and a laboratory experiment on slope failure 475
J.V. Vasquez & L.M. Salinas
Effects of drying and wetting cycles on unsaturated shear strength 481
E.Y.M. Tse & C.W.W. Ng
Degradation of compacted marls due to suction changes 487
R. Cardoso & E.E. Alonso

VIII
Multiaxial behavior of partially saturated sand at high stresses 495
N. Massoudi, H.-Y. Ko & S. Sture
A simple method for the prediction of modulus of elasticity for unsaturated sandy soils 503
S.K. Vanapalli, W.T. Oh & A.J. Puppala
Suction effects on the pre-failure behaviour of a compacted clayey soil 511
J.A. Pineda, E.E. Romero & J.E. Colmenares
Influence of hydraulic paths on the low-strain shear modulus of a stiff clay 519
J.A. Pineda, A. Lima & E. Romero
Drying and wetting effects on shear wave velocity of an unsaturated soil 525
J. Xu, C.W.W. Ng & S.Y. Yung
Effects of unsaturated soil state on the local seismic response of soil deposits 531
F. D’Onza, A. d’Onofrio & C. Mancuso

Constitutive modelling
Thermo-plasticity in unsaturated soils, a constitutive approach 539
B. François & L. Laloui
A thermomechanical framework for modeling the response of unsaturated soils 547
S. Samat, J. Vaunat & A. Gens
Discussion on meta-stable equilibrium in unsaturated soils 553
E.J. Murray, B.J. Murray & V. Sivakumar
Advanced hydro-mechanical coupling for unified constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils 559
M. Nuth & L. Laloui
Generalised elasto-plastic stress-strain relations of a fully coupled hydro-mechanical model 567
M. Lloret, M. Sanchez, M. Karstunen & S. Wheeler
Effect of degree of saturation on mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils 575
A.R. Estabragh & A.A. Javadi
An improved constitutive model for unsaturated and saturated soils 581
K. Georgiadis, D.M. Potts & L. Zdravkovic
Modifying the Barcelona Basic Model to account for residual void ratio and subsequent
decrease of shear strength relative to suction 589
M.E. Bardanis & M.J. Kavvadas
A cap model for partially saturated soils 597
R. Kohler, M. Hofmann & G. Hofstetter
Boundary surfaces and yield loci in unsaturated compacted clay 603
A. Tarantino & S. Tombolato
Application to a compacted soil of a Cam Clay model extended to unsaturated conditions 609
F. Casini, R. Vassallo, C. Mancuso & A. Desideri
Mixed isotropic-rotational hardening to model the deformational response
of unsaturated compacted soils 617
C. Jommi & E. Romero
An anisotropic elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soils 625
K. Stropeit, S.J. Wheeler & Y.J. Cui

IX
An elasto-viscoplastic model for chalk including suction effects 633
F. Collin, V. De Gennaro, P. Delage & G. Priol
New basis for constitutive modelling of unsaturated aggregated soil with structure degradation 641
A. Koliji, L. Vulliet & L. Laloui
A damage model for unsaturated natural loess submitted to cyclic loading 647
J.M. Pereira, A.N. Ta, Y.J. Cui, J.P. Karam & H.Y. Chai
Desiccation shrinkage of unconstrained soil in the saturated phase 653
L.B. Hu, T. Hueckel, H. Peron & L. Laloui
Modelling of the collapsible behaviour of unsaturated soils in hypoplasticity 659
D. Mašín & N. Khalili
Swelling pressure in compacted bentonite: Laboratory tests and modelling 667
M. Sanchez, M.V. Villar, R. Gómez-Espina, A. Lloret & A. Gens
Modelling water retention characteristic of unsaturated soils 675
Y. Wang, G. Wu, S.M. Grove & M.G. Anderson
Temperature effect on hydric behaviour for unsaturated deformable soils 683
S. Salager, M.S. El Youssoufi & C. Saix
A study of applied pressure on the Soil Water Characteristic Curve 689
J. Zhou
Outline of the modelling of the excavated damaged zone in geological barriers 695
C. Arson & B. Gatmiri

Numerical modelling
Stress path dependency and non-convexity of unsaturated soil models 705
D.C. Sheng, D. Pedroso & A.J. Abbo
Implicit integration of an extended Cam-clay model for unsaturated soils 713
R. Tamagnini & V. De Gennaro
Parametric investigations on a three-invariant implicit integration algorithm
for unsaturated soils 721
L.R. Hoyos & P. Arduino
A multi-cell extension to the Barcelona Basic Model 727
W.T. Solowski, R.S. Crouch & D. Gallipoli
A numerical simulation of triaxial tests of unsaturated soil at constant water
and air content by using an elasto-viscoplastic model 735
F. Oka, H. Feng, S. Kimoto, T. Kodaka & H. Suzuki
Stress condition of an unsaturated pendular state granular soil 743
C. Medina & M. Zeghal
A numerical investigation of steady-state unsaturated conductivity tests 747
G. Steger, S. Semprich, M.P.H. Moncada, T.M.P. de Campos & E. Vargas Jr.
Numerical modelling of hydraulic hysteresis in unsaturated soils 755
A.A. Javadi & A.S.I. Elkassas
The drift shadow phenomenon in an unsaturated fractured environment 761
Claudia Cherubini, T.A. Ghezzehei & G.W. Su

X
Identification of hydraulic parameters for unsaturated soils using particle
swarm optimization 765
Y. Zhang, C.E. Augarde & D. Gallipoli
A precipitation boundary condition for finite element analysis 773
P.G. Smith, D.M. Potts & T.I. Addenbrooke
On boundary condition in tunnels under partial saturation 779
P. Gerard, R. Charlier & F. Collin
Numerical modelling of tree root-water-uptake in a multiphase medium 785
S. Hemmati & B. Gatmiri
Numerical modelling of the soil surface moisture changes due
to soil-atmosphere interaction 791
S. Hemmati, B. Azari & B. Gatmiri
Identification of coupled hydro-mechanical model parameters with application
to engineering barrier systems 797
T. Schanz, M. Datcheva & M. Zimmerer
Surface flux boundary simplifications for flow through clay under landscaped conditions 805
H.B. Dye, S.L. Houston & W.N. Houston
Preliminary analysis of tree-induced suctions on slope stability 811
N. Ali & S.W. Rees
Numerical predictions of seasonal pore water pressure fluctuations using FLAC tp flow 817
O.C. Davies, M. Rouainia & S. Glendinning
Infiltration analysis in unsaturated soil slopes 823
J.F. Xue & K. Gavin
Prediction of changes in pore-water pressure response due to rainfall events 829
M. Karthikeyan, D.G. Toll & K.K. Phoon
Modelling unsaturated soil slopes subjected to wetting and drying cycles 835
Y.D. Zhou, C.Y. Cheuk, L.G. Tham & E.C.Y. To
Numerical analysis of piezocone penetrometer testing in partially saturated
marine sediments 841
A. Haghighi, B. Gatmiri, V. De Gennaro & N. Sultan
Experimental and numerical studies of the hydromechanical behaviour of a natural
unsaturated swelling soil 847
H. Nowamooz, M. Mrad, A. Abdallah & F. Masrouri
Numerical modelling of shallow foundations on swelling clay soil using
the swelling equilibrium limit 855
G.A. Siemens & J.A. Blatz
Meshfree modelling of two-dimensional contaminant transport through unsaturated
porous media 861
R. Praveen Kumar, G.R. Dodagoudar & B.N. Rao
Numerical modeling of hydraulic behavior of bioreactor landfills 867
M.V. Khire & M. Mukherjee
Finite element modelling of contaminant transport in unsaturated soil 873
A.A. Javadi & M.M. Al-Najjar

XI
Case studies
Gulfs between theory and practice in unsaturated soil mechanics 883
G.E. Blight
The repeatability of soil water balances at the same site from year to year 889
G.E. Blight
Near-surface movement of water in unsaturated soil during evapotranspiration 895
G.E. Blight
Studies of rainfall-induced landslides in Thailand and Singapore 901
A. Jotisankasa, B. Kulsawan, D.G. Toll & H. Rahardjo
Field investigation on triggering mechanisms of fast landslides in unsaturated
pyroclastic soils 909
A. Evangelista, M.V. Nicotera, R. Papa & G. Urciuoli
Mechanical properties of unsaturated pyroclastic soils affected by fast
landslide phenomena 917
R. Papa, A. Evangelista, M.V. Nicotera & G. Urciuoli
Stability of a tailings dam considering the hydro-mechanical behaviour
of tailings and climate factors 925
M.T. Zandarín, L. Oldecop & R.R. Pacheco
A simplified model for the evaluation of the degree of saturation in slope
stability analysis of shallow soils 933
L. Montrasio & R. Valentino
Predicting the variation of stability with time for a slope in Switzerland 941
A. Thielen & S.M. Springman
In situ field experiment to apply variable high water levels to a river levee 947
P.A. Mayor, S.M. Springman & P. Teysseire
A new treatment for preventing landslides in expansive soil slopes 953
H.P. Yang, Y.X. He & J.L. Zheng
Flow processes in the unsaturated Chalk of the Hallue Basin (France) 959
N. Amraoui, H. Machard de Gramont, C. Robelin, A. Wuilleumier,
M.L. Noyer & M.J. Feret
Loading-collapse tests for investigating compressibility and potential collapsibility
of embankment coarse well graded material 967
C. Hoffmann & A. Tarantino
An example of the impact of loess soils on foundations and earthworks in Kazakhstan 973
S. Walthall & W.P. Duffy
Negative skin friction for cast-in-place piles in thick collapsible loess 979
Z.H. Chen, X.F. Huang, B. Qin, X.W. Fang & J.F. Guo

Author index 987

XII
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Preface

This volume of proceedings of the First European Conference on Unsaturated Soils is the first publication to
focus on European research developments in geo-engineering applications of unsaturated soils. The resurgence of
interest in unsaturated soil research within Europe in recent years has lead to major advances. We are fortunate
to have the latest developments reported here, in the 136 papers from leading international researchers and
practitioners. The volume contains 90 papers from 15 countries within Europe with a further 46 contributions
from 15 other countries. It hence represents European advances in geo-engineering together with an international
state-of-the-art perspective on unsaturated soils in 2008.
The volume addresses five areas: Advances in testing techniques, Engineering behaviour, Constitutive mod-
elling, Numerical modelling and Case histories. The areas of application include slope stability, foundations,
dams, contaminated land, landfill and nuclear waste repositories. It therefore provides a comprehensive collection
that we believe geo-engineers will come to treat as essential reference material.
Keynote papers from four international leading researchers are contained in the volume. We are grateful for
the participation of Professors Eduardo Alonso, Pierre Delage, Antonio Gens and Lyesse Laloui. There is no
doubt that these keynote papers will be seen as landmark contributions in unsaturated soil research.
The motivation for organising this First European Conference on Unsaturated Soils grew from the MUSE
project (Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils for Engineering: http://muse.dur.ac.uk) funded by the European Com-
munity. The editors (from Durham and Glasgow Universities) would like to thank our MUSE colleagues from
Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in France; Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya in Spain; Università
degli Studi di Trento and Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II in Italy for their support, both for this
conference and our joint research activities.
We would also like to acknowledge the vital role played by the Technical Advisory Committee members who
have contributed to the very thorough reviews that have ensured the high technical quality of the papers accepted
for inclusion in these Proceedings.
We also thank the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and in particular
Technical Committee 6 on Unsaturated Soils, for their support of the conference. Particular thanks are due
to Professor Pedro Seco e Pinto (President of ISSMGE), Professor Neil Taylor (General Secretary ISSMGE),
Professor Eduardo Alonso (Chair of TC6) and Professor Gerald Miller (Secretary TC6).
We hope that this first conference, and this volume of proceedings, will form the foundation and the impetus
for a future series of European Conferences on Unsaturated Soils. We look forward to many such successful
conferences and research collaborations in the future.

David Toll & Charles Augarde (Durham University)

Domenico Gallipoli & Simon Wheeler (University of Glasgow)

XIII
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Organisation

Organizing Committee

C.E. Augarde (Durham University)

R.S. Crouch (Durham University)
D. Gallipoli (University of Glasgow)
D.G. Toll (Durham University)
S.J. Wheeler (University of Glasgow)

Technical Advisory Committee

E.E. Alonso (Spain)

G.E. Blight (South Africa)
J.B. Burland (United Kingdom)
Y.J. Cui (France)
T.M.P. de Campos (Brazil)
R. Charlier (Belgium)
P. Delage (France)
D.G. Fredlund (Canada)
A. Gens (Spain)
S.L. Houston (United States of America)
D. Karube (Japan)
N. Khalili (Australia)
L. Laloui (Switzerland)
C. Mancuso (Italy)
J. McDougall (United Kingdom)
G.M. Medero (United Kingdom)
C.W.W. Ng (Hong Kong)
H. Rahardjo (Singapore)
A. Ridley (United Kingdom)
M. Sanchez (United Kingdom)
T. Schanz (Germany)
V. Sivakumar (United Kingdom)
A. Tarantino (Italy)
H. Thomas (United Kingdom)

XV
Keynotes
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Unsaturated soil mechanics in earth and rockfill dam engineering

E.E. Alonso & N.M. Pinyol

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: The paper examines a few relevant aspects of the design and performance of earth and rockfill
dams. It covers the behaviour of compacted soil and rockfill, the generation of pore pressures and deformations
during construction, the seepage phenomena during the operation of the dam, the important case of drawdown
and a case history of a dam failure at the end of impoundment. It is argued that unsaturated soil mechanics
offers today theories, experimental procedures and computational tools which provide a definite advantage over
classical design methods. It offers also a new insight into field observations.

1 INTRODUCTION of the project. Typically, the upstream and down-

Earth and rockfill dams are made of compacted soil
and rockfill and, therefore, it is natural to consider
their design, construction and performance from the
perspective of unsaturated soil mechanics. However,
earth and rockfill dams have been designed and built
successfully all over the world, centuries before soil
mechanics and unsaturated soil mechanics were devel-
oped. Accumulated experience and traditional design
rules are certainly sufficient to achieve safe designs in
practice. Dams are not currently being built in signif-
icant numbers in well-developed countries, but new
projects are being commissioned in areas of Africa,
South America and Asia. Therefore, the interest in
these structures should be maintained. There are two
additional aspects, which make the subject extremely
interesting for a soils engineer, in general, and for
specialists in unsaturated soils, in particular. The first
aspect is the current trend to use any kind of soil or
rock in the design of dams because of sustainability
constraints. It is no longer feasible to select ‘‘the best’’
emplacement or to import ‘‘good’’ materials. The sec-
ond point is that the behaviour of soils and rocks
outcropping in tropical areas are not understood as well
as more ‘‘regular’’ sedimentary and alluvial forma-
tions, often found in temperate climates of the northern
hemisphere. Facing these challenges, unsaturated soil
mechanics offers today a sufficient degree of devel-
opment to provide theories and models of compacted
soil behaviour, specialised testing and computational
tools, which could improve today’s state of the art on
earth dam and rockfill engineering. This paper is a
contribution in this direction.
Earth and rockfill dam design is, first of all, an
exercise in ensuring the stability of the structure under
a set of conditions expected to occur during the life
stream slopes should exhibit adequate safety factors at
the end of construction, during reservoir impoundment
and during the operational phase, including drawdown
and long-term steady state conditions as a limiting
case. In addition, other failure possibilities should be
examined. They include the phenomena of hydraulic
fracture and internal erosion. Other aspects are also
of concern, such as the deformation of the structure
during the construction and operational stages. In vir-
tually all the mentioned topics, concepts developed in
unsaturated soil mechanics in the last few decades may
be used to gain an improved understanding of relevant
phenomena.
The paper starts with a review of some key ideas of
compaction. The purpose is to add a different funda-
mental perspective to the powerful and well established
concepts of soil compaction. Compacted soils and
rockfill are often combined in earth dam design. They
exhibit qualitatively similar behaviour against water
action. However, basic principles of deformation are
substantially different. Both types of materials will be
dealt with in this paper.
The issue of pore pressure generation during con-
struction, which requires the solution of undrained and
consolidation phenomena in unsaturated soils will be
developed through some examples.
Impoundment introduces two topics: the expected
deformation of the dam in the course of partial or total
wetting and the stability conditions of upstream and
downstream slopes. Consistent answers for both prob-
lems require the solution of coupled flow-deformation
phenomena under unsaturated (or saturated) condi-
tions. Drawdown conditions will then be described.
Some simplified recommendations for design will be
reviewed and discussed. A case history of a dam failure
during first impoundment will be finally discussed.

3
 The examples and cases presented are taken from
the recent involvement of the authors in a number
of dam projects. Material parameters are real in the
sense that they have been approximated from actual
published on unpublished laboratory tests and field
instrumentation results. Extensive use has been made
of the coupled flow-deformation computer program
CODE_BRIGHT described in Olivella et al. (1996)
and DIT-UPC (2002).
2 COMPACTED SOILS
The design of earth dams and the analysis of
their behaviour require knowing the response of the
compacted fill materials under stress and humidity
changes. The behaviour of fill materials depends on
the compaction procedure. During compaction, per-
manent strains are induced which modify the original
properties of the soil and its microstructure. The con-
ceptual bases of compaction of fine-grained materials
were established in 1933 by Proctor who defined the
compaction state by two variables: dry density (γd ) and
water content (w). For a given compaction procedure
and compaction energy, the soil density reached at the
end of compaction depends on the water content of the
soil. An optimum or maximum dry density can exist at
certain water content, lower than the water content at
saturation. In practice, the compacted soil behaviour is
characterized by the pair of variables (γd , w) and their
significant influence on the subsequent mechanical
behaviour of the soil is widely accepted. For instance,
it is known that core dams compacted on the wet side of
optimum are more deformable and more impervious.
Therefore, the risk of cracking and hydraulic fracture
is reduced. However, high initial water content may
induce the development of high pore water pressures
during construction, which increases the risk of insta-
bility. Dry of optimum compaction leads to more rigid
cores which are prone to collapse upon saturation if
the density achieved in not high enough. Deforma-
tion may crack these rigid cores and make them more
susceptible to hydraulic fracture.
Microscopic observations and porosimetry show
that the compaction procedure also induces substan-
tial differences in the soil fabric. In particular, sev-
eral authors have reported the relevant effect of the
compaction water content on the microstructure of
fine-grained soils (Lambe, 1958; Seed & Chan, 1959;
Barden & Sides, 1970; Delage et al, 1996; Simms &
Yanful, 2001). Compacted samples on the dry side
exhibit a double-structure fabric due to the aggre-
gation of clay particles whereas dispersed fabrics
are observed in samples compacted wet of optimum.
Differences in the mechanical behaviour of a soil
due to compaction conditions are often attributed to
these microstructural differences acquired during the
4
process. However, it is not easy to distinguish between
the effect of the structure and the effect of initial
conditions established during compaction.
This section initially focuses in some aspects of soil
compaction and in the interpretation of soil behaviour
within a context of an elasto-plastic framework for
unsaturated soils. The BBM model (Alonso et al,
1990) has been chosen as a reference model. Empha-
sis is placed in the dependence of initial conditions
and constitutive parameters with the compaction pro-
cedure. The effect of the initial condition induced by
compaction on the subsequent mechanical behaviour
of a core dam is presented. The construction of San
Salvador Dam, an earth and rockfill dam designed
to be built in Huesca (Spain), has been modelled
under different assumptions of compaction conditions
in terms of density and water content. The mechan-
ical response and pore pressure generation during
construction will be discussed.
2.1 Basic properties of compacted materials
The dry density (γd ) of a soil induced by
compaction depends on the water content (w), the
compaction procedure (dynamic and static) and the
compaction energy. Figures 1 and 2 show the static
compaction curves for different compaction stresses
of a low plasticity silty clay from Barcelona (wL =
30.5%, PI = 11.8%, % < 2 μm = 16.1%) and a
high plasticity soil—Boom clay—(wL = 56%, PI =
27%, % <2 μm = 49.7%). Contours of equal degree
of saturation and equal suction, obtained after com-
paction by interpolating measurements from transistor
psychrometers, are also plotted. As expected, suction
increases as water content decreases. At high water
contents, contours of equal suction follow the degree
of saturation contours, whereas, as water content
decreases, suction is controlled by the humidity with
negligible influence of the dry density. This behaviour
was explained by Romero (1999), who pointed out that
in fine grained soils, high values of suction are mainly
controlled by the intra-aggregates voids. Since density
changes of a soil are basically associated with the vol-
ume of macropores, probably empty at relatively high
suctions, the effect of density on suction, for relatively
dry states, is negligible.
The shape of the compaction curve generally
depends on the compaction procedure. Honda et al.
(2003) presented the relationship between dry density
and water content of a soil (wL = 33.5%; PI = 13.2)
compacted dynamically and statically (Fig. 3). The
dynamic compaction curve has a clear maximum den-
sity unlike the curve obtained by static compaction.
A similar result may be observed in Figure 2 for Boom
clay. However this feature was not observed in the case
of the low plasticity silty clay from Barcelona where
a clear peak was obtained for all static compaction

Figure 1. Static compaction curves of Barcelona silty clay
and contours of equal suction (Suriol et al. 1998).
Figure 2. Static compaction curves of Boom clay and
contours of equal degree of saturation and equal suction
(Romero, 1999).
stresses. Well defined dry and wet branches could be
identified in this case.
The value of suction reached for a given degree
of saturation depends on the material properties. This
fact can be observed if Figures 1 and 2 are compared.
Equal values of degree of saturation correspond to dif-
ferent suction values depending on the clay nature.
For a given compaction water content, the higher
the fine’s content and the soil plasticity the higher
the suction. Data in this regard was also given by
Marinho & Chandler (1993) who measured suction in
samples of varying plasticity, compacted at different
water contents.
5
Figure 3. Dynamic and static compaction curves of a soil
(wL = 33.5%; PI = 13.2) (Honda et al., 2003).
2.2 Microstructure of compacted materials
Differences in microstructure become evident when
samples compacted on the dry side are compared with
sample compacted on wet side at the same density.
Several authors have investigated the fabric of com-
pacted soils for different compaction conditions by
scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion
porosimetry (MIP): Barden & Sides (1970), Collins
(1983) and Suriol et al (1998) and Suriol & Lloret
(2007), for clays, Delage et al. (1996) for silt and
Simms & Yanful (2001) for clayey till, among others.
Consider, in Figure 4, the two compaction states
(Dry and Wet) of the Barcelona silty clay at approxi-
mately the same dry density. Samples were compacted
statically applying a compaction stress of 0.6 MPa. The
pore size distribution of the two states was determined
by MIP.
Differences in pore size distribution induced by the
compaction water content are clear in Figure 5: com-
pacting on the dry side induces a significant proportion
of bigger pores (5 to 100 μm) which are absent in the
samples compacted on the wet side.
Consider now the application of a drying (or wet-
ting) path to a sample initially compacted on the wet
(or dry) side (states DW and WD in Fig. 6 and 7). The
implied suction change is expected to induce defor-
mations and therefore a change in soil microstructure.
This is indeed the case, but the main question here
is to what extent the final state (density, water con-
tent) explains the microstructure. Figure 5 indicates
that the origin of the specimen is maintained to some
extent. In fact, the comparison of the DD and WD
states indicates that direct compaction on the dry side
implies a larger proportion of larger pores than com-
pacting on the wet side and later bringing the sample,
by means of controlled drying, to the same target
 0.6
DD
0.5
WD

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06
Tamaño de poro (nm)

Figure 4. Moisture and dry density of samples of Barcelona Figure 6. Pore size distributions of compacted Barcelona
silty clay. DD: samples compacted on the dry side; WW: silty clay. DD: Sample compacted on dry side; WD: Sam-
samples compacted on the wet side; DW (WD): samples taken ple compacted on wet side and subsequently dried (Suriol &
to the dry (wet) side, after compacting on the wet (dry) side. Lloret, 2007).
Compaction stress: 0.6 MPa. (Suriol et al, 1998).
0.6
0.6
DW
0.5
WW WW
0.5
DD
0.4
Δe/Δlog D

0.4
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.1

0.1
0 Void size (nm)
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06
Void Size (nm)
Figure 5. Pore size distributions of compacted Barcelona
silty clay compacted on the dry (DD) or wet (WW) side
(Suriol & Lloret, 2007).
state: (γd , w) of specimen DD. In a similar man-
ner (Fig. 7), wetting the specimen DD towards DW
maintains a larger proportion of larger pores than
the specimen initially compacted on the wet side.
It is also interesting to check that drying develops
large pores in an initially wet specimen (compare
pore size distributions of WD and WW specimens
in Fig. 6 and 7). A comparison of states DW and
DD (Fig. 6 and 7) suggests that wetting leads to a
reduction of the proportion of bigger pores, surely as
0
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06
Figure 7. Pore size distributions of compacted Barcelona
silty clay. DW: Sample compacted on dry side and subse-
quently wetted; and WW: Sample compacted on wet side
(Suriol & Lloret, 2007).
a result of clay expansion. In all cases, the distribu-
tion of micropores has remained essentially unaffected
because microporosity depends on the mineralogy and
the grain size distribution of the fine fraction of the
soil which remain unchanged during compaction and
suction-paths.
The preceding experiments were performed on
unloaded specimens. Loading them will modify
the observed trends in a quantitative manner. It is
concluded that compaction on the wet or dry side, for
the same dry density, leads to changes in pore size

6
distribution. In addition, the application of suction
paths (drying or wetting) after compaction induces
a continuous and significant modification of the
microstructure of compacted clayey soils. Fabric mod-
ifications induced by suction increase have also been
presented by Cuisinier and Laloui (2004).
In the next section, the volumetric response of
these samples, in one dimensional wetting tests, is
described.
Not only has the compaction water content had a rel-
evant effect on the fabric of compacted soils. Seed &
Chan (1959), based on indirect evidence (stress-strain
curves) pointed out the effect of shear straining dur-
ing compaction. They proposed that static compaction,
which involves comparatively smaller shear straining
than dynamic compaction, induce the aggregation of
clay particles even for compaction on the wet side.
The static and dynamic compaction curves given in
Figure 3 reflect also these effects.

2.3 Some aspects of hydraulic and mechanical

behaviour
The water retention curve (WRC) is a basic hydraulic
property in the characterization of the soil from the per-
spective of unsaturated soil mechanics. It depends on
the mineralogy and the pore structure of the soil. For a
given soil density, variations on compaction conditions
may induce relevant differences in the microstructure
and in the pore size distribution. Therefore, differ-
ent retention curves will be found. The effect of the
microstructure of compacted Boom clay on the WRC
was published in Romero et al (1999).
There are alternative procedures to determine the
WRC. Consider the technique used by Barrera (2002).
Specimens are compacted at a fixed dry density, and
varying water contents. If suction is measured in these
samples, a relationship between degree of saturation
and suction is immediately established. If the target
dry density is changed, and the procedure is repeated
a new WRC may be determined. Figure 8 shows the
final result for the Barcelona low plasticity silty clay.
For a given degree of saturation, increasing the soil
density leads to increasing suction. Differences tend
to reduce as the soil becomes wetter, but the effect of
density (which essentially reflects the soil macropores)
is clearly marked.
Marinho & Stuermer (2000) provided also some
experimental data about the effect of compaction con-
ditions on the WRC. In particular, they examined
the effect of the compaction energy and compaction
water content on the drying branch of the WRC for
a residual soil of Gneiss (LL = 48%, PL = 29%
and % < 2 μm = 45%). The experimental work
involved obtaining the WRC of a high number of
samples compacted at different water content under
three different compaction energies (Standard Proctor,
Figure 8. Retention curves for different constant densities
of Barcelona low plasticity silty clay (Barrera, 2002).
Modified Proctor and a non-standard low energy). As
a representative example, Figure 9 shows the WRC
for samples compacted at Modified Proctor energy.
Initial conditions of samples after compaction are also
shown in the same figure. The technique here was
different if compared with the procedure reported by
Barrera (2002): once compacted at a given density
and water content, specimens were equilibrated (by
drying) to a different water content. The equilibrium
suction could then be related with the attained humid-
ity. In this way, the WRC associated with a particular
compaction ‘‘point’’ (MP1, MP2, MP3 etc. in Fig. 9)
was determined. The measured WRCs are also indi-
cated in Figure 9. Samples MP2 and MP4, which were
compacted at the same dry density (or void ratio),
but at different compaction water content presented
a different WRC. During the drying process samples
compacted near the optimum water content or below it
(MP2) always presented smaller suction than samples
compacted at wet of optimum (MP4). For low degrees
of saturation curves tend to be similar, irrespective
of the original compaction state (in contrast with the
results presented in Fig. 8).
It is concluded that the WRC of a given soil is not a
unique relationship (irrespective of hysteresis effects)
even for a given density. The differences reported here
are attributed to differences in microstructure built
into the specimen by the compaction procedure. In
addition, there are alternative procedures to determine
the WRC. For instance, direct compaction to the target

7
Figure 9. Water retention curves of a low plasticity soil obtained by drying of compacted samples at different conditions.
(a), (b) and (c): Initial state. (d): Measured WRC (Marinho & Stuermer, 2000).
density value at different water contents or compaction
to a given state followed by suitable application of a
stress-suction path. Most likely these alternate pro-
cedures lead to a different microstructure. In fact,
microstructure changes during stress-suction paths.
An example is presented by Simms & Yanful (2001)
who analysed the porosimetry of compacted clayey
till samples. Significant changes in the shape of pore
size distribution before, during and after the WRC test
were obtained. This microstructural differences lead
to differences in mechanical and hydraulic behaviour.
Regarding the mechanical behaviour, in general
terms, compacted samples on the dry side exhibit
higher stiffness and lower shrinkage during drying
than compacted samples on the wet side, at the
same dry density (Seed & Chan, 1959; Sivakumar &
Wheeler, 2000a, b). Compaction on the wet side
8
of optimum water content involves lower collapse
(or higher swelling if the attained density is high
enough). The microstructure described before gives
a good explanation for the volumetric response during
wetting. The proportion of large pores is associated
with the volumetric instability by compression and
collapse.
Suction controlled tests on the described samples of
Barcelona silty clay (Fig. 1) corroborate the soil fabric
effect on the volumetric behaviour of the soil during
wetting. Samples WD and DD, which have a com-
mon initial state (defined it terms of dry density, water
content and suction) but they were compacted at differ-
ent water contents, were loaded in a suction-controlled
oedometer cell and they were later saturated. (Suction
controlled loading is necessary if the effect of loading
and final wetting is to be isolated). Since they have the

Figure 10. Volumetric deformation measured at the final
phase of saturation at different vertical stresses. Samples WD
and DD of Barcelona red silty clay (from Suriol et al 1998).
same initial state, the different mechanical behaviour
exhibited by the samples is attributed exclusively to
the fabric produced during compaction. Differences
attributed to initial conditions have been eliminated in
these tests.
The volumetric deformation measured during the
final phase of saturation for the samples DD and
WD is presented in Figure 10. They exhibit a similar
behaviour, in qualitative terms. At low vertical confin-
ing stress (σv = 0.2 MPa) a small swelling is measured.
Collapse then increases with increasing stress. A max-
imum value was found for σv = 2 MPa. At higher
vertical stresses, the magnitude of the collapse reduces
progressively. It is clear that the sample compacted on
the wet side was able to develop collapse because of
the drying episode after wet compaction. It can also be
observed that the samples compacted on the dry side
(DD) exhibit higher collapse than specimens WD.
2.4 Behaviour of compacted materials from
the perspective of an elastoplastic framework
for unsaturated soils (BBM)
Modelling dam behaviour during construction and
operation is an important consideration in design.
Existing constitutive models for unsaturated soils offer
the possibility of a consistent analysis of dam per-
formance. A fundamental initial step is the proper
characterization of compacted soils. In this section,
the behaviour of compacted materials is interpreted in
the context of an elasto-plastic critical state model for
unsaturated soils: the Barcelona Basic Model (BBM)
(Alonso et al, 1990).
Compacted soil properties will be defined through
material parameters. In this way, different soils should
be characterized by different constitutive parameters.
It is widely accepted that variations in mineralogy
and in grain size distribution involve fundamentally
different materials and, therefore, they should be char-
acterized by different constitutive parameters. But the
9
relevant question is whether the compaction procedure
only modifies initial conditions or, alternatively, every
combination of compaction method, compaction water
content and achieved density effectively lead to dif-
ferent soils which have to be modelled with different
constitutive parameters.
As discussed previously, compaction is character-
ized in practice by the achieved dry density (γd ) and
the compaction water content (w). Undoubtedly, these
compaction conditions will determine the initial con-
ditions. Initial conditions (in the context of BBM)
are determined by the initial stress state, which will
be a state of negligible stress immediately after com-
paction, before any subsequent load due to construc-
tion, the initial value of suction and initial position of
the yield surface. The rest of the effects of the com-
paction procedure on the mechanical response of the
soil that can not be explained by initial conditions must
be attributed to the constitutive parameters. The influ-
ence of the initial suction and the initial position of
the yield curve on the subsequent behaviour during
isotropic loading and wetting in the context of BBM
is described in Sivakumar & Wheeler (2000a and b).
Suction induced by compaction will be essentially
determined by the water content and, to a lesser extent,
by the dry density achieved as shown in the previous
section. Numerical calculations with BBM require the
independent determination of the WRC.
The position of the yield surface after compaction
is closely related to the dry density achieved. The ini-
tial yield stress can be interpreted as the maximum
stress of compaction experienced by the soil. Honda
et al (2003) reported that the yield stress measured
in suction-controlled oedometer tests of samples pre-
viously compacted at two different static loads and at
different water contents almost coincide with the com-
paction pressure. At given water content, soils com-
pacted with higher compaction effort will reach higher
dry densities and will yield at higher stress. In BBM,
the position of yield surface is uniquely defined with
the yield stress at saturated conditions (p∗0 ). Then, for a
given soil, p∗0 is determined by the dry density and it is
essentially independent of compaction water content
(Alonso et al, 1987; Gens, 1995; Wheeler, 2000a).
The compaction effort required to achieve a given
dry density depends on the soil properties, namely
its plasticity and grain size distribution. In order to
know the preconsolidation stress of a compacted soil,
it is interesting to describe its value by the attained
dry density. In order to do so, a review has been
made of published compression data of compacted
specimens of a variety of soil types. In all cases,
except for some results from Honda et al (2003) and
Balmaceda (1991) results, samples were compacted
statically. For each type of soil, tests were performed
on specimens compacted at different dry densities.
The preconsolidation yield stress was derived from
oedometer, isotropic compression tests or considering
the maximum stress applied to the compacted sample.
The results are given in Figure 11. The derived
value of p∗0 is plotted against the initial dry density of
the specimen. The results follow a definite pattern.
The saturated yield stress increases exponentially with
the attained dry density. On the other hand, for a given
dry density, the more plastic the soil, the higher p∗0 .
Figure 11 may be useful, in the absence of experi-
ments, to approximate the p∗0 associated with a given
dry density.
The simplest approach to describe the compaction
state in terms of the parameters of an elastoplas-
tic constitutive model such as BBM is therefore to
substitute the pair (γd , w) by the stress pair (p∗0 , s).
However, the discussion on microstructure and its
consequences in terms of mechanical behaviour (only
volume change has been examined here) suggests that
material parameters are also controlled by the com-
paction state. In particular, the shape of the LC curve
is a piece of information key to interpret the effect of
suction on the mechanical response of the compacted
soil. In BBM the shape of the LC curve is given by
parameters r and β (r establishes a minimum value
of the compressibility coefficient for high values of
2.2
2 approximation the behaviour of a soil in the com-
1.8 wL=56%,
IP=27%
1.6
Yield stress (p0*) (MPa)
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6 wL=28%
wL=43%, IP=8%
IP=13.4%
0.4
wL=30.5%
wL=33.5%, IP=13.2% IP=11.8%
0.2
0
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
Dry density (g/cm3)
High plasticity Boom Clay (Romero, 1999)
Medium plasticity soil (Honda et al, 2003)
Medium-low plasticity soil (Honda et al, 2003)
Low plasticity silty clay from Barcelona (Barrera, 2002)
Non plastic silty sand (Balmaceda,1991)
Measured value of San Salvador silty clay
Estimated curve of San Salvador silty clay
Figure 11. Relationship between the isotropic yield stress
at saturated conditions and dry density of several soil types.
suction and β controls the rate of increase of stiff-
ness with suction). It is then expected that r and β
will depend on the type of soil but also on compaction
conditions.
Collapse susceptibility of a soil increases when the
LC curve exhibits a rapid increase in yield stress with
suction. Therefore, in view of the previous discus-
sion, soils compacted dry of optimum should have
an LC displaced towards the right, if compared with
soils compacted wet of optimum, at the same dry
density. This is shown in Figure 12, which was built
using compressibility and collapse data of compacted
Barcelona silty clay. The figure may also be interpreted
in the sense that compaction dry of optimum leads
to a larger elastic domain. Note also that the com-
pressibility coefficient λ(0) for saturated conditions is
higher for wet of optimum compaction. Modelling this
material with BBM implies that specimens located at
different point in the (w, γd ) compaction plane would
require different sets of constitutive parameters. In
other words, variations in compaction procedure lead
to different soils.
However, the simplest approach: a unique set of
material parameters defining the type of soil (plas-
ticity, grain size distribution etc.) and an initial state
characterized by a pair (s0 , p∗0 ), exclusively deter-
mined by the initial compaction variables (w, γd ) may
be enough to reproduce with sufficient engineering
paction plane. In fact, a unique set of parameters was
enough to model by BBM the volumetric behaviour
along loading—collapse paths of a compacted resid-
ual soil of low plasticity (wL = 23.9–30.1%, wP =
21.4–28.8%) reported by Booth (1975). Similar con-
clusion was obtained in the simulation of results
reported by Balmaceda (1991) who tested a non plastic
NP
2
Figure 12. Yield surface (LC) for samples of compacted
silty clay from Barcelona at dry side (D) and wet side (D) to
the optimum value of water content.
10
silty sand and Lawton et al (1989, 1991) who tested
compacted samples of slightly expansive clayey sands
(wL = 34%, wP = 15%). Sivakumar and Wheeler
(2000a and b) also concluded that most of the collapse
potential of a compacted soil prepared by mixing dry
speswhite kaolin powder and water, at low water con-
tent, could be attributed solely to the value of suction
after compaction.
3 EFFECT OF COMPACTION CONDITIONS
IN THE BEHAVIOUR OF A DAM CORE
DURING CONSTRUCTION
San Salvador dam will be built in the near future in
the Province of Huesca (Spain). It is a 54 meters high
earthdam (a central section is indicated in Fig. 13).
Dam construction (expected to last one year long) and
operation stages (reservoir impoundment and draw-
down) were modelled by means of CODE_BRIGHT
during the design stage. Dam materials were mod-
elled through BBM. Constitutive parameters of the fill
materials and foundation soil used in the analysis are
collected in Table 1. These parameters were derived
from conventional laboratory test (triaxial, oedometer
and permeability tests).
The effect of compaction conditions in the clay core
of the dam during constructions has been analysed.
Dam construction has been simulated considering four
different compaction states of the core material (a silty
clay having wL = 28%, IP = 8%). Figure 14 shows the
compaction curve of this material and the compaction
states considered in terms of γ d and w (Cases 1, 2, 3
and 4). The influence of varying compaction conditions
has been attributed only to the initial conditions

3 2 3
4

Figure 13. Central section of San Salvador Dam; 1: Claystone with sandstone layers; 2: Clay core; 3: Clay and silty gravels;
4: Rockfill.

Table 1. Constitutive parameters of fill materials. San Salvador dam.

Value

Parameter Symbol Core Shells Found. Unit

Elastic modulus E 40 100 120 MPa

Poisson’s ratio ν 0.3 0.3 0.3 –
Plastic virgin compressibility for
saturated conditions λ(0) − κ 0.022 0.018 – –
Parameter that establishes the
minimum value of the
compressibility coefficient for
high values of suction r 0.65 0.8 – –
Parameter that controls the rate
of increase in stiffness with
suction β 6 6.5 – MPa−1
Reference stress pc 0.01 0.01 – MPa
Slope of critical state strength line M 1.1 1.72 – –
Saturated permeability ksat 2.10e−9 1.567e−5 1.0e−10 m/s
Retention curve (Van Genuchten p0 0.5 0.05 0.5 MPa−
parameters) λ 0.24 0.4 0.24 –
Sw max 1.0 1.0 1.0 –
Sw min 0.001 0.05 0.001 –

11
(s0 , p∗0 ) (Tab. 2). Initial suction has been determined
with the estimated water retention curve, indicated in
Figure 15.
In order to estimate the value of the saturated yield
stress (p∗0 ) for the different compaction conditions,
data given in Figure 14 was used. An oedometer test
performed on a saturated specimen, previously com-
pacted at a dry density of 1.8 g/cc provided the yield
stress shown in Figure 14. Then a trend for higher
and lower densities was approximated following the
patterns observed in the figure for other materials.
A curve in the (γd , p∗0 ) plane for the core material
of San Salvador dam was established and the value of
p∗0 for the four cases could be estimated.
Pore water pressure distributions at the end of dam
construction are plotted in Figure 16. Figure 17 shows
the calculated evolution of pore pressure for a point
located in the lower part of the core. The higher the ini-
tial water content, the higher the expected pore water
pressure generated during construction. In Cases 2
and 4 (clay core compacted at wet side of optimum)
positive pore water pressures develop during construc-
tion. However if the clay core is compacted at the
dry side (Cases 1 and 3), pore water pressures remain
negative.
In Cases 2 and 4 the soil is almost saturated
illustrate this comment. The soil compacted in 4 has,
however, a higher density than the soil in 2. Therefore
its elastic domain will be larger than the domain for
point 2. During dam construction the soil 2 will tend to
accumulate more (plastic) deformations and therefore
positive pore water pressures will also be larger than
for compaction conditions in 4. This is also shown in
Figures 16 and 17 although the effect is small because
differences in p∗0 are also small.
The effect on the initial conditions can also be
observed in vertical displacements (plotted for each
case in Figure 18). Higher displacements are expected
for Cases 2 and 4 because at low values of suction the
material is more deformable.
1000
100
10
Suction (MPa)

and a similar response in terms of pore pressure

generation should be expected. Figures 16 and 17 1

0.1

0.01

0.001
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Degree of saturation
Figure 14. Compaction curve of silty clay used in the clay
core of San Salvador Dam. Tested samples from a trial Figure 15. Water retention curve for the silty clay of San
embankment. Salvador dam core.

Table 2. Initial conditions for the clay core of San Salvador dam.

Value

Parameter Symbol Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Unit

Dry density γd 17.4 17.4 17.8 17.8 KN/m3

Compaction water content w 0.1 0.204 0.13 0.186 –
Degree of saturation Sr 0.49 0.99 0.67 0.96 –
Initial suction s0 5.0 0.045 1.4 0.11 MPa
Initial yield mean net stress
for saturated conditions p∗0 0.071 0.071 0.1 0.1 MPa

12
 Note also that the evolution of settlements is also
controlled by the dissipation of pore pressures. When
positive pressures develop and the dissipation is slow
because of the low core permeability, settlements are
(a) Case 1 delayed. This behaviour is observed in Case 2, dur-
ing the first stage of construction. Later, the higher
deformability of wetter materials (Cases 2 and 4) lead
to higher settlements.

(b) Case 2
4 COMPACTED ROCKFILL

Rockfill offers a significant and reliable strength and it

is a favourite solution to stabilize clay cores. Strength
envelopes are nonlinear (Fig. 19) and depend on suc-
tion. Suction dependence is more marked in materials
(c) Case 3 prone to particle breakage such as schist and shales
(Fig. 19a). Hard, tough lithologies, with isotropic
properties such as the sound limestone in Figure 19b
exhibit a limited sensitively to water content changes.
Rockfill properties (strength, deformation, long
term creep, collapse phenomena) are strongly linked to
(d) Case 4 particle breakage. Particle breakage, in turn, depends

Figure 16. Pore water pressure distribution at the end of

construction of San Salvador dam.

(a)
Figure 17. Pore pressure evolution during construction of
the point indicated in the figure.

(b)
Figure 19. Strength envelopes determined in suction con-
Figure 18. Calculated vertical displacements, during con- trolled triaxial tests on gravel of: (a) Pancrudo slate. (b) Hard
struction, of the point indicated in the figure. limestone.

13
Table 3. A comparison between unsaturated rockfill and Table 4. Constitutive parameters of the Rockfill Model
unsaturated soil. (RM).

Unsaturated rockfill Unsaturated soil Parameter Description

Collapse is associated with Collapse is associated with E Elastic modulus

particle breakage and particle rearrangement ν Poisson’s ratio
a subsequent λi − κ Plastic virgin instantaneous compressibility
rearrangement of λd0 Virgin clastic compressibility for saturated
structure conditions
Particle toughness is a Particle strength does not αs Parameter to describe the rate of change of
fundamental property affect the overall plastic compressibility with total suction
behaviour Mdry Slope of critical state strength envelope for dry
The effect of suction is to The effect of suction is to conditions
control particle breakage ‘‘prestress’’ soil structure Msat Parameter that controls the increase in
velocity cohesion with suction
A threshold toughness to There is no equivalent ks Parameter that controls the increase in
initiate fracture parameter cohesion with suction
propagation is included py Threshold yield mean stress for the onset of
in the model through a plastic phenomena
parameter, σy . For α Parameter that defines the non-associativeness
σ < σy no time delayed of plastic potential
deformations exist (no
collapse)
Total suction (ψ) controls Matric suction (s) controls
water induced effects water induced effects
Time delayed deformations There is no equivalent 0,00 0,20 0,40 0,60 0,80 1,00
(and hence collapse) is concept 0,00
inhibited for very dry
states Test 2
0,50
Yield stress for the very dry Yield stress of the saturated Test 3
Vertical strain [%]

state is conveniently soil is conveniently

chosen as a hardening chosen as the hardening
1,00
parameter parameter
Elastoplastic strains Elastoplastic strains are
(instantaneous and linearly related to log 1,50
delayed) are linearly (confining stress)
related to confining
stress for the relevant 2,00
range of stresses in
practice
2,50
Vertical stress [MPa]

Figure 20. Large diameter oedometer tests on crushed

on the stress concentrations at particle-to-particle con-
tacts and on the prevailing relative humidity (RH) at
each particular contact (which will presumable be in
equilibrium at a larger scale). In a series of publi-
cations (Oldecop and Alonso, 2001, 2004; Chávez
and Alonso, 2003) a phenomenological elastoplastic
constitutive framework has been described. The result-
ing model has similarities with elastoplastic models
conceived for ‘‘regular’’ unsaturated soils and, in par-
ticular, with BBM (Alonso et al, 1990). However
there are significant differences, which have been
summarized in Table 3.
The rockfill elastoplastic model developed in Old-
ecop and Alonso (2001) and Alonso et al (2005) is
characterized by a few parameters described in Table 4.
One significant feature of compacted rockfill is
the apparent lack of elastic domain after compaction.
Pancrudo slate.
This is shown in the stress-strain curves determined in
large diameter (30 cm) oedometers with RH control
(Fig. 20). Loading-unloading cycles performed at low
stress levels results immediately in significant plastic
deformations. The implication is that a loaded rockfill
after compaction is always prone to collapse deforma-
tion if wetted. Again, the intensity of collapse depends
on the susceptibility of the rockfill particle to break
under stress and RH changes.
A side effect of particle breakage phenomena is
the significant creep behaviour observed in laboratory
experiments and in real structures. This is illustrated
in Figure 21 which shows several records of long term

14
 0 5 10
Time [years]
15 20 25 30
assessment of dams for full reservoir height (or par-
0.0
tially filled), an appropriate conservative assumption
Time [years] involves the consideration of steady state conditions
0.2 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0.00 because pore pressure reaches maximum values. How-
Crest settlement [% of height over foundation]

Mackintosh
(75)
0.4
0.02 ever, the actual distribution of pore pressures in
Exchequer 0.04 shoulders and cores is difficult to determine by means
0.6
(150)
0.06 of a classical ‘‘saturated’’ analysis. The case described
Murchison
El Infiernillo
(146) 0.08 (94) Alicurá Chocón (90) below illustrate this comment.
(130)
0.8 0.10
In order to estimate actual pore pressure distribu-
Dix River
0.12
Cethana (110)
Alto Anchicaya (140) tions in the dam, unsaturated analysis and the charac-
(84)
1.0
Foz do Areia (160)
terization of the materials in the context of unsaturated
0.14
Nanthala
(80)
conditions (relative permeability and water retention
1.2 curve) are necessary. In the 1960s saturated flow was
CRFD/dumped rockfill
Beliche CRFD/compacted rockfill
adopted in the analysis of pore pressure distribution for
1.4 (54)
Central core/rockfill shells
the steady state condition. This analysis required find-
Rivera de
Central core/gravel shells ing explicitly the position of the free surface (pw = 0),
1.6 Gata (60)
imposing zero normal flow through the free surface,
Figure 21. Crest settlements of several types of rockfill
and then the steady state flow equation for saturated
dams built in the 20th century (Oldecop and Alonso, 2007). media (Laplace equation) together with Darcy’s Law
were solved in the saturated domain. This method-
ology assumes that no flow takes place through the
unsaturated zone. The analysis of transient seepage
settlements of rockfill dams built in the 20th cen- in unsaturated/saturated media was developed at the
tury. Concrete faced rockfill dams (CFRD) as well as end of the 1970s. The flow equation for partially satu-
zoned embankments are represented. Well compacted rated conditions could be solved in the entire domain.
gravely materials exhibit a very limited creep which More recently, coupled models for unsaturated condi-
is expressed in terms of the variation of the ratio of tions have been introduced (Naylor et al, 1997; Alonso
settlement with respect to dam height with time. et al, 1988, 1993, 2005; Khogo, 2002).
Two modern dams (Beliche and Rivera de Gata) Consider again the design of San Salvador dam
built in Portugal and Spain respectively, exhibit (Fig. 13). The set of material properties are given in
remarkably fast creeping rates. The reason, again, is Table 1. The analysis has been carried out by means of
the high sensitivity of the rockfill used (schist and the programme CODE_BRIGHT. The saturated per-
grauwackes in the case of Beliche and shales and phyl- meability and WRC of the different materials involved
lites in the case of Rivera de Gata) to degrade as a are indicated in the table. A cubic law describes the
consequence of particle breakage. A portion of the relative permeability:
apparent creep observed in Figure 21 is in fact due to
collapse deformations induced by atmospheric action  3
on the downstream shell of the dams. This point will Sw max − Sw
krel = (1)
be addressed later. Sw max − Sw min

where Sw is the degree of saturation and the remaining

5 FLOW AND DEFORMATION Sw values are parameters.
Dam construction (360 days), followed by reser-
Dam operations lead to reservoir level fluctuations voir impounding (300 days) and flow through the dam
during their lifetime. It leads to transient conditions. during 340 additional days, at maximum reservoir
Steady state conditions may not be reached in several level were simulated. At the end of this period flow
years or in the entire lifetime of the dam. Piezome- conditions were close to the stationary state.
ters readings indicate that in impervious clay cores of Some calculated results are given in Figures 22
zoned dams the time to reach the saturation after con- to 25. They illustrate the behaviour of the dam and
struction may take many years (more than 20 to 30). the flow-mechanical interaction. Figure 22 shows the
LeBihan and Leroueil (2000) calculated that for typi- transition from the unsaturated to the saturated state of
cal central core earth and rockfill dams full saturation two representative points in the lower third part of the
will take a few years for a core with a value of saturated dam. The initial negative pressure (−0.5 MPa) cor-
permeability of 10−6 m/s, several decades for 10−7 m/s responds to the assumed suction at the end of layer
and centuries for 10−8 m/s. placement. The accumulation of upper layers leads
However, it is an accepted practice to consider the to a progressive saturation of the soil because of the
steady state conditions at the design stage. In the safety increasing weight. Wetting of the dam materials during

15
 0.4 0.6
Final construction
B Final impoundment
0.5 After 340 days at maximum
reservoir level

Deviatoric stress (MPa)

Liquid pressure
Vertical displacement 0.4

0.2 B
0.3
A
Pore pressure (MPa); Vertical displacement (m)

0.2
A

0.1
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
0
Time (days) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Net mean stress, p (MPa)
(a)
0.6
-0.2
0.5

B 0.4

Suction (MPa)
-0.4 0.3
Final construction A
Final impoundment
After 340 days at maximum
0.2 reservoir level B

0.1

-0.6
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
A
Net mean stress, p (MPa)
(b)

Figure 23. Stress paths of points A and B. (a) Deviatoric

-0.8 plane; (b) Net mean stress-suction plane.

Figure 22. San Salvador dam. Calculated evolution of pore

pressures and settlements of two points of the upstream
shoulder and the core respectively.

impoundment increase their unit weight. This effect,

the hydrostatic stress against the upstream slope, and
the collapse associated with the decrease in suction
is reflected in the progressive settlement of point B, Figure 24. San Salvador dam. Contours of positive pore
located in the upstream shell. Collapse intensifies in water pressure and dam deformation at the end of the
the final stages of suction reduction. When the soil calculation period.
around B becomes saturated effective stresses decrease
and a small elastic expansion is calculated. Point A,
in the core, receives later the changes in suction, if would contribute to the collapse of the downstream
compared with point B. A significant collapse is calcu- shoulder) are considered.
lated. A negligible elastic rebound is calculated when The strong stress interactions between core and
the water pressure becomes positive. These comments shoulders are indicated in Figure 25. Dam construction
may be also followed in the stress paths plotted in results in a fairly symmetric vertical stress distribution
Figure 23 in a net stress-suction space. The stress around the core axis. The lower overall elastoplastic
reversal associated with the development of positive stiffness of the core creates a silo effect and stresses
pore water pressures is now well illustrated. show a marked discontinuity at the transitions. When
The position of the infiltration front at the end of the water percolation wets the upstream core, differential
calculation period is given in Figure 24. The deformed collapse deformations are reflected in some shearing
shape of the dam is also plotted in the figure. Sym- of the shell, which provides a ‘‘kink’’ in the calculated
metry is lost because of the higher collapse of the settlements. The silo effect is enhanced at the shell-
upstream shoulder. In this case no rain effects (which core transitions because of the larger collapse potential

16
 -1
Sherard et al. (1963) in their book on earth
and earth-rock dams describe several upstream slope
Final construction
failures attributed to rapid drawdown conditions. Inter-
Vertical stress (MPa)

-0.8
Final impoundment
After 340 days at estingly, in most of the reported failures the drawdown
-0.6 maximum reservoir level did not reach the maximum water depth but approxi-
mately half of it (from maximum reservoir elevation
-0.4
to approximately mid-dam level). Drawdown rates
-0.2 in those cases were not exceptional at all (10 to
15 cm/day). A Report on Deterioration of Dams and
0 Reservoirs (ICOLD, 1980) reviews causes of deterio-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
(a) Distance (m)
ration and failures of embankment dams. Thirty-three
0.4
cases of upstream slips were collected and a third of
them were attributed to an excessively rapid draw-
0.3
down of the reservoir. A significant case was San
Pore Pressure (MPa)

0.2 Luis dam, in California (ICOLD, 1980). San Luis

0.1 dam is one of the largest earthfill dams in the world
0 (100 m high; 5500 m long; 70 million m3 of com-
-0.1
0 20 40 60 80 100
Distance (m)
120 140 160 180 pacted embankment). An upstream slide developed
in 1981 after 14 years of successful operation of
-0.2
the dam because of a drawdown, which was more
-0.3
intense than all the previous ones. In this case, the
-0.4 average drawdown rate was around 0.3 m/day and
(b) the change in reservoir level reached 55 m. Von
Thun (1985) described this case. The stability of
Figure 25. (a) San Salvador dam. Vertical stresses against riverbanks under drawdown conditions is also of con-
the horizontal plane indicated at three times of the life of the cern and Desai (1971, 1972, 1977) in a series of
dam. (b) Pore pressures in the horizontal reference plane.
papers describe experimental and theoretical studies
performed at the Waterways Experiment Station to
investigate the stability conditions of the Mississippi
of the core when wetted. Figure 25b provides informa- earth banks.
tion on the pore pressure evolution on the reference Consider, in qualitative terms, the nature of the
plane. It helps to follow the changes in stresses plotted drawdown problem in connection with Figure 26a, b.
in the same figure. The position of the water level MO (height H ) pro-
This example shows the capabilities of current vides the initial conditions of the slope CBO. Pore
computational methods to analyze and interpret the water pressures in the slope are positive below a
behaviour of earthdams. Note also that the transition zero pressure line (pw = 0). Above this line, pore
from unsaturated to saturated states is well managed
in CODE_BRIGHT.

HD

6 RAPID DRAWDOWN

6.1 Introduction
The drawdown condition is a classical scenario in
slope stability, which arises when totally or par-
HD
tially submerged slopes experience a reduction of
the external water level. Rapid drawdown conditions = HD w

have been extensively analysed in the field of dam

engineering because reservoir water levels fluctuate
widely due to operational reasons. Drawdown rates of
0.1 m/day are common. Drawdown rates of 0.5 m/day
are quite significant. One meter/day and higher rates Figure 26. The drawdown scenario: (a) Hydrostatic stresses
are rather exceptional. However, reverse pumping stor- acting against the exposed slope surface. (b) Change in
age schemes may lead to such fast water level changes applied stresses on the exposed boundaries induced by a
in reservoir levels. drawdown HD .

17

water pressures are negative and suction is defined as
s = −pw . A drawdown of intensity HD takes the free
water to a new level M N O during a time interval
tDD . This change in level implies:
– A change in total stress conditions against the slope.
Initial hydrostatic stresses (OAB against the slope
surface; M N B C against the horizontal lower sur-
face) change to O A B and M N B C. The stress
difference is plotted in Figure 26b. The slope OB is
subjected to a stress relaxation of constant intensity
( σ = HD γw ) in the lower part (BO ) and a linearly
varying stress distribution in its upper part (O O).
The bottom horizontal surface CB experiences a
uniform decrease of stress of intensity, HD γw .
– A change in hydraulic boundary conditions. In
its new state, water pressures against the slope
are given by the hydrostatic distribution O’ A’ B
on the slope face and by the uniform water pres-
sure value pw = (H-H D )γw on the horizontal lower
surface.
The change in hydrostatic pressures against the slope
surface is also a change in total stress which will mod-
ify the state of stress inside the slope. This stress
change will induce, in general, a change in pore pres-
sure. The sign and intensity of these pore pressure
depend on the constitutive (stress-strain) behaviour of
the soil skeleton. An elastic soil skeleton will result in
a change of pore pressure equal to the change in mean
(octahedral) stress. If dilatancy (of positive or nega-
tive sign) is present, due to shear effects, additional
pore water pressures will be generated. The result-
ing pore pressures will not be in equilibrium with
the new boundary conditions and a transient regime
will develop. If soil permeability is high pore pres-
sures will dissipate fast, perhaps concurrently with the
modification of boundary conditions. This situation
will constitute a ‘‘drained’’ reaction of the slope. In
fact, velocity of drawdown and permeability should
be considered jointly in order to decide if the slope
reacts in a drained or undrained manner. In practice,
however, drawdown rates vary between narrow lim-
its and the soil permeability becomes the dominant
parameter.
Skempton (1954) and Henkel (1960) provided
expressions for the development of pore pressures
(pw ) under undrained conditions before modern
constitutive equations were born. The B coef-
ficient of the well known Henkel expression is
given by:
⎛ ⎞
1 Figure 27. Change in pore water pressures in Point
B=⎝ K
⎠ (2)
1+ n Kskel
w impervious fill.
18

where n is the soil porosity; Kskel , the bulk modu-
lus of the soil skeleton, and Kw , the bulk modulus of
water. Kw is close to Kw = 2100 MPa and, therefore,
in practically all cases involving compacted materials

in dam engineering, Kskel  Kw and B = 1. Even
for an exceptionally stiff soil material (Kskel  ∼
= Kw )
the value of B is close to 1. This is a well-known
result but it is often read, in connection with draw-
down analysis, that in cases of rigid materials the
(stress) uncoupled flow analysis is sufficiently accu-
rate, implying that no stress-related changes in pore
pressures are generated. It is clear that this is never the
case in practice.
Two wide classes of procedures have been devel-
oped to analyze drawdown. The first class highlights
the effect of changing boundary stresses in order to
calculate the pore water pressures immediately after a
(sudden) drawdown. The second class of procedures
uses pure Darcy-type flow, and they are said to be
valid for rigid (!) and pervious materials. It is also
common, at present, to find flow-based stress uncou-
pled analysis in practical applications and, therefore,
a distinction of the results likely to be found in case
of stress coupled or uncoupled (pure flow) analysis is
useful for discussion.
Figure 27 shows in qualitative terms the expected
evolution of pore pressures in a representative point
(P2 ) of the slope, plotted in Figure 26, during a
drawdown which takes place in a time interval, tDD .
Points such as P1, in the upper part of the slope will
experience a small change in stresses. During draw-
down they will likely become unsaturated. Away from
the upstream slope (point P3 in Figure 26) stress effects
associated with the slope geometry disappear and pore
pressures will follow the changing levels of the reser-
voir. However, the behaviour of Point P2 , close to the
slope toe, is strongly controlled by the stress state
induced by drawdown. The resulting pore pressures
during the drawdown process will be affected by the
P2 for coupled or uncoupled analysis and pervious or
rate of water level lowering, the ‘‘map’’ of initial pore
pressures, (which, in turn, depend on the stress field),
and by the source terms associated with the volume
change experienced by the soil skeleton—controlled
by soil stiffness- and any possible change in satura-
tion conditions. Figure 27 indicates that the uncoupled
analysis (which makes the assumption of rigid soil)
leads, in the case of an impervious soil, to the predic-
tion of the highest pore pressures inside the slope. If
the soil is definitely pervious no difference between
coupled or uncoupled hypothesis will be found. Most
cases in practice will remain in an intermediate zone,
which will require a coupled analysis for a reasonable
pore pressure prediction.
A reference to the usual expression of time to reach a
given degree of consolidation, U , in one-dimensional
consolidation problems, provides a clue on the effect
of soil stiffness:

L2 T (U )
t= γw (3)
kEm

where L is a reference length associated with the

geometry of the consolidation domain; T is the time
factor; k, the soil permeability, Em , the confined
stiffness modulus, and γw , the water specific unit
weight.
Soft materials (Em low) will react with high con-
solidation times, all the remaining factors being main-
tained. Figure 28b indicates this effect. Permeability
and stiffness control the rate of pore pressure dissipa-
tion in this case, in the manner indicated. However, if
more advanced soil models are introduced, the simple
trends given in Figure 28 may change.
The changing boundary condition and the soil per-
meability essentially control the transient behaviour
of the uncoupled model (Fig. 28a). Note that a com-
parison of Figures 28a and 28b does not provide
clear indication of the relative position of the pres-
sure dissipation curves. Therefore, it is difficult to
define ‘‘a priori’’ the degree of conservatism associ-
ated with either one of the two approaches. Of course,
it is expected that the fully coupled approach should
provide answers close to actual field conditions.
6.2 Brief historical perspective
The literature describes two approaches to predict
the pore water pressure regime after drawdown: The
undrained analysis and the flow methods.
The aim of the undrained approach is the deter-
mination of pore water pressures immediately after
drawdown in impervious soils. Skempton (1954)
Figure 28. Change in pore water pressures in point P2 for
(a) uncoupled analysis or (b) coupled analysis.
derived first his well-known expression in terms of
soil parameters A and B ( or B̄).In his wording:
The ‘‘overall’’ coefficient B̄ is a useful parame-
ter, especially in stability calculations involving rapid
drawdown, and it can be measured directly in the lab-
oratory for the relevant values of stress-changes in a
particular problem.
Only the change in major principal stress is required
to use Skempton’s B̄ parameter. Bishop (1954) fol-
lowed this recommendation and assumed that the
major principal stress in any point within the slope
is the vertical stress. He proposed also that the change
in weight, statically computed in a column of soil and
water above a reference point, would provide σ1 .
Finally he suggested B̄ = 1 as an appropriate value
in practice. Bishop’s approach has been criticized
because it may lead to unacceptable large negative pore
water pressures under the dam (Baker et al., 1993).
Morgenstern (1963) accepted Bishop’s proposal
based on a correspondence between Bishop’s method
and pore pressures measured in two dams subjected
to rapid drawdown (Alcova and Glen Shira dams).
It is not clear that results of Glen Shira dam fol-
low Bishop’s recommendation, however. Morgenstern

19
published plots providing safety factors after draw-
down in terms of drawdown ratio (HD /H in Fig. 26)
for different values of slope angle, effective cohesion
and effective friction. The dam geometry was simple:
a homogeneous triangular dam on an impervious base.
Much later, Lane & Griffiths (2000) solved a similar
case in term of geometry, but failure conditions were
calculated by means of a (c , ϕ  ) reduction procedure
built into a finite element program, which uses a Mohr-
Coulomb failure criterion. They do not solve any flow
equation in their program and it is not clear how they
could derive the pore water pressures induced by total
stress unloading.
Lowe & Karafiath (1980) and Baker et al. (1993)
performed undrained analyses to calculate the safety
factors of slopes under rapid drawdown conditions.
The analysis is applicable to relatively impervious
soils and it does not require a determination of pore
pressures after drawdown (which is required for a
drained analysis of the type performed by Morgen-
stern). Instead, the idea is to find the distribution of
undrained strengths for the particular stress state just
before drawdown. However, the emphasis in this paper
lies on the determination of pore pressures after draw-
down so that general effective stress analysis could be
performed.
Flow methods probably started with the contribu-
tion of Casagrande (1937), who developed a procedure
to find the time required to reach a certain ‘‘propor-
tion of drainage’’ of the upstream shell of dams having
an impervious clay core. By assuming a straight sat-
uration line, he was able to derive some analytical
expressions. Later Reinius (1954) demonstrated the
use of flow nets to solve slow drawdown problems.
This contribution was based on earlier work published
in Sweden. The key idea is that:
[... ] the flow net at slow drawdown is determined
by dividing the time in intervals and assuming the
reservoir water level to be stationary and equal to the
average value during the interval.
He also computed, based on the Swedish friction
circle method of analysis, safety factors during draw-
down and plotted them in terms of a coefficient (k/nv),
which integrates the soil permeability (k), the porosity
(n) and the rate of drawdown, v. He also explained, in
the following terms, the pore water pressure generation
due to rapid drawdown:
When the reservoir is lowered rapidly the total
stresses decrease. If the soil does not contain air bub-
bles and the water content remains unchanged, the
effective stresses in the soil also remains unchanged
provided that the compressibility of the water is
neglected. Hence the neutral stresses must decrease.
A similar statement may be found in Terzaghi and
Peck (1948). Examples of flow net construction for
20
drawdown conditions may be found in Cedergren
(1967).
Finite difference approximations and, later, finite
element techniques were used in the 60’s and 70’s to
calculate the flow regime under drawdown conditions.
The major problem was to predict the location of the
phreatic surface during drawdown. When Dupuit-type
of assumptions -horizontal flow- are made (Brahma &
Harr, 1962; Stephenson 1978) the location of the
zero-pressure surface comes automatically from the
analysis. When solving the Laplace equation by finite
elements (Desai, 1972, 1977), some re-meshing pro-
cedures were devised. An additional example of a
determination of the free surface is given in Cividini &
Gioda (1984).
In parallel, the liquid water flow equation for unsat-
urated porous media was being solved by means
of finite difference or finite element approximations
(Rubin, 1968; Richards & Chan, 1969; Freeze, 1971;
Cooley, 1971; Neumann, 1973; Akai et al., 1979;
Hromadka & Guymon, 1980, among others). These
developments made it obsolete the involved numeri-
cal techniques required to approximate the free surface
through the saturated flow equation. Berilgen (2007)
published recently a contribution to the drawdown
problem. The author used two commercial programs
for transient/flow and deformation analysis respec-
tively. He reported a sensitivity analysis involving a
simple slope geometry. Safety factors are calculated
by a (c , ϕ  ) reduction method built into the mechan-
ical finite element program. The author emphasized
that the undrained rapid drawdown case and the fully
drained case (high permeability) are rough approxi-
mations for other intermediate situations likely to be
found in practice.
Pauls et al. (1999) reports a case history. A stress-
uncoupled finite element program was used to analyse
the pore pressure evolution in a river bank as a result of
a flooding situation. Consistently, predicted pore pres-
sures remained well above the measured piezometric
data. One possible explanation, not given in the origi-
nal paper, is the uncoupled nature of the computational
code used. In fact, no riverbank failures were observed
in this case despite the calculated safety factors, lower
than one.
6.3 Drawdown in a single slope
Consider the case sketched in Figure 26. A fully
submerged simple slope will experience a drawdown
condition when the water level acting against the slope
surface is lowered. The actual geometry of the slope
analyzed is given in Figure 29. The figure indicates the
position of three singular points used in the discussion:
A point at midslope (PA ), a point at the slope toe (PB )
and a point away from the slope (PC ) which is rep-
resentative of ‘‘bottom of the sea’’ conditions. Three
 The initial state of pore pressure will be hydrostatic
50 m (Fig. 31). Consider first the case of a total and rapid
PA
PC PB 100 m drawdown. If the analysis is performed uncoupled, no
change in pore pressures inside the slope will be cal-
culated immediately after drawdown. This is the case
Profile 3 Profile 2 Profile 1 plotted in Figure 32, which was obtained with program
Code_Bright when only the flow calculation was acti-
Figure 29. Geometry of the slope. Labels indicate the vated. Note that Figures 31 and 32 provide essentially
position of three singular points mentioned in the discussion. the same distribution of water pressures.
A realistic condition concerning the drawdown rate
(v = 0.5 m/day) will be imposed in the cases presented
1000
1.E-08 here. During drawdown boundary conditions of the
100
1.E-09
upstream slope will follow a ‘‘seepage face condition’’:
the boundary is assumed impervious unless the calcu-
Permeability (m/s)

10 1.E-10
Suction (MPa)

lated water pressure at the boundary becomes positive.

1
1.E-11 In this case water flows out of the slope following a
1.E-12 ‘‘spring’’ type of condition. Three elastic moduli span-
0.1
1.E-13 ning the range 100–10000 MPa are considered. They
0.01 1.E-14
cover the majority of situations in practice for com-
pacted upstream shells of dams (especially for small
1.E-15
0.001
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
to medium shear strains). The saturated permeability
Degree of saturation Degree of saturation considered is a low value in order to highlight the dif-
ferences between coupled and uncoupled analysis. Of
Figure 30. Retention curve and relative permeability func- course, these differences decrease as the soil becomes
tion for the analysis of a simple slope. more pervious.
Consider first the case of the ‘‘bottom of the sea’’
conditions (Fig. 33). All the coupled analyses lead
essentially to the same response. This is because vari-
ations in the instantaneous response are erased by the
simultaneous dissipation of pressures. For the stiffer
materials considered (E = 1000, 10000 MPa), water
pressures remain slightly above the values found in
common cases soils. However, the pure flow analysis
Figure 31. Initial pore water pressure distribution before is far from the correct answer.
drawdown. Similar results were obtained for the three reference
points. Only the case of the mid slope point is plotted
in Figure 34.
It may be argued that the pure flow analysis is
a conservative approach if viewed in terms of slope
safety against failure. However, this is a result which
depends on the particular case considered and cannot

Figure 32. Pore water pressure distribution after immediate 0.7

drawdown in an uncoupled analysis.
0.6
Pore water pressure (MPa)

Uncoupled
0.5
auxiliary vertical profiles will assist in the analysis of
results. 0.4

An elastic constitutive law will characterize the Coupled; E=10000 MPa and E=1000 MPa

soil. Concerning the hydraulic description, Figure 31 0.3

indicates the water retention curve and the relative 0.2

permeability law adopted in calculations. The reten- Coupled; E=100 MPa

tion curve (Fig. 30) has been defined by means of a 0.1

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Van Genuchten model and the relative permeability Time (days)

varies with the degree of saturation following a cubic

law (krel = ksat Sr3 ). A constant saturated permeability Figure 33. Pore water pressure evolution after progressive
ksat = 10−10 m/s was also used in all calculations. drawdown in point PC (see Fig. 30).

21
 0.5
Table 5. Drawdown of a zoned earthdam. Constitutive
0.45 parameters.
0.4 Uncoupled
Pore water pressure (MPa)

0.35 Definition of parameter Symbol Units Value

Coupled; E =10000 MPa and E=1000 MPa
0.3

0.25
ROCKFILL HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOUR
0.2
Saturated permeability k m/s 10−6
Coupled; E =100 MPa Retention curve parameters
0.15
(Van Genuchten) p0 MPa 0.007, 0.2
0.1
λ – 0.33
0.05
Maximum degree of
0 saturation Sw max – 1
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Time (days) Minimum degree of
saturation Sw min – 0
Figure 34. Pore water pressure evolution after progressive ELASTIC BEHAVIOUR
drawdown in the point PA (see Fig. 29). Elastic modulus E MPa 100
Poisson’s ratio ν – 0.3

INITIAL STATE
be generalized. It is also interesting to realize that the Initial degree of saturation Sw0 – 0.8
unrealistic uncoupled analysis leads to a lower pore Initial mean yield stress p∗o MPa 0.02
pressure prediction in the long term. This is a result of Initial porosity n – 0.3
the implicit assumption of infinite skeleton stiffness
of the uncoupled calculation, which leads to faster CLAY CORE HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOUR
dissipation rates than the coupled approach. Saturated permeability k m/s 10−8
Retention curve parameters
(Van Genuchten) p0 MPa 0.05, 2
6.4 Drawdown in a simple zoned earthdam λ – 0.33
Maximum degree of
In order to illustrate the behaviour of a dam dur- saturation Sw max – 1
ing drawdown, of a zoned dam with a central core, Minimum degree of
stabilized by means of two rockfill shells, has been saturation Sw min – 0
simulated. Once steady state conditions are reached,
ELASTIC BEHAVIOUR
at maximum reservoir elevation, a drawdown at a con- Elastic modulus E MPa 50
stant rate of 0.5 m/day was simulated. Table 5 indicates Poisson’s ratio ν – 0.3
the constitutive parameters selected for the rockfill
shells and the clay core. Linear elastic materials were INITIAL STATE
assumed in this case because drawdown is, in general, Initial degree of saturation Sw0 – 0.8
a case of mechanical unloading (see, however, Pinyol Initial mean yield stress p∗o MPa 0.02
et al, 2008). The values of saturated permeability are Initial porosity n – 0.3
indicated in Table 5. A cubic law describes the relative
permeability.
A sensitivity analysis against a variation of the
value of p0 (0.2 or 0.007 MPa), of the shell material,
was performed. The shell saturated permeability was
10−6 m/s. The second parameter of the retention curve, (a)
λ, was kept constant at the value given in Table 5.
This drawdown case is discussed in detail in (Pinyol
et al. 2008). Initial conditions result from the steady
state situation reached at maximum reservoir level.
Calculated pore pressures, at the end of drawdown, are (b)
plotted in Figure 35. Only positive pore pressure values
are indicated in the figures to make them clearer. Figure 35. Pore pressure distribution after total drawdown:
For the same permeability, the higher is p0 , the lower (a) p0 = 0.2 MPa and (b) p0 = 0.007 MPa (Pinyol et al.
is the pore pressure calculated . The amount of drained 2008).
water is similar in both cases. For p0 = 0.007 MPa the
relatively small zone that becomes unsaturated during higher than 0). If positive pore pressure values are con-
the drawdown has low values of degree of saturation. sidered in stability calculation, higher p0 may leads to
Whereas, for p0 = 0.2 MPa, the shell material is higher safety factors against slope failure than the case
practically saturated above the phreatic line (suction of a lower air entry value.

22
Table 6. Parameters for the drawdown analysis of San Salvador dam.

Upstream
Parameter Symbol Unit Foundation shell Core

Young modulus E MPa 150 100 30

Coefficient of volumetric
compressibility mw MPa−1 4.95 × 10−3 7.42 × 10−3 2.47 × 10−2
Saturated permeability ksat m/s 1 × 10−9 1.8 × 10−9 2.81 × 10−10
Retention curve (Van Genuchten) P0 MPa 0.5 0.05 0.5
λ – 0.24 0.4 0.24
Sr max – 1 1 1
Sr min – 0.01 0.075 0.01

500
Start
drawdown
400

Water Pressure (kPa)

300

200

Drawdown
100 completed
(a)
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Time (days)
Coupled Mod. Uncoupled Mod.

Figure 37. San Salvador dam. Evolution of pore pressures

in a point distant from the dam toe, during drawdown and
subsequent times.
(b)

Figure 36. Pore water pressure contours. The represented 800

interval is 100 kPa. (a) Uncoupled analysis. (b) Flow- Start

700
deformation coupled analysis. drawdown
Water Pressure (kPa)

600

500
6.5 Drawdown analysis of San Salvador dam
Drawdown
Some relevant results of the drawdown analysis per- 400
completed
formed on San Salvador earthdam, (Fig. 16), which 300
has recently been designed, are now discussed. Param- 0 400 800 1200 1600 2000
eters for the analysis are given in Table 6. They were Time (days)
Coupled Mod. Uncoupled Mod.
determined from tests performed at the design stage
of the dam.
Figure 36 shows a comparison of calculated pore Figure 38. San Salvador dam. Evolution of pore pressures
in a point within the foundation, Ander the upstream shell
water pressures alter drawdown for the coupled and during drawdown and subsequent times.
uncoupled cases. The analyzed drawdown corre-
sponds to the design specifications: reservoir level
decreases 24 m in 60 days. Calculated pore pres- pore pressures under the bottom of the reservoir should
sures in the upstream shell, core and foundation under follow, in an essentially instantaneous manner, the
the hypothesis of uncoupled analysis are significantly variations of reservoir water level. The uncoupled
higher than in the coupled case. This is clear also in analysis results in pore pressures higher than the level
Figures 37–39 which provide the evolution of pore in the reservoir.
water pressures in three representative points of the A similar result is observed in a profile directly
dam: two in the foundation and a third one in the shell, affected by the dam (below the upstream toe; see
close to the core. Figure 37 indicates that non-coupled Fig. 40). Three cases are represented: initial profile,
analyses are unable to reproduce an elementary result: profile immediately after drawdown and long term. In

23
 800

Start
700 drawdown
Water Pressure (kPa)

600

500

400 Drawdown
completed
300
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Time (days)
Coupled Mod. Uncoupled Mod.

Figure 39. San Salvador dam. Evolution of pore pressures

in a point within the upstream shell, close to the core, during
drawdown and subsequent times.

x = 227 m

x = 180 m
x=4m

Coupled model Uncoupled model

x=180 m x=180

100
100 Figure 41. Beliche dam. Settlement record of surface
80
marker J54.
80
Height (m)

Height (m)

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0 250 500 750 1000 0 250 500 750 1000
Water Pressure (kPa) Water Pressure (kPa)
Initial state Drawdown completed Long term Initial state Drawdown completed Long term

Figure 40. San Salvador dam. Vertical profiles at the toe of

the dam. Comparison of coupled and uncoupled analyses.

the correct coupled analysis pore pressures after draw-

down are higher than the hydrostatic long term values.
This is due to the presence of the dam and the particular
stress distribution associated with changes in total
stresses against the boundary of the dam and the foun-
dation soil. Pure flow analysis results in abnormally Figure 42. Martín Gonzalo dam. Strain records of exten-
high pore water pressures. someters located at several depths and accumulated rainfall
(Justo, 1991).

7 LONG TERM EFFECTS

heavy rains. Then ‘‘jumps’’ are properly interpreted
Going back to the records of dam settlements in Figure as collapse settlement of the rockfill material as it
21, a more detailed examination of settlement during becomes wet. In fact, the jump is associated to a situ-
the first years of dam operation reveals also some inter- ation in which the rockfill becomes wetter that in the
esting features of the delayed deformation of rockfill previous dam history.
materials. Figure 41 shows the settlements of a sur- Such trends have been observed in several dams.
face marker (J54) located on the downstream edge of Another example is shown in Figure 42. It describes
the dam crest, directly above the inner rockfill shell of the vertical strain measured at different elevations of
the dam. Martin Gonzalo rockfill dam. The figure shows also
Also included in the Figure is the record of rain- the accumulated rainfall. Strain rates increase in times
fall intensity (in mm/month). The settlement records of rapid accumulation of rain. This is true during the
shows that finite ‘‘jumps’’ occurred at the time of first three years of dam operation. Later, the strain

24

(a)
100
, , , 0.2
90
80
Water suction [MPa]
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
, y
0 0,2
(b)
Figure 43. (a) Sketch of a deforming dam because of shell
collapse (Soriano, 1993). (b) Interpretation of deformations
of point B (1–2: first wetting; 2–3: first drying; 3–4: second
wetting).
records exhibit a slow accumulation of deformations
but they are no longer associated with rainfall events.
It is concluded that long term settlements of rockfill
shells have two origins: a water content or suction
related mechanism and a true creep effect which is
not much dependent of water action.
The first effect may easily be explained by current
elastoplastic models of rockfill (or unsaturated soil
behaviour). Figure 43a shows the deformation of a
dam due to the collapse of the upstream shell. Consider
now point B within the downstream shell of a dam.
Compaction and subsequent construction of the entire
dam will result in a given state of stress (Point 1 in a
simplified vertical stress-suction space). Most likely,
loading of Point B during construction will follow a
yielding path and therefore Point B will end up in a
yield line (the LC yield curve passing through Point B
in Fig. 43b). Rainfall will induce a suction reduction
(path 1–2). Irreversible compressible deformation will
take place. Drying during subsequent stages (path 2–3)
will only result in negligible shrinkage. Once in Point 2
and given the current LC yield surface at that moment,
the only possibility for additional significant volumet-
ric compression of Point B will be to drag again the
0.2
J54
Vertical displacements (m) .
0
Base Case
-0.2
-0.4
B -0.6
-0.8
-1
0 360 720 1080 1440 1800 2160 2520 2880 3240 3600
Time (d)
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
(a)
0
Base Case
.
-0.2
Waterm pressure (MPa)
1 -0.4
-0.6
3
-0.8
-1
2 -1.2
0 360 720 1080 1440 1800 2160 2520 2880 3240 3600
Time (d)
4 (b)
Figure 44. (a) Evolution of vertical displacements of sur-
0,4 0,6 0,8 1 1,2 1,4
Vertical stress [MPa] face marker J54. Comparison of measured and calculated
values when the rockfill permeability of shells is increased
ten times with respect to the base case. Also indicated
(b) is the calculated evolution of water pressure (suction) in
a reference point within the inner downstream rockfill.
current yield line towards zero suction state. Only rain-
fall intensities exceeding previous rainfall events will
have the chance of deforming the dam (Path 3–4 in
Fig. 43b). Eventually, if a rainfall event is capable
of taking the entire downstream shell to 100% rela-
tive humidity the full collapse potential of the rockfill
would be developed. Beyond this time no additional
water-induced settlements would be expected.
For a given weather regime, the most significant
property which would control the necessary time
span to develop the entire collapse potential of the
dam downstream shell is the shell permeability. Of
course, the upstream shell is affected by reservoir level
changes in a direct manner and saturation (and the
associated collapse) would be typically a consequence
of the first impounding. In the downstream shell, the
resulting Relative Humidity at a given point for a given
rainfall intensity will be smaller, the higher the rock-
fill permeability, K. This is shown in Figure 44 in
connection will Beliche dam. The history of calculated
pressure in a point of the downstream shell is given
Figure 44b. When Kincreases suction remains higher
and collapse strains are reduced. The calculate settle-
ments are now smaller than the values found for the
‘‘base case’’ which corresponds to lower permeability
25
 0,01 0,1 1 10 100 1000 10000
0
0.2MPa
0.4MPa
1 0.6MPa
0.8MPa
2 1.0MPa
1.2MPa
3 1.4MPa
1.6MPa
4 1.8MPa
2.0MPa
5
2.4MPa
6
2.8MPa
7
0,01 0,1 1 10 100 1000 10000
-1

0
0.2MPa
1 Figure 46. Time-dependent compressibility index, λt , mea-
0.4MPa sured in oedometer tests performed on compacted gravel of
2 a quartzitic slate (after Oldecop & Alonso, 2002).
3 0.6MPa

4
0.8MPa
5
1.0MPa
6

7 1.2MPa

1.4MPa
8

9 1.6MPa

10 1.8MPa

11

12
2.6 MPa
13
2.8MPa
14

Figure 45. Tests on Pancrudo slate gravel Strain-time

records. (Oldecop, 2000).
Figure 44a. The practical consequences of this discus-
sion is than pervious shells maintain a higher collapse
potential than more impervious ones. However, the
risk of transforming the collapse potential into set-
tlements is low in this case because it would require
rainfall events of low probability of occurrence.
Pure creep effects are always present and this is
also shown in Figure 41. The results of suction con-
trolled oedometer tests on a crushed slate are shown
in Figure 45. Two sets of time records for two Relative
Humidities (50% to 100%) clearly show the effect of
Figure 47. Correlation between the time-dependent com-
pressibility index and the compressibility index for the tested
rockfill.
RH and applied stress. Note also that the scale of time
is logarithmic.
A long term compressibility is defined as λt =
dε/d (ln t). This index, for times in excess of 100 min-
utes, is plotted in Figure 46 for several suction con-
trolled tests. The figure indicates that the rate of
deformation ε̇ = dε/dt is proportional to1/t, p and
logarithm of suction.
In fact, given a value of time, confining stress (σv )
and suction, the long term strain rate is defined. These

26
experimental findings led to propose the following
phenomenological relationship for ε̇ in the case of
volumetric creep.
  
μp s + patm
ε̇vc = 1 − β c ln (4)
t patm
where μ and β c are model parameters.
The following values were identified for the com-
pacted Pancrudo shale: μ = 0.0012 MPa−1 and β c =
0.083. No experimental information is available for
shear creep. In the analysis of Beliche dam (Alonso
et al, 2005) an equation similar to (3) was suggested
for deviatoric creep. Under triaxial conditions it was
the proposed to substitute p by qand to maintain the β c
coefficient. However the μ coefficient was substituted
by η = 0.3 μ. The calculations reproduced in Figure
44 were performed with a generalized constitutive
model for rockfill behaviour in which deformations
had tree origins: elastic, plastic and creep. The model
was able to reproduce in a satisfactory manner the
recorded short and long term behaviour (10 years) of
Beliche dam.
Finally, in a recent work (Oldecop and Alonso,
2007) it was shown that the creep coefficient λt could
be simply related with the stress-based compressibil-
ity coefficient λ. This is shown in the Figure 47 which
shows the measured correlation between the two com-
pressibility indices. The correlation depends on the
current suction (λt /λ decreases as suction increases)
but λt /λ for rockfill is similar to values reported in the
literature for granular soils. Further discussion of this
topic is given in Oldecop and Alonso (2007 a, b).
8 DAM FAILURE DURING IMPOUNDMENT:
A CASE OF FILL COLLAPSE
An homogeneous dam covered by an impervious mem-
brane was built in an arid environment to create an
artificial pond. The pond occupied a small watershed
area which was drained by a small creek. The dam
had a maximum height of 20 m at the location of the
Figure 48. Representative cross section of the dam.
27
creek, but progressively decreased in height in the rest
of the dyke perimeter. In fact, the ground topography
was used to reduce the length of the artificial dam and,
in some parts of the perimeter, the dam was not nec-
essary. Figure 48 shows the dam cross section at the
position of the original creek draining the area later
occupied by the pond.
On first impoundment, when the water level
reached 15 m over foundation, a section of the dam,
located directly above the position of the creek, failed
causing a violent flood. Figure 49 shows the failed
section. The development of the failure was not
observed. When the photograph in Figure 49 was
taken, the reservoir was essentially empty.
Field observations (Fig. 50) indicated that the fill
could have a significant collapse potential and, prob-
ably, a susceptibility to internal erosion. Troughs and
sinkholes were observed in the downstream slope of
the dam a few years after the collapse. The compacted
soils (they are observed in the background of Fig. 50,
where the almost vertical slope of the failed section
remained stable a few years after the dam failure) were
rather heterogeneous.
Low plasticity sandy clays and high plasticity clays
were compacted within short distances. There are also
indications that the achieved field densities were lower
than the Optimum Normal Proctor values. Wetting
under load tests performed on some specimens indi-
cated a high collapse potential. In two tests performed,
collapse deformations reached values of 3.8% (for
a vertical load of 85 kPa) and 8.3% (for a vertical
load of 245 kPa). These two vertical loads are well
within the range of vertical stresses expected within
the maximum cross section given in Figure 48.
Existing trees along the creek were felled during
construction works. However, stumps were left ‘‘in
situ’’. A few years after the failure stumps grew green
again and gave rise to new trees in their ancient loca-
tions. This is an indication of the imperfect cleaning
operations of the creek, which implies that any rain
water falling into the pond area during construction
was eventually drained out through the creek bed. This
situation could only change in the final stage of the
works, when the HDPE membrane covered the pond
and the upstream slopes of the dam.
 connecting the upstream and downstream slopes of
the dam.

Additional field observations indicated that the

polyethylene membrane penetrated into the upstream
slope, adopting tunnel-like shapes, forced by the water
hydrostatic force. These symptoms are also interpreted
as an indication of the collapse potential of the fill.
Voids were also observed in the lateral nearly vertical
cuts into the fill left by the failure.
It is believed that the membrane broke when forced
by the water pressure into a collapsing soil, located
upstream immediately above the creek elevation. Once
the membrane was broken, the water under pressure
Figure 49. Downstream view of failed dam. found a preferential path of interconnected voids and
cracks, which extended from upstream to downstream,
above the creek location, creating a ‘‘tunnel’’ inside the
fill, which increased in size and eventually collapsed,
leaving a breach of approximately rectangular shape
in cross section (Figure 49).
Simulating of the entire process is a major chal-
lenge, but the preceding explanation could be sup-
ported by some analysis even if it only covers some
partial aspects. Consider in Figure 51a a central
vertical section through the dam longitudinal axis.
A simplified geometry to analyse the collapse effects
induced by creek wetting is shown in Figure 51b. The
creek position becomes a point where wetting is sim-
ulated by imposing the condition of zero suction. The
remaining fill maintains the expected suction after
compaction and layer-by-layer construction. A simple
two-dimensional model (in plane strain) was solved
with the help of CODE_BRIGHT.
Figure 50. Field indications of collapse potential of fill. The behaviour of the compacted fill was simu-
lated by means of BBM (Alonso et al., 1990). Model

In view of the preceding description, a possi-

ble explanation for the failure could be described as
follows:

– Insufficient compaction of the fill, probably dry of

optimum, builds a collapse potential into the fill.
This collapse potential develops when a given point
within the fill experiences an increase in confining
stress over the initial (saturated) yield stress and,
also, an increase in water content.
– The fill located immediately above the creek holds
the most critical situation: the dam reaches here the
maximum height and the seeping waters through the
creek bed could easily lead to a capillary rise affect-
ing a certain thickness above the original ground
level. Therefore, the fill volume having the highest
collapse potential is viewed as an elongated mass
of compacted soil lying directly above the creek.
A collapse of this volume will tend to create voids Figure 51. (a) Longitudinal central plane and position of
and cracks, which could lead to a preferential path creek. (b) Two-dimensional representation.

28
parameters were approximated from some available
laboratory data. In particular, collapse tests provided
important information to approximate most of BBM
parameters. A simulated collapse test under a vertical
stress of 200 kPa is shown in Figure 52. The model in
this case predicts a collapse of 5.5% for a full wetting.
Starting at an initial suction of 3 MPa, these collapse
strains are believed to approximate actual ‘‘in situ’’
conditions.
BBM parameters selected to perform the calcula-
tions are summarized in Table 7.
The model dimensions are 100 m (horizontal
dimension) by 20 m (vertical dimension). It was
‘‘built’’ in 500 days, assuming an initial porosity n Figure 53. Evolution of vertical stresses against a plane
located 2 m above the base during wetting of the central lower
= 0.5 and initial suction s = 3 MPa.
point (creek).
Boundaries were considered impervious during this
phase. Then the suction in the lower centred point
was brought to zero. Vertical stresses around this wet-
ting point began to change at a rate controlled by
the assumed soil permeability. Results are shown in
Figure 53. Arching effects are clear in the figure.
Points above the creek position experience a reduction
in stress, compensated by an increase away from the
wetting point. The final result of collapse and unload-
ing phenomena is a decrease in porosity, indicating
a trend towards the development of open voids (this
is the case if the reduction in porosity concentrates
on preferential planes, namely the planes between
compaction layers).
This demonstration exercise was not developed in
more detail because its aim was to support, in a
qualitative way, a proposed mechanism for dam col-
lapse. The dam failure highlights the risks associated
with differential collapse inside an embankment struc-
ture. This differential collapse may be triggered by dif-
ferential wetting processes (this is the case discussed
here) or by other situations (differential stiffness, for
Figure 52. Collapse test simulated with the adopted BBM instance). Of course, the original and fundamental risk
Model. is associated with the inherent high collapse poten-
tial of an insufficiently compacted soil, especially if
compacted on the dry side.
Table 7. Set of model parameters used in the simulation of
collapse conditions of the fill.

BBM model 9 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

κ Elastic compressibility
λ(o) Saturated virgin compressibility
r Parameter defining LC curve
β Parameter defining LC curve
pc Reference stress
ν Poisson’s ratio
M Critical state slope
Hydraulic parameters
K Saturated intrinsic permeability (isotropic)
po Parameter of V. Genuchten model
λ Shape of V. Genuchten model
λr Power for relative permeability (Kr = Sλr r )
0.008 Compacted soils are first reviewed in the paper. An
0.1 effort is made to relate the basic compaction variables
0.5 (γ d , w) with constitutive parameters needed to per-
12 MPa−1 form comprehensive analysis of earthdam structures.
0.02 MPa
0.3
The discussion was centered on the hypothesis and
1 parameters of the Barcelona Basic Model. It is shown
that a first reasonable approximation is to substitute
the pair (γ d , w) by the pair of stress variable (saturated
10−12 m2
0.24 MPa isotropic yield stress, p∗0 , suction, s). A relationship
0.5 between yield stress, p∗0 , dry density and soil plasticity
3 has tentatively been provided on the basis of a num-
ber of experimental results. However, the paper also

29
highlights the relevant effect of microstructure to prop-
erly define the mechanical and hydraulic properties of
compacted soils.
The effect of compaction conditions on the
behaviour of a zoned dam during construction is
then discussed. A sensitivity analysis of a recently
designed dam (San Salvador) was performed using the
computer code CODE_BRIGHT, for coupled thermo-
hydro-mechanical analysis of unsaturated/saturated
soils. Pore pressure generation during construction
and its relationship with compaction conditions was
discussed. The selection of constitutive parameters in
this case has benefited from some results given in the
first chapter of the paper.
The behaviour of rockfill and, in particular, its
dependence on the ambient Relative Humidity (RH)
is described. Particle breakage due to subcritical crack
propagation (which is controlled by stress and RH)
explains the compressibility, collapse and long term
deformation of rockfill.
Dam behaviour during reservoir impoundment and
subsequent operation is then considered through
The analysis of San Salvador dam. This dam is
expected to be built within the next few years. The
analysis shows the capabilities of current computa-
tional methods to capture the interaction between the
development of flow and the stress and deformation
changes of the structure.
A historical review of published approaches to
deal with rapid drawdown conditions has been made.
The relevance of hydro-mechanical coupling effects is
presented through some examples which include the
performance of San Salvador dam under the design
drawdown specifications.
Long term deformation of earth and rockfill dams is
the final topic. Long trerm effects are associated with
two mechanisms: the collapse of dam shells induced
by weather-induced changes in RH and the intrinsic
creep phenomena, which, in the case of rockfill, is
attributed to particle breakage. A few real cases, the
results of laboratory tests and the analysis of Beliche
dam illustrate the nature of long term deformations
of dams.
In a final chapter, the failure of a homogeneous
earth dam, with an upstream impervious membrane,
is described and analyzed. The suggested explanation
for the accident is that the collapse of the insufficiently
compacted fill was able to create preferential flow-
paths connecting the upstream and downstream slopes.
The case warns against the risks of poor compaction
conditions but it also highlights the possibility of mod-
ern computational procedures, based on unsaturated
soil mechanics, to assist in the design of dams. In
fact, alternative scenarios concerning the soil type,
compaction state and initial and boundary conditions
can be examined at a limited effort.
30
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of
Prof. S. Olivella, Prof. L. Oldecop and Eng. E. Ortega
and C. Delorme to the preparation of this paper
REFERENCES
Akai, K., Y. Ohnishi, Murakami, T. and Horita, M. 1979.
Coupled stress flow analysis in saturated/unsaturated
medium by finite element method. Proc. Third Int. Conf.
Num. Meth. Geomech., 1: 241–249, Aachen.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Hight, D.W. 1987. Special prob-
lems soils. General report. Procedding 9th European Con-
ference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Dublin 3, 1087–1146
Alonso, E.E., Gens. A. and Josa. A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soil. Géotechnique, 40 (3),
405–430
Alonso, E.E. , Olivella, S. and Pinyol, N.M. 2005. A review
of Beliche Dam. Géotechnique, 55, No. 4, 267–283
Baker, R, S. Rydman and M. Talesnick 1993. Slope stability
analysis for undrained loading conditions. Int. Jnl. Num.
and Anal. Methods Geomech. 17, 14–43.
Balmaceda, A. 1991. Suelos compactados. Un estudio
teórico and experimental. PhD Thesis, E.T.S. de Inge-
nieros de Caminos, Canales & Puertos de Barcelona.
Barden, L. and G.R. Sides 1970. Engineering behaviour and
structure of compacted clay. Inl. of SMFD. Proc. ASCE,
96 (SM4). 1171–1200.
Barrera, M. 2002. Estudio experimental del comportamiento
hidro-mecánico de suelos colapsables. PhD Thesis,
E.T.S. de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales & Puertos
de Barcelona. (http://www. tdcat. cesca. es/TDCat-
0604102–0955249)
Booth, A.R. 1975. The factors influencing collapse settle-
ment in compacted soils. Proc. 6th Regional Conf. for
Africa on Soil Mech. and Foundn. Eng. Durban, 1, 57–63.
Brahma, S.P. and M.E. Harr 1962. Transient develop-
ment of the free surface in a homogeneous earth dam.
Géotechnique, 12, 283–302.
Casagrande, A. 1937. Seepage through dams. Contributions
to soil mechanics, 1925–1940. Boston Society of Civil
Engineers.
Cedergren, H.R. 1967. Seepage, drainage and flow nets,
edited by Wiley, New York.
Chávez, C and Alonso, EE. 2003. A constitutive model
for crushed granular aggregates which includes suction
effects. Soils and Foundations, 43 (4): 215–228.
Cividini, A. and Gioda, G. 1984. Approximate F.E. analysis
of seepage with a free surface. International Journal for
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 8,
6, 549–566.
Collins, k. 1983. Scanning Electron Microscopy of Engineer-
ing soils. Geoderma. Vol. 30, pp 243–252.
Cooley, R.L. 1971. A finite difference method for unsteady
flor in variable saturated porous media: Application
to a single pumping well. Water Res. Res., 7 (6),
1607–1625.
Delage, P, Audiguier, M, Cui, Y.-J. and Howat, M.D.
1996. Micro-structure of a compacted silt. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 33, 150–158
Desai, C.S. and Shernan, Jr., W.C. 1971. Unconfined tran-
sient seepage in sloping banks. Jnl. of the Soil Mech. and
Found. Div., ASCE, N◦ SM2: 357–373.
Desai, C.S. 1972. Seepage analysis of earth banks under
drawdown. Jnl. of the Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE,
N◦ SM11: 1143–1162.
Desai, C.S. 1977. Drawdown analysis of slopes by numerical
method. Jnl. of the Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE,
N◦ GT7: 667–676.
DIT-UPC 2002. CODE_BRIGHT. A 3-D program for
thermo-hydro-mechanical analysis in geological media.
USER’S GUIDE. Centro Internacional de Métodos
Numéricos en Ingeniería (CIMNE), Barcelona.
Freeze, R.S. 1971. Three dimensional transient saturated-
unsaturated flow in a groundwater basin. Water Res. Res.,
7 (2): 347–366.
Honda, M., Seguchi, H., Kim, E., Hawai, K., Iizuka, A.,
and Karube, D. 2003. A study of the relation between
volume change characteristics of compacted soil and the
condition of compaction. Proceedings of the 2nd Asian
Conference on Unsaturated Soils. April, Osaka, Japan,
pp 177–180
Hromadka, T.V. and Guymon, G.L. 1980. Some effects of lin-
earizing the unsaturated soil moisture transfer diffusivity
model. Water Res. Res. 16 (4), 643–650.
ICOLD 1980. Deterioration of dams and reservoirs.
Examples and their analysis. ICOLD, Paris. Balkema,
Rotterdam.
Justo, J.L. 1991. Collapse: Its importance, fundamentals
and modelling. In Advances in Rockfill Structures (ed.
Maranha das Neves, E.), Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Netherlands, 97–152.
Lambe, T.W. 1958. The structure of compacted clay. Jnl. of
the Soil Mech. and Foundn. Div. ASCE, 84 (SM2), 1–34.
Lane, P.A. and Griffiths, D.V. 2000. Assessment of stability
of slopes under drawdown conditions. Jnl. Geotech. and
Geoenv. Engng. 126 (5): 443–450.
Lawrence Von Thun, J. 1985. San Luis dam upstream slide.
Proc. 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engng.
San Francisco. Vol. 5: 2593–2598.
Lawton, E.C., R.J. Fragaszy and Hardcastle, J.H. 1989. Col-
lapse of compacted clayey sand. Jnl. Geotech. Engng.
ASCE. 115, 9: 1252–1267.
Lawton, E.C., R.J. Fragaszy and Hardcastle, J.H. 1991. Stress
ratio effects on collapse of compacted clayey sand. Jnl.
Geotech. Engng. ASCE. 115, 5: 714–730.
LeBihan, J.P. and Leroueil, S. 2000. Transient water flow
through unsaturated soils—implications for earth dams.
Proceddings 52nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference.
Regina (Canada), pp 559–566.
Lowe, J. and Karafiath, L. 1980. Effect of anisotropic con-
solidation on the undrained shear strength of compacted
clays. Proc. Research Conf. on Shear Strength of Cohesive
Soils. Boulder: 237–258.
Marinho, F.A.M. and Chandler, R.J. 1993. Aspects of the
behaviour of clays on drying. Unsaturated Soils. ASCE
Geotechnical Special Publication number 39. Edited by
Houston, S.L. and Wray, W.K. pp 77–90
Morgenstern 1963. Stability charts for earth slopes during
rapid drawdown. Géotechnique 13 (2), 121–131.
31
Neumann, S.P. 1973. Saturated-unsaturated seepage by
finite elements. Jnl. Hydraul. Div., ASCE, 99, HY12:
2233–2250.
Oldecop, L. and Alonso, E.E. 2001. A model for rockfill
compressibility. Géotechnique 51(1),
127–139
Oldecop, L. and Alonso, E.E. 2002. Fundamentals of rock-
fill time-dependent behaviour. Proc. 3rd International
Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Recife (Brazil) 2:
793–798.
Oldecop, L.A. and Alonso, E. 2004. Testing rockfill under
relative humidity control. Geotechnical Testing Journal,
27(4): 269–278.
Oldecop L.A., Alonso, E.E. 2007a. Theoretical investigation
of the time-dependent behaviour of rockfill. Géotech-
nique, 57, No. 3, 289–301.
Oldecop L.A., Alonso, E.E. 2007b. Discussion: Theoretical
investigation of the time-dependent behaviour of rockfill.
Géotechnique, 57, No. 9, 779–781
Olivella, S., Gens, A., Carrera, J., Alonso, E. 1996.
Numerical formulation for a simulato (CODE-BRIGHT)
for the coupled analysis of saline media. Engineering
Computations, 13 (7): 87–112.
Pauls, G.J., Karlsauer, E. Christiansen, E.A. and Wigder,
R.A. 1999. A transient analysis of slope stability follow-
ing drawdown after flooding of highly plastic clay. Can.
Geotech. Jnl., 36, 1151–1171.
Pinyol, N.M., Alonso, E.E. and Olivella, S. 2008. Rapid
drawdown in slopes and embankment. Water Resources
Research. In print.
Reinius, E. 1954. The stability of the slopes of earth dams.
Géotechnique, 5: 181–189.
Richards, B.G. & Chan, C.Y. 1969. Prediction of pore pres-
sures in earthdams. Proc. 7th Int. Conf. S.M.F.E., 2:
355–362. Mexico
Romero, E., Gens, A. & Lloret, A. 1999. Water perme-
ability, water retention and microstructure of unsatu-
rated compaced Boom clay. Engineering Geology, 54,
117–127
Rubin, J. 1968. Theoretical analysis of two-dimensional
transient flow of water in unsaturated and partly sat-
urated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 32 (5),
607–615.
Seed, H.B. and Chan, C.K. 1959. Structure and strength char-
acteristics of compacted clays. Jnl. of the SMFD, ASCE,
85 (SM1). 87–128.
Sherard, J.L., Woodward, R.J. Gizienski, S.F. and Clevenger
W.A. 1963. Earth and earth-rock dams, edited by John
Wiley and Sons, New York.
Simms, P.H. and Yanful, E.K. 2001. Measurement and esti-
mation of pore shrinkage and pore distribution in a clayey
till during soil-water characteristic curve test. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 38: 741–754.
Soriano, A. 1993. Comportamiento de las presas de mate-
riales sueltos & su auscultación. Memorias del Simposio
sobre geotecnia de presas de materiales sueltos. Sociedad
Española de Mecánica del Suelo & Cimentaciones,
pp 389–409.
Sivakumar, V. and Wheeler, S.J. 2000a. Influence of
compaction procedure on the mechanical behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted clay. Part1: Wetting
and isotropic compression. Géotechnique 50, No.4,
359–368
Sivakumar, V. and Wheeler, S.J. 2000b. Influence of com-
paction procedure on the mechanical behaviour of an
unsaturated compacted clay. Part1: Shearing and consti-
tutive modelling. Géotechnique, 50, No.4, 359–368
Stephenson, D. 1978. Drawdown in embankments. Géotech-
nique, 28 (4): 273–280.
Suriol, J and Lloret, A 2007. Cambios en la estructura de
suelos compactados frente a humedecimiento & secado.
Ingeniería Civil, 147, pp 67–76.
32
Suriol, J., Gens, A. and Alonso, E.E. 1998. Behaviour of com-
pacted soils in suction-controlled oedometer. 2nd Inter-
national Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Pekin (China).
Ed. International Academic Publishers. pp 438–443.
Terzaghi, K. and Peck, R.B. 1948. Soil mechanics in
engineering practice. Edited by Wiley, New York.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Recent developments in the techniques of controlling and measuring

suction in unsaturated soils

P. Delage
Ecole des Ponts, CERMES (Université Paris-Est, UR Navier), France

E. Romero
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

A. Tarantino
Universita degli Studi di Trento, Italy

ABSTRACT: The difficulty of measuring and controlling suction in unsaturated soils is one of the reasons why
the development of the mechanics of unsaturated soils has not been as advanced as that of saturated soils. How-
ever, significant developments have been carried out in the last decade in this regard. In this paper, a review of
some developments carried out in the techniques of controlling suction by using the axis translation, the osmotic
method and the vapour control technique is presented. The paper also deals with some recent developments in
the direct measurement of suction by using high capacity tensiometers and in the measurement of high suction
by using high range psychrometers. The recent progresses made in these techniques have been significant
and will certainly help further experimental investigation of the hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated
soils.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 TECHNIQUES OF CONTROLLING SUCTION

The coupled effects of changes in suction and stress
on the response of unsaturated soils is a fundamental
aspect to consider when dealing with unsaturated soils.
The difficulty of measuring and controlling suction is
one of the reasons why the development of the mechan-
ics of unsaturated soils has not been as advanced as that
of saturated soils in which water pressure is positive.
In relation with the significant increase in research
efforts carried out during the last two decades in the
mechanics of unsaturated soils, various techniques of
measuring and controlling suction have been adopted
and/or further developed. These techniques have been
described in detail in various papers (including Ridley
and Wray 1996, Agus and Schanz 2005, Rahardjo and
Leong 2006).
Recently, significant advances have been per-
formed in the field of controlling and measuring
suction. This paper deals with some recent achieve-
ments gained in the use of the three techniques of
controlling suction, i.e. the axis-translation technique,
the osmotic technique and the vapour control tech-
nique. Two techniques of measuring suction are also
considered, i.e. high capacity tensiometers and high
range psychrometers.
2.1 Axis translation technique
2.1.1 Introduction
The axis translation technique is the most commonly
used technique of controlling suction. Early develop-
ments of this technique started with the pressure plate
outflow technique (Richards 1941, Gardner 1956).
The axis translation technique is associated with the
matrix suction component, in which water potential is
controlled by means of liquid phase transfer through
a saturated interface—usually a saturated high air-
entry value (HAEV) ceramic disk or a cellulose acetate
membrane—which is permeable to dissolved salts.
The procedure involves the translation of the refer-
ence pore air pressure, through an artificial increase
of the atmospheric pressure in which the soil is
immersed. Consequently, the negative pore water pres-
sure increases by an equal amount if incompressibility
of soil particles and water is assumed—i.e., if the cur-
vature of the menisci is not greatly affected. The trans-
lation of the pore water pressure into the positive range
allows its measurement (Hilf 1956), and consequently,
its control if water pressure is regulated through
a saturated interface in contact with the sample.

33
This technique has been experimentally evaluated with
soils having a continuous air phase and a degree of sat-
uration varying between 0.76 and 0.95 by Fredlund and
Morgenstern (1977) and by Tarantino et al. (2000) for
degrees of saturation between 0.56 and 0.77.
The axis translation technique has been criticised
concerning the following aspects: i) it is not represen-
tative of field conditions where air pressure is under
atmospheric conditions; ii) there are some doubts in
how the air pressurisation process affects the water
pressure when water is held by adsorption mecha-
nisms; and finally iii) its application at nearly saturated
states in the absence of a continuous gaseous phase is
not straightforward. Nevertheless, the axis translation
technique has proved to provide reasonable results and
a good continuity between vapour equilibrium results
at elevated suctions and nearly saturated states. An
example can be found in Figure 1, in which the over-
all picture of water retention results under constant
volume conditions obtained by combining different
techniques (high-range transistor psychrometers and
vapour control technique) jointly with axis translation,
shows an adequate overlapping.
The major experimental difficulties concerning the
application of the axis translation are associated with:
i) the accumulation of diffused air beneath the HAEV
ceramic disk, ii) the control of the relative humidity of
the air chamber to minimise evaporation or condensa-
tion effects on the sample, iii) the application of the
air pressurisation process at elevated degrees of satu-
ration, and iv) the estimation of the equalisation time.
2.1.2 Air diffusion
Air diffusion through the saturated porous network
of the interface can induce the progressive loss of
continuity between the pore water and the water in
the control system. In addition, the accumulation of
air can lead to water volume change errors in drained
tests and to pore-water pressure measurement errors in
undrained tests. Consequently, an auxiliary device is
required to flush periodically air bubbles accumulated
below the HAEV ceramic. The following expression
describes the rate of accumulation of dissolved air
beneath the ceramic disk, which is based on the gradi-
ent of air concentration being the driving mechanism
(Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993, Romero 1999):
dVd n A D h(ua − uw )
= (1)
dt (uw + uatm )tc
where n, A and tc , represent the porosity, the cross-
sectional area and the disk thickness, respectively. h, is
the volumetric coefficient of solubility of dissolved air
in water (h = 0.018 at 22◦ C). D, is the diffusion coef-
ficient through the saturated interface. uatm , represents
the absolute atmospheric pressure; ua and uw refer to
air and water gauge pressures respectively. The quan-
tification of air diffusion has been recently carried out
by Romero (2001a), De Gennaro et al. (2002), Airò
Farulla and Ferrari (2005) and Padilla et al. (2006).
Lawrence et al. (2005) presented a pressure pulse tech-
nique for measuring the diffused air volume by using
pressure/volume controllers.
Figure 2 presents values of the coefficient of dif-
fusion of air through a saturated ceramic disk with
an air-entry value higher than 1 MPa as a function of
the applied matrix suction. Typical values are included
between 3 × 10−11 and 2 × 10−10 m2 /s (for suctions

additional data (Hoffmann 2005)

wetting axis translation
wetting vapor transfer
drying SMI psychrometer
1000

100
Suction (MPa)

10 drying

wetting
1

vapor transfer
0.1
axis translation

0.01
0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40
Water content
Figure 2. Diffusion coefficients for air through saturated
Figure 1. Water retention curves obtained by combining ceramic disks as a function of the applied matrix suction
axis translation with other techniques (Hoffmann et al. 2005). (Airò Farulla and Ferrari 2005).

34
<0.7 MPa) with lower values than that of air diffusion dries the clay surface, and b) a liquid flux through
in water (around 2.2 × 10−9 m2 /s at 20◦ C). Factors the ceramic disk that regulates the imposed matrix
such as the tortuosity of the paths and a possible break- suction. A series of 1-D numerical analysis was car-
down of Henry’s law in curved air-water interfaces can ried out by Romero (1999) to simulate evaporative
be associated with this reduction (Barden and Sides fluxes and matrix suction changes during a wet-
1967). The figure shows how this coefficient tends to ting path. A maximum volumetric evaporative flux
increase as suction increases over 0.7 MPa and how it of 9.4 × 10−7 (mm3/s)/mm2 was computed when an
gets closer to the air-entry value of the ceramic (the initial relative humidity of 0.5 was imposed in the
value at which the gas convection transport is initi- air chamber. With measured volumetric evaporative
ated). As deduced from Equation (1), increasing the fluxes lower than this value, no important conse-
water pressure is an efficient way to reduce air diffu- quences are expected and relatively uniform matrix
sion rates for a given geometry of the interface element suction distribution is expected throughout the sample
and for a specified matrix suction. The conventional height (Romero 1999, 2001a, b).
technique of the pressure plate apparatus, in which
the pressure of water is maintained under atmospheric
2.1.4 Air pressurisation at elevated degrees
conditions, is the less efficient configuration to control
of saturation
the diffusion of air.
The application of air pressure at elevated degrees of
saturation (involving occluded air bubbles) can induce
2.1.3 Evaporation and condensation effects irreversible arrangements in the soil skeleton due to
Vapour transfers between the soil and the surround- pore fluid compression and to the fact that air pres-
ing air can be controlled by maintaining an adequate sure acts as a total stress when the continuity of air
relative humidity in the air chamber (around 95%). is not ensured. Bocking and Fredlund (1980) studied
Evaporative fluxes are originated by the difference the effect of occluded air when using the axis transla-
in vapour pressure between the soil surface and the tion technique. As a consequence, if nearly saturated
air chamber. Volumetric evaporative fluxes can be states are expected to be reached during the hydraulic
detected in the water volume change device as a non- paths, it is preferable to increase the air pressure when
stop inflow into the soil under steady-state conditions. the continuity of air is ensured (degrees of satura-
Condensation of vapour in the internal walls of the tion < 0.85) and then to maintain the continuous air
pressure chamber due to temperature variations has phase at constant pressure. After this initial stage it
also been reported by Oliveira and Marinho (2006). is possible to attain nearly saturated states, since the
Measured volumetric evaporative fluxes at differ- air pathways have already been created. This can be
ent porosities are presented in Figure 3 for a com- observed in Figure 1, in which the drying path followed
pacted clay specimen placed inside an air chamber at a wetting path that attained very low matrix suctions.
an initial relative humidity of 0.50 (Romero 1999). Nevertheless, if air pressure is required to be increased
As shown in the figure, two different water fluxes are at high saturation values, it is preferable to change it at
involved in the process: a) an evaporative flux that very slow rates to allow the system to create air path-
ways and to diffuse air through the liquid (Di Mariano
1.0E-00 6
2000, Romero 2001a).
Computed evaporative flux
at 22˚C and constant h r =50%
Volumetric evaporative flux ((mm 3 /s)/mm 2 )

2.1.5 Time to reach suction equalisation

8.0E-007 air chamber
An important difficulty faced when using the axis
evaporative flux translation technique is the estimation of the required
6.0E-007
soil time to reach suction equalisation. Water volume mea-
ceramic disc liquid flux surements are usually affected by the relative humidity
water pressure system of the air chamber and the diffusion of air. Although
4.0E-007 these phenomena can be minimised as previously
suggested, the estimation of the equalisation time in
oedometer and triaxial cells has been conventionally
2.0E-007 determined based on overall soil volume change mea-
surements that are independently determined. Oliveira
(u a -u w) ≤ 0.06 MPa and Marinho (2006) studied the equilibration time in
0.0E+000
0 .3 5 0 .4 0 0 .4 5
the pressure plate and recommended around three days
Porosity, n for increments from 50 kPa to 100 kPa for gneissic
soils.
Figure 3. Measured volumetric evaporative fluxes (Romero From the analytical solution proposed by Kunze
1999). and Kirkham (1962), that considers the ceramic disk

35
impedance and the soil permeability to determine the
time evolution of the water volume change in a soil
with a rigid matrix, it is possible to estimate an equal-
isation time t95 for which 95% of the water outflow or
inflow has occurred (note that for simplicity only one
term of the Fourier series has been kept):
 2
L2 α osmotic technique controls the matrix suction, like the
t95 ≈ − 2 ln 1 (a + csc2 α1 ) ;
α1 D 40
π
aα1 = cot α1 with 0 < α1 ≤ ; (2)
2 The suction/concentration relation will be discussed
kw δs
D=
nγw δSr
where L is the soil height, D the capillary diffusiv-
ity that is assumed constant and dependent on the
water permeability kw and on the soil water capac-
ity, δs/δSr (being s the matrix suction, Sr the degree
of saturation respectively), n the porosity and γw the
unit weight of water; a the ratio of impedance of the
ceramic disk with respect to the impedance of the soil
a = kw tc /(Lkd ) (being tc the ceramic disk thickness
and kd its water permeability respectively) and α1 the
solution of the equation in the indicated range. For low
disk impedance, a ≈ 0 and α1 ≈ π/2, the minimum
equalisation time can be approximately estimated as:
L2
t95 ≈ 1.129 (3)
D
For a clayey soil with L = 20 mm, n = 0.48, kw =
5 × 10−12 m/s and δs/δSr ≈ 2.8 MPa in the suction
range 0.1 MPa < s < 0.5 MPa and with disk proper-
ties characterised by tc = 7 mm and kd = 10−10 m/s,
then a ≈ 0.018, α1 ≈ 1.543, D ≈ 3.0 × 10−9 m2 /s
and t95 ≈ 2615 min. If no ceramic disk impedance
is considered, then t95 ≈ 2500 min. It is important
to remark that this estimation is based on the hypoth-
esis of a constant soil volume, which is not exactly
the case with a clayey soil. Nevertheless, it gives an
approximate estimation of the minimum time required
to reach suction equalisation.
As a conclusion, provided its specific problems are
adequately considered, the axis translation method has
proven to be an efficient and reliable technique of
controlling suction. It remains widely used to deter-
mine the water retention and transfer properties and
the mechanical behaviour features of unsaturated soils,
following the first adaptation to triaxial testing by
Bishop and Daniel (1961).
2.2 Osmotic technique
2.2.1 Introduction
In the osmotic technique (see Delage and Cui 2008a)
the sample is placed in contact with a semi-permeable
36
membrane (permeable to water) while an aqueous
solution containing large sized soluble polyethylene
glycol molecules (PEG) is circulated behind the mem-
brane. The PEG molecules cannot go through the
membrane, resulting in an osmotic suction applied to
the sample through the membrane. Being the mem-
brane permeable to the salts dissolved in the water, the
axis translation technique. The value of the imposed
suction depends on the concentration of the solution,
the higher the concentration, the higher the suction.
later in some details.
Semi-permeable membranes are characterised by
there molecular Weight Cut Off (MWCO) that is linked
to the size of the PEG molecules that they can retain
(MWCO 12 000–14 000 membranes are used with
PEG 20 000, MWCO 6 000 with PEG 3 500, MWCO
4 000 with PEG 2 000 and MWCO 1 500 with PEG
1 000). Note that the smaller the MWCO, the higher the
membrane permeability. Semi-permeable membranes
are most often made up of cellulose acetate, but inter-
esting results using more resistant polyether sulfonated
membranes have been published by Slatter et al. (2000)
and Monroy et al. (2007). Semi-permeable mem-
branes are obviously thinner than the ceramic disks
used in the axis translation technique, but, as shown
in Delage and Cui (2008a), they have comparable
impedances I (I = e/k, being e and k the thickness
and water permeability respectively). On a Spectra-
por 12 000–14 000 membrane, Suraj de Silva (1987)
obtained e = 50 μm and k = 10−12 m/s, giving
I = 5 × 107 s, compared to an impedance value
of 7.5 × 10−7 s given by Fredlund and Rahardjo
(1993) for a 6 mm thick 1 500 kPa air entry value
ceramic disk.
The osmotic technique was used to control the
osmotic pressure of culture solutions in biology by
Lagerwerff et al. (1961) and the water matrix poten-
tial in soil science by Painter (1966), Zur (1966) and
Waldron and Manbeian (1970). Peck and Rabbidge
(1969) designed an osmotic tensiometer for measur-
ing the osmotic suction applied as a function of the
PEG concentration. The first application to geotech-
nical engineering was by Kassiff and Ben Shalom
(1971) with subsequent work carried out on a hollow
cylinder triaxial apparatus by Komornik et al. (1980)
and on a standard triaxial apparatus by Delage et al.
(1987). The Kassiff and Ben Shalom’s device (Figure
4), was further improved by Delage et al. (1992)
with the introduction of a closed circuit comprising
a 1 litre bottle in which the solution was circulated
by a peristaltic pump (being the bottle placed in a
temperature controlled bath to allow water exchange
measurements by using a capillary tube). The close cir-
cuit was adopted by Dineen and Burland (1995) with
the bottle being permanently weighted by an electronic

Figure 4. The osmotic oedometer of Kassif and Ben Shalom
(1971).
Figure 5. Comparison of the osmotic technique with var-
ious other suction control techniques (after Fleureau et al.
1993).
balance to monitor the water exchanges. Tarantino and
Mongiovi (2000) and Monroy et al. (2007) also used
this device.
Figure 5 shows a comparison carried out on a kaoli-
nite slurry submitted to changes in suction over a wide
range by using various suction control techniques, with
a reasonable agreement observed between the various
techniques. Ng et al. (2007) drew similar conclusions
based on results from shear testing.
2.2.2 Advantages and drawbacks
Compared to the axis translation technique, the
osmotic technique presents the advantage of exactly
reproducing the real conditions of water suction, with
no artificial air pressure applied to the sample. This
advantage is believed to be significant in the range
of high degrees of saturation when air continuity is
no longer ensured with the apparition of occluded
air bubbles and possible artefacts created by the air
pressure application (see discussion above).
37
A technological advantage of the osmotic technique
is that there is no need to apply any air pressure (result-
ing in no air diffusion problems). High level of suctions
can easily be applied by using high concentration PEG
solutions. It has been showed that the higher limit
of the technique could be extended up to around 10
MPa (Delage et al. 1998) and an osmotically suction
controlled oedometer compression test at a suction of
8.5 MPa has been presented by Cuisinier and Masrouri
(2005a). This extension to high suction is obviously
easier than when using the axis translation technique
(Escario and Juca 1989).
In the triaxial apparatus, the application of high suc-
tions is facilitated by the fact that there is no need to
impose high values of confining stress to maintain con-
stant the net total mean stress σ − ua at the elevated air
pressures needed to impose high suctions. The highest
suctions applied in triaxial testing (1500 kPa) were by
using the osmotic technique (Cui and Delage 1996).
In clays, with air entry values frequently higher than
1 MPa, this advantage is significant to ensure sig-
nificant sample desaturation. In the oedometer, the
application of the osmotic technique is easy since no
air-tight device is necessary to apply the air-pressure
on the sample, resulting in less friction effects between
the piston and the ring. The adaptation of the osmotic
technique to the oedometer only consists in replacing
a porous stone (most often the bottom one) by a semi-
permeable membrane clamped between the oedometer
base and the ring. In the triaxial apparatus, the adapta-
tion is less straightforward, as compared to that of the
axis-translation technique, more often used.
The main drawback of the osmotic technique is the
sensitivity to bacteria attacks of the cellulose acetate
membranes that have been most commonly used up
to now. When a semi-permeable membrane fails, the
PEG solution can infiltrate the sample and suction is no
longer controlled. The problem seems to be more seri-
ous when applying high suctions along wetting paths
(suction decrease), as observed by Marcial (2003). In
this regard, note that a concern recently evidenced by
Delage and Cui (2008b) is related to the possible pres-
ence of PEG molecules of dimensions smaller than that
defined by the molecular weight given by the manu-
facturer. The presence of these small molecules was
demonstrated by developing a novel filtration system
applied to PEG 6 000, filtrated by using a MWCO
3 500 cellulose acetate membrane.
When using cellulose acetate membranes, this
effect can be corrected by adding few drops of peni-
cillin in the solution. In such conditions (Kassiff and
Ben Shalom 1971), the life duration of the membrane
appears to be longer than 10 days. More recently,
Slatter et al. (2000) suggested the alternative use of
polyether sulfonated semi-permeable membranes. By
using these membranes, Monroy et al. (2007) carried
out tests as long as 146 days. This option seems to
be an excellent way to enhance the reliability of the observed some difference when comparing calibration
osmotic method. points along a wetting path (suction decrease) com-
pared to that along a drying path (suction increase)
2.2.3 Calibration of the method with smaller suction obtained during the subsequent
Initially, the calibration curves giving the total suc- drying path. Actually, a similar membrane effect had
tion as a function of the solution concentration of also been observed from the data of Waldron and Man-
various PEGs were investigated by measuring the beian (1970) who developed a null type osmometer in
relative humidity above solutions of PEG by using psy- which the osmotic pressure was compensated by an air
chrometers (Lagerwerff et al. 1961, Zur 1966). The pressure applied to the solution for suctions included
data from various authors gathered by Williams and between 16 and 2480 kPa.
Shaykewich (1969) indeed showed no significant dif- As a conclusion, it seems that the use of more
ference between points obtained with PEG 6 000 and resistant membranes together with the completion
with PEG 20 000, the calibration curve being indepen- of specific calibrations based on the couple mem-
dent on the molecular mass of the PEG used. Based brane/PEG used will give good reliability to the
on this calibration, reasonable comparison with the osmotic technique. The advantages of the technique
axis translation techniques have been obtained by Zur should probably help for better experimental investi-
(1966) and Waldron and Manbeian (1970) on various gation and understanding of the transition zone at high
soils. This is confirmed by the data of Figure 5. degrees of saturation (Sr < 0.85), where the air con-
Further calibrations were carried out by Dineen tinuity no longer stands and where samples get closer
and Burland (1995) who used the high range ten- to saturation. The technique seems also particularly
siometer (up to 1500 kPa) developed by Ridley and suitable to study the behaviour of unsaturated plastic
Burland (1993). They made direct suction measure- soils with AEV higher than 1 MPa.
ments on a sample kept under a suction controlled by
the osmotic technique in a oedometer and they also 2.3 Vapour control technique
measured directly the suction by placing the probe
in contact, through a kaolinite thin layer, with the Vapour equilibrium technique is implemented by con-
semi-permeable membrane behind which the solution trolling the relative humidity of a closed system. Soil
was circulated. The same approach was adopted by water potential is controlled by means of the migration
Tarantino and Mongiovi (2000) and, more recently, by of water molecules through the vapour phase from a
Monroy et al. (2007). reference system of known potential to the soil pores,
The effect of the pair membrane/PEG used on the until equilibrium is achieved. The thermodynamic
calibration has been observed by these authors on relation between total suction of soil moisture and the
various membranes and PEGs, as seen in Figure 6. relative humidity of the reference system is given by
In accordance with Slatter et al. (2000), Mon- the psychrometric law (Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993).
roy et al. (2007) observed that, for a given con- The relative humidity of the reference system can be
centration, the highest suctions were obtained by controlled by varying the chemical potential of dif-
using the polyether sulfonated membrane with PEG ferent types of aqueous solutions (Delage et al. 1998,
35 000 with suction values close to that of Williams Tang and Cui 2005).
and Shaykewich (1969). Monroy et al. (2007) also Oedometer cells installed inside a chamber with rel-
ative humidity control were used by Esteban (1990),
Bernier et al. (1997) and Villar (1999) and Cuisinier
1600 and Masrouri (2005b). The main drawback of this
Dineen and Burland (1997) experimental setup is that the time to reach mois-
1200
(PEG 20 000)
ture equalisation is extremely long due to the fact that
Tarantino and Mongiovi
T o (2000)
vapour transfer depends on diffusion (several weeks
suction (kPa)
Pa)

(Spectrum
r 14 000, PEG 20 000)
are required for each suction step in the case of high-
800
density clays as observed in Figure 7). In order to
Tarantino and Mongiovi (2000) speed up the process, vapour transfer—through the
400 (Viskase14 000, PEG 20 000) sample or along the boundaries of the sample—can be
Monroy et al. (2007)
forced by a convection circuit driven by an air pump
(PEF 15 000, PEG 35 000)
(Yahia-Aissa 1999, Blatz and Graham 2000, Pintado
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 2002, Lloret et al. 2003, Oldecop and Alonso 2004,
concentration (g PEG/L water) Dueck 2004, Alonso et al. 2005).
The mass rate transfer of vapour by convection
Figure 6. Dependency of the calibration curve of the (assuming isothermal conditions and constant dry air
osmotic technique with respect to the membrane and PEG pressure uda ) can be expressed in terms of mixing ratio
used (after Delage and Cui 2008a). (mass of vapour per unit mass of dry air) or relative

38
humidity differences between two points in the cir-
cuit (in and out) as (Oldecop and Alonso 2004, Dueck
2007).
Figure 7 shows the evolution of vertical strains
(expansive deformations are positive) of compacted
bentonite subjected to a reduction (from 150 MPa to
4 MPa) in suction under oedometer conditions (verti-
cal net stress of 10 kPa), using both relative humidity
controlled chamber (pure diffusion of vapour) and
forced flow of humid air on both ends of the sample.
As observed, the forced flow speeds up the process of
suction change.
The mass rate transfer of vapour by convection
(assuming isothermal conditions and constant dry air
pressure uda ) can be expressed in terms of vapour den-
sity or mixing ratio differences between the reference
vessel with aqueous solution (superscript r) and the
soil (superscript s) (a: Oldecop and Alonso 2004, b:
Jotisankasa et al. 2007)
dw qMmw
a) Mdry = q(ρvr − ρvs ) = uv0 (hrr − hsr )
dt RT
dw
b) Mdry = qda (xr − xs ) = qda x0 (hrr − hsr )
dt
where Mdry is the soil dry mass, w the gravimetric
water content, q the volumetric air flow rate, ρv the
vapour density in air (water mass per unit volume of
air), qda the flow rate of dry air mass, and x the mix-
ing ratio (mass of water vapour per unit mass of dry
air; x0 represents the saturated mixing ratio). Assum-
ing vapour an ideal gas, the vapour density can be
25
20
forced convection
along boundaries
Volumetric strain (%)
15
10
5 the relative humidity can be proposed based on the
pure diffusion
0
100 1000 10000
Time (min)
Figure 7. Evolution of volumetric strain on compacted ben-
tonite using humid air flow along the boundaries of the sample
(forced convection) or controlling the air relative humidity
inside a closed chamber (pure diffusion) (Pintado 2002).
expressed as ρv = Mmw uv0 hr /(RT ), where uv0 is
the saturated vapour pressure at absolute tempera-
ture T , Mmw is the molecular mass of water, R is
the gas constant, and hr the relative humidity. Based
on the same assumption and that dry air is also an
ideal gas, the following expression is obtained x =
Mmw uv /(Mmda uda ) = 0.622 uv /uda , in which Mmda is
the molecular mass of dry air mixture, uda the dry air
pressure and uv the vapour pressure.
One of the difficulties in using the vapour equilib-
rium technique is associated with maintaining thermal
equilibrium between the reference system (vessel with
aqueous solution) and the sample. Assuming that the
vapour pressure set by the reference saline solution is
also present in the sample, the following correction is
proposed, in which hr is the relative humidity and uv0
the saturation vapour pressure at temperature T
uv0 (Treference )
hrsample = hrreference (5)
uv0 (Tsample )
A possible way to minimise this thermal effect is
achieved by disconnecting the reference system that
(4) regulates the relative humidity, and allow the equalisa-
tion of vapour in the remaining circuit and the soil. This
way, the mass of water being transferred from or to the
soil is drastically reduced (there is no contribution in
water transfer between the vessel and the soil). An
equivalent testing procedure was used by Oldecop and
Alonso (2004) to overcome the long equalisation peri-
ods of the conventional vapour equilibrium technique.
Another problem that comes up when using the
forced convection system is associated with air pres-
sure differences created along the circuit. This fact
makes that the intended relative humidity applied by
the reference vessel cannot be assigned to the remain-
ing circuit and the soil. Dueck (2004) studied the
influence of air pressure changes in a forced convec-
tion circuit of vapour and their consequences on the
applied relative humidity. Figure 8 shows the exper-
imental setup and the evolution of differential air
pressures between two points of the circuit (before and
after the filter stones). The consequences on the evo-
lution of the relative humidity at the same two points
of the circuit are shown in Figure 9. An expression
to account for the effects of air pressure variations on
assumption that the mixing ratio x = 0.622 uv /uda
(mass of vapour per unit mass of dry air) set by the
reference saline solution is also set in the sample under
isothermal conditions
x0 reference
hrsample = hrreference
x0 sample
uda sample
hrsample = hrreference (6)
uda reference
39

Figure 8. a) Experimental setup to study air pressure and
relative humidity changes along a forced convection circuit.
b) Time evolution of differential air pressures (at 80 min the
air is forced through the filter stones) (Dueck 2004).
Figure 9. Time evolution of measured and calculated rela-
tive humidity at two points of the forced convection circuit
(at 80 min the air is forced through the filter stones) (Dueck
2004).
in which hr = x/x0 is the relative humidity, x0 =
0.622 uv0 /uda the saturated mixing ratio (uv0 is the sat-
urated vapour pressure), and uda the dry air pressure.
3 TECHNIQUES OF MEASURING SUCTION
3.1 High capacity tensiometers
In terms of suction measurement, significant progress
has been made with the development of the high-
capacity tensiometer (HCT) by Ridley & Burland
(1993). The HCT is similar in conception to a standard
40
tensiometer and comprises a water reservoir, a high air-
entry interface and a pressure gauge. Figure 10 shows
the second prototype developed by Ridley & Burland
(1995) which will be referred to as ‘IC tensiometer’.
This tensiometer includes an integral strain-gauged
diaphragm in contrast to the first prototype (Ridley &
Burland 1993) obtained by fitting a porous ceramic
disk to a commercial pressure transducer. Key elem-
ents of the IC tensiometer were the very thin water
reservoir (less than 4 mm3 ) and the use of a sufficiently
thick high air-entry value ceramic disk (Ridley 1993).
Provided adequate de-airing processes and pressurisa-
tion were carried out, the IC tensiometer could move
the maximum sustainable suction up to 1800 kPa,
a value significantly higher than 70–80 kPa typical
of standard tensiometers.
The IC tensiometer was particularly welcome by
the geotechnical community since suction was diffi-
cult to measure accurately in the range 0–1500 kPa
using other techniques such as the psychrometer. As
shown in Table 1, the concept of the IC tensiome-
ter had significant success and many similar devices
have been developed since that time with some specific
technological improvements, as discussed in Tarantino
(2004), Mahler and Diene (2007), and Marinho et al.
(2008). Design and use of high capacity tensiome-
ters have been satisfactorily documented. This mea-
surement technique now appears to be reasonably
affordable to develop and to use in the laboratory.
3.1.1 Water under tension and cavitation
Cavitation of water typically occurring at negative
gauge pressures close to −70/ − 80 kPa has long been
explained by the inability of water to sustain tensile
stresses. This supposition is incorrect as water can
indeed sustain high tensile stresses as earlier recog-
nised by Berthelot (1850) and confirmed by several
experiments carried out by using metal and glass
Berthelot-type systems (see Marinho and Chandler
1995). Using a Berthelot-type device, relatively long
measurements could be carried out by Henderson &
Speedy (1980) who reported a tension of 10 MPa sus-
tained for over a week. Zheng et al. (1991) were able
Figure 10. The Imperial College suction probe (Ridley and
Burland 1995).
to measure a tensile stress of 140 MPa in a single crys- Table 1. High-capacity tensiometers developed by various
tal of water, a value believed to be very close to the authors including the pressure transducers used.
maximal tension that water can sustain.
The state of water under tension is thermodynami- Authors Pressure transducer
cally metastable (De Benedetti 1996) in the sense that Ridley & Burland (1993) Entran EPX (3.5 MPa)
a gas phase will rapidly separate in the liquid if tiny König et al. (1994) Druck PDCR 81 (1.5 MPa)
amounts of gas (cavitation nuclei) are pre-existent in Ridley & Burland (1995) Home-made (4 MPa)
the liquid. Marinho and Chandler (1995) reviewed the Guan & Fredlund (1997) Brand not given (1.5 MPa)
sources of impurities in the water which include i) Meilani et al. (2002) Druck PDCR 81 (1.5 MPa)
solid particles that contain gas micro-bubbles trapped Tarantino & Mongiovi
in crevices, ii) gas trapped in tiny crevices in the walls (2002) Home-made (4 MPa)
of the water container, iii) air bubbles stabilized by Take and Bolton (2002, Druck PDCR 81 (1.5 MPa)
2003) and Entran EPB (0.7 MPa)
ionic phenomena and iv) bubbles covered by surface
Toker et al. (2004) Data Instr. Inc. AB-HP 200
active substances. Note that in high range tensiome- Mahler et al. (2002) Ashcroft K8
ters, case i) also applies to the pores of the ceramic Chiu et al. (2005) Druck PDCR 81 (1.5 MPa)
porous stone. Lourenco et al. (2006, Ceramic transducer by
Since it is virtually impossible to completely 2007) Wykeham Farrance
remove air from the water reservoir and the porous (0.8 MPa)
ceramic filter, heterogeneous cavitation will inevitably Oliveira and Marinho
occur in the HCTs. The main challenge in tensiometer (2007) Entran EPX (3.5 MPa)
measurement is then to delay cavitation by minimis- He et al. (2006) Entran EPX (3.5 MPa)
Mahler & Diene (2007) Entran EPX (1.5 MPa)
ing the number of potential cavitation nuclei present in
Entran EPXO (0.5 MPa)
the tensiometer. This has essentially been achieved by Ashcroft (0.5–1.5 MPa)
adopting special design features and by implementing Cui et al. (2008) Home-made
specific procedures for saturating the porous ceramic
disk (initial saturation and subsequent re-saturation).
1997, He et al. 2006), araldite (Meilani et al. 2002,
Take & Bolton 2003, Lourenço et al. 2006) or copper
3.1.2 Design gasket (Toker et al. 2004).
The very small water reservoir designed by Ridley and In general, the best performance in terms of max-
Burland (1993, 1995) was assumed to decrease the imum sustainable tension and measurement duration
number of cavitation germs in free water and hence appear to be achieved by the integral strain-gauged
the probability of cavitation occurrence. In this regard, diaphragms. On the other end, concerns arise about the
Ridley and Burland (1999) mentioned that the change use of O-rings to seal the water reservoir. The change
in design from the 1993 to the 1995 IC tensiometer in design from the 1993 to the 1995 IC tensiometer
was aimed at reducing as far as possible the size of the was also aimed at eliminating O-rings and elastomers
water reservoir. According to their experience, this which are sources of nucleation sites (Take 2003).
reduction (with a water reservoir thickness close to Toker et al. (2004) also found that cavitation occurred
0.1 mm as shown in Figure 10) appeared to allow suc- at very low tensions when sealing the water reservoir
tion measurements with no cavitation along a longer using rubber O-rings and that significant improve-
period of time, with less random breakdowns of the ment could be obtained by replacing the O-ring with
measurements (Guan and Fredlund 1997 give a water araldite or copper gasket. The tensiometer presented
reservoir thickness between 0.1 and 0.5 mm). Reduc- by Guan & Fredlund (1997) which included an O-ring
ing the thickness of the water reservoir is believed to seal the water reservoir also exhibited relative
to be an important feature necessary to develop high poor performance. Despite the high pre-pressurisation
capacity tensiometers that has been followed in all the pressure (12 MPa), the maximum sustained tension
prototypes described in Table 1. In general, the reser- (1.25 MPa) was significantly lower than the nomi-
voir volume is of the order of 5–10 mm3 with thickness nal AEV of the ceramic disk (1.5 MPa). As shown
as low as 0.1 mm. in the next section, this is not the case of integral
Two types of design have been presented in the lit- strain-gauged diaphragms and araldite-assembled ten-
erature, integral strain-gauged tensiometers (Ridley & siometers where maximum sustained tension can sig-
Burland 1995, Tarantino & Mongiovì 2002, Cui et al. nificantly exceed the nominal AEV of the ceramic
2008) and tensiometers obtained by fitting a high AEV disk.
ceramic disk to a commercial transducer. The latter
can be further divided in three classes, depending on 3.1.3 Initial saturation
whether the water reservoir was sealed by means of Ridley and Burland (1999) emphasized the importance
O-Ring (Ridley & Burland 1993, Guan & Fredlund of careful initial saturation of the porous stone by

41
de-aired water under vacuum, prior to pressurisation.
They observed that a subsequent pressurisation at 4
MPa for at least 24 h could provide satisfactory suc-
tion measurements. Adopting these precautions, they
concluded that the maximum sustainable suction was
only depending on the air entry value of the ceramic
filter, most often equal to 1500 kPa in existing devices.
This observation is nicely illustrated by the results pre-
sented in Figure 11 (Ridley and Burland 1999) that
shows the maximum suction obtained with various
ceramic porous stones with air entry values (AEV)
of 100, 500 and 1500 kPa respectively.
It is interesting to note that the combination
of an initial saturation under vacuum and a pre-
pressurisation pressure about 2.7 times the AEV of
the ceramic disk could produce maximum sustained
tensions significantly higher than the nominal AEVs
of the porous ceramic disks (164/100 kPa, 740/500 kPa
and 1800/1500 kPa respectively).
The importance of the initial saturation under vac-
uum has also been discussed by Take & Bolton (2003).
Three procedures for initial saturation of the ceramic
disk were investigated i) saturation at atmospheric
pressure; ii) evacuation in presence of water fol-
lowed by saturation under vacuum; iii) evacuation in
absence of water followed by saturation under vac-
uum. In case i), the tensiometer could not sustain
any tension even after four pre-pressurisation cycle
of 1000 kPa. In case ii), once subjecting the ten-
siometer to a pre-pressurisation cycle of 1000 kPa,
a maximum sustainable tension of 460 kPa could be
attained (greater that the nominal 300 kPa AEV of the
ceramic disk). In this case, vacuum in presence of
water was somehow limited by the vapour pressure of
water (2.3 kPa at 20◦ C). Finally, in case iii), an absolute
pressure of 0.05 kPa could be attained when apply-
ing vacuum in absence of water and the maximum
sustainable tension, once subjecting the tensiometer
to a pre-pressurisation cycle of 1000 kPa, could be
increased to 530 kPa.
A procedure similar to case iii) was devised by
Tarantino & Mongiovì (2002) with the exception of the Figure 11. Maximum suction response obtained with vari-
porous ceramic initially dried using silica gel instead ous ceramic porous stones (Ridley and Burland 1999).
of oven-drying at 60◦ C.
about −0.1 MPa were also used by Take & Bolton
(2003).
3.1.4 Pre-pressurisation On the other hand, Ridley & Burland (1995)
An issue that has long been debated is the proce- observed that, provided initial saturation was carried
dure to be used to re-saturate the porous ceramic disk. out under vacuum, pre-pressurisation at a constant
Guan and Fredlund (1998) observed that the cavita- pressure of 4 MPa (2.7 times the nominal AEV) for
tion tension was essentially depending on the number a period of 24 h was sufficient to measure water ten-
of pre-pressurisation cycles and to a less extent on sions higher than the ceramic disk nominal AEV. The
the pre-pressurisation pressure and duration. In par- application of a constant pre-pressurisation pressure
ticular, they found that 6 pressures cycles from −0.1 over a period of time was also adopted by Tarantino &
to 12 MPa produced the maximum sustainable ten- Mongiovì (2002), Meilani et al. (2002), Chiu et al.
sion. Cycles including the application of a positive (2005), Lourenço et al. (2006), He et al. (2006) and
pressure followed by a negative gauge pressure of Cui et al. (2008).

42
Table 2. Effect of the pre-pressurisation pressure on the water
maximum sustained tension (in bold sustained tension greater solid
than the ceramic disk nominal AEV).
air
Max Max
Ceramic pressure tension
AEV positive water
Authors (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)

Ridley & Burland (1993) 1.5 6 1.37

Ridley & Burland (1995) 0.1 4 0.164
0.5 4 0.74
1.5 4 1.8
Guan and Fredlund (1997) 1.5 12 1.25
Meilani et al. (2002) 0.5 0.8 0.495
Tarantino & Mongiovi (2002) 1.5 MPa 4 MPa 2.06
Take & Bolton (2003) 0.3 1 0.53
Mahler et al. (2002)
Chiu et al. (2005) 0.5 0.7 0.47
Lourenco et al. (2006) 1.5 1 1.23
He et al. (2006) 0.5 2 0.55 a) b)
Mahler and Diene (2007) 0.5 0.6 0.8
1.5 0.6 1.4

There is no experimental evidence showing that

that one procedure is preferable to the other. On the
other hand, little attention has been given so far to the
pre-pressurisation pressure in relation to the AEV of
the ceramic disk. Table 2 shows the pre-pressurisation
pressure adopted by different authors together with the
AEV of the ceramic disk and the maximum sustained
tension. It can be observed that pre-pressurisation
pressures greater than 2.7 times the nominal AEV
of the ceramic disk can produce maximum tensions
greater than the ceramic AEV (Ridley & Burland 1995,
Tarantino & Mongiovì 2002, Take & Bolton 2003, He
et al. 2006).
The only exception is given by the tensiometers
developed by Ridley & Burland (1993) and Guan &
Fredlund (1997) which, however, were sealed using
O-rings. On the other hand, pre-pressurisation pres-
sures in the range 0.67–1.6 AEV appear to produce
relative poor performance (Meilani et al. 2002, Chiu
et al. 2005, Lourenço et al. 2006), in the sense
that the maximum sustained tension was lower than
the ceramic disk AEV. The only exception appears
to be given by the tensiometers by Mahler & Diene
(2007) which, however, showed unusual response
upon cavitation as water pressure appear to return to
zero instead of −100 kPa gauge pressure as in all other
tensiometers presented in the literature.
Another experimental procedure that can be
adopted to improve both maximum sustainable ten-
sion and measurement duration consists in subject-
ing the tensiometers to repeated cycles of cavitation
(induced by placing the probe in contact with a dry
sample for instance) and subsequent pressurisation.
Experimental evidence of the beneficial effect of
c) d)
Figure 12. Possible cavitation mechanism inside the ten-
siometer: a) pre-pressurisation; b) measurement; c) cavita-
tion; d) air diffusion (Tarantino and Mongiovi (2001).
this procedure is provided by Tarantino & Mongiovì
(2001) using IC tensiometer, Tarantino & Mongiovì
(2002) using Trento tensiometer, Toker (2002) using
MIT 6.1 tensiometer, and Take & Bolton (2003)
using the tensiometer developed at the University
of Cambridge. The application of repeated cycles
of cavitation and pre-pressurisation appeared to not
improve the response of the tensiometer presented
by Chiu et al. (2005) and Lourenço et al. (2006).
However, these authors applied relatively low pre-
pressurisation pressures (see Table 2) which may
explain the non-beneficial effect of this procedure.
Tarantino & Mongiovì (2001) assumed that
repeated cycles of cavitation and re-saturation can
reduce number and size of cavitation nuclei in
the porous ceramic disk. Air in small nuclei would be
driven together by cavitation in larger cavities that are
subsequently more easily forced into solution by pres-
surisation. This phenomenon is illustrated in Figure 12
and would suggest that cavitation occurs inside the

43
porous stone rather that in the water reservoir. Exper-
imental evidence supporting this assumption is pro-
vided by Tarantino & Mongiovì (2001) and Tarantino
(2004). Evidence is also given by Guan and Fredlund
(1997) who observed that the inner face of the ceramic
disk became relatively soft after repeated cavitations
and it was possible to peel the surface with a slight fin-
gernail scratch. This degradation is likely to be related
to the occurrence of cavitation localised in this area.

3.1.5 Evaluation of tensiometer performance

The quality of the suction measurements provided by
the various tensiometers developed so far has been
investigated by various means by the different authors.
Most often, the tensiometer calibration has been con-
ducted by extrapolating calibration established with
positive water pressures to negative pressures. In a first
attempt, Ridley and Burland (1993) performed suction
measurements on a saturated clay sample put under
a given isotropic effective stress situation and subse-
quently unloaded in undrained conditions, considering
that a suction equal to the effective stress would
develop (hence implicitly assuming sample isotropy
and ‘‘perfect sampling’’, see Doran et al. 2000). Guan
and Fredlund (1997) measured the suction of samples
put at controlled suctions by using the axis translation
method. They also compared the tensiometer mea-
sured suctions with filter paper measurements, as done
also by Marinho and Chandler (1994) in an attempt
to investigate possible osmotic effects. Tarantino and
Mongiovi (2001) stated that the comparison between
direct and indirect methods was probably not the best
approach, and they successfully compared the mea-
surements given by two IC tensiometers put in contact
with the same sample, concluding on the satisfactory
quality of the measurement. They also observed an
excellent agreement between the measurements given
by a Trento tensiometer and a IC tensiometer placed
in contact with a dry kaolinite sample, before cavi-
tation (Tarantino and Mongiovi 2002). Such a good
agreement between two different systems is certainly
a good indicator of the quality of the measurement.
Note that in this experiment, the IC tensiometer was
able to reach a suction value as high as 2900 kPa before
cavitating.
3.1.6 Time to reach equilibrium
All authors agree that the contact between the soil
and the probe needs particular attention, a good con-
tact being ensured by placing a soil paste between the
probe and the sample. However, the water content of
the paste may affect the time necessary to reach equi-
librium. Oliveira and Marinho (2008) used soil pastes
at various water contents and recommended to choose
the water content between the plastic and liquid limits,
Figure 13. Effect of compacted sample microstructure on
suction measurements (Oliveira and Marinho (2008).
with higher water contents resulting in longer equi-
libration rates. Boso et al. (2004) also showed that
preparing the paste at the liquid limit may signifi-
cantly increase the equilibration time. They suggested
that the water content of the paste should be kept as
low as possible. However contact may not establish if
the paste water content is excessively low and optimal
water content should therefore be chosen by trial and
error.
Oliveira and Marinho (2008) also showed that equi-
libration time also depends on the permeability of the
soil. Figure 13 shows suction measurements on sam-
ples of low plasticity soil (IP = 13) compacted on the
dry side, wet side and at Proctor optimum. The results
show that similar levels of suction (between 400 and
500 kPa) are attained after different periods of time
due to changes in the microstructure.
The changes in permeability of compacted samples
with the compaction state has been known for long
time since the work of Lambe (1958) who observed
a decrease of two orders of magnitude when passing
from the dry side of optimum to optimum water con-
tent, followed by a constant value along the saturation
line. This is compatible with the trend observed in
Figure 13 in which similar response are observed at

44
optimum and on the wet side of optimum, as compared
to longer equilibration times on the dry side. This
is related to the aggregate microstructure observed
on the dry side (Ahmed et al. 1974, Delage et al.
1996, Romero et al. 1999), as compared to the matrix
microstructure on the wet side. Obviously, the mea-
surement of suction is corresponding to a very tiny
water movement that is sufficient to extract some water
from the porous stone. This transfer rate is dependent
on the microstructure, with slower rates in the aggre-
gate macrostructure, in which inter-aggregates pores
are known to be dry and in which water is moving
through the inter-aggregates contacts and, probably,
inside the inter-aggregates smaller pores.
3.1.7 Use in geotechnical testing
Tensiometers have been extensively used in mechani-
cal testing including null tests (Tarantino et al. 2000),
oedometer tests (Dineen & Burlan 1995, Dineen
et al., 1999, Tarantino & Mongiovì 2000, Delage et al.
2007, Tarantino & De Col 2008), direct shear tests
(Caruso & Tarantino 2004, Tarantino & Tombolato
2005), and triaxial tests (Cunningham et al. 2003,
Oliveira & Marinho 2003).
The use of the tensiometer makes it possible to
investigate unsaturated soil behaviour under more
realistic atmospheric conditions. Tests have been
resulted from the stress release due to sample extrac-
tion (block sampling). In the range where measured
pressures remain negative (vertical stress smaller than
800 kPa), the figure shows that each loading step
results in a peak in the response of the tensiome-
ter, with apparently positive pressures monitored just
before going back to a suction state. These peaks,
not always equal to the stress increment applied, are
interpreted as a local consolidation process of a thin
soil layer in contact with the bottom of the cell where
the tensiometer was placed. This instantaneous posi-
tive response is apparently very quickly compensated
by suction subsequent homogenisation within the soil
mass. Note that the transition between negative and
positive pressures is well captured once a load of
800 kPa is reached, with subsequent stabilisation of
the pressure measurements at zero. During unloading,
a suction state seems reached again when the load is
smaller than 400 kPa.
As seen in Figure 15, Tarantino & De Col (2008)
could investigate suction changes occurring during
the compaction process in clay samples at various
water contents. The figure clearly shows the simul-
taneous decrease in suction and increase in degree
of saturation that occurred during compaction. Also
1600
(a)
Vertical stress (kPa)

carried out under suction-controlled conditions by 1200

coupling the tensiometer with either the osmotic Loading Unloading
800
technique (Dineen & Burland 1995, Dineen et al.
1999, Tarantino & Mongiovì 2000) or air circulation 400
(Cunningham et al. 2003). Tests have also been car- 50 kP a
ried out at constant water content with suction changes 0

monitored by the tensiometer (Tarantino & Tombolato

2005, Delage et al. 2007, Tarantino & De Col 2008).
0
Vertical displacement (mm)

It is interesting to observe that suction equalisation in (b)

constant water tests is generally fast (1–2 h) which sig- 1
nificantly reduces the overall test duration. This point
2
is of importance especially if a comparison is made
with the long-lasting tests based on the axis-translation 3
Compression Swelling
technique.
The advantage of using the tensiometer is that quasi- 4
saturate states (occluded air-phase) and the transition
from unsaturated to saturated states can be successfully 800
examined in contrast to the axis-translation technique
Water pressure (kPa)

(c )
which is problematic to use at very high degrees of 400
saturation. For example, Tarantino & Mongiovì (2000)
0 0
Suction (kPa)

could perform constant suction one-dimensional com-

pression on a sample having an initial degree of -400 400
saturation equal to 0.95. Loading Unloading
As seen in Figure 14, Delage et al. (2007) could -800 800

monitor the changes in suction or water pressure 0 100 200 300 400 500
occurring during a step loading oedometer compres- Time (h)
sion test carried out on a saturated intact Boom clay
sample (a stiff clay from Belgium) using dry porous Figure 14. Monitoring suction changes during oedometer
stones. The initial suction state of the saturated sample step loading compression (After Delage et al. 2007).

45
 1

Region I

0.8
Degree of saturation, S r

0.6

w=0.311
0.4 w=0.299
w=0.275
w=0.259
w=0.254 w=0.236
w=0.215

0.2
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Matric suction, s : kPa

Figure 15. Degree of saturation-suction paths at differ-

ent compaction water contents. Dotted lines join ‘‘post-
compaction’’ suctions (Tarantino and De Col 2008).

apparent are the hysteresis obtained during stress

cycles and the significant suction increase due to ver-
tical stress release. The profile of the post-compaction
suctions at given water content, once stress is released,
shows some increase in suction with increasing the
degree of saturation. This trend is different from some
observations by Li (1995), Gens et al. (1995) and
Romero et al. (1999) who measured constant values
of suction on samples of equal water content com-
pacted at various densities, at least on the dry side of
the compaction curve.
When implementing the HCTs in mechanical test-
ing, an important aspect is that water tension has
to be sustained for a time long enough to carry out Figure 16. In-situ measurement of soil suction at shallow
the test. Tarantino & Mongiovì (2000) and Cun- depth (Cui et al. 2008).
ningham et al. (2003) showed that water tensions of
the order of 800 kPa could be sustained for more
than two weeks without cavitation occurring in the changes is certainly an important aspect in which
tensiometer. Interestingly, water tensions were simul- progress is needed in the mechanics of unsaturated
taneously measured using two tensiometers which soils, with obvious applications in many fields in
showed excellent agreement with each other. which soil atmosphere exchanges are playing a key
The results and considerations presented in this role. The behaviour and stability of geotechnical struc-
section devoted to the direct measurement of suction tures like embankments or earth-dams, cover liners of
by high capacity tensiometers clearly show the quality surface waste disposals and the investigation of slope
of the measurements obtained with this device pro- stability problems are some typical examples.
vided adequate preliminary preparation procedures are In spite of some attempts (Ridley et al. 1996), it
carried out. Further use of HCTs in laboratory test- seems that experimental in-situ suction profiles deter-
ing of unsaturated soils will definitely complete in a mined by using high capacity tensiometers are scarce.
sound fashion our understanding of the behaviour of In this regard, a recent paper by Cui et al. (2008)
unsaturated soils. shows a device allowing to measure suction changes
in a low range (20–160 kPa) at small depths (25 cm
3.1.8 In-situ suction measurements and 45 cm) along a period of three weeks. The sys-
The measurement of in-situ suction profiles and of tem (Figure 16) also allows simple replacement of
suction changes with respect to time and climatic the tensiometer to carry out, when necessary, a new

46
 Table 3. Specifications of two high-range psychrometers
(Cardoso et al. 2007).

Chilled-mirror
Equipment SMI Psychrometer dew-point WP4

Suction range 1 to 70 MPa (∗ ) 1 to 60 MPa (max.

Figure 17. Suction changes and rainfall data (Cui et al.
2008).
resaturation of the probe in the laboratory after the
occurrence of cavitation due to progressive air diffu-
sion in the porous stone. The authors are aware that the
period of three weeks measurements should probably
be reduced when measuring higher in-situ suctions.
The data of Figure 17 show that rainfall events gen-
erally cause slight changes in suction, with a more
pronounced reaction at 45 cm on 11 June.
Due to progressive air diffusion in the ceramic disk,
it is not sure that direct measurements of in-situ suction
by using HCT be the more reliable technique to be
used for long term monitoring, as compared to indirect
techniques (see for instance Whalley et al. 2007).
3.2 High-range psychrometers
In recent years, a great effort has been dedicated to
extend the working range of psychrometers. Improved
versions of widely used thermocouple psychrome-
ters (Peltier-type: Spanner 1951; wet-loop: Richards
and Ogata 1958; double-junction: Meeuwig 1972,
Campbell 1979; screen-caged: Brown and Johnston
1976, Brown and Collins 1980) displayed a range
between 0.3 MPa and 8 MPa, although above 4 MPa
the repeatability of the outputs was not very good
(Ridley and Wray 1996). Two alternatives, with dif-
ferent working principles, have been developed in the
90 s and 2000 s that allow extending this range: a) tran-
sistor psychrometers (Soil Mechanics Instrumentation
SMI type: Dimos 1991, Woodburn et al. 1993, Truong
and Holden 1995) with an upper limit of 15 MPa, and
b) chilled-mirror dew-point psychrometers (Gee et al.
1992, Loiseau 2001, Brye 2003, Leong et al. 2003,
Tang and Cui 2005, Thakur and Singh 2005, Agus
and Schanz 2005) with an upper limit of 60 MPa and
involving a reduced time of reading. Woodburn and
Lucas (1995) and Mata et al. (2002) extended the range
of transistor psychrometers to 70 MPa, disconnecting
the probes from the standard logger and reading the
outputs using a millivoltmeter.
300 MPa)
Output reading Voltage, suction Suction and
(logger) temperature
Accuracy < ± 0.05 pF ±0.1 MPa from
±0.01 pF 1 to 10 MPa and
(repeatability) ±1% from 10 to
60 MPa
Measuring time Usually 1 hour 3 to10 minutes
Calibration Multiple point Single point
calibration. calibration
Bi-linear
Sample Ø = 15 mm, Sample cup:
geometry h = 12 mm Ø = 37 mm,
h = 7 mm
The transistor psychrometer probe consists of two
bulbs, which act as ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ thermometers that
are placed inside a sealed and thermally insulated
chamber in equilibrium with soil sample. A drop of
distilled water with specified dimensions is used in
the ‘wet’ thermometer. The psychrometer measures
indirectly the relative humidity by the difference in
temperature between the ‘dry’ and the ‘wet’ bulbs
(evaporation from the ‘wet’ bulb lowers its tempera-
ture). The standard equilibration period is one hour.
The extended range calibration for standard condi-
tions (standard drop size and equilibration period) is
bi-linear, as shown by Cardoso et al. (2007). On the
other hand, the chilled-mirror dew-point psychrome-
ter measures the temperature at which condensation
first appears (dew-point temperature). A soil sample
in equilibrium with the surrounding air is placed in
a housing chamber containing a mirror and a photo-
electric detector of condensation on the mirror. The
temperature of the mirror is precisely controlled by a
thermoelectric (Peltier) cooler. The relative humidity
is computed from the difference between the dew-point
temperature and the temperature of the soil sample,
which is measured with an infrared thermometer. The
measuring time is around 5 minutes (WP4 psychrom-
eter, Decagon Devices, Inc.) Table 3 presents the
comparison of both equipment (SMI and WP4) con-
cerning suction range, output, accuracy, measurement
time and calibration.
Figure 18 shows multi-stage drying results of a
clayey silt obtained with SMI psychrometers within
this extended range (Boso et al. 2003). The figure also
includes results obtained with high-range tensiometer
readings. The ‘dynamic’ determination in the figure
was monitored continuously by placing the sample
along with the tensiometer on a balance. The ‘static’

47
 1000 SMI
transistor psychrometer HRb
tensiometer (staticcurve)
tensiometer (dynamiccurve) HR1 HReq SMI
100 HR0=40%
Matric suction (MPa)

HRSOIL HRSOIL

10 HRb> HR0 (fast process) HR1> HRSOIL HR1> HRSeq SMI > HRSOIL
HRSOIL> HR0 HR1> HR0

1 WP4
HR0=40%
HReq WP4
0.1
HRSOIL

HRSOIL> HR0 HRSOIL > HRSeq WP4 > HR0

0.01
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
Water content Figure 20. Equalisation process in the measurement cham-
ber of SMI and WP4 psychrometers. HRb : relative humidity
Figure 18. Comparison between SMI psychrometer data near the wet bulb; HRSOIL : relative humidity of the soil pores;
(total suction minus osmotic component) and high-range ten- HR0 : initial relative humidity of the soil chamber; HR1 : inter-
siometer readings. Drying paths on a clayey silt (Boso et al. mediate relative humidity; HReq : final equilibrated relative
2003). humidity. The scheme is for HRSOIL > HR0 (Cardoso et al.
2007).

100
SMI -Drying
WP4-Drying readings of both psychrometers were observed—sys-
Curve SMI (drying)
Curve WP4 (drying) tematically larger values were detected with WP4
psychrometer—, which increased with total suction
Total suction (MPa)

10
1 and WP4 readings. These authors suggested that the
0
0 5 10 15
water content (%)
Figure 19. Comparison between SMI and WP4 psychrom-
eter data. Drying paths on a compacted destructured argillite
(Cardoso et al. 2007).
determination was achieved by constant water content
measurements. To compare matrix suction results, a
constant osmotic suction of 0.3 MPa was subtracted
from total suctions measured by the psychrometer.
A relatively good overlapping in the range from 1 MPa
to nearly 3 MPa and between the different techniques
is observed in the figure.
Cardoso et al. (2007) studied the performance of
SMI and WP4 psychrometers by evaluating the dry-
ing branch of the retention curve of a compacted
destructured argillite.
As observed in Figure 19, the retention curves
display a quite good agreement in the low total suction
range from 1 to 7 MPa. However, in the high-
suction range (7 to 70 MPa) differences between the
of the soil.
Cardoso et al. (2007) put forward a possible expla-
nation to account for these discrepancies between SMI
hydraulic paths undergone by the soil during the mea-
surement period inside each equipment chamber were
quite different. As observed in Figure 20, the sample
20 25 in the SMI chamber experiences some wetting due to
the relatively fast evaporation of the drop of the wet
thermometer, which increases the relative humidity
of the chamber to HR1 > HR0 as shown schemat-
ically in the figure. The sample at a lower relative
humidity HRsoil undergoes some wetting before reach-
ing the equalisation state at HReq SMI , which is the state
finally measured by the SMI psychrometer. During
the determination of a main drying curve, SMI read-
ings will follow a scanning wetting path, which will
end below the main drying curve. On the contrary,
the soil inside the WP4 chamber will undergo some
drying before reaching HReq WP4 , and it will follow the
same intended main drying path during the measuring
period. As a consequence, the total suctions measured
and the final water contents are slightly different.
4 CONCLUSION
Some recent developments concerning the three tech-
niques used for controlling suction in unsaturated soils

48
(axis-translation, osmotic and vapour control tech-
niques) and concerning two techniques of measuring
suction (high capacity tensiometers and high range
psychrometers) have been commented and discussed.
The advantages, drawbacks and complementarities of
these techniques have been discussed and some recom-
mendations aimed at facilitating their use have been
given, based on the experience gained by the authors,
their co-workers and data available in the literature. As
a general conclusion, it can be stated that the recent
significant progresses made in the field of control-
ling and measuring suction provided further insight
into the behaviour of unsaturated soils. The potential-
ities of these techniques are high and they should keep
helping the experimental investigations necessary to
better understand the hidden remaining aspects of the
hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the fruitful collaboration
and discussions with the many colleagues involved in
the works conducted: C. Airò Farulla, M. Boso, R. Car-
doso, A. Caruso, Y.J. Cui, E. De Col, V. De Gennaro, E.
De Laure, A. Di Mariano, A. Dueck, A. Ferrari, Ch.
Hoffmann, M. Howat, T.T. Le, A. Lima, A. Lloret,
C. Loiseau, A.T. Mantho, D. Marcial, F. Marinho, L.
Mongiovi, L. Oldecop, X. Pintado, G. Priol, G.P.R.
Suraj de Silva, A. Take, A.M. Tang, A. Thielen, S.
Tombolato, T. Vicol, M. Yahia-Aissa.
The authors also wish to acknowledge the support
of the European Commission via the ‘‘Marie Curie’’
Research Training Network contract number MRTN-
CT-2004–506861.
REFERENCES
Agus, S.S. and Schanz, T. 2005. Comparison of four meth-
ods for measuring total suction. Vadose Zone J., 4 (4):
1087–1095.
Ahmed, S., Lovell, C.W. and Diamond, S. 1974. Pore sizes
and strength of compacted clay. ASCE Journal of the
Geotechnical Engineering Division 100, 407–425.
Airò Farulla, C. and Ferrari, A. 2005. Controlled suction
oedometric tests: analysis of some experimental aspects.
Proc. Int. Symp. Advanced Experimental Unsaturated
Soil Mechanics, Trento, Italy. A. Tarantino, E. Romero
and Y.J. Cui (eds). A.A. Balkema, 43–48.
Alonso, E.E., Romero, E., Hoffmann, C. and
García-Escudero, E. 2005. Expansive bentonite-sand mix-
tures in cyclic controlled-suction drying and wetting.
Engineering Geology, 81 (3): 213–226.
Barden, L. and Sides, G.R. 1967. The diffusion of air through
the pore water of soils. Proc. 3rd Asian Reg. Conf.
on Soil Mechanics Foundation Engineering, Israel, 1:
135–138.
49
Bernier, F., Volckaert, G., Alonso, E.E. and Villar, M.V.
1997. Suction-controlled experiments on Boom clay.
Engineering Geology, 47: 325–338.
Berthelot, M. 1860. Sur quelques phénomènes de dilatation
forcée des liquides. Annales de Chimie et de Physique
(30): 232–239.
Bishop, A.W. and Donald, I.B. 1961. The experimental study
of party saturated soil in the triaxial apparatus. Proc. 5th
Conf. On Soil Mechanics and Found Eng. 1, 13–21.
Blatz, J. and Graham, J. 2000. A system for controlled suction
in triaxial tests. Géotechnique, 50 (4): 465–469.
Bocking, K.A. and Fredlund, D.G. 1980. Limitations of
the axis translation technique. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on
Expansive Soils, Denver, Colorado: 117–135.
Boso, M., Romero, E. and Tarantino, A. 2003. The use
of different measurement techniques to determine water
retention curves. Proc. Int. Conf. Mechanics of Unsat-
urated Soils, Weimar, Germany, Springer Proceedings
in Physics (Volume 1). T. Schanz (ed.). Springer-Verlag,
Berlin: 169–181.
Boso, M., Tarantino, A. and Mongiovì, L. 2004. Shear
strength behaviour of a reconstituted clayey silt. Advances
in testing, modelling and engineering applications,
C. Mancuso and A. Tarantino (eds), Proc. Int. Workshop,
Anacapri, 1–14. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Brown, R.W. and Johnston, R.S. 1976. Extended field use of
screen-covered thermocouple psychrometers. Agron. J.,
68: 995–996.
Brown, R.W. and Collins, J.M. 1980. A screen-caged ther-
mocouple psychrometer and calibration chamber for mea-
surements of plant and soil water potential. Agron. J., 72:
851–854.
Brye, K.R. 2003. Long-term effects of cultivation on particle
size and water-retention characteristics determined using
wetting curves. Soil Sci., 168: 459–468.
Campbell, G.S. 1979. Improved thermocouple psychrom-
eters for measurement of soil water potential in a
temperature gradient. J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum., 12:
739–743.
Cardoso, R., Romero, E., Lima, A. and Ferrari, A. 2007.
A comparative study of soil suction measurement using
two different high-range psychrometers. Proc. 2nd Int.
Conf. Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils, T. Schanz (ed.).
Springer Proceedings in Physics, 112: 79–93.
Caruso, A. and Tarantino, A. 2004. A shearbox for test-
ing unsaturated soils from medium to high degrees of
saturation. Géotechnique, 54 (4): 281–284.
Cunningham, M.R., Ridley, A.M., Dineen, K. and Bur-
land, J.B. 2003. The mechanical behaviour of a reconsti-
tuted unsaturated silty clay. Géotechnique, 53: 183–194.
Cuisinier, O. and Masrouri, F. 2005a. Hydromechanical
behaviour of a compacted swelling soil over a wide suction
range. Engineering Geology 81: 204–212.
Cui, Y.J. and Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotechnique 46 (2),
291–311.
Cui, Y.J., Tang, A.M., Mantho, A.T. and De Laure, E.
2008. Monitoring field soil suction using a miniature
tensiometer. Geotechnical Testing Journal 31 (1), 95–100.
Cuisinier, O. and Masrouri, F. 2005b. Influence de sol-
licitations hydriques et mécaniques complexes sur le
comportement d’un sol gonflant compacté. Can. Geotech.
J., 42 (3): 731–741.
De Benedetti, P.G. 1996. Metastable liquids. Princeton
University Press.
Delage, P., Suraj De Silva, G.P.R. et De Laure, E. 1987. Un
nouvel appareil triaxial pour les sols non saturés. 9e Eur.
Conf. Soil Mechanics Found. Eng. 1, 26–28, Dublin.
Delage, P., Suraj De Silva, G.P.R. and Vicol, T. 1992. Suction
controlled testing of non saturated soils with an osmotic
consolidometer. Proc. 7th Int. Conf. Expansive Soils,
206–211, Dallas.
Delage, P., Howat, M.D. and Cui, Y.J. 1998. The relation-
ship between suction and swelling properties in a heavily
compacted unsaturated clay. Engineering Geology, 50:
31–48.
Delage, P., Le, T.-T., Tang, A.-M., Cui, Y.-J. and Li, X.-L.
2007. Suction effects in deep Boom Clay block samples.
Géotechnique 57 (2): 239–244, 239.
Delage, P. and Cui, Y.J. 2008a. An evaluation of the
osmotic method of controlling suction. Geomechanics
and Geoengineering: An International Journal, vol. 3
(1), 1–11.
Delage P. and Cui Y.J. 2008b. A novel filtration system for
polyethylene glycol solutions used in the osmotic method
of controlling suction. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, in
press.
De Gennaro, V., Cui, Y.J., Delage, P. and De Laure, E. 2002.
On the use of high air entry value porous stones for suc-
tion control and related problems. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf.
on Unsaturated Soils, Recife, Brasil, J.F.T. Jucá, T.M.P.
de Campos and F.A.M. Marinho (eds). A.A. Balkema, 1:
435–440.
Di Mariano, A. 2000. Le argille a scaglie e il ruolo della
suzione sulla loro deformabilità. Ph.D. Thesis, Università
di Palermo e di Catania.
Dimos, A. 1991. Measurement of soil suction using transistor
psychrometer. Internal Report IR/91–3, Special Research
Section, Materials Tech. Dept., Vic Roads.
Dineen, K. and Burland, J.B. 1995. A new approach to osmot-
ically controlled oedometer testing. In E.E. Alonso and P.
Delage (eds), Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils,
Paris, 2: 459–465. Balkema.
Dineen, K., Colmenares, J.E. Ridley, A.M. abd Burland, J.B.
1999. Suction and volume changes of a bentonite-enriched
sand. Geotechnical Engineering 137 (4): 197–201.
Doran, I.G. Sivakumar, V. Graham, J. and Johnson, A.
(2000). Estimation of in-situ stresses using anisotropic
elasticity and suction measurements. Géotechnique 50
(2), 189–196.
Dueck, A. 2004. Hydro-mechanical properties of a water
unsaturated sodium bentonite. Laboratory study and
theoretical interpretation. Ph.D. Thesis, Lund University,
Sweden.
Dueck, A. 2007. Results from suction controlled laboratory
tests on unsaturated bentonite—Verification of a model.
Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils,
Weimar, T. Schanz (ed.). Springer Proceedings in Physics,
112. Springer-Verlag, Berlin: 329–335.
Escario, V. and Juca, F. 1989. Strength and deformation of
partly saturated soils. Proc. 12th Int. Conf. Soil Mech.
and Found. Eng. 1, 43–46. Rio de Janeiro, Balkema.
Esteban, F. 1990. Caracterización experimental de la expan-
sividad de una roca evaporítica. Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad
de Cantabria. Spain (in Spanish).
50
Fredlund, D.G. and Morgenstern, N.R. 1977. Stress state vari-
ables for unsaturated soils. J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE,
103 (5): 447–466.
Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.
Gardner, W.R. 1956. Calculation of capillary conductivity
from pressure plate outflow data. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc.,
20: 317–320.
Gee, G., Campbell, M., Campbell, G. and Campbell, J. 1992.
Rapid measurement of low soil potentials using a water
activity meter. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 56: 1068–1070.
Gens, A., Alonso, E.E., Suriol, J. and Lloret, A. 1995. Effect
of structure on the volumetric behaviour of a compacted
soil. Proc. 1st Int. Conf on Unsaturated Soils UNSAT’ 95
1, 83–88, Paris, Balkema, Rotterdam.
Guan, Y. and Fredlund, D.G. 1997, Use of tensile strength
of water for the direct measurement of high soil suction,
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 34, 604–614.
Guan, Y., Fredlund, D.G. and Gan, J.K.M. 1998. Behav-
ior of water subjected to high tensile stresses, In Pro.
2nd Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils, Vol. 1 Beijing 1998,
International Academic Publishers, Beijing, 356–361.
Harrison, B.A. and Blight, G.E. 2000. A comparison of
in-situ soil suction measurements, Proc. Asian Conf.
Unsaturated Soils. Singapore, H. Rahardjo, D.G. Toll and
E.C. Leong (eds), Balkema, Rotterdam, 281–285.
He, L., Leong, E.C. and Algamal, A. 2006. A minia-
ture tensiometer fro measurement of high matrix suction.
Development of a commercial tensiometer for triaxial test-
ing of unsaturated soils, Geotechnical Special Publication
No. 147, ASCE, Reston, Vol. 2:1897–1907.
Henderson, S.J. and Speedy, R.J. 1980. A Berthelot-Bourdon
tube method for studying water under tension. J. Physics
E: Scientific Instrumentation 13, 778–782.
Hoffmann, C., Romero, E. and Alonso, E.E. 2005. Com-
bining different controlled-suction techniques to study
expansive clays. Proc. Int. Symposium on Advanced
Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Trento, Italy,
June 27–29, 2005. A. Tarantino, E. Romero and Y.J. Cui
(eds). A.A. Balkema, Leiden: 61–67.
Hilf, J.W. 1956. An investigation of pore-water pressure in
compacted cohesive soils. Ph.D. Thesis. Technical Memo
No.654, United States Bureau of Reclamation, Denver.
Jotisankasa, A., Coop, M. and Ridley, A. 2007. The develop-
ment of a suction control system for a triaxial apparatus.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, 30 (1): 1–7.
Kassiff, G. and Ben Shalom, A. 1971. Experimental relation-
ship between swell pressure and suction. Géotechnique,
21, 245–255.
Komornik, A., Livneh, M. and Smucha, S. 1980. Shear
strength and swelling of clays under suction. Proc. 4th
Int. Conf. on Expansive soils, Denver, USA.
Kunze, R.J. and Kirkham, D. 1962. Simplified account-
ing for membrane impedance in capillary conductivity
determinations. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 26: 421–426.
Lagerwerff, J.V., Ogata, G. and Eagle, H.E. 1961. Control of
osmotic pressure of culture solutions with polyethylene
glycol. Science 133, 1486–1487.
Lawrence, C.A., Houston, W.N., Houston, S.L. and
Harraz, A.M. 2005. Pressure pulse technique for mea-
suring diffused air volume. Proc. Int. Symposium on
Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
 EXPERUS, Trento, A. Tarantino, E. Romero and Y.J. Cui
(eds). A.A. Balkema, Leiden: 9–13.
Leong, E.C., Tripathy, S. and Rahardjo, H. 2003. Total suc-
tion measurement of unsaturated soils with a device using
the chilled-mirror dew-point technique. Géotechnique, 53
(2): 173–182.
Li, Z.M. 1995. Compressibility and collapsibility of com-
pacted unsaturated loessial soils. Proc. 1st Int. Conf
on Unsaturated Soils UNSAT’ 95 1, 139–144, Paris,
Balkema, Rotterdam.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Pintado, X.
and Alonso, E.E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour of heav-
ily compacted bentonite under high suction changes.
Géotechnique, 53 (1): 27–40.
Loiseau, C. 2001. Transferts d’eau et couplages hydromé-
caniques dans les barrières ouvragées. Ph.D. Thesis, École
Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Lourenço, S.D.N., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G. and Evans, F.D.
2006. Development of a commercial tensiometer for tri-
axial testing of unsaturated soils, Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 147, ASCE, Reston, Vol. 2: 1875–1886.
Mahler, C.F. and Diene, A.A. 2007. Teniometer develop-
ment for high suction analysis in laboratory lysimeters.
In Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, T. Schanz
(ed.), pp. 103–115.
Mahler, C.F., Pacheco, A.C. and Souza, H.G. 2002. Devel-
opment of an automatic tensiometer in laboratory using
a Mini-Lysimeter. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated
Soils, Recife, Juca, de Campos and Marinho (eds) (3),
1021–1027, Recife, Brazil.
Marcial, D. 2003. Interactions eau-argile dans les montmo-
rillonites et comportement des barrières ouvragées. Ph.D.
thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Marinho, F.A.M., Take, A. and Tarantino, A. 2008. Ten-
siometeric and axis translation techniques for suction
measurement. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering,
accepted for publication.
Marinho, F.A.M. and Chandler, R.J. 1995. Cavitation and the
direct measurement of soil suction, in Unsaturated Soils,
Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils. Vol. 2 Paris,
E.E. Alonso and P. Delage (eds), Balkema, Rotterdam,
623–630.
Meeuwig, R.O. 1972. A low-cost thermocouple psychrom-
eter recording system. Proc. Symp. Thermocouple Psy-
chrometers. Psychrometry in Water Relations Res. R.W.
Brown and B.P. Van Haveren (eds). Utah Agricultural
Experiment Station, Utah State Univ., Logan.
Monroy, R., Ridley, A. Dineen, K. and Zdrakovic, L. 2007.
The suitability of osmotic technique for the long term
testing of partly saturated soils. Geotech. Testing J. (30)
3, 220–226.
Ng, C.W.W., Cui, Y., Chen, R. and Delage, P. 2007. The
axis-translation and osmotic techniques in shear testing
of unsaturated soils: a comparison. Soils and Foundations.
Vol. 47, No. 4, 675–684.
Oldecop, L. and Alonso, E.E. 2004. Testing rockfill under
relative humidity control. Geotechnical Testing Journal,
27 (3): 1–10.
Oliveira, O.M. and Marinho, F.A.M. 2003. Unsaturated
Shear Strength Behaviour of a Compacted Residual Soil.
Proc. 2nd Asia Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Osaka,
1:237–242.
51
Oliveira, O.M. and Marinho, F.A.M. 2006. Study of equili-
bration time in the pressure plate. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, Arizona, Unsaturated Soils.
Geotechnical Special Publication 147. G.A. Miller, C.E.
Zapata, S.L. Houston and D.G. Fredlund (eds). ASCE, 2:
1864–1874.
Oliveira, O.M. and Marinho, F.A.M. 2008. Suction Equilibra-
tion Time for a High Capacity Tensiometer. Geotechnical
Testing Journal, 31 (1): 1–5.
Padilla, J.M., Perera, Y.Y., Houston, W.N., Perez, N. and
Fredlund, D.G. 2006. Quantification of air diffusion
through high air-entry ceramic disks. Proc. 4th Int. Conf.
on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, Arizona, Geotechnical
Special Publication 147. G.A. Miller, C.E. Zapata, S.L.
Houston and D.G. Fredlund (eds). ASCE, 2: 1852–1863.
Painter, L.I. 1966. Method of subjecting growing plants to
a continuous soil moisture stress. Agronomy Journal 58,
459–460.
Peck, A.J. and Rabbidge, R.M. 1969. Design and perfor-
mance of an osmotic tensiometer for measuring capillary
potential. Soil Science Society American Proceedings, 33,
196–202.
Pintado, X. 2002. Caracterización del comportamiento
termo-hidro-mecánico de arcillas expansivas. Ph.D. The-
sis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain (in
Spanish).
Rahardjo, H. and Leong, E.C. 2006. Suction measurements.
Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, Ari-
zona, Unsaturated Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication
147. G.A. Miller, C.E. Zapata, S.L. Houston and D.G.
Fredlund (eds). ASCE, 1: 81–104.
Richards, L.A. 1941. A pressure membrane extrac-
tion apparatus for soil suction. Soil Science 51 (5):
377–386.
Richards, L.A. and Ogata, G. 1958. Thermocouple for vapour
pressure measurements in biological and soil systems at
high humidity. Science, 128: 1089–1090.
Ridley, A.M. 1993. The measurement of soil moisture
suction. Ph.D. Thesis, University of London.
Ridley, A.M. and Burland, J.B. 1993. A new instrument for
the measurement of soil moisture suction. Géotechnique
43 (2): 321–324.
Ridley, A.M. and Burland, J.B. 1994. Discussion: A new
instrument for the measurement of soil moisture suction,
Géotechnique, 44 (3): 551–556.
Ridley, A.M. and Burland, J.B. 1995. Measurement of suction
in materials which swell. Applied Mechanics Reviews, 48
(9): 727–732.
Ridley, A.M. and Wray, W.K. 1996. Suction measurement:
A review of current theory and practices. Proc. 1st Int.
Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Paris. Unsaturated Soils.
E.E. Alonso and P. Delage (eds). A.A. Balkema/Presses
des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 3: 1293–1322.
Ridley, A.M., Schnaid, F. da Silva, G.F. and Bica, A.V.D.
1997. In situ suction measurements in a residual soil
of southern Brasil. In NSAT’97–3◦ Simpósio Brasileiro
sobre Solos Não Saturados, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, T.M.P.
de Campos and E.A. Vargas Jr. Freitas Bastos (eds) 2:
537–542.
Ridley, A.M. and Burland, J.B. 1999. Discussion: Use of
tensile strength of water for the direct measurement of
high soil suction, Can. Geotech. J., 36, 178–180.
Romero, E. 1999. Characterisation and thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated boom clay: an exper-
imental study. Ph.D. Thesis, Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Romero, E. 2001a. Controlled-suction techniques. Proc. 4◦
Simpósio Brasileiro de Solos Nâo Saturados Ñ SAT’2001.
W.Y.Y. Gehling and F. Schnaid (eds). Porto Alegre, Brasil:
535–542.
Romero, E., Gens, A. and Lloret, A. 1999. Water per-
meability, water retention and microstructure of unsat-
urated compacted Boom clay. Engineering Geology. 54,
117–127.
Romero, E., Gens, A. and Lloret, A. 2001b. Labora-
tory testing of unsaturated soils under simultaneous suc-
tion and temperature control. Proc. 15th Int. Conf. on
Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Istan-
bul, August 27–31, 2001. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1:
619–622.
Slatter, E.E., Allman, A.A. and Smith, D.W. 2000. Suction
controlled testing of unsaturated soils with an osmotic
oedometer. Proc. Int. Conf. Geo-Eng 2000, Melbourne,
Australia.
Spanner, D.C. 1951. The Peltier effect and its use in the
measurement of suction pressure. J. Exp. Botany, 11:
145–168.
Suraj De Silva, G.P.R. 1987. Etude expérimentale du com-
portement d’un limon non saturé sous succion contrôlée.
Ph.D. thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées,
Paris.
Tang, A.M. and Cui, Y.J. 2005. Controlling suction by the
vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures
and its application in determining the water retention
properties of MX80 clay. Can. Geot. J., 42: 287–296.
Take, W.A. 2003. The influence of seasonal moisture cycles
on clay slopes. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cam-
bridge, UK.
Take, W.A. and Bolton, M.D. 2002. A new device for the
measurement of negative pore water pressures in cen-
trifuge models. Proc. Int. Conf. Physical Modelling in
Geotechnics, 89–94.
Take, W.A. and Bolton, M.D. 2003. Tensiometer satura-
tion and the reliable measurement of matrix suction.
Geotechnique 53 (2): 159–172.
Tarantino, A. 2004. Panel Lecture: Direct measurement of
soil water tension. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated
Soils, Recife, Brasil, 3: 1005–1017.
Tarantino, A. and Mongiovi, L. 2000. A study of the effi-
ciency of semi-permeable membranes in controlling soil
matrix suction using the osmotic technique. Unsaturated
Soils for Asia, 303–308, Toll and Leong eds, Balkema.
Tarantino, A., Mongiovì, L. and Bosco, G. 2000. An experi-
mental investigation on the independent isotropic stress
variables for unsaturated soils. Géotechnique 50 (3):
275–282.
Tarantino, A. and Mongiovì, L. 2000. Experimental investi-
gations of the stress variables governing the unsaturated
soil behaviour at medium to high degree of saturation.
In Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches
in Unsaturated Soils, A. Tarantino & C. Mancuso (eds):
3–19. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Tarantino, A. and Mongiovì, L. 2001. Experimental
procedures and cavitation mechanisms in tensiome-
ter measurements. In D. Toll (ed.), Unsaturated Soils
Concepts and Their Application in Geotechnical Practice,
52
Geological and Geotechnical Engineering 19 (3):
189–210.
Tarantino, S. and Mongiovi, L. 2002. Design and con-
struction of a tensiometer for direct measurement of
matrix suction. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils,
Recife, Juca, de Campos and Marinho (eds) (1): 319–324,
Balkema.
Tarantino, A. and Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Géotechnique, 55 (4): 307–317.
Tarantino, A. and De Col, E. 2008. Compaction behaviour of
clay. Géotechnique, 58 (3): 199–213.
Thakur, V.K.S. and Singh, D.N. 2005. Swelling and suction in
clay minerals. Proc. Int. Symposium on Advanced Exper-
imental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics EXPERUS 2005,
Trento. A. Tarantino, E. Romero and Y.J. Cui (eds). A.A.
Balkema Publishers, Leiden: 27–31.
Toker, N.K. 2002. Improvements and reliability of MIT
tensiometers and studies on soil moisture characteris-
tic curves. MSc Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Boston, US.
Toker, N, Germaine, J, Sjoblom, K, Culligan, P. 2004.
A new technique for rapid measurement of continuous
soil moisture characteristic curves, Géotechnique 54 (3):
179–186.
Truong, H.V.P. and Holden, J.C. 1995. Soil suction measure-
ment with transistor psychrometer. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils, Paris. Unsaturated Soils. E.E. Alonso
and P. Delage (eds). A.A. Balkema/Presses des Ponts et
Chaussées, Paris, 2: 659–665.
Villar, M.V. 1999. Investigation of the behaviour of the ben-
tonite by means of suction-controlled oedometer tests.
Engineering Geology, 54: 67–73.
Waldron, L.J. and Manbeian, T. 1970. Soil moisture char-
acteristics by osmosis with polyethylene glycol: a simple
system with osmotic pressure data and some results. Soil
Science 110 (6): 401–404.
Whalley, W.R. Clark, L.J. Take, W.A. Bird, N.R.A., Leech,
P.K. Cope, R.E. Watts, C.W. 2007. A porous-matrix sensor
to measure the matric potential of soil water in the field.
European Journal of Soil Science 58 (1): 18–25.
Williams, J. and Shaykewich, C.F. 1969. An evaluation of
polyethylene glycol PEG 6000 and PEG 20000 in the
osmotic control of soil water matrix potential. Can. J. Soil
Science 102 (6), pp. 394–398.
Woodburn, J.A., Holden, J. and Peter, P. 1993. The transistor
psychrometer: a new instrument for measuring soil suc-
tion. Unsaturated Soils Geotechnical Special Publications
N◦ 39. S.L. Houston and W.K. Wray (eds). ASCE, Dallas:
91–102.
Woodburn, J.A. and Lucas, B. 1995. New approaches to the
laboratory and field measurement of soil suction. Proc.
1st Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Paris, E.E. Alonso
and P. Delage (eds). A.A. Balkema/Presses des Ponts et
Chaussées, Paris, 2: 667–671.
Yahia-Aissa, M. 1999. Comportement hydromécanique
d’une argile gonflante fortement compactée. Ph.D. Thesis,
Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, France.
Zheng, Q, Durben, D.J., Wolf, G.H. and Angell, C.A. 1991.
Liquids at large negative pressures: water at the homo-
geneous nucleation limit. Science, 254 (5033) (Nov. 8,
1991): 829–832.
Zur, B. 1966. Osmotic control the matrix soil water potential.
Soil Science 102: 394–398.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Developments in modelling the generalised behaviour of unsaturated soils

A. Gens
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

L. do N. Guimarães
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

M. Sánchez
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

D. Sheng
The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

ABSTRACT: A number of developments for the description of the generalised behaviour of unsaturated soils
are presented. They can be considered as extensions of the conventional elastoplastic models developed in recent
years to simulate the stress-strain behaviour of this type of soils. The following topics are addressed: the consid-
eration of coupled hydraulic models in a thermodynamical framework, the introduction of structural components
in the modelling of expansive soil behaviour and the incorporation of temperature and chemical effects.

1 INTRODUCTION and, very recently, in Nuth & Laloui (2008) in a rather

Constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils has pro-
gressively incorporated a number of features that are
deemed to be necessary to achieve a satisfactory repro-
duction of their mechanical behaviour. Among them,
the following can be mentioned: a central role of matric
suction in the description of behaviour, the use of more
then one stress variable in the formulation, the recog-
nition that collapse behaviour (i.e. the compression of
the soil upon wetting) is irreversible and the increase of
shear strength with suction. Another important charac-
teristic is the requirement that a model for unsaturated
soils should be compatible with existing models for
saturated materials.
Based on those considerations, a number of elasto-
plastic models have been developed in the last few
decades to describe, using a variety of approaches,
the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils (e.g.
Alonso et al. 1990, Josa et al. 1992, Kohgo et al. 1993,
Modaressi & Abou-Bekr 1994, Wheeler & Sivakumar
1995, Cui et al. 1996, Bolzon et al. 1996, Alonso
et al. 1999, Khalili & Loret 2001, Loret & Khalili
2002, Gallipoli et al. 2003a, Russell & Khalili 2006).
All those models deal with stress-strain relations.
A variety of stress variables have been adopted in the
formulation of those models; this issue has been sum-
marized and discussed in a number of publications
(e.g. Gens 1995, Jardine et al. 2004, Gens et al. 2006)
comprehensive manner. A welcome clarification of
this perennial unsaturated soil discussion was provided
in Houlsby (1997) by means of the extension, under
reasonably general conditions, of the work input for
saturated soils to the case of unsaturated soils. This
topic is however outside the scope of this paper.
The present contribution will introduce, albeit
briefly, a number of developments that attempt to
extend the modelling of unsaturated soils to deal with
more generalised behaviour. The following themes
will be considered: i) the modelling of hydraulic
behaviour and its thermodynamic consistency, ii) the
incorporation of structural considerations in model
formulation, and iii) the consideration of thermal and
chemical effects. Inevitably, special attention will be
given to developments associated with the work of
the authors. The implementation of the constitutive
models into numerical tools for analysis require also
especial attention but this issue is not addressed herein
and has been treated elsewhere (e.g. Sheng et al. 2003a,
b, Borja 2004, Sanchez et al. 2008, Sheng et al. 2008).
2 HYDROMECHANICAL MODELS
FOR UNSATURATED SOILS
One crucial shortcoming of many constitutive mod-
els for unsaturated soils (especially the early

53
formulations) is that they either do not take into a)
account the hydraulic behaviour of unsaturated soils or
they consider it in a manner that is uncoupled from the
mechanical stress-strain law. Thus, in the BBM model
(Alonso et al. 1990), hydraulic behaviour was simply
defined in terms of a state surface. Probably, this issue
of the hydraulic component of the constitutive model
was first properly addressed by Wheeler (1996) and
Dangla et al. (1997) and the first full attempt to cou-
ple hydraulic behaviour with a mechanical model for
unsaturated soil was presented in Vaunat et al. (2000).
In recent years quite a number of constitutive devel- b)
opments have addressed explicitly this question (e.g.
Wheeler et al. 2003, Gallipoli et al. 2003b, Sun et al.
2007).
As strongly suggested by Houlsby’s (1997) work
input equation (neglecting the work dissipated by the
flow of fluids),

Ẇ ≡ ua n(1 − Sr )ρ̇a /ρa − (ua − uw ) n Ṡr Figure 1. a) Hysteretic hydraulic behaviour under con-

 stant void ratio. b) SI, SD and LC yield surfaces in
+ σij − (Sr uw + (1 − Sr )ua ) δij ε̇ij (1) three-dimensional space (Sheng et al., 2004).

the incorporation of an hydraulic component of the

model in a coupled manner provides the opportunity
of casting the resulting constitutive law in the thermo-
dynamic framework proposed by Collins & Houlsby
(1997). In the above expression, σij is the total stress,
Sr is degree of saturation, ua the air pressure, uw the
water pressure. ρa is the air density, n the porosity and
εij the strains.
The model proposed in Sheng et al. (2004) has
provided an excellent opportunity for such an exer-
cise. The model is defined in terms of Bishop’s stress:
(σij )c = σij −ua δij +Sr (ua −uw )δij and matric suction,
s(=ua − uw ). The subscript c implies that Bishop’s
stress is the constitutive stress. Please note, that in
Bishop’s expression the original variable χ (Sr ) has
been replaced by Sr . The hysteretic water retention
model is presented in Figure 1a; it is composed of
a wetting and a drying curve with scanning curves
spanning the two. No dependency on void ratio is
introduced. The two main water retention curves cor-
respond to the SI and SD yield surfaces that together
with the LC yield curve constitute the mechanical part
of the model (Figure 1b). In this particular model, the
yield surfaces are not coupled but move independently
of each other.
Accepting the hypotheses that led to Houlsby’s
expression for the rate of work input (1) and neglecting
the air compressibility term, the plastic component of
the work input rate is
dW p = (σc )T dεp + nsdSrp (2)
For uncoupled materials, where the elastic modulus
is independent of the plastic strains, the plastic work
increment can be decomposed into two components
(Collins & Hilder, 2002):
dW p = dψ2 + dφ (3)
where ψ2 is the part of the Helmholtz free energy
that depends on plastic strains only and dφ is the
dissipation increment. The basic thermodynamical
requirements on any constitutive model are that i) the
dissipation dφ is strictly positive for any non-zero plas-
tic strain, and ii) that the free energy dψ2 yields zero
when integrated over a closed loop of plastic strain.
In terms of triaxial stress states, the plastic work
increment can be expressed as
dW p = pc dεvp + qdεγp + nsdSrp (4)
where pc is the mean constitutive stress, i.e. the mean
Bishop’s stress in this case.
The last term of the equation is only relevant to
yielding in the SI or SD yield surfaces, as the move-
p
ment of the LC yield surface does not contribute to Sr .
Therefore,
dW p = pc dεvp + qdεγp + (nsI dSrp or nsD dSrp ) (5)

where σc is the constitutive (Bishop) stress and the In (5), the third term will appear when either the
superscript p denotes plastic. SI or the SD yield curves are engaged. Since both sI

54
and sD are known function of the plastic increment of 3 INCORPORATION OF STRUCTURAL
p
the degree of saturation and n is independent of dSr , EFFECTS
the last two terms of the equation above are integrable
and give zero when integrated around a closed loop The behaviour of expansive clays has always pre-
p
of Sr . Therefore, these two terms belong to the free sented challenging aspects concerning their constitu-
energy dψ2 . tive modelling. Although expansive clays have always
To find the first two terms in (4), it is assumed been one of the main areas of interest in unsatu-
that plastic volumetric and plastic deviator strains are rated soil mechanics, in recent years this interest
caused only by yielding at the LC yield surface. This has been enhanced because they are widely used
is a strong restriction on the role of the SI and SD as one of the main components of waste-isolation
surfaces. Then: barriers. One of the characteristic features of the
  behaviour of expansive clays is the irreversible and
1 stress path-dependent behaviour exhibited during wet-
dW p = pc dεvp + (nsI dSrp or nsD dSrp ) ting. An example is offered in Figure 2 where it
2
⎛ ⎞ can be seen that the volume change of an expan-
(dε
p 2
) + M2
(dε
p 2
) sive clay varies strongly depending on the stress
⎜ 1 v ζ γ ⎟ path followed. Irreversibility and strain accumula-
+ ⎝ pc ⎠ (6)
2 p 2 M2
(dεv ) + ζ (dεγ )
p 2 tion is also a feature of expansive clay behaviour
when drying/wetting cycles are applied (Figure 3).
This type of behaviour is difficult to model with
where M and ζ are model parameters. The terms of conventional elastoplastic models where predicted
the first brackets are all integrable and give zero in a behaviour inside the yield locus is elastic and, there-
closed loop. Therefore they are the contribution of the fore, computed strains will be small and, often, largely
plastic strain work from the free energy and hence cor- reversible.
respond to dψ2 . The term in the second set of brackets Because the source of expansive clay behaviour lies
is not integrable because it involves the plastic shear in the physicochemical phenomena occurring in the
strain. This term thus corresponds to the dissipation vicinity of the clay particle, there is some merit in try-
function dφ. ing to incorporate explicitly this microstructural level
in the model (Gens & Alonso, 1992). The formu-
1 lation developed contains now two structural levels:
dψ2 = pc dεvp + (nsI dSrp or nsD dSrp ) (7) a microstructure where the interactions at particle
2
level occur and a macrostructure that accounts for the
p 2 p overall fabric arrangement of the material comprising
1 (dεv )2 + Mζ (dεγ )2 aggregates and the larger pores.
dφ = pc ≥0 (8)
2 p 2 p In some cases, for instance in compacted swelling
(dε )2 + M (dε )2
v ζ γ
clays, the two structural levels are readily distin-
guished. See for example Figure 4 where the pore
The dissipation function (8) is obviously strictly volume distributions for a compacted bentonite at two
positive whenever the plastic strains are non zero, as
required. It can also be shown that the dissipation func-
tion above is a homogeneous function of degree 1 in the
plastic strain increments. Equations (7) and (8) indi-
cate that the plastic yielding at the suction-increase and
suction-decrease yield surfaces does not contribute to
the plastic dissipation, but only to the plastic work.
This means that all plastic work associated with a plas-
tic increment of degree of saturation is stored and can
be recovered during a reversed plastic increment of
saturation. This plastic work is very much the same as
the ‘locked-in elastic energy’ due to the shift or back
stress (Collins & Hilder, 2002).
Ideally, analogous analyses should be attempted
concerning other constitutive models. Tellingly,
Tamagnini & Pastor (2005) and Santagiuliana &
Schrefler (2006) have also examined their partic- Figure 2. Volume increase of an expansive clay under differ-
ular models in terms of a similar thermodynamic ent generalised stress paths (Brackley, 1975). NMC denotes
framework. Natural Moisture Content.

55
 8 to define carefully the type of suction to be used.
Dry Density:1.65 Mg/m 3 Whereas in the macrostructure the matric suction (s)
Vertical Stress: 0.0007 MPa is the relevant one, total suction (i.e. matric plus
Swelling (%)

6 osmotic suction) has to be used when dealing with

the microstructure.
The inclusion of the macrostructural level in the
4 analysis allows the consideration of phenomena that
affect the skeleton of the material, for instance defor-
mations due to loading and collapse. Figure 5a
shows the BBM yield surface (Alonso et al., 1990),
2
defined as:
 2
0 g(θ)
FLC = 3J 2 − M 2 ( p + Ps )( p0 − p) = 0
Shrinkage (%)

g(−30◦ )
(9)
-2
where M is the slope of the critical state, po is the
apparent unsaturated isotropic pre-consolidation pres-
-4 sure, g(θ) is a function of Lode’s angle and ps considers
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 the dependence of shear strength on suction. The trace
Time (days) of the yield function on the isotropic p-s plane is
called LC (Loading-Collapse) yield curve, because
Figure 3. Evolution of shrinkage and swelling in a cyclic it represents the locus of activation of irreversible
suction test (Day, 1994). deformations due to loading increments or collapse.

0.2

Dry density
Incremental Pore Volume (ml/g)

0.16 1.8 Mg/m3 1.5 Mg/m 3

Intra-aggregate Inter-aggregate

0.12

0.08

0.04

0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000

Pore diameter (nm)

Figure 4. Distributions of incremental pore volume for

two statically compacted specimens of FEBEX bentonite
(modified from Lloret et al., 2003).

different dry densities are plotted. The two structural

levels can be easily observed. However, even in more
matrix-dominated fabrics, it is still possible to distin-
guish the behaviour related to the hydration processes
close to the particle from the behaviour associated with
the overall structural rearrangements of mechanical
origin.
The model has been developed in terms of net
stresses (i.e. the excess of total stress over air pres- Figure 5. a) BBM yield surface. b) Microstructural load
sure) and suction. In this case, however, it is necessary directions on the p-s plane

56
The position of the LC curve is given by the pre-
consolidation yield stress of the saturated state, p∗o
(hardening variable), according to:
(1 + e) p
ṗ∗0 = p∗0 ε̇ (10)
(λ(0) − κ) v
p
where e is the void index, ε̇v is the volumetric plastic
strain, κ is the elastic compression index for changes
in p and λ(0) is the stiffness parameter for changes in
p for virgin states of the soil in saturated conditions.
For the microstructural level, it is assumed that the
strains arising from basic physicochemical phenom-
ena may be considered elastic and volumetric (Gens &
Alonso, 1992). The increment of microstructural
strains is then expressed as:
p̂˙ ṗ ṡ
ε̇v1 = = +χ (11)
K1 K1 K1
where p̂(= p + χ s) is the microstructural effective
stress, the subscript 1 refers to the microstructural
level, the subscript v refers to the volumetric compo-
nent of the strains and K1 is the microstructural bulk
modulus.
The Neutral Line (NL) (Figure 5b) corresponds to
a constant p̂ locus and no microstructural deformation
occurs when the stress path moves on the NL. The NL
divides the p-s plane into two parts, defining two main
generalized stress paths, which are identified as: MC
(microstructural contraction) and MS (microstructural
swelling).
In spite that reversible behaviour is assumed
for microstructural strains, irreversible behaviour
may arise form the effects of those strains on the
macrostructure (Gens & Alonso 1992). An assumption
of model is that the irreversible deformations of the
macrostructure are proportional to the microstructural
strains according to interaction functions f . The plastic
macrostructural strains are evaluated by the following
expression:
p p
ε̇v2 = ε̇vLC + f ε̇v1 (12)
p
where εvLC is the plastic strains induced by the yielding
of the macrostructure (BBM ).
A first mathematical expression of this concep-
tual model was presented in Alonso et al. (1999)
but, recently, a more convenient formulation based
on generalised plasticity concepts has been developed
(Sanchez et al., 2005) while keeping the same basic
features and assumptions. The generalised stress-
strain relationships are derived within a framework of
multi-dissipative materials that provides a consistent
and formal approach when several sources of energy
dissipation exist. The generalised plasticity framework
57
has a number of advantages (Gens et al., 2006) both
for the formulation of the model and for its implemen-
tation in numerical codes (Sanchez et al., 2008).
An additional advantage of keeping track of two
structural levels and, hence, two pore structures, is
that important parameters such as permeability can be
related to the macrostructural pore sizes since the con-
tribution of the microstructural pores to overall water
flow is negligible. This possibility has proved very
valuable in the analysis of hydration of engineered bar-
riers for radioactive waste disposal (Sanchez & Gens,
2005). Also, time dependent behaviour arises in a natu-
ral way if transient hydraulic non-equilibrium between
macrostructure and microstructure is considered, a
very plausible scenario. Finally, the incorporation of
a microstructural level provides a suitable platform to
introduce the effects of new variables as described in
the following section.
4 TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL EFFECTS
4.1 Temperature effects
One of the potentially important roles of compacted
swelling clays lies in providing the basic material for
engineered barriers in high level radioactive waste
storage schemes. High level radioactive waste is
strongly heat emitting. In this context, thermal effects
on behaviour and, more specifically, the variation
of swelling capacity with temperature is a signifi-
cant issue. Figure 6 shows the observed variation of
swelling pressure with temperature for a bentonite
compacted at dry densities of 1.6 and 1.5 Mg/m3
(Sánchez et al., 2007). It can be noted that swelling
pressure decreases with temperature although, even at
temperatures as high as 80◦ C, the pressure values are
still large.
In the model outlined in the previous section,
the expansion of the microstructure depends on the
microstructural effective stress through a microstruc-
tural bulk modulus, K1 (eq. 11). A straightforward
extension to the model is to include a depen-
dence of K1 on temperature. The expression used is
follows:
e−αm p̂
K1 = (13)
βm
where αm and βm are model parameters. The exten-
sion suggested here is to include a dependence of
the parameter βm on temperature. The following
expression is proposed:
βm
βm = (14)
eτ T /Tref
where T is the temperature difference, that is the 4.2 Chemical effects
actual temperature minus Tref , a reference tempera-
Expansive clays contain significant amounts of active
ture, and τ is a new parameter that may be obtained
minerals. Therefore, their behaviour is generally sus-
from experiments.
ceptible to variations in the chemical environment.
It should be noted that, in this version of the
Two major effects can be identified: changes in
model, only the microstructural level is affected by
osmotic suction and the effects of cation exchange.
temperature. This is acceptable because the fabric
Both must be considered in a proper chemomechani-
of the compacted bentonite is quite dense and no
cal constitutive model. Again, the effects of chemical
irreversible strains in the macrostructure due to tem-
variables are taken into account through an adequate
perature changes are expected. If the fabric was more
modification of the microstructural model.
open, independent plastic temperature effects must be
As before, an exponential law is adopted to define
introduced in the description of the macrostructural
the elastic volumetric microstructural strain as a func-
behaviour.
tion of microstructural effective stresses:
Figure 7 shows how the change of temperature
affects the microstructural bulk modulus according to
dεme = βm e−αm p̂ d p̂ (15)
the suggested law. An increase in the microstructural
stiffness with temperature is predicted. This means
lower expansions when tests are conducted at higher where αm and βm are material parameters.
temperature. As Figure 6 shows, the adopted expres- To incorporate the influence of geochemical vari-
sion (14) yields a satisfactory variation of swelling ables on the behaviour of the microstructure, it is
pressure with temperature. postulated that the material parameter αm is con-
stant and that βm depends on the exchangeable cation
concentrations as:

βm = βmi xi (16)
i
Error bars obtained from values of Dry density (Mg/m3)
Swelling pressure (MPa)

6 tests performed at laboratory

1.6 1.5
temperature (1.6Mg/m )
3
Test Test
where xi is the equivalent fraction of the exchangeable
Model Model cation i, defined as:
4
concentration of exchangeable cation
xi = (17)
2 Error bars obtained from values
CEC
of tests performed at laboratory
temperature (1.5 Mg/m )
3 where CEC is the cation exchange capacity of the clay.
0
Since xi are defined as equivalent fractions, they are
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 subjected to the following restrictions:
Temperature (ºC)

Figure 6. Swelling pressure as a function of temperature xi = 1; 0 ≤ xi ≤ 1 (18)
for FEBEX bentonite compacted to different nominal dry i
densities. Experimental and modelling data (Sanchez et al.,
2007). The βmi values are parameters that control
microstructure stiffness and are established for each
one of the exchangeable cations. If a rough analogy
is established with the diffuse double layer theory, the
values of βmi are related to the hydrated radii of the
cations and their valences. Finally, the microstructural
volumetric strain is given by:

1 −αm p̂
dεme = dem = βm e−αm p̂ d p̂ − e dβm (19)
αm

From (19), it can be noted that cation exchange

not only affects the stiffness of the microstruc-
ture but it also contributes independently to the
microstructural volumetric strains. If all βmi are
Figure 7. Changes in micro-structural stiffness with constant and the same for all cations (βmi = βm ),
temperature. then dβm is always zero and (19) becomes

58
(15). In this case, the influence of exchangeable
cations disappears and the only geochemical variable
that affects microstructural behaviour is the osmotic
suction (so ).
It is convenient to define a new variable:
1 1
ψ = p̂ − ln βm = p + χ sm − ln βm (20)
αm αm
that will be called the ‘‘chemically modified effec-
tive stress’’ for the microstructure, reflecting the fact
that the microstructural volumetric strain depends on
changes of ψ only:
dεme = dem = e−αm ψ d. (21)
Therefore, a cation exchange process that causes an
increase in βm (for instance the replacement of Ca2+
by Na+ in the exchange sites of the clay) will result in a
reduction of ψc and an expansion of the double layer. In
fact, any reduction of p, sm or ψc will cause a double
layer expansion. Therefore a reduction of ψ will be
associated with microstructural wetting. Conversely,
when the net effect of changes in microstructural vari-
ables p, sm , and ψc is an increase of ψ, there will be
shrinkage of the double layer and it will be associated
with microstructural drying.
An example of application demonstrating the inter-
action between cation exchange and hydromechanical
effects is now presented. It concerns a laboratory test
carried out in the oedometer cell depicted in Figure 8
(Santamarina & Fam, 1995). In the test, the sample can
only drain from the top whereas pore pressure is mea-
sured at the bottom. First the sample is subjected to a
load of 100 kPa. Once consolidation is finished, the
specimen is placed in contact with a KCl saline solu-
tion of 4.0 M concentration through the upper surface
of the sample. The material tested is a sodium ben-
tonite with a cation exchange capacity (CEC) between
80 and 85 meq/100 g of solid. The samples were
prepared from slurry with an initial void ratio of 4.6.
Figure 8. Schematic layout of the oedometer test with
changes of chemical variables (Santamarina & Fam, 1995).
59
A numerical simulation has been performed in
which the soil was subjected to the same sequence
of mechanical and chemical actions. A 1-D mesh
composed of 100 elements was used for the analysis
performed with the computer code CODE_BRIGHT
enhanced with a chemical module. The following
parameters were used: intrinsic permeability, taken as
constant and equal to 5 × 10−19 m2 , the coefficient of
molecular diffusion is 7.6 × 10−10 m2 /s, and the CEC
is 80 meq/100 g of solid. No mechanical dispersion is
considered.
Arguably, the most interesting result of the exper-
iment is the observation of positive pore pressures
measured at the bottom of the sample (Figure 9). It
can be noted that the same response is obtained in the
computations (Figure 10). The pore pressure genera-
tion corresponds to the undrained response of the soil
due to the tendency towards compression induced by
the saline solution. It can be stated that pore pressures
are generated because the diffusion of salts inside the
sample is faster than the ability of the pore pressures to
dissipate. Naturally this phenomenon depends on the
relative values of intrinsic permeability and the coef-
ficient of molecular diffusion. This a clear example
of interaction between geochemical parameters and
hydromechanical behaviour, successfully reproduced
by the model.
Figure 9. Observed variation of the pore pressure at the
bottom of a bentonite oedometer sample exposed to a 4.0 M
solution of KCl. (Santamarina & Fam, 1995).
0.05
0.04
pore pressure (MPa)
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
time (min)
Figure 10. Computed variation of the pore pressure at the
bottom of a bentonite oedometer sample exposed to a 4.0 M
solution of KCl.
5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The paper has presented a number of developments
related to the constitutive modelling of unsaturated
soils under increasingly generalised conditions. In
the first part, coupled hydromechanical models have
been examined. By making suitable choices in the
formulation of the constitutive model, it has been
possible to prove its consistency with respect to a
thermodynamical framework.
Subsequently, the behaviour of expansive clays has
been described using a double structure approach that
takes explicitly into account the microstructure of the
material and the interaction between the two struc-
tural levels, albeit in an approximate form. It has been
shown that such an approach provides a very con-
venient platform to extend the constitutive mode to
account for more general soil behaviour that includes
both temperature and chemical effects.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The contribution of the Spanish Ministry of Education
and Science through research grant BIA2005-05801 is
gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive model
for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40: 405–430.
Alonso, E.E., Vaunat, J. & Gens, A. 1999. Modelling the
mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engineering
Geology 54: 173–183.
Bolzon, G., Schrefler, B.A. & Zienkiewicz, O.C. 1996.
Elasto-plastic soil constitutive laws generalised to par-
tially saturated states. Géotechnique 46: 279–289.
Borja, R.I. 2004. Cam Clay plasticity, Part V: A mathematical
framework for three-phase deformation and strain local-
ization analysis of partially saturated porous media. Com-
puter Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
193: 5301–5338.
Brackley, I.J. 1975. Swell under load. Proceedings, 6th
Regional Conference for Africa on Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Durban, 1: 65–70.
Collins, I.F. & Hilder, T. 2002. A theoretical framework
for constructing elastic/plastic constitutive models of tri-
axial tests. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 26:
1313–1347.
Collins, I.F. & Houlsby, G.T. 1997. Application of thermo-
mechanical principles to the modelling of geotechnical
materials. Proc. R. Soc. London A 453: 1975–2001.
Cui, Y.J., Delage, P. & Sultan, N. 1995. An elasto-plastic
model for compacted soils. Unsaturated soils. Balkema,
Rotterdam, 2: 703–709.
Dangla, O.L., Malinsky, L. & Coussy, O. 1997. Plasticity
and imbibition-drainage curves for unsaturated soils.: A
unified approach. 6th Int. Conf. Num. Models in Geome-
chanics, Montreal, Balkema, Rotterdam, 141–146.
60
Day, R.W. 1994. Swell-shrink behaviour of compacted clay.
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE; 120(3):
618–623.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharma, R. & Vaunat, J. 2003a. An
elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
behaviour. Géotechnique 53: 123–135.
Gallipoli, D., Wheeler, S.J. & Karstunnen, M. 2003b. Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Géotechnique 53: 105–112.
Gens, A. 1995. Constitutive modelling: Application to com-
pacted soil. Unsaturated Soils. Balkema, Rotterdam. 3:
1179–1200.
Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1992. A framework for the
behaviour of unsaturated expansive clays. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal 29: 1013–1032.
Gens, A., Sanchez, M. & Sheng, D. 2006, On constitutive
modelling of unsaturated soils. Acta Geotechnica 1(3):
137–147.
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Géotechnique 47: 193–196.
Jardine, R.J., Gens, A., Hight, D.W. & Coop, M.R. 2004.
Developments in understanding soil behaviour. Advances
on Geotechnical Engineering. The Skempton Conference
Thomas Telford: London, 103–206.
Josa, A., Balmaceda, A., Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1992. An
elasto-plastic model for partially saturated soil exhibiting
a maximum of collapse. 3rd. Int. Conf. Computational
Plasticity, Barcelona 1: 815–826.
Khalili, N. & Loret, B. 2001. An elasto-plastic model for
non-isothermal analysis of flow and deformation in unsat-
urated porous media: formulation. Int. J. of Solids and
Structures 38: 8305–8330.
Kohgo, Y., Nakano, M. & Miyazaki, T. 1993. Theoretical
aspects of constitutive modelling for unsaturated soils.
Soils and Foundations 33 (4): 681–687.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sanchez, M., Gens, A.,
Pintado, X. & Alonso, E.E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour
of heavily compacted bentonite under high suction
changes. Géotechnique 53: 27–40.
Loret, B. & Khalili, N. 2002. An effective stress elastic-
plastic model for unsaturated porous media. Mechanics
of Materials 34: 97–116.
Modaressi, A. & Abou-Bekr, N. 1994. A unified approach
to model the behaviour of saturated and unsaturated soils.
8th Int. Conf. Computer Meth. and Advances in Geomech.
Balkema, Rotterdam: 1507–1513.
Nuth, M. & Laloui, L. 2007. Effective Stress Concept
in Unsaturated Soils: Clarification and Validation of
a Unified Framework, International Journal of Numer-
ical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, DOI:
10.1002/nag.645.
Russell, A.R. & Khalili, N. 2006. A unified bound-
ing surface plasticity model for unsaturated soils. Int.
Journal for Numer. Anal. Meth. in Geomech 30:
181–212.
Sánchez, M. & Gens, A. 2005. Final Report on Thermo-
hydro-mechanical modelling. Deliverable D19-3, Febex
II Project, EC Contract FIKW-CT-2000-00016.
Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Guimarães, L. do N. & Olivella, S.
2005. A double structure generalized plasticity model for
expansive materials. Int. Journal for Numer. Anal. Meth.
in Geomech 29: 751–787.
Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Guimarães, L. do N. & Olivella, S.
2008. Implementation algorithm of a generalised plastic-
ity model for swelling clays. Computers and Geotechnics
(submitted).
Sánchez, M., Villar, M.V., Gens, A., Olivella, S. &
Guimarães L. do N. 2007. Modelling the effect of temper-
ature on unsaturated swelling clays. Numerical Models in
Geomechanics NUMOG X. Pande & Pietruszcak (eds),
Taylor & Francis, London: 57–62.
Santagiuliana, R. & Schrefler, B.A. 2006. Enhancing the
Bolzon-Schrefler-Zienkiewicz constitutive model for par-
tially saturated soil. Transport in Porous Media 65(1):
1–30.
Santamarina, J.C. & Fam, M. 1995. Changes in dielectric
permittivity and shear wave velocity during concentration
diffusion. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 32: 647–659.
Sheng, D., Fredlund, D.G. & Gens, A. 2008. ‘A new mod-
elling approach for unsaturated soils using independent
stress variables. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 45(4), (in
press).
Sheng, D., Gens, A., Fredlund, D. & Sloan, S.W. 2008. Unsat-
urated soils: from constitutive modelling to numerical
algorithms. Computers and Geotechnics (submitted).
Sheng, D., Sloan, S.W., Gens, A. & Smith, D.W. 2003a.
Finite element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated
soils. Part I: Theory. Int. J. for Numer. and Anal. Meth. in
Geomech. 27: 745–765.
Sheng, D., Smith, D.W., Sloan, S.W. & Gens, A. 2003b. Finite
element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated soils.
61
Part II: Verification and application. Int. J. for Numer. and
Anal. Meth. in Geomech. 27: 767–790.
Sheng, D., Sloan, S.W. & Gens, A. 2004. A constitu-
tive model for unsaturated soils: thermomechanical and
computational aspects. Computational Mechanics 33:
453–465.
Sun, D.A., Sheng, D. & Sloan, S.W. 2007. Elastoplas-
tic modelling of hydraulic and stress-strain behaviour of
unsaturated soil. Mechanics of Materials 39(3): 212–221.
Tamagnini, R. 2004. An extended Cam-clay model for unsat-
urated soils with hydraulic hysteresis. Géotechnique 54:
223–228.
Tamagnini, R. & Pastor, M. 2005. A thermodynamically
based model for unsaturated soil: a new framework for
generalized plasticity. C. Mancuso & A. Tarantino (eds),
A.A. Balkema. Leiden: 121–134.
Vaunat, J., Romero, E. & Jommi, C. 2000. An elasto-
plastic hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated soils.
Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches in
Unsaturated Soils, Balkema, Rotterdam: 121–138.
Wheeler, S.J. 1996. Inclusion of specific water volume within
an elastoplastic model for unsaturated soil. Canadian
Geotech. J. 33: 42–57.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. & Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour
in unsaturated soils. Géotechnique 53: 41–54.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic critical
state framework for unsaturated soils. Géotechnique 45:
35–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A thermo-hydro-mechanical stress-strain framework for modelling

the performance of clay barriers in deep geological repositories
for radioactive waste

L. Laloui, B. François, M. Nuth, H. Peron & A. Koliji

Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: Assessing the performance of deep geological repositories for heat-generating radioactive waste
requires reliable predictions of the Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) behaviour of the clay barriers (the buffer
material as well as the host rock/clay). This represents an important element of the waste isolation system. In
order to provide reasonable assurance that clay barriers will ensure nuclear waste isolation, it is essential to
understand their behaviour under a variety of environmental conditions. The phenomena involved are complex,
and adequately understanding the constitutive behaviour of clays and modelling their evolution is challenging.
The stress-strain material behaviours that need to be understood and modelled include drying and wetting in non-
isothermal conditions and heating-cooling in non-saturated conditions. Other aspects should be considered, such
as drying induced cracks and the role of the material structure and its multi-porosity. The difficulty of some of
these tasks is increased by the fact that some effects are coupled. The fundamental behaviours of clayey materials
under the considered THM conditions are first identified and highlighted for deep repository experiments. We
then propose a mechanical stress-strain constitutive framework to model the behaviour of clay barriers. This
includes aspects such as the thermo-plastic behaviour of saturated and unsaturated materials. In the third part,
we show that the proposed framework allows us to experimentally explain observed behaviours and to predict
the THM behaviour of clay barriers.

1 INTRODUCTION migration into the buffer material. We therefore do not

In all nuclear power generating countries, spent
nuclear fuel and long-lived radioactive waste manage-
ment is an important environmental issue. Disposal in
deep clay geological formations is a promising option
to dispose of these wastes.
A safety case for a geological repository for high-
level and/or long-lived radioactive waste aims at con-
veying reasoned and complementary arguments to
illustrate and instill confidence in the performances
of the disposal system. This need requires that, both
in repository design and in performance assessment,
all analyses and predictions about the behaviour of
isolation barriers be based on robust science (Gera
et al., 1996). This implies a good understanding of the
fundamental behaviour of the argillaceous materials
and their modelling based on the best available know-
ledge. In this context, predicting the short-term (up to
a few years) response of clay barriers in a repository
for heat-generating radioactive waste is an impor-
tant task. In this paper, we suppose that during this
time period, the mechanical properties of the clayey
materials remain unchanged and that the efficiency
of vitrification and the container prevent radionuclide
consider chemical effects.
To increase the performance of the engineered bar-
rier system (EBS), the multibarrier concept in the
near-field of the waste was developed. This multi-
protection generally consists of a solid waste form
(e.g., vitrified high-level radioactive waste (HLW) or
spent fuel), an overpack (or container) and materi-
als placed between the overpack and the surrounding
rock (backfill or buffer materials). Therefore, in many
proposals for deep geological repositories (Chapman
and Mc Kinley, 1987), the argillaceous materials
constitute either the main barrier or an important ele-
ment of the multi-barrier system. They can be either
the host material1 or engineered parts of the repos-
itory (buffer materials such as compacted swelling
clays, most probably bentonite). Figure 1 schemat-
ically illustrates a possible concept of the barrier
system.
1 To maintain a general context, we use the phrase ‘‘host
material’’ rather than host rock/clay.

63

Figure 1. The engineered barrier system: (1) steel canisters;
(2) nuclear waste; (3) host material; (4) buffer material (from
www.grimsel.com/febex/febex_intro_1.htm).
Clay barriers provide waste isolation mainly by
restricting the contact between the groundwater and
waste containers and by limiting the migration of
most radionuclides released from the waste (after-
container failure). These two functions result from
the low permeability and high retention capability of
clays. Therefore, the buffer material must have several
specific properties in order to ensure efficient con-
tainment with high safety for the long term. These
characteristics are related to sufficient mechanical
properties under isothermal, non-isothermal, satu-
rated, and unsaturated conditions, to liquid, air and
thermal conductivities, to the nuclide filtration abil-
ities and to manufacturability of the buffer material.
Such required properties are summarized in Table 1.
The use of bentonite as a buffer material is the most
usual solution in several national concepts. Bentonite
is a clay mainly composed of smectite, which gives
swelling properties due to its high water absorption
capacity. Several experimental results on the THM
behaviour of bentonite materials that could be used in
radioactive waste storage sites have been reported in
the literature in the last decade. Four well-known and
widely-studied bentonites are briefly presented below.
The Febex bentonite extracted from the Cortijo de
Archidona deposit (Almeria, Spain) is a material that
has been selected in the ENRESA R& D plans as the
most suitable material for backfilling and sealing the
HLW repository and was tested over the last 10 years
within the framework of the Febex project (ENRESA,
2000; Lloret et al., 2004; Villar, 2002, Villar et al.,
2006). This clay is made of approximately 90% mont-
morillonite, giving it high swelling capacities upon
wetting. Its liquid and plastic limits are 100% and 50%,
respectively.
The FoCa Clay is a sedimentary clay from the Paris
Basin. This clay is supplied by the SFBD French Com-
pany. Manufacturing consists of disaggregation and
gentle grinding, drying at about 60◦ C and sieving.
The maximum grain size is 4 mm. The clay is largely
made of an interstratified clay (50% calcium beidel-
lite and 50% kaolinite) (Imbert et al., 2005; Olchitzky,
2002).
Bentonite Kunigel V1 is a domestic bentonite pro-
duced in Japan by Kunimine Industries. More than
90% of its grains are smaller than 74 μm. The prop-
erties and behavioural features of this bentonite have
already largely been investigated under the supervi-
sion of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
(JNC, 1999; Komine and Ogata, 1994). The two main
constituents are montmorillonite (48%) and quartz
(34%). Its liquid and plastic limits are 416 and 21%,
respectively.
MX-80, considered by many as the reference buffer
material, is produced in the United States by the
‘‘American Colloid’’ society. The grain sizes are dis-
tributed between 10 μm and 1 mm (Tang, 2005). It is

Table 1. The function of the buffer material in parallel with its required properties (JNC, 1999).

Function Requirement Property

Restriction of radionuclide Restriction of groundwater movement Low hydraulic conductivity (low

migration
Technical feasibility of
manufacturing/installation
No significant impact on the
engineered barriers for a
specified period
permeability)
Sorption of dissolved nuclides High sorption coefficients
Prevention of colloid migration Colloid filtration function
Buffering of changes in groundwater Capability of chemical buffering
chemistry
Possibility of filling gaps created during Self-sealing ability
installation
Manufacturable and placement properties Compaction properties
Mechanical support of the overpack to ensure Strength to support the overpack in a
stability stable position
To inhibit thermal alteration of vitrified waste High thermal conductivity
and buffer
Stress buffering properties Plasticity

64
made of 75% montmorillonite and 15% quartz. Its liq-
uid limit is approximately 450% while its plastic limit
is around 50%.
After manufacturing of the bentonite powder, all of
these materials are partially wetted to reach the desired
water content, and eventually mixed with additive soil
(sand or graphite) in different proportions to adjust the
desired properties. They are subsequently compacted
with a well-defined energy. This compaction induces
particular properties in the bentonite (e.g., a double
structure, expansive tendency under wetting).
The purposes of this keynote paper are to identify
the fundamental mechanical behaviours of argilla-
ceous materials in the context of deep repository
experiments and to analyse them in a comprehen-
sive THM stress-strain constitutive framework, named
ACMEG (Advanced Constitutive Modelling for Envi-
ronmental Geomechanics). Among possible failure
scenarios, observed drying cracks in the material will
be discussed in this framework.
2 THERMO-HYDRO-MECHANICAL
PROCESSES
Figure 2 illustrates a possible layout of a deep
geological repository. In the first year following
the construction of the underground disposal, the
Figure 2. Possible layout for a deep geological repository
for Spent Fuel, High Level Waste, and Intermediate Level
Waste (SF/HLW/ILW) in Opalinus Clay (Nagra, 2002a).
65
near-field, which can be defined as the zone altered
by the presence of the radioactive waste (including
the buffer materials and a portion of the host mate-
rial adjacent to the waste location), is subjected to
complex mechanical, hydric, and thermal solicitations
with a great inter-dependence (THM couplings). In
this paper, we limit our analysis to processes where
THM coupling is predominant.
With the ‘‘intact state’’ of the host massif as the
initial state with a generally anisotropic stress state,
the first step is excavation. This process induces a
stress redistribution due to opening, causing tension,
compression and shear and leading to an Excavation
Disturbed Zone (EDZ) in the host material around the
excavation (Davies and Bernier, 2003). This stage is
not considered in this paper.
After excavation and before HLW emplacement, the
galleries are ventilated. During this stage, the exca-
vated area plays a drainage role and a consolidation
process occurs in the surrounding host material. In
addition, a negative pore water pressure (suction) is
acting on the field material; a strong suction gradi-
ent can develop between the gallery surface and the
surrounding host material. In this situation, drainage
and drying in the vicinity of the ventilated excavation
are likely to be associated with radial cracking in the
galleries.
After placing the canister and filling the gap
between it and the host material with buffer material
(i.e. blocks of compacted clay, initially unsaturated),
the main action that affects the EBS is heating from the
canister (Figure 3) and hydration from the surround-
ing host material. This stage can be subdivided into
several expected phases:
– In the very early closure stage, the thermal flux from
the vitrified waste into the buffer material occurs in
unsaturated conditions at a constant water content
Figure 3. Time-dependent temperature evolution at var-
ious positions within the buffer material (bentonite) and
surrounding rock/clay for canisters containing four spent
fuel assemblies. The bentonite is assumed to have a ther-
mal conductivity of 0.4 W m−1 K−1 and a heat capacity of
1.2 MJ m−3 K −1 . The initial ambient temperature is 38◦ C.
Canisters have a heat output of 1490 W at the time of waste
emplacement in the repository (Nagra, 2002b).
 (i.e. constant suction). The impact of the thermal
load generated by the waste is particularly important
as it will significantly affect the temperature and the
stress far (more than 50 m) from the repository in
the host material (Timodaz, 2007);
– During early closure, the resaturation process
induced by the water flux from the surrounding
rock/clay mass occurs in a media in which tempera-
ture progressively increases. The buffer material is
Figure 4. Image of cracks of inside wall of buffer annulus
after removal of heater (Graham et al., 1997).
subjected to wetting (suction decrease) and thermal
swelling (and/or eventual collapse);
– The THM processes progress and the buffer material
reaches a saturated state while the temperature is
still increasing (Figure 3);
– In a later closure stage, the high temperature
induces a desaturation process of the buffer mate-
rial, which tends to shrink with a risk of desic-
cation crack occurrence. This phase is generally
seen as the most critical stage for the integrity of
the engineered barrier. In Figure 4 we show an
example of cracks in the inner wall of the ben-
tonite buffer annulus in which the heat-generating
waste is enveloped (Graham et al., 1997). Those
cracks were identified after decommissioning a
large-scale test of EBS performance conducted over
2.5 years;
– Finally, in the very late closure stage, when the
maximum of thermal power has been emitted by
the vitrified waste, temperature around the repos-
itory is slowly falling and the buffer material is
re-saturated (wetting process). The thermal and
hydraulic gradients are largely lower than previously
and progressively vanish. When the temperature
has totally decreased, irreversible thermal strains
predominate.
In terms of theoretical and constitutive studies of
the processes encountered, the succession of differ-
ent phases above clearly shows the necessity of using
high-performance modelling tools to best approach the
complex phenomena and interactions. Table 2 summa-
rizes the THM processes and the modelling aspects
required to treat the problems.

Table 2. THM processes occurring in the life of underground nuclear waste disposal.

Stage Processes Modelling

Excavation Stress redistribution EDZ formation
Ventilation of the Consolidation process in the host material;
excavation Swelling and eventual desaturation of the host
material
Very early closure Thermal diffusion in an unsaturated medium;
stage Hydraulic diffusion in an isothermal medium
Thermal and hydraulic swelling and/or collapse
of the buffer material
Early closure stage Coupled thermal and hydraulic diffusion in a
deformable media; Thermal and hydraulic
swelling and/or collapse of the buffer material
Late closure stage Desaturation of the buffer material due to thermal
effects Shrinkage and risk of desiccation cracks
in the buffer material
Very late closure Temperature decrease and wetting of the buffer
stage material; Lower thermal and hydraulic gradient;
Irreversible thermal strains
Elasto-plastic (EP) model for saturated and
isothermal conditions—(EDZ aspect not
considered here)
Hydro-mechanical coupling in unsaturated
conditions considering desiccation crack
occurrence
Thermo-hydraulic (TH) diffusive law coupled
with an isothermal and a non-isothermal (T)
EP mechanical model for unsaturated
conditions
TH diffusive law coupled with a THM-EP
mechanical model for unsaturated
conditions
TH diffusive law coupled with a THM-EP
mechanical model for unsaturated soil
considering desiccation crack occurrence
TH diffusive law coupled with a THM-EP
mechanical model for unsaturated
conditions considering wetting paths

66
3 THM STRESS-STRAIN BEHAVIOURS confining stresses (similar to paths followed in under-
OF ARGILLACEOUS MATERIALS UNDER ground nuclear storage) induces mainly irreversible
ENVIRONMENTAL LOADINGS compression strains for low over-consolidation states
and reversible dilatation strains for highly over-
Natural host materials are different in terms of min- consolidated states. For instance, Figure 5 shows
eralogical compositions and consolidation histories of the evolution of the apparent preconsolidation pres-
buffer materials. However, natural clays exhibit THM sure with temperature for Boom clay (the material
behaviours similar to those of buffer materials. Both involved in the multi-barrier concept in the Belgian
of these could be modelled in the following theoretical underground laboratory of nuclear waste disposal),
framework. while Figure 6 shows its mechanical response under
All constitutive processes considered are rate inde- a heating-cooling cycle at different over-consolidated
pendent. Very few results are available in the literature states.
on the role of the skeleton intrinsic viscosity in THM
environmental loading conditions. However, readers
interested in thermo-viscoplasticity modelling of clays 3.2 Hydromechanical unsaturated isothermal
may refer to the paper by Modaressi and Laloui (1997). behaviour of clayey materials
The common features of the behaviour of argilla- Partial saturation is also observed to significantly
ceous materials under environmental loadings such as affect the stress-strain response of bentonite and host
suction or temperature variations are their high strain materials. Like most fine-grained soils, such materials
irreversibility (plasticity) and the important effects
of pore fluids on mechanical behaviour. The pre-
dominant THM stress-strain behaviour can be mainly
characterised by the following four processes:
– Non-linearity and irreversibility of the strains.
– Modification of the internal state through isotropic
hardening.
– The interaction between pore fluids and the solid
skeleton through ‘‘generalized’’ effective stress.
– Modification of the elastic yield limit under envi-
ronmental loadings: it shrinks with increasing tem-
perature in saturated conditions and dilates with
increasing suction at ambient temperature. Such
processes are expressed by a dependence of the
apparent preconsolidation stress.
In its geological meaning, the preconsolidation
pressure is unique and constant. However, the stress
yield limit that separates ‘‘elastic’’ pre-yield from
‘‘plastic’’ post-yield behaviour in isotropic or oedo-
metric conditions varies with environmental loads
(suction/temperature) and is to be considered a rhe-
ological parameter. It is evaluated as the stress value
at the intersection of two linear parts of the compres-
sion curves (mean/vertical effective stress versus void
ratio). It should have a specific appellation; the term
apparent preconsolidation pressure, pc , is used in this
paper.
In this section, we present general trends of the
stress-strain behaviour of clayey materials.

3.1 Thermo-mechanical behaviour of saturated

clayey materials
Several results from the literature show a decrease in
the apparent preconsolidation pressure with increasing
temperature T (Laloui and Cekerevac, 2003). More- Figure 5. Evolution of the preconsolidation pressure with
over, a heating-cooling cycle under constant effective temperature, Boom clay (experimental results: Sultan, 1997).

67
 case where the mechanical external or total stress is
fixed, suction changes cause straining of the material.
Figure 8a shows that the complete drying-wetting
cycle of fine-grained materials is not a reversible pro-
cess from the viewpoint of deformation. In parallel,
Figure 8b draws the soil water retention curve corre-
sponding to such a suction cycle, highlighting a clear
capillary hysteresis in the degree of saturation ver-
sus suction relationship. Focussing in particular on
the wetting process, that is decreasing suction under
a given stress state, it is understood from Figure 9
that the lower the applied stress, the higher the wet-
ting induced swelling. Indeed, the volumetric response
can be interpreted as a fully reversible heave under
a low applied stress (e.g., 100 kPa), whereas plastic

0.1
(a)
0
Figure 6. Heating-cooling cycle under constant effective Volumetric strain v
confining stresses at different overconsolidation ratios, Boom
clay (experimental results: Baldi et al., 1991). -0.1

-0.2 Drying
100
-0.3
80 Wetting
-0.4
Matric suction s (MPa)

60 -0.5
100 104 106 108
Matric suction s (Pa)
40
1
(b)
20
0.8
drying
Degree of saturation S (-)
r

1 10 100 1000 0.6

Apparent preconsolidation pressure p' (MPa) wetting
c

0.4
Figure 7. Evolution of the apparent preconsolidation pres-
sure with suction for FEBEX Bentonite (after Lloret et al.,
2004).
0.2

show a non-linear dependency of the apparent precon- 0

solidation pressure on suction (Figure 7). This feature, 1 100 104 106
attributed to capillary effects, signifies that the domain Matric suction s (Pa)
of elastic behaviour is larger for drier materials. In
addition, the material compressibility and elastic rigid- Figure 8. Drying wetting cycle of an overconsolidated white
ity are noted to depend on the level of saturation. The clay under zero mechanical stress: (a) Volumetric response,
volumetric response to a direct suction loading, that (b) Saturation states—Soil Water Retention Curve (after
is a drying or wetting cycle, is also of interest. In the Fleureau et al., 1993).

68
 0.32 σ = 14000 kPa
v
σ = 5100 kPa
Volumetric strain ε (-)

v
σ = 100 kPa
v

0.24 v

0.16

0.08 Initial
point

0 Wetting

5 7 9
10 10 10
Matric suction s (Pa)

Figure 9. Wetting of bentonite samples under different

levels of vertical stress σv (after Lloret et al., 2004).
Figure 10. Thermal effect on the retention curve of FEBEX
Bentonite (after Lloret et al., 2004).
compression episodes are added when the vertical
stress reaches 14 MPa. The large irreversible com-
pressions upon wetting are commonly called wetting
collapse.

3.3 Thermo-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated

clayey soils
The main thermal effect on the retention behaviour of
fine-grained soils concerns the diminishing retention
capacity with temperature increase, mainly because
the interfacial tension between the water and gas
phases decreases under heating (Romero et al., 2001).
Figure 10 depicts such experimental evidence on
FEBEX bentonite, while Tang and Cui (2005) and
Romero et al. (2001) underlined the same trends for
MX80 bentonite and compacted Boom Clay, respec-
tively. This thermal effect indirectly influences the
mechanical response of the host materials by changing
the suction value at a given degree of saturation.
It is also observed that the temperature influ-
ences the mechanical response of fine-grained soils
along drying-wetting paths (swelling and/or collapse),
mainly because of the thermal effect on the physico-
chemical interactions between clay particles.
Romero et al. (2003) observed that the swelling
potential of compacted Boom Clay increases with tem-
perature, while Villar and Lloret (2004) observed a
lower swelling capacity of FEBEX bentonite at 80◦ C
than at ambient temperature. The coupled temperature
and suction effects on the apparent preconsolidation
pressure were investigated by Salager et al. (2008)
along mechanical compression paths for a sandy silt.
In agreement with Figures 5 and 7, this study proved
that a temperature increase tends to decrease the
Figure 11. Combined effect of temperature and suction on
the evolution of the apparent preconsolidation pressure of a
sandy silt (Salager et al., 2008): (a) Increase with suction,
(b) decrease with temperature. The normalized preconsoli-
dation pressure is the preconsolidation pressure measured at
a given temperature T and suction s over the established pre-
consolidation pressure at ambient and saturated conditions
(T0 and s = 0). se is the air-entry suction.
isotropic yield limit, while a suction increase enhances
this limit. It was observed that logarithmic functions fit
well with the evolution of the apparent preconsolida-
tion pressure pc with temperature and suction. Indeed,
the decrease (or increase, respectively) with tempera-
ture (or suction, respectively) of pc appears fast for low
values of the two variables and becomes asymptotic for
higher values (Figure 11). In addition, an additional
coupled effect of temperature and suction on this limit
was observed, probably due to the thermal influence
on physico-chemical properties of clay particles and
the capillary meniscus.

69
3.4 Double structure effect
One of the key issues that should be precisely under-
stood for such THM phenomena is soil structure
effects. The term soil structure in general corresponds
to the combination of soil fabric, namely arrange-
ment of particles, and interparticle bonding (Mitchell,
1993). These two components of soil structure charac-
terize the compacted materials that are used as buffer
materials. Meanwhile, changes in soil structure can
influence, through a coupled process, the host material
behaviour in the phenomenon under study. In general,
materials involved in such problems have complex
structures. Unlike homogenous soils, these materi- Figure 13. Modification of soil fabric due to suction
als exhibit a wide and often bi- or multi-modal pore increase (after Cuisinier and Laloui, 2004).
size distribution. There are two extremes in concep-
tualizing the structure of these materials: aggregation
and macro void formation. The first explains structure
Moreover, pore size distribution of the material
changes in clay during compaction stages. For com-
might be strongly influenced by environmental load-
pacted materials, the pores can be divided into two
ing. Figure 13 shows the MIP results of a natural
main groups of macro and micro pores; therefore, they
aggregated soil at different suction levels (Cuisinier
can be addressed by the concept of double porosity.
and Laloui, 2004). These results represent the strong
However, this requires a rigorous consideration of soil
evolution of macro and micro porosity due to suction
structure and double porosity effects in a strain-stress
variations.
constitutive approach.
We can therefore conclude that in such materials,
Soil structure may influence many soil charac-
so-called double structure soils, deformation is a com-
teristics, including compressibility (Lambe, 1958),
bined phenomenon at both the macro and micro scales.
hydraulic conductivity (Tamari, 1984) and the soil-
A direct consequence of such a structure is collapse
water retention curves (Brustaert, 1968) of both
upon wetting that can be ascribed to the collapse and
compacted and natural soils.
disintegration of aggregates due to wetting (Gens and
Based on experimental results, mainly from mer-
Alonso, 1992; Lloret et al., 2003). Moreover, the
cury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), it has been shown
strength of structural units has an important influence
that compacted bentonite has an aggregated structure.
on the compressibility and mechanical behaviour of
Figure 12 presents the pore size distribution of the
the material. In other words, the yield limit depends
FEBEX bentonite obtained by MIP tests (Lloret et al.,
not only on the stress state and stress history, but also
2003). As can be seen in the figure, these materials
strongly on the soil structure. Common experimen-
have a bi-modal pore size distribution correspond-
tal evidence for the latter point is the extension of
ing to two dominant classes of inter-aggregate and
preconsolidation pressure in natural structured soils
intra-aggregate pores.
compared to reconstituted soil of the same mineralogy
(Callisto and Rampello, 2004; Liu and Carter, 1999).
It is noteworthy that in these materials, hardening (or
softening) of material depends also on the degrada-
tion of structures that might happen due to different
environmental loadings.

4 ACMEG—A THM STRESS-STRAIN

CONSTITUTIVE FRAMEWORK TO MODEL
THE BEHAVIOUR OF CLAY BARRIERS

4.1 Generalised effective stress in host materials

Figure 12. Distribution of incremental pore volume for two
compacted samples of FEBEX bentonite at different dry
densities. Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter test (Lloret et al.,
2003).
Defining an adequate stress framework is an essential
prerequisite to constitutive stress-strain modelling of
host materials submitted to THM loadings. Accord-
ing to the effective stress principle, first stated by
Terzaghi (1936), a multiphase porous medium can

70
be converted into a mechanically equivalent, single-
phase, single-stress state continuum. Consequently,
the constitutive equations for mechanical behaviour
directly link the change in strain to a variation in a
single stress averaged over a volume comprehending
several constituents, each of which is likely to react
internally to a global external load. Under full satura-
tion in water, the intergranular stress in bentonite is a
combination of total stress and pore water pressure, the
formulation being likely to include physico-chemical
interactions whenever justified (Verwey and Over-
beek, 1948; Hueckel and Pellegrini, 1992). A possible
generalisation to partial saturation in water is the
generalised effective stress inherited from Bishop’s
proposal (1959):
σij = (σij − pa δij ) + Sr (pa − pw )δij (1)
where σij is the exterior stress, δij the Kronecker delta,
pa the pore air pressure, pw the pore water pressure,
and Sr (= volume of water / volume of voids) the degree
of saturation. The direct dependence of the mechan-
ical stress variable (1) on suction (s = pa − pw ) and
degree of saturation is noteworthy. The main implica-
tions of the use of advanced stress variables have been
investigated by Nuth and Laloui (2007).
While the stress variable (1) is the unique stress
entering the mechanical stress-strain relationships,
later expressed by equations (4) and (5), thermody-
namic (Hutter et al., 1999) and energetic (Houlsby,
1997) considerations call for a supplementary set of
variables to describe the retention behaviour in par-
allel. The complete stress and work conjugate strain
framework is then formulated as:
    
σij εij
and (2)
s Sr
where εij is the mechanical strain variable. The sets
of variables (σij , εij ) and (s, Sr ) enter the mechan-
ical model and the retention model, respectively,
developed hereafter. Coping with the particular
behavioural features of unsaturated fine-grained mate-
rials reviewed in Section 3.2 raises the need for
constant interaction between the two models.
4.2 Introduction to the ACMEG constitutive
framework
Mathematical formulation
The basic concept of the ACMEG model family is
to introduce all the environmental effects mentioned
above (S—partially saturated state, T—temperature,
2S—double structure effect and DC—desiccation
cracks) in an elasto-plastic framework where each
environmental loading can cause reversible and
irreversible changes in the material state.
71
This section presents the main layout of the model
with its temperature and suction extension. A more
complete description can be found in François and
Laloui (2008a).
In an elasto-plastic framework, the total strain dε
is generated by non-linear thermo-elasticity, inducing
reversible strain dε e , coupled with a multi-dissipative
thermo-plasticity, producing irrecoverable strain dεp .
Due to the strain history dependence, the formulation
is given in terms of infinitesimal increments. Refer-
ence is made here to strains and stresses in the small
deformation domain.
The elastic part of the deformation is expressed as:
1
−1
dεije = Eijkl dσkl − βs dT δij (3)
3
where compression is taken as positive. Eijkl is the
mechanical elastic tensor and βs the volumetric ther-
mal expansion coefficient of the solid skeleton. Elastic
strain may be induced by total stress, suction, satura-
tion degree variation (first term of Equation 3), or by
temperature change (second term of Equation 3). Eijkl
is composed of the non-linear hypo-elastic modulus.
Using the concept of multi-mechanism plasticity
(Mandel, 1965), the total irreversible strain increment
p
dεij is induced by two coupled dissipative processes:
an isotropic and a deviatoric plastic mechanism. These
p,iso p,dev
produce plastic strain increments dεij and dεij ,
respectively.
The yield limits of each mechanism, restricting the
elastic domain in the generalised effective stress space,
take the following expressions (Figure 14):
fiso = p − pc riso = 0 (4)
 
dp
fdev = q − Mp 1 − bLog  rdev = 0 (5)
pc
where q is the deviatoric stress and p the mean gen-
eralized effective stress. b is a material parameter and
d the distance (in the logarithmic plane) between the
Figure 14. Suction (a) and temperature (b) effects on the
THM yield limits.
apparent preconsolidation pressure, pc , and the criti-
cal pressure, pcr . M is the slope of the critical state
line in the (q − p ) plane and may depend on temper-
ature. riso and rdev are the degrees of plastification of
the isotropic and deviatoric mechanisms, respectively.
According to bounding surface theory (Dafalias &
Herrmann, 1980), this enables progressive evolution
of the isotropic and deviatoric yield limits (Hujeux,
1979).
The apparent preconsolidation pressure pc is shared
by both yield limits, coupling the two mechanisms.
Moreover, this parameter is the main hardening vari-
p
able and depends on volumetric plastic strain εv (in
the sense of the Cam-Clay model family according
to Roscoe & Burland (1968)), on temperature and on
suction (Figure 14):
⎧  p
Figure 15. The retention model in the ACMEG framework.
⎨pc0 exp{βεv }{1 − γT log[T /T0 ]}
⎪ if s ≤ se
pc = pc0 exp{βεvp }{1 − γT log[T /T0 ]}
⎪
⎩ hydraulic limits, fdry and fwet , on drying and wetting
{1 + γs log[s/se ]} if s ≥ se
paths, respectively:
(6)

where pc0 is the initial preconsolidation pressure (at fdry = s − sd = 0 (9)

the initial temperature and under saturated conditions)
and β the plastic compressibility modulus. γT and γs
are material parameters.
The flow rule of the isotropic mechanism is associ-
ated, while the deviatoric one is not; these are assumed
to take the following forms, respectively:
p
p,iso λiso
dεii = (7)
3
   
p,dev p 1 ∂q q 1
dεij = λdev +α M −  δij
Mp ∂σij p 3
where α is a material parameter. The plastic multi-
p p
pliers, λiso and λdev , are determined using Prager’s
consistency equation for multidissipative plasticity
(Prager, 1958; Rizzi et al., 1996).
As presented earlier, the generalised effective stress
concept requires evaluating the degree of saturation to
fully describe the behaviour of the unsaturated soil.
Therefore, the retention behaviour (the degree of the
saturation/suction relationship) of materials must be
modelled. This retention model considers that the
desaturation process is also seen as a yielding phe-
nomenon. As long as the soil is drying, suction
increases and the degree of saturation, Sr , tends to
decrease, mainly when the air entry suction, se , is
reached. se is therefore considered as a hydraulic limit
separating fully and partially saturated states. Under
re-wetting, a hysteretic retention phenomenon occurs,
represented by a second limit (Figure 15). Then,
a sorption-desorption cycle activates two successive
fwet = sd shys − s = 0 (10)
where sd is the drying yield limit and shys is a material
parameter considering the size of retention hystere-
sis. If the initial state is saturated, the initial hydraulic
drying limit sd0 is equal to air-entry suction se and
increases when suction overtakes se as follows:
sd = sd0 exp(−βh Sr ) (11)
(8)
where βh is the slope of the desaturation curve in the
Sr − ln s plane (Figure 15).
Finally, because the air-entry suction of the mate-
rials depends on temperature and dry density, sd0 is a
function of temperature and volumetric plastic strain
(François and Laloui, 2008b):
sd = sd0 exp(−βh Sr ){1 − θT log[T /T0 ]
−θe log[1 − εvp ]} (12)
where θT and θe are material parameters describing
the logarithmic evolution of the air-entry suction with
respect to temperature and volumetric plastic strain,
respectively.
Because this retention response is governed by
yielding mechanisms, the processes must be con-
trolled by evolution laws that agree with the consis-
tency equations, in addition to the yield functions

72
(François and Laloui, 2008b). Within this framework,
the current degree of saturation is given by:
Sr = Sr0 + Srdry + Srwet (13)
dry
where Sr0 is the initial degree of saturation. Sr and
Srwet are the variations of saturation degree induced
by the drying and wetting mechanisms, respectively.
For very high suctions, the hydraulic conditions
reach a residual state defined by the residual degree
of saturation Sr,res . In this state, no more variation of
the degree of saturation is possible, even if the suction
increases (Figure 15).
Soil structure considerations
In the ACMEG constitutive framework, the influence
of soil structure on the stress-strain behaviour is taken
into account by making the apparent preconsolidation
pressure depend not only on stress state and stress his-
tory, but also on the soil structure and suction. For
this purpose, as a first requirement, a state param-
eter named degree of soil structure R is introduced
to describe and quantify soil structure effects. This
parameter is defined here as the ratio of current macro
void to its initial value in the intact state. The degree
of soil structure is a scaling parameter that represents
the openness of the structure. Obviously, any degra-
dation of structure due to hydro-mechanical loadings
changes this parameter.
Onthebasisofpore-scaleexperimentalobservations,
the evolution of the degree of soil structure has been
found to be reasonably reproduced by a decreasing
exponentialfunctionofplasticstrain(Kolijietal., 2008):
R = exp(−ωεD ) (14)
where R is the degree of soil structure, ε D is a combina-
tion of volumetric and deviatoric plastic strains, and ω
is the parameter controlling the rate of structure degra-
dation. The expression of the degree of soil structure
given by Equation 14 provides an experimentally based
relation that establishes the link between the pore-scale
structure of the soil and the macroscopic behaviour of
the material.
Combining the effects of suction and soil structure,
a general expression of the apparent preconsolidation
pressure in unsaturated structured soils reads:
∗
pc = ψ st ψ s p c0 (15)
where p ∗c0 is the reference effective preconsolidation
pressure in saturated reconstituted soil, and ψ st and
ψ s are two functions that incorporate the effects of
soil structure and suction, respectively.
Equation 15 considers four sources for the evolution
of the apparent preconsolidation pressure (hardening
73
origins): (i) intrinsic strain hardening, which describes
the evolution of the preconsolidation pressure of sat-
urated reconstituted soil, p∗ c0 , according to a plastic
strain hardening rule similar to the Cam-clay model,
(ii) primary suction effects as in reconstituted soils,
(iii) pure soil structure effects and (vi) secondary
suction effects in aggregated soils.
The primary effects of suction on the increase of
effective preconsolidation pressure are of the same
nature in reconstituted and aggregated soils and are
taken into account by ψ s . These effects are linked
to capillary effects and depend on the geometry of
the pores and the air entry value of the pore system.
Similar to reconstituted soils, a reversible function is
proposed to quantify the evolution of apparent precon-
solidation pressure due to primary suction effects:
⎧
⎨1; 1 if 0 < s < s1e
s 
ψ = 1 + γs log(sse ); if s1e ≤ s < sref (16)
⎩
1 + γs log(s se ) ; if s ≥ sref
in which s1e and se are the air entry suction values of
micropores and reconstituted soil, respectively, and γs
and γs are two dependent material parameters.
The soil structure effects and secondary suction
effects on soil structure are taken into account by
ψ st , a function of degree of soil structure, which
controls the extension of yield limits with respect to
the reconstituted reference state. At constant suction,
the following evolution rule has been derived for this
variable (Koliji et al., 2008):
ψ st = exp[R ln ψist ] (17)
where the subscript i designates the initial value.
In the presence of suction variation, however, sec-
ondary effects of suction on soil structure should be
considered in ψ st . The following relation is proposed
to account for additional effects of suction:
 
s + pat nst
ψ st = ψref
st
, ψist  = 1 (18)
sref + pat
in which ψref st
is the value at the reference suction sref
and the exponent nst is a material parameter. The atmo-
spheric pressure pat in the denominator is added to
avoid infinite values when the saturated state (zero
suction) is the reference state.
Double effects of suction on the apparent precon-
solidation pressure in structured soils are illustrated
in Figure 16. In this figure, the abscissa is the ratio
of apparent preconsolidation pressure to saturated
preconsolidation pressure in the reconstituted state
(pc /p∗
c0 ). The increase of apparent preconsolidation
pressure due to the intrinsic suction effect ( ψ1 ) is
represented by curve a. Multiplying this curve by a

Figure 16. Combined effects of suction and soil structure
on the apparent isotropic preconsolidation pressure.
Griffith’s theory (Griffith, 1924) assumes that defects
are present in the material that induce large stress
concentrations and lower the overall strength of the
material with respect to its theoretical value. Crite-
ria based on this theory actually reflect the failure
behaviour of unsaturated (or cemented) soils when the
minor net stress is tensile (Bishop and Garga, 1969;
Bagge, 1985; Baker, 1981).
Based on available uniaxial traction test data on
clayey soils performed at various known suctions and
degrees of saturation (Farrell et al., 1969; Rodriguez
et al., 2007; Peron, 2008), one can establish a depen-
dence of tensile strength on suction. An exponential
law of the following form is chosen (Peron, 2008):
  
k1 s
σt = σtsat + k2 1 − exp − (20)
k2

σtsat g is the tensile strength in the saturated state (s =

reference soil structure function ψref
st
gives the curve 0), namely the saturated tensile strength. Unless the
b, which represents the increase in apparent precon- soil is cemented, the value of σtsat should not greatly
solidation pressure due to intrinsic suction ( ψ1 ) and differ from zero. k2 and k1 are material parameters
pure soil structure effects ( ψ2 ) without considering accounting for the increase in tensile strength as suc-
suction-hardening of soil structure. The final evolution tion increases. k2 has the dimension of stress, and k1 is
of apparent preconsolidation pressure with suction in dimensionless. The evolution of the criterion (denoted
structured soils is represented by curve c. The grey fcut ) with respect to the normalized yield surfaces fiso
area between curves b and c ( ψ3 ) corresponds to the and fdev is sketched in Figure 17.
effects of suction on soil structure. This effect is a hard- Within the ACMEG framework, desiccation crack-
ening effect for suctions beyond sref and a softening ing is therefore the consequence of a threefold process:
effect for suctions below it. (1) increase of suction and effective stress, (2) con-
straint in the resulting shrinkage process, and (3)
coupling of tensile strength with suction. During a
Desiccation cracks
Desiccation cracks (actually cracks that occur dur-
ing drying shrinkage) are likely to form if shrinkage
deformations are constrained and/or tensile stresses
are generated in soil reaching its tensile strength (Corte
and Higashi, 1960). Typically, these constraints can
arise from (i) a frictional or other traction or dis-
placement boundary condition or (ii) any eigen-stress
concentrations within the soil sample. Intrinsic fac-
tors, such as soil texture (existence of large particles,
Towner 1988) and soil structure (solid network formed
by soil particles, Scherer 1997) may be the origin of
constrained shrinkage in some situations.
Therefore, in order to capture the possibility of
desiccation crack occurrence (essentially mode I frac-
turing), a tensile failure criterion is integrated into the
ACMEG framework.
Such a criterion actually stems from Griffith’s ten-
sile failure criterion. It is assumed that a crack is likely
to appear in the medium on a drying path as soon as the
minor principal stress σ3 becomes equal to this overall
strength, namely the tensile strength σt :
Figure 17. Tensile criteria considered in the ACMEG
σ3 = σt (19) framework.

74

Figure 18. Interception of stress path with tensile failure
criterion during constrained shrinkage in the radial direction.
constrained desiccation phase, prescribed strains make
the stress path deviate from the isotropic path nor-
mally followed during unconstrained desiccation. The
stress path then tends to come closer to the tensile
failure criterion. In turn, the tensile failure criterion
tends to move towards higher minor effective stresses,
due to its dependence on suction (this could be seen
as an expression of brittleness affecting the soil as
suction increases).
This behaviour can be illustrated using the param-
eter X r , defined as ‘‘degree of shrinkage restraint,’’
and equal to the ratio of hindered strains to shrink-
age strains resulting from unconstrained shrinkage.
Figure 18 shows different evolutions of the minor
stress during drying depending on the value of X r
(from 0, unconstrained shrinkage, no crack is possible,
to 1, all strains are hindered in two of the three princi-
pal directions). The trace of a possible tensile failure
criterion in the s − σ3 plane, given by Equation 19, is
also sketched.
5 MODELLING PERFORMANCES
OF THE ACMEG FRAMEWORK
5.1 Modelling the unsaturated behaviour
of host materials
The applicability of the ACMEG framework to waste
confining material is illustrated with the modelling
of the complex experimental stress-strain response in
unsaturated FEBEX bentonite (Lloret et al., 2004).
These experimental data were preferred because most
published stress paths actually start from the same
75
initial state, simplifying their comparison. In addition,
the whole history of equalization to a given level of
suction and subsequent oedometric compression at a
constant level of suction is retraced (Figure 19a). Sim-
ulation of wetting or drying processes from an initial
suction of 138 MPa predicts a satisfactory volumet-
ric response (Figure 19b). The magnitude of strain is
observed to vary depending on the net stress applied
during equalization, as shown by the comparison of
wetting tests 5 and 1, under a vertical net stress of
0.1 and 5.1 MPa, respectively. Even though the global
swelling trend is observed upon wetting for all tests,
a punctual decrease in εv is attributed to (i) mechan-
ical compression prior to or during equalization and
(ii) seamless plastic episodes due to the initiation of
minor wetting collapse. Subsequent oedometric com-
pression tests (Figure 19c) at constant suctions from 0
(test 5) to 500 MPa (test 1) are also remarkably well
predicted with the proposed framework, as a conse-
quence of the reliability of the isotropic yield limit
formulation (Equation 6).
Underground confinement brings particular bound-
ary conditions for the bentonite layers, so that their
overall volume is often totally constrained. Under the
effect of moisturisation, the constraint leads to inner
stresses, the latter quantified by the means of swelling
pressure tests. On the basis of advances brought by
using the generalised effective stress, ACMEG makes
it straightforward to simulate the constrained condi-
tions and predict the generated stresses. The superpo-
sition of innovative numerical simulations (predictions
for tests SP1 and SP4) with experimental points in
Figure 20 shows a satisfying qualification of the stress
increase trends. A close estimate of the maximum
swelling pressure is then available from numerical
results, even though the quantification could still be
refined (Nuth and Laloui, 2007). The simulated results
are also strongly dependent on the soil water retention
curve shape (Equations 9 to 13).
5.2 Modelling the effect of temperature on the
hydro-mechanical response of host materials
In confining barriers, saturation and desaturation pro-
cesses often occur in a medium affected by nuclear
waste heat emission. Under such non-isothermal
conditions, several couplings between capillary and
temperature effects must be considered in order to
understand and to predict the THM response of clay
simultaneously submitted to stress, moisture and tem-
perature changes. Figure 21 presents the retention
behaviour of compacted Boom clay at two tempera-
tures as predicted by ACMEG and as compared with
experimental observations (Romero et al., 2003). This
example shows the temperature effect on the retention
curve. In particular, the air-entry suction is reduced
with increasing temperature. Moreover, during these
 109 1000
SP1 EXP
Test 1 (a) (b)
SP2 EXP
SP3 EXP
Initial Test 2 SP4 EXP

Matric suction s (MPa)

8
Matric suction s (Pa)

10 point 100 SP1 MOD

SP2 MOD
SP3 MOD
Test 3 SP4 MOD
7
10 10
Test 4

Wetting
106
1
Final
point Test 5
105
104 106 108 0.1
Vertical stress -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
v (Pa) Vertical net stress (MPa)
v

0.32 (b)
Figure 20. Comparison of experimental swelling pressure
Exp. test 1 tests on Febex bentonite and their numerical simulation using
Volumetric strain v (-)

ACMEG-s test 1 ACMEG.

0.24 Exp. test 3
ACMEG-s test 3
Exp. test 5 Experiment Numerical simulation
ACMEG-s test 5
0.16
T=22˚C T=22˚C
T=80˚C T=80˚C
0.08 Initial 1.1
point
1
0 Wetting
0.9
Degree of Saturation [-]

105 107 109

Matric suction s (Pa) 0.8
0.4
(c) Exp. 1 0.7
Mod. 1
Exp. 2
0.3 Mod. 2 0.6
Volumetric strain v (-)

Exp. 3
Mod. 3
0.2 Exp. 4 0.5
Mod. 4
Exp. 5
Mod. 5 0.4
0.1 0.01 0.1 1
Suction [MPa]

0 Figure 21. Comparison between experimental retention

curve on compacted Boom Clay at two temperatures (22 and
80◦ C) and their numerical simulation using ACMEG model.
-0.1 4
10 105 106 107 108
Vertical net stress v (Pa) wetting-drying cycles, the porosity of the compacted
Boom Clay is strongly modified by suction changes.
Figure 19. Simulations of hydro-mechanical paths in oedo- Figure 22 shows drastic collapse upon wetting. The
metric conditions; (a) stress paths, (b) volumetric response collapse intensity is affected not only by the external
with suction changes and (c) volumetric response with respect stress level, but also by the temperature condition. The
to vertical net stress. evolution of these volumetric responses with suction

76
 Experiment Numerical simulation Experiment Numerical simulation

v,net
= 0.085MPa v,net
= 0.085MPa T= 22˚C T= 22˚C
v,net
= 0.3MPa v,net
= 0.3MPa T= 80˚C T= 80˚C
= 1.2MPa = 1.2MPa 0
v,net v,net

0.05
s= 0.06 MPa
-0.02
0

Volumetric strain [-]

Volumetric strain [-]

-0.04
-0.05

-0.06
-0.1

-0.08
-0.15

T=22˚C -0.1
-0.2 0.1 1
0.01 0.1 1
(a) Suction [MPa]
Vertical net stress [MPa]
Experiment Numerical simulation
Figure 23. Comparison between experimental oedometric
= 0.085MPa = 0.085MPa compression tests on compacted Boom Clay at a suction of
v,net v,net
60 kPa and two different temperatures (22 and 80◦ C) and
= 0.3MPa = 0.3MPa
v,net v,net their numerical simulation using ACMEG model.
= 1.2MPa = 1.2MPa
v,net v,net

0.05

0
Volumetric strain [-]

-0.05

-0.1

-0.15
-0.2
-0.25
0.01
(b)
Figure 22. Volumetric strain observed for drying-wetting
cycles of compacted Boom Clay under oedometric condi-
tions. Comparison between experimental results and numer-
ical simulations using ACMEG. a) 22◦ C and b) 80◦ C.
is well reproduced by the ACMEG model. In addi-
tion, a temperature increase modifies the yield point
along compression paths, resulting in a translation
of the normally consolidated line towards lower gen-
eralized effective stress (Figure 23). All of these
examples clearly indicate the necessity to consider
Figure 24. Simulation of ACMEG for oedometric compres-
sion of unsaturated aggregated silty clay at a constant suction
of 500 kPa.
T=80˚C
the interconnection between temperature, suction, and
0.1 1 stress states. Only a unified approach can consider in
Suction [MPa] a relevant manner the THM response of this kind of
material.
5.3 Modelling the behaviour of unsaturated
structured material
Figure 24 shows results of the model simulation
for a sample of unsaturated aggregated silt during
oedometric compression at a constant suction of 500
kPa. The model was found to reasonably reproduce
the experimental results. Thanks to a modified equa-
tion for water properties, the model can also address
increasing saturation, even at a constant suction.

77
Figure 25. Crack pattern obtained after drying under atmo- Figure 26. Experimental values of uniaxial tensile strength
sphere with controlled relative humidity, after Rodriguez from Rodriguez et al. (2007) and evolution law of tensile
et al. (2007). strength with ACMEG.

5.4 Modelling of desiccation tests

Rodriguez et al. (2007) reported an experimental
and numerical study of desiccation of low plasticity
silt. The experimental programme consisted mainly of
desiccation tests under ambient air or controlled atmo-
sphere. Disk-shaped slabs of the soil in a slurry state
were placed on plates, grooved to create radial restraint
at the base. Only water loss and vertical shrinkage
were recorded during the test. For tests under con-
trolled atmospheric conditions (simulated later), slabs
were 1.6 cm tall and relative humidity was controlled
with a saline solution, corresponding to a total suction
of about 38 MPa. Cracking was observed, leading to
the formation of the patterns shown in Figure 25. The Figure 27. Simulation of nickel mining waste constrained
experimental degrees of saturation at cracking were desiccation tests, predicted evolution of minor effective stress
between 0.98 and 0.86; suction values extrapolated with respect to suction.
from the water retention curve were between 10 and
40 kPa.
Such a drying situation is in some ways similar friction angle was fixed at 25◦ prior to calibration,
to that which prevails for instance during air drying representative of low plasticity silts. Poisson’s ratio
of gallery walls drilled in the host clay of nuclear was fixed at 0.25. The values of d, b and α were also
waste repositories. The constraint in this situation fixed beforehand.
stems from the deeper intact (i.e. not dried) host Parameters for suction tensile strength evolutions
material. Radial cracking is a direct consequence in the were calibrated from tensile strength test results. The
galleries. parameter σtsat was considered fixed and equal to the
Mechanical tests were also performed: traction experimental value given by Rodriguez et al. (2007).
tests, unconfined compression tests and one determi- k1 and k2 were calibrated with experimental results
nation of the water retention curve in an oedometer (see Figure 26).
apparatus. On the basis of the parameters determined above,
For the present simulation, parameters β sat ,  and desiccation tests were simulated under a controlled
Kref were calibrated on the basis of a water retention atmosphere. For the simulation, the suction field was
curve test in oedometric conditions. The value of the considered homogeneous within the sample. This is in

78
accordance with the authors’ claim based on boundary
value problem calculations. Furthermore, strains were
assumed totally constrained in the radial (horizontal)
direction. Such a condition should prevail at the slab
base (and was adopted by the authors themselves).
Results of the simulation are presented in Figure 27.
The predicted suction at cracking was 19 kPa (degree
of saturation 0.98), very close to the experimental
results. In this sense, the model can predict desiccation
crack occurrence.
6 CONCLUSIONS
We present a THM stress-strain framework for
modelling the performance of clay barriers in
deep geological repositories for radioactive waste.
This study aims to contribute to the performance
assessment of deep geological repositories for
heat-generating radioactive waste. The model frame-
work is built on the conceptual understanding of the
behaviour of soils submitted to loads representing the
planned in-situ scenarios.
The ACMEG framework considers the main mech-
anisms related to the thermo-plastic behaviour of
saturated and unsaturated materials. It is extended to
include soil structure aspects and induced desiccation
cracks. The performances of the model are illustrated
through comparisons with experimental results.
REFERENCES
Baldi, G., Hueckel, T., Peano, A. & Pellegrini, R. 1991.
Developments in modelling of thermo-hydro-mechanical
behaviour of Boom clay and clay-based buffer materials
(Vol 1 and 2). EUR 13365/1 and 13365/2, Luxembourg.
Bagge, G. 1985. Tension cracks in saturated clays cuttings.
In Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference
on Soil Mechanics and Foundations Engineering, San
Francisco, vol. 2, 393–395.
Baker, R. 1981. Tensile strength, tension cracks and stability
of slopes. Soils and Foundations, 21 (2), 1–7.
Bishop, A.W. 1959. The principle of effective stress. Tecnisk
Ukeblad, 39, 859–863.
Bishop, A.W. & Garga, V.K. 1969. Drained tension tests on
London Clay. Géotechnique, 19, 309–313.
Brustaert, W. 1968. The permeability of a porous medium
determined from certain probability laws for pore-size
distribution. Water Resources Research, 4, 425–434.
Callisto, L. & Rampello, S. 2004. An interpretation of
structural degradation for three natural clays. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 41, 392–407.
Chapman, N.A. & McKinley, I.G. 1987. The geological
disposal of nuclear waste, John Wiley and Sons.
Cuisinier, O. & Laloui, L., 2004. Fabric evolution during
hydromechanical loading of a compacted silt. Interna-
tional Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in
Geomechanics, 28 (6), 483–499.
79
Corte, A. & Higashi, A. 1960. Experimental Research on
Desiccation Cracks in Soil. Research report 66, U.S. Army
Snow and Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment.
Dafalias, Y. & Herrmann, L. 1980. A bounding sur-
face soil plasticity model. International Symposium on
soils under Cyclic and Transient Loading, Swansea,
335–345.
Davies, C. & Bernier, F. 2003. Impact of the Excavation
Disturbed or Damaged Zone (EDZ) on the Performance of
Radioactive Waste Geological Repositories. Proceedings
of a European Commission CLUSTER—Conference and
Workshop, Luxembourg.
ENRESA. 2000. Febex Project: Full-scale engineered bar-
riers experiment for a deep geological repository for
high level radioactive waste in crystalline host rock.
Publicación técnica 1/2000.
Farrell, D.A., Geacen, E.L. & Larson, W.E. 1967. The effect
of water content on axial strain in a loam soil under ten-
sion and compression. Soil Science Society of America
Proceedings, 31 (4), 445–450.
Fleureau, J.M., Kheirbeksaoud, S., Soemitro, R. & Taibi, S.
1993. Behavior of clayey soils on drying wetting Paths.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 30 (2), 287–296.
François, B. & Laloui, L. 2008a. Thermo-plasticity in unsat-
urated soils, a constitutive approach. E-UNSAT 08. This
conference.
François, B. & Laloui, L. 2008b. ACMEG-TS: A constitutive
model for unsaturated soils under non-isothermal condi-
tions. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical
Methods in Geomechanics, Submitted.
Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1992. A framework for the
behaviour of unsaturated expansive clays. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 29, 1013–1032.
Gera, F., Hueckel, T. & Peano, A. 1996. Critical issues in
modelling the long-term hydro-thermo-mechanical per-
formance of natural clay barriers. Engineering Geology,
41, 17–33.
Graham, J., Chandler, N.A., Dixon, D.A., Roach, P.J.,
To, T. & Wan, A.W.L. 1997. The Buffer/Container Exper-
iment: results, synthesis, issues. Atomic Energy of
Canada Limited Report, AECL-11746, COG-97–46-I.
Chalk River, ON, Canada.
Griffith, A.A. 1924. Theory of rupture. In Proceedings of
the First International Conference on Applied Mechanics,
Delft, Holland, 55–63.
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Géotechnique, 47 (1), 193–196.
Hueckel, T. & Pellegrini, R. 1992. Effective stress and water
pressure in saturated clays during heating-cooling cycles.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 29, 1095–1102.
Hujeux, J.C. 1979. Calcul numérique de problèmes de con-
solidation élastoplastique. PhD Thesis, Ecole Centrale de
Paris.
Hutter, K., Laloui, L. & Vulliet, L. 1999. Thermodynamically
based mixture models of saturated and unsaturated soils.
Mechanics of cohesive-frictional materials, 4, 295–338.
Imbert, C., Olchitzky, E., Lassabatère, T., Danglas, P. &
Courtois, A. 2005. Evaluation of a thermal criterion for
an engineered barrier system. Engineering Geology, 81,
269–283.
JNC. 1999. Project to Establish the Scientific and Technical
Basis for HLW Disposal in Japan. Technical report support
report 2.
Koliji, A., Vulliet, L. & Laloui, L. 2008. New basis
for the constitutive modelling of aggregated soils, Acta
Geotechnica, (in press).
Komine, H. & Ogata, N. 1994 Experimental study on
swelling characteristics of compacted bentonite. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 31 (2), 478–490.
Laloui, L. & Cekerevac, C. 2003. Thermo-plasticity of
clays: An isotropic yield mechanism. Computer and
Geotechnics, 30, 649–660.
Lambe, T.W. 1958. The engineering behaviour of compacted
clays. Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Division ASCE, 84, 1–35.
Liu, M.D. & Carter, J.P. 1999. Virgin compression of
structured soils. Géotechnique, 49 (1), 43–57.
Lloret, A., Romero, E. & Villar, M. 2004. FEBEX II Project:
Final report on thermo-hydro-mechanical laboratory tests.
publicación técnica 10/2004, ENRESA.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sanchez, M., Pintado, X. &
Alonso, E.E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour of heavily com-
pacted bentonite under high suction changes. Géotech-
nique, 53 (1), 27–40.
Mandel, W. 1965. Généralisation de la théorie de Koiter.
International Journal of Solids and Structures, 1, 273–295.
Mitchell, J.K. 1993. Fundamentals in soils behaviour, 2nd
edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Modaressi, H. & Laloui, L. 1997. A thermo-mechanical
constitutive model for clays. International journal for
numerical and analytical methods in Geomechanics, 21,
313–335.
Nagra 2002a. Project Opalinus Clay: Safety Report. Nagra
Technischer Bericht NTB 02–05, 360p.
Nagra 2002b. Calculations of the Temperature Evolution of
a Repository for Spent Fuel, vitrified high-Level Waste
and Intermediate Level Waste in Opalinus Clay. Nagra
Technischer Bericht NTB 01–04.
Nuth, M. & Laloui, L. 2007. Effective stress concept in
unsaturated soils: Clarification and validation of a unified
framework. International Journal for Numerical and Ana-
lytical Methods in Geomechanics. DOI 10.1002/nag.645.
Olchitzky, E. 2002. Couplage hydro-mécanique et perméa-
bilité d’une argile gonflante non saturée sous sollicitations
hydriques et thermiques. PhD Thesis. Ecole nationale des
ponts et chaussées, Paris.
Peron, H. 2008. Desiccation Cracking of Soils. PhD Thesis,
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.
Prager, W. 1958. Non-isothermal plastic deformation.
Koninkklijk-Nederland Akademie Van Wetenschappen
Te Amsterdam—Proc. of the section of sciences-B, 61,
176–182.
Rizzi, E., Maier, G. & Willam, K. 1996. On failure indica-
tors in multi-dissipative materials. International Journal
of Solids and Structures, 33 (20–22), 3187–3214.
Rodriguez, R., Sanchez, M., Ledesma, A. & Lloret, A.
2007. Experimental and numerical analysis of desicca-
tion of a mining waste. Canadian Geotechnical Journal,
44, 644–658.
Romero, E., Gens, A. & Lloret, A. 2001. Temperature
effects on the hydraulic behaviour of an unsaturated clay.
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 19, 311–332.
80
Romero, E., Gens, A. & Lloret, A. 2003. Suction effects
on a compacted clay under non-isothermal conditions.
Géotechnique, 53 (1), 65–81.
Roscoe, K.H. & Burland, J.B. 1968. On the generalized
stress—strain behaviour of ‘‘wet’’ clay. In Engineer-
ing Plasticity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
England, 535–609.
Salager, S., François, B., El Youssoufi, M.S., Laloui, L. &
Saix, C. 2008. Experimental investigations of temperature
and suction effects on compressibility and preconsoli-
dation pressure of a sandy silt. Soils and Foundations.
(Accepted for publication).
Scherer, G.W. 1997. Stress from re-immersion of par-
tially dried gel. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 212,
268–280.
Sultan, N. 1997. Etude du comportement thermo-mécanique
de l’argile de Boom: Expériences et modélisation. PhD
Thesis, Ecole nationale des ponts et chaussée, Paris.
Tamari, S. 1984. Relations between pore-space and hydraulic
properties in compacted beds of silty-loam aggregates.
Soil Technology, 7, 57–73.
Tang, A. 2005. Effet de la temperature sur le comportement
des barrières de confinement. PhD Thesis, Ecole National
des Ponts et Chaussée, Paris.
Tang, A. & Cui, Y. 2005. Controlling suction by the vapour
equilibrium technique at different temperatures and its
application in determining the water retention properties
of MX80 clay. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 42 (1),
287–296.
TIMODAZ 2007. Thermal impact on the damaged zone
around a radioactive waste disposal in clay host rocks.
Deliverable 2. State of the art on THMC.
Terzaghi, K. 1936. The shearing resistance of saturated
soils and the angle between the planes of shear. Inter-
national Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Harvard University Press, 54–56.
Towner, G.D. 1988. The influence of sand- and silt-size
particles on the cracking during drying of small clay-
dominated aggregates. Journal of Soil Science, 39,
347–356.
Verwey, E. & Overbeek, J. 1948. Theory of stability of
lyophobic colloids—The interaction of soil particles hav-
ing an electric double layer, Elsevier Publishing Company,
Inc.
Villar, M. 2002. Thermo-hydro-mechanical characterisation
of a bentonite from Cabo de Gata: A study applied to the
use of bentonite as sealing material in high level radioac-
tive waste repositories. publicación técnica 04/2002,
ENRESA.
Villar, M. & Lloret, A. 2004. Influence of temperature on the
hydro-mechanical behaviour of a compacted bentonite.
Applied Clay Science, 26, 337–350.
Villar, M.V., Perez del Villar, L., Martin, P., Pelayo, M.,
Fernandez, A., Garralon, A., Cuevas, J., Leguey, S.,
Caballero, E., Huertas, F., Jimenez de Cisneros, C.,
Linares, J., Reyes, E., Delgado, A., Fernandez-Soler, J. &
Astudillo, J. 2006. The study of spanish clays for their use
as sealing materials in nuclear waste repositories: 20 years
of progress. Journal of Iberian Geology 32 (1), 15–36.
Advances in testing techniques
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A novel suction-controlled true triaxial apparatus for unsaturated soils

L.R. Hoyos, A. Laikram & A.J. Puppala

The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a novel servo-controlled true triaxial testing apparatus that has been devel-
oped to test 7.5-cm (3-in) side, cubical specimens of unsaturated soil under controlled-suction states for a wide
range of stress paths that are not achievable in a conventional cylindrical apparatus. The equipment is a mixed-
boundary type of device, with the specimen seated on top of a high-air-entry disk and between five flexible
(latex) membranes on the remaining sides of the cube. The new cell is an upgraded, more elaborate version of
the one previously reported by Hoyos (1998), featuring two independent pore-air and pore-water pressure con-
trol systems via a PCP-5000-UNSAT pressure panel. Matric suction states in the specimens are induced during
testing via the axis-translation technique. The technique is implemented by utilizing the s = ua testing concept
(uw = 0). The paper outlines the full development of the new cell, including details of its main components and
the step-by-step assembling process. Results from a short series of constant-suction Triaxial Compression (TC)
and Triaxial Extension (TE) tests are presented. The operational true triaxial apparatus will play a fundamental
role in the complete characterization of unsaturated soil behavior under multiaxial stress paths that are likely to
be experienced in the field.

1 BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE as critical a role in unsaturated soil response under

multiaxial stress states (Fig. 1). The present work has
Over the last few decades, the description of the stress- been largely motivated by the lack of experimental
strain-strength behavior of unsaturated soils has been evidence of this kind.
closely linked with efforts to isolate the relevant stress It is in the above context that a true triaxial (cubi-
fields governing the soil’s mechanical response. The cal) test cell, capable of inducing in the test speci-
adoption of matric suction, s = (ua − uw ), and the mens a wide range of simple-to-complex multiaxial
excess of total stress over air pressure, (σ − ua ), as stress paths under controlled-suction states, plays a
the relevant stress state variables, have allowed the fundamental role in a thorough stress-strain-strength
modeling of various key features of unsaturated soil characterization of this type of materials.
behavior via suction-controlled oedometer, triaxial, This paper describes a novel servo-controlled true
and direct shear testing (Alonso et al., 1990; Wheeler triaxial apparatus that has been developed to test 7.5-cm
and Sivakumar, 1992; Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1993). (3-in) per side, cubical specimens of unsaturated soil
The majority of these devices, however, allow for
the application of loads along limited paths and modes Traffic load Foundation load
of deformation, such as one-dimensional, hydrostatic
or axisymmetric loading. In nature, pavement sub-
grades and shallow foundation soils well above the
ground-water table are subject to three-dimensional Pavement
Pavement
stress gradients due to changes in the stress state
variables (σij − ua δij ) and (ua − uw )δij , as depicted ( 1
– ua) (ua – uw) ( 1
– ua) (ua – uw)
schematically in Figure 1.
Therefore, accurate predictions of the stress-strain (ua – uw) (ua – uw)
response of geosystems involving unsaturated soils ( 2 – ua) ( 2 – ua)
require that all the constitutive relations be valid for all ( – ua) (ua – uw) ( – ua) (ua – uw)
3 3
major stress paths likely to be experienced in the field.
Moreover, matric suction has been shown to play
a paramount role in unsaturated soil response under
one-dimensional, isotropic and axisymmetric loading Figure 1. Unsaturated soil systems subject to multiaxial
conditions. Hence, suction is also expected to play stress states.

83
under controlled-suction states for a wide range of
stress paths that are not achievable in a conventional
cylindrical apparatus. The equipment can be defined
as a mixed-boundary type of device, with the spec-
imen seating on top of a high-air-entry (HAE) disk
and between five flexible (latex) membranes on the
remaining sides of the cube. The new cubical cell
is an upgraded, more elaborate version of the one
implemented by Hoyos (1998), featuring two indepen-
dent pore-air pressure (ua ) and pore-water pressure
(uw ) control systems by using a PCP-5000-UNSAT
pressure control panel. Suction states in the cubi-
cal specimens during suction-controlled testing are
induced via axis-translation technique.
The following sections describe details of the
design, main components, and assembling process
of the developed apparatus. Preliminary results from
a short series of suction-controlled triaxial compres-
sion (TC) and triaxial extension (TE) tests are also
presented.
considerably enhanced performance, which includes:
(1) More testing accuracy and reliability, (2) More
flexibility of operation and breadth of application,
(3) More refined data acquisition and process con-
trol systems, and (4) Increased amount and qual-
ity of testing variables monitored during a typical
suction-controlled testing.
In general, true triaxial devices can be classified
into three major categories: rigid-boundary, flexible-
boundary and mixed-boundary cells (Sture, 1979;
Arthur, 1988). The apparatus presented in this paper
is a mixed-boundary type of cell, with the specimen
seating on top of a HAE ceramic disk and between five
flexible membranes on the remaining sides of the cube.
The cell consists mainly of a stainless steel frame
featuring six pressure cavities to accommodate one
top and four lateral flexible latex membranes, and a
cubical base aluminum piece at the bottom to house
a 5-bar ceramic disk and four symmetrically spaced
coarse porous stones, as shown in Figures 2–5.

2 PREVIOUS WORK

Hoyos (1998) reported a first attempt to test unsatu-

rated soils under suction-controlled multiaxial load-
ing. In order to achieve this goal, a then 30-year-old
cubical apparatus was modified to test 10-cm (4-in)
side, cubical specimens of silty sand under suction-
controlled conditions. The original development of
the apparatus was presented by Atkinson (1972) for
multiaxial testing of rock materials. Pore-water pres-
sure (uw ) was applied to the bottom of the specimen
through a 5-bar HAE ceramic disk. Pore-air pressure
(ua ) was applied to the top and four lateral faces of the
specimen via an air-pressurized manifold. Test results
are reported in Hoyos (1998) and Hoyos and Macari
(2001). Figure 2. Cubical base aluminum piece with porous stones
This previous device, however, presented some and grooved compartment for housing a 5-bar ceramic disk.
equipment and testing related limitations that can
be summarized as follows: (1) The steel frame is
highly corrosive, which resulted in occasional clog-
ging of the 5-bar ceramic; (2) Hydraulic oil is used
to pressurize latex membranes in contact with soil,
with oil temperatures ranging from 28◦ C to 38◦ C;
(3) Latex membranes had low durability when exposed
to hydraulic oil for extended time periods; (4) Pore-
water temperature cannot be controlled, retarding
equalization of pore fluids; and finally, (5) The device
allows only for stress-controlled testing.

3 A NOVEL TRUE TRIAXIAL APPARATUS

3.1 General design and assembling

The true triaxial apparatus described herein is aimed Figure 3. Sealing of previously saturated, 5-bar ceramic
at overcoming all of the above limitations, yielding a disk onto cubical base aluminum piece.

84
 Figure 6. Photograph of entire cubical test layout, including
external pressure application/control system (left) and PCP-
5000-UNSAT pressure control panel (right).
Figure 4. Close view of cubical base aluminum piece fitted
onto bottom assembly.

(a)
Figure 5. Plan view of cubical base aluminum piece fitted
onto bottom assembly.

Sample preparation and saturation of the ceramic

disks are described in sections 3.2 and 3.3. After set-
ting of the compacted specimen into the inner cavity
of the frame, the remaining five walls are assembled
to the frame. Three LVDTs per face (top and four
lateral) are used to monitor soil deformations while
de-aired water is used to pressurize the specimen via
latex membranes. The external pressure is transmit-
ted to the water-filled latex membranes via pressure
inlet/outlet connections on the walls.
Figure 6 shows a photograph of the entire test layout,
including the servo-controlled external pressure appli- (b)
cation system (on the left) and the assembled cubical
cell interacting with the PCP-5000-UNSAT pressure Figure 7. Suction-controlled mechanism: (a) cubical cell
control panel (on the right). interacting with PCP-5000-UNSAT panel; and (b) pore-air
Pore-air pressure (ua ) is supplied at the bottom of pressure, pore-water pressure, and flushing control systems.
the specimen via a full set of air-pressurized manifolds
with nylon tubing from the PCP-5000-UNSAT pres-
sure control panel. Pore-water pressure (uw ) can be also supplied via nylon tubing from the PCP-5000-
applied and controlled at the bottom of the specimen UNSAT pressure panel. As shown in Figure 2, a
through the 5-bar ceramic disk. Water pressure is grooved compartment uniformly distributes the water

85
underneath the 5-bar disk. In this work, however, the lateral wall assemblies are then set into place. A typical
axis-translation technique is implemented by utilizing 7.5-cm (3-in) side, cubical specimen is then pre-
the s = ua testing concept (uw = 0). pared in-place using a combined pluviation-tamping
The panel also features a flushing mechanism at the compaction process, as shown in Figure 10.
bottom assembly, as shown in Figure 7. All suction- The specimen is prepared in approximately eight
controlled tests are entirely computer-driven via a data pluviated layers, with each layer compacted at a tar-
acquisition/process control system (DA/PCS). get moisture content 4% greater than standard Proctor
The core of the cubical cell (Fig. 6) was man-
ufactured and check-out tested at the University of
Colorado, Boulder. The PCP-5000-UNSAT pressure
control panel from Geotechnical Consulting and Test-
ing Systems (GCTS), Tempe, Arizona, was then
adapted to the cubical cell at the geotechnical research
laboratories of the University of Texas at Arlington to
control pore-air (ua ) and pore-water (uw ) pressures.
The panel has been successfully utilized in cylindrical
cells, featuring both pressure/volume control cell pres-
sure, pore/back pressure, pore-air pressure with 2 MPa
(300 psi) pressure range, and 300 cc (18 in3 ) volume
capacity. It also includes a full set of hydraulic servo
valves, an electro-hydraulic pump, pressure transduc-
ers with 0.1 kPa (0.02 psi) resolution, and specific
water volume (vw = 1 + eSr ) change transducer with
0.01 cc resolution. Figure 8. Bottom plate of custom-made chamber housing
three 5-bar disks prior to saturation.

3.2 Saturation of HAE ceramic disks

A procedure similar to that suggested by Bishop and
Henkel (1962) and Fredlund (1973), to ensure proper
saturation of a HAE disk, was adapted to the working
conditions of the 5-bar disks in the modified test cell
(Figs. 2 and 3). The same approach was successfully
used by Hoyos (1998).
A custom-made saturation chamber, made of high
burst-resistance acrylic and capable of housing up to
three HAE ceramics at the same time, was designed
and utilized for saturation of the 5-bar ceramics used
in this work, as shown in Figure 8.
After the 5-bar ceramics are fully sealed and set Figure 9. Saturation process of 5-bar ceramic disks.
into place, the inner cavity of the assembled saturation
chamber is filled with distilled, de-aired water to a
height of about 25 mm (1 in) above the disks. The water
is poured into the cavity using a pipette to minimize
the generation of air bubbles.
Once the cavity is partially filled with water and the
top plate of the chamber is set into place, the water film
is subjected to an air pressure of 600 kPa (87 psi), as
shown in Figure 9. The water is then allowed to flow
through the disks under this constant pressure until
air in the disks dissolves in the grooved, previously
saturated compartments underneath them.

3.3 Preparation of cubical test specimens

Poorly graded silty sand (SM) was used for suction-
controlled testing in this research work. After Figure 10. In-place, combined pluviation and tamping
saturation of the 5-bar disk, the bottom and the four compaction process.

86
optimum. Tamping corresponds to a compactive effort
considerably less than that of standard Proctor com-
paction. The intention is to reproduce specimens with
low preconsolidation stress values, so that, subse-
quently, it is relatively feasible to reconsolidate the soil
to a virgin state. A custom-made, 0.25 mm (0.01-in)
thick, stainless steel shaft introduced into the cubical
cavity of the frame facilitates the pluviation-tamping
compaction process for each layer (Fig. 10).
Upon completion of the soil compaction process,
the shaft is gently removed and the top assembly of the
cell, as well as the remaining components and connec-
tions for external stress and suction state applications,
are set into place (Fig. 6).
4 SUCTION-CONTROLLED TESTING
Figures 12 and 13 present the deviator stress versus
principal strain response of silty sand from suction-
controlled TC tests. In these figures, suction is shown
to exert an important influence on the shear resistance
of silty sand, with a considerable increase for s =
200 kPa. During TC testing, the major principal
stress σ1 is increased while the intermediate σ2 and
minor σ3 principal stresses reduce, such that the net
(σ1 – ua)
σ2 – σ3
TC (b = 0, θ = 0o) b=
SS (b = 0.5, θ = 30o) σ1 – σ3
TE (b = 1, θ = 60o)
θ
σoct = 50, 100, or 200 kPa
A s = 50, 100, or 200 kPa

The suitability of the axis-translation technique in the

newly developed apparatus was first validated experi-
mentally by conducting two drained (constant-suction) (σ2 – ua) (σ3 – ua)

tests, each involving isotropic loading followed by

axisymmetric shearing, on two identically prepared Figure 11. Suction-controlled true triaxial testing scheme.
specimens of silty sand. Both tests were performed at
the same constant suction s = 200 kPa and loading 60
rate of 10 kPa/hr.
The first specimen, however, was subjected to a 50

suction state s = ua = 200 kPa(uw = 0), while the

Deviator stress, q (psi)

second specimen was subjected to ua = 300 kPa and 40

s = 200 kPa
uw = 100 kPa(s = 200 kPa). Test results showed 30
no significant difference in soil response under both
s = 50 kPa
test conditions, hence validating the technique (Hoyos 20
et al., 2005).
In this work, four identically prepared specimens of 10

silty sand (SM soil: 80% sand and 20% silt) were sub-
0
ject to a multi-stage testing scheme in which suction
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
was kept constant at 50 or 200 kPa. A soil speci- Principal strain (%)
men was first brought under isotropic stress state and
subsequently imposed a constant-suction, monotonic Figure 12. Silty sand response from TC tests at σoct =
triaxial compression (TC) or triaxial extension (TE) 100 kPa.
shearing until it was apparent that the deviator stress
had reached a peak value. 60
At this point, the specimen was brought back to s = 200 kPa
the initial hydrostatic condition and a new octahedral 50
stress applied via ramped consolidation. The same TC
Deviator stress, q (psi)

s = 50 kPa
40
or TE stress path was then carried out. The suction-
controlled test scheme is depicted schematically on a
30
deviatoric plane in Figure 11.
In this work, the net octahedral stress σoct and devi- 20
ator stress q are both defined in terms of total principal
stresses σ1 , σ2 , and σ3 as follows: 10

σ1 + σ 2 + σ 3 0
σoct = − ua (1) -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
3 Principal strain (%)

1 
q = √ (σ1 − σ2 )2 + (σ2 − σ3 )2 + (σ1 − σ3 )2 (2) Figure 13. Silty sand response from TC tests at σoct =
2 200 kPa.

87
 60 oped apparatus is suitable for testing soils under
suction-controlled conditions using the axis-translation
50 technique. On-going testing involves a wide range of
Deviator stress, q (psi)

stress paths that are not achievable in a conventional

40
cylindrical apparatus, including simple shear (SS) in a
deviatoric stress plane (π -plane). The operational true
30
s = 200 kPa triaxial apparatus will continue to play a fundamental
20 role in the complete characterization of unsaturated
s = 50 kPa soil behavior under multiaxial stress paths that are
10 likely to be experienced in the field.

0
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Principal strain (%)

This on-going research effort has been supported by

Figure 14. Silty sand response from TE tests at σoct = the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Award #
100 kPa. 0216545. This support is gratefully acknowledged.
60

50 REFERENCES
s = 200 kPa
Deviator stress, q (psi)

40 Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive

30 s = 50 kPa
20
10
0 at Boulder, Boulder, CO.
-15 -10 -5 0 5
Principal strain (%)
Figure 15. Silty sand response from TE tests at σoct =
200 kPa.
octahedral stress σoct remains constant. Therefore,
the corresponding minor and intermediate principal
strains were found to be expansive (−) whereas the
major principal strain was compressive (+).
Figures 14 and 15 present the deviator stress versus
principal strain response of silty sand from suction-
controlled TE tests. In these figures, suction is also
shown to have an important effect on the shear resis-
tance of silty sand, with a slight increase for s =
200 kPa. During TE testing, the major σ1 and inter-
mediate σ2 principal stresses are equally increased
while the minor principal stress σ3 is decreased.
Consequently, the major and intermediate principal
strains were found to be compressive (+) while the
minor principal strain was expansive (−).
5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Preliminary suction-controlled testing on silty sand,
as described herein, has shown that the newly devel-
model for par-tially saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40(3),
405–430.
Arthur, J.R.F. 1988. Cubical devices: versatility and con-
straints. Advanced Triaxial Testing of Soil And Rock, STP
977, ASTM, Philadelphia, PA, 743–765.
Atkinson, R.H. 1972. A cubical test cell for multiaxial testing
of materials. Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Colorado
10 15 Bishop, A.W., and Henkel, D.J. 1962. The measurement
of soil properties in the triaxial test. 2nd ed., London,
England: Edward Arnold, 227 pp.
Fredlund, D.G. 1973. Volume change behavior of unsatu-
rated soils. Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alta., Canada.
Fredlund, D.G., and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., NY.
Hoyos, L.R. 1998. Experimental and computational mod-
eling of unsaturated soil behavior under true triaxial
stress states. Ph. D. Dissertation, Georgia Institute of
Technology, Atlanta, GA, 352 p.
Hoyos, L.R., and Macari, E.J. 2001. Development of a
stress/suction-controlled true triaxial testing device for
unsaturated soils. Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM,
24(1), pp. 5–13.
Hoyos, L.R., Laikram, A., and Puppala, A.J. 2005. A
novel true triaxial apparatus for testing unsaturated soils
under suction-controlled multi-axial stress states. CD-
Rom Proc., 16th International Conf. on Soil Mechanics
and Geotechnical Engineering, September 12–16, 2005,
Osaka, Japan, pp. 387–390.
Sture, S. 1979. Development of multiaxial cubical test device
with pore-water pressure monitoring facilities. Rep. VPI-
E-79.18, Dept. Civil Eng., Virginia Poly. Inst. & State U.,
Blacksburg, VA.
Wheeler, S.J., and Sivakumar, V. 1992. Development and
application of a critical state model for unsaturated
soils. Predictive Soil Mech., eds: G.T. Houlsby & A.N.
Schofield, 709–728, London.

88
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A simple shear apparatus for testing unsaturated soils

S. Tombolato, A. Tarantino & L. Mongiovì

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Strutturale, Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy

ABSTRACT: The paper presents a simple shear apparatus developed to investigate shear strength of unsatu-
rated soils. The apparatus is designed to impose a simple shear-constant volume-constant degree of saturation
mode of deformation. Total vertical and shear forces are simultaneously measured by 5 pairs of biaxial load cells
at the bottom surface of the sample whereas negative pore-water pressure can be measured at the top surface of
the sample by 5 pairs of tensiometers. A series of tests was performed on rubber and kaolin specimens to set up
the apparatus and to adjust the experimental procedure in order to achieve a uniform distribution of vertical and
shear forces along the sample. Preliminary results on both saturated and unsaturated compacted kaolin samples
are presented.

1 INTRODUCTION

Shear strength of unsaturated soils controls stability of

artificial and natural slopes above the phreatic surface
and is of major interest in unsaturated soil mechanics.
A simple shear apparatus has been developed at
the University of Trento to investigate shear strength
of unsaturated soils. The apparatus was designed to
shear the sample under constant volume and water con-
tent and, hence, under constant degree of saturation.
Suction is measured at the top surface of the sam-
ple by 5 pairs of Trento high-capacity tensiometers
(Tarantino & Mongiovì 2002). Total vertical and shear
forces are simultaneously measured by 5 pairs of
biaxial load cells at the bottom surface of the sample.
The paper presents a series of preliminary tests per-
formed on rubber and kaolin specimens to set up the
apparatus and to adjust the experimental procedure in
order to achieve a uniform distribution of vertical and
shear forces along the sample. First results on satu-
rated and unsaturated compacted kaolin samples are
then presented to validate the apparatus.
2 SIMPLE SHEAR APPARATUS
2.1 Design criteria
The apparatus was designed to apply a simple shear-
constant volume-constant degree of saturation mode
of strain to a cuboidal specimen as shown in Figure 1.
This mode of strain involves zero horizontal extension
in the direction of shear, εy = 0, together with plain
strain in the orthogonal direction, εx = γxy = γxz = 0
(simple shear), zero vertical strain, εz = 0 (constant
volume), and constant water content which implies
Figure 1. Ideal boundary conditions for simple shear tests.
constant degree of saturation. The only degree of
freedom is then the shear strain γzy .
To ensure constant volume, the specimen is laterally
confined by stacked steel plates and vertically confi-
ned by the loading cap which is locked in place during
shearing (Figure 2). To ensure εx = εy = εz = 0, the
confinement system must be designed to be adequately
stiff. The deformation of the confinement system
could then be assumed to be acceptable when resulting
in negligible error in the measurement of total stress.
To this end, the interaction between the specimen and
the confinement system was numerically analysed and
its different components were designed to produce an
error in the measurement of total stress lower than 5%
(Tombolato 2007). To produce uniform shear strains,
the specimen was bonded to the loading cap and the
cell base using epoxy resin. In addition, a very low
height to length ratio was adopted. The specimen is
300 mm long, 60 mm wide and 10 mm high. This was
expected to minimize the in-homogeneity of stresses
resulting from the non-ideal boundary conditions at

89

Figure 2. Schematic layout of the simple shear apparatus.
the ends of the specimen. To perform tests at con-
stant water content, a system to prevent soil-water
evaporation was designed.
2.2 Simple shear apparatus
The simple shear apparatus is shown schematically in
Figure 2. Its main components are:
– a horizontal support carrying a linear motion sys-
tem;
– a sliding base incorporating load cells sliding hori-
zontally over the horizontal support;
– 10 biaxial load cells 60 mm long and 30 mm wide
arranged in a matrix 5 × 2 used to simultaneously
measure the shear and normal forces at the base of
the specimen;
– stacked steel plates to prevent horizontal deforma-
tion during both compression and shearing;
– a loading cap constrained to move vertically by two
vertical sliders;
– a piston moved by a pneumatic-cylinder to apply the
vertical load during the compression stage;
– two lock nuts to lock the loading cap in order to
prevent vertical deformation during shearing;
– a frame to carry the piston and the lock nuts;
– two lateral supports mounting the two vertical slider
guideways and blocking the horizontal movement of
the cap during shearing;
– a stepper motor to horizontally move the sliding
base.
3 PRELIMINARY TESTS
A series of preliminary tests on rubber and soil
specimens were performed to investigate the force
distribution at the base of the specimen both during
compression and shearing stages and to improve the
uniformity of shear and normal force distribution.
90
3.1 Vertical force distribution during compression
Vertical forces measured by the biaxial load cells
during compression should be ideally uniform. Dif-
ferences may arise from non-uniform soil density, and
hence non-uniform soil stiffness, non-uniform stiff-
ness of the biaxial load cells, and improper coupling
between the soil specimen and the confinement sys-
tem. In turn, this is associated with the unevenness of
the specimen surface and the non-coplanarity of the
biaxial load cells. All these effects were separately
investigated through specific tests.
After installation, the 10 biaxial load cells were not
perfectly coplanar and the bottom surface was shown
to have a step-like profile. Due to these steps not all
biaxial load cells came into contact with the speci-
men at the same average vertical force and this clearly
caused a non-uniform distribution of vertical stresses.
To eliminate steps between the biaxial load cells, these
were mounted on the sliding base using a dynamomet-
ric key to control the torque and the surface formed by
the biaxial load cell was ground.
Although the biaxial load cells and relative bolt
junctions are virtually equal, stiffness is not uniform
due to bending of the sliding base. Initially, two pairs
of sliders were positioned at the ends of the sliding base
causing the sliding base to have greater deflections at
its centre. As a result, the central cells (3a and 3b)
were less stiff than the lateral cells (2a, 2b, 4a and 4b)
which were in turn less stiff than the cells at the edge
(1a, 1b, 5a and 5b) as shown in Figure 3a where the
forces recorded by the biaxial load cells are plotted
against the average vertical force in a test carried out
on a rubber specimen. In order to reduce bending of the
sliding base, 3 pairs of sliders were added in between
the 2 external pairs of sliders for a total of 10 slid-
ers. With such a configuration, the biaxial load cells
exhibited a more uniform stiffness.
The beneficial effect of grinding and of the addi-
tional sliders is shown in Figure 3b, where the vertical
force measured by the biaxial load cells is again plotted
against the average vertical force. The figure shows a
relatively simultaneous loading of the biaxial load cells
and changes in local vertical force with respect to the
applied vertical force appear to be more uniform.
Similar compression tests were performed on soil
specimens, previously compacted outside the simple
shear apparatus. A test performed when the biaxial
load cells had not yet been ground and with only 2
pairs of sliders supporting the sliding base is shown
in Figure 4a. It can be observed that the local vertical
force may vary up 50% with respect to the average
value. Figure 4b shows the vertical force distribu-
tion after grinding the base and adding 3 pairs of
sliders for a total of 10 sliders. It can be observed
that a more uniform stress distribution was achieved
and that unloading of central biaxial load cells is less
 2 2
5b
5a
1b
1.6
1.5
local vertical force (kN)

4a P = 795 kPa
1a

vertical force (kN)

4b

1.2
1 2b

2a P = 493 kPa
0.8
3b
0.5
3a
0.4
P = 287 kPa

0 no contact
2 2
0

P = 800 kPa
5a 1.6
1.5
local vertical force (kN)

local vertical force (kN)

5b
1a
1b 4a
1.2
2a 4b P = 594 kPa
1 2b
3b
0.8
3a
0.5
P = 288 kPa
0.4

0
0
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 0 10 20 30
average vertical force applied (kN) lenght of the sample x (cm)

Figure 3. Test on a rubber specimen. (a) with non-coplanar Figure 4. Test on soil specimen compacted outside the SSA.
biaxial load cells and 4 sliders (b) with coplanar biaxial load (a) with non-coplanar biaxial load cells and 4 sliders (b) with
cells and 10 sliders. coplanar biaxial load cells and 10 sliders.

pronounced especially at high vertical forces. Despite

3.2 Vertical and shear force distribution during
the significant improvement, non uniformities still
shearing
remained.
This was attributed to inadequate coupling between Preliminary shear tests at constant vertical stress were
the surface of the specimen and the confinement carried out on rubber specimens to test the response
system associated with surface unevenness and non- of the biaxial load cells during shearing. A significant
parallelism between the matching surfaces. difference was observed between the total horizontal
To improve coupling it was decided to compact the force measured by the external load cell and the sum
soil powder directly in the simple shear apparatus. of the shear forces measured by the biaxial load cells.
The uniformity of stress distribution improved signif- It was inferred that the resin squeezing out of the spec-
icantly and deviations from the average vertical force imen during compression formed bridges between the
were less than 20%. sliding base and the biaxial load cells and the biaxial
Non-uniform soil density results in non-uniform load cells themselves. To tackle this problem, narrow
soil stiffness and, hence, non-uniform distribution of tape bands were placed to cover the gaps between
vertical forces. To cope with this problem, four vertical the biaxial load cells and the sliding base and the
separators were placed in the stacked plates in order biaxial cells themselves prior to spreading the epoxy
to obtain five compartments, each one including one resin over the biaxial load cells. The tape was 0.1 mm
pair of biaxial load cells, where equal amounts of thick and remained incorporated into the epoxy resin
powder were placed. This procedure improved the uni- layer. Since the tape is more flexible than the epoxy
formity of vertical stress distribution. After this last layer, possible interaction between the load cells will
adjustment, the maximum deviation from the average only be associated with flexural stiffness of the epoxy
vertical force was found to be equal to 10%. layer.

91
4 VALIDATION OF THE APPARATUS 0.5

To validate the simple shear apparatus, tests were 0.4

carried out on saturated kaolin specimens. Two sat-

local shear forces (kN)

urated tests are presented herein. Tests were carried
out on samples directly compacted in the stacked steel 0.3 3b
3a
plates at a water content of 0.3 and vertical pres- 4a 2a
sure of 300 kPa. After installing the tensiometers, 0.2 4b
the specimens were saturated under 300 kPa vertical 5a
stress and then consolidated in steps to different final 5b
2b
vertical stresses: 590 and 820 kPa respectively. The 0.1
1b
specimens were finally sheared at constant horizontal
displacement rate of 5 mm/day. 1a
0
1.6
The vertical force distribution at the different total
vertical forces applied during consolidation and after
locking the nuts is shown in Figure 5. It can be noted

local vertical forces (kN)

that at the end of the tightening process, deviations 1.2
from the average vertical force were less than 7%
if only the 3 central pairs of biaxial load cells are
considered. 3b
0.8 2b 3a
Vertical forces measured by the 10 biaxial load cells 4a 4b
during shearing are plotted versus horizontal shear
5a
strain in Figure 6 for the specimen compressed to
590 kPa vertical stress. 0.4 5b 2a
1a
Vertical force decreased with increase in horizontal
shear strain. Deviations from the average shear force 1b
are significant only for the biaxial load cells at the 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
ends of the specimen (1a, 1b, 5a, 5b). Before peak the shear strain, γxy
maximum deviation of local vertical force from the
average value is about 5% and 7% for the specimens Figure 6. Shear local forces versus shear strain for speci-
compressed to 590 kPa and to 820 kPa respectively. mens compressed to 590 kPa.
A satisfactory uniformity of vertical forces was then
achieved. It is interesting to note the marked change
in slope exhibited by the local vertical force at shear
strain of 0.2 in correspondence with the shear force Local shear forces measured by the biaxial load
peak. This seems to suggest that the peak of shear cells are shown in Figure 6. All biaxial load cells show
force is associated with strain localization. a peak at the same horizontal shear strain of 0.2. Before
peak the variation of shear force versus the shear strain
is very similar for cells with variations with respect to
2 the average value less than 13% and 17% for the first
specimen compressed and second test respectively.
to 820 kPa
1.6
Data in terms of average vertical and shear force as
local vertical forces (kN)

measured by the 3 pairs of central biaxial load cells

also appear to be consistent (Figure 7).
1.2 For both specimens the vertical force has a marked
change in slope at the same horizontal strain. This hor-
specimen compressed
0.8 to 590 kPa
izontal strain corresponds in both tests to the peak in
the shear force. External observation of the relative
position of steel plates confirmed that strains were no
0.4 longer uniform after the peak in the shear force. This
result is also in good agreement with experimental
observations made by Airey et al. (1985) in con-
0
5 15 25
stant volume simple shear tests performed on normally
0 10 20 30
lenght of the samplex (cm) consolidated samples of kaolin.

The stress paths of the effective stresses (σyy , τxy ) on
Figure 5. Vertical force distributions after tightening lock the horizontal plane are shown in Figure 8. To interpret
nuts. these paths, it is necessary to make an assumption

92
 1.6

specimens comp ressed to 590 kPa

400
specimens comp ressed to 820 kPa ( 'yy, yx) 22.3˚

1.2 ( 'yy, yx)

200 15.5˚
vertical force (kN)

0.8 0

-200 ( 'xx, xy)

0.4
( 'xx, xy)
hypotetical
0.5 -400 failure circle

0.4
0 200 400 600 800 1000
'yy, 'xx
shear force (kN)

0.3
Figure 8. Hypothetical circles corresponding to failure on
sub-horizontal planes.
0.2
xy = 0.21

0.1 respectively. It is unreasonable that horizontal stresses

increase by 152 kPa and 232 kPa respectively during
shearing.
0
0.5 On the other hand, if it is assumed that the plane
xy = 0.34
of rupture was vertical, i.e. the vertical plane is the
0.4 plane of maximum stress obliquity, then the angle of
shearing resistance φ  would be given by the following
equation:
0.3
1 1
/ '

2 · tan ϕ  + = (1)
0.2 xy = 0.32 tan ϕ  tan φ ∗

where tan φ ∗ is the stress obliquity on the horizontal

0.1 plane given by:
τxy
0 R = tan φ ∗ = 
= 0.377 (φ ∗ = 20.6◦ ) (2)
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 σyy
shear strai n , xy
According to Equation (1), an angle of shearing
Figure 7. Vertical force, shear and stress ratio measured by resistance of 35◦ was obtained, which is also unreason-
the 3 pairs of central biaxial load cells during shearing for able for kaolin. It may then be concluded that failure
specimens compressed to 590 kPa. occurs on planes that are not planes of zero extension
(vertical or horizontal).
To interpret the tests, an alternative assumption
either of the failure mechanism or of the horizontal needs to be made for the horizontal stress. Accord-
effective stress. ing to Oda (1975) and Wood et al. (1979) the stress
If it is assumed that the plane of rupture is hori- ratio R mobilized on the horizontal planes ratio can

zontal, then the measured stress (σyy , τxy ) should lie empirically be obtained as:
on the failure envelope. In this case, however, the
τxy
resulting horizontal stress would be equal to 552 kPa R= 
= k tan ψ (3)
and 772 kPa for the two tests respectively, which σyy
is significantly greater than the maximum expected
horizontal stress at the end of consolidation, which where ψ is the angle between the major principal stress
was estimated to be about 400 kPa and 540 kPa and the vertical direction and k is a constant equal to

93
0.387 for kaolin (Borin, 1973). The horizontal stress degree of saturation of the macropores instead of the
can then be expressed as a function of the vertical stress overall degree of saturation. SrM can be expressed as
and R as follows: follows:
 
 R2 − k 2  e − ewm
σxx = 1+ · σyy (4) SrM = (7)
k ew − ewm

If the Mohr circles at shear stress peak is drawn
according to this criterion for the two tests, we
obtain Figure 8. The two circles thus obtained can be
enveloped by a straight line passing through the origin
having a slope of 22.3◦ which is a reasonable angle of
shearing resistance for kaolin also according to triaxial
data by Dalbosco (2005) (φ  = 22◦ ) and simple shear
data from Airey and Wood (1987) (φ  = 22◦ ). Fail-
ure planes form at an angle of 12◦ with the horizontal
in both circles. The same orientation of rupture bands
was detected by a polarizing microscope on longitudi-
nal sections of soil specimens removed from the cell
at peak and impregnated with resin.
The Mohr circles drawn in Figure 8 are charac-
terized by σx ∼ = σy . If it is tentatively assumed that
σx ∼= σy at the critical state, then ψ = 45◦ at the crit-
ical state according to Equations (3) and (4). In other
words, the principal axes of stress and strain increment
would be coincident at the critical state. Accordingly,
the horizontal plane would be the plane of maximum
shear stress and the angle of friction mobilized would
be given by:
τxy
R= 
= sin φ  (5)
σyy
where e is the void ratio, ew is the water ratio, and ewm
is the ‘microstructural’ water ratio, which separates
the region of inter-aggregate porosity from the region
of intra-aggregate porosity.
Tarantino (2007) showed that ultimate shear
strength of compacted unsaturated soils can be
described by an equation similar to that of saturated
soils with the effective stress replaced by the modified
average skeleton stress σ  and with ewm determined as
best-fit parameter:
τ = σ  tan φ  (8)
For the compacted kaolin, a value ewm = 0.40 was
estimated from data presented by Wheeler & Sivaku-
mar (1995), a value confirmed by triaxial tests carried
out at the University of Trento (Dalbosco 2005). The
stress path interpreted in terms of σ  and the associated
Mohr’s circle at peak traced assuming that σx = σy
are shown in Figure 9 together with the stress paths
recorded in the saturated tests. The Mohr circle at peak
for the unsaturated specimen appears to be tangent to
the saturated envelope suggesting that shear strength
recorded for the unsaturated specimen is consistent
with Eq. 8.

5 PRELIMINARY TEST ON UNSATURATED

SPECIMEN
saturated tests
400 unsaturated tests
One test was performed on an unsaturated speci-
( ''yy, yx) 22.3˚
men having initial (before shearing) water content
w = 0.22 and initial degree of saturation Sr = 0.6. 200
The effectiveness of the anti-evaporation system
was checked by verifying that suction measured by
tensiometers installed in the loading cap remained 0
constant over a period of time after installation. Dur-
ing shearing, suction remained approximately constant
which was expected as void ratio and water content did
-200
not change during shearing. Initially the test was inter- hypotetical
preted in terms of modified average skeleton stress σ  ( ''xx, xy) failure circle
(Tarantino & Tombolato 2005):
-400
 
σ = (σ + SrM s) tan φ (6)
0 200 400 600 800 1000
where φ  is the saturated critical state parameter, σ ', ''
is the net stress, s is the suction, and SrM is the
degree of saturation of the macropores. In the mod- Figure 9. Stress paths relative to unsaturated tests inter-
ified average skeleton stress, suction is weighed by preted in terms of modified average skeleton stress.

94
6 CONCLUSIONS
The paper has presented an apparatus to test unsatu-
rated soils in simple shear mode of deformation. The
apparatus and the experimental procedure were set up
to obtain uniform stress distribution within the spec-
imen. Experimental data from the tests on saturated
specimens are in good agreement with data available
in the literature. It has been shown that failure planes
are neither horizontal nor vertical and it would appear
that principal axes of stress and strain increment are
coincident at the critical state. For a correct interpre-
tation of simple shear tests, it is necessary to detect
rupture bands and their orientation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Marco Bragagna for his
support in designing and setting up the apparatus. They
also wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Giacomo
Mele from CNR—ISAFOM (Naples, Italy) for car-
rying out the photos of thin polarized sections of the
resin-impregnated samples.
REFERENCES
Airey, D.W., Budhu, M. & Wood, D.M. 1985. Some aspects
of the behaviour of soils in simple shear. In Develop-
ments in soil mechanics and foundation engineering (eds.
P.K. Banerjee and R. Butterfield), Vol. 2, pp. 185–213.
London:Elsevier.
95
Airey, D.W. & Wood, D.M. 1987. An evaluation of direct
simple shear tests on clay, Géotecnique 37 (1): 25–35.
Borin, D. 1973. The behaviour of saturated kaolin in the sim-
ple shear apparatus. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
Dal bosco, A. 2005. Studio sperimentale del comportamento
meccanico di un’argilla costipata non satura e generaliz-
zazione della teoria di stato critico ai terreni non saturi.
Graduate Thesis, University of Trento.
Oda, M. 1975. On the relation τ/σn = k · tan ψ in the simple
shear test. Soils and Foundations, 15 (4): 34–41.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2002. Design and construction
of a tensiometer for direct measurement of matric suction.
In Proceedings 3rd International Conference on Unsatu-
rated Soils (eds J.F.T. Jucá, T.M.P. de Campos and F.A.M.
Marinho), Recife 1, pp. 319–324.
Tarantino, A. 2007. A possible critical state framework
for unsaturated compacted soils. Géotechnique, 57 (4):
385–389.
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Géotechnique, 55 (4): 307–317.
Tombolato, S. 2007. A simple shear apparatus for testing
unsaturated soils from medium to large shear strains, PhD
thesis, University of Trento.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic crit-
ical state framework for unsaturated soil. Géotechnique,
45 (1): 35–53.
Wood D.M., Drescher A. & Budhu M. 1979. On deter-
mination of stress state in the simple shear apparatus.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, 2 (4): 211–221.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A device for simultaneous measurement of acoustic and hydraulic properties

in unsaturated soils

L.A. George & M.M. Dewoolkar

School of Engineering, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA

C. Wei
Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT: Accurately predicting and modeling flow through unsaturated soils is difficult due to the
complexities that stem from the heterogeneities inherent in soil deposits. In simulating subsurface non-
equilibrium flow, it is possible to take into account the heterogeneous nature of the material by using a rate
dependent, dynamic capillary pressure saturation relationship (water retention relationship). A theoretical kinetic
constitutive model which describes the dynamic capillary pressure saturation relationship has been developed.
This model depends on variables which can all be measured in the laboratory. All of these variables have been
previously measured, except for the capillary relaxation time. The capillary relaxation time can be determined
using the velocity and attenuation of low frequency acoustic waves. A device has been developed which will
allow for simultaneous measurement of the acoustic velocity and attenuation as well as the hydraulic properties,
including the static capillary pressure saturation relationship and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function.
This paper describes the details of this device and some preliminary measurements.

1 INTRODUCTION capillary relaxation times and the sizes of local struc-

Heterogeneities in porous media occur at a range
of scales, from the macro-scale to the micro-scale.
Macro-scale heterogeneity can be described in numer-
ical models using varying material properties at the
element level, but intermediate scale or meso-scale
heterogeneity occurs at the sub-element level. These
meso-scale heterogeneities may occur either due to
variations in the structure, such as clay inclusions, or
the distribution of moisture content, in the case of par-
tially saturated media. Characterization of mesoscopic
heterogeneities that may occur in macroscopically
homogeneous porous media is fundamental to under-
standing the behavior of the material, and considering
the effect heterogeneities have on flow and transport
could vastly improve predictive models.
Acoustic techniques provide a powerful means to
characterize meso-scale heterogeneity in porous media
in a non-destructive manner. Several models which
describe wave induced flow have been developed
and applied to evaluate the details of the mesoscopic
structures in porous media (Johnson 2001; White
1975), but none are used to determine the dynamic
effects of capillarity. A procedure has been proposed
which would explicitly evaluate the dynamic capillary
effects, and has been successfully used to infer the
tures in porous media (Wei & Dewoolkar 2006; Wei &
Muraleethanan 2006; Wei & Muraleetharan 2002).
This paper describes the experimental equipment and
procedures which will be used to verify this procedure.
1.1 Acoustic characterization of mesoscale
heterogeneities
When a mesoscopically or locally heterogeneous
porous medium is subjected to an external disturbance,
fluids in different regions respond with different pres-
sures, resulting in local fluid flow (Pride et al. 2003).
Consequently, the macroscopic capillary pressure is
generally a dynamic quantity. The local flow induced
by a stress wave dissipates wave energy, resulting
in intrinsic wave attenuation and velocity dispersion
(velocity depending upon frequency). Such acous-
tical signatures play a key role in determining the
characteristics of local flow and dynamic capillarity.
A visco-poroelastic model that is capable of charac-
terizing the relaxation processes associated with local
fluid flow has been developed (Wei & Muraleethanan
2006). Given the measured acoustical data, specifi-
cally the velocity and attenuation of the compressional
wave, the model can be used to determine the charac-
teristic time of local flow. Since local flow is governed

97
by the details of local heterogeneities, the obtained explain the development and operation of this device,
characteristic times can in turn be used to infer the developed at the University of Vermont.
information on local heterogeneities, and their effects
on macroscopic fluid flow through the dynamic capil-
lary pressure saturation relationship (or water retention 2 THE EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE
relationship) which is described in the next section.
The laboratory device is capable of housing a cylindri-
1.2 Dynamic capillary pressure saturation cal soil sample 100 mm in diameter and up to 125 mm
relationship in height. This large sample size is necessary to allow
the low frequency acoustic wave to travel through the
Generally, unsaturated soil properties e.g. the capillary media for a distance larger than its wavelength. The
pressure saturation relationship and the unsaturated sample is confined by cell pressure in a semi-flexible
hydraulic conductivity function, are measured at static Viton® rubber jacket equipped with an acoustic trans-
or steady state conditions. The capillary pressure satu- mitter and receiver (see Figures 1 and 2). The rubber
ration relationship describes the relationship between jacket was made flexible enough to conform to the
the capillary pressure and the level of saturation in sample under confinement, but also rigid enough to
an unsaturated porous media, it is also known as the house the transducers. The transducers were placed
water retention curve, soil water characteristic curve, on the side of the sample so they would not interfere
or the pressure saturation relationship. These static with the end caps or come in contact with the pore
properties are then used to analyze both steady-state fluid. The device is also capable of utilizing a rigid
and transient flow. An early study by Topp et al. walled sample when the acoustic measurements are
(1967) showed that these properties are rate depen- not needed.
dent, and the assumption that static properties can be The acoustic equipment developed by New Eng-
used in a transient analysis may be incorrect. Recently, land Research, Inc. (NER) of White River Junction,
experimental studies have shown that pressure satura- Vermont, includes flat piezo-ceramic transducers, a
tion relationships obtained through inverse modeling waveform function generator, an oscilloscope and the
of one-step and multi-step outflow experiments were data acquisition system, as seen in Figure 3. The peizo-
influenced by the flow rate (Schultze et al. 1997; ceramic crystals are mounted on titanium heads that
Wildenchild et al. 2001). Other models have been are shaped to the radius of the sample. Canada Bal-
developed to explain this dynamic relationship, i.e. sam, a non-soluble acoustic couplant, is used between
(Hassanizadeh & Gray 1993); this model includes a the titanium head and the soil sample. An absorptive
material coefficient thought to depend on both sat- backing is mounted on the outside of the transducers
uration and the rate of saturation change, but the to reduce reflection of the received waves within the
coefficient is impossible to measure experimentally. transducer.
The coefficient has been found to vary between 104 The flat piezoceramic transducers were cho-
and 107 Pa.s (Hassanizadeh et al. 2002) by analyzing sen because they can produce both shear and
experimental data reported in the literature, but this
formulation has yet to be verified.
A new dynamic capillary pressure saturation rela-
tionship has been developed (Wei & Dewoolkar 2006)
which includes the rate dependence, describes the
hereditary effect of capillarity, and is based on the char-
acterization of local flow caused by heterogeneities.
The dynamic capillary pressure saturation relationship
which has been developed is formulated with com-
monly known and relatively commonly measured soil
properties, (e.g. the static capillary pressure saturation
relationship and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
function, the porosity, density, and shear modulus),
along with one additional parameter, the capillary
relaxation time, which can be determined using acous-
tic techniques (Wei & Muraleetharan 2007).
In order to collect all the parameters needed to
determine the dynamic capillary pressure saturation
relationship, a device capable of simultaneously mea-
suring the hydraulic and acoustic properties of the
porous media is needed. The following sections Figure 1. Schematic of the device.

98

Figure 2. Photograph of the confining cell and soil sample.
Figure 3. Photograph of the entire experimental set up.
compressional waves and because of the relatively
small strains they produce as compared to other trans-
ducers such as bender elements. The linearization
used to approximate the governing equations requires
99
that the deformation of the solid is small (strains less
than 10−7 ). The response of the partially saturated
media is thought to be frequency dependent; there-
fore the acoustic waves are collected over a range of
frequencies. The frequency of interest is in the vicinity
to 10 kHz.
The confining cell is filled with mineral oil in order
to protect the electronic components within the cell.
Conically shaped water reservoirs are located on either
end of the sample, separated from the sample by the
high air entry disc on the bottom and a coarse porous
stone on the top. The water reservoirs are conically
shaped to aid in removal of diffused air bubbles which
may pass through the high air entry disc and are mod-
eled after the work of Lu et al. (2006). The device is
capable of utilizing ceramic, metal or nylon porous
discs. High air entry discs maintain the sample at a
specific saturation by prohibiting air to escape from
the sample.
The experiments presented in this paper used high
entry porous membranes (GE Cellulous Acetate Mem-
branes), with an air entry pressure of 200 kPa and a
pore size of 0.45 μm. The membrane is attached to a
bronze porous plate, 3 mm in thickness to reinforce the
flexible membrane (shown as the HAE disk in Fig. 1).
Air pressure is supplied to the sample through the top
of the sample. The air can be maintained at atmo-
spheric pressure or can be elevated when using the axis
translation technique. A differential pressure trans-
ducer is connected between the water reservoir and
the air pressure supply tube, to measure the capillary
pressure as described in the next section.
3 PROCEDURES
3.1 Measurement of the static capillary pressure
saturation relationship
The static capillary pressure saturation relationship is
a relationship between the level of saturation in a soil
sample and the capillary pressure at equilibrium. The
relationship is determined using a controlled volume
method with the option of axis translation. During a
controlled volume method the saturation in the sample
is changed by controlling the volume of water which is
allowed to leave the sample. Water is withdrawn from
the bottom of the sample at a specific rate (Lu et al.
2006; Olsen et al. 1994). The basic concept behind the
axis translation technique is to control the capillary
pressure (ua − uw ) by elevating the pore air pressure
(ua ) and maintaining the pore water pressure (uw ),
instead of the traditional method of lowering the pore
water pressure and maintaining the pore air pressure.
These methods were chosen because of the shortened
equilibration time associated with the controlled vol-
ume method and the large range of capillary pressures
possible with the axis translation technique. Other
methods may also be employed using this apparatus,
such as suction controlled methods.
The pore air pressure is maintained at a specific
pressure determined by the anticipated capillary pres-
sures of the media being tested. The quantity of water
in the sample (i.e., the saturation) is controlled by a
flow pump connected to a reservoir on the bottom of
the sample. When a volume of water is removed from
the sample, the pump is shut off and the capillary pres-
sures are monitored with the differential transducer.
When the pressures stabilize it is assumed that equi-
librium has been achieved and a point on the static
capillary pressure saturation relationship is obtained.
The saturation is determined by calculating the volume
of water in the sample, and the capillary pressure is
measured by the differential pressure transducers con-
nected between the pore air and the lower pore water
reservoir.
The sample size in this apparatus is much larger than
those traditionally used for measurement of the char-
acteristic curve and a few challenges arise when using
a large sample. Samples used in Tempe cells are typi-
cally approximately 50 mm in diameter and 4–5 mm in
height. Generally it is assumed that the saturation dis-
tribution along the height of the sample is negligible
and the saturation of the entire sample can be taken as
an average calculated using the amount of water with-
drawn. Since this sample is approximately 100 mm in
height there could be a considerable variation in sat-
uration over the height of the sample depending on
the pore size distribution of the sample and the capil-
lary pressure at the bottom of the sample. Several soil
types are being considered in this research to mini-
mize this variation so that the acoustic measurements
are more representative of one level of saturation. The
level of saturation at mid height of the sample will be
calculated considering the variation in saturation and
pressure that occurs over the sample, using a method
similar to Liu & Dane (1995).
3.2 Measurement of the unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity function
Measurement of the unsaturated hydraulic conduc-
tivity function has not yet been attempted using this
apparatus. It is expected that the procedures for mea-
suring the capillary pressure saturation relationship
will have to be modified from that described in the pre-
vious section, in order to also measure the hydraulic
conductivity function simultaneously. There are two
possible methods which will be investigated. The first
approach would use the apparatus as described above;
a constant flow rate would be imposed by withdrawing
water from the bottom of the sample. This withdrawal
would serve to lower the saturation and determine the
hydraulic conductivity. The rate of withdrawal will
100
have to be high enough to impose a gradient across
the sample. Assuming Darcian flow, the hydraulic
conductivity could be calculated from the flow rate
and the imposed gradient. The second approach would
require modification of the apparatus including a sec-
ond high air entry disk on the top of the sample. With
this modification, the methods described by Olsen,
et al (1994) and Lu & Likos (2006) could be utilized.
Here the same amount of water would be injected and
withdrawn from the top and bottom of the sample.
Simultaneously one flow pump withdraws while the
other injects the same volume of water at the same
rate. The pressure head difference that this flow causes
across the sample would be measured by a differential
pressure transducer connected to both water reservoirs,
and the head loss across the porous membranes is con-
sidered negligible. The flow rate and pressure head
loss could be used to calculate the hydraulic conduc-
tivity for each saturation level. Both approaches will
be tested and evaluated.
3.3 Measurement of the acoustic properties
The acoustic properties are measured at the same
time as the capillary pressure saturation relationship
and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function.
Compressional and shear waveforms for a range of
frequencies are taken at each saturation. The com-
pressional and shear waves are produced with the
transducers, which are excited by a waveform function
generator. The received wave is displayed on an oscil-
loscope and the data acquisition system collects the
raw data. The compressional wave velocity and attenu-
ation is determined from the compressional waveform
and is used to determine the capillary relaxation time.
The shear wave velocity can be determined from the
shear waveform and be used to determine the shear
modulus of the soil sample, if desired.
4 PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Preliminary hydraulic testing has been performed on
a sand sample and the static capillary pressure satu-
ration relationship found is shown in Figure 4. This
relationship was found using the procedure outlined
in section 3.1, and the capillary pressures at a point
were computed using software, TrueCell (Liu & Dane
1995), which corrects for the large height of the
sample.
Preliminary acoustic measurements have been
taken on sand samples during separate experiments
from the hydraulic measurements using the device
described above. Figure 5 show an example compres-
sional waveform. The preliminary results indicate that
the device is measuring the acoustic properties of the
sample, without adverse effects from the jacket or end
caps. The procedures which will be used to determine

Figure 4. Static capillary pressure saturation relationship.
Figure 5. Example waveform.
the velocity and attenuation from the waveforms are
currently being developed, but the preliminary mea-
surements are within the range of expected values, and
the trends seen in the velocity as a function of satura-
tion is as expected and as previously shown in partially
saturated limestone samples (Cadoret et al. 1995).
The attenuation of these waveforms will be
determined using a waveform matching procedure
developed by NER, which performs time domain
minimization of the measured waveforms fit to a
constant Q-propagation model prediction. The wave-
form matching algorithm estimates the time-shift and
the attenuation that is needed to convert a reference
(source) pulse into a received waveform that best
matches the observed waveform. The mathematical
basis of the algorithm is straightforward and is just
a matter of computing the effect of passage through
a substance with a band limited constant Q rheology.
This process is superior to traditional spectral ratio
methods in that it provides information on both veloc-
ity and attenuation while providing a more robust test
of model assumptions by fitting the actual waveform
rather than just its power spectrum (Smith 1993).
101
Once both the velocity and attenuation have been
determined the capillary relaxation time can be calcu-
lated, and used to predict the dynamic capillary pres-
sure function using the procedure outlined by Wei &
Muraleethanan (2007). The hydraulic properties of the
sample must also be measured using the procedures
outlined earlier.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The development of a new type of laboratory device
capable of making simultaneous measurements of
acoustic signatures and hydraulic properties, including
the static capillary pressure saturation relationship and
the hydraulic conductivity function on relatively large
soil specimens was presented. The acoustic properties
include the compressional wave speed and attenua-
tion. The measurements of acoustic and hydraulic
properties will be used to quantify the effects that
meso-scopic heterogeneities have on non-equilibrium
flow in macroscopically uniform soil deposits.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The study presented here was supported by Ver-
mont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research (VT EPSCoR), (grant EPS 0236976) and
the Vermont Space Grant Consortium. The authors
are grateful to Dr. George Pinder for his time and
advice, Floyd Vilmont and Kurt Anthony of UVM
for assistance in the apparatus development and Gre-
gory Boitnott, of New England Research, Inc. for
collaboration on acoustic data collection and analysis.
REFERENCES
Cadoret, T., Marion, D. and Zinszner, B. 1995. Influence of
frequency and fluid distribution on elastic wave velocities
in partially saturated limestones. Journal of Geophysical
Research 100(B6): 9789–9803.
Hassanizadeh, S.M., Celia, M.A. and Dahle, H.K. 2002.
Dynamic Effects in the Capillary Pressure-Saturation
Relationship and its Impact on Unsaturated Flow. Vadose
Zone Journal 1: 38–57.
Hassanizadeh, S.M. and Gray, W.G. 1993. Thermodynamic
basis of capillary pressure in porous media. Water Resour.
Res. 29: 3389–3405.
Johnson, D.L. 2001. Theory of frequency dependent acous-
tics in patchy-saturated porous media. Journal of the
Acoustic Society of America 110(2): 682–694.
Liu, H.H. and Dane, J.H. 1995. Improved Computational
Procedure for Retention Relations of Immiscible Fluids
Using Pressure Cells. Soil Science Society of America
Journal 59: 1520–1524.
Lu, N., Wayllance, A., Carrera, J. and Likos, W.J. 2006.
Constant Flow Method for Concurrently Measuring Soil-
Water Characteristic Curve and Hydraulic Conductivity
Function. Geotechnical Testing Journal 29(3): 256–266.
Olsen, H.W., Willden, A.T., Kiusalaas, N.J., Nelson, K.R.
and Poeter, E.P. 1994. Volume-Controlled Hydrologic
Property Measurements in Triaxial Systems. Hydraulic
Conductivity and Waste Contaminant Transport in
Soil, ASTM STP 1142, D.E. Daniel and S.J. Trautwein,
eds., American Society for Testing and Materials,
Philadelphia, 482–504.
Pride, S.R., Harris, J.M. and Johnson, D.L. 2003. Permeabil-
ity dependence of seismic amplitudes. The Leading Edge
22: 518–525.
Schultze, B., Ippisch, O., Huwe, B. and Durner, W.
1997. Dynamic Nonequilibrium During Unsaturated
Water Flow, Characterization and Measurement of the
Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Porous Media; Proc.
Intern. Workshop., Riverside, CA, 22–24 October, 1997,
Riverside, CA: University of California.
Smith, M.L. 1993. Ultrasonic Waveform Matching, NER
Application Note AN93-1, AutoLab Users Manual: New
England Research, Inc.
Topp, G.C., Klute, A. and Peters, D.B. 1967. Comparison
of Water Content-Pressure Head Data Obtained by Equi-
librium, Steady-State, and Unsteady-State Methods. Soil
Science Society of America Journal 31: 312–314.
102
Wei, C. and Dewoolkar, M. 2006. A Continuum Theory of
Nonequilibrium Two-Phase Flow through Porous Media
with Capillary Relaxation, Advances in Unsaturated Soil,
Seepage, and Environmental Geotechnics, Proceedings
of Sessions of GeoShanghai, Shanghai, 6–8 June 2006,
Shanghai: ASCE.
Wei, C. and Muraleethanan, K.K. 2006. Acoustic char-
acterization of fluid-saturated porous media with local
heterogeneities: Theory and application. International
Journal of Solids and Structures 43: 982–1008.
Wei, C. and Muraleetharan, K.K. 2002. A continuum the-
ory of porous media saturated by multiple immiscible
fluids: II. Lagrangian description and variation struc-
ture. International Journal of Engineering Science 40:
1835–1854.
Wei, C. and Muraleetharan, K.K. 2007. Linear viscoelas-
tic behavior of porous media with non-uniform satura-
tion. International Journal of Engineering Science 45:
698–715.
White, J.E. 1975. Computed seismic speeds and attenua-
tion in rocks with partial gas saturation. Geophysics 40:
224–232.
Wildenchild, D., Hopmans, J.W. and Simunek, J. 2001. Flow
rate dependence of Soil Hydraulic Characteristics. Soil
Science of America Journal 65: 35–48.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A modified triaxial apparatus to reduce testing time: Equipment

and preliminary results

J.C. Rojas, C. Mancuso & F. Vinale

Department of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Italy

ABSTRACT: Two triaxial apparatuses capable of testing unsaturated samples under suction-controlled con-
ditions (USPv2) have been developed at the University of Napoli Federico II with the objective of testing time
reduction. Triaxial tests have been performed on reconstituted samples of a pyroclastic silty sand typical of flow
slides in Campania region, Italy. Tests are addressed to evaluate the USPv2 apparatuses and to investigate the
rate of loading influence on the mechanical behaviour of the material. The tests performed with two USPv2
apparatuses, modified in order to control matric suction at both the ends of the soil specimens by the axis trans-
lation technique, presents shorter equalization times with respect to the previous version of the device (USP).
Isotropic compression tests have been performed under a constant suction value of 300 kPa applying different
rates of loading (2, 8 and 32 kPa/h). The experimental procedures adopted and the first results obtained are
presented and discussed in the paper.

1 INTRODUCTION pore-water pressure, uw , and pore-air pressure, ua , at

The mechanical laboratory testing of unsaturated soil
is usually very time-consuming, causing difficulties
in the application to engineering problems. In suction-
controlled CRL (constant rate of loading) triaxial tests,
the length of the drainage path and the rate of load-
ing influences the testing time. As in saturated soil
mechanics, the shorter the drainage path the shorter
the time required to equalize externally applied net
stresses and suctions to the values acting on the soil
skeleton. In unsaturated soils, inappropriate load or
deformation rates have a pronounced effect on matric
suction (Cho & Santamarina 2001, Macari & Hoyos
2001, Huat et al. 2006), and may cause loss of its
effects on the soil structure, and deviation of the
observed behaviour from that expected in constant
suction conditions. The best choice when selecting the
testing rate is to select a value high enough to reduce
the testing time but sufficiently low to avoid excess
pore water or air pressures. Few studies in the liter-
ature address the determination of an adequate rate
of loading during triaxial tests (e.g. Macari & Hoyos
2001; Huat et al. 2006), and more studies are required
in order to increase understanding of the complex
phenomena involved.
With the purpose of reducing testing time, suction
controlled triaxial apparatuses with water and air con-
trol systems at both the ends of the soil specimen
have recently been developed. In these devices suc-
tion is controlled by the simultaneous application of
both ends of the specimen (e.g. Sharma 1998, Romero
1999, Barrera 2002, Schanz & Alabdullah 2007).
From 1994, a triaxial device (USP) has been devel-
oped at the University of Napoli Federico II in order to
test soils under unsaturated conditions (Rampino et al.
1999). In the original version of this cell, a modified
version of a Bishop & Wesley (1975) apparatus and
the axis-translation technique (Hilf 1956) were used,
with pore-air and pore-water pressures controlled at
the top and bottom of the sample, respectively. The
USP device has been used during several testing cam-
paigns to date, for example Aversa & Nicotera (1999),
Bilotta et al. (2005), Vassallo et al. (2007), Casini et al.
(2007), Cattoni et al. (2007) and Papa et al. (2008).
A new design of the apparatus is proposed in this paper
including modifications introduced to reduce testing
time. Also discussed are the experimental procedures
adopted during the tests and some preliminary results
obtained on a moist compacted pyroclastic silty sand.
2 TRIAXIAL APPARATUSES
Two triaxial apparatuses capable of testing unsaturated
samples under controlled-suction condition have been
developed at the University of Napoli Federico II in
association with the company Megaris. A schematic
of the triaxial apparatus, named USPv2 (Unsaturated
Stress Path, 2nd version), is presented in Figure 1. The
cell design is based on the Bishop & Wesley (1975)

103
Figure 1. Scheme of USPv2 triaxial apparatus for unsaturated soils.
hydraulic triaxial apparatus for controlled stress path
testing, with a moving pedestal (Y in Figure 1) that
pushes the soil sample against a stationary internal
load cell. The suction is controlled by means of the
axis translation technique (Hilf 1956). The apparatus
is designed to test unsaturated samples of 38 mm in
diameter and 76 mm in height in both axial compres-
sion and axial extension under either controlled rate of
loading or controlled rate of strain.
The stress state on the tested samples is obtained
by regulating the air pressure supplied by an air com-
pressor (at a constant value of 1100 kPa) through
four electro-pneumatic pressure converters (A, B, C,
D in Figure 1), and controlled in feedback through
the pressure transducers W and R for the pore-air and
pore-water pressures, respectively, and by the pres-
sure transducer G and the load cell M, for the cell
(σc ) and deviatoric (q) stresses, respectively. The out-
put range of pressure converters is 14 kPa to 800 kPa.
The double cell technique is used to monitor the sam-
ple volume changes. An open-top inner cell (E), made
of stainless steel to avoid water absorption from the
measuring device itself, is used inside a conventional
perspex cell (F). Pressurized air is used to provide the
confining pressure above the inner cell E filled with
water. The electro-pneumatic converter C controls the
cell pressure and the pressure transducer G measures
the cell pressure. The volume change of the specimen
is monitored by the change in the volume of water
104
inside the inner cell. The differential pressure trans-
ducer (H) registers the pressure difference between the
water level in the water bath surrounding the soil sam-
ple and the water level of an external reference double
walled burette (I). To minimize water evaporation, a
thin layer of silicone oil above the water surfaces of
the inner cell and the reference burette is applied.
The axial sample deformations are measured by
means of a displacement transducer LVDT (J). The
LVDT is fixed to the top of the external cell and mon-
itors the position L moves relative to the external cell,
allowing the calculation of the axial sample defor-
mation. The electro-pneumatic converter (A) controls
the axial stress: the air pressure passes through the
air-water interface K and is converted to hydraulic
pressure controlling the moving pedestal L and pushes
the soil sample against a stationary load cell M. The
submersible electric load cell (M) is placed inside the
cell and used to measure the deviator load on the soil
specimen. The valve N allows switching from stress
to strain control thanks to a dual axial control. A step-
ping motor (O) driven screw pump is used for the axial
strain control.
The main changes introduced in the USPv2 with
respect to the existing USP (Rampino et al. 1999) is
the inclusion of a double drainage system to shorten
testing time. The bottom pedestal (Q) and the top-
cap (P) in Figure 1 incorporate a combination of two
different porous disks (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Base platen details.
These disks comprise a peripheral standard porous
stone (3 mm thick porous stainless steel) connected to
the pore-air pressure line and an internal HAEV disk
(7 mm thick and 24 mm in diameter) connected to the
pore-water pressure line. Operating with such a sys-
tem suction control and the drainage of air and water
is allowed at both the sample ends. The new design
includes the possibility to change the base pedestal
and the top cap in order to select different values of
the air entry pressure of the HAEV disk.
The electro-pneumatic converter D (Fig. 1) controls
the sample pore-water pressure, and the pressure trans-
ducer R measures it. Changes in soil water content are
obtained via measuring the water volume by means
of two double walled burettes (S and T) connected to
the HAEV disks (P and Q). Any change between the
level of water in the reference burette (S) and in the
measurement burette (T) is determined by means of
the differential pressure transmitter (U). A peristaltic
pump (V) is used to eliminate the air diffused in the
water drainage line. The speed of the pump can be
adjusted with a trim potentiometer, in order to obtain
flow rates from 0.3 l/h to 1.0 l/h. The peristaltic pump
acts on the drainage line flushing water through the
spiral circuit carved inside the base pedestal (Fig. 2)
and top cap, driving the air bubbles into the burette T
and expelling them, acting as an air trap. The arrows
on Figure 1 shows the water path followed during the
flushing process.
The pore-air pressure in the soil sample is controlled
in feedback by the electro-pneumatic converter B and
measured by the pressure transducer W. The tests are
controlled, monitored and recorded by a data acquisi-
tion and control boards data logger connected to a per-
sonal computer. All the required pressures (i.e. axial
load, cell pressure, air pressure and water pressure)
are controlled through a feedback loop mechanism,
the sensors M, G, W and R provide the feedback read-
ings. The pressures are controlled to within ±1 kPa
of the target value. During each testing stage the time,
axial load, cell pressure, pore water pressure, air pres-
sure, total volume change, water volume change and
axial displacement are continuously recorded.
105
Figure 3. Top-cap assembling.
All the electronic, pneumatic and hydraulic parts,
including the pressure gauges and the valves to accom-
plish the test and check the operation are contained in
a control box.
Some measures have been introduced to allow an
accurate sample positioning prior to the tests. The
inner cell hinders the contact between the sample and
the top-cap and connections are required between the
top-cap itself, the water and air drainage. For this rea-
son the design of top-cap has been split into a loading
cup containing the porous elements and a top part host-
ing the joints of the water and air lines (Fig. 3). During
the assembly process, the loading cup is mounted on
the upper part of the sample, and the rubber membrane
is positioned. Subsequently the inner cell is placed and
the top cap is screwed on the top of the loading cap. On
screw tightening, compressive stress is avoided using
an auxiliary split collar to resist the torque and conse-
quently to eliminate torsion acting on the soil sample.
This design greatly simplifies and speeds up the test
set-up.
3 MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Tested soil
The tested soil comes from a flow slide in Cava dei
Tirreni (Italy) having the grading curve represented in
Figure 4. It consists of pyroclastic sand with pumice,
and corresponds to a non-plastic silty sand (SM) in the
Unified Soil Classification System.
3.2 Preparation procedure appeared the most appropriate due to the high content
of fines (i.e. 40 %).
Reconstituted samples have been selected for two rea-
In the Campania region (Italy), pyroclastic soils are
sons: (a) to minimize the samples heterogeneity and
characterized by high void ratios, ranging from 0.7
potentially obtain a more consistent set of data and (b)
to 2.3 (Pellegrino 1967). According to this, two void
to allow comparison with the laboratory data for the
ratios have been selected in this study: e = 1.30, to
analysis of the tests performed on a large scale pro-
validate the improved triaxial apparatuses; and e =
totype of slope recently developed by Pagano et al.
1.66 for soil characterization.
(2008) where the same material is used.
For samples of 1.30 void ratio, consolidated drained
The choice to use reconstituted specimens intro-
triaxial tests were carried out in order to verify
duces the problem of selecting an appropriate prepa-
the repeatability of tests, comparing data obtained
ration method, since the behaviour of granular soils is
with two USPv2 available at the Department of
strongly affected by the procedure selected, especially
Geotechnical Engineering of the University of Napoli
in the case of sands containing fines. Air pluviation
Federico II or by a single apparatus when similar
(AP), water pluviation (WP) and moist tamping (MT)
samples under analogous testing conditions are used.
are the methods found in the literature and consid-
Isotropic compression tests applying different con-
ered here. According to Kuerbis & Vaid (1998) WP
stant rates of loading were performed on samples of
and AP techniques result in segregation when used
1.66 void ratio. Test details are presented in Table 1.
with silty sands as revealed by the presence of thin
The letter L (left) and R (right) identify the two USPv2
lenses of fine particles. In contrast to Vaid et al. (1999)
apparatuses available in the laboratory.
some research indicates that specimens reconstituted
by the MT method tend to be non-uniform compared
to the WP and AP methods (Frost & Park 2003) in
the case of the soil under study here the MT method 4 EVALUATION TESTS

In the first stage of all the tests the desired suction value
is imposed by means of the air and water pressure con-
trol systems while the specimen is subjected to a low
isotropic pressure (p − ua ) = 20 kPa. During equal-
ization the variation of the water volume of the sample
is measured through the twin burettes connected to
the base and top of the sample. The suction equaliza-
tion between the soil sample and the values imposed
through the drainage lines is observed. Figure 4 shows
the two curves corresponding to tests performed on
samples having similar initial conditions and using
the first version of the device and the USPv2 triax-
ial cell. The test performed with the ‘‘old’’ version of
the device (Rampino et al. 1999) having the capacity
to drain water only from the bottom pedestal indicates
Figure 4. Grain-size distribution of Cava dei Terreni soil. that for a suction increasing of 100 kPa equalization

Table 1. Experimental program and main samples characteristics.

Matric suction Net mean stress Initial characteristics

(ua − uw ) (p − ua ) Isotropic compression rate e γd w

Test kPa kPa kPa/h kN/m3 %

L-s100pn100 a 100 100 2 1.30 11.1 28.0

L-s100pn100 b 100 100 2 1.30 11.1 28.1
L-s100pn200 100 200 2 1.28 11.2 28.0
L-s150pn200 150 200 2 1.30 11.1 28.2
R-s100pn200 100 200 2 1.28 11.2 28.0
R-s150pn200 150 100 2 1.28 11.2 28.2
s300 (2) 300 100 2 1.68 9.9 28.5
s300 (8) 300 100 8 1.68 9.9 28.5
s300 (32) 300 100 32 1.68 9.9 28.5

106

Figure 5. Comparison of suction equalization stage when
similar samples are used (suction variation = 100 kPa).
Figure 6. Results of drained shear tests (e = 1.30).
takes 11 days (Fig. 5). Using the triaxial with double
drainage (USPv2) the equalization stage correspond-
ing to the same suction variation just requires 2.5 days.
Theoretically, introducing double end drainage should
reduce equilibration time by a factor of 4. In fact,
107
what has been achieved is 11/2.5 = 4.4 which is very
satisfactory.
Figure 6 illustrates the results obtained during some
deviatoric tests performed with the L and R devices
USPv2. These deviatoric stages follow appropriate
equalization and isotropic compression stages under
constant suction carried out increasing the net mean
stress (p − ua ) at a constant rate (2 kPa/h). The
shearing stage was performed at a constant suction,
constant radial stress and strain controlled conditions
(0.15 mm/h), slow enough to obtain drained condition.
These preliminary tests performed on unsaturated
pyroclastic soil shows the capacity of the systems to
reproduce the experimental results since a similar
sample under similar conditions shows similar results
independently of the apparatus used.
5 PRELIMINARY TEST: RATE OF LOADING
EFFECT
Figure 7 presents some test rsults aimed at the eval-
uation of the influence of rate of loading on the
mechanical behaviour of pyroclastic soils. Similar
samples with a constant suction of 300 kPa were
loaded isotropically applying different constant rate
of loading (i.e. 2, 8 and 32 kPa/h).
In contrast with the observations reported in Huat
et al. (2006), for the studied pyroclastic soil the higher
the rate of loading the lower the sample compress-
ibility. The observed behaviour is similar to the data
reported in Crawford (1964), where different time
intervals were applied during incremental loading (IL)
oedometer tests performed on saturated Leda clay. The
reason for such variation is that as time, t, is increased
the amount of creep of the specimen is also increased.
The data in Figure 7 clearly show that deformation at
constant mean net stress is present in the final stage
of the tests performed at 8 kPa/h and 32 kPa/h. It is
worth nothing that these deformations are likely to
be due to creep phenomena and not to suction vari-
ation. In fact, if a high rate of loading is used, pore
water pressure increases and hence a suction decrease
should be expected during the ‘‘high’’ rate of load-
ing isotropic compression tests. If this was the case,
an increase of soil compressibility with rate of load-
ing must be expected in opposition to what has been
observed during the tests.
Since creep deformations should have developed
during all the tests duration, it is quite obvious that
for the sample s300 (2) compression effects occurred
during the 185 h employed to reach the final net mean
stress (i.e. (p − ua ) = 370 kPa). In samples s300 (8)
and s300 (32) this phenomenon is less evident and the
compressibility is lower since a significantly shorter
time (46 h and 12 h, respectively) is required to reach
the same isotropic compression stress. Figure 7 also

Figure 7. Rate of loading influence (s = 300 kPa; e = 1.68).
shows that it is possible to obtain three different values
for the preconsolidation pressure dependent upon the
choice of rate of loading.
The water content variation at the end of the loading
process is similar for samples s300 (2) and s300 (8),
but lower for sample s300 (32). However, after a period
of time, the water content variation of sample s300 (32)
tends to reach the variation observed for the another
samples.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The University of Napoli Federico II has recently
improved the design of the triaxial cell USP with
the objective of reducing significantly the duration of
tests. This work has resulted in the design of a new tri-
axial cell (USPv2) capable of reducing tests duration
in comparison with the previous version.
The capacity to apply both fluid pressures to the top
and the bottom of the sample has been demonstrated to
108
significantly shorten the equalization stage, introduc-
ing an important improvement of the cell when testing
low permeability unsaturated soils. During isotropic
compression stage, the tested pyroclastic soil showed
rate of loading dependent behaviour. The excess pore-
water pressure generated during the loading process,
that may reduce the suction value, is less signifi-
cant than the creep phenomena for the pyroclastic soil
studied.
Further studies, including isotropic compression
tests at lower suction values, are necessary to general-
ize the observed behaviour produced by the presented
testing program.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of
the European Commission via the ‘‘Marie Curie’’
Research Training Network contract number MRTN-
CT-2004-506861.
REFERENCES
Aversa, S. & Nicotera, M. 2002. A triaxial and oedometer
apparatus for testing unsaturated soils. Géotech Testing J
25(1): 3–15.
Barrera, M. 2002. Estudio experimental del comportamiento
hidro-mecánico de suelos colapsables. Ph.D. thesis. Uni-
versitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain.
Bilotta, E., Cascini, L., Foresta, V. & Sorbino G. 2005.
Geotechnical characterization of pyroclastic soils involved
in huge flowslides. Geotechnical and Geological Engi-
neering, 23:365–402.
Bishop, A.W. & Wesley, L.D. 1975. A hydraulic apparatus
for controlled stress path testing. Géotechnique, 25(4):
657–670.
Casini, F., Vaunat, J., Callisto L. & Desideri, A. 2007. Com-
portamento meccanico di un limo parzialmente saturo
utilizzato per una sperimentazione in centrifuga. Incon-
tro Annuale dei Ricercatori di Geotecnica. Fisciano, 4–6
luglio 2007.
Cattoni, E., Cecconi, M. & Pane V. 2007. Geotechnical
properties of an unsaturated pyroclastic soil from Roma.
Bull Eng Geol Environ 66: 403–414.
Cho, G.C. & Santamarina, J.C. 2001. Unsaturated Partic-
ulate Materials—Particle-Level Studies. J. Geotech. and
Geoenvir. Engrg. 12(1): 84–96.
Crawford, C.B. 1964. Interpretation of the consolidation test.
Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division,
ASCE, 90: 87–102.
Frost, J.D. & Park, J.Y. 2003. A critical assessment of the
moist tamping technique. J. Geotechnical Testing, 26(1):
57–70.
Hilf, J.W. 1956. An investigation of pre-water pressure
in compacted cohesive soils. Ph.D. dissertation, Tech.
Memo. No.654, U.S. Dep. of the Interior, Bureau of
Reclamation, Design and Construction Div., Denver.
Huat, B.B.K., Ali, F.H.J. & Choong, F.H. 2006. Effect of load-
ing rate on the volume change behaviour of unsaturated
residual soil. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering
24: 1527–1544.
Kuerbis, R. & Vaid, Y.P. 1998. Sand sample preparation—the
slurry deposition method. Soils and Foundations, 28(4):
107–118.
Macari, E.J. & Hoyos, L.R. Jr. 2001. Mechanical behaviour
of an unsaturated soil under multi-axial stress states.
Geotechnical Testing Journal 24(1): 14–22.
Pagano, L., Zingariello, M.C. & Vinale, F. 2008. A large
physical model to simulate flow-slides in pyroclastic soils.
First European Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Durham,
UK, 2–4 July 2008.
Papa, R., Evangelista A., Nicotera, N.V. & Urcioli G. 2008.
Mechanical properties of unsaturated pyroclastic soils
affected by fast landslide phenomena. First European
Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Durham, UK, 2–4 July
2008.
Pellegrino, A. 1967. Proprietà fisico-meccaniche dei ter-
reni vulcanici del napoletano (in italian). VIII Convegno
Nazionale di Geotecnica, Cagliari, Italy.
109
Rampino, C., Mancuso, C. & Vinale, F. 1999. Laboratory
testing on an unsaturated soil: equipment, procedures, and
first experimental results. Can. Geotech. J. 36: 1–12.
Romero, E. 1999. Characterisation and thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated Boom clay: an
experimental study. Ph.D. thesis. Universitat Politecnica
de Catalunya, Spain.
Sharma, R.S. 1998. Mechanical behaviour of unsaturated
highly expansive clays. Ph.D. thesis, University of Oxford,
UK.
Schanz, T. & Alabdullah, J. 2007. Testing unsaturated soil
for plane strain conditions: A new double wall biaxial
device. In Schanz (ed.) Experimental Unsaturated Soil
Mechanics. SpringerProceedingsinPhysics112:169–178.
Vaid, Y.P., Sivathayalan, S. & Stedman, D. 1999. Influ-
ence of specimen-reconstituting method on the undrained
response of sand. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 22(3):
187–195.
Vasallo, R., Mancuso, C. & Vinale, F. 2007. Effect of net
stress and suction history on the small strain stiffness
of a compacted clayey silt. Can. Geotech. Journal 44:
447–462.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A large physical model to simulate flowslides in pyroclastic soils

L. Pagano, M.C. Zingariello & F. Vinale

Department of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a large physical model built at the University of Naples Federico II. The
equipment has been developed to study those factors affecting flowslides in pyroclastic soils. The physical model
is presented along with procedures adopted up to now during the first tests; typical results concerning changes
in weight of the sample, soil suction and volumetric water content are plotted and discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION of a physical model to simulate flowslides. The work

In the Campania region the number of rain induced
flowslides has significantly increased in the last
decades. Flowslides involve pyroclastic soil layers
no thicker than 2 meters inclined between 30◦ –45◦ ,
mantling carbonaceous and tuffaceous slopes close
to the Vesuvius volcano and the volcanic area of the
Campi Flegrei Soils involved are non plastic silty
sands with high porosity (ranging between 60–80%).
The high porosity, the lack of electrochemical forces
between soil particles and conditions at saturation or
near saturation are considered to be the main factors
determining soil liquefaction upon failure (Olivares &
Picarelli, 2003). As a consequence, the sliding mass
accelerates significantly, transforming into a rapid
flowslide. The high kinetic energy associated to the
soil mass is what mainly causes damages to buildings
and infrastructures, along with casualties.
In the last years the increasing of risks has stimu-
lated studies aimed at deeply investigating the slide
triggering factors. Some of these factors, such as
the layer thickness, the slope inclination and the soil
porosity, do not change significantly during a rain
event and are typically used to build up suscepti-
ble maps of areas where flowslides are likely to be
generated.
Other factors, such as soil suction and water con-
tent, may vary significantly during a rain event; since
a slide trigger is determined by their changes, they are
now going to be used, along with the rain itself, in
early warning systems.
The above mentioned factors may be investigated
either theoretically, by using mathematical models
solved through numerical approaches, or experi-
mentally, by reproducing such phenomena in lab-
oratory in quite controlled conditions. This latter
approach inspired the development at the Department
of Geotechnical Engineering of University of Naples
has been made possible thanks to the financial support
of Società Autostrade Meridionali. The model is much
larger than other ones developed in the past (Olivares
& Damiano, 2005) in order to permit extending experi-
mental results directly to site conditions, without
dealing with typical troubles related to scaled tests.
The paper describes the physical prototype in all
its components and presents the first experimental
results.
2 TESTING DEVICES AND EXPERIMENTAL
PROCEDURE
Since the slide velocity represents a crucial matter in
the hazard evaluation, the prototype design was con-
ceived to investigate how different factors influence
not only the slide triggering but also the slide post-
failure behaviour. According to these aims, the core
of the physical prototype is made up of two parts sup-
ported by a steel frame: the upper one, where the
flowslide is generated (Fig. 1, tank A); the lower part,
located downstream of the upper one, where the post-
failure behaviour may be observed. This in order to
identify if the kinematics is that of a slow-dry flowslide
or that of a rapid one (Fig. 1, tank B).
The two tanks may also be inclined differently each
other (Fig. 2), to make possible studying geometries
where the inclination that regulates the slide trigger
differs from that governing the post-failure behaviour.
Inclination is provided by two couple of hydraulic
rams, pressurized by a plunger. A first couple or rams
connects part B to the steel plinth and may incline both
parts up to 45◦ with respect to the horizontal plane;
the second couple of rams connects the part A with
the part B and may incline the former with respect to
the latter. In this way, inclination of the sample may
reach 70◦ , or may be reduced down to 0◦ , thanks to the

111

Figure 1. Physical model scheme.
Figure 2. Traveling pluviation system.
particular position at rest of the rams allowing them to
be shortened or enlarged.
Both tanks A and B are 3 × 3 m in plant. The
whole structure has been designed to be loaded by
12 t, so that samples up to 0.7 m thick may be tested.
In the tests carried out up to now the samples have been
fully restrained at the lower boundary, where also free
drainage has been ensured through a geosyntetic sheet.
The soil has been glued (on the base of tank A) at the
bottom contact, in order to make the sliding mech-
anism fully regulated by the soil friction angle. The
bottom of the tank A has been left impervious during
the tests.
Downstream of the part B a third tank collects and
stores the mud after the slide has occurred (Figs. 3
and 4).
In order to put in place samples characterized by
high porosity, a pluvial deposition system has been
designed. To obtain an uniform pyroclastic fall the
soil needs to be preliminary disaggregated and dried.
The whole deposition system is therefore made of
various components, which are outlined below in the
same sequence as they are usually used during sample
making procedure:
– a vibrating sieving, used to break soil particles
aggregates, typically forming in the drying stage
due to soil suction increase;
112
Figure 3. Plan view of conveyer belt around the apparatus.
Figure 4. A schematic section of the whole set of apparatus.
Figure 5. Bucket carrier.
– a oven 8 m long and 0.8 m large, up to which soil is
raised through a buckets carrier (Fig. 5); soil runs
through the oven on a conveyer belt; the oven air
temperature may be raised up to 150◦ C;
– a hopper of around 3 m3 of volume of the same width
as the part A; the hopper puts in place the soil on
part A (Figs. 3 and 4) after has collected it from the
oven; the hopper climbs vertically along four tracks
and runs horizontally above part A along two beams;
the hopper velocity may be set automatically as well
as the start and the end of the hopper run; the hopper
produces the pyroclastic fall through the opening;
to influence the soil density both the fall height and
the opening width may be regulated automatically.
The rain is produced in very small drops falling on
the sample surface. The water is nebulized to reduce
erosion of the sample surface during the test (actually,
erosion is reduced by vegetation which protects the soil
surface). The rain comes out from four nozzles located
at the end of the four arms overhanging the part A
 Figure 7. A detail of the load cell.
Figure 6. Rain simulation system.

inward (Fig. 6). Rain intensity may be controlled and

varied in the range from 20 to 200 mm/h.
During a test the typical measurements carried
out are:
– changes in weight of the sample;
– surface displacements;
– water content;
– soil suction.
Some of monitoring instruments are part of the Figure 8. Plan view of the laser scanner supported by the
moving system.
physical model and have been designed along with
it; other ones are ‘‘external’’, and consist of devices
suitable to monitor the behaviour of a real slope
The instruments which are part of the model
consist of:
– four load cells (Fig. 7), installed as support of part
A; each cell measures continuously in time the six
reaction force components; as a result, changes in
weight of the part A may be obtained; such changes
may be used to derive the sample unit weight during
the soil deposition, the changes in the water mass Figure 9. Laser scanner apparatus.
stored by the sample during the test (as a result of the
rain, seepage processes and run off), the losses of
soil mass associated to the occurrence of landslides (approximately 20 mm); however the P.I.V. tech-
or limited earth flows; nique integrates to some extent the laser scanner
– a 2D laser scanner device (Figs. 8, 9), that acquire technique: it is suitable to monitor the failure and
with the triangulation technique the position of the post-failure stages, when the occurrence of rapid
sample surface, with a depth of scanning of few movements requires high time resolution and the
centimeters; the scanner is moved parallel to the significance of displacements makes poor accuracy
sample surface by a mechanical system; measure acceptable.
accuracy (less that ±0.5 mm) is fully satisfactory,
The external instruments are used to characterize
while the time period needed to scan the entire sam-
the sample hydraulic behavior; they consist of ten-
ple surface is significant (about six minutes), and
siometers and TDR probes to measure soil suction and
makes such technique only suitable to characterize
water content, respectively. They are installed during
the pre-failure stages;
the deposition process at three or four different depths.
– a Particle Image Velocimetry (P.I.V.) technique
based on the interpretation of images taken by a
videocamera pointing normally to the sample sur-
face at a distance of about three meters; results are 3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
in terms of sequence of two-dimensional velocity
fields; these measures are characterized by a good The soil tested is a volcanic ash, made of non plastic
time resolution (up to 25 images per second may be silty sand with gravel (see Fig. 10); it is the same soil
acquired and interpreted) but by a poor accuracy involved in a significant rapid flowslide of 33000 m3

113
occurred on 4th March, 2005 and affected a slope
inclined of 37◦ close to the Nocera town (Salerno).
In the 10 tests carried out up to now, samples 40 cm
thick have been reconstituted, with soil porosity rang-
ing between 60% and 70% (see Tab. 1). The samples
have been put in place taking the part A horizontally;
once put in place, the sample has been wetted about
a week, to decrease suction until to reach the suction
level wished at the beginning of the test. The sam-
ple has been inclined only before the start of the test.
Inclinations ranging between 32◦ and 40◦ have been
adopted for the samples (part A). Part B has instead
been slightly inclined (10◦ ), in order to make more
4 PRELIMINARY RESULTS
During each test the sample hydraulic response has
been characterized by measuring evolution of the
sample weight, soil suction (approximately 20 mea-
surement points) and soil volumetric water content
(4 measurement points). Typical trends of such quan-
tities are plotted in Figures 11, 12, 13.
0.9
0.7

Weight changes (kN)

easy to identify the post-failure behaviour, by maxi- 0.5
mizing differences in the time needed to cover the 0.3
trench between a rapid flowslide and a slow-dry one. 0.1
Up to now, layer thickness, rain history (rain
-0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
intensity = 30 mm/h) and inclination of the tank B
have been kept constant, while the initial state in terms -0.3
of soil porosity and soil suction, along with the sample -0.5
inclination, have been varied. Time (min)

Figure 11. Sample weight changes measured by load cells

(the weight at the start of the test is assumed as zero
reference).

Tensiometer vertical position

HOPPER
5 15 Side direction
2 4 12 14
1 3 11 13 sample surface
-2.00 35.0
20 70 120 170 220 Ten_13
30.0
0.00

25.0 Ten_14

Rain intensity (mm/h)

2.00
20.0
-u w (kPa)

Ten_15
4.00
15.0
6.00 Slide
10.0

8.00 5.0 Rain intensity

(mm/h)
10.00 0.0
Time (min)
Figure 10. Soil grading.
Figure 12. Development with time of soil suction at three
points.

Table 1. Sample characteristics.

TDR probe s ve rtical pos ition
Slope w n Sr HOPPE R
S ide dire ction
1 2 3 4

Test ◦ % % %
s a mple s urfa ce
0.60 35 .0
TDR 1
30 .0
Volumetri c water content

0.50
Rain inte ns ity (mm/h)

1 32 31.09 66.72 41.10 25 .0

TDR 2

2 35 33.21 70.73 36.43 0.40

20 .0
TDR 3

3 32 31.38 70.02 35.62 0.30

15 .0 TDR 4
4 35 25.83 68.33 31.74 0.20
10 .0 S lide
5 37 – – – 0.10 5.0
6 – – – – Ra in inte ns ity
(mm/h)
0.00 0.0
7 37 41.89 62.24 67.59 20 70 120 170 220
Time (min)
8 40 36.35 66.22 49.34
9 35 39.21 62.83 64.71
10 37.5 26.58 67.91 33.29 Figure 13. Development with time of volumetric water
content at four points.

114
 Increments in weight of the sample during the test
(Fig. 11) indicate that the sample stores water. It
is important to note that the small drops in weight
correspond to lost in run off water from the sample
surface and empting of tubes when the rain has been
stopped in order to make possible working with the
laser scanner.
Storing water capability under constant rain inten-
sity however reduces with time, as indicated by the
decreasing of the derivative of the curve. This effect is
manly due to the progressive reduction of soil suction
within the sample (Fig. 12). This reduction lowers the
hydraulic gradients (driving the water drops within the
sample) acting at the sample top surface between the
exterior and the interior of the sample. In the initial
stages, an additional contribution to the same effect
is provided by the time needed for the seeping water
to reach downstream the draining boundary. As well
known, soil permeability increases during the wetting
process. In the initial stages, while the water does not
yet drain through the permeable boundary, soil perme-
ability increments should enhance water adsorption.
However Figure 11 indicates that permeability effects
are not so relevant as that produced by the gradient
reductions.
Consistently to what expressed by Figure 11, ini-
tially the rain appears to the naked eye fully adsorbed
by the sample surface and, then increasingly rejected
by it, with enhancing run off.
The tensiometers (Fig. 12) (installed at the three
different depths of 10, 25, 40 cm from the sample sur-
face) along with TDR probes (installed at a depth of
25 cm), indicate the arrive of the saturation front (i.e.
suction goes to zero as show in Fig. 12 and volumetric
water content goes to zero in Fig. 13). Since the rain
intensity adopted is significant the wetting front cor-
respond to a saturation front that lowers soil suction to
the null value.
The flowslide trigger is clearly indicated by the load
cells with an abrupt decrease in the sample weight
(Fig. 11). The size of the weight drop is related to the
quantity of soil lost in the landslide.
115
On the other hand, the flowslide trigger is anticipa-
ted by soil suction and water content changes. Suction
at the bottom of the sample goes down to zero before
the triggering time (see tensiometer N. 13 in Fig. 12).
In this kind of test, where the sample inclination is
slightly less than the soil friction angle, triggering is
caused by positive pore pressures developing at the
bottom of the sample.
5 CONCLUSION
In this work a physical model to simulate rain induced
flowslides has been presented, explaining how such
device allows one in taking into account the main
factors affecting such phenomena. In the paper the
experimental procedures adopted up to now have been
illustrated. The apparatus may be used also differently
to study the influence of factors such as static and
hydraulic boundary conditions differing from those
adopted, samples thicker, presence of vegetation.
First results have evidenced the effectiveness of
load cells in indicating, through changes in the sam-
ple weight, the history of test in terms of water
mass adsorbed and losses by the sample. Tensiome-
ters and TDR measures may be used to characterize
the hydraulic behavior and to estimate the time after
which the landslide may trigger.
REFERENCES
Olivares L. & Damiano E. 2007. Postfailure Mechanics
of Landslides: Laboratory Investigation of Flowslides
in Pyroclastic Soils. J. Geotech. and Geoenvir. Engrg.,
133(1): 51–62.
Olivares L. & Picarelli L. 2003. Shallow flowslides trig-
gered by intense rainfalls on natural slopes covered by
loose unsaturated pyroclastic soils. Géotechnique, 53(2):
283–288.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Climatic chamber to model soil-atmosphere interaction in the centrifuge

J. Tristancho & B. Caicedo

Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

ABSTRACT: The behaviour of geotechnical structures located close to the surface of the ground, e.g. shallow
foundations, retaining walls, embankments, slopes and pavements is highly affected by water content and pore
pressure of the soil located near the surface where it is in contact with the atmosphere. The objective of this paper
is to describe the design, construction and instrumentation of a climatic chamber used to simulate the tropical
atmospheric variables for small scale models in centrifuge.

1 INTRODUCTION challenges in centrifuge modelling. Since 2003 the

Compressible soils of lacustrine origin in Bogotá
region and other sites around the world show high
deformations originating from the interaction between
the soil and the atmosphere. These deformations
can produce settlements (compaction) or swelling
(expansion).
These problems are of such magnitude that accord-
ing to Jones & Holtz (1973), the economic losses pro-
duced by expansive soils surpass the sum of the losses
originated by earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.
Nowadays, a phenomenon of drying accompanied by
cracking of soils and expansive soil appearance has
been observed in Bogotá (Colombia). As a conse-
quence a great amount of construction and infras-
tructure constructed in the city and its suburbs may
be expected to undergo problems of unpredictable
settlements.
The drying and later expansion of soils in Bogotá
and elsewhere takes place by a complex interaction
between soil and atmosphere. This phenomenon is
associated with the heat and water transference that
affects, in a nonlinear way, the deformation of the
soil. For this physical problem, centrifuge modeling
is an appropriate tool to study the effects of multi-
annual climatic conditions in geotechnical structures
since centrifuge modeling allows acceleration of the
time of the physical process.
This paper contains a brief description of clima-
tology, its main variables and the method of how the
climatic simulation was implemented in the geotech-
nical centrifuge. The objective of this project is to
simulate the main atmospheric variables (for tropical
and subtropical countries) according to the scale laws
that govern centrifuge modelling.
Bolton (2002) proposed that the control of atmo-
spheric boundary conditions as one of the major
University of los Andes, Bogota has been working on
the design of a new device to control the atmospheric
boundary conditions in the centrifuge.
2 THE CLIMATE
The climate is the long term effect of the solar radia-
tion on the earth surface. Climate and its parameters
can be characterized for long periods of time (gen-
erally greater than 30 years), the weather can be
characterized instead for short windows of time. The
physical variables measured to determine the weather
conditions at a certain site are (Holton, 1992):
– Insolation: A measurement of the solar energy
entrance to the atmosphere.
– Air temperature: Direct consequence of the solar
radiation.
– Atmospheric pressure: Pressure exerted by the
atmospheric mass in the earth’s surface.
– Wind speed: Horizontal air movement with respect
to the earth surfaces, caused by the atmosphere
differential pressure.
– Rain intensity: The earth’s water is in constant
process of transformation and movement.
– Humidity: Relation between the dry air and water
vapour that exists in the atmosphere.
The main objective of the new device is to simulate
the typical meteorological parameters present in the
Bogotá region. Therefore the simulation of extreme
climatic parameters such as snow, hail or very strong
winds are outside the scope of this project. Table 1
summarizes the characteristic averages (maximum,
minimum and average) of the principal meteoro-
logical variables for Bogotá’s region based on the
information provided by the weather station of the

117
‘‘El Dorado’’ Airport and the IDEAM (Institute of container moves towards the chamber driven by three
hydrology, meteorology and environmental studies axial discharge fans. Later the air passes through a
from Colombia). dehumidifier prism, based on the psychrometric pro-
Each variable is modelled by independent pieces cess of latent heat elimination by condensation. The
of equipment which were integrated to perform the dehumidifier prism was constructed using the Peltier
complete simulation. The following sections present a effect (Tellurex, 2003), which reduces the temper-
description of the testing equipment used to reproduce ature in the plate receiving condensation (a lower
each climatic parameter. temperature than the dew point). The condensed water
generated by the loss of latent heat is canalized by grav-
ity to a closed deposit, and monitored by an ultrasonic
2.1 Wind, air temperature and humidity level sensor.
Temperature and humidity are the fundamental vari- The air is then canalized to the heating prism that
ables used to determine the weather state of a site increases its temperature using again the Peltier effect.
(Wang, 1999). The existing relation between temper- The use of thermoelectric devices (Peltier plates)
ature, humidity and atmospheric pressure, is complex facilitates the design of the power unit and the con-
and is known as psychrometry (Wang, 1999). trol system. An additional advantage of the use of
A Climatic Simulation Chamber (CSC) located on the Peltier boards in two prisms (dehumidifier and
the upper part of the soil container is designed to heater) is the possibility of inverting its functions:
control these weather parameters. The principle of allowing two heaters or two dehumidifiers working
operation is based on heat transfer for convection, an simultaneously to enhance the power of the chamber.
effective method for heat transfer (Lienhard, 2004). Once the humidity and temperature of the air are
The relative humidity is controlled by means of the adjusted, the air is driven by means of three fans
extraction of moisture by condensation (dew point) towards the container inside. The Peltier plates are
and humidification by dispersion. attached to a heat dissipater and exposed to the out-
Figure 1 shows the internal structure of the Climatic side to allow a more efficient heat transfer (Tellurex,
Simulation Chamber (CSC). The air that is inside the 2003). The fans installed are capable of generating a
wind speed the order of 7.2 m/s (Approx. 26 km/h).
The system at full load is able to make the complete
Table 1. Climatic variables for Bogotá: IDEAM. air interchange on the model every 2 sec.
The calculation of the power needed by the CSC
Variable Max. Min. Average is based on the day-night cycles typical of Bogotá.
Cycles from 0 to 20◦ C and HR (Humidity Relative) of
Insolation (MJ/m2 day) 16.75 14.65 15.7 79% represents an energy change of 145 kJ for the air
Air temperature (◦ C) 20 0 12 inside the chamber (approx. 10 Kg of air). The CSC
Atmospheric pressure (Bar) 0.75 has 10 Peltier plates of 80 W each one. The entire
Wind speed (m/s) 2.2
Rain intensity (mm/year) 1250
time needed for heat addition is 182 sec. One day at
Relative humidity (%) 70 prototype using 20 g corresponds to 216 sec according
to scaling law in the centrifuge.

Figure 1. Internal structure and operational functions of the Climatic Simulation Chamber (CSC).

118
 2.50
LEDs app roach radiation (without the typical indirect effect of warm-
2.00
Solar Irradiance
(sea level)
ing). Taking into account the power needed to simulate
sun radiation respecting scaling laws in the centrifuge
Irradiance [W/m²μm]

1.50 it would be necessary to use optic technologies to con-

centrate the light. Another effect is the influence of the
1.00
electromagnetic radiation of the solar light on the soil.
0.50
Due to these technological constraints, the present ver-
sion of the CSC does not have the capability to simulate
0.00 sun radiation.
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800
Wavelength [μm]

2.3 Rain
Figure 2. Solar radiation at the sea level and modeling
approach. Rainfall is one of the mechanisms by which soil is
humidified the soil and is a very important factor in
the determination of water tables, saturation of soils
The atmospheric pressure was not taken into and erosive processes (Craig et al., 1991). The typical
account for the modelling due to technical difficulties size of a water drop is 4 mm. According to the laws
in making changes on the pressure inside the container. of scaling the approximate diameter of a drop must be
The development of systems to control the pressure of 20 μm at 20 g. Systems of nebulization for green-
in centrifuges can help to increase the mechanical houses were used in this work to simulate the size of
and electrical efficiency of the machine as well as to the drops which have on average a diameter less than
improve modelling (Craig et al., 1991). 50 μm depending on the pressure.
The control system is based on a pressurized line
of water with 12 sprinklers, controlled by an electro
valve. The rain is generated by opening of the electro
2.2 Solar radiation
valve and controlling the rainfall over specific times.
The sun is the fundamental source of energy for the
climate. The transference of energy from the sun to
2.4 Other variables
the ground occurs by radiation (Holton, 1992). Solar
radiation is produced by electromagnetic waves having During testing heat transference appears between the
different wavelengths (visible, infrared and ultraviolet container and the atmosphere. This loss of heat can be
light). Figure 2 shows the solar spectrum for sea level significant (Lienhard, 2004). Good performance of the
(dark line). CSC in controlling the climatic variables during testing
Modelling of solar radiation can be performed by depends on the limitation of this additional load.
means of light sources. Each source of light has its own With this energetic condition, the design of a
characteristic spectrum: the illumination lamps are new container that allows a minimum loss of heat
optimized for the visible light; the greenhouse lamps was carried out (adiabatic container). Metals have
have a spectrum with a high level of infrared and some high coefficients of thermal conductivity, thus a new
parts of the visible spectrum but without ultraviolet material is needed to replace the steel casing.
light (spectrum with high efficiency in plant photo- Materials based on fibre-glass present good fea-
synthesis); ultraviolet lamps are used in disinfection tures in terms of strength, stiffness and low thermal
and finally infrared lamps are used in medicine. conduction but their high hardness made them inap-
To obtain the best approximation to the solar light propriate for this application (Lienhard, 2004). The
it is necessary to create a lamp composed of several selected material is a phenolic resin with cotton fibre,
types of light. A new method of lighting is based on used commercially as a dielectric but also has a high
high power Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Every LED mechanical resistance, a good workability and low
has a determined wavelength (i.e. colour) and power. absorption. This material combined with a metallic
By means of optimization software and by changing external structure is retained for the container design.
the number of LEDs, it is possible to achieve a com- The container is designed to support pressures up
bination shown in Figure 2 (gray line). The obtained to 0.5 MPa without any significant deflection in order
approach is near 75% of the real spectrum of the sun. to respect adequate conditions for plane strain mod-
The mean total radiation at Bogotá is els. Figure 3 shows the results of the finite element
15.7 MJ/m2 day (approximately 182 W/m2 for one simulation (FEM) of the final design. The accumu-
day of 12 hours of light). According to the laws of lated maximum deflection obtained is 0.5 mm at 1 MPa
scaling in centrifuge it would be necessary to gener- internal pressure. The basket has a total mass of 65 kg
ate a power in the model of 1.3 kW. This value of and a total capacity of 0.09 m3 . The maximum heat
radiation is huge considering that it must be effective flux is 0.02 W/cm2 .

119
 Step motor
X axis

Step motor
Y axis

Laser displacement Additional

sensor Sensors

Figure 4. Three-dimensional laser profilemeter.

Figure 3. FEM analysis of the basket for maximum defor-

mation (Pressure of 0.5 MPa).

3 INSTRUMENTATION CSC

The control system set inside the CSC is a closeloop Basket

Three-dimensional
system (Ogata, 2004). All the variables that are con- laser profilemeter
trolled are measured. The CSC has the following 550mm
instrumentation:

– 2 Relative humidity sensors

– 3 Contact thermometers
– 1 Infrared thermometer
– 1 Pressure sensor
– 1 Wind velocity sensor
The interaction between the atmosphere and the
soil induces water migration and volumetric changes.
These volumetric changes generate heave or settle-
ment causing cracks to appear at the soil surface.
A positioning table of two degrees of freedom with
a non-contact laser sensor is used to perform the
displacement measurements during flight (Doebelin,
1993). The surface level is measured for different posi-
tions of the laser sensor and the measurements are
carried out periodically to determine the evolution of
the soil surface movements. Figure 4 shows the final
design for the three-dimensional laser profile-meter.
The positioning table has a longitudinal precision
of 0.1 mm and transverse precision of 10 μm and
effective stroke of 430 mm and 230 mm. In addition
to the displacement sensor, the following sensors are
installed:
– Infrared thermometer: with this sensor is possible
to generate thermal maps of the surface
– Relative humidity sensor
– Contact thermometer (air temperature)
– Wind velocity sensor
550mm
664mm
Figure 5. Climatic modelling system for geotechnical cen-
trifuge.
The total assembly of the designed system for the
physical modelling of the soil-atmosphere interaction
in centrifuge is presented in Figure 5.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Climatic conditions in tropical countries have a strong
influence on civil engineering constructions. All
weather parameters affect the soil in a non-linear
way that makes numerical modelling difficult. Cen-
trifuge modelling instead could be a useful way to
study soil atmosphere interaction in these situations.
The climatic chamber presented in this paper is a
first approximation to simulate geotechnical problems
related with weather since the chamber reproduces the
atmospheric parameters at the soil surface. However
additional works are necessary to enhance the capacity
of the chamber.

120
 The centrifuge accelerates processes like wetting
and drying therefore important future effort in the
development of control systems is needed to reproduce
cyclic behaviour. The simulation of sunlight radiation
needs light concentration in order to respect the scaling
laws in centrifuge.
REFERENCES
Bolton, M. 2002. An atmospheric chamber for the investi-
gation of the effect of seasonal moisture changes on clay
slopes. Physical modeling in Geotechnics: ICPMG’02,
Tokyo 765–770.
Craig, W., Bujang, B. & Merrifield, C. 1991, Simula-
tion of Climatic Conditions in Centrifuge Model Tests.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, GTJODJ, Vol. 14, No. 4,
406–412.
121
Doebelin Ernest. 1993. Diseño y aplicaciones de sistemas de
medición. DIANA (ed.).
Holton, J.R. 1992. An introduction to dynamic meteorology.
Academic Press (ed.).
Jones, D. & Holtz, W. 1973. Expansive soils-the hidden
disaster. Civil Engineering, pp. 49–51.
Lienhard, J. 2004. A Heat Transfer TextBook. PHLogiston
Press (ed.). pp. 141–171.
Ogata, K. 2004. Ingeniería de Control Moderna. Prentice
Hall.
Tellurex Corporation, 2003. A guide to temperature Control
of thermoelectric systems. Tellurex.
Vargas, J. 2003. Modelación Física en Centrífuga, de un
Muro Pantalla Apuntalado en Suelos Blandos de Bogotá,
Universidad de los Andes.
Wang, S.K. & Lavan, Z. 1999. Air-Conditioning and Refrig-
eration. Mechanical Engineering Handbook. Frank Kreith
(ed.). pp. 11–13.
White, Frank. 2001. Fluid Mechanics. McGrawHill.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Experimental determination of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

in compacted silt

J.J. Muñoz, V. De Gennaro & E. Delaure

Ecole des Ponts (Université Paris-Est, Navier Inst. – CERMES), Paris, France

ABSTRACT: Experimental data of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity were determined in aeolian silt taken
from Jossigny, east Paris. This test was performed by means of the instantaneous profile method (Daniel 1982).
An infiltration column of 50 mm in diameter and 200 mm height was used. The soil was statically compacted
by means of the double piston method. The suction profiles were measured with four home-made high capacity
tensiometers located at different heights. The tangent of the suction isochrones permits the determination at each
point of the hydraulic gradient i = ∂ψ/∂z, with ψ being the water potential or suction head. Consequently, the
variation of hydraulic conductivity as a function of suction has been determined. A reduction of two orders of
magnitude of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was determined.

1 INTRODUCTION Finally, the third method, also known as the instan-

In order to determine the hydraulic conductivity in
unsaturated soil, more complex experimental methods
are required than in saturated soils. As in saturated
soils, these methods can be performed in transi-
tory or stationary conditions. Existing techniques
to determine the permeability of unsaturated soils
can be broadly categorized in three main methodolo-
gies. The first one, the so-called Gardner’s method
(Gardner 1956), proposes the use of the Richards’s
cell (Richards 1931). This method determines the
hydraulic conductivity in transitory conditions. It con-
sists in measuring the time evolution of the water
volume that moves out of the sample due to a gas
pressure increment, which in turns means a suction
increment, as the suction s = pg − pw where pg
and pw are the gas pressure and the water pressure,
respectively.
The second method, the so-called Corey’s method
(e.g. Green & Corey 1971), determines the hydraulic
conductivity in stationary condition. A constant suc-
tion is applied to the sample by means of axis transla-
tion technique. Positive gas pressure (pg ) and water
pressure (pw ) are applied at the bottom of sample,
where pg − pw > 0. The same pressure increment
is applied to both gas and water at top of sample
taneous profile method (Daniel 1982), consists in
measuring the variation of the suction profile within
an infiltration column as a function of time during the
infiltration process. The suction measurements can be
performed by means of tensiometers or psychrome-
ters, depending of the expected suction range. The
knowledge of the water retention curve (WRC) of the
soil allows the determination of the water content pro-
file from the suction profiles and its correlation with
the corresponding hydraulic conductivity.
In this paper, the determination of the hydraulic
conductivity of compacted unsaturated silt by means
of the instantaneous profile method will be presented.
2 MATERIAL
The laboratory test was performed on aeolian silt taken
from the eastern region of Paris, near to Jossigny vil-
lage. Jossigny silt can be classed as low plasticity soil
in the Casagrande chart.
The clay minerals contained in Jossigny silt are
illite, kaolinite and inter-stratified illite-smectite
(Cui & Delage 1996). The geotechnical properties of
Jossigny silt are given in Table 1.
The WRC of the Jossigny silt was determined
pg = pw . The gas pressure and water pressure are in confined conditions with a suction-controlled
respectively pg + pg and pw + pw at top of sample,
and pg and pw at bottom of sample. A constant value
of suction is applied in whole sample. The hydraulic
conductivity is determined from the water volume evo-
lution measured during a given time interval due to
gradient of pressure applied at each fluid.
123
oedometer by means of axis translation technique fol-
lowing a wetting path (Casini et al. 2007; Figure 1).
No significant swelling properties have been observed
on wetting. Experimental data of WRC were fitted
adopting the expression proposed by Van Genuchten
(1980).
Table 1. Geotechnical properties of Jossigny silt (after
Cui & Delage 1996).

wL wP IP % % γs

(%) (%) <2 μm >80 μm kN/m3

37 19 18 34 4 27.2

1000

100
Suction [kPa]

10

1
Experimental data
Van Genuchten
0.1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Degree of Saturation

Figure 1. Water retention curve in wetting path of Jossigny

silt (data after: Casini et al. 2007).

 1 −λ
 s  1−λ
Sl = Srl + (Sls − Srl ) 1 +
P
where Sls = 1.0 is the maximum saturation, Srl =
0.0 is residual saturation, s is the suction [kPa], P =
8.67 kPa and λ = 0.217 are the soil parameters.
The soil was oven-dried at 40◦ C. Afterwards, soil
aggregates were mechanically broken up to pass an
800 μm sieve. The dry soil powder was wetted to a
water content of 12.5%, equivalent to an initial suc-
tion of 400 kPa. Subsequently, the wetted soil was
stored in an airtight container for 24 hours in order to
homogenize the soil moisture. The soil was then stat-
ically compacted in an infiltration column of 50 mm
in diameter and 200 mm height at a dry unit weight
of γd = 14.5 kN /m3 . The double piston technique
was used in the compaction process (Cui & Delage,
1996).
3 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
(1)
Figure 2. Suction measurements with four tensiometers
installed in the infiltration column.
Suction is measured by means of a saturated high air
entry value ceramic porous stone (capillary pressure
threshold equal to 1500 kPa). The tensiometers were
saturated in a saturation cell filled with de-mineralized
and de-aired water. A positive pressure of 2000 kPa
was applied by means of a pressure-volume control
system (GDS) during 24 hours. The calibration curve
of the tensiometers was determined by means of the
applied positive pressure and the electrical signals of
the strain gauge.
The water content profiles of each suction
isochrone were determined by means of the water
retention curve (equation 1). For a given time t, the
determination of tangents of one suction isochrone
gives at every point the hydraulic gradient (2).

The time evolution of suction profile during the infil- ∂ψ

tration process was measured inside of an infiltration i= (2)
∂z
column of 50 mm in diameter and 200 mm height (Cui
et al. 2001). Suction measurements were performed
by means of four homemade high capacity tensiome- where i is the hydraulic gradient, ψ the water potential
ters (Mantho 2005; Cui et al. 2007), placed at 40, or suction head and z is the height.
80, 120 and 160 mm from the base of the column The water volume (V ) infiltrated between two in-
(Figure 2). stants t and t + t at a given point, was deduced from

124
the difference between the water content isochrones 0
corresponding to both instants, that is: -50

Water pressure [kPa]

-100
⎛ H ⎞
H -150

V = A⎝ θt+t dz − θt dz ⎠ (3) -200

-250
zi zi -300
-350
where: A is the sectional area of the column, w is the -400
water content, H is the total height of the column and -450
0 12 24 36 48 60 72
zi is the current height considered. Time [hours]
The water flux q between time t and t + t was Tensiometer 6 (z = 40 mm)
computed as indicated in equation (4). Tensiometer 7 (z = 80 mm)
Tensiometer 9 (z = 120 mm)
  Tensiometer 10 (z = 160 mm)
H H
θt+t dz − θt dz Figure 3. Time evolution of suction measured at four dif-
zi zi
q=A (4) ferent elevations during equalization phase (48 hours) and
t subsequent wetting phases.

The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K was cal-

culated from the ratio between the water flux and the 0
hydraulic gradient following Darcy’s law. An average -50
Water pressure [kPa]

value of hydraulic gradient between two distinct time -100

increments was considered, as shown in the following -150
equation: -200
-250
1 2q -300
K= (5) -350
A (it + it+t ) -400
-450
48 49 50 51 52 53
4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Time [hours]
Tensiometer 6 (z = 40 mm)
Tensiometer 7 (z = 80 mm)
Figure 3 shows the time evolution of suction measured Tensiometer 9 (z = 120 mm)
at four different elevations during the equalization Tensiometer 10 (z = 160 mm)
phase. Forty eight hours were required for suction
equalization in the 350 kPa–400 kPa suction range, Figure 4. Time evolution of suction measured during the
until reach a uniform suction profile. Suction equal- infiltration phase.
ization was followed by subsequent wetting up to full
saturation.
Figure 4 shows the details of the time evolution of where z is the column elevation and so is the initial suc-
suction during the wetting phases shown in Figure 3. tion. The parameters α and β have been determined
The advancing front of water saturation is clearly adopting the minimum square method in order to fit
depicted from the tensiometers measurements. More the measured suction profile. The isochrones of water
than three hours were required to reach almost full content were determined from suction isochrones
water saturation (i.e. nearly zero suction values) on using the water retention curve shown in Figure 1 and
the top of the soil column at an elevation z = 160 mm equation (1).
(tensiometer 10, Fig. 4). It is worth noting that important suction changes
Figure 5 shows both the isochrones of suction occur within the first 1.83 hours up to an elevation of
(Fig. 5a) and the isochrones of water content (Fig. 5b), 120 mm. In this zone the mass transfer occurs mainly
determined after 0.46, 0.94, 1.83, 3.08 and 7.0 hours in the liquid phase, whereas above 120 mm the likely
of water infiltration. The suction distribution with mechanism of mass transfer is related to the water
the elevation has been computed by means of the vapour. Since the former is generally quicker than the
equation (6): latter suction changes in the upper part of the column
  are recorded later on, after 3.08 hours of elapsed time.
 1 −β
 z  1−β For this condition the corresponding change of water
s = s0 1− 1+ (6) content is of about 2% (Fig. 5b). Condition of almost
α
full water saturation along the whole column height

125
 200 200

160 160

Initial state t = 0 sec

Height [mm]

120 120
Tensiometer (t = 0.46 hours)
t = 0.46 hours
Tensiometer (t = 0.94 hours)
80 80 t = 0.94 hours
Tensiometer (t = 1.83 hours)
t = 1.83 hours
40 40 Tensiometer (t = 3.08 hours)
t = 3.08 hours
Tensiometer (t = 7.0 hours)
t = 7.0 hours
0 0
0 100 200 300 400 0.3 0.2 0.1 0
Suction [kPa] Water content
a) b)

Figure 5. Water infiltration test: (a) isochrones of suction and (b) isochrones of water content.

1E-006 1
Saturated hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity [m/s]

Relative permeability K/Ksat

1E-007 0.1

1E-008
0.01

Y = 8.5187E-08*X-0.591
R2 = 0.992
1E-009
1000 100 10 1 0 0.001
Suction [kPa] 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Degree of saturation
Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
Saturated hydraulic conductivity Hydraulic conductivity
Figure 6. Hydraulic conductivity as a function of suction. Fit

Figure 7. Relative hydraulic permeability as a function of

degree of saturation.

(i.e. almost null suction values) is attained for an

elapsed time of 7.0 hours.
The variation of the hydraulic conductivity as a The saturated hydraulic conductivity was deter-
function of suction is shown in Figure 6. In this work mined by applying a positive pressure at the base of
the gradients were obtained graphically from Figure 5. the column by means of a pressure-volume controller
Eight data points were obtained taking the average GDS® . The corresponding value was 3.67 × 10−7
gradients between two isochrones at every height m/s. The evolution of the hydraulic conductivity with
(40, 80, 120 and 160 mm. Also the gradients could suction (i.e. saturation) seems to reflect the general
be obtained differentiating equation (6). findings observed in saturated and partially saturated

126
soils. Note that these results suggest a reduced effect
of the hydraulic gradient and the general reliability
of Darcy’s law when coupled with the instantaneous
profile method.
This is not necessarily the general trend observed
when important microstructural changes are associ-
ated with suction changes, as in the case of high
swelling soils (e.g. Cui et al. 2001).
Finally, Figure 7 shows the variation of the relative
permeability computed as a function of degree of sat-
uration. Data on relative permeability were fitted by
equation (7).
   β n
Kr = Sl 1 − 1 − Slλ (7)
where Sl is the degree of saturation. The parameters
λ = 0.138, β = 2.0E − 04 and n = 0.55 have been
determined adopting the minimum square method in
order to fit the relative hydraulic conductivity.
5 CONCLUSIONS
An infiltration test was conducted on remoulded silt
statically compacted in an undeformable column. The
results were analysed using the instantaneous profile
method (Daniel 1982).
The suction profiles were derived from the suc-
tion measurements obtained by means of four high
capacity tensiometers equally spaced along the col-
umn height. The reliability of suction tensiometers was
successfully verified.
A saturated permeability of 3.67 × 10−7 m/s
was found considering constant head condition and
stationary flow. The variation of the unsaturated
hydraulic conductivity derived following Daniel’s
method showed an increase of soil hydraulic conduc-
tivity for decreasing values of suction, as is often
observed in partially saturated conditions. For suc-
tion values of 400 kPa a hydraulic permeability of
3.11E−09 m/s was obtained. Note that this unsaturated
hydraulic conductivity is two orders of magnitude
smaller than the saturated permeability (1.18E+02).
Within the explored suction range, from 0 kPa to
400 kPa (i.e. Srw varying between 100% and 33%),
results obtained on Jossigny silt indicate reduced
127
effects of the hydraulic gradient and the applicabil-
ity of Darcy’s law. This might not be the case when
higher suction levels are considered, as possible influ-
ence of microstructural changes could be involved in
the assessment of the hydraulic properties.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The financial support of EU RTN ‘‘MUSE’’—
Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils for Engineering,
RTN—Marie Curie Actions) is kindly acknowledged.
Authors wish to thank Prof. Y.J. Cui for providing the
suction probes used during this study.
REFERENCES
Casini, F., Muñoz, J.J., Lourenço, S., Vaunat J. & Pereira, J.M.
(2007). Technical Report: Results of the first centrifuge
campaign al LCPC facilities, Nantes, France.
Cui, Y.J. & Delage, P. (1996) Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotechnique 46, N◦ 2,
pp. 291–311.
Cui, Y.J., Loiseau, C. & Delage, P. (2001). Water transfer
through a confined heavily compacted swelling soil. In
Proc. 6th Int. Workshop on Key Issues in Waste Isolation
research-KIWIR, ENPC Paris), 43–60.
Cui Y.J., Tang A.M., Mantho A. & de Laure E. (2007).
Monitoring field soil suction using a miniature ten-
siometer. Geotechnical Testing Journal, vol. 31 (1),
doi:10.1520/GTJ100769.
Daniel D.E. (1982). Measurement of hydraulic conductiv-
ity of unsaturated soils with thermocouple psychrometers.
J. of Soil Science Society of America, 20 (6): 1125–1129.
Gardner, W.R. (1956). Calculation of capillary conductivity
from pressure plate out-flow data. Soil Science Society of
America Proceedings 20, 317–320.
Green, R.E., & Corey, J.C. (1971). Calculation of hydraulic
conductivity: a further evaluation of some predictive
models. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings,
35: 3–8.
Mantho, A.T., (2005) Echanges sol-atmosphère application
à la sécheresse. PhD. Thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et
Chaussées, Paris, France.
Richards L.A. (1931). Capillary conduction of liquids
through porous mediums. Physics, 1 (5), 318–333.
Van Genutchen, M.T. (1980). A close-form equation predict-
ing the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Journal
Soil Science Society of America 44, pp. 892–898.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Testing for coefficient of permeability of a sandy soil

in the residual state zone

N. Ebrahimi-Birang
Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

D.G. Fredlund
Golder Associates Ltd., Saskatoon, SK, Canada

L. Samarasekera
Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

ABSTRACT: A series of evaporation tests were conducted in an environmentally controlled room in order
to determine the unsaturated coefficient of permeability function for Beaver Creek sand in the residual state
zone. Two boundary conditions were applied at the top of the evaporation column; namely, i) ‘‘radiation and
wind’’ treatment, and ii) ‘‘wind’’ treatment. The results of the tests indicated that the ‘‘wind’’ treatment was more
suitable method for the determination of the unsaturated coefficient of permeability function in the residual state
zone. Further tests also revealed that the steady state conditions that appeared to be reached in a fairly short
period of time (i.e. 3 to 4 days) might be an ‘‘apparent steady state’’ condition.

1 INTRODUCTION The primary objective of this research project was

An understanding of the permeability function for an
unsaturated soil is required in modeling the unsat-
urated seepage problems. Estimation methods have
often been used to determine the permeability func-
tion. Most of the available estimation methods show a
continuous decrease in unsaturated coefficient of per-
meability, kw , with increasing suction (or decreasing
water content). A continuous decrease in the kw with an
increase in soil suction can cause numerical instability
because of the high nonlinearity and the computing
difficulties associated with extremely small num-
bers. More importantly, an unlimited decrease in the
value of kw fails to simulate actual water flow condi-
tions since other moisture transfer mechanisms may
cause moisture flow at relatively high soil suctions
(Wilson et al. 1994, Gitirana Jr. & Fredlund 2003).
Ebrahimi-Birang et al. (2004) suggested a lower limit
of 10−14 m/s for kw . Due to restrictions associated
with experimental measurements, the unsaturated per-
meability behaviour of soils remains largely unknown
in and beyond the residual state zone.
Amongst the methods that have been used for the
measurement of the unsaturated coefficient of per-
meability, the evaporation method can be used to
measure small coefficients of permeability in the
residual state zone.
to measure the unsaturated coefficient of permeabil-
ity in and beyond the residual state zone and also to
investigate the mechanism of flow in a porous media
when using an evaporation test. During the steady
state evaporation method some interesting results were
observed. The presentation and discussion of these
results are the scope of the current paper.
2 BACKGROUND
The evaporation method to simultaneously measure
the soil-water characteristic curve and permeability
function was first introduced by Wind (1968). The
method was a transient method and involved itera-
tive calculations. Arya (2002) provided information
regarding the modifications, commercial equipment,
procedure and calculations associated with determin-
ing the unsaturated coefficient of permeability. The
advantages and disadvantages of the method were also
presented.
Mehta et al. (1994) used the steady state evapora-
tion method to determine the unsaturated coefficient
of permeability. Recently Fujimaki & Inoue (2003)
applied the method with some modifications. The
principle of the method is based on the assumption
that the evaporation rate will start from the maximum

129
rate (i.e. potential evaporation) when the soil col-
umn is saturated and will reduce with time and stay
constant as the rate of the evaporation reaches the con-
stant inflow rate which is applied from the bottom of
the column. The inflow rate is always less than the
potential evaporation rate. The test must be run in an
environmentally-controlled room. In other words, the
potential evaporation must be constant throughout the
test. Equation 1 is used to calculate the coefficient of
permeability. It must be noted that the soil-water char-
acteristic curve must be measured separately. Research
results have shown that steady state conditions appear
to be reached within 2 to 3 days for a sandy soil.
 
aτ Dva ρv∗
q− ρw Rv T exp Rψv T ∂ψ
∂z
k(ψ) = ∂ψ
(1)
∂z −1
where q = ql + qv , ql and qv = the liquid-water and
water-vapour fluxes respectively, cm/s; z = depth,
cm; a = the air-filled porosity, cm3 /cm3 ; τ = the tor-
tuosity factor; Dva = the diffusion coefficient of water
vapour in free air, g/(cm2 · s); ρv∗ = saturated water
vapour density; ρw = the density of water, g/cm3 ;
Rv = gas constant for water vapour, 4697 cm/K;
T = temperature, K; and ψ = soil suction.
3 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
The soil-water characteristic curve for Beaver Creek
Sand and details of the evaporation tests procedure are
presented in the following sections.
3.1 Soil used
The Beaver Creek sand was used in this research study.
The sand was air dried, passed through the sieve #10
(2 mm) and washed thoroughly in order to minimize
the amount of salt. Then the properties of the soil were
measured. Table 1 summarizes some of the properties
of the Beaver Creek Sand. The soil will be referred to
as ‘‘Sand’’ throughout the paper.
3.2 SWCC
Hanging column method, Pressure plate (Tempe Cell
and Fredlund Cell) and Chilled Mirror Dewpoint
Table 1. Properties of Beaver Creek sand.
Soil properties Beaver Creek sand
Sand 99.5 %
Silt and Clay 0.5 %
Specific gravity 2.65
130
technique (WP4-T apparatus) were used to measure
the soil-water characteristic curve of the sand for entire
range of suction from zero to 1,000,000 kPa. The
equation proposed by Fredlund & Xing (1994) was
used to fit the experimental data. Figure 1 shows the
experimental data and fitting SWCC for the sand. The
air entry value for the sand was 1.7 kPa and residual
suction state was reached at about 5 kPa.
3.3 Evaporation test
The soil column design, preparation of soil specimens
and the evaporation test procedure are presented in the
following sections.
3.3.1 Soil column
Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the soil column
used in this study. The column is made of a Plexi-
glass tube with an inside diameter of 70 mm and a
length of approximately 160 mm. Several holes were
drilled along the column for the installation of the ther-
mocouples. Eight thermocouples could be installed
horizontally at different depths. These depths were:
4.5, 14.5, 24.5, 34.5, 49.5, 72, 112.5, and 147 mm.
Some ports were also drilled around the perimeter of
the tube to retrieve water content and electrical conduc-
tivity samples. The sampling ports in the top 40 mm
of the column were smaller (5 mm in diameter) allow-
ing sampling in closer proximity. There were three
sampling ports for each depth in the top section of the
column. The ports in the lower part of the column had a
diameter of 10 mm. Soil samples could be taken from
16 different depths (i.e. 5.5, 10.3, 15.4, 20.5, 25.6,
30.7, 35.8, 40.9, 50.5, 60.4, 70.3, 80.5, 90.5, 100.5,
110.5, 120.5, 130.5, and 140.5 mm). The sampling
ports were plugged using rubber stoppers during the
test. A heat insulation jacket was used to prevent hor-
izontal heat transfer in the upper part of the column.
A porous plate with low air entry value was placed on
a grooved pedestal. The column was attached to the
pedestal using five bolts and nuts.
3.3.2 Preparation of the soil sample
The air-dried sand was mixed with a given amount of
water to produce a gravimetric water content of 17%.
The soil was left in a plastic container with a tight
lid for a day. A Plexiglass tube with a diameter equal
to that of the soil column was taped to the column
to increase its height. The soil was placed into the
column. In order to create a uniform soil, a vertical
force was applied on top of the soil through a load
cap. Extra soil was trimmed from top of the column.
The column was slowly placed on the pedestal and
fastened using the bolt and nuts. It should be noted
that samples for the SWCC tests (section 3.2) were
prepared using a similar procedure. However, the soil
 Hanging column
30

25
Gravimetric water content

Tempe Cell and Fredlund Vapour pressure

SWCC apparatus method
method
20
(%)

15
Fredlund and Xing equation
10
Experimental data
5

0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil suction (kPa)

Figure 1. Soil-water characteristic curve of Beaver Creek sand.

70 mm Relay

Bulb
Heat insulation jacket

Electric Fan
Rubber stoppers

70 mm
Sampling Thermocouples

Rubber stoppers
Thermocouples
150 mm

Heat insulation jacket

150 mm
Sampling
ports

O-rings
ports

GDS
Data Logger
Porous plate
Grooved pedestal

Electronic Balance
O-rings
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the evaporation tests.

through rubber stoppers at specified depths along

Porous plate
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the soil column used in the
evaporation test.
samples were extruded into stainless steel rings for the
SWCC test.
3.3.3 Test procedure
The soil column was placed on an electronic balance
(Fig. 3). Thermocouples were horizontally installed
the column. The thermocouples were attached to a
CR1000 Campbell Scientific data logger to monitor
temperature during the test. The temperature of the
Grooved pedestal ambient air above the soil column was also monitored
using two thermocouples. The soil column was satu-
rated by applying slow flow of distilled water from the
bottom of the column. After saturation, the top of the
soil was covered with a plastic sheet. The system was
left overnight to reach equilibrium. A fiberglass tube
was cut and placed around the top part of the column.
Two pieces of Velcro were used to tighten the fiberglass
around the column. A syringe pump (GDS apparatus)
was attached to the column from the bottom through a
plastic tube and a needle. The pump was programmed

131
to apply a specified amount of distilled water into the 2560
column (0.36 cm3 /hr). The bottom porous plate had 2540
an air entry value of 1.8 kPa. The evaporation test was

Weight of the column (g)

2520
initiated by removing the plastic cover. An electric
fan was used above the column to promote the evap- 2500
oration. The weight of the soil column was recorded 2480
during the test using an electronic balance connected to 2460
a computer. The readability of the balance was 0.01 g.
The evaporation tests were conducted using two 2440

types of top boundary conditions; namely, i) ‘‘radi- 2420

ation and wind treatment’’ and ii) ‘‘wind’’ treatment. 2400
In the ‘‘radiation and wind treatment’’ an attempt was 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
made to keep the temperature constant and equal to the Elapsed time, day
room temperature along the soil column using a lamp
and a relay. Figure 4. Change in the weight of the column for ‘‘wind
All tests were conducted in an environmentally- and radiation’’ treatment.
controlled room. The room temperature was about
25.5◦ C and the relative humidity was about 26%. Temperature, ˚C
To minimize the effect of the radiation on evapora-
20 22 24 26 28 30
tion, all lights were turned off during the test. The 0
temperature and relative humidity in the room were 20
also recorded using a hygrometer. 40
Depth (mm)

60 T = 25.4°C
t = 100 min
80
t = 2830 min
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 100
120
4.1 Weight of the column 140
160
Figure 4 shows the change in the weight of the col- t = 2830 min t = 100 min
umn during the evaporation test for the ‘‘wind and 5a. “Radiation and wind” treatment
radiation’’ treatment. Steady-state conditions appear
to have been reached after 3 to 4 days. A similar result Temperature, °C
was obtained for the case of the ‘‘wind’’ treatment. Fur-
17 19 21 23 25
ther investigations have shown that this condition may 0
not be a ‘‘true steady state’’ condition (see section 4.4). 20
Further study is required with regard to ‘‘true steady t = 7000 min
40
Depth (mm)

state’’ conditions. 60
t = 400 min

80
100
4.2 Temperature profiles
120
Figure 5 shows temperature profiles during early 140
stages of the evaporation and after what appears to 160
be ‘‘steady state’’ conditions. Temperature gradients t = 7000 min t = 400 min

are greater for the case of the ‘‘wind treatment’’.
For the case of the ‘‘radiation and wind’’ treatment
the temperature profile did not change substantially
after ‘‘apparent steady state’’ conditions were reached.
As can be seen in Figure 5a, the attempt to control
temperature seems to be successful. The temperature
gradients appear to be small. Further investigation is
needed to determine the effect of temperature gradient
on the flow through the soil.
4.3 Water content profiles
Water content profiles are shown in Figure 6 for
both cases. For the case of the ‘‘radiation and wind’’
5b. “Wind” treatment
Figure 5. Temperature profiles for a) ‘‘radiation and wind’’
treatment, b) ‘‘wind’’ treatment.
treatment it can be inferred that the coefficient of per-
meability cannot be determined for water contents
below 5%. The corresponding suction for a water
content of 5% is about 5 kPa (see Fig. 1). However,
the water content profile for the ‘‘wind’’ treatment
shows that it is possible to determine the correspond-
ing coefficient of the permeability for water contents
below 5%.

132
 Gravimetric water content (%) Time (min)
0 5 10 15 20
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
0 0
20

Decrease in weight (g)

20
Depth (mm)

40
40
60
80
60 Removing a layer of
100 80 Soil from the surface
120 100
140 120
160 140
160
6a. “Radiation and wind” treatment
Figure 7. Weight of the column versus time for the ‘‘wind’’
Gravimetric water content (%)
treatment.
0 5 10 15 20 25
0
20 EC (ds/m)
40 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Depth (mm)

0
60
20
80
40

Depth (mm)
100
60
120
80
140
100
160
120
140
6b. “ Wind” treatment
160

Figure 6. Water content profiles for a) ‘‘radiation and wind’’ Figure 8. Electrical conductivity profile for the ‘‘radiation
treatment b) ‘‘wind’ treatment. and wind’’ treatment (soil:water = 1:5).

4.4 Steady state condition

Equation 1 can be used along with the soil-water
characteristic curve and the water content profile to
calculate the coefficient of permeability provided a
‘‘true steady state’’ condition is reached.
Further tests must be conducted to determine if the
observed steady state condition was truly a steady state
condition. The evaporation test with the ‘‘wind’’ treat-
ment was continued for a longer time after reaching
an apparent steady state condition. The results of the
change in the weight of the sand column are shown
in Figure 7. After initiating the evaporation process,
the weight of the column started to decrease. Then the
weight remained constant for a couple of days (i.e. the
steady state condition appeared to be reached). After a
day or so the weight of the column started to increase
indicating that the outflow rate (evaporation rate) was
becoming less than the inflow rate. In other words
the evaporation rate was still decreasing. There are
two possible reasons for the increase of the weight: i)
accumulation of the salts in the top layer of the soil
and/or ii) break in the liquid-water continuity between
the top and bottom of the column. These two reasons
are discussed in the following sections.
4.4.1 Salts accumulation
Measurement of the salt profile after reaching the
apparent steady state condition showed that the
electrical conductivity, EC, of the soil in a thin layer
of the soil surface was much higher than the EC for
the bottom layers (Fig. 8). Electrical conductivity was
measured for the samples with soil to water ratio of 1
to 5. It is possible that this may be related to the rea-
son why the weight starts to increase. If so, then the
‘‘steady-state condition’’ should resume by removing
a thin layer of the soil from top of the column. As can
be seen in Figure 7 this did not happen and the weight
of the column continued rising at the same rate.
4.4.2 Break in the hydraulic continuity
of liquid water
To examine the hydraulic continuity of the liquid water
throughout the soil column, a separate evaporation
test was conducted. A soil column was prepared in a
similar manner as before except that the porous plate
with an air entry value of 100 kPa was used. The
inflow rate was also increased to 0.9 cm3 /hr. After
the apparent steady state condition passed and the
weight of the column started to increase, the inflow
rate was reduced to zero. As was expected a decrease
in the weight of the column was observed after stop-
ping the inflow rate as shown in Figure 9. The slope of
the weight change line corresponds to a rate of evapo-
ration of 0.0101 cm3 /min. The rate of evaporation did
not change when compared with the rate before reduc-
ing the inflow rate to zero. This may be attributed to

133
 Time (min) was promoted with an electric fan above the soil col-
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 umn. While controlling of the temperature seemed to
0
be successful, the water content profiles indicated that
5
the ‘‘radiation and wind’’ treatment might not be a
Decrease in weight (g)

w = 0.0101t + 0.2718
10 suitable method in order to measure the coefficient of
RR22= 0.9999
15 permeability for the range of water content below 5%.
20 On the other hand, the results for the ‘‘wind’’ treatment
25 were encouraging.
30 Continuing the evaporation test for a long time
35 showed that the ‘‘true steady state’’ condition may not
40 have been reached during the short run of the evap-
oration tests. Two hypothesis were examined for the
Figure 9. Decrease in the weight of the column (evapo- reason why the steady state condition may not have
ration) versus time after reducing the inflow rate (inflow been attained; namely, i) accumulation of the salt in
rate = 0).
the surface of the soil and reducing the evaporation
as a result, and ii) break in the hydraulic continuity
Gravimetric water content (%) of the liquid water between the bottom and top of the
0 5 10 15 20 25
soil. Further investigation showed that the latter rea-
0 son may provide the best explanation. Further tests
20 Porous plate (AEV = 1.8 kPa) are currently being conducting where the water table
Inflow rate = 0.36 cm3/hr
40 will be held constant within the soil column at a shal-
Depth (mm)

60 Porous Plate (AEV =100 kPa) low depth. Hopefully, ‘‘hydraulic continuity’’ will be
80 Inflow rate = 0.9 cm3/hr
maintained between the top and bottom of the column.
100
120
140
160 REFERENCES

Figure 10. Water content profiles for two different condi-
tions at the bottom of the column.
the fact that there was no hydraulic continuity of liquid
water between the top and bottom of the soil column.
Plotting the water content profiles for the two dif-
ferent cases provides further evidence that it is possible
that the liquid water was not hydraulically connected
between the top and bottom parts of the column
(Figure 10). The two cases created the same water
content profile at the top of the soil while the bottom
parts were different due to the change in inflow rate
and the bottom plate. In other words, the top portion
of the column was solely controlled by the ambient
conditions.
5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
A series of the evaporation tests were conducted on a
sand column in an environmentally controlled room.
The aim was to reach steady-state conditions during
the evaporation tests and to determine the permeability
function in the residual state zone. Two boundary con-
dition treatments were tested, i) ‘‘radiation and wind’’
treatment, and ii) ‘‘wind’’ treatment. In the case of the
‘‘radiation and wind’’ treatment, an attempt was made
to control the temperature of the soil column using a
relay and lamp system. In both cases the evaporation
Arya, L.M. 2002. Wind and hot air methods. In J.H. Dane &
G.C. Topp (eds), SSSA Book Series: 5, Methods of Soil
Analysis, Part 4—Physical Methods: 916–926. Madison,
Wisconsin: Soil Science Society of America Inc.
Ebrahimi-Birang, N., Gitirana, Jr. G.F.N., Fredlund, D.G.,
Fredlund, M.D. & Samarasekera, L. 2004. A lower limit
for the water permeability coefficient. Proceedings of the
57th Canadian Geotechnical Conference: 12–19, 24–27
October 2004. Quebec city, Canada.
Fredlund, D.G. & Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil
water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal
31(3): 521–532.
Fujimaki, H. & Inoue, M. 2003. A flux-controlled steady-
state evaporation method for determining unsaturated
hydraulic conductivity at low matric pressure head values.
Soil Science 168(6): 385–395.
Gitirana, Jr., G.F.N. & Fredlund, D.G. 2003. From experimen-
tal evidences towards the assessment of weather-related
railway embankment hazards. Keynote address, Proc. of
the International Conference on ‘‘From Experimental Evi-
dences Towards Unsaturated Soil Practice’’, Sept. 18–19
Weimar, Germany.
Mehta, B.K., Shiozawa, S. & Nakano, M. 1994. Hydraulic
properties of a sandy soil at low water contents. Soil
Science 157(4): 208–214.
Wilson, G.W., Fredlund, D.G. & Barbour, S.L. 1994. Coupled
soil-atmosphere modeling for soil evaporation. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal 31(2): 151–161.
Wind, G.P. 1968. Capillary conductivity data estimated by
a simple method. In P.E. Rijtema & H. Wassink (eds),
Proc. Wageningen Symp. on Water in the Unsaturated
Zone, Paris, June 1966, Vol. 1: 181–191 Int. Assoc. of
Scientific Hydrol., Gent/Brugge/UNESCO.

134
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Preparation of unsaturated soils by oedometric compression

B. Caicedo, J.C. Ulloa & C. Murillo

Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá D.C., Colombia

ABSTRACT: The study of unsaturated soils for laboratory tests or physical modeling requires a well controlled
preparation method. Usually the procedures for unsaturated soil preparation include different compaction meth-
ods controlling water content and voids ratio. However the traditional compaction techniques using blows or
kneading reduces the possibility of controlling the stress path during soil compaction. Although a uniaxial com-
pression process allows soil preparation under controlled vertical stress, the whole stress path remains unknown.
This paper describes a fully instrumented oedometric apparatus that allows the measurement of vertical and
horizontal stress as well as the suction and water content during the oedometric compression test. This new
oedometric apparatus is used to prepare unsaturated soils made of mixtures of sand and kaolin. The sensors
on the oedometric cell allow the measurement of suction and water content during soil preparation. The results
obtained confirm the satisfactory operation of the oedometer and show that this apparatus could be an important
tool to investigate the anisotropic response of the unsatrated compacted soils.

1 INTRODUCTION these tests soils are submitted to different stress paths

The increasing interest in physical modelling of unsat-
urated soils has heightened the need for soil prepara-
tion techniques suitable to predict the behaviour of
soils during modelling. Of particular interest is the
prediction of the expansive or collapse behaviour of
soils prepared using different compaction techniques.
Studies have been carried out in order to establish
controlled methodologies to reproduce intermediate
unsaturated soils. These procedures can be grouped
into two main techniques: (i) the inclusion of a cement-
ing material in sandy soils (Abdulla et al. 1994, Dupas
et al. 1979, Ismail et al. 2000) and (ii) mixtures of
clay and sand compacted by uniaxial compression
(Brandon et al. 1991, Kimura et al. 1994, Boussaid
et al. 2005, Murillo et al. 2006).
However these methods suffer from some limita-
tions mainly concerning the possibility of controlling
the stress path during compaction. In fact, traditional
compaction techniques using blows or kneading make
impossible any knowledge of the stress path during
compaction. Although uniaxial compression allows
soil preparation under controlled vertical stress, the
whole stress path remains unknown.
Compacted materials are fundamentally unsatu-
rated soils having expansive or collapsible behaviour
which is strongly dependent on their negative pore
water pressure and their stress history. These soils
have been traditionally studied using a set of suc-
tion controlled triaxial and oedometric tests. During
and different cycles of drying and wetting in order to
analyze their compressibility behaviour. Since these
tests are suction controlled tests, the time necessary to
characterize the soil takes several weeks or months.
As an alternative suction monitored apparatus (tri-
axial or oedometer) allows the characterization of
unsaturated soils in a fraction of time compared with
suction controlled apparatus (Blatz and Graham 2003,
Jotisankasa et al. 2007).
The main objective of this paper is to present
a method to investigate the stress—strain—suction
paths during the preparation of unsaturated soils by
vertical stress compaction. For this purpose this paper
presents a new oedometer apparatus having the capa-
bility to measure the horizontal stress, suction and
water content during compaction. Tests on samples
made of a mixture of sand and kaolin are carried out
in order to verify the performance of this new oedome-
ter apparatus, however the results in this paper focus
on kaolin.
2 MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT
2.1 Material properties
The materials used for the tests are different mixtures
of sand and clay. The sand is rounded, well graded
silica sand having a specific gravity of 2.45. The clay
is kaolin having liquid limit w1 = 55, plasticity index
Ip = 29, and a specific gravity of 2.8. The mixtures

135
are obtained by combining different dry masses of vertical compression. The modifications to perform
silica sand and kaolin with water. Previous standard the path measurements include:
compaction tests were performed in order to measure
– A capacitive cylindrical water content sensor
the optimum water content and the maximum dry den-
installed in the centre of the sample (Figure 2).
sity of the samples. Table 1 shows the sand and clay
– Three psychrometers to independently measure the
proportions of the mixtures and the proctor standard
suctions.
results: water content, dry density and void ratio at the
– A linear variable differential transducer (LVDT) to
optimum water content.
measure the vertical displacement.
– A load cell to measure the vertical load.
2.2 New suction monitored oedometer apparatus – Three miniature load cells to measure the horizontal
Figure 1 shows the oedometric cell used for the stress.
testing. The cell was designed to measure the The psychrometers are monitored using a Campbell
stress-strain and suction-water content paths during Scientific CR7 data acquisition and control system.
The displacement and loads were measured using an
Table 1. Soil properties. Advantech ADAM data acquisition system. The oedo-
metric cell is installed on a Wykeham Farrance press
Sand Kaolin wopt ρd
Sample % % % kN/m3 E
in order to perform oedometric tests with controlled
strain rate.
1 88 12 12 18.5 0.258
2 65 35 13 18.8 0.269
3 0 100 29 14.5 0.482
3 TESTING PROGRAMME

Two tests were carried out for each mixture. One of

these tests was performed at the optimum water con-
tent and compacted up to 9 kN vertical load (2.62 MPa
vertical stress). On the other test the soil is mixed at
70% of the optimum water content and compacted up
to 3 kN vertical load (0.90 MPa vertical stress).
The vertical compression test was performed hav-
ing one unloading/reloading stage and the oedometric
test was a constant rate of displacement test. This type
of test allows the continuous measurement of the verti-
cal and horizontal stresses as well as the water content
and suction.
Increase in water content is allowed after the
unloading—reloading process by opening the bottom
saturation valve and applying 20 kPa water pressure.
During this process the loading piston remains at the
Figure 1. Modified oedometric cell.
same position as at the end of the compression stage;
therefore the expansive or collapse behaviour appears
as the vertical load increases or decreases.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSION

4.1 Results for kaolin with high compaction stress

Figures 3 to 9 show the results of the sample compris-
ing 100% kaolin and compacted up to 2.62 MPa. On
these figures the different phases during the test are
identified by the points A to D:
– Initial state point A
– Loading point B
– Unloading point C
Figure 2. Capacitive water content sensor. – Wetting point D

136
 800 2500 B
D 2000
600
D
(kpa)

1500

q kpa
400 B 1000
h

C 500 A
200
0
A C
0 -500
0 1000 2000 3000 0 400 800 1200 1600
v (kpa) p (kpa)

Figure 3. Vertical and horizontal stress. Figure 4. p-q path.

The oedometric cell has a set of miniature load sen- 2500 B

sors that allows the measurement of the horizontal 2000
stress. Figure 3 shows measured vertical and horizon- D
1500
tal stresses and it appears there is different behaveiour
depending on the direction of loading. The first stage q kpa 1000
(A-B) corresponds to the loading stage; this stage 500 A
could be characterized by two linear stages that prob-
ably correspond to an overconsolidated stage and a 0
C
normally consolidated stage. During unloading (B-C) -500
the horizontal stress at first remain constant and then
decreases. When the vertical stress reaches zero a hor- 0 0.1 0.2 0.3
izontal stress of 200 kPa is measured. The reloading 1

path (C-B) is almost linear, corresponding to elastic

behaviour. Finally, during wetting, a small decrease in
vertical stress and a more importantly an increase in
the horizontal stress are apparent. These results show
an important anisotropic behaviour since it appears
to show a small collapse in the vertical direction and
expansion on the horizontal direction.
One of the main advantages of measuring the
horizontal stress during loading is the possibility of
calculating the p-q path. Figure 4 shows the p-q path
during loading, unloading, reloading and wetting.
This figure shows a number of features: non-linear
behaviour during loading, mainly at low stress levels,
then approximate linear behaviour for high levels of
stress. During unloading and reloading the p-q path is
fairly linear but shows a hysteresis. During wetting,
the deviatoric stress decreases and the isotropic stress
remains almost constant.
Figure 5 shows the relationship between axial strain
and deviatoric stress. As the test starts with the soil in
a loose state, the initial part of the loading stage (A–B)
shows a large axial strain without a significant increase
in deviatoric strain; however for small strain (ε1 <
0.01) the deviatoric stress grows at higher rate than in
the second part of the loading stage corresponding to
intermediate strains (0.01 < ε1 < 0.1). This higher
slope could be the trace of an initial elastic domain.
After unloading (point C) a negative deviatoric stress
is measured which is the consequence of combining
Figure 5. Relationship between axial strain and deviatoric
stress.
zero axial stress with positive horizontal stress. Finally
on wetting a reduction in deviatoric stress appears with
any change in axial strain.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between specific
volume and mean stress. This figure appears to show
a clear elastic domain in the first part of the loading
stage. As compression starts with the soil in a loose
state, this elastic domain is the consequence of an over-
consolidated behaviour due to the initial suction. This
initial elastic domain is characterized by a line parallel
to the unloading reloading stage (B–C).
After this initial elastic phase the specific volume
reduces at higher rate, during which the degree of sat-
uration of the sample grows and the suction reduces.
During wetting an insignificant change in mean stress
is recorded therefore on Figure 6 points B and D are
superimposed.
Figures 7 and 8 show the evolution of suction dur-
ing testing. Figure 7 shows the relationship between
the suction and the volumetric water content θw , and
Figure 8 shows the relationship between suction and
isotropic stress. As observed on these figures, the new
oedometric cell allows the measurement of the suction
curve during compression.

137
 A
2.8

2.6
Loading
V

2.4 Wetting
Initial state
Unloading
reloading
2.2 B, D
C
2
1 10 100 1000 10000
p (kpa)

Figure 6. Relationship between specific volume and Figure 9. p − q − s path during oedometric compression.
isotropic stress.

250
8000 A
200 D B2

(kpa)
6000 150 B1
Suction kpa

C
100
h
4000
50
2000
A
D 0
0 0 400 800 1200
24 28 32 36 v (kpa)
w
Figure 10. Vertical and horizontal stress for low compaction
Figure 7. Relationship between suction and volumetric stress material.
water content.

domains, an initial elastic domain where the deviatoric

8000 A stress shows a more important increment as a function
of isotropic stress and a normally consolidated domain
6000 B
where the deviatoric stress grows slowly almost for the
Suction kpa

C
intermediate strains (0.01 < ε1 < 0.1). This initial
4000 compression shows the highest evolution in suction
value. During unloading (B-C), the stress path shows
2000 a reversible behaviour with minor change in suction
D value. Finally during wetting a major decrease in suc-
0 tion is evident, as well as an increase of the isotropic
0 400 800 1200 1600
stress and a reduction of the deviatoric stress.
p (kpa)

Figure 8. Relationship between suction and isotropic stress.
Finally it is possible to draw the oedometric com-
pression test on a p−q−s plot (Figure 9). On this curve
it is possible to observe all the features described using
Figures 3 to 8. The initial state (point A) is character-
ized by a high suction value and zero p − q stress.
The high suction value creates an overconsolidated
soil. The loading stage (A-B) is characterized by two
4.2 Results for kaolin with low compaction stress
Figures 10 to 12 show the results of the sample com-
prising 100% kaolin and compacted up to 0.9 MPa. In
this tests the reloading phase progresses up to point
B2 . This test shows differences to the test carried out
with a high compaction stress, mainly in the wetting
stage. In fact, on wetting the vertical stress reduces
although the horizontal stress remains almost constant
(Figure 10). As a consequence for this low compaction
stress the collapse behaviour is noticeable on the p-q

138
 1000 The results obtained indicate the apparatus to be
B2
800 B1 responding well in the tests and shows that this kind of
apparatus may be an important tool to investigate the
600 anisotropic response of unsaturated compacted soils.
q kpa

400 D The measurement of all the variables involved during

the compression of an unsaturated soil allows a bet-
200 A ter understanding of the preparation of expansive or
0 collapsing soils by static compression.
C Complementary work is necessary to analyze and
-200
model the whole behaviour of compacted soils focus-
0 100 200 300 400 500 ing on their anisotropic response.
p (kpa)

Figure 11. p-q path for low compaction stress material. REFERENCES

A Abdulla W.A., Goodings D.J. 1994. Study of sinkholes in

2.8 weakly cemented sand. Centrifuge 94, Leung, Lee and
Tan (eds) Balkema, Rotterdam.
2.6 Blatz J.A., Graham J. 2003. Elastic—plastic modelling of
unsaturated soil using results from a new triaxial tests with
controlled suction. Géotechnique 53. No 1.
V

2.4 Boussaid K., Thorel L., Garnier J., Ferber V., David J.P. 2005.
Comportement mécanique de sols intermediaries recon-
B1
2.2 stitutes: Influence de la teneur en eau et du percentage
C B2 d’argile. Congrès fancais de mécanique, Troyes, France.
D Brandon T.L., Clough G.W., Rahardjo P.P. 1991. Fabrication
2
of silty sand specimens for large and small scale tests.
1 10 100 1000 Geotechnical testing Journal, Vol. 14 No 1.
p (kpa) Dupas J.M., Pecker A. 1979. Static and dynamic proper-
ties of sand—cement. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical
Engineering Vol. 105, GT3.
Figure 12. Relationship between specific volume and Ismail M.A., Joer H.A., Randolph M.F. 2000. Sample prepa-
isotropic stress, low compaction stress. ration technique for artificially cemented soils. ASTM
Geotech. Testing J., 23(2), 171–177.
path (Figure 11), and on the curve relating the specific Jotisankasa A., Ridley A., Coop M. 2007. Collapse behavior
of compacted silty clay in suction—monitored oedometer
volume and the isotropic stress (Figure 12). apparatus. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering. ASCE, 133(7), 867–877.
5 CONCLUSIONS Kimura T., Takemura J., Hiro–Oka A., Okamura M. 1994.
Mechanical behaviour of intermediate soils. Centrifuge
94. Singapore, Leung et al. (Ed), Balkema.
This paper presents some details of a suction moni- Murillo C. 2006. Caraterización Geotécnica en Centrífuga
tored oedometer to investigate the stress—strain and de Macizos Multicapa de Suelo Parcialmente Saturado
suction—water content paths during vertical com- usando Ondas de Superficie. PhD. Thesis Universidad de
paction. los Andes, Bogotá Colombia.

139
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Influence of sample height on the soil water characteristic curve

C.N. Khoury & G.A. Miller

School of Civil Engineering & Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA

ABSTRACT: The Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC), one of the fundamental relations to describe
unsaturated soil, has been studied extensively; however, not much emphasis has been placed on the effect of
sample geometry on the SWCC. The study described in this paper was originated to evaluate the effect of
sample height on the SWCC for various soils with the intent of optimizing testing efficiency. A custom made
device was built to obtain the SWCC (wetting/drying paths) using automated pore-water pressure and pore-air
pressure controllers. Specimens with two heights, 25 mm and 6.35 mm and having a diameter of 63.5 mm, were
compacted with similar initial dry density and moisture content. Samples were saturated and then subjected
to drainage approaching residual saturation followed by wetting back to a zero suction state. Experimental
results thus far demonstrate that the SWCC primary drainage and wetting curves compare favorably for different
sample heights. However, an essential distinction in equilibrium time was observed. As expected, tests with
smaller sample heights reached equilibrium much faster than larger sample heights. Preliminary results indicate
that a 75% reduction of sample height reduced equilibrium time by about 50%. Implications of reducing the
sample height are discussed and some general improvements in SWCC testing with the custom made device are
presented.

1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC)
expresses the relationship between water content and
suction in a soil. It is an important relationship in unsat-
urated soil, and thus obtaining SWCCs experimentally
is a crucial yet time consuming endeavor. Extensive
research on the SWCC and its importance to unsat-
urated soil behavior is reported in the literature (e.g.
Barbour 1998, Fredlund & Rahardjo 1993, Fredlund
et al. 1996). Various test procedures and equipment
have been developed to investigate the SWCC (e.g.
Olson & Langfelder 1965, Fredlund & Xing 1994,
Kawai et al. 2000) such as the filter paper method,
pressure plate, Tempe Cell, and many others. However,
it seems little research has been conducted to study the
effect of sample geometry on the SWCC. Since labora-
tory testing generally requires significant time to gen-
erate a SWCC, there are major advantages to reducing
the sample dimensions, particularly the sample height.
For example, very little experimental data are avail-
able in the literature showing hysteretic behavior of the
SWCC; most reported data represent a single branch
of the SWCC, typically the primary drainage curve.
Probably, time required for completing the SWCC test
is the main reason for the lack of reported hysteretic
data; thus, reducing testing time will encourage more
extensive testing to fully define hysteretic behavior of
the SWCC. This was precisely the motivation for the
current authors to pursue this study.
This paper presents results of a study to investigate
the effect of sample height on the SWCC for a silty
soil. The goal was to optimize the testing geometry
while shortening the equilibrium time. A preliminary
set of experimental results are presented for sample
heights of 25.4 mm and 6.35 mm; resulting SWCCs
include primary drying and wetting curves. Results
clearly demonstrate the time advantage to be gained
by reducing sample height.
2 TEST PROCEDURE
The Soil Water Characteristic Curves were experimen-
tally obtained using a custom made test cell built at
the University of Oklahoma. Schematic and photo-
graphic views of the test cell are shown in Figure 1.
The pore-water pressure was digitally controlled using
a commercially available high precision motorized pis-
ton pump and transmitted to the soil via a high air
entry porous disc (HAEPD). A similar pump having
a larger piston volume was used to control the air

141
 Test Cell GDS Digital Air size distribution similar to that of fine silt with sand
Pressure Controller having about 30% fine sand (0.075–0.25 mm), 62%
silt (0.002–0.075 mm), and 8% clay size material
Porous stainless steel (≤0.002). A series of tests was conducted to deter-
top platen mine the effect of soil sample height on the SWCC.
The sample heights tested in this study were 25.4 mm
Soil sample
High air entry porous
and 6.35 mm with a diameter of 63.5 mm.
disc (HAEPD) Each sample was prepared in an identical manner
to achieve nominally the same initial void ratio (0.60)
GDS Digital Water and gravimetric moisture content (17.2%) in the test
Pressure Controller specimens. Samples were compacted into the test cell
on top of the pre-conditioned high air entry porous
stone using volume-based moist tamping. The test cell
was then flooded with water and water was pushed
under low pressure through the sample by increas-
ing the air pressure (ua ) above the water in the cell.
This process continued until a minimum of three pore
volumes of water had flowed through the sample to
remove entrapped air. Following saturation, the dry-
ing (drainage) and wetting cycles were initiated. The
Figure 1. Schematic and photographical view of test cell. drying curve is obtained by applying ua in increments
to obtain different values of matric suction; the amount
of pore water volume expelled out of the soil sample
is automatically recorded in the system to estimate
120 the gravimetric water content corresponding to each
increment of suction. Equilibrium was assumed to
100 occur when negligible water volume (i.e. less than
Sil-Co-Sil (SCS) 250 1% change over a period of 4 hours) occurred for
80 each suction increment. For each height, samples were
% Passing

subjected to wetting and drying cycles under zero net

60 normal stress to obtain the primary drying and primary
wetting curves.
40

20
0
1 0.1 0.01
Particle Diameter (mm)
Figure 2. Grain size distribution for tested soils.
pressure in the cell. These pumps can accurately con-
trol pressure and volume changes to a resolution on
the order of 1 kPa and 1 mm3 , respectively. The exper-
imental apparatus allowed for continuous control and
measurement of the pore-air pressure and pore-water
pressure throughout testing.
A porous stone with a relatively low air entry value
was used (i.e. 3 bar) to gain maximum efficiency with
respect to water transmission into and out of the soil.
A commercially available ground silica, Sil-Co-Sil
250 (SCS-250) manufactured by U.S. Silica Company
was used as the test soil.
The grain size distribution of the SCS-250 is given
in Figure 2. As shown, the test soils have a grain
3 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
0.001
Plots of the Soil Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC)
in terms of matric suction (ua − uw ) versus gravimet-
ric water content for tests having heights of 25.4 mm
and 6.35 mm are presented in Figure 3 and Figure 4,
respectively. Each data point in these figures rep-
resents an increment of suction and corresponding
measurement of water volume change at equilibrium.
Equilibrium was assumed to occur when negligi-
ble water volume change occurred for each suction
increment. In Figure 5 an example of water vol-
ume change versus time for primary drainage of
the 25.4 mm sample height is shown; water vol-
ume changed fairly rapidly following application of
an increment of suction followed by a more gradual
change until equilibrium was observed.
In Figure 6, a comparison of the primary drainage
and primary wetting curves for each (25.4 mm and
6.35 sample height) test is shown. In examining
Figure 6 it is apparent that the SWCCs for both sample
heights were practically the same.

142
 120 0 -4

Water Volume Change (cc)

-5
100
SCS 25.4 mm height -5 -6

80 -7
ua-uw (kPa)

-10 -8
13000 14000 15000 16000
60

40 -15

20
-20
0
0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0 10000 20000 30000
Gravimetric Water Content Time (min)

Figure 3. SWCC for the sample of 25.4 mm height. Figure 5. Water volume change versus time for primary
drainage during testing for 25.4 mm height.

100
120

80 SCS 6.35 mm height 100

SCS 6.35 mm height
SCS 25.4 mm height
ua-uw (kPa)

60 80
ua-uw (kPa)

60
40
40
20
20

0
0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0
0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
Gravimetric Water Content
Gravimetric Water Content

Figure 4. SWCC for the sample of 6.35 mm height.

Figure 6. SWCC comparison for the two sample heights
(25.4 and 6.35 mm).
Figure 7 shows a comparison of water volume
change versus total test time for both sample heights. 0
The total time for testing, including primary drainage
Water Volume Change (cc)

and primary wetting curves for the 25.4 mm height was -5

about 30 days compared to 15 days for the reduced
sample height (6.35 mm). It can be noted that the -10
time required to complete testing was reduced by
about 50% when the sample height was reduced from -15
25.4 mm to 6.35 mm. Results indicate that a reduc-
tion in sample height can be an effective way of
-20 SCS 6.35 mm height
achieving considerably faster equilibrium test times. SCS 25.4 mm height
However, other considerations remain when reducing
-25
the test specimen height, such sample uniformity, and 0 10000 20000 30000
minimum vertical deformations required for accurate Time (min)
measurements on the specimen under vertical loading
(i.e. for a given strain shorter heights mean smaller Figure 7. Water volume change versus time for both
displacements). 25.4 mm to 6.35 mm sample height.
The reduction in testing time gained by reducing
the sample height was a major achievement in that this included primary drying, primary wetting, sec-
it allowed researchers at the University of Oklahoma ondary drying and scanning curves (Fig. 8). This is
to efficiently obtain in a reasonable time frame a com- part of an on-going study of the coupled mechanical-
plete set of SWCCs including the hysteretic behavior; hydraulic behavior of unsaturated soils.

143
 120 produced for two different sample heights. By reduc-
ing the sample height by 75%, the time required to
100 complete a SWCC was reduced by about 50%. Fur-
thermore, there was virtually no difference in the
80 SWCCs produced using different samples heights.
ua-uw (kPa)

60
REFERENCES
40
Barbour, S.L. 1998. Nineteenth Canadian Geotechnical Col-
20 loquium: The soil-water characteristic curve: a historical
perspective, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 35,
0 pp. 873–894.
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
Unsaturated soils. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.
Gravimetric Water Content
Fredlund, D.G. and Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the
soil-water characteristic curves, Canadian Geotechnical
Figure 8. SWCC showing hysteresis for normal stress of Journal, Vol. 31, pp. 521–523.
200 kPa. Fredlund, D.G., Xing, A., Fredlund, M.D. and Barbour, S.L.
1996. The Relationship of the Unsaturated Soil Shear
Strength Functions to the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve,
4 CONCLUSIONS Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 33, pp. 440–448.
Kawai, K., Karube, D. and Kato, S. 2000. The Model of Water
Retention Curve Considering Effects of Void Ratio, In:
Experiments were conducted in a specially fabri-
Rahardjo, H., Toll, D.G., Leong, E.C. (Eds.), Unsaturated
cated testing cell and used to examine the effect of Soils for Asia, Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 329–334.
sample height on the SWCC relationship in an unsat- Olson, R.E. and Langfelder, L.J. 1965. Pore-Water Pres-
urated silty soil. The soil water characteristic curves, sures in Unsaturated Soils, Journal of Soil Mechanics and
including primary drainage and wetting curves were Foundation Div., Proc. ASCE, Vol. 91, SM4, pp. 127–160.

144
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Observations of unsaturated soils by Environmental Scanning Electron

Microscopy in dynamic mode

S.D.N. Lourenço, D.G. Toll & C.E. Augarde

School of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, UK

D. Gallipoli
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

A. Congreve & T. Smart

Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, UK

F.D. Evans
Controls Testing Equipment Ltd, Wykeham Farrance Division, Tring, Hertfordshire, UK

ABSTRACT: The Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) allows observation of hydrated
samples in their original state. Imaging can be done at a constant vapour pressure and temperature or in
dynamic conditions to observe a sample response to changes of water vapour pressure and/or temperature.
This paper focuses on the use of the dynamic ‘mode’ for unsaturated soils studies. Examples are presented on
the hydraulic and structural response of kaolin and silica microspheres to cycles of relative humidity at con-
stant temperature. Qualitative observations were made throughout the cycles and focused on the particle level
phenomena (e.g., meniscus shape) and mesoscale phenomena (e.g., particle re-arrangements and emptying and
filling of pores). Some quantification was also possible: the contact angle between the air-water and water-solid
interfaces was measured. Other applications of the ESEM technique to unsaturated soils and limitations are
discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION i.e. without removing the sample from the microscope

The Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope
(ESEM) allows hydrated samples to be observed in
their original state, unlike the conventional Scanning
Electron Microscope (SEM) where samples dry dur-
ing observation. The ESEM, therefore, provides an
essential tool for the study of unsaturated soils, since
the arrangements of water within the soil can be
observed.
ESEM imaging has normally been done in static
‘mode’, under constant relative humidity and con-
stant temperature (i.e. under a constant total suction),
to observe a specimen in that particular state. How-
ever, it is also possible to use the ESEM in a dynamic
‘mode’ to observe a sample response to changes of
relative humidity and/or temperature (i.e. to a change
of total suction). This allows the possibility of using
the ESEM for ‘‘testing’’ rather than just ‘‘observ-
ing’’. Dynamic testing can be carried out in situ,
chamber.
There is a need to start developing techniques for
‘‘testing’’ at particle level. The particular techniques
to be used will depend on:
• the accuracy required: whether measurements
(quantitative) or estimations (qualitative) are
obtained
• the parameter to be measured: stress, strain, suction,
water content
• particle size scale: mm (sand) to μm (clay)
• number of particles to be tested: single particle to
particle contact or group of particles.
This paper investigates the use of ESEM for unsat-
urated soil testing. It focuses on dynamic tests where
relative humidity is changed at constant temperature in
order to change the value of total suction imposed on
the sample. Examples are presented for kaolin as well
as for samples made of artificial microspheres (around

145
6 μm diameter) and the limitations of the technique
are also discussed.
2 PREVIOUS WORK
A range of visualisation techniques have been used
to study the fabric of unsaturated soils. These include
optical microscopy and video methods, X-ray com-
puted tomography (CT), scanning electron microscopy
and more recently environmental scanning electron
microscopy.
Cho and Santamarina (2001) studied samples made
of 1.6 mm glass beads and observed the meniscus
strain at failure for different rupture modes (shear,
extension and rotation). Tests were conducted at the
particle-to-particle level by using optical microscopy.
Strain was measured directly from the images while
water content was estimated for cubic packing.
Reinson et al. (2005) observed the drying process
of 12 mm glass beads to determine the unsaturated
hydraulic conductivity and the soil water retention
curve. Observations were made by digital videogra-
phy in grouped glass beads to capture the meniscus
formation and to track the movement of a dye tracer.
Suction was estimated by using the Laplace equation
based on the observations for a cubic packing arrange-
ment. Computed tomography was used by Wong and
Wibowo (2000) to estimate the 3D spatial distribution
of porosity, air and water saturation during water flow
in a silty sand soil column. Wildenschild et al. (2002)
showed that the air-water interfaces in sands could be
observed by CT while Cnudde et al. (2006) reviewed
the potential to use CT in geo-disciplines.
The conventional SEM uses high vacuum to obtain
good resolution images. As a result, imaging of wet
samples is not possible and special sample prepara-
tion procedures are needed. In unsaturated soils, the
SEM has traditionally been used for fabric studies,
mostly to observe the orientation and packing of parti-
cles (e.g. Delage and Lefebvre, 1984; Gasparre et al.,
2007). The conventional SEM was later improved to
the Environmental SEM, which permits observation of
hydrated samples in their original state (e.g. Donald,
2003; Redwood et al., 2005). This increased versatility
allowed application of the ESEM to various research
fields including, for example, the study of colloids
(e.g. Donald et al., 2000). In rock and soil mechan-
ics, the studies conducted so far using the ESEM have
focused on: wettability of reservoir rocks in petroleum
engineering (e.g. Combes et al., 1998; Buckman et al.,
2000; Skauge et al., 2006); hydraulic behaviour of
mine marls (Sorgi and De Gennaro, 2006; Sorgi and
De Gennaro, 2007); hydration of geopolymer con-
crete (Zhang et al., 2005). In unsaturated soils, the
ESEM was used in the static ‘mode’ to observe the
structure of bentonites by Musso et al. (2003), Baker
146
et al. (1995) and Agus and Schanz (2005). Montes-H.
(2004) and Montes-H. et al. (2005) seem to have
been the first to use the ESEM for dynamic stud-
ies in unsaturated soils. They imposed wetting-drying
cycles on bentonite MX80 aggregates while monitor-
ing the structural changes and volume variations. The
swelling-shrinkage was measured by a coupled digital
image analysis program. Due to the aggregated nature
of the material the scale of observation was relatively
large (20 μm) and the study was conducted more at a
mesoscale rather than at a microscale. Regarding the
fabric changes, it was possible to observe cracking and
swelling of the aggregates and to quantify the swelling-
shrinking potential by measuring volume changes.
The authors, however, do not report any details about
the water menisci, which are present at the interparticle
contacts.
3 ESEM WORKING PRINCIPLE
The conventional SEM works by emitting an electron
beam towards a conductive sample in high vacuum
conditions. Secondary electrons are released from the
sample, collected by a detector and amplified to pro-
duce an image. The conductive coating of the sample
(usually made of gold) improves the image quality
and the vacuum ensures the effective operation of the
electron gun.
In the presence of water vapour inside the micro-
scope chamber, the emitted secondary electrons col-
lide with the water molecules generating positive ions
that are directed towards the sample. This causes over-
charging of the sample surface and the consequent loss
of image quality. In the ESEM a high vacuum con-
dition is ensured only in a limited zone surrounding
the electron gun while the relative humidity around
the sample stays relatively high. This working mode
ensures imaging of hydrated samples in their natural
state. Further details about the physical principles gov-
erning the operation of the ESEM can be found in
Donald (2003) and Stokes (2003).
The ESEM is able to induce changes of relative
humidity, i.e. water condensation in the sample or
evaporation from the sample, by controlling the val-
ues of water vapour pressure and temperature. The
temperature is controlled by means of a Peltier cool-
ing stage, which can impose temperatures up to 20◦ C
(however temperatures are usually kept at low values
between 2◦ C and 6◦ C during tests) while the value
of vapour pressures can be increased up to 2.339 kPa.
The control of relative humidity (RH) inside the micro-
scope chamber is based on the phase diagram of water.
Fig. 1 shows the boundary of this diagram separating
the region in which vapour pressure at equilibrium is
saturated (RH = 100%) from the region where vapour
pressure at equilibrium is not saturated (RH < 100%).
 2.5
water vapour pressure (kPa)

1.5
liquid

1 condensation vapour
evaporation
0.5

saturation vapour pressure - 100% RH

0
0 5 10 15 20
temperature (degC)

Figure 1. Phase diagram of water.

4 DYNAMIC TESTING OF UNSATURATED

SOILS BY ESEM

As discussed previously, changes in the relative

humidity of the pore air can be induced by changing
both temperature and water vapour pressure. However,
when testing soils, it is preferable to keep the temper-
ature constant and change the water vapour pressure
because many soils exhibit a temperature dependent
behaviour (e.g. bentonites).

4.1 Examples of tests

Dynamic experiments relevant to unsaturated soils
conducted in a FEI XL-30 model have been performed
as follows:
1. Clay aggregates under changes of RH
Dry Speswhite kaolin was placed in the ESEM
chamber in dry conditions and subjected to an increase
of relative humidity from 93% to 96% at a constant
temperature of 5◦ C.
The sequence in Fig. 2 shows an aggregate com-
posed of clay platelets being enclosed in a water film
as relative humidity increased from 93% to 96%. In Figure 2. ESEM micrographs of kaolin aggregates at
Fig. 2c the clay platelets can still be seen through increasing RH.
the water film. Note that both Figs. 2b and 2c refer
to the same imposed relative humidity of 96%. The
differences between these two images are therefore and its radius. As relative humidity increases the
attributable to the fact that in Fig. 2b equilibrium meniscus curvature decreases from a concave shape
had not yet been achieved under the imposed value but without becoming convex (Fig. 3a to Fig. 3b) until
of relative humidity. it ‘‘bursts’’ in Fig. 3c. Contact angles between the
water-solid interface and the air-water interface can
2. Microspheres (6 μm) under changes of RH be measured directly and are in the range 20◦ –30◦ .
Fig. 3 shows a wetting sequence of three silica Again, the differences between Figs. 3b and 3c (both
microspheres (6 μm diameter) subjected to an increase at the same value of relative humidity) are due to the
of relative humidity from 80.1% to 82.3% at a constant fact that these figures refer to two different instants in
temperature of 5◦ C. time during the transient phase.
The water phase is neatly distinguished from the
spheres, including the shape of the menisci (concave) 3. Fabric deformation under changes of RH

147

Figure 3. ESEM micrographs of silica spheres at increas-
ing RH. The spheres, water menisci are identifiable and the
contact angle (θ) measurable in (b).
Observations were carried out to detect displace-
ments of the silica microspheres during cycles of
relative humidity. All tests were carried out at a
temperature of 5◦ C.
The sequence in Fig. 4 shows interparticle move-
ments occurring as the microspheres were submitted to
the wetting-drying cycle. Distances and directions of
movements are measurable and are indicated in Fig. 4b
(for the case of the bottom spheres the movement was
<1 μm).
148
Figure 4. ESEM micrographs of silica spheres after a
wetting-drying sequence. Arrows in (b) indicate displace-
ment of the spheres.
4.2 Discussion
This research has demonstrated that contact angles,
meniscus curvatures and particle movements can be
measured for a simple material subjected to cycles of
relative humidity. Quantification of ESEM images for
these features can be obtained as the relative humidity
is changing.
In a similar study of clay samples, Montes-H.
(2004) observed bentonite aggregates at a larger scale
(20 μm). Based on the 2D image of the aggregates,
Montes-H. was able to estimate the volume increase
during swelling with a digital image analysis software.
Lampenscherf et al. (2000) also studied monosized
spheres and were able to observe growing menisci in a
single layer of spheres as relative humidity increased.
They were also able to measure indirectly the meniscus
force by fixing the spheres to a deformable substrate
and measuring its deflection.
Schenk et al. (1998) observed the formation of
meniscus water at the contact of a cantilever tip of
an atomic force microscope and a flat substrate. They
were able to validate Kelvin’s law by comparing the
imposed relative humidity to the meniscus radius.
This shows a range of potential applications for the
ESEM, which could be used to validate theories, e.g.
the saddle shaped meniscus proposed by Molenkamp
and Nazemi (2003).
Mechanical testing could be possible for larger
materials by fitting the Peltier stage into a straining
stage inside the ESEM’s chamber that can be operated
either in compression or extension. Stokes and Donald
(2000) obtained stress-strain curves for breadcrumbs
at different relative humidities. Testing was conducted
in unconfined conditions, i.e. with only water vapour
pressure surrounding the sample.
The ESEM technique could also be useful for the
investigation of processes where drying and wetting
are due to vapour transfer, including the study of
hysteresis (by relative humidity cycles) or wettability
(involving contact angle measurements).
One of the challenges related to the ESEM is
the sample preparation at the microscale. Assem-
bling micron sized particles individually or even
in a group might require special manipulation
techniques.
4.3 Limitations
One of the main issues in ESEM imaging is the time
required for thermodynamic equilibrium. The waiting
time should only depend on the volume of the material
and imposed relative humidity. However, published
results show varied times. For instance, Montes-H.
et al. (2005) waited 10 mins for equilibrium conditions
with bentonite aggregates 95 μm large under a relative
humidity of 95%; Weeks and DeYoreo (2006) waited
the same time for water to condense (under RH = 98%)
at the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever and
a flat substrate (with the microscope tip width smaller
than 1 μm).
Other factors might also affect the accuracy of
the measurements of water vapour pressure and tem-
perature in the ESEM chamber. Temperature, for
instance, is imposed by the Peltier stage, which
means that temperature gradients could develop in
the material if the sample dimensions are relatively
large.
The need to test at low temperatures (to obtain a
higher image definition) might be a disadvantage in
some situations because water properties change with
temperature. At 4◦ C, near the temperature at which
149
most ESEM studies are conducted, water is near its
highest density. This could influence cavitation or air
entry. Some soils are also sensitive to temperature and
testing at low temperatures could therefore change the
response of the material.
Another limitation is that the ESEM controls the
water vapour pressure in 0.1 torr steps (at least in
the FEI XL-30 models), which for RH > 90% cor-
responds about to 1.5% RH changes. These steps
are rather coarse and evaporation or condensation can
therefore occur too fast leading to a loss of important
information during the wetting/drying process.
For fabric studies, care must be taken due to differ-
ent water vapour pressure and temperature conditions
between the ESEM chamber and the room. Errors
could lead to changes in the fabric as the sample is
moved into the ESEM chamber.
5 CONCLUSIONS
This study has demonstrated the potential usefulness
of the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope
(ESEM) for unsaturated soils. In the examples shown,
water menisci are neatly distinguished from the solid
surfaces and details such as the meniscus curvature
and contact angle are easily traced and quantifiable.
The ESEM allows observation of the effect of changes
in total suction on the fabric of unsaturated soils.
The ESEM has the capability of conducting dynamic
experiments where the total suction imposed to the
sample can be varied by changing the relative humid-
ity and temperature inside the microscope chamber.
The analysis of images from the ESEM allows the
direct measurement of contact angle during wetting-
drying cycles. Moreover, published studies have also
shown that stress-strain testing inside the ESEM is
possible.
One limitation of ESEM is however the impossibil-
ity of obtaining direct measurements of water content
inside the sample. Despite this, the potential of this
technique for the study of the engineering behaviour
of unsaturated soils is considerable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank David Beamer (FEI Instru-
ments), Helen Riggs (Durham University) and Dr
Jim Buckman (Heriot-Watt University) for help-
ing with the ESEM observations. This research
is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sci-
ences Research Council (UK) and Wykeham Farrance
Ltd. The support from the European Commission
via the ‘‘Marie Curie’’ Research Training Network
contract number MRTN-CT-2004–506861 is also
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Agus, S.S., Schanz, T. (2005). Effect of shrinking and
swelling on microstructures and fabric of a compacted
bentonitesand mixture. Proc. Int. Conf. on Problematic
Soils (2) 543550.
Baker, J.C., Grabowska-Olszewska, B., Uwins, P.J.R. (1995).
ESEM study of osmotic swelling of bentonite from
Radzionkow (Poland). Applied Clay Science 9, 465–469.
Buckman, J.O., Todd, A.C., Hill, P.I. (2000). Observations on
a reservoir rock wettability using an environmental scan-
ning electron microscope. Microscopy and Analysis 14,
2, 35–37.
Cho, G.C., Santamarina, J.C. (2001), Unsaturated particu-
late materials— particle level studies. J. Geotech. Geoenv.
Eng. 127, 1, 84–96.
Cnudde, V., Masschaele, B., Dierick, M., Vlassenbroeck, J.,
Van Hoorebeke, L., Jacobs, P. (2006). Recent progress in
X-ray CT as a geosciences tool. Applied Geochemistry
21, 5: 826–832.
Combes, R., Robin, M., Blavier, G., Aidan, M., Degreve, F.
(1998). Visualization of imbibition in porous media by
environmental scanning electron microscopy: application
to reservoir rocks. J. Petroleum Sc. and Eng. 20, 133–139.
Donald, A.M., He, C., Royall, C.P., Sferrazza, M.,
Stelmashenko, N.A., Thiel, B.A. (2000). Applications of
environmental scanning electron microscopy to colloidal
aggregation and film formation. Colloids and Surfaces A:
Physicochemical and Eng. Asp. 174, 37–53.
Donald, A.M. (2003). The use of environmental scan-
ning electron microscopy for imaging wet and insulating
materials. Nature Materials 2, 511–516.
Gasparre, A., Nishimura, S., Coop, M.R., Jardine, R.J.
(2007). The influence of structure on the behaviour of
London Clay. Geotechnique 57, 1, 19–31.
Lampenscherf, S., Pompe, W., Wilkinson, D.S. (2000). Stress
development due to capillary condensation in powder
compacts: a two-dimensional model study. J. Am. Ceram.
Soc., 83 6, 1333–1340.
Montes-H., G. (2005). Swelling—shrinkage measurements
of bentonite using coupled environmental scanning elec-
tron microscopy and digital image analysis. J. Colloid and
Interface Sc. 284, 271–277.
Montes-H., G., Geraud, Y., Duplay, J., Reuschle, T. (2005).
ESEM observations of compacted bentonite submitted to
hydration/dehydration conditions. Colloids and Surfaces
A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 262, 14–22.
Molenkamp, F., Nazemi, A.H. (2003). Interactions between
two rough spheres, water bridge and water vapour.
Geotechnique 53, No. 2, 255–264.
150
Musso, G., Morales, E.R., Gens, A., Castellanos, E. (2003).
The role of structure in the chemically induced defor-
mations of FEBEX bentonite. Applied Clay Sc. 23,
229–237.
Redwood, P.S., Lead, J.R., Harrison, R.M., Jones, I.P.,
Stoll, S. (2005). Characterization of humic substances by
environmental scanning electron microscopy. Env. Sc. and
Tech. 39, 7, 1962–1966.
Reinson, J.R., Fredlund, D.G., Wilson, G.W. (2005). Unsat-
urated flow in coarse porous media. Can. Geotech. J. 42,
252–262.
Schenk, M., Futing, Reichelt, R. (1998). Direct visualization
of the dynamic behavior of a water meniscus by scanning
electron microscopy. J. App. Phys. 84, 9, 4880–4884.
Skauge, A., Spildo, K., Hoiland, L., Vik, B. (2006). Theo-
retical and experimental evidence of different wettability
classes. J. Petroleum Sc. and Eng. (in press).
Sorgi, C., De Gennaro, V. (2006). Observations at the Envi-
ronmental SEM of the water influence in the behaviour of
marls. Proceedings Journ. Nat. de Geotech. et de Geol. de
l’Ing., Lyon, France, pp. 9 (in French).
Sorgi, C., De Gennaro, V. (2007). ESEM analysis of
chalk microstructure submitted to hydromechanical load-
ing. Comptes Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences—serie
Geoscience (accepted) (in French).
Stokes, D.J. (2003). Recent advances in electron imag-
ing, image interpretation and applications: environmental
scanning electron microscopy. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.
A 361, 2771–2787.
Stokes, D.J., Donald, A.M. (2000). In situ mechanical test-
ing of dry and hydrated breadcrumb in the environmental
scanning electron microscope (ESEM). J. Mat. Sc. 35,
599–607.
Zhang, Y.S., Sun, W., Li, J.Z. (2005). Hydration process of
interfacial transition in potassium polysialate (K-PSDS)
geopolymer concrete. Mag. Concrete Res. 57, 1, 33–38.
Weeks, B.L., DeYoreo, J.J. (2006). Dynamic meniscus
growth at a scanning probe tip in contact with a gold
substrate. J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 10231–10233.
Wildenschild, D., Hopmans, J.W., Vaz, C.M.P., Rivers, M.L.,
Rikard, D. and Christensen, B.S.B. (2002). Using X-ray
computed tomography in hydrology: systems, resolutions
and limitations. J. Hydrology 267, 285–297.
Wong, C.K., Wibowo, R. (2000). Tomographic evaluation of
air and water flow patterns in soil column, Geotech. Test.
J. GTODJ 23, 4, 413–422.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Recent advances in ESEM analysis of partially saturated geomaterials

C. Sorgi
INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France (now RATP, Paris, France)

V. De Gennaro
Ecole des Ponts (Université Paris-Est, Navier Inst. – CERMES), Paris, France

H.D. Nguyen
Ecole des Ponts (Université Paris-Est, Navier Inst. – CERMES), Paris, France
INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France

P. Delalain
INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France

ABSTRACT: The Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) allows the observation of
microstructural changes of geomaterials in their natural state, under controlled conditions of temperature and
pressure. Unlike the traditional Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), ESEM technology does not require
any preliminary treatment of the observed samples (i.e. previous dehydration and eventually conductive coat-
ing) reducing possible procedure compliances. Although ESEM applications are nowadays recurrent in many
research fields related to materials science, this investigation tool is still seldom used in geomechanics. In this
paper we discuss some aspects associated with this technology when used for partially saturated geomaterials.
Examples of applications on chalks are presented and some perspectives on the development of this instrument
in relation with geomechanical applications are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION the structure of the material, particularly in clays, for

It is now well recognized that the characterization of
a geomaterial’s microstructure and the analysis of its
evolution under the effect of applied loadings and/or
environmental conditions can provide valuable infor-
mation for the interpretation and the prediction of
mechanical behaviour.
The objective of this paper is to present some recent
developments and examples of application of the Envi-
ronmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) for
the study of the microstructure of geomaterials and
its relationship with the macroscopic behaviour. So
far the observation and the microstructural analysis of
geomaterials have been conducted successfully with
the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM); a synthe-
sis of the results obtained in this area of investigation
has been presented recently by Mitchell & Soga
(2005). Undoubtedly attractive, this technique how-
ever requires a preliminary preparation of the samples,
submitted to high vacuum during the observation, con-
sisting of dehydration and gold coating to improve the
interaction between the electrons and the matter. Sam-
ple preparation procedure may have a major impact on
which the dehydration process can harm the integrity
of the initial microstructure of the soil sample and lead
to important modifications because of shrinking due
to drying (e.g. Tessier & Berrier 1978, Delage et al.
1982). Also, this situation prevents the observation of
materials at their natural moisture content.
In order to demonstrate the potential of the ESEM
to investigate behaviour of geomaterials we will focus
our investigation on a chalk from the shallow mine
of Estreux, located near Valenciennes (France, North
department). This chalk is the object of an ongoing
research programme conducted by INERIS, devoted
to the study of water-rock interaction mechanisms and
ageing processes in geomaterials, in relation to the
risk assessment of sudden collapses and subsidence
originated by the breakdown of shallow abandoned
mines.
2 MATERIAL CHARACTERISATION
Under the effect of environmental agents (e.g. tem-
perature, pressure) microstructural evolutions in

151
geomaterials often occur. These evolutions can affect 100

the integrity of the solid skeleton and eventually Hr = 83.5% ( s = 24.9 MPa)

change the mechanical behaviour of the material at

the macroscopic scale. 10 Hr = 97% ( s = 4.2 MPa)

The result of these microscopic processes is often Hr = 98.2% ( s = 2.5 MPa)

identified with the progressive ‘‘ageing’’ of the

microstructure and is mainly related to the interac-

SUCTION, s :MPa
1
tion between the solid skeleton and the fluids which Hr = 99.8% ( s = 1.5 MPa)
saturate partially or completely the porous network.
The intrinsically dynamic nature of these processes 0.1
is at odds with the static character of SEM imaging. It
is thus clear the interest that ESEM can present, allow-
ing observation of samples in their natural state (i.e. 0.01 Dry path
saturated, partially saturated or dry) and under vari- Wetting path
Initial state
able environmental conditions (temperature, pressure,
moisture content), by letting the vapour reside inside 0.001
the observation chamber (Danilatos 1998). Some phe- 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
nomena observed during wetting and drying processes DEGREE OF SATURATION, Srw

in chalk are presented herein.

2.1 Physical properties of Estreux chalk
The chalk used in this work originates from the Estreux
abandoned underground mine in Northern France. The
mine is located 15 km East of Valenciennes (France).
Estreux chalk is a gluconite rich chalk. Glau-
conite is an allumino-silicate of iron, potassium and
sodium. Its mineral composition is close to the illite,
although glauconite is not hydrated, with the addi-
tional presence of sodium and strong isomorphism
by substitution of aluminium atoms with Fe2+ and
Fe3+ iron atoms (Amouric 1990). Glauconite is often
present in chalk deposits in northern France (Masson
1973).
The porosity of Estreux chalk is of about 37%, its
specific gravity is Gs = 2.74 and the average water
content is equal to 20.7% when the rock is water satu-
rated. At microstructural level the solid matrix is made
up of small micrometric grains which are principally
fragments of coccolithes. Sometimes intact coccol-
ithes also occur. The chalk is then principally made
up of calcite (i.e. calcium carbonate CaCO3 ), which
often constitutes also the cementing agent at the inter-
granular contacts. Microfossils and mineral impurities
are also frequently observed.
2.2 Retention properties of Estreux chalk
Estreux chalk samples were completely saturated
when extracted; mine temperature was 11◦ C and the
relative humidity hr ∼
= 100% (owing to the 2% accu-
racy of the hygrometry resistive sensors). It should
be noted that relative humidity inside the mine can
vary seasonally between 80% and 100% (Sorgi 2004).
Based on Kelvin’s law, the change in relative humidity
modifies the total air-water suction st , the difference
between the water vapour pressure (assumed equal to
Figure 1. Water retention curve of Estreux chalk.
the atmospheric pressure pa ) and the water pressure
pw , as
ρw pv
st = pa − pw = − RT ln (1)
Mv pvs
where ρw is the water density, Mv the molar mass of the
water vapour, R the universal constant of an ideal gas
(8.314 Jmol−1 K−1 ), T the absolute temperature, pv the
vapour pressure and pvs the pressure of the saturating
vapour at temperature T (hr = pv /pvs ).
It is well known that any change in total suction
induces a change in the degree of water saturation Srw
as quantified via the Water Retention Curve (WRC)
of the material. The WRC of Estreux chalk is pre-
sented in Figure 1 (De Gennaro et al. 2006). As can
be observed, important changes in Srw occur when
suction varies between 1 and 2 MPa, causing nearly
complete material desaturation. This occurs when the
corresponding relative humidity reduces from 100%
to 98.2%. Since similar changes of hr are possible in
the underground mine, the relative humidity may have
a significant effect on the state of saturation of the
material.
3 ESEM ANALYSIS
Changes in Srw can be reproduced with the ESEM
controlling sample temperature and pressure following
the state diagram of water (Fig. 2), being simultane-
ously correlated to the corresponding microstructural
evolutions.
A further step of the analysis consists of the inves-
tigation of the microstructure while the material is

152
 hr = 100%
1400
95 %
1200 LIQUID 85%
PRESSURE (Pa)

1000
60%
800 A≡D
50%
600
B
400
200 C GAS

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
TEMPERATURE (°C)

Figure 2. State diagram of water.

subjected to a micromechanical loading under con-

stant or variable relative humidity by means of ESEM
micromechanical in situ tests.
In this study a FEI Quanta 400® ESEM equipped (a)
with a Deben® microtesting facility has been used as
a tool for the microstructural and micromechanical
characterization of chalk.
Three types of observations are presented: (i) the
observation of changes in microstructure under wet-
ting, (ii) the observation of samples submitted to sat-
uration/desaturation cycles starting from their natural
state of saturation and (iii) the observation of sam-
ples submitted to unconfined compression microtests
under variable states of water saturation.

3.1 Sample preparation

Samples were extracted from available blocks of
Estreux chalk retrieved from the underground mine,
sealed and stored in a thermo regulated chamber. This
ensured the preservation of in situ conditions in terms
of water content and saturation. (b)
Observations (i) and (ii) were conducted on chalk
plugs having a square section (about 10 mm side) and a Figure 3. Modifications of the porous network in chalk dur-
thickness varying from 2 mm to 4 mm. Samples were ing wetting: (a) initial state, (b) intermediate state before
fixed on the observation stage by means of carbon complete saturation.
conductive glue. The small plug thickness allowed for
a uniform temperature distribution within the sample.
Temperature was controlled using a thermo-electric
the boundary of one characteristic pore has been plot-
cooler (Peltier’s effect). The corresponding value of
ted. Since the condition in the chamber corresponds
the pressure in the observation chamber was used to
to hr = 100% (p = 705 Pa, T = 2◦ C), hydration
define the level of hygrometry hr based on the state
takes place as time passes. In Figure 3b, the same
diagram of water (Fig. 1).
pore is visualised after the in-situ hydration. As can
be seen, hydration produces a progressive enlarge-
ment of the pore boundaries due probably, but not
3.2 Microstructural changes under wetting
exclusively, to the loss of capillary bridges between
The changes in microstructure under wetting when the grains. Progressive saturation of smaller pores
passing from hr = 97% (chalk in its natural state is also observed on the left side of the photo in
at sampling with w = 20.7%) to hr = 100% are Fig. 3b. This observation still remains rather quali-
observed by comparing Figures 3a and 3b. A reference tative, though it provides a qualitative picture of the
network has been superimposed on the micrograph and ongoing phenomena. It should be emphasized that

153
 (a) 1st wetting
(c) 2nd wetting (start)
Figure 4. (a) & (b) fracture opening in chalk specimen during drying; (c) & (d) fracture closing following the second
saturation.
pore enlargements are certainly amplified by the spe-
cific condition reproduced in the ESEM environment,
namely the absence of any external loading and the
observation of the external surface of the sample. It
is expected that the extent of this phenomenon could
reduce for the inner (invisible) pores.
3.3 Saturation-desaturation cycles with ESEM
A series of tests was carried out on samples sub-
mitted to saturation-desaturation cycles following the
path indicated in Figure 2. During these tests a con-
stant temperature condition was chosen (T = 2◦ C).
Relative humidity was modified changing the level
154
(b) 1st drying
(d) 2nd wetting (end)
of vacuum inside the chamber between 705 Pa and
346 Pa, corresponding to an hr varying between 100%
et 50% (path A-B-C-D Fig. 2). Observations were
conducted at 1500 magnification starting from the
saturated state (i.e. hr = 100%). During the pressure
changes images were captured every 2 minutes and
later mounted as a video clip. The observed zone was
characterised by the presence of a rigid inclusion (crys-
tal) embedded in the chalk porous matrix (Fig. 4a).
The analysed cycles included:
Phase 1: saturation & stabilization; sample was left
90 minutes at T = 2◦ C and p = 705 Pa, hence hr =
100% (Fig. 2). The reference image is captured after
90 minutes of elapsed time.
 Phase 2: desaturation; pressure is decreased instan-
taneously down to 599 Pa (hr = 85%, path A-B-C in
Fig. 2). Sample is left to stabilize during 60 minutes.
Phase 3: 2nd saturation; the pressure inside the
chamber is increased up to 705 Pa (Fig. 2, path C-
D) and sample is left to stabilize during 60 minutes at
hr = 100%.
During the first phase of saturation (Phase 1) the
initial condition corresponding to full water satura-
tion was reproduced inside the samples (Fig. 4a). The
successive drying process (Phase 2) induced a frac-
ture opening at the contact between the crystal and the
chalk matrix (indicated by an arrow in Fig. 4b). The
presence of this fracture wasn’t observed at the begin-
ning of the test (Fig. 4a). This phenomenon seems to be
associated with the changes in suction induced by wet-
ting and drying cycles, admitting that capillary effects
could be at the origin of this microstructural modifi-
cation (swelling/shrinkage of the material). In other
words, wetting would have brought to fracture closing
whereas drying caused chalk matrix shrinkage around
the crystal inducing fracture opening. Fracture open-
ing could then be the consequence of increasing
capillary bridges (hence air-water interfaces) inside
the chalk matrix during drying. In opposition to this
mechanism, wetting decreased the number of air-water
menisci between the chalk matrix and the crystal lead-
ing to a progressive fracture seal (Figs. 4c, 4d). If
related to material ageing, the evolution of this phe-
nomenon with time following consecutive wetting and
drying cycles could help in assessing the microstruc-
tral feature associated with material degradation. This
type of observation could also be assisted by advanced
techniques of 2D and 3D image analysis, allowing
for a more quantitative characterisation of the mor-
phological modifications induced by changes in water
saturation (e.g. Sorgi & De Gennaro 2007).
3.4 Micromechanical in situ testing
The combined use of the ESEM technique and a
micromechanical testing apparatus was investigated
by means of unconfined compression tests. A loading
module Deben MICROTEST® allowed the application
of a maximum compression load of 5000 N at a con-
stant strain rate of 1 × 10−5 s−1 . A specific set up was
developed to carry out micromechanical tests under
controlled total suction (i.e. controlling the level of
relative humidity during the tests). Cylindrical sam-
ples approx. 8 mm in diameter and 15 mm in height
were used. Samples were obtained by means of high-
precision coring. Upper and lower base parallelism
was ensured by means of a high-precision slicer hav-
ing the accuracy of the order of 1 μm. A first series of
preliminary micromechanical tests was conducted on
samples saturated, partially saturated and dry in order
to verify the agreement between the micromechanical
155
12
DRY CHALK
10
8
UCS (MPa)
6
PARTIALLY
4 SATURATED
CHALK (s = 4.2 MPa)
2
SATURATED
CHALK
0
0 1 2 3
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
Figure 5. ESEM in situ unconfined compression tests on
dry and water saturated chalk.
test results and the laboratory test results performed
on samples having standard dimensions.
Preliminary results of unconfined compression
microtests are presented in Figure 5 which indicates
tests results on dry samples to show good repro-
ducibility. The linear slopes of the compression curves
(eventually after a first tightening phase) allow the
quantification of the Young’s modulus at various states
of saturation. It is worth noting that the Young’s mod-
ulus for dry chalk was Edry = 1.1 GPa, as compared
with that of saturated chalk Esat = 0.71 GPa. The
ratio Edry /Esat = 1.6 is the same obtained from other
researchers by means of standard laboratory uncon-
fined compression tests (e.g. Raffoux & Ervel 1980).
At a suction level so = 4.2 MPa the value of Young’s
modulus Eo is between Edry and Esat ; a value of
0.78 GPa.
Concerning material strength, the comparison
between the Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS)
values obtained at saturated and dry states gives a
ratio UCSdry /UCSsat ∼ = 2 in agreement with avail-
able data on North French chalk (e.g. Bonvallet 1979).
Results from the sample tested under constant suction
equal to 4.2 MPa (i.e. Sr ∼ = 97%, Fig. 1) show that
higher suction levels strengthen the rock by means
of additional bonding due to capillary effects. This
seems in good agreement with the general pattern
of behaviour observed for this chalk in oedometric
compression tests under controlled suction conditions
(Nguyen et al. 2007). Also of note is that Nguyen
et al. (2007) also found a ratio of 2.1 between the
yield stress in dry and saturated conditions, close to
the ratio UCSdry /UCSsat ∼ = 2 found during ESEM
micro-testing. Also, the ratios between the yield stress
at a suction level of 4.2 MPa and that at saturated
 3
2.5
2
UCS (MPa)
1.5
0.5
0
0 0.5 1 1.5
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
Figure 6. Failure pattern during ESEM in situ unconfined compression test on water saturated chalk.
and dry state were 1.5 and 0.7, respectively. Simi-
lar ratios obtained by micromechanical testing using
ESEM were equal to 1.5 and 0.75, showing a notable
agreement with the oedometric tests results.
Finally, Figure 6 shows some preliminary results of
ESEM in situ testing with simultaneous visualisation
of the deformation pattern and the failure mode. The
direction of compression is vertical, as indicated on
the ESEM image (A). At peak strength (image B) the
sample surface is still apparently unchanged. At about
0.9% axial strain, in the softening regime, a pseudo-
vertical fracture is visible (image C) followed by a
progressive opening in the post-peak phase (images D
and E).
The aim of these preliminary tests was to explore the
possibility to have a characterisation of the local strain
field during hydro-mechanical loading using ESEM.
Some possible developments like Digital Image Cor-
relation (DIC) technique (e.g. Vales et al. 2007) could
be envisaged to aid a quantitative characterisation of
the local deformation at microstructural (few hundreds
μm) and mesostructural (some mm) levels.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper some basic applications of the ESEM
for the microstructural characterisation of partially
saturated geomaterials have been presented.
The ESEM allows the observation of microstruc-
tural changes of geomaterials in their natural state,
under controlled conditions of temperature and pres-
sure. Change in saturation can be easily reproduced in
156
2 2.5
the observation chamber by means of a thermo-electric
cooler based on the Peltier’s effect. This allows for an
analysis of the microstructural modifications induced
by the saturation/desaturation cycles in the absence of
mechanical loading. Suction controlled in situ tests are
also possible. The validation of a specific experimental
technique is in progress.
Further developments are needed to characterize
quantitatively the effects of the mechanical and
physico-chemical processes associated with the water-
rock interaction. In the specific case of the carbonated
rocks these developments could improve characteriza-
tion of some fundamental processes like dissolution,
precipitation, crystallization and solid transport under
stress, often at the origin of the degradation mecha-
nisms of the rock under the effect of environmental
and mechanical agents.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The results on Estreux chalk have been obtained dur-
ing the French National Project BCRD coordinated
by INERIS. The collaborations of Mr. P. Delalain
(INERIS) and Mr. J.M. Taulemesse (Ecole des Mines
d’Alès) are kindly acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Allais L., Bornert M., Bretheau T. & Caldemaison D. 1994.
Experimental characterization of the local strain field in
a heterogeneous elastoplastic material. Acta Metallurgica
et Materallia, 42 (11): 3865–3880.
Amouric M. 1990. La transformation gel—smectite—
glauconite. Matériaux Agileux: Structure, Propriétés et
Applications—SFMC (A. Decarreau, editor): 451 461
Danilatos G.D. 1998. Foundations of environmental scan-
ning electron microscopy, Advances in Electronics and
electron physics, 71: 109–250.
De Gennaro V., Sorgi C. & Delage P. 2006. Water reten-
tion properties of a mine chalk. Proc. 4th International
Conference on Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT 2006), Phoenix
(USA): 1371–1381.
Delage P., Tessier D. & Marcel-Audiguier M. 1982. Use of
the Cryoscan apparatus for observation of freeze-fractured
planes of a sensitive Quebec clay in scanning electron
microscopy. Canadian Geotech. J., 19: 111–114.
Masson M. 1973. Pétrophysique de la craie. Bulletin des
Laboratoires des Ponts et Chaussées, Spécial V: 23–48.
Mitchell J.K. & Soga K. 2005. Fundamentals of Soil Behav-
ior, 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ: 577 pp.
Nguyen H.D., De Gennaro V., Sorgi C. & Delage P. (2007).
Retention and compressibility properties of a partially
saturated quarry chalk. Proc. 1st European Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils (E-UNSAT), Durham (UK).
Raffoux, J.F. & Ervel, C., 1980. Stabilité générale de la
carrière souterraine d’Estreux. Rapport CERCHAR, 8 pp.
157
Sorgi C. (2004). Contribution méthodologique et expéri-
mentale à l’étude de la diminution de la résistance des
massifs rocheux par veillissement. BCRD Rapport Final
(2001–01111) INERIS-DRS: 132 pp.
Sorgi C. & De Gennaro V. 2007. ESEM analysis of chalk
microstructure submitted to hydromechanical loading.
C.R. Géosciences 339: 468–481.
Stockes D.J. & Donald A.M 2000. In situ mechanical testing
of dry and hydrated breadcrumb in the environmen-
tal scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Journal of
Materials Science, 35: 599–607.
Tessier D. & Berrier J. 1978. Observation d’argiles hydratées
en microscopie éléctronique à balayage. Importance et
choix de la technique de preparation. Proc. 5th Int.
Work.—Meet. on Soil Micromorphology: 117–135.
Tovey D. & Wong K. 1973. The preparation of soils and other
geological materials for the SEM. Proc. Int. Symp. on Soil
Structure: 59–67.
Valès F., Bornert M., Gharbi H., Nguyen Minh D. &
Eytard J.C. 2007. Micromechanical investigations of the
hydro-mechanical behaviour of argillite rocks by means
of optical full field strain measurement and acoustic emis-
sion techniques. Proc. 11th ISRM Congress, Lisbon, July
2007: in press.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Study of desiccation crack evolution using image analysis

S. Costa & J. Kodikara

Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia

N.I. Thusyanthan
Schofield Centre, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK

ABSTRACT: Desiccation cracking can be heavily detrimental on the performance of clay soils in various
engineering applications. Typical engineering applications include compacted clay barriers in waste containment,
dam cores, canal liners and road pavements. The evolution of desiccation cracks has not been clearly understood
and explained. A series of laboratory tests were conducted using Merri-Creek clay. The evolution of cracks was
captured by automated digital photography. It was revealed that under the conditions tested, the cracks occurred
sequentially subdividing the overall surface area into cells. The relationship between desiccation rate, average
cell area, thickness of the specimen and crack initiation are examined and discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION possible to capture the complete process of shrinkage

Clay soils undergo shrinkage cracking during des-
iccation. Cracks can be a major unwanted feature
in a number of geoengineering applications as well
as in some other disciplines. For instance, in geo-
engineering shrinkage cracking is significant in earth
embankments, slopes, foundations and roads. In agri-
cultural engineering, cracks can stimulate the water
and solute flow through soil in irrigated land. Clay lin-
ers are commonly used for lining and covering waste
landfills in geo-environmental engineering. Shrinkage
cracks can highly compromise the primary function
of these clay liners by promoting water and leachate
migration. A substantial amount of research work has
been conducted in materials engineering on this issue
to study the glazing and thermal fracturing in ceram-
ics (e.g. Chiu & Cima, 1993) and printing, painting &
washing (e.g. Deegan et al. 1997).
Despite the significance of cracking on these appli-
cations, the essential understanding of soil shrinkage
crack evolution and propagation is still far from sat-
isfactory. The majority of previous research has been
qualitative and behavioural (Corte & Higashi 1960,
Muller 1998, Kodikara et al. 2000). Many researchers
have work on the final state of the cracking pro-
cess (Morris et al. 1991, Konrad & Ayad 1997,
Kodikara et al. 2000). Nahlawi and Kodikara (2006)
presented results of cracking tests, where they mea-
sured the onset of the first crack, cracking water
content and subsequent crack evolution. A similar
study was undertaken by Lakshmikantha et al. (2006).
In contrast, using time-lapse video technology, it was
cracking in laboratory test specimens. Results are pre-
sented in image format as well as in video clips. These
videos will be uploaded to a web link in near future.
2 LABORATORY CRACKING TESTS
Merri-Creek clay was used in the experiments. Merri-
Creek clay is found in Northeastern Melbourne. This
very heavy and sticky grey to black clay soil has been
used by other researchers (e.g., Chan et al. 2007) and
its basic properties includes: LL = 74%, PL = 33%,
PI = 41%, Linear shrinkage = 13%.
The Merri-Creek clay used for the tests was pro-
cessed for commercial use and contained a consider-
able amount of tiny plant roots. This clay is commonly
used for construction of cricket pitches in Melbourne,
including the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
2.1 Merri-Creek clay
A series of tests were conducted with Merri-Creek clay.
The unprocessed clay samples were lightly crushed
using a rubber hammer and sieved through a 1.45 mm
sieve. The plant roots were removed as much as possible
for the soil samples. The initial moisture content of
soil was determined using the oven drying method.
The material that passed a 1.45 mm sieve was mixed
with water to its liquid limit (74%), and stirred well
until it attained a visibly homogeneous state. The pre-
pared clay mixture was placed in a plastic tray, which
was then placed into two polythene bags and was

159
sealed for moisture leakage. The tray was kept in a
cool, damp place for 48 to 72 hours allowing the clay
paste to gain adequate moisture homogenization.
Circular glass containers of 140 mm diameter were
used to make the specimens. An air vibrator was
used while preparing the specimen in order to remove
entrapped air. Then the glass container was placed on
an electronic balance which was connected to a com-
puter. This system automatically measured and stored
the weight of the specimen every 30 minutes. (a) (b)
Specimens were dried using flood lamps each of
500 watts. Four lamps were placed above, surrounding
the specimen at a distance of 50 cm. A digital
camera, which was operated by a computer, was
positioned directly above the specimen. The camera
was programmed to take photos at 30 second intervals
and the data were automatically saved in the computer.
The tests were conducted at varying lamp distances
(35, 50 & 75 cm) as well as with varying specimen
thicknesses (5, 10 & 20 mm). (c)
Although the tests were not performed in a tem-
Figure 2. Crack pattern for 35, 50 & 75 cm lamp distances
perature or humidity controlled environment, both (a, b & c respectively) for 20 mm thick specimen.
surrounding temperature and relative humidity were
reasonably constant at 50◦ C and 20% respectively
owing to the constant heat emitted by lamps. Table 1. Statistical features of clay specimens.

Lamp Thickness of Desiccation Average

3 RESULTS distance the specimen rate cell area
cm mm g/hr · cm2 mm2
It is interesting to observe that all specimens produced 35 5 0.1939 224
predominantly sequential, orthogonal crack patterns 10 0.0884 217
(Figs 1 & 2), leading to subdivision of the crack area 20 0.0574 296
into smaller cells. 50 5 0.1196 113
10 0.0420 326
20 0.0252 481
75 5 0.0677 134
10 0.0298 294
20 0.0220 362

For the clay cracking shown in Figures 1 & 2 the

number of cracked cells and the average cell area
(a) (b) are found to be dependent on the specimen thickness
and the lamp distance (or the desiccation rate). As
the thickness of the specimen increases, number of
cracked cells decreases, in turn increasing the average
cell area. Similarly, an increased desiccation rate (or
decreased lamp distance) will result in an increase of
number of cracked cells and a decrease in the average
cell area. Some statistical features of cracked speci-
mens are given in Table 1. An exceptional situation
can be seen at 35 cm lamp distance, where for 5 mm
(c) thick specimen, the average cell area is larger than
that for the 10 mm thickness. The desiccation rates for
Figure 1. Crack patterns for 5, 10 & 20 mm thick specimens each test condition were computed on the basis of the
(a, b & c respectively) at 50 cm lamp distance. automatic weight measurements during drying.

160
4 DISCUSSION
4.1 Desiccation rate
The average cell area of the final crack pattern was
dependent on the desiccation rate and the thickness
of the specimen. It can be seen from Table 1, that
the desiccation rate increases when the lamp distance
decreases or the clay thickness decreases. In general,
the higher the desiccation rate, the lower the average
cell area. At higher desiccation rates, more cracks
are needed to release the rapid increase of stress in
the specimen, subsequently reducing the crack spac-
ing and the size of the cells. With a low desiccation
rate, the specimen has enough time to release the stress
increment with a few slowly opening cracks.
4.2 Specimen thickness
The decrease of the average cell area with reduc-
ing specimen thickness has been presented by sev-
eral previous researchers (Nahlawi & Kodikara 2006,
Lakshmikantha et al. 2006). The exceptional
behaviour (noted in the previous section) of the 5 mm
thick specimen at 35 cm lamp distance is being fur-
ther investigated using thinner specimens. Kodikara
et al. (2007) theorized that the spacing between cracks
decreases when the specimen thickness decreases up
to a certain critical thickness, below which the spacing
between cracks becomes larger, increasing the area of
the cells. It may be possible that this behaviour is rele-
vant for interpreting the current experimental results,
or it may be one-off result dependent on the specific
conditions of testing.
4.3 Crack evolution
Generally, the evolution and propagation of shrink-
age cracks cannot be categorized as purely orthogonal
or non-orthogonal patterns. The final state of the
crack pattern is generally a mixture of orthogonal,
non-orthogonal, simultaneous and sequential cracks
(Kodikara et al. 2000). However, crack patterns in all
the clay specimens contained almost all orthogonal,
sequential cracks where subdivision was the dominant
feature in propagation.
Figure 3 highlights some of the main features of
cracking process. Onset of cracking is dependent on
tensile stress distribution was well as the flaw distri-
bution within the material. As theorized by Kodikara
and Choi (2006), the maximum stress is likely to occur
at the middle of a layer or cracked cell, if cracks
have already formed, otherwise predominantly uni-
form stress conditions might prevail, as applicable to
initial cracking. However, the exact location of crack
formation will depend on the existence of a flaw that
can be propagated with the prevailing stress level at
161
3 3
7 7
8 8
4 4
10
10
5 5
2 2
6
1 9
6
1 9
(a) (b)
3 3
7 7
8 8
4 4
10 10
5 5
2
6 2
6
1 9 1 9
(c)
(d)
3
7
3
7
8 8
4
10
4
10
5
5
2
2 6
6
1 9
1 9
(f)
(e)
Figure 3. Evolution and propagation of shrinkage cracks in
5 mm thick clay specimen at 75 cm lamp distance.
that location. Therefore, the initial cracking is gener-
ally associated with edge cracking, where the material
can be weakly attached to the container. However, it is
possible for several cracks to initiate simultaneously
because the stress conditions are relatively uniform
at the beginning. Thereafter, cracks can occur some-
where in the vicinity of the centre of a layer or cracked
cell, although theoretically, the tensile stress devel-
opment would likely to be a maximum at the centre.
Numbers 1, 2, & 3 in Figure 3(a) refers to the onset of
first three cracks respectively. Once a crack is open,
it tends to spread in both directions until it intersects
another crack or the boundary. It is hardly seen that two
cracks meet at an angle of 120◦ to form one crack, or
an existing crack bifurcates to form a 120◦ nucleation.
This can be identified by following the crack no. 1, 2,
3, 4 & 5 in Figure 3(a) to (f).
Crack no. 7 & 8 in Figures 3(c) & (d) are examples
for subdivision. Instead of subdivision, only rarely
do cracks appear to bifurcate to form new cracks.
In Figure 3, crack no. 9 appears to bifurcate into
two cracks. A certain few cracks appear to start from
one point simultaneously and propagate in three direc-
tions making approximately 120◦ angles among them.
Crack no. 6 in Figures 3(b) to (f) is an example of
such a formation. However, closer examination of

No. of cracks initiated within the hour

60

these crack formations reveals that these can very well 50

be explained by the presence of certain flow orienta-
tions and the influence of stress relief caused by other 40

already formed cracks. In this regard, the crack forma- 30

tion observed in these tests can be considered to form

20
generally orthogonal patterns. This is very common
when cracks propagate in subdivision, as a require- 10

ment of the prevailing stress regimes influenced by 0

formed cracks. An example is shown in Figures 3(b) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time/(hr)
to (f) by crack no.10.
Figure 5. Number of cracks initiated during the first few
4.4 Crack initiation hours of the drying of 5 mm thick specimen at 75 cm lamp
distance.
The distribution of cumulative crack length over the
drying period illustrates a similar behaviour for speci-
mens with same thickness at different lamp distances.
Figure 4 shows the increase in crack length as a
percentage of the final crack length for 5 mm thick
specimens as the drying progressed. All the speci-
mens were prepared at their liquid limit (74%). The
specimen under highest desiccation rate (lamp dis-
tance = 35 cm) starts cracking first as expected. These
results show that the average cracking water content
(as determined from overall weight measurements) is
also higher when the first crack occurred. However,
the actual cracking water content may be different and
was not measured in these tests. Once the cracks are
initiated, they grow rapidly to the final state where
the crack length becomes stabilized. When desicca- Figure 6. Displacement vectors of a cracked specimen
tion rate is low, cracks open up reasonably late, but generated using PIV analysis.
continue to grow until the soil is almost fully dried.
Using the photos taken at various time intervals,
can be extended further to develop detailed flaw dis-
the frequency of crack initiation was analyzed within
tributions as well as flaw orientations that are required
each hour. A typical distribution is shown in Figure 5.
for numerical modelling of crack evolution.
Almost all the cracks have opened up within the initial
stage of drying. This distribution shows the likely
distribution of flaws that were propagated at various 4.5 Strain analysis
moisture contents. In other words, it represents the
flaw distribution with associated fracture stress given Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is becoming a pow-
by the corresponding moisture content. This analysis erful tool in the study of failure mechanisms and
material failure parameters in geomechanics (White
et al. 2003, Thusynathan et al. 2007). This paper
Percentage crack length / (%)

120.00 presents some preliminary results of the application

100.00
75cm of this technique to study desiccation crack evolution.
Figure 6 shows the displacement vectors of a
80.00 50cm
cracked specimen of Merri-Creek clay analyzed using
60.00
35cm the PIV technique. The PIV image software developed
40.00 at the University of Cambridge, UK (White, 2002,
20.00
Take, 2003) was used here. It is clear that despite
the large deformations cracked cells have experienced,
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 it is possible to track their strains and displacements
Water Content / (%) provided that additional texture is provided to the
cracking surface. In this instance, fine white sand
Figure 4. Variation of percentage crack length with average was randomly distributed on the clay surface at the
water content of a 5 mm thick layer—the legend shows the beginning to provide sufficient textural properties for
lamp distance. image tracking by the software.

162
 PIV can produce plots of strain contours which
distinguish the strain localization prior to the crack
initiation. For example, analysis focused on the initia-
tion of a selected single crack in the specimen shown in
Figure 7. Plots generated from a preliminary analysis
are shown in figure 8a–c. Initially, soil was undergoing
Cracks almost uniform strain over the entire region as shown
in Figure 8a. Strain localization close to the top right
and left corners of the region before the crack initiation
can be seen in Figure 8b. The grayscale code on the
right of the each figure refers to the value of strain in
pixels as the images were not calibrated. In Figure 8c,
the crack has already opened increasing the maximum
Figure 7. Cracks analyzed with PIV technique. strain from 1.8 to 18.

5 CONCLUSION

This paper presents the results of laboratory crack-

ing tests undertaken on a reactive clay. The evolution
of crack patterns was studied using image analysis,
and time-lapse videographs were produced giving a
complete picture of crack evolution. Tensile stress
distribution within the material and the flaw distribu-
tion govern the crack evolution. The spacing between
cracks or the average cell area decreased the increas-
ing of either the desiccation rate and (or) the specimen
thickness. In line with previous observations on des-
(a) iccation cracking, clay specimens cracked mainly
orthogonally by sequential subdivision after the crack
initiation, which was associated with some simulta-
neous cracking, influenced by flaw and tensile stress
distributions.
Preliminary analyses were undertaken using Par-
ticle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique in order to
Cracks
capture the development of strain prior to crack ini-
tiation. This technique will further be used in future
experiments for further studies.

(b) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The support given by ARC Discovery Scheme is

gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also rendered to
Drs White and Take and Cambridge University for
providing PIV software.

Cracks
REFERENCES

Chiu, R.C. and Cima, M.J. 1993. Drying of granular ceremic

films: II, Drying stress and saturation uniformity. J.
American Ceremic Society, 76(11), 2679–2777.
(c) Corte, A. and Higashi, A. 1960. Experimental research on
desiccation crack in soil. U.S. Army Snow Ice and Per-
Figure 8a–c. Plots of strain build-up around the crack mafrostResearch Establishment. Research report No.66.
opening. Corps of Engineers. USA.

163
Deegan, R.D., Bakajin, O., Dupont, T.F., Huber, G.,
Negal, S.R. and Witten, T.A. 1997, Capillary flow the
cause of ring stains from dried liquid drops, Nature, 389,
827–829.
Chan, D., Kodikara, J.K., Ranjith, P.G. and Choi, X.
2007. Data analysis and laboratory investigation of the
behaviour of pipes buried in reactive clay, 10th Australia-
New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Brisbane,
Australia.
Kodikara, J.K., Barbour, S.L. and Fredlund, D.G., Choi, X.
2007, Theoretical analysis of desiccation cracking of a
long soil layer, under review.
Kodikara, J.K. and Choi, X. 2006. A simplified analytical
model for desiccation cracking of clay layers in labo-
ratory tests, Proceedings of UNSAT2006 Conference,
Edited by G.A. Miller, C.E. Zapata, S.L. Houston and
D.G. Fredlund, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication,
Unsaturated Soils Vol. 2, pp. 2558–2567.
Kodikara, J.K., Barbour, S.L. and Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Des-
iccation cracking of soil layers, Proceedings of Asian Con-
ference on Unsaturated Soils: From Theory to Practice,
A. A. Balkema, pp. 693–698.
Konrad, J-M. and Ayad, R. 1997. Desiccation of a sen-
sitive clay: field experimental observations, Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 34, 929–942.
Lakshmikantha, M.R., Prat, P.C. and Ladesma, A. 2006.
An experimental study of cracking mechanisms in drying
164
soils, Proceedings of 5th International Conference on
Environmental Geotechnics, Thomas Telford, London.
Lee, S.L., Lo, K.W. and Lee, F.H. 1982. A Numerical model
for crack propagation in soils, Proceedings of the Interna-
tional Conference on Finite Element Methods, Shanghai,
China, pp. 412–418.
Morris, P.H., Graham, J. and Williams, D.J. 1992. Crack-
ing in drying soils, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 29,
263–277.
Muller, G. 1998. Experimental simulation of basalt columns,
J. Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 86, 93–96.
Nahlawi, H., and Kodikara, J.K. 2006. Laboratory experi-
ments on desiccation cracking of thin soil layers, Journal
of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, GEGE2281,
Springer Netherlands, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 1641–1664.
Take, W.A. 2003. The influence of seasonal moisture cycles
on clay slopes, PhD dissertation, University of Cam-
bridge, UK.
Thusyanthan, N.I., Take, W.A., Madabhushi, S.P.G. and
Bolton, M.D. 2007. Crack initiation in clay observed in
beam bending, Géotechnique, Vol. 57, No. 7, 581–594.
White, D.J. 2002. An investigation into the behaviour of
pressedin piles. PhD dissertation, University of Cam-
bridge, UK.
White, D.J., Take, W.A. & Bolton, M.D. 2003. Soil deforma-
tion measurement using particle image velocimetry (PIV)
and photogrammetry, Géotechnique, 53, No. 7, 619–631.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Theoretical analysis of the effect of temperature, cable length and

double-impedance probe head on TDR water content measurement

A. Tarantino & A. Pozzato

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Strutturale, Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy

ABSTRACT: The TDR method for volumetric water content determination is based on the measurement of
the soil apparent permittivity from travel time analysis of a reflection waveform. This is in turn related to water
content through a calibration curve. Methods for travel time determination and calibration equations have been
developed in the laboratory under conditions that often differ from those in the field, where longer cable are
used and temperature fluctuations are significant. This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the effect of
temperature, cable length, and double-impedance probe head on signal travel time. This is made by solving the
transmission line equations in the frequency domain and by obtaining the time domain waveform by inverse
Fast Fourier Transform. It is shown that multiple reflections associated with double-impedance probes may
significant affect TDR travel time-based water content determination.

1 INTRODUCTION other factors such as temperature, cable length. This

Water content measurement in the laboratory and
the field is a key to understanding the hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. The
method based on Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)
may be considered as the most accurate and versatile
technique. TDR measurement involves a fast rise-time
step pulse generator, a coaxial cable, a two or three-rod
probe inserted into the soil, and a sampling oscillo-
scope. The step pulse is launched into the transmission
line, travels along the coaxial cable and probe rods.
It is then reflected at the end of the rods and travels
backward along the rods and coaxial cable. The time
taken to the pulse to travel forth and back the probe
rods depends on the volumetric water content of the
soil but also on soil dry density, clay content, tem-
perature, soil conductivity, cable length and rise-time
of step pulse. Reviews of TDR technique for water
content measurement can be found in O’ Connor &
Dowding (1999), Gardner et al. (2001), Noborio
(2001), Dane & Topp (2002), Jones et al. (2002),
Robinson et al. (2003), Tarantino et al. (2008).
Conventional interpretation of TDR measurement
consists of determining the pulse travel time along the
rods and relating it to the volumetric water content
through a suitable calibration curve. This can be the
Topp’s equation (Topp et al. 1980) or Ledieu’s equation
(Ledieu et al. 1986) or a soil specific calibration curve.
Conventional interpretation of TDR measurement lies
on the assumption that travel time is only affected
by volumetric water content and is independent of
assumption is clearly a source of error in water con-
tent measurement especially in the field, where long
cable are often used and temperature fluctuations are
significant particularly in surface installations.
The paper presents a theoretical analysis to assess
the effect of temperature and cable length on TDR
signal travel time and, hence, on water content mea-
surement. In addition, the effect of multiple reflections
occurring at the probe head is analysed. Probe heads
of current commercially available probes are formed
by two series impedances which cause the waveform
to first descend and then ascend when the signal trav-
els along the probe head. This form of the wave at
the interface between cable and soil is somehow dif-
ferent from the classical ‘single rising limb’ form
(single-impedance head) reported in the literature
(Heimovaara & Bouten 1990). A question that might
be asked is whether the methods for travel time deter-
mination developed for single-impedance heads still
hold for double-impedance heads.
The theoretical analysis was carried out by solv-
ing the transmission line equations in the frequency
domain and then obtaining the time domain wave-
form by inverse Fast Fourier Transform. Soil permit-
tivity was represented by a four-component mixing
model and free and bound water were assumed to
have frequency-dependent complex dielectric permit-
tivity. The cable was modelled by assuming that its
permittivity is complex and frequency-dependent.
The analysis is here limited to soils having pore
water with low electrical conductivity and negligible

165
amount of bound water (soils having low cation
exchange capacity).
2 SIMULATING TDR WAVEFORMS
2.1 Uniform transmission line
Let us consider an equivalent circuit for a uniform
transmission line as shown in Figure 1. The line is
terminated with an independent voltage source VS at
z = 0 and a source impedance ZS and with a load
impedance ZL at z = l (ZL = ∞ for the open-ended
TDR probe).
Electromagnetic wave propagation inside the uni-
form transmission line is described by the line current
I and the voltage V between the conductors. If V
and I are time-harmonic cosine functions with angular
frequency ω and the symbolic representation of sinu-
soidal signal is adopted, the following transmission
line equations can be obtained (Kraus & Fleisch 1999):
⎧ + −γ z+jωt
⎨ V (t, z) = V0 e
⎪ + V0− eγ z+jωt
(1)
⎪ V+ V−
⎩ I (t, z) = 0 e−γ z+jωt − 0 eγ z+jωt
Z Z
where t is the time, z is the position along the line, and
V + and V − are complex constants to be determined
for given boundary conditions. The two complex terms
in each equation denotes travelling waves in positive
and negative direction respectively. The propagation
constant, γ , and the characteristic impedance of the
line, Z, are the two complex parameters governing
the propagation of electromagnetic waves along the
transmission line and can be expressed for the case of
non-ferromagnetic materials as follows:
jω  ∗ Zp
γ = εr ; Z= √ ∗ (2)
c εr
where c is the speed of an electromagnetic wave in
free space (c = 3 · 108 m/s), εr∗ is the equivalent
permittivity of the medium between the inner and
outer conductor, and Zp the characteristic impedance
in vacuum, which is only a function of the cross-
sectional geometry of the transmission line and can
ZS
+ Zhead1 + Z(2) tan h(γhead1 · lhead1 )
+
Vs V(0) Characteristic impedance, Z ZL
z=0 z=l
Figure 1. Uniform transmission line.
166
be assumed, as a first approximation, to be equal to
the characteristic impedance in air.
The boundary conditions for the uniform trans-
mission line shown in Figure 1 can be written as
follows:

V (0) = VS − ZS I (0)
(3)
V (l) = ZL I (l)
By combining the second of these boundary condi-
tions with Equation 1, we can obtain the impedance
that the oscilloscope sees at z = 0 (Kraus &
Fleisch 1999):
V (0) ZL + Z tan h(γ l)
Z(0) = =Z (4)
I (0) Z + ZL tan h(γ l)
2.2 TDR multi-section transmission line
The equivalent circuit for the TDR system is shown
in Figure 2. It includes a multi-section transmission
line consisting of a cable, a probe head split in two
sub-sections, head 1 and head 2, and a probe. Each
section of the transmission line is characterised by an
impedance Z, a propagation constant γ , and a length l.
The solution for the multi-section transmission
line can be obtained by writing Equation 1 for each
section of the line and by considering the continuity
constraints at the discontinuities between the termina-
tions of each section and by imposing the boundary
conditions at z = 0 and z = l given by Equation 3.
Rather than simultaneously solving Equation 1 for
each section of the line, we will use the explicit proce-
dure suggested by Lin (2003a, 2003b), which involves
determining the input impedance at the end of the line
and transforming the impedance successively to the
subsequent discontinuity until the source is reached
at z = 0:
Z(4) = ZL
Z(4) + Zprobe tan h(γprobe · lprobe )
Z(3) = Zprobe
Zprobe + Z(4) tan h(γprobe · lprobe )
Z(3) + Zhead2 tan h(γhead2 · lhead2 )
Z(2) = Zhead2
Zhead2 + Z(3) tan h(γhead2 · lhead2 )
(5)
Z(2) + Zhead1 tan h(γhead1 · lhead1 )
Z(1) = Zhead1
Z(1) + Zcable tan h(γcable · lcable )
Z(0) = Zcable
Zcable + Z(1) tan h(γcable · lcable )
The impedance Z(0) obtained from Equation 5,
which is the impedance that the oscilloscope sees at
z = 0, controls the voltage V (0) in the frequency
 Cable Head 1 Head 2 Probe suggested by Heimovaara (1994) and Jones & Or
ZS Z(0) Z(1) Z(2) Z(3) Z(4) (2001), provided the input function was zero padded
+ Zcable Zhead1 Zhead2 Zprobe with the addition of a number of zero samples equal
+ to 4 N/8 N.
Vs V(0) γcable γhead1 γhead2 γprobe ZL
lcable lhead1 lhead2 lprobe To verify that the FFT of the sampled input func-
l1 l2 l3 l4 tion after zero-padding was not affected by noise,
we compared the discrete Fourier transform with the
z=0 z=z1 z=z2 z=z3 z=l continuous Fourier transform of the input function
obtained from the Fourier integral (Brigham 1974).
Figure 2. Multisection transmission line. The following expression for the input function in the
frequency domain was derived:
V  
e−j2π f t1 − e−j2π f t0 j −j2π f T
H( f ) = V0 + e (7)
(t1 − t0 )(2πf ) 2 2πf
V0
where f is the frequency and V0 the voltage amplitude.
t0 t1 T t
Δt
ΔT 3 TRANSMISSION LINE PARAMETERS

Figure 3. Ideal input step function. The propagation constant, γ , and the characteris-
tic impedance, Z, are the parameters governing the
domain sampled by the oscilloscope at z = 0 (Lin signal propagation through each section of the line.
2003a, 2003b): According to Equation 2, these parameters depend on
the dielectric permittivities of the media filling the
Z(0) − ZS sections of the transmission line. These permittivities
V(0) = Vin + · Vin (6) are discussed in the following sections.
Z(0) + ZS

where Vin is the incident waveform in the frequency 3.1 Soil permittivity
domain (Vin = Vs /2). The permittivity of the soil εm∗ was described by
the four-component complex dielectric mixing model
2.3 Numerical modelling of TDR reflection presented by Heimovaara et al. (1994):
waveform 
 ρd √ ∗
According to Lin (2003a, 2003b), the TDR wave- εm∗ = εs + (θ − δρd As ) εfw
ρs
form can be obtained by standard spectra analysis that   
involves (i) transforming the incident step input in ∗ ρd √
+ δρd As εbw + 1− −θ εa (8)
the frequency domain to determine Vin ; (ii) determin- ρs
ing the frequency response of the output V (0) using
Equations 5 and 6 and (iii) transforming the frequency where εs and εa are the permittivities of soil solids
∗ ∗
response back into the time domain. and air respectively, εfw and εbw are the equivalent
The Fourier and Inverse Fourier Transforms were permittivities of free and bound water respectively, ρd
performed using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is the bulk dry density of the soil, ρs is the average
and inverse FFT (IFFT) algorithm. Appropriate zero density of the solid phase, the product δρd As represents
padding and suitable window size were selected. the volumetric bound water content, with As and δ
being the specific surface of the soil and thickness of
2.4 Input function the bound water layer respectively.
∗
The equivalent permittivity of free water εfw was
We considered the ideal input step function shown in
assumed to be described by a Debye-type equation
Figure 3, where T = T − t0 is the pulse length and
(Hasted 1973):
t = t1 − t0 is the pulse rise time (t = 200 ps). We
assumed that the pulse length T is finite, with T εfw,s (N , T ) − εfw,∞
∗
greater than the time required for complete reflections εfw = εfw,∞ +
of waves traveling forth and back the TDR probe. 1 + j ffw,relf(N ,T )
When transforming the sampled input function into
σfw,dc (N , T )
the frequency domain by FFT, we found that it was −j (9)
not necessary to introduce any algorithm as earlier 2πf ε0

167
Table 1. Debye parameters for free water at N = 0.05 representing the combined effect of geometric factors
(moderately saline water). and surface resistivity.
We determined the parameters εcable , αR ,
T σfw,dc εfw,s ffw,rel εfw,∞ and Zp,cable with reference to the cable RG58A/U
(◦ C) (S/m) – (GHz) –
connected to the TDR probes manufactured by Camp-
0 0.28 86.8 9.0 4.2 bell Scientific. These parameters were determined by
20 0.47 79.2 17.1 4.2 fitting the frequency-dependent nominal attenuation
40 0.69 72.3 27.5 4.2 (dB/m), the nominal velocity of propagation, and the
nominal impedance reported in the cable datasheet.
We obtained αR = 130 sec−0.5 , εcable = 1.62, and
Zp,cable = 63.6.
where f is the frequency, ffw,rel is the relaxation
3.3 Head permittivity
frequency, εfw,s the static permittivity, εfw,∞ the per-
mittivity at infinite frequency (refractive index), ε0 is We assumed that the head permittivity was real and
the permittivity in free space, σfw,dc the direct current frequency-independent. For sake of simplicity, we
electric conductivity. The parameters εfw,s , ffw,rel , and assumed that the head permittivity was equal to the
σfw,dc depend on temperature T and normality N of the cable permittivity (εhead = 1.62).
aqueous solution according to the relationships given
by Stogryn (1971). Table 1 show the values of the free
water dielectric parameters for three different temper- 4 EFFECT OF DOUBLE-IMPEDANCE
atures T for the case of an aqueous solutions having PROBE HEAD
N = 0.05 (moderately saline water).
A similar Debye relationship was used to represent To investigate the effect of the double-impedance
the equivalent permittivity of bound water. Since the probe head, we considered different combinations of
relaxation frequency of bound water is well below the Zhead1 and Zhead2 (Table 2). For each impedance com-
TDR bandwidth (Tarantino et al. 2008), the Debye bination, we simulated the waveform in water, air,
permittivity of bound water εbw∗
was simplified to: and soil at different volumetric water contents. The
waveform in air and water was used to calibrate the
probe according to Heimovaara (1993). The water con-
∗ σbw,dc
εbw = εbw,∞ − j (10) tent was then derived from travel time analysis using
2π f ε0 Ledieu’s calibration and compared with the theoreti-
cal value used to generate the waveform. To isolate
where εbw,∞ and σbw,dc were assumed to be the effect of multiple reflections occurring at the
temperature-independent. We assumed εbw,∞ = 5 double-impedance head, we assumed that both cable
and σbw,dc = 15 S/m according to Heimovaara and soils were non-dissipative (αR = 0, As = 0,
et al. (1994). The permittivities of soil solids and air σfw,dc = 0). The waveforms obtained by consider-
were assumed to be real and frequency independent ing a single impedance probe head are reported in
(εs = 5, εa = 1). Figure 4(a) (combinations No. 1 and 2 in Table 2)
whereas the waveforms obtained by considering a
double-impedance probe head with different values of
3.2 Cable permittivity Zhead1 and Zhead2 are reported in Figure 4(b) (com-
The permittivity of the cable was modelled according binations No. 3 to 5 in Table 2). It can be observed
to Lin & Tang (2007), who presented the following that the waveform can change significantly if there
expressions for the propagation constant, γ , and the is a high impedance mismatch between the two head
characteristic impedance, Z: sub-sections.


j2π f √ αR Table 2. Combinations of impedances of probe head
γcable = εcable 1 + (1 − j)  (11) sub-sections.
c f
 Cable Head1 Head2
Zp,cable αR No. L(m) L(m) Zp() L(m) Zp()
Zcable = √ 1 + (1 − j)  (12)
εcable f 1 0.08 – – 0.02 57
2 0.08 – – 0.02 285
where εcable is the dielectric permittivity of the medium 3 0.07 0.01 28 0.02 57
4 0.07 0.01 6 0.02 171
filling the cable assumed to be real and frequency- 5 0.07 0.01 6 0.02 57
independent, and the αR is the resistance loss factor

168
 0.7 0.5
0.6 No.1
0.5 No.2

0.4 0.4
reflection coefficient, ρ

0.3

'MEASURED'
0.2
0.3
0.1 (a)
0
0.1 0.2 combination
0.2 No.1
0.3 No.2
0.4 0.1 No.3
0.5 No.4
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 No.5
t [ns] 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
0.5
0.4 No.3 IMPOSED
0.3 No.4

0.2
No.5 Figure 5. Comparison between ‘measured’ water content
and water content used to generate the waveform for different
0.1
reflection coefficient, ρ

combinations of head sub-section impedances.

0
0.1 0.4
(b)
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6 0.3
'MEASURED'

ρd=1.5 g/cm3; ρs=2.65 g/cm3

0.7
0.8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
t [ns]
0.2 cable length
Figure 4. Waveforms in water. (a) single-impedance probe 1m
head; (b) double impedance probe head.
10 m
50 m
Finally, the ‘measured’ water content is compared 0.1
with the water content used to generate the waveform 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
(Fig. 5). For the two single-impedance combinations
IMPOSED
(No. 1 and 2), the ‘measured’ water contents are close
to each other and close to the values used to gen-
Figure 6. Comparison between ‘measured’ water content
erate the waveform. However, deviations from the and water content used to generate the waveform for different
‘true’ water content may be significant for the case cable length.
where the probe head has two sub-sections having high
impedance mismatch.
considering in Equation 11 an equivalent resistance
loss factor αR∗ determined as follows:
5 EFFECT OF CABLE LENGTH
lcable
αR∗ = αR ∗ (13)
The effect of cable length on signal travel time lcable
was investigated by considering a dissipative cable
(αR = 130 sec−0.5 ). We investigated the cable lengths This approach was adopted because the time
lcable = 1, 10, and 50 m. domain window becomes extremely large for exces-
The different cable lengths were simulated by con- sive cable length and the Fourier Inverse Transform
∗
sidering a single fictitious length lcable = 1 m and becomes problematic.

169
 Since the cables acts as a low-pass filter, the case
of dissipative soil was considered. In particular, we
assumed As = 66.7 m2 /g, ρd = 1.66 g/cm3 , ρs =
2.71 g/cm3 and the free water parameters correspond-
ing to N = 0.05 and T = 20◦ C (Table 1). These values
of As , ρd , ρs are those used to simulate the waveforms
measured in the clayey silt reported by Pozzato et al.
(Ibid.).
For each cable length, the waveform in air and
water was used to calibrate the probe according to
Heimovaara (1993). The water content derived from
travel time analysis using Ledieu’s calibration was then
compared with the theoretical value used to generate
the waveform. Results from this analysis are shown
in Figure 6. It can be observed that for a soil moder-
ately dispersive (σfw,dc ∼0.5 S/m), the effect of cable
length is not significant. This may not be the case
for pore-water with high electrical conductivity and
significant amount of bound water (soils having high
cation exchange capacity).
6 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE
The effect of temperature was investigated by con-
sidering a non-dissipative cable, a zero-length probe
head, and As = 0. In this way, the signal losses are only
associated with electrical conductivity of free water.
We considered three different temperatures (T = 0,
20, and 40◦ C) and a moderately saline pore-water
(Table 1). The waveform in air and water at T =
20◦ C was used to calibrate the probe according to
Heimovaara (1993). The water content was then
derived from travel time analysis using Ledieu’s
0.4
0.3
'MEASURED'
temperature
0.2
0 °C
20 °C
40 °C
0.1
0.1 0.2 0.3
IMPOSED
Figure 7. Comparison between ‘measured’ water content
and water content used to generate the waveform for different
combinations of T and N .
calibration and compared with the theoretical value
used to generate the waveform.
Again, it can be observed (Fig. 7) that for a soil
moderately dispersive (σfw,dc ∼0.5 S/m), the effect of
temperature is not significant.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The paper has presented a theoretical analysis to inves-
tigate sources of error in TDR water content measure-
ment. It has been shown that double impedance probes
may considerably affect the measurement for the case
where sub-section head impedances are significantly
different.
For non-dispersive soils characterised by pore-
water with low electrical conductivity and negligible
amount of bound water (low cation exchange capac-
ity), temperature and cable length do not appear to
have significant effect.
REFERENCES
Brigham, E.O. 1974. The fast Fourier transform. Prentice-
Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Dane, J.H. & Topp, G.C., eds. 2002. Methods of soil analy-
sis. Part 4-Physical Methods. SSSA Books Ser. 5. SSSA
Madison, WI, USA.
Gardner, C.M.K., Robinson, D.A., Blyth, K. & Cooper, J.D.
2001. Soil water content measurement. In K. Smith &
C. Mullins (eds), Soil and Environmental Analysis: Phys-
ical Methods (Second Edition): 1–64. Marcell Dekker,
Inc., 270 Madison Ave, New York.
Jones, S.B., Wraith, J.M. & Or, D. 2002. Time domain reflec-
tometry measurement principles and applications. Hydrol.
Process. 16: 141–153.
Hasted, J.B. 1973. Aqueous dielectrics. London: Chapman
and Hall.
Heimovaara, T.J. 1993. Design of triple-wire time domain
reflectometry probes in practice and theory. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. J. 57: 1410–1417.
Heimovaara, T.J. 1994. Frequency domain analysis of TDR
waveforms 1. Measurement of the complex dielectric
permittivity of soils. Water Resources Research. 30(2):
189–199.
Heimovaara, T.J. & Bouten, W. 1990. A computer-controlled
36 channel time domain reflectometry system for mon-
itoring soil water contents. Water Resour. Res. 26:
2311–2316.
Heimovaara, T.J., Bouten, W. & Verstraten, J.M. 1994.
Frequency domain analysis of time domain reflectom-
etry waveform. 2. A four-component complex dielec-
tric mixing model for soils. Water Resour. Res. 30(2):
0.4 201–209.
Jones, S.B. & Or, D. 2001. Frequency-Domain methods for
extending TDr measurement range in saline soils. Sympo-
sium and Workshop on TDR for Innovative Geotechnical
Applications. Available at http://www.iti.northwestern.
Kraus, J.D. & Fleisch, D.A. 1999. Electromagnetics with
applications. McGraw-Hill.
170
Lin, C.P. 2003a. Analysis of nonuniform and dispersive time
domain reflectometry measurement systems with applica-
tion to the dielectric spectroscopy of soils. Water Resour.
Res. 39 DOI:10.1029/2002 WR001418.
Lin, C.P. 2003b. Frequency domain versus travel time anal-
yses of TDR waveforms for soil moisture measurement.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67: 720–729.
Lin, C.-P. & Tang, S.H. 2007. Comprehensive wave propaga-
tion model to improve TDR interpretation for geotechnical
applications. Geotech. Testing J. 30(2): 90–97.
Ledieu, J., De Ridder, P., De Clerck, P. &
Dautrebande, S. 1986. A method of measuring soil mois-
ture by time domain reflectometry. Journal of Hydrology.
88: 319–328.
Noborio, K. 2001. Measurement of soil water content and
electrical conductivity by TDR: a review. Computers and
Electronics in Agriculture. 31: 213–237.
O’ Connor, K.M. & Dowding, C.H. 1999. Geomeasurements
by pulsing TDR cables and probes. CRC Press.
171
Pozzato, A., Tarantino, A., McCartney, J. & Zornberg, J.
(Ibid). Effect of dry density on the relationship between
water content and TDR-measured apparent dielectric
permittivity in compacted clay. This conference.
Robinson, D.A., Jones, S.B., Wraith, J.M., Or, D. &
Friedman, S.P. 2003. A review of advances in dielectric
and electrical conductivity measurement in soils using
TDR. Vadose Zone Journal 2: 444–475.
Stogryn, A. 1971. Equations for calculating the dielectric
constant of saline water. IEEE Trans Microwave Theory
Tech 19: 733–736.
Tarantino, A., Ridley, A.M. & Toll, D.G. 2008. Field mea-
surement of suction, water content, and water permeabil-
ity. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering. In press.
Topp, G.C., Davis, J.L. & Annan, A.P. 1980. Electromag-
netic determination of soil water content: Measurements
in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resour. Res. 16:
574–582.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effect of dry density on the relationship between water content

and TDR-measured apparent dielectric permittivity in compacted clay

A. Pozzato & A. Tarantino

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Strutturale, Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy

J. McCartney & J. Zornberg

University of Texas, Austin, TX, US

ABSTRACT: The paper presents an experimental investigation of the effect of dry density on dielectric apparent
permittivity. It was observed that the effect was not significant, but not negligible for sensitive applications. It is
shown that the effect of dry density can be successfully modeled using a three-phase ‘refractive index’ model.
It is also shown that Topp’s equation can accurately predict water content provided bulk electrical conductivity
is accounted for.

1 INTRODUCTION To prepare the samples for calibration, dry soil

was placed in a motorized mixer and sprayed with a
The volumetric water content, θV , is a key variable predetermined amount of demineralised water while
in unsaturated soil mechanics and needs to be mea- continuously mixing the soil. Samples were prepared
sured both in the laboratory and the field. Time domain at water contents ranging from 9.7% to 17.7%. The
reflectometry (TDR) is a technique that can be suc- moistened soil was stored for at least two days to allow
cessfully used for this purpose. This technique is based moisture equilibration.
on the measurement of the dielectric permittivity of A PVC mold having a diameter of 103 mm was
the soil, Ka , which is in turn related to the volumet- used to compact the soil. The soil was compacted in
ric water content through a suitable calibration curve. six layers 19.4 mm thick using a drop hammer to obtain
An empirical calibration curve was presented by Topp
et al. (1980) suggesting a unique relationship between
Ka and θV . However this curve was developed for agri- 2.2
culture soils which have dry densities typically lower ZAV proctor standard compaction
than compacted soils used in geotechnical engineer- 2.1 (S =
100 rd = 1.4 gr/cm3
%)
ing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the rd = 1.5 gr/cm3
effects of dry density on the Ka − θV relationship. 2
S= rd = 1.7 gr/cm3
70%
1.9 S=
60%
[gr/cm^3]

1.8
2 MATERIAL AND SPECIMEN PREPARATION S=
50%
1.7
d

A low plasticity compacted clay (RMA soil) was S=

selected for use in investigating the impact of density 1.6 40%
on the TDR calibration. The soil has a plastic limit
wP = 0.12, liquid limit wL = 0.27 and hygroscopic 1.5
S=
water content wH = 0.02. The grain size distribution 30%
1.4
showed it to have 0.24 clay fraction, 0.36 silt frac-
tion, and 0.4 sand. The specific gravity of the soil 1.3
is 2.71, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity is 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
about 5 ∗ 10−6 m/sec. The maximum dry density, ρd , wC [%]
obtained using the standard Proctor compaction effort
is 1.9 g/cm3 , and the optimum water content, wC was Figure 1. Samples prepared for TDR calibration (the stan-
12.9% (McCartney 2007). dard Proctor compaction curve is shown for reference).

173
specimen 116.4 mm high. Each layer was compacted
which a same target dry density.
Three series of samples were prepared, each with a
different dry density. The dry densities and the gravi-
metric water content of the samples used in the TDR
measurements are shown in Figure 1.
3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
3.1 Instrumentation
The TDR system used in this study consists of an
electromagnetic step pulse generator with a fast rise
time, a time equivalent sampling oscilloscope, and
a trifilar waveguide. A commercially available TDR
system was used in this study (MiniTrase). The oscil-
loscope and the step pulse generator were incorporated
into the MiniTrase (6050X3) and the waveforms were
collected via serial port with the TraseTerm soft-
ware. An uncoated, 8-cm buriable probe (Model
6111, Soil Moisture Equipment Corp., Santa Bar-
bara, CA) was used in this study. The probe had
three 3 mm stainless steel rods having spacing, s, of
12.5 mm. A 3 m of low-loss RG-58 coaxial cable was
used.
3.2 TDR installations
Three types of measurements were performed; mea-
surements in demineralised water and air, in layers of
water and air, and in compacted soil. For measure-
ment in soil, the TDR probe was inserted centrally
into the cylindrical specimen still in the mould (Figure
2). For measurement in water and in layers of air and
water, the probe was inserted centrally in a container
of the same size as the mould. The measurements
were performed in a temperature-controlled laboratory
(22 ± 1◦ C).
w ave guide soil
PVC
cylinder
116.4 mm
2s
103 mm
Figure 2. Probe installation in the compacted soil.
174
3200
reflections in cable tester
2800
2400 cable
2000 start of end of
Voltage, mV
waveguide waveguide
1600
TRANSIT
1200 TIME
800
400 start of incident pulse
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
t [ns]
Figure 3. Complete reflection waveform.
3.3 TDR measurement
A typical reflection waveform with a large time win-
dow, obtained from measurement in water, is shown
in Figure 3.
At t = 2ns, the voltage step pulse launched into
the transmission line is recorded by the oscilloscope.
The oscillations following the rising step are perhaps
aberrations due to the internal circuit and reflection
from the front panel. The signal becomes stable while
travelling down the cable.
At t = 15ns, a drop in voltage amplitude is
detected when the signal enters the probe. This is
associated with the impedance mismatch between the
probe and the cable. A voltage rise is then observed
at t = 18ns when the signal reaches the end of
the rods (open-ended termination). Finally, multiple
reflections occurs until a steady state is attained (not
shown in the figure).
The time required for the step pulse to travel along
the waveguide is used to measure the apparent dielec-
tric permittivity of the soil. The higher is the water
content, the higher is the soil bulk permittivity and,
hence the lower is the velocity at which the wave prop-
agates into the guide (Robinson et al. 2003). The
portion of the waveform of interest for travel time
determination (box in Fig. 3 ) is shown in Figure 4.
In the same figure, the waveforms in air and soil are
also shown. The initial dip and the following bump
are associated with the transit of the signal through
the probe head. The time corresponding to the second
ascending limb is associated with signal reflection at
the end of the probe (Figure 4).
In Figure 4 it can be observed that the waveforms
are shifted with respect to time and voltage. This
instrument response is surprising. The time at which
the signal enters the probe after traveling along the
cable should always be the same. Nonetheless, if the
waveforms are ideally superposed, one would observe
that the first descending limb (valley) is equal for
 4000
3600 air 0.8
air
3200 0.6 Dt AIR

reflection coefficient,
2800 soil 0.4 water
Voltage, V

2400 DVc-p Dt*

0.2
2000 water
0
1600 DVc-p DVc-p baseline tangent
-0.2
1200
-0.4 t IN Dt WATER t FIN
800
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12
t [ns] t [ns]

Figure 4. Waveforms in air, water, and soil. Figure 6. The Heimovaara interpretation of a TDR wave-
form.
0.2
moving apex
reflection coefficient

0.1 a the signal enters the rods. The signal is represented in

w term of reflection coefficient, ρ.
0 The time tIN is the time at which the signal enters
66% air
the head of the probe. The time tFIN , obtained by the
–0.1 33% air
ascending limb intersection between the line tangent to the second
dip in probe head ~3% air
–0.2 ascending limb is the time at which the signal is
reflected at the end of the probe. The time t ∗ , which
Figure 5. Waveforms measured as the probe is moved from is the time taken by the signal to travel along the
air to water as surrounding medium. probe head to reach the beginning of the rods, and the
effective length of the rods L∗ are determined by cali-
bration in air and water. It is assumed that the reflection
all waveforms whereas the subsequent first ascend-
in water is the slowest, while the reflection in air is
ing limb (bump) is different. This suggests that the
the fastest, providing bounds on the possible travel
bump cannot be taken as a reference for the begin-
times.
ning of the rods as suggested by other authors (e.g. Or
The relationship between the apparent permittivity
et al. 2002). To better understand the nature of the
Ka and the propagation velocity vP of the signal along
bump located after the first valley of the waveform,
the rods can be written as follows:
a series of measurements was carried out with the
probe inserted vertically downward into a low permit- L∗ c
tivity layer (air) over a high permittivity layer (water). vP = = √ (1)
The waveforms collected with the probe sequentially tFIN − tIN − t ∗ KA
dipped into water are presented in Figure 5.
The apex of the bump is observed to move forward where c is the speed of light in vacuum and (tFIN −
in time as the probe is removed from water. This con- tIN − Dt ∗ ) determines the value of DT. By combining
firms that the bump depends on the permittivity of the measurements in air (Ka = 1) and water (Ka = 79.1),
medium surrounding the rods and it cannot be taken as the values for t ∗ and L∗ equal to 0.136[ns] and
reference for the beginning of the rods. This has been 0.0792[m], respectively, were obtained. The time at
demonstrated by Robinson et al. (2003). A different which the signal enters the rods, (tIN + Dt ∗ ), was found
approach should be therefore developed to identify the to be very close to the first waveform valley. We there-
beginning of the rods. It would be expected that the fore assumed this time could alternatively be taken as
beginning of the rods lies somewhere along the first reference for the beginning of the rods.
descending limb.
4.2 Waveform interpretation
Two methods were considered to calculate the tran-
4 WAVEFORM INTERPRETATION
sit time from the reflected waveform. In method 1,
the time tIN and tFIN were taken as shown in Figure 6,
4.1 Calibration
and the apparent permittivity was calculated by consid-
The approach suggested by Heimovaara (1993), shown ering the values of L∗ and t ∗ derived from Equation 1.
in Figure 6, was used to determine the time at which In method 2, the length of the rods L∗ was assumed to

175
be equal to the physical length (0.08 m). In this case, The two methods are essentially equivalent. It may be
the time t ∗ was set to zero and tIN is taken at the first concluded that, for this TDR system, the time associ-
waveform valley. ated with the first waveform valley can be successfully
used to identify the beginning of the rods, for cases
when TDR measurements in water and air are not
5 RESULTS available.
The relationship between the apparent permittivity
A comparison between the two procedures used and the volumetric water content for the three series
to determine Ka value is shown in the Figure 7. of samples, which are characterized by nominal dry
densities of 1.4, 1.5, and 1.7 g/cm3 respectively, is
shown in Figure 8. Topp’s equation (Topp et al. 1980)
14 is also plotted as a reference (dotted line).
It can be observed that the higher the dry density
13 ρ d , the higher the apparent permittivity Ka at a given
θV . This is expected because when ρ is increased, the
air (Ka = 1) is replaced by solids having higher dielec-
12
tric permittivity (Ka ∼ 5). Overall, all data are located
Ka (method 1)

I1I above Topp’s equation.

11

10 6 DISCUSSION

9 To assess the effect of dry density on dielectric permit-

tivity, the three-phase Litchteneker ‘refractive index’
8 mixing model was considered:

7
√ ρREFd + ρd    
K − 1= Ks − 1 + ϑ Kw − 1
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ρs
Ka (method 2) (2)

Figure 7. Comparison of the two procedures used to where K  denotes the real part of the apparent per-
obtain Ka. mittivity, Ks and Kw are the permittivity of solids and
water, respectively, ρs is the density of solids, ρREFd is
14 a reference bulk dry density and ρd is the variation
of dry density with respect to ρREFd .
as re 1980)
ce
feren

The real part of the apparent permittivity K was

(

13
ation

used in place of the apparent permittivity Ka to denote

the fact that Equation 2 is written by assuming that
u
´s Eq

12 the complex part (which reflects the electrical con-

Topp

ductivity) is negligible. This model has been found to

rd = 1.7 g /cm3
satisfactorily capture experimental data for the case
11
of soils having low clay content and/or low specific
Ka

surface (Roth et al. 1990; Robinson et al. 1999). The

10 Equation 2 can be written as follows:
rd = 1.5 g /cm3
√  ρ  
9 K = KREFd + Ks − 1 (3)
ρs
rd = 1.4 g /cm3
8
where KREFd is the permittivity for ρd = 0. We
assumed ρREFd equal to 1.5 g/cm3 because KREFd cal-
7 culated using Equation 2 equals KTOPP for this value
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 of ρREFd (Tarantino et al. 2008).
qV measured In Figure 9, the measured apparent permittivities
corrected by the factor ρ(Ks0.5 − 1)/ρs are plotted
Figure 8. Ka versus θv for the three different dry densities versus the volumetric water content θV together with
(Ka determined using method 1). the uncorrected data. It can be observed that corrected

176
 3.8 a period of time of only 24 ns, which is not enough to
measure the reflection coefficient at t ∼ ∞.
3.6
To extrapolate the recorded waveform to higher
3.4 times, we simulated the waveform according to the
approach presented by Lin (2003) for multi-section
3.2
(Ka') ^ 0.5

transmission lines as described by Tarantino and

3 Pozzato (Ibid.). For sake of simplicity, an ideal input
Topp's equation function was considered. The specific surface As , was
2.8 K'a estimated from hygroscopic water content according
2.6 K'a , corrected for r effect to Dirksen and Dasberg (1993) assuming that a mono-
D
molecular layer of water envelops the clay particles.
2.4 qV measured
A value of 67 m2 /g was thus obtained.
0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 The measured and simulated waveforms are shown
in Figure 11. We tentatively assumed the following val-
Figure 9. Apparent permittivity Ka data corrected for the ues for the permittivity of free water, bound water and
effect of dry density.

a) 0.4
data have significant lower dispersion suggesting that 0.3
90% of risetime
the ‘refractive index’ model adequately captures the reflection coefficient, 0.2
ascending limb
effect of dry density. 0.1
Nonetheless, data are located above Topp‘s equa- 0
tion. We checked whether bulk electrical conductivity –0.1
could explain this discrepancy. In fact, a relative –0.2
10% of risetime
high electrical conductivity tends to increase dielec- –0.3
tric permittivity as shown by the equation of apparent –0.4
tR~0.4ns
permittivity for a sinusoidal plane wave (Von Hippel, b)
1954): 0.1
reflection coefficient,

0 90% of risetime
ε  –0.1

εa = (1 + 1 + ((εRELAX + σ/2πfEFF ε0 )/ε )2 ) –0.2 10% of risetime
2
–0.3
(4) –0.4
tR~0.6ns
–0.5

where εa is the measured apparent permittivity, ε and 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12
ε are the real and imaginary part of the soil dielectric t [ns]
permittivity, respectively, εo the dielectric permittivity
in the vacuum, σ is the bulk electrical conductivity and Figure 10. Determination of risetime, tR , from the TDR
fEFF is the effective frequency in Hz. waveform using the 10%–90% values in water (a) and soil (b).
The effective frequency fEFF of the signal propa-
gating in water and soil was calculated according to
Strickland (1970) as follows: measured waveform (r D = 1.67gr/cm3, w= 11.94%, qV = 19.9%)
simulated waveform
ln(0.9/0.1) 0.2
fEFF = (5)
2π · tR
reflection coefficient,

0.1
0
where tR can be obtained according to the construction
–0.1
shown in
It was observed that the effective frequency –0.2
decreases from about 800 MHz to 550 MHz from –0.3
water to soil respectively. This signal dispersion is due –0.4
to a non-negligible electrical conductivity. Lower fre- 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11
quency waves are slowed down (see Equation 4, pro- t [ns]
ducing less steep second ascending limb. According
to Topp et al. (1988), the bulk electrical conductivity, Figure 11. Measured (ρs = 2.71 g/cm3 , ρD = 1.67 g/cm3 ,
σa , can be calculated from reflection at t ∼ ∞. Unfor- θV = 0.2) and predicted waveform for soil (As = 66.7,
tunately, waveforms were recorded by the Trase over εfw = 80.2, εs = 5, σbw = 15 S/m, σfw = 1.1 S/m).

177
 0.3 3.8
t
0.2 3.6
reflection coefficient

3.4
0.1
3.2
0

(Ka') ^ 0.5
3
0.1
2.8
0.2 Topp's equation
2.6
K'a
0.3 2.4
20 30 40 50 60 t [ns] K'a, corrected
2.2
Figure 12. Simulated reflection coefficient from the plotted 2
reflection at t ∼ infinite. 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
qV measured
solids, εfw = 80.2, εfw = 5, and εs = 5, respectively,
and σfw = 1.1 S/m and σbw = 15 S/m for the electric Figure 13. Apparent permittivity Ka as result of the correc-
conductivity of free water and bound water, respec- tion in term of dry density and bulk electrical conductivity.
tively. The entire simulated waveform was plotted and
the value of the reflection coefficient was determined
as equal to ∼0.2 (Figure 12). ρd and σ (KTOPP in Equation 8) are plotted against
The bulk conductivity, σa , was calculated according volumetric water content θV . It can be observed
to Topp et al. (1988): that the corrected data collapse on Topp’s calibra-
    tion curve. This demonstrates again that deviations
1 ε0 cZ0 1 − ρ∞ 1 ε0 cZ0 2V0
σ = ≡ −1 from Topp’s equation occur for dry densities and
Zc L 1 + ρ∞ Zc L VF bulk electrical conductivities outside the range inves-
(6) tigated by Topp et al. (1980). Nonetheless, simple
corrections could be introduced to account for these
where ε0 is the permittivity of free space deviations.
(8.854 · 10−12 F m−1 ), c is the speed of light in a vac-
uum (3 · 108 m s−1 ), L is the probe length (0.08 m),
ρ∞ the reflection coefficient at infinite time (∼0.2), 7 CONCLUSIONS
V0 is the voltage entering the head of the probe, VF
the final voltage recorded by the oscilloscope after all An experimental investigation of the effect of dry
multiple reflections had taken place, Zc is the char- density on dielectric apparent permittivity was carry
acteristic impedance of the cable tester (50 W), and out in this study. It was observed that the effect
Z0 is characteristic impedance of the probe (220 W). was not significant, but not negligible for sensitive
A value of 1dS/m was obtained. applications. The effect of dry density was success-
To account for the effect of electrical conductiv- fully modeled using a three-phase ‘refractive index’
ity on apparent permittivity, the empirical approach model. Nonetheless, the measured permittivity cor-
proposed by Wyseure et al. (1997) was considered: rected for dry density was still underestimated by
Topp’s equation.
Ka = K  + 1.432σ (7) We observed a decrease in effective frequency
when measuring the waveform in the soil and we
where σ is the electrical conductivity in dS/m.
inferred the soil had non-negligible electrical con-
If Equation 7 is substituted in Equation 3, the
ductivity. Since the waveform was recorded over a
following equation is obtained:
short period of time that was insufficient to reach
 √ 2 steady-state conditions, the waveform was simulated
Ks − 1 to capture the reflection coefficient that would have
KTOPP = Ka − ρd − 1.432 · σ
ρs been recorded at infinite time. This made it possi-
(8) ble to estimate the bulk electrical conductivity and
to further correct the measured Ka using an empiri-
The values of Ka measured using TDR and the cal equation. Topp’s equation was shown to match the
values corrected to account for the combined effect of corrected data.

178
REFERENCES
Dirksen, C. and Dasberg, S. (1993). Improved calibra-
tion of time domain reflectometry soil water content
measurements. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 57: 660–667.
Heimovaara, T.J. 1993. Design of triple-wire time domain
reflectometry probes in practice and theory. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. J., 57: 1410–1417.
Lin, C.P. (2003a). Analysis of nonuniform and dispersive
time domain reflectometry measurement systems with
application to the dielectric spectroscopy of soils. Water
Resour. Res. 39.
McCartney, J.S. (2007). Determination of the Hydraulic
Characteristics of Unsaturated Soils using a Centrifuge
Permeameter. Ph.D. Dissertation. The University of Texas
at Austin.
Or, D., VanShaar, T., Fisher, J.R., Hubscher, R.A. and
Wraith, J.M. 2002. WinTDR99—Users guide. Utah State
University – Plants, Soils & Metereology, Logan, UT.
Robinson, D.A., Gardner, C.M.K. and Cooper, J.D. (1999).
Measurement of relative permittivity in sandy soils using
TDR, capacitance and theta probes: comparison, includ-
ing the effects of bulk soil electrical conductivity. Journal
of Hydrology, 223: 198–211.
Robinson, D.A., Schaap, M., Jones, S.B., Friedman, S.P. and
Gardner, C.M.K. (2003b). Considerations for Improving
179
the Accuracy of Permittivity Measurement using Time
Domain reflectometry: Air-water calibration, effects of
cable length. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 67: 62–70.
Roth, K., Schulin, R., Flühler, H. and Attinger, W. (1990).
Calibration of TDR for water content measurement
using a composite dielectric approach . Water Resources
Research, 26 (10): 2267–2273.
Strickland, J.A. (1970). Time-domain reflectometry mea-
surements. Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, Oregon: 11–13.
Tarantino, A., Ridley, A.M. and Toll, D. (2008). Field mea-
surement of suction, water content and water permeability.
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, in press.
Tarantino, A. and Pozzato, A. (Ibid). Limitations of travel
time interpretation of reflection waveform in TDR water
content measurement.
Topp, G.C., Yanuka, M., Zebchuk, W.D. and Zegelin, S.
(1988). Determination of Electrical conductivity using
TDR: soil and water esperiments in coaxial lines.. Water
Resources Research, 24(7): 945–952.
Topp, G.C., Davis, J.L. and Annan, A.P. (1980). Electro-
magnetic determination of soil water content: Measure-
ments in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resour. Res.,
16:574–582.
Wyseure, G.C.L., Mojid, M.A. and Malik. (1997). Measure-
ment of volumetric water content by TDR in saline soils.
European. Journal of Soil Science, 48: 347–354.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR) – Principles, limitations

and accuracy

R. Becker
IMKO Micromodultechnik GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany

A. Scheuermann
Institute for Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany

S. Schlaeger
Schlaeger Mathematical Solutions & Engineering, Horn, Bad Meinberg, Germany

C. Huebner
University of Applied Sciences, Mannheim, Germany

N. Wagner
Institute of Material Research and Testing (MFPA) at the Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany

ABSTRACT: Monitoring of transient soil moisture profiles yields valuable insight into soil hydraulic pro-
cesses. A recently developed reconstruction algorithm allows deriving water content profiles along extended
moisture probes from Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) signals. Based on inverse modelling of the wave
propagation along a transmission-line the algorithm calculates electrical parameter distributions. The method
named Spatial TDR will be explained and the accuracy as well as the spatial and temporal resolution defining
the possibilities and limitations of the procedure will be presented on practical examples.

1 INTRODUCTION an interdisciplinary research group at the University

Many applications in geotechnical engineering,
hydrology and agriculture require determining the
transient water content profile characterizing soil
hydraulic processes in unsaturated soils. However the
monitoring of a sufficient number of soil moisture
profiles can be costly, laborious and extraordinary
invasive, especially if the profiles are determined
point-wise by a large amount of single probes buried
in soil. A recently developed reconstruction algorithm
(Schlaeger 2005) allows computing complete soil
water content profiles along elongated single mois-
ture probes from time domain reflectometer (TDR)
measurements in a short time. This method leads
to a reduction of the number of probes accom-
panied by a higher spatial resolution of moisture
profiles. The whole technology of soil moisture pro-
file retrieval—including measurement devices and
probes, reconstruction algorithm and calibration pro-
cedure—has been named Spatial TDR (Becker 2004,
Huebner et al. 2005). This method is being devel-
oped and applied by the Soil Moisture Group (SMG),
of Karlsruhe. This article gives a brief introduc-
tion into the fundamentals of TDR before the basic
concept of STDR is explained with the emphasis on
its algorithm and the initial probe calibration by way of
a coated 3-rod-probe. The theoretical accuracy of the
measured moisture profiles is assessed by means of
electromagnetic (EM) field simulations. Laboratory
and large-scale experiments were realized to evaluate
the method and to compare the reconstructed water
content profiles with comparable information of the
real soil.
2 MEASUREMENT METHOD
2.1 Dielectric properties of soils
Soil as a typical porous medium consists of three
phases: solid particles (clay minerals and granulates)
pore air and pore water in different forms of bound-
ing (cf. Fig. 1). The fractions of the soil phases vary
both in space—due to composition and density of

181

Figure 1. Dielectric (permittivity) and electric (resistivity)
properties of the soil phases.
soil—and time—due to changing of water content and
temperature.
For the determination of the water content, one
utilizes the fact that the effective relative dielectric per-
mittivity of the soil depends on the fractions of the soil
phases (Robinson 2004). The relation between water
content and effective permittivity can be performed
using specific laboratory calibration with gravimetric
sampling. (e.g. Topp et al. 1980). Alternatively empir-
ical, semi-empirical and theoretical mixing rules can
be used as a relationship between dielectric properties
of the soil and its water content (Tuncer et al. 2002).
For highly conductive soils—e.g. for fine grained
soils with clay contents—general empirical calibration
equations fail due to the strong frequency dependency
of the effective dielectric permittivity, whereas soil and
probe specific calibration function or theoretical mod-
els can provide a satisfactory estimate of the water con-
tent (Cosenza & Tabbagh 2004, Kupfer et al. 2007).
2.2 Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)
A TDR instrument, which consists of a pulse generator
and an oscilloscope, emits a voltage step pulse VI(m) (t)
via a feeding cable into a waveguide (e.g. a mois-
ture probe) buried in the soil. When the propagating
electromagnetic (EM) wave hits the transition between
cable and probe it is generally split due to impedance
discontinuity. One part is reflected and traveling back
and the rest of the signal is transmitted into the waveg-
uide, interacting with the surrounding soil. When the
pulse reaches the probe end it is reflected again. Hence
the incident signal VI(m) (t) (input, measured) excites
the system under test (SUT, probe/soil) which reacts
with voltage reflections whose superposition V0(m) (t)
(output, measured) is sampled by the TDR instrument
as a sum of both signals (schematic description in
Fig. 2).
182
oscilloscope pulse generator
incident
signal
voltage
reflected
coaxial cable signal
two wire trans- sum signal two wire line
length l mission line
(metallic fork) travel time
soil
time
Figure 2. Basic TDR set-up and signals. Oscilloscope and
pulse generator are usually integrated in a single TDR device.
Figure 3. Flat band cable as moisture probe.
The elapsed time between first and second main
reflection is the pulse travel time along the SUT.
This travel time can be transformed into average soil
moisture or water content by appropriate calibration
functions and/or mixing rules. This is the common
evaluation procedure for TDR measurements.
2.3 Moisture probes (transmission line)
The length of standard, non-insulated metallic forks
as transmission lines are restricted to about 30 cm
because of high electrical attenuation. For longer
investigation areas insulated 2- or 3-wire transmission
lines as rod-probes (cf. Becker 2004) or insulated flat
band cables are used (Huebner et al. 2005).
Such insulated flexible flat band cables are pro-
posed for the use as elongated moisture probes with
lengths of more than 0.5 m. In the past several cables
with different geometries have been developed and
manufactured, from simple concentric insulation to
sophisticated multiwire structures with unilateral sen-
sitivity. The flat band cable used in the most experi-
ments within the SMG is shown in Figure 3. The cable
consists of three copper wires covered with polyethy-
lene insulation. The sensitive area around the cable
extends approximately 3 to 5 cm.
For the near surface observation of moisture profile
changes 3-rod-probes are frequently used which are
described in the next chapter.

Figure 4. TDR-signals measured at a flat band cable, half
of the cable is located in saturated soil.
3 SPATIAL TDR PROCEDURE
3.1 The inverse problem
The measured TDR signal contains far more than the
travel time of the reflected electromagnetic signal. The
reflectogram, especially the part between first and sec-
ond main reflections at the probe’s beginning and end,
is a finger print of the dielectric profile along the
waveguide, which is mainly ruled by the water con-
tent. Figure 4 shows TDR signals measured with a flat
band cable as sensor up to the half of the length located
in saturated soil.
Unfortunately the moisture distribution cannot be
calculated directly from the TDR signal but has to
be estimated indirectly. The basic idea of STDR is to
transform the measured output signal V0(m) (t) into the
soil moisture profile θ (x) along the probe by means
of inverse modeling. The essence of this approach is
to simulate the propagation of the TDR signal along
the waveguide in time domain by employing a numer-
ical model (forward problem) based on the telegraph
equations.
This simplified model assumes that the rele-
vant properties of the transmission-line can be
described by bulk electronic parts like resistors, induc-
tors, and capacitors (Figure 5). Among the condi-
tions for this electronic circuit model to hold the
most important are: wave modes other than the
transversal-electromagnetic (TEM) mode and fre-
quency dependence of transmission-line properties
may be neglected. The first condition requires a well-
behaving waveguide with little distortion on the signal
propagation, the second is only met, if the losses in the
SUT are not too large.
Schlaeger (2005) derived the following wave
equations from the circuit model for describing the
183
Figure 5. The simplified moisture probe model consist-
ing of bulk electronic parts. Above: coated 3-rod-probe
as an example for a moisture probe (TDR waveguide);
below: infinitesimal section of an equivalent circuit of the
transmission line.
propagation of a voltage pulse V (x, t) along the buried
waveguide:

∂2 ∂
L(x)C (x) + L(x)G (x)
∂t 2 ∂t

∂L(x)/∂x ∂ ∂2
+ − V (x, t) = 0 (1)
L (x) ∂x ∂x2
Capacitance C  (x) and effective conductance G  (x) are
influenced by the soil water content distribution θ(x)
along the waveguide. Inductance L (x) is a function of
the transmission-line only and constant and known for
coaxial cable and moisture probe. The spatial deriva-
tive of L (x) in (1) describes the change of inductance
between coaxial cable and probe. Resistance R along
the waveguide has been neglected. All parameters are
given per unit length.
Strictly spoken the equivalent circuit of Figure 4 is
not totally correct, because the conductor G  should
be enclosed by two capacitors due to the rod coating.
Therefore G  is not the real ionic conductance of the
soil but a kind of correcting parameter in the determi-
nation of C  . According to former results we assume
that this simplification does not have a large influence
on the results.
Equation (1) is solved numerically with appropri-
ate initial and boundary conditions to simulate a TDR
measurement V0(s) (t) for given C  (x) and G  (x). The
result of the simulation is compared to the TDR mea-
surement V0(m) (t). An optimization algorithm is used
to modify the electrical parameters C  (x) and G  (x)
until the simulated TDR reflectogram V0(s) (t) matches
the measurement V0(m) (t)sufficiently well. The final
parameter distributions resulting from the simulation
are the best estimates of the electric properties along
the probe in soil.
3.2 Empirical relationship between capacitance
and effective conductance
The wave equation (1) needs two parameter distribu-
tions C  (x) and G  (x). These parameter distributions
could be found simultaneously by inverse modeling,
if two independent TDR measurements were available
for the same moisture probe, which is best possible
with probes connected from both sides (double sided).
Those kinds of probes can be constructed using flat
band cables, which are frequently in use for monitor-
ing purposes with elongated probes in earth structures
like dikes (cf. Scheuermann et al. 2008, Huebner et al.
2005).
In case of single sided probes it is reasonable to
assume a relationship between C  (x) and G  (x), since
both parameters are linked by soil moisture: higher
water content leads to higher dielectric permittivity
and higher conductivity. The following relationship is
proposed:
G  (C  )
 
G∞ · (1−exp(−(C  −C0 )/Cd ), if C  ≥ C0 ,
= The pulse velocity is determined empirically by
0, if 0 ≤ C  ≤ C0 .
(2)
The parameters G∞ 
, C0 and Cd can be determined
by soil and probe dependent calibrations.
3.3 From capacitance to dielectric permittivity
To derive the volumetric water content profile θ (x) the
dielectric permittivity profile ε(x) of the soil/water/air
mixture has to be extracted from the capacitance
profile C  (x) first. For the design of a simple mois-
ture probe (cf. Figure 6) it is possible to find
analytically a convenient parametric form for C  (ε)
Figure 6. Capacitance C  of a 3-rod-probe as a function of
the soil’s dielectric permittivity ε. (a) segment of three parallel
rods encompassed by soil; light gray: PVC coating; dark
gray: metallic core; (b) equivalent circuit. C1 , C2 : constant
capacitance parameters determined by the probe’s geometry
and material.
184
as a probe specific calibration which can be eas-
ily solved for ε with the constant capacitances C1
and C2 :
1/C  (ε) = 1/(ε · C1 ) + 1/C2 (3)
The rods of the 3-rod-probe presented here consist of
stainless steel cores of 6 mm diameter with a 1 mm
thick PVC coating. The rods are 30 mm apart. They
are screwed into the probe head which connects them
to a 50 Ohms coaxial cable.
According to the equations (1) and (3) it is neces-
sary to get the three parameters C1 , C2 and L for the
rod probe. This can be done empirically by TDR pulse
propagation velocities vi = v (εi ) measured for two dif-
ferent media with well known dielectric permittivities
ε 1 and ε 2 , respectively. The pulse propagation velocity
along the coated probe rods is:

v(ε) = 1/ L · C  (ε) (4)
measuring the time between the two main reflections
in the TDR reflectogram. Combining equation (4)
with (3) for the two materials one yields:
C1 = (ε2 − ε1 )/(ε2 ε1 (v12 − v22 ) · L ) and
C2 = (ε2 − ε1 )/((ε2 v22 − ε1 v12 ) 
·L) (5)
The rod impedance Z can be used to get L :

Z(ε) = L /C  (ε) (6)
The impedance mismatch between coaxial cable
and probe rods leads to a partial reflection of the inci-
dent excitation pulse. The amplitude of incident and
reflected signal are denoted by AI and AR , respectively.
Then the reflection coefficient yields:
r(ε) = AI /AR = (Z(ε) − Z0 )/(Z(ε) + Z0 ) (7)
which can be determined experimentally from TDR
measurements. Z0 = 50 Ohms is the impedance of the
coaxial cable. The combination of the equations (5)
and (6) yields:
L = (1 + r(ε))/(1 − r(ε)) · Z0 /v(ε) (8)
The equations (5) and (7) are sufficient to deter-
mine the dielectric parameter ε of the soil from TDR
signals when a coated rod-probe is used (cf. Fig. 6).
3.4 From dielectric permittivity to water content Figure 7 displays the TDR reflectograms simulated
with MWS and reconstructed by the Spatial TDR algo-
The second step performs the transition from dielec-
rithm. The predefined and reconstructed soil moisture
tric permittivity to water content based on the phase
profile for the sequence wet/moist/dry is shown in
fractions of the soil solid particles, water and air. An
Figure 8. Two cases were realized: one with and
empirical relationship between ε and θ often used in
the other without consideration of ionic conductivity
TDR applications was found by Topp (1980). For the
σ (lossy and lossless case). Although the difference
presented example a more simple but also less general
between simulated and measured TDR reflectogram
empirical formula was found derived from laboratory
is very small, the deviation in the moisture profile can
experiments with a loamy sand:
be quite large.

θ(ε) = 30.1 · ε 0.31 − 41.1(%vol) (9)

4 ACCURACY OF SPATIAL TDR

4.1 Electro-dynamic simulation

To test the Spatial TDR method with 3-rod-probes
several TDR reflectograms were simulated with
Microwave Studio (MWS), an EM simulation tool
based on the full wave solution of Maxwell’s equations.
In the numerical model the 3-rod-probe is embedded
in a three layer material, whose dielectric permittivity
and ionic conductance can be modified. A step pulse of
1 Volt amplitude and 1 GHz bandwidth is fed into the
probe. The simulated TDR reflectograms are used for
three purposes: 1. determination of the probe param-
eters according to (4) and (6), 2. determination of the
empirical C  − G  -relationship (7), and 3. generation Figure 7. TDR reflectograms simulated by MWS and
of test reflectograms to assess the quality of the Spatial the corresponding signal approximations resulting from the
TDR algorithm. reconstruction algorithm. Material sequence wet/moist/dry.
Energy losses due to ionic conductance lead to a strong falling
trend of the TDR signals.
4.2 Numerical investigations
To assess the quality of the algorithm which deter-
mines the water content profile from a TDR reflec-
togram by inverse parameter estimation, the MWS
is fed with three soil layers of different moisture.
Table 1 shows the applied soil parameters.
Each simulated reflectogram together with the exci-
tation pulse was fed into the Spatial TDR algorithm
and a reconstruction process was conducted to retrieve
the soil moisture profiles, which should match the
predefined one as close as possible.

Table 1. Material parameters used in Microwave Studio.

Moisture state

θ (%vol) ε (−) σ (mS/m)

‘dry’ 0.5 2.9 0

‘moist’ 8 4.9 14 Figure 8. Moisture profile, sequence wet/moist/dry, prede-
‘wet’ 13.5 6.8 23 fined in the MWS model and reconstructed by means of the
Spatial TDR algorithm.

185

Figure 9. Spatial TDR application to a real soil moisture
profile. Measured and reconstructed TDR reflectograms for
short and long coaxial cable as connecting cable.
Figure 10. Spatial TDR application to a real soil moisture
profile. Material sequence dry/moist/wet. Reconstruction
results compared to volumetric water content of soil sam-
ples determined by oven drying. Differences up to 3%vol are
due to imperfect calibration of the real 3-rod-probe.
4.3 Laboratory investigation
To test Spatial TDR in laboratory a box with three
chambers of 0.2 m length each was prepared in accor-
dance to the MWS numerical model and filled with soil
of predefined moisture (see Table 1). A 3-rod-probe
of 0.6 m length (Figure 4) was installed such that it
crossed all chambers. TDR measurements were per-
formed with a Tektronix metallic cable tester 1502B.
A comparison between measured and reconstructed
TDR-signals for different lengths of the connecting
coaxial cables is given in Figure 9.
With each material sequence four soil samples of
known volume were taken from each chamber. Their
volumetric water content was determined by oven
drying. Figure 10 shows the result for the material
sequence dry/moist/wet.
The overall accuracy of Spatial TDR with coated
rod probe is sufficient for many applications in
soil science. A lysimeter experiment with 1 m3 loamy
sand showed that the method is capable of tracking
186
transient soil moisture profiles under irrigation with
high spatial and temporal resolution (Becker 2004,
Scheuermann et al. 2008).
5 SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RESOLUTION
OF SPATIAL TDR
5.1 Sensitivity of TDR Probes
A simplification frequently utilized in TDR appli-
cations is the use of an idealized equivalent circuit
(c. f. Fig. 5) for the sensor without consideration
of losses due to the skin-effect or radiation from the
sensor as well as the assumption of a homogeneous
sensitivity distribution along the sensor (Heimovaara
et al. 2004, Huebner & Kupfer 2007). In addition,
a frequently arising problem in various applications
is the direct contact between sensor and surrounding
material. For these reasons the sensitivity of a flat
band cable as moisture probe was investigated with
3D electromagnetic finite element modeling under
consideration of the frequency-dependent complex
dielectric permittivity (Wagner et al. 2007).
One main result of this investigation is that coupling
problems caused by air or water gaps lead to dramatic
travel time distortion even for very small gaps. An air
filled gap with a thickness of 0.25 mm on both sides
of a flat band cable sensor already leads to the dras-
tic underestimation of water content of approximately
36%. In contrast a drastic overestimation occurs in the
case of a water filled gap for the same gap size. There-
fore, an accurate installation of the moisture probes is
stringently necessary for the quantitative in situ water
content determination.
5.2 Laboratory and in situ comparison
An experiment for the investigation of transport of
volatile organic compounds in a medium grained sand
(grain size 0.2 to 1 mm) was conducted under different
moisture conditions to verify the spatial variations of
the water content distribution. For the Spatial TDR
measurements flat band cable connected from both
sides were used.
Figure 11 shows the temporal process of redistribu-
tion of water after a one hour lasting irrigation from
top. Graph d) of Figure 11 shows a comparison of the
volumetric water content between the reconstruction
and results from the oven-drying technique at 105◦ C.
An average uncertainty of ±2.3% was determined.
Figure 12 shows the result of Spatial TDR mea-
surements in a full-scale dyke model (cf. Scheuer-
mann et al. 2008) in comparison with water pressure
measurements conducted at the water-proof base of
the dyke.

Figure 11. a)—c) Redistribution of the moisture profile
after an irrigation to the steady state (dashed line) and
d) comparison with gravimetric measurement of several soil
samples (∗).
Figure 12. Saturation distribution inside a dyke as result of
Spatial TDR measurements.
The measured phreatic line and the location of the
transition from the wet to the dry zone correspond
very well. Underneath the phreatic line in the ‘satu-
rated’ zone different values below full saturation can
be recognised indicating a fairly high residual rate
of air remaining in the pores. This observation was
also verified by independent measurements during
the steady state condition. The changes in water con-
tent are reconstructed with a spatial accuracy of about
3 cm and an average deviation of ±2% compared to
independent water content measurements.
6 CONCLUSION
Spatial TDR is a new innovative method for the inves-
tigation of moisture distributions in porous materials
with high resolution in space and time. However the
accurate use of Spatial TDR requires calibration proce-
dures both for the probe and the soil. Furthermore the
187
correct installation of probes in soils plays a decisive
role for the accuracy of the measurement results. The
examples show clearly the functional capability of
Spatial TDR for the measurement of water content
distributions.
REFERENCES
Becker, R. 2004. Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry for
Monitoring Transient Moisture Profiles. Ph.D. thesis,
Inst. for Water and River Basin Management, Univ. of
Karlsruhe.
Cosenza, P. & Tabbagh, A. 2004. Electromagnetic determi-
nation of clay water content: role of the microporosity.
Applied Clay Science, 26 (1–4):21–36.
Heimovaara, T.J., Huisman, J.A., Vrugt, J.A. & Bouten, W.
2004. Obtaining the spatial distribution of water content
along a TDR probe using the SCEM-UA bayesian inverse
modelling scheme. Vadose Zone J. 3:1128–45
Huebner, C. et al. 2005. Advanced measurement methods in
TDR for soil moisture determination. In K. Kupfer (ed.),
Electromagnetic Aquametry: 317–347. Springer.
Huebner, C. Kupfer, K. 2007. Modelling of electromagnetic
wave propagation along transmission lines in inhomoge-
neous media. Meas. Sci. Technol. 18:1147–1154.
Kupfer, K., Trinks, E., Wagner, N. Huebner, C. 2007. TDR
measurements and simulations in high lossy bentonite
materials, Meas. Sci. Technol. 18:1118–1136.
Robinson, D.A. 2004. Calculation of the Dielectric Proper-
ties of Temperate and Tropical Soil Minerals from Ion
Polarizabilities using the Clausius-Mosotti Equation. Soil
Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:1780–1785.
Scheuermann, A. et al. 2008. Spatial Time Domain Reflec-
tometry (Spatial TDR)—On the use in geotechnics and
geohydraulics. First European Conference on unsaturated
soils; Proc. intern. symp. Durham, 2–4 July.
Schlaeger, S. 2005. A fast TDR-inversion technique for the
reconstruction of spatial soil moisture content. Hydrol.
Earth Sys. Sci. 9:481–492.
Topp, G.C., Davis, J.L. & Annan, A.P. 1980. Electromag-
netic determination of soil water content: Measurement
in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resour. Res. 16
(3):574–582.
Tuncer, E., Serdyuk, Y.V. & Gubanski, S.M. 2001. Dielec-
tric mixtures—electrical properties and modelling. IEEE
Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
9:809–828.
Wagner, N., Trinks, E. & Kupfer, K. 2007. Determination
of the spatial TDR-sensor characteristics in strong disper-
sive subsoil using 3D-FEM frequency domain simulations
in combination with microwave dielectric spectroscopy.
Meas. Sci. Technol. 18:1137–1146.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR) – On the use

in geohydraulics and geotechnics

A. Scheuermann, A. Bieberstein & Th. Triantafyllidis

Institute for Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany

C. Huebner
University of Applied Sciences, Mannheim, Germany

R. Becker
IMKO Micromodultechnik GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany

S. Schlaeger
Schlaeger Mathematical Solutions & Engineering, Horn, Bad Meinberg, Germany

N. Wagner
Institute of Material Research and Testing (MFPA) at the Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany

ABSTRACT: Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a widely-used tool for the point-wise determination of
water contents in soils, especially in hydrology and soil-physics. Another well-known field of application of
TDR is the observation of deformation processes in soils or rocks. The development of Spatial TDR offers new
fruitful possibilities in geohydraulics and geotechnics. With Spatial TDR it is possible to determine physical
properties of the soil along elongated transmission lines. The paper presents completed and ongoing research
projects in which the determination of the spatial and temporal evolution of state variables like water content
and pressure play an important role.

1 INTRODUCTION
The hydraulic and the mechanical behavior of unsatu-
rated soils depend on several state variables. Firstly
water content and suction should be named, which
are both connected to each other via the soil water
retention curve. Others are the soil density and the
stresses involving deformations preferentially along
shear zones. For the safety assessment of earth struc-
tures the experienced geotechnical engineer has to rely
on quantitative information on the spatial as well as
temporal evolution of these state variables.
The electromagnetic measurement method Time
Domain Reflectometry (TDR) offers different helpful
solutions for the observation of these state variables.
The most well known application of TDR is the mea-
surement of water content at a single point, for example
for the monitoring of landfill covers (e.g. Schofield
2001). Furthermore, water content measurements with
TDR on a field scale are used for intensive sampling
(e.g. Long et al. 2002) and also for the determination
of soil hydraulic properties (e.g. Heathman & McAfee
2006). TDR is also well-known in geotechnical mon-
itoring for the shear zone localization, e.g. in rock
masses (Dowding et al. 1989) as well as in landslides
(Kane et al. 2001). In this regard the accuracy of the
so-called TDR extensometers is better than ±0.5 mm.
With the development of Spatial TDR, for the first
time it is possible to determine the spatial distribu-
tion e.g. of water contents for practical purposes along
elongated transmission lines. An introduction to the
Spatial TDR procedure is given in Schlaeger (2005)
and Becker et al. (2008).
In this paper the use of Spatial TDR as a moni-
toring system for dams and dykes is presented first.
Another major application is the measurement of
moisture in small catchment areas in order to improve
flood forecasting. Finally, a novel application of TDR
is presented to determine the spatial distribution of
mechanical pressure along transmission lines.

189
2 MONITORING OF DAMS AND DYKES
2.1 Full-scale dyke model
The transient seepage through dykes due to a hydraulic
stress depending on the initial moisture condition was
investigated on a full-scale dyke model (Fig. 1).
The dyke is built up homogeneously with sand
(grain size 0.2–2 mm) and has a waterproof sealing
consisting of plastic sheeting as a base, so that the
water within the dyke body flows to a drain at the toe
of the landside slope. In order to simulate flood events,
a basin is included in the construction.
The dyke is equipped with pore water gauges at the
base for measuring the hydraulic head and with flat
band cables for measuring the spatial water content
distribution using Spatial TDR (cf. Fig. 2). The TDR-
system consists of 12 flat band cables from 1 to 3 m in
length, which are installed vertically inside the dyke.
They are connected with coaxial cables at both ends
to a multiplexer and a TDR device in a box on the
crest of the dyke. The data collection and controlling
equipment (PC) of the multiplexer and the TDR device
are placed in a measuring container at the toe of the
landside slope (Figs. 1, 2).
2.2 Measurement results
Different physical flood simulation tests were carried
out on the dyke model (Scheuermann & Bieberstein
2006). Figure 3 shows water content measurements
Figure 1. Full-scale dyke model at the Federal Waterways
and Research Institute in Karlsruhe during a flood simulation
test in December 2000 (steady state of seepage condition).
Figure 2. Setup of measuring devices with positions and
length of the flat band cables and positions of piezometer
gauges on the base of the dyke model.
190
Figure 3. Distributions of saturation during a flood simula-
tion test on the full-scaled dyke model.
as distributions of saturation indicating different
hydraulic situations during the transient hydraulic pro-
cess of water infiltration. The positions and lengths
of the flat band cables are shown as dots and the
values beside the dots show the measured saturation
at these locations (cf. Fig. 2). For better clarity the
water content distributions are interpolated over the
cross-section of the dyke. These kinds of measure-
ments during the experiment are available at a temporal
resolution of 15 min. On the basis of these experi-
ments, it was possible to demonstrate the influence of
initial water content distributions on the transient seep-
age through dykes. However, with this system it is also
possible to measure small changes in the distribution
of the water content.
Since 2000, water content has been measured on
the dyke model almost continuously with Spatial TDR.
Apart from any sprinkler irrigation during the summer
time to water the grass cover, the water content changes
are mainly influenced by precipitation and evapotran-
spiration. Depending on these hydraulic boundary
conditions it is possible to use the dyke as a lysime-
ter to characterize and investigate the water balance
processes.
Figures 4 and 5 show the moisture situation inside
the dyke with the precursory precipitation events as
well as the discharge measured near the drain at the
downstream slope.
As can be seen from Figures 4 and 5, the water con-
tent distributions show distinctive differences not only
concerning the mean saturation (given in the graphs),
but also concerning the distribution of the water inside
the dyke. In particular it should be mentioned that
during long periods with precipitation that occurred
several times in March 2001 (see Fig. 5) the water

Figure 4. Moisture distribution inside the dyke on the 31st
May 2002 with precursory meteorology over 16 days.
Figure 5. Moisture situation inside the dyke on the 26th
March 2001 with precursory meteorology over 16 days.
content primarily increased within a certain depth from
the dyke surface, forming an area in the middle of the
dyke cross-section, which is almost unchanged with
respect to the water content compared to the rather
dry situation shown in Figure 4. One explanation for
this observation is the lateral movement of water in the
wet zone, which occurs frequently in combination with
fingering effects. During a precipitation experiment,
observations were made indicating such phenomena
(Scheuermann & Bieberstein 2007).
2.3 Monitoring system for real dykes
The long-term measurements on the full-scale dyke
model have proven that the preliminary hydrologi-
cal and meteorological events lead to a water content
191
Figure 6. Plan of the measurement site at the river Unstrut
in Thuringia, Germany.
distribution inside the dyke, which is characteristic
for the previous hydrologic events. Furthermore, the
investigations on the dyke model have shown that the
transient seepage is influenced considerably by the ini-
tial moisture content inside the dyke. Due to these
findings, it confirms that Spatial TDR can be used to
develop a monitoring system for river dykes, which
can also be adapted to other embankments or earth
structures like slopes.
In cooperation with the Institute of Material
Research and Testing (MFPA) at the Bauhaus Univer-
sity in Weimar, two measurement systems have been
installed in real dykes along the river Unstrut and the
river Elbe. Along the river Elbe one dyke section is
monitored on 6 cross-sections over a distance of 250 m.
The smaller measuring location on the Unstrut (cf.
Fig. 6) can be used as a reference object, since flood
events can be artificially initiated using a water retain-
ing structure. This project is being carried out within
the national research program ‘‘Risk management of
extreme flood events—RIMAX’’.
3 MOISTURE SENSING IN HYDROLOGY
3.1 Lysimeter investigations
Especially in small catchments, the development of
flooding depends on the initial moisture situation
within the catchment area due to a reduced storage
capacity of the soil. The moisture distribution in the
top few decimeters is decisive for surface runoff gener-
ation. To investigate the development of water content
distribution near the top surface 3-rod-probes were
developed and tested using Spatial TDR (Becker 2004,
Becker et al. 2008).
In order to test the suitability of Spatial TDR for
the observation of the small-scale variability of water
content distributions, infiltration experiments were
conducted in a lysimeter (Fig. 7).
 The soil used for the experiments was a silty
sand with a saturated hydraulic conductivity of kf ≈
10−5 m/s. The artificial precipitation was achieved
using a spray nozzle bar. For comparative purposes
additional moisture measuring devices were included
in the lysimeter.
Figure 8 shows the results of water content pro-
file measurements at two different 3-rod-probes during
an infiltration experiment. Since deliberate inhomo-
geneities were included in the sample in the lysimeter
the moisture profiles show different temporal evo-
lutions. At time step 0 both moisture profiles show
disturbances, most probably due to differences in the
density within the soil sample. These disturbances
were persistent over the whole experiment. The graph
Figure 7. Lysimeter holding 1 m3 of soil. 1: tubular steel
frame, 2: soil; 3: probe connecting coaxial cables; 4: probe
multiplexer; 5: spray nozzle bar; 6 and 7: additional small-
scale moisture measuring devices.
Figure 8. Water content profiles measured at two 3-rod-
probes during an. infiltration experiment lasting 360 min.
192
on the right in Figure 8 shows a more or less continu-
ous infiltration of water into the sample. The moisture
front passed the end of the probe after 180 min.
In contrast, the temporal evolution of the moisture
profile on the left of Figure 8 shows completely dif-
ferent temporal behavior. After 60 min. the infiltration
seemed to stop at a depth of about 10 to 12 cm. After
180 min. the profile evolution indicated horizontal
water movement. Only the combination of measure-
ment results from several probes provides a good basis
for the assessment of water movements.
3.2 In situ application
A first in situ application of the system was carried out
at the Goldersbach catchment near Tübingen (Figs. 9
and 10). In this case 46 2-rod-probes were installed.
The aim of this application was to measure the exten-
sion of a saturation zone both horizontally as well
as vertically. An ephemeral creek divides the mea-
surement site, which is dominated by podzolic soils.
Figure 9. Interpolated soil moisture distribution on two dif-
ferent measurement dates registered at 46 2-rod-probes. Dark
grey: wet, light grey: dry condition. A cross-section along the
black line is given in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Water content distribution in the cross-section
along the black line shown in Figure 9.
The TDR measurements were reconstructed yielding
water content profiles along the 60 cm long 2-rod-
probes. For a quasi three-dimensional soil moisture
distribution, the results were interpolated between the
probes.
Figure 9 shows a two-dimensional map of the aver-
age moisture for a dry (A) and wet (B) condition. The
growth of the zone of high average water content is evi-
dent. An example of a vertical cross-section through
the soil is given in Figure 10. A wet zone in the deeper
soil regions can be clearly seen.

4 MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE PROFILES Figure 12. Measured and reconstructed TDR reflections for
profile measurements of buckled steel strips.
4.1 Laboratory experiments
Many applications in geotechnical engineering require
the knowledge of total pressure distributions. A novel
sensor makes it possible to determine pressure pro-
files from Spatial TDR data. The design of the sensor
is based on a rubber-insulated transmission line. Due
to mechanical forces, the distance between the conduc-
tors of the transmission line is changed, which leads
to a spatial distribution of the capacitance and induc-
tance of the sensor properties. The resulting partial
reflections of an incident step pulse are used to recon-
struct the physical parameter distributions. Detailed
information on the reconstruction algorithm are given
in Scheuermann & Hübner (2008).
The reconstruction procedure was validated in
a simplified laboratory experiment. Steel strips Figure 13. Measured and reconstructed distances between
(20.5 mm in width and 1.1 mm thick) were used as the conductors for the profile measurement.
conductors for a 102 cm long transmission line (see
Figure 11). The TDR signal was launched at a distance
of 1 cm from the end of the strips into the transmission The validation of the reconstruction algorithm
line. In this way, the actual length available during a is conducted with TDR-measurements, which are
TDR-measurement was reduced to 101 cm. The steel recorded for different profiles of the steel strip dis-
strips were bent at regular intervals of 25 cm. Thus four tances. Figure 12 shows an example of a measured
areas were adjusted at a more or less constant distance. reflected signal (solid line) of a profile and its
The transmission line was calibrated by means of reconstruction (dashed line). The calibration function
TDR measurements with even steel strips, in order to mentioned is used to determine the distance between
obtain a calibration function between conductor dis- the conductors from the inversely adjusted capacitance
tance and capacitance. The results of the test were profile (cf. Fig. 13).
verified by numerical calculations (Scheuermann & When compared, the reconstructed and measured
Hübner 2008). distance profiles agree satisfactorily. The overshoot
at steep edges and other deviations can be attributed
to the spatial resolution of 2.5 cm of the algorithm,
timing/amplitude errors in the TDR instrument, end
capacitance effects and other non-ideal properties of
the transmission line.

4.2 Prototype development

Figure 11. Bent steel strips as inhomogeneous transmis- A prototype sensor for geotechnical applications has
sion line. been developed and investigated. It consists of two

193

Figure 14. Diagram of the prototype sensor.
Figure 15. Stepwise loading test with the long prototype
sensor: photo: load configuration 10 30 20 10 (for illustration
purposes) above: TDR traces measured from left end (near
position 1) middle: TDR traces measured from right end (near
position 4) below: differences of the superposed TDR traces
relative to the initial condition (0 0 0 0).
steel-strips (15 mm in width and 0.4 mm thick) with
rubber foam (approx. 9.7 mm thick) as dielectric mate-
rial. At the free surfaces of the steel strips (above and
below the sensor) 6.9 mm thick rubber sealings are fas-
tened with glue serving as electric insulation in order
194
to minimize outer influences on the electromagnetic
field (cf. Fig. 14). The aim of the investigations with
the prototype design is to demonstrate the general use
of this measurement technique under real conditions.
In order to prove the spatial sensitivity for the
localisation of pressure changes, simple experiments
were conducted with a sensor of the prototype design
113 cm in length. For this purpose, the sensor was
placed in a loading frame. The sensor was loaded at
four different positions using flat weights and rigid
polystyrene blocks to distribute the load over a specific
section (20 cm). The step-wise load at the different
positions was achieved with weights of 10 kg each.
After each load step TDR measurements were con-
ducted from both sides of the sensor, which increases
the information content of a measurement for each
load condition. Figure 15 shows the evolution of the
TDR traces for every load condition of the loading
phase. The initial condition without load (0 0 0 0)
forms the upper border of the graph. With every load
step the TDR trace changes due to the changing capaci-
tance respectively due to the changing impedance. The
resulting difference forms an area which is highlighted
in a grey colour (cf. legend top right).
The photo shows the load conditions 10 30 20 10.
The top graph shows the TDR measurements from
position 1 and the graph in the middle the measure-
ments from position 4. The bottom graph shows the
differences of the superposed TDR traces compared
to the initial condition.
The evolution of the TDR traces shows clearly the
changes of the conductor distance due to the mechan-
ical load. In contrast to the distinct changes in the
distances on the profiled transmission line presented
above, the changes in the distance are smoother, which
can be also seen in the evolution of the TDR traces. In
particular, the presentation of the differences implies
a parabola like distribution of the distances below the
polystyrene blocks at each load position.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The applications of Spatial TDR presented clearly
show the wide applicability of this new method. The
great advantage of Spatial TDR is its high resolution
both in space and time, which is required for monitor-
ing purposes, especially for transient processes. Hence
Spatial TDR is applicable on different scales, from
a laboratory scale of several decimeters (cf. Becker
et al. 2008) up to a field scale of several meters
(Scheuermann & Bieberstein 2006).
In this respect it should be emphasized that—
besides the reconstruction algorithm—Spatial TDR
includes hardware components like multiplexers,
probes and additional electronic devices and the
corresponding controlling software (cf. Becker 2004,
Hübner et al. 2005).
Although the observation of the unsaturated water
movement is still the major field of application, other
applications—especially in geotechnics—are under
development, such as the measurement of pressure
distribution.
REFERENCES
Becker, R. 2004. Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry for
Monitoring Transient Moisture Profiles. Ph. D. thesis,
Inst. for Water and River Basin Management, Univ. of
Karlsruhe.
Becker, R., Scheuermann, A., Schlaeger, S., Hübner, C. &
Wagner, N. 2008. Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry
(Spatial TDR)—Principles, limitations and accuracy. First
European Conference on unsaturated soils; Proc. First
European Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Durham.
Dowding, C.H., Su, M.B. & O’Connor, K. 1989. Measure-
ment of rock mass deformations with grouted coaxial
antenna cables. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering,
22:1–23.
Heathman, G.C. & McAfee, J. 2006. Measuring soil
hydraulic properties using dielectric sensors. TDR 2006,
Purdue University, Proc. https://engineering.purdue.edu/
TDR/Papers.
Huebner, C., Schlaeger, S., Becker, R., Scheuermann,
A., Brandelik, A., Schaedel, W. & Schuhmann, R.
2005. Advanced measurement methods in Time Domain
195
Reflectometry for soil moisture determination. In Klaus
Kupfer (ed.), Electromagnetic Aquametry: 317–347.
Springer.
Kane, W.F., Beck, T.J. & Hughes, J.J. 2001. Applications of
Time Domain Reflectometry to landslide and slope moni-
toring. TDR 2001, Proc. http://www.iti.northwestern.edu/
tdr2001/proceedings.
Long, D.S., Wraith, J.M. & Kegel, G. 2002. A heavy-
duty Time Domain Reflectometry soil moisture probe for
use in intensive field sampling. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
66:396–401.
Scheuermann, A. & Bieberstein, A. 2006. Monitoring of dams
anddikes—watercontentdeterminationusingTimeDomain
Reflectometry (TDR). 13. Danube European Conference
on Geotechnical Engineering: Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mai
29–31, 2006, ISBN 961-90043-8-8, 2: 493–498.
Scheuermann, A. & Bieberstein, A. 2007. Preferential water
movement in homogeneous soils. Proc. Int. Symposium
on Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils, March 7–9, Weimar,
461–473.
Scheuermann, A. & Hübner, C. 2008. On the feasibility of
pressure profile measurements with Time Domain Reflec-
tometry (TDR). IEEE Trans. Instr. Meas. (accepted).
Schlaeger, S. 2005. A fast TDR-inversion technique for the
reconstruction of spatial soil moisture content. Hydrology
and Earth System Sciences 9: 481–492.
Schofield, T.G. 2001. Long-term stability of Time Domain
Reflectometry measurements in a multi-layer field exper-
iment. TDR 2001, Proc. http://www.iti.northwestern.edu/
tdr2001/proceedings.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Water content dynamics in unsaturated soils – Results of experimental

investigations in laboratory and in situ

A. Scheuermann
Institute for Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany

ABSTRACT: The unsteady movement of water frequently involves so-called ‘‘dynamic effects’’. So far, most
investigations regarding these effects have been mainly focused on the drainage processes starting from full
saturation, which represents only one aspect concerning questions on dynamic effects. The contribution presents
measurements obtained during laboratory and in situ experiments revealing new aspects of these effects in
conjunction with infiltration and alternating hydraulic stresses.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 SOIL USED IN THE EXPERIMENTS

Dynamic effects in connection with multi-phase or The soil used in the experiments was a well graded
unsaturated water flow have been observed many times sand with grain sizes between 0.2 and 2 mm. The
in experimental investigations, which generally arise densities of the sand in both experiments were simi-
as temporarily delayed changes in the water content lar corresponding to a density index Dr = (nmax − n)/
(Topp et al. 1967) or in the outflow (Hollenbeck & (nmax −nmin ) ≈ 0.6 with porosity n of the material, the
Jensen 1998). maximum being nmax and the minimum nmin . Based
However, most of the experiments conducted were on this density index, the pore constriction size distri-
not designed especially to investigate these effects. bution of the sand was calculated using a numerical
They were carried out in order to verify Richards’ method (cf. Scheuermann et al. 2008). Both the grain
equation (Biggar & Taylor 1960), to investigate the size and the pore constriction size distributions are
soil properties affecting soil water characteristics shown in Figure 1.
(Elzeftawy & Mansell 1975) or to determine the With regard to the well graded distribution of the
parameters describing the soil water characteristic grain size as well as the distribution of the pore con-
curve (Wildenschild et al. 2001). An overview of striction size, the soil water retention curve of the sand
experiments showing dynamic effects is given by
Hassanizadeh et al. (2002).
These experimental investigations clearly show
that dynamic effects are significant in both granular
and fine-grained soils in drainage and infiltration.
However, in the literature (cf. Wildenschild et al.
2001, Hassanizadeh et al. 2002) the mechanisms
discussed as being the cause of these dynamic
effects are focussed mainly on drainage. The possi-
ble mechanisms for the occurrence of dynamic effects
during infiltration or even for cyclic hydraulic con-
ditions, i.e. the alternate infiltration and drainage
of water, have not been investigated in detail
so far.
In the following, measurement results are presented,
which were observed in the laboratory using column
test apparatus. In situ experiments on a full-scale dyke Figure 1. Grain size and pore constriction size distribution
model are also shown. of the well graded sand used for the experiments.

197
Figure 2. Primary drainage und main wetting curve of the
sand with fitting curves using the model acc. to Mualem
(1976).
Figure 3. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the sand
ac-cording to the model of Mualem (1976).
shows a distinct transition from a saturated to an unsat-
urated condition (see Figure 2). The corresponding
air entry value |ψAEV | of the sand is about 1 kPa.
Figure 2 shows the primary drainage and the main
wetting curves of the sand measured in the laboratory
under a state of equilibrium using a Buchner funnel
set-up. In addition a fitting curve is included with
the parameterization according to Mualem (1976).
The saturated hydraulic conductivity of the sand is
kf = 2.1 · 10−4 m/s. The correspond-ing evolution for
the unsaturated condition is shown in Figure 3 (based
on the primary drainage curve).
3 COLUMN TEST APPARATUS
3.1 Experimental set-up and instrumentation
In order to determine the soil hydraulic parameters
depending on the density, the soil water retention curve
and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, a column
test apparatus was developed to carry out multi-step
inflow and outflow experiments under de-fined stress
conditions on samples 40 cm in height and 19 cm in
diameter (cf. Scheuermann et al. 2003). Figure 4 gives
198
Figure 4. Diagram of the column test apparatus with the
measuring devices used.
a diagram of the experimental set-up of the column test
apparatus.
The soil sample is located in a plastic-bag, which
is embedded in a pipe of fiber glass. The plastic-bag
is sealed with closing plates at both ends. In order
to induce a hydraulic stress on the sample, a filter of
sintered porous glass is installed in the lower plate.
In contrast, the upper plate has a small opening to
ensure atmospheric boundary conditions at the oppo-
site end of the sample. As a result of this arrangement,
the fiber glass pipe is unsupported and it floats, only
held by the friction between the plastic-bag and the
pipe. The interface between the plastic-bag and pipe
is lubricated with Vaseline in order to reduce the fric-
tion and to allow the sample to deform axially with
as little hindrance as possible (oedometric-like con-
dition). In order to vary the density of the material,
the sample is mechanically loaded using a hydraulic
pump using the steel frame as a reaction. A position
encoder records the deformation of the sample. For
the purpose of the experiment, the hydraulic stress is
imposed on the lower closing plate by means of a hang-
ing water column. An overflow connected to a water
reservoir is used to keep the hydraulic stress constant
(cf. Figure 4).
The column is equipped with different measuring
devices, including four tensiometers installed in order
to measure the matric suction at four different points
along the column. For this reason, small windows
are located in the pipe. Furthermore, two flat band
cables are placed between the pipe and the plastic-
bag, which make it possible to measure the spatial
distribution of the water content in the soil using a
newly developed measuring method called ‘Spatial
TDR’ (see Becker et al. 2008, Scheuermann et al.
2008). A detailed description of any further equipment
is given in Scheuermann et al. (2003). With the above
mentioned measuring devices continuous observation
of both the matric suction and the water content is
possible, thus describing the transient changes of the Table 1. Mechanic load, deformation and stored water after
hydraulic conditions inside the soil sample. each hydraulic cyle.

Hydraulic Mech. load Deformation Stored water

3.2 Performing the experiment cycle kPa mm ml
The following experiment differs firstly from con- 1 0 0 580
ventional multi-step experiments regarding the con- 2 100 6 560
ditions and secondly from the experiment originally 3 200 2 350
planned using this set-up. Thus the test started with 4 300 1 350
infiltration under quite dry initial conditions of θi ≈ 3
vol-% roughly corresponding to the residual water
content θr (cf. Figure 2). Furthermore, the density of
the sand was initially too high to compact the sam-
ple normally with increasing mechanical loads. Only
small deformations were observed. In this way an
experiment was performed, whereby the sample was
hydraulically stressed in cycles with repeated infiltra-
tion and drainage phases. Below the performance of
the experiments is illustrated taking as an example the
last (4th) hydraulic cycle, which was carried out with
a mechanical load of 300 kPa (cf. Table 1). The cor-
responding time-variations of the experiment (with a
hydraulic cycle consisting of infiltration followed by
drainage) is given in Figure 5.
In the upper diagram the imposed steps in hy-draulic
stress are shown. The reference level is at the top edge
of the lower closing plate. As can be seen, the infil-
tration path as well as the drainage path were carried
out in four steps each consisting of 2 kPa beginning
with an initial matric potential of −4 kPa. A new
hydraulic stress was set before the state of equilib-
rium was reached. In the second graph the cumulative
discharge is shown.
The mean volumetric water content measured with
the TDR sensors (symbols) and calculated from the
discharge (line) is plotted in the third graph in Figure 5.
It can be seen, that there is a difference in the values of
up to 3 vol-%. One reason for this discrepancy is the
fact that the lower part of the sample (ca. 5 cm) was
not observed by the sensor. The last four graphs show
the time-variation of the matric suction measured with
the tensiometers. The positions of each tensiometer
are given in the graph.
Altogether four identical hydraulic cycles (infiltra-
tion and drainage with four steps each with 2 kPa) were Figure 5. Time-variation curve of the measured values of
carried out with four different mechanical loads. Two the last (4th) hydraulic cycle with a mechanical load of
experiments were carried out every day; thus there 300 kPa.
was a break over night between the second and the
third experiments. After each hydraulic cycle a cer-
tain amount of water was stored in the sample as can in Figure 6, in which the temporal evolution of the
be seen from the graph for the cumulative discharge in mean volumetric water content for each experiment is
Figure 5. This water could not flow out of the sample, presented.
since the outlet was closed during the break, when After each hydraulic cycle, the mean hydraulic
the new mechanic load was also adjusted. The vol- water content throughout the sample increased. Fur-
ume of water stored after each hydraulic cycle is given thermore, it can be seen from the graph that the final
in Table 1 together with the deformations for each condition of each experiment corresponded to the ini-
mechanical load. The same observation can be seen tial condition of the next one. This also means that

199
Figure 6. Time-variation of the mean volumetric water
content along the soil sample measured at different load
stages.

the mechanical load increased in stages had no influ-

ence on the water content measurements. Below these Figure 7. Water content profiles at different time steps
results are presented in detail and discussed in relation of the 4th hydraulic cycle during infiltration (left) and
to the observed dynamic effects. drainage (right) with readings of the water level measured
with tensiometers.

3.3 Results and discussion

Figure 7 shows the profiles of volumetric water con-
tent for the different time steps of the 4th hydraulic
cycle during the experiment (cf. Figure 6 and Table 1)
for the phases of infiltration (left) and drainage (right).
The time of measurement and the appropri-ate level
of the hydraulic zero potential (z-coordinate in regard
to the lower boundary of the sample) is indicated in
each legend. The zero potential is derived from the
tensiometer readings and corresponds to the water
level under the assumption that there is a state of
equilibrium. It indicates the situation under transient
conditions when matric suc-tion is lost.
A comparison between the water content profiles
for the infiltration and the drainage shows, that com-
pletely differing pore water pressure conditions can be
observed for similar water content distributions. For
example, during infiltration a zero potential and thus
a loss of matric suction can be measured even for small
volumetric water contents (cf. water content profile for
t = 59 min.). However, for a similar water content dis-
tribution at t = 107 min. in the drainage phase, there is
still an area with a fairly high volumetric water content
above the level of hydraulic zero potential.
This observation is not only caused by the hystere- Figure 8. Multi-step-inflow and outflow-experiment of
sis of the soil water retention curve. Another reason the 4th hydraulic cycle: Time-variation curve of recorded
measure-ments at tensiometer 2 (2nd from below, cf.
can be found in effects caused by the transient or
Figure 4).
dynamic conditions, prevailing during the experiment.
Figure 8 shows a synoptical description of the overall
conditions of the 4th hydraulic cycle at tensiometer time axis runs from right to left. The hydraulic poten-
2 (z = 18 cm) during the experiment. tials as lower boundary conditions are highlighted in
In the graph on the top left, the cumulative discharge grey (cf. data in the bend of the diagram at the bottom
is shown. In this regard it should be mentioned that the on the left).

200
 The matric potential readings at tensiometer 2 are
presented in the central graph on the left. Here both
negative and positive pore water pressures are included
in the graph. The corresponding water con-tents at this
location are presented in the lower graph on the right.
A mean volumetric water content is calculated from
the Spatial TDR measurements over a range of 2 cm
on the elevation of tensiometer 2.
By combining the matric suction readings and vol-
umetric water contents, the graph in the centre on
the right with the white background can be taken
as a kind of soil water retention curve, whereby ‘a
kind of ’ merely highlights the fact that also positive
matric potential readings are included here. Finally
the graph shows the relationship between pore water
pressure and water content as a closed hysteresis
loop. For comparative purposes the quasi-static soil
water retention curve from Figure 2 is included in the
graph.
As can be seen from the graph, neither result
can really be compared with the other. For exam-
ple, the primary drainage curve (grey triangles) is
located above the transient drainage curve (black
rhombuses). Earlier experimental investigations (cf.
Hassanizadeh et al. 2002, Mohamed & Sharma 2007)
have shown, that the curve for dynamic conditions
should be located above the quasi-static curve and not
conversely.
The reason for this contradiction lies on the one
hand in the densities of the samples. The quasi-static
water retention curve was measured with a density
index Dr ≈ 0.95 under very dense conditions, whereas
the density index of the sample in the column was
Dr ≈ 0.6. On the other hand, the quasi-static drainage
curve was determined starting at full saturation. The
highest saturation during the transient experiment in
the column was circa 80%.
Nevertheless, the infiltration curve especially
shows distinctive devolution influenced by the tran-
ient or dynamic boundary conditions. The loss of
negative matric potential happens at a volumetric water
content of circa θ = 17 vol-%, which corresponds to
a saturation of not even S = 50%. For this reason, the
soil water retention curve of the column experiment
is located considerably below the quasi-static curve.
Another impressive effect caused by dynamic—and in
special cases cyclic—hydraulic boundary conditions
is given in Figure 9. It shows the soil water retention
curves for all hydraulic cycles conducted with in col-
umn test apparatus. As can be seen from the graph, the
soil water retention curves reflect the same cumulative
response as indicated by the stored water volume (cf.
Table 1) or by the mean volumetric water contents of
Figure 6.
The volumetric water content of the 1st hydraulic
cycle is particularly surprising, when the negative
matric potential was lost. At circa θ = 9 vol-% it does
201
Figure 9. Step-wise increase in the water content inside the
soil sample with repeated infiltration of water (measurements
at tensiometer 2).
not even correspond to a saturation degree of S =
25%, and the highest volumetric water content mea-
sured in this experiment was roughly θ = 18 vol-%
(S = 50%). Although these degrees of saturation
are quite small, it is perfectly conceivable that posi-
tive matric potentials could occur, since both the air
and water phases form continuous phases during these
degrees of saturation.
Both values (water content at loss of suction and
maximum water content) increased from cycle to cycle
with repeated infiltration and drainage of the sam-
ple, indicating an accumulation of water. Under the
supposition that the hydraulic boundary conditions
remain constant, it can be expected that with addi-
tional hydraulic cycles a limit cycle would be reached,
leading to a constant hysteresis loop. This kind of
pumping effect was also qualitatively ob-served in
column experiments with clayey material (Delov &
Diankov 1998).
One possible explanation for this observation is
based on the sintered porous glass plate at the lower end
of the sample. The saturated hydraulic conductivity of
the glass plate at kf = 2.5 · 10−6 m/s is roughly 100-
times smaller than the hydraulic conductivity of the
sand. Nevertheless, in a dry condition the sand strives
to soak up water. If during infiltration a degree of satu-
ration is reached, which is high enough to transport the
water upwards for the existing hydraulic gradients, the
water content should stay constant. It can be expected
that primarily small pore-channels will be activated in
such a process.
The subsequent drainage of the sample leads to an
incomplete desaturation of the sand and some pores
remain filled with water. During subsequent infiltra-
tion under the existing conditions (hydraulic gradient
and initial saturation of the sample) further pore-
channels are activated and more water can flow into
the sample.
 This explanation is just a hypothesis for the observa-
tion presented, which needs to be verified in controlled
experimental investigations. Nevertheless, the obser-
vations in the column experiments demonstrate a new
aspect concerning dynamic effects. Even if the abso-
lute values of the water con-tent measurements may
be inexact, the relative changes are given and they
are significant. Confirmation of these observations is
given in the next section, in which measurements in a
full-scale dyke model are presented.

4 FULL-SCALE DYKE MODEL

Physical flood simulation tests were carried out in a

full-scale dyke model. The dyke was built up with the
same sand used for the investigations with the column
test apparatus and with a similar density. Figure 10
shows the positions and lengths of the flat band cable
used as TDR-sensors inside the dyke cross-section.
Tensiometers are installed at different depths along
the first sensor from the crest of the down-stream slope
side (see crosses in Figure 10). A de-tailed description
of the dyke model and its instru-mentation is given in
Scheuermann et al. (2008).
The readings of the water content measured with
Spatial TDR and the recorded matric potentials were
analyzed in the same manner as for the experiments
with the soil column. Figure 11 presents the corre-
sponding relationship between the volumetric water
content and the matric potential. As can be seen from
the graph, the volumetric water content, at which the
matric suction is lost, increases with the height of the
observation point. The measurements were conducted
during the transient seepage through the dyke. The
velocity of the moving phreatic surface during infiltra-
tion decreases with increasing in-filtration. The closer
the phreatic surface is situated to the stationary condi-
tion, the slower is the velocity. Thus, the differences in
the soil water retention curves measured in situ must
be caused by the different velocities of the phreatic
surface. These independently measured observations
verify the results from the laboratory investigations in
the soil column.
Figure 11. Measurements of matric potential during a flood
simulation experiment on a full-scale dyke model.
5 OUTLOOK
The experiments presented were not originally
designed for investigating dynamic hydraulic effects.
However, the observations clearly show several phe-
nomena resulting from the particular dynamic condi-
tions. Thus it could be seen that, during the transient
infiltration of water, matric suction may be lost even at
very small water contents. This phenomenon depends
on the velocity of the infiltration, as could be seen
from the results when in the dyke model.
A new aspect with regard to dynamic effects is the
cumulative storage of water during cyclic hydraulic
boundary conditions. The velocity of the in-filtrating
water is only one influencing factor for this phe-
nomenon. Another might be the availability of water
during infiltration.
The observations presented in this paper were only
possible with the help of the new measuring method,
Spatial TDR. In future laboratory experiments and
large-scale experiments this method will also be used
for the targeted investigation of hydraulic dynamic
effects.

REFERENCES

Becker, R., Scheuermann, A., Schlaeger, S., Huebner, C. &

Figure 10. Set-up of measurement devices with positions Wagner, N. 2008. Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry
and lengths of the flat band cables and positions of tensio- (Spatial TDR)—Principles, limitations and accuracy. First
meters. European Conference on Unsaturated Soils; Durham.

202
Biggar, J.W. & Taylor S.A. 1960. Some aspects of the kinetics
of moisture flow into unsaturated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am.
Proc. 24: 81–85.
Delov, K. & Diankov, Z. 1998. Einfluss des Lufanteiles
auf die Hysteresisparameter bei der Bodenbewaesserung.
Dresdner Wasserbauliche Mitteilungen, Inst. f. Wasserbau
und Techn. Hydrom., TU Dresden, 13: 391–400.
Elzeftawy, A. & Mansell, R.S. 1975. Hydraulic conductivity
calculations for unsaturated steady-state and transient-
state flow in sand. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 39: 599–603.
Hassanizadeh, S.M., Celia, M.A. & Dahle, H.K. 2002.
Dynamic effect in the capillary pressure-saturation
relation-ship and its impacts on unsaturated flow. Vadose
Zone J. 1: 38–57.
Hollenbeck, K.J. & Jensen, K.H. 1998. Experimental evi-
dence of randomness and nonuniqueness in unsaturated
outflow experiments designed for hydraulic parameter
estimation. Water Resour. Res. 34: 595–602.
Mohammed, M.H.A. & Sharma, R.S. 2007. Role of
dynamic flow in relationships between suction head and
degree of saturation. J. of Geot. and Geoenviron. Engin.
133: 286–294.
203
Mualem, Y. (1976). Hysteretical models for prediction of
the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.
Water Resour. Res. 12(6): 1248–1254.
Scheuermann, A., Bieberstein, A., Triantafyllidis,Th.,
Huebner, C., Becker, R, Schlaeger, S. & Wagner, N. 2008.
Spa-tial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR)—On
the use in geotechnics and geohydraulics. Proc. First
European Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Durham.
Scheuermann, A., et al. 2003. Column test apparatus for
the inverse estimation of soil hydraulic parameters under
de-fined stress condition. ISBN 3-540-21121-7, Springer,
Ber-lin, 33–44.
Topp, G.C, Klute, A. & Peters, D.B. 1967. Comparison of
water content-pressure head data obtained by equilibrium,
steady-state, and unsteady-state methods. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. Proc. 31: 312–314.
Wildenschild, D., Hopmans, J.W. & Šimů,nek. 2001. Flow
rate dependence of soil hydraulic characteristics. Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J. 65: 35–48.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A new high capacity tensiometer: First results

J.C. Rojas, L. Pagano, M.C. Zingariello & C. Mancuso

University of Naples, Federico II, Italy

G. Giordano & G. Passeggio

INFN, Naples, Italy

ABSTRACT: A high capacity tensiometer has been developed at the University of Napoli Federico II that
allows substitution of the High Air Entry Value (HAEV) filter and, hence, the variation of the probe measurement
range and response time. The device has been also designed to allow initial saturation without removal from
the high vacuum temperature-controlled pre-conditioning chamber. Regardless of the HAEV filter (5 bar and
15 bar), the probe has been saturated under a saturation pressure of 800 kPa and then calibrated applying positive
pressure values. To evaluate the performance of the tensiometer free evaporation tests, prolonged high suction
measurements and pressure reversal tests were carried out. The tensiometer layout, the pre-conditioning setup
and the saturation process are described in the paper. The results obtained during some preliminary tests are also
presented and discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION makes unfeasible the use of high sensitivity thin

In recent years, several designs of high capacity
tensiometers have been presented in the literature.
According to the original proposal from Ridley &
Burland (1993), all these devices use a fixed high air
entry value (HAEV) filter to protect the water reservoir
against de-saturation (Fig. 1). This introduces however
two contrasting requirements: (a) the need to maxi-
mize the air entry value (AEV) of the filter, in order to
extend as much as possible the suction measured, and
(b) the need to limit the AEV of the filter in order to
reduce the response time of the tensiometer.
In addition, the need for high pressurization dur-
ing the saturation of the HAEV filter and water
reservoir (i.e. 4 MPa after Ridley & Burland 1999),
Figure 1. Model of mini-tensiometer (Ridley & Burland
1995).
diaphragms due to the possibility of them yielding
during pressurization.
This paper discusses the above two problems, pre-
senting a new high capacity tensiometer developed at
the University of Napoli Federico II (UNINA). The
design of the new tensiometer addresses the contrast-
ing requirements associated with the functioning and
pre-conditioning of the probe.
Also discussed are the performance of the probe
when a saturation pressure of 800 kPa is used and
ceramic filters of 5 and 15 bar AEV are adopted.
1.1 Cavitation
When water is subjected to a pressure lower than
its vapour-saturation value, it usually transforms into
vapor (causing cavitation). However, in a tensiome-
ter, if pure water is used to saturate the HAEV and
water reservoir, and hydrophilic materials are adopted
to build a very smooth measuring chamber, cavi-
tation may occur only in appropriate circumstances
far beyond thermodynamic equilibrium. As a mat-
ter of fact, the maximum tension that pure water can
stand ranges from 200 MPa, as measured by Imre
(2002), to 400 MPa, as theoretically predicted by Tabor
(1979). Under a tension of 200 MPa the pure water is
not in equilibrium but can remain in this metastable
condition for a long time.
To explain this fact it is worth recalling that cav-
itation is a non-equilibrium process triggered at a

205
cavitation nucleus, that brings an unstable system to a
new equilibrium condition through a process of phase
transition by heterogeneous density fluctuations. Cav-
itation may be triggered at the site of microscopic
heterogeneities in the liquid, such as suspended dirt
particles, gas micro-bubbles, etc. (i.e. heterogeneous
nucleation), or it may arise randomly in the liquid itself
(i.e. homogeneous nucleation) if the required condi-
tions of pressure and temperature exists. In nature
and in technical applications heterogeneous nucleation
is the most common trigger of cavitation. If suffi-
cient numbers of ‘‘nucleation sites’’ of sufficient size
are present, when a liquid is subjected to a pressure
reduction the liquid will become vapor and cavitation
rapidly occurs. On the contrary, if no nucleation site is
present, the depressurization of the liquid may lead to
a metastable state down the theoretical isotherm, since
imperfections may cause instability and transition to
the vapor phase.
In the particular case of high capacity tensiometers,
even if pure water is used, a weakness will still exist in
the microscopic bubbles of gas present in crevices at
the water-solid contact (Brennen 1995) (i.e. at the con-
tact between the water and the reservoir), and inside the
water filling the pores of the HAEV filter. To under-
stand how this weakness may be reduced, the crevice
model proposed by Harvey et al. (1944) may be help-
ful. As a matter of fact, this model establishes that if
a small volume of gas is trapped in minute crevices at
the contact between the water and a solid, the appli-
cation of an appropriate water tension may cause the
expansion of the gas until the bubble stability is lost
and uncontrollable expansion occurs. In this situa-
tion it is likely that the bubble will move from the
solid-liquid surface into the liquid and will dissolve
if a new pressurization stage is applied (Atchley &
Prosperetti 1989). A higher water tension is now nec-
essary to cause the expansion of the micro-bubble that
remains within crevice (Harvey et al. 1944), though,
in water, microbubbles of air seem to persist almost
indefinitely and are almost impossible to remove com-
pletely (Brennen 1995). All the above suggests that
subjecting a high capacity tensiometer to cycles of high
depressurization and high pressurization may improve
its saturation, reducing the size of heterogeneous cav-
itation nuclei by extracting ‘‘air fractions’’ from the
cavities and dissolving them in the water.
Trevena (1982) summaries the experimental results
reported in the literature regarding the effects of time
in cavitation. Their conclusions can be outlined as:
a) if the nucleation site is the solid surface, the break-
ing tension decreases as the pressure rate increases
with time; b) when the cavitation starts in the liquid
itself, the breaking tension increases as the stressing
rate increases; c) the longer the time of pressurization
the greater is the tension needed for cavitation; d) the
breaking tension increases steadily as the number of
206
cycles of cavitation and pressurization increases until
it levels-off at an upper limit.
1.2 Direct suction measurement: previous studies
As mentioned, many studies considering direct suc-
tion measurements with high capacity tensiometers
have been published. Table 1 summarizes some basic
information on the type of HAEV filter, assembly
method, etc. used by various Authors. All these stud-
ies seem to indicate that the design of a tensiometer
is crucially important as it influences its robustness,
sensitivity, ease of saturation, speed of response, and
cavitation resistance (Take & Bolton 2003). Equally
clear is that the design of appropriate saturation setups
and procedures is also critical.
With reference to the probe design, previous
experience recognizes the important role of the water
reservoir volume, as this is in direct contact with
the internal area of the diaphragm. In particular it
is generally recognized that the use of water reser-
voirs as small as possible will reduce the probability
of cavitation (Ridley & Burland 1993; Marinho &
Pinto 1997). In particular, Guan & Fredlund (1999)
suggested that there is a cavitation tension for a par-
ticular pre-pressurization procedure and a particular
suction probe. Ridley & Burland (1999) found, on
the contrary, that for a thoroughly saturated suction
probe the stress required to cause a tension breakdown
in the reservoir water is uniquely related to the AEV
of the filter.
Most of these probes can stand very high values
of suction but, as Take & Bolton (2003) mentioned,
there are many applications where small suction values
(i.e. 300 kPa) are of interest. This implies the require-
ment for sensitive lower-pressure-range devices that
are likely to be damaged when a high pressure is
applied.
According to the previously described crevice
model, Tarantino & Mongiovì (2001) observed that
saturation of the ceramic filter is achieved mainly
through cycles of cavitation and subsequent pressuri-
zation, and that an inadequate initial saturation simply
increases the number of cycles required to obtain
a satisfactory performance of the probe. Contrarily,
Guan & Fredlund (1999) indicated that repeated cavi-
tation of the sensor appeared to reduce the maximum
sustainable tension. Finally, Chiu et al. (2005) and
Lourenço et al. (2006) show unclear evidence to sup-
port the hypothesis of an increase of cavitation suction
with cycles of cavitation and pressurization. In sum-
mary, after Marinho & Chandler (1994), the main
requirements to avoid cavitation in the measurement
system and improve the ability to measure negative
water pressure seems to be: a) water and all surfaces
within the measurement system must be pure and clean
(Henderson & Speedy 1980), b) the surfaces in contact
Table 1. Saturation process data used in previous studies.

Filter AEV Vacuum Pre-pressurization Pre-pressurization

Tensiometer (bar) Assembly saturation pressure (kPa) cycles

Ridley & Burland (1999) 15 dry yes (60 min) 4000 (24 h) no
Guan & Fredlund (1997) 15 under water no 12000 (1 h) yes (6 cycles)
Tarantino & Mongiovì (2002) 15 dry yes 4000 (24 h) no
Meilani et al. (2002) 5 dry no 800 (4 days) no
Take & Bolton (2003) 3 oven dried yes (20 min) 1000 (1 h) yes
Chiu et al. (2005) 5 dry yes (60 min) 700 (24 h) no
He et al. (2006) 5 dry or saturated no 2000 (1 month) no
Lourenço et al. (2006) 15 dry yes 800 (72 h) no
Mahler & Diene (2007) 5, 15 dry yes (15 h) higher than filter AEV yes

with the water system must be as smooth as possible to

avoid or reduce the number and size of crevices, c) the
system should be air-evacuated by vacuum application
prior to the pre-pressurization in order to remove the
maximum amount of air entrapped into the crevices
(Jones et al. 1981), d) pre-pressurization of the sys-
tem to high pressure is required in order to dissolve
all the free air (Harvey et al. 1944), e) the HAEV
disk must be brought to a low initial moisture content
prior to the application of initial saturation, as this has
been demonstrated a crucial factor for the saturation
of the disk itself (Take & Bolton 2003). All these fac-
tors should be considered in the design of a saturation
setup and saturation procedure adopted for any probe.
2 THE UNINA PROBE
A high capacity tensiometer has been developed at the
University of Naples Federico II using a design layout
similar to that initially proposed at the Imperial Col-
lege of London (Ridley & Burland 1995) but including
some variants to allow the substitution of HAEV disk
without changing the whole probe. This measure has
been adopted in order to easily tune the measurement
capacity of the tensiometer and its response time to the
particular application under study.
The UNINA probe (Fig. 2), utilizes a circular
clamped-edge diaphragm. The strain-gauged dia-
phragm is 6 mm in diameter and 0.4 mm in height.
The strain gauge has a rosette-like design with the
radial strain gauges next to the rim and tangential strain
gauges adjacent to the radial ones, generating the high-
est sensitivity when combined in a Wheatstone bridge.
The circular trim diameter of the strain gauge covers a
considerable area of the micro diaphragm. To produce
the maximum allowable output signal the strain gauge
is bonded to the non-pressurized side of the diaphragm.
The novel piece is an interchangeable filter cap con-
taining a HAEV ceramic disk of 7.4 mm in diameter
Figure 2. UNINA high capacity tensiometer.
and 6.0 mm in height. The operating range is deter-
mined by the filter’s AEV (e.g. 5 or 15 bar), allowing
a single unit to operate in different suction ranges by
changing the filter. The water reservoir between the
ceramic disk and the strain-gauged diaphragm has a
volume of approximately 3 mm3 .
Two stainless steel housings are used (Fig. 2), one
to hold the diaphragm, and another one to provide a
support and isolate the electrical connectors. A vented
waterproof sheating ensures atmospheric pressure is
maintained in the back of the strain-gauged diaphragm
and isolates the electronic parts from water and dust.
The strain-gauge measurements are acquired
through a bridge amplifier static strain indicator and
stored in a digital data logger. The recorded data
(i.e. up to 1 per second of observation) are stored
on a memory card and transferred by a USB port to
a PC. The strain gauge is connected to the acquisi-
tion system through appropriate input terminals. An
undefined full-bridge circuit is used as input, selected
on the basis of the net output of the active strain
gauges without mathematical corrections for either
bridge configuration or nonlinearity being applied.
Operating in this way, the nonlinearity errors will
have to be determined by direct calibration against
a previously calibrated transducer. Table 2 shows the
design parameters that characterize the UNINA probe,
determined assuming 2000 kPa as the maximum

207
Table 2. Characteristics corresponding to a maximum
applied pressure of 2000 kPa.

Parameter Symbol Critical magnitude Units

Radial strain εR 3.8 × 10−4 –

Total gage output Eo 0.125 mV/V
Sensitivity – 0.28 μV/kPa
Deflection Yc 2.1 × 10−3 mm
Radial stress σR 54, 210 kPa

pre-pressurization pressure. The maximum radial

strains in the diaphragm are well-suited with the ref-
erence of the strain gauge manufacturer (i.e. >−2 × Figure 3. Saturation system.
10−3 ). The maximum expected deflection is very little
compared with the water reservoir depth (0.1 mm) and
therefore the design ensures the free deformation of the
diaphragm. Also, the maximum radial stress remains
below the yielding stress for the stainless steel.

3 SATURATION SYSTEM

As the initial saturation procedure of high capacity

tensiometers has been demonstrated to be very impor-
tant, a saturation system (Fig. 3) has been designed to
saturate and calibrate the UNINA probe.
The apparatus consists of two chambers (c1 and
c2), a vacuum generator (g), a vacuum gauge (m),
two heaters (h1 and h2), and five valves (v1–v5).
Initially valve v1 is opened to drive distilled water into
the chamber c1. The water is then de-aired keeping all
the valves closed except valve v2 and applying a rel-
ative pressure of −95 kPa to the chamber c1 through
a pressure p1 = 600 kPa applied to the vacuum gen-
erator g. The water is de-aired for at least 3 hours.
The tensiometer T is then screwed into the cham-
ber c2. To dry the tensiometer, the heaters h1 and h2
are switched on to bring the tensiometer chamber to
constant temperature of 70◦ C. Opening the valve v3
vacuum is applied to the chamber c2. After 16 hours
the heaters are switched off and valve v5 is opened
to slowly introduce water into the chamber c2 (and,
hence, into the HAEV filter and water reservoir) while
under vacuum. Four hours after, the vacuum is released
and further time is allowed for saturation of the fil-
ter and water reservoir under atmospheric pressure.
The valve v4 is then opened and the valves v3 and
v5 closed in order to pressurize the chamber c2 at
a pressure p2 = 800 kPa and to force any residual
amount of air into solution. The pressurization stage
is applied for 72 hours. It is important to note that
a maximum pressure of 800 kPa has been applied
during saturation, independently of the AEV used.
A weakness of the saturation system is the absence
of an interface membrane between air and water in
Figure 4. Tensiometer calibration curve.
the pre-pressurization chamber, allowing potential air
diffusion. The tensiometer is finally calibrated inside
the chamber c2 varying the pressure p2 from 0 to
800 kPa. During cyclic pressure loading the probe
shows a linear response without appreciable hysteresis
(Fig. 4).
The calibration curve in the negative pressure range
was extrapolated from the calibrated positive range.
As Tarantino & Mongiovì (2002) observe, sensitiv-
ity resulting from calibration is not so different from
the expected value, 0.25 μV/kPa and 0.28 μV/kPa
(Table 2), respectively.
4 EVALUATION TESTS
To check the performance of the tensiometer some
evaluation tests have been conducted in a 22◦ C con-
stant temperature room.
4.1 Comparison measurements against known
suction values
Comparisons of the tensiometer measurements against
known values of suction were conducted to verify its

208
 4.2 Evaporation tests
Evaporation tests were performed to determine the
maximum measurable suction. The maximum suction
values registered are 450 kPa (Fig. 6a) and 720 kPa
(Fig. 6b) when 5 bar and 15 bar filters were used
respectively. For the 5 bar filter the maximum value
registered was approximately the expected one (i.e.
≈500 kPa). This implies that the saturation process
for this AEV seems to have worked properly. However,
the maximum suction obtained for the 15 bar filter was
almost one half of the expected value, but very near
to the pre-pressurization pressure applied during the
Figure 5. Long time suction measurements on soil samples. saturation process (i.e. 800 kPa). It is worth noting
that Figure 6 indicates that, on cavitation, the pressure
increases to −100 kPa, indicating good accuracy of
time response, its ability to stand high suctions for a
the probe’s calibration.
long time and to roughly verify the calibration data.
Table 3 presents the values of suction measured at
The data presented in Figure 5 were obtained using a
cavitation when the 15 bar filter is used. According
15 bar filter. Similar results were obtained when a 5 bar
to Tarantino & Mongiovì (2001), the data in Table 3
filter was used. The equilibration time of the tensiome-
seem to indicate that an enhanced saturation of the
ter was examined using silty-sand. Matric suctions of
ceramic filter is achieved through cycles of cavitation
200, 250 and 350 kPa were generated in different sam-
and subsequent pressurization. Moreover, according
ples of this material using a modified Wisa oedometer
to Trevena (1982) the upper limit of the tensiometer
working under the axis translation technique. Matric
is of about 645 kPa. Obviously, if a probe is satu-
suction of the sample was then measured dismounting
rated at its upper limit the cycles of cavitation will
the oedometer, putting the sample to the atmospheric
not improve the probe’s performance. However higher
pressure and using the UNINA probe. A thin layer of
pre-pressurization pressures may improve its response.
the soil paste was used to improve contact between
Then, analogous to observations by Atchley &
the soil sample and the miniature tensiometer. Dur-
Prosperetti (1989) in their crevice model of bubble
ing the tests the samples remained isolated to avoid
large suction changes associated with environmental
conditions.
The observed trend of matric suction with time may
be subdivided into three parts and explained following
Guan & Fredlund (1999). In Part I, a sudden increase
of readings is observed to reach suction values slightly
less than those expected on the basis of the suction
applied by the axis translation technique. Afterward,
in Part II of the tests, a slow process of suction equal-
ization is observed. In Part III, following a period in
which the suctions are almost constant at the expected
values, slow increases in the tensions are observed.
These are mainly attributed to moisture losses due
to evaporation from both the samples and the suction
probes during the measurements. The measurements
performed on the sample preconditioned to a suction
of 350 kPa present some cyclic variations. It is worth
noting that large variations are observed during days
I, II, V and VI, while no variations were registered in
days III and IV corresponding to Saturday and Sunday,
respectively. This seems to suggest that the observed
variations are related to small temperature changes in
the controlled temperature room during working days.
The tests were stopped when the probe measured
constant suction for a time long enough to validate the
capacity of the probe to withstand high suction for a
long time. Figure 6. Cavitation tests: maximum measurable suction.

209
Table 3. Tension breakdown values using 15 bar filter. (Fig. 7a). However, if the probe had not been prop-
erly saturated, the offset decreased after every reversal
Test Tension breakdown (kPa) (Fig. 7b).
1st 330
2nd 481
3rd 566 5 CONCLUSIONS
4th 647
5th 646 A new high capacity tensiometer has been developed
6th 720
7th 635
at University of Naples Federico II. The novel design
of the probe allows the substitution of the HAEV fil-
ter without changing the whole probe. The objective
was to study the behaviour of the UNINA probes when
they had been saturated under a reduced pressure (i.e.
800 kPa), well below the maximum allowable pre-
pressurization pressure (i.e. 2000 kPa). The response
of the new high capacity tensiometer when a 5 bar
filter was used was found to be excellent during free
evaporation tests, cyclic evaporation tests and equi-
libration time tests. On the other hand, the 800 kPa
pressure applied during the saturation stage was not
enough to properly saturate the 15 bar filter. The max-
imum suction registered seems to be approximately
equal to the minimum of either the pre-pressurization
pressure used or the AEV of the filter.

REFERENCES

Atchley, A.A. & Prosperetti, A. 1989. The crevice model of

Figure 7. Response of the probe to suction reversals.
nucleation, the maximum cavitation suction depends
on the past history of the tensiometer.
Contrarily to the observations in Berthelot tube
tests, the tension breakdown value seems not to be
affected by the rate at which the tension increases
(Fig. 6a, b).
4.3 Cyclic evaporation tests
The probe’s ability to register rapid suction changes
was examined using cyclic evaporation tests. Figure 7
shows several evaporation cycles, consisting in free
evaporation stages up to prescribed suction values
(i.e. lower than the nominal filter’s AEV) and stages
in which the atmospheric pore water pressure was
applied by immerging the tensiometer tip in water.
A probe’s response to reversals of suction was found
to be excellent for properly preconditioned probes
bubble nucleation. J. Acoustical Society of America 86(3):
1065–1084.
Brennen, C.E. 1995. Cavitation and bubble dynamics.
Oxford University Press.
Chiu, C.F., Cui, Y.J., Delage, P., De Laure, E. & Haza, E.
2005. Lessons learnt from suction monitoring during
centrifuge modeling. Proc. intern. symp. on advanced
experimental unsaturated soil mechanics EXPERUS
2005. Trento, Italia, June 27–29: 3–8.
Guan, Y. & Fredlund, D.G. 1997. Use of the tensile strength
of water for the direct measurement of high soil suction.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 34: 604–614.
Guan, Y. & Fredlund, D.G. 1999. Use of the tensile strength
of water for the direct measurement of high soil suction:
Reply. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36: 181.
Harvey, E.N., Barnes, D.K., McElroy, W.D., Whiteley, A.H.,
Pease, D.C. & Cooper, K.W. 1944. Bubble Formation
in Animals. J. Cellular and Comparative Physiol. 24(1):
1–22.
Henderson, S.J. & Speedy, R.J. 1980. A Berthelot-Bourdoon
tube method for studying water under tension. J. of Physics
E: Scientific Instrumentation 13: 778–782.
Imre, A.R., Maris, H.J. & Williams, P.R. 2002. Liquids Under
Negative Pressure, NATO Science Series.
Jones, W.M., Overton, G.D.N. & Trevena, D.H. 1981. Ten-
sile strength experiments with water using a new type of
Berthelot tube. J. of Physics D: Applied 14: 1283–1291.
Lourenço, S.D.N., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G. & Evans, F.D.
2006. Development of a commercial tensiometer for tri-
axial testing of unsaturated soils. In Miller et al. (eds.).

210
 ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147(2):
1875–1886.
Mahler, C.F. & Diene, A.A. 2007. Tensiometer develop-
ment for high suction analysis in laboratory lysimeters. In
Schanz (ed.), Experimental unsaturated soil mechanics;
Springer proceedings in physics No. 112: 103–115.
Marinho, F.A.M. & Chandler, R.J. 1994. A new instrument
for the measurement of soil moisture suction: Discussion.
Geotechnique 44(3): 551–556.
Marinho, F.A.M. & Pinto, C.d.S. 1997. Soil suction measure-
ment using a tensiometer. In Almeida (ed.), Recent devel-
opments in Soil and Pavement Mechanics 1: 249–254.
Rotterdam: Balkema.
Meilani, I., Rahardjo, H., Leong, E. & Fredlund, D.G. 2002.
Mini suction probe for matric suction measurements.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 39: 1427–1432.
Ridley, A.M. & Burland, J.B. 1993. A new instrument for the
measurement of soil moisture suction. Géotechnique 43:
321–324.
Ridley, A.M. & Burland, J.B. 1995. Measurement of suc-
tion in materials which swell. Applied mechanics reviews
48(10): 727–732.
Ridley, A.M. & Burland, J.B. 1999. Use of the tensile
strength of water for the direct measurement of high soil
211
suction: Discussion. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36:
178–180.
Tabor, D. 1979. Gases, liquids and solids. Cambridge
University press.
Take, W.A. & Bolton, M.D. 2003. Tensiometer saturation
and the reliable measurement of soil moisture suction.
Geotechnique 53(2): 159–172.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2001. Experimental procedures
and cavitation mechanisms in tensiometer measurements.
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 19: 189–210.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2002. Design and construction
of a tensiometer for direct measurement of matric suc-
tion. In Jucá, de Campos & Marinho (eds.) Unsaturated
Soils; Proc. 3rd inter. conf., Recife, 10–13 March 2002:
319–324. Lisse: Balkema.
Tarantino, A. 2004. Direct measurement of soil water ten-
sion. In Jucá, de Campos & Marinho (eds.) Unsaturated
Soils; Proc. 3rd inter. conf., Recife, 10–13 March 2002,
3: 1005–1017. Lisse: Balkema.
Trevena, D.H. 1982. Time effects in cavitation experiments.
J. Phys. D: Applied Physics 15: L111–L114.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Evaluation of suction measurement by the tensiometer and the axis

translation technique

S.D.N. Lourenço, D.G. Toll & C.E. Augarde

School of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, UK

D. Gallipoli
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

F.D. Evans
Controls Testing Equipment Ltd, Wykeham Farrance Division, Tring, Hertfordshire, UK

G.M. Medero
Department of Civil Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK

ABSTRACT: The axis translation technique is a well-established method for imposing values of suction in
unsaturated soil samples. High-suction tensiometers are more recently developed devices used for measuring
pore water pressures in soils, including negative pore water pressures (i.e. suctions) below absolute zero. Both
these techniques are comparable in terms of the suction range in which they operate. In this work a tensiometer
has been used to measure suction values imposed by the axis translation technique in kaolin samples inside a
pressure plate and a triaxial cell. The tensiometer has been kept in contact with the soil sample to track pore
water pressure variations throughout the duration of the tests. The suctions measured by the tensiometer have
been compared to those imposed by the axis translation technique and it was found that the suction measured
by the tensiometer was always smaller than that imposed. Two scenarios are proposed to explain this. The first
scenario considers the presence of water inside and below the high air entry value ceramic plate whereas the
second one hypothesises the lack of equilibrium in terms of soil water content when suction is measured. The
latter scenario seems to be supported by the evidence in the literature of equilibration times for pressure plate
tests that are significantly longer than those reported for the present testing programme. Implications of both
scenarios for laboratory testing are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION can be applied depends on the air entry value of the

The axis translation technique (Hilf, 1956) is com-
monly used in unsaturated soil mechanics for imposing
matric suctions in samples. In this technique, the pore
air pressure and the pore water pressure are raised
by the same amount so that the matric suction (given
by their difference) is kept constant. In this way, the
pore water pressure can become positive, thus avoid-
ing water cavitation inside the experimental set up.
The technique is employed in the pressure plate device,
which consists of a high air entry value ceramic plate
saturated by water and acting as a separation filter
between the air above and the water below. Soil sam-
ples are placed on the ceramic plate and the suction
is imposed by controlling independently both the air
pressure and the water pressure on the two sides of the
plate. The range of suction over which the technique
ceramic plate (usually between 500 kPa and 1500 kPa)
and the capacity of the compressor controlling the air
pressure.
High-suction tensiometers (Ridley and Burland,
1993) are relatively new devices used for the direct
measurement of pore water pressures in soils, includ-
ing negative pore water pressures below absolute zero.
Tensiometers are usually employed under conditions
where the air pressure is atmospheric and the matric
suction is given by pore water under tensile stress,
which is directly measured by the tensiometers. High
suction tensiometers can be schematically divided into
three parts (Figure 1): a miniature water reservoir,
a pressure transducer measuring the water pressure
inside the reservoir and a high air entry value porous
stone acting as a separation filter between the reservoir
on one side and the soil on the other side.

213
 reservoir transducer
porous stone
Figure 1. Schematic of the tensiometer used for this
research (Lourenço et al., 2006).
Work done by Guan (1996) and reported in Guan
and Fredlund (1997) used a modified pressure plate
to perform a standard drying test by increasing pore
air pressure in an initially saturated sample to impose
a given value of suction (water pressure was at
atmospheric pressure). Subsequently, the air pressure
was instantaneously released to atmospheric pressure
while a high suction tensiometer, placed in contact
with the soil, simultaneously measured the corre-
sponding drop in pore water pressure. This procedure
was used to assess the accuracy of the tensiometer
calibration over the negative range of pressures. The
authors observed that the suction measured by the ten-
siometer was less than the suction imposed via the
pressure plate. The same was observed by Lourenco
et al. (2006) in similar tests. The tests conducted by
Guan and Fredlund (1997) had a unique feature: water
in the compartment below the porous stone of the
pressure plate was flushed out before the air pressure
decrease. No details are provided but it is believed that
this was to avoid water flowing from the water com-
partment to the sample and therefore to avoid a further
decrease of suction during the air pressure decrease.
It is the purpose of this paper to evaluate the suction
measurement of samples prepared at the same initial
conditions by the tensiometer and the pressure plate.
In this work, a conventional pressure plate sold com-
mercially by Soil Moisture Corporation as well as a
triaxial cell, whose pedestal was fitted with a high air
entry value ceramic plate, were used. In the pressure
plate the compartment below the ceramic plates was
always full of water. In the triaxial cell, the compart-
ment could be full or empty of water (but with the
ceramic plates always saturated) (Figure 2).
In the following part of this paper, the working
principle of both the tensiometer probe and the axis
translation technique will be initially reviewed in more
detail including limitations and terminology. Then the
procedures and results of the testing programme will
be shown and the implications for laboratory testing
of unsaturated soils will be discussed.
214
Figure 2. Experimental set-up.
2 DIRECT SUCTION MEASUREMENT
VERSUS AXIS TRANSLATION TECHNIQUE
The axis translation technique imposes a value of suc-
tion by raising the air pressure above atmospheric value
with the water phase kept either at atmospheric or at a
given positive value smaller than the air pressure. This
forces water to move from (or into) the soil through
the ceramic plate. Water will move to or from the
compartment below the plate depending on whether
the imposed suction is smaller or higher than that ini-
tially present in the soil sample. Once equalisation
is achieved, no more transfer should occur and the
water content in the sample should remain constant at
the equilibrium value corresponding to the imposed
suction (Figure 3).
The tensiometer measures directly the water ten-
sile stress existing in the soil pores. After the porous
stone of a tensiometer is placed in contact with a soil
sample with a negative pore water pressure, an initial
equilibration phase takes place whereby a small vol-
ume of water is sucked out from the reservoir through
the porous stone into the soil producing a deforma-
tion of the transducer diaphragm in the direction of
the soil. This deformation is transferred to a strain
gauged diaphragm from which pressure can be mea-
sured. Once this transfer ends, all water inside the
tensiometer as well as in the soil will have the same
value of negative pressure. The volume of water trans-
ferred from the reservoir to the soil is small enough
so that it can be considered negligible, and therefore
the water content of the sample is not affected. The
working principle for both the axis translation tech-
nique and the tensiometer are schematically illustrated
in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Working principle for the tensiometer (above) and
pressure plate (below).
One of the main limitations of the pressure plate
device is related to the presence of air diffusion through
the ceramic plate (e.g. Padilla et al., 2006), which
needs to be accounted for when the change in water
content of the sample is measured by means of volume
gauges connected to the water compartment below
the ceramic plate. For the tensiometer, the range of
measurable suctions is primarily limited by the occur-
rence of cavitation inside the probe, which is in turn
governed by the degree of saturation of the porous
stone and reservoir (e.g. Guan and Fredlund, 1997;
Lourenco et al., 2006). Suction measurements by the
tensiometer also appear to be sensitive to temperature
as shown by Toker et al. (2004).
3 TESTING PROGRAMME, EQUIPMENT
AND MATERIAL
If a given suction is imposed in a soil sample by using
the axis translation technique, one would expect that
an equal value of suction would be read by a tensiome-
ter when placed in contact with the same sample. In
order to verify this, tests were conducted by imposing
given values of suction on Speswhite kaolin samples
in the pressure plate while a tensiometer was placed
215
in contact with the sample to track pore water changes
throughout the test.
A kaolin slurry was prepared at a water content of
200% and was deposited directly on the previously
saturated ceramic plates inside the triaxial cell and the
pressure plate. In order to avoid spreading, the slurry
was placed in a cylindrical mould (diameter 38 mm)
with open top and bottom ends. The tensiometer was
then set directly on the top surface of the kaolin slurry
and a plastic mesh was also used to keep the ten-
siometer in the right position during the test, i.e. to
avoid it falling or tilting. The tensiometer used in this
work has a nominal measuring capacity of 1000 kPa in
both the positive and negative ranges. The tensiometer
was previously saturated and calibrated according to
procedures described in Lourenço et al. (2006).
Suction was imposed in the sample inside the pres-
sure plate by quickly raising the air pressure to the
required value while pore water pressure was main-
tained at the atmospheric value. As soon as the air
pressure was raised, the tensiometer (placed on the
top of the sample) recorded a positive excess pore
water pressure, which subsequently started to dis-
sipate. Once the pore water pressure read by the
tensiometer dropped back to zero, it was assumed that
equilibrium was achieved throughout the sample. The
air pressure was then reduced to the atmospheric value
and the corresponding negative pore water pressure
generated inside the sample was measured by the ten-
siometer. Increasing values of suction were applied
and measured on the sample in a sequence up to a
maximum value of 500 kPa corresponding to the air
entry value of the ceramic plates in both the triaxial
cell and the pressure plate.
The tests performed in the pressure plate and in the
triaxial cell differed in one respect. In the triaxial cell,
after pore water pressure equalized at 0 kPa and before
releasing the air pressure to zero, water was flushed
out below the ceramic plate by air circulation. Once
the air pressure was dropped and the reading from the
tensiometer was taken, water was restored below the
ceramic for the application of the next suction stage.
In the pressure plate, water at atmospheric pressure
was present in the compartment below the ceramic
plate throughout the entire test.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 4a shows the results for the test performed in
the pressure plate. Inspection of Figure 4a indicates
that, after the air pressure was increased to 187.6 kPa,
the pore water pressure measured by the tensiome-
ter instantaneously increased by 170 kPa and then
progressively dissipated back to zero. After equilib-
rium was achieved, air pressure was reduced to zero
 a) 400 Table 1. Difference between the imposed and measured
ua =396.5 kPa
suctions for each test.
ua =187.6 kPa
200
Test nr Device Difference (%)
pressure (kPa)

0 T14 Pressure plate 20.4–30.5

T17 Pressure plate 12.5–18.2
T31 Triaxial cell 10.5–11.0
-200 uw =-149.2 kPa T35 Triaxial cell 4.6–10.5
T36 Triaxial cell 12.5–16.25
uw =-278.5 kPa
T38 Triaxial cell 14.2–17.2
-400 T39 Triaxial cell 4.3–6.0
0 50 100 150 200
T40 Triaxial cell 4.3–4.6
time (min)

b) 600
400
pressure (kPa)

ua 400
200 expected

measured suction (kPa)

pressure plate
0 300 triaxial cell

-200 uw
200
-400
-600 100
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
time (min) 0
0 100 200 300 400
Figure 4. Axis translation tests with uw measured with the imposed suction (kPa)
tensiometer. (a) Test T14 conducted in the pressure plate and,
test T40 conducted in the triaxial cell.
Figure 5. Imposed versus measured suctions for all tests.

and this induced a reduction of the pore water pres-

sure from zero to −149.2 kPa, i.e. a reduction about
20% smaller than the corresponding reduction in air
pressure. Subsequently, the air pressure was increased
again to a higher level of 396.5 kPa and, after dissipa-
tion of the excess pore water pressure from 160 kPa,
was reduced again to zero. Also in this case, the
corresponding reduction of pore water pressure from
zero to −278.5 kPa was about 30% smaller than the
corresponding reduction of air pressure.
For the case of Figure 4b, the air pressure was
increased in 4 stages to 99.6 kPa, 200 kPa, 299.4 kPa,
and 400 kPa. The measured water pressures were
95.7 kPa, 191.4 kPa, 284.9 kPa, and 381.6 kPa,
respectively. Comparing to Figure 4a, the imposed and
measured suctions are smaller.
Table 1 shows for each test the difference, in per-
centage, between the applied suction and measured
suction. This difference was seen to vary throughout
the air pressure releases. For instance, for test T14 in
Figure 4a for the first air pressure release the ratio
149.2/187.6 gives 20.4%. In the second release this
ratio gives 30.5%. Therefore during each air pressure
release this difference became greater.
Results from all tests are shown in Figure 5 where
the suction imposed by the axis translation tech-
nique is plotted against the suction measured by the
tensiometer. The difference between the measured and
imposed suction were larger when the pressure plate
was used. Previous work by Guan and Fredlund (1997)
showed similar results, with the suction measured by
the tensiomer smaller than the suction imposed by the
axis translation technique by a margin ranging between
0.5% to 8.5%.
Figure 6a shows an expanded view of the final part
of the test shown in Figure 4a. It can be seen that,
after the instantaneous initial drop in pore water pres-
sure, the pore water pressure slowly rises over a period
of about 20 minutes until it stabilises at a value of
approximately −73 kPa. A similar result is shown in
Figure 6b, which presents part of a test carried out in
the triaxial cell where the pore water pressure recorded
by the tensiometer, after an initial instantaneous drop,
rises under constant air pressure and stabilises at a
value of −335 kPa. This was a common feature of
behaviour observed in all tests where the air pressure
was maintained at zero for some time, after reducing it
from the imposed value of suction. This result might be
a consequence of the availability of free water inside
the ceramic plate or below it. This water is sucked
into the sample under the action of the negative pore
water pressures generated by the air pressure drop, thus
increasing water content and reducing soil suction.

216
 a) 400
ua = 396.5 kPa
200
pressure (kPa)
0 in the literature (where the achievement of equilibrium
-200
uw = -278.5 kPa
-400
125 150 175
time (min)
b) 800
ua =599.4 kPa
400
pressure (kPa)
0 each imposed value of suction in the pressure plate.
-400
uw =-335 kPa
uw =-473.5 kPa
-800
0 200 400 600 800
time (min)
Figure 6. Kaolin response after releasing the air pres-
sure. a) Suction measured by the tensiometer continuously
decreasing and, b) stabilizing at a 335 kPa.
A consistent result emerging from this work, as well
as previous work by Guan (1996), is that the instan-
taneous pore water pressure decrease recorded by the
tensiometer is generally smaller than the imposed drop
of air pressure (Figure 6a and Figure 6b). Two possible
explanations are provided here to interpret this result.
One possibility is that, despite the air pressure drop
being applied almost instantaneously, some water is
still sucked back into the sample, which limits the mag-
nitude of the measured pore water pressure reduction.
This explanation seems consistent with the observa-
tion that pore water pressure reductions tending to be
proportionally smaller for tests carried out in the pres-
sure plate, where water is permanently present below
the ceramic plate, than for tests carried out in the tri-
axial cell, where water below the ceramic plate is
flushed out before each air pressure drop.
A second possibility is that the water content in the
soil sample had not yet come to equilibrium, despite
the pore water pressure having done so. Equilibrium
was assumed to be achieved at each imposed value
of suction when the tensiometer read a value of zero
pore water pressure. After this condition was attained,
the air pressure was decreased and the corresponding
negative pore water pressure drop was measured by the
tensiometer. However, although the pore water pres-
sure is equal to zero throughout the specimen, it is
possible that water content is still reducing inside the
sample due to a slow rearrangement of water menisci
at the interface between gas and liquid phases inside
the pores. Such a hypothesis seems to be supported
by the observation that pressure plate tests published
is based on the measurement of the sample mass dur-
ing equalisation) usually require significantly longer
time than the tests reported in this work (where the
achievement of equilibrium is based on the dissipation
200 of the excess pore water pressures measured by the ten-
siometer). For example, the tests shown in Figure 4a
and Figure 4b, both of which involved imposing more
than one suction value to the sample, took overall 4
hours and 5 days respectively. Tinjun et al. (1997) and
Vanapalli et al. (1997) reported equalisation times for
clay samples of 5–8 days and 6–7 days respectively for
However, both authors did not measure the sample’s
mass, equilibrium conditions were ensured when the
outward flow of water from the sample stopped.
If the above hypothesis were true, the dissipation
1000 1200 of pore water pressure to zero would not be enough
to conclude that a given suction ‘is imposed’ on the
sample, as assumed by Guan and Fredlund (1997) and
Lourenço et al. (2006). Hence, the difference between
the measured and imposed suction is simply due to
lack of equilibrium in terms of water content. The ten-
siometer would be expected to measure suctions closer
to the imposed ones if longer periods of time are waited
during equalisation. A testing program is on the way
to confirm this.
5 CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents a series of measurements per-
formed by high suction tensiometers on kaolin sam-
ples, which were previously subjected to different
suction levels by using the axis translation technique.
It was found that the suction measured by the ten-
siometers was always smaller than that imposed by
the axis translation technique. Two different hypothe-
ses have been put forward to justify such discrepancy.
One possibility is that the smaller measured suctions
are due to the absorption of water by the sample from
the ceramic plate and/or the compartment below it.
However, another possibility is that for each imposed
value of suction equilibrium conditions had only been
achieved in terms of pore water pressure but not water
content. This idea is suggested by comparison with
published data on the equilibrium times for pressure
plate tests, which have required longer times. This
might be explained by considering that water menisci
at the interface between the gas and liquid phases
inside soil pores take longer to re-arrange in a stable
configuration after the pore water pressure has come to
217
equilibrium. Should this hypothesis hold, then it would
not be correct to assume achievement of equilibrium
based on the pore water pressure read by the tensio-
meter but equilibrium should be assessed on the basis
of subsequent sample mass measurements during the
equalisation phase. Further testing is currently being
undertaken to confirm or refute such a hypothesis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by the Engineering and Phys-
ical Sciences Research Council of the United King-
dom through a CASE research grant, with additional
financial support from Controls Testing Equipment
Ltd. Support from the European Commission via the
‘‘Marie Curie’’ Research Training Network contract
number MRTN-CT-2004-506861 is acknowledged.
Technical support was given by Mr. C. McEleavy and
Mr. S. Richardson.
REFERENCES
Guan, Y. 1996. The measurement of soil suction, PhD Thesis,
University of Saskatchewan, pp. 331.
Guan, Y., Fredlund, D.G. 1997. Use of the tensile strength
of water for the direct measurement of high soil suction,
Can. Geotech. J. 34: 604–614.
Hilf, J.W. 1956. An investigation of pore water pressure in
compacted cohesive soils, US Bureau of Reclamation,
Tech. Mem. 654, Denver: US Bureau of Reclamation.
218
Lourenço, S., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G., Evans, F. 2006.
Development of a commercial tensiometer for triaxial test-
ing of unsaturated soils, Geotechnical Special Publication
(ASCE) No. 147, Vol. 2, 1875–1886.
Lourenço, S.D.N., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G., Evans, F.,
Medero, G. 2007. Determination of the Soil Water
Retention Curve with tensiometers, Weimar, Germany,
Experimental unsaturated soil mechanics, T. Schanz (Ed.),
Springer, 95–102.
Oliveira, O.M., Marinho, F.A.M. 2006. Study of the equili-
bration time in the pressure plate, Geotechnical Special
Publication (ASCE) No. 147, Vol. 2, 1865–1874.
Padilla, J.M., Perera, Y.Y., Houston, W.N., Perez, N.,
Fredlund, D.G. 2006. Quantification of air diffusion
through high air-entry ceramic disks, Geotechnical Spe-
cial Publication (ASCE) No. 147, Vol. 2, 1852–1863.
Ridley, A.M., Burland, J.B. 1993. A new instrument for the
measurement of soil moisture suction, Geotechnique 43,
No. 2, 321–324.
Tinjun, J.M., Benson, C.H., Blotz, L.R. 1997. Soil-
water characteristic curves for compacted clays, ASCE
J. Geotech. Geoenv. Eng. 123, 11, 1060–1069.
Toker, N., Germaine, J., Sjoblom, K., Culligan, P. 2004.
A new technique for rapid measurement of continuous
soil moisture characteristic curves, Géotechnique 54,
3:179–186.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E. 1999. The influ-
ence of soil structure and stress history on the soil-water
characteristics of a compacted till, Geotechnique 49, 2,
143–159.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A system for field measurement of suction using high capacity

tensiometers

J. Mendes, D.G. Toll & C.E. Augarde

School of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, UK

D. Gallipoli
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a new system to measure suction in the field using high capacity tensiometers
recently developed through collaboration between Durham University and Wykeham Farrance Limited. The
system comprises a borehole probe locator where five tensiometers can be inserted allowing the measurement
of suction at different depths. Since the tensiometers are left in place, rather than being used for a single ‘‘spot’’
measurement, suctions can be observed continuously with the aid of a logger and a computer. This enables the
measurement of variations of suction due to seasonal changes and the observation of the immediate response to a
rainfall event. Two borehole probe locators have been installed at different points in an embankment to measure
suction in the fill material. The instrumented embankment was built for research purposes at Nafferton farm,
near Newcastle, UK, as part of a cooperative project (BIONICS) investigating the biological and engineering
impacts of climate change on slopes. The paper describes the installation and some preliminary observations
obtained using the system.

1 INTRODUCTION Farrance Limited and Durham University and can

measure water pressures directly down to −1.2 MPa
Field measurements of suction in unsaturated soils or even lower (Lourenço et al., 2006). Like other high
have been made using different approaches: directly capacity tensiometers that can be found in the litera-
(using tensiometers) or indirectly (using techniques ture (e.g. Ridley & Burland, 1993), the design of the
such as porous blocks) or by collection and mea- Wykeham Farrance—Durham University tensiometer
surement of suction in recovered samples. A direct includes a high air entry value porous filter, a water
approach is always to be preferred as the measurement reservoir and a pressure transducer (see Figure 1).
is made in situ and avoids errors in defining indirect
relationships (e.g. between suction and resistivity or
thermal conductivity). It also avoids concerns that the
quality of the suction measurement on recovered sam-
ples may be jeopardized because measurements are
made in a different stress or water content condition.
Conventional tensiometers have been widely used
for direct measurement of suction in the field, but
they have a cavitation limit of −100 kPa. On the
other hand, high capacity tensiometers (i.e. tensiome-
ters capable of measuring pore water pressures lower
than −100 kPa) have been mainly used for the mea-
surement of suction in the laboratory rather than in
the field. This paper describes the use of a com-
mercial high capacity tensiometer, manufactured by
Wykeham Farrance Limited, for the measurement
of suction in the field. This tensiometer has been Figure 1. Wykeham Farrance—Durham University high
developed through collaboration between Wykeham capacity tensiometer (after Lourenço et al., 2006).

219
 Previous field observations using high capacity
tensiometers (Ridley et al., 2003) have used ‘‘spot’’
measurements where the tensiometer has been placed
in contact with the soil to take a suction reading at
a particular time, i.e. the tensiometer was not left in
place to take continuous readings with time. Cui et al.
(2008) have used high capacity tensiometers for the
continuous measurement of suction but their system
does not allow installation of multiple tensiometers
at different depths at the same location. The system
reported in this paper provides multiple tensiome-
ters at different depths as well as the possibility of
taking continuous readings with time from each ten-
siometer. In the proposed system, the tensiometers can
also be easily removed if required for re-saturation or
replacement.
A total of ten high capacity tensiometers have been
installed to observe the variation of soil suction with
depth at two different locations in an experimental
embankment. The embankment is located at Nafferton
farm, near Newcastle, UK and has been built as part of
a cooperative project (BIONICS) aimed at investigat-
ing the biological and engineering impacts of climate
change on slopes.
The paper describes the installation of the tensiome-
ters in the BIONICS embankment and reports on some
preliminary observations of suction using the system.
2 THE EQUIPMENT
2.1 Design of the high capacity tensiometer
The operation of the Wykeham Farrance—Durham
University tensiometer is based on the same general
principles as other versions of high capacity tensiome-
ter proposed in the literature. The device measures soil
suction through a high air entry value filter connected
to a small water reservoir, which is in contact with a
pressure transducer.
The tensiometers used in this work were satu-
rated prior to calibration inside a high pressure vessel
(Figure 2). The tensiometers were fixed inside the ves-
sel, which was then filled with de-aired water and
pressurized to about 1000 kPa. The tensiometers were
left exposed to this pressure for a period of two weeks
which is assumed to be enough for the first saturation
while for subsequent re-saturations 24 hours should
be enough (depending how dry the tensiometer is). In
this work, however, the tensiometers were re-saturated
for a longer period of two weeks given that site vis-
its took place fortnightly. Calibration was performed
by submerging the tensiometers inside a triaxial cell
and reading the voltage from the tensiometers at dif-
ferent values of (positive) cell pressure. The ability
to calibrate in the positive range and extrapolate to
the negative range has been verified by Lourenço
220
Figure 2. Saturation vessel with a set of 5 Wykeham
Farrance—Durham University field tensiometers.
et al. (2007) for the Wykeham Farrance—Durham
University tensiometer and confirms the observations
by Tarantino & Mongiovi (2003) for another type of
high capacity tensiometer.
High capacity tensiometers are limited by cavitation
and air entry. Although tensiometers can sustain high
suctions for short periods, they may not be able to sus-
tain these suction values when installed in the ground
for a long periods (usually, after two to three weeks
the tensiometer cavitates, if a value much greater than
−100 kPa is continuously read as observed from other
laboratory tests). Therefore, any reliable system for the
field measurement of suction has to account for the
possibility of cavitation occurring in the tensiome-
ters and it must allow removal of the probes so
they can be re-saturated and re-installed whenever
necessary.
Some minor modifications were made to the origi-
nal version of the Wykeham Farrance—Durham Uni-
versity tensiometer to adapt it to field conditions. The
electrical cable that connects the tensiometer to the
logger was covered with nylon tubing (10 m long by
8 mm diameter) to provide a stronger, stiffer connec-
tion that would allow the tensiometer to be pushed in
(without buckling) during installation and pulled out
during removal. The nylon tubing had the dual pur-
pose of protecting the electrical cable from damage.
The edges of the tensiometers were also smoothed for
easy removal and installation.
2.2 Borehole probe locator
The borehole probe locator included five suction
stations at depths of 0.5 m, 1 m, 1.5 m, 2 m
and 3 m, with each suction station fitted with a
high capacity tensiometer. The borehole probe loca-
tor consisted of a PVC pipe 3 m long with an
outer diameter of 90 mm and an inner diameter 3 INSTALLATION AND USAGE
of 70 mm. Five guide tubes were inserted inside
the borehole probe locator to individually connect 3.1 The BIONICS embankment
each suction station to the surface. These guide
The objective of the BIONICS project is to investi-
tubes were made from flexible hose with an inner
gate what could happen to infrastructure embankments
diameter of 19 mm. A small tapered aluminium
in the UK when subjected to climate change. As
cylinder was fitted at the end of each hose reduc-
part of the project, an experimental embankment
ing the inner diameter from 19 mm down to 14 mm
has been built in four panels (Figure 4) separated
(this is about the same as the external diameter of the
by vertical impermeable membranes and constructed
tensiometer). The aluminium fitting helped to hold the
by using different compaction efforts. Panels A and D
tensiometer in place and prevented movement of soil
are poorly compacted (intended to represent old rail
into the hose. Such a design enabled the tensiome-
embankments constructed in Victorian times) while
ters to be removed and inserted individually whenever
panels B and C are well compacted (representing
necessary (see Figure 3).
modern embankments).
Due to the small inner diameter (70 mm) of the
The compactive effort has two roles in the suction
borehole probe locator the exit angle of the suction
measurement: (i) changes in void ratio can affect the
stations had to be 45◦ with the exception of the suction
station located at the bottom which was vertical (see
Figure 3).
The top of the borehole probe locator was
sealed with foam and silicone to avoid any infil-
tration of water or other kind of material from the
surface.

Figure 3. Borehole probe locator (a) with enlarged views Figure 4. Plan view of BIONICS embankment and
of the suction stations on the side (b) and bottom (c). borehole probe locators (after Glendinning et al., 2006).

221

Figure 5. Cross section of the BIONICS embankment and
borehole probe locator showing suction station depths.
water retention properties of the soil, and (ii) the per-
meability will also be affected (which will influence
infiltration, evaporation and internal flow throughout
the fill material).
Current measurements of suction have been
obtained during natural rainfall conditions. In the near
future, a climate control system will be used to impose
expected future climate patterns on the embankment.
3.2 Equipment at the embankment
One borehole probe locator was installed in the poorly
compacted panel A while the second was installed in
the well compacted panel B (see Figure 4). Both were
located close to the south facing slope of the embank-
ment at about 1 m from the edge of the crest (see
Figure 5).
Boreholes were drilled in the embankment to a
depth of 3 m with a diameter of 110 mm, which is
slightly larger than the outer diameter of the borehole
probe locators of 90 mm. The borehole probe locators
were subsequently lowered into the embankment while
the suction stations were sealed using plugs with a
similar shape and dimension as the tensiometers to
avoid soil particles from the fill material entering the
guide tubes. A period of two weeks was allowed to
elapse to promote the natural closure of the borehole
walls around the probe locator. During this time the
plugs were kept in place to avoid entry of fill material
inside the guide tubes. Subsequently the plugs were
replaced with the tensiometers, which were firmly
pushed into place (using the stiff nylon tube around
the electrical cable) to ensure good contact between
the tensiometer and the soil.
Each tensiometer was fitted with an 11 m long elec-
trical cable connected to a data logger inside a water-
proof steel box placed on the top of the embankment
between the two borehole probe locators. The data log-
ger was connected to a computer in a field hut near the
embankment for direct real-time downloading of data.
222
3.3 Maintenance of tensiometers
As discussed previously, cavitation is a possible prob-
lem for tensiometers operating over long periods
of time. Regular fortnightly visits were therefore made
to the site in order to verify the correct functioning of
the equipment.
If a tensiometer cavitates, it can be removed from
the suction station and replaced by a plug. The ten-
siometers should not be allowed to dry so the saturation
vessel is taken to the field (filled with de-aired water)
to transport back the cavitated tensiometer (s); in this
way a long re-saturation is avoided and after two weeks
it is possible to re-install the tensiometer back in its
position.
4 IN-SITU OBSERVATIONS
Preliminary suction measurements in the embankment
are available from May to July 2007. Figures 6 and 8
show measurements for the well compacted panel and
the poorly compacted panel respectively. Values of
daily rainfall are also shown as spikes in Figures 6
and 8 for the period May to June 2007 (the record of
daily rainfall for the month of July 2007 was not yet
available at the time of submission of the manuscript).
Note that the tensiometer for the 3 metre deep suc-
tion station in the poorly compacted panel has yet to
be installed; therefore, there are only four recorded
values down to 2 metres depth.
It can be observed from the two figures that during
the initial drier period (May) both panels had values of
suction that increased with depth. However, that trend
has changed for the poorly compacted panel during the
wetter period (June-July).
The well compacted panel shows greater suctions
(20–40 kPa at 3 m) whereas in the poorly compacted
panel suctions are less than 5 kPa and generally pore
water pressures are positive (in the wetter period since
June).
Figure 6. Pore water pressure records for the well com-
pacted panel suction (SS indicates suction station at different
depths). Vertical spikes show daily rainfall.
 Pore water pressure (kPa)
–35 –30 –25 –20 –15 –10
0
13/06/2007
after heavy rainfall
0.5
24/05/2007
1
Depth (m)
1.5
2 rial is restricting infiltration, perhaps suggesting there
2.5
3 roborate this). It seems that it is taking some time for
Figure 7. Well compacted panel pore water pressure pro-
files for different weather conditions.
Figure 8. Pore water pressure records for the poorly com-
pacted panel suction (SS indicates suction station at different
depths). Vertical spikes show daily rainfall.
The tensiometers in the poorly compacted panel
can be seen to respond almost immediately to weather
changes (see Figure 8), especially during the second
half of June.
Note that the gaps in the curves of Figures 6 and 8
correspond to periods when data are missing because
either the tensiometers were temporarily removed from
the site or a mains power cut occurred causing the
computer and logger to shut down. To avoid loss of
data, a backup uninterruptible supply has recently been
installed to power the computer in the occurrence of
electrical cuts.
4.1 Well compacted panel
The pore water pressure records for the well compacted
panel (see Figures 6 and 7) show a value close to zero
at 0.5 m. At 1 m the initial pore water pressure was
−20 kPa but has increased with time to just above zero.
Below 1 m, pore water pressures reduce with depth but
the values of pore water pressure have been gradually
rising with time (see Figure 6).
The changes in pore water pressure profiles can be
seen in Figure 7. This shows a progressive wetting
up, since the initial readings in May; with pore water
pressures approaching zero within the top 1 m (and
–5 0 5 10 15 becoming positive at 1 m).
In the well compacted material the tensiometers do
not show rapid responses to rainfall events, although
there is a general increase in pore water pressure
(reduction in suction) with time. This could be because
of the lower permeability of the well compacted mate-
26/06/2007
31/07/2007 is greater runoff from this section (runoff is not yet
being measured so there are no measurements to cor-
infiltration to slowly wet the fill material (see Figure 6)
gradually decreasing the value of suction over time.
4.2 Poorly compacted panel
The pore water pressure readings for the poorly com-
pacted panel (see Figure 8) within the top 1 m show a
similar pattern to those for the well compacted panel.
As in the well compacted panel the pore water pressure
at 0.5 m is close to zero (or with small positive val-
ues). Pore water pressures at 1 m were initially around
−5 kPa but have increased with time and by July show
positive pore water pressures approaching 10 kPa.
Initially in May, pore water pressures in the poorly
compacted panel showed a reduction with depth to
around −20 kPa at 2 m depth, quite similar to the well
compacted panel (cf. Figures 9 and 7). However, after
the rainfall events of 11–16 June, the responses of the
poorly compacted panel changed and small suctions
or positive pore water pressures were recorded at 1.5
and 2 m depth (see Figure 8).
The reaction of the tensiometers to rainfall is clearly
observed during the period 13 to 26 June. It can be
seen that during this period there was a decrease on
the pore water pressure measured in the shallow zone
(0 to 1 m) when it rained, while the deeper tensiometers
showed quite significantly increased pore water pres-
sures, recovering to former pore water pressure values
when there was less rainfall (see Figure 8). These over-
all trends can also be seen in the pore water pressure
Pore water pressure (kPa)
-35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
0
31/07/2007
0.5
24/05/2007
1
Depth (m)
1.5
2
2.5
13/06/2007
28/06/2007 after heavy rainfall
3
Figure 9. Poorly compacted panel pore water pressure
profiles for different weather conditions.
223

Figure 10. Scattering caused by poor saturation of ten-
siometers.
Figure 11. Shift in position of tensiometers at 0.5 m and
3 m in the well compacted panel.
profiles in Figure 9. It is expected that further mea-
surements will help to provide explanations for this
seemingly anomalous behaviour.
4.3 Tensiometer issues
Figure 10 shows an enlarged view of the readings
plotted in Figure 6. A high degree of scattering is
observed in the values measured by the tensiometer
at 2 m depth, much worse than the scatter seen from
other tensiometers (this scattered data was removed
from Figure 6). This large fluctuation was overcome
by re-saturating the tensiometer, suggesting that the
tensiometer was initially not well saturated. This
confirms the importance of tensiometer saturation in
ensuring good quality readings. It can be observed
from Figure 6 that after the re-saturation this same
tensiometer showed less scatter and behaved similarly
to other tensiometers.
In order to check the reliability of the equipment,
two tensiometers in the well compacted panel were
changed in position for a period of 2 weeks (the ten-
siometer that was initially in the suction station at
0.5 m was swapped with tensiometer that was initially
in the suction station at 3 m). From Figure 11 it can
224
be seen that the tensiometers in the switched positions
gave consistent (if not identical) readings. After this
test, from 26 July, both tensiometers were returned
to their initial position recording similar values with
those recorded previous to the shift in the position. The
lack of identical readings could suggest some shift in
zero values for the tensiometers. This is now being
investigated by regularly removing the tensiometers
(every two weeks) and immersing them in a container
of water to check the zero values.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The paper presents a system to measure suction in
the field using Wykeham Farrance—Durham Univer-
sity tensiometers. The wide measuring range of the
tensiometers (up to −1.2 MPa) allows usage of the
proposed system in most natural and manmade earth
structures.
A borehole probe locator has been designed and
installed. This allows the user to easily remove ten-
siometers for their re-saturation whenever necessary,
overcoming one of the major limitations associated
with the use of high capacity tensiometers in the field.
The proposed borehole probe locator also allows read-
ings at different levels in a single borehole, permitting
observations of the variation of suction with depth.
Two borehole probe locators have been installed in
the BIONICS embankment with the intention of mea-
suring suction in two different areas constructed by
using different compactive efforts. This has allowed
the observation of the variation of suction with depth
in both areas and the suction changes to rainfall events.
Preliminary results (from three months of monitor-
ing) show that there are different patterns of suction
measurements from the tensiometers installed in the
well compacted part of the embankment compared to
those installed in the poorly compacted part. It has
been observed that tensiometers installed in the poorly
compacted part of the embankment react rapidly to
rainfall. The well compacted panel instead shows a
slower change of suction and does not respond rapidly
to rainfall.
To check the validity of measurements, two ten-
siometers were swapped in position. The values mea-
sured by the two tensiometers at the same depth were
consistent but not identical. This suggests there may
have been some shift in the calibration zero, which is
now being investigated.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial sup-
port from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) for the BIONICS project (Grant
GR/S87430/01). The support from the European
Commission via the ‘‘Marie Curie’’ Research Training
Network contract number MRTN-CT-2004–506861 is
also acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Dr. Paul
Hughes from Newcastle University and the labora-
tory technicians at Durham University: Mr. McE-
leavey and Mr. Richardson for assistance with the
experimental work.
REFERENCES
Cui, Y.J., Tang, A., Mantho, A.T. & De Laure, E., 2008. Mon-
itoring Field Soil Suction Using a Miniature Tensiometer,
Geotechnical Testing Journal 31 (1), (available online).
Glendinning, S., Rouainia, M., Hughes, P. & Davies, O.,
2006. Biological and engineering impacts of climate on
slopes (BIONICS): The first 18 months, In Proc. 10th IAEG
Congress, Nottingham, Paper 348 (on CD).
225
Lourenço, S.D.N., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G., Augarde, C.E.,
Evans, F.D. & Medero, G.M., 2007. Calibration of high
suction tensiometers, submitted to Géotechnique August
2007.
Lourenço, S.D.N., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G. & Evans, F.D., 2006.
Development of a commercial tensiometer for triaxial testing
of unsaturated soils. In Proc. 4th International Conference
on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, USA, Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 147, ASCE, Reston. Vol. 2, 1875–1886.
Ridley, A.M. & Burland, J.B. 1993. A new instrument for the
measurement of soil moisture suction, Géotechnique 43 (2),
321–324.
Ridley, A.M., Dineen, K., Burland, J.B. & Vaughan, P.R., 2003.
Soil matrix suction: some examples of its measurement and
application in geotechnical engineering, Géotechnique 53 (2),
241–253.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovi, L., 2003. Calibration of tensiome-
ter for direct measurement of matric suction, Géotechnique
53 (1), 137–141.
 Engineering behaviour
Water retention behaviour and hydraulic properties
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Water retention properties of Boom clay: A comparison between different

experimental techniques

T.T. Le, P. Delage, Y.J. Cui & A.M. Tang

Ecole des ponts – CERMES (I. Navier, Université Paris-Est), Marne la Vallée, France

A. Lima, E. Romero & A. Gens

Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

X.L. Li
EURIDICE, c/o SCK-CEN, Mol, Belgium

ABSTRACT: The water retention properties of Boom clay samples extracted at a depth of 223 m have been
determined in ENPC Paris and UPC Barcelona using different experimental techniques. Boom clay is a stiff
clay in which an underground laboratory devoted to carry out research in radioactive waste disposal has been
excavated near the city of Mol (Belgium). The retention properties of Boom clay have been investigated for
two reasons: i) in good quality samples, a high suction develops in the saturated sample during extraction
and its value is correlated with the sampling depth; ii) possible desaturation due to gallery venting during the
operational phase may occur in the clay. Various suction control and measurement techniques have been used:
osmotic, vapour equilibrium, filter paper, high-range tensiometer and chilled-mirror dew-point psychrometer
readings. Some volume changes have also been measured along the equalisation or measuring stages. The values
obtained are discussed according to the techniques used. They are compared with previous data on compacted
Boom clay samples. The air entry value is estimated close to 4–5 MPa and the shrinkage-swelling properties are
also examined. The sample suction at saturation is compared to the in-situ stress state.

1 INTRODUCTION In this paper, various suction control techniques

Various investigations have been and are being car-
ried out on the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical
behaviour of Boom clay in relation with the research
conducted on radioactive waste disposal at the Mol
Underground Research Laboratory (URL). This URL
has been excavated in a layer of Boom clay at a
depth of 223 m by SCK-CEN, the Belgian organisa-
tion for nuclear studies, near the city of Mol. Various
researches on Boom clay are presently being carried
out by the EURIDICE group in Mol.
Special attention has been devoted to the water
retention properties of Boom clay, a lightly overcon-
solidated saturated stiff clay. On the one hand, the
examination of suction effects in samples is a relevant
indicator of the quality of the sampling (Skempton &
Sowa 1963, Doran et al. 2000). On the other hand,
water retention properties have to be investigated to
better assess possible desaturation effects due to the
venting of the galleries in the operational phase of
the disposal facility during which the wastes will be
disposed (one to three hundreds of years).
used on intact Boom clay samples at both ENPC-
CERMES (Paris) and UPC (Barcelona) are described
and the results obtained are compared. The follow-
ing control and measurement techniques have been
used to cover a wide suction range: the vapour equi-
librium method, the filter paper method, high-range
tensiometer and chilled-mirror dew-point psychrom-
eter readings. The paper also includes and discusses
water retention properties of compacted Boom clay
obtained with vapour equilibrium technique at an
equivalent void ratio to that of the in situ state.
2 MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL
METHODS
2.1 Boom clay
The Boom clay formation belongs to the Rupelian
geological period in the Tertiary sub-era, which
dated from 36 to 30 million years before present.
This moderately swelling clay presents 20%–30%

229
kaolinite, 20%–30% illite and 10%–20% smectite. Excavated blocks (2002) were immediately vacuum
The geotechnical properties of Boom clay are pre- packaged in reinforced aluminium foil and thermo-
sented in Table 1. welded. They were stored in Mol in a room with
In-situ water content measurements were made on temperature ranging between 15 and 20◦ C under an
excavated blocks during the excavation in the URL average relative humidity of 45% before being sent
(Connecting Gallery, excavated between 23 January (2005) to the two laboratories.
and 23 April 2002). Figure 1 presents the water con-
tent of soil samples excavated at different distances
from the wall of the gallery, measured just when the 2.2 Suction control and measurement techniques
excavation was made. It is observed that at distances The experimental study carried out at ENPC-
smaller than 1 metre from the wall, the water content CERMES was based on the use of the vapour equilib-
values vary between 24.3% and 25.9%. The value sta- rium method, the filter paper method and high range
bilises around 24.8% at a distance larger than of 1.5 m tensiometers. The initial water contents of the sample
from the wall, showing a possible perturbation of the used at CERMES are described in Table 2.
water content due to gallery excavation. Samples were trimmed from block 3 and 4 with
respective water contents equal to 23 and 23.4 respec-
tively. When considering i) the in-situ water content
and ii) the age of the samples (excavated in 2002), the
Table 1. Geotechnical properties of Boom clay.
light decrease in water content from the average values
Belanteur Dehandschutter given in Table 2 shows a reasonably good conservation
et al. et al. of the sample with around 1 point of decrease in water
(1997) (2005) UPC content during 3 years. Note however that some drying
occurred in the laboratory during sample preparation
Unit mass of and trimming, resulting in water contents finally equal
solid (Mg/m3 ) 2.67 2.67 to 21.6% and 21.8% for blocks 3 and 4 respectively.
Unit mass The initial suction of the sample was measured by
(Mg/m3 ) 1.9 1.99 to 2.05 using the filter paper method and a value of 2 MPa
Liquid limit wL 59–76 70 56 using
was obtained.
SBCW (∗ )
Plastic limit wP 22–26 25 Along the drying path, starting from initial water
Plastic index IP 37–50 45 contents close to 21%, rectangular clay samples
Water content were manually trimmed (30 × 30 × 10 mm approxi-
(%) 25–30 23–25 mately) and submitted to different values of suction by
Natural porosity using the vapour equilibrium method (see for instance
(%) 35 38–39 Delage et al., 1998). 5 saturated saline solutions were
Poisson’s ratio 0.4 used, as shown in Table 3.
Internal friction Triplicate specimens were used at each suction
angle (◦ ) 18
level to determine the water content at equilibrium.
Permeability
(m/s) 10−12 3 × 10−12
Table 2. Initial water contents. Changes in water content
(∗ ) SBCW: synthetic Boom clay water. during the soil sample preparation.

CERMES UPC
26.0
w (%) w (%) w (%)
25.6 Block 3 Block 4 Block 2

25.2 After package opening 23.0 23.4 23.9

w (%)

During sample preparation 22.6 – –

24.8 End of sample preparation 21.6 21.8 –
24.4

24.0 Table 3. Saturated saline solutions used in the vapour

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 equilibrium method.
Distance from the gallery (m)
Salt CuSO4 K2 SO4 KNO3 NaCl MgCl2
Figure 1. Water contents measured at different distances Suction (MPa) 2.8 4.2 8.5 37.8 152.8
from the gallery’s wall (Li, 2007).

230
The volume changes of the rectangular specimens
were determined by hydrostatic weighing after having
immersed the samples in a non aromatic hydrocarbon
liquid called Kerdane.
Along the wetting path, the three oedometer
specimens (cylindrical oedometer samples: d =
70 mm, h = 20 mm) were smoothly wetted (from ini-
tial water content of 21%) by putting them in contact
with humid filter papers and the resulting suction was
afterwards measured by using a high range tensiome-
ter. This tensiometer is based on the principle proposed
by Ridley and Burland (1993) with some special adap-
tations carried out at CERMES (Mantho 2005). The
volume changes of these samples were determined
with a precision calliper.
At UPC, laboratory tests were carried out on nat-
ural and compacted samples. The natural sample was
trimmed from block 2 (Table 2) with dimensions of
15 mm in diameter and 12 mm high. Water retention
properties of the natural sample under unstressed con-
ditions were determined using a chilled-mirror dew-
point psychrometer (WP4 dewpointmeter, Decagon
Devices, Inc, USA) and the vapour equilibrium tech-
nique. The volume changes were not registered. On
the other hand, when preparing the compacted sam-
ple, Boom clay powder was left in equilibrium at a
relative humidity of 40% to achieve a water content of
around 2.5%. A soil sample (15 mm in diameter and
12 mm high) was one-dimensionally compacted at this
water content to a dry density of 1.7 Mg/m3 (similar
to the natural dry density).
Details on the working principle of the dew-point
psychrometer, as well as the different calibrations car-
ried out, have been extensively described in Cardoso
et al. (2007). A multi-stage drying path was first per-
formed by allowing the natural sample to progressively
dry for one hour in each step under controlled rel-
ative humidity (around 40%). After this period, the
dried sample was equilibrated for one day under her-
metic conditions before taking the reading with the
psychrometer. The total suction measuring time was
around 5 minutes. During this period some small
drying occurred inside the measuring chamber, as
shown in Cardoso et al. (2007). Water contents were
determined using the initial and final weights (aver-
age values). After reaching a maximum total suction
of around 130 MPa, a multi-stage wetting path was
carried out. The path was performed by wetting the
sample with small drops of distilled water. An equali-
sation period of one day under hermetic conditions was
afterwards performed, before the determination of the
total suction. The sample was trimmed from block 2,
starting from an initial water content of 21.8%. An
equivalent multi-stage drying path was carried out by
letting the natural material to further dry for one hour
in each step under a low relative humidity using LiCl.
H2 O powder (around 11%). Progressive readings on
231
drying were taken with the psychrometer up to a max-
imum total suction of 330 MPa. Afterwards, the dried
sample was progressively wetted by keeping it for one
hour in each step under a controlled relative humidity
of around 40%. Again, progressive readings on wet-
ting were taken with the psychrometer (Pineda et al.
2008).
The vapour equilibrium technique was also used to
complement the information of the wetting and drying
branches of natural and compacted samples. Par-
tially saturated aqueous solutions of NaCl were used
to apply different relative humidity values (Romero
1999) below a total suction of 38 MPa. In the
upper total suction range, a saturated solution of
NaBr.2H2 O was also used to apply a total suction of
75 MPa (Delage et al. 1998, Romero 2001). Multi-
stage drying and subsequent wetting paths at the
following steps 5, 10, 20, 38 and 75 MPa were carried
out on the natural sample placed in a hermetic jar. At
specific intervals of the equalisation process the mass
of the sample was registered. An equivalent procedure
was followed on a compacted sample. In this case,
a multi-stage wetting path followed by a drying path
was performed. Samples were allowed to equilibrate
for a constant period of two weeks at different relative
humidity values, corresponding to the following total
suctions: 32, 10, 8, 6 and 3 MPa.
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
With regard to the CERMES results, Figure 2 presents
the changes in water content observed under the var-
ious suctions values imposed by using the vapour
equilibrium technique. As commented before and as
seen in the Figure, three samples were used at each suc-
tion value. Stabilisation is observed after around two
weeks with good repeatability at the two high values
(37.8 and 152.8 MPa). Some fluctuations are observed
at 8.5 MPa whereas the curves at 4.2 and 2.8 MPa
are superimposed with a tendency of increasing water
content along a wetting path.
After drying in the oven (suction s estimated to
1 GPa), the dried samples (w = 0) were used to deter-
mine a wetting branch from the dry state by using the
vapour equilibrium method.
Figure 3 presents the water retention properties of
Boom clay in terms of both water content (w) and
degree of saturation (Sr ) as a function of the logarithm
of suction (log s). Starting from initial water contents
of 20.2–21.6%, three points were obtained along a
wetting path (with measured suctions by tensiome-
ter equal to 180, 280 and 600 kPa respectively). The
data obtained along the drying path show a good com-
patibility between the various points obtained under
the same suction, both in terms of water content
and degree of saturation. Some hysteresis is observed
 K2SO4 (4.2 MPa) suction values of 2.8 and 4.2 MPa), precision calliper
20 measurements are thought to be less precise, leading
to under-estimated values of the degree of saturation.
CuSO4 (2.8 MPa)
Under the hypothesis of saturated state, the increase
16 in water content obtained along the wetting path cor-
responds to some swelling. Conversely, up to the air
KNO3 (8.5 MPa) entry value pressure (5 MPa) drying occurs with some
w (%)

12 shrinkage under a saturated state. The curve follows

the main drying path at suction higher than 5 MPa
NaCl (37.8 MPa) when the sample starts desaturating. At a suction as
8 high as 152.8 MPa, Boom clay is able to retain 5%
water content as a consequence of the smectite content.
Water retention data obtained by Bernier et al.
MgCl2 (152.8 MPa)
4 (1997) and Romero et al. (1999) on compacted Boom
clay samples at a dry unit mass of 1.7 Mg/m3 are also
represented for comparison. The data show that the
0 4 8 12 16 20 curve of Romero et al. (1999) is parallel, with less
water being retained by the compacted sample on a
Time (days)
drying path at the same suction. The wetting curve of
Bernier et al. (1997) is similar to that of Romero et al.
Figure 2. Water content equilibration with the vapour
(1999) at high suction.
control method.
Figure 4 shows the volume changes with respect
to suction that correspond to the drying and wet-
35
Air entry value w (from initial state)
ting paths of Figure 3. A significant swelling of
120
30
w (Romero et al., 1999) 18% is observed when suction is reduced to 180
w (Bernier et al., 1997)
Filter paper 100 kPa. A shrinkage of 15% is observed at a suction
Degree of saturation (%)

25 w (from dry state)

of 152.8 MPa. The slope that characterises swelling
Water content (%)

Degree of saturation 80
20 (average slope e/ log s = −0.5) is larger than the
15
Initial water content
w i = 20.2 - 21.6%
60 shrinkage slope (average slope e/ log s = −0.1).
40
Bernier et al. (1997) found a similar trend on com-
10
pacted Boom clay specimens subjected to change in
5
Wetting Drying
20
suction under a small vertical load in the oedometer.
0 0 Regarding UPC data, Figure 5 presents the time
0,1 1 10 100 1000 evolution of the changes in soil mass (natural Boom
Suction (MPa)
clay) along the different wetting steps using vapour
transfer with pure diffusion. The different wetting
Figure 3. Water retention properties of intact Boom clay.
steps were 75 MPa to 38 MPa (corresponding to a
relative humidity change from 58% to 76%), 38 MPa
to 20 MPa (76% to 86%), 20 MPa to 10 MPa (86% to
between the two branches of the water content versus 93%) and 10 MPa to 5 MPa (93% to 96%). Vapour
suction (w − s) curve, one wetting from dry state, the mass transfer rate for a given temperature, vapour
other drying form initial state.
The Sr -log s plot shows that the two points obtained
along the drying path at suctions equal to 2.8 and 0.90 -20

4.2 MPa indicate that the samples remained saturated. 0.80 Wetting: -15
Desaturation starts above 4.2 MPa and the degree of
Volumetric deformation (%)

de /dlogs = - 0.5
-10
saturation at a suction of 8.5 MPa is 90%. As shown in 0.70
Void ratio

-5
the figure, the air entry value of Boom clay can be esti- 0.60 0
mated at approximately 5 MPa. At the highest suction
5
(152.8 MPa), the degree of saturation is equal to 31%. 0.50

Drying:
Along the wetting path, the curve shows that, curi- 0.40 de /dlogs = -0.10
10

ously, the degrees of saturation at suctions smaller than 15

0.30
1MPa are lying between 90 and 100% whereas samples 0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0 1000.0
under suctions of 2.8 and 4.2 MPa were saturated. Suction (MPa)
This point is related to the volume measurement
technique (precision calliper) used at lower suction. Figure 4. Variation in void ration and volume with respect
As compared to the hydrostatic weighing (used at to suction change during drying and wetting.

232

Wetting steps:
ψ = 10 MPa to 5 MPa
ψ = 20 MPa to 10 MPa
ψ = 38 MPa to 20 MPa
ψ = 75 MPa to 38 MPa
0.30
Soil mass change (g)
0.20
0.10
0.00
0.1 1 10
Time (day)
Figure 5. Time evolution of changes in soil mass along
different wetting steps.
diffusivity and sample size is assumed proportional
to the relative humidity change applied in a wetting
step. As observed in the figure, longer equalisation
periods are required for the lower relative humidity
changes at elevated total suctions. Equalisation time is
observed after around three weeks for the total suction
step 10 MPa to 5 MPa, whereas equalisation is com-
pleted in less than one week for the total suction step
75 MPa to 38 MPa. A good agreement with CERMES
results is observed.
Figure 6 summarises the water retention results
obtained by UPC on natural Boom clay using psy-
chrometer readings and vapour equilibrium results.
As detected in the hysteresis loops in the figure, the
shifting towards lower water contents of the wetting
branches is more obvious at total suctions lower than
10–20 MPa. In addition to the hydraulic hysteresis,
the irreversible shrinkage undergone by the sample on
first drying is also affecting the water storage capac-
ity of the sample at low suctions. This low-suction
zone of the retention curve (below 10 to 20 MPa) is
dependent on void ratio and is consequently sensitive
to the stress paths followed (Romero & Vaunat 2000).
As observed in the figure and with reference to psy-
chrometer readings on drying, important changes in
water content occur when total suction is increased
over 5 MPa (air-entry value in terms of water content).
Regrettably, degrees of saturation were not determined
that could allow for a further reconsideration of this
233
1000 WP4 dewpointmeter
Low-suction range
drying wetting
High-suction range
(Pineda et al. 2008)
Total suction (MPa)
drying wetting
100
Vapour equilibrium
drying wetting
10
1
0 5 10 15 20 25
Water content, w (%)
Figure 6. Retention curves of natural Boom clay using
different techniques (WP4 psychrometer and vapour equi-
librium technique).
value. Equivalent water retention results were obtained
when comparing vapour equilibrium data and psy-
chrometer readings at total suctions over 38 MPa.
The lower water contents determined with vapour
equilibrium technique compared to WP4 readings for
suctions below 38 MPa, appear to be a matter of the
equalisation process. As shown in Figure 5, the equal-
isation process is still ongoing after 30 days for total
suctions below 20 MPa. In addition, the systematic
higher total suctions measured with the psychrometer
for specific water contents can be explained in terms
of the hydraulic path undergone by the soil during
the measurement process. As discussed by Cardoso
et al. (2007), the sample placed inside the equalisation
chamber of the WP4 psychrometer undergoes some
drying along the main drying curve during equalisa-
tion, which can explain the systematic higher suction
values.
Figure 7 summarises the water retention results on
drying obtained by CERMES and UPC on natural
Boom clay, as well as the results measured by UPC
on the compacted material at an equivalent void ratio
to that of the in situ state. A quite good agreement is
observed between both laboratories when comparing
results on natural Boom clay using vapour equilib-
rium technique. Small discrepancies can be explained
in terms of the testing protocols adopted by each labo-
ratory (time to reach equilibrium, sample dimensions,
and so on).
Psychrometer results displayed slightly larger val-
ues compared to vapour equilibrium results, as
previously discussed. When comparing natural and
compacted states, systematically lower water reten-
tion capacity has been observed in the case of
the compacted material. These differences are more
important at total suctions below 10 MPa. Differences
at this low-suction range can be explained as a con-
sequence of the different pore size distributions of
 1000
Drying paths
WP4 psychrometer UPC
Vapour equilibrium UPC
Total suction (MPa)
100 Romero (1999)
Vapour equilibrium CERMES
10
1
0 5 10 15 20
Water content, w (%)
Figure 7. Retention curves on drying. Comparison between
different states (natural and compacted) and different tech-
niques (WP4 psychrometer and vapour equilibrium tech-
nique).
the material. The compacted material displays larger
dominant macropore dimensions, which are associ-
ated with a lower air-entry value (around 0.7 MPa,
according to Romero 1999).
4 CONCLUSIONS
The retention properties of Boom clay have been
investigated by using various suction control and mea-
surement techniques including the vapour equilibrium
method, the filter paper, high-range tensiometer read-
ings and the chilled-mirror dew-point psychrometer.
The values obtained are discussed according to the
techniques used. They are compared with previous
data on compacted Boom clay samples. The swelling-
shrinkage behaviour under changes in suction was
investigated. The water retention curves determined
show that the air-entry value of the natural material is
closed to 4–5 MPa, much higher than the correspond-
ing one to the compacted state at equivalent void ratio.
This feature explains the lower water retention capac-
ity of the compacted material compared to the natural
state for total suctions between 3 and 10 MPa.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
EURIDICE (European Underground Research Infras-
tructure for Disposal of nuclear waste In Clay Envi-
ronment, Mol, Belgium) is gratefully acknowledged
for funding the work presented in this paper. This
work has also been conducted within the MUSE Euro-
pean Research and Training Network (Marie Curie
Action).
REFERENCES
Belanteur, N., Tacherifet, S. and Pakzad., M. (1997). Étude
des comportements mécanique, thermo-mécanique et
hydro-mécanique des argiles gonflantes et non gonflantes
fortement compactées. Revue Française de Géotechnique
78, 31–50.
Bernier, F., Volckaert, G., Alonso, E. and Villar, M.
(1997). Suction-controlled experiments on Boom clay.
Engineering Geology 47, No. 4, 325–338.
Cardoso, R., Romero, E., Lima, A. and Ferrari, A. (2007).
A comparative study of soil suction measurement using
two different high-range psychrometers. Proc. 2nd Int.
Conf. Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils. Weimar, T. Schanz
25
(ed.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 79–93.
Dehandschutter, B., Vandycke, S., Sintubin, M., Vanden-
berghe, N. and Wouters, L. (2005). Britlle fractures
and ductile shear bands in argillaceous sediments: infer-
ences from Oligocen Boom Clay (Belgium). J. Structural
Geology 27, 1095–1112.
Delage, P., Howat, M.D. and Cui, Y.J. (1998). The rela-
tionship between suction and swelling properties in a
heavily compacted saturated clay. Engineering Geology
50, 31–48.
Doran, I.G, Sivakumar, V., Graham, J. and Johnson, A.
(2000). Estimation of in-situ stresses using anisotropic
elasticity and suction measurements. Géotechnique 50,
No. 2, 189–196.
Li (2007). Personal communication.
Mantho, A., (2005). Echanges sol-atmosphère. Application
à la sécheresse. PhD Thesis, Ecole des ponts, Paris.
ONDRAF/NIRAS, (2001). Aperçu technique du rapport
SAFIR 2. Safety Assessment and Feasibility Interim
Report 2. Publication NIROND 20001–05 F, p. 280.
Pineda, J., Lima, A. and Romero, E. (2008). Influence of
hydraulic paths on the low-strain shear modulus of a stiff
clay. Proc. 1 st Eur. Conf. Unsaturated Soils. Durham,
United Kingdom.
Ridley, A.M. and Burland, J.B. 1993. A new instrument for
measurement of soil moisture suction. Géotechnique, 43,
no. 2, 321–324.
Romero, E. (1999). Characterisation and thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated Boom clay: an
experimental study. PhD Thesis. Universitat Politècnica
de Catalunya, Spain.
Romero, E. (2001). Controlled suction techniques. Proc. 4◦
Simposio Brasileiro de Solos Nao Saturados. Gehling and
Schnaid (eds.). Porto Alegre, Brasil, 535–542.
Romero, E., Gens, A. and Lloret, A. (1999). Water per-
meability, water retention and microstructure of unsat-
urated compacted Boom clay. Engineering Geology 54,
117–127.
Romero, E. and Vaunat, J. (2000). Retention curves
of deformable clays. Proc. Int. Workshop on Unsat-
urated Soils: Experimental Evidence and Theoreti-
cal Approaches, Trento, Tarantino & Mancuso (eds).
Balkema, Rotterdam, 91–106.
Skempton, A.W. and Sowa, V.A. (1963). The behaviour of
saturated clays during sampling and testing. Géotechnique
13, No. 4, 269–290.
234
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Determination of soil suction state surface in pure and composite clays

by filter paper method

M. Biglari, A. Shafiee & I. Ashayeri

IIEES, International Institute of Earthquake Eng. & Seismology, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Filter paper method is used to measure total suction of compacted clay and clay-sand mixture.
The samples are prepared by static compaction to the desired initial void ratio and degree of saturation to
investigate effects of initial compaction on the drying soil water characteristic curves. Additionally, volume
change of samples was measured during the drying process and its effect was considered in obtaining SWCC.
The suction measurements were plotted in e-Sr space and equal suction lines obtained. These lines represent a
surface in a 3D plot.

1 INTRODUCTION The use of filter paper for estimating the water

potential was first reported by Gardner (1937) for
The development of unsaturated soil mechanics based agricultural applications. Currently, the filter paper
on the concept of using two independent stress state method is a standard test method for measurement of
variables requires measurement of the soil suction. soil suction in ASTM D 5298-94.
Several techniques have been developed to measure The filter paper method is an inexpensive and rel-
soil suction at laboratory and in-situ. The total soil suc- atively simple soil suction measurement technique. In
tion is known to be summation of the osmotic suction addition, it can be applied for a wide range of suc-
and the matric suction. Osmotic suction is influenced tion values. With the filter paper method both total
by salt concentration in the pore water that is present in and matric suction can be measured. If the filter paper
both saturated and unsaturated soils. Osmotic suction is allowed to absorb water through vapor flow (non-
changes have an effect on the mechanical behaviour contact method) then only total suction is measured.
of a soil. Krahn & Fredlund (1972) studied varia- Otherwise, if the filter paper is allowed to acquire
tion of total, matric and osmotic suction of compacted
Regina clay and glacial till respect to soil water con-
tent and showed the total and matric suction curves
have almost similar variations, particularly in the
higher water content range (Fig. 1). Matric suction is
defined as the difference between the pore air pressure
above the contractile skin and the water pressure below
the contractile skin. The contractile skin is consisted
of water molecules at the interface layer between the
water and the air, where the surface tension of the
water molecules presents. The maximum matric suc-
tion that can be maintained across contractile skin is
called air entry value and can be determined using
Kelvin equation (Eq. 1)

2Ts
ua − uw = (1)
Rs

where; Ts is the surface tension of the contractile skin

and Rs is radius of the maximum pore size distribution.
Rahardjo & Leong (2006) have presented summary Figure 1. Variation of total, osmotic and matric suction of
of several suction measurements techniques. Regina clay by water content (after Krahn & Fredlund 1972).

235
water through fluid flow (contact method), then only
matric suction is measured. Meanwhile, the provision
of contact between filter paper and the pore fluid is
difficult in low water content samples, the contact fil-
ter paper method may measure either the total or the
matric suction, depending on the degree of contact
between the soil and the filter paper.
The most commonly used filter papers for suction
measurement are Whatman No. 42 and Schleicher &
Schuell (S&S) No. 589-WH. The calibration curve
for these two filter papers is given in ASTM D
5298-94 and is used in the measurements of the present
investigation.
The variation of matric suction in an identical soil
specimen during drying and wetting versus soil speci-
plasticity index is 18 percent, the specific gravity of
particles is 2.69 and from hydrometer analysis the clay
size fraction (finer than 2 μm) is about 60 percent and
the remaining 40 percent is smaller than 75 μm (sieve
No. 200).
The sand is classified as medium to fine uniformly
graded sand (SP in USCS) and its fine content is about
1 percent. The specific gravity of the material is 2.69.
Figure 2 represents particle size distribution of sand.
Different samples were prepared from pure clay
(C100) and the composite material (C60). The soils
were compacted statically to a disc shaped samples
100

men gravimetric water content, degree of saturation or 90

volumetric water content is called soil-water character- 80

istic curve (SWCC) or soil water retention curve. It has 70
been found that at a given matric suction the soil water
Percent Passing
60
content during the wetting and drying process are dif-
50
ferent, that is known as the hysteretic behaviour of
SWCCs. Furthermore, recent investigations revealed 40

that there is no single, unique relationship between 30

volume change and water content change for an unsat- 20

urated soil. The volume change and the water content 10
change in an unsaturated soil are controlled by two 0
independent mechanisms; the stress strain behaviour 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
and the adsorption-drainage behaviour (Fredlund & Particle Size (mm)

Pham 2006).
Conventionally, the SWCC is determined at zero Figure 2. Particle size distribution of pure sand.
net normal stress and the volume changes of soil spec-
imen during the determination of SWCC are ignored. Table 1. Initial void ratio and degree of saturation for
Ho et al. (2006), in a recent experimental stud- samples.
ies, have used a volumetric pressure plate extractor
and provided state dependent soil water characteristic Sample Sr 0 Sample Sr 0
curves (SDSWCC) where the degree of saturation is no. e0 (%) no. e0 (%)
expressed by two stress state variables. C100-1 0.684 33.0 C60-1 0.677 30.6
In the present study, the total suction of pure and C100-2 0.672 47.0 C60-2 0.705 36.4
composite clay-sand mixture is measured by the fil- C100-3 0.688 58.5 C60-3 0.762 44.1
ter paper method and the effects of initial degree of C100-4 0.666 76.9 C60-4 0.835 49.4
saturation and void ratio on the total suction are inves- C100-5 0.723 85.9 C60-5 0.767 65.3
tigated. Furthermore, the soil samples were allowed C100-6 0.667 37.9 C60-6 0.673 29.9
to dry gradually and the variation of total suction is C100-7 0.774 45.8 C60-7 0.660 40.2
measured while considering volume changes of the C100-8 0.640 64.4 C60-8 0.724 42.7
specimen. The total suction measurements are pre- C100-9 0.630 82.4 C60-9 0.772 50.2
C100-10 0.698 94.6 C60-10 0.729 61.2
sented by contour lines in e-Sr space for both materials C100-11 0.733 38.2 C60-11 0.624 35.1
and the possible state surfaces are shown in 3D plot. C100-12 0.663 56.6 C60-12 0.688 40.7
C100-13 0.691 63.0 C60-13 0.648 49.2
C100-14 0.661 75.6 C60-14 0.643 54.4
2 MATERIALS AND TESTING PROGRAM C100-15 0.637 88.8 C60-15 0.659 63.4
C100-16 0.655 44.9 C60-16 0.534 38.8
Two basic materials are used in this study; clay and C100-17 0.572 62.4 C60-17 0.557 44.7
sand. The suction measurements were performed on C100-18 0.584 70.6 C60-18 0.572 47.4
the samples of pure clay and artificial materials com- C100-19 0.575 81.9 C60-19 0.589 54.6
C100-20 0.600 87.5 C60-20 0.603 59.6
posed of 60 percent clay and 40 percent sand by weight. Max 0.774 94.6 Max 0.835 65.3
The pure clay is classified as medium plastic Kaolinite Min 0.572 33.0 Min 0.534 29.9
clay. The liquid limit of the clay soil is 42 percent, the

236
with approximate diameter of 50 mm and height of
20 mm. In order to investigate effects of initial void
ratio and degree of saturation on the suction, the sam-
ples were compacted to different e and Sr. Twenty
samples were prepared for each soil group. Table 1
presents the initial conditions of the samples.
The samples were weighted by a digital balance
with 0.0001 gr accuracy and the average diameter and
height of the sample for volume measurements were
measured with 0.05 mm accuracy.
Filter paper tests were performed according to
ASTM D 5298-94 and total suction was measured in
the samples. Whatman No. 42 filter paper was used for
suction measurements and the corresponding standard
calibration curve was applied. For the vapor equaliza-
tion time the samples and two filter papers were placed
into sealed jars and the jars were kept in an isolated
container for 10 days. According to Marinho (1994) 7
to 15 days is suitable equalization time for total suction
measurement in the range of 250 to 30000 kPa. The
filter papers were placed above a piece of PVC pipe
with height of 20 mm, itself placed above the soil sam-
ple in the jar. After 10 days the weight of filter papers
was measured with the digital balance and then the
filter papers were placed into oven with 110 ± 5◦ C for
10 hours. After 10 hours the dry weight of filter paper
was measured. Detail of the procedure is presented by
Bulut et al (2001).
Accordingly, the soil samples were placed into a
desiccator for 3 days to reduce water content. In order
to facilitate desiccation silica gel was used. After three
days the soil samples weighted with the digital balance
and their volume was measured. Afterward, they were
placed into jars with new filter papers again. The pro-
cedure explained above was repeated four times for
C100 samples and three times for C60 samples.
3 DISCUSSION OF TEST RESULTS
Figure 3 presents the drying SWCCs for both soils. It
is clearly shown that the samples of the same material
follow different drying curves according to their differ-
ent initial conditions. The comparison between SWCC
of C100 and C60 reveals that the SWCCs of C100 are
more deviated than C60s’, although the deviation in e0
of C60s is more than C100s (Table 1). Furthermore,
the average SWCC of C60 has smaller suction than the
average C100 one.
Figures 4 & 5 plot the variation of void ratio versus
total suction along the drying path for C100 and C60
respectively. It is observed that again initial void ratio
affects significantly the suction of the sample when
the sample’s suction is less than a specific value. This
specific value corresponds to the sample’s shrinkage
limit. For instance, samples of C100 with suction more

100 C100-1 C100-2

C100-3 C100-4

90 C100-5 C100-6

C100-7 C100-8
80 C100-9 C100-10

C100-11 C100-12
70 C100-13 C100-14
Degree of saturation

C100-15 C100-16
60 C100-17 C100-18

C100-19 C100-20
50
C60-1 C60-2

C60-3 C60-4
40
C60-5 C60-6

C60-7 C60-8
30
C60-9 C60-10

C60-11 C60-12
20
C60-13 C60-14

10 C60-15 C60-16

C60-17 C60-18

0 C60-19 C60-20
100 1000 10000 100000
Total Suction (kPa)

Figure 3. Drying SWCC for C100 and C60.

237
 0.8 C100-1

C100-2

0.75 C100-3

C100-4

C100-5
0.7
C100-6

C100-7

0.65 C100-8
Void Ratio (e)

C100-9

C100-
0.6 10
C100-
11
C100-
12
0.55 C100-
13
C100-
14
C100-
0.5
15
C100-
16
C100-
0.45 17
C100-
18
C100-
19
0.4 C100-
20
100 1000 10000 100000
Total Suction (kPa)

Figure 4. Void ratio variation in drying SWCC for C100.

50 C100-1 C100-2
C100-3 C100-4
45 C100-5 C100-6
C100-7 C100-8
40 C100-9 C100-10
C100-11 C100-12
35 C100-13 C100-14
Volumetric water content

C100-15 C100-16
30 C100-17 C100-18
C100-19 C100-20
25 C60-1 C60-2
C60-3 C60-4
20 C60-5 C60-6
C60-7 C60-8
15
C60-9 C60-10
C60-11 C60-12
10
C60-13 C60-14
C60-15 C60-16
5
C60-17 C60-18
C60-19 C60-20
0
100 1000 10000 100000
Total Suction (kPa)

Figure 5. Void ratio variation in drying SWCC for C60.

238
 0.9
C60-1
C60-2
0.85 C60-3
C60-4
C60-5
0.8
C60-6
C60-7
0.75 C60-8
Void Ratio (e)

C60-9
C60-10
0.7
C60-11
C60-12
0.65 C60-13
C60-14
C60-15
0.6
C60-16
C60-17
0.55 C60-18
C60-19
C60-20
0.5
100 1000 10000 100000
Total Suction (kPa)

Figure 6. Volumetric water content versus suction for C100 and C60.

0.9 C100-1
C100-2
0.85 C100-3
C100-4
0.8 C100-5
C100-6
0.75 C100-7
C100-8
0.7
Void Ratio (e)

C100-9
C100-10
0.65
C100-11
1MPa
C100-12
0.6
C100-13
2MPa C100-14
0.55
C100-15
0.5 C100-16
C100-17
5MPa
0.45 C100-18
20MPa 15MPa 10MPa C100-19
0.4 C100-20
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Degree of Saturation

Figure 7. Contour lines of equal suction in e-Sr space for C100.

239
 0.9
C60-1
C60-2
0.85 C60-3
C60-4
C60-5
0.8
C60-6
C60-7
0.75 C60-8
Void Ratio (e)

C60-9
C60-10
0.7
C60-11
1MPa C60-12
0.65 C60-13
C60-14
C60-15
0.6
C60-16
3MPa C60-17
0.55 C60-18
C60-19
15MPa 10MPa 7MPa 5MPa C60-20
0.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Degree of saturation

Figure 8. Contour lines of equal suction in e-Sr space for C60.

than 5 MPa shows no correlation to void ratio and

similarly, the samples with suction more than 3 MPa
for C60s.
Figure 6 presents drying SWCC of both materials
by volumetric water content versus suction. Although
different drying curves are observed for different sam-
ples, the volumetric water content versus suction looks
less deviated than Figure 3. This can be interpreted as
the incorporated presence of void ratio or porosity and
degree of saturation in the volumetric water content
definition. Figure 9. Suction state surface in 3D plot for C100.
The variation of soil suction versus void ratio and
degree of saturation (or volumetric water content) ratio of samples are constant. These figures illustrate
expresses that soil suction can be plotted versus these possible drying SWCCs for the samples that have
two parameters. Figures 7 & 8 present the positions of similar void ratio. The lower the void ratio of the sam-
all samples in the e-Sr space. The dashed lines rep- ples, the larger the air entry values and the larger the
resent contour lines of equal suctions. These lines suction. Figure 11 represents increasing sand content
resemble a 3D surface in suction versus void ratio of the material up to 40 percent has eliminated effect
and degree of saturation space (Fig. 9). It is illus- of void ratio to some extent.
trated that total suction is more influenced by void
ratio for an intermediate range of degree of saturation.
The contour line of equal suction tends to vertical as 4 CONCLUSION
the degree of saturation decreases and the variation
of suction decreases as the degree of saturation tends Filter paper method is an inexpensive and relatively
to one. Comparison between Figures 7 and 8 reveals simple technique for measurement of both total and
the shrinkage of this intermediate range by increasing matric suction of soil. In addition, it can be applied for
sand content. a wide range of suction values. In the present study,
Figures 10 & 11 replot variation of degree of sat- filter paper method was applied to investigate effect
uration versus suction for some of the test results of initial void ratio on drying SWCCs. The mate-
presented in Figures 7 & 8 respectively, where the void rial tested was composed of pure clay and clay-sand

240
 100

90
Lower void ratio
80

70
Degree of Saturation

60

50
Higher void ratio
40

30

20

10

0
100 1000 10000 100000
Total Suction (kPa)
Ave(e)=0.463, Stdev(e)=0.001 Ave(e)=0.499, Stdev(e)=0.005 Ave(e)=0.561, Stdev(e)=0.007
Ave(e)=0.635, Stdev(e)=0.006 Ave(e)=0.666, Stdev(e)=0.003 Ave(e)=0.682, Stdev(e)=0.005

Figure 10. Drying SWCC at constant void ratio for C100.

100

90

80

70
Degree of Saturation

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
100 1000 10000 100000
Total Suction (kPa)
Ave(e)=0.685, Stdev(e)=0.005 Ave(e)=0.658, Stdev(e)=0.003
Ave(e)=0.627, Stdev(e)=0.005 Ave(e)=0.574, Stdev(e)=0.007

Figure 11. Drying SWCC at constant void ratio for C60.

241
mixture. The tests results revealed that the initial con-
dition of the samples significantly affects SWCCs
but increasing sand content has reduced the extent of
effects. Additionally, presenting SWCC by volumetric
water content, instead of degree of saturation, results
into less deviated SWCCs.
Meanwhile, considering volume change of sample
during measurement of total suction is found to be
more important for an intermediate range of degree of
saturation of samples and this range shrinks by increas-
ing sand content. More accurate numerical modeling
can be achieved by using 3D constitutive surfaces or
constant void ratio SWCCs instead of single SWCC.
REFERENCES
Bulut, R., Lytton, R.L. & Wary, W.K. 2001. Suction Measure-
ments by Filter Paper, Expansive Clay Soils and Vegetative
Influence on Shallow Foundations, ASCE Geotechni-
cal Special Publication No. 115 (eds. C. Vipulanandan,
M.B. Addision, and M. Hasen), ASCE, Reston, Virginia,
pp. 243–261.
242
Fredlund, D.G. & Pham, H.Q. 2006. A Volume-mass
Constitutive model for Unsaturated Soils in Terms of
Two Independent Stress State Variables, Unsaturated
Soils, ASCE, Geotechnical special publication No. 147.
pp. 105–134.
Gardner, R. 1937. A Method of Measuring the Capillary Ten-
sion of Soil Moisture over a Wide Moisture Range, J. Soil
Science. Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 277–283.
Ho, K.M.Y., Ng, C.W.W., Ho, K.K.S. & Tang, W.H.
2006. State-dependent Soil-water Characteristic Curve
(SDSWCCs) of Weathered Soils, Unsaturated Soils,
ASCE, Geotechnical special publication No. 147,
pp. 1302–1313.
Krahn, J. & Fredlund, D.G. 1972. On Total Matric and
Osmotic Suction, J. Soil Science. Vol. 114, No. 5,
pp. 339–348.
Marinho, F.A.M. 1994. Medicao de succao com o metodo do
papel fitro, In Proc. X Congresso Brasileiro de Mecanica
do Solos e Engenharia de Fundacoes. Vol. 2, pp. 516–522.
Rahardjo, H. & Leong, E.C. 2006. Suction Measurements,
Unsaturated Soils, ASCE, Geotechnical special publica-
tion No. 147, pp. 81–104.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Soil water retention curves for remolded expansive soils

K.C. Chao, J.D. Nelson, D.D. Overton & J.M. Cumbers

Engineering Analytics, Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

ABSTRACT: Volume change in expansive soils occurs due to changes in the soil water system that change
the stress equilibrium of the soil. Consequently, when determining the Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC)
of an expansive soil, it is important to consider the volume change that occurs as the suction, and hence water
content, changes during the test. Experiments using the Fredlund SWCC device and the filter paper method
were conducted to take into account the effect of the volume changes on the soil water retention relationship of
expansive soils. Claystone samples of the Denver and Pierre Shale Formations obtained near Denver, Colorado,
USA were used in the study. A moist tamping system was used to obtain ‘‘identical’’ soil specimens. The
observed experimental data were used to evaluate the previously published mathematical equations of SWRC.
It is shown that the Fredlund and Xing equation is in the best agreement with the experimental data among the
equations. In addition, a bilinear form was used to express the SWRC for the expansive soils. It is concluded
that the bilinear form of the SWRC gives the best fit to the measured experimental data.

1 INTRODUCTION phenomena. This paper focuses on an evaluation of

The soil water retention curve (SWRC) has played a
dominant role in unsaturated soils in disciplines such
as soil science, soil physics, agronomy, and agricul-
ture. There is some discussion within the soil water
research community regarding the use of the term soil
water retention curve (SWRC) as opposed to the term
soil water characteristic curve (SWCC). The term soil
water retention curve (SWRC) has been adopted in
this paper. However, when reference is made to the
Fredlund SWCC device and test results therefrom, the
term SWCC has been retained in connection with that
device.
The SWRC has been identified as the key soil
information required for the analyses of seepage,
shear strength, and volume change problems involv-
ing unsaturated soils. The SWRC is usually measured
assuming no volume change of the soil specimen. This
is not the case for an expansive soil. When determin-
ing the SWRC of an expansive soil, it is important to
consider the volume change that occurs as the suction
changes during the test.
The SWRC of a soil is hysteretic. Therefore,
depending on whether the process being simulated in
the field is a wetting or drying process, an appropri-
ate wetting or drying curve needs to be determined
for the soil. Heaving of expansive soils/bedrock is
related to the wetting process. Consequently, a wetting
curve should be utilized in simulations of the migration
of water in the subsoils/bedrock for modeling heave
the wetting curves of the expansive claystone of the
Denver and Pierre Shale Formations.
A moist tamping system was used to obtain iden-
tical soil specimens. The Fredlund SWCC device and
the filter paper test were utilized in the experiments.
The observed experimental data were used to evaluate
previously published mathematical equations for the
SWRC. This paper presents the results of the experi-
mental data of the claystone and a proposed equation
for the SWRC curve.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
2.1 Soil description and index properties
Samples of claystone of the Denver and Pierre Shale
Formations were obtained using drilling with a con-
tinuous core sample at sites near Denver, Colorado,
USA. The boring log of the claystone of the Denver
Formation indicates that the claystone bedrock was
slightly moist and consisted of yellowish brown, hard
claystone with some oxidation and occasional silty
claystone lenses. The boring log of the claystone taken
from the Pierre Shale Formation indicates that the clay-
stone bedrock was slightly moist and consisted of light
olive brown and gray claystone with oxidation along
the bedding planes.
The results of the laboratory tests are provided in
Table 1. The samples of the claystone of both the
Denver and Pierre Shale Formations were classified

243
 Table 1. Summary of geotechnical properties of Denver and Pierre Shale formations.

Consolidation-Swell Test(2)

Formation of Natural water Natural dry LL/PL(1) Percent swell Swell pressure
claystone bedrock content (%) density (Mg/m3 ) (%) (%) (kPa)

Denver 20.1–26.5 1.54 –1.67 56–68/32–43 6.5–7.4 1150–2550

Pierre shale 15.2–16.3 1.81–1.92 60–61/41–42 3.1–5.7 710–1300

Notes: (1) LL = Liquid Limit, PL = Plastic Limit.

(2) Inundation Pressure, σi = 48 kPa.

as high plasticity clay (CH). They exhibited moderate

to very high swell potential.

2.2 Specimen preparation

A variety of methods have been developed for recon-
stituting soil specimens in the laboratory. The moist
tamping method is one of the successful methods pro-
posed for preparing nearly identical soil specimens
(Mulilis, et al., 1975). The early implementation of
the moist tamping method involved the soil specimen
being prepared using a number of layers of equal dry
weight and volume wherein each layer was being com-
pacted to the same target density. Mulilis, et al. (1975)
found that this could result in the lower portion of the
specimen becoming denser than the desired specimen
density because the compaction of each overlying layer
also resulted in the densification of underlying layers.
Noorany (2005) proposed to prepare a soil sample
with a number of layers of equal soil weight and vol-
ume when compacting each layer into a compaction
mold, as shown in Figure 1. Noorany (2005) found
that this modified moist tamping method was suc-
cessful in preparing uniform soil specimens for the
oedometer test.
The modified moist tamping method was utilized to
prepare and compact soil specimens for the laboratory
testing. The soil specimens were prepared for testing
by compacting them to 100% of the maximum Stan-
dard Proctor dry density at a water content 3% less
than the optimum water content. The sample rings
used for the experiment have dimensions of 6.2 cm
inside diameter and 3.1 cm thick. The thick steel plate
shown in Figure 1 is 0.5 cm in height. The soil sam-
ple at the completion of compaction within each ring
was 2.5 cm in height. In addition, four (4) layers with
each layer being 0.6 cm in height were selected for the
compaction process.
2.3 Experimental procedure
2.3.1 Filter paper test
The filter paper method was used to obtain the soil
water retention relationship of both soil types for a soil
suction ranging from approximately 1 to 175,000 kPa.
Figure 1. Schematic of Moist Tamping System (modified
from Noorany, 2005).
This range corresponds to a pF of 1.01 to 6.25. What-
man No. 42 filter paper was used in this study. The
weight of the filter paper was measured to the nearest
0.0001 g during the test.
The filter paper method was adopted to measure
total and matric suctions of soil specimens in accor-
dance with both non-contact and contact techniques
described in ASTM D5298-94. ASTM D5294-94 rec-
ommends a minimum equilibration time of 7 days for
running the filter paper contact and non-contact tests.
However, in examining the required time for filter
paper to reach equilibrium, it was found that the equili-
bration time is dependent on suction source, measured
suction type (contact or non-contact method), material
type, water content of soil specimen (suction level),
number of pieces of filter paper used, relative humid-
ity of the air, and soil mass and space in the container.
The time required for equilibration of the filter paper
when measuring the suction of the claystone from
the Pierre Shale Formation was evaluated in Chao
(2007).
For determining the boundary wetting curve, the
soil specimen was initially air-dried in the laboratory.
The weight and volume of the air-dried sample were

244
measured. Calipers were used to measure the height
and diameter of the sample in order to determine the
volume. A filter paper test was performed on the air-
dried sample to obtain a soil suction corresponding to
the lowest water content of the sample. At the comple-
tion of the first filter paper test, water was sprayed onto
the soil specimen to obtain a desired water content of
the sample for the next filter paper test. The values of
water content of the sample were increased at intervals
of approximately 5%. The wetting curve test continued
until the last desired value of water content of the soil
specimen was reached. Measurements of the weight
and volume of the sample at equilibrium were taken
throughout the experiment. In addition, five remolded
samples of the Pierre Shale claystone were oven-dried
to obtain the soil suction of the claystone at oven-dry
water content conditions using the filter paper method.
The sample was cut in two pieces and filter papers were
placed between the pieces. A rubber band was placed
around the sample to ensure contact between the filter
papers and the soil.
2.3.2 Fredlund SWCC test
The Fredlund SWCC device was utilized to deter-
mine the SWRC over a range of soil suction from 2
to 900 kPa for the claystone of the Denver formation.
This soil suction range overlapped the range used in the
filter paper tests to verify the measured laboratory data
from each other. A schematic of the Fredlund SWCC
device used in this study is shown in Figure 2. The
sample rings used for the test are 6.4 cm in diameter
and 2.5 cm in height. The Fredlund SWCC device was
calibrated to account for compressibility of the device,
filter paper, and porous stone (Chao, 2007). Similar to
the filter paper test, the soil specimen was compacted
to 100% of the maximum Standard Proctor dry den-
sity at a water content 3% less than the optimum water
Figure 2. Schematic of Fredlund SWCC device (from
GCTS 2004).
245
content, and then air-dried until a minimum water
content was reached in the laboratory. The weight and
volume of the air-dried sample were measured.
The air-dried soil specimen was transferred to a
ceramic stone placed in the pressure cell of the Fred-
lund SWCC device. The water below the ceramic
stone was maintained at atmospheric pressure. A spec-
ified air pressure was applied into the pressure cell. In
response to the applied suction, the water was drawn
into the soil specimen through volume indicator tubes
and through the ceramic stone until equilibrium was
established.
It was possible for air to diffuse through the ceramic
stone and collect on the bottom of the cell. Therefore,
the diffused air was flushed out before reading the lev-
els in the volume indicator tubes. The water content
of the specimen was calculated using the volume indi-
cator tube readings. The change in height of the soil
specimen was measured from an attached dial gauge.
This procedure was repeated for successive pressure
decrements to obtain a series of data points on the wet-
ting curve. The pressure values that were used were
900, 400, 100, 10, and 2 kPa. At the end of the wetting
curve test, the soil specimen was removed from the cell
and its water content and dry density were determined.
2.4 Experimental results
Figures 3 and 4 present the SWRCs in terms of volu-
metric water content from the average values of the
experimental data for the Denver and Pierre Shale
Formation samples, respectively. The osmotic suction
curves shown in Figures 3 and 4 were computed by
subtracting the matric suction values from the total
suction values.
None of the SWRCs shown in Figures 3 and 4
exhibit a distinct point of bifurcation to define the
displacement pressure head. This trend of not having
a distinct displacement pressure head for expansive
soil has also been reported by others (Chao, 1995;
50
45
Volumetric Water Content (%)
Total Suction
40 Matric Suction
35 Osmotic Suction
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil Suction (kPa)
Figure 3. Wetting SWRC—Total, matric and osmotic suc-
tions from Filter Paper test—Remolded claystone of Denver
formation.
 50 60
Measured Data
45

Volumetric Water Content (%)

Volumetric Water Content (%)

Total Suction Burdine (1953), r^2 = 0.8980

50
40 Matric Suction Gardner (1958), r^2 = 0.9559
35 Osmotic Suction 40 Brooks & Corey (1964), r^2 = 0.8960
30
25 30
20
20
15
10 10
5
0 0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil Suction (kPa) Soil Suction (kPa)

Figure 4. Wetting SWRC—Total, matric, and osmotic Figure 6. Burdine, Gardner, and Brooks & Corey equations
suctions from Filter Paper test—Remolded claystone of fitted to experimental data—Claystone of Denver formation.
Pierre Shale formation.

60
60 Measured Data

Volumetric Water Content (%)

Mualem (1976), r^2 = 0.9136
Measured Data from Filter Paper Test 50
Volumetric Water Content (%)

van Genuchten (1980), r^2 = 0.9559

50
Measured Data from Fredlund SWCC Test Fredlund & Xing (1994), r^2 = 0.9685
40
40
30
30
20
20

10
10

0
0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil Suction (kPa)
Soil Suction (kPa)

Figure 7. Mualem, van Genuchten, and Fredlund & Xing

Figure 5. Comparison of wetting SWRCs from Filter Paper
equations fitted to experimental data—Claystone of Denver
test and Fredlund SWCC test—Remolded claystone of Den-
formation.
ver formation.

Al-Mukhtar, 1995; Alonso, et al., 1995; Wan, et al.,

show the curve fitting for the claystone of the Pierre
1995; and Miller, 1996).
Shale Formation. The values of r 2 for regression
The Fredlund SWCC test was conducted on the
analyses of the equations are also shown in the
remolded claystone of the Denver Formation and
figures. Comparison of Figures 6 through 9 indicates
the results were compared with those obtained using
that among all equations considered, the Brooks and
the filter paper method. Figure 5 shows that the fil-
Corey equation provides the least agreement with the
ter paper test reproduced the results obtained from the
experimental data.
Fredlund SWCC test.
The reason for the poor fit of the Brooks and Corey
equation is that this curve exhibits a sharp break at the
air entry value. This is more representative of sandy
3 ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA
soil having a relatively narrow grain size distribution.
It should be noted that this equation was developed for
3.1 Curve fitting with previously published
a rigid porous medium (i.e. no volume change).
SWRC equations
It is seen in Figures 6 through 9 that the Fredlund
The observed experimental data were fitted to the and Xing equation exhibits the best agreement with
previously published mathematical equations for the the experimental data. An interesting observation is
SWRC. Selected mathematical equations include that the four-parameter equations (such as the van
those proposed by Burdine (1953), Gardner (1958), Genuchten and Fredlund & Xing equations) performed
Brookes and Corey (1964), Mualem (1976), van a better curve fitting than the three-parameter equa-
Genuchten (1980), and Fredlund & Xing (1994). tions (such as the Burdine, Brooks and Corey, and
Figures 6 and 7 show the curve fitting for the clay- Mualem equations). This observation was also made
stone of the Denver Formation. Figures 8 and 9 by Leong and Rahardjo (1997) for other soil types.

246
 60 60

(%)
Measured Data
Volumetric Water Content (%)

Burdine (1953), r^2 = 0.9108

50 50 Measured Data

Volumetric Water Content,

Gardner (1958), r^2 = 0.9574
Brooks & Corey (1964), r^2 = 0.8819
40 40

30 30
= -2.3404Ln( ) + 43.396
20 20 r2 = 0.9957

10 10 = -5.3991Ln( ) + 69.37
r2 = 0.9875
0 0 ?
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil Suction (kPa) Soil Suction, (kPa)

Figure 8. Burdine, Gardner, and Brooks & Corey equa- Figure 11. Bilinear equation fitted to experimental data—
tions fitted to experimental data—Claystone of Pierre Shale Claystone of Pierre Shale formation.
formation.

60 and Miller, 1996). The results of the experimental data

Measured Data
plotted in bilinear form are shown in Figures 10 and
Volumetric Water Content (%)

50 Mualem (1976), r^2 = 0.9213

van Genuchten (1980), r^2 = 0.9570 11 for the claystone of the Denver and Pierre Shale
40 Fredlund & Xing (1994), r^2 = 0.9727 Formations, respectively. It is shown in Figures 10
and 11 that the bilinear form of the SWRC gives the
30 best fit to the measured experimental data compared to
the published mathematical equations discussed pre-
20
viously. The question mark by the point at zero water
10 content indicates that this point was not used in the
curve fitting procedure.
0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil Suction (kPa) 4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Figure 9. Mualem, van Genuchten, and Fredlund & Xing Fredlund (2002) stated that matric suction dominates
Equations fitted to experimental data—Claystone of Pierre the lower suction portion of a SWRC, while osmotic
Shale formation.
suction dominates the high suction portion of the
SWRC.
60 Capillary effects dominate when there is a signif-
icant amount of liquid water in the soil, whereas the
Volumetric Water Content (%)

50 Measured Data
osmotic suction related to the adsorbed salts dominates
40 the behavior of the soil at a high suction range.
It was shown by van der Raadt, et al. (1987) that
30 filter paper results used both in contact and non-
= -2.5853Ln( ) + 46.686
contact modes were similar for values of suction above
r2 = 0.982
20 1,000 kPa, but were different for values of suction less
than 1,000 kPa. Leong et al. (2002) suggested that
10 = -6.2348Ln( ) + 80.671
r2 = 0.9865
for ‘‘up to 1000 kPa suction, the contact filter paper
0
? method can be used to measure matric suction reliably,
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 while the noncontact method can be used to measure
Soil Suction (kPa) total suction. Beyond 1,000 kPa suction, the filter
paper method measures only total suction, regardless
Figure 10. Bilinear equation fitted to experimental data—
Claystone of Denver formation.
if the contact or the noncontact procedure is used.’’
Figures 3 and 4 indicates that this limit is much higher
(closer to 10,000 kPa).
3.2 Curve fitting with bilinear equation
The soil suction at zero water content is used as a
Chao, et al. (1998) indicated that a bilinear form gives boundary point in heave prediction using the soil suc-
a good agreement to the observed experimental data tion method proposed by McKeen (1992). The soil
for expansive soils. The bilinear relationship of the suction at zero water content was stated by McKeen
SWRC for expansive soils has also been reported by (1992) to be near 174,385 kPa (6.25 pF). Fredlund and
others (McKeen and Neilsen, 1978; Marinho, 1994; Xing (1994) introduced a correction function, C(ψ),

247
in their SWRC fitting equation to force the SWRC
to pass through a soil suction of 106 kPa (7.0 pF) at
zero water content. The measured average total suc-
tion of the five oven-dried claystone samples shown
in Figure 5 is approximately 245,000 kPa (6.40 pF)
at oven-dry water content. This value of measured
soil suction at oven-dry water content is closer to that
expressed by McKeen (1992).
The bilinear form used in this study is representa-
tive of the observed experimental data for expansive
soils. At stress above 100 MPa, the curve tends to
increase in slope to a limiting suction value of about
245,000 kPa (6.40 pF). Cumbers (2007) measured
points that fell on a straight line between suction val-
ues of about 100,000 kPa and 245,000 kPa. Thus,
the curves are in fact tri-linear, but for suction val-
ues below 100,000 kPa they will be referred to as
being bi-linear. The change in slope of the SWRC for
expansive soil has been attributed to the transition from
macropore spaces, where water retention is governed
by capillary mechanisms, to micropore spaces, where
water retention is governed by thermodynamic forces
(Miller, 1996).
REFERENCES
Al-Mukhtar, M. (1995). ‘‘Macroscopic Behavior and
Microstructural Properties of a Kaolinite Clay Under
Controlled Mechanical and Hydraulic State.’’ Proceed-
ings, 1st International Conference Unsaturated Soils,
Paris, I, 3–9.
Alonso, E.E., Lloret, A., Gens, A., and Yang, D.Q.
(1995). ‘‘Experimental Behavior of Highly Expansive
Double-Structure Clay.’’ Proceedings, 1st International
Conference Unsaturated Soils, Paris, I, 11–16.
Brooks, R.H., and Corey, A.T. (1964). ‘‘Hydraulic Properties
of Porous Media.’’ Hydrology Paper No. 3, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Burdine, N.T. (1953). ‘‘Relative Permeability Calculations
from Pore Size Distribution Data.’’ Journal of Petroleum
Technology, 5, 71–78.
Chao, K.C. (1995). ‘‘Hydraulic Properties and Heave Predic-
tion for Expansive Soil.’’ Maters Thesis, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Chao, K.C., Durkee, D.B., Miller, D.J., and Nelson, J.D.
(1998). ‘‘Soil Water Characteristic Curve for Expansive
Soil.’’ Thirteenth Southeast Asian Geotechnical Confer-
ence, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chao, K.C. (2007). ‘‘Design Principles for Foundations
on Expansive Soils.’’ Dissertation submitted in par-
tial requirement for the Ph.D. Degree, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Cumbers, J.M. (2007). ‘‘Soil Suction for Clay Soils at
Oven-Dry Water Contents and the End of Swelling Con-
ditions.’’ Thesis submitted in partial requirement for the
Mater Degree, Colorado State University, Fort Collins,
Colorado.
Fredlund, D.G. (2002). ‘‘Use of Soil-Water Characteris-
tic Curves in the Implementation of Unsaturated Soil
Mechanics.’’ Third International Conference on Unsat-
urated Soils. Recife, Brazil.
248
Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. (1993). ‘‘Soil Mechanics
for Unsaturated Soil.’’ John Wiley & Son, Inc., New
York, NY.
Fredlund, D.G. and Xing, A. (1994). ‘‘Equation for the
Soil-Water Characteristic Curve.’’ Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 31(3), 521–532.
Gardner, W.R. (1958). ‘‘Some Steady State Solutions of the
Unsaturated Moisture Flow Equation with Application of
Evaporation from a Water Table.’’ Soil Science, 85(4),
228–232.
Geotechnical Consulting and Testing Systems, Inc. (GCTS).
(2004). ‘‘Fredlund SWCC Device Operating Instruc-
tions.’’ Tempe, Arizona.
Jefferson County GIS Department. (1997). ‘‘Designated Dip-
ping Bedrock Area. 1: 62,500 scale.’’ Jefferson County,
Colorado.
Leong, E.C. and Rahardjo, H. (1997). ‘‘Review of
Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Equations.’’ Journal
of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,
123(12), 1106–1117.
Leong, E.C., He, L., and Rahardjo, H. (2002). ‘‘Factors
Affecting the Filter Paper Method for Total and Matric
Suction Measurements.’’ Geotechnical Testing Journal,
25(3), 322–333.
Marinho, F.A.M. (1994). ‘‘Shrinkage Behavior of Some
Plastic Soils.’’ Ph.D. Dissertation, University of London,
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.
McKeen, R.G. (1992). ‘‘A Model for Predicting Expan-
sive Soil Behavior.’’ Proceedings of 7th International
Conference on Expansive Soils, Dallas, Texas. 1, 1–6.
McKeen, R.G. and Nielson, J.P. (1978). ‘‘Characterization
of Expansive Soils for Airport Pavement Design.’’ U.S.
Dept. of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration,
Report No. FAA-120-78-59.
Miller, D.J. (1996). ‘‘Osmotic Suction as a Valid Stress
State Variable in Unsaturated Soils.’’ Ph.D. Dissertation,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Mualem, Y. (1976). ‘‘A New Model for Predicting the
Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Porous Medial.’’
Water Resources Research, 12, 513–522.
Mulilis, J.P., Chan, C.K., and Seed, H.B. (1975). ‘‘The Effects
of Method of Sample Preparation on the Cyclic Stress
Strain Behavior of Sands.’’ EERC Report, 75–78.
Noorany, I. (2005). E-Mail Letter to Kuo-Chieh Chao
Regarding ‘‘Moist Tamping Equipment.’’ January 10th.
SoilVision Systems Ltd. (2006). ‘‘SoilVision Software,
Version 4.0.’’ Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Tinjum, J.M., Benson, C.H. and Blotz, L.R. (1997).
Soil-Water Characteristic Curves for Compacted Clays.
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineer-
ing. November. 1060.
van der Raadt, P., Fredlund, D.G., Clifton, A.W., Klassen,
M.J., and Jubien (1987). ‘‘Soil Suction Measurement
at Several Sites in Western Canada.’’ Transportation
Res. Rec. 1137, Soil Mechanics Considerations in Arid
and Semi-Arid Areas, Transportation Research Board,
Washington, D.C., 24–35.
van Genuchten, M.T. (1980). ‘‘A Closed-Form Equation
for Prediction the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated
Soils.’’ Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 892–898.
Wan, A.W.L., Gray, M.N. and Graham, J. (1995). ‘‘On the
Relations of Suction Moisture Content and Soil Structure
in Compacted Clays.’’ Proc. 1st Intern. Conf. Unsaturated
Soils, Paris, I, 215–222.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Hydromechanical couplings in confined MX80 bentonite during hydration

D. Marcial
Instituto de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

P. Delage & Y.J. Cui

CERMES, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, France

ABSTRACT: In order to characterize the hydromechanical (HM) properties of a MX80 bentonite, used as
an Engineered Barrier (EB) material for nuclear waste disposal facilities, a 7 months infiltration column test
with coupled measurement of swelling pressure and suction was carried out. The hydraulic conductivity was
obtained using the Instantaneous Suction Profile (ISP) method (Daniel 1983) in an initial highly compacted
unsaturated state (γd = 1.7 Mg/m3 ; w = 8.2 %), and the swelling pressure was monitored at different heights
of the column. Also, some mercury intrusion porosimetry measurements were conducted at the end of the test
to better understand the observed coupled behaviour. Important effects of suction gradients were observed;
the transitory hydraulic conductivity values are higher when the bentonite is hydrated from very high suctions
because of gradient effects. Then it drastically reduces as the hydration front advances and the microstructure is
reorganized. Concerning the couplings of suction and swelling pressure, a softening threshold suction value was
systematically observed at a value of 90 MPa. Also, low changes of stresses with suction δσ/δs were observed
for a high range of suction values. These experimental evidences permit to better understand hydromechanical
couplings during hydration of engineered barrier materials in confined conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION

Figure 1 presents a schema of an engineered barrier

(EB) section of a disposal pit according to the concept
of deep nuclear waste disposal. One can appreciate the
EB surrounding the waste container (C) and filling up
the void zone between the pit walls crossed in the host
rock (HR) and the container. The EB is composed of
specially shaped compacted bentonite bricks arranged
in such a way that void zones (joints) are minimized.
The joints are present in the EB-EB, EB-C and EB-RH
contact surfaces and their presence within the barrier
highlight the importance of the swelling potential of
the EB material. The self sealing capacity of bentonites
is particularly important to ensure an adequate isola-
tion of the waste (Pusch 1982). Marcial et al. (2006)
have shown with a reduced model test, that in ben-
tonite based EB, such joint system could heal very soon
with hydration if the joint sizes are small enough, even Figure 1. Cross section of a disposal pit with schematic
for a relatively low EB dry density. However, higher representation of joints and an EB radial element.
periods of time could be necessary as the joint size
increases.
Extensive experimental hydromechanical studies Furthermore, advances in the characterization of com-
were done by the Soil and Rock Mechanics Research pacted unsaturated MX80 bentonite has been achieved
Centre, at the Navier Institute in France, on FoCa7 by incorporating the measurement of lateral stresses.
clay and a Kunigel VI bentonite—sand mixture in the This work concerns the suction—swelling pressure
recent past (See Yahia-Aissa 1999 and Loiseau 2001). coupling observed in a 7 months infiltration column

249
test with measurement of swelling pressure and suc-
tion. The experimental set-up correspond to a reduced
model that take into account the HM behaviour of an
EB radial element, perpendicular to the disposal pit
axis (axis symmetrical problem). Figure 1 also shows
a radial EB element where the stress state, defined by
σθ and σr , is dependent of the suction changes within
the EB due to hydration. Since the test was conducted
in isothermal conditions (T = 20◦ C) and temperature
changes are present in a nuclear waste repository, it is
not representative of the initial saturation cycle. How-
ever, the results obtained in this work permit an initial
approach to the understanding of HM couplings in EB
materials.

2 MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP

2.1 Index properties and initial conditions

The chosen material was a commercial MX80 ben-
tonite whose index properties are summarized in Figure 2. Infiltration column: (1) holes for RH sensors loca-
Table 1. tion (2) split head piston (3) piston cap (4) 2 mm thick zones
Concerning the initial conditions, a dry density for lateral stress monitoring (5) column base (6) porous stone
γd = 1.7 Mg/cm3 and a water content w = 8.2 % (cor- (7) water intake circuit.
responding to a suction of 103 MPa) were fixed. The
γd value was chosen to be high enough to obtain high
and 19.5 cm from the infiltration point. A fifth sensor
swelling pressures, and low enough to have double
is placed inside the piston at the top of the column,
porosity microstructure (Delage et al. 1996) permit-
located at a distance of 25 cm from the infiltration
ting to observe interesting and complex phenomena
point.
concerning micro—macro fabric coupling as it will
The lateral stress changes were monitored by incor-
be shown later.
porating reduced thickness zones, where deflections
were measured with highly sensitive strain gages. To
2.2 Experimental set-up do so, the column cylinder was mechanized in such
a way that five thin wall zones (2 mm thick) were
The experimental set up was essentially composed of
incorporated at the heights of 2, 7, 12, 17 and 22 cm.
an infiltration column (see Figure 2) with a 50 mm
These zones, which work as semi rigid membranes,
internal diameter, and a 250 mm height.
have 5 mm in height and were designed to experience
Five resistive sensors were used to monitor relative
a deflection of 5 μm under a 60 MPa pressure. Else-
humidity (RH) changes with water uptake, permitting
where, a global measure of the axial stress was done
to adequately estimate the hydraulic conductivity by
with an external 50 kN load cell.
the ISP method. Four of these sensors were placed in
The soil was statically compacted in a rigid mould
the column cylinderv at a distance of 4.5, 9.5, 14.5
with an internal diameter slightly lower than 50 mm
to avoid any unknown initial soil stress state due to
Table 1. MX80 bentonite index properties. friction (see Marcial et al. 2006). Compaction was
done step by step adding 25 mm thick layers, and the
Property Value target density was obtained after soil rebound, with
(1) a 39 MPa compaction stress. Three cylindrical bricks
Mineralogy 82% montmorillonite
were placed to fill the column, with a height of 125, 75
(Na/Ca=5.5)
C.E.C (meq/100 g) 69.6 (1)
and 50 mm. Figure 3 shows the progressive placement
Liquid limit, % 520 of the bricks in the column.
Plastic limit, % 42 After the insertion of each brick, the RH sen-
ρs (Mg/m3 ) 2.65(1) sors corresponding to the filled height were carefully
Skempton’s activity 5.8 placed. Once the column was filled, special care
Specific surface, m2 /g 800(2) was taken to guarantee the system sealing, which
is particularly important in the ISP method (see
(1) Sauzeat et al. (2000) (2) Pusch (1982). Figure 4).

250

Figure 3. View of a 75 mm height compacted brick (a) and
the progressive placement of bricks to fill the column (b, c
and d).
Figure 4. View of the experimental set-up. (1) Sealing detail
at the head piston cap (2) sealing details at RH sensor caps
(3) final view of the experimental set-up with thermal
isolation.
The head piston was left free of movement during
13 days, until the stabilization of the relative humidity
was reached along the whole length of the column.
A relative humidity value of 46.7% was registered
at a controlled room temperature of 20◦ C, correspon-
ding to the initial condition of the test before hydration
starts (103 MPa suction).
Once the suction stabilized, the column was placed
in a 50 kN digitally controlled press, and the head
piston was blocked against the reaction frame. A 50 kN
load cell was placed between the head piston and the
reaction frame to obtain a global measure of the axial
stress (swelling pressure).
In order to avoid the test to be affected by tempera-
ture changes, the unit press—column was isolated with
50 mm polystyrene walls, and a 5 mm glass screen was
left at its front face.
251
At this point, the infiltration test was ready to run.
The compacted soil was hydrated from the base of
the column with a volume—pressure controller, which
was set at a 10 kPa water pressure. The hydration time
was extended to 208 days.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
To determine the hydraulic conductivity with the ISP
method, it is necessary to register the changes of
relative humidity with time, and to know the water
retention curve (WRC) at constant volume conditions.
Because of space limitations, the procedure for the
determination of the WRC is not presented. However,
for the interest of the readers, the curve is presented in
Figure 5.
The changes in RH with time are presented in
Figure 6 for all measurement sections. A global typical
trend is observed; the increase of RH is higher as the
section of measurement is closer to the water source.
Notice that all curves are superposed at time zero
and they progressively separate for increasing times.
The acceleration in the RH increase corresponds to
1000
Suction (MPa)
100
10
0.1
0 10 20 30 40
Water content (%)
Figure 5. Water retention curve obtained at constant volume
conditions with a dry density of 1.7 Mg/m3 .
Figure 6. Changes of relative humidity with time.
the arrival of liquid phase water, as the hydration front
advances with time. Before liquid water arrives, RH
curves stay superimposed because hydration is only
done by vapour phase through macroporosity. The
monotone and regular increase of RH with time shows
that the system was adequately sealed.
The suction profiles are shown in Figure 7; they
were obtained with the RH—t curves and the WRC.
To do so, polynomial functions were fitted at different
time periods with the RH—t curves and the condition
of zero suction at the bottom of the column, corre-
sponding to the infiltration point. In order to get fitting
curves less perturbed by measures taken away from a
particular section of the column, only 3 points were
considered. Thus, the corresponding profiles are also
reported in sections, as shown in Figure 7. This aspect
is very important because is from the slope of the suc-
tion profiles that hydraulic gradients are obtained. The
profiles shown in Figure 7 correspond, from top to
bottom to t = (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50,
Figure 7. Suction profiles at different times for the whole
length.
252
55, 60, 65, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150,
160, 170, 180, 190, 200 and 208) days respectively.
For the 0–9.5 cm section, the profiles are presented
only to 120 days because at this time the RH sensor
corresponding to 4.5 cm height was damaged due to
an excess of humidity. As shown in Figure 6, at this
height the RH sensor reads a value of 97.4% at the
time of 126 days.
The derivate of fitted polynomial functions of suc-
tion profiles, at each measurement point, and for each
time, gives the changes of hydraulic gradient i with
time. Figure 8 shows that i values are very high (about
116000 in the extreme case), specially when the dis-
tance to the hydration source is small. It is evident that
i values do not correspond to the hydration pressure of
10 kPa. They are due to the strong hydrophilic char-
acter of the bentonite brick, initially equilibrated to a
very high suction (103 MPa).
Changes on i values are strongly influenced by the
distance h and suction s. On the one hand, the higher is
h, the lower is i. On the other hand, the increase rate of
i slows down, and is even reversed as suction decrease.
Both effects concern the hydrophilic character of the
bentonite brick. As closer the considered section is
to the hydration point, and higher is the thickness of
non hydrated soil, higher is the hydraulic gradient. In
addition, as suction reduces, the hydrophilic character
of the soil reduces also, slowing down the increase of
the gradient. The combination of both factors gives
rise to the shape of the i − t curves shown in Figure 8.
In the case of h = 4.5 cm, the thickness of the
soil that participate in the adsorption process is impor-
tant and the gradient is high. Otherwise, because the
section is very close to the hydration point, the suction
and the gradient reduce drastically (Figure 7) when
hydration front approaches. These effects being less
important when h is higher the changes observed in
the gradient occur in a more progressive manner.
Figure 8. Changes of hydraulic gradient with time for
hole test.
 The hydraulic conductivity kw is obtained with the
generalized Darcy’s law:

1 q
kw = − · (1)
A 1/2 · (it + it+dt )

where A is the infiltration section, i is the hydraulic

gradient, t is the time and q is the flow rate, through
the section A, established in the time interval dt . The
q value in an unsaturated soil is obtained with the
following expression:
H H
hi θt+dt dh − hi θt dh
q=A· (2)
dt

The volumetric water content is obtained with the

Figure 9. Volumetric water content profiles at different
expression: times.
w · ρd
θ= (3)
ρw

The volumetric water content profiles (Figure 9)

were obtained for the same times of suction profiles.
Notice that after 208 days, only the first 61 mm were
saturated. Also, the degree of saturation reduces dras-
tically as the distance to the saturation front increases
to further stabilize at low values. This permits to better
understand the gradient changes presented in Figure 8.
For h = 4.5 cm, the lowest i values are obtained when
hydration front approach this section. However, the
gradient keeps high for h = 9.5 and 14.5 cm because
in these sections suction changes are still important.
For h = 19.5 cm hydration front is far enough, suction
changes are less important and gradient changes are
more progressive. Figure 10. Changes of hydraulic conductivity with suction
With the volumetric water content profiles and at different sections.
Equation 1, the hydraulic conductivity at h = 4.5,
9.5, 14.5 and 19.5 cm was obtained. Figure 10 shows
the changes of hydraulic conductivity with suction for increase of kw as suction decrease, at the lower suction
different h values. range, like currently observed in unsaturated soils.
First of all, notice that the highest kw values are Figure 11 presents the pore size distribution
obtained for the highest suctions. Then, kw values observed at the end of the test at different h values. This
reduce drastically to stabilize later and even increase at is a typical trend observed when bentonite based mate-
lower suction values. These observations confirm the rials are hydrated at constant volume conditions. When
global trends obtained by Loiseau et al. (2002), with a hydration is important (lower h values), microstruc-
Kunigel VI—sand mixture. ture hydrate and accessible porosity reduces. Because
Concerning global kw − h changes, a progressive of the constant volume condition, microstructure
reduction of kw values is observed as h increases. This swelling reduces macroporosity. Notice a well defined
trend is due to the effect of hydraulic gradient. For inter—aggregate pore group for h = 25 cm at
low h values, the thickness of unsaturated material r = 3 μm that gradually disappears at more hydrated
is higher. Remember that it is not the 10 kPa hydra- sections (h = 4.5 and 9.5 cm). These microstructure
tion pressure of water source that impose hydraulic observations confirm the hypothesis that RH curves
gradient, but the hydrophilic character of the unsatu- shown in Figure 6 stay superimposed while hydration
rated compacted bentonite brick. Thus, the influence occurs by vapour phase through macroporosity.
of hydraulic gradient reduces as the h value increases, Concerning the coupling of suction and swelling
as shown by Loiseau et al. (2002). Also, notice the pressure, a typical trend with two maxima was

253
Figure 11. Pore size distribution at different sections of the
column at the end of the test.
Figure 12. Changes of lateral stress and suction with time
for different sections of the sample.
observed for lateral stress measurement at h = 2, 7, 12
and 17 cm. Particular attention was taken to the first
maxima, corresponding to a softening point of clay
aggregates due to hydration (Pusch 1981). Figure 12
presents the first maxima observed at different h
values. Notice that all maxima occur systematically
at a suction value of about 90 MPa. The repeated
apparition of these maxima is important to confirm
the existence of a softening threshold value.
Figure 13 shows vertical stress changes with suc-
tion at sections located close to hydration point
(h = 2, 3 and 4.5 cm). Notice that stress changes with
suction δσ/δs are very high when hydration starts, but
rapidly slow down as suction decrease. See that the
maximum curvature occurs close to a suction value of
approximately 90 MPa when the softening threshold is
approached. Then, a low and quasi regular δσ/δs rate
254
Figure 13. Changes of vertical stress with suction for
different sections of the sample.
is observed until saturation approaches and the δσ/δs
rate progressively increases to a value of about 0.1.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The infiltration test permitted to confirm the results
obtained by Loiseau et al. (2002), concerning the
effects of suction gradients on hydraulic conductiv-
ity, but with a different EB material. The hydraulic
conductivity is higher as the EB material is sub-
mitted to higher suction gradients. Then, hydraulic
conductivity reduces drastically as the hydration front
advances and microstructure is reorganized. When
suction decreases enough, the hydraulic conductivity
increases as typically observed in unsaturated soils.
Obtained results suggest that, during the hydration
phase, water transfers in the EB should be partially
governed by the strong hydrophilic character of unsat-
urated zones, where suction values keep being high
enough.
Concerning the suction—swelling pressure cou-
pling, a softening threshold was systematically
observed at a suction of 90 MPa. This threshold
value must be associated to the particular initial con-
ditions of the studied material (γd = 1.7 Mg/cm3
and s = 103 MPa). The observed results show that
above the threshold value the δσ/δs rate is very high,
decreasing to a very low and quasi regular value when
suction reduces below this point. When suction is
low enough and saturation approaches, the δσ/δs rate
progressively increases to a value of about 0.1.
The study of some HM properties and microstruc-
ture of a compacted MX80 bentonite, in confined con-
dition, permits to state a complex and highly coupled
HM behaviour of EB materials. The results presented
herein give some elements to improve constitutive Marcial et al. (2006). A laboratory study of the self
models that consider these aspects. sealing behaviour of a compacted sand-bentonite mix-
ture. Geomechanics and Geoengineering An International
Journal. 1, 73–85.
REFERENCES Pusch R. (1981). Unsaturated and saturated flow in swelling
clay. 10th IFSMFE, Session 6/14, Stockholm. pp.
369–373.
Daniel. D.E. (1983). Permeability test for unsaturated soil.
Pusch R., (1982). Mineral-water interactions and their influ-
Geotechnical Testing Journal. 2, 81–86.
ence on the physical behavior of highly compacted Na
Delage et al. (1996). Microstructure of compacted silt.
bentonite. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. 19, 381–387.
Canadian Geotechnical J. 33, 150–158.
Sauzeat et al. (2000). Caractérisation minéralogique, cristal-
Loiseau C. (2001). Transferts d’eau et couplages HM dans les
lochimique et texturale de l’argile MX-80. LEM-CREGU.
barrières ouvragées. PhD. Thesis, ENPC, Paris, France.
ANDRA Technical Report. France.
Loiseau et al. (2002). The gradient effect on the flux through
Yahia-Aissa, M. (1999). Comportement HM d’une argile
a compacted swelling soil. 3rd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated
gonflante fortement compactée. PhD Thesis, ENPC,
Soils, Brazil. 1, 395–400.
Paris, France.
Marcial et al. (2006). Application of vertical strain control to
measure swelling pressure of clayey soils. 4th Int. Conf.
on Unsaturated Soils. Arizona, EE. UU.

255
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effect of temperature on the water retention capacity of FEBEX

and MX-80 bentonites

M.V. Villar & R. Gómez-Espina

CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT: The retention curves of the FEBEX and MX-80 bentonites compacted at dry densities from 1.3
to 1.8 g/cm3 have been determined using methods that allow the volume of the samples to remain constant during
the determination. The methods have been upgraded to use them at high temperatures, and thus the range of
temperatures between 20 and 120◦ C has been explored. For a given density and water content, suction decreases
as temperature increases at a rate that is larger than that predicted on the basis of the water surface tension change
with temperature. Hysteresis on heating/cooling cycles has been observed, especially in the MX-80 bentonite.
For suctions higher than 10 MPa and for a given temperature and water content, the suction measured is slightly
higher for higher dry density of the bentonite. However, for lower suctions this trend clearly inverts. The water
retention capacity is lower for the MX-80 bentonite, although the difference is lessened for low suctions. The
retention capacity of the FEBEX bentonite is more affected by temperature than that of the MX-80.

1 INTRODUCTION countries as reference materials for the sealing of HLW

This research has been carried out in the context
of projects concerning the engineered clay barrier
of underground repositories for high-level radioac-
tive waste (HLW). The barrier, made of compacted
bentonite (a highly swelling material), will be placed
between the waste canisters and the host rock, and
will get saturated by the groundwater while it is sub-
jected to high temperatures due to the radioactive
decay of the wastes. These temperature changes affect
the hydraulic and mechanical response of the ben-
tonite, which has important implications on the design
and performance of the repository. Particularly, the
changes in the water retention capacity of the ben-
tonite affect the hydration kinetics of the barrier and
the time needed for its full saturation.
The water retention capacity of a material is usu-
ally evaluated by determining its water retention curve,
which relates suction and water content for a given
temperature along a suction span as broad as possible.
Previous investigations have shown that the retention
curve, for the same initial conditions of the material,
differs significantly depending on the volume restric-
tion imposed to the sample during the determination
(Yahia-Aissa, 1999; Villar, 2002). Thus the effect of
temperature on the water retention curve of two natu-
ral compacted bentonites, the FEBEX and the MX-80,
has been analysed by means of laboratory tests in
which the volume of the samples has been kept con-
stant. Both bentonites have been selected by different
repositories.
2 MATERIAL
Two bentonites have been used in this investigation: the
Spanish FEBEX bentonite and the American MX-80
bentonite.
The FEBEX bentonite comes from the Cortijo de
Archidona deposit (Almería, Spain) and its character-
isation can be found in ENRESA (2006), Villar (2002)
and Lloret et al. (2004). The smectite content of the
FEBEX bentonite is higher than 90 percent (92 ± 3%)
and it contains variable quantities of quartz (2 ± 1%),
plagioclase (2 ± 1%), K-felspar, calcite and opal-CT.
The CEC varies from 96 to 102 meq/100 g, and the
major exchangeable cations are Ca (35–42 meq/100 g),
Mg (31–32 meq/100 g), Na (24–27 meq/100 g) and
K (2–3 meq/100 g). The liquid limit of the bentonite is
102 ± 4 percent, the plastic limit is 53 ± 3 percent, the
total specific surface area is 725 ± 47 m2 /g and the
specific gravity 2.70 ± 0.04. The hygroscopic water
content in equilibrium with the laboratory atmosphere
is 13.7 ± 1.3 percent.
The MX-80 bentonite is extracted from Wyoming
(USA). It is a worldwide known material supplied
in the form of powder homoionised to sodium. The
MX-80 bentonite consists mainly of montmorillonite
(65–82%). It also contains quartz (4–12%), feldspars
(5–8%), and smaller quantities of cristobalite, calcite

257
and pyrite. The CEC is 74 meq/100 g, and the
major exchangeable cations are Na (61 meq/100 g),
Ca (10 meq/100 g) and Mg (3 meq/100 g). The liq-
uid limit of the bentonite as determined in CIEMAT
laboratories is 526 percent, the plastic limit is
46 percent, the total specific surface area is about
512 m2 /g and the specific gravity is 2.82. The
hygroscopic water content at laboratory conditions is
8–11 percent.
The saturated permeability to deionised water of
samples of these bentonites compacted at different dry
densities is exponentially related to the dry density.
The values of permeability to deionised water for dry
densities of 1.6 g/cm3 are in the order of 10−14 m/s
for the FEBEX bentonite and of 10−13 m/s for the
MX-80 bentonite. The swelling pressure of bentonite
samples compacted at their hygroscopic water content
and flooded with deionised water up to saturation at
room temperature can be related exponentially to dry
density. For dry density 1.6 g/cm3 the swelling pres-
sure of the FEBEX bentonite is about 6 MPa and of
the MX-80 bentonite is about 8 MPa.
3 METHODS
To determine the water retention curve of the com-
pacted bentonite at constant volume, two methodolo-
gies, the theoretical principle of which is different,
have been followed.
The cell method is carried out in special cells
designed to avoid the swelling of the clay in wetting
paths (Villar, 2002; Villar and Lloret, 2004). The cells
consist of a corrosion-resistant stainless steel cylindri-
cal body with two perforated covers joined by bolts.
Granulated clay is compacted directly inside the cell
ring at room temperature using static uniaxial com-
paction. The length of the specimen is 1.20 cm and
its cross section, 11.34 cm2 . The cells are placed
in desiccators with a sulphuric acid solution or with
a NaCl solution. There are temperature-dependent
experimental relations between the concentration of
the solution and its water activity (aw ). The calcu-
lation of suction on the basis of relative humidity
(RH = aw /100) is accomplished through Kelvin’s
equation. In the cell method the suction is, therefore,
imposed through the control of relative humidity. The
perforated covers allow the exchange of water in the
vapour phase between the clay and the atmosphere of
the desiccators. Once the water content of the clay is
stable (approximately 2 to 3 months, what is checked
by periodic weighing), the solution in the desiccators
is changed in order to apply a different suction. To
determine the curve at different temperatures, the des-
iccators are placed inside ovens. At the end of the tests
the final water content of the specimens is measured
by oven drying.
258
The sensor/cell method consists on the compaction
of a bentonite block with the clay previously mixed
with the desired quantity of deionised water and the
measurement of its relative humidity by means of a
capacitive sensor while the bentonite is kept inside
a hermetic cell made of stainless steel (Villar et al.,
2005; 2006). To convert the values of RH to suc-
tion values, Kelvin’s law is used. The clay was used
either with its hygroscopic water content, mixed with
deionised water, or slightly dried at temperatures
below 50◦ C, so as to obtain water contents between
4 and 22 percent. The block is introduced in the cell,
the dimensions of the block being equal to the internal
volume of the cell, 7 cm diameter and 10 cm height.
A hole is drilled in the central upper part of the block
to insert the sensor and the cell is closed. The exter-
nal wall of the cell is covered with a silicone-rubber
laminated heater that fixes the temperature all over
the cell. After measuring the suction corresponding
to the laboratory temperature, the temperature of the
external heating mat was increased up to 120◦ C in
intervals of 20◦ C. Each target temperature was kept
for about two days, although the RH equilibrium is
reached very quickly (in a few hours). Afterwards, the
temperature was decreased according to the same pat-
tern. This allows, in a single test, the determination
of the change of suction with temperature for a given
density and water content. At the end of the test, the
block is extracted and its water content and dry density
are measured.
The drawback of the cell method is the duration
of the tests, because the time to reach equilibrium
for each suction is very long, this is why the sen-
sor/cell method was fine-tuned. The results obtained
with both methods are largely consistent, although the
sensor/cell method is unsuitable for the very low and
very high suctions (Villar & Gómez-Espina, 2007).
4 RESULTS
4.1 FEBEX bentonite
The effect of dry density on the water retention capac-
ity of the FEBEX bentonite has been checked using
the cell method. It has been observed that there is a
suction threshold value above which, for a given water
content, the suction of the higher density samples is
higher, and below which the trend inverts. For 20◦ C
this threshold value is about 12 MPa (Figure 1).
Tests with different densities have been also per-
formed at different temperatures using both methods.
Some of the results obtained are plotted in Figure 2. For
the range of suctions considered, the retention capac-
ity of the sample of dry density 1.7 g/cm3 is higher
than of 1.5 g/cm3 . Also, the samples tested at 80◦ C
have lower retention capacity than those tested at 20◦ C
 140 11%
180
120 3 14%
Dry density (g/cm ) 160
16%
1.4 1.6 1.7 140
100 18%
Suction (MPa)

Suction (MPa)
120
19%
80 100
20%
80 21%
60
60
40 40
20
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
10 15 20 25 30 35 Temperature (˚C)

Water content (%) Figure 3. Evolution of suction with temperature (heating-

cooling paths) for FEBEX samples compacted with different
Figure 1. Retention curves of FEBEX bentonite compacted water content at dry density 1.6 g/cm3 (open symbols) and
at different dry densities obtained at 20◦ C following wetting 1.5 g/cm3 (filled symbols).
paths with the cell method.

1000 the range of suctions considered, which could be a con-

sequence of the closeness of the densities tested (1.5
and 1.6 g/cm3 ) and points also to the higher influence
of temperature over density on the retention capac-
100
ity. Anyway, the smaller slope of the curves for the
Suction (MPa)

dry density 1.5 g/cm3 would indicate a smaller effect

10
1.5, 26
1.5, 80
1
1.7, 20
1.7, 80
0.1
10 15 20 25
Water content (%)
Figure 2. Retention curves obtained for the FEBEX ben-
tonite compacted to different dry densities (indicated in
g/cm3 ) and temperatures (indicated in ◦ C).
(Lloret et al. 2004, Lloret & Villar 2007). The effect
of temperature on the retention capacity is greater for
the higher dry density.
Figure 3 shows the evolution of suction with temper-
ature in samples compacted to different dry densities
with various water contents tested with the sensor/cell
method. The decrease of suction with temperature is
significant, especially for temperatures above 60◦ C.
There is also a small hysteresis between the initial heat-
ing and the subsequent cooling, the suctions measured
during cooling being slightly higher. On the other
hand, the influence of dry density is not very clear in
of temperature on the retention capacity for the low
density samples.
4.2 MX-80 bentonite
The influence of dry density on the retention capacity
of the MX-80 is highlighted when the cell method is
30 used. Figure 4 shows the results obtained at 60◦ C for
a broad range of dry densities (Villar 2005). For suc-
tions above approximately 20 MPa the behaviour of
the different densities is similar, but below this value,
the higher the dry density the lower the suction for a
given water content. Although, for the sake of clarity,
the drying paths are not included in the figure, it was
observed that the hysteresis in wetting/drying paths is
not very important.
The dry densities 1.5, 1.6 and 1.75 g/cm3 have
been tested with the sensor/cell method. The hys-
teresis on heating/cooling was found to be more
important than for the FEBEX bentonite (Villar &
Gómez-Espina, 2007). Some of the results obtained
are plotted as retention curves in Figure 5, where the
decrease of the retention capacity with temperature
is noticeable, as well as the effect of dry density:
since the suctions tested with the sensor/cell method
are above the threshold mentioned before, the reten-
tion capacity is higher for the samples of higher dry
density.

259
 1000 basis of the change of surface tension of water with
1.30 1.37 temperature. For the MX-80 bentonite it has been
checked that the actual suction change measured is
1.60 1.79 higher than the change computed by introducing in
100
the Laplace equation the temperature dependence of
Suction (MPa)

the surface tension of water (Jacinto et al., in press a).

The same has been checked for the FEBEX bentonite,
10
as shown in Figure 6, in which the measured and com-
puted evolution of suction with temperature have been
plotted. This discrepancy (which is more significant
1 for temperatures above 60◦ C) is probably due to the
fact that capillarity is not the main mechanism of water
retention in bentonite. Instead, physico-chemical inter-
0.1 actions between the clay particles and the water tightly
0 10 20 30 40 attached to them are responsible of the soil retention
Water content (%) capacity, especially in the high suction range. In this
low water content region, changes in the interaction
Figure 4. Retention curves of MX-80 bentonite compacted mechanisms between the clay and water are consid-
to different dry densities (indicated in g/cm3 ) obtained with ered the main temperature effects on water retention
the cell method in wetting paths at 60◦ C (Villar 2005). capacity (Romero et al., 2001; Villar & Lloret, 2004;
Villar et al., 2005). Ma & Hueckel (1992, 1993)
state that an increase in temperature produces a trans-
1000 fer of water from the interlayer region to the pores
between the clay aggregates (macropores). Since the
density of the interlayer, tightly-bound water in smec-
tites is higher than one (Villar, 2002; Marcial, 2003;
Jacinto et al., in press b), the volume occupied by
Suction (MPa)

100
the interlayer water transferred to the macropores
will be higher and the degree of saturation of the
sample will increase (provoking a suction decrease)
1.75, 39 when the temperature is increased (Villar & Lloret,
10 2004).
1.75, 99
1.50, 40
1.50, 100
1 180
11% 14%
3 8 13 18 23 160
17% 21%
Water content (%) 140
-0.33
120 -0.26
Figure 5. Retention curves obtained with the sensor/cell -0.53
Suction (MPa)

method for the MX-80 bentonite compacted to different dry 100

densities (in g/cm3 ) and temperatures (in ◦ C). 80 -0.16 -0.57
60
-0.40
40
5 DISCUSSION -0.05
20
Although it is generally acknowledged that suction in -0.27
0
clayey soils is not exclusively a capillary process, the 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Laplace equation, which relates the capillary pressure
Temperature (ºC)
and the pore size distribution, is a first approxima-
tion to explain the water retention processes in soils.
Figure 6. Change of suction with temperature for FEBEX
Thus, for the prediction of the effect of temperature bentonite compacted with different water contents to dry
on the retention capacity, the change of surface ten- density 1.6 g/cm3 as measured with the sensor/cell method
sion of water with temperature is usually included (continuous lines) and as computed by the change in water
in this equation. However, the observed evolution of surface tension (dashed lines). The slope of the lines is
suction with temperature cannot be explained on the indicated.

260
 1.2 200
Relative suction change

MX, 26˚C
1.0 1.5 MX, 80˚C
1.6 160
FBX, 27˚C
0.8 1.75

Suction (MPa)
FBX, 81˚C
120
0.6

0.4 80
0.2
40
0.0
3 8 13 18 23 0
Water content (%) 3 8 13 18 23
Figure 7. Relative suction change when temperature Water content (%)
increases from 26 to 100◦ C in the FEBEX (filled symbols)
and MX-80 (open symbols) bentonites compacted to differ- Figure 8. Retention curves obtained with the sensor/cell
ent dry densities (indicated in g/cm3 ) and tested with the method for the FEBEX (FBX) and MX-80 (MX) bentonites
sensor/cell method. compacted at dry density 1.5 g/cm3 .

180
Figure 7 represents the relative change of suction 160 -0.53
experienced by samples of different dry density and FBX, 11%
140
water content tested with the sensor/cell method when FBX, 14%
Suction (MPa)

120
the temperature was increased from 26 to 100◦ C. The -0.32
FBX, 21%
suction decrease with temperature tends to be higher 100 -0.57
MX, 6%
for the higher dry densities, both for the FEBEX and 80
the MX-80 bentonites. It is known that the proportion 60 -0.37 MX, 11%
-0.28
of water in the interlayer of the smectite increases with 40 MX, 15%
the density of the bentonite (Pusch et al. 1990). This 20
-0.27 MX, 21%
would explain the larger effect of temperature on high -0.03
density samples. 0
On the other hand, the retention capacity of the 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
FEBEX bentonite is higher than that of the MX-80, Temperature (˚C)
as it can be observed in Figure 8 for the dry density of
1.5 g/cm3 . Numerous authors have pointed out that the Figure 9. Evolution of suction during heating for FEBEX
retention capacity of predominantly divalent (Ca and (FBX) and MX-80 (MX) bentonites compacted at dry density
Mg) smectites is higher than that of sodic ones, except 1.6 g/cm3 and tested with the sensor/cell method. The slope
of the lines is indicated.
for the lowest suctions (Hall & Astill, 1989; Saiyouri
et al., 2004). This figure also shows how the differ-
ence between the two bentonites attenuates towards
the low suctions, and this has been checked for several 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
temperatures (Villar & Gómez-Espina, 2007; Villar,
2007). The retention curves of two natural compacted ben-
Also, Figure 9 shows that the effect of temperature tonites have been determined trying to reproduce as
on suction is higher for the FEBEX bentonite than for well as possible the conditions of the engineered
the MX-80 (note the higher slope of the lines that relate barrier of a HLW repository, for which reason the
suction with temperature for the FEBEX bentonite). bentonites were used in their natural state (without
This would be a consequence of the predominance of previous drying or grinding), kept at constant vol-
interlaminar porosity (in which high-density water is ume during the determination and submitted to high
placed) in the Ca-Mg bentonite, whereas in the Na ben- temperatures. Results for dry densities from 1.3 to
tonite the porosity among primary particles (in which 1.8 g/cm3 and temperatures from 20 to 120◦ C have
‘‘free’’ water is placed) prevails, since these particles been reported. The suctions involved ranged from 0 to
are formed by fewer laminae (Pusch et al., 1990). 200 MPa.

261
 The effect of density on the retention capacity varies
according to the suction range. For suctions below a
threshold value (which is about 12–20 MPa) for a given
water content and temperature the suction of the higher
density samples is lower, and above this suction value
the trend inverts. Anyway, the effect of dry density on
the water retention capacity seems lower than that of
temperature.
The water retention capacity of the bentonite
decreases clearly with temperature, especially when
it is above 60◦ C and when the density of the ben-
tonite is high. This decrease cannot be explained
on the basis of the changes of water surface ten-
sion with temperature. Instead, mechanisms related
to the physico-chemical interactions that take place
at microscopic level (in particular the transfer of
interlayer water to the macropores triggered by temper-
ature) seem to explain qualitatively the experimental
observations.
There are also differences in the behaviour of the
two materials tested. The FEBEX bentonite, which
has mainly bivalent cations in the exchange complex,
has a higher retention capacity than the MX-80 ben-
tonite, which is predominantly sodic. Also, the effect
of temperature on the water retention capacity is more
noticeable for the FEBEX bentonite.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part of the work on the FEBEX bentonite has been
co-funded by ENRESA (Spanish National Agency for
Waste Management) and the European Commission
(EC Contracts FI4 W-CT95-006 and FIKW-CT-2000-
00016). The research agreements CIEMAT/ENRESA
00/271 and CIEMAT/CIMNE 04/113 have financed
the research related to MX-80 bentonite. The labora-
tory work was performed by R. Campos and J. Aroz
at CIEMAT (Madrid, Spain). The second author has a
grant of the Spanish Ministry of Education.
REFERENCES
ENRESA 2006. Full-scale Engineered Barriers Experiment.
Updated Final Report 1994–2004. Publicación Técnica
ENRESA 05-0/2006. 590 pp. Madrid.
Hall, P.L. & Astill, D.M. 1989. Adsorption of water by
homionic exchange forms of Wyoming montmorillonite
(SWy-1). Clays and Clay Minerals 37(4): 355–363.
Jacinto, A., Villar, M.V., Gómez-Espina, R. & Ledesma, A.
in press a. Influence of temperature and density on the
retention curve of compacted bentonite: modifications to
the van Genuchten expression. Applied Clay Science.
Jacinto, A., Villar, M.V. & Ledesma, A. in press b. Influence
of water density on the water retention curve of expansive
clays. Géotechnique.
262
Lloret, A. & Villar, M.V. 2007. Advances on the knowledge of
the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of heavily com-
pacted FEBEX bentonite. Physics and Chemistry of the
Earth, Parts A/B/C 32 (8–14): 701–715.
Lloret, A., Romero, E. & Villar, M.V. 2004. FEBEX II
Project. Final report on thermo-hydro-mechanical labo-
ratory tests. Publicación Técnica ENRESA 10/04. 180
pp. Madrid.
Ma, C. & Hueckel, T. 1992. Stress and pore pressure in sat-
urated clay subjected to heat from radioactive waste: a
numerical simulation. Can. Geotech. J. 29: 1087–1094.
Ma, C. & Hueckel, T. 1993. Thermomechanical effects on
adsorbed water in clays around a heat source. Int. J. Numer.
Anal. Methods Geomech. 17: 175–196.
Marcial, D. 2003. Comportement hydromécanique et
microstructural des matériaux de barrière ouvragée. Ph.
D. thesis. École Nationale des Ponts et Chausées, Paris,
316 pp.
Push, R., Karnland, O. & Hökmark, H. 1990. GGM—A
general microstructural model for qualitative and quan-
titative studies of smectite clays. SKB Technical Report
90-43.
Romero, E., Gens, A. & Lloret, A. 2001. Temperature
effects on the hydraulic behaviour of an unsaturated clay.
Geotech. Geolog. Eng. 19: 311–332.
Saiyouri, N., Tessier, D. & Hicher, P.Y. 2004. Experimental
study of swelling in unsaturated compacted clays. Clay
Minerals 39: 469–479.
Villar, M.V. 2002. Thermo-hydro-mechanical characteri-
sation of a bentonite from Cabo de Gata. A study
applied to the use of bentonite as sealing material in high
level radioactive waste repositories. Publicación Técnica
ENRESA 01/2002. 258 pp. Madrid.
Villar, M.V. 2005. MX-80 bentonite. Thermo-hydro-
mechanical characterisation performed at CIEMAT in
the context of the Prototype Project. Informes Técnicos
CIEMAT 1053. 39 pp. Madrid.
Villar, M.V. 2007. Water retention of two natural compacted
bentonites. Clays and Clay Minerals 55(3): 311–322.
Villar, M.V. & Lloret, A. 2004. Influence of tempera-
ture on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of a compacted
bentonite. Applied Clay Science 26: 337–350.
Villar, M.V. & Gómez-Espina, R. 2007. Retention curves
of two bentonites at high temperature. In Experimen-
tal Unsaturated Soil Mechanics. Springer Proceedings in
Physics, vol. 112: 267–274. Berlin: Springer.
Villar, M.V., Martín, P.L. & Lloret, A. 2005. Determina-
tion of water retention curves of two bentonites at high
temperature. In Tarantino, A., Romero, E. & Cui, Y.J.
(eds.), Advanced experimental unsaturated soil mechan-
ics. EXPERUS 2005. pp 77–82. London: A.A. Balkema
Publishers.
Villar, M.V., Gómez-Espina, R. & Martín, P.L. 2006.
Behaviour of MX-80 bentonite at unsaturated conditions
and under thermo-hydraulic gradient. Work performed
by CIEMAT in the context of the TBT project. Informes
Técnicos CIEMAT 1081. 45 pp. Madrid.
Yahia-Aissa, M. 1999. Comportement hydromécanique
d’une argile gonflante fortement compactée. Ph.D. the-
sis, École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, CERMES,
Paris.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Soil-water characteristic curves and void ratio changes relative

to suction for soils from Greece

M.E. Bardanis & M.J. Kavvadas

National Technical University, Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT: The paper presents the drying portions of the soil-water characteristic curves of five soils from
Greece, along with the void ratio vs suction curves over the same drying portion, the one-dimensional compres-
sion curves of the same soils and their comparison. The curves were measured using the pressure plate extractor
technique. The soils tested included one silt, two clays and two marls. Soil specimens used for soil-water char-
acteristic curve determination were first reconstituted, reconsolidated under one-dimensional conditions to the
in-situ vertical stress of each soil, and then unloaded. Undisturbed samples were available for one soil as well
and the drying portion of the undisturbed material was measured for this soil too. The soil-water characteristic
curve data presented are the first for soils from Greece and among the few presented for marls.

1 INTRODUCTION The names used to describe the soils are empirical

Despite climatic conditions favouring the presence of
unsaturated soils in Greece, the research in this subject
has lagged behind research in fully saturated soils. This
paper constitutes one of the first efforts to report unsat-
urated soil properties for soils from Greece. The prop-
erty considered first and presented here is the drying
portion of the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC)
of five soils. The SWCC constitutes a fundamental
property for the study of unsaturated soils. It represents
the relation between the distribution of solid, liquid and
air phase in the volume of soil (as expressed by degree
of saturation, Sr , gravimetric or volumetric water con-
tent, w or θ, and void ratio, e), as well as the total
volume of the soil itself, and the negative pressure
sitting on the liquid phase until desaturation occurs,
or suction after desaturation has occurred. The soils
tested included marls and other soils containing large
amounts of calcite, for which it is hard to find SWCC
data presented in the literature. Given that the com-
pressibility properties of the soils have also been stud-
ied, and that the SWCC tests involved measurement of
both void ratio and water content changes with suction,
the comparison between void ratio changes with suc-
tion and vertical stress increase under one-dimensional
conditions of loading is also presented.
2 THE SOILS TESTED
The soils studied were Ioannina Lake Silt, Corinth
Marl, Chania Clay and Kifissia Clay and Marl.
and the actual physical properties dictating the nature
of each soil are presented in this section.
Samples from all soils were disturbed samples
from excavation materials or relatively low quality
borehole cores, except for the samples of Corinth
Marl which were carefully cut and preserved sam-
ples removed from the toe of the north slope of the
Corinth Canal. For this reason, the soil-water charac-
teristic curve of undisturbed samples was measured
only for Corinth Marl, while for the others it was mea-
sured on specimens reconstituted, then reconsolidated
to the estimated in-situ vertical stress and unloaded.
This took place for Corinth Marl as well for com-
parison with the SWCC of the other soils and the
SWCC measured on the undisturbed specimens of this
material.
Classification tests and mineralogical analyses were
carried out on all five soils. The index properties of the
soils tested are presented in Table 1 and the basic min-
erals found by x-ray diffraction and methylene blue
methods are presented in Table 2. Ioannina Lake Silt
is categorised as SM according to USCS, while all oth-
ers are categorised as CL. Corinth and Kifissia Marls
have the highest percentages of calcite. Kifissia Clay
has a considerably high percentage of calcite as well,
and Chania Clay has a very high percentage of quartz,
despite the fact that both soils are commonly referred
to as ‘‘clays’’. Highly active minerals such as illite
and montmorillonite are present in all five soils, rang-
ing from 3 to 10% and from 7 to 17% respectively.
The absence of kaolinite is typical of most soils from
Greece.

263
Table 1. Index properties of the soils tested. paraffin wax for total volume measurement. Assuming
that the water content measured on one half is the same
wL Ip Gs Clay Silt Sand throughout the specimen, then the mass of the water
Soil (%) – – (%) (%) (%) in the half used for total volume measurement can
be calculated from the total mass of this half. Once
Ioannina Lake Silt 24 1 2.55 8 27 65
Corinth Marl 34 12 2.67 11 86 3 the mass of the water is known, the mass of the solid
Chania Clay 24 9 2.68 18 50 32 particles is also known, and then their volumes are cal-
Kifissia Clay 41 21 2.67 33 64 3 culated from the known density of water and specific
Kifissia Marl 31 16 2.66 25 68 7 gravity respectively. Having calculated the volumes
of the water phase (Vw ) and the solid phase (Vs ) in
the half of the specimen where total volume has been
measured (Vtot ), the volume of the voids (Vv ) is cal-
Table 2. Basic minerals of the soils tested (measured on culated (Vv = Vtot − Vs ) and the degree of saturation
percentage passing through sieve No. 200). (Sr ) of the sample is calculated by its definition as a
property (Sr = Vw /Vv ). Once the degree of satura-
Kifissia tion has been calculated and the water content w and
Ioannina Chania Corinth
Mineral Lake Silt Clay Marl Clay Marl specific gravity Gs are already known then void ratio
e can be calculated (e = w · Gs /Sr ). These calcula-
Quartz 75 60 16 16 18 tions are based on the reasonable assumptions that the
Albite 5 3 3 – 2 water content measured on one half of the specimen
Calcite 2.5 3 60 37 52 and the degree of saturation calculated for the other
Dolomite – – 2 1 – are the same throughout the specimen. An important
Illite 3 3 7 10 5 detail is that when cutting the specimen, utmost care
Montmorillonite 7 9 7 12 17 must be exhibited that the surface of the section in the
Halloysite – 10 – 8 –
Chlorite 3 3 1.5 4 2
half used for total volume measurement must be as flat
Serpentine 2 – 1.5 4 – as possible without cavities where air may be trapped.
Muscovite – 5 1 7 3 As far as one-dimensional consolidation is con-
cerned, conventional deadweight, front-loading oedo-
meters were used with a 10:1 beam-lever ratio and
fixed-ring cells with lightly lubricated, smooth and
3 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD polished inner surface rings, with a 70 mm internal
diameter and 19 mm height.
Soil water characteristic curves were measured using Reconstitution involved breaking of particle aggre-
the axis translation technique by means of a con- gations and thorough mixing with de-aired, de-ionised
ventional Soil-Moisture Inc. pressure extractor with water until a slurry of 1.5wL water content was pre-
15 Bar air-entry pressure ceramic porous stones. Air pared. All slurries were left to hydrate under vacuum
pressure was provided from an air compressor with for sufficient time with occasional measurement of
the necessary filters connected to the air supply their water content and drying or addition of water to
for air dehumidification. Different specimens were ensure homogeneity of the slurries prepared for each
used for each suction value applied in the pressure soil and consistent initial conditions for all reconsti-
extractor, rather than measuring the amount of water tuted soils. As a general rule, a water content of ±10%
being extracted from the same specimen. This was from the target value of initial slurry water content
considered important for the measurement of total was set, which has been found to ensure homogene-
volume changes (which in combination with water ity of later consolidated specimens of reconstituted
content measurement allow the calculation of void soils, provided the maximum vertical stress exceeds
ratio changes with suction), as with the water move- 50–100 kPa (Bardanis, 1999) as was the case for all 5
ment measurements, both system complexities and soils.
assumptions involved may limit accuracy. With dif- All soils were consolidated to a maximum vertical
ferent samples, accuracy is determined only by soil stress corresponding approximately to the depth they
homogeneity for undisturbed samples and careful came from and then unloaded; Ioannina Lake Silt to
preparation of identical reconstituted soil samples. Air 100 kPa, Chania Clay to 200 kPa, and Kifissia Clay
pressure is supplied to the pressure extractor during and Marl to 600 kPa. Corinth Marl specimens were
the time needed for the suction to reach equilibrium in consolidated to 800 kPa and then unloaded, mostly
the specimens. Afterwards the air pressure is removed on the basis that this stress history created the same
and the soil specimens are taken out immediately, cut initial void ratio that was measured on the undisturbed
in half, with one half used for water content mea- specimens removed from the toe of the Corinth Canal
surement and the other half being immersed in melted slopes (approximately 70–75 m high).

264
 As far as the samples of the undisturbed Corinth
Marl are concerned, these were carefully preserved in
a controlled humidity chamber. Larger blocks were
taken out of the chamber when specimens had to be
trimmed from them in order to be put in the pressure
extractor. Corinth Marl as a geological formation may
by no means be considered a homogeneous material;
still the largest possible block of visually homoge-
neous material was used. Homogeneity within this
block was later verified by numerous index tests on
specimens from various positions in the block. The
blocks came from the toe of the canal slope just above
sea level (ca. 0.50 m) and in-situ suction was mea-
sured with a Quickdraw Tensiometer and found to be
approximately 10 kPa.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In Figure 1(a) degree of saturation is plotted against
suction for Ioannina Lake silt, while in Figure 1(b)
void ratio is plotted against the corresponding value
of water content during drying. The solid line in
100
80
60
Sr (%)
Figure 1(b) is the full saturation line corresponding
to the specific gravity, Gs , of the material (e = w · Gs ,
for Sr = 100%). As seen in Figure 1(a), desaturation
occurred between 25 and 30 kPa, while the second
inflection point occurred between 150 and 200 kPa
corresponding to a degree of saturation between 45%
and 50%. This value seems too high to be the resid-
ual value of the degree of saturation. Specimens of
the soil left to dry completely in the air yielded a
value of the degree of saturation on average 7%. This
value seems more likely to reflect residual condi-
tions, whereas the value of 45%–50% observed on the
SWCC corresponds most probably to the point where
water retention characteristics start to be dictated pri-
marily by the finer fraction of the soil’s grains. The
grain size distribution of this soil (Fig. 2) is gap-graded,
although slightly and only for the small percentage
passing through sieve No.200. Still, this type of grain
size distribution would justify a ‘bimodal’ SWCC with
one inflection point at Sr 45%–50% and a second one
at approximately 7%, which was not observed how-
ever as the maximum applied suction was 1500 kPa.
Also as seen in Figure 1(b), the scatter of void ratio
values is very large, as this is probably the coarsest
material for which immersion in melted paraffin wax
for total volume measurement may be applied.
In Figures 3(a) & 3(b) degree of saturation is
plotted against suction and void ratio against the cor-
responding water content during drying respectively

for both reconstituted/reconsolidated and undisturbed

Corinth Marl. As seen in Figure 3(a), desaturation
40
occurred for both types of Corinth Marl, although a
second inflection point was not observed for either
20 soil up to the maximum applied suction of 1500 kPa.
Similarly, a clear departure from the full saturation
0 line can be observed for both types of this soil in
Figure 3(b). Two other observations can be made.
10 100 1000 10000
(a) s (kPa)
First, the scatter of measured values is larger for the

0.80
100
0.70
90
.

0.60 80
70
Percentage passing (%)

0.50
60
0.40
e

50
0.30 40
30
0.20
20
0.10 10
0.00 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000 10.000
(b) w (%) Sieve diameter (mm)

Figure 1. (a) Degree of saturation Sr vs suction s, and Figure 2. Grain-size distribution curve of Ioannina
(b) void ratio e vs water content w for Ioannina Lake Silt. Lake Silt.

265
 100 100

80 80

60 60
Sr (%)

Sr (%)
40 40

20 20

0 0
10 100 1000 10000 10 100 1000 10000
(a) s (kPa) (a) s (kPa)

0.80 0.80

0.70 0.70

0.60 0.60

0.50 0.50
0.40 0.40
e

0.30 0.30
0.20 Rec/Rec 0.20
0.10 Undisturbed 0.10
0.00 0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
(b) w (%) (b) w (%)

Figure 3. (a) Degree of saturation Sr vs suction s, and Figure 4. (a) Degree of saturation Sr vs suction s, and
(b) void ratio e vs water content w for Corinth Marl. (b) void ratio e vs water content w for Chania Clay.

undisturbed Corinth Marl, almost at the point of ren-
dering the results meaningless, especially in the e-w
plot of Figure 3(b). Still it is clear in Figure 3(a) that,
despite the large scatter, the undisturbed Corinth Marl
desaturates at a higher suction than the reconstituted
and reconsolidated one (between 200 and 300 kPa
as opposed to 100 to 200 kPa) and retains a higher
degree of saturation for the same suction after desat-
uration, although both materials have the same void
ratio at the beginning of drying. Bardanis & Kavvadas
(2004) have elaborated more on this observation and
attributed the observed behaviour to cementation of
the undisturbed Corinth Marl, which does not exist in
reconstituted/reconsolidated specimens. This is worth
further investigation, as experimental results for unsat-
urated properties of marls (especially focusing on the
effect of their cementation in their drying behaviour)
are scarce, if any, in the literature. More information on
the engineering behaviour of Corinth Marl and the role
played by its cementation may be found in Kavvadas
et al. (2003).
In Figures 4(a) & 4(b) degree of saturation is
plotted against suction and void ratio against water
content during drying for Chania Clay. As seen in
Figure 4(a), desaturation seems to start occurring at
approximately 1000 kPa but this is not supported by a
similarly clear departure from the full saturation line in
Figure 4(b). The observed departure is not considered
clear given the accuracy of measurements. Still the pic-
ture is that the air entry pressure of Chania Clay must
be between 1000 and 1500 kPa, although a few mea-
surements at slightly larger values would have ascer-
tained whether desaturation did actually occur or not.
In Figures 5(a) & 5(b) degree of saturation is plot-
ted against suction and void ratio against water content
during drying for both Kifissia Clay and Marl. Given
the same stress history of both materials, the Clay
retains a higher void ratio, in agreement with its higher
liquid limit. Kifissia Clay seems to desaturate close to
1000 kPa (Fig. 5(a)), which is supported by signs of
departure from the full saturation line (Fig. 5(b)). Both
the departure from line Sr = 100% in Figure 5(a) and

266
 100 0.80
0.70
80
0.60
0.50
60
Sr (%)

0.40

e
40 0.30
0.20 SWCC
20
0.10 1D Compression

0 0.00
10 100 1000 10000 1 10 100 1000 10000
(a) s (kPa) (a) Suction/Vertical stress (kPa)

0.80 0.80
0.70 0.70
0.60 0.60

0.50 0.50

0.40 0.40
e
e

0.30 0.30

0.20 Clay 0.20 SWCC

Marl 0.10 1D Compression
0.10
0.00 0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 1 10 100 1000 10000
(b) w (%) (b) Suction/Vertical stress (kPa)

Figure 5. (a) Degree of saturation Sr vs suction s, and
(b) void ratio e vs water content w for Kifissia Clay and Marl.
the full saturation line in Figure 5(b) are rather obscure
relative to the accuracy achieved. As far as Kifissia
Marl is concerned, desaturation has not occurred, as
no departure is observed from the line Sr = 100%
or the full saturation line. The opposite would have
been expected given that the Marl contains slightly
less clay-size material than the Clay (25% vs 33%),
slightly more sand (7% vs 3%) and less clayey min-
erals in the fraction passing sieve No. 200 (a total of
27% vs 45%). The observed lack of desaturation up
to 1500 kPa may therefore be attributed either to the
presence of more montmorillonite (17% vs 12%) or to
experimental error with the results of Kifissia Clay.
5 VOID RATIO CHANGES WITH SUCTION
AND VERTICAL STRESS
Given that the one-dimensional curves of most of
the soils had already been studied, a comparison was
attempted between void ratio changes due to suction
and due to one-dimensional compression.
Figure 6. Void ratio vs suction during drying and
one-dimensional compression curves for (a) reconstituted
and reconsolidated Corinth Marl, and (b) undisturbed
Corinth Marl.
In Figures 6(a) & 6(b) the void ratio-suction curve
and the one-dimensional compression curve for recon-
stituted/reconsolidated specimens and undisturbed
specimens of Corinth Marl are plotted. For Corinth
Marl, sufficient quantities of the material were avail-
able for a special test with a loading-unloading loop,
similar to that applied to reconstituted specimens
before drying, to be performed. The compression
curve for this test is shown in Figure 6(a). The com-
pression curve shown in Figure 6(b) is an average
of the one-dimensional compression tests performed
on undisturbed Corinth Marl. The larger scatter of
void ratio values of undisturbed specimens during
drying relative to that of the values of the reconsti-
tuted/reconsolidated specimens is apparent in these
plots as well. For reconstituted/ reconsolidated speci-
mens there seems to be fair agreement up to 100 kPa.
After that value of suction/stress, the void ratio during
drying becomes smaller than that for the compression

267
 the particular specimen had different properties or
1.20 there has been some experimental error. Therefore
it will not be considered that Kifissia Clay achieved
1.00
desaturation.
Returning to the comparison between void ratio vs
0.80
suction and one-dimensional compression curves for
each of the two materials, two observations can be
e

0.60
made. First, the void ratio vs suction curves are for
0.40 all practical purposes (and at least up to the max-
imum stress applied to specimens used for SWCC
0.20 measurement) parallel to the unloading branches of
the one-dimensional curves. This point seems to sup-
0.00 port that void ratio decrease with increasing suction up
10 100 1000 10000 to the air-entry pressure during drying and increasing
vertical stress during one-dimensional loading may be
Suction/Vertical stress (kPa)
described by the same indices. The second observa-
tion regards the void ratio vs suction curve of Kifissia
Figure 7. Void ratio vs suction during drying and one-
dimensional compression curves for reconstituted and recon-
Clay, which seems to exhibit a change in its slope at
solidated Kifissia Clay. 600 kPa (if the point at 1100 kPa is omitted). Unfortu-
nately this has not been observed on the same curve for
Kifissia Marl. Still it would be logical to expect such
1.00 a change of slope when such conditions occur, i.e. a
maximum preconsolidation pressure smaller than the
0.80 air-entry pressure and a zero total stress suction path
extending to suctions higher than the preconsolida-
tion pressure. These observations need certainly to be
0.60 supported by further experimental research (especially
with tests where high values of suction will be applied
e

0.40 so that desaturation does actually occur) as they are of

considerable value in constitutive modelling of unsat-
urated soils. Void ratio vs suction curves described
0.20 by the same indices as with compression curves could
mean that κs could be substituted by κ in the Barcelona
0.00 Basic Model (Alonso et al. 1990) family of consti-
10 100 1000 10000 tutive models for air-entry pressure smaller than the
maximum preconsolidation pressure. This would itself
Suction/Vertical stress (kPa) change to λ for air-entry pressure larger than the max-
imum preconsolidation pressure, in the suction range
Figure 8. Void ratio vs suction during drying and one-
between preconsolidation pressure and the air-entry
dimensional compression curves for reconstituted and recon-
solidated Kifissia Marl. pressure.

curve, up to the value of stress where the intrinsic 6 CONCLUSIONS

compression curve is reached and the opposite seems
to happen.
In Figures 7 and 8 the same curves are com-
pared for Kifissia Clay and Marl respectively. Limited
quantities of the samples from each material did not
allow for special one-dimensional compression tests
to be carried out with a loading-unloading loop to the
maximum stress applied to reconstituted specimens
before drying. One point on the void ratio-suction
curve of Kifissia Clay corresponding to 1100 kPa
(Fig. 7) departs significantly from the curve the rest
of the points seem to follow. This point corresponds
to the point indicating desaturation in the curves on
Figures 5(a) & 5(b). This seems to support that either
The drying portions of the soil-water characteristic
curve presented constitute the first ones for soils from
Greece. Except for this they are among the few such
results presented for marls and generally clay-size
soils containing large amounts of calcite. Although
they may by no means be considered representative
of the properties of soils found throughout Greece or
soils with high calcite fractions, they draw attention to
the properties of such materials. The most important
aspect needing further research is the possibility that
cementation of undisturbed marls leads to retaining
higher degrees of saturation for the same suction in the
same soils with the same loading history but without

268
cementation. Further investigation into the decrease of
void ratio with increasing suction for soils with a max-
imum preconsolidation pressure smaller and higher
than their air-entry pressure may also help redefine the
parameters used in constitutive modelling to describe
these changes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part of the research by M.E. Bardanis has been funded
by the National Scholarship Foundation (IKY) of
Greece.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
269
Bardanis, M.E. 1999. An experimental study of the properties
of intrinsic compressibility of one clay and one marl, Proc.
13th Young Geotechnical Engineers Conference, San-
torini, Greece, 23–25 September 1999, 88–97, Athens:
Minoas.
Bardanis, M.E., Kavvadas, M.J. 2004. Laboratory investiga-
tion of the virgin drying of the Corinth Marls, in T. Schanz
(ed.), Unsaturated Soils: Experimental Studies, Proc. of
the Int. Conf. ‘‘From Experimental Evidence towards
Numerical Modelling of Unsaturated Soils’’, Weimar,
17–18 September 2003, 421–432, Berlin: Springer.
Kavvadas, M.J., Anagnostopoulos, A.G., Georgiannou, V.N.,
Bardanis, M.E. 2003. Characterisation and engineering
properties of the Corinth Marl, in Tan et al (eds.), Proc. Int.
Workshop ‘Characterisation and Engineering Properties
of Natural Soils’, Singapore, 2002, 2, 1435–1459, Lisse:
Swets & Zeitlinger.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Prediction of soil-water retention properties of a lime stabilised

compacted silt

M. Cecconi
University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

G. Russo
University of Cassino, Cassino, Italy

ABSTRACT: The applicability of semi-empirical prediction methods of the water retention properties of unsat-
urated soils has been examined in detail. Among these methods, those based on the particle size distribution of
samples seem to be very effective in predicting the soil water retention curve, as well as being very advantageous
for their simplicity. On the other hand, other methods allow predicting indirectly the soil water retention curve
from the mercury intrusion porosimetry technique. In the paper experimental soil water retention curves (swrcs)
of a natural and lime stabilised compacted silt, obtained from pressure plate tests and mercury intrusion porosime-
try tests, are respectively compared with those predicted by pore size distribution model and mercury intrusion
porosimetry models. The comparison allows a critical review of the prediction methods and highlights the con-
sistency of the predicted and the observed water retention properties of both natural and lime stabilised samples.

1 INTRODUCTION (Aung et al., 2001; Kong & Tan, 2000; Prapaharan

The relationship between suction, s, and volumetric
water content, θ , or degree of saturation, i.e. the soil
water retention curve SWRC, can be experimentally
measured in the laboratory by means of pressure plate
or volumetric pressure plate extractor. Several math-
ematical expressions, both empirical and theoretical
in nature, have also been proposed in the literature to
describe the SWRC (see Scott et al., 2001). Moreover,
the soil water characteristic curve can also be com-
puted from the particle size distribution (PSD); this
approach is based mainly on the similarity between
shapes of the cumulative grain size distribution and
the s(θ ) curves. The methods originally proposed in
the field of soil physics by Arya & Paris (1981) and
Arya et al. (1999) seem to be very effective in predict-
ing the SWRC, as well as being very advantageous for
their simplicity. However, since most predictions mod-
els are based on PSD information, the accuracy of a
PSD curve may affect the estimate of s(θ). At present,
there are a few attempts to quantitatively investigate
the effect of the choice of a PSD model on the pre-
diction of the soil water retention curve as well as the
conductivity function k(s). A review of such mod-
els is critically examined in Hwang et al. (2002) and
Hwang & Powers (2003).
The water retention properties can be also obtained
indirectly from the mercury porosimetry technique
et al., 1985; Purcell, 1949; Penumadu & Dean, 1999),
since the SWRC is intrinsically linked with the pore
size distribution of the material (the equivalent pore
radius can be somehow related to matric suction
through the capillarity equation). Porosimeter tests in
fact allow evaluating the pore size, their amount and
their distribution, and in a much shorter time compared
to pressure plate tests.
In the paper, experimental soil water retention
curves (SWRCs) of a natural and lime stabilised com-
pacted silt, obtained from pressure plate tests and
mercury intrusion porosimetry tests, are respectively
compared with those predicted by Arya & Paris (1981)
and Prapaharan et al. (1985) models. The pressure
plate test results are reported in detail in a compan-
ion paper (Tedesco & Russo, 2008). The comparison
allows a critical review of the prediction methods, and
highlights the consistency of the predicted and the
observed water retention properties of both natural and
lime stabilised samples.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
AND RESULTS
Laboratory tests were performed on remoulded sam-
ples of an alluvial silty soil. The physical char-
acteristics (grain size distribution, specific weight,

271
plastic limit, liquid limit) of the natural soil were Table 1. Pressure plate tests (PP) and porosimetry tests
determined and standard Proctor tests were performed. (MIP).
Lime treated samples were prepared by hand mix-
ing the oven dried soil with 3% quicklime powder Test type Test # Sample Curing time
and distilled water, allowing the quicklime to hydrate PP STDN01 nat −
for 24 hours. The selected percent by weight of PP STD02 3% lime variable
quicklime allowed the development of pozzolanic PP L43CCT07(∗) 3% lime 7 days
reactions (Rogers et al., 1997). The samples were PP L43CCT28(∗) 3% lime 28 days
finally compacted at optimum (wopt ) initial water MIP L4NOF01 natural −
content. MIP L4NOF02 natural −
Pressure plate tests were performed on both nat- MIP L4NOF04 natural −
ural and lime stabilised samples. With reference to MIP L43OF00 3% lime 0 days
the standard testing procedure, the duration of the MIP L43OF07 3% lime 7 days
test does not allow the control of the curing time of MIP L43OF14 3% lime 14 days
the stabilised samples. Therefore, a new testing proce- MIP L43OF28 3% lime 28 days
dure was developed in order to obtain constant curing MIP L43OF77 3% lime 77 days
time water retention curves. Details of the procedure
can be found in a companion paper (Tedesco & Russo, (∗ ) CCT: constant curing time.
2008). Two types of water retention curves of the
stabilised samples have been considered, namely the
standard retention curve, characterised by a variable
curing time, and the ‘‘constant curing time’’ curves, Table 2. Physical properties of natural and stabilised
for which the experimental data are determined at the samples.
same curing time (CCT tests). In particular, 7 and γs wL wopt γdmax
28 days curing times were set for stabilised sam- (kN/m3 ) (%) PI (%) (kN/m3 )
ples, traditionally considered in order to evaluate the
effectiveness of lime stabilisation. Natural 26.4 25.0 8 14.5 18.6
In order to perform mercury intrusion porosimetry, 3% Lime 26.1 24.0 – 17.5 17.3
samples were dehydrated by freeze-drying technique
(Delage & Pellerin, 1984), that is rapid freezing in
liquid nitrogen (boiling point −196◦ C) followed by
sublimation in a true vacuum. Freezing was acceler-
ated using small pieces of soil (1–2 mg in weight), as 1.0
stated by Delage & Lefebvre (1984). The dehydrated
lime stabilised samples were then cured for fixed time
intervals under controlled conditions before perform- 0.8
ing MIP tests. The curing intervals of time selected
no rm

were t = 0, 7, 28 days.
S TD02
In Table 1 pressure plate tests (PP) and mercury L43CCT07
0.6
intrusion porosimetry tests (MIP) are summarized. L43CCT28
Table 2 reports the main physical properties of both S TDN01
Va n Ge nuchte n
natural and lime stabilized samples. (1980)

In Figure 1 the water retention curves of natural 0.4

(STDN 01) and lime stabilised samples, at variable 1 10 100 1000 10000

(STDN 02) and constant curing time (L43CCT07, s (kP a )

L43CCT28), are reported. It can be seen that the addi-
tion of lime generally increases the water retention of
the soil, and this increase is strongly affected by the
curing time (Tedesco, 2007).
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the results of MIP
tests respectively on natural and lime stabilised sam-
ples, the latter performed at constant curing time.
A relevant modification of porosity for lime stabilised
samples takes place immediately after the addition of
lime. A subsequent reduction of this effect occurs
increasing the curing time of the stabilised samples,
bringing back the pore size distribution towards the
Figure 1. SWRCs of natural and lime stabilised samples
(from pressure plate tests).
distribution of the natural samples. After a curing
time of 28 days the stabilised samples show a very
similar porosity and pore size distribution compara-
ble with those of natural samples. More details on
the observed behaviours can be found in Russo et al.
(2007).

272
 0.20 sands yields to a computed parameter α not depending
L4NOF0 1
L4NOF02
on particle size (constant α = 1.38). Later investiga-
0.16 L4NOF04 tions by Arya et al. (1999) were aimed to investigate
cumulative volume (cc/g)

on the variation of α with particle size distribution

0.12 parameters. However, in the following α is assumed
to be constant.
0.08 In order to produce a mathematical representation
of the complete PSD, the single-parameter unimodal
0.04
Jaky model was used in the present study (Jaky, 1944):
0.0 0   2  
0.00 1 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 1 d
diameter ( m) P(d) = exp − 2 ln (3)
k d0
Figure 2. Results of MIP tests on natural samples.
where d0 represents the diameter corresponding to the
100% of passing in weight (P), and k the fitting param-
0.25
L43OF00 eter. The value of k was found to vary from 5 to 3 when
L43OF07 passing from natural to lime stabilised soil (Fig. 4).
0.20 L43OF14
cumulative volume (cc/g)

L43OF28 The calculated PSD was then divided into thirty size
L43OF77
0.15 fractions and values of s(θ) were then calculated by
means of the procedure outlined by Arya & Paris
0.10 (1981).
The predicted SWRCs are shown in Figures 5a
0.05 and b) in comparison with those obtained from stan-
dard and constant curing time pressure plate tests and
0.00 fitted through Van Genucthen (1980) equation.
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
diameter ( m) The results are plotted in terms of the ratio =
θ/θ0 , where θ0 represents the initial volumetric water
Figure 3. Results of MIP tests on lime-stabilised samples. content of the sample. For the material in its natural
state (Fig. 5a), it can be noted that the predicted SWRC
(α = 2.5) is twisted and smoothed with respect to
3 PREDICTIONS the measured SWRC and the air entry value is ques-
tionable. The predictions improve for the stabilised
3.1 Particle size distribution method samples. In this case, a larger value of Arya and Paris
parameter α is needed (α = 4). By comparing the dot-
Very briefly, in the model proposed by Arya & Paris ted curves in Figure 5b with the model prediction, it
(1981) it is assumed the solid grains spherical and the is found that the slope of the predicted SWRC is very
pore volume approximated to that of cylindrical cap- similar to that obtained from a standard pressure plate
illary tubes. For each ith particle-size class, the pore test (test STDN02, see Table 1), even if the predicted
radius (ri ) can be related to the mean grain radius (Ri ), curve is shifted downward.
according to:

ri = Ri [2eni (1−α) /3]1/2 silt sand gravel

(1) 1.0

where ni , e and α are respectively the number of spher- 0.8

ical grains, the voids ratio and a constant parameter
passing in weigth

=5

=3

larger than unity. Then, for a tube of radius ri , the 0.6

k

y, k
y,

capillarity equation holds:

Jak

Jak

0.4

(ua − uw )i = si = 2Tw /ri (2) nat

0.2
lime-stabilised
with Tw the surface tension of water (Tw = 7.27 ×
10 N/m at 20◦ C). −2 0.0
0.00 1 0.01 0.1 1 10 10 0
For a given grain size distribution, Equations 1 d (mm)
and 2 allow to calculate the value of suction required to
desaturate a given fraction of pores. The application of Figure 4. Grain size distributions and Jaky model for nat-
the model to different soils varying from silty clays to ural and lime-stabilised samples.

273
 1.0 with Tm the surface tension of mercury (Tm = 480 ×
10−3 N/m at 20◦ C) and δm the contact angle between
nat.
= 2.5 mercury and soil (δm = 139◦ ).
0.8 The soil gravimetric water content that should cor-
respond to each intruded pore radius can be calculated
norm

from Equation 5:
0.6
n − ñ
pressure plate-nat. samples w= (5)
- - - - - - Van Genuchten (1980) (1 − n)Gs
0.4
1 10 10 0 100 0 10000
s (kPa) a) with n the soil porosity and ñ the ratio of the vol-
ume intruded by mercury to pore radii as small as
r to the total volume of the sample. Equation 5 is
1.0
well-founded by assuming implicitly that the pressure
lime s um − ua intruding the air pores (Va ) of a soil sam-
tab.
=4 ple of volume V and porosity n corresponds—through
0.8 Equations 4—to the matric suction s required to desat-
STDN02
norm

urate an initially saturated sample with the same total

volume and porosity.
L43CCT28
0.6 Experimental data obtained from MIP tests have
L43CCT07 been inferred and then ‘‘converted’’ to swrcs according
to Equations 4 and 5. Figures 6a and 6b show the model
- - - - - - Van Genuchten (1980)
0.4
1 10 10 0 100 0 10000
1.0
s (kPa) b)

Figure 5. Model predictions for a) natural and b) lime

stabilised samples (from grain size distribution data). 0.8
norm

STDN01
- - - - - - Van Genuchten (1980)
0.6
from MIP tests
However, for the material at hand, the Arya and L4NOF01
Paris (1981) model predictions are not sufficiently L4NOF02
L4NOF04
accurate. Further investigations are also required to 0.4
explore the nature of parameter α; in fact values of 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000

α larger than unity render Eqution 1 dimensionally s (kPa) a)

incorrect (Cecconi & Pane, 2002).
L43OF00
L43OF07
3.2 MIP method L43OF14
L43OF28
L43OF77
The method proposed by Prapaharan et al. (1985) was 1.0
Van Genuchten
used to derive the SWRC from the results of MIP tests. STDN02
Such method is based on the following experimental L43CCT07
evidence: L43CCT28
0.8
norm

– the mercury entry value, mercury entry value

and the air entry value of the SWRC are closely
related; 0.6
– the equivalent pores radius (r) from MIP tests and
the pores radius from experimental swrcs can be
calculated by using the following equations (4.1) 0.4
and (4.2) derived from Kelvin equations: 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
s (kPa) b)

2Tw 2Tm cos δm

r= [4.1]
=− [4.2]
(4) Figure 6. Model predictions for a) natural and b) lime
(ua − uw ) (um − ua ) stabilised samples (from MIP tests).

274
predictions estimated for natural and lime stabilised
samples.
From a critical inspection of these figures, the
following considerations can be drawn:
– the predicted swrcs for tests L43OF00, L43OF07
and L43OF14 are very similar in shape, thus indi-
cating that the short term effects induced by lime
persist at least for 14 days;
– the subsequent microstructural changes induced by
lime with increasing the curing time up to 28 and
77 days (tests L43OF28 and L43OF77 modify the
location and the shape of the swrc; due to long term
effects (pozzolanic reactions), the increase of the
retention properties are probably connected with the
reduction of interconnected pores between aggre-
gates and the increase of occluded intra-aggregate
pores.
– the predicted and experimental soil water reten-
tion curves—in Figure 6, the experimental data are
fitted through the Van Genuchten equation—are
substantially in good agreement. It is noted that data
from constant curing time tests are very close to
those calculate from MIP tests carried out at low
curing time. Also, data from test stdn02 are def-
initely comparable with those obtained from MIP
tests on stabilised samples and cured for four and
more weeks.
Finally, when comparing the whole set of predic-
tions obtained from MIP tests discussed above and
shown in Figure 7, it is synthetically highlighted
the relevant dependency of water retention properties
of the stabilised samples on the curing time. There
are no sensible differences—in terms of retention
properties—among natural and stabilised samples,
as long as the curing time does not exceed two
weeks. After that, the soil water retention curves
increase significantly as the pozzolanic reactions
develop.
1.0
0.8
norm
0.6
natural
3% stab. 0, 7, 14 days
3% stab. 28, 77 days
0.4
1 10 100 1000 10000
s (kPa)
Figure 7. Model predictions for lime stabilised samples
(from MIP tests).
4 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Two different empirical methods available in the lit-
erature for the prediction of the SWRCS of unsaturated
soils, namely the models proposed by Arya & Paris
(1981) and Prapaharan et al. (1985) have been applied
to the experimental results of pressure plate and mer-
cury intrusion porosimeter tests on natural and lime
stabilised samples of a compacted sandy silt.
By following the approach proposed by Prapaharan
et al. (1985), based on the similarity between the pore
size distribution and the soil water retention proper-
ties, the agreement between experimental results and
predictions is very encouraging. The model is capa-
ble to capture the very complex evolution with curing
time of the microstructure of stabilised samples, due
to the development of cation exchange and pozzolanic
reactions induced by lime.
Moreover, the mercury porosimetry technique
requires much shorter test duration than pressure plate
tests and this certainly represents a great advantage.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors are very grateful to Prof. Giuseppe Mas-
colo for the support during the experimental work.
Mercury intrusion porosimetry tests were developed
at the University of Cassino under the careful super-
vision of Sebastiana Dal Vecchio. With gratitude the
Authors thank Dante Valerio Tedesco for the helpful
contribution to the laboratory work.
REFERENCES
Arya, L.M., Paris, J.F. 1981. A physicoempirical model to
predict the soil moisture characteristic from particle size.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45: 1023–1030.
Arya, L.M., Feike, J.L., van Genuchten, M.T., Shouse, P.J.
1999. Scaling parameter to predict the soil water charac-
teristic from particle size distribution data. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. J. 63: 510–519.
Aung, K.K., Rahardjo, H., Leong, E.C., Toll, D.G. 2001.
Relationship between porosimetry measurement and soil-
water characteristic curve for unsaturated residual soil.
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 19: 401–416.
Cecconi, M., Pane, V. 2002. Comparison of some experi-
mental and theoretical approaches for the determination
of the soil water characteristic curve. Proc. of Interna-
tional Workshop on Environmental Geomechanics, Monte
Verità, Ascona, Switzerland, 341–346.
Delage, P., Pellerin, F.M. 1984. Influence de la lyophilisa-
100000
tion sur la structure d’une argile sensible du Québec. Clay
Minerals, 19: 151–160.
Delage, P., Lefebvre, G. 1984. Study of the structure
of a sensitive Champlain clay of its evolution during
consolidation. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 21: 21–35.
275
Fredlund, M.D., Fredlund, D.G., Wilson, G.W. 1997. Pre-
diction of the soil water characteristic curve from grain
size distributions and volume mass properties. Proc. 3rd
Brasilian Symp. on Unsat. Soils, Nonsat97, Rio de
Janeiro, vol. 1, 13–23.
Hwang, S.I., Lee, K.P., Lee, D.S., Powers, S.E. 2002. Models
for estimating soil particle size distributions. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. J. 66: 1143–1150.
Hwang, S.I. and Powers, S.E. 2003. Using soil particle size
distribution models to estimate soil hydraulic properties.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67: 1103–1112.
Jaky, J. 1944. Soil Mechanics. Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest.
Kong, L.W., Tan, L.R. 2000. A simple method of determin-
ing the soil-water characteristic curve indirectly. Proc. of
the Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Singapore,
341–345.
Penumadu, D., Dean, J. 1999. Compressibility effect in
evaluating the pore-size distribution of kaolin clay using
mercury intrusion porosimetry. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal 37: 393–405.
Prapaharan, S., Altschaeffl, A.G., Dempsey, B.J. 1985.
Moisture curve of compacted clay: mercury intrusion
method. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE,
111(9): 1139–1143.
Purcell, W.R. 1949. Capillary pressures, their measure-
ment using mercury and the calculation of permeability
therefrom. Petroleum Transactions, IME 186: 39–48.
276
Rogers, C.D.F., Glendinning, S., Roff, T.E.J. 1997. Modifi-
cation of clay soils for construction expediency. Geotech-
nical Engineering 125: 1–8.
Russo, G., Dal Vecchio, S., Mascolo, G. 2007. Microstruc-
ture of a lime stabilised compacted silt. In Tom Schanz
(ed.), Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Proc. of
the 2nd Int. Conf. On the Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils,
USS2007, Weimar (D), 7–9 March 2007. Heidelberg:
Springer, 49–56.
Scott Sillers, W., Fredlund, D.G., Zakerzadeh, N. 2001.
Mathematical attributes of some soil-water characteristic
curve models. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering
19: 243–283.
Tedesco, D.V. 2007. Hydro-mechanical behaviour of lime-
stabilised soils. PhD Thesis, University of Cassino.
Cassino, Italy.
Tedesco, D.V., Russo, G. 2008. Time dependency of water
retention properties of a lime stabilised compacted soil.
Submitted for publication to First European Conference
on Unsaturated Soils, 2–4-July, Durham.
Van Genuchten, M. Th. (1980). A closed-form equation for
predicting the hydraulic conductivity off unsaturated soils
Soil Sci. soc. Am. J. 44: 892–898.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Time dependency of the water retention properties of a lime stabilised

compacted soil

D.V. Tedesco & G. Russo

University of Cassino, Cassino, Italy

ABSTRACT: Lime stabilisation induces the development of chemical reactions which modify the micro-
structure of treated soils. Cation exchange and pozzolanic reactions are the two main phenomena responsible for
those microstructural changes. Among the hydro-mechanical properties of the stabilised soil, the water retention
properties are significantly modified with respect to those of the natural ones and are strongly dependent on
curing time. An experimental investigation was carried out on a natural and lime-stabilised compacted silty soil.
It was found that the water retention capacity increases after the addition of lime independently from the initial
water content. The increase is significantly higher for longer curing times. The results of mercury intrusion
porosimetry tests highlighted the fundamental influence of lime on the modification of inter-aggregate porosity.

1 INTRODUCTION (Russo, 2005) that, as stated for natural compacted

Lime stabilisation is widely used in order to improve
the engineering properties of natural soils not suitable
as construction materials in earthworks. The reuse of
those soils represents a great chance in the reduction
of the environmental impact of earthworks (Croce &
Russo, 2002).
Two different chemo-physical reactions take place
after the addition of lime, namely cationic exchange
and pozzolanic reactions, which develop simultane-
ously but on different time scales. Cationic exchange
between calcium cations, made available by lime addi-
tion, and the hydrogen, sodium and potassium cations
of the clay minerals takes place in the short period.
This reaction induces the flocculation of clay aggre-
gates. On the long term, pozzolanic reactions take
place with the development of stable compounds, such
as hydrated calcium silicates and aluminates (Eades &
Grim, 1960, Glenn & Handy, 1963), responsible of
cementation bounds among the soil aggregates. These
two mechanisms are respectively referred to as modifi-
cation and stabilisation of treated soils (Rogers &
Glendinning, 1996).
On the macroscopic scale, the treated soil shows
a different grain size distribution and plasticity,
a decrease in compressibility and a corresponding
increase of shear strength, the latter being strongly
dependent on curing time (Croce & Russo, 2003).
The water retention of lime stabilised compacted
samples is generally higher in comparison with natu-
ral compacted samples at corresponding initial water
content (Croce & Russo, 2003). It has been observed
samples (Vanapalli et al., 1999), the higher water
retention pertains to stabilised samples compacted wet
of optimum. Despite the strong dependency of lime
stabilised soil properties on the time needed for the
development of cation exchange and pozzolanic reac-
tions, the role played by curing time in the increase of
water retention of lime stabilised samples is still not
clear.
In the paper the results of an experimental inves-
tigation on the influence of curing time on the water
retention of lime stabilised soils are presented. Pres-
sure plate tests on both natural and lime stabilised
compacted alluvial sandy silt have been performed
at fixed lime content. A new testing procedure has
been adopted in order to determine soil water retention
curves at constant curing time. The results have been
interpreted by means of the Van Genuchten (1980)
model. A discussion on the experimental findings
has been developed with reference to the results of
mercury intrusion porosimetry tests performed on the
same natural and lime stabilised soils (Russo et al.,
2007).
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
The natural soil used in the investigations is an
alluvial sandy silt of low plasticity. The minimum
amount of quicklime necessary to the triggering of
pozzolanic reactions was about 1.0% by weight, as
observed by means of the Lime Fixation Point Method
(Hilt & Davidson, 1960, Rogers & Glendinning,

277
1996). A fixed amount of quicklime (3.0% by weight) retention capacity detected at the end of the test must
was set in order to allow the complete development be considered as determined at variable curing time.
of both cationic exchange and pozzolanic reactions Generally, at the end of the test the sample was cured
(Rogers & Glendinning, 1996). After the addition for more than 28 days. In order to carry out tests
of quicklime and distilled water, the samples were at constant curing time on stabilised samples, a new
cured for 24 hours in order to allow the hydration of experimental procedure was set up (Tedesco, 2007).
quicklime. Each point of the SWRC, corresponding to a fixed
Grain size distributions, Atterberg limits and spe- value of matric suction, was determined by means
cific weights of both natural and lime stabilised soils of three stabilised samples cured for 7 or 28 days.
were determined. The same tests were repeated for sta- At the end of each step, the average degree of sat-
bilised samples at different curing times, namely 0, 7, uration of the three samples constituted the point of
28, 60 days. the SWRC at constant curing time. The samples were
Both natural and lime stabilised samples were then removed and substituted by new stabilised sam-
compacted following the Standard Proctor procedure ples cured for the same time, in order to perform the
(ASTM D698-91ε1 ) at different initial water content, subsequent step. The final results formed the water
namely dry of optimum, optimum and wet of optimum retention curve of stabilised samples at constant curing
water contents. It has been supposed that the structure time.
of soils compacted at corresponding initial water con- In Table 1 the pressure plate test on both natural and
tents is comparable (Seed & Chan, 1959, Alonso et al., stabilised samples are summarised.
1987).
Natural and lime stabilised samples (20.0 mm in
height and 60.5 mm in diameter) were saturated with
distilled water through the application of a hydraulic 3 RESULTS
head and submitted to desiccation tests using a pres-
sure plate apparatus equipped with a high air entry The main physical properties of natural samples were
value porous stone (1.5 MPa). For each suction initially determined (PI = 9.0%, LL = 23.0%, γs =
step, four days were needed for the specimens in 26.9 kN/m3 ). The same tests were then repeated on
order to reach the equilibrium between the inter- lime stabilised samples, taking into account an even-
nal and the applied air pressure. At the end of the tual time dependency. In Table 2 the Atterberg limits
tests the specimens were oven dried and the soil and the specific weights of the stabilised samples at
water retention curves (SWRCs) determined by back different curing times have been reported. It is note-
calculation. worthy that for every value of curing time the plastic
During the long duration of each test lime treated limit of lime stabilised samples was not determinable.
samples experience continuous changes in microstruc- In Figure 1 the grain size distributions of natural
ture, due to the relevant dependency on curing time and stabilised specimens are reported. The latter were
(Russo et al., 2007). The variations in soil water determined as a function of curing time. Stabilised
samples are characterised by a sensible decrease in fine
grains, which seems to remain constant with curing
time (Tedesco, 2007).
Table 1. Pressure plate tests (PP). In Figure 2 the compaction curve of natural and
Curing time
stabilised (for curing time t = 0) samples are plotted.
Sample Test Water content (days) The addition of lime induces a shifting of the curve,
with an increase in the optimum water content and a
Natural ND Dry – decrease in the maximum dry density.
Natural NO Opt – Figures 3–6 show the results of pressure plate tests
Natural NW Wet – on natural and lime stabilised samples at constant cur-
3% Lime STD Dry Variable ing time and at variable curing time. The SWRCs were
3% Lime STO Opt Variable plotted in terms of ratio between the actual average
3% Lime STW Wet Variable
degree of saturation and the initial average degree of
3% Lime CCTD07(∗) Dry 7
saturation.
3% Lime CCTO07(∗) Opt 7
The experimental points were interpreted by fit-
3% Lime CCTW07(∗) Wet 7
ting the available data with the Van Genuchten (1980)
3% Lime CCTD28(∗) Dry 28
3% Lime CCTO28(∗) Opt 28
equation:
3% Lime CCTW28(∗) Wet 28
1
(∗)For constant curing time (CCT) tests the average values S= (1)
are reported. [1 + (aψ)b ]c

278
Table 2. Atterberg limits and specific weights of the sta- 100
bilised samples. 95
90
Curing time Liquid limit Specific weight
85
(days) (%) (kN/m3 )
80

S/S 0 [%]
ND
0 23 2.66 75
7 25 2.69 70 NO
28 29 2.69 65
NW
60 25 2.67 60
55
50
1 10 100 1000
u a-uw [kPa]

100
Figure 3. SWRCs of natural samples.
90
natural
80
3% lime -t=0 100
70
3% lime -t=7 95
60
P [%]

3% lime -t=28 90
50
3% lime -t=60 85
40
80
S/S 0 [%]

30
CCTD07
20 75

10 70 CCTO07

0 65
CCTW07
0,0001 0,001 0,01 0,1 1 10 60
D [mm] 55
50
Figure 1. Grain size distributions of natural and stabilised 1 10 100 1000
samples. ua-uw [kPa]

Figure 4. SWRCs of lime-treated samples at constant

curing time t = 7 days.
1,90
natural
1,85 100
3% lime
1,80 95
90
1,75
g d [g/cm3]

85
1,70
80
S/S 0 [%]

1,65 CCTD28
75
1,60 70 CCTO28
1,55 65
CCTW28
60
1,50
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 55
w [%] 50
1 10 100 1000
Figure 2. Standard proctor compaction curves of natural ua-uw [kPa]
and stabilised samples.
Figure 5. SWRCs of lime-treated samples at constant
curing time t = 28 days.

where S is the actual degree of saturation, ψ the matric of saturation and the initial degree of saturation S0 of
suction, and a, b and c best-fitting parameters, respec- the samples:
tively linked to the air-entry value, to the slope of the
curve at the inflexion point and to the residual degree of S 1
saturation. This equation was modified in order to plot = √
C (2)
S0 B·C
S0 + (Aψ)B
the results in terms of ratio between the actual degree

279
 100 capacity of stabilised samples on the initial water con-
95 tent is relevant for short curing times, while for long
90 curing times this dependency tends to be negligible
85 with respect to the effects of curing time.
80 In order to highlight this point, in Figures 7–9
S/S 0 [%]

STD
75 the water retention curves of stabilised samples are
70 STO compared with the natural ones at fixed initial water
65
STW
content and as a function of curing time. It can be
60 observed that, for each initial water content, in the
55 short term (t = 7 days) a slight decrease of the
50 retention takes place for suction values lower than
1 10 100 1000 100 kPa, with a reduction in the air entry values,
ua-uw [kPa] while no significant changes take place for suctions
higher than 100 kPa. As the curing time increases (t ≥
Figure 6. SWRCs of lime-treated samples at variable curing 28 days), the retention is higher in the upper suc-
time. tion range (100–1000 kPa), as detected for all the
stabilised samples at each initial water content. The
Table 3. Best-fitting parameters of the modified Van highest retention pertains to samples cured for long
Genuchten (1980) equation. time intervals. For those samples, the air entry values
aev
are considerably reduced.
Test A B C (kPa)

nd 0.041 0.855 0.184 15

no 0.012 1.000 0.181 52
nw 0.009 1.373 0.158 91 100

CCTD07(∗) 0.077 0.676 0.180 4

CCTO07(∗) 0.016 0.727 0.200 26 90

CCTW07(∗) 0.008 0.586 0.198 35

80
CCTD28(∗)
S/S 0 [%]

0.056 0.453 0.200 4

ND
CCTO28(∗) 0.009 0.800 0.193 14
CCTD07
CCTW28(∗)
70
0.007 0.918 0.200 16
CCTD28
STD 0.040 0.551 0.109 2 STD
60
STO 0.006 0.464 0.155 9
STW 0.006 0.470 0.142 8
50
(∗) Air-entry values were calculated using the average S0 . 1 10 100 1000
ua-uw [kPa]

Figure 7. SWRCs of dry of optimum samples.

with A, B and C best fitting parameters. The A parame-
ter can be related to air-entry value (aev) of the samples
through the expression:

1 B·C
aev = · S0 (3) 100
A
90
The best fitting parameters are reported in Table 3.
From the experimental results the relevant influence 80
S/S 0 [%]

of the curing time on the water retention properties NO

of lime stabilised soils can be observed. Increasing 70 CCTO07
the curing time of stabilised samples, water reten- CCTO28
tion increases. The larger increment of water retention 60 STO
pertains to dry of optimum stabilised samples, but
optimum and wet of optimum stabilised samples show 50
the final higher water retention, as reported in Figure 6 1 10 100 1000
for SWRCs at variable curing time. It can be stated, ua-uw [kPa]
as observed for natural compacted samples (Vanapalli
et al., 1999), that the dependency of the water retention Figure 8. SWRCs of optimum samples.

280
 100 0,025

Nat
90 0,020
3%_7

dV/d(logD) [ml/g]
3%_28
80 0,015
S/S 0 [%]

NW 3%_77

70 CCTW07 0,010
CCTW28
60 STW
0,005

50 0,000
1 10 100 1000 0,01 0,1 1 10
ua-u w [kPa] D [ m]

Figure 9. SWRCs of wet of optimum samples. Figure 10. MIP of optimum samples: incremental distribu-
tion of intruded mercury volume.
4 DISCUSSION
0,25
The observed hydraulic behaviour of stabilised sam- Nat
ples can be explained with reference to the reactions 0,20
3%_7
induced by lime. As observed before, those reactions
3%_28
are strongly dependent on curing time and largely mod- 0,15
V [ml/g]

ify the microstructure of the natural soil. Russo et al.
(2007) carried out mercury intrusion porosimetry tests
on natural and lime stabilised samples of the same soil;
the stabilised samples were cured for increasing time
intervals.
Figure 10 and Figure 11 show the results of MIP
tests on optimum water content stabilised samples in
terms of incremental and cumulative volume of mer-
cury intruded. Immediately after the addition of lime
(t = 7 days) a relevant modification of porosity for
lime stabilised samples takes place, with the forma-
tion of pore of relatively large diameter (between 4 and
40 microns). A subsequent reduction of this effect
occurs increasing the curing time of the stabilised
samples (t = 28 days), probably due to pozzolanic
reactions which induce the development of bonds
between the aggregates. A reduction in the frequency
of pores with diameters between 0.2 μm and 2 μm can
be also detected in the long term. Finally, pores rang-
ing from 0.01 μm to 0.2 μm systematically increase
their frequency as the curing time increases.
In terms of water retention properties, the increase
in frequency of pores of relatively large radius (short
time effects mainly induced by cation exchange),
together with the increase in the presence of sand
sized aggregates in the grain size distribution, reduces
both the air entry value and the retention capacity
of the stabilised samples for values of suction lower
than 100 kPa. The reduction persists for long cur-
ing times. For suction values greater than 100 kPa the
water retention increases as the curing time becomes
higher. A possible interpretation of this result, con-
sistent with the larger amount of small radii pores
observed as curing time increases, is that the cementa-
tion bonds between aggregates enhance the frequency
3%_77
0,10
0,05
0,00
0,01 0,1 1 10
D [ m]
Figure 11. MIP of optimum samples: cumulative distribu-
tion of intruded mercury volume.
of ink-bottle pores. In pores of this type, characterised
by an entrance radius smaller than the dimension of
the inner part of the pore, intrusion cannot occur until
sufficient pressure has been attained to force mercury
into the narrow neck, whereupon the entire pore will
be filled. As ink-bottle pores upon depressurization
entrap mercury in the wide inner portion of the pore,
upon drying ink-bottle pores contribute relevantly to
retain water into the stabilised soil. The smaller the
narrow openings of the ink bottle pores, the higher the
suction values needed to desaturate the soil.
5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
In the paper some results of an experimental study on
the time dependency of lime stabilisation on the soil-
water retention capacity of a compacted silty soil are
presented.
The comparison between water retention curves of
natural and lime stabilised samples points out the gen-
eral increase of the water retention capacity of the

281
soil induced by the addition of lime. The role of
both initial water content and curing time has been
highlighted. From the results it has been found that sta-
bilised samples compacted at optimum and wet initial
water content show higher water retention.
The microstructure modifications taking place as
a function of curing time, assessed by means of MIP
tests, allow an insight into the reaction mechanisms
induced by lime and an explanation of the observed
increase of water retention. The relevance of the MIP
technique in this experimental investigations has been
underlined, both for the short test duration and for
the analogy between the results in terms of mercury
intrusion and water outflow.
Further research is required in order to assess the
role of microstructure and its evolution with curing
time on the retention properties of stabilised samples.
Intrusion-extrusion cycles, performed through both
volumetric pressure plate extractor and mercury intru-
sion porosimeter, could highlight the role and amount
of ink bottle pores on the water retention of stabilised
soils.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors are very grateful to Prof. Giuseppe
Mascolo for the support during the experimental work.
Mercury intrusion porosimetry tests were developed at
the University of Cassino under the careful supervision
of Sebastiana Dal Vecchio.
REFERENCES
ASTM 1991. Standard Test Method for Laboratory Com-
paction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort
(12, 400 ft-lbf /ft3 (600 kN-m/m3 )), ASTM D698-91ε1 .
In Annual Book of ASTM Standards 04.08: 77–84. West
Conshohocken: ASTM International.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Hight, D.W. 1987. Special prob-
lem soils-General report. In E.T. Hanran, T.L.L. Orr &
T.F. Widdis (eds.), Ground effects in geotechnical engi-
neering (3): 1087–1146; Proc. IX ECSMFE, Dublin,
1987. Rotterdam: Balkema.
282
Croce, P. & Russo, G. 2002. Reimpiego dei terreni di scavo
mediante stabilizzazione a calce. In Proc. XXI AGI—
Convegno Nazionale di Geotecnica: 211–216. L’Aquila:
Patron Editore.
Croce, P. & Russo, G. 2003. Soil-water characteristic
curves of lime-stabilised soils. In Pieter A. Vermeer,
Helmut F. Schweiger, Minna Karstunen & Marcin Cudny
(eds.), Geotechnics of Soft Soils—Theory and Practice:
575–580; Proc. Int. Workshop, Noordwijkerhout (NL),
17–19 September 2003. Essen: VGE.
Eades, J.L. & Grim, R. 1960. Reactions of Hydrated Lime
with Pure Clay Minerals in Soil Stabilization. Highway
Research Board Bulletin 262: 51–63.
Glenn, G.R. & Handy, R.L. 1963. Lime-clay mineral reaction
products. Highway Research Record 29: 70–82.
Hilt, G.H. & Davidson, D.T. 1960. Lime fixation in clayey
soils. Highway Research Board Bulletin 262: 20–32.
Rogers, C.D.F. & Glendinning, S. 1996. Modification of Clay
Soils using Lime. In Rogers, C.D.F., Glendinning, S. &
Dixon, N. (eds.) Lime Stabilisation: 99–126. London:
Thomas Telford.
Russo, G. 2005. Water retention curves of lime stabilised
soils. In A. Tarantino, E. Romero & Y.J. Cui (eds.),
Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics:
391–396; Proc. of the Int. Workshop on Advanced
Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Experus 2005,
Trento (I), 27–29 June 2005. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Russo, G., Dal Vecchio, S. & Mascolo, G. 2007. Microstruc-
ture of a lime stabilised compacted silt. In Tom Schanz
(ed.), Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics: 49–56;
Proc. of the 2nd Int. Conf. On the Mechanics of Unsat-
urated Soils, USS2007, Weimar (D), 7–9 March 2007.
Heidelberg: Springer.
Seed, H.B. & Chan, C.K. 1959. Structure and strength
characteristics of compacted clays. JSMFD 85 (SM5):
87–128.
Tedesco, D.V. 2007. Hydro-mechanical behaviour of lime-
stabilised soils. PhD Thesis at the University of Cassino.
Cassino, Italy.
Van Genuchten, M. Th. 1980. A closed form equation pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Society of America Journal 44: 892–898.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G. & Pufhal, D.E. 1999. The
influence of soil structure and stress history on the soil-
water characteristics of a compacted till. Geotechnique
49 (2): 143–159.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Retention and compressibility properties of a partially saturated mine chalk

H.D. Nguyen
Ecole des Ponts (Université Paris-Est, Navier Inst. – CERMES), Paris, France
INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France

V. De Gennaro & P. Delage

Ecole des Ponts (Université Paris-Est, Navier Inst. – CERMES), Paris, France

C. Sorgi
INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France (now RATP, Paris, France)

ABSTRACT: In relation with the assessment of the stability of underground chalk mines, a preliminary
investigation of the behaviour of chalk samples retrieved from the pillars of the abandoned Estreux shallow
mine (Northern France) has been conducted. Due to changes in hygrometry and water table (ambient relative
humidity comprised between 80% and 100%), pillars are submitted to cyclic variations in degree of saturation.
The potential impact of the changes in water content on the mechanical behaviour of the chalk has been assessed
based on the methods and concepts of the mechanics of unsaturated soils. Water retention properties and volume
change behaviour of the unsaturated chalk were investigated. Suction hardening was clearly identified, resulting
in increasing yield stresses with suction, in agreement with the Loading Collapse (LC) yield curve of the
Barcelona Basic Model (Alonso et al. 1990). Collapse compression under wetting at constant applied vertical
load was also observed. As already discussed in the case of oil-reservoir chalks (De Gennaro et al. 2004), it is
confirmed that the methods and concepts of the mechanics of unsaturated soils are relevant to better analyse the
water weakening effects in chalks.

1 INTRODUCTION 1980, Bell et al. 1999, Talesnick et al. 2001, Sorgi

Research into the stability of abandoned subsur-
face cavities in chalk is being carried out by
the French Institute INERIS (Institut National de
l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques) with a spe-
cial attention devoted to the abandoned underground
chalk shallow mine of Estreux (Northern France).
The detailed monitoring of the periodic changes in
relative humidity (hr ) in the mine showed that values as
low as 80% could be reached, giving rise to possible
desaturation of the pillars. In this regard, a study of
the behaviour of the Estreux chalk under unsaturated
states was found necessary.
The mechanical behaviour of chalk is known to
be significantly sensitive to changes in water con-
tent, an effect described as the water weakening effect.
Water weakening has been particularly considered
in the study of the reservoir chalks of the North
Sea (Newman 1983, Andersen 1995; Schroeder et al.
1998, Gutierrez et al. 2000, De Gennaro et al. 2003
and 2004). Pore collapse under water flooding is a
particular illustration of water weakening. Various
investigations have been carried out on the pore col-
lapse phenomena (Bonvallet 1979, Raffoux & Ervel
2004, Priol 2005).
Reservoir chalks contain two immiscible pore flu-
ids (oil and water). They are comparable to unsaturated
soils that contain air and water. In this regard, Delage
et al. (1996) showed that the mechanics of unsatu-
rated soil could be fruitfully used to investigate the
behaviour of fluids-filled chalks. In underground quar-
ries, low relative humidity (hr = 80%) might possibly
dry the chalk pillars at least near the pillar surface, with
an introduction of air as the non wetting pore fluid.
In this paper, the methods and concepts of the
mechanics of unsaturated soils are applied to some
specimen of Estreux Chalk. Firstly, the water retention
properties are investigated. Secondly, volume changes
properties are considered under suction controlled
conditions in the oedometer.
2 MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL
METHODS
The study was carried out on chalk specimens
extracted from the Estreux abandoned underground
mine in Northern France, 10 km East of the city

283
of Valenciennes in the vicinity of the Valencien-
nes—Bruxelles A14 highway. The Estreux chalk
formation belongs to the late Cretaceous geological
period, which dated from 89 to 94 M years ago.
A square pillar (1.4 × 1.4 m with a height of 1.8 m)
has been continuously monitored since 2003 in rela-
tion within the research programme conducted by
INERIS about ‘‘Ageing phenomena in geomaterials’’
(Sorgi 2004), hr measurements showed that the rela-
tive humidity inside the mine varied between 80 and
100% with an almost constant temperature of 11◦ C.
Cubic blocks of chalk (30 cm each side) were
manually retrieved at a 20 meters depth. Table 1
presents the index properties of Estreux chalk. By
using a helium picnometer, a specific gravity Gs of
2.74 was obtained. As compared to the specific grav-
ity of pure calcite (Gs = 2.71), this higher value is
related to the presence of a fraction of glauconite (with
Gs = 2.99). Glauconite is often observed in North-
ern French chalks (Masson, 1973; Bonvallet, 1979;
Hazebrouck & Duthoit, 1979). The glauconite fraction
is also linked to the relatively high values of the speci-
fic surface (Ss = 13 m2 /g measured using methylene
blue absorption, as compared to 9 m2 /g for a pure
chalk like for instance Lixhe chalk, Belgium). The
average porosity n close to 37% is in good agree-
ment with literature values (Masson, 1973; Bonvallet,
1979). Typical Unconfined Compression Strength
(UCS) values for Estreux chalk are UCSsat ∼ = 5MPa
when saturated and UCSdry ∼ = 11MPa if dried (typi-
cally UCSdry /UCSsat ∼ = 2). The high value of degree
of saturation measured in extracted specimens (Srw =
97%) indicates that chalk was probably saturated in
the mine at the time extraction was carried out, with
some possible further loss of water during testing.
The water retention properties of Estreux chalk
were determined by using cylindrical samples of
20 mm in diameter and from 20 mm to 25 mm in
height. In relation with the relative humidity observed
in the mine (hr between 80 to 100%), the suction
values applied were taken between 0 and 24.9 MPa
by using 3 methods of controlling suction: the
osmotic method for low suctions (from 0 to 1.5 MPa)
(Williams & Shaykewich 1969, Delage et al. 1998,
Marcial 2003), the vapour equilibrium method at
Table 1. Index data of Estreux chalk.
Properties
Density of particles, ρs (Mg/m3 ) 2.74
Degree of saturation, Srw (%) 97
Dry density, ρd (Mg/m3 ) 1.73
Porosity, n(%) 37
Natural water content, w(%) 20.7
Specific surface, Ss (m2 /g) 14
284
higher suctions (from 2 to 24.9 MPa) (Delage et al.
1998, Marcial 2003) and the filter paper method with
contact for sample in their initial state (Fawcett &
Collis-George 1967, Chandler & Gutierrez 1986,
Houston et al. 1994, Bulut et al. 2001).
In the osmotic method, the sample is placed in
a tube shaped cellulotic semi-permeable membrane
(Spectrapor ® ) and then immersed in an aqueous solu-
tion of large sized molecules of Poly Ethylene Glycol
(PEG 6000 or 20000) (Figure 1). The imposed suction
was derived from the solution concentration by using
the calibration data of Williams & Shaykewich (1969)
and the correction proposed by Dineen and Burland
(1995). Five suctions level (0 MPa using pure water
instead of a PEG solution, 0.5, 1, 1.2 and 1.5 MPa)
were imposed with the osmotic method.
The vapour equilibrium method was carried out by
using the device presented in Figure 2, in which desic-
cators are placed in a temperature controlled bath. As
can be seen in the Figure, a circulation of air with a
controlled relative humidity is ensured by circulating
air in a bottle containing a saturated saline solution.
The air is subsequently circulated in the desiccator
that contains the sample. Experience showed that cir-
culating air significantly reduced the period of time
necessarily to reach equilibrium. Two saturated saline
solutions: (NH4 )2 SO4 (hr = 83.5%, s = 24.9 MPa)
and K2 SO4 (hr = 97%, s = 4.2 MPa) were used.
Cellulotic
semi-
permeable Sample
PEG
Thermostat Magnetic stirrer
Figure 1. Determination of the water retention curve by
using the osmotic method.
Pump Saturated saline solution Thermostat
Figure 2. Determination of the water retention curve by
using the vapour equilibrium technique.
Two PEG solutions at controlled concentrations cor-
responding to 2.5 MPa (hr = 98.2%) and 2 MPa
(hr = 98.4%) were also used in the same fashion to
impose lower suctions.
Two filter papers measurements were carried out
to determine the initial suction of the intact sample.
In order to avoid any contact with chalk, both papers
were placed between two protection papers and then
positioned between two halves of chalk samples.
The whole system was then isolated from the
ambient relative humidity and stored in a temper-
ature controlled room (20◦ C ± 0.1◦ C) for at least
15 days before weighing the filter papers (accuracy
1 × 10−5 g).
Finally, a high stress double lever arm oedometer
equipped with a suction control system was used (e.g.
Marcial et al. 2002) to investigate the compressibil-
ity of partially saturated Estreux chalk samples. The
control of the suction was carried out either by using
the osmotic method (suctions smaller than 1.5 MPa)
(see Kassiff & Benshalom 1971, Delage et al. 1992,
Dineen and Burland 1995, De Gennaro et al. 2003,
Priol 2005). The same cell was also used at higher
suctions with the vapour equilibrium method (Esteban
1990, Oteo-Mazo et al. 1995, Oldecop & Alonso 2001,
Marcial 2003) for suctions higher than 4.2 MPa. In
this case, air with controlled hr was circulated in the
oedometer cell through the bottom of the sample (see
Figure 3).
Samples of 38 mm in diameter and 19 mm ±2 mm
in height were reshaped on a lathe. A dry sample
was obtained after a period of 48 hours in an oven at
60◦ C following the recommendations of the Interna-
tional Society of Rock Mechanics. Since the mechan-
ical response of chalk is strain rate-dependent (e.g.
De Gennaro et al. 2003, Priol et al. 2007), it was
decided for multiple loading stages oedometer tests to
v
Sample
Sieve
Pump Saturated saline solution Thermostat
Figure 3. Scheme of the vapour equilibrium oedometer.
285
consider a period of sustained loading of 48 hours in
the pseudo-elastic regime and 7 days in the plastic
regime, resulting in total tests durations from 45 to
60 days. Deformation regimes (elastic and plastic)
were defined based on results from constant rate of
strain oedometer tests (Priol et al. 2007), that allowed
to identify the expected yield stress. Isotach behaviour
(i.e. only dependent on the strain rate) was adopted to
define the compressibility curves obtained by means
of oedometer tests. Following this methodology for
each loading stage the corresponding vertical strain
was measured when the axial strain rate was lower
than 10−10 sec−1 .
Based on the experimental results from the determi-
nation of the water retention properties, four oedome-
ter compression tests were carried out as follows: two
tests in dry conditions (T1 & T2), one test at controlled
suction (T3: s = 4.2 MPa with the vapour equilib-
rium method and K2 SO4 salt) and one test at saturated
conditions (T4).
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Water retention properties
The water retention curve of Estreux chalk is shown
in Figure 4 in terms of changes in degree of saturation
(Srw ) with respect to the logarithm of suction (log s).
Beside the points obtained at various controlled suc-
tions along the drying and wetting paths, the initial
suction obtained with the filter paper method is also
represented. A suction value of 40 kPa with a degree
of saturation of 97% indicated that the sample was
probably saturated when excavated.
100
Hr = 83.5% ( s = 24.9 MPa)
10 Hr = 97% ( s = 4.2 MPa)
Hr = 98.2% ( s = 2.5 MPa)
1
SUCTION, s :MPa
Hr = 99.8% ( s = 1.5 MPa)
0.1
0.01 Dry path
Wetting path
Initial state
0.001
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
DEGREE OF SATURATION, S rw
Figure 4. Water retention curve of Estreux chalk.
 The slight differences observed between the dry-
ing and wetting paths denote a moderate hysteresis
effect, also observed in partially air-water saturated Dry, s = 30 MPa
T1
Lixhe chalk by Priol (2005). A possible effect of the
glauconite fraction in reducing the hysteresis effect is
T2
suspected, although a clear explanation of the slight
hysteresis is not straightforward.

SUCTION, s
The drying curve shows that the air entry value
of Estreux chalk can be estimated at approximately
1.5 MPa. Following desaturation, the degree of sat-
uration exhibits a dramatic reduction with a value as T3 s = 4.2 MPa
low as 30% at 2.5 MPa. At the highest suction (s =
24.9 MPa, hr = 83.5%) the degree of saturation is as
low as 2–5%, showing that chalk is nearly completely
desaturated. Based on the water retention curve, the
saturated, s = 0 MPa
suction of a dry sample can be estimated at 30 MPa. T4
The shape of the water retention curve of Estreux
chalk and the sudden decrease in saturation above 100 1000 10000 100000
1.5 MPa shows that the changing values of the ambient VERTICAL STRESS, v : kPa

relative humidity in the mine (between 80% and 100%)

can definitely lead to significantly unsaturated states, Figure 5. Loading paths.
at least at the surface of the pillar directly in contact
with the ambient relative humidity. It is then suspected 0.65
that the mechanical properties of the chalk in unsatu-
rated states have to be considered when addressing the
long term stability of the pillars. As a first step, the 0.6

compressibility properties of the chalk under various

controlled suctions are now presented. 0.55
WATER
INJECTION
VOID RATIO, e

WATER
INJECTION
3.2 Oedometer tests 0.5

The two independent stress variables commonly used SWELLING

in the investigation of the mechanical behaviour of 0.45

unsaturated soils are the suction, s = ua − uw (where COLLAPSE

ua and uw are the air and water pressure respectively)

and the mean net stress pnet = p − ua (where p is the 0.4 T1 (dry)
T2 (dry)
total mean stress). T3 (s = 4.2 MPa)
T4 (saturated)
The loading paths followed in a vertical stress 0.35
suction (σv : s) are presented in Figure 5. The com- 100 1000 10000 100000
pressibility curves in [log σv : e] diagrams are VERTICAL STRESS, v : kPa

presented in Figure 6.
The testing program comprises three compression Figure 6. Compressibility curves obtained with oedome-
tests carried out as follows: ters.

– Test T1 (ei = 0.575): dry compression (s = ∼

30 MPa) up to 39.7 MPa, unload down to 0.44 MPa,
soaking under 0.44 MPa and subsequent loading
up to 39.7 MPa.
– Test T2 (ei = 0.61): dry compression (s ∼
= 30 MPa)
up to 22.41 MPa, unload down to 10.19 MPa, reload
to 29.28 MPa and soaking.
– Test T3 (ei = 0.602): suction controlled compres-
sion (s = 4.2 MPa) up to 39.7 MPa, unload down
to 8.82 MPa and reload to 39.7 MPa.
– Test T4: (ei = 0.581): saturated compression up to
20.38 MPa, stress release at 0.26 MPa and reload at
40.76 MPa.
The compressibility curves of Figure 6 show some
responses that are compatible with that of unsaturated
soils:
– Increase in yield stress with increased suction.
– Increase in compressibility with decreased suction.
– Slight suction dependency of the pseudo-elastic
compressibility module.
– Slight swelling due to suction release in the elastic
zone.
– Significant collapse when soaking under high
stress when the sample is located on the LC curve.

286
Table 2. Compressibility data taken from oedometer tests.
T1
T2
40
Stiffness
Yield stress LOADING
LC i
State Elastic Plastic (MPa) LC 1
LC 3

Dry (T1) 0.0022 0.1082 16 30

Dry (T2) 0.0055 0.094 13.5

SUCTION, s :MPa
Suction Water injection
controlled (T3) 0.0095 0.1137 11.4
Saturated (T4) 0.0039 0.135 7.5 20

Swelling Collapse

Interestingly, the position of the collapsed sample
is close to the saturated compression sections of
tests T2 and T4.
The corresponding numerical values are given in
Table 2. These trends illustrate the sensitivity of the
mechanical response of the Estreux chalk to change
in suction. They are in good agreement with the
water weakening effects described by Matthews and
Clayton (1993) and with earlier observations on reser-
voir chalks (with water and oil as pore fluids) by
De Gennaro et al. (2004) and Priol (2005).
Water sensitivity is denoted by the swelling
observed in test T1 (soaking under 441 kPa) and
by the collapse observed in T2 when soaking under
29.28 MPa. The increase in compressibility and
decrease in yield stress with increased degree of satu-
ration (decreased suction) are two other manifestations
of the water weakening effect.
3.3 BBM modelling
The results of Figure 6 are now qualitatively inter-
preted in the framework of the Barcelona Basic Model
(Alonso et al., 1990). Figure 7 shows the Loading
Collapse (LC) curve that can be derived from the
experimental data of Figure 6. With suction at dry
state equal to 30 MPa, the LC curves exhibit fairly
regular and satisfactory shapes. A tentative identifica-
tion of the initial LC curve can be obtained assuming
the following constitutive parameters for the BBM:
λ(0) = 0.12, pc = 0.002 MPa, p∗o = 8 MPa. Owing
to the reduced effect of suction on the virgin com-
pressibility of the material, λ(s) values were found
assuming β = 0.5 and r = 0.94.
The loading path of test T1 crosses the initial dry
LCi curve at (σvo − ua ) = 16 MPa, displacing the
LC curve up to LC1 at the maximum 39.7 MPa value
(hardening process).
After unloading down to 0.44 MPa, water soaking
was performed under 0.44 MPa resulting in reducing
suction from 30 MPa down to 0 MPa. The swelling
under stress release observed (increase in void ratio
from 0.466 to 0.476) is also in good agreement with
10
LC 2
LOADING
0
0 10 20 30 40
VERTICAL STRESS, v: MPa
Figure 7. Loading Collapse yield in the test T1 and T2.
the BBM model, the suction release occurring inside
the elastic zone delimited by the LC curve.
The subsequent compression at zero suction carried
out during the T1 test evidenced a yield at 20 MPa
that is finally moved towards the LC2 position at
39.7 MPa. Further validation of the BBM is provided
by the results of test T2 that defines a yield stress
at dry state (σvo − ua = 13.5 MPa). This slightly
smaller value is related to the higher porosity of the
sample (37.9% instead of 36.5%) as explained by
Matthews & Clayton (1993). At s = 30 MPa, the yield
curve is moved during dry compression up to the
position LC3 (29.3 MPa).
The soaking induces here significant collapse
(decrease in void ratio from 0.500 to 0.389) that further
moves the LC curve to the right, with an intersection
with the x axis at 29.3 MPa.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The water retention properties and compression
behaviour of unsaturated samples of chalk from an
abandoned underground mine were investigated in
relation with the long term stability of abandoned
underground quarries.
A slight hysteresis was observed on the water reten-
tion curves, together with a significant desaturation
that occurred along the drying path just above the air-
entry value of the chalk (1.5 MPa). This confirmed
that the desaturation of the pillars had to be consid-
ered when assessing the long term stability of the
abandoned mine.

287
 Four suction controlled oedometer tests showed that
the volume change behaviour of the unsaturated chalk
was fairly comparable to that of unsaturated soils.
The Barcelona Basic Model could be successfully used
to account to some extent for water weakening effect
in partially saturated chalk, both in terms of swelling
when releasing suction at low stress and collapse com-
pression during soaking under high stress. It should be
mentioned however that the behaviour of Estreux chalk
during oedometric loading doesn’t reflect completely
the in situ conditions.
Further knowledge on the effect of changes in
degree of saturation on the collapse behaviour of the
material at low stress levels is needed in order to have
an insight into the water weakening mechanisms in
chalk.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The results on Estreux chalk have been obtained dur-
ing the French National Project BCRD coordinated
by INERIS. The collaboration of Dr G. Priol is also
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A., 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechniques 40,
No. 3, 405–430.
Andersen, M.A., 1995. Petroleum research in North Sea
chalk. Joint chalk research, phase IV, 47–153.
Bell, F.G., Culshaw, M.G. & Cripps, J.C., 1999. A review of
selected engineering geological characteristics of English
chalk. Engineering Geology, 54, 237–269.
Bonvallet, J., 1979. Une classification géotechnique des
craies du nord utilisée pour l’étude de stabilité des car-
rières souterraines. Revue Française de Géotechnique, 8:
5–14.
Bulut, R., Lytton, R.L. & Wray, W.K., 2001. Soil suc-
tion measurements by filter paper. Proc. Of Geo-Institute
Shallow Foundation and Soil Properties Committee
Sessions, ASCE Conference, Geotechnical Special
Publication Number 115, 243–261.
Chandler, R.J. & Gutierrez, C.I., 1986. The filter papar
method of suction measurement. Géotechnique 36,
265–268.
De Gennaro, V., Delage, P., Cui, Y.J., Schroeder, Ch. &
Collin, F. 2003. Time-dependent behaviour of oil
reservoir chalk: a multiphase approach. Soils and Foun-
dations, 43 (4), 131–148.
De Gennaro, V., Delage, P., Priol, G., Collin, F. & Cui, Y.J.,
2004. On the collapse behaviour of oil reservoir chalk.
Géotechnique, 54 (6), 415–420.
Delage, P., Suraj De Silva, G.P.R. & Vicol, T. 1992. Suction
controlled testing of non saturated soils with an osmotic
consolidometer. 7th Int. Conf. Expansive Soils, Dallas,
206–211.
288
Delage, P., Schroeder, C., & Cui, Y.J. 1996. Subsidence and
capillary effects in chalks. EUROCK ’96, Prediction and
performance on rock mechanics and rock engineering 2,
1291–1298, Turin, Italy.
Delage, P., Howat, M.D. & Cui, Y.J., 1998. The relation-
ship between suction and swelling properties in a heavily
compacted unsaturated clay. Engineering Geology, 50,
31–48.
Dineen, K. & Burland, J.B., 1995. A new approach to osmot-
ically controlled oedometer testing. Proc. 1 st Int. Conf.
on Unsaturated Soils UNSAT’95, Paris, 459–465.
Esteban Moratilla, F., 1990. Caracterizacion experimental
de la expensividad de una roca evaporitica. Identifica-
cion de los mecanismos de hinchamiento. PhD thesis,
Universidad de Cantabria, Santader, 352 p.
Fawcett, R.G. & Collis-George, N., 1967. A filter paper
method of determining the moisture characteristics of soil.
Austr. J. of Exp. Agr. and Animal Husb. 7, 162–167.
Gutierrez, M., Øino, L.E. & Hoeg, K., 2000. The effect of
fluid content on the mechanical behaviour of the fractures
in chalk. Rock Mechanics and Rocks Engineering, 33 (2),
93–117.
Hazebrouck, R. & Duthoit, B., 1979. Particularité du com-
portement mécanique des craies: rôle de l’eau—rupture
sous contrainte hydrostatique. Revue Française de
Géotechnique, 8, 45–50.
Houston, S.L., Houston, W.N. & Wagner, A.M., 1994. Lab-
oratory filter paper suction measurements. Geotechnical
Testing Journal, 17 (2), 185–194.
Kassiff, G. & Ben Shalom, A., 1971. Experimental relation-
ship between swell pressure and suction. Géotechnique,
21, 245–255.
Marcial, D., Delage, P. & Cui, Y.J., 2002. On the high stress
compression of bentonites. Can. Geotech. J. 39, 812–820.
Marcial, D., 2003. Comportement hydromécanique et
microstructural des matériaux de barrières ouvragées.
PhD Thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées,
Paris: 316 p.
Masson, M., 1973. Pétrophysique de la craie. In La craie,
Bull. Labo. Ponts et Chaussées, Special V, 23–48.
Matthews, M.C. & Clayton, C.R.I, 1993. Influence of intact
porosity on the engineering properties of a weak rock.
Proc. Geotechnical engineering of hard soils—soft rocks,
vol. 1, Anagnostopoulos et al. (eds), Balkema, 693–702.
Newman, G.H., 1983. The effect of water chemistry on the
laboratory compression and permeability characteristics
of some North Sea chalks. J. of Petroleum Eng., 976–980.
Oldecop, L.A. & Alonso, E.E., 2001. A model for rockfill
compressibility. Géotechnique 51, No. 2, 127–139.
Oteo Mazo, C., Saez Aunon, J. & Esteban, F., 1995. Lab-
oratory tests and equipment with suction control. Proc.
1st Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils UNSAT’95, 3, Paris,
Balkema, Rotterdam, 1509–1515.
Priol, G., De Gennaro, V., Delage, P. & Cui, Y.J. 2004. On
the suction and the time dependent behaviour of reservoir
chalks of North sea oilfields. Proc. 2nd Int. Workshop on
Unsaturated Soils, Capri (Italy), 43–54.
Priol, G., 2005. Comportement mécanique différé et mouilla-
bilité d’une craie pétrolifère. PhD Thesis, Ecole Nationale
des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 217 p.
Priol, G., De Gennaro, V., Delage, P., & Servant T.,
2007. Experimental investigation on the time dependent
behaviour of a multiphase chalk. Springer Proceedings
 Physics 112, Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics,
T. Schanz (ed.), 161–167.
Raffoux, J.F. & Ervel, C., 1980. Stabilité générale de la
carrière souterraine d’Estreux. Rapport CEECHAR, 8 p.
Schroeder, Ch., Bois, A.P., Maury, V. & Halle, G., 1998.
Water/chalk (or collapsible soil) interaction: Part II.
Results of tests performed in laboratory on Lixhe chalk
to calibrate water/chalk models. SPE/ISRM (SPE 47587)
Eurock’98, Trondheim.
Sorgi, C., 2004. Contribution méthodologique et expérimen-
tale à l’étude de la diminution de la résistance des massifs
289
rocheux par vieillissement. BCRD Final Report (conv.
2001–01111), INERIS-DRS (in French), 132 p.
Talesnick, M.L., Hatzor, Y.H. & Tsesarsky, M., 2001. The
elastic deformability and strength of a high porosity,
anisotropic chalk. Int. J. of Rock Mech. & Min. Sci., 38,
543–555.
Williams, J. & Shaykewich, C.F., 1969. An evaluation
of polyethylene glycol PEG 6000 and PEG 20000 in
the osmotic control of soil water matric potential. Can.
Geotech. J., 102 (6), 394–398.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effect of grain size distribution on water retention behaviour

of well graded coarse material

C. Hoffmann & A. Tarantino

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Strutturale, Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy

ABSTRACT: The paper presents an experimental investigation on water retention behaviour of well graded
coarse-grained soils. Two ‘reduced’ grain size distributions were tested to investigate how the removal of the
larger grain size fraction needed to reduce field samples to appropriate grain size for laboratory testing affects
water retention behaviour. As expected, the removal of larger particles significantly modified the water retention
characteristics of the soil. An approach to ‘scale’ water retention curves obtained in the laboratory to the soil in
the field is then presented. This approach was successfully tested against the soil investigated in this programme.

1 INTRODUCTION removal of the larger grain size fraction affects water

retention behaviour. The soil was tested along wet-
Coarse well graded unsaturated soils often com- ting paths under different void ratios to investigate
pose earthen constructions (earth dams, road and the main wetting surface in the space suction-void
railway embankments, and flood defence embank- ratio-degree of saturation. The experimental data
ments). These soils also compose shallow landslides were then compared with the water retention curves
that evolve into debris-flows. Their water retention estimated using indirect methods presented in the
behaviour is a key to understanding the effect of chang- literature.
ing boundary hydraulic conditions (rainfall, water
table, water reservoir level, river level) on shear
strength and, hence, on stability. 2 EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT
Water retention behaviour of coarse well graded
soils is often inferred from index properties (grain The box illustrated in Figure 1, which is equipped with
size distribution and dry density) in preliminary design one Trento high-capacity tensiometers (Tarantino &
and large area projects. These indirect methods are
also used when direct laboratory measurements are
costly and/or time consuming. A number of methods Tensiometer
have been proposed in the literature for the estimation
of the water retention curve based on statistical and
physico-empirical approaches. However, these meth-
ods have essentially been validated on agricultural
soils (Vereecken et al. 1989, Arya and Paris 1981).
A very limited database is available for coarse well O-rings
graded materials.
Another problem arising when investigating water Compacted
retention behaviour of coarse-grained materials is the specimen
need of reducing field samples to appropriate grain
size for laboratory testing. A question that might be
asked is how to extrapolate the water retention curves
obtained in the laboratory on reduced-size samples to Spacer
the soil in the field.
This paper presents an experimental investigation
on the water retention behaviour of a well graded
coarse material. Two different ‘reduced’ grain size
distributions were considered to investigate how the Figure 1. Schematic layout of suction measurement box.

291
 Tensiometer
CLAY SILT SAND GRAVEL
support 1
Tensiometers d10 (d < 10 mm)
Weight d25 (d < 25 mm)
0.8

Fraction finer
0.6

0.4
Membrane Compacted
75-85 mm

sample
0.2
Ø = 252 mm
0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10

Particle size, d: mm

Figure 2. Schematic layout of the oedometer cell used to Figure 3. ‘Reduced’ grain size distributions investigated in
measure suction of statically compacted specimens. this programme.

Mongiovì 2002), was used to carry out matric

suction measurement on dynamically compacted
samples.
Tensiometers were locked in place to ensure con-
tact with the sample by using caps tightened to the
cell upper base (not shown in the figure). O-rings
ensured air tightness so that water vapour could reach
equilibrium with the soil water.
Matric suction measurements on statically com-
pacted samples were carried out in the same oedometer
cell used to compact the sample (Figure 2). Two
tensiometers were installed through a metal support
connected to a flexible membrane used to ensure air
tightness. To ensure contact of the tensiometers with
the sample, two weights obtained by filling plastic
bags with steel spheres were placed over the metal
support.

3 MATERIAL AND SPECIMEN PREPARATION
Two ‘reduced’ grain size distributions having max-
imum particle size of 10 and 25 mm respectively
were tested in this experimental programme (Figure 3).
These soils will be referred to as d10 and d25
respectively.
Air-dried soil was laid in a large plastic basin
and sprayed with demineralised water to reach the
target water content. The moistened powder was hand-
mixed and then wrapped inside two sealed plastic
bags, placed in a plastic container and stored in a
high-humidity room for 1 day.
The soil d10 was dynamically compacted into a
101.6 mm diameter mould in three layers to 30%,
50%, or 100% of Proctor energy. The sample was
trimmed to 117 mm height, extruded and stored for
2 days at least to allow moisture equalisation. A first
series of samples were directly put into the suction
Figure 4. ‘As-compacted’ states of statically and dynami-
cally compacted samples. Arrows show the path followed by
the samples wetted after compaction.
measurement box for tensiometer measurement (spec-
imens compacted to 100% and 50% Proctor energy
in Figure 4). A second series of samples were wet-
ted by spraying demineralised water to reach a target
water content checked by weighing. The wetting stage
was then followed by a period of 2 days for moisture
equalisation. The samples were then put into the
suction measurement box for tensiometer measure-
ment (specimens compacted to 30 % Proctor energy
in Figure 4).
The soil d25 was statically compacted into the
252 mm diameter oedometer cell shown in Figure 2.
The moistened powder was placed in the oedome-
ter and compressed by increasing the air pressure in

292
the upper compartment of the cell. A rigid plate (not
shown in the figure) was interposed between the flex-
ible membrane and the top surface of the sample to
ensure uniform vertical deformation. The sample was
compacted in stages to four different vertical stresses:
75, 150, 300, and 600 kPa. The as-compacted states
of the statically compacted samples are shown in
Figure 4.
4 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Tensiometers were calibrated in the positive range
of water pressure and the calibration curve was then
extrapolated to the negative range of water pressure
according to Tarantino & Mongiovì (2003). Before
testing, the saturation of the tensiometer porous
ceramic was checked following the procedure illus-
trated by Tarantino (2004). After assembling the
suction measurement box (Figure 1) or the oedome-
ter cell (Figure 2), the tensiometers were installed and
fixed by screws. To improve contact with the sample a
paste made by the finer fraction of the soil was applied
on the porous stone of the tensiometer.
A single suction measurement was performed on
each dynamically compacted specimen (d10) . In con-
trast, multiple suction measurements were performed
on each statically compacted specimen (d25). After
applying the 75 kPa vertical stress, the loading pad
was removed and the tensiometers were installed as
shown in Figure 2. Afterwards, the tensiometers were
removed, the specimen was compacted to 150 kPa ver-
tical stress, and suction measurement was carried out
again. This procedure was repeated for the vertical
stresses of 300 and 600 kPa.
5 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The experimental results in terms of degree of sat-
uration are shown Figure 5a. All these data may
be assumed to be ‘main’ wetting data. Compaction
produces an increase in the degree of saturation by
reducing void ratio at constant water content. This
mechanism can be referred to as ‘mechanical’ wet-
ting. Since compaction induces the lowest void ratio,
compacted samples also experience the highest degree
of saturation. Data relative to ‘as-compacted’ states
(statically compacted samples and samples dynam-
ically compacted to 50 and 100% Proctor energy)
can therefore be assumed to be ‘main wetting’
data.
Samples compacted at 30% Proctor energy were
further wetted by spraying water. This mechanism
of degree of saturation increase can be referred to
as ‘hydraulic’ wetting. Since hydraulic wetting fol-
lowed a mechanical ‘main’ wetting, these data can
293
1
Degree of saturation, Sr
0.8
0.6
(a)
100% Proctor
0.4 50% Proctor
30% Proctor(wetted)
75 kPa
0.2 150 kPa
300 kPa
600 kPa 75 and 150 kPa 300 and 600 kPa
0
Effective water ratio, ew-ewh
(b)
0.1
1 10 100
Matric suction, s: kPa
Figure 5. Water retention data for statically and dynami-
cally compacted samples.
still be assumed to be ‘main wetting’ data. Here, we
are implicitly assuming that the two modes of degree
of saturation increase, hydraulic and mechanical, are
equivalent as demonstrated by Tarantino & Tombolato
(2005) and Tarantino (2008).
Figure 5a shows that the relationship between suc-
tion and degree of saturation for the d10 and d25 soils
is not unique but depends on void ratio. The higher
the compaction energy, the lower the void ratio, and
the higher the air-occlusion suction. This is consistent
with the capillary model which predicts an increase
in the air-occlusion suction as the diameter of the
capillary tube decreases. Data shown in Figure 5a
therefore suggests that main wetting data should be
modelled in the space suction, void ratio, and degree of
saturation.
Figure 5b shows the same data plotted in terms of
effective water ratio, which is defined as the differ-
ence between water ratio ew and hygroscopic water
ratio ewh , the water ratio being the volume of water to
volume of solids ratio (ew = Vw /Vs ) . The effect of
void ratio is now much less pronounced and data seems
to converge in a log-log plot at high suctions. This was
also observed by Tarantino (2008) for a number of dif-
ferent soils. This means that the effective water ratio
ew − ewh at high suction is described by a power func-
tion of suction. The power interpolation is shown in
Figure 5b for d10 and d25 soils.
6 MODELLING VOID-RATIO DEPENDENT 1
WATER RETENTION BEHAVIOUR d10(d<10mm)
d25(d<25mm)

Estimated degree of saturation, (Sr)estimated

Let us assume that the effective water ratio ew − ewh at 0.8
high suctions for ‘main wetting’ paths can be described
by a power function of suction, s:
0.6
−b
ew − ewh = as (1)
0.4
where ew is the water ratio, ewh is the hygroscopic water
ratio, and a and b are two parameters associated with
the intercept and slope of the straight line interpolating 0.2
experimental data in plane ln(s) − ln(ew − ewh ).
Consider now the water retention equation of the
type proposed by van Genuchten (1980): 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
ew − ewh
−m Measured degree of saturation, (Sr)
Sre = = 1 + (αs)n (2) measured

e − ewh
Figure 6. Performance of the water retention model for the
where Sre is the effective degree of saturation, e is the grain size distributions d10 and d25.
void ratio, and α, n, and m are soil parameters.
If the van Genuchten’s model is constrained to con-
verge at high suctions to the water ratio curve given 1
by Equation 1, the following model for ‘main wetting’ e=0.28 e=0.38
Degree of saturation, Sr

behaviour is obtained: e=0.28

0.8

ew − ewh
Sre = 0.6 (a)
e − ewh
e=0.38
⎡ ⎛ ⎞n ⎤− nb 0.4
 1
⎢ ⎜ e − ewh b ⎟ ⎥
= ⎣1 + ⎝ s⎠ ⎦ (3) 0.2
a 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Matric suction, s: kPa
1
Full derivation of Equation 3 and its validation
Degree of saturation, Sr

0.8 e=0.51 ± 0.01

can be found in Tarantino (2008). It can be seen e=0.42 ± 0.01
that the dependency of effective degree of saturation 0.6 e=0.42
on void ratio naturally appears in the modified van (b)
Genuchten’s water retention equation. It is worth notic- 0.4
ing that void ratio e controls the α parameter (compare
0.2 e=0.51
Eq. 2 with Eq. 3) which is, in turn, the van Genuchten’s
parameter that essentially affects the air-occlusion suc- 0
tion. In other words, the void ratio controls the water 0.1 1 10 1000
retention behaviour through the air-occlusion suction. Matric suction, s: kPa
The capability of Equation 3 to capture the experi-
mental data is shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 for the Figure 7. Main wetting water retention curves at constant
void ratio (a) soil d10; (b) soil d25.
d10and d25 grain size distributions.
The main wetting retention curves at the same
void ratio e = 0.4 for the two grain size distribu-
tions d10 and d25 as predicted by Equation 3 are The steepest grain size distribution, d10, also pro-
shown in Figure 8. As expected, two different grain duces the steepest water retention curve. This is in
size distributions produce two different water retention agreement with the observations made by Arya & Paris
curves. (1981). Indirect methods for predicting water reten-
However, there is a similarity between the water tion behaviour based on grain size distribution and
retention curves for d10 and d25in Figure 8 and dry density should be therefore able to account for
the grains size distributions shown in Figure 3. this effect.

294
 1 (a) 1
Vereecken et al. (1989)
Degree of saturation, Sr

Degree of saturation, Sr
0.8
0.8 d10 Eq. (3)
0.6

0.6
0.4
Arya & Paris (1981)

0.4 0.2
d25 e=0.28
e=0.38
0
0.2 0.1 1 10 100 1000
0.1 1 10 100 1000 Matric suction, s: kPa

Matric suction, s: kPa (b) 1

Vereecken et al. (1989)

Degree of saturation, Sr
0.8
Figure 8. Predicted main wetting retention curves at the Eq. (3) e=0.42
same void ratio (e = 0.4) for the grain size distributions d10 e=0.51
0.6
and d25.
0.4

7 ESTIMATING WATER RETENTION 0.2

BEHAVIOUR FROM GSD
According to Cornelis et al. (2001), there are three
main approaches to estimate the water retention curve.
The Group 1 methods estimate the water content of the
soil at certain suctions using multiple linear regression
or artificial neural networks. The Group 2 methods
predict the parameters of a closed-form analytical
equation such as the model of Brooks and Corey
(1964) or the van Genuchten equation (1980). This
is done through multiple linear regression or artifi-
cial neural networks. The Group 3 methods are based
on a physical-conceptual approach of the water reten-
tion phenomenon and may use fractal mathematics
and scaled similarities. We selected one method from
Group 2 (Vereecken et al. 1989, 1992) and one method
from Group 3 (Arya & Paris 1981).
The method presented by Vereecken et al. (1989,
1992) estimates van Genuchten’s parameters by
regression equations that use the grain-size distribu-
tion and the dry density. In particular, three grain size
fractions are considered, clay fraction (<2 μm), silt
fraction (2–50 μm), and sand (50–2000 μm). The
large database of 40 soil horizons used by Vereecken
et al. (1989, 1992) to develop their regression equa-
tions did not include soils with grain size greater than
2 mm. As a result, this method may give inconsis-
tent results when applied to coarse-grained materials.
Nonetheless, it was selected as it appears to give the
best results among the methods in Group 2 (Cornelis
et al. 2001).
The method by Arya & Paris (1981) consists in
translating the grain size distribution into a pore-size
distribution. The cumulative pore volume and the cor-
responding suction are then determined by assuming
spherical particles and cylindrical pores.
This method was originally developed from a small
database and then extrapolated to larger database.
Arya & Paris (1981)
0
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Matric suction, s: kPa
Figure 9. Assessment of indirect methods for predicting
water retention behaviour form grain size distribution. (a)
soil d10; (b) soil d25.
An average value of 1.38 was originally suggested for
the scaling parameter α. Later investigations by Arya
et al. (1982) showed that the average scaling parame-
ter α ranged from 1.1 for fine-grained soils to 2.5 for
coarse-grained soils. A value of α = 2 was selected
for the well graded coarse materials d10 and d25.
The water retention curves predicted by these two
methods are shown in Figure 9 for the soils d10 and
d25. As expected, prediction using the approach by
Vereecken et al. (1989) is not satisfactory espe-
cially for the soil d25. The degree of saturation is
significantly overestimated at low suctions and even
the shape of the predicted water retention curve dif-
fers from the one derived from the experimental data
(Eq. 3). This confirms that empirical methods should
be applied to the same class of grain size distributions
used to validate such methods.
The model by Arya & Paris (1981) gives better
results and the shape of the predicted water retention
curve appears to be similar to the one derived from
experimental data.
8 FROM LABORATORY SCALE
TO FIELD SCALE
The water retention curve derived form the Arya &
Paris (1981) approach is satisfactory at a qualitative
level. This suggests a simple approach to extrapolate

295
the water retention behaviour experimentally deter-
mined in the laboratory on a ‘reduced’ grain size
distribution to the soil in field.
Let us assume that the soil d25 is the original soil
in the field and that the grain size distribution d10
is the ‘reduced’ grain size distribution to be tested in
the laboratory. The water retention curve for d10is
determined experimentally and one has to predict the
unknown water retention curve for the soil d25.
The curve from the Arya and Paris (1981) method
can be first scaled to match the experimental data avail-
able for soil d10. We scaled the suction according to
the following relationship:
 
sAP
ln s∗ = A · ln + ln s0
s0
where s∗ is the scaled suction, sAP is the suction derived
from the original Arya and Paris (1981) method, s0
and A are two best-fit parameter. Equation 4 indi-
cates a rotation of the water retention curve around the
point having suction s0 . We selected s0 = 1000 kPa
and determined the parameter A by matching the
experimental curve Figure 10a).
The scaling provided by Equation 4 was then
applied to the Arya & Paris water retention curve
estimated for the soil d25 based on grain size
distribution (Figure 10b). The agreement is not excel-
lent but may be considered acceptable in many practi-
cal applications.
9 CONCLUSIONS
The paper has presented an experimental investigation
of water retention behaviour of well graded coarse-
grained soils. Two ‘reduced’ grain size distributions,
d10 and d25 respectively, were tested. Each soil was
compacted to different void ratios.
It has been shown that water retention behaviour is
significantly affected by void ratio and a water reten-
tion equation has been used to model main wetting
(4) behaviour in the space suction, void ratio, and degree
of saturation.
Two indirect methods were then investigated to
derive water retention curve from grain size distribu-
tion. The statistical approach provided mean results
because it was validated against a different class of
soils. The physical-conceptual model was closer to
experimental data and could be used as a basis to
extrapolate the water retention behaviour experimen-
tally determined on a ‘reduced’ grain size distribu-
tion (d10) to a soil including a larger grain size
fraction (d25).

1
Arya & Paris (1981) scaled ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Degree of saturation, Sr

0.8 Eq. (3)

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of
(a) the European Commission via the ‘‘Marie Curie’’
0.6
Research Training Network contract number MRTN-
Arya & Paris (1981) CT-2004–506861.
0.4
They also wish to thank Ms Giulia Pisoni and Mr
e=0.4 Martin Monnier who carried out the tests on soil d10
0.2 and Mr Marco Campana who carried out the test on
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
soil d25.
Matric suction, s: kPa
1
Arya & Paris (1981) scaled
REFERENCES
Degree of saturation, Sr

0.8
Eq. (3)
0.6 Arya, L.M. & Paris, J.F. 1981. A physicoempirical model to
(b)
predict the soil moisture characteristic from particle size.
0.4 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45: 1023–1030.
Arya & Paris (1981) Arya, L.M., Richter, J.C. & Davidson, S.A. 1982.
0.2 A comparison of soil moisture characteristic predicted
e=0.4 by the Arya-Paris model with laboratory-measured data.
0 Agristars Technology Report SM-L1-04247, JSC-17820,
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 NASA-Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
Matric suction, s: kPa Brooks, R.H. & Corey, A.T. 1964. Hydraulic properties of
porous media. Hydrology Paper 3. Colorado State Univ.,
Figure 10. A simple approach to derive field water retention Fort Collins, CO.
curve from laboratory ‘reduced’ grain size water retention Cornelis, W.M., Van Meirvenne, M. & Hartmann, R. 2001.
curve. (a) determining the scaling parameter by fitting exper- Evaluation of Pedotransfer Functions for Predicting the
imental data on d10; (b) predicting water retention curve Soil Moisture Retention Curve. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 65:
for d25. 638–648.

296
Tarantino, A. 2004. Panel report: Direct measurement of
soil water tension. In Proceedings 3rd International Con-
ference on Unsaturated Soils (eds J.F.T. Jucá, T.M.P. de
Campos and F.A.M. Marinho), Recife, 3, pp. 1005–1017.
Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Tarantino, A. 2008. A water retention model for deformable
soils. Submitted for publication.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2002. Design and construction
of a tensiometer for direct measurement of matric suction.
In Proceedings 3rd International Conference on Unsatu-
rated Soils (eds J.F.T. Jucá, T.M.P. de Campos and F.A.M.
Marinho), Recife, 1, pp. 319–324.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2003. Calibration of tensiome-
ter for direct measurement of matric suction. Géotech-
nique, 53(1): 137–141.
297
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Géotechnique 55(4): 307–317.
van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed form equation for
predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated
soils. Soil Science Society of American Journal 44,
892–898.
Vereecken, H., Feyen, J., Maes, J. & Darius, P. 1989. Estimat-
ing the soil moisture retention curve characteristic from
texture, bulk density, and carbon content. Soil Science
148: 389–403.
Vereecken, H., Diels, J., Van Orshoven J., Feyen, J. & Bouma J.
1992. Functional evaluation of pedotransfer function for
the estimation of soil hydraulic conductivity. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. J., 56: 1371–1378.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Water retention functions of sand mixtures

E. Imre & I. Laufer

St. István University, Ybl Miklós School of Engineering and Geotechnical Dept., BME, Budapest, Hungary

K. Rajkai
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Institute for Soil Sc. and Agricultural Chem., Budapest, Hungary

A. Scheuermann
Institute for Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany

T. Firgi & G. Telekes

St. István University, Ybl Miklós School of Engineering, Budapest, Hungary

ABSTRACT: The water retention curves of three sand fractions and 12 continuous and gap-graded
2-component sand mixtures were measured. Due to the unexpectedly long equalization times, the tests (involv-
ing 11 suction steps) lasted longer than two years. In this paper, two methods for predicting the water retention
properties are considered which use the grain size distribution as primary input. In particular, the data are used
to validate a pedo-transfer model which is based on the pore size distribution of a soil.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 THEORETICAL METHODS

The experimental determination of the water retention 2.1 Method 1—grading entropy approach
curve or soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) and
A transfer function generation method for sands,
the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is time consum-
describing the relationship between the grading curve
ing and costly. However, these properties are the pri-
and the soil properties (property functions) was sug-
mary input for the assessment of infiltration processes
gested (Imre et al, 2008). It is based on the grading
in unsaturated soils. Consequently the soil hydraulic
entropy concept of Lőrincz (1986). The grading curve
properties are often estimated rather than measured.
is characterized by two entropy coordinates: base
In this paper, research concerning two methods is con-
entropy So and entropy increment S (in normalised
sidered which use the grain size distribution as primary
form ‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’, respectively). This can be related
input.
to the number of particle size fractions, N , identified
Method 1 is the application of a transfer function
within the grading curve. A normalised entropy dia-
generation method based on grading entropy (Imre
gram (Fig. 1) can be used to identify soils that are
et al, 2008). It consists of the following steps. (i) The
stable, or subject to piping or suffusion (particle migra-
soil function is experimentally determined for some
tion). Soils for testing in this research were identified
controlled grading curves (ii) The measured data
to represent different entropy states (Fig. 2).
are mathematically described using the best possible
model (iii) The mathematical description is extended
to all grading curves.
2.2 Method 2—capillary method based on the
In this paper—the 6th in a series (Imre et al, 2003 to
pore constriction size distribution
Imre et al, 2008) —some measured data are presented.
This adds to the data on a duplicate sample set that The pore constriction distribution is calculated approx-
was stopped after 7 suction steps, reported in Imre imately using a method proposed by Schuler (1996).
et al. (2007). This new data is used for the validation Based on the assumption that the soil consists of spher-
of method 2, which is based on the calculation of the ical particles, the grain size distribution (finer by
pore size distribution (Scheuermann & Bieberstein, weight) is recalculated into a distribution of ‘‘finer by
2007). surface’’. The grain size distribution finer by surface

299
 entropy maximum for N=2 particles. In this way a pore constriction distribution
is calculated dependent on the soil density.
3 Based on the pore constriction distribution, the
4 water retention curve is calculated using the Young-
1 .2 5
6 Laplace equation. For the presented study the residual
Entropy increment, B[-]

Zone water content is approximated as retained water in the

Zone 7
I. contact zones of the particles. Adhesive forces are
II. neglected.
0 .8
III. A detailed description of the method is given in
Scheuermann & Bieberstein (2007).

0 .4
minimum
3 MEASUREMENT METHODS
B lin e
N = 3 to 7 For the determination of the transfer function with
0 .0
method 1, some experiments were needed. The testing
0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 conducted previously was carried out on soils com-
Relative base entropy, A[-] posed from the fractions shown in Table 1. Optimal
mixtures (with entropy parameter ‘‘A’’ = 2/3) were
Figure 1. Half of the normalized entropy diagram for var- tested (Table 2).
ious numbers of grading fractions (N ). Legend: Zones: In the first part of the research (Imre et al, 2003)
I: piping. II: stable. III: stable with suffusion. seven fractions were used and the standard method
for suction determination of the Soil Science Insti-
tute was adopted. This method uses sand boxes (for
stage I, II ua − uw ≤ 50 kPa) and a pressure membrane extractor
stage III (1500 kPa > ua − uw > 50 kPa) (Várallyay, 1973;
1.2 Rajkai 1993). In addition, a pressure-plate extractor
Entropy increment, B[-]

was used. Due to the problems with the high air entry
disc, this method was not applied later on.
0.8
Table 1. Fractions in the research.

Simplified notation Grain size d (mm)

0.4
lower bounding 1 2.0–4.0
lines for N = 2 to 7 2 (C) 1.0–2.0
3 (B) 0.50–1.0
0.0 4 (A) 0.25–0.50
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
5 0.125–0.25
Relative base entropy, A[-] 6 0.06–0.125
7 0.03–0.06
Figure 2. The normalized entropy diagram (showing the
soils tested in the research).

Table 2. The mixtures used in the first part of the research

includes information about the probability with which (Imre et al, 2003).
individual particles with a specific surface will touch
each other. The number of
The pore constriction in the area between the par- fractions N [-] Fractions in the mixture
ticles is determined based on the density index of a
soil Dr = (nmax − n)/(nmax − nmin ) (where n is poros- 2 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7
ity and nmax and nmin are the maximum and minimum 3 1-2-3, 2-3-4, 3-4-5, 4-5-6, 5-6-7
porosities) by considering a group of four particles 4 1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5, 3-4-5-6, 4-5-6-7
5 1-2-3-4-5, 2-3-4-5-6, 3-4-5-6-7
touching each other. In this sense the pore constric-
6 1-2-3-4-5-6, 2-3-4-5-6-7
tion is defined as the largest 1-dimensional circle that 7 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
can be constructed in the pore throat between the four

300
 (a)
100

Percentage passing S [%]

100B

100 A

100C
0
1.00 0.10
d [mm]
(b)
100

Percentage passing S [%]

100A
Figure 3. A section through the sand box.
80A20B
60A40B
Table 3. The mixtures used in the second part (Imre et al, 40A60B
2005). 20A80B

N [-] Fractions in the mixture 100B

0
1.00 0.10
2 1-2, 2-3, 3-4
d [mm]
3 1-3, 2-4 (c)
4 1-4 100
Percentage passing S [%]

100B

Table 4. Mixtures used in the third part (reported here).

80B20C
N [-] Fractions in the mixture 60B40C
40B60C
20B80C
3 C-B, C-A, B-A
100C
0
1.00 0.10
(d) d [mm]
The sand box (Figure 3) was originally built with a 100
S, Percentage passing [%]

filter of fine sand with about 0.01 m of thickness (that

acts as a semi-permeable layer) and a lower filter mate- 100A
rial (asbestos) below the sand with about 0.01 m of
thickness. Kaolinite can be used for a semi-permeable 80A20C
60A40C
layer for higher suctions. Suction is applied by gravi- 40A60C
tational means (hanging column of water) for suctions 20A80C
less than about 2.5 kPa and vacuum above this. Water
content is measured by weighing of the samples about
100C
every third day. 0
In the second part of the research (Imre et al, 2005) 1.00 0.10
only fractions 1 to 4 were used. Two-component mix- d [mm]
tures were tested in the suction range 0 to 50 kPa using
some new suction steps and sand boxes. Figure 4. Composition of soils in the third part of the
In the third part of the research (reported here) research (intended curves in dashed lines). (a) B-A mixtures,
2-component soils were used consisting of fractions A (b) C-B mixtures and (c) C-A mixtures.
[0.25–0.5 mm], B [0.5–1.0 mm] and C [1.0–2.0 mm]
(these are the same as fractions 2 to 4 used in the pre- 2008) that for a 2-component soil the value of ‘‘A’’ is
vious research). The relative base entropy ‘‘A’’ varies equal to quantity of the larger fraction (Fig 2). The soil
from 0 to 1 (Table 4 and Fig. 2). It follows from the def- composition is shown in Figure 3 in terms of grading
inition of the entropy parameter ‘‘A’’ (e.g. Imre et al, curve and in terms of symbols (e.g. 20A80B indicates

301
Table 5. Suction steps in the sand box.
Suction steps Semi-permeable
(in 0.1 kPa) layer Suction load
1, 2.5 Sand Gravitational
4, 6* , 7, 8*, 10, 13*, 15, fine sand vacuum
16*, 20, 20*, 23*, 26*,
29*, 31.5, 32*, 35*
* Additional suction steps in this research—third part.
20% from fraction A and 80% from fraction B in terms
of dry mass).
The intended and the actual grading curves slightly
differ. The difference can be attributed to suffusion
and segregation (the entropy parameter ‘‘A’’ was vary-
ing from 0 to 1 exceeding the segregation safe zone,
‘‘A’’ = 0.4–0.7). Suffusion was observed in the first
mass measurements.
The testing was carried out with a single new fine
sand box with varying suction load that required stages
with much longer durations (more than two months
were needed for larger suction loads instead of 2–3
weeks) than in the case of the boxes with specified
constant suction load.
The sand box is shown in Figure 3. The filter mate-
rial was changed in the third part of the research.
The asbestos material was replaced with a copy of the
original material which is not dangerous.
The suction steps were decided on the basis of the
experimental results throughout the previous parts of
the program (Table 5).
At least two samples were prepared for each mix-
ture. The sand was poured in the loosest possible dry
state in a container then it was saturated. Samples were
gained by pushing the samplers with 2.5 cm of height
and 3.8 cm of diameter into the saturated layer.
The mass of the samples was measured regularly
during each suction step and at the end of the test they
were oven dried. From these data, the water content
was back-computed for each measured mass value.
Because of the time consuming nature of the experi-
ment, half of the duplicate soil samples were opened
after load step 7 (at 2.6 kPa) and part of the results
were presented earlier (Imre et al, 2007).
4 RESULTS
4.1 Water retention curve data
The water retention data of the fractions measured in
the first and some from the third part of the research
are compared in Figure 5. The water retention curves
measured in the third part of research are shown in
Figure 6.
302
1.0
0.8
0.6 4/A
w [-]
2003
1
2/C 2007
0.4
5 6 7
3/B
0.2
0.0
1E-1 1E+0 1E+1 1E+2 1E+3
ua-uw [kPa]
Figure 5. Water retention curves, results from Imre et al
(2003) and Imre et al (2007) (w—gravimetric water content).
According to the results, the water retention data
are situated in the same order as the grading curves in
Figure 4, however, the ‘‘spacing’’ is not equal.
The various fractions have significantly different
slopes in the quasi-linear, steep part, getting steeper
for the finer fractions.
Constant-valued (flat) parts (sections where the suc-
tion changes without a change in the water content)
were observed in the curves for fraction B and for
some mixtures A-B and A-C.
Comparing the results of the fraction with the
results measured in the first part of the research (Fig. 5)
the following can be observed. The result for fraction C
(same as fraction 2) is identical, for fractions B (i.e. 3)
and A (i.e. 4) some difference was found basically
due to the additional suction steps. Slightly differ-
ent sample sizes and suction increments were used.
The measurements were made in different sand boxes
since the filter material was changed in the third part
of the research.
Comparing the results of the double soil samples,
the slight difference between the first and second sam-
ples is acceptable (the first samples were opened after
step 7, at 2.6 kPa suction load, see Fig. 6).
4.2 Comparison with the pedo-transfer method
Figure 7 shows calculations of the water retention
curves (lines) using method 2 described in section
2.2 in comparison to the presented experimental data
(symbols). Since the samples are tested in a loose
condition a density index of Dr = 0.3 was cho-
sen. The saturated water contents of the experimental
investigation are used for the calculation.
(a) C-B-A fractions (2nd part)
A-B samples 1&2 (3rd part)
1

0.8

0.6
w [-]

0.4 C B
A
0.2 (a)

0
1E-1 1E+0 1E+1
ua-uw[kPa]
(b) C-B-A fractions (2nd part)
C-B samples (3rd part)
1

0.8 B

0.6
w [-]

0.4 A (b)
C

0.2

0
1E-1 1E+0 1E+1
ua-uw[kPa]
(c) fractions C, B, A, 2nd part of the research
C-A samples 1&2, 3nd part of the research
1

0.8

(c)
0.6
w [-]

Figure 7. Comparison between measured (symbols) and

0.4 A
C B calculated (lines) water retention curves. (a) B-A mixtures,
(b) C-B mixtures and (c) C-A mixtures.
0.2

0
1E-1 1E+0 1E+1 consideration of the density index which was estimated
ua-uw[kPa] and not measured for the calculation.

Figure 6. Measured water retention results (a) B-A mixture,

(b) C-B mixture, and (c) C-A mixture curves (w—gravimetric
water content).
The comparison of Figure 7 between calculated and
measured retention curves shows in the most cases
quite good agreement. In particular, the suction at
the air entry value, which is characterized by the
largest pore constriction (i.e. the greatest possible exit
of a pore) was calculated with satisfactorily accor-
dance. The discrepancy between the calculation and
the measurement are mainly caused by the inaccurate
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Some results of two ongoing research projects are
reported in this paper where water retention curve
models are planned to be elaborated.
5.1 Method 1 (grading entropy approach)
The water retention curves of three sand fractions
and 12 continuous and gap-graded 2 component sand
mixtures were measured. The mixtures constituted
some one-parameter grading curve series (optimal,

303
gap-graded, selected on the basis of grading entropy
theory) with diameter being larger than 0.25 mm.
The main conclusion can be summarized as follows:
i. The water retention curves were measured in a
sand box with varying suctions applied gravita-
tionally since the residual suction was less than 10
kPa in every case. Some additional suction steps
were adopted with respect to previously reported
parts of the research (Table 5). The measured data
indicated that the applied suction increment sys-
tem was acceptable and the ‘‘precise’’ shape of the
retention curves for the tested sands were deter-
mined (except that the intended and the actual
grading curves differed slightly due to segregation
and suffusion).
ii. According to the results, the middle part of the
retention curve of the fractions was extremely
steep. The slope was steeper for finer fractions
than for coarser fractions which conflicts with the
previous assumption (i.e. it was assumed that these
were equal).
iii. The water retention curve for fraction B and some
mixtures contained some constant valued (flat)
parts. The reason was probably partly due to
non-perfect fractions and partly the non-uniform
distribution of the grains or of the pores within
a fraction. Further experimental research is sug-
gested on the determination of the grain and pore
size distribution curves, using artificial soils.
iv. Very long stage durations (about 3 months) were
observed which was attributed to the fact that the
suction was varied within the sand box. The widths
of the sand layer in the sand box is comparable
with the height of the sample (0.025 m) since the
width of the fine sand is about 0.01 m and the
filter material below the sand is also about 0.01 m
in thickness.
v. A slight shift was found between the results of
the second and the third stage data measured in
different sand boxes. Further research is planned
on the slight difference between the old and the
new boxes.
5.2 Method 2 (the ‘‘capillary method’’)
validation
In this research the measured data were used to
test a capillary method for the calculation of the
water retention curve based on an approach for the
304
approximate determination of the pore constriction
size distribution.
The first results indicate a fairly good agreement
between calculation and measurement reflecting the
fact that the samples may have different compact-
ness ratio, which was not directly determined in the
laboratory tests.
Further experimental research is suggested, in par-
ticular on the determination of the minimum and
maximum dry density of the tested mixtures. Future
investigations are aimed to develop and improve both
the pedo-transfer methods.
REFERENCES
Imre, E., Rajkai, K., Genovese, R., Jommi, C., Lőrincz, J.,
Aradi, L., Telekes, G. 2003. Soil water-retention curve
for fractions and mixtures. Proc. of UNSAT-ASIA, Osaka
451–456.
Imre, E., Havrán, K., Lőrincz, J., Rajkai, K., Firgi, T.,
Telekes, G. 2005. A model to predict the soil water char-
acteristics of sand mixtures. Int. Symp. on Advanced
Experimental Unsat. Soil Mech. Trento June 27–29.
Imre, E., Rajkai, K., Firgi, T., Trang Q.P., Telekes, G.
2006. Closed-Form Functions For The Soil Water-
Retention Curve of Sand Fractions and Sand Mixtures The
Fourth Int. Conference On Unsaturated Soils, Arizona.
2408–2419.
Imre, E., Laufer, I., Trang, Q.P., Lőrincz, J., Rajkai, K.,
Firgi, T., Telekes, G. 2007. The soil water characteristics
of 2-component sand mixtures, 2nd International Con-
ference Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils, 2007 Weimar
2:45–59.
Imre, E., Lőrincz, J., Rózsa, P. 2008. Characterization
of some sand mixtures. Proc. of the 12th Int. Confer-
ence of International Association for Computer Methods
and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) 1–6 October,
2008 Goa, India (submitted).
Rajkai, K. 1993. A talajok vízgazdálkodási tulajdonságainak
vizsgálati módszerei. Búzás I. (ed): Talaj-és agrokémiai
vizsg. INDA4321 Kiadó, Bp. 115–160.
Scheuermann, A., Bieberstein, A. 2007. Determination of
the Soils Water Retention Curve and the Unsaturated
Hydraulic Conductivity from the Particle Size Distri-
bution. Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mech. Springer.
421–433.
Schuler, U. 1996. Scattering of the composition of soils—an
aspect for the stability of granular filters. In J. Lafleur &
A.L. Rollin (ed.), Geofilters ’96, Montréal, May 1996.
Várallyay Gy. 1973. A talajok nedvességpotenciálja és új
berendezés annak meghatározására az alacsony tenziótar-
tományban. Agrokémia és Talajtan 22. 1–22.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Permeability of a heavily compacted bentonite-sand mixture as sealing

and buffer element for nuclear waste repository

S.S. Agus
Civil, Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Consultant, Singapore

T. Schanz
Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany

ABSTRACT: The most important issue pertaining to the performance of sealing and buffer elements in nuclear
waste repository is permeability of the elements. Heavily compacted bentonite-sand mixtures are amongst the
materials suggested to be used as sealing and buffer elements. When these materials are in contact with water at
low stress levels, swelling takes place and void ratio increases. Generally, permeability of a soil increases with
void ratio. However, the compacted bentonite-sand mixtures used for this purpose would most probably undergo
wetting under constant volume conditions or under limited volume change. In this paper, a method to calculate
possible changes in permeability of a heavily compacted bentonite-sand mixture is presented. The method is
based on the micro-macro interaction model for expansive soils.

1 INTRODUCTION should be as low as 2 × 10−16 m2 , also considering

There are urgent needs of establishing a final reposi-
tory for hazardous waste (including nuclear waste) in
many countries in the world. The concept of storing the
hazardous waste in containers buried at great depths
becomes popular. In Germany, since 1979, Deutsche
Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern fuer
Abfallstoffe mbH (DBE) or the German Company
for Construction and Operation of Waste Reposi-
tory, an organization by the Federal Government, has
been appointed to establish final repositories for the
German hazardous waste (Enviros, 2003). AkEnd
(2002) set up the requirements for selecting a suit-
able site for the final repository in the country, which
are mainly related to the characteristics of host rocks
where the repository will be located. The design
concept of the deep geological repository includes
buffering and sealing the canister where the waste
will be stored. Among the favorable materials pro-
posed to be used as sealing and buffer elements for the
repository are compacted bentonite-sand mixtures.
Several favorable characteristics of compacted
bentonite-sand mixtures include low permeability,
good thermal properties, and high self-sealing capa-
bility. However, the most important issue pertaining
to the use of compacted bentonite-sand mixture in a
repository is its permeability. Wittke et al. (1998) indi-
cated that the intrinsic permeability of the material for
sealing and buffer of the hazardous waste repository
other factors that may affect the characteristics of the
material such as moderate-to-high temperature devel-
opment and the influence of solutions flowing from
the host rocks.
It is well understood that the buffer and sealing
material located close to the canister would experi-
ence an increased temperature generated by the stored
waste. On the other hand, the material, which would be
located close to the host rocks, would be under influ-
ence of saline solutions. The material at this location
would possibly swell due to water ingress since ini-
tially there would be a gap between the bricks and the
host rocks. As soon as the gap is sealed, the material
will be under constant volume conditions and swelling
pressure is exerted. In this paper, possible variation of
permeability of a heavily compacted bentonite-sand
mixture which includes the variation under constant
volume and unconfined conditions is presented.
2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Bentonite is an expansive material and it swells when
it is in contact with fluid, in this case water, under low
stress level, resulting in an increase in its void ratio.
Generally, permeability of material increases with
increasing void ratio. The classical concepts of perme-
ability, such as Kozeny-Carman model (Kozeny, 1927
and Carman, 1938) clearly indicate the dependency of

305
permeability on void ratio soils. The Kozeny-Carman
model is expressed as follows:
     
ρw g ρw g 1 1
ks = K = Olsen (1962) assumed relationships between the eT ,
μw μw CK−C So2
where ks is the saturated coefficient of permeability,
K is the intrinsic permeability, ρw is the density of
water, g is the gravitational acceleration, μw is the
absolute viscosity of water, CK−C is the Kozeny-
Carman empirical coefficient (i.e., equal to 5), So is
the specific surface area of soil particles per unit vol-
ume of the soil, and e is the soil void ratio (or total
void ratio, eT ).
However, the Kozeny-Carman model is inaccu-
rate when used for predicting the permeability of
soils with platy (or clay) particles such as bentonite
(Olsen, 1962). Factors that influence the inaccuracy of
the Kozeny-Carman model for clays were described
in Olsen (1962), which included possible errors in
Darcy’s law used as basis for developing the model,
electro kinetic coupling, and variation of water viscos-
ity between clay particles, non-constant tortuosity, and
the existence of clusters in the clayey soils. However,
Olsen (1962) found that the main cause of discrepancy
between the Kozeny-Carman model prediction and the
measured data is the existence of clay clusters in the
soils. The existence of cluster in clayey soils has been
shown by Environmental Scanning Electron Micro-
scopic (ESEM) photos in Agus and Schanz (2005)
for a calcium bentonite, Calcigel. Another assump-
tion in the Olsen model is that void ratio (or total void
ratio, eT ) of the soil consists of cluster void ratio (em )
and inter-clusters void ratio (ep ). The em can also be
called the intra-cluster or micro void ratio while ep can
be regarded as macro void ratio. The Olsen model is
expressed in the following equation.
 3
qmeasured Kmeasured 1 − eemT
= = N 2/3
qK−C KK−C (1 + em )4/3
where qmeasured is the measured flow rate of water,
qK−C is the predicted flow rate using the Kozeny-
Carman model, kmeasured is the measured intrinsic
permeability, KK−C is the Kozeny-Carman intrinsic
permeability, N is the average number of clay parti-
cles per cluster, em (or ec in the original model) is the
cluster void ratio (i.e., the intra-cluster or the intra-
aggregate or the micro-pore void ratio), and eT is the
total void ratio.
To compute the saturated coefficient of permeabil-
ity of clay using the above equation, the parameter
N and the two void ratios (i.e., em and eT ) must
be known. The number of clay particles per cluster
(N ) can be assumed to be constant for a specific soil
permeant system. The clay-permeant dispersion sys-
tem is considered to affect the decrease in both em

e3 and the magnitude of initial cluster void ratio (emo ).
(1 + e)
em , and ep in which em begins to reduce upon com-
(1) pression when ep ratio is equal to 0.43. However, when
expansive soil such as bentonite is subject to changes
in suction (or wetting-drying processes), the changes
in em are governed by the changes in micro-structural
effective stress following Barcelona Expansive Model
or BExM (Alonso et al., 1999):
dem d p̂ κm d p̂
e
dενm = = =
(1 + em ) Km (1 + em ) p̂
 
= βm exp −αm p̂ d p̂ (3)
where εvm e
is the elastic micro-structural volumetric
strain, em is the micro void ratio, Km is the coefficient
of volume change for the microstructure, κm is the
compressive index for the microstructure, αm and βm
are material parameters, and p̂ is a micro-structural
effective stress and is defined as p̂ = p + s with p is
the net mean stress and s is suction.
Normally, only the changes in eT are measured
when soil undergoes loading-unloading or drying-
wetting cycles. The value of ep can be calculated
when em is known or vice versa. Thus by utilizing the
BExM model, the prediction of permeability using the
Olsen model can be done with a better scientific basis
for the relationship between eT , em , and ep . The κm
value in the BExM model can be obtained from cyclic
drying-wetting tests. After several cycles of drying and
wetting, the response of expansive soil to drying and
wetting processes in terms of changes in void ratio is
generally elastic or reversible. By knowing κm and the
variation in eT , the intrinsic permeability of expan-
sive soil can be computed for any loading-unloading
or drying-wetting processes.
Although the intra-cluster void is always (or is
(2) deemed to be) fully saturated (Alonso et al., 1999),
the inter-cluster void may also be filled with air lead-
ing to unsaturated state of the expansive soil. Hence,
the computation of coefficient of permeability of the
expansive soil with respect to each phase (i.e., water
and air phase) can only be done by incorporating an
unsaturated soil concept for permeability. In this paper,
two models; namely, van Genuchten-Mualem model
and Fredlund and Xing-Mualem model are discussed.
Many other models are available but not discussed in
this paper. The two models were derived based on the
statistical distribution of pores in the soil. The rela-
tionship between suction and degree of saturation or
volumetric water content (i.e., soil-water characteris-
tic curve or SWCC) is required for the computation.
In the first unsaturated permeability model, the van
306
Genuchten SWCC equation (van Genuchten, 1980) calcium bentonite, Calcigel, and the sand was quartz
is used whereas in the second model, the Fredlund sand with a maximum grain size of 2 mm. The prop-
and Xing SWCC equation (Fredlund and Xing, 1994) erties of the bentonite and sand and the preparation of
is used, both in combination with the Mualem sta- heavily compacted specimens for laboratory tests have
tistical model (Mualem, 1976). The assessment of been described in Agus and Schanz (2005, 2005a).
accuracy of both methods for predicting the unsatu- Saturated compression rebound data were obtained for
rated permeability function can be found in Agus et al. saturated specimens by also accounting for deforma-
(2003). tion of the test system (Schanz et al., 2005) and the
Van Genuchten: results are presented in Fig. 1.
 m Wetting curves were obtained for the heavily com-
Sr − Sres 1 pacted material by incorporating both axis-translation
Se = =  n
Sr max − Sres 1 + as and vapor equilibrium techniques. Two different test
conditions were considered in the experimental pro-
 1 −m
 s  m−1 gram; namely, testing under constant volume condi-
= 1+ (4) tions and unconfined swelling conditions. Details of
a
where Se is the effective degree of saturation, Sr is 0.70
the degree of saturation, Sres is the residual degree of
0.65
saturation, Sr max is the maximum degree of saturation,
a (kPa), n and m are fitting parameters. Parameter a in 0.60

the above equation is also called the reference suction. 0.55

Fredlund and Xing:
Void ratio, e

0.50
Sr max
Sr = C(s)   n
m ; 0.45

ln exp (1) + as 0.40

 
ln 1 + ssr 0.35

C (s) = 1 −   (5)
ln 1 + 1 000sr 000 0.30 compression
rebound
0.25
where sr represents the suction corresponding to the
0.20
residual volumetric water content (or residual degree 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
of saturation). Net vertical stress, ( v -ua) (kPa)
The unsaturated coefficient of permeability for
water phase based on the van Genuchten-Mualem Figure 1. Results of the compression-rebound test for
model is expressed in the following closed-form saturated specimen.
equation (van Genuchten, 1980).
⎧  ⎫
 1 m 2
100

Se ⎨ Se m ⎬
kw (Se ) = ks 1− 1−
95
(6)
100 ⎩ 100 ⎭ 90
Degree of saturation, S r (%)

85
The computation of unsaturated coefficient of perme-
ability using the Fredlund and Xing-Mualem model is 80

not straightforward but involves an integration of the 75

Fredlund and Xing SWCC equation combined with
70
the Mualem model as follows (Mualem, 1976):
'  Sr dS (2 65
r
0 s2
kw (Se ) = ks Se1/2  Sr max dSr (7) 60
constant volume
unconfined
0 s2 55

50
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
3 LABORATORY TEST DATA Suction, s (kPa)

A heavily compacted bentonite-sand mixture was Figure 2. Degree of saturation versus suction obtained from
investigated in this study. The bentonite used was a the wetting tests.

307
 0.34 1E-19

loading
wetting-drying cycles

Intrinsic permeability, K (m )
2
0.32 unloading
1E-20

initial void ratio

Void ratio, e

0.30
1E-21

0.28

1E-22 compression (cluster model)

rebound (cluster model)
0.26 Kozeny-Carman

1E-23
0.24
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
1000 10000 100000 1000000 Void ratio, e
Total suction, s t (kPa)

(a) Figure 4. Intrinsic permeability versus void ratio for the

compression-rebound test specimen.
0.34

loading
drying-wetting cycles 1E-20
0.32 unloading Intrinsic permeability, K (m )
cluster model
2

Kozeny-Carman
Void ratio, e

0.30

1E-21

0.28

0.26
1E-22
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000

0.24 Suction, s (kPa)

1000 10000 100000 1000000
Total suction, s t (kPa) (a)
1E-18
(b)
cluster model
Intrinsic permeability, K (m )
2

1E-19 Kozeny-Carman
Figure 3. Results of the cyclic wetting-drying tests under
(a) 200 kPa and (b) 1500 kPa net vertical stress.
1E-20

the procedures adopted were described in Agus and 1E-21

Schanz (2004). Figure 2 shows results of the wetting
tests. 1E-22
To obtain the microstructural compressive index
(κm ), two cyclic wetting-drying tests were performed 1E-23
at 200 kPa and 1500 kPa net vertical stress, respec- 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000

tively. The suction cycles were imposed using vapor
equilibrium technique and the results are presented in
Fig. 3.
4 COMPUTATION OF INTRINSIC
PERMEABILITY UNDER DIFFERENT
LOADING CONDITIONS
The κm value was derived from the cyclic wetting-
drying test data in the last cycle for each test. The
value is 0.0087 and 0.0117 for the test at 200 kPa
and 1500 kPa net vertical stress, respectively. In this
Suction, s (kPa)
(b)
Figure 5. Intrinsic permeability versus void ratio for: (a) the
constant volume wetting test specimen and (b) the unconfined
wetting test specimen.
study, the average value of 0.0102 was used in the
computation.
The number of clay particle per cluster (N ) can
be approximated by the ratio of the total specific
surface area to the external specific surface area.

308
 0.35 The Kozeny-Carman computation which is based
on total void ratio (eT ) results in greater value of
0.3
intrinsic permeability than that computed using the
cluster model. The difference is more obvious at
low void ratios since the inter-cluster void ratio (ep )
0.25
Void ratio, e

0.2
is compressed leaving only nominal space for water
channel.
0.15 The evolution of intrinsic permeability during con-
stant volume wetting test shown in Figure 5(a) indi-
0.1 cates that the Kozeny-Carman model almost consis-
total tently predicts intrinsic permeability to be one order
0.05 intra-aggregate of magnitude higher compared with the cluster model.
inter-aggregate
The cluster model computation shows a decrease in
0
10 100 1000 10000 100000
the intrinsic permeability when the heavily compacted
Suction, s (kPa)
specimen was wetted to about 1000 kPa suction which
is captured in the cluster model prediction but not in the
(a)
Kozeny-Carman’s. Further wetting was incorporated
1.2
by a large increase in swelling pressure which resulted
in the larger deformation of the constant volume
1 total
cell used in the test. Thus, the intrinsic permeability
intra-aggregate
inter-aggregate
increased as eT increased.
0.8 Interestingly, both the Kozeny-Carman model and
Void ratio, e

the cluster model give almost similar prediction of the

0.6 intrinsic permeability for the unconfined wetting test
specimen (Figure 5(b)). This is due to the fact that the
0.4
change in eT during wetting under free swell condi-
tions was accompanied by the change in ep whereas
em was essentially constant. Figure 6 illustrates the
0.2
evolution of specimen void ratio during wetting tests.
0
10 100 1000 10000 100000
5 COMPUTATION OF UNSATURATED
Suction, s (kPa)
COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY FOR
(b) WATER PHASE

Figure 6. Change in void ratio during wetting under: The computation of unsaturated coefficient of perme-
(a) constant volume conditions and (b) unconfined ability commenced with the curve-fitting of the van
conditions. Genuchten and Frendlund and Xing SWCC equations
to the experimental wetting data. The following van
This approximation is with a basis that the measure- Genuchten SWCC equations were obtained for the
ment of total specific area using for instance Ethylene wetting test data.
Glycol Monoethyl Ether (EGME) method accounts for For the constant volume test:
the surface area of clay particles in the clay clusters 
while the Brunette-Emmett-Teller (BET) method for  s 1.626 −0.385
the external specific surface area measurement can Se = 100 1 + ;
1201 (8)
only measure the surface area of the clay clusters. Thus
the ratio of the two specific surface areas provides indi- Sr max = 86.1%; Sres = 80%
cation of the number of clay particles per cluster. The
total and external specific surface areas of Calcigel For the unconfined test:
have been reported in Schanz et al. (2005) and the 
value is 651 m2 /g and 69 m2 /g, respectively. In this  s 1.451 −0.311
case, the N value is taken as 10. Se = 100 1 + ;
272 (9)
The computation of intrinsic permeability using
a cluster model requires the Kozeny-Carman model Sr max = 100%; Sres = 82%
prediction based on Equation (1). The change in intrin-
sic permeability of specimen during the saturated The following Fredlund and Xing SWCC equations
compression-rebound test is shown in Fig. 4. were obtained for the wetting test data.

309
 1.E-11 For the constant volume test:
⎧ 0.385 ⎫2
1.E-12
Unsat. coeff. of permeability, kw (m/s)

 
Se ⎨ ⎬
1.E-13
Se 2.597
1.E-14 kw (Se ) = ks 1− (12)
1.E-15 100 ⎩ 100 ⎭
1.E-16

1.E-17
For the unconfined test:
1.E-18
⎧  0.311 ⎫2
1.E-19

1.E-20 Se ⎨ Se 3.215 ⎬
kw (Se ) = ks 1− (13)
1.E-21 100 ⎩ 100 ⎭
van Genuchten-Mualem model
1.E-22
Fredlund and Xing-Mualem model
1.E-23

1.E-24
The computation of unsaturated coefficient of per-
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 meability using the Fredlund and Xing-Mualem model
Suction, s (kPa) involves integration procedures and no closed-form
solutions are available to date. Figure 7 shows the
(a)
comparison between the van Genuchten-Mualem pre-
1.E-11
diction and the Fredlund and Xing-Mualem prediction
1.E-12 for the unsaturated coefficient of permeability of the
Unsat. coeff. of permeability, kw (m/s)

1.E-13 heavily compacted bentonite-sand mixture. It should

1.E-14 be noted that the saturated coefficient of permeabil-
1.E-15 ity used in the computation were based on the cluster
1.E-16 model prediction.
1.E-17 The above figures reveal that both the van
1.E-18 Genuchten-Mualem model and the Fredlund and
1.E-19 Xing-Mualem model generally give almost similar
1.E-20
results. The unsaturated coefficient of permeability
1.E-21
for the specimen wetted under unconfined conditions
1.E-22
van Genuchten-Mualem model is generally one to two orders of magnitude higher
1.E-23
Fredlund and Xing-Mualem model than that under constant volume conditions, which is
partly due to the difference in the saturated coefficient
1.E-24
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 of permeability.
Suction, s (kPa)
(b)
6 CONCLUSIONS
Figure 7. Unsaturated coefficient of permeability (water
phase) prediction for the specimen tested under: (a) constant A study on the permeability of a heavily compacted
volume conditions and (b) unconfined conditions. bentonite-sand mixture for waste repository applica-
tions has been presented. The following conclusions
For the constant volume test: can be drawn:
86 1. The flow of water in saturated expansive soils is
Sr = ) * , (10)
 s 0.634 + 0.111
through the channels available for water flow. These
ln exp (1) + 2607 channels are mainly the inter-cluster pores (i.e. the
pores located between the clay clusters).
2. A cluster model (Olsen, 1962) can be used to
For the unconfined test: describe the flow of water by taking into account
100 the presence of clusters in expansive soils.
Sr = ) * , (11) 3. The inter-cluster void ratio can be calculated
 s 1.147 + 0.106 by utilizing the micro-macro-structure interaction
ln exp (1) + 202
as described in the Barcelona Expansive Model
(BExM) (Alonso et al., 1999).
The unsaturated coefficient of permeability can 4. The Kozeny-Carman model for saturated perme-
be computed using the following closed-form solu- ability predicts the intrinsic permeability to be
tion based on the van Genuchten-Mualem unsaturated about one order of magnitude higher for the studied
permeability functions. material than the cluster model prediction.

310
5. Under constant volume conditions, the intrinsic
permeability of the compacted bentonite-sand mix-
ture may drop during wetting. The drop in the
intrinsic permeability may be more obvious for
lower density compacted mixtures due to a greater
difference in the inter-cluster void ratio of the
mixtures at initial and saturated states.
6. The computation of unsaturated coefficient of per-
meability can be performed by combining the
cluster model prediction for saturated coefficient
of permeability with either the van Genuchten-
Mualem model or the Fredlund and Xing-Mualem
model. Both models give almost similar results.
7. The proposed predictive model for saturated and
unsaturated coefficient of permeability is at the
moment merely at conceptual stage. No verifica-
tion has been made with measured data. There
is room for improvement to this method such as
extending the model for solutions other than water
that occur in the deep geological waste repository.
REFERENCES
Agus, S.S., Leong, E.C., and Schanz, T. (2003) Assessment
of statistical models for indirect determination of per-
meability functions from soil-water characteristic curves.
Géotechnique, 53(2): 279–282.
Agus, S.S. and Schanz, T. (2004) Swelling pressures and
wetting-drying curves of a highly compacted bentonite-
sand mixture. In Proceedings of the International Unsat-
urated Soil Conference, From Experimental Towards
Numerical Modelling of Unsaturated Soils, Weimar, Ger-
many, 2003 (Ed. T. Schanz), Lecture Notes in Applied
Mechanics, Springer: 241–256.
Agus, S.S. and Schanz, T. (2005) Effect of shrinking and
swelling on microstructures and fabric of a compacted
bentonite-sand mixture. In Proceedings of International
Conference on Problematic Soils (GEOPROB 2005),
Eastern Mediterannian University, Northern Cyprus,
2005 (Ed. N. Famagusta), 2: 543–550.
Agus, S.S. and Schanz, T. (2005a) An investigation into
hydro-mechanical behavior of an expansive soil using
axis-translation and vapor equilibrium techniques. In
Proceedings of International Symposium on Advanced
Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (EXPERUS
2005), Trento, Italy, 2005 (Eds. A. Tarantino, E. Romero,
and Y.J. Cui), Balkema, Rotterdam: 53–60.
311
AkEnd (2002) Site selection procedure for repository
sites. Recommendation of the AkEnd Committee on a
Site Selection Procedure for Repository Sites. Arbeit-
skreis Auswahlverfahren Endlagerstandort. W&S Druck
GmbH, Collogne.
Alonso, E.E., Vaunat, J., and Gens, A. (1999) Modelling
the mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engineering
Geology, 54: 173–183.
Carman, P.C. (1938) Fundamental principles of indus-
trial filtration—A critical review of present knowledge.
Transaction of Institution of Chemical Engineering, 16:
168–188.
Enviros (2003) The virtual repository of nuclear infor-
mation. Public Access Area. Enviros Consulting Ltd.
www.enviros.com/repository
Fredlund, D.G. and Xing, A. (1994). Equation for the
soil-water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 31: 521–532.
Kozeny, J. (1927) Über kapillare Leitung des Wassers
im Boden. Akademie der Wissesschaften. Wien,
136(2a): 271.
Mualem, Y. (1976). A new model for predicting the
hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.
Water Resources Research, 12: 513–522.
Olsen (1962) Hydraulic flow through saturated clays. Clays
and Clay Minerals, 9: 131–161.
Schanz, T., Tripathy, S., Datcheva, M., Agus, S.S.,
Gruner, M., Sitz, P., Herbert, H.-J., Moog, H.,
und Kolditz, O. (2005) Schlussbericht zum BMBF-
Forschungsvorhaben—Experimentelle und numerische
Untersuchungen des Langzeitverhaltens von Abschluss-
bauwerken im Salinar mit Bentonitegemischen als
Dichtelement. Förderkennzeichen 02 C 0881 (01.08.2001
bis 31.07.2004), Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Weimar,
Deutschland.
van Genuchten, M.T. (1980). A closed-form equation for
predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44: 892–898.
Wittke, W., Schmitt, D., Gattermann, J. (1998)
Verschlieβkonzept für Untertagedeponien—Entwurf und
geotechnische Nachweis. Geotechnik, 21(3): 212–216.
Volumetric behaviour
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Volumetric behaviour of compacted London Clay during wetting and loading

R. Monroy
Ramboll Whitbybird, London, UK (formerly Imperial College London, London, UK)

L. Zdravkovic
Imperial College London, London, UK

A. Ridley
Geotechnical Observations Ltd, London, UK

ABSTRACT: In this study, the mechanical behaviour of a compacted clay in equilibrium with the atmospheric
pressure was investigated. Samples of London Clay were compacted to the same initial conditions, corresponding
to dry of optimum moisture content on a Proctor plot, and were taken along complex stress paths, involving
wetting under a constant vertical stress, wetting under a condition of zero volumetric strain, and loading and
unloading at a constant value of matric suction. Tests were performed with a combination of standard and
osmotic oedometers—the latter developed specifically at Imperial College London to test unsaturated soils under
atmospheric conditions. Samples taken along different hydration paths displayed similar post-yield behaviour
when loaded at a constant suction, suggesting that common yield surface in the e: s: σv space (where e denotes
void ratio, s is the matric suction, and σv is the vertical stress) controls the plastic volumetric behaviour of
unsaturated London Clay during loading following monotonic hydration.

1 INTRODUCTION 1995). In most investigations, it has been identified by

When an unsaturated soil is loaded at different val-
ues of constant matric suction, one invariably finds
that this has a fundamental effect on the mechanical
response of the material: higher values of suction result
in higher values of measured yield stress; additionally,
suction has a fundamental impact on the location and
shape of the normal compression line.
The type of elasto-plastic framework first intro-
duced by Alonso et al (1987) to describe the mechan-
ical behaviour of unsaturated soils, defines a yield
surface which can model the above phenomenon. This
surface, labelled as the Loading-Collapse (LC) yield
surface in the original elasto-plastic constitutive model
developed from the original framework (Alonso et al,
1990), separates elastic from plastic processes, both
during loading as well as wetting. The fundamental
assumption of this, as well as all subsequent for-
mulations, is that all irreversible volumetric strains
due to a reduction in suction or an increase in load
are associated with yielding on a unique LC yield
surface.
The above surface has been thoroughly investigated
in the laboratory, and it is now believed that there is
conclusive experimental evidence supporting its exis-
tence and qualitative shape (Wheeler and Karube,
performing loading tests at different values of constant
suction (Maatouk et al, 1995; Wheeler & Sivakumar,
1995; Cui & Delage, 1996; amongst others). Load-
ing at constant suction has usually followed an initial
equalization stage, in which the sample has been
brought from the original state to the desired equilib-
rium suction, by wetting (or sometimes drying) under
the effect of a nominal load or under no applied stress.
Under these circumstances, it has been assumed that
the locus of points joining the yield stresses associated
with the different values of suction, define unequivo-
cally the position and shape of the LC yield surface,
proving its existence and uniqueness.
In the original formulation, the LC yield surface
is assumed to be independent of the stress path. This
means that a sample taken along different wetting path
should yield along the same surface, when loaded to
sufficiently high stresses. To the authors’ knowledge,
there is, to date, limited experimental evidence which
shows that this is the case.
The purpose of this paper is to present and com-
pare a number of experimental results, in which
similar samples were taken along different hydration
paths prior to loading at constant suction. The results
are believed to provide conclusive evidence of the
uniqueness of the LC yield surface.

315
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The soil selected for this study was weathered Lon-
don Clay. The following properties were measured
in the laboratory: specific gravity, 2.70; liquid limit,
83%; plasticity index, 54%; clay content, 58%; fines
content, 98%.
Tests were performed with a combination of stan-
dard lever arm oedometers and osmotic oedometers.
The latter were specifically developed at Imperial
College London to test unsaturated soils under atmo-
spheric conditions (Dineen & Burland, 1995). The
standard oedometers were slightly modified in order
to be able to test samples of similar size in all cases
(corresponding to a sample height of 30 mm and a
diameter of 75 mm). The use of standard equipment
allowed comparisons to be made between tests results
derived from both sets of apparatuses.
The use of an osmotic system to control matric suc-
tion allowed samples to be tested under atmospheric
conditions. This approach was adopted in prefer-
ence to the better known axis translation technique
(widely used in experimental studies on unsaturated
soil behaviour), since it was felt that it provided a better
way of replicating field conditions. The use of elevated
air pressures to test unsaturated soils appears to have
important theoretical and technical limitations, which
remain unsolved to date (Burland & Ridley, 1996;
Baker & Frydman, unpub.). It is acknowledged, how-
ever, that there is also a certain degree of uncertainty
regarding the precise influence of the osmotic system
on a sample’s response, particularly with regards to
the effect of migrating solute molecules across the
semi-permeable membrane. Despite this the authors
feel that, at present, the objections associated with this
method of testing are fewer that those attached to the
axis translation technique.
The osmotic oedometers had, inter alia, the follow-
ing characteristics (Fig. 1):
– Matric suction was controlled at the bottom of the
sample by placing a poly-ether sulfonate ultra fil-
tration (PES-UF) semi-permeable membrane over
a woven mesh at the base of the oedometer cell, as
shown in Figure 1. Osmotic solutions—consisting
of different concentrations of polyethylene glycol
(PEG) 35,000 molecular weight mixed with distilled
water—were circulated continuously underneath
the membrane, in order to vary the value of suc-
tion. Further details on the osmotic system can be
found in Monroy (2006) and Monroy et al (2007).
– Matric suction was measured independently and
continuously at the top of the sample, by means
of IC tensiometers (Ridley & Burland 1995). In the
context of the present study, in which the soil was in
equilibrium with the atmospheric air pressure, soil
matric suction was measured as a tensile hydraulic
316
IC Tensiometer Top Cap
Upper
Clamping Ring
Strain-gauged
Oedometer Diaphram
Cell
Soil Sample Lower
Clamping Ring
Semi-permeable Woven Mesh
membrane
Oedometer Base Inlet and Outlet PVC Tubes
(filled with osmotic solution)
Figure 1. Osmotic oedometer cell.
stress in the water filling the saturated tensiometer,
when this had its porous tip making intimate contact
with the pore fluid (Ridley et al, 2003). This tensile
stress, however, must not be interpreted as the actual
tension existing in the pore fluid, as pointed out by
Baker & Frydman (unpubl.), but rather as a mea-
sure of the attraction that the soil exerts on the water
(Ridley et al, 2003)—attraction which results from
the combined effect of capillary action and surface
adsorption effects (Alonso et al, 1987).
– All processes of control and data acquisition were
automated.
– Loading and unloading of samples was carried out
as a continuous process, by the application of small
increments/decrements of load over the full length
of a test.
Samples were statically compacted to the same ini-
tial conditions, corresponding to an average moisture
content of 23.6%, dry density of 1.384 Mg/m3 , degree
of saturation of 67%, void ratio of 0.952, and matric
suction of 1,000 kPa. These were equivalent to a sam-
ple compacted on the dry side of optimum moisture
content on a Proctor curve. Selection of the above
was based on considerations regarding the maximum
suction the IC tensionmeter could measure for long
periods of time, as well as the maximum vertical stress
the osmotic oedometer was capable of delivering.
A total of seven samples were used in this study.
They were all tested starting from the same initial
conditions described above, and were made to follow
two different sets of stress paths: (i) wetting under
a constant nominal load to different equilibrium val-
ues of suction (0, 120 and 405–430 kPa), followed
by loading and unloading at constant suction; and
(ii) wetting under conditions of zero volumetric strain
to the same equilibrium suctions, followed by a single
loading-unloading cycle at constant suction.
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Figure 2 presents results from samples tested in the
osmotic and conventional oedometers and loaded in
the fully hydrated state, at a measured value of zero
matric suction. A total of three tests are shown in the
figure: two osmotic (o9 and o17) and a third conven-
tional (c13). This last test is included for comparison
purposes.
Sample o17 was allowed to swell under a nominal
vertical stress of 7 kPa whilst water was circulated
through the osmotic system. After reaching equilibri-
um—when no significant further changes in void ratio,
suction, horizontal stress, or degree of saturation were
noticeable—the sample was loaded to 600 kPa vertical
stress, and thereafter unloaded to 70 kPa. This process
took place slowly and continuously, in order to ensure
that the suction remained always close to zero.
Sample o9, on the other hand, was wetted—using
the above method—whilst ensuring that the volume
remained constant through the full hydration stage.
During this process, the vertical stress was observed
to reach a maximum of 150 kPa at some intermediate
value of suction, before dropping to the final equi-
librium value of 130 kPa. Due to high rate at which
the sample was hydrated (the full drop in suction from
1000 to 0 kPa took place in a single stage), it was
not possible to determine the exact value of suction
corresponding to this maximum vertical stress.
c13 (free swell - conventional)
o17 (free swell - osmotic)
o9 (confined wetting - osmotic)
1.2
s = 0 kPa
1.1
s = 0 kPa
1
Void ratio
s = 0 kPa
0.9
Starting point
0.8
0.7
1 10 100
Applied vertical stress (kPa)
Figure 2. Loading-unloading tests at zero suction.
After reaching equilibrium, the soil was loaded to
700 kPa and unloaded to 50 kPa. This last stage was
performed in steps, rather than continuously as in
the case of Sample o17, by applying increments, and
thereafter decrements, of 100 kPa. Test o9 was the only
one performed in the osmotic oedometer in which this
approach was followed (in all other cases the load was
applied continuously in small increments).
Sample c13 was tested in the conventional oedome-
ter and was initially hydrated under a vertical stress of
7 kPa. In order to replicate conditions in the osmotic
equipment—where hydration could only take place
from the bottom of the sample—just enough water
to cover the lower porous stone was placed inside the
oedometer pot. After reaching equilibrium—when no
further volumetric strains were recorded—the sample
was loaded to 440 kPa and unloaded to 30 kPa in stages
in the standard way.
Figure 2 shows two interesting results. Firstly, the
osmotic and conventional oedometers yield very sim-
ilar results. There is a good agreement in the shape
and location (given due account of experimental vari-
ations) of the loading-unloading curves corresponding
to samples o17 and c13. When first commissioned, the
design of the osmotic oedometer had been criticised
for the inclusion of a woven mesh at the bottom of
the sample (which served to improve circulation of the
osmotic solution), since it was believed that this would
have a considerable impact on the measured vertical
strains. It was argued that since the woven mesh could
deform, as well as, more importantly, penetrate the
sample, vertical deformations would be overestimated
in the osmotic oedometer. Figure 2 shows that this is
not the case, or at least the effect is minimal, when a
compacted sample is tested in the fully hydrated state.
Secondly, for a fully hydrated sample, the method
of hydration had no effect on the post yield response
during loading. The normal compression lines for
all three samples are coincident (allowing again for
experimental variations).
Figure 3 shows the response during a single loading-
unloading cycle for two further samples tested in the
osmotic oedometer (o10 and o11). As before, results
from the conventional oedometer (sample c13) have
been included as a reference.
Sample o10 was allowed to swell freely under a
constant vertical stress of 7 kPa whilst the suction was
reduced in stages—by circulating increasingly more
diluted solutions of PEG—until it reached an equilib-
rium value close to 120 kPa. This was followed by a
full loading-unloading cycle at this constant value of
suction, to a maximum vertical stress of 420 kPa.
Sample o11 was also allowed to hydrate in stages
1000 to a final suction of 120 kPa, whilst the volume was
kept constant. After reaching equilibrium, this second
sample also underwent a complete cycle of loading and
unloading, to a maximum stress of 510 kPa. During the
317
 c13 (free swell-conventional) c13 (free swell-conventional)
o10 (free swell-osmotic) o14 (free swell-osmotic)
o11 (confined wetting-osmotic) 1.2 o13 (confined wetting-osmotic)
1.2

s = 0 kPa
s = 0 kPa
1.1
1.1

s = 120 kPa
1 s = 430 kPa

Void ratio
1 Starting point
Void ratio

s = 120 kPa
s = 405 kPa
0.9
0.9
Starting point

0.8
0.8

0.7
0.7
1 10 100 1000
1 10 100 1000
Applied vertical stress (kPa) Applied vertical stress (kPa)

Figure 3. Loading-unloading tests at 120 kPa suction. Figure 4. Loading-unloading tests at 405 kPa and 430 kPa
suction.

initial hydration stage, the vertical stress required to 1.2

maintain the constant volume increased monotonically s = 0 kPa
to a maximum of 185 kPa. 1.1
Figure 3 shows that good agreement exists in the
location and shape of the normal compression lines s = 120 kPa
1
Void ratio

traced by both samples o10 and o11, and which are
associated with different methods of hydration.
Results from two further samples loaded at higher
values of suction are shown in Figure 4. As in the
two previous cases, one of the samples (o14) was
allowed to swell under a nominal vertical load of 7 kPa,
whilst the suction was decreased in stages to an equi-
librium value of 430 kPa. The second sample (o13)
was hydrated under a condition of zero volumetric
strain to an equilibrium suction of 405 kPa. After
reaching equilibrium, both samples were loaded and
unloaded to 600 kPa and 220 kPa respectively (o14),
and 630 kPa and 105 kPa (o13) respectively. During
hydration of sample o13, the vertical stress required
to maintain constant volume increased monotonically
to a maximum value of 105 kPa.
The results shown in Figure 4 are consistent with
previous observations reported in this paper: the post-
yield during loading at constant suction is similar,
regardless of hydration path.
Figure 5 shows, in a single plot, the load-unload
response of all six samples tested in the osmotic
oedometer.
By approximating the compression and swelling
lines in Figure 5 by straight lines (an otherwise rea-
sonable approximation), it is possible to follow their
evolution with suction. This has been done and the
results are shown in Figure 6. Due to their similarity,
the loading curves associated with suctions of 405 and
s = 405 430 k Pa
0.9 Starting point
0.8
0.7
1 10 100 1000
Applied vertical stress (kPa)
Figure 5. Summary of loading-unloading curves following
free swelling and confined wetting.
430 kPa have been combined into a single line. Figure 6
shows how an increase in suction translates in steeper
loading and flatter swelling lines. The measured values
of compression and swelling indices associated with
the different values of suction are given in Table 1.
The results shown in Figure 6 are consistent, at least
in qualitative terms, with earlier findings using axis
translation. Wheeler & Sivakumar (1995) presented
data for compacted kaolin loaded isotropically at dif-
ferent values of suction using this procedure. They
found the normal compression lines to be straight (in
the v: ln p plane; where v represents the specific vol-
ume and p the mean net stress, defined as the mean
stress minus the pore air pressure), with the value of

318
 s = 0 kPa Yield points:
s =120 kPa Free swell
500
s = 405-430 kPa Confined wetting

400
2

Matrix suction (kPa)

300
Cc
Void ratio

1.5

200

1
Cs
100

0.5
1 10 100 1000 0
Applied vertical stress (kPa) 0 100 200 300 400 500
Applied vertical stress (kPa)
Figure 6. Normal compression and swelling lines.
Figure 7. Loci of yield points associated with each method
of hydration.
Table 1. Compression and swelling indexes.

Suction
kPa Cc Cs 1000

900
0 0.349 0.081
120 0.583 0.034 800 Sample
405–430 0.723 0.032
o9
700
o11
Matric suction (kPa)

o13
600

500
λ(s) increasing as the suction was augmented from
0 to 200 kPa. 400
Free swell
The yield stresses associated with each of the 300 yield line
two different methods of hydration investigated in
this study—free swell and confined wetting—are pre- 200
sented in Figure 7 in a plot of matric suction versus Confined wetting
100 yield line
applied vertical stress. In all cases, the yield stress
has been defined, rather arbitrary, as the intersection 0
between the normal compression line and a second line 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
parallel to the swelling curve and having as origin the Applied vertical stress (kPa)
start of the loading path.
Each of the two sets of yield points can be joined Figure 8. Wetting paths at constant volume.
together to form two yield curves, associated with the
onset of plastic deformations during loading (follow-
ing the two different methods of hydration considered).
These two yield lines, however, must not be confused It is interesting to look at the constant volume wet-
with the Load-Collapse (LC) yield line defined by ting paths, now that the position of the LC yield surface
Alonso et al (1990), since the full elastic behaviour of has been established. This is shown in Figure 8. Sam-
the material along a wetting-drying path is not known ple o9 was wetted in a single stage, and therefore
in the present case. Nevertheless, both yield curves in only the final equilibrium position is representative.
Figure 7, as well as the LC yield line, form part of the The paths described by samples o11 and o13—having
same LC yield surface defined in the e: s: σv space, as been hydrated at a much slower rate—can be expected
proposed by Alonso et al (1987). to represent real soil behaviour. The figure shows

319
how, had the suction in sample o11 decreased to zero,
the vertical stress would have had to reduce from the
maximum value of 185 kPa at 120 kPa suction, to the
final equilibrium value of 130 kPa at zero suction. This
would be consistent with the proposition that any wet-
ting path crossing the LC yield surface would cause
the sample to yield—hence the necessary reduction in
vertical stress to maintain the volume constant.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this paper was to present strong exper-
imental evidence which could be used to support
the idea that, for a compacted, unsaturated soil, all
irreversible volumetric compressive strains due to a
reduction in suction or an increase in load are asso-
ciated with a unique LC yield surface—as assumed
in some of the most popular elasto-plastic models for
unsaturated soil behaviour. Tests on samples of com-
pacted clay, taken along two different hydration paths
prior to loading at constant suction (free swelling under
a nominal load and constant volume hydration), have
shown that the post-yield response during loading is
unaffected by the method of hydration. The similarity
in position and shape of the normal compression lines
in both cases, for different values of suction, is taken
to be indicative of the uniqueness of the LC yield sur-
face. Additional confirmation of the uniqueness of this
surface was also provided by the shape of the wetting
paths followed during constant volume hydration. As
the wetting path approached the yield surface defined
during loading, the sample was observed to start yield-
ing, which translated into a reduction in the applied
stress necessary to keep the volume constant.
The present study has been limited to suctions in the
range of 0 to 430 kPa, and to Ko loading. However,
the results and conclusions are believed to be repre-
sentative of soil behaviour at higher values of suction
and under different loading conditions. Additionally,
the tests have been performed under atmospheric pres-
sure and, therefore, are believed to closely represent
actual soil behaviour in the field.
No consideration has been given to the effect
of wetting-drying cycles on subsequent mechanical
response. The findings and conclusions presented in
this paper are, therefore, necessarily limited to the
particular case of monotonic hydration from an initial
compacted state.
320
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research project was funded by the Engineering
and Physical Science Research Council (UK).
REFERENCES
Alonso E.E., Gens A. & Hight D.W. 1987. Special problem
soils. General Report. Proceedings of the 9th Euro-
pean Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Dublin, Ireland, 3, 1087–1146.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40, 3,
405–430.
Baker, R. & Frydman, S. Unpubl. Unsaturated soil mechan-
ics: Critical review of physical foundations. Submitted to
the Canadian Geotechnical Journal for publication.
Burland, J.B. & Ridley, A.M. 1996. Keynote address: The
importance of Suction in Soil Mechanics. Proceedings of
the 12th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, 2, 27–49.
Cui, Y.J. & Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotechnique, 46, 2,
291–311.
Dineen, K. & Burland, J.B. 1995. A new approach to osmot-
ically controlled oedometer testing. Proceedings of the
1st International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Paris,
2, 459–465.
Maatouk, A., Leroueil, S. & La Rochelle, P. 1995. Yielding
and critical state of a collapsible unsaturated silty soil.
Géotechnique, 45, 3, 465–477.
Monroy, R. 2006. The influence of load and suction changes
on the volumetric behaviour of compacted London Clay.
PhD Thesis, University of London.
Monroy, R., Ridley, A., Dineen, K. & Zdravkovic, L. 2007.
The suitability of the osmotic technique for the long term
testing of partly saturated Soils. Geotechnical Testing
Journal, 30, 3, pp. 220–226.
Ridley, A.M. & Burland, J.B. 1995. A pore water pressure
probe for the in situ measurement of a wide range of
soil suctions. Proceedings of the International Conference
on Advances in Site Investigation Practice, ICE, London,
510–520.
Ridley, A.M., Dineen, K., Burland, J.B. & Vaughan, P.R.
2003. Soil matrix suction: some examples of its mea-
surement and application in geotechnical engineering.
Geotechnique, 53, 2, 241–253.
Wheeler, S.J. & Karube, D. 1995. State of the art report: Con-
stitutive modelling. Proceedings of the 1st International
Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Paris, 3, 1323–1356.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic critical
state framework for unsaturated soil. Geotechnique, 45, 1,
33–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Stress path dependence of hydromechanical behaviour of compacted

scaly clay in wetting and drying suction controlled oedometer tests
at constant vertical net stress

C. Airò Farulla
Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy

ABSTRACT: The results are presented of an experimental programme devoted to investigating the volumetric
strain and water ratio (volume of water to volume of solids) evolution of a compacted scaly clay stressed by
wetting and drying cycles in suction-controlled oedometer tests. The stress paths applied included loading and
unloading cycles at constant matric suction and suction controlled wetting-drying cycles at constant vertical net
stress. The test results show that during wetting and drying cycles the samples experienced irreversible shrinkage
or swelling strains depending on the stress path applied. Irreversible water ratio increases were always observed
in these cycles. However, a quasi-reversible response both in terms of volumetric and hydraulic behaviour was
approached as the number of cycles increased. The main characteristics of material behaviour are delineated and
discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION wetting and drying cycles in suction controlled oedo-

The analysis of the mechanical behaviour of com-
pacted unsaturated clays subjected to cyclic wetting
and drying paths has been receiving increasing atten-
tion owing to their use as construction material in
many Civil and Environmental Engineering appli-
cations. Wide experimental evidence shows that in
wetting and drying cycles compacted clays can accu-
mulate irreversible volumetric swelling or irreversible
volumetric shrinkage depending on stress history and
the applied net confinement stress and cyclic suc-
tion change (Alonso et al., 2005; Sharma & Wheeler,
2000). Different mechanisms have been suggested in
order to explain the observed volumetric behaviour
and devise conceptual models reproducing test results.
They refer to interactions between multiple levels of
material structural arrangements at microscopic scale
(Gens & Alonso, 1992; Alonso et al., 1999; Alonso
et al., 2005) or to hydraulic hysteresis and void ratio
dependence of material retention curves (Buisson &
Wheeler, 2000; Vaunat et al., 2000).
With reference to these questions, experimental
research was developed at the University of Palermo in
order to characterize the hydromechanical behaviour
of a compacted scaly clay, which is often used for iso-
lation of industrial and domestic waste banks. Selected
experimental results related to volumetric strains and
water content changes of the compacted scaly clay
samples subjected to different stress paths and several
meters are presented and discussed.
The paper underlines the most important aspects of
the volumetric and hydraulic behaviour of the material
tested and its dependence on the stress paths applied.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
2.1 Material tested
The samples tested were prepared using a scaly clay
outcropping near Palermo (Italy). The material is a
kaolinitic-illitic clay with liquid limit wl = 58% and
plasticity index Ip = 30%. The specific gravity is
Gs = 2.78.
The air-dried clay with a hygroscopic water content
wh = 0.05 was disaggregated by a rubber pestle, and
the fraction passing at no. 4 ASTM sieve (425 μm)
was selected. Distilled water was added and carefully
mixed. After a curing time of 2 or 3 days, the sam-
ples were compacted dynamically with a non-standard
Proctor procedure to a target dry density. Some of the
initial physical characteristics (water content, w0 ; dry
density, γd0 ; void ratio, e0 ; saturation degree, S0 ) of
the tested samples are collected in Table 1.
The initial matric suction of the tested samples was
in the order of 2 MPa as inferred from Fig. 1, which
represents variation of the matric suction, detected by
filter paper technique, of the as-compacted material

321
Table 1. Initial characteristics of the tested samples.
γd0
Sample w0 [kN/m3 ] e0 S0

DMA 0.15 17.56 0.55 0.74

DMB 0.15 17.66 0.54 0.77
LC8 0.15 17.07 0.60 0.71
LC4 0.15 17.56 0.55 0.74

10000

Figure 2. Stress path layout applied.

s [kPa]

1000

100
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
w [%]
Figure 1. Initial matric suction (filter paper method) of the
as-compacted material.
(γd0 = 16.7 − 17.6 kN/m3 ) versus water content
(Airò Farulla, 2004).
The compacted scaly clay displayed a clear double
structure pore network as observed from MIP results
reported by Airò Farulla & Jommi (2005). A dominant
macro-pore size of 30–40 μm was detected in these
tests, while the micro-porosity dominant mode was in
the range of 0.025–0.1 μm.
2.2 Controlled-suction technique
and applied stress paths
The experimental programme included loading and
unloading tests at constant matric suction, s, and wet-
ting and drying tests at constant net vertical stress,
σv . Tests were carried out in two controlled-suction
oedometers. Suction was controlled by means of
the axis translation technique according to the air
overpressure technique (Romero, 2001).
After translation of the reference air pressure, the
samples were allowed to equalize at a reference suc-
tion value, s0 , equal to 800 kPa for DMA, DMB
and LC8 samples and 400 kPa for LC4 sample,
respectively.
The wetting and drying cycles on DMA and DMB
samples started after the application of a vertical net
stress, σv, equal to 50 kPa and 200 kPa, respectively,
changing the applied suction between 800–10 kPa
(Fig. 2). The applied vertical stress and the first wet-
ting stage (from the initial suction to 10 kPa) ensured
an adequate contact with the oedometer ring, prior
to the first drying stage. Subsequent suction increase
19 20 21 22 23 from 10 to 800 kPa (lower than initial suction) is
expected to induce shrinkage without lateral contact
being lost. Romero (1999) presented results on a lat-
eral stress oedometer showing that suction increase
still maintained lateral contact (even at relatively low
vertical stresses) if a first wetting stage is performed
starting from a high initial suction.
The LC8 sample underwent a loading-unloading
cycle to the maximum value σvmax = 1600 kPa at
constant suction s0 = 800 kPa and afterwards a
cyclic suction variation in the interval of 800–10 kPa
at constant σv = 200 kPa (Fig. 2). In the case
of the LC4 sample, the applied stress path included
multiple steps of loading-unloading cycles to the max-
imum value σvmax = 2800 kPa at constant suction
s0 = 400 kPa and two series of wetting-drying cycles
in the suction interval of 400–10 kPa at constant
σv = 200 kPa, referred to as LC4B, and σv = 50 kPa
referred to as LC4A, respectively (Fig. 2).
To reduce test duration, suction was changed in a
single step. The different loading steps, related to both
vertical net stress or suction changes, were allowed
to equalize until the rate of volumetric straining had
reduced to a limit strain rate equal to or lower than
0.1%/day at a constant temperature of T = (20±1)◦ C.
Water content variations were determined by mea-
suring water inflow or outflow by a burette with a
resolution of 0.02 cm3 .
3 ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Volumetric strains, εv , and water ratios, ew (volume of
water to volume of solids), measured at the end of each
wetting and drying step, were collected versus applied

322
matric suction, s, in the diagrams in Fig. 3. Swelling
volumetric strains are considered negative.
With reference to mechanical behaviour, DMA
and DMB samples accumulated compressive volumet-
ric strains during wetting and drying cycles (more
evident for DMB), while the LC8 and LC4 sam-
ples, owing to the previous loading and unloading
cycle, developed high irreversible swelling strains
(Fig. 3). Most of the irreversible strains developed
in the first wetting-drying cycle, while volumetric
behaviour became reversible more or less quickly as
the cycles accumulated.
Water content evolution (Fig. 3) showed the same
trend in all the samples tested. An irreversible water
ratio increment was measured for the most part in
the first cycle, whereas an almost fully reversible
behaviour occurred in successive cycles. General
material behaviour appeared to be ruled by hydraulic
hysteresis, while stress state appeared to influence
water content change values.
A deeper evaluation of the evolution of the mechan-
ical and hydraulic behaviour of the compacted scaly
clay can be obtained by analysing volumetric strain
increments, εv , and water ratio increments, ew ,
measured at the end of each wetting and drying
step. In the diagrams in Fig. 4, εv values are rep-
resented as absolute values, while ew values are
represented together with the corresponding void ratio
increments e, in order to point out the relationships
between water and void ratio variations as suction was
cycled.
Vertical net stress influence on material behaviour
was investigated by comparing results of tests DMA-
DMB and LC4A-LC4B, respectively.
Swelling strain and shrinkage strain increments for
the DMA sample were quite high and almost equal.
In contrast, the DMB sample, sharing a nearly simi-
lar stress history, showed a high irreversible shrink-
age strain in the first cycle. Swelling strains then
increased, shrinkage strains decreased, and its vol-
umetric behaviour became almost fully reversible.
When reversible behaviour was attained, DMA vol-
umetric strain increments were more than double the
DMB corresponding values.
In terms of water ratio changes the samples
behaved in a very similar way. They showed an evi-
dent irreversible water ratio increment in the first
cycle, and reversible ew changes in the successive
steps. In both irreversible and reversible conditions,
DMA water ratio increments were greater than DMB
water ratio increments. In the reversible condition
a well-defined relationship can be detected between
ew and e values (Fig. 4). Both increased as
the applied vertical net stress decreased; also, the
ew /e ratios were almost constant as the cycles
accumulated, equating to about 3 for DMA and 4
for DMB.
323
LC4A and LC4B tests results indicate that in the
first cycle the samples showed irreversible swelling
strain increments that were much higher in the LC4A
test owing the greater over-consolidation ratio. How-
ever, starting from the second cycle, volumetric
behaviour in both tests became fully reversible. A quite
similar behaviour was observed also in terms of water
ratio increments. The diagrams in Fig. 4 show that
elastic volumetric strain and water ratio increments
in the LC4A test were higher than the corresponding
LC4B values. In the elastic range, the ew /e ratios
were 1.4 for LC4B and 1 for LC4A, since the sam-
ple approached or attained saturation during wetting
and drying cycles. In conclusion, at the lesser vertical
net stress applied (LC4A test), greater irreversible and
reversible volumetric strain and water ratio increments
occurred.
The influence of stress history on mechanical
and hydraulic behaviour at the same constant
vertical net stress (σv = 200 kPa) and suction change
(s = 800 kPa) can be elucidated by analysing DMB
and LC8 test results. This influence was only signif-
icant in the first cycle when samples showed irre-
versible volumetric strains of different sign (DMB
settled whereas LC8 swelled) and different irreversible
water ratio increments (higher for DMB). However,
starting from the second cycle, their behaviours were
almost identical in terms of both εv and ew inten-
sities. Irreversible volumetric strain and water content
variations in the first cycle appears to cancel the effects
of the previous stress history.
It was possible to detect a proof of the effects of the
applied suction change s on the volumetric strain
and water content changes through the comparison
between LC8 and LC4B samples, which shared a
nearly similar stress history, bore the same vertical
net stress (σv = 200 kPa), but were subjected to a
suction increment of 800 kPa and 400 kPa respec-
tively. The data collected in the diagrams in Fig. 4
indicate that in the first wetting the samples showed
almost equal swelling strain increments, but that in
the first drying LC8 settled much more than the
LC4 sample as well as in the successive cycles when
volumetric strains became reversible. Also with ref-
erence to the water ratio evolution, the LC8 sample
showed greater irreversible and reversible water vol-
ume changes. These data indicate that the volumetric
strain and water ratio increments depended on the
intensity of the applied suction variation. However,
in the first wetting, the effects of density (determined
by the previous loading and unloading cycle) on volu-
metric swelling prevailed over the suction effects—in
fact, the LC4B void ratio at the beginning of wet-
ting was ei = 0.40 while the LC8 void ratio was
ei = 0.51.
A very similar result was obtained by comparing
DMA (ei = 0.55) and LC4A (ei = 0.41) tests, which
 –3 0.6
DMA DMA

–2
0.5
v%

ew
–1

0.4
0 v = 50 kPa
s = 10–800 kPa

1 0.3
0 0.60
DMB DMB

1
0.50
v%

ew
2

0.40
3
v = 200 kPa
s = 10–800 kPa
4 0.30
2 0.6
LC8 LC8

3
0.5
v%

ew

0.4
5 v = 200 kPa

vmax = 1600 kPa

s = 10–800 kPa
6 0.3
4 0.5
LC4A LC4A
5

6 0.4
v%

7
ew

8 0.3
v = 50 kPa
9 vmax = 2800 kPa
s = 10–400 kPa
10 0.2
6 0.5
LC4B LC4B

7
0.4
v%

8
ew

0.3
9 v
= 200 kPa
initial point vmax
= 2800 kPa
s = 10–400 kPa
10 0.2
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Figure 3. Volumetric strain (εv ) and water ratio (ew ) evolution versus matric suction (s) in wetting and drying cycles.

are characterized, as noted above, by a very different
stress history, different s, and equal σv (50 kPa).
In the first wetting LC4A swelled much more than
DMA, but in the first drying and successive cycles the
DMA volumetric strain increments were significantly
higher. In terms of water content variations, DMA
always showed greater water ratio variations both in
the first cycle and in the successive reversible cycles.
The effects of higher density (or higher OCR) appear
to overcome those of higher suction change only with
reference to the volumetric swelling strain at the first
wetting.

324
 4 0.20
DMA
DMA 0.16

3
0.12

ew , e
v%

0.08
2
0.04

1 0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

3 0.12
DMB DMB
0.10

2 0.08

ew , e
v%

0.06

1 0.04

0.02

0 0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

3 0.12
LC8 LC8
0.10

2 0.08
ew , e
v%

0.06

1 0.04

0.02

0 0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00
5 0.12
LC4A LC4A
0.10
4
0.08
v%

ew , e

3 0.06

0.04
2
0.02
1
0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 3 4 5

3 0.12
LC4B
LC4B 0.10
2 0.08
ew , e
v%

0.06
1 0.04

0.02
0 0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
cycles cycles
wetting drying ew e

Figure 4. Increments of volumetric strain (εv ), water ratio (ew ) and void ratio (e) versus cycle number.

4 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS applied, can manifest either a net compressive strain

or a net swelling strain. Most irreversible or plastic
With regard to volumetric behaviour it is evident volumetric strains develop in the first cycle, while in
that the material tested, depending on the stress path successive cycles, more or less quickly, volumetric

325
behaviour becomes reversible. A distinctive feature
of the reported test results is the strong dependence
of mechanical behaviour in the first suction cycle on
the stress history and material density at the begin-
ning of wetting. In the reversible range, stress history
effects seem to disappear and elastic volumetric strains
are governed by the vertical net stress and suction
increment applied. More precisely, volumetric strain
changes increase as σv decreases and s increases.
The evolution of water ratio with wetting and dry-
ing cycles develops in a quite similar way for all tested
samples, which accumulate irreversible water con-
tent increments in the first cycle and share an almost
fully reversible behaviour in successive cycles. The
irreversible water ratio variations are an evident con-
sequence of hydraulic hysteresis. However, the stress
paths applied influence water volume changes which
increase, both in the irreversible and the reversible
range, as σv decreases or s increases.
These experimental results could easily fit, at least
qualitatively, in the B.Ex.M. frame (Alonso et al.,
1999; 2005; Gens & Alonso, 1992). Such an inter-
pretation has been proved effective with reference to
volumetric behaviour, although with the constraint of
simplified hypotheses (Airò et al., 2007). A quantita-
tive simulation of some of the above data, related to
volumetric strain evolution, is at present in progress.
However, in order to try to model irreversible and
reversible water content changes in suction wetting
and drying cycles, the effects of hydraulic hysteresis
and void ratio changes are to be considered in a fully
coupled hydromechanical model (Vaunat et al., 2000).
5 CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents detailed information on volumetric
strain and water ratio evolution of a compacted scaly
clay stressed by wetting and drying cycles at constant
vertical net stress in suction controlled oedometers.
The analysis of the test results aims to characterize
some particular aspects of material mechanical and
hydraulic behaviour and its dependence on the stress
paths applied. In this connection it is evidenced that the
compacted unsaturated scaly clay, when stressed cycli-
cally in wetting and drying, underwent irreversible
volumetric swelling or shrinkage strains and irre-
versible water ratio (or saturation degree) increases.
Irreversible volumetric strain and water ratio changes
developed for the most part in the first cycle; starting
from the second suction cycle the material behaviour
became reversible more or less quickly. In the first wet-
ting and drying cycle the overall volumetric behaviour
appeared to be strongly dependent on previous stress
history and the σv and s applied. Water ratio incre-
ments, which must have been related to hydraulic
326
hysteresis, showed dependence on the stress paths
applied. In the reversible range both volumetric strain
and water ratio increments shared the same trend: they
depended on the σv and s applied.
The complexity of the material volumetric and
hydraulic behaviour requires a conceptual model in
which the different characteristic aspects can be ratio-
nally and consistently related. In this respect, the
interpretation by B.Ex.M. of the volumetric behaviour
of compacted scaly clay has been proved to be effec-
tive. A quantitative simulation of volumetric strain
evolution is now in progress.
REFERENCES
Airò Farulla, C. 2004. Comportamento idraulico e meccanico
dell’argilla a scaglie compattata del nucleo delle dighe
Scanzano e Rossella. AGI XXII Conv. Naz. di Geotecnica,
Palermo 22–24 Settembre: 445–452. Bologna: Patron Ed.
Airò Farulla, C., Ferrari, A. & Romero, E. 2007. Mechan-
ical behaviour of compacted scaly clay during cyclic
controlled-suction testing. In T. Schanz (ed.), Experi-
mental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics: 345–354. Berlin:
Springer.
Airò Farulla, C. & Jommi, C. 2005. Suction controlled
wetting-drying cycles on a compacted scaly clay. Proc. Int.
Conf. on Problematic Soils: 229–238. Eastern Mediter-
ranean University, Famagusta, N. Cyprus.
Alonso, E.E. Vaunat, J. & Gens, A. 1999. Modelling the
mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engineering
Geology 54: 173–183.
Alonso, E.E., Romero, E., Hoffmann, C. & Garcia-
Escudero, E. 2005. Expansive bentonite-sand mixtures in
cyclic controlled-suction drying and wetting. Engineering
Geology 81: 213–236.
Buisson, M.S.R. & Wheeler, S.J. 2000. Inclusion of hydraulic
hysteresis in a new elasto-plastic framework for unsat-
urated soils. In A. Tarantino & C. Mancuso (eds),
Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches in
Unsaturated Soils: 109–119. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1992. A framework for the
behaviour of unsaturated expansive clays. Can. Geotech-
nical J. 29: 1013–1032.
Romero, E. 1999. Characterisation and thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated Boom clay. An
experimental study. Doctoral Thesis, Universidad Politéc-
nica de Cataluna, Barcelona.
Romero, E. 2001. Controlled-suction technique. In W.Y.Y.
Gehling & F. Schnaid (eds.), Proc. 4◦ Symp. Brasil. Solos
Nao Saturados, Porto Alegre, Brasil, 535–542.
Sharma, R.S. & Wheeler, S.J. 2000. Behaviour of an unsat-
urated highly expansive clay during cycles of wetting
and drying. In H. Rahardio, D.G. Toll & E.C. Leong
(eds), Unsaturated Soils for Asia. 721–726. Rotterdam:
Balkema.
Vaunat, J., Romero, E. & Jommi, C. 2000. An elasto-
plastic hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated soils. In
A. Tarantino & C. Mancuso (eds), Experimental Evi-
dence and Theoretical Approaches in Unsaturated Soils.
121–138. Rotterdam: Balkema.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Long-term behaviour of lime-treated expansive soil submitted to cyclic

wetting and drying

O. Cuisinier & D. Deneele

Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées, Centre de Nantes, France

ABSTRACT: Lime addition is a widely used technique to improve the engineering behaviour of soils and is
known to reduce the swelling potential of expansive soils. However, in the long term, the permanence of the
effect is questionable. This question is of interest since lime might be used to prevent swelling of expansive soils
in earthworks. An experimental study was undertaken to assess the effects of successive wetting/drying cycles
on the swelling behaviour of lime-treated expansive soils. This study was conducted both on three-year-old field
samples from an experimental backfill and samples reconstituted in the laboratory. Osmotic suction-controlled
oedometers were used to determine the swelling/shrinkage behaviour when submitted to wetting/drying cycles.
The results obtained for reconstituted samples showed that lime treatment can reduce dramatically the swelling
capacity of an expansive soil. However, the lime-treated samples taken from the experimental backfill exhibited
important swelling and shrinkage deformations when submitted to successive wetting and drying. The results
clearly indicate that treatment efficiency decreases with time. This tendency was confirmed by several cyclic
wetting/drying tests.

1 INTRODUCTION with this practice, is the maintenance of the reduction

Quicklime addition is a common technique to improve
the physical properties of fine soils. The first benefit of
quicklime addition to a soil is related to the hydration
reaction of quicklime that is highly exothermic causing
the evaporation of water, further increasing the work-
ability of the soil. Secondly, this hydration reaction
results in an increase of Ca2+ and OH− concentra-
tions in the soil. In the short term, this induces cation
exchange of Ca2+ from the exchangeable cations exist-
ing in clay lattices that causes the flocculation of the
particles (e.g. Abdi & Wild 1993) further affecting
soil plasticity (e.g. Locat et al. 1990). Moreover, in the
long term, the release of hydroxyl anions increases the
soil pH up to 12.5, leading to the dissolution of silica
and alumina of soil minerals that react with calcium,
permitting the formation of cementitious compounds.
These compounds cement soil particles together, this
increasing the soil mechanical properties, like shear
strength (e.g. Little 1995, Bell 1996). These reactions
are named pozzolanic reactions.
In addition to the immediate modification and the
long term mechanical improvement, lime treatment
is also known to significantly reduce the swelling
ability of expansive soils (e.g. Brandl 1981, Rao &
Thyagaraj 2003). Hence, this kind of soil treatment
would be of interest in order to prevent swelling of
clayey soils. One of the main mechanical concerns
of the swelling/shrinkage potentials associated with
the lime addition. However, there is a lack of knowl-
edge of the very long term efficiency of lime treatment,
especially when lime-treated soils are submitted to a
succession of wet/dry seasons.
A few field studies have attempted to evaluate the
performance of lime stabilized roads, earthfill, etc.,
several years after the construction of the infrastruc-
ture (e.g. Gutschik 1978, Kelley 1988). From these
studies, there is a general agreement indicating that
the alternation of wet/dry period could be detrimen-
tal to the efficiency of lime treatment. It is however
difficult to generalize these results since little infor-
mation is available on the soil types, lime treatment
and compaction conditions, etc. in these studies.
Experiments conducted on samples reconstituted in
the laboratory are also reported in the literature. Guney
et al. (2007) performed successive wetting/drying
cycles on lime-treated expansive clay. They showed
that the swelling/shrinkage potential of the clay is
reduced by lime treatment only when the first cycle is
considered. The swelling potential of the lime-treated
clay increased significantly with the number of
wet/dry cycles. The study presented by Khattab et al.
(2007) concluded that successive cyclic wetting and
drying cycles can be detrimental to lime effects on
swelling properties. This seemed to be related to the
curing time before the first water content cycle is

327
performed. As a conclusion, these studies tend to
indicate that suction cycles can alter the effects of lime
treatment on swelling potential of clays. However, it
should be considered that, in these studies, the samples
were submitted to cycles between null suction (samples
exposed to free water) and very low relative humidity
(i.e. high suctions). These experimental conditions
are rather severe compared to field conditions where
suction variations are less pronounced below a few tens
of centimetres from the outer surface of the backfill.
In this context, an experimental programme was
undertaken to evaluate the long term efficiency of
lime treatment on the swelling/shrinkage properties
of an expansive soil when submitted to suction vari-
ations in a more realistic range. Osmotic suction-
controlled oedometers were used to determine the
swelling/shrinkage behaviour of soils submitted to
wetting/drying cycles in the range of suctions com-
prised between 0 and about 8 MPa. This study was
conducted on two kinds of samples. Firstly, samples
were taken in July 2006 inside an experimental backfill
constructed in July 2003 with lime-treated expansive
soil. Secondly, additional experiments were carried out
with the same expansive soil, untreated or lime-treated
but cured only one month to evaluate the short term
efficiency of the lime treatment.
2 TESTED MATERIALS
In parallel, untreated clayey soil of the A34 was also
sampled in order to conduct laboratory experiments
on reconstituted lime-treated A34 clay reconstituted
in the laboratory.
2.2 Untreated A34 clay properties
The identification properties of the A34 soil (before
lime addition) are given in Table 1. The compaction
properties were also determined. The optimum mass
water content was 27.0% that gave a dry density of
1.46 Mg · m−3 . With 3% of lime, on a dry weight
basis, the optimum mass water content of the A34 soil
was equal to 24.5%, and the dry density was about
1.37 Mg · m−3 . The determination of the methy-
lene blue value of a soil (VBS) by means of the
stain test evaluated the argillaceous fraction activity
and quantity. These characteristics were used for the
in situ compaction of the backfills. The particle size
distribution analysis result is given on Figure 1.
2.3 Field samples characterization
Only the central parts of the cores were used for the
experiments presented in this study. Their water con-
tent was between 32 and 36%, the dry density between
1.14 and 1.28 Mg · m−3 and the degree of saturation
between 70 and 80%. These characteristics are very
different to the density and water content of the back-
fill built in 2003. This could be related (i) to field

2.1 Experimental backfills

Table 1. Identification properties of the untreated A34 clay.
An important amount of swelling clay was identified
on one section of the A34 highway in the Ardennes wL wP Ip γs VBS <2 μm
(northern France) before its construction. This clay % % % Mg · m−3 g/100 g %
was found to be unsuitable to build the backfills of the
highway according to French technical recommenda- 98.1 37.1 61.0 2.67 10.7 66.1
tions. One possible way to use this kind of clayey soil
was to add quicklime. In this case, extensive studies
were required to demonstrate the feasibility of the lime
treatment. In this context, two experimental backfills
(100 m length, 10 m width and 1.5 m height) were con-
structed in 2003, several compaction methods were
considered. The variations of the backfill properties
were monitored until now.
In the framework of the present paper, different
cores were sampled in those backfills in order to eval-
uate the swelling properties of the expansive soil three
years after the lime treatment and the backfills con-
struction. Those backfills were submitted to climatic
conditions during three years and the sampling was
performed in July 2006. In the selected backfill the
A34 clay was mixed with 3% of quicklime, on a dry
weight basis, and compacted at the optimum water
content. The lime percentage was recognized, from the
laboratory design study, to be sufficient to suppress the Figure 1. Particle size distributions of the untreated A34
swelling potential of the A34 clay. clay compared with that of sample taken in the backfill.

328
compaction that was less efficient in the field than
in the laboratory, (ii) to a swelling of the soil after its
compaction, or (iii) to a swelling related to the effect of
climatic conditions and the increase in water content.
Particle size distribution analysis (PSD) was carried
out. Figure 1 compares the mean PSD of the untreated
A34 clay and of the treated A34 clay coming from the
experimental backfill. It can be seen that, after three
years, the lime treatment induced a strong reduction of
the amount of the clay particles (i.e. lower than 2 μm)
from 66.1% down to 30%. The VBS value for the lime-
treated soil after 3 years is comprised between 5.1 and
7.1 g/100 g of dry soil that is significantly lower than
the untreated soil (see Table 1).
These considerations tend to indicate that the lime-
treated A34 clay sampled within the backfill is less
active than the untreated soil.
2.4 Laboratory-reconstituted samples
(lab-samples)
Some samples were reconstituted in the laboratory and
several kinds of specimen preparations were consid-
ered: (i) untreated A34, (ii) lime-treated A34 with
3% of lime without curing and (iii) treated-A34 with
1 month of curing at 40◦ C. This temperature was
chosen to speed up the chemical reactions and promote
the secondary formation of hydrated cementitious
products.
The preparation of the lime-treated samples fol-
lowed French technical recommendations. The lime
and the soil at a water content equal to the opti-
mum water content were thoroughly mixed together.
The mixture was left for one hour in an airtight
container before compaction to allow the develop-
ment of immediate reactions between lime and the
soil particles. Then, the soil was dynamically com-
pacted directly in the desired oedometric cell. The
compaction energy corresponded to the normal Proc-
tor energy. The dynamic compaction procedure was
scaled for the volume of the oedometric cell. A mini-
compaction device similar to the one presented by
Sridharan & Sivapullaiah (2005) was used. When a
curing period was required, the sample was wrapped
with plastic sheets in order to prevent any water loss.
All the reconstituted samples were compacted at their
respective optimum water content and density.
water, and therefore the suction, is controlled by the
macromolecule concentration: the higher the concen-
tration, the higher the suction. In this method, only
the matric suction of the sample is controlled. The
exchange of water is due to the process of osmosis.
The macromolecule commonly used is the polyethy-
lene glycol (PEG) with a molecular weight of 20
000 or 6000 Da (1 Dalton, Da = 1.6605 10−24 g).
An extended calibration curve for suctions ranging
between 0 up to 8.5 MPa is given by Delage et al.
(1998) and Cuisinier and Masrouri (2004). To fit these
data, the following empirical calibration equation was
proposed by Delage et al. (1998):
s = 11 c2 (1)
where s is the suction and c the concentration of
the PEG solution expressed in g of PEG per g of
water. In order to limit this effect, the temperature
was maintained at 20 ± 1.5◦ C.
The basic principle of the osmotic oedometer used
in this study is presented in Figure 2. A peristaltic
pump circulates the macromolecules solution through
the base of the oedometer cell, which is designed
to allow fluid to circulate all around the bottom of
the sample. Between the sample and the PEG solu-
tion, a semi-permeable membrane is introduced to
prevent PEG macromolecules from passing into the
sample. The diameter of the sample is 7 cm, and
its initial height about 1 cm. With that material, 7
days were needed for deformation equilibrium to be
reached. Mechanical loading was performed in the

3 OSMOTIC TECHNIQUE

In order to study the swelling/shrinkage behaviour of

the samples, suction-controlled oedometers were used.
They use the osmotic technique for suction imposition.
Its basic principle is to introduce a semi-permeable
membrane between a solution of macromolecules
and the soil sample. The amount of exchanged Figure 2. Sketch of the osmotic oedometer.

329
same manner as in a typical oedometer test. All the
wetting and drying phase were performed under a ver-
tical stress of 10 kPa to ensure a good contact between
the semi-permeable membrane and the lower face of
the sample.
The osmotic technique was also used to determine
the water retention properties of the tested material.
Cubic-shaped samples with a volume of approximately
1 to 2 cm3 were obtained from compacted samples
of the different materials used in this study. They
were inserted in the semi-permeable membrane. Then
the membrane was hermetically sealed and further
immersed in the desired PEG solution. Seven days
were required to reach moisture equilibrium. Then,
the water content of the samples was determined and
the PEG concentration measured to determine the
imposed matric suction.
4 BEHAVIOUR OF THE SAMPLES
FROM THE EXPERIMENTAL BACKFILLS
4.1 Water retention curves
The matric suction of the field samples was determined
with the filter paper method. Samples were cut into two
parts, three filter papers being inserted between them.
After 10 days in an airtight container in order to reach
equilibrium, the central filter paper was used for the
suction determination. The mean value of the initial
matric suction was between 800 and 1000 kPa.
In a second test, the retention properties of the field
samples were determined between 10 kPa and about
8 MPa. The retention curve test was performed in
Figure 3. Retention curves of the different tested materials.
330
duplicate. Each sample was cut into small pieces of
approximately 4 to 5 cm3 . Several pieces were used
for each imposed suction. The pieces were inserted
in a semi-permeable membrane and after 7 days in
the osmotic solution, the water content of each piece
was determined. The results are given in Figure 3.
The results show a good reproducibility between dupli-
cates. We note that the imposition of suction lower than
the initial suction did not induce a significant increase
of the water content.
4.2 Swelling characteristics of field samples
Several series of tests were performed to evaluate the
swelling properties of the field samples. First, the
swelling potential was determined. This test was per-
formed in a basic oedometer under the load of the
piston. The swelling potential was found to be lower
than 0.5%. This can be compared to the swelling poten-
tial of the untreated A34 clay that is equal to 13% for
an initial water content of 35% (i.e. close to the in situ
water content).
Afterwards, three samples were submitted to suc-
cessive wet/dry cycles between their initial suction
(i.e. about 1 MPa) and 0 kPa. Their initial dry den-
sities are comprised between 1.17 and 1.28 Mg · m−3 .
In order to limit the test duration, no intermediate
stages of suction were imposed between the initial suc-
tion and 0 kPa. It can be seen in Figure 4 that the
first hydration induced small height variation between
+0.02 and −0.02%. The results show that the first
wetting/drying cycle resulted in an accumulation of
shrinkage deformation.

Figure 4. Influence of successive suction cycles between
1000 and 0 kPa on three-year-old field samples.
Figure 5. Influence of successive suction cycles between
8000 and 0 kPa on three-year-old field samples.
In a next step, samples were submitted to wet-
ting/drying cycles, but in the range of suction between
0 and 8000 kPa. The suction of the samples was first
increased from their initial suction up to 8000 kPa, and
then submitted to suction cycles. The results of these
tests are given in Figure 5. The first point to note is that
the first drying induced a vertical shrinkage ranging
331
from 5.1% to 8.5%, significantly higher than the defor-
mation registered between 0 and 1 MPa with the tests
A, B and C (Figure 4). Secondly, it can be seen that the
wetting that followed the first drying was associated to
a swelling but the samples did not return to their initial
state. The first suction cycle induced an accumulation
of shrinkage deformations. During the additional suc-
tion cycles, it appears that the suction cycles induced
only elastic swelling/shrinkage deformations.
Therefore, the swelling behaviour of the lime-
treated expansive soil is related to the magnitude of the
suction cycle. Lime treatment is still efficient 3 years
after the backfill construction only for the suction
cycles conducted between 0 and 1 MPa.
5 BEHAVIOUR OF THE SAMPLES
RECONSTITUTED IN THE LABORATORY
(LAB SAMPLES)
In order to assess the effect of lime on swelling prop-
erties of the A34 clay, the experimental approach
performed with field samples were implemented with
laboratory-reconstituted samples. For this, several
preparation methods discussed previously were con-
sidered (untreated, lime treated without curing period
prior to testing and lime treated with 1 month curing
at 40◦ C).
5.1 Water retention curves
The influence of lime treatment on the water retention
curve of the lab. samples can be seen in Figure 3. It
appears that the lime treatment affects significantly the
behaviour of the clay. The water retention capacity of
the lime-treated clay is lower than that of the untreated
clay for suctions lower than 200 kPa. However, it seems
that the water retention capacity is higher for the lime-
treated A34 clay under high suction (>1 MPa). The
effect of the curing time can be seen from these results;
the water retention capacity tends to decrease with
increasing curing time.
Moreover, it appears that the water retention curve
of the field sample is significantly different from the
water retention curves determined with thelab. sam-
ples. It is interesting to note that, under a suction of
10 kPa, the water retention capacity of the field sam-
ple is equivalent to the water retention capacity of the
untreated A34 clay.
5.2 Swelling characteristics of the lab. samples
The swelling behaviour of the lab. samples was deter-
mined only in the range of suctions between 0 and
about 8 MPa. The results are shown on Figure 6. On
this figure, only the results obtained for the lime-
treated samples after one month of curing at 40◦ C

Figure 6. Influence of successive suction cycles between
8000 and 0 kPa on lab-samples.
are given and are presented for comparison with the
untreated A34-sample.
First, it can be seen that the untreated A34 clay has a
high swelling/shrinkage potential, expected behaviour
for an expansive soil. One sample of untreated clay
was first submitted to wetting down to 0 while another
sample was first submitted to a drying up to 8 MPa. In
the first case, the successive suction cycles induce the
accumulation of plastic swelling deformation whereas
in the second case, there is a slight tendency for the
accumulation of shrinkage deformations.
Secondly, the lime-treated samples cured one
month at 40◦ C exhibited a very different behaviour.
It can be seen that the swelling/shrinkage potential is
lower than 3% in the studied range of suction. Hence,
it can be stated that, after one month of curing, the lime
treatment is efficient at reducing the swelling poten-
tial of the A34 clay. It appears also that the maximum
deformation has taken place during the first cycle,
the remaining suction cycles inducing only elastic
deformation.
6 DISCUSSION
All these results can be compared to assess the per-
manence of lime treatment effects on an expansive
soil in the very long term. It can be seen that the
swelling/shrinkage potential of the A34 clay field sam-
ples is significantly higher than those of the laboratory-
reconstituted lime-treated A34 samples. However, the
swelling/shrinkage potential of the A34 field samples
is still lower than the untreated A34 clay.
332
Moreover, the water retention capacity under low
suction of the A34 field-samples is similar to the water
retention of the untreated A34 clay, and significantly
higher than those of the untreated clay. However, the
water retention curve between 50 kPa up to 8 MPa is
still drastically different. The identification properties
also clearly indicate that lime is still having an effect
on the A34 clay 3 years after the construction of the
backfill.
Hence, it can be stated that these results tend to indi-
cate that the effect of lime treatment on the swelling
properties of an expansive soil still have a significant
effect on the behaviour of the A34 clay, 3 years after the
backfill construction. Nevertheless, it appears that the
lime treatment ‘‘efficiency’’ on the swelling/shrinkage
potential of the A34 clay decreases with time. The
results show that the behaviour of the A34 field-
samples depends on the imposed suction range.
7 CONCLUSION
In this study, experimental techniques developed to
study the behaviour of unsaturated soils were used to
evaluate the long term efficiency of lime-treatment
on the swelling/shrinkage behaviour of expansive
soils. These techniques demonstrate that the effi-
ciency of lime treatment tends to decrease with
time. It is now necessary to determine whether this
decrease is linked to particular environmental con-
ditions (weather, drainage, etc.) of the experimental
backfill or the lime/soil reactions themselves. Addi-
tional investigations on the physico-chemical charac-
teristics of the different tested materials will also be
undertaken.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors thank V. Berche from the Laboratoire
Régional de l’Équipement of St Quentin (France) for
providing both the core samples and data about the
backfill construction.
REFERENCES
Abdi, M.R. & Wild, S. 1993. Sulphate expansion of
lime-stabilised kaolinite: I. Physical characteristics. Clay
Minerals 28: 555–567.
Bell, F.G. 1996. Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils.
Engineering Geology 42: 223–237.
Brandl, H. 1981. Alteration of soil parameters by stabilization
with lime. 10th int. conf. on soil mechanics and foundation
engineering, Stockholm, Sweden, vol. 3: 587–594.
Cuisinier, O. & Masrouri, F. 2004. Testing the hydromechan-
ical behaviour of a compacted swelling soil. Geotechnical
Testing J. 27: 598–606.
Delage, P., Howat, M.D. & Cui, Y.J. 1998. The relationship
between suction and the swelling properties in a heavily
compacted swelling clay. Engineering Geology 50: 31–48.
Guney, Y., Sari, D., Cetin, M. & Tuncan, M. 2007. Impact
of cyclic wetting-drying on swelling behaviour of lime-
stabilized soil. Building and Environment 42: 681–688.
Gutschick, K.A. 1978. Lime stabilization under hydraulic
conditions. 4th lime congress, pp. 1–20.
Kelley, C.M. 1988. A long range durability study of lime
stabilized bases at military posts in the southwest. Bulletin
328, National Lime Association, Arlington, 2nd edition.
Khattab, S.A.A., Al-Mukhtar, M. & Fleureau, J.-M. 2007.
Long-term stability characteristics of a lime-treated plas-
tic soil. J. of Materials in Civil Engineering 19: 358–366.
333
Little, D.N. 1995. Stabilization of pavement subgrades
and base courses with lime. Arlington: National lime
association.
Locat, J., Bérubé, M.A. & Choquette, M. 1990. Laboratory
investigations on the lime stabilisation of sensitive clays:
shear strength development. Canadian Geotechnical J. 27:
294–304.
Rao, S.M. & Thyagaraj, T. 2003. Lime slurry stabilisa-
tion of an expansive soil. Geotechnical Engineering 153:
139–146.
Sridharan, A. & Sivapullaiah, P.V. 2005. Mini compaction
test apparatus for fine grained soils. Geotechnical Test-
ing J. 28: 240–246.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Hydro-mechanical properties of compacted sand-bentonite

in a semi-arid climate

H. Bilsel & A. Iravanian

Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, N. Cyprus

ABSTRACT: This article presents the preliminary findings of an experimental study conducted on uniform
sand-bentonite mixtures, focussing on the investigation and prediction of the volume change and hydraulic
properties of artificially prepared mixtures of natural bentonite (Na-smectite) and poorly graded fine sand.
Compacted specimens of sand-bentonite mixtures with additions of 33%, 50% and 75% sand were tested to
demonstrate the change in physical and mechanical properties as compared to the compacted bentonite with
no sand, therefore obtaining the most feasible combination for achieving the required properties. Based on the
experimental findings of swell-shrink behaviour, saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil-water characteristic
behaviour, sand-bentonite mixtures with 75% sand proved to be quite effective in fulfilling the requirements for
barriers in a semi-arid climate.

1 INTRODUCTION and compacted together to form a material with low

The current design criteria for waste containment
systems use saturated hydraulic conductivity as a
measure of effectiveness of the barrier layers. This,
however, can be detrimental to covers in arid and
semi-arid regions. In order to achieve a low saturated
hydraulic conductivity, the barrier soil must be com-
pacted wet of optimum, which will lead to drying,
hence shrinking and cracking, therefore leaving the
barrier layer ineffective. These cracks form preferen-
tial flow paths, and allow for infiltration of water. In
semi-arid and arid climates compacted buffer mate-
rials remain unsaturated for a prolonged dry season,
therefore suctions are a major factor in influencing the
strength, compressibility and hydraulic conductivity
of the materials. To minimize the effects of desic-
cation, clays with lower plasticity should be used,
compacted close to optimum water content. There-
fore, silty clays, sandy clays, clayey silts and clayey
sands are less susceptible to cracking upon desiccation
(Benson 1999).
The design of the waste containment facilities,
which are the cover and liner layers, require an
extensive experimental investigation to be able to
choose the best solution. The aim of this research
is to investigate a long lasting and feasible solution
for the environmental problems created by the aban-
doned copper mine and the landfills, which are not
covered in North Cyprus, using the locally existing
sources abundantly found on the island: the ‘‘beach
sand’’ and naturally found ‘‘Na-smectite’’. Differ-
ent proportions of sand and bentonite were mixed
hydraulic conductivity which can be used as barrier
layers. The initial findings of an extensive experimen-
tal program will be presented herein, which includes
studies on swell potential, shrinkage characteris-
tics, saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil-water
characteristics.
2 BACKGROUND
Compacted clay liners are widely used as hydraulic
barriers in landfills and other waste containment struc-
tures, with the intention of impeding flow. Hence
the main goal is to achieve low hydraulic conduc-
tivity. Hydraulic conductivity depends mainly on the
molding water content and dry unit weight obtained
during compaction. Atterberg limits also have signifi-
cant effect on hydraulic conductivity. Soils with higher
plasticity index have lower hydraulic conductivity,
since they will possess higher fines content (Benson
and Trast 1995). Landfill covers and liners, engineered
barriers and buffers need to be made from special
materials, which meet the specified requirements,
whenever available on-site soils are not suitable. The
barriers designed using clays alone should maintain a
saturated layer to reduce the rate at which oxygen can
diffuse through the cover, therefore reducing the rate
at which the oxygen enters into the waste, which cre-
ates acid generation in waste rock of mines. Therefore,
wherever this method is applicable, it is important to
keep the cover material saturated year round (Weeks
and Wilson 2005).

335
 Various investigators have assessed the suitability of
bentonite-based materials to be used as barrier layers
for repositories. The use of pure bentonite in liners
for water-retention facilities is very common. Parti-
cle sizes of the clayey soils such as bentonite are so
fine, giving them the ability of being impervious and
preventing the leaks. In recent years sand-bentonite
mixtures have been used in construction of landfills
and waste water ponds, which are observed to perform
better than clayey mixtures in semi arid climates. The
addition of small quantities of bentonite allows the
fulfillment of the hydraulic conductivity requirement
without failing in mechanical stability.
Using clayey compound with granular soils to be
applied as hydraulic or evapotranspirative barriers is
a relatively new solution. Bentonite as a fine parti-
cle size soil with its specific properties seems to be
an appropriate type of material to be used. The ben-
tonite reduces the hydraulic conductivity, while sand
reduces problems of bentonite cracking under shrink-
age (Kaoser et al. 2006). The percentage of bentonite
varies depending on the properties of the soil it will
be mixed with. If pure bentonite is to be mixed with
uniform sand usually 10–15% of bentonite is ade-
quate. In general the amount of bentonite used in
landfill industry varies between 3–15% (Kumar and
Yong 2002). However, as the cost of bentonite is
high, to determine the minimum percentage of ben-
tonite necessary to achieve the required properties
should be the main task. If the bentonite amount is
high, the mixture becomes plastic and therefore it will
be difficult to compact (Sallfors and Öberg-Högsta,
2002).
3.1 Atterberg limits
The most important physical properties of the sand-
bentonite samples are the Atterberg limits, which show
the reduction in the plastic behaviour with increas-
ing sand content. The tests were performed using
all fractions of the mixtures, without sieving through
0.425 mm. Table 1 depicts the plastic limit, liquid limit
and the plasticity indices of sand-bentonite mixtures
with increasing percentages of sand. The plasticity
index values indicate a significant reduction in the
plastic behaviour of the mixtures with increasing sand
content.
3.2 Compaction test
For laboratory investigations on sand-bentonite mix-
tures, the hydraulic conductivity is significantly influ-
enced by the moulding water content. A thorough
mixture of sand-bentonite is essential for reducing the
scatter in hydraulic conductivity.
In order to achieve a homogenenous distribution of
voids within the mixture, the materials must be com-
pacted at water contents either at optimum or just above
the optimum.
In this study, Standard Proctor tests were performed
on natural bentonite alone and on mixtures of natu-
ral bentonite and sand. The results of the compaction
tests carried out to assess the optimum water contents
and maximum dry densities are given in Figure 1.
Table 1. Atterberg limits of sand-bentonite mixtures.
Sand

0 33% 50% 75%

3 MATERIALS AND METHODS Plastic limit 67 49 30 32

Liquid limit 117 77 57 24
This report includes the research findings on mixtures Plasticity index 49 29 27 8
of natural compacted bentonite and 33%, 50% and
75% by dry mass of uniform sand. The testing pro-
gram includes determination of physical properties 1800
Natural bentonite
of samples and hydro-mechanical properties includ- 1700 33% Sand
ing one dimensional free swell, and shrinkage test 50% Sand
Dry density, kN/m3

1600 75% Sand

under vertical pressure, soil suction measurements
and consolidation test. SoilVision (1998) software, 1500
a knowledge-based system database, was used to fit 1400
the models and calculate the fitting parameters of
soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), and shrink- 1300
age curves. The materials used in this study is basicly 1200
Na-smectite, obtained from the bentonite mine in
Yiitler, and poorly graded uniform sand from Silver 1100
Beach in North Cyprus. According to the Unified 1000
Soil Classification System, grain size data of the sand 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
indicate a mean diameter D50 = 0.20, a uniformity Water content
coefficient Cu = 1.53, a coefficient of curvature of
Cc = 0.99 and effective diameter D10 = 0.14. Figure 1. Compaction curves.

336
As can be observed in the figure, increasing sand
content decreases the optimum water content, while
increasing the maximum dry density. The bentonite,
which forms a gel around sand particles, when reduced
causes a reduction in the effective size of particles,
hence decreasing the volume of voids. Therefore the
dry density is reduced.
3.3 Swell potential
To investigate the swelling characteristics of natural
bentonite and sand bentonite mixtures, one dimen-
sional swell tests were carried out using oedometers.
Consolidation rings of 50 mm inner diameter and
of height 14 mm were pushed into the compacted
sand-bentonite prepared at optimum water content,
and two samples were obtained for swell testing.
Specimens with varying sand-bentonite contents
were allowed to swell until the increase in free swell
with time became marginal. Figure 2 presents the free
swell response with time for different mixtures of sand-
bentonite. The results depict a significant reduction in
free swell with respect to the increasing sand content.
3.4 Soil-water characteristic curve
The compacted sand-bentonite barriers are frequently
unsaturated in semi-arid areas. Therefore, suctions
are a key factor in influencing the hydraulic proper-
ties, volume change and strength. Hydraulic properties
consist of soil water characteristic curve (SWCC), and
hydraulic conductivity function.
SWCC is a measure of water storage capacity of
soil for a given soil suction. It describes the rela-
tionship between the volumetric water content, θ , or
the gravimetric water content, w, and the matric suc-
tion, ψm (ua − uw ) or the total suction (that is matric
plus osmotic suction), ψt . It has a similar role as the
25
Natural bentonite
33% Sand
20 50% Sand
75% Sand
Percent Swell
15
10
5 monitor within a few minutes. In general it can be said
0 device giving quick assessments of the moisture state
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
Time, min
Figure 2. Free swell test results.
337
consolidation curve in saturated soil mechanics, and
controls the behavior of hydraulic conductivity, shear
strength and volume change at different suctions dur-
ing wetting and drying processes. Therefore, SWCC
can be considered as one of the most fundamental
hydraulic characteristics of unsaturated soils.
The water content of a soil decreases as suction
increases following a drying path (desorption). On the
other hand, the water content increases when the suc-
tion decreases following a wetting path (adsorption).
For engineering practice, however, a single valued
function, usually the desorption curve, is used in char-
acterizing the hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils.
The drying curve has a breaking point corresponding
to the matric suction when the soil starts to desatu-
rate, called the air-entry value (AEV), and is identified
as the suction at which air enters the largest pores of
the soil (Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993, Rahardjo and
Leong 1997).
In order to predict the performance of sand-
bentonite barriers, it is essential to determine the suc-
tion characteristics. Sand-bentonite mixtures develop
very large suctions which cannot be tested by conven-
tional methods, such as axis translation and osmotic
techniques. In this study a chilled mirror potentiam-
eter device was used to measure total soil suctions.
This equipment was chosen because of its practicality
in giving quick response, and the repeatability of the
test results with high accuracy. Many other methods
for measuring total suction are available such as filter
paper and psychrometer methods but assessment made
by the Agus & Schantz (2005) showed that the chilled-
mirror potentiameter gives the most accurate results.
A description of the chilled-mirror potentiameter
used was given by Leong et al. (2003). This device
which also has soil science and agricultural usage
has the ability of measuring the suctions between
the ranges 500–300 000 kPa and higher within 10 min-
utes in fairly high accuracy. The dew point potentiome-
ter (Model WP4 T, Decagon Devices, Inc., Pullman,
W A 99163 USA) used in this research, determines
total suction by measuring the dew point temperature
of the head space above sample. It is done by cooling
a mirror, the reflectance of which is carefully moni-
tored by an optical sensor. As the mirror reaches the
dew point it reflects changes and the device measures
the temperature at which the first drop of dew was
condensed on mirror.
Using this temperature, the device calculates the
suction of sample indirectly and shows it on a small
that the chilled mirror potentiameter is an easy to use
of the soil.
Figure 3 depicts the soil-water characteristic
curves of different mixtures of sand-bentonite with
Fredlund and Xing (1994) models fitted by the use
 0.7 cracks formed. The bentonite reduces the hydraulic
Natural Bentonite conductivity, while the sand reduces the bentonite
33% Sand cracking under shrinkage.
0.6
50% Sand Samples compacted at optimum water content were
75% sand saturated in one dimensional swell equipment, drained
0.5 and allowed to desiccate at room temperature. Dry-
ing was carried out in a sequential manner. Volume
Water content

0.4 change during shrinkage and suction measurements

were carried out at varying time intervals to study
0.3 the void ratio-water content (shrinkage curve) and
soil-water characteristics relationships. The void ratio
versus water content relationships are the shrinkage
0.2
curves given in Figure 4.
Increase of sand decreased the shrinkage limit, and
0.1 hence the volume change. The shrinkage curve pro-
vides volumetric data for a soil as it dries and therefore
0 allows calculations of volumetric properties for the
10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 SWCC. The shrinkage curve must be consistent with
Suction, kPa
the hyperbolic equation to allow these calculations to
proceed.
Figure 3. Soil-water characteristic curves for different
The model parameters of the hyperbolic fit to the
sand-bentonite proportions. shrinkage data are given in Table 3. The parame-
ter ash represents the minimum void ratio the dried
specimens attained, and the bsh values are the min-
Table 2. Fredlund and Xing model parameters. imum water content values at which volume change
commenced. The latter are also referred to shrinkage
Sand Residual water content AEV
limit which decreases with increasing sand percentage.
(%) (%) (kPa)

0 29.93 326.25
33 27.67 220.35 2.0
50 23.22 213.31 1.8 80% saturation
75 9.17 41.02 1.6
1.4 100% saturation
Void ratio

1.2 Lab data

1.0
of SoilVision (1998) software and Table 2 presents 0.8
the model parameters. The air entry value obtained 0.6
by Fredlund and Xing (1994) model decreses with the 0.4
increasing percentage of sand in the mixtures, which is 0.2 (a)
rather significant for 75% sand. As the percent sand in 0.0
mixtures gets higher, the amount of water held in satu- 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
rated condition, ws , reduces. The reduction in the slope Water content, %
of soil-water characteristic curves is due to reduction
in the rate of drying, which is an indication of reduced 2.0
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. 1.8
The residual water content, wr , given in the table 1.6 80% saturation
decreases with increasing sand content. Residual water 1.4 100% saturation
Void ratio

content, wr , is the maximum gravimetric water con- 1.2

Lab data
1.0
tent, at which the water capacity (the rate of change of 0.8
gravimetric water content with respect to matric suc- 0.6
tion) approaches zero and the unsaturated hydraulic 0.4 (b)
conductivity becomes zero. 0.2
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
3.5 Shrinkage
Water content, %
Sand-bentonite mixtures are less susceptible to dam-
age by desiccation due to the rigid matrix formed Figure 4. Shrinkage curves of (a) natural bentonite,
by sand and swelling of bentonite to close the (b) bentonite-sand mixture with 75% sand.

338
Table 3. Shrinkage parameters.

Sand (%) ash bsh csh

0 0.17 0.0700346 1.33603

33 0.43 0.1667609 2.370018
50 0.50 0.1948968 2.979534
75 0.52 0.1978353 7.211402

Table 4. Saturated hydraulic conductivity values.

Coefficient of saturated hydraulic

conductivity (m/s)
Stress
range Natural 33% 50% 75%
(kPa) bentonite Sand Sand Sand
Figure 5. Scanning electron microscopy images for (a) nat-
0–200 6.94E-09 1.19E-08 1.11E-08 1.07E-08 ural bentonite, and sand-bentonite mixtures with (b) 33%,
200–400 3.81E-09 5.06E-09 5.07E-09 3.45E-09 (c) 50%, and (d) 75% sand.
400–800 1.74E-09 2.59E-09 2.64E-09 3.28E-09
800–1569 8.50E-10 1.27E-09 1.15E-09 9.03E-10
4 CONCLUSIONS

There is a significant decrease in volume change. No
cracks are observed in the desiccated specimens of
sand-bentonite with 75% sand content.
3.6 Hydraulic conductivity
Saturated hydraulic conductivity is usually taken as
a measure defining effectiveness of barriers. Barrier
layers are expected to block the infiltration. However,
in semi-arid and arid areas, macro-pores are formed
upon desiccation, providing pathways for the infiltra-
tion of water. Therefore, it is of great importance to
predict the hydraulic conductivity of barriers at initial
stages of their design (Öberg-Högsta, 2002).
It is universally accepted that the hydraulic conduc-
tivity of liners for hazardous waste should not exceed
10−9 m/s. In this study, saturated hydraulic conductiv-
ity was determined from the consolidation test results
under different effective consolidation pressures. The
estimated values are presented in Table 4. The testing
program includes determination of hydraulic conduc-
tivity values by direct measurements under varying
confining pressures, which is still under progress.
3.7 Scanning electron microscopy
The desiccated specimens of natural bentonite and of
mixtures of sand-bentonite were examined by scan-
ning electron microscopy. From the micrographs given
in Figure 5, it can be observed that there are large
macropores in the pure bentonite, which reduces in
size with increasing sand content. In the specimens
with 75% sand, the bentonite content is just enough
to fill the voids of the mixture completely even in the
desiccated state. Therefore, the texture appears to be
more uniform.
This study presents the initial findings of an on going
research program to assess the most suitable bar-
rier material for waste containment facilities in North
Cyprus, where semi-arid climatic conditions prevail.
Uniform sand and natural bentonite (Na-smectite)
were chosen, which are local materials abundantly
found.
The results of the experimental program which con-
sists of determination of swell-shrink characteristics
and hydraulic properties, indicate that bentonite with
75% sand significantly reduces the volume change
upon drying, forming a uniform texture with no
desiccation cracks.
Studying the soil-water characteristic curves, it is
observed that, while the air-entry value decreases
with increasing sand content, the slope also reduces
indicating a reduction in the unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity function with respect to suction.
Based on these preliminary results it is anticipated
that the naturally recovered bentonite and the uni-
form beach sand can be efficiently utilized as a barrier
material in a semi-arid climate. However, these initial
findings will be ascertained upon completion of the
testing program.
REFERENCES
Agus, S.S. and Schanz, T. 2005. Swelling pressure and total
suction of compacted bentonite-sand mixtures. Proceed-
ings of International Conference on Problematic Soils,
25–27 May 2005. Eastern Mediterranean University,
Famagusta, N. Cyprus.
Benson, C. 1999. Final covers for waste containment sys-
tems: A North American Perspective. XVII Conference
of Geptechnics of Torino, Nov. 23–25, 1999.

339
Benson, C. and Trast, J.M. 1995. Hydraulic conductivity of
thirteen compacted clays. Clays and Clay Minerals. 43,
No. 6, 669–681.
Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics for
Unsaturated Soils. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Fredlund, D.G. and Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil-
water characteristic curve. Canadia Geotechnical Journal:
31, 521–532.
Kaoser, S., Barrington, S., Elektorowicz, M. and Ayadat, T.
2006. The influence of hydraulic gradient and rate of ero-
sion on hydraulic conductivity of sand-bentonite mixtures.
Soil and Sediment Contamination: 15, 481–496.
Kumar, S. and Yong, W.L. 2002. Effect of bentonite on
compacted clay landfill barriers. Soil and Sediment
Contamination: 11(1): 71–89.
Leong, E.C., Tripathy, S. and Rahardjo, H. 2003. Total suc-
tion measurement of unsaturated soils with a device using
the chilled-mirror hygrometer technique. Geotechnique.
53(2): 173–182.
340
Rahardjo, H. and Leong, E.C. 1997. Soil-water character-
istic curves and flux boundary models. Unsaturated Soil
Engineering practice: Geotechnical Special Publication
No. 68, edited by Houston, S.L. and Fredlund, D.G., Geo
Institute, ASCE, Utah.
Sallfors, G. and Öberg-Högsta, A.L. 2002. Determina-
tion of hydraulic conductivity of sand-bentonite mixtures
for engineering purposes. Geotechnical and Geological
Engineering: 20, 65–80.
SoilVision Systems Ltd. 1998. User’s Guide—A Knowledge
Based System for Soil Properties, Version 2.0, Saskatoon,
Canada.
Tang, G.X., Graham, J., Blatz, J., Gray, M. and Rajapakse,
R.K.N.D. 2002. Suctions, stresses and strengths in unsatu-
rated sand-bentonite. Engineering Geology, 64, 147–156.
Weeks, B. and Wilson, W. 2005. Variation in moisture con-
tent for a soil cover over a 10 year period. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal. 42, 1615–1630.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Grain size effects on rockfill constitutive behaviour

A. Ramon, E.E. Alonso & E.E. Romero

Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, UPC, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: The elastoplastic compressibility model developed by Oldecop & Alonso (2001) describes rock-
fill behaviour by means of a few constitutive parameters. Rockfill behaviour depends markedly on particle
breakage. Therefore, grain size distribution is expected to control macroscopic behaviour. The purpose of the
work developed was to relate specific features of the grain size distribution to changes in constitutive parameters.
Experimental work was performed on compacted gravel specimens having different gradings. It was found that
grain size uniformity leads to an increasing compressibility and collapse potential. However, elastic parameters
and the ratio of the creep index, λt to total compressibility (λi + λd0 ) were not affected by changes in grain size
distribution. It was also found that changes in grain size distribution, due to particle breakage, were insufficiently
described by the well known indices of Marsal & Hardin.

1 INTRODUCTION model parameters and some grading indices are

discussed. Finally, the main conclusions of the study
Rockfill mechanical behaviour has some particular are summarized.
features of behaviour such as the development of long-
term deformations and collapse strains induced by the 2 REFERENCE MODEL
increase of humidity. These phenomena are related to
particle breakage, which is influenced by the stress Figure 1 summarizes the compressibility model. σ is
level and the action of water. Grain-size distribution is the normal stress applied and ε is the total vertical
the relevant information. It controls the contact stress strain. The model considers two mechanisms produc-
level between the rockfill particles and, therefore its ing plastic strains: under dry conditions (at a cer-
probability of breakage. tain relative humidity) the instantaneous deformation
Since rockfill is a granular material constituted by
rock particles with a diameter varying between 0.5 to
1.5 metres in practice, it is not possible to test sam-
ples of rockfill in a real scale. An alternative is to y
understand the effect of the grain-size distribution and
extend this knowledge to the real situation.
The study reported here focuses on investigating
the influence of the particle gradation, the addition of
a fine fraction and the size effect associated with grain Dry
distributions having a common degree of uniformity. i
A program of oedometer tests was carried out on grad-
ings having different uniformity coefficients and dif- Humid
ferent contents of fine fraction (0.5–0.075 mm) which collapse
may reach up to 11% in weight. Gradings with differ-
ent D50 values were also tested. The interpretation of
the tests was performed using the elastoplastic model i+ d

for rockfill compressibility developed by Oldecop &

Alonso (2001).
The paper is organized as follows: First, the ref-
erence elastoplastic compressibility model for rock-
fill is briefly described. Then, the test programme
carried out, the testing procedures and the main Figure 1. Isotropic stress—strain behaviour of rockfill.
results are described. Several relationships between (Oldecop & Alonso, 2001).

341
mechanism (IDM) takes place; under saturated 100
conditions, and beyond a threshold total stress value
that defines the onset of particle breakage, σY , the
time-dependent deformation mechanism (TDM) is 80

Percent finer by weight

activated. Also a linear strain-stress relationship is
assumed for unloading-reloading paths. In the tests
performed, strains were recorded in time for each 60
loading step and a creep index, λt was determined.
λi , λd0 , κ, χ and λt are the model parameters used to
investigate the effect of grain size. λi defines the slope 40
of the linear compression line during IDM, λi + λd0 M1
describes the slope of the normal compression line, M3
20 M5
under saturated conditions, when both IDM and TDM M7
are active. λi values were obtained from the plot of
the strain against vertical stress for each dry oedome-
ter test, whereas the combined value of parameters 0
λi + λd0 was derived from the loading path under sat- 10 1 0.1 0.01
urated conditions. Parameter κ describes the slope D (mm)
of the unloading-reloading path on the strain-stress
space, and it has been obtained from the unload- Figure 2. Grain size distributions tested.
ing increments of the oedometer tests. χ describes
the slope of the existing linear relationship between Table 1. Characteristics of tested gradings.
collapse strains and the logarithm of suction during
wetting of the sample, Oldecop & Alonso (2001). Total D50 Dmax Dmin
suction is derived from RH measurements using the
psychrometric relationship. mm mm mm Dmax / Dmin D60 / D10
The creep index, λt , is given by the expression 1 M1 7.5 20 1 20 5.25
M3 7.5 10 2 5 2.08
-  M5 7.5 20 0.075 266.67 11.05
ε = λt · ln t t r + ε r (1) M7 5.62 8 0.12 66.67 2.72

where t r , εr is a reference point in the time plot.

Table 2. Identification of tests performed.

Dry tests Saturated tests Compaction tests

3 EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Test Grading Test Grading Test Grading
Testing procedures
EP 1 M1 EP 2 M1 PC 1 M1
The tested material was a quartzitic shale from a Pan- EP 3 M3 EP 4 M3 PC 3 M3
crudo River outcrop (Aragón, Spain). After crushing EP 5 M5 EP 6 M5 PC 5 M5
to appropriate particle sizes, four different grain size EP 7 M7 EP 8 M7 PC 7 M7
distributions (gradings M1, M2, M3 and M4) were
prepared and adapted to mathematical expressions.
Several samples, 1550 grams each, were prepared. Table 2 summarizes all the tests carried out. Two
Gradings were characterized with different uniformity oedometer tests were performed for each grading
coefficients and different contents of the fine fraction. in a Rowe-type cell specially adapted for granular
Their accumulated grain size distribution curves are materials. Samples were 152 mm in diameter and
shown in Figure 2 and their principal characteristics approximately 50 mm in height. The granular mate-
are summarized in Table 1. Grading M5 has the higher rial was initially equilibrated during 24 hours under
content of fines of all the specimens tested (11% in the laboratory controlled atmosphere, (50% RH and
weight). It has the same accumulated grain size dis- T = 22◦ C). Before compaction, a double layer of poly-
tribution as specimen M1, for the fractions in excess thene with silicone grease inside was placed between
of D50 . Grading M7 has a lower D50 dimension than the rockfill sample and the inner lateral wall of the
the other specimens tested. It was defined by means oedometer cell in order to reduce the lateral friction
of a constant displacement of the M3 grading density during the test. The sample was compacted inside the
curve. Ramon (2006) provides a detailed description oedometer ring in two layers, equal in weight, using
of the experimental work performed. a Marshall hammer. This hammer has the benefit of

342
transmitting the energy to the material through a fixed application of each load increment, followed by a
surface, avoiding a direct impact to the rock particles long-term deformation in time without apparent sta-
and the resulting intense breakage of the layer surface. bilization. This type of behaviour has already been
The total compaction energy applied corresponds to observed by others (Marsal, 1973; Sowers et al., 1965;
the Normal Proctor test (584.3kJ/m3 ).
The pair of oedometer tests performed for each
Vertical stress (MPa)
grading consists of: 1) a loading oedometer test under
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
dry conditions followed by an induced collapse, at a 0
constant stress level, flooding the sample (tests EP1, 2
EP3, EP5 and EP7), and 2) a saturated oedometer test 4 EP1

(%)
(tests EP2, EP4, EP6 and EP8). Stresses were applied 6 EP3
in increments by means of pressurized air against the 8 EP5
top of the upper platen. Each loading increment lasted 10 EP7
24 hours, a long enough time to allow the establish- 12
14
ment of a stable creep trend. The maximum pressure
reached was 1.1 MPa, and it was followed by wetting 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
of the sample (on the dry tests) and a final unloading. 0
2
Figure 3 shows plots of vertical strain against vertical 4
EP2

(%)
stress from two typical dry and saturated tests on the EP4
6
same grading. 8 EP6
10 EP8
Test results 12
Vertical strains were registered with time during each 14
loading increment.
Figure 4 shows the time records of deformation for Figure 5. Oedometer tests. Vertical strain against vertical
test EP3. The collapse deformation due to the flood- stress for (a) the ‘‘dry’’ tests, (b) the saturated tests.
ing of the sample is also included. A rapid increase
of deformation was observed in all the tests after the Vertical stress (MPa)
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

Vertical stress (MPa) 3.55E-04

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
v (%/min)

0 2.55E-04
2 1.55E-04
4
(%)

6 5.50E-05
8 –4.50E-05
10 Saturated tests Dry tests
12 EP7 Dry test
14 EP8 Saturated test Figure 6. Time-dependent strain rate for oedometer dry
tests (broken lines) and saturated tests (solid lines).
Figure 3. Loading and unloading during dry (EP7) and
saturated (EP8) oedometer tests.
+Patm(Mpa)
0.1 1 10 100 1000
0
1
collapse (%)

2
3 M1
4 M3
M5
5 M7
6

Figure 4. Vertical strains vs. time during consecutive Figure 7. Collapse strain plotted against total suction under
loading increments in the non saturated oedometer test EP3. a vertical stress of 1.1 MPa (tests EP1, EP3, EP5 and EP7).

343
Nobari & Duncan, 1972; Oldecop & Alonso 2001; The time-dependent strain rate, v, was obtained
Montobbio, 2001). at the end of each loading increment; it was derived
Figure 5 shows plots of vertical strain against ver- by means of a linear regression slope adjusted to the
tical stress for the eight oedometer tests carried out. record from 100 minutes to 1440 minutes (with respect
The plotted values correspond to the vertical strain to the instant of load application). Results are shown in
measured 24 hours after the application of the loading Figure 6 for all dry tests (broken lines) and saturated
increment. tests (solid lines). The strain rate increases with the
applied stress.
Figure 7 shows plots of collapse strain against total
Table 3. Initial and final water content of tested samples. suction for the four different gradings. The measured
Final water content at the end of the test water content at the end of the oedometer test is indi-
cated in Table 3. Given these values and the water
Final water Final water retention curve of the rock provided by Oldecop &
Test content (%) Test content (%) Alonso (2001), it was checked that all rock particles
were saturated at the end of the tests.
EP 1 8.04 EP 5 8.13 Particle breakage induced during oedometer load-
EP 2 8.57 EP 6 7.77 ing was also investigated. The grain size distributions
EP 3 6.14 EP 7 7.08 at the end of the tests were obtained as well as the
EP 4 5.86 EP 8 6.12
grain size distribution at the end of the compacting
processes (tests PC1, PC3, PC5 and PC7; see Table 2).
Initial water
content 0.59
Figure 8 shows plots of the original prepared grading
M1, the grading at the end of the compaction process
on M1 (PC1) and the grading at the end of the satu-
rated oedometer test EP2. Results indicate that particle
100 breakage occurs both during the compaction process
Initial EP 2
Post Compacted M1 and during the oedometer test. However, it was diffi-
Final EP2 cult to derive a clear relationship between the evolution
80 of D50 and the applied work.
Percent finer by weight

60
4 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION
AND CONSTITUTIVE PARAMETERS
40
Parameters λi , λd0 , κ, χ and λt , were obtained from the
set of oedometer tests described; the main results are
20 summarized in Table 4.
Figure 9 and Figure 10 show, respectively, plots of
λi and λd0 against the ratio of maximum and minimum
0 particle dimensions in the tested grading (Dmax /Dmin
10 1 0.1 0.01 in log scale) for the four non saturated oedometer
D (mm) tests and the four saturated oedometer tests performed.
8 λi and λd0 decreased with the ratio Dmax /Dmin and a
7.5 quasi linear relation fits the data. Both plots provide
7 the sequence from the more compressible grading to
D50 (mm)

6.5 the less compressible grading: M3, M1, M7 and M5.

6 It seems that the IDM and the TDM are controlled by
5.5 M1 the grading size distribution in a similar manner.
5 M3
M5 Grading M3 was more compressible than grad-
4.5 M7
ing M1. This is explained by the uniform grading
4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 of M3, which implies larger contact forces and a
Applied energy (MPa) higher probability of particle breakage. In contrast, the
continuous distribution of M1 results in an increased
Figure 8. (a) Specimen M1. Original grading, grading at number of contacts, reduced contact forces, more lim-
the end of the compaction process and grading at the end of ited particle breakage and increased stiffness. Marsal
the oedometer test EP2, (b) evolution of D50 due to the energy (1973) also observed that more uniform gradings
applied. produced more particle breakage.

344
Table 4. Compressibilty model parameter values of the tests carried out.

λi λi + λdo λdo κ χ
Test (MPa−1 ) (MPa−1 ) (MPa−1 ) (MPa−1 ) (MPa−1 )

EP1 (dry) 0.0305 0.00581

EP2 (saturated) 0.0305 0.06653 0.03603
EP3 (dry) 0.04196 0.00821 0.00739
EP4 (saturated) 0.04196 0.08836 0.04641 0.00872
EP5 (dry) 0.02482 0.01229 0.00488
EP6 (saturated) 0.02482 0.04481 0.01999 0.01211
EP7 (dry) 0.02921 0.00569 0.00333
EP8 (saturated) 0.02921 0.05849 0.02928 0.00499

0.06 0.008
M3
0.05 0.007
M3
0.006 M1
0.04
i (MPa–1)

M1

(MPa–1)
M7 0.005 M5
0.03 M5 0.004
0.003 M7
0.02
0.002
0.01
0.001
0.00 0
1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000
Dmax/Dmin
Dmax/Dmin
Figure 9. Compressibility parameter λi from the non satu-
rated oedometer tests. Figure 11. Parameter χ plotted against ratio Dmax /Dmin for
the analysed grain size distributions.

0.06 Figure 2 shows that grading M7 was nearly parallel

0.05 M3
to grading M3 for the fractions larger than D50 . It also
has a higher fine content than grading M3. Since grad-
od (MPa–1)

0.04 M1 ing M3 has bigger particles than grading M7, there can
M7 be more defects in their particles that could develop the
0.03
M5 onset of a fracture; this fact, added to the existence of
0.02
a lower fine content in grading M3, may explain why it
0.01 was more compressible than grading M7. Montobbio
0.00 (2001) also reached similar conclusions.
1 10 100 1000 The comparison of the response of gradings M1 and
Dmax/Dmin M7 suggests that the higher fine content and smaller
particles of M7 resulted in a more rigid behaviour. This
Figure 10. Compressibility parameter λd0 from the non result is better appreciated in the saturated tests.
saturated oedometer tests. Figure 11 shows the variation of χ parameter
against the ratio Dmax /Dmin . The collapse deforma-
Grading M1 was, in turn, more compressible than tion induced by sample flooding at some stress level is
grading M5. Grading M5 has a higher fine fraction a result of particle breakage and therefore, it was log-
than M1. It is interpreted that the fine particles of ical to obtain relations between χ and grading similar
grading M5 were filling the interparticle voids, allow- to the changes in compressibility indices with grading
ing a better uniform distribution of the external load (Figure 11).
among particles and hence lower stress levels were The values of parameter κ are shown in Figure 12.
concentrated on the individual particle contacts. It appears that the grading distribution had no sig-
Also, the more compressible nature of grading M7 nificant influence on rockfill elasticity; in fact no
with respect to the behaviour of grading M5 was con- definite trends were observed between κ and the ratio
sistent with the previous explanations because of the Dmax /Dmin for the tested specimens during unloading.
better gradation and the higher fine content of grading Time-dependent strain rates plotted in Figure 6 were
M5 with respect to grading M7. higher for the more compressible gradings. It was

345
 0.020 controlled by the rockfill grading distribution. The
principal aim of the reported research has been the
0.015 M5 dry study of the effect of the grading distribution on rock-
(MPa–1)

M3 sat. M5 sat.
fill behaviour, focusing on the effect of the degree of
0.010
M3 dry M7 dry uniformity of the grain size and the influence of the
0.005 fine fraction.
M7 sat.
A programme of oedometer tests have been per-
0.000 formed on samples following four different gradings.
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Strains during each load increment and collapse defor-
Dmax/Dmin mations have been measured. Rockfill response has
been described in terms of five parameters which
Figure 12. Values of parameter κ for the tests performed. characterize the elastoplastic compressibility model
developed by Oldecop & Alonso (2001).
Table 5. Ratio of the creep index, λt to total compressibility
The results indicate that gradings with a higher
(λi + λd0 ). uniformity have a more compressible behaviour and
enhanced collapse deformations than well graded dis-
Dry conditions Saturated conditions tributions when they have in common the D50 dimen-
sion. In the case of gradings with the same degree
λt /λi λt /(λi + λd0 ) of uniformity, a smaller D50 dimension means a less
compressible behaviour and a reduced collapse defor-
Test % % mation. It has been observed that the addition of a fine
EP1 2.08
fraction favours the increase of stiffness even in the
EP2 1.60 case of well graded materials.
EP3 1.06 Rockfill deformations are a result of particle break-
EP4 1.56 age. Two factors related with the particle breakage
EP5 1.59 have been considered to understand the obtained
EP6 1.24 results: the concentration of high stress levels on con-
EP7 1.80 tacts and the defects or flaws contained in rockfill
EP8 1.42 particles. Well graded distributions result in more con-
tact points among particles than uniform gradings.
Also, increasing the fine fraction means an increase in
obtained that the ratio between the creep index param- the number of contacts between particles and a more
eter λt and the compressibility parameters was nearly uniform distribution of contact forces. A larger num-
constant, and varies from 1.4 × 10−2 to 2 × 10−2 in ber of defects are more likely in bigger particles and
percentage. Table 5 summarizes the values found in this explains the more compressible behaviour and col-
all tests performed. lapse deformations observed in samples with larger
Hardin and Marsal parameters were obtained for D50 (for a similar coefficient of uniformity).
all the oedometer tests in order to quantify the particle It appears also that the elastic (unloading/reloading)
breakage due to the applied loading path. They were behaviour of rockfill is not affected by the grain size
derived considering that the post compacted grading distributions analyzed here.
distribution was the initial grading, in order to isolate It has been observed that poorly graded samples
the effect of the oedometer loading. The analysis indi- exhibit a higher time-dependent strain rate. This is
cated that tests exhibiting a higher particle breakage a trend observed also for the compressibility of the
(according to the indices) did not correspond to the specimens tested. It has also been found that the ratio
more compressible tests. The Hardin index, in par- between λt and the compressibility parameter is nearly
ticular, quantifies particle breakage by means of the constant for all the tests performed.
variation in the area below the accumulated grading The development of particle breakage due to the
curve; therefore this index is not useful to compare oedometer tests performed was also investigated. It
particle breakage between gradings having different was found that Hardin and Marsal indices could not be
shapes of the accumulated grain distribution curve. related in a consistent manner with the compressibility
observed in tests.

5 CONCLUSIONS
Rockfill structures accumulate permanent defor-
mations in time and develop collapse when they
are wetted. These deformation characteristics are
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The first author acknowledges the support of the
‘‘Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca del

346
Departament d’Innovació, Universitats i Empresa’’
of the ‘‘Generalitat de Catalunya’’ and the European
Social Fund.
REFERENCES
Marsal, R.J. 1973. Mechanical properties of rockfill.
Embankment Dam Engineering. Casagrande Volume.
Hirschfeld, R.C. & Poulos, S.J., eds. John Wiley & Sons.
Montobbio, D. 2001. Influencia de la granulometria en la
compresibilidad de las escolleras. Graduate thesis. UPC.
347
Nobari, E.S. & Duncan, J.M. 1972. Effect of reservoir filling
on stresses and movements in Herat and rockfill dams.
Department of Civil Engineering. Report No. TE-72–1.
University of California.
Oldecop, L.A. & Alonso, E.E. 2001. A model for rockfill
compressibility. Géotechnique, 51 (2), 127–139.
Ramon, A. 2006. Efecte de la granulometria en el comporta-
ment d’esculleres. Graduate thesis. UPC.
Sowers, G.F., Williams, R.C. & Wallace, T.S. 1965, Compre-
sibility of broken rock and settlement of rockfills. Proc.
6th ICSMFE, Montreal, 2, 561–565.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

The influence of suction on stiffness, viscosity and collapse

of some volcanic ashy soils

E. Bilotta, V. Foresta & G. Migliaro

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the mechanical characterization of the volcanic ashy soils (silty sands)
covering the Pizzo d’Alvano massif (Campania Region). Frequently, they are in unsaturated condition with
significant suction values, due to the finer portion of their grain size distribution, that strongly influences their
mechanical behaviour. The structure of undisturbed samples is the result of their air-fall origin with an open
configuration (metastable structure) that induces collapse when saturation occurs. On the contrary, the remoulded
material shows a more stable structure. However, these soils show a remarkable creep behaviour and therefore
significant secondary settlements. In this work, the experimental data obtained by means of tests performed on
unsaturated samples are discussed. The results obtained in a wide range of practical stress level indicate that
beside suction, also the initial specific volume of the soil and the overburden pressure influence the magnitude
of both time-dependent and collapse settlements.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME

Ashy soils represent a remarkable portion of the unsat- 2.1 Tested materials
urated pyroclastic cover that can be found in Campania
Laboratory tests were performed on a non-plastic
Region (Southern Italy). Such cover derives from the
ashy soil (Bilotta & Foresta 2002); its main physical
Somma—Vesuvius volcanic activities both as primary
properties are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2.
air-fall deposition and as debris colluvial deposition.
This material, in undisturbed state (air-fall depo-
Frequently, rapid flow type movements triggered by
sition), is characterized by a high value of νini and
particular intense meteoric events involve pyroclastic
by a metastable structure. These features are caused
soils. The periodic occurrence of depositional events
by its air-fall deposition. On the contrary, remoulded
from landslide phenomena is highlighted by the pres-
samples (alluvial deposition) show a νini lower than
ence, at the toe of the valleys, of alluvial fans of various
undisturbed materials (Table 2).
ages superimposed onto older debris deposits. The
soils constituting the older deposits are frequently used
in the construction of structures founded or realized Table 1. Composition of tested soils.
with them such as road embankments.
The design of suitable works as well as a correct Clay Silt Sand Gravel
stability analysis aimed at flowslides modelling need
a thorough understanding of the mechanical behaviour Grain size distribution % % % %
of the abovementioned soils. To this aim, in situ
(Sorbino & Cascini 2002) and laboratory investiga- Upper bound limit 4.7 53.6 40.6 1.1
Lower bound limit 1.4 40.9 51.3 6.4
tions (Bilotta & Foresta 2002, Sorbino & Foresta 2002,
Bilotta et al. 2006) were started and they are still in
progress at University of Salerno (Italy).
The main objective of the research presented in this Table 2. Average index properties of tested soils.
paper is focused on the investigation of the stress-strain
response under two different stress paths (oedomet- Gs vini Sr γd
ric and triaxial) of both undisturbed and remoulded
samples. The influence on compressibility (stiffness, Soil state % kN/m3
viscosity and collapsibility) of the initial suction (s)
Undisturbed 2.549 3.595 74.8 6.93
and initial specific volume (vini ) of the soil were Remoulded 2.552 2.982 92.1 8.65
investigated.

349
 Remoulded samples were prepared by hand mixing
material at natural water content with distilled water in
order to form a slurry with 1.5wL initial water content.
This slurry was then statically compressed in a large
consolidometer under an effective vertical stress of
10 kPa. The consolidated soil was initially air dried for
one day and then used to sample the test specimens.
2.2 Type of performed tests
Different tests were performed to investigate the stress-
strain response of the materials. The suction was
imposed by the axis translation technique. The lay-
out of the controlled suction apparatuses used in this
work is reported by Aversa & Nicotera (2002). The
suction equalization stages (either directly caused by
changing the suction or indirectly induced as a conse-
quence of loading) were controlled by monitoring the
water volume change of the specimens (Fig. 1). It was
assumed that the equilibrium was achieved when the
rate of water volume change, expressed by εw (Fig. 1)
was sufficiently low (about 0.004 log(min)−1 ).
Oedometer tests with control of suction were
performed to study compressibility, creep and col-
lapsibility. Specimens with diameter of 56 mm and
20 mm high have been tested at several values of
suction (0 kPa, 30 kPa, 50 kPa, 100 kPa, 150 kPa,
200 kPa). Vertical stresses ranging from 5 kPa to
2400 kPa were applied both for 24 hours and for 240
hours. A minimum time of 24 hours was selected to
ensure the equalization of the water content change
induced by loading (Fig. 1b).
Collapsibility of the soils was also investigated by
triaxial tests with control of suction. Specimens with
diameter of 68 mm and 70 mm, respectively 136 mm
time (min)
0.1 1 10 100 1000
0 0
a)
-0.05
-0.1
= Vw / V
time (min)
-0.15
0 0
-0.01 b)
w
-0.02
5
-0.03
-0.04 water phase
solid phase
-0.05
Figure 1. Examples of equalization stages in oedometer
tests: (a) during an imposed suction variation; (b) after a
load variation.
and 140 mm high, have been tested under suction rang-
ing from 0 kPa to 50 kPa and mean net stress (p − ua )
varying between 10 kPa and 477 kPa. A stress con-
trolled rate of 2.5 kPa/h was chosen to obtain a constant
suction loading for both the isotropic and anisotropic
tests. The suction equilibrium was checked by moni-
toring the pore water pressure variation for a time of
about 24 hours at the end of the loading stage. In this
time, small increase (about 1 kPa) of pore water pres-
sure was registered in respect to the imposed target
value. This last circumstance is imputable to the creep
deformation of the material.
The collapsible behaviour of these soils was studied
performing, in both oedometer and triaxial appara-
tuses, particular tests referred as ‘‘collapse tests’’
in the following. In these tests the specimens were
initially subjected to an imposed suction value. After
the equalization of the imposed suction was reached,
the specimens were compressed either in multiple
steps (oedometer tests) or with constant stress rate of
2.5 kPa/h (triaxial tests), until a prefixed stress level.
At this point, the suction was reduced, from the ini-
tial value to 0 kPa, either gradually in multiple steps
(oedometer and triaxial tests) or suddenly by flooding
the specimens (in oedometer tests only).
3 TEST RESULTS
3.1 Viscosity properties of tested soils
The creep behaviour of these material was in part
already highlighted in a previous paper (Bilotta et al.
2006). Additional results obtained by performing long
term creep tests with 240 hours load permanence are
shown in Figure 2. In the figure Δεv represents the
difference between total vertical strain and primary
consolidation strain that occurs at the end of primary
consolidation (teop ). This behaviour was interpreted
10000 by using the non-linear creep function proposed by
Yin (1999). Such a function, represented with dashed
line in Figure 2, was later used to evaluate long term
-0.005
-0.01 time (min)
1.0E+00 1.0E+02 1.0E+04 1.0E+06 1.0E+08
= V/V
-0.015 - 0.00
- 0.01 t load = 10 days
v
-0.05
- 0.02
-0.1 - 0.03
-0.15 - 0.04
t eop 24 hours 240 hours 100 years
Figure 2. Comparison between measured data and fitted
curve for a vertical stress of 160 kPa and teop = 2 min.
350
stiffness of the investigated soils. The final slope of Table 3. Vertical stress adopted in oedometer tests.
experimental data, commonly denoted by coefficient
of secondary consolidation (Cαε ), is represented with Initial stress Final stress Mean stress
a continuous line in the same graph. It appears that a value value values
more realistic prediction of the secondary deformation
can be performed by using Yin’s model as the curves Line n# Symbol kPa kPa kPa
show a non linear trend of creep strain (Δεv ) with the
[1]  19.1 36.9 28.0
logarithm of time. However, in this section, the linear [2] ♦ 36.9 87.9 62.4
creep coefficient (Cα ) was used in order to easily rep- [3]  87.9 160.4 124.2
resent the influence of νini , suction and stress levels on [4] <*> 160.4 298.1 229.3
the viscous properties of the investigated ashy soils. [5]
298.1 599.9 449.0
Figure 3a shows, for undisturbed saturated speci- [6] − 599.9 1193.1 896.5
mens, a non linear trend of Cα with the logarithm of [7] + 1193.1 2379.6 1786.4
the effective vertical stress with a maximum average
value of 0.11 mm/log (min) for stress level exceeding
300 kPa. On the contrary, for remoulded saturated The curved shape of the Cα − s relationship
specimens an almost linear trend of Cα with the log- at various stress levels (numbers in brackets in
arithm of the stress level can be observed. The values Fig. 3b, c)—furnishes Cα values decreasing with the
of vertical stress adopted in the performed oedometer increasing suction for stress levels lower than 600 kPa
tests are reported in Table 3. (Fig. 3b, c). For undisturbed specimens such a trend
disappears at stress levels higher than 600 kPa. For
remoulded specimens the above mentioned trend is
less marked, independently of the stress level (Fig. 3c).
v ini = 3.617 ± 0.076 (a) Comparing Figure 3b and Figure 3c, at the same stress
C (mm/log(min))

0.2 I;
level, it is possible to note that Cα values for remoulded
0.15 Rm; vini = 3.005 ± 0.030 specimens are lower than those attained by undis-
turbed specimens. This observation seems to suggest a
0.1
reduced effect of suction on Cα in remoulded material.
0.05

0 3.2 Short and long term stiffness of tested soils

10 100 1000 10000 The results of confined compression test conducted by
'v (kPa) using a controlled suction oedometer are used to show
the influence of the initial void ratio, νini , the suction,
(b)
C (mm/log(min))

0.16 Undisturbed samples "I"

0.14
s, and the stress level on the stiffness of soils.
0.12 [7] Short and long term compressibility is described by
0.1 [5] means of two different parameters: immediate oedo-
0.08 [4] metric modulus (Eimm ) and total oedometric modulus
0.06 [3] (Etot100 ).
0.04 [2] The modulus Eimm was calculated as reported in
0.02 [1]
0 Equation 1:
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
s = ua Δσν
w (kPa) Eimm = (1)
| Δεc |
Remoulded samples "Rm" (c)
C (mm/log(min))

0.1
0.08 [7] where σν = σν(i+1)−σνi is the net vertical stress
0.06
variation; εc = (Hc(i+1) − Hci )/Hci is the primary
[5]
[4] consolidation strain corresponding to the stress inter-
0.04
[3]
val σν and Hc represents the height of the specimens
0.02
[1]
[2] at the end of primary consolidation.
0 Figure 4 shows, for saturated specimens, the vari-
-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 ation of the modulus Eimm as a function of νini at
s = ua w (kPa) different stress levels (line marked with numbers in
brackets). As it can be noted, the modulus Eimm
Figure 3. Trend of linear creep coefficient (Cα ), for increases as far as νini decreases. A negative expo-
remoulded and undisturbed specimens, (a) with effective nential law was found to be adequate to interpolate
vertical stress, (b, c) with suction and vertical stress applied. experimental data.

351
 30 The increment of the modulus Eimm can be up to
E imm = a + b ×exp ( vini ) 5 times the corresponding saturated value, depending
25 2 on the stress level.
[7] 0.928 < R < 0.976
The long term stiffness modulus Etot100 was calcu-
Eimm (MPa)

20
lated as reported in Equation 2.
15 [6]
Δσν
[5] Etot100 = (2)
10
[4] |Δεtot |
[3]
5 [2]
where εtot = (Hdef − Hci )/Hci , is the total strain
[1]
0 corresponding to the stress interval σν and Hdef is
the height of the specimens calculated as difference
2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
between Hc and the creep settlement evaluated at a
initial specific volume vini
time of 100 years by using Yin’s model (Yin, 1999).
Figure 6 shows the variation of the modulus Etot100 ,
Figure 4. Immediate oedometric modulus (Eimm ) trend with
initial specific volume and vertical stress level. under various stress levels (Table 3), as a function
of νini (Fig. 6a) and suction (Fig. 6b, c). As already
observed for the modulus Eimm , Etot values increase
as νini decreases and suction increases. Figure 6b
18 Undisturbed samples (a) highlights a marked variation of the modulus Etot ,
Eimm (MPa)

14 [7] as suction increases, for vertical stress not exceeding

10
[6] 300 kPa. On the contrary, the remoulded specimens
6 [3]
4 [5] [2] exhibit a lighter increase of the modulus Etot (Fig. 6c).
[1]
3 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 [4] However, as expected for the viscous behaviour of the
s = ua - uw (kPa) tested soils, the modulus Etot is generally very small
2
if compared with the modulus Eimm (Figs 6c, 5c).
1
0 3.3 Collapsibility
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
s = ua w (kPa)
It is well known that a more complete investigation of
Remoulded samples (b) the collapse behaviour of soils must be performed by
25
[7] using different types of testing procedures (Vilar &
Eimm E(MPa)

20
Davies, 2002). Controlled suction triaxial tests are
imm

15
-50 0 50 100 150 200 [6] more time consuming than oedometer tests due to
10
s = ua the size of the specimens (see section 2.2). For these
reasons, the collapsible behaviour of the investigated
[5]
soils was mainly studied by using controlled suction
5
[4] oedometer tests. Some preliminary tests were also car-
[3]
[2]
[1]
ried out in triaxial apparatus, with the aim of checking
0 if compression stress paths different from confined
-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 ones (oedometer) lead to substantial effects on the
s = ua w (kPa) magnitude of collapse.
A series of tests were interpreted by using the double
Figure 5. Trend of the immediate oedometric modulus Eimm
with the applied suction and the vertical stress level.
oedometer procedure. A number of similar specimens,
approximately with the same νini were tested. One
was saturated by flooding at the beginning of the test
while the others were kept under an imposed value
The variation of the calculated modulus Eimm with of suction. All of them were compressed, in multiple
the applied suction is shown in Figure 5a, b for undis- steps, up to a maximum stress level of about 2400 kPa.
turbed and remoulded specimens respectively. Up to The difference of vertical deformation between the
a certain value of the overburden stress at the end of specimens with imposed suction and the flooded spec-
the load increment, the modulus Eimm increases with imen (referred as εcoll in Fig. 7) can be attributed to
suction. The threshold values are respectively 300 kPa the soil collapse.
(line 4 in Fig. 5a) for the undisturbed specimens and As it can be observed from the figure, the magnitude
1193 kPa (line 6 of Fig. 5b) for the remoulded ones. of collapse is a function of both the suction level and
Above such thresholds, the influence of suction seems the value of νini . In particular, for undisturbed speci-
to be negligible. mens (Fig. 7a), a maximum collapse of 9% is attained

352
 20 (a) 0.02 Undisturbed samples (a)
18 v - ua (kPa)
16 Etot 100 = c + d ⋅ exp ( vini) 0
[7] 2
Etot 100 (MPa)

14 0.947 < R < 0.990 10 100 1000 10000

-0.02
12
10 coll -0.04
[6]
8 -0.06
[5]
6 -0.08 v ini = 3.626 ± 0.076
[4] s = 30 kPa
4 [3]
[2] -0.1 s = 50 kPa
2 [1] (b)
0.01
0 Remoulded samples - ua (kPa)
v
2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 0
initial specific volume vini 10 100 1000 10000
-0.01

13 Undisturbed samples (b) coll -0.02

11 [7]
Etot 100 (MPa)

9 -0.03 s = 50 kPa
7 [6] s = 100 kPa
5 [5] -0.04
3 s = 150 kPa v ini = 2.954 ± 0.039
1 -0.05
2.5 s = 200 kPa
2 -100102030405060
1.5 s = ua - uw (kPa)
[4] Figure 7. Results of double oedometer tests performed on
undisturbed and remoulded specimens.
Etot 100 (MPa)

1 [3]
[2]
0.5 [1]
0
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 σv - ua (kPa)
10 100 1000 10000
s = ua w (kPa)
18 0
Remoulded samples (c)
16 lower bound limit
[7]
14 -0.02
Etot 100 (MPa)

12
10 upper bound limit
[6] -0.04
8
εcoll
6 [5] [3]
[4] [2] -0.06
4
[1] s = 50 kPa
2
0 -0.08
-50 0 50 100 150 200 250
s = ua w(kPa) -0.1

Figure 6. Trend of the total oedometric modulus Etot100 Figure 8. Results of collapse tests on undisturbed speci-
(a) with the initial specific volume and the vertical stress mens.
level, (b, c) with the applied suction and the vertical stress
level.
Table 4. Type of collapse tests performed.
in correspondence to a stress value of 160 kPa. After Symbol Apparatus Type test vini Stress path
this stress level, the collapse tends to decrease as the
overburden stress increases. A similar trend is shown  oedometer 1 3.172 ± 0.127 k0
in Figure 7b for remoulded specimens. For these last • oedometer 2 3.687 ± 0.091 k0
ones a maximum collapse of about 4% is attained for  triaxial 3 3.318 ± 0.124 isotropic
a vertical stress of 600 kPa and a suction of 200 kPa.  triaxial 4 3.429 ± 0.088 0.73 < η < 1
The experimental data obtained by collapse tests
are shown in Figure 8. These tests were performed
on undisturbed specimens subjected to initial suction
of 50 kPa. Such specimens, as already mentioned in water pressure at the base of the specimens (type tests
section 2.2, were loaded until a target stress value was 1,3,4 reported in Table 4). In this last cases, the initial
reached. At this time, the suction was reduced in two suction was decreased in three steps, respectively with
manners: either by suddenly flooding the specimens suction values of 20 kPa, 10 kPa and 0 kPa.
with distilled water (type test 2 in Table 4) or gradu- The magnitude of collapse of the flooded speci-
ally reducing the initial suction by increasing the pore mens is in good agreement with the trend shown by the

353
calculated collapse curve for undisturbed specimens
(double oedometer Fig. 7a). It is worth noting that the
other experimental data (black squares in Fig. 8) show
a collapse trend much closer to the calculated curve
for remoulded specimens (double oedometer Fig. 7b).
This last circumstance can be explained by looking at
the average initial specific volume of these specimens,
which value is closer to the average value of remoulded
ones. These results highlight that the magnitude of
collapse of this ashy soil is strongly influenced by the
value of νini and the stress level.
In Figure 8 the preliminary experimental data
obtained in collapse tests carried out in controlled suc-
tion triaxial apparatus are also reported (type tests 3,
in Table 4). The type test 3 were conducted in isotropic
conditions while the type test 4 were performed
with an obliquity value η = q/(p − ua ) ranging from
0.73 to 1.
(Etot100 ) higher than undisturbed specimens. The
modulus Eimm is strongly influenced by suction
up to a threshold value of the applied overbur-
den stress; the effect of suction on the variation
of Etot100 is less marked for remoulded material;
Etot100 can be used for a quick evaluation of long
term settlements;
– if the same conditions (stress level and suction) are
considered, the magnitude of collapse is strongly
influenced by either the initial specific volume of
the material and the stress path performed.
REFERENCES
Aversa, S. & Nicotera, M.V. 2002. ‘‘A Triaxial and Oedometer
Apparatus for Testing Unsaturated Soils,’’ Geotechnical
Testing Journal, GTJODJ 25(1): 3–15.
The collapse exhibited by the last specimens (η= 0)
is of the same order of magnitude of that shown by
the lower bound limit of the confined specimens (type
test 1). This is true despite their average values of
νini (3.429 ± 0.088). On the contrary, a different
behaviour is shown by the isotropically compressed
samples that exhibit negligible collapse values.
Such results seem to suggest that the collapse mag-
nitude is also dependent on the stress path performed,
as already evidenced by Vilar & Davies (2002).
4 CONCLUDING REMARKS
In order to analyse the influence of suction on the
stress-strain behaviour of ashy soils, experimental
tests were performed through the use of triaxial
and oedometer suction-controlled apparatuses. The
results obtained on both undisturbed and remoulded
specimens are summarized in the following points:
– a maximum average value of Cα for the undisturbed
specimens and a linear trend with the logarithm
of the applied stress for the remoulded ones were
founded; a reduced effect of suction on Cα was
evidenced for the remoulded material;
– the remoulded specimens exhibit immediate oedo-
metric modulus (Eimm ) and long term stiffness
354
Bilotta, E. & Foresta, V. 2002. On the measured shear strength
of some pyroclastic soils of Sarno mountains. Proceed-
ings. of the 3rd International Conference on Unsatu-
rated Soils, UNSAT 2002, 10–13 March, Recife, Brazil,
2: 495–500. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Bilotta, E., Cascini, L., Foresta, V. & Sorbino, G.
2005. Geotechnical characterization of pyroclastic soils
involved in huge flowslides. Geotechnical and Geological
Engineering Journal 23: 364–402.
Bilotta, E., Foresta, V. & Migliaro, G. 2006. Suction Con-
trolled Laboratory Tests on Undisturbed Pyroclastic Soil:
Stiffnesses and Volumetric Deformations. Proceedings of
the 4th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
UNSAT2006 (GSP 147), 2–6 April, Carefree, Arizona,
USA, 1: 849–860.
Cascini, L. & Sorbino, G. 2002. Soil suction measurement
over large areas: a case study. Proceedings of the 3rd Inter-
national Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2002,
10–13 March, Recife, Brazil, 2: 829–834.
Sorbino, G. & Foresta, V. 2002. Unsaturated hydraulic char-
acteristics of pyroclastic soils. Proceedings of the 3rd
International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT
2002, 10–13 March, Recife, Brazil, 1: 405–410. Rotter-
dam: Balkema.
Vilar, O.M. & Davies, G.I. 2002. Collapse behavior anal-
ysis of a clayely sand using different testing procedures.
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Unsat-
urated Soils, UNSAT 2002, 10–13 March, Recife, Brazil,
2: 571–576.
Yin, J.-H. 1999. Non linear creep of soils in oedometer tests.
Géotechnique 49(5): 699–707.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Role of critical volumetric water content and net overburden pressure

on swelling or collapse behavior of compacted soils

I. Ashayeri, A. Shafiee & M. Biglari

IIEES, International Institute of Earthquake Eng. & Seismology, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Swelling pressures of clay samples compacted at different values of initial void ratio and degree
of saturation were measured using constant volume oedometer tests. In addition, volume change behaviour of
compacted samples during wetting was investigated in oedometer tests under various overburden pressures. It
was confirmed that collapse behaviour is not observed in samples with pre-wetting volumetric water content
more than a critical value. Furthermore, for those samples with volumetric water content less than the critical
value, good correlation is found between the volume change percent and the normalized overburden pressure
(the pre-wetting overburden pressure divided by the corresponding swelling pressure of an identical sample).

1 INTRODUCTION • A bonding or cementing agent that stabilizes the soil

in the unsaturated condition
Volume change prediction of unsaturated soils is a mat- • The addition of water to the soil, which causes the
ter of concern that will help geotechnical engineers to bonding or cementing agent to be reduced and the
know the mechanisms which occur during saturation interaggregate or intergranular contacts to fail in
(wetting) or desaturation (drying) processes. Expan- shear, resulting in a reduction in total volume of the
sive and collapsible soils are given extra concern in soil mass
the context of problematic soils due to the variety of
behavior they have shown regarding their initial (pre- Jennings and Burland (1962), performed some
wetting) conditions. Meanwhile, swelling and swelling double oedometer tests to investigate limitations of
pressure of plastic clays have been investigated since effective stress definition in unsaturated soils and
the mid 20th Century. Holtz and Gibbs (1956) inves- found Bishop’s effective stress fails to explain the
tigated effects of initial water content and dry density
on swelling potential and swelling pressure (Figs. 1
and 2).
Their results revealed that, both swelling percent
and swelling potential generally decrease with increas-
ing water content and increase with increasing dry
density, but swelling pressure is more significantly
influenced by dry density.
Early investigations revealed swelling or collapse
behavior of compacted soils is related to pre-wetting
(not only as compacted) degree of saturation and over-
burden pressure (Lawton 1986). It is now well known
that, even highly plastic clays can collapse if they form
a relatively dry and open structure (i.e. metastable
structure) and are subjected to large enough overbur-
den pressure. (Barden et al. 1969 and Lawton et al.
1992). Mitchell (1976), introduced metastable struc-
ture as the availability of following conditions in the
soil element
• An open, partially unstable, unsaturated fabric Figure 1. Effect of initial water content and dry density of
• A high enough net total stress that will cause the swelling potential of compacted clay during wetting (after
structure to be metastable Holtz and Gibbs 1956).

355

Figure 2. Effect of initial water content and dry density of
swelling pressure of compacted clay during wetting (after
Holtz and Gibbs 1956).
volume change behaviour of compacted soils if the
degree of saturation is less than a critical value, or in
other words, samples with degree of saturation more
than that critical value will not collapse during wet-
ting. They stated that the critical degree of saturation
varies with grain size characteristics. Lawton et al.
(1992) found the critical degree of saturation varies
with overburden pressure too and suggested that it
approximately follows the line of optimum Proctor
compaction test.
Matyas and Radhakrishna (1968) proposed volume
change behaviour of unsaturated soils to be expressed
as a direct function of two independent stress compo-
nents; applied stress and suction rather than in terms
of a single effective stress. Fredlund and Morgenstern
(1977) provided further theoretical and experimental
justification for the use of two independent stress-
state variables i.e. net stress (σ − ua ) and matric
suction (ua − uw ) for unsaturated soils based on mul-
tiphase continuum mechanics . Additionally, recent
investigations on modeling volume change behavior of
unsaturated soils have shown that these two opposite
behaviors (swelling and collapse) of specific clayey
soil can be explained by two independent stress state
variable of unsaturated soil element (Tadepalli and
Fredlund 1991, Pereira and Fredlund 2000).
The literature indicates that the volume change
behaviour of compacted clays is affected by the soil
structure which can be expressed by degree of satu-
ration and void ratio of element just before wetting.
Developed mechanics for unsaturated soils provide
constitutive relations representing these variables in
terms of two stress-state variables known as net normal
356
Swelling Pressure (kPa)
600
400
200
0.8
0
0.7
1
0.8 0.6
0.6
0.4 0.5 Void Ratio
Degree of Saturation 0.2
0 0.4
Figure 3. Swelling pressure versus pre-wetting void ratio
and degree of saturation.
stress and matric suction (Fredlund 2006, Fredlund and
Pham 2006).
In the recent study volume change behavior of com-
pacted clayey soils are investigated by performing
several constant volume swelling pressure oedome-
ter tests (named CVSPO) and constant overburden
pressure volume change tests (named COPVC). Soil
samples are prepared at different initial degree of
saturation and void ratio and are tested at different
overburden pressures.
The samples experienced swelling when the over-
burden pressure was smaller that the swelling pressure
of the sample. Similarly, the samples experienced col-
lapse when the swelling pressure was smaller than the
overburden pressure and the degree of saturation was
smaller than the critical value.
Swelling pressure of compacted clays is presented
as a function of both pre-wetting degree of saturation
and void ratio. Figure 3 represents the general swelling
pressure state surface of compacted clays in 3D plot
(data from Ashayeri & Yasrebi 2005).
The aim of this study is to predict volume change
behavior of compacted soil by knowing swelling
pressure and applied overburden pressure.
2 MATERIALS AND TESTING PROGRAM
The material that has been used was medium plastic
clay. The liquid limit of the clay soil is 42 percent, the
plasticity index is 18 percent, the specific gravity of
particles is 2.69 and from hydrometer analysis the clay
size fraction (finer than 2 μm) is about 60 percent.
The testing program includes 10 CVSPO tests and
38 COPVC tests. CVSPO tests were carried out on
samples compacted to different values of void ratio
and degree of saturation. In these tests the samples
were allowed to saturate while keeping the volume of
the sample constant by increasing overburden pressure
 0.54
CVSPO tests (Swelling pressure in kPa)
COPVC tests (Overburden pressure in kPa, Volume change percent)
0.56 = 0.33
w

0.58 (1280,-1.82%)

0.60 Sp=500
500
Pre-wetting void ratio (e)

Sp=400
0.62 Sp=300
300
0.64 250 410
410
(1280,-5.03%)
Sp=250 (1280,-0.18%)
(1280,-6.47%)
0.66 (320,0.08%)
210
(80,0.94%)
0.68 Sp=160 165
(320,-0.95%) (160,-0.04%)
(160,0.25%)
(160,-0.47%)
0.70
(160,-0.73%)
(160,-1.17%) 130 (80,0.75%)
0.72
(80,0.34%) 100 Sp=100

0.74 70
70

0.76

0%
%

%
48
20

24

28

32

36

40

44

52

56

60

64

68

72

76

80

84

88

92

96

10
Pre-wetting degree of saturation (%)

Figure 4. Summary of Results of CVSPO tests and some COPVC tests.

as much as required. The equalized pressure is known corresponding swelling pressure of 38 COPVC tests.
as the swelling pressure. The measured swelling pres- Then the volume change percentages of 38 samples are
sures of these samples were used to approximate the plotted versus the normalized parameter of overburden
equal swelling pressure lines in the e-Sr space. The pressure divided by swelling pressure of sample. This
results of CVSPO tests on pure clay samples are plotted new plot is presented in figure 5.
on Fig. 4. Good correlation is observed between the volume
The remaining 38 COPVC tests were also carried change percent and normalized overburden pressure
out on samples compacted to different values of void except for a few samples which showed no collapse
ratio and degree of saturation. In these tests the soil compression even though the values of normalized
sample is compacted by applying specific overbur- overburden pressure were relatively high. Inspection
den pressure to the pre-wetting void ratio and degree of these tests indicated that in all such cases the degree
of saturation, then the sample is allowed to saturate of saturation prior to wetting was high and the volumet-
by inundation and the volume change of the sample ric water content prior to wetting was correspondingly
is recorded under the specific overburden pressure. high. This led to the proposal of a critical value of
Some of the results of COPVC tests are plotted on pre-wetting volumetric water content, above which
Fig. 4 in e-Sr space, the numbers in brackets are collapse compression would not occur on wetting,
overburden pressure in kPa and volumetric strain irrespective of the value of overburden pressure. The
(expansion positive), respectively. volumetric water content of selected samples is pre-
In addition, the results of CVSPO tests were used sented on figure 5. Two samples with volumetric water
to try to correlate the volume change of samples in content around 0.39 have no volume change while the
COPVC tests with the ratio of overburden pressure to normalized overburden pressure of one is twice the
swelling pressure. other. The third sample with volumetric water content
of around 0.33 has no volume change while the nor-
malized overburden pressure is as high as 3.6. These
3 DISCUSSION OF TEST RESULTS results support the proposal that if the volumetric water
content is more than a critical value the soil shows
As previously explained, CVSPO test results are used negligible volume change on wetting regardless of
to obtain approximate contours of swelling pressure in the overburden pressure. The critical volumetric water
e-Sr space. These contours are used to interpolate the content seems to be about 0.33 for the clay soil used in

357
 8%

6%

4%

2%

w= 0.387
V0/V

w= 0.392
0%
w= 0.328

-2%

-4%

-6%

-8%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(Pover)/Sp

Figure 5. Correlation between normalized overburden pressure and volume change percent for samples with volumetric
water content smaller than the critical value.

this investigation. The line of volumetric water content
equal to 0.33 is plotted on figure 4.
By using the concept of the soil water character-
istic curve, that relates volumetric water content to
matric suction, it could be stated that the critical vol-
umetric water content corresponds to a critical value
of suction. The volumetric water content versus total
suction of the same material is presented by Biglari
et al. 2008.
The best fitting curve of the remaining COPVC test
results is shown in figure 5 and is expressed by the
following equation
−b
V a(P − 1)
= −b
(1)
V0 P +c
where; P = Poverburden /SP is the normalized overbur-
den pressure and a, b, c are the correlation parameters.
The coefficient of correlation between laboratory mea-
sured values and values obtained from equation 1 is
R 2 = 0.880 and the correlation parameters for the soil
investigated in this study are; a = 0.0419, b = 1.1861
and c = 0.5544.
Equation 1 satisfies the CVSPO tests that results no
volume change when P = 1. Furthermore, in a free
swelling test where the overburden pressure is very
small (i.e. 1 kPa) and the swelling pressure is as high
as expected the P approaches zero and the parameter a
expresses the volume change percentage of the sample.
Similarly, in a collapse potential test where the over-
burden pressure is very high and the soil structure is as
metastable as possible the fraction −a/c expresses the
volume change percentage of the sample. The parame-
ter b is the shape parameter and affects the curvature of
equation 1. Since all three correlation parameters have
physical meaning the following tests are suggested to
obtain them
1. Free swelling test on highly compacted soil with ini-
tial water content approximately 2∼3 percent dry
of optimum.
2. Collapse test on relatively dry sample under high
overburden pressure where the normalized overbur-
den pressure exceeds 10.
3. Some COPVC tests with corresponding CVSPO
tests.
When the correlation parameters of equation 1 are
found one can approximate the volume change percent
of the sample at various overburden pressures by
knowing the swelling pressure only.

358
4 CONCLUSION
A series of constant overburden pressure volume
change tests was performed on soil samples with dif-
ferent values of pre-wetting void ratio and degree
of saturation. It was confirmed that for samples
with volumetric water content more than a critical
value negligible volume change occurs during wet-
ting. Normalized overburden pressure was used to
predict wetting-induced volume change percentage of
soil samples with volumetric water content less than
the critical value. Good correlation was found with a
proposed equation that needs three correlation coeffi-
cients. The physical meanings of the coefficients have
been discussed and the required tests to measure the
coefficients have been suggested.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The first author wishes to thank Mr. M. Shirazian and
soil mechanics laboratory staff of IIEES for their helps
in performing tests.
REFERENCES
Ashayeri, I. & Yasrebi, S.S. 2005. Evaluating effects of
compaction characteristics on swelling pressure of com-
pacted clays, Proceedings of International Conference on
Problematic Soils, GeoProb 2005. Eastern Mediterranean
University, Famagusta, N. Cyprus.
Barden, L., Madedor, A.O. & Sides, G.R. 1969. Volume
change calculations of unsaturated clay, J. Soil Mech. And
Found. Div., ASCE, Vol. 95, pp. 33–51.
359
Biglari, M., Shafiee, A. & Ashayeri, I. 2008. Determination
of soil suction state surface in composite clays by filter
paper method, 1st ECUS, Durham, England.
Fredlund, D.G. 2006. Unsaturated soil mechanics in engi-
neering practice, J. Geotech. And Geoenv. Eng. ASCE,
Vol. 132, No. 3, pp. 286–321.
Fredlund, D.G. & Morgenstern, N.R. 1977. Stress state vari-
ables for unsaturated soils, J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE,
Vol. 103, No. 5, pp. 447–466.
Fredlund, D.G. Pham, H.Q. 2006. A volume-mass consti-
tutive model for unsaturated soils in terms of two inde-
pendent stress state variables, Unsaturated Soils, ASCE,
Geotechnical special publication No. 147. pp. 105–134.
Holtz, W.G. & Gibbs, H.J. 1956. Engineering Characteristics
of Expansive Clays, ASCE Transactions Paper No. 2814,
Vol. 121.
Jennings, J.E.B. & Burland, J.B. 1962. Limitations to the
use of effective stresses in partly saturated soils, Geotech-
nique, London, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 125–144.
Lawton, E.C. 1986 Wetting-induced collapse in compacted
soils, Ph.D. thesis Washington State Univ., Pullman,
Wash.
Lawton, E.C., Fragaszy, R.J. & Hetherington, M.D. 1992.
Review of wetting-induced collapse in compacted soils,
J. of Geotech. Eng., ASCE, Vol. 118, No. 9, pp.
1376–1394.
Matyas, E.L. & Radhakrishna, H.S. 1968. Volume change
characteristics of partially saturated soils, Geotechnique,
London, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 432–448.
Mitchell, J.K. 1976. Fundamentals of soil Behaviour, Wiley,
New York.
Pereira, J.H.F. & Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Volume change
behaviour of collapsible compacted Gneiss soil,
J. Geotech. And Geoenv. Eng. ASCE, Vol. 126, No. 10,
pp. 907–916.
Tadepalli, R. & Fredlund, D.G. 1991. The collapse behaviour
of a compacted soil during inundation, Can. Geotech. J.,
Ottawa, Vol. 28. pp. 477–488.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

The changes in stress regime during wetting of unsaturated compacted clays

when laterally confined

J.L. Brown
University of Ulster, Belfast, UK

V. Sivakumar
Queen’s University, Belfast, UK

ABSTRACT: Compacted clay fills are placed in an unsaturated condition and over time the fill will become
saturated if the water table rises. The bimodal pore size distribution often prevails in these soils. This will lead to a
combination of aggregate swelling and collapse during wetting, which can considerably change the stress regime
in the fill. This paper examines the stress regime within compacted fills during wetting when lateral expansion
is restricted. A one dimensional consolidation chamber was used to examine the behaviour of kaolin compacted
to different initial bulk densities, representing un-engineered fill, engineered fill and heavily engineered fill.
Wetting was performed under overburden pressures of 25 kPa, 50 kPa and 100 kPa. High lateral pressures and
sample swelling were observed, which have significant implications on the stress distribution behind retaining
structures where compacted clays are used as backfilling materials.

1 INTRODUCTION 0.20
v

Light
The presence of two pore fluids in unsaturated soils compaction
leads to substantial behavioural differences between Heavy
0.15
Change in specific volume

unsaturated and saturated soils. Many researchers have compaction

examined unsaturated soil behaviour in laboratory
experiments (Sivakumar 1993), field studies (Spring-
man et al. 2003), numerical analysis (Georgiadis et al.
0.10
2003) and constitutive modelling work (Wheeler &
Sivakumar 1995). Previous work has shown a bimodal
structure in unsaturated compacted clays consisting
of groups of individual particles forming aggregates 0.05
and these aggregates form an overall structure (Lloret
et al. 2003). Wetting of unsaturated soils produces a
combination of aggregate swelling, loss of frictional
resistance at aggregate contacts and aggregate defor- 0.00
mation (Thom et al. 2007). Sivakumar (2005) showed 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
that swelling of heavily compacted clay was signifi- ⎛ s + p atm ⎞
cantly influenced by the initial density. Figure 1 shows ln p ⎟
⎜ atm
⎠
the increase in specific volume plotted against suc- ⎝
tion for samples with different initial densities. The
graph shows that under wetting heavily compacted Figure 1. The volume change behaviour of lightly and
soil produced greater swelling than lightly compacted heavily compacted fills (after Sivakumar 2005).
kaolin. This work shows the importance of the initial
compaction effort on the volume change behaviour of
compacted fills. wall, as fill surrounding trenches and as road pave-
Clay fills can be used as an economically and ments. Figure 2 shows a typical case where fill is
environmentally advantageous alternative to granular placed behind a retaining wall. The fill behind a rigid
materials; e.g. these can be placed behind a retaining wall is considered to be ‘at rest’ as lateral movement

361
 Ground surface
Final
groundwater table A
Initial C
groundwater table
Figure 2. An unsaturated compacted clay behind a retaining
structure.
is restricted. Knowledge of lateral pressures on retain-
ing structures is essential for safe and economical
design. In saturated soils K0 the coefficient of at rest
earth pressure allows these to be evaluated. Equation 1
defines K0 for saturated soils (Bishop, 1958).
σh
K0 = (1)
σν
where σh is the effective horizontal stress and σν is the
effective vertical stress in saturated soils.
The K0 value is affected by various factors includ-
ing; internal angle of friction, soil plasticity, previous
stress history, and anisotropy (Jaky 1948, Brooker &
Ireland 1965, Schmidt 1966, Maine & Kulhawe 1982,
Sivakumar et al. 2002). The presence of two pore fluids
in unsaturated soils makes the assessment of K0 more
complex and limited information is available in this
respect. This paper aims to examine K0 in compacted
fills using simple one dimensional compression tests
in a Rowe cell.
The K0 in unsaturated soil is defined using the
following relationship:
σh − ua
K0 = (2)
σν − ua
where σh is the total horizontal stress, ua is the pore
air pressure and σν is the total vertical stress. This
equation was used by Habib (1995), who found K0
values up to 7.7 using a looped stress path cell.
Compacted fills are unsaturated when placed; how-
ever in temporal climates it is common for the
groundwater table to rise and consequently reduce
soil suction, as illustrated in Figure 2. In a field
study, Carder (1988) presented the effects of inundat-
ing a clay backfill behind a retaining wall. Surface
heave combined with high pressures along the retain-
ing wall were recorded. The horizontal confinement
362
Figure 3. Twin cell stress path apparatus for laterally
confined sample testing.
provided by the rigid wall caused excessive stresses
to build up in the compacted fill. These stresses are
not considered in current retaining structure design
and could be detrimental. Therefore further research
is necessary to understand the stress regime in com-
pacted fills. Ongoing research at Queen’s University
Belfast focuses on this aspect. A sophisticated stress
path system which includes a provision for measuring
sample volume change using a twin cell (Sivakumar
et al. 2006) has been developed and commissioned
for testing recently for examining unsaturated soils
under K0 conditions (Fig. 3). A preliminary study has
been performed in a standard Rowe Cell, to plan the
testing strategy for the main experimental programme.
This paper presents data obtained from the preliminary
testing.
2 EQUIPMENT AND TESTING PROGRAMME
The preliminary tests were conducted in a one dimen-
sional consolidation chamber of diameter 255 mm
(Fig. 4). The cell was instrumented with four XPM10
type transducers. Two pressure cells were used for
measuring horizontal pressures at sample mid height in
diametrically opposite locations. The other two pres-
sure cells were used to measure vertical pressures on
the sample top and bottom. A Novo Technik TR100
type potentiometric displacement transducer was used
to measure the change in sample height. Data was
logged automatically using a DT50 data-recorder and
the De Transfer computer program.
Each test required 7.0 kg of kaolin powder. Clay
was mixed at 25% moisture content in a domestic food
blender before being stored for three days in a tem-
perature controlled environment. This resting period
 Displacement
80
transducer
70
100kPa

Horizontal Stress (kPa)

60
Pressure
transducer 50
Rubber 50kPa
40
bellofram
Horizontal Filter disk 30 25kPa
pressure cell
Horizontal 20
pressure cell
Filter disk 10

Base drainage 0
Vertical 0 10 20 30 40 50
lines
Pressure Cell Time (Hrs)
Figure 4. One dimensional consolidation chamber.
Figure 5. Horizontal stress against time for un-engineered
fill.

allowed the clay to reach moisture equilibrium. Sam- 160

ples were statically compressed in three equal layers
in the chamber. An un-engineered fill was simulated 140
using a vertical compression pressure of 400 kPa
Vertical Stress ( kPa)

(resulting in an initial void ratio (e) of 1.20), engi- 120

neered fill case 1 using a compression pressure of 100kPa
800 kPa (e of 0.99), and engineered fill case 2 with a 100
compression pressure of 1050 kPa (e of 0.91). After the
80
completion of sampling a known overburden pressure
50kPa
of 25 kPa, 50 kPa or 100 kPa was applied to simu- 60
late different depths (Fig. 2), prior to wetting. Under
these overburden pressures inundation was simulated 40
by applying 15 kPa pore water pressure to the base 25kPa
drainage lines. 20

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The samples of kaolin prepared at different initial bulk
densities were allowed to saturate without any attempt
to control the suction. Therefore the discussion pre-
sented in this paper is a qualitative assessment of the
stress regime in unsaturated soils rather than specific
proposals on the subject since the suction change is
unknown.
The horizontal stress was calculated by averaging
the horizontal pressures measured by the two diamet-
rically opposite pressure cells located on the chamber
walls. Vertical stress was calculated by averaging the
vertical pressure measured above and below the sam-
ple. The sample was inundated from the base, thus
during the wetting the wetting front moved from the
sample base to the top. The vertical pressure cell on
the chamber base will therefore be the first to respond
to the effects of wetting. The horizontal pressures
are taken at the sample mid-height; hence at a given
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (Hrs)
Figure 6. Vertical stress against time for un-engineered
fill.
time two different mechanisms (i.e. wetting induced
collapse or swelling) may be observed at sample mid
height and the base.
Figure 5 shows the variation of horizontal pressure
during the wetting of un-engineered fill. The lateral
pressure tended to increase to a peak value and then
reduce. For example in the case of the sample wetted
under 50 kPa of overburden pressure the horizontal
stress increased from 43 kPa to 64 kPa within a period
of 2 hours, then reduced until the pressure stabilised
at 37 kPa. Figure 6 shows the average vertical pres-
sure plotted against time. The vertical stress first
increased to a peak value before decreasing as the inun-
dation progressed. For example, in the case of 50 kPa

363
 160 140

140 120
Horizontal Stress (kPa)

Horizontal Stress (kPa)

120
100kPa 100
100 50kPa
80
80
60
60
25kPa 40
40

20 20

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50

Time (Hrs) Time (Hrs)

Figure 7. Horizontal stress against time for engineered fill Figure 9. Horizontal stress against time for engineered fill
case 1. case 2.

80
140
100kPa 70
120
50kPa
Vertical Stress ( kPa)

60
Vertical Stress ( kPa)

100
50
80
40
60
30
40 25kPa
20

20 10

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (Hrs) Time (hrs)

Figure 8. Vertical stress against time for engineered fill Figure 10. Vertical stress against time for engineered fill
case 1. case 2.

of overburden pressure the average vertical pressure
increased from 51 kPa to 67 kPa and subsequently
reduced. The pattern of behaviour observed at different
overburden pressures was the same, with the horizon-
tal and vertical stresses increasing at the beginning of
the wetting process as the overburden stress increased
from 25 kPa to 100 kPa.
The horizontal stress and the vertical stress against
time are displayed in Figures 7 and 8 respectively for
engineered fill case 1. The average horizontal stress
initially increased to a peak value before reducing and
stabilising as the inundation proceeded. For example
under an overburden pressure of 100 kPa the lateral
pressure increased from 79 kPa to 132 kPa over a
period of 4 hours, after which the horizontal pres-
sure reduced and stabilised at 100 kPa. The vertical
pressure increased as the wetting progressed to a peak
value and then diminished to a final value. For exam-
ple under an overburden pressure of 100 kPa the stress
increased from 84 kPa to 119 kPa before falling to the
final value of 110 kPa.
One test simulating engineered fill case 2 was car-
ried out under an overburden pressure of 50 kPa.
Figures 9 and 10 display the horizontal stress and the
vertical stress against time respectively. The lateral
horizontal stress increased from 90 kPa to a peak

364
 A
Loading
Collapse
Wetting
Yield Curve

Suction, s
Path

2µm C

Net vertical stress,

Figure 11. Scanning Electron Microscopy image of the
bimodal pore size distribution of a compacted clay.
Figure 12. The wetting path of an unsaturated soil.

value of 133 kPa before reducing to a stable value 1.5

of 73 kPa as the inundation progressed. However the 25kPa
vertical pressure decreased from 67 kPa to 57 kPa as
the inundation progressed. It appears that increasing 1
50kPa
Displacement (mm)

the compaction pressure results in increasing lateral

stresses.
The lateral stresses in all three samples (i.e. un-
engineered fill, engineered fill case 1 and engineered
fill case 2) increased significantly at the beginning
of the wetting as a result of inundation. This can be
explained using the bi-modal pore size distribution of
unsaturated soils pictured in Figure 11. The aggre-
gates are formed of particles, which are generally
saturated (Thom et al. 2007). These particles are held
together by suction. Inundation of the soil results in
a reduced suction in the aggregates. This process can
lead to an enlargement of the aggregates, resulting
in an overall increase in sample volume. The reduc-
tion in suction can simultaneously weaken the stability
of the inter-aggregate contacts, possibly leading to a
collapse settlement (Matayas and Radhakrishna 1968,
Alonso et al. 1990, and Wheeler et al. 2003). It is
the combination of aggregate swelling and collapse
settlement which controls the overall soil behaviour.
The initial suction in the sample was measured
using a thermocouple psychrometer and found to be
approximately 850 kPa, this reduced to zero as the
inundation progressed. Figure 12 shows a wetting path
for a sample under a constant overburden pressure in
the suction and net vertical stress plane. The load-
ing collapse yield locus represents the significance of
collapse settlement induced by wetting. During wet-
ting from A to B aggregate swelling dominates the
soil response, whereas from Point B to C collapse
settlement controls the soil behaviour. Therefore it
could be postulated that Path AB will be accompanied
by an increase in horizontal pressures whereas Path
BC will be accompanied by a significant reduction in
0.5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
-0.5 100kPa
-1
Time (Hrs)
Figure 13. Displacement against time for un-engineered
fill.
horizontal pressures. The initial increase in horizontal
stresses shown in Figures 5, 7 and 9 can be taken as
indicative of aggregate swelling at mid-height.
The position of the LC yield locus shown in
Figure 12 is controlled by the initial compaction effort.
Figures 5, 7 and 9 show that the lateral pressures,
after reaching a peak value, reduced as the inunda-
tion progressed regardless of the compaction effort
applied. This suggests that another mechanism must
have contributed to the reduction in lateral pressures as
the wetting continued. This is further substantiated by
the sample volume change behaviour. Figures 13, 14
and 15 show the vertical displacement of the sample
top surface during the wetting. Collapse settlement
is observed in the case of wetting of un-engineered
fill at 100 kPa, however in all other cases sample

365
 6

v
5
25kPa
Displacement (mm)

4 Side Side
Friction Friction
3

2 Vertical
100kPa Pressure Cell
1
Figure 16. Side friction acting in the consolidation
chamber.
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (Hrs)

Figure 14. Displacement against time for engineered fill

case 1.

4.5
4
50kPa
3.5
Displacement (mm)

3
Figure 17. (a) Initial aggregate orientation (b) Final aggre-
2.5 gate orientation.

2
1.5
1
0.5
0 do not exist and the situation across the deposit can be
0 10 20 30 40
Time (hrs)
Figure 15. Displacement against time for engineered fill
case 2.
swelling was observed as a result of the wetting.
The swelling behaviour indicates that the wetting path
remained inside the LC yield locus. The vertical
pressure response will be examined alongside these
observations.
Figures 6, 8 and 10 show the average vertical
pressure at the sample mid height. Vertical pres-
sure increased at the beginning of the wetting pro-
cess and then subsequently reduced as the inundation
continued. The overburden pressure applied at the top
of the sample was maintained at a constant value;
hence the changes shown in Figures 6, 8 and 10 are
caused by the increase/decrease in vertical pressure at
the bottom of the sample. Aggregate swelling will only
result in a pressure increase when swelling is restricted.
In the case of vertical pressure at the base, the restric-
tion to aggregate swelling comes from the side friction
between the sample and the chamber walls (Fig. 16).
However in semi-infinite space such friction effects
50
considered to be ‘‘truly one dimensional’’. Therefore
the vertical pressures presented in Figures 6, 8 and 10
are not a true representation of the stress regime that
might have existed at the sample mid height.
Based on the foregoing argument it is possible to
explain the reduction in lateral pressures at the end of
wetting though the sample swelled overall as result of
inundation. At the start of wetting the lateral pres-
sure rapidly increases and at one point it becomes
the major principle stress and the vertical pressure
the minor principle stress, assuming no frictional
resistance between the sample and the consolidation
chamber. Aggregates attempting to expand, triggered
by the suction reduction, will orientate themselves
in a minimum energy condition (Murray & Brown
2006). The vertical direction provides less resistance
to swelling; hence the particles will expand in the
vertical direction and not the horizontal direction,
which is illustrated in Figure 17. The re-orientation of

366
particles is an important mechanism that can
qualitatively explain some of the observed soils
behaviour, though further research is necessary.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Experimental research inundating compacted clay fills
in a laterally confined environment was conducted
in a one dimensional loading chamber. This work
simulated the behaviour behind a retaining structure.
The horizontal and vertical pressures and surface dis-
placements were recorded. The effect of varying the
compaction effort and the overburden pressure during
wetting was examined. A combination of high lateral
stresses and sample swelling were observed during
the wetting process. The results indicate reorienta-
tion of particles under one dimensional loading. These
findings have important practical implications for the
designers of retaining structures, when calculating the
maximum possible stresses acting on a wall. Further
advances in this research are essential.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. (1990) A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Bishop, A.W. (1958) Test requirements for measuring the
coefficient of earth pressure at rest. Proc. Conf. on Earth
Pressure Problems, Brussels (1): 2–14.
Brooker, E.W. & Ireland, H.O. (1965) Earth pressures related
to stress history. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 2(1):
1–15.
Carder, D.R. (1988) Earth pressures on retaining walls and
abutments. Ground Engineering 21(5): 7–10.
Georgiadis, K., Potts, D.M. & Zdravkovic, L. (2003) The
influence of partial soil saturation on pile behaviour.
Géotechnique 53(1): 11–25.
Habib, S.A.E-A. (1995) Lateral pressure of unsaturated
expansive clay in looped stress path. Proc. 1st Intern.
Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Paris (1): 95–100.
Jaky, J. (1948) Earth pressure: Pressure in silos. Proc.
2nd Intern. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Rotterdam (1): 103–108.
367
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Pintado, X. &
Alonso, E.E. (2003) Mechanical behaviour of heav-
ily compacted bentonite under high suction changes.
Géotechnique 53(1): 27–40.
Maine, P.W. & Kulhawy, F.H. (1982) K 0 -OCR relation-
ships in soil. Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Division. 108(GT6): 851–872.
Matyas, E.L. & Radhakrishna, H.S. (1968) Volume change
characteristics of partially saturated soils. Géotechnique,
(18), 432–448.
Murray, E.J. & Brown, J. (2006) Assumptions in equilibrium
analysis and experimentation in unsaturated soil. Proc. 4th
Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soil, Arizona (2): 2401–2407.
Navaneethan, T. (2003) Pre-yield characteristics and earth
pressure coefficient of overconsolidated clays. PhD The-
sis, Queen’s University Belfast, UK.
Schmidt, B. (1966) Discussion: Earth pressure at rest related
to stress history. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 3(4):
239–242.
Sivakumar, R. (2005) Effects of anisotropy on the behaviour
of unsaturated compacted clay. PhD Thesis, Queen’s
University Belfast, UK.
Sivakumar, R., Sivakumar, V., Blatz, J. & Vimalan, J. (2006)
Twin-cell stress path apparatus for testing unsaturated
soils. Geotechnical Testing Journal 29(2): 1–5.
Sivakumar, V. (1993) A critical state framework for unsatu-
rated soil. PhD Thesis, University of Sheffield, UK.
Sivakumar, V. & Wheeler, S.J. (2000) Influence of com-
paction procedure on the mechanical behaviour of an
unsaturated compacted clay Part 1: Wetting and isotropic
compression. Géotechnique 50(4): 359–368.
Sivakumar, V., Doran, I.G., Graham, J. & Navaneethan, T.
(2002) Relationship between K0 and overconsolida-
tion ratio—a theoretical approach. Géotechnique 52(3):
225–230.
Springman, S.M., Jommi, C. & Teysseire, P. (2003) Instabil-
ities on moraine slopes induced by loss of suction: a case
history. Géotechnique 53(1): 3–10.
Thom, R., Sivakumar, R., Sivakumar, V., Murray, E.J.
& Mackinnon, P. (2007) Pore size distribution of unsatu-
rated compacted kaolin: the initial states and final states
following saturation. Géotechnique 57(5): 469–474.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. & Buisson, M.S.R. (2003) Cou-
pling hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behavior in
unsaturated soils. Géotechnique, 53(1), 41–54.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. (1995) An elasto-plastic crit-
ical state framework for unsaturated soil. Géotechnique
45(1): 33–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Compression-induced suction change in a compacted expansive clay

A.M. Tang & Y.J. Cui

Université Paris-Est, Institut Navier, ENPC-CERMES, Paris, France

N. Barnel
Electricité de France, Département MMC, France

ABSTRACT: The present work aims at studying the coupling between mechanical stress, suction and degree of
saturation on compacted expansive clays. Isotropic compression tests were performed on compacted MX80 clay
under constant water content condition and with suction monitoring. The experimental results showed a decrease
of suction when the isotropic total stress is increased. Moreover, when plotting the suction-degree of saturation
relationships, together with that obtained from previous work, the hysteresis phenomenon and the effect of soil
porosity were evident. Finally, the compression curves of these suction-monitored tests are compared with those
of suction-controlled tests, showing the effect of suction on the mechanical behaviour.

1 INTRODUCTION (82%), it has a liquid limit wL = 520%, a plastic

Compacted expansive clay is often considered as a pos-
sible engineered barrier in deep nuclear waste disposal.
In order to study its hydro-mechanical behaviour,
suction controlled oedometer tests are often carried
out in laboratory. These tests provide most of the
required mechanical parameters for numerical simula-
tions using constitutive models such as BExM (Alonso
et al., 1999). For the determination of hydraulic
parameters, it is a common practice to establish the
relationship between the hydraulic state of soil (degree
of saturation) and soil suction through the water reten-
tion curve. From an experimental point of view, some
studies on the coupling between mechanical stress,
suction and degree of saturation have been performed
on low-plastic soils (Tarantino & Tombolato, 2005);
however, it has been rarely studied on compacted
expansive clays.
In the present work, three isotropic compression
tests were performed on compacted MX80 expansive
clay at constant water content condition with monitor-
ing of total suction. These tests enable investigation of
hydro-mechanical coupling in compacted expansive
clays.
2 MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE
MX80 bentonite, a clay from Wyoming (USA), is one
of the reference materials considered for the engi-
neered barrier or sealing material in deep nuclear waste
disposal. With its high content of montmorillonite
limit wP = 46%. Its specific gravity Gs = 2.76 and
its cation exchange capacity (CEC) is 76 meq/100 g.
Prior to utilisation, the clay was sieved at 2 mm and
dried at 44% relative humidity (RH ), corresponding to
a total suction of 110 MPa (see Tang & Cui, 2005). At
equilibrium, it had a water content of 10 ± 2%. After
that, the clay powder was compacted in an isotropic
cell under a static pressure of 40 MPa. The compacted
specimens were then placed back in the chamber with
relative humidity controlled at RH = 44%. This
procedure allowed compacted soil specimens to be
obtained with a dry density ρd = 1.78 ± 0.3 Mg/m3 ,
a void ratio e = 0.55 ± 0.03.
The suction-temperature controlled isotropic cell
presented in Tang et al. (2007b) has been modified
and adapted to this study. The schematic diagram of
the cell is presented in Figure 1. The soil specimen
(10-mm high and 80-mm diameter) is sandwiched
between two porous stones that are installed inside
two metallic plates. Various small holes (2 mm diam-
eter) are drilled in the lower plate to ensure moisture
exchange between the soil specimen and the cham-
ber below. A neoprene membrane of 1.2 mm thick
covers the soil specimen and the metallic plates.
A volume/pressure controller is used to control the
water confining pressure as well as to monitor the
volume change of the soil specimen.
The total suction of the soil specimen is monitored
using a relative humidity (RH ) sensor installed in the
chamber beneath the lower plate. This design with pro-
tection of RH sensor was applied because the sensor
can not stand high pressure. The salt solution cup used

369
 100
T01
T02
T03
10

p (MPa)
1
(a)

0.1

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

t (h)
40000

30000 (b)

dV (mm3)
20000
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the isotropic cell.
10000

by Tang et al. (2007b) for suction control was replaced 0

by a metallic block to reduce the air volume in the 0 500 1000

t (h)
1500 2000 2500

chamber. The cell was wholly immersed in a bath with 130

temperature controlled at 25 ± 0.1◦ C.
Three compacted specimens were initially put in 120
(c)
s (MPa)
three chambers with total suction controlled at 110 110
(test T01), 39 (test T03) and 20 MPa (test T02) using
saturated salt solutions of K2 CO3 , NaCl and KCl, 100

respectively. After reaching equilibrium, these spec-

90
imens were installed in the isotropic cell as indicated
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
previously. For each test, the confining pressure was 28
t (h)
increased step-by-step from 0.1 MPa to 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 24

5, 10, 20 and 50 MPa and then decreased equally step-

s (MPa)

20
by-step until 0.1 MPa. Each step was maintained until
16
stabilisation of the soil volume change and the total
suction change. Pressure and volume changes of the 12 (d)
volume/pressure controller and the RH changes were 8
recorded. The volume change of the soil specimen was 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
calculated using the calibration results performed on 40 t (h)

metallic specimen (see Tang et al. 2007b).

30
s (MPa)

20

3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
10 (e)
The results obtained from the three tests are pre- 0
sented in Figure 2. The confining pressure (Figure 2a) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
was controlled by the volume/pressure controller. The t (h)

duration of the loading steps was changing, depending

on the time required at each state for stabilisation of the
volume change and the total suction. dV presented in
Figure 2b corresponds to the volume change of water
contained in the controller when pressure was chang-
ing. It corresponds to the sum of soil volume change
and the deformation of the cell and the tubing system
upon pressure change. A calibration curve was then
required to determine the soil volume change.
Total suction measured (s) is plotted versus time
in Figures 2c, 2d and 2e for tests T01, T02 and T03
respectively. In general, it can be observed that s
decreased when pressure was increasing. The fluc-
tuation of ±2 MPa observed on the measurement
corresponds to the fluctuation of the cell temperature
(±0.1◦ C). More details on the effect of temperature
Figure 2. Pressure (a), water volume change (b), total
suction for T01 (c), T02 (d), and T03 (e) versus time.
fluctuation on the total suction can be found in Tang &
Cui (2005). For Test T01, the suction decreased from
115 to 95 MPa when the pressure was increasing
from 0.1 to 50 MPa; the suction increased from 95
to 112 MPa during the unloading path. For Test T02,
loading from 0.1 to 50 MPa decreased the total suc-
tion from 18 to 9 MPa; the suction increased from 9
to 24 MPa during unloading. In the case of Test T03,
the suction decreased from 30 to 9 MPa and then came
back to 30 MPa during unloading. The total elapsed
time was 750 h (31 days), 2400 h (100 days), and
2300 h (96 days) for Tests T01, T02, T03, respectively.

370
 The results obtained at the end of each loading step 1 1

for test T01 are plotted in Figure 3. The initial state of 0.9 0.9

the soil specimen was: e = 0.52, s = 110 (prepared 0.8 0.8

using K2 CO3 solution), w = 8.4% and Sr = 45%.

e (-)
e (-)
Note that the water content of the soil w was assumed 0.7 0.7

to be constant during the test. For each loading step, 0.6 0.6

e and Sr were calculated from the volume change of 0.5 0.5

the soil specimen. 0 10 20 30 40 50 8 12 16 20 24
The e-p plot shows that increasing pressure from p (MPa) s (MPa)
0.1 to 50 MPa decreased e from 0.52 to 0.40; dur- 24 24

ing unloading, e returned to 0.46. The initial suction

measured was s = 115 MPa (see s-p, e-s, and s-Sr 20 20

s (MPa)
s (MPa)
plots). When p was increasing, s increased slightly 16 16
until 120 MPa and then decreased with increasing p.
For p ≥ 5 MPa, the s-p plot shows a unique and linear 12 12

relationship. The following slope can be determined:

ds/dp = −0.35. 8 8

It can be observed in the s-Sr plot that s decreased
when Sr was increasing. During the loading path
(increases of p), s decreased from 115 to 95 MPa while
Sr increased from 45 to 57%. Nevertheless, when
suction was increasing during the unloading path, Sr
initially remained almost constant until a suction of
about 108 MPa and then reduced from 56 to 51% when
suction increased up to 112 MPa. The e-s plot is simi-
lar to the s-Sr plot because e and Sr were all calculated
from the volume change of the soil specimen.
The results of test T02 are presented in Figure 4.
When increasing the pressure from 0.1 to 50 MPa,
the void ratio decreased from 0.90 to 0.57. After the
unloading, the final value of void ratio was 0.60. The
initial total suction in the soil was 18 MPa even though
the imposed suction by KCl solution was 20 MPa.
When the pressure was increasing, s increased slightly
0.52
0.48
e (-)
0 10 20 30 40 50 50 60 70 80 90
p (MPa) Sr (%)
Figure 4. Test T02. Relationships between void ratio (e)
pressure (p), degree of saturation (Sr ) and total suction (s).
to 20 MPa and then reduced to 9 MPa at p = 50 MPa.
During unloading, s increased to 24 MPa when p
reduced to 0.2 MPa. The relationship between s and p
on unloading can be correlated using a linear function
with a slope ds/dp = −0.30. The initial degree of
saturation was Sr = 55%. During the loading path, Sr
increased to 87% corresponding to s = 9 MPa. During
the unloading path, Sr reduced slightly to 83% while
s increased significantly to 24 MPa.
The results of test T03 are presented in Figure 5.
During loading from 0.1 to 50 MPa and unloading to
0.2 MPa, the void ratio decreased from 0.82 to 0.48 and
increased at the end to 0.49. The s-p plot shows a gen-
0.52 eral decrease of suction when pressure was increasing
and a linear correlation with a slope ds/dp = −0.46
0.48 can be determined.
On the s-Sr plot, loading reduced slightly the total

e (-)

0.44 0.44
suction from 30 to 25 MPa (at p = 20 MPa); Sr was
increased from 56 to 93%. After that, loading from
0.4 0.4
20 to 50 MPa decreased quickly s from 25 to 9 MPa
while Sr increased slightly from 93 to 97%. During
0 10 20 30 40 50 95 100 105 110 115 120
p (MPa) s (MPa) unloading from 50 to 0.2 MPa, s increased from 9 to
120 120 30 MPa while Sr decreased from 97 to 95%.
115 115
In Figure 6, the total suction measured is plotted ver-
sus water content for all the tests. The results obtained
s (MPa)

s (MPa)

110 110
from Tang & Cui (2005) and Delage et al. (2006) are
105 105 also plotted. In the work of Tang & Cui (2005), MX80
100 100 clay was compacted at w = 8.5%, e = 0.67. After that,
total suction was imposed on the soil under free-swell
95 95
condition. On the other hand, in the work of Delage
et al. (2006), MX80 clay was compacted at w = 8.2%,
0 10 20 30 40 50 44 48 52 56 60
p (MPa) Sr (%)
e = 0.57. The water retention curve was obtained by
Figure 3. Test T01. Relationships between void ratio (e) imposing total suction using saturated salt solutions
pressure (p), degree of saturation (Sr ) and total suction (s). under constant volume condition.

371
 0.9 0.9 1000

0.8 0.8

0.7 0.7

e (-)
e (-)

0.6 0.6

100
0.5 0.5

s (MPa)
0.4 0.4

0 10 20 30 40 50 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
p (MPa) s (MPa)
35 35
10
30 30
T01
25 25
s (MPa)
s (MPa)

T02
20 20
T03
15 15
Delage et al. (2006)
10 10 1

5 5 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 10 20 30 40 50 50 60 70 80 90 100 Sr (%)
p (MPa) Sr (%)

Figure 7. Suction versus degree of saturation.

Figure 5. Test T03. Relationships between void ratio (e)
pressure (p), degree of saturation (Sr ) and total suction (s).
1
Tang et al. (2007b)

0.9 T02
1000
T03
0.8
Void ratio

0.7
100

0.6
s (MPa)

10
Present work
Tang & Cui (2005)
Delage et al. (2006)
1
0 5 10
w (%)
Figure 6. Suction versus water content.
It can be observed that the water retention curves
obtained from different works are similar at high suc-
tion range (higher than 20 MPa). At low suction range,
the results from the present work are different from that
presented by Delage et al. (2006).
For further analyses, the total suction is plotted
versus degree of saturation in Figure 7 for all the
tests of the present work and the test presented by
Delage et al. (2006). It can be observed that the s-Sr
plots obtained from different tests are different and
no unique relationship exists even at the high suc-
tion range. In order to analyze the effect of suction
changes on the compressibility of the soil, void ratio
is plotted versus logarithm of suction for tests T02,
0.5
0.4
0.1 1 10 100
Pressure (MPa)
Figure 8. Void ratio versus the logarithm of pressure.
15 20 25 30
T03 in Figure 8. In this figure, the results of one test
presented by Tang et al. (2007b) are also plotted.
This concerns the compression curve of MX80 clay
with a total suction controlled at 39 MPa. It can be
observed that the results for the loading stage from 0.1
to 5 MPa in test T02 are similar to that from the test by
Tang et al. (2007b). At higher pressure, the curves are
different from each other: a linear relationship between
e and log p can be observed for the test with suction
control while for the tests at constant water content
(suction monitored) condition, the slope of the curves
starts to change when p is higher than 10 MPa.
4 DISCUSSION
The initial suction measured in the cell was found to
be slightly different from the imposed values. This can

372
be partly attributed to the accuracy of the suction con-
trolled by vapour equilibrium technique or the suction
measured by RH sensor. On the other hand, the initial
air humidity in the gap between the lower base of the
cell and the metallic block may also affect the initial
suction measured.
The matric suction change upon mechanical load-
ing under undrained condition has been investigated
under K0 conditions (Rahardjo & Fredlund, 2003;
Tarantino & Tombolato, 2005; Delage et al. 2007) or
isotropic pressure condition (Kawai et al., 2002). Suc-
tion has been found to monotonically decrease with
increasing pressure following a linear function with a
slope ds/dp = −0.1 to −0.8. Suction was limited to
1 MPa in these works.
In the work of Blatz & Graham (2003), the total
suction in a compacted sand/bentonite mixture was
monitored using a psychrometer and the suction range
measured was 0–8 MPa. Isotropic compression tests
performed also showed a suction decrease when pres-
sure was increasing with a linear function; the average
value of the slope was ds/dp = −0.83.
In the present work, total suction was monitored
using a relative humidity sensor and the suction range
measured was 9–120 MPa. During compression, a
slight suction increase was observed at the beginning
followed by a decrease in suction. For the decreas-
ing part, a similar relationship between suction and
pressure has been observed and the slope of the linear
correlation is ds/dp = −0.30 to −0.46.
The structure of compacted bentonite was described
in different scales by Kröhn (2003): the clay parti-
cle (∼300 nm) corresponds to a stack of lamella;
the clay grain (∼0.1 mm) corresponds to an assem-
bly of particles. The pore size distribution of MX80
clay compacted at w = 8.2% and e = 0.65 has been
observed by Delage et al. (2007) by using mercury
intrusion porosimetry. A typical bimodal porosity was
observed with entrance pore radii of about 0.02 μm for
intra-aggregates pores and 2 μm for inter-aggregates
pores. After Pusch & Yong (2003), water is absorbed in
compacted bentonite by two mechanisms: absorption
on exposed mineral surfaces, representing the osmotic
suction; and storage in pore space, representing the
matric suction.
Even though utilisation of Laplace-Jurin’s law is
incorrect for the description of the osmotic suction
(as it is based on capillary phenomenon), for a global
analysis, it can be used to estimate the pore radius
that would separate the smaller water saturated pores
from the larger unsaturated pores. Putting the initial
suctions of tests T01 (115 MPa), T02 (18 MPa) and
T03 (30 MPa) in the Laplace-Jurin equation by taking
an air-water interfacial tension of 0.073 N/m and a
zero contact angle, a separating radius of 0.001 μm
was obtained for test T01, 0.008 μm for test 02 and
0.005 μm for test 03. All these values are smaller than
373
0.02 μm, identified by Delage et al. (2007) for intra-
aggregates pores. This means that the micropores of
the tested three samples were initially not saturated. In
this case, it was possible that with mechanical com-
pression, the micropore size was decreased, resulting
in an osmotic suction increase. When the size of micro-
pore can not be changed anymore due to especially
the increase in internal forces in the clay particles, the
suction changes start to be governed by the degree
of saturation changes in inter-aggregates macropores
and common matric suction decrease with compres-
sion was observed. This would be what happened in the
three tests conducted. Following this explanation, only
a suction decrease would be obtained when compress-
ing a soil sample having micropores that were initially
saturated. Taking the value of 0.02 μm to represent
the micropore size and applying Laplace-Jurin’s law,
a corresponding suction of 7.3 MPa can be obtained.
This means that all the tests on the samples with an
initial suction higher than 7.3 MPa would present the
phenomenon of suction increase followed by a suction
decrease.
In the s-Sr plot (Figure 7), the compression path cor-
responds to a wetting path of the water retention curve
(increasing of Sr and decreasing of s). And vice versa,
the unloading path corresponds to the drying path.
The difference between these two curves represents
the well-known hysteresis phenomenon.
Works on the retention curves of deformable clays
(Romero & Vaunat 2000) have shown that the log s-w
curve is strongly dependent on stress, void ratio and
hydraulic history at low suction range. That is in agree-
ment with the results obtained in the present work
(Figure 6): for a given value of water content, suc-
tion is lower in the soil having higher dry density (or
lower void ratio).
The deviation from the linear trend of the com-
pression curves at high stresses in oedometer tests at
constant water content was equally noted by Tang et al.
(2007a), Perdok et al. (2002) among others. In the
present work, these inflection point (Figure 8) cor-
responds to the inflection point obtained on the s-Sr
curves (Figure 7). Regarding the change of the slope on
the s-Sr plot, it is often explained by the air entry value
of the water retention curve which is the limit of the
saturated state and the unsaturated state (Rahardjo &
Fredlund, 2003).
The compression curve of Tang et al. (2007b)
presented in Figure 8 was performed under suction
controlled at 39 MPa. The initial total suction in the
test T02 is 18 MPa. It can be observed that the com-
pression curves of the two tests are similar during the
loading path from 0.1 to 5 MPa. Lloret et al. (2003)
performed suction-controlled oedometer tests on com-
pacted FEBEX bentonite and observed a decrease of
the apparent preconsolidation stress when suction is
decreasing. In the work of Lloret et al. (2003), soil
specimens were prepared at the same initial state and
then conducted to various suction values prior to the
compression tests. The soil samples having different
suction value then had different values of void ratio:
the lower the suction, the higher the value of void ratio.
In the case of tests presented in Figure 8, the initial
suction values are different, 18 MPa (for test T02) and
39 MPa (for test performed by Tang et al. 2007b).
Nevertheless, their initial void ratio values are similar
(0.90). As a result, it can be concluded that the effect
of void ratio on the compressibility of compacted soil
is more significant than the effect of suction in this
range of suction.
5 CONCLUSION
Three isotropic compression tests at constant water
content and with monitoring of the total suction were
performed on compacted expansive MX80 clay. The
results showed a slight increase in total suction (s) in
the beginning followed by a decrease when the pres-
sure (p) was increased. The initial suction increase
would be explained by the non saturation of the
micropores of the compacted samples: with mechan-
ical compression, the micropore size was decreased,
approaching the clay particles and thus resulting in an
osmotic suction increase. For the suction decreasing
part, a linear s-p relationship was observed with a slope
ds/dp varying from −0.30 to −0.46. The water reten-
tion curves obtained (suction versus water content, and
suction versus degree of saturation) were compared
with the existing results from previous works on the
same material. It was observed that the water retention
curves are influenced by various aspects: hysteresis,
void ratio, initial state, etc. The compressibility curves
(void ratio versus logarithm of pressure) obtained at
constant water content were compared with the exist-
ing curves performed at constant total suction. Similar
results have been obtained in the low pressure range;
but in the high pressure range (p > 5 MPa), it was
observed that constant slope was kept in the case of
controlled suction whereas the slope became smaller
when the pressure was higher than 10 MPa in the case
of constant water content. It was noted also that the
effect of void ratio on the compressibility is more
significant than the effect of suction.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are grateful to Ecole Nationale des Ponts
et Chaussées and French Electricity Company (EDF)
for their financial support.
374
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Vaunat, J. & Gens, A. 1999. Modelling the
mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engineering
Geology 54(1–2), 173–183.
Blatz, J.A. & Graham, J. 2003. Elastic-plastic modeling of
unsaturated soil using results from a new triaxial test with
controlled suction. Géotechnique 53(1), 113–122.
Delage, P., Marcial, D., Cui, Y.J. & Ruiz, X. 2006. Age-
ing effects in a compacted bentonite: a microstructure
approach. Géotechnique 56(5), 291–304.
Delage, P., Le, T.T., Tang, A.M., Cui, Y.J. & Li, X.L.
2007. Suction effects in deep Boom Clay block samples.
Géotechnique 57(1), 239–244.
Kawai, K., Weichuan, W. & Ogawa, K. 2002. The behavior of
unsaturated soil compressed isotropically under undrained
condition. In Jucá, J.F.T., de Campos, T.M.P. & Marinho,
F.A.M. (ed.), Unsaturated Soils. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT 2002), Recife, Brazil, Vol. 2:
521–528. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Kröhn, K.P. 2003. New conceptual models for the resatura-
tion of bentonite. Applied Clay Science 23, 25–33.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sanchez, M., Gens, A., Pintado, X.
& Alonso, E.E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour of heav-
ily compacted bentonite under high suction changes.
Géotechnique 53(1), 27–40.
Perdok, U.D., Kroesbergen, B. & Hoogmoed, W.B. 2002.
Possibilities for modeling the effect of compression on
mechanical and physical properties of various Dutch soil
types. Soil & Tillage Research 65, 61–75.
Pusch, R. & Yong, R. 2003. Water saturation and retention of
hydrophilic clay buffer—microstructural aspects. Applied
Clay Science 23, 61–68.
Rahardjo, H. & Fredlund, D.G. 2003. K0 -volume change
characteristics of an unsaturated soil with respect to var-
ious loading paths. Geotechnical Testing Journal 26(1),
79–91.
Romero, E. & Vaunat, J. 2000. Retention curves of
deformable clays. In Tarantino & Mancuso (ed.), Exper-
imental Evidence and Theorical Approaches in Unsatu-
rated Soils: 91–106. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Tang, A.M. & Cui, Y.J. 2005. Controlling suction by the
vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures
and its application in determining the water retention
properties of MX80 clay. Canadian Geotechnical Journal
42(1), 287–296.
Tang, A.M., Cui, Y.J., Eslami, J. & Défossez, P. 2007a.
Compressive behaviour of four agricultural soils from
France under confined uniaxial test. In T. Schanz (ed.),
Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics; Springer Pro-
ceedings in Physics 112: 475–482.
Tang, A.M., Cui, Y.J. & Barnel, N. 2007b. A new isotropic
cell for studying the thermo-mechanical behavior of unsat-
urated expansive clays. Geotechnical Testing Journal
30(5), 341–348.
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Géotechnique 55(4), 307–317.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Theoretical modelling of the compaction curve

N. Kurucuk & J. Kodikara

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

D.G. Fredlund
Golder Associates, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

ABSTRACT: Soil compaction is one of the major activities in geotechnical engineering involving earthworks.
The compaction curve is used to find the optimum water content that maximizes dry density. Since its introduction
by Proctor in 1933, several researchers have provided qualitative explanations for the inverted parabolic shape
of the compaction curve. However, fundamental research on the compaction process and the evolution of
compaction characteristics are limited, particularly from a quantitative sense. In order to understand the driving
mechanisms of soil compaction, this paper investigates the effect of soil suction, stiffness and pore air pressure
on the shape of the compaction curve, from an unsaturated soil mechanics standpoint. This paper presents an
approach to predict the soil compaction curve during undrained loading. Particular attention is focused on the
derivation of the compressibility coefficient due to net stress. Model predictions of the compaction curve are
compared with some experimental results from the literature.

1 INTRODUCTION engineering performance of compacted unsaturated

Soil compaction is widely used in geo-engineering
and is important for the construction of roads, dams,
landfills, airfields, foundations, hydraulic barriers,
and ground improvements. Compaction is applied to
the soil, with the purpose of finding optimum water
content in order to maximize its dry density, and there-
fore, to decrease compressibility, increase shearing
strength, and in some cases, to reduce permeability.
Proper compaction of materials ensures the durability
and stability of earthen constructions.
A typical compaction curve presents different den-
sification stages when the soil is compacted with the
same apparent energy input but different water con-
tents. The water content at the peak of the curve is
called the optimum water content (OWC) and repre-
sents the water content at which dry density is at its
maximum for a given compaction energy.
Since Proctor’s pioneering work in 1933, many
researchers have attempted to explain qualitatively
the leading mechanisms in the densification stages,
mainly on the dry side of optimum water content. The
compaction curve was explained in terms of capillarity
and lubrication (Proctor, 1933), viscous water (Hogen-
togler, 1936), pore pressure theory in unsaturated soils
(Hilf, 1956), physico-chemical interactions (Lambe,
1960), and concepts of effective stress theory (Olson,
1963). More recently, Barden & Sides (1970) under-
took experimental research on the relation between the
clay and microscopic observations of clay structure. In
addition, Lee & Suedkamp (1972) conducted research
on the shape of the compaction curve for different
soils.
Despite this research work, and the importance and
high demand for the compaction process in engineer-
ing practice, the compaction of soil is quite complex
and not well explained, particularly from a quantitative
sense. Theoretical modelling of the soil compaction
curve will provide a better understanding of the main
parameters that affect the shape of the compaction
curve, and understanding the behaviour of compacted
materials. Therefore, there is need for research to
be undertaken at a fundamental level to understand
the compaction characteristics of soil and the inverted
parabolic shape of the compaction curve.
This paper presents a theoretical explanation of the
compaction curve using unsaturated soil mechanics
principles. Particular attention is focused on the pre-
diction of the compressibility coefficient due to net
stress. Likely predictions of the model are compared
with the experimental results from literature.
2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
FOR MODELLING
Theoretical concepts utilized for the development of
soil compaction curves are presented in this section.

375
Initially, Hilf ’s (1948) approach for pore pressure
development is presented. This is continued with
Fredlund & Morgenstern’s (1976) volume change the-
ory for a compacted soil and the derivation of the dry
density of soil.
2.1 Pore pressure development during static
compaction
One of the main simulations for the generation of the
compaction curve is that of pore pressure develop-
ment. Hilf (1948) developed a relationship between
pore pressure and applied stress, which is based on
one-dimensional K 0 soil compression, Boyle’s law,
and Henry’s law, and is expressed as follows:
 
1
ua = (1−S0 +hS0 )n0
σy (1)
1+ (ua0 +ua )mv
where; ua = change in absolute pore air pressure,
S0 = initial degree of saturation, h = coefficient of
solubility, n0 = initial porosity, ua0 = initial absolute
air pressure, mv = coefficient of volume change in
saturated soil, and σy = change in applied vertical
stress.
Hilf (1948) developed this equation assuming that
air and water phases are undrained, and volume
reduction is due to air dissolving in the water and
compression of free air. Both liquid and solid parts
were considered to be volumetrically incompressible.
Hilf also assumed that the change in pore air pres-
sure is equal to the change in pore water pressure,
and therefore, matric suction change was insignifi-
cant. Experimental results on suction change during
compaction can be found in literature (e.g. Li 1995,
Montanez 2002). It is shown that matric suction only
decreases marginally with a density increase and may
be approximated to be constant. Therefore, Hilf’s
analysis assuming constant suction during compaction
appears to be close to the real situation. Further justifi-
cation for assuming constant matric suction during the
compaction test is presented in Kurucuk et al. (2007).
2.2 Computation of volume change and dry density
The volume change constitutive relationship as appli-
cable to K0 loading, which is defined in terms
of two independent stress variables as proposed by
Fredlund & Morgenstern (1976) for unsaturated soils,
is used for the calculation of compaction curves:
Vv  
εv = = ms1  σy − ua + ms2  (ua − uw ) (2)
V
where; εv = volumetric strain, Vv = overall volume
change of soil element, V = initial total volume of soil
376
element, m1s = compressibility of soil particles with
respect to net stress (σy − ua ), m2s = compressibility
of soil particles referenced to matric suction (ua −uw ),
(σy − ua ) = change in net stress, and (ua − uw ) =
change in soil suction.
Since soil particles are incompressible, it is
accepted that deformation is primarily due to compres-
sion of the pore fluid (i.e., the air and air/water mix-
ture). The independent stress state variable concept is
utilized in the derivation; namely, net stress (σy − ua )
(causes a reduction in volume with compression), and
matric suction stress (ua − uw ) (generally results in
volume increase with compression). Once the overall
volume change is computed, the corresponding dry
density can be easily computed.
3 MODELLING ASSUMPTIONS
Kurucuk et al. (2007) showed that the assumption
of constant coefficients of compressibility during
compaction does not produce a proper shape of the
compaction curve especially on the dry side of the
optimum water content. Their analysis showed that it
is m1s that controls the volume changes during com-
paction because the associated change in suction may
be neglected. The parameter m1s was represented as a
function of saturation and decreases with decreasing
saturation. However, the experimental results pre-
sented by Loret et al. (2003) showed that m1s decreased
with both suction and net stress. Therefore, following
the functional form suggested by Sheng et al. (2007),
the volumetric strain, ignoring suction change, may be
presented as:
dV d (σnet − ua )
εv = = λvp (3)
V (σnet − ua ) + s0
where; εv = volumetric strain, (σnet − ua ) = mean net
stress, ua = pore air pressure, s0 = suction, λvp =
slope of the normal compression line (NCL) of the
saturated soil, and V = initial total volume of the soil
element.
This gives m1s as:
λvp
ms1 =   (4)
σy − ua + s0
This assumption will be used and discussed further
in the modelling of the compaction curve. It is reason-
able to replace mv in Equation 1 by m1s . A numerical
example of the variation of m1s during compaction pro-
cess is given in the following section. Equations (1),
(3) and (4) were used in incremental forms to com-
pute the incremental and total volume change and the
corresponding dry density values during compaction.
4 NUMERICAL EXAMPLES
The performance of the proposed model is demon-
strated by comparing the experimental results pre-
sented by Montanez (2002) and Kenai et al. (2006).
Figures 1 and 2 show the compaction curves for sand-
bentonite mixture with bentonite content of 5% and
15% by weight. Montanez’s experimental data present
values for the Standard Proctor Test (BS, external gross
energy input = 637 kJ/m3 or kPa). In Figures 1 and
2, two model predictions are also shown. The curves
shown by dashed lines represent the static compaction
curve predicted by the model for undrained (air/water)
loading up to external quasi-static pressure, σy , of
637 kPa. The curves shown by solid lines are for equal
energy input, calculated by integrating the applied
stress σy with respect to volumetric strain. The actual
energy input into the soil was computed on the basis
of the values applicable at the optimum water con-
tent, which were found to be 16 kJ/m3 and 18 kJ/m3
respectively.
Figure 1. Comparison of predicted and experimental com-
paction curves for well graded sand with 5% bentonite (after
Montanez, 2002).
Figure 2. Comparison of predicted and experimental com-
paction curves for well graded sand with 15% bentonite (after
Montanez, 2002).
377
Figure 3 shows an example of compaction curve
for clay sandy soil (liquid limit = 39%, plasticity
index = 15%) adopted from Kenai et al. (2006).
Experimental results shown in figure are for static
(σy = 2100 kPa) and dynamic (external gross energy
input 3000 kJ/m3 ) compaction tests. Both predicted
compaction curves are produced from quasi-static
compaction up to external pressures, σy , of 2100 kPa
and 4000 kPa respectively.
Model parameters used for prediction of the above
compaction curves are shown in Table 1, 2 and 3.
Initial pore air pressure (ua0 ) is taken to be equal
to atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa). For a certain
soil, a lower initial porosity was assumed and the
computations were performed for a range of mois-
ture contents which also define the values of initial
degree of saturation (S0 ). The water solubility value is
adopted from Fredlund & Rahardjo (1993). The val-
ues of λvp (slope of the NCL) are selected to best fit
the experimental results and compared with the mea-
sured values from literature. These values are found
to be generally in the range of experimentally mea-
sured values. Table 2 shows the initial equilibrium
suctions measured for compacted specimens at differ-
ent moisture contents given by Montanez (2002). They
are presented as constant suction contours which are
Figure 3. Comparison of predicted and experimental com-
paction curves for clay sandy soil (after Kenai et al., 2006).
Table 1. Parameter values for the proposed model.
Well graded sand with Well graded sand
5% bentonite with 15% bentonite
Parameter Value Value
h∗ 0.02 0.02
λvp 0.045 0.13
n0 34 % 36 %
Gs 2.656 2.660
∗ Water solubility
Table 2. Initial matric suction (s0 ) values.

Well graded sand with Well graded sand with

5% bentonite content 15% bentonite content

w (%) s0 (kPa) w (%) s0 (kPa)

3.9 4630 4.9 17800

5.8 1130 6.4 11500
7.8 350 8.5 2550
9.7 130 10.6 1260
11.7 54 12.7 850
13.6 32 14.9 530
15.6 26 17.0 290
17.5 22 19.1 270 Figure 4. Variations of m1s with initial degree of saturation
(S0 ) and during compaction for well graded sand with 5%
bentonite.

Table 3. Parameter values for the proposed model.

Clay sandy soil
Parameter Value
h∗ 0.02
λvp 1.3
n0 46 %
Gs 2.66
generally perpendicular to the water content axis giv-
ing approximately constant suction values for a given
compaction water content. This ignores the curving of
these contours close to saturation towards the left even-
tually becoming almost parallel to the full saturation
line.
Figures 1 and 2 show comparisons between exper-
imental and predicted values of compaction curves
for sand-bentonite mixtures. The experiments were
performed under dynamic conditions (Proctor com-
paction), whereas model prediction assumed static
undrained conditions for both air and water. Despite
these differences, it is clear that reasonable predictions
of the shape of the compaction curve can be obtained
with the proposed approach.
Figure 3 shows comparison between experimen-
tal and predicted values of the compaction curve for
sandy clay soil. For this example, experiments were
performed under both dynamic and static conditions.
It should be noted that in this example, experimental
results did not include the initial suction values. There-
fore, initial suction values are assumed to be same as
well graded sand with 15% bentonite (Table 2).
Differences in the predicted and experimental
behaviour can be traced to a number of sources. One
possibility is the drainage of air, particularly on the
dry side of the optimum, which can lead to higher
dry densities. This analysis, however, shows that the
development of air pressure on the dry side is not very
significant, but will depend on m1s . It can be seen that
the predicted and experimental density difference on
Figure 1 is higher than that of Figure 2. In addition
to the likely influence of the other assumptions made
in the analysis, this difference seems to indicate that
the drainage of air may lead to higher densities in the
dry side. It is likely that the pore sizes in well graded
sand with 5% bentonite content is higher than the same
sand with 15% bentonite. These issues will be further
examined through future targeted experiments.
Figure 4 shows the variation of m1s with initial
degree of saturation (S0 ) and during compaction for
the well graded sand with 5% bentonite content. It can
be seen that coefficient of compressibility due to net
stress (m1s ) decreases with decreasing initial degree
of saturation (S0 ), as assumed previously by Kuru-
cuk et al. (2007). However, during the compaction
process, the degree of saturation increases from the ini-
tial value, but the coefficient of compressibility (m1s )
decreases. This decrease of compressibility happens
owing to the increase of net stress as the compaction
progresses. It is also apparent that much of the com-
paction takes place in the early part of the process
where the soil compressibility decreases rapidly.
5 CONCLUSION
This paper presents theoretical concepts to predict
the compaction curve for soil during undrained K0
or isotropic loading using unsaturated soil mechan-
ics principles. It highlights the fact that the well-
known inverted parabolic shape of the compaction
curve may be theoretically predicted using unsatu-
rated soil mechanics principles, arguably for the first
time in literature. This was demonstrated using pub-
lished experimental results, but it was necessary to
make some assumptions. The controlling parameter

378
governing the compaction process was identified as
the coefficient of compressibility with respect to net
stress or m1s . It was also identified that the variation
in drainage conditions during compaction may influ-
ence the results. Future experiments will be targeted
to develop a comprehensive set of data to examine
the modelling assumptions and improve modelling
capability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are rendered to Monash University for pro-
viding a Monash Graduate Scholarship and financial
assistance to the first author for her PhD candidature.
REFERENCES
Barden, L. & Sides, G.R. 1970. Engineering behaviour and
structure of compacted clay. Journal Soil Mechanics and
Foundations Division, ASCE, 96, No. SM4: 1171.
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fredlund, D.G. & Morgenstern, N.R. 1976. Constitutive
relations for volume change in unsaturated soils. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 14, 3: 261–276.
Hilf, J.W. 1948. Estimating construction pore pressures
in rolled earth dams. Proceedings of 2nd International
Conference in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineer-
ing, 3: 234–240. Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Hilf, J.W. 1956. An investigation of pore water pressures in
compacted cohesive soils. Technical Memorandum 654,
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation,
Denver, Colorado.
379
Hogentogler, C.A. 1936. Essentials of soil compaction.
Proceedings Highway Research Board, National Research
Council, Washington, D.C., 309–316.
Kenai, S., Bahar, R. & Benazzoug, M. 2006. Experimental
analysis of the effect of some compaction methods on
mechanical properties and durability of cement stabilized
soil. Journal of Material Science, 41: 6956–6964.
Kurucuk, N., Kodikara, J. & Fredlund, D.G. 2007. Pre-
diction of compaction curves. 10th ANZ Conference on
Geomechanics, 2: 115–119.
Lambe, T.W. 1960. Structure of compacted clay. Transac-
tions, ASCE, 125: 682–705.
Lee, D.Y. & Suedkamp, R.J. 1972. Characteristics of irregu-
larly shaped compaction curves of soil. Highway Research
Board, 381: 1–9.
Li, Z.M. 1995. Compressibility and collapsibility of com-
pacted unsaturated loessial soils. Unsaturated Soils. Proc.
1st Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT 95), Paris,
France (ed. Alonzo, E.E. and Delage, P.), Rotterdam:
Balkema, Vol. 1: 139–144.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sanchez, M., Gens, A., Pintado, X.
& Alonso, E.E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour of heav-
ily compacted bentonite under high suction changes.
Géotechnique, 53(1): 27–40.
Montanez, J.E.C. 2002. Suction and volume changes of com-
pacted sand-bentonite mixtures. PhD thesis, University of
London, Imperial College of Science, London, England.
Olson, R.E. 1963. Effective stress theory of soil compaction.
Journal Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE,
89, No. SM2: 27–45.
Proctor, R.R. 1933. Fundamental Principles of Soil Com-
paction, Engineering News-Record, 111: 286.
Sheng, D., Fredlund, D.G. & Gens, A. 2007. A new mod-
elling approach for unsaturated soils using independent
stress state variables. Research Report No. 261.11.06,
University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Prediction of the residual void ratio of clayey soils after drying based
on their initial state, physical properties and structure

M.E. Bardanis & M.J. Kavvadas

National Technical University, Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT: Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006) proposed an empirical relation between residual void ratio er of
clayey soils after drying and simple properties: initial void ratio eo , liquid limit wL and specific gravity Gs .
Additional results are presented in this paper which support a new relation based on plastic limit wP , along
with new results from undisturbed soil specimens, which indicate the possible effect of structure due to natural
processes. A generalised relation therefore would predict er from eo , wP , Gs and an empirical parameter related
to the structure of natural soils. However, the findings of this study indicate great scatter in correlations of er
with soil index properties. Additionally, studies on undisturbed soils indicate considerable influence of soil stress
history on er , thus complicating the development of a generalized relation for predictive purposes.

1 INTRODUCTION corresponding value of specific volume υr = 1 + er )

Prediction of volume changes occurring with changes
in suction is fundamental for the study of the mechani-
cal behaviour of unsaturated soils. Constitutive models
proposed for unsaturated soils predict volume changes
by the corresponding parameters for elastic and plastic
strains, κs and λs respectively (Alonso et al. 1990). As
shown in Figure 1 (curve (a)) for changes in suction
under zero total stress, specific volume υ(υ = 1 + e),
and therefore void ratio e, vary linearly with suc-
tion (in logarithmic scale), according to parameter
κs for suction values up to suction so (an arbitrary
value of suction corresponding to yielding during dry-
ing, physically representing the maximum suction
applied to the soil) and according to parameter λs
for suction values past so . This type of formulation
is in agreement with the formulation for the predic-
tion of volume changes due to total stress changes
under constant suction, according to parameters κ and
λ(s). Such models predict realistic volume changes
for suctions lower than that corresponding to residual
water content, down to which shrinking during drying
occurs. For suctions close to residual water content, or
higher, this type of formulation overestimates volume
change as it underestimates final specific volume/void
ratio values. Numerous published test results (e.g.
Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993) and common experience
with shrinkage tests have shown that total volume and
void ratio during drying under zero total stress are
expected to reach a limiting lower value er , which cor-
responds to residual water content and will be referred
to as the residual void ratio. The value of er (or its
should be the lowest value predicted by constitutive
models for unsaturated soils. Models have been pro-
posed recently which introduce parameters limiting
volume changes with increasing suction under con-
stant total stress (e.g. Toll, 1995, Kohgo, 2004). Toll
(1995) presented a conceptual model for the drying
and wetting of soil which predicts the limiting of
void ratio changes and therefore the calculated vol-
ume change up to the void ratio corresponding to
shrinkage limit (curve (b) in Fig. 1). For this to be
possible only one additional parameter is necessary.
This is either the value of suction sr at which er is
e or sO sr ln s
s
s
er (b)
(a)
Figure 1. Void ratio/Specific volume changes with inc-
reasing suction under zero total stress: a) without accounting
for residual void ratio, and b) taking residual void ratio
into account.

381
first achieved (second inflection point of curve (b) in 1.0
Fig. 1) or simply er itself. Residual void ratio er there-
fore emerges as a critical parameter for constitutive 0.8
modeling of deformable unsaturated soils.
0.6

er/eO
2 PREDICTION OF RESIDUAL VOID RATIO
0.4
Anticipating the advantages of using er rather than sr
for use in constitutive modeling, Bardanis & Kavvadas 0.2
(2006) proposed an empirical relation predicting er on
the basis of tests on low to high plasticity clays and
0.0
marls (Eq. 1). Residual void ratio er is predicted from 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
the initial state of the soil, as expressed by initial void eO/eL
ratio when drying starts, eo , the physical properties
of the soils, as expressed by their liquid limit wL and Figure 2. Normalised residual void ratio er /eo vs nor-
specific gravity Gs , and an empirical parameter m, malised initial void ratio eo /eL at the beginning of drying
found equal to 0.43. with the empirical relation proposed by Bardanis & Kavvadas
  (2006) and expected extensions (dashed lines).
m
er = eo 1 − · eo (1)
wL · Gs
obtained from the experimental results in Table 1 has
Equation 1 was obtained from ten experimental 90% degree of correlation and passes through point
points obtained for four materials. Residual void ratio {er /eo = 1, eo /eL = 0}.
values were measured on specimens left to dry in Equation 1 was derived from a small number of
atmospheric conditions from a slurry condition or experimental points. Still the degree of correlation was
after being consolidated one-dimensionally and then very high, the best-fit equation passes through point
unloaded to zero overburden stress. Since then experi- {er /eo = 1, eo /eL = 0}, which is expected given
mental results from other soils have been collected and the normalisations used, and the scatter of the points
they are presented in Section 3. Index properties of the around the best-fit line is relatively small. For eo /eL
soils tested by Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006) are pre- tending to 0, er /eo is logically expected to tend to
sented in Table 1, along with initial and residual void unity. Using eo to normalise er expresses essentially
ratio values. The experimental results with the plot how much the total volume of an initially saturated
of Equation 1 are presented in Figure 2. Equation 1 specimen decreases due to drying, while using eL to
normalise eo as correlation parameter expresses that
Table 1. Index properties of the soils tested by Bardanis & the state relative to the nature of the soil (expressed
Kavvadas (2006) along with eo and er values. by the void ratio at liquid limit, eL = Gs · wL ) is the
determining correlating factor.
wL Ip Gs eo er
Soil (%) – – Condition1 – –
3 ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Chania
FOR RECONSTITUTED SOILS
clay 24 9 2.68 Slurry 1.05 0.35
Slurry 1.04 0.34
100 kPa 0.59 0.33 Although small, the number of experimental points
200 kPa 0.52 0.31 used by Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006) was sufficient
400 kPa 0.51 0.34 to support a conceptual relation between er and the ini-
1600 kPa 0.43 0.31 tial state and physical properties of reconstituted soil
Speswhite slurries as well as of reconstituted soils consolidated
Kaolin 64 32 2.61 Slurry 2.81 0.72 one-dimensionally and then unloaded. Still it was
Corinth considered important that further experimental results
Marl 34 12 2.67 Slurry 1.27 0.51
were gathered in order to study residual void ratio and
800 kPa 0.66 0.51
Kifissia its correlation with the physical properties and the ini-
Marl 31 16 2.66 600 kPa 0.57 0.34 tial state of soil. In Table 2 additional experimental
results obtained for two more soils tested at NTUA
1 The stress reported in column ‘‘Condition’’ is the maximum are presented and in Table 3 additional experimental
stress applied one-dimensionally to a slurry of the soil and results from various sources. With the experimental
then removed before drying started. results presented in Tables 2 & 3 the total number of

382
Table 2. Index properties of additional soils tested along 1.0
with eo and er values. Bardanis &
Kavvadas, 2006
0.8
wL Ip Gs eo er New data
Soil (%) – – Condition1 – –
0.6

eO/eL
Ioannina
lake silt 24 1 2.55 100 kPa 0.69 0.58 0.4
Kifissia
clay 41 21 2.67 600 kPa 0.70 0.34
0.2
1 The stress reported in column ‘‘Condition’’ is the maximum
stress applied one-dimensionally to a slurry of the soil and 0.0
then removed before drying started. 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
eO/eL

Table 3. Index properties, initial void ratio and residual void

Figure 3. Normalised residual void ratio er /eo vs nor-
ratio for soils from various sources.
malised initial void ratio eo /eL with the empirical relation
w L Ip Gs eo er proposed by Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006), their experimental
Soil (%) – – Condition1 – – data and the new experimental data included.

Fleureau et al. (1993) Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006) and the empirical rela-
Sterrebeek loam 27 2.652 Slurry
4 0.78 0.61
200 0.61 0.52 tion they proposed. As observed, the scatter of the
Orly loam 31 9.5 2.652 Slurry 1.23 0.39 sum of all data now is much larger, even though it
Jossigny loam 37 17.5 2.653 Slurry 1.26 0.46 seems evenly distributed on either side of the linear
White clay 61 30 2.673 Slurry 2.00 0.88 relation proposed. Regression analysis of the whole
Montmorillonite 170 110 2.643 Slurry 7.40 0.95
Dineen (1997)
set of data shows that the equation describing the lin-
Speswhite Kaolin 64 32 2.61 200 1.15 0.76 ear relation between er /eo and eo /eL does not change
London clay 74 45 2.64 200 1.12 0.42 significantly but the degree of correlation drops from
Melgarejo et al. (2002) 90% to 44%. This picture of the whole set of data on
2.652 200
Colluvium
Fleureau et al. (2002)
95 48 1.27 0.80
the er /eo -eo /eL plot showed that an alternative rela-
La Verne clay 35 16 2.71 Slurry 1.42 0.75 tion should be investigated. Following the same line of
Cunningham et al. (2003) thought regarding the parameters that should be used
Silty clay 28 18 2.64 200 0.54 0.44 to express the relation of residual void ratio to physical
Fleureau et al. (2004)
Silty sand 19 9 2.69 Slurry 0.77 0.35
properties and initial conditions, an alternative to eL
Fredlund (2004) was examined.
Regina clay 75 50 2.65 6.2 kPa 3.00 0.45 In Figure 4 all the experimental data available
400 kPa 1.40 0.45 are plotted but the void ratio at liquid limit has
Agus & Schanz (2006)
Bentonite/sand 130 97 2.65 Slurry 4.50 0.70
been substituted with the void ratio at plastic limit,
Abou-Bekr et al. (2006) eP (eP = Gs · wP ). As observed, the scatter of data
Sikkak 50 27 2.64 Slurry 1.98 0.51 decreases significantly and an exponential relation
Peron et al. (2006) between er /eo and eo /eP appears as the best-fit curve.
Bioley silt 32 15 2.71 Slurry 1.33 0.57
Pineda &
This is described by Equation 2.
Colmenares (2006)
Clayey silt 28.3 10.7 2.64 Slurry 0.53 0.44
 
er eo
1 The stress reported in column ‘‘Condition’’ is the maximum = 1.108 · exp −0.42 · (2)
eo eP
stress applied one-dimensionally to a slurry of the soil and
then removed before drying started.
2 Assumed value.
3 Value derived from the slope of the full saturation line in Equation 2 has 81% degree of correlation. The line
the e-w plots presented by the authors. described by Equation 2 does not pass through point
{er /eo = 1, eo /eP = 0} as should theoretically be
expected. If the best-fit line is forced to pass through
experimental points rose to 30, obtained for 21 materi- point {er /eo = 1, eo /eP = 0} it is described by Equa-
als, ranging from pure high plasticity clays (even pure tion 3 which has 80% degree of correlation. Equation 3
kaolinites and montmorillonites) to silty sands. diverges only slightly from Equation 2 as shown by
In Figure 3, all the additional new data are plot- their comparison in Figure 4 (dashed and solid lines
ted (empty circles) over the experimental points from respectively).

383
 1.0 1.4
Data
+25%
Forced through 1 1.2
0.8
Best fit 1.0
+50%

Predicted er
0.6 (exponential)
–25%
er/eO

0.8
–40%
0.4 0.6

0.2 0.4

0.2 Outliers
0.0 in Fig. 5
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
0.0
eO/eL 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Measured er
Figure 4. Normalised residual void ratio er /eo vs nor-
malised initial void ratio eo /eP with best fit (exponential) Figure 6. Predicted values of er against measured values.
and if forced through point {er /eo = 1, eo /eP = 0}.

1.0 shown in Fig. 5) although it may overestimate it even

up to 50%. Still only 4 experimental points lie above
the +25% line (and below the +50% line). There-
0.8 Outliers fore for 24 out of 30 experimental points predicted
values of er from Equation 3 lie within a range of
±25% of the measured values, and for the whole set of
0.6 experimental points predicted values lie within a range
of +50%/−40% of the measured values. This scat-
er/eO

ter is very large, especially for the empirical relation

0.4 expressed by Equation 3 to be used for predictive pur-
+35%
poses. Still it is the belief of the authors that this scatter
is sufficiently low to support the theoretical relation
0.2 –35% between the parameters used. It is also sufficiently low
to justify the need for further experimental research on
0.0 various soils in pursuit of this type of empirical rela-
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 tion. Soils used in this research should be left to dry
eO/eP after they have been consolidated and unloaded to var-
ious eo values, ranging from those corresponding to
Figure 5. Normalised residual void ratio er /eo vs nor- slurries to those corresponding to high stresses (in the
malised initial void ratio eo /eP with best fit (exponential) order of MPa).
curve forced through point {er /eo = 1, eo /eP = 0} and
curves defining ±35%. Outliers are marked by dashed
circles.
4 EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE
  FOR NATURAL SOILS
er eo
= exp −0.38 · (3)
eo eP Apart from the additional data for reconstituted soils
left to dry from a slurry condition and reconstituted
As may be observed in Figure 5, all experimen- soils consolidated one-dimensionally to a maximum
tal data (with the exception of two outliers) lie within stress and then unloaded, a limited number of addi-
a range of ±35% from the line described by Equa- tional experimental data have been collected for nat-
tion 3. Predicted values of residual void ratio have been ural soils with structure that were left to dry. The
plotted against measured values in Figure 6. As it is experimental results are presented in Table 4. One of
observed, Equation 3 does not underestimate residual the soils was undisturbed Corinth Marl and the other a
void ratio by more than 25% (except for the outliers natural colluvium reported by Melgarejo et al. (2006).

384
Table 4. Index properties of natural soils tested or found in 1.0
the literature along with eo and er values.

wL Ip Gs Initial eo er
Soil (%) – – suction – –
0.8
Corinth Marl 34 12 2.67 9 kPa1 0.64 0.62
Colluvium2 95 48 2.65 1000 kPa3 1.10 0.80

1 Average value of suction measured in-situ with a Soil

0.6
Moisture Quickdraw tensiometer.
2 Melgarejo et al. (2002).

er/eO
3 Measured with calibrated filter papers.

Bardanis & Kavvadas (2004) have presented a labo-
ratory investigation of the virgin drying of the Corinth
Marls. These naturally occurring marls are found in
the greater area around the city of Corinth in Greece
and especially along the 6.3 km long and 80 m high
Corinth Canal. The excellent long-term stability of
the canal’s steep slopes (the canal is 115 years old
and its slopes have an inclination of 4.5:1 without
any benches or berms) has driven the research in the
engineering behaviour of the Corinth Marls, as their
structure and partial saturation contribute greatly to
the stability of the slopes. Being cemented, this natu-
ral material exhibits higher values of air-entry pressure
and residual void ratio than when reconstituted and
reconsolidated to the same void ratio as the natural
material. Bardanis & Kavvadas (2004) have attributed
this behaviour to the cementation of the undisturbed
Corinth Marl, which does not exist in the recon-
stituted/reconsolidated specimens. This point seems
to be the one more worthy of further investigation,
as experimental results for unsaturated properties of
marls (especially focusing on the effect of their cemen-
tation in their drying behaviour) are scarce, if any, in
the literature. More information on the engineering
behaviour of Corinth Marl and the role played by its
cementation may be found in Kavvadas et al. (2003).
Melgarejo et al. (2002) presented preliminary
results from their investigation into the unsaturated
properties of a colluvium from Brazil. What their
results show is that although the natural structured soil
has lower initial void ratio than the same soil recon-
stituted to a slurry condition, consolidated to 200 kPa
and then unloaded, they both dry to the same value of
residual void ratio.
In Figure 7 all the experimental data are plotted
along with these additional data for undisturbed spec-
imens of natural soils which are indicated by arrows
starting from the experimental points corresponding
to the same soils reconstituted, reconsolidated and
then unloaded. These data are very few. They indi-
cate however that natural soils exhibit a higher er /eo
ratio than that exhibited by the same soils when recon-
stituted, reconsolidated and unloaded. A general form
0.4
+35%
0.2 -35%
0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
eO/eP
Figure 7. Experimental points for slurries and overcon-
solidated samples with best-fit curve (exponential) forced
through point {er /eo = 1, eo /eP = 0}, the lines defining
±35% from the best-fit curve and two points for soils with
natural structure (empty circles with shade). The arrows start
from points corresponding to the same material reconstituted
and reconsolidated.
of an empirical equation predicting residual void ratio
therefore would have the characteristics of Equation 4;
a parameter me controlling the curvature of the expo-
nential equation and a parameter Ms introducing the
structure of natural soils. In this study me was found
equal to −0.38.
 
er eo
= Ms · exp me · (4)
eo eP
Parameter Ms cannot be measured yet with the very
limited data available so far and should be consid-
ered conceptual for the time being. Still its presence
is evident from the differences observed between
reconstituted /reconsolidated soils and natural soils.
Parameter Ms must take such values that er /eo never
becomes higher than unity. From Equation 4 therefore
it is easily obtained that although Ms is higher than
unity, it also has an upper bound found to be equal
to { exp[me · eo /eP ]}−1 . It is here emphasized that the
increasing factor Ms reflects the structure of natural
materials rather than that created by loading history.

385
The effect of this type of structure created in reconsti-
tuted soils is already taken into account in the empirical
relation by using as a correlating parameter the ratio
eo /eP rather than initial void ratio eo by itself.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The initial empirical relation proposed by Bardanis &
Kavvadas (2006) that relates residual void ratio er with
initial void ratio eo , liquid limit wL and specific grav-
ity Gs has been found valid for additional experimental
data from new tests and test results collected from vari-
ous publications. Although the scatter of the additional
experimental points seems evenly distributed on either
side of the linear relation proposed by Bardanis &
Kavvadas (2006), it is so large and the degree of corre-
lation has dropped so much that an alternative relation
where wL has been substituted with wP is proposed as
this exhibits higher degree of correlation. All experi-
mental points but two (out of a total of 30) lie within
a range of ±35% from the best-fit exponential equa-
tion. As far as actual values of er are concerned, for 24
out of 30 experimental points the predicted values lie
within a range of ±25% of the measured values, and
for the whole set of experimental points predicted val-
ues lie within a range of +50%/−40% of the measured
values. These ranges are very large for the proposed
equation to be used for predictive purposes. Still this
scatter is sufficiently low to support a soundly based
theoretical relation between the parameters used. It
is also sufficiently low to justify the need for further
experimental research on various soils in pursuit of
this type of empirical relation.
Despite these limitations of the proposed empiri-
cal relation, comparison of the experimental data for
reconstituted/reconsolidated soils with the very few
experimental points from tests on undisturbed sam-
ples of soils indicates that natural soils exhibit a higher
er /eo ratio than that exhibited by the same soils when
reconstituted, reconsolidated and unloaded. Although
this latter observation cannot yet be quantified (espe-
cially given the very small number of experimental
data available for soils with natural structure), it may
be conceptually expressed by the formulation of Equa-
tion 4, which introduces an empirical factor increasing
the value of residual void ratio predicted from eo ,
wP and Gs . This increasing factor is expected to be
a function of the structure of natural soils. Addi-
tional experimental data for more natural soils with
the accompanying data for the same soils after recon-
stitution and consolidation to a void ratio similar
to that of the natural soils, along with measurement
of the structure of these soils (for example by mea-
suring the yield stress of both the undisturbed sam-
ples and the reconstituted samples—after a loading
unloading loop to the in-situ vertical stress—under
386
one-dimensional conditions) will exhibit if this con-
ceptual formulation is sound. If it is, such analysis
will also yield a relation between the empirical factor
Ms and structure.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part of the research by M.E. Bardanis has been
funded by the National Scholarship Foundation (IKY)
of Greece.
REFERENCES
Abou-Bekr, N., Bendi-Ouis, A., Taibi, S. 2006. Characteriza-
tion of the clay of Sikkak earth dam core (west of Algeria).
In Miller et al (eds), Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated
Soils, Carefree, Arizona, 2–5 April, 2006, 1607–1616,
Reston, Virginia: ASCE Press.
Agus, S.S., Schanz, T. 2006. Drying, wetting, and suc-
tion characteristic curves of a bentonite-sand mixture. In
Miller et al. (eds), Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated
Soils, Carefree, Arizona, 2–5 April, 2006, 1405–1414,
Reston, Virginia: ASCE Press.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Bardanis, M.E., Kavvadas, M.J. 2004. Laboratory investiga-
tion of the virgin drying of the Corinth Marls, in T. Schanz
(ed.), Unsaturated Soils: Experimental Studies, Proc. of
the Int. Conf. ‘‘From Experimental Evidence towards
Numerical Modelling of Unsaturated Soils’’, Weimar,
17–18 September 2003, 421–432, Berlin: Springer.
Bardanis, M., Kavvadas, M. 2006. Prediction of the limit-
ing void ratio of clayey soils after drying. In Miller et al.
(eds), Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree,
Arizona, 2–5 April, 2006, 1085–1096, Reston, Virginia:
ASCE Press.
Cunningham, M.R., Ridley, A.M., Dineen, K., Burland, J.B.
2003. The mechanical behaviour of a reconstituted unsat-
urated silty clay. Géotechnique 53(2): 183–194.
Dineen, K. 1997. The influence of soil suction on com-
pressibility and swelling, PhD Thesis, Imperial College
of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of
London.
Fleureau, J.M., Kheirbek-Saoud, S., Soemitro, R., Taibi, S.
1993. Behavior of clayey soils on drying-wetting paths.
Can. Geotech. J. 30: 287–296.
Fleureau, J.M., Hadiwardoyo, S., Kheirbek-Saoud, S. 2004.
Simplified approach to the behavior of compacted soils
on drying and wetting paths. In Jucá et al. (eds), Proc.
3rd Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2002, 10–13
March 2002, Recife, Brazil 3: 1147–1154, Lisse: Swets &
Zeitlinger.
Fleureau, J.M., Verbrugge, J.C., Huergo, P.J., Correia, A.G.,
Kheirbek-Saoud, S. 2002. Aspects of the behaviour of
compacted clayey soils on drying and wetting paths. Can.
Geotech. J. 39(6): 1341–1357.
Fredlund, D.G. 2004. Use of soil-water characteristic curves
in the implementation of unsaturated soil mechanics. In
Jucá et al. (eds), Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils,
 UNSAT 2002, 10–13 March 2002, Recife, Brazil 3:
887–902, Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Fredlund, D.G., Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics for
Unsaturated Soils, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Kavvadas, M.J., Anagnostopoulos, A.G., Georgiannou, V.N.,
Bardanis, M.E. 2003. Characterisation and engineering
properties of the Corinth Marl, in Tan et al. (eds.), Proc.
Int. Workshop ‘Characterisation and Engineering Prop-
erties of Natural Soils’, Singapore, 2002, 2, 1435–1459,
Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Kohgo, Y. 2004. Elastoplastic models for unsaturated soils
with two suction effects and unsaturated soil behavior.
In Jucá et al. (eds), Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Unsaturated
Soils, UNSAT 2002, 10–13 March 2002, Recife, Brazil
3: 905–915, Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Melgarejo, M.L., Ridley, A.M., Dineen, K. 2002. A
comparison of the soil water characteristic curves for
reconstituted and undisturbed samples of a colluvium
387
from Rio de Janeiro. In Juca, et al. (eds), Proc. 3rd
Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2002, 10–13
March 2002, Recife, Brazil 1: 313–316, Lisse: Swets &
Zeitlinger.
Péron, H., Laloui, L., Hueckel, T., Hu, L. 2006. Experimental
study of dessication of soil. In Miller et al. (eds), Proc.
4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, Arizona,
2–5 April, 2006, 1073–1084, Reston, Virginia: ASCE
Press.
Pineda, J.A., Colmenares, J.E. 2006. Stress-strain-suction
behaviour of two clayey materials under unconfined con-
ditions. In Miller et al. (eds), Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, Arizona, 2–5 April, 2006,
1109–1120, Reston, Virginia: ASCE Press.
Toll, D.G. 1995. A conceptual model for the drying and wet-
ting of soil. In Alonso & Delage (eds), Proc. 1st Int.
Conf. Unsaturated Soils, Paris, 2: 805–810, Rotterdam:
Balkema.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

An evaluation of soil suction measurements using the filter paper method

and their use in volume change prediction

J.M. Cumbers & J.D. Nelson

Colorado State University & Tetra Tech, Inc., Fort Collins, CO, USA

K.C. Chao & D.D. Overton

Tetra Tech, Inc., Fort Collins, CO, USA

ABSTRACT: An evaluation of swell prediction utilizing the filter paper test for measurement of soil suction
was conducted in this investigation. Filter paper tests were conducted on four types of clay soils including
claystone of the Denver and Pierre Shale Formations, from Colorado, USA, Black Cotton clay from Texas, USA
and a sandy clay from Nunn, Colorado, USA. This paper presents the results of the filter paper calibration and
measurement of suction values at low water contents for unsaturated soils and their use in predicting volume
change. Total oven-dry suction values for the four soil types tested ranged from 6.32 pF to 6.51 pF. The calculation
of the suction compression index, Ch , based on an oven-dry suction value of 6.25 pF rather than an oven-dry
suction value of 6.4 pF results in an increase in Ch of 19.4% for the Denver formation and 16.0% for the Pierre
Shale tested.

1 INTRODUCTION One aspect of this relationship for which limited

At water contents greater than the shrinkage limit for a
given soil, decreasing water contents have been shown
to be directly related to increasing soil suction values.
This phenomenon also results in decreasing void ratios
as the water content increases. The slope of this rela-
tionship was determined to be linear for a silty clay
above the shrinkage limit (Hamberg, 1985; Nelson and
Miller, 1996) and because of that, the slope of the lin-
ear relation between water content and void ratio along
the SWCC can be used to predict volume changes or
free field heave.
When suction values are used as a means for esti-
mating the amount of volume change a soil will
undergo due to changes in water content, the end points
of the curve relating suction and water content are
important. McKeen (1992) suggested that the typi-
cal range of suction values over which volume change
will occur is between 9.8 kPa (2 pF) and 31,010 kPa
(5.5 pF). The higher end of this suction range corre-
sponds fairly well with the air-dry condition for the
soil. The oven-dry intercept for a typical soil was
found to exhibit a suction value of about 980,000 kPa
(6.25 pF) and McKeen’s method for calculation of pre-
dicted heave uses that value to determine the slope of
the suction versus water content relationship, or the
dh/dw parameter.
experimental data exists, is the soil suction values for
very dry to oven-dry water contents. The soil suc-
tion characteristics of four different clay soils were
observed by measuring the total and matric suction
of the specimens using the filter paper test method.
Filter paper tests were performed on remolded speci-
mens prepared at very dry water contents to measure
the suction potential of the soils in dry conditions.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Laboratory experiments were conducted on four dif-
ferent clay soil types: (1) a claystone from the Denver
formation, (2) a sandy clay identified as Nunn clay,
(3) a claystone from the upper Pierre Shale forma-
tion, and (4) a Texas Black Cotton soil. The first and
third soils were collected at residential sites in Denver,
Colorado and the second at a site near Nunn, Colorado.
The Texas soil was from a residential development east
of Austin, TX. The overall testing protocol included
a series of index tests to characterize the four soils, a
series of filter paper tests to measure the soil suction
over a prescribed range of water contents, and oedome-
ter tests to evaluate the potential for one-dimensional
swell.

389
2.1 Specimen preparation Kelvin’s equation and the measured relative humidity
and temperature within the container.
The clay soil specimens were prepared for the filter
The filter papers were removed from the containers
paper and oedometer testing using a modified moist
at intervals of 2 days, 4 days, 7 days and 11 days and
tamping system at the optimum water content and
weighed to determine the water contents. The calcu-
100% of the maximum dry density. The soils were
lated suction value was then correlated to the measured
initially allowed to air dry and were processed to pass
water content of the filter papers.
through the number 4 (4.75 mm) sieve.
The soil specimens were remolded and compacted
into rings suitable for the oedometer tests. The sam- 2.3 Filter paper tests
ple preparation procedure is presented in a companion
The specimens for the filter paper tests were prepared
paper (Chao et al. 2008).
in pairs. Each pair of brass rings were measured and
weighed. Based on the volume of the ring, the mass
2.2 Filter paper calibration of soil at optimum water content needed to fill the
ring at 100% of the maximum density was calculated.
The filter paper calibration curve for the batch of
This total mass was divided in fourths and compacted
Whatman No. 42 filter papers used in these experi-
into layers in the brass rings. Once the specimen pairs
ments was developed by Chao (2007) using a NaCl
had been compacted, they were placed in an oven at
solution and molalities ranging from 0.001 to 2.70.
110◦ C to reduce the water content. The objective vol-
The range of filter paper water contents evaluated
umetric water contents were 10%, 7.5%, 5%, 3%,
based on this range of molalities was approximately
2%, 1% and 0% or fully oven-dried. To achieve this,
13% to 35%. The resulting filter paper calibration
the specimens were removed periodically from the
curve is shown in Figure 1.
oven, allowed to cool briefly, and weighed. Based on
Because the suction measurements were being
the initial optimum water content and the change in
attempted for filter paper water contents below the
mass, the water content after drying was determined.
minimum water content for the calibration data (Chao,
Once the calculated water content had been reduced to
2007) that was being used, an effort was made to deter-
near the target water content, the drying process was
mine the total suction for filter paper with a water
discontinued.
content below 13%. To do this, a digital hygrometer
The specimens were then allowed to cool for
was sealed inside the lid of one of the filter paper con-
approximately one half-hour, and new measurements
tainers. Three oven-dried filter papers were placed in
of diameter and height were taken to calculate the
the container and the container was sealed. Three other
dried volume of the specimen. The specimens were
containers were also prepared each containing three
also weighed individually prior to being placed in the
oven-dry filter papers. This allowed simultaneous
sealed container for the filter paper test. The fil-
measurement of the relative humidity and tempera-
ter paper tests were performed according to ASTM
ture within the environment. The equilibrated water
D5298-03. Two sizes of Whatman No. 42 filter paper
contents of the filter paper could then be related
were used for the tests. The slightly larger diameters
to the relative humidity and temperature of the test
of papers were as placed on either side of the smaller
environment. The total suction was calculated using
diameter filter paper to provide protection from soil
contamination.
The filter papers were placed in the oven overnight
to remove any existing moisture. They were then
7.0
removed, handled only with tweezers and placed in
6.0 Data from 3-Week Equilibration Period a dessicator to cool for several minutes prior to being
Data from 2-Week Equilibration Period placed with the soil. Because of shrinkage during dry-
(kPa)

5.0
Whatman No. 42 Filter Paper ing the soil specimens typically slid easily out of the
brass rings in which they were compacted. Two pieces
Log Total Suction,

4.0

of measurement filter paper were sandwiched between

3.0
log = 5.4634 – 0.0933 wf the larger protective filter paper, and were placed on
r2 = 0.991
2.0 top of the bottom specimen. The upper specimen was
then placed on top of the protective piece of filter
1.0 log = 23.012 – 0.6389 wf
r2 = 0.712
paper. Electrical tape was wrapped gently around the
0.0 pair to seal the filter papers in-place and maintain good
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Filter Paper Water Content, wf (%) contact between the top and bottom specimens. The
combined pair of specimens was then lowered into a
Figure 1. Filter paper calibration curve for total suction plastic container with a resealable lid. A piece of metal
measurement (Chao, 2007). window screen, slightly larger than the diameter of the

390
specimens was placed on top of the upper soil speci- Table 1. Test conditions for filter paper calibration.
men and three additional filter papers were rested on
the screen. The lid was sealed and a piece of electrical avg.
tape was placed around the lid to provide an additional filter
seal for the jar. The container was then placed within paper
a climate-controlled box for 7 days at a temperature of Relative water
approximately 23.0◦ C(73.4◦ F). Temp. humidity content(1) Total suction
Time ◦C % % kPa, (pF)
After a seven-day equilibration period, the container
was opened and the mass of water within the filter Initial 23.4 22.3 – 204,488 (6.32)
papers was determined. Five water content tins with 2 Days 23.4 23.8 2.75 195,617 (6.30)
lids were weighed empty and cool using an enclosed 4 Days 23.3 23.3 2.73 186,156 (6.28)
scale, capable of precision to 0.0001 grams. Once the 7 Days 22.9 26.7 3.39 179,665 (6.26)
mass of the containers was obtained, the plastic jar 11 Days 23.2 28.5 4.29 170,950 (6.24)
containing the soil specimens and filter papers was
(1) Average of three filter papers.
unsealed and opened. The upper filter papers being
used for measuring total suction were quickly placed
into individual tins with lids and weighed. The pair 7.0
of specimens were then separated carefully to prevent Measured Total Suction

any soil contamination of the inner measuring papers. 6.0 Chao (2007)
ASTM Matric Curve
The two matric suction papers were then individually 5.0
weighed in covered moisture tins as well. The moisture
tins were then propped open slightly, to allow moisture 4.0

loss during drying, and then placed in the drying oven 3.0
R2 = 0.997
so that the water content of the filter papers could be
determined. The soil specimens themselves were then 2.0

weighed individually and placed in the drying oven in 1.0

order to determine the soil water content for the suction R2 = 0.713

values. The moisture content tins were handled with 0.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60
latex gloves to prevent oils from the skin from affect- Filter Paper Water Content, wf (%)

ing the weights of the tins. The filter papers were left in
the oven overnight to dry. The soil samples were oven Figure 2. Bilinear filter paper calibration curve for what-
dried for 48 hours. Each was weighed after that period man no. 42 filter paper (Modified from Chao, 2007 and
to determine the oven-dry mass and the water contents. ASTM).

3 RESULTS AND ANALYSES
3.1 Filter paper calibration
Four sets of three filter papers were prepared in sep-
arate containers and the papers were weighed at 2, 4,
7 and 11 days. The water content of the filter papers
did not vary between days 2 and 4 days but increased
by about 0.5% between days 4 and 7 and then by 0.9%
between days 7 and 11. Table 1 presents a summary
of the measured temperatures, relative humidities and
calculated suctions within the filter paper container
over the 11-day period.
The soil suction results were then calculated using
the calibration curves shown in Figure 2 which depicts
a bilinear interpolation of the calibration shown in
Figure 1 with the additional points included.
The additional points shown on the curve depict
the measured water contents of the filter paper which
ranged from 2.75% to 4.29% and the decreasing total
suctions for the monitoring period from 204,488 kPa
(6.32 pF) initially to 170,950 kPa (6.24pF) on day 11.
Figures 3 and 4 show second and third-order poly-
nomial equations that were fitted to the data. The
matric suction calibration curve shown by the dashed
line in the figures is the curve outlined in ASTM
D5298-03.
Compared to the linear curve fit, the correla-
tion coefficients did not increase significantly for the
second and third-order polynomial equations. Also
as indicated by the very small magnitudes of the
coefficients for the second and third-order terms,
even the polynomial equations represent a near linear
relationship.
3.2 Filter paper test results
The results for the four soils tested using the filter
paper method are summarized in Table 2. Each total
suction point represents the average total suction cal-
culated from the water content of three filter papers
and each matric suction value represents the average
matric suction calculated from the water content of

391
 7.0 Table 2. Summary of filter paper test results.
Measured Total Suction
6.0 Chao (2007)
Volumetric
ASTM Matric Curve Suction, kPa
5.0 Water
4.0
Soil type Content, % Total Matric Osmotic

3.0 Denver 8.22 158,928 118,903 40,025

R2 = 0.997 Formation 3.68 216,294 142,713 73,580
2.0 3.18 232,198 153,475 78,723
1.18 264,867 171,405 93,462
1.0
R2 = 0.713
1.05 263,371 160,226 103,145
0.0 1.08 274,736 160,635 114,101
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Oven-dry 238,293 168,242 70,051
Filter Paper Water Content, wf (%)
Oven-dry 254,014 163,126 90,888
Figure 3. 2nd-order polynomial filter paper calibration Nunn 10.59 29,083 22,009 7,074
curve for Whatman no. 42 filter paper (Modified from Chao, Clay 7.18 62,446 49,870 12,576
2007 and ASTM). 4.84 111,325 77,372 33,953
3.58 168,635 103,418 65,217
2.73 183,428 119,722 63,706
Oven-dry 301,573 177,495 124,078
7.0
Oven-dry 271,151 161,833 109,318
Measured Total Suction
6.0 Chao (2007)
Oven-dry 238,543 152,406 86,137
ASTM Matric Curve
5.0
Pierre 8.07 121,940 93,096 28,845
Shale 5.54 135,810 120,125 15,685
4.0 5.52 164,372 120,125 44,247
2.90 213,318 135,604 77,714
3.0 2.11 234,039 146,608 87,431
1.22 261,906 165,895 96,011
2.0 2
R = 0.998
Oven-dry 253,711 161,041 92,670
1.0 Oven-dry 263,967 167,516 96,451
R2 = 0.713
0.0 Texas 12.92 90,001 64,800 25,201
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Filter Paper Water Content, wf (%)
Black 6.05 187,292 121,900 65,392
Cotton 2.17 236,817 152,737 84,079
Clay 1.48 241,297 161,113 80,185
Figure 4. 3rd-order polynomial filter paper calibration 0.99 238,598 164,686 73,912
curve for Whatman no. 42 filter paper (Modified from Chao, 0.78 277,190 175,333 101,857
2007 and ASTM). Oven-dry 271,039 167,577 103,463
Oven-dry 288,347 162,567 125,780

two filter papers. The osmotic suction was calcu-

lated as the difference between the measured value
of average total suction and the average measured
value of matric suction. The Texas Black Cotton soil
(which was less expansive) had higher values of suc-
tion at oven-dry conditions. However, the differences
in values of total suction are most likely statistically
insignificant.
Two tests were run on oven-dried samples of each
soil type. The average total suctions resulting for the
four soils tested at oven-dry conditions are shown in
Table 3.
Table 3 presents the range of oven-dry total suction
values measured along with the inundation pressures
and the corresponding percent swell results for the
consolidation-swell tests. The more expansive soils,
Pierre Shale and Denver Formations have lower total
suction values at oven-dry water contents than the
Nunn Clay and the Texas Black Cotton clay.
4 DISCUSSION
Initially the filter paper test results were calcu-
lated using the calibration function developed by
Chao (2007) which extended only to a filter paper
water content of approximately 13%.
However, after additional points were obtained for
the curve, the test results were adjusted by using a new
curve fitted to the combined set of data covering the
broader range of filter paper water contents includ-
ing the dry end of the curve. With this adjustment to
the calibration curve, the importance of utilizing data
points over the full range of soil suction measurements
became evident. By adjusting the calibration curve
for total suction to include three additional points
over the range from oven-dry conditions to a water
content of 13%, gravimetric water content for the

392
Table 3. Summary of oven-dry suction values and percent 7.10

swell results. 7.00

Calculated Points Using Kelvin's Equation
6.90 Calculated Points Used in Calibration Curve
Overall average 6.80
Inundation Percent

Total Suction, pF
total suction(1)
pressure, swell, 6.70

Soil type kPa % kPa pF 6.60

6.50
Denver 9.58 5.23
6.40
formation 19.15 0.60 246,153 6.40
47.88 2.66 6.30

Nunn clay 9.58 0.40 6.20

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
19.15 0.37 270,422 6.44 Relative Humidity, %
47.88 −0.14
Pierre Shale 9.58 5.30 Figure 5. Plot of Kelvin’s equation and calculated filter
− − 258,839 6.42 paper calibration points.
47.88 4.18
Texas Black 9.58 2.59
Cotton 19.15 2.35 279,693 6.46
47.88 −0.89 at lower values. This would account for the value of
6.25 pF used by McKeen (1992) or the value of 6.40 pF
(1) Average values based on a minimum of two tests per soil calculated by Chao (2007).
with three filter papers each. Two important issues are related to this topic. The
first is that the lowest values of filter paper gravi-
metric water content measured for the oven-dry soil
filter paper—the total suction values calculated using specimens were approximately 1% with an average
the curve from Chao (2007) without the extended total suction of 6.43 pF which means the filter paper
range—increased in amounts up to 40%. method may not be capable of measuring suctions
The calibration curves for Whatman No. 42 filter higher than that unless the relative humidity of the
paper are shown in Figures 2 through 4 along with test environment is controlled at a more humid state
the fitted trendline equations and the R2 values for to perform the test. Second, as the relative humidities
each. Based on curve fitting of linear, second, and decrease, the calibration curve should be based on a
third-order polynomials, each provided a quality fit logarithmic function (as Kelvin’s equation is) rather
with R2 values that are essentially identical. However, than a linear interpolation extending to zero. This
because of the dramatic change in the test results by will also increase the value of the estimated oven-dry
adding just three points to the initial data set, addi- suction.
tional points along this calibration curve would likely
result in one of the curve fitting techniques being iden-
tified as superior to the others. The overall shape of the 4.1 The oven dry water content intercept and Ch
calibration curve tends to favor the third-order poly-
nomial (Leong and Rahardjo, 1997 and Fredlund and One of the primary objectives of this research was to
Xing, 1994). evaluate the total soil suction values for the test soils at
Figure 5 shows the total suction calculated from oven-dry water contents. Previous research has indi-
Kelvin’s equation. Kelvin’s equation is a function of cated that this point is located in the range of 6.0 pF to
relative humidity. 7.0 pF. McKeen (1992) stated that at zero water con-
tent the total suction is equal to 6.25 pF while data
  from Chao (2007) for the Denver Formation and the
RT P
ht = ∗ ln (1) Pierre Shale indicated an oven-dry intercept of approx-
ν Po imately 6.4 pF. However, the calibration curve used for
that data set likely caused a slight underestimation of
From Figure 5, the total suction at a water content those oven-dry results. Values measured for the Pierre
of zero is shown to be approximately 1,000,000 kPa Shale were 6.41 pF and 6.43 pF while values measured
(7.01 pF). A straight line drawn through the four points for the Denver Formation were 6.39 pF and 6.41 pF.
used in the calibration curve intersects the vertical The importance of this intercept is related to the pre-
axis at a suction value of approximately 6.60 pF while diction of volume change using the slope of the soil
extrapolation of points plotted more within the range of water characteristic curve (SWCC). The suction com-
relative humidities encountered in geotechnical engi- pression index, Ch (McKeen, 1992), which is used to
neering applications would intersect the vertical axis calculate volume change for a soil, can be calculated

393
directly from the slope of the SWCC between the exist-
ing water content of a soil and the assumed oven-dry
intercept. Because of this, as this value of the soil suc-
tion at an oven-dry condition decreases, the value of Ch
is going to increase, thereby resulting in higher values
of predicted volume change. Table 4 presents a sum-
mary of calculations of Ch assuming different values
of total suction, pFo , at an oven-dry state. The value
of Ch was calculated using water contents close to the
average in-situ water contents for the Denver Forma-
tion and the Pierre Shale tested in this research. For
the Denver Formation, a water content of 18.6% with
a total suction of 4.63 pF was used and for the Pierre
Shale a water content of 17.0% and a total suction of
4.31 pF was used. The calculated values are plotted in
Figure 6.
Calculating Ch based on an oven-dry suction value
of 6.25 pF rather than an oven-dry suction value of
6.4 pF will result in an increase in Ch of 19.4% for
the Denver formation and 16.0% for the Pierre Shale
tested. Often the value of this oven-dry intercept is
assumed to be a constant value for all soils when
predicting volume change for a particular soil. For the
soils tested, which generally cover an assorted range
Table 4. Comparison of Ch values calculated using different
oven-dry suctions.
Oven-dry suction
pFo
6.25
6.40
6.42
6.44
6.46
7.0
0.00
–0.05
Suction Compression Index, Ch
–0.10
–0.15
–0.20
–0.25
–0.30
–0.35
–0.40
–0.45
6 6.1 6.2
Figure 6. Effect of oven-dry total suction on computed
values of suction compression index, Ch .
of swell potentials, the oven-dry suction values var-
ied over a range of 63,280 kPa (0.06 pF). This means
that assuming the same suction value for the oven-dry
water content of a non-expansive soil and an expansive
soil may result in miscalculation of the swell potential
for both soil types. However, the range in values of
oven-dry suctions is quite small and the differences
measured may be due to the difficulties in calibrating
the filter papers at very low water contents.
A statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the
results obtained from the individual filter papers for
the soil specimens prepared at oven-dry water con-
tents. Tests for equal variances were carried out to
determine if the total suction values at oven-dry water
contents, for each soil, displayed normal distribu-
tions. Additionally, student T-tests were performed
using varying sets of oven-dry data, both among soil
types and combining soil types into groups to deter-
mine if the total suctions were statistically different
for the four soil types. The statistical results indi-
cate that there is no significant difference between the
results obtained for the Denver Formation and those
obtained for the Pierre Shale. The values obtained for
the Nunn Clay and the Texas clay were found to be
significantly statistically different from the claystones
yet not significantly different from each other.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Denver formation Pierre Shale
Total suction values at oven-dry water contents for
Calculated values of Ch using equation the four soil types tested ranged from 206,060 kPa
by Perko (2000) (6.32 pF) to 315,021 kPa (6.51 pF). The soil with the
−0.279 −0.179 largest percentage of clay size particles, Texas Black
−0.233 −0.154 Cotton clay, did exhibit the highest average suction
−0.228 −0.151 value at oven-dry conditions and the Nunn Clay which
−0.223 −0.149 has the largest range of particle sizes, and had the least
−0.218 −0.146 plasticity, exhibited the largest range of oven-dry suc-
−0.130 −0.093 tion values. Using values of the oven-dry total suction
within the range of values measured appears to have a
significant effect on the calculated value of the suction
compression index Ch .
REFERENCES
ASTM D 5298–03. 1994. Standard Test Method for Mea-
surement of Soil Potential (Suction) Using Filter Paper.
Denver 1996 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 04.09, Soil
Pierre Shale and Rock, American Society for Testing and Materials,
West Conshohocken, PA.
Chao, K.C. 2007. Design Principles for Foundations on
Expansive Soils. Dissertation, Colorado State University,
6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 7 Fort Collins, Colorado.
Total Suction at Oven-Dry Conditions, pFo Chao, K.C., Nelson, J.D., Overton, D.D. and Cumbers, J.M.
2008. Soil Water Characteristic Curves for Remolded
Expansive Soils. First European Conference on Unsat-
urated Soils. Durham, United Kingdom.
394
Cumbers, J.M. 2007. Soil Suction for Clay Soils at Oven-
Dry Water Contents and the End of Swelling Conditions.
Thesis. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Fredlund, D.G. and Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the
soil-water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, Vol. 31. pp. 521–532.
Hamberg, D.J. 1985. A simplified method for predicting
heave in expansive soils. M.S. thesis, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, CO.
Leong, E.C. and Rahardjo, H. 1997. Review of Soil-Water
Characteristic Curve Equations. Journal of Geotechnical
and Geoenvironmental Engineering. pp. 1106–1117.
395
Nelson, J.D. and Miller, D.J. 1992. Expansive Soils: Problems
and Practice in Foundation and Pavement Engineering,
Wiley, New York.
McKeen, R.G. 1992. A Model for Predicting Expansive
Soil Behavior. 7th International Conference on Expansive
Soils. Dallas, Texas, USA. pp. 1–6.
Perko, H.A., Thompson, R.W., and Nelson, J.D. 2000. Suc-
tion Compression Index Based on CLOD Test Results.
Geo-Denver 2000. pp. 393–408.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Validation of a swelling potential index for expansive soils

J.L. Zheng, R. Zhang & H.P. Yang

School of Highway Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Hunan, China

ABSTRACT: A new swelling potential index for expansive soils, the Standard Absorption Moisture
Content (SAMC), was recommended in Chinese Specifications for Design of Highway Subgrades JTG D30-
2004. In order to validate the index, sixteen soils were obtained from six typical areas where expansive
soils exist in China. Extensive tests on soil properties indicative of swelling potential, such as Atter-
berg limits, free swelling ratio, clay content, SAMC, cation exchange capacity, specific surface area and
montmorillonite content, were conducted. Correlations between the various indices were obtained and
analyzed. The study shows that SAMC is more strongly correlated with the mineralogical and chemical
properties, which determine swelling potential in nature, than other physical indices. Therefore, the new
swelling potential index was validated to be reliable to identify and classify swelling potential of expansive
soils.

1 INTRODUCTION 2003). The maximum linear shrinkage ratio, plas-

Soil property indices are the basis for identifying
expansive soils and grading their swelling potential
(Tan, 2007). Numerous studies have been carried
out to obtain a suitable soil property index that can
reflect and grade swelling potential of expansive
soils.
Karathanasis & Hajek (1985) found montmoril-
lonite content (MC) as the only consistent soil property
that significantly correlated with laboratory-measured
shrink-swell potential. Ross (1978) concluded that
swell potential of montmorillonitic soils were cor-
related with clay content (CC) and specific surface
area (SSA). Gill & Reaves (1957) described cation
exchange capacity (CEC), saturation moisture (SM)
and plastic index (PI) as some of the most rep-
resentative properties in the estimation of swelling
potential having established them as highly corre-
lated to the SSA. Snethen et al. (1977) evaluated
17 swelling indices and concluded that liquid limit
(LL) and PI are the best indicators of potential swell
and Parker et al. (1977) concluded swell index (SI)
(Lambe 1960) and PI were superior to other indices.
The free swelling ratio (FSR), defined as the volume
increment of oven-dried soil passing 0.5 mm sieve
and fully swelling in a graduated flask with distilled
water expressed as a ratio of the initial volume of the
soil (10 ml), is used as the sole swelling potential
index in the Chinese Technical Code for Building in
Expansive Soil Area (China Ministry of Construction
tic limit (PL), the shrinkage limit, potential volume
change index were also suggested and recommended
by some researchers (Parker et al. 1977, Williams
1958).
The indices used to characterize swelling poten-
tial of expansive soils can be classified into two
types. The first type mainly involves mineralogical
and chemical properties, such as MC, SSA, CEC,
which determine the expansion of soils in nature
(Mitchell 1976, Shi et al. 2002) and are reasonable
to be used as swelling potential indices (Tan 2007).
The second type involves physical properties, such
as FSR, SI, Atterberg limit, swelling pressure, shear
strength, and others, and are easily influenced by
external environment and testing factors resulting in a
wide range of values and misleading swelling potential
grade. Thomas et al. (2000) suggested that shrink-
swell behavior can best be predicted by examining
a combination of physical and mineralogical proper-
ties. However, because the mineralogical and chemical
properties are not easy to be measured, it is hard to
apply them to grade swelling potential in engineering
practice.
In order to find a new swelling potential index,
which would be easily measured and strongly corre-
lated with the mineralogical and chemical properties
of expansive soils, Yao et al. (2004) conducted many
tests and put forward the standard absorption mois-
ture content (SAMC). The index has been temporarily
adopted as an index of the swelling potential rating

397
Table 1. Swell potential rating system.
Swell potential class SAMC (%) PI (%) FSR (%)
Low 2.5–4.8 15–28 40–60
Medium 4.8–6.8 28–40 60–90
High >6.8 >40 >90
system for expansive soils (Tab. 1) in the Chinese Spec-
ifications for Design of Highway Subgrades (China
Ministry of Communications 2003). However, the
index has been tested only for a small range of expan-
sive soils, so the applicability to identify and classify
expansive soils still needs further study. The objec-
tives of this study was to validate and evaluate SAMC
as a swelling potential index through (1) quantifying
physical and mineralogical properties of 16 expan-
sive soil samples in 6 areas in China, (2) examining
and analyzing the correlation between SAMC and the
mineralogical indexes, and (3) comparing the results
of classifying swelling potential. It should be noted
that the method has not yet been compared with direct
measurements of swelling potential on undisturbed
samples.
2 THE STANDARD ABSORPTION
MOISTURE CONTENT
2.1 Definition and physical meaning of SAMC
The standard absorption moisture content (SAMC)
is the equilibrium water content when the soil is
dried from its natural water content at (25 ± 2)◦ C and
(60 ± 3)% relative humidity.
The moisture absorbed on the surface (and in the
interlayers) of montmorillonite mostly contributes to
the amount of moisture absorption of the soil in this
condition (Yao et al. 2005). The more montmorillonite
the soil sample contains, the bigger SAMC is. There-
fore, SAMC indirectly reflects the montmorillonite
content of the soil.
2.2 Test methods of SAMC
The devices used to measure SAMC of expansive soils
are as follows:
1. Constant Humidity Container, a glass container
with 1000 ml saturated or oversaturated sodium
bromide (NaBr) solution in the bottom, and it
should be placed in a room at 25◦ C (Figure 1).
2. Oven where the temperature can be controlled at
105–110◦ C to dry samples.
398
seal
glass container
box
soil sample
porous plate
saturated salt solution
Figure 1. A glass container (Constant Humidity).
3. Desiccator, a glass container similar to the one
shown in Figure 1, but with calcium chloride
powder in the bottom instead of saturated salt
solution.
4. Aluminum Box which is 1.5 cm in height and 6 cm
in diameter and used to hold samples in the oven,
desiccator or constant humidity container.
5. Electronic Balance with measurement precision
of 0.001 g.
The test procedure is as follows:
1. Weigh the oven dried aluminum box with the
electronic balance, record the weight as W0 .
2. Cut undisturbed soil into slices, put 4 g of them into
the box, weigh the aluminum box and soil sample
together and record the weight as W1 .
3. Place the aluminum box holding the soil sample on
the porous plate in the constant humidity container.
Then seal the container and place it in a room with
constant temperature of 25◦ C.
4. Take out and weigh the box holding the soil sam-
ple every day, then put it back into the container.
Observe the change of weight till it changes little.
Record the final weight as W2 .
5. Put the box holding soil sample into the oven and
keep for 5 hours at 105–110◦ C.
6. Take the box out of the oven and put it into the
desiccator. Keep for 1 hour to make its temperature
reach the room temperature. Then, weigh the box
holding soil sample as W3 .
The SAMC can be calculated according to the
following formula,
W2 − W 3
wa = (1)
W3 − W0
Where wa = SAMC (%); W2 −W3 = the maximum
weight of absorbed moisture (0.001 g); and W3 −W0 =
the weight of dry sample (0.001 g).
 To ensure accuracy, parallel tests should be con-
ducted. The permissible error is 0.2%, with regard the
average. The average value is taken as the final result.
3 MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Sampling site selection
Sampling sites were carefully selected based on six
physiographic zones described by Liao (1984). Undis-
turbed soil samples were obtained from Ningming
basin and Nanning basin in the autonomous region
of Guangxi Zhuangzu, Nanyang basin in Henan prov-
ince, Hanzhong of Shanxi Province, and Zhaotong and
Chuxiong of Yunnan province. These places are typi-
cal of areas in China that have widespread distributions
of expansive soils. Sampling locations and description
are summarized in Table 2.
3.2 Laboratory tests
Laboratory tests include measuring SAMC as well as
Atterberg limits, free swelling ratio (FSR), particle-
size distribution, CEC, SSA and mineralogical com-
position; these are usually used as swelling potential
indices. The samples were sieved to remove coarse
fragments >2 mm prior to analysis for the various
indices. The Atterberg limits (PL, LL, PI), were
measured according to JTJ-051-93: T0118-93 (China
Ministry of Communications 1996). FSR was mea-
sured according to JTJ-051-93: T0124-93. The grain
size analysis was conducted with the addition of
(NaPO3 )6 as a dispersant to better determine the
dispersive capability of the soil in its natural state.
Then, the clay content (the percentage <0.002 mm)
was obtained through the grain size analysis. The
clay minerals were especially examined using X-ray
diffractometry (XRD). To identify the clay minerals
quantitatively, the specimens were treated to remove
organic matter, carbonates and iron oxides, and ori-
ented glass slides were prepared in three ways: normal,
heated and glycolated (Al-Homoud et al. 1996). As
a result, MC was obtained. The water-air adsorption
balance method was used to examine specific surface
area (SSA) of soil specimens. Total cation exchange
Table 2. Sampling locations and description.
Location Origin Source of materials
Ningming Eluvial Claystone, shale
Naning Lacustrine Weathering of mudstone
Hanzhong Pluvial Weathering of metamorphic rock
Dengxian Pluvial Weathering of marlite
Zhaotong Eluvial Weathering of claystone
Chuxiong Lacustrine Weathering of marlite
399
capacity (TCEC) and exchangeable cations were deter-
mined by atomic absorption spectroscopy.
It has been reported that air-dry samples and oven-
dry samples could also be used in the SAMC test
(Xu et al. 2006). However the initial water content,
microstructure of the sample and the change of mois-
ture content in the test would be different so the
measured SAMC would be less real. Therefore, undis-
turbed samples were still used in the SAMC test.
3.3 Statistical analysis
Correlation coefficients of the linear relationships
between SAMC and MC, SSA, and CEC were used
to validate SAMC as a swelling potential index for
expansive soils. In addition, Pearson’s correlation
coefficients of the relationships between the various
physical properties indices and the obtained miner-
alogical soil properties were used to reevaluate the
usual indices for rating swelling potential of Expansive
Soils.
4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
The main laboratory test results are summarized in
Table 3. According to the results, the linear relation-
ship and the correlation coefficients between SAMC
and MC, SSA, and CEC has been analyzed and is
shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 respectively.
Figure 2 shows a strong linear correlation between
SAMC and MC, the regression coefficient is 0.960. It
can be explained as follows: expansive soils typically
contain strongly hydrophilic clay minerals (mont-
morillonite and illite). Montmorillonite is the main
mineral influencing the shrink-swell behavior of the
expansive soils due to the high ability to absorb water
on inner and outer surfaces of montmorillonite crys-
tals. The adsorbability is 1013.3 to 2026.5 MPa. In
the standard test condition (25◦ C in temperature and
60% in relative humidity), the absorbability is very
stable. There is also illite, kaolinite and other clay
mineral in expansive soils, but their ability to absorb
water is much lower than montmorillonite’s. The water
Geological times Geomorphology unit Sample no.
N–Q1 Hilly area 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Q3 –Q4 Intermountain basin 7, 8, 9
Q1 –Q2 Basin and terrace ridge 10, 11
Q2 –Q3 Basin and terrace ridge 12, 13
N2 –Q1 Intermountain basin 14, 15
N2 –Q1 Second terrace 16
Table 3. Soil parameters for expansive soils.

Depth PL LL PI FSR CC SAMC CEC SSA MC

Sample no. m % % % % % % meq/1 kg m2 /g %

1 1.5 27.5 55.9 28.4 45 40.1 6.6 198.4 175.46 21.65

2 3.5 30.4 60.0 29.6 44 47.1 5.9 199.2 170.9 19.07
3 9.9 24.1 52.6 28.5 18 28.2 4.9 212.9 161.11 17.64
4 12.0 21.9 44.2 22.3 20 23.7 4.1 219.3 158.06 15.52
5 1.5 27.1 59.7 32.6 75 52.1 6.2 221.8 194.76 20.01
6 6.0 28.2 56.9 28.7 58 48.2 6.3 228.5 191.38 20.14
7 2.0 23.4 51.0 27.6 87 46.7 3.5 164.3 121.25 12.76
8 5.0 23.6 48.6 25.0 68 43.5 3.4 161.9 112.78 12.39
9 8.0 24.3 49.3 25.0 65 45.7 3.6 166.8 99.21 11.51
10 2.3 18.6 39.6 21.0 47 38.3 4.7 225.9 145.34 16.37
11 4.8 19.3 36.8 17.5 38 32.4 4.5 230.1 122.74 11.4
12 2.0 24.5 59.2 34.7 98 48.2 7.3 275.1 237.13 26.73
13 4.5 21.6 49.9 28.3 87 43.6 6.1 246.5 192.36 22.46
14 2.0 31.5 78 46.5 145 62.2 11.1 354.2 335.38 40.07
15 5.0 34.8 83.4 48.6 127 53.8 13.1 385 356.2 40.95
16 2.0 22 44.2 22.9 65 48.9 3.9 165.4 152.48 12.53

50 400
MC = 3.275 SAMC + 0.612 CEC = 22.09 SAMC + 97.32
CEC (me/1kg)

40 2 350 2
R = 0.960 R = 0.883
300
MC (%)

30
250
20
200
10 150
0 100
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
SAMC (%) SAMC (%)

Figure 2. Relationship between standard absorption mois- Figure 4. Relationship between standard absorption mois-
ture content and montmorillonite content. ture content and cation exchange capacity.

400
350 SSA= 26.03 SAMC+ 28.23 and SAMC is strongly correlated with montmoril-
2 lonite content (MC).
SSA (m 2/g)

300 R = 0.952
250 Figure 3 and Figure 4 also show good linear rela-
200
tionships between SAMC and SSA and CEC. This is
because the specific surface area of montmorillonite
150
is larger than specific surface area of Illite and other
100
clay minerals. Therefore, the larger the SSA, the bigger
50
SAMC. It has been found that CEC is highly correlated
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 with SSA (Gill & Reaves, 1957), so it is reasonable
SAMC (%)
that a good linear relationship occurs between SAMC
and CEC.
Figure 3. Relationship between standard absorption mois-
ture content and specific surface area.
In conclusion, SAMC is strongly correlated with the
mineralogical soil properties. Montmorillonite is the
main reason why an expansive soil undergoes appre-
absorbed by montmorillonite accounts for a large per- ciable volume following a change in moisture content.
centage of the water in an expansive soil in this test Cation exchange capacity reflects the adsorbability of
condition. Therefore, SAMC reflects the degree of the crystal lattice of expansive soil, the amount and
montmorillonite present, the more montmorillonite type of cation are the extrinsic factors that influence the
contained in expansive soils, the bigger the SAMC, hydrophilicity and shrink-swell behavior of expansive

400
soils. Therefore, SAMC also reflects the basic proper- Table 6. Classification results.
ties of expansive soils, and it could be a swelling index
for expansive soils. Sample no. Method 1 Method 2
Table 4 gives the Pearson’s correlation coefficients
1 moderate moderate
(r) of the relationship between the various physi-
2 moderate moderate
cal property indices and the mineralogical properties 3 moderate moderate
indices (MC, SEC, and SSA). It shows that the PI is 4 low low
also strongly correlated with the mineralogical indices. 5 moderate moderate
This is because PI not only represents the dispersibility 6 moderate moderate
of clay minerals of expansive soils due to exchange- 7 low low
able cations but also reflects the degree of absorbtion 8 low low
of water by osmosis which directly influences the 9 low low
shrink-swell ability of expansive soil. 10 low low
11 low low
However, the other indices, PL, free swelling ratio
12 high moderate
(FSR) and clay content (CC) are not well correlated 13 moderate moderate
with the mineralogical indices. As for FSR, it cannot 14 high high
reflect the characteristic of expansive soils and the test- 15 high high
ing result is influenced by many extrinsic factors, as a 16 low low
result it gives a wide range of values. CC can not repre-
sent the swelling potential either, because the potential
is mainly controlled by strongly hydrophilic clay min- 5 CONCLUSIONS
eral such as montmorillonite. If soil only contains most
of weakly hydrophilic minerals such as kaolinite, even Based on the above research results, the following
if the clay content is large, it would not mean that the conclusions can be drawn:
soil possesses high swelling potential. 1. The swelling potential indices can be classified
In order to validate the applicability of the new as physical properties indices and mineralogical
index SAMC and the swelling potential rating sys- properties indices. Mineralogical properties indices
tem recommended in the Chinese Specifications for involve montmorillonite content, specific surface
Design of Highway Subgrades, the swelling potential area and cation exchange capacity. These reflect
of expansive soil samples were classified according and influence shrink-swell behavior of expansive
to Method 1, the rating system shown in Table 1, and soils in nature, and therefore they are reliable
Method 2, the rating system which mainly involves swelling potential indices.
mineralogical and chemical properties indices and is 2. The standard absorption moisture content is lin-
shown in Table 5. The classification results are sum- early correlated with mineralogical properties of
marized in Table 6. The consistency between the expansive soils, it possesses clear physical mean-
results of the two methods shows that the recom- ing and reflects the characteristic of expansive soils,
mended swelling potential rating system involving the and therefore it can be used as a swelling index.
new swell index SAMC may correctly identify and 3. The classification results of the recommended
classify swelling potential of expansive soils. swelling potential rating system involving of the
new swell index SAMC are consistent with the rat-
Table 4. Correlations between physical indices and miner- ing system mainly involving of the mineralogical
alogical indices. properties indices. It shows that swelling poten-
tial of expansive soils can be correctly identified
r PL LL PI FSR CC SAMC and classified according to the recommended rat-
MC 0.759 0.912 0.940 0.748 0.580 0.979 ing system. This suggests that SAMC can be used
SSA 0.585 0.781 0.927 0.666 0.414 0.940 practically as a swelling index. However, it should
CEC 0.745 0.901 0.818 0.738 0.580 0.975 be noted that the method has not yet been compared
with direct measurements of swelling potential on
undisturbed samples.
Table 5. Swelling potential rating system (China Ministry
of Railways, 2001). REFERENCES
Swell potential class MC (%) CEC (meg/kg) FSR (%)
Al-Homoud, A.S., Khoury, H. & Al-Omari, Y.A. 1996.
Low 7–17 100–190 40–60 Mineralogical and engineering properties of problematic
Medium 17–27 190–360 60–90 expansive clayey beds causing landslides. Bulletin of the
High >27 >360 >90 International Association of Engineering Geology, 54:
13–31. Paris.

401
China Ministry of Communications. 2003. Specifications
for Design of Highway Subgrades JTJ013-2002. Beijing:
China communications Press, China.
China Ministry of Communications. 1996. Test Methods of
Soils for Highway Engineering JTJ051-93. Beijing: China
Communications Press.
China Ministry of Construction. 2003. Technical Code for
Building in Expansive Soil Area GBJ112-87. Beijing:
Chinese planning press.
China Ministry of Railways. 2002. Code for Rock and Soil
Classification of Railway Engineering TB 10077-2001.
Beijing: China Railway Publishing House.
Gill, W.R. & Reaves, C.A. 1957. Relationships of Atter-
berg limits and cation-exchange capacity to some physical
properties of soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 21: 491–494.
Karathanasis, A.D. & Hajek, B.F. 1985. Shrink-swell poten-
tial of montmorillonitic soils in udic moisture regimes.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49:159–166.
Lambe, T.W. 1960. The character and identification of expan-
sive soils. Fed. Housing Admin. Rep. 701. U.S. Gov. Print.
Office, Washington, DC.
Liao, S.W. 1984. Expansive Soil and Railway Engineering.
Beijing: Chinese Railway Publishing Press.
Mitchell, J.K. 1976. Fundamentals of Soil Behavior. New
York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Parker, J.C., Amos, D.F. & Kaster, D.L. 1977. An evaluation
of several methods of estimating soil volume change. Soil
Soc. Am. J. 41: 1059–1064.
Peck, R., Hanson, W. & Thornburg, T. 1974. Foundation
Engineering. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Ross, G.J. 1978. Relationships of specific surface area and
clay content to shrink–swell potential of soils having
402
different clay mineralogical compositions. Can. J. Soil
Sci. 58: 159–166.
Shi, B., Jiang, H.T. & Liu, Z.B. 2002. Engineering geological
characteristics of expansive soils in China. Engineering
Geology 67: 63–71.
Snethen, D.R., Johnson, L.D. & Patrick, D.M. 1977. An
evaluation of expedient methodology for identification of
potentially expansive soils. Soil and Pavements Labora-
tory, U.S. Army Eng. Waterway Exp. Sta., Vicksburg, MS,
Rep. No. FHWA-RE-77-94, NTIS PB-289-164.
Tan, L.R. 2007. Identification and Classification of Swell-
shrinking Soil. Soil Engineering and Foundation. 21(4):
85–88.
Thomas, P.J., Baker, J.C. & Zelazny, L.W. 2000. An expansive
soil index for predicting shrink-swell potential. Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J. 64: 268–274.
Williams, A.B. 1958. Discussion of the prediction of total
heave from double oedometer test. South African Institu-
tion of Civil Engineers, 5(6): 49–51.
Xu, X.C., Chen, S.X. & Yu, F. 2006. Effect of different
sampling methods on standard absorption water content.
Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering.
25(10): 2135–2139.
Yao, H.L., Yang, Y. & Cheng, P. 2004. Standard moisture
absorption water content of soil and its testing standard.
Rock and Soil Mechanics. 25(6): 856–859.
Yao, H.L., Cheng, P., Yang Y., & Wu, W.P. 2005. Theory
and practice concerning classification for expansive soils
using standard moisture absorption water content. Science
in China Ser. E. Engineering & Materials Science. 48(1):
31–40.
Shear behaviour
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effect of moisture content on tensile strength and fracture toughness

of a silty soil

M.R. Lakshmikantha, P.C. Prat, J. Tapia & A. Ledesma

Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: Determination of fracture parameters (tensile strength, fracture toughness) is essential in deter-
mining the cracking behaviour of soils. In drying soils, a crack initiates when the tensile stresses exceed the soil
strength. Crack propagation is considered to be governed by the stress state in the crack front and subsequent
dissipation of fracture energy, for which Fracture Mechanics Theory can be used. In this context characterizing
the soil for these two parameters require two different testing equipments. The tensile strength was determined
using existing equipment (direct method) at the Soil Mechanics Laboratory of UPC whereas new equipment was
designed for the fracture toughness determination. The results of tensile strength tests are consistent with pub-
lished literature. Fracture toughness decreases as the moisture content increases; an attempt is made to explain
this using the concept of Rate Process Theory and Activation Energy of soils.

1 INTRODUCTION soil densities, with average moisture content ranging

In a drying soil, a crack initiates when the tensile
stresses exceed the soil strength. Crack propaga-
tion is considered to be governed by the stress state
in the crack front and subsequent dissipation of
fracture energy, for which Fracture Mechanics Theory
can be used. In this context determination of frac-
ture parameters (tensile strength, fracture toughness)
is essential in determining the cracking behaviour.
Characterizing the soil for these two parameters
require two different testing equipments. The ten-
sile strength was determined using existing equipment
(direct method) at the Soil Mechanics Laboratory of
UPC whereas new equipment was designed for the
fracture toughness determination.
To determine fracture toughness, two sizes (medium
and big) of compact tension (CT) tests specimens were
used. Originally there was another size (small) of CT
test specimen, but due to the problems with sample
preparation and handling the tests were not conducted
with this size. Apart from the determination of frac-
ture toughness, the effect of moisture content was
also studied.
Tensile strength of soils is an important indicator,
as it depends on various other properties of soil. Until
recently, determination of the soil’s tensile strength has
not received the attention it deserves, mainly because
of the difficulty of the experimental set-up. It is known
that the tensile strength of soils varies with the degree
of saturation (moisture content) as well as with the
density, so, the tensile strength was determined for two
from 12% to 30%.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 The soil
The soil used in the experiments is a Barcelona silty
clay collected from a construction site near the labo-
ratory at a depth of approximately 4 m below ground
surface. This type of soil is commonly found in the
area and has been extensively studied in the past in
the laboratory, its geotechnical and hydro-mechanical
properties being well known (Barrera 2002). Figure 1
shows typical grain size distribution and water reten-
tion curves for the soil used in the experiments. It is
a fine grained soil, with 60.6% passing the No.200
sieve. Its main characteristics are: unit weight of soil
particles γs = 27.1 kN/m3 ; liquid limit wL = 32%;
plastic limit wP = 16%. According to the unified soil
classification system, the soil can be classified as low
plasticity clay (CL).
2.2 Compact tension tests
The equipment for the determination of fracture tough-
ness (KIC ) was developed at the Soil Mechanics
Laboratory of UPC, using the equipment design of
Ávila (Ávila 2004). Test specimens of two different
sizes were tested (Table 1) at different moisture con-
tent, with a constant density γ = 1.95 ± 0.05 kN/m3 .
Figure 2 show the schematics of the equipment.

405
 The dry soil was sieved through a mechanical sieve
of 1.18 mm (sieve no. 16); the material passing was
used for the test. Distilled water was added in required
quantity to achieve the intended moisture content.
Once a visibly homogeneous paste was obtained, its
moisture content was determined before pouring it
into the CT-moulds. Moisture content was determined
again when the experiment was completed. The CT-
mould was filled with the prepared material in three
layers in order to have a homogeneous density. Load-
ing pins were inserted to the specimens after removing
from the moulds and a Methacrylate plate was inserted
between the specimen and the nuts of the loading pin
in order to ensure the correct load transmission to the
right fracture zone just below the initial crack. The
load was applied manually, with a constant frequency.
The fracture load was determined counting all the
weights in the loading pan after the specimen failed.
The procedure was repeated for all the specimens.
The moisture contents of the test specimens were
16%, 18%, 19%, and 21%, with an initial crack length
of 10, 15, and 20 mm for the medium and 20, 30, and
40 mm for the big specimen. For each size, moisture
content and initial crack length, tests were repeated
with a minimum of two specimens and in some cases
with three. A total of 55 specimens were tested.
Table 1 gives the details of the geometry of the
test specimens, with length (L), width (B), and thick-
ness (W). A circular hole of diameter (φ) was made
form a distance (d) to the edge of the specimen for
loading pins.
Figure 1. a) Grain size distribution; b) typical water reten- P
tion curves for different dry unit weights (Barrera 2002). KI = √ k̂(α) (1)
B D
KI2
Table 1. Details of CT-test specimens. GIC = (1 − ν 2 ) (2)
E
L B W d φ Fracture toughness (K) was calculated by eq.1,
Mould (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) where D is the characteristic dimension of the spec-
Medium 60 25 45 15 12
imen (in the present case W = D); P is the fracture
Big 120 50 90 30 24 load; and B is the width of the specimen. k̂(α) is a
function depending on the geometry of the specimen
(α = a/W). k̂(α) was calculated using two different
empirical formulas, given by Eq. 3 (ASTM-E399-83
1983) and Eq. 4 (Srawley 1976). The fracture energy
(G) was calculated using Eq. 2, with υ = 0.3 and
E = 4.2 MPa (Barrera 2002).
k(α) = (30.96α − 195.8α 2 + 730.6α 3 − 1186.3α 4
+ 754.6α 5 ) (3)
k(α) = (2 + α)
 
0.886 + 4.64α − 13.32α 2 + 14.72α 3 − 5.6α 4
×
(1 − α)3/2

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of CT-test equipment. (4)

406

Figure 3. Schematic diagram of direct tensile strength
equipment.
2.3 Direct tensile strength test
Tensile strength was determined using an equipment
designed by Rodríguez (Rodríguez 2002), the equip-
ment is similar to the one explained by Mikulish
and Gudeus (Mikulish and Gudeus 1995). The equip-
ment is made up of 3 main parts, (see fig. 3): two
pieces of trapezoidal shape, one fixed and another
one freely movable on application of external force,
and a central part that is removed just before the
application of the load; this is the only part of the
specimen which will be subjected to tension during
the test.
A total of 42 tests were conducted for two different
densities (18 tests with γ = 16 kN/m3 , and 24 tests
with γ = 19 kN/m3 ) with average moisture content
ranging from 12% to 30%. For each density and mois-
ture content the tests were repeated with a minimum of
two specimens and in some cases three. The soil used
and the preparation of the material was the same as
explained earlier for the fracture toughness tests. The
depth of the soil placed in the equipment was fixed
and the weight of the soil was varied to obtain differ-
ent densities. The tensile strength (σT ) was calculated
directly by dividing the area of soil under tension by
the total load applied.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1 Tensile strength
The tensile strength was determined for two densities
and at different moisture contents. Figure 4 shows the
407
variation of the tensile strength with moisture content
for all tests carried out. The maximum tensile strength
is obtained with a moisture content of about 16% to
17%. The OMC (Optimum Moisture Content) of the
soil is around 13.5% with a degree of saturation of
approximately 80%.
According to Towner (Towner 1987), the ten-
sile strength is a material property that depends in
general on both suction and water content. More-
over the relationship also depends on the degree of
inherent or induced anisotropy that may exist in the
material.
Several methods are available to determine the ten-
sile strength of soils. Accuracy of the values depends
on the test methods used and the equipment. The direct
method is considered to be the most straightforward
and reliable. In the present study, because of the trape-
zoidal shape of the equipment, the tension was applied
only to the central zone.
Figure 4 shows the variation of tensile strength with
moisture content for two dry densities. A clear dif-
ference in the tensile strength for different densities
on the dry-side is observed, whereas on the wet-side
the difference is smaller. Similar behaviour has been
observed by other authors (Favaretti 1996; Tamarakar,
Toyosawa et al. 2005; Rodríguez 2006).
3.2 Fracture toughness
Figure 5a shows the variation of fracture load for the
two specimen sizes (medium and big) at various mois-
ture contents. As a common and well known trend, here
also the fracture load increases with decrease in initial
crack length (Lee, Lo et al. 1988; Nichols and Grismer
Figure 4. Variation of tensile strength with moisture
content.
 bond ruptures that constitute the mechanism of frac-
ture are provoked by the energies of thermal vibrations
(Cottrell 1964). This is valid for many materials:
metals, glass, ceramics, rocks, concrete, etc. which
can be considered as single phase and/or continu-
ous medium. Soils, however are particulate media,
and usually two-phase (solid particles and pore fluid
when fully saturated) or three-phase systems (solid-
pore fluid-air when un-saturated). The most important
characteristic of such materials is the behaviour of
stress-strain relationship depending on the degree of
saturation keeping aside the temperature effects. At
a given temperature the variation in degree of satura-
tion will affect the stress-strain behaviour. Therefore
the fracture behaviour of soils depends largely on the
variation of degree of saturation (suction and tensile
strength) which affects the fracture toughness.
Figure 6 shows the fracture toughness vs mois-
ture content. The data points follow an exponential
behaviour, with decreasing K values for increasing
moisture content. Bazant and Prat (Bazant and Prat
1988) observed a similar behaviour on the fracture
energy of concrete with temperature. Fracture energy
decreased exponentially with increase in temperature.
They used Rate Process Theory and Activation Energy
to explain the behaviour, which generally follows a for-
mula of the type ȧ = f (K) exp(−U /RT ) (Cherepanov
1979), where U = activation energy of bond rup-
ture; R = universal gas constant; T = absolute
temperature; K = stress intensity factor; and f (K) =
empirical monotonically increasing function.
Further studies are necessary to establish the appli-
cability of the rate process theory and activation energy

Figure 5. (a) Fracture load (b) Fracture energy.

1997) irrespective of specimen size and moisture con-

tent. Other observed important behaviour, particular to
soils, is the effect of moisture content on the fracture
load: fracture load decreases as the moisture content
of the test specimens increases for both sizes’s tested.
Figure 5b shows the variation of the fracture energy,
G, with the initial crack length. The regression lines
calculated with the ASTM and Srawley methods show
that G is approximately constant (Lee, Lo et al. 1988)
for a given moisture content, proving that G is a
material constant (depending on moisture content for
soils).

3.3 Activation energy

It is generally accepted that fracture is a thermally Figure 6. Variation of fracture toughness with moisture
activated rate process. This means that the atomic content.

408
to explain the variation of fracture toughness with soil
moisture change.
4 CONCLUSIONS
At lower moisture contents (drier moisture content to
OMC), the effect of density is more pronounced on the
tensile strength, whereas at moisture content wetter to
OMC, there seems to be little effect of density and is
almost negligible at saturation.
Fracture toughness (Mode I) of Barcelona Silty
soil significantly depends on the moisture content. It
decreases monotonically with the increase in mois-
ture content. The data points of fracture toughness vs
moisture content follow an exponential curve. Similar
behavior was observed for concrete with temperature.
This prompts to check the applicability of Rate Pro-
cess Theory and Activation Energy to explain such a
behavior.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The research reported in this paper has been carried
out within the framework of two research projects
financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education
and Science (BIA2003-03417 and CGL2006-09847).
Their support is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
ASTM-E399-83. 1983. Standard test method for plane-
strain fracture toughness of metallic materials. American
Society for Testing and Materials.
Ávila, G. 2004. Estudio de la retracción y el agrietamiento
de arcillas. Aplicación a la arcilla de Bogotá (In Spanish).
Technical University of Catalonia.
409
Barrera, M.B. 2002. Estudio experimental del compor-
tamiento hidro-mecánico de suelos colapsables (In Span-
ish). Technical University of Catalonia.
Bazant, Z.P. and Prat, P.C. 1988. ‘‘Effect of temperature and
humidity on fracture energy of concrete.’’ ACI Materials
Journal (July–August): 262–271.
Cottrell, A.H. 1964. The Mechanical Properties of Matter.
New York, John Wiley & Sons.
Cherepanov, G.P. 1979. Mechanics of brittle fracture. New
York, McGraw-Hill Book Co.
Favaretti, M. 1996. Tensile strength of compacted clays. State
of the art in Unsaturated Soils, E.E. Alonso and P. Delage,
eds, Rotterdam, Balkema.
Lee, F.H., Lo, K.W. et al. 1988. Tension crack development
in soils. ASCE J. Geotech. Engrg. 114(8): 915–929.
Mikulish, W.A. and Gudeus, G. 1995. Uniaxial tension, biax-
ial loading and wetting tests on loess. First Int. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils, Paris, Balkema/Presses des Ponts et
Chaussées.
Nichols, J.R. and Grismer, M.E. 1997. Measurement of frac-
ture mechanics parameters in silty-clay soils. Soil Science
162(5): 309–322.
Rodríguez, R. 2006. Hydrogeotechnical characterization of
a metallurgical waste. Canadian Geotechnical Journal
43: 1042–1060.
Rodríguez, R.L. 2002. Estudio experimental de flujo y trans-
porte de cromo, níquel y manganeso en residuos de la zona
minera de Moa (Cuba): Influencia del comportamiento
hidromecánico (In Spanish). Technical University of
Catalonia.
Srawley, J.E. 1976. Wide range stress intensity factor
expressions for ASTM E-399 standard fracture toughness
specimens. Int. J. Fracture 95: 475–476.
Tamarakar, S.B., Toyosawa, Y. et al. 2005. Tensile strength of
compacted and natural soils using newly developed ten-
sile strength measuring apparatus. Soils and Foundations
45(6): 103–110.
Towner, G.D. 1987. The mechanics of cracking of drying
clay. J. Agric. Engrg. Res 36: 115–124.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Tensile strength of some compacted fine-grained soils

A.J. Lutenegger & A. Rubin

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

ABSTRACT: Compacted soils are generally unsaturated soils, at least initially after compaction, although
they may become saturated over time as a result of rising water tables, surface water infiltration, etc. The tensile
strength of compacted soils can be an important design parameter for earth dams and embankments and should
be considered in the design and development of earthwork specifications. A laboratory study was performed to
determine the tensile strength of four compacted soils representing a wide range of geologic materials including
an alluvial clay from Mississippi, a Piedmont residual soil from Georgia, a loess soil from Nebraska and a
lacustrine clay from Massachusetts. Proctor curves for each soil were developed using Reduced, Standard, and
Modified compaction energy. Following compaction the tensile strength of each specimen was determined using
the Double Punch Test. The results showed that the Double Punch Test is most reliable near the Optimum Water
Content. The measured tensile strength for each water content in the range of OWC ±6% was normalized by the
tensile strength at the Optimum Water Content for each level of compaction effort. The results showed a linear
trend between Normalized Tensile Strength and the deviation from the Optimum Water Content.

1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 Tensile strength of compacted soils
The tensile strength of soils has received relatively
minor attention in the past 40 years, perhaps because
it is assumed that the tensile strength is a small quan-
tity in comparison to compressive strength or perhaps
because engineers have a poor understanding of ten-
sile strength. Tensile failure of soils can occur in
natural soils, such as in slope failures, landslides,
or cuts or in compacted soils in slopes, embank-
ments, dams, or clay liners. The development of
tension cracks in soils is an indication that tensile
strength may be important in various design situa-
tions. Compacted soils are by default unsaturated and
they may remain unsaturated throughout their life or
they may take on water as a result of water infil-
tration or water flow, as through an earth dam. The
engineering properties of compacted soils are there-
fore dependent on a range of water content that the
soil may have after compaction, but in some cases
may be critical immediately after compaction has been
completed.
Previous studies on the tensile strength of com-
pacted clays have used both Direct Tensile Tests (e.g.,
Tschebotarioff et al. 1953; Dash and Lovell 1972;
Ramiah et al. 1977) and Indirect Tensile Tests (e.g.,
Narain and Rawai 1970; Fang and Chen 1971, 1972;
Satyanarayana and Satyanarayana Rao 1972; Fang and
Fernandez 1981; Favaretti 1991, 1995) to evaluate ten-
sile strength. By far, the majority of previous studies
have used Indirect Tensile Tests, including: 1) the Split
Tensile Test; 2) Bending Tests; and 3) the Double
Punch Test.
1.2 The Double Punch Test
The Double Punch Test (DPT) was developed by Fang
and Chen (1971, 1972) as an indirect method for
determining the tensile strength of compacted soils.
A schematic of the Double Punch Test is shown in
Figure 1. The Double Punch Test is essentially an
unconfined splitting test which is performed by first
centering a standard cylindrical compaction specimen
between two steel discs centered on the top and bot-
tom of the specimen. A vertical load is then applied
slowly on the discs until the specimen reaches fail-
ure. The tensile strength of the soil is then calculated
from the maximum load using the theory of plas-
ticity. Fang and Chen (1972) plotted the results of
tensile strength as calculated by the Double Punch Test
versus the Split Tensile Test and found an excellent
comparison.
The Double Punch Test is an attractive approach to
determining tensile strength of compacted soils for a
number of reasons; 1) the test is easy to perform and

411
 clay from Mississippi; 2) Geo-Hydro (GH)—a
Piedmont residual clay from Atlanta Georgia;
3) Nebraska Loess (NBL)—a Late Wisconsinan loess
deposit from east-central Nebraska; 4) Connecticut
Valley Varved Clay (CVVC)—a lacustrine clay and
silt deposit from Amherst, Massachusetts. The soils
represent a wide range of geologic materials. Stan-
dard engineering properties of the four soils are given
in Table 1.

2.2 Test procedures

Test specimens were compacted using Standard
Proctor (SP), Modified Proctor (MP) and Reduced
compaction energies. Reduced compaction (RP) is
identical to Standard Proctor except that each layer
only receives 15 drops of the Standard hammer instead
of 25 drops. After compaction, specimens were
extruded from the compaction mold and Double Punch
Figure 1. Schematic of the Double Punch Test. Tests were performed. Test specimens were carefully
centered between the top and bottom loading stainless
requires no particular special equipment aside from a steel punches which had a diameter of 25 mm. Align-
loading frame and a set of steel punches; 2) the test ment of top and bottom punches was rechecked and
may be performed in conjunction with a Proctor com- zero readings were taken on an LVDT and electronic
paction test; 3) it appears that the tensile strength is load cell connected to an automated data acquisition
not sensitive to the rate of strain within the range of system. Specimens were loaded at a constant rate of
0.03 to 2.0 in per min.; 4) the test results appear to vertical displacement of 0.5 mm per minute until peak
be very closely correlated to results from the Split load was reached.
Tension Test. The tensile strength was calculated using the
However, the test is not without limitations: 1) the approach presented by Fang and Chen 1971; 1972) as:
test procedure is not standardized; 2) Fang and Chen
(1972) found that the punch size affects the tensile σt = P/(π(kbH − a2 )) (1)
strength and recommend punch diameters between
12.5 mm and 37.5 mm to be used on Proctor compaction where:
specimens; 3) homogeneity of the soil is assumed, but
this is an unavoidable deviation from the ideal found σt = tensile strength
in nearly all soil tests; 4) when very soft high water P = maximum observed load
content clays (i.e., very wet of the Optimum Water k = tan(2α + ϕ) ≈ 1
Content) are placed on the bottom punch, they may a = radius of the punch
slump or barrel out or the punches may simply penetrate b = radius of specimen
into the ends of the specimen without creating a true H = height of specimen
tensile failure; 5) when soils compacted very dry of α = angle of the cone to the surface
the Optimum Water Content are tested, the failure may ϕ = friction angle of the soil
not follow the idealized assumed tensile failure plane.
The value of k in Equation 1 takes into account the fric-
Overall, for soils compacted slightly below and
tion angle of the soil, ϕ, the sample punch dimension
slightly above the Optimum Water Content, the test
appears to provide very useful results. It is in this range
of water content where the engineer is most interested Table 1. Summary of soil properties of soils tested.
for compacted works.
Liquid Plastic Shrinkage
limit limit limit clay
Soil (%) (%) (%) (%)
2 INVESTIGATION
BSC 52.6 21.4 7.5 35.8
2.1 Soils tested GH 38.0 18.0 18.0 30.1
NBL 34.6 20.9 17.5 22.3
Four fine-grained soils were selected for testing; CVVC 47.1 26.1 20.4 37.9
1) Buckshot Clay (BSC)—a high plasticity alluvial

412
ratio bH/a2 , and the soil compression-tensile strength Table 3. Summary of compaction and tensile strength tests.
ratio qu /σt (Fang and Chen 1972). According to Fang
and Chen (1972) the value of k for soils compacted Water Dry Tensile
in a Proctor mold is approximately 1. Favaretti (1995) content density strength
suggested that using a k value of 0.9 would provide Specimen (%) (Mg/m3 ) (kPa)
a better correlation between results from the Double Buckshot Clay
Punch Test and the Brazilian Test. 1R 10.7 1.42 3.8
2R 16.8 1.40 10.8
3R 19.1 1.43 10.4
4R 21.9 1.55 10.0
3 RESULTS 5R 24.1 1.45 5.4
1S 10.3 1.54 11.3
Table 2 gives a summary of the Optimum Water Con- 2S 15.4 1.48 16.5
tent (OWC) and the Maximum Dry Density (MDD) 3S 18.1 1.60 18.1
obtained for each level of compaction energy for each 4S 21.6 1.61 15.6
of the four soils. Results of all compaction and tensile 5S 24.5 1.60 8.3
strength tests are given in Table 3. 1M 10.7 1.64 21.6
Figures 2 and 3 show the variation in tensile strength 2M 15.4 1.68 38.2
3M 18.0 1.64 33.1
with compaction water content and compacted dry
4M 20.7 1.70 17.6
density for all tests. The results are highly scattered 5M 23.8 1.64 11.0
and clearly show no apparent trend. This is generally
to be expected as the soil specimens exhibit degrees Geo-Hydro
of saturation from 60% to 90% along the compaction 1R 9.8 1.51 4.5
2R 12.8 1.52 10.1
curves for each of the compaction energies. It should
3R 15.1 1.71 8.8
be expected however that for a given soil dry den- 4R 17.7 1.72 5.7
sity the soil with the lower degree of saturation, will 5R 19.2 1.70 3.7
exhibit higher tensile strength. Some of the variation 1S 9.4 1.62 7.9
in Figures 2 and 3 may be related to problems in the 2S 12.2 1.63 16.6
testing procedure discussed in paragraph 1.2. 3S 16.2 1.75 15.5
This is particularly noticeable at very low and very 4S 19.3 1.77 4.2
high water content. At these extreme water contents, 5S 20.0 1.78 3.4
the soil dry densities are low and difficulties in per- 6S 24.0 1.72 1.3
1M 8.6 1.70 15.7
forming the Double Punch Test are encountered. In
2M 11.4 1.79 36.6
particular, at very low water content, failure of the 3M 15.6 1.90 16.4
specimens is very abrupt and the specimen often does 4M 20.1 1.70 3.7
not fail along vertical failure planes as assumed; at 5M 21.4 1.73 2.1
very high water content, the end punches simply pene-
Nebraska Loess
trate into the ends of the specimen without producing a
1R 11.5 1.53 9.3
tensile failure. Based on these observations, it appears 2R 14.8 1.57 8.5
that the DPT is likely to be most applicable within 3R 17.8 1.62 7.6
a relatively narrow range of water content near the 4R 19.3 1.60 5.0
Optimum Water Content where the soil behaves more 5R 22.6 1.59 2.0
plastic. 1S 10.6 1.65 14.5
Figure 4 shows the variation in tensile strength for 2S 13.3 1.68 14.3
the Buckshot Clay as a function of the compaction 3S 17.2 1.71 8.4
4S 19.5 1.70 5.9
Table 2. Interpreted optimum water content and maximum 5S 24.0 1.56 1.3
dry density. 1M 9.0 1.67 26.7
2M 14.1 1.80 26.6
Reduced Standard Modified 3M 17.8 1.79 8.4
4M 20.4 1.72 5.5
OWC MDD OWC MDD OWC MDD 5M 23.9 1.61 1.8
Soil (%) (Mg/m3 ) (%) (Mg/m3 ) (%) (Mg/m3 ) CVVC
1R 8.1 1.41 1.9
BSC 22.5 1.61 21.0 1.63 20.0 1.73 2R 12.3 1.41 2.9
GH 20.0 1.71 18.5 1.78 15.6 1.90 3R 15.9 1.38 3.8
NBL 17.8 1.62 17.0 1.71 15.0 1.81 4R 19.8 1.41 6.0
CVVC 25.0 1.43 22.5 1.59 19.7 1.71
(continued)

413
Table 3. (continued) 50
Buckshot Reduced
Water Dry Tensile 40 Buckshot Standard
content density strength

Tensile Strength (kPa)

Specimen (%) (Mg/m3 ) (kPa) Buckshot Modified
30
5R 25.0 1.43 6.5
1S 7.8 1.48 4.6 20
2S 10.4 1.50 5.7
3S 15.2 1.52 10.6
4S 21.2 1.53 11.9 10
5S 24.9 1.59 7.5
1M 7.8 1.58 18.3
0
2M 11.9 1.58 19.5 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
3M 15.1 1.66 24.3
4M 19.7 1.71 19.3 Water Content Deviation from OWC (%)
5M 23.4 1.65 3.7
Figure 4. Relationship between tensile strength and devia-
tion from OWC.
50
Buckshot Table 4. Interpreted tensile strength at optimum water
GeoHydro content.
40
Nebraska
Tensile Strength (kPa)

CVVC
Tensile strength (kPa)
30
Soil Reduced Standard Modified
20
BS 8.0 15.0 22.5
GH 3.0 7.5 20.0
10 NBL 7.2 9.0 17.5
CVVC 6.0 10.5 15.5
0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
Water Content (%)
may be estimated from the linear trends shown in
Figure 4. The other three soils showed similar results.
Figure 2. Variation in tensile strength with water content.
The interpreted tensile strength at the OWC for
each level of compaction energy for all four soils is
50
given in Table 4. The interpreted tensile strength at
Buckshot
GeoHydro the OWC may be then used to calculate the ‘‘Normal-
40 Nebraska ized Tensile Strength’’, i.e. tensile strength at any water
Tensile Strength (kPa)

CVVC content divide by the tensile strength at OWC. As an

30 example, the variation in Normalized Tensile Strength
as a function of the deviation from the OWC for the
20 Buckshot Clay is Figure 5. These results also show an
approximate linear trend.
10
The combined Normalized Tensile Strength results
for all four soils are shown in Figure 6. Even though the
soils represent a wide range in geologic and geographic
0
1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0
origin and have different properties, there appears to
be a unifying linear trend between the Normalized Ten-
Dry Density (Mg/m3 ) sile Strength and the deviation of water content from
the OWC for all levels of compaction energy within
Figure 3. Variation in tensile strength with dry density. the window of water contents just below and just above
OWC. Some of the variability shown in Figure 6 may
water content deviation (both + and −) away from the simply be related to the interpretation of the Opti-
Optimum Water Content. The data indicate a variation mum Water Content from the compaction curve for
that is approximately linear over the range OWC ±6%. each soil.
Since it is unlikely that a specimen will be compacted The water content deviation from the OWC shown
exactly at the OWC, the tensile strength at the OWC in Figure 6 is actually quite large (±6%) and most

414
 3 a project. The results appear to be insensitive to soil
Buckshot Reduced type, at least within the range of characteristics for the
Buckshot Standard four soils tested.
Normalized Tensile Strength

Buckshot Modified
2 Regression Line

4 CONCLUSIONS

1 The tensile strength of four fine-grained soils was eval-

uated using the Double Punch Test for three different
levels of compaction energy. The results suggest that
the Double Punch Test can be used to reliably esti-
0 mate the tensile strength of compacted soils and is
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
most applicable at water contents near the OWC. At
Deviation from Optimum Water Content (%) extreme water content both dry and wet of OWC there
are difficulties with the test in determining the tensile
Figure 5. Variation in Normalized Tensile Strength with strength of the soil. The results also show a general
deviation from OWC for Buckshot Clay.
global linear trend between the Normalized Tensile
4 Strength and the water content deviation away from the
OWC, particularly in the range of OWC ±4%, which
is a typical working range for many field compaction
Normalized Tensile Strength

Buckshot
3 GeoHydro specifications.
Nebraska
CVVC
2 Trend Line REFERENCES

Dash, U. and Lovell, C.W., Jr. 1972. Tensile Strength of

1
0 Record (345): 62–68.
-6
Deviation from Optimum Water Content (%)
Figure 6. Variation in Normalized Tensile Strength with
deviation from OWC for all four soils.
likely somewhat unrealistic for an actual field appli-
cation for compacted soil, considering typical com-
paction specifications. The data shown in Figure 6
still indicate considerable scatter at low water content.
A more realistic range in water content for field
compaction specifications would likely be on the order
of OWC ±3 to 4% depending on other design cri-
teria. The results shown in Figure 6 suggest that
tensile strength of compacted fine-grained soils may
be described using Normalized Tensile Strength rela-
tive to the deviation of compacted water content away
from the OWC within the window of typical field com-
paction procedures. This is convenient since it is only
necessary to determine the tensile strength at the OWC
in order to predict the range in tensile strength of other
conditions of water content and compacted density on
Clays. Proc. 3rd Southeast Asian Conference on Soil
Engineering: 205–210.
Fang, H.Y. and Chen, W.F. 1971. New Method for Deter-
mination of Tensile Strength of Soils. Highway Research
-4 -2 0 2 4 6 Fang, H.Y. and Chen, W.F. 1972. Further Study of Double-
Punch Test for Tensile Strength of Soils. Proc. 3rd South-
east Asian Conference on Soil Engineering. 211–215.
Fang, H.Y. and Fernandez, J. 1981. Determination of Tensile
Strength of Soils by Unconfined Penetration Test. ASTM
STP 740: 130–144.
Favaretti, M. 1991. Tensile Strength Tests on Cohesive Com-
pacted Soils. Proc. 9th Asian Regional Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1, 37–40.
Favaretti, M. 1995. Tensile Strength of Compacted Clays.
Proc. 1st International Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
1: 51–56.
Narain, J. and Rawai, P.C. 1970. Tensile Strength of
Compacted Soils. Journal of the Soil Mechanics and
Foundations Division, ASCE, 96 (SM6): 2185–2190.
Ramiah, B.K., Purusothsama Raj, P., Chickanagappa, L.S.
and Raghunatth, S.P. 1977. Some Studies on the Tensile
Strength of Soils. Proc. 5th S.E. Asian Conference on Soil
Engineering: 327–337.
Satyanarayana, B. and Satyanarayana Rao, K. 1972. Mea-
surement of Tensile Strength of Compacted Soil. Geotech-
nical Engineering, 3: 61–66.
Tschebotarioff, G.P., Ward, E.R. and DePhilippe, A.A. 1953.
The Tensile Strength of Disturbed and Recompacted Soils.
Proc. 3rd International Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, 1: 207–210.

415
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Unsaturated characteristics of rammed earth

P.A. Jaquin, C.E. Augarde & L. Legrand

Durham University, Durham, UK

ABSTRACT: Rammed earth is both an ancient construction technique and the name for the material produced
by the technique. Rammed earth is gaining in popularity around the world due to its ecological and sustainable
attributes. Walls of rammed earth are formed by taking a graded mixture of (usually) locally-won soil and
compacting the mixture between formwork in a similar manner to concrete. The formwork is then removed
leaving a solid earth wall. There is little scientific understanding of the source of strength in rammed earth and
design to date has used empirical approaches. In this paper we consider rammed earth as an unsaturated soil
thus explaining one source of strength to be from suction. Laboratory tests have been carried out on rammed
earth samples including unconfined compression and Brazilian tests (to measure strength) and filter paper tests
(to determine the water retention properties). The tests all indicate that a source of strength in rammed earth
derives from suction and conclusions are drawn as to their levels in ancient rammed earth structures.

1 INTRODUCTION cement or another stabiliser is added to improve dura-

Rammed earth is both a material (a compacted mix-
ture of sand, gravel and clay) and the name for the
construction procedure whereby walls are built using
this material rammed in layers between formwork. The
technique has been used by man for thousands of years
and many historic structures containing rammed earth
features remain standing to this day. Examples include
the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and the Alhambra
in Granada, Spain (Guillaud et al. 2004). Historic
rammed earth structures have been studied by engi-
neers and archaeologists at Durham for a number of
years (e.g. Jaquin et al. 2006).
The use of rammed earth for building has to date
relied on empirical rules developed from experience,
and often linked to a particular location in the world.
A large number of heritage rammed earth structures
exist, some of considerable antiquity. They are most
commonly located in a belt around the equator reach-
ing as far north as the UK (Jaquin et al. 2007). The
nature of the material is such that arid conditions are
favourable for long term durability and there are now
concerns for the future of some of these structures
under the effects of climate change.
Increased interest in rammed earth for new build-
ings is being seen in countries away from this tra-
ditional zone of past use. The reason for this is
the inherent sustainability of the material (it can be
re-used), the often local sourcing and the avoidance of
the use of cement. An exception to the last of these is
the material termed ‘‘stabilised’’ rammed earth, where
bility. In the tests described later in this paper we will
be concerned only with unstabilised rammed earth.
Rammed earth mix design is somewhat of a black
art with advice varying according to location, soil type
and occasionally cultural constraints. A typical mix is
well-graded, containing particles in each of the four
soil fractions: gravel, sand, silt and clay. Walker et al.
(2005) indicate that the majority of modern rammed
earth mixes lie in the following ranges of percentages
by mass: sand and gravel, 45–80%; silt 10–30% and
clay, 5–20%. The large size of these ranges provides
further evidence of the empirical nature of rammed
earth design.
It is clear that a material which can be formed
into vertical walls which stand for hundreds of years
has some cohesive strength. The source for this could
be cementation between particles; however, walls
can also be built from plain unstabilised rammed
earth where no cementation is present. The source of
strength must then lie elsewhere and suction appears
to be a prime candidate, although to our knowledge
this has not been highlighted before.
Few studies exist where rammed earth is char-
acterized as an engineering material using rigor-
ous testing procedures. One example is Lilley and
Robinson (1995) who describe tests on rammed earth
walls built at near full-size studying the effects of
making (or forming) various openings. In this work
the authors undertook rudimentary materials testing
including cube tests (as for concrete) finding com-
pressive strengths of 1.8–2.3 MPa. Another example

417
can be found in a series of papers by Hall (e.g. Hall
and Djerbib, 2004) where the hydraulic behaviour is
linked to particle size distribution through experimen-
tal and analytical work. However neither of these or
the few other published studies make the link between
suction and strength in rammed earth.
Our contention is that rammed earth can be regarded
as a compacted unsaturated soil. Modern rammed
earth is usually prepared and compacted into place
at optimum moisture content. With further drying,
made easy by the large surface area of the walls,
the material must reach a very low degree of satura-
tion. This is likely to be even lower than the degree
of saturation found in compacted soils with which
geotechnical engineers are familiar. Therefore high
suctions must be generated within the walls, hence
providing some apparent cohesion. The purpose of
the research described below is to begin to verify this
theory. If rammed earth can be regarded as a manu-
factured unsaturated soil it is then possible to bring a
greater degree of scientific rigour to the study of the
material and to the development of economic design
codes.
Clearly this suction-induced increase of apparent
cohesion with drying cannot be unlimited. A com-
pletely dry rammed earth mix would have no apparent
cohesion due to suction as no water would be present.
However this is both unrealistic (as rammed earth in a
structure will never completely dry) and in the labo-
ratory as, even at oven dry conditions (i.e. zero water
content), adsorbed water will still be present on clay
particles and will be available to generate suctions.
Other studies (e.g. Toll and Ong, 2003) have shown
that in soils similar to rammed earth the contribution
to strength from suction reduces as the degree of sat-
uration reduces, so although suction increases as the
soil dries out, the contribution to strength reaches a
peak and then drops away (Toll, 1990). The appar-
ent cohesion in rammed earth is therefore expected to
peak between the two limits of zero water content and
saturation.
1.1 Suction and relative humidity
Rammed earth includes particles with a much greater
range of sizes than in the unsaturated soils that
are commonly studied. However, there is no reason
why the presence of water in liquid bridges should
not provide strength through established mechanisms.
A liquid bridge exists in a soil pore where both air
and water are present in the pore space. The surface
tension acting at the interface of the water and air,
combined with tension in the water, act to provide
an attractive force across the pore, which provides
an unsaturated soil with an apparent cohesion. This
liquid bridge force between the soil particles was
first idealised by considering the soil particles to be
418
spherical (Fisher 1926) assuming a wetting angle of
zero. Developments of this theory towards realistic
soils has progressed via the works of Gillespie and
Settineri (1967) who extended to a finite liquid-solid
contact angle, and Pietsch (1968) who took account
of surface roughness of the particles by assuming a
separation distance between idealised smooth spheres.
Lian et al. (1993) provided a mathematical basis for
the interactions between a liquid bridge and rough
rigid spheres which were applied more recently by
Molenkamp and Nazemi (2003). It is clear that further
developments could begin to approach the pore struc-
tures likely to be present in rammed earth, with large
particle size ranges, angularity and surface roughness.
In addition, at the continuum level double-structure
models for unsaturated soils (as reviewed recently in
Gens et al. (2006)) could provide suitable frameworks
for constitutive modelling of rammed earth materials.
The effect of relative humidity (RH) is particularly
important for rammed earth due to the large exposed
surface areas. Total suction s (the sum of matric and
osmotic suctions) is linked to the relative humidity of
the pore air through Kelvin’s equation, which can be
expressed as
ρw RT
s=− ln(RH ) (1)
wv
where R = the universal gas constant, T = absolute
temperature, ρw = density of water and wv = the
molecular mass of water vapour (Likos and Lu 2004).
Equation 1 is plotted in Figure 1 for T = 20◦ C.
The figure shows that small variations in RH between
100% and 95% lead to large changes in total suction
up to around 1MPa. Small variations in RH below
95% then lead to relatively small changes in suction
(although the actual values of suction are large). Such
low values of RH are likely to be present in the arid
parts of the world where heritage structures contain-
ing rammed earth can be found and thus supports
the hypothesis that suction is the significant provider
of strength in rammed earth. Structures existing in
100%
90%
80%
Relative Humidity
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07
Suction (kPa)
Figure 1. Relation between relative humidity and total
suction.
regions in which RH is in the descending part of
the curve of Figure 1 will experience relatively small
changes in suction, thus leading to stability over time.
Evaporation of pore water is affected by the relative
humidity (RH ) of the pore air compared to that of the
adjacent air outside the wall. In practice drying of the
walls will continue until the pore air humidity equals
the humidity of the surrounding air.
2 LABORATORY TESTING
The aim of the laboratory testing described below
was to confirm a link between suction and strength in
rammed earth and also to study the changes in water
retention behaviour as changes are made to the mix
constituents. Laboratory testing consisted of uncon-
fined compression tests, Brazilian tests and filter paper
tests. The basic rammed earth mixture used in this
study was taken from a development site at Aykley
Heads, Durham, which included a large rammed earth
wall completed in 2006. The mixture used on site
was blended from material dug from the site (alluvial
sand), coarse aggregate and a powdered clay/silt mixed
in proportions (0.25:0.60:0.15; aggregate:sand:clay)
using a horizontal axis mixer. In the laboratory tests
described here, this mixture was first sieved to remove
material retained on a 14 mm sieve. This was neces-
sary to enable testing on standard sized samples. The
sieved basic mix constituents are given in Table 1.
The basic mix was altered for the Brazilian and
filter paper tests to include a 10% increase in sand
(mix A) and a 10% increase in clay (mix B). The
dry density/water content relationship for the basic
mix was obtained using the vibrating hammer com-
paction test (BS1377:2, 1990) and showed an optimum
water content of approximately 8–10%. The vibrating-
hammer was used as it was thought closer to the
field compaction that would be used during wall con-
struction and the method of sample preparation for
the compression tests (in comparison to the standard
Proctor test).
2.1 Unconfined compression tests
Seven unconfined compression tests at constant water
content were carried out on the basic rammed earth
mix at variable water contents achieved through
Table 1. Constituents for basic rammed earth mix.
Constituent % by mass Passing Size
Sand 21.5 D10 2.1 μm
Silt 52.3 D30 85.9 μm
Clay 26.2 D60 345.0 μm
419
air-drying of the samples. A tensiometer was used in
each test to measure suction during shearing. These
instruments have been developed at Durham Univer-
sity for the measurement of high suctions up to the
air entry value of the ceramic incorporated into these
devices, in this case 1500 kPa (Lourenço et al. 2006).
Cylindrical samples (200 × 100 mm dia.) were
prepared using a Proctor split compaction mould,
as outlined in Walker et al. (2005), with modifi-
cations following Horncastle (2006). Samples were
compacted in 5 layers following which a screed of
particles passing a 425 μm sieve was placed on the
top surface of the cylinder. This screed served a dual
purpose of producing both a flat loading surface and
a fine particle paste on which to place the tensiome-
ter. Immediately following application of this screed,
the Proctor split mould was removed and the mass
and height of the sample recorded. Dry densities of
between 2017 and 2061 kg/m3 were achieved using
the same compactive effort each time. Once samples
had air dried to the required water content for testing
they were wrapped in an impermeable sheath secured
with rubber O-rings placed against steel loading plates
at the top and bottom of the sample. The samples were
then left for at least 7 days to allow suctions to equili-
brate throughout the sample. When it was considered
that the samples were ready for testing, the top plate
was replaced with a loading plate drilled to accommo-
date a tensiometer. The samples were sheared under
constant water content conditions in a triaxial test-
ing rig. Displacement was controlled at a constant
0.1 mm/min and measurements of suction, load and
axial displacement taken every 10 seconds using the
logging software Triax (Toll 1999).
Figure 2 shows plots of deviator stress against
suction measured for the seven tests.
The figure provides strong evidence of a link
between starting water content and strength as indi-
cated by the dotted envelope to the results. However,
this can also be stated as a link between suction present
in the sample at the start of testing and strength.
700
600
Deviator stress (kPa)
500
400
300
200
100
10.2 9.4 8.6 8.4 7.1 5.5
0
0 200 400 600 800
Suction (kPa)
Figure 2. Plots of deviator stress against suction for uncon-
fined compression tests. Test water contents indicated against
each test.
Another feature evident from this figure is the differ-
ence in the change in suction during shearing. In sam-
ples with initially high water contents, suction rises
during the test. For the low water content samples the
opposite is seen to happen. This is consistent with the
concept of a unique water content to suction relation-
ship at the Critical State as proposed by Toll (1990).
It also complies with the framework including a Con-
tinuously Disturbed Line (CDL) for unsaturated soils
proposed by Croney and Coleman (1954) and revisited
recently by Tarantino (2007).
Figure 3 shows plots of axial total stress against
axial strain for the seven tests. Here it is notable that
there is brittle behaviour for the low starting water
content samples and ductile for high water content
samples. Linking Figures 2 and 3 it is possible also
to conclude that stiffness of a rammed earth sample
is linked to suction. Further aspects of these tests are
explored in more detail in Jaquin et al. (2007a).
2.2 Brazilian and filter paper tests
Following the unconfined compression tests described
above the basic rammed earth mix was remixed to
increase the coarse (sand) fraction (termed mix A) or
to increase the fine (clay) fraction (termed mix B).
What limited advice there is at present for the design
of rammed earth mixes is based on mix proportions of
the fractions. In this part of the study the aim therefore
was to investigate the effects of changing the particle
size distribution in a controlled way on the strength
(and additionally) on the water retention properties.
The filter paper test is an indirect method of mea-
suring both matric and osmotic suction where filter
papers are arranged adjacent to or sandwiched
between, soil samples which are then left to equi-
librate. The final water content of the filter paper
provides the suction present in the soil sample via a cal-
ibration curve. In these tests the procedure described
by Leong et al. (2002) was used. The advantage of
700
600
5.5
Deviator Stress (kPa)
500
400
7.1
300
8.4
200
100
0
0 1 2 3
Axial strain (%)
Figure 3. Plots of axial total stress against axial strain for the
unconfined compression tests. Test water contents indicated
against each test.
the filter paper method over the tensiometers used in
the unconfined compression tests is that much higher
suctions can be measured with the former.
The filter paper specimens were prepared at 55 mm
diameter with a height of 22 ± 2 mm from each of
mixes A and B at a starting water content of 10%.
Dynamic compaction of these specimens in an adapted
Proctor apparatus proved difficult to control so these
specimens were instead statically compacted in a triax-
ial rig to the required thickness maintaining the same
target dry density of 2.05 Mg/m3 . Then a sandwich
of three filter papers was inserted between two com-
pacted samples and the joint wrapped with electrical
tape. An additional filter paper was suspended above
the soil sample and the whole system placed inside a
closed sealed jar and left to equilibrate for two weeks
inside a constant temperature container at 25 ± 1◦ C.
By preparing a batch of samples and leaving them to
dry to different moisture contents before filter paper
testing it was possible to determine portions of the
drying part of the soil water retention curve.
Following the filter paper tests the same samples
were then quickly tested using a modified Brazilian
test. This test is widely employed to determine tensile
strengths in rocks and involves compressive loading of
a circular disc sample across a diameter to failure. An
analytical solution exists (assuming elasticity) linking
the tensile strength of the sample σt with the applied
load P as follows:
2P
σt = (2)
πdt
Where d = sample diameter and t = sample thick-
ness. Clearly most soils are unsuitable for this type of
test having little or no tensile strength and also often
being too friable to withstand these conditions. For
the rammed earth samples at low water contents no
problems of this nature were experienced. The reuse
of samples from the filter paper test for the subse-
quent Brazilian test proved successful although it was
important to minimize the time between completing
the filter paper test and starting the Brazilian test.
Figure 4 shows the change in water content over
time as samples air-dried. Note the scatter in the
initial water contents. Although the mixes were pre-
pared as a whole to uniform water content, the actual
8.6 water content of each individual disc varied about
10.2
9.4
this value. It is noticeable that mix B (clay added)
dries to approximately the same water content in the
first day as mix A (sand added) despite starting from
4 5
a generally higher initial water content although the
mechanism for this difference is not clear. The pro-
cess of drying in rammed earth is complex. Knowledge
of the particle size distribution does not provide suf-
ficient information on the soil microstructure in the
420
 14 6
12 Mix A
5

Water content (%)

Mix B
Water content (%)

10
4
8
6 3

4 2
2 1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
Time (days) 90 140 190 240 290
14 Tensile strength (kPa)
12
Figure 6. Brazilian test results.
Water content (%)

10
8
6 might be explained by consideration of the likely pore
4 structures in these samples. The finer mix will have a
2 more widespread network of smaller sized pores than
0
the coarse mix. Therefore it is likely this mix will carry
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 more of its pore water as bulk (funicular) water than the
Time (days) coarse sample. So for a given suction it will need more
water as much will be trapped in the bulk masses, pro-
Figure 4. Drying of samples with time. Mix A (upper); viding less potential than water in the pendular regime.
Mix B (lower). This feature can also be linked to the theoretical analy-
9
sis of Likos and Lu (2004) where theoretical soil-water
8
Mix A - total retention curves for coarser materials lie below those
Mix A - matric for finer materials.
Water content (%)

7
Mix B - total
6 Mix B - matric
5 The water content at the time of the test is plotted
4 against tensile strength calculated from Equation 2. As
3 water content reduces so tensile strength increases as
2
1
0
0 10000 20000 30000
Suction (kPa)
Figure 5. Soil-water retention curves for rammed earth
mixes A and B.
two mixes, which has the greatest influence on dry-
ing. Rather it is the pore size distribution which must
be critical, dependent on the former but also on com-
paction. From Equation 1 there is a direct link between
suction and RH so it is natural that all samples dry to
the same suction approximately.
Figure 5 shows the drying portion of the soil-water
retention curves for the two mixes A and B taken
from the filter paper results. Both matric and total
suctions are plotted showing that osmotic suction is
of secondary importance in these samples, as might
be expected from the nature of the pore water. The
suctions rise to a high level at the very low water con-
tents reached by the samples indicating again the need
for the filter paper test in the determination of suc-
tions. The coarser mix (A) appears to have a SWRC
lying below that of the finer mix (B) thus having a
lower water content for a given suction value. This
Figure 6 shows the results of the Brazilian tests.
expected if suction is a source of tensile strength. For a
given tensile strength there is more water in mix B than
40000 in Mix A. Again this links to the idea that in mix B more
water is held in the funicular regime, contributing less
to strength than ‘‘equivalent’’ pendular water. The plot
also shows that tensile strength increases rapidly at
very low water contents as might be expected to occur
in the surface of a rammed earth wall under prolonged
dry conditions.
3 DISCUSSION
It seems obvious from these results that suction must
provide a significant component of the strength of
unstabilised rammed earth and therefore understand-
ing of its evolution from compaction, through drying
to long-term changes in relative humidity is important
for the stability of a rammed earth structure. Con-
sidering that most walls are of considerable thickness
(usually >300 mm and much greater in heritage struc-
tures) it can be surmised that a gradient of water
content exists through the wall thickness. At the
surface water content is low and suction is high. Per-
meability will also reduce as water content decreases in
these locations. Thus the centre of a rammed earth wall

421
will be protected to some degree from water ingress,
and will maintain a relatively constant level of suction
and hence strength. This behaviour has been recorded
in the laboratory by Hall and Djerbib (2004), referred
to as the ‘‘Overcoat Effect’’. The high suctions present
at the surface of a rammed earth wall will suck in
impinging water. Surviving heritage structures often
have design details that reduce impinging water, e.g.
large overhanging eaves, features usually thought to
aid longevity due to reduction in impact. The results
above indicate that these features also serve to maintain
surfaces at high suction and hence high strength.
While knowledge of unstabilised rammed earth is
vital to the conservation of existing structures it is
accepted that it is unlikely to become widely used in
temperate parts of the world for new-build due to its
surface friability which, despite the discussion above,
is inferior to concrete. It is stabilised rammed earth,
however, that is likely to be the choice in these areas.
For this material, in addition to suction there will be
cementation between agglomerations of particles to
add to the tensile strength. The interaction between
the free water available in the material at time of
compaction and the stabiliser (e.g. cement) is clearly
important and much more difficult to study. The rel-
ative contributions to strength from cementation and
from suction will depend on many variables, such as
pore size distribution, proportions of stabiliser, curing
conditions amongst others. This is an important area
of future research.
4 CONCLUSIONS
This study is the first (to the authors’ knowledge)
that has treated rammed earth as an unsaturated soil.
The tests described above are intended to support this
theory qualitatively and pave the way for further labo-
ratory testing, which will be necessary if rammed earth
materials are to be modelled in a modern geotechnical
framework.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The first author has been supported by an EPSRC
DTA grant. The use of the rammed earth material from
the Aykley Heads Site, Durham by Rivergreen Devel-
opments Ltd is gratefully acknowledged. The third
author contributed through an ERASMUS placement
at Durham University in 2007.
REFERENCES
Croney, D. and Coleman, J.D. 1954. Soil Structure in Relation
to Soil Suction (pF), J. Soil Science, 5(1), 75–84.
Fisher, R.A. 1926. On the capillary forces in an ideal soil.
Journal of Agricultural Science 16, 492–505.
422
Gens, A., Sanchez, M. & Sheng, D. 2006. On constitutive
modelling of unsaturated soils. Acta Geotechnica, 1(3),
137–147.
Gillespie, T. and Settineri, W.J. 1967. The effect of capillary
liquid force on the force of adhesion between spherical
solid particles. Journal of Colloid Interface Science 24,
199–202.
Guillaud, H., Houben, H., Alva, A., Rodrigues, R., Pinto, F.,
Sastre, J.M., Shimotsuma, K. and Castellanos, C. 2004.
Earthen Architectural Heritage on UNESCO’s ‘World
Cultural Heritage List’. UNESCO, Paris, France.
Hall, M. and Djerbib, Y. 2004. Moisture ingress in rammed
earth: Part 1—The effect of soils particle size distribution
on the rate of capillary suction. Constr. Bldg. Mats, 18(4),
269–281.
Horncastle, T. 2006. Rammed earth construction. School of
Engineering Durham University, MEng Dissertation.
Jaquin, P.A., Augarde, C.E. and Gerrard, C.M. 2006. Anal-
ysis of historic rammed earth construction. Proc. 5th
Int. Conf. Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions,
Nov 6–8, New Delhi, India. Vol. 2, 1091–1098.
Jaquin, P.A., Augarde, C.E. and Gerrard, C.M. 2007. His-
toric rammed earth distribution, International Journal
of Architectural Heritage: Conservation, Analysis, and
Restoration (submitted).
Jaquin, P.A., Augarde, C.E., Gallipoli, D. and Toll, D.G.
2007a. The strength of rammed earth materials. Géotech-
nique (submitted).
Leong, E.C., He, L. and Rahardjo, H. 2002. Factors affect-
ing the filter paper method for total and matric suction
measurements. Geotech. Test. J. 25(3): 322–333.
Lian, G., Thornton, C. and Adams, M.J. 1993. A theoret-
ical study of the liquid bridge forces between two rigid
spherical bodies. Journal of Colloid Interface Science 161,
138–147.
Lilley, D.M. and Robinson, J. 1995. Ultimate strength of
rammed earth walls with openings, Proceedings—ICE:
Structures & Buildings 110(3), 278–287.
Likos, W.J. and Lu, N. 2004. Hysteresis of Capillary
Stress in Unsaturated Granular Soil. Journal Engineering
Mechanics ASCE 130(6): 646–655.
Lourenço, S.D.N., Gallipoli, D., Toll, D.G. and Evans, F.D.
2006. Development of a Commercial Tensiometer for
Triaxial Testing of Unsaturated Soils. 4th International
Conference on Unsaturated Soils, April 2006 Phoenix,
USA.
Molenkamp, F. and Nazemi, A.H. 2003. Interactions between
two rough spheres, water bridge and water vapour.
Géotechnique 53(2): 255–264.
Pietsch, W.B. 1968. Tensile strength of granular materials.
Nature 217, 736–737.
Tarantino, A. 2007. A possible critical state framework for
unsaturated soils, Géotechnique 57, 385–389.
Toll, D.G. 1990. A framework for unsaturated soil behaviour.
Géotechnique 40(1): 31–44.
Toll, D.G. 1999. A data acquisition and control system for
geotechnical testing. Computing developments in civil
and structural engineering, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Toll, D.G. and Ong, B.H. 2003. Critical-state parameters
for an unsaturated residual sandy clay, Géotechnique 53,
93–103.
Walker, P., Keable, R., Martin, J. and Maniatidis, V. 2005.
Rammed Earth, Design and Construction Guidelines.
BRE Bookshop: Watford.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Experimental study of the influence of suction on the residual

friction angle of clays

V. Merchán, J. Vaunat, E. Romero & T. Meca

Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a study on the effect of high suctions on the value of the residual strength of
a high plasticity clay. Tests were carried out in a Bromhead ring shear apparatus adapted to allow for control of
the relative humidity around the shear box during shearing. Data were obtained by testing samples of remolded
FEBEX bentonite (wL = 102, IP = 53) prepared close to its plastic limit and further loaded and sheared under
suctions ranging from 0 to 120 MPa. Experimental data shows evidence of a huge increase of the residual shear
strength when the sample is sheared in unsaturated conditions. As a matter of fact, the shear strength envelope
at a suction of 75 MPa is characterized by a null cohesion and a residual friction angle φrdry equal to 28◦ ,
that is 21◦ higher than the value in saturated conditions (7◦ ). Such a result extends to high plasticity clays the
conclusions already obtained in previous studies on a low plastic silty clay (wL = 30, IP = 16, increment of φr
between saturated and dry conditions equal to 5◦ ) and a medium plastic clay (wL = 55, IP = 28, increment of
φr equal to 15◦ ). An explanation to such high changes in values of residual shear strength is finally discussed in
the light of the process of clay aggregation during drying, whose existence is supported by visual observations
(micrographs obtained in an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope) and evidences of changes in the
pore size distribution (measured by Microstructure Intrusion Porosimetry).

1 INTRODUCTION the increase in friction angle has been observed to be

It is well-known that clay materials present a decrease
in shear strength when submitted to large relative
displacements as a result of particle reorientation
(Skempton, 1964). Factors affecting such a decrease
have been the object of numerous experimental stud-
ies, which used different equipment such as direct
or the annular shear devices (Bishop, 1971; Skemp-
ton, 1985; Bromhead, 1979). They indicated that the
shear strength reaches a lower bound for very large
displacements, characterized by a null cohesion and
a residual friction angle. Value of the residual fric-
tion angle appears to be controlled by the level of
normal stress (Skempton, 1985; Stark & Eid, 1994),
soil grading (Skempton, 1964; Kenney, 1967; Lupini
et al., 1981; Skempton, 1985), particle mineralogy
(Mitchell, 1993), rate of shearing (Tika et al., 1996),
pore water chemistry (Di Maio, 1996a, 1996b, Chigh-
ini et al., 2005). More recently, the effect of suction on
the residual strength had been studied at low suctions
by Sedano et al. (2007) and at high suctions with by
Vaunat et al. (2006) and Vaunat et al. (2007). The latter
results indicate that high values of suction (typically
higher than 10 MPa) increase significantly the residual
strength and that this effect becomes more important
when the material is more plastic. As a matter of fact,
around 5◦ in Barcelona silt, a low plastic silty clay and
15◦ in Boom clay, a medium plastic clay. The main
explanation for such an increase is similar to that put
forward by Toll (1990) for the strength at critical state.
It is due to a process of enhancement of material aggre-
gation during drying that makes it behave in a more
granular way.
The present work deals with a continuation of the
study and address the effect of high suctions on the
residual strength of Febex bentonite, a high plasticity
clay. The experimental programme is based on tests
carried out in a Bromhead apparatus adapted to control
the relative humidity in the shear box. In order to verify
the hypothesis of clay aggregation, it is completed by
observations carried out in a Environmental Scanning
Electron Microscope and by determination of pore size
distribution by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry before
and after the tests in the ring shear box.
2 MATERIALS AND TEST PROCEDURE
Table 1 presents the main properties of the FEBEX
bentonite. The properties of the low and medium plas-
ticity clay tested in previous studies (Vaunat et al.

423
Table 1. Properties of the tested materials.
BCN silty FEBEX
Property clay Boom clay bentonite
Liquid limit (%) 30 55 102
Plastic limit (%) 16 28 53
Particle density, 2.66 2.7 2.7
ρs (Mg/m3 )
Clay fraction < 15 40 68
2 μm (%)
2006; Vaunat et al., 2007) are reported in the same
table.
As in the previous studies, the material has been
tested in a Bromhead ring shear apparatus adapted
to control the relative humidity inside the shear box
(Vaunat et al., 2007). A general scheme of the appa-
ratus is presented in Figure 1. A glass cap placed
around the shear box allows the sample to be iso-
lated from the laboratory environment. The value of
suction is imposed in the isolated chamber by means
of a closed circuit of forced vapor convection con-
nected to a vessel with controlled relative humidity
(the relative humidity in the vessel is in equilibrium
with a solution saturated in salts placed at its bot-
tom). A hole perforated in the glass cap and further
sealed with silicon allows for installing a hygrom-
eter (Model HMT 100, ±%RH at [0–90%RH] and
±1.7%RH at [90–100%RH]) that measures the tem-
perature and relative humidity actually applied inside
the chamber during the test. Data is stored in real time
on a computer through a USB device (NI9001). The
general procedure involves:
a. Preparation of a remolded sample close to its plastic
limit.
b. Consolidation of the sample under a given normal
stress.
c. Suction application through the vapor transfer
technique. From that time, the evolution of rela-
tive humidity and temperature inside the chamber
started to be registered. Also, the vertical displace-
ment experienced by the sample (uv ) was measured
by the LVDT. This stage is considered equilibrated
when the relative change in vertical displacement
δuv /uv reaches values lower than 1%. Because of
the low permeability of the clay, the time to reach
equilibrium has proved to be very long: 22 days
have been necessary for a sample of 5 mm height
to reach a suction of 75 MPa (in equilibrium with
a relative humidity equal to 58% in the chamber).
d. Shearing at a controlled displacement rate equal
to 0.32 mm/min. Pilot tests performed on Boom
clay have shown that this velocity is low enough
for keeping ‘drained’ conditions during the shear.
424
Figure 1. General scheme of the Bromhead ring shear
apparatus adapted to suction control.
Due to the high plasticity of the clay, displacements
required to attain the full residual state are of the
order of 80 mm.
As a result of the long times involved during suc-
tion equilibration and shearing stages, only three tests,
labeled Test I, II and III, have been performed.
TEST I aimed at determining the residual strength
envelope of the saturated material. It consists of a two-
stage shearing test performed under normal stresses
equal to 300 and 450 kPa. The results indicate that
the residual strength of saturated Febex bentonite is
characterized by a null cohesion and a friction angle
equal to 7.5◦ (see Fig. 3).
Test II is a five-stage test that aimed at defining the
residual shear strength envelope of the material at a
suction of 75 MPa and after resaturation. The sample
was first equilibrated under a relative humidity equal
to 58% (suction equal to 75 MPa) and sheared con-
secutively under a normal stress equal to 100, 200
and 300 kPa. Afterwards, the system to control rela-
tive humidity was removed and the sample brought
to saturated conditions by flooding. Material was
then sheared in two steps under normal stresses equal
to 100 and 200 kPa, respectively. The accumulated
displacement applied during all the test is 2535 mm.
Test III is a seven-stage test that aims at studying
the residual strength envelope under suctions equal
to 18 and 45 MPa and after resaturation. The sam-
ple was initially sheared at a suction equal to 18 MPa
and three levels of stress: 100, 200 and 300 kPa. The
sample was then brought to a suction of 45 MPa by
changing the saline solution controlling the relative
humidity inside the vessel and further sheared under
normal stresses equal to 300, 200 and 100 kPa, respec-
tively. Finally, the glass cap was removed and the
sample flooded before applying two shearing stages
under normal stresses equal to 100 and 200 kPa. The
total displacement applied during this test is equal to
3873 mm.
3 SHEAR STRENGTH VS DISPLACEMENT 100kPa
CURVES 100kPa after suction change
200kPa
200kPa after suction change
Figure 2 shows the shear strength vs displacement 300kPa
curve obtained during Test III at a suction equal to 300kPa after suction change
B5
18 MPa for both the initial stage (prepared sample 120
dried to a suction equal to 18 MPa and sheared) and
after application of a suction of 45 MPa (prepared sam- B3
ple brought to a suction equal to 18 MPa, sheared, then
brought to a suction equal to 45 MPa, sheared and B6
80
then wetted down to a suction equal to 18 MPa and

(kPa)
sheared). The stress-displacement curves obtained in B2
both cases show very similar values after a displace-
ment equal to 50 mm. This result gives, on the one B7
hand, good feedback concerning the reliability of the 40
test procedure and, on the other hand, provides clues B1
to the fact that the residual shear strength is, in that
case, independent of suction history. Before 50 mm
of displacement, the curve corresponding to the first 0
shearing (Stages B1, B2 and B3) presents an initial 0 50 100 150 200 250
peak which disappears when shearing is applied on an Displacement (mm)
already pre-sheared sample (stages B5, B6 and B7).
Such a kind of response is reported in the literature Figure 2. Residual strength measured in the ring shear
for the case of saturated materials and is generally apparatus at a suction equal to 18 MPa.
attributed to the effort required initially to reorient the
particles in the direction of shearing. 180
Points relating the shear strength at large displace- s = 75 MPa
160 r = 28.2º
ments to the normal stress are reported in Figure 3.
s = 18 MPa, unloading
They evidence a linear relationship between both vari- 140
r = 22.5º
ables for the range of loads considered. Parameters
Shear stress (kPa)

120 s = 18 MPa, loading

controlling the shear strength envelope at a suction r = 22.1º

equal to 18 MPa are cr = 0 and φr = 20◦ . 100

The same linear trend can be observed in Figure 3 80
for the test performed under a suction equal to 75 MPa. 60
Values of cohesion and friction angles obtained in this s=0
case are cr = 0 and φr = 28.2◦ . 40 r = 7.5º

The shear strength envelope in saturated conditions 20

is moreover depicted in Figure 3. The data show the
huge effect exerted by the suction on the value of the
friction angle that increases by a value of 21◦ when
the soil passes from saturated conditions to a suction
equal to 75 MPa.
Such an outcome extends, in an amplified manner,
to the case of active clays results already observed
on low and medium plastic clays (Vaunat et al. 2006;
Vaunat et al. 2007). Figure 4 summarizes the variation
of residual friction angles with suction as measured on
samples of Barcelona silty clay (wL = 30, IP = 16),
Boom clay (wL = 55, IP = 28) and Febex bentonite
(wL = 102, IP = 53). The increase in residual friction
angle increases generally with the plasticity of clay. As
a matter of fact, the increase in friction angle between
saturated conditions and a suction equal to 75 MPa is
around to 2.5◦ for the low plastic silty clay, 15◦ for
the medium plastic clay and 21◦ for the high plastic
clay. Another observation coming out from the figure
is the non linear variation of residual friction angle
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Normal stress (kPa)
Figure 3. Shear strength envelope of FEBEX bentonite at
different suctions.
with suction. Most of the increase in friction angle
occurs between 0 and 100 MPa. Afterwards, the effect
of suction on φr becomes significantly smaller and
tends to an asymptotic value for a suction close to
300 MPa.
Such an increase is interpreted as being due to
the process of aggregation during drying, that makes
the material essentially more granular at high suc-
tions. In the case of the low and medium plasticity
clay, this interpretation has been reinforced by obser-
vations about the dilatancy of the material during
first shearing. The latter appeared indeed to increase

425
 40

35

30

25
tan–1( r / )

20

15 BCN silty clay data

Boom clay data
10 Febex Bentonite data
Boom clay (Hyperbolic aproximation)
BCN silty clay (Hyperbolic aproximation)
5 Febex Bentonite (Hyperbolic aproximation)

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Total Suction, S (MPa)
Figure 5. Sample of remolded FEBEX bentonite prepared
at the liquid limit (magnification 200x).
Figure 4. Variation of the friction angle with suction for the
low, medium and high plastic clays.

drastically when the material is sheared under high

suction. In the present work, more direct evidence of
the aggregation process have been looked for through
two techniques:
1. The direct observation of microstructural changes
during drying by Environmental Scanning Electron
Microscopy (ESEM);
2. The determination of the pore size distributions
for the saturated and dry material by the Mercury
Intrusion Porosimetry technique (MIP).

4 MICROSTRUCTURAL OBSERVATIONS

ESEM is a technique that consists of performing the
Scanning Electron Microscopy under gas pressure,
which allows for observing materials with liquid con-
stituents. It is in particular possible to observe changes
in soil structure during drying by controlling the tem-
perature and the partial vapour pressure inside the
observation chamber of the microscope. Figures 5, 6, 7
and 8 show four ESEM micrographs taken on samples
of remolded FEBEX bentonite prepared respectively at
the liquid (Figures 5 and 6) and plastic limits (Figures 7
and 8). The as-prepared structure of the material can
be observed in Figures 5 and 7. Figures 6 and 8 show
the structure of the material after applying a relative
humidity equal to 7%.
At the liquid limit, the material presents a relatively
homogeneous structure characterized by stacks of clay
particles of typically 10 μm size and few macro-voids
(two of them can be observed in the upper part of the
micrograph). After drying at 7% of relative humidity,
Figure 6. Sample of remolded FEBEX bentonite prepared
at the liquid limit and dried under a relative humidity of 7%
(magnification 215x).
an important increase can be observed in the existing
macro-voids accompanied by a general enhancement
of the inter-particle porosity that degenerates in many
points in the creation of new macro-voids. Further con-
nection between macro-voids leads to the build-up of
isolated aggregates in the clay. An incipient formation
of aggregated structure due to drying can be observed
in Figure 6.
The picture is slightly different for the sample pre-
pared at the plastic limit. Material presents initially
a more complex structure where stacks of clay par-
ticles, micro-voids (with some local enlargements)
and macro-voids can be observed. After application
of drying under a relative humidity equal to 28%

426
 Initial state (remoulded at plastic limit)
Final state (after consolidation, drying and shearing)
2.5

Pore size density function ( e/ log )

2

1.5

0.5

0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Entrance por size, d (nm)
Figure 7. Sample of FEBEX bentonite prepared at the a) pore size density function
plastic limit (magnification 200x).
Initial state (remoulded at plastic limit)
Final state (after consolidation, drying and shearing)

1.2

1
Intruded void ratio

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Entrance por size, d (nm)
b) accumulated pore size distribution

Figure 8. Sample of remolded FEBEX bentonite prepared
at the plastic limit and dried under a relative humidity of 7%
(magnification 200x).
(suction approximately equal to 170 MPa), the size of
the macro-voids gently decreases at the expense of an
enhancement in the inter-particle porosity but without
significant changes in the general pattern of material
structure. It seems thus that preparation of the mate-
rial close to the plastic limit create a pre-aggregated
structure that remains stable during suction applica-
tion. Effect of drying will in this case essentially stiffen
the pre-existing structure.
More quantitative insights can be realized by
analyzing the pore size distribution of Febex ben-
tonite before and after being tested in the ring shear
apparatus. Two pore size distributions have been
determined by the MIP technique: one corresponding
Figure 9. Pore size distributions in a remolded sample
of FEBEX bentonite before and after being sheared under
a vertical stress equal to 100 kPa and a suction equal to
120 MPa (sample was initially prepared close to the plastic
limit).
to a remolded sample prepared close to the plas-
tic limit and the other to the same sample once
loaded under a vertical stress equal to 100 kPa, sub-
sequently dried at a suction equal to 120 MPa and
finally sheared in the Bromhead shear apparatus.
A comparison between both curves can be observed in
Figure 9. The sample prepared close to the plastic limit
presents a mono-modal pore size distribution with pore
sizes concentrated between 0.3 and 3 μm, that is at
the inter-particle level (the size of a particle is typi-
cally of the order of 1 μm (1000 nm)—see Figure 5).

427
This peak disappears completely after the combination
of loading, drying and shearing and the curve splits
into two parts. One part is associated with pore sizes
between 10 and 20 nm and existing thus at the intra-
particle level. The other part contains pores of size
higher that 10 μm, indicating the existence of an inter-
aggregate porosity. It is expected that a peak in the pore
size distribution would have existed around the value
of 10 μm at the end of drying and would have further
been erased and distributed over a wider range of pore
sizes during shearing.
5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The paper reports on a study on the effect of high
suction on the residual strength of FEBEX bentonite.
Experimental results allow for completing conclu-
sions already drawn for materials of lower plasticity
(Barcelona silty clay and Boom clay). They are:
• Strong drying increases strongly the residual
strength at relatively low normal stress (below
300 kPa) I.
• The increase is due only to an increase in friction
angle and not in cohesion.
• Most of the increase in friction angle takes place
for suction below 100 MPa. For higher suctions, the
friction angle reaches an asymptotic value.
• The increase in friction angle is higher when the
plasticity of the clay is higher. For a low plastic silty
clay (wL = 30, IP = 16), the increase in friction
angle for a suction between saturated conditions and
a suction equal to 75 MPa is equal to 2.5◦ , for a
medium plastic (wL = 55, IP = 28) clay to 15◦ and
for a high plastic clay (wL = 102, IP = 53) to 21◦ .
• Such an increase is explained by a process of clay
aggregation or aggregation stiffening during strong
drying that makes the material behave in a more
granular way. Pictures taken in the Environmen-
tal Scanning Electron Microscopy evidence indeed
the incipient formation of aggregates during drying
when the clay is prepared at the liquid limit. When
the clay is prepared at the plastic limit, micrographs
evidence a pre-aggregated structure that remains
essentially unchanged during drying. In that case,
suction stiffens the aggregates of the material.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mr. Merchán wishes to thank Alβan Program, the EU
program of high level scholarships for Latin Amer-
ica, scholarship N◦ E05D052296CO. The support of
the European Commission through the Research and
428
Training Network MUSE (Mechanics of Unsaturated
Soils for Engineering) is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Bishop, A.W. 1971. Shear strength parameters for undis-
turbed and remolded soil specimens. In Proceedings of
the Roscoe Memorial Symposium, Cambridge, Foulis.
Bromhead, E.N. 1979. A simple ring shear apparatus. Ground
Eng., vol. 12, pp. 40–44.
Chighini, S., Lancellotta, R., Musso, G. and Romero, E.
2005. Mechanical behavior of Monastero Bormida clay:
chemical and destructuration effects. In Bilsel and
Nalbantoǧlu (eds), Proc. Int. Conf. on Problematic Soils,
Vol. 1, 381–388. Famagusta: Eastern Mediterranean
University.
Di Maio, C. 1996a. The influence of pore fluid composition
on the residual shear strength of some natural clayey soils.
In K. Senneset (ed.), Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on Landslides,
2, 1189–1194. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Di Maio, C. 1996b. Exposure of bentonite to salt solution:
osmotic and mechanical effect. Géotechnique, 46 (4),
695–707.
Kenney, T.C. 1967. The influence of mineral composition
on the residual strength of natural soils. Proc. Geotech.
Conf. on the Shear strength properties of natural soils and
Rocks, 1, 123–129.
Lupini, J.F., Skinner, A.E. and Vaughan, P.R. 1981. The
drained residual strength of cohesive soils. Géotechnique,
31 (2), 181–213.
Mitchell, J.K. 1993. Fundamentals of soil behaviour. 2nd
edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Skempton, A.W. 1964. Long-term stability of clay slopes.
Géotechnique, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 77–102.
Skempton, A.W. 1985. Residual strength of clays in land-
slides, folded strata ad the laboratory. Géotechnique,
vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 3–18.
Sedano, J.A.I., Vanapalli, S.K. and Garga, V.K. 2007. Mod-
ified ring shear apparatus for unsaturated soils testing.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 39–47.
Stark, T.D. and Eid, H.T. 1994. Drained residual strength
of cohesive soils. J. of Geotech. Engng., ASCE, 120 (5),
856–871.
Tika, T.E., Vaughan, P. and Lemos, L.J.L.J. 1996. Fast shear-
ing of pre-existing shear zones in soil. Géotechnique,
46 (2), 197–233.
Toll, D.G. 1990. A framework for unsaturated soil behaviour.
Géotechnique, 40 (1), 31–44.
Vaunat, J., Amador, C., Romero, E. and Djeran-Maigre, I.
2006. Residual strength of low plasticity clay at high suc-
tions. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference
on Unsaturated Soils, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, vol. 1,
pp. 1279–1289.
Vaunat J., Merchán, V., Romero, E. and Pineda, J. 2007.
Residual strength of clays at high suctions. In Proceed-
ings of the 2nd International Conference on Mechan-
ics of Unsaturated Soils, Weimar, Germany, vol. 2,
pp. 151–162.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Ultimate shear strength of unsaturated soils

T.B. Hamid
GeoConcepts Engineering Inc., Virginia, USA

ABSTRACT: This paper presents triaxial and direct shear tests results from literature conducted on soils under
unsaturated conditions with measurement of matric suction (ua − uw ). The results of these tests indicate that
matric suction has less influence on ultimate shear strength than on the peak shear strength. It is inferred from
the test results that neglecting suction is appropriate for analyzing slopes that contain pre-existing surfaces or
that have history of previous sliding. However, suction has a significant effect on the depth of tension cracks in
unsaturated soils and this should be considered as it reduces the factor of safety.

1 INTRODUCTION Marine clay deposits have many surface fractures

The ultimate and residual shear strength of overcon-
solidated clay is an important parameter in evaluating
the stability of new and existing slopes that contain
a pre-existing surface or that have history of previ-
ous sliding. Ultimate shear strength is achieved when
soil exhibits no appreciable changes in stress or vol-
ume during shearing. This ultimate state is followed
by residual state that is reached after a large shear
deformation. In residual state, soil particles increase
in parallel orientation in the direction of shear defor-
mation. Many researchers have studied the effect of
matric suction on the peak shear strength of unsat-
urated soils (e.g. Escario & Saez 1986). However,
lacking in the available literature is treatment of ulti-
mate and residual shear strength in unsaturated soils.
The results of triaxial and direct shear tests results with
measurement of matric suction from literature are pre-
sented in this paper. The test results indicate that the
effect of matric suction on ultimate shear strength is
less significant as compared to the effect of matric
suction on peak shear strength.
Slope stability analysis is generally required as part
of site development in Washington, D.C., Maryland
and Virginia. Both natural and construction related
landslides have occurred in these areas, which are
underlain by overconsolidated clays, locally known
as ‘‘Marine Clay’’. The marine clay deposits are con-
sidered problematic soils in these areas and several
landslides and surficial slope failures have occurred
in marine clay deposits. Geotechnical engineers are
required to determine the engineering properties of
marine clay for slope stability analysis. The local prac-
tice is to use residual shear strength of marine clay for
slope stability analysis.
and water can fill these fractures in wet seasons. Even
in the dry season, free flowing water can enter in these
fractures. The depth of these fractures increases as
the negative pore water pressure (matric suction) of
the soil increases. This paper indicates that a fac-
tor of safety computed using ultimate or residual
shear strength parameters can decrease considerably
in the wet season due to the horizontal water force
developing in the tension crack.
2 ULTIMATE SHEAR STRENGTH
OF UNSATURATED SOILS
Fredlund & Rahardjo (1998) indicated that in cases
where groundwater table is deep, slope stability anal-
yses should be performed using the shear strength
contribution from the matric suction. However, the
author of this paper understands that the use of shear
strength contribution from the matric suction should be
limited to the analyses where peak shear strength con-
trols the stability of slopes. The peak shear strength of
cohesive soils is generally used in the analysis of slopes
in residual soils and normally consolidated clays, and
in soils that have not undergone previous sliding. How-
ever, there are situations where ultimate or residual
shear strength of unsaturated soils controls the stabil-
ity of slopes, such as the stability of new and existing
slopes that contain a pre-existing surface or that have
history of previous sliding. Based on suction con-
trolled and constant water content test results reported
in the literature, the effect of matric suction on the ulti-
mate shear strength of unsaturated soils is studied in
this paper.

429
 140
u a - u w = 100 kPa
Deviator Stress, kPa 120

100

Shear stress (kPa)

80
u a - u w = 20 kPa
60

40

20 (a)

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Horizontal displacement (mm)
Volumetric Strain, %

-0.015

-0.01
u a - u w = 100 kPa
v/H0 -0.005

0
Axial Strain, %
0.005

Figure 1. Stress-strain and volume change curves at cell u a - u w = 20 kPa

0.01
pressure = 50 kPa and various suctions (after Cui & Delage (b)
1996).
0.015
0 2 4 6 8 10

Cui & Delage (1996) have presented suction con-
trolled triaxial test results of an Aeolian Silt (Liquid
Limit (LL) = 37% and Plasticity Index (PI) = 18%)
and are reproduced in Figures 1a and 1b. Figure 1a
indicates that for a cell pressure of 50 kPa, when
suction value increased from 200 kPa to 1500 kPa,
peak shear strength increased from about 320 kPa
to 750 kPa. Volume change curves (Fig. 1b) indi-
cate typical behavior of overconsolidated clay, i. e.
initial compression followed by the dilation. The vol-
ume change curves indicate that dilatancy increased
as suction value increased.
The shear strength and volumetric strain curves
indicate a tendency to level off at axial strains of
about 8%, suggesting that the ultimate strength is
being approached. However, at matric suction value of
800 and 1500 kPa volumetric strain is still changing
towards the end of the tests. Although a true ultimate
state is never reached in the tests presented in Figures
1a and 1b, the rate of change of shear strength and volu-
metric strain reduce considerably except for 1500 kPa
suction. The degree of saturation after shearing was
79% for 200 kPa, 75% for 400 kPa, 67% for 800 kPa,
and 56% for 1500 kPa matric suction.
Figures 2a and 2b indicate the results of suction
controlled direct shear tests conducted on Minco Silt
Horizontal displacement (mm)
Figure 2. Shear stress (a) and volume change (b) against
horizontal displacement at net normal stress = 105 kPa for
two values of suctions (Hamid, 2005).
(LL = 28% and PI = 8%). For a net normal stress
(σn − ua ) of 105 kPa, increasing suction resulted in
an increase of peak shear strength and stiffness. Strain
softening behavior and a pronounced peak are obvious
only for 100 kPa suction, illustrating an increasing brit-
tleness of the sample with increasing suction. Figure
2 shows that both shear stress and volumetric strain,
v/H0 (where v = vertical displacement and H0 =
specimen thickness) generally reached a steady state at
horizontal displacement of about 4–6 mm, indicating
an ultimate state is achieved.
In Figure 2a, the ultimate shear stress of 100 kPa
suction sample is approximately similar to the ultimate
shear strength of the sample tested at 20 kPa matric
suction. The degree of saturation after shearing was
about 90% and 75% for 20 kPa and 100 kPa matric
suction, respectively. A similar picture is seen for
σn − ua = 155 kPa in Figures 3a and 3b.

430
 200
180 u a - u w = 100 kPa
160
Shear stress (kPa)

140
120
100 u a - u w = 20 kPa
80
60
40
20 (a)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Horizontal displacement (mm)

-0.015
u a - u w = 100 kPa
-0.01

-0.005
v/H0

0
Figure 4. Deviator stress and volume change against axial
strain at confining stress = 50 kPa and various suctions.
0.005 (Toll & Ong 2003).

0.01 u a - u w = 20 kPa
0.015
0 2 4 6
Horizontal displacement (mm)
Figure 3. Shear stress (a) and volume change (b) against
horizontal displacement at net normal stress = 155 kPa for
two values of suctions (Hamid, 2005).
Figure 4 shows constant water content test results
reported by Toll & Ong (2003). These tests were
conducted on Jurong residual soil (LL = 36% and
PI = 15%). It can be seen that ultimate state is being
approached by the end of the tests cw50-230 (1), cw50-
230 (2), cw50-300, and cw50-400. Further, the rate of
change of deviator stress (q) and volumetric strain gen-
erally reduce considerably toward the end of the tests
and an ultimate state can be reasonably assumed (Toll
& Ong, 2003). The degree of saturation after shearing
was 66% for 230 kPa, 63% for 300 kPa, and 72% for
400 kPa matric suction.
The results of Figures 1 through 4 are plotted in
Figure 5 as peak and ultimate strength envelopes. In
order to plot the strength envelopes the test results
for net normal stress of 210 kPa presented in Hamid
(2005) were utilized but the plot of horizontal displace-
ment against shear strength and volume strain are not
(b)
presented in this paper. Similarly, constant water con-
tent test results for confining stress of 150 and 250 kPa
8 10
presented in Toll & Ong (2003) are presented in Figure
5 but the plots of deviator stress against axial strain are
not presented in this paper. The slope of the best fit
lines of strength envelopes represents the friction angle
for suction (φ b ). The values of φ b calculated from best
fit lines of Figure 5 are given in Table 1.
It is evident from laboratory test results presented
in Figures 1 through 5 and in Table 1 that the effect
of matric suction is generally less significant for the
ultimate friction angle for suction than the peak fric-
tion angle for suction. Particularly for low confining
and net normal stress (e.g. 50 kPa) the effect of suc-
tion on φult
b
is small (Figure 5). This conclusion is also
supported by Tarantino & Tombolato (2005) who con-
cluded that water menisci have a negligible effect on
the ultimate shear strength.
A possible explanation of the effect of matric suc-
tion on the peak shear strength and ultimate shear
strength is presented in the following paragraphs.
In unsaturated soil, the meniscus around soil grains
contact points tends to draw the particles together.
This attractive force, called capillary force (Nc ), acts
perpendicular to the grain contact surface. It has been
shown that under certain conditions Nc increases with
an increase of suction (Kohgo et al. 1993). Increase in
Nc induces an increase of shear resistance between the
soil particles. This inhibits the relative sliding between

431
 860 Table 1. Peak and ultimate friction angles for suction.
Peak
Ultimate Confining/Net normal
Shear stress (kPa)

660
stress (kPa) b )
Peak (φpeak Ultimate (φult
b )

460 50∗ 15 3
50• 47 26
260 150• 64 62
250• 68 59
(a) 105† 22 2
60 155† 28 9
100 600 1100 1600 210† 30 23
u a - u w (kPa)
Note: ∗ Cui & Delage (1996); • Toll & Ong (2003); † Hamid
220 (2005).
n - u a = 210 kPa Peak
Ultimate
Shear stress (kPa)

180
n - u a = 155 kPa by adding water to the system the column of grains
140 will collapse.
Test results presented in Figures 1 through 4 indicate
100 strain softening behavior that suggests beginning of
destruction of bonding between soil particles due to
(b) n - u a = 105 kPa
interlocking and due to meniscus.
60
In the ultimate state particles slide over each other,
0 50 100 150 i.e. interlocking bond has been destroyed and bonding
u a - u w (kPa) due to meniscus has also been destroyed. Therefore the
soil shows a stable ultimate state, i.e. no further reduc-
860 tion in shear strength. In other words, as opposed to
Peak
3 - u a = 250 kPa the peak shear strength, in the ultimate state meniscus
Ultimate
bonds do not exist and an increase in matric suction
Shear stress (kPa)

660
does not cause an increase in ultimate shear strength.
460 - u a = 150 kPa
3

260 3 SLOPE STABILITY APPROACH

(c)
60
100 200 300
u a - u w (kPa)
Figure 5. Peak and ultimate shear strength envelopes for
test results reported by (a) Cui and Delage (1996), (b) Hamid
(2005), and (c) Toll and Ong (2003).
the particles and the magnitude of shear resistance of
soil increases. Kohgo et al. (1993) suggested that the
contribution of shear resistance caused by the capillary
force may be regarded as nominal cohesion.
Burland & Ridley (1996) used a grain column anal-
ogy to show that the meniscus around the soil particles
results in increase in stability of soil structure. They
suggested that the contact menisci can be thought of as
‘bonds’ holding the grains together. This bonded sys-
tem can sustain some externally applied load without
collapsing. However, if these bonds are then removed
3 - u a = 50 kPa
In geotechnical practice, for small size projects, gen-
erally residual direct shear testing is not performed
400 500
and conservatively, a low residual friction angle value
generally 6◦ to 12◦ and zero cohesion are selected
as residual shear strength parameters. The groundwa-
ter level used in the design is generally the highest
recorded during the soil investigation program. How-
ever, the effect of rainfall and surface runoff water is
not considered in the slope stability analysis and the
upper crust is treated as unsaturated soil characterized
using residual friction angle. A factor of safety rang-
ing from 1.2 to 1.5 is generally considered satisfactory
for slope stability analysis.
As indicated previously, residual friction angle and
zero cohesion are used as shear strength parameters in
the slope stability analysis in marine clay. Neglecting
the cohesion is considered a conservative approach.
There are instances where ignoring the value of cohe-
sion may result in a non-conservative value of factor of
safety. If shear strength parameters are back-calculated
assuming no cohesion, the estimated shear strength
parameters may be overestimated. Cohesion also plays

432
an important role in the development of tension cracks
in the slope. Ignoring cohesion implies that tension
cracks can not develop in the soil. Tension cracks are
generally developed above the groundwater table in
unsaturated clay and the effect of the matric suction
should be considered in the determination of depth of
tension cracks.
4 EFFECT OF MATRIC SUCTION
ON THE DEPTH OF TENSION CRACKS
As indicated previously residual shear strength is used
for the slope stability analysis. However, the effect
of tension cracks that may fill with water in wet sea-
sons is not considered in the slope stability analysis.
Tension cracks generally develop in a highly desic-
cated crust of soil and their depths may be calculated
using Equation 1 (Fredlund & Rahardjo 1998):
yt = (2c /γ ) tan(45 + φ/2) + [2(ua − uw ) tan φ b /γ ]
× tan(45 + φ/2)
where yt = depth of tension crack; c = effective
cohesion; γ = unit weight; φ = effective angle of
internal friction; (ua − ub ) = matric suction; φ b =
friction angle for suction.
Equation 1 is used to calculate the depth of ten-
sion cracks for various values of matric suction and
the results are plotted in Figure 6. Figure 6 indi-
cates that the depth of tension cracks increase with
increase in matric suction. For example, for matric
suction 200 kPa and φ b = 10◦ , the depth of ten-
sion crack is almost double the depth of tension crack
corresponding to the zero matric suction.
It should be noted that, as the depth of tension
crack is gradually increased, the factor of safety will
35
30
Depth of tension crack (m)
25
20
15
10
5 5
0
0 500
u a - u b (kPa)
Figure 6. Effect of matric suction on the depth of tension
crack.
Figure 7. Tension crack adjustment factor (after Janbu 1968
(1) via. EM 11102–2-1902, 2003).
decrease first (as tensile stresses are eliminated first),
and then increase (as compressive stresses are elim-
inated). Factor of safety for slope stability should be
calculated considering the depth of tension crack given
by Equation 1. Alternatively one can calculate the fac-
tor safety for an assumed range of crack depths, and the
appropriate depth is that producing the minimum fac-
tor of safety. For higher suction values crack depths
calculated using Equation 1 may be more than the
slope height. In this case a maximum depth equal to
the height of slope should be utilized.
Figure 7 presents chart developed by Janbu (1968)
and can be used to calculate the tension crack adjust-
ment factor (μt ). The tension crack adjustment factor
indicates the effect of tension crack depth on the fac-
tor of safety. For example, for a slope angle of 60◦
and for Ht /H from 0 to 0.5, μt varies from 1 to about
b
= 15 0
0.75. A value of μt = 1 indicates no effect of tension
cracks on factor of safety, on the other hand a value of
b
=10 0 μt = 0.75 indicate about 25 percent reduction in fac-
tor of safety calculated without considering the depth
of tension crack.
b
=50
CONCLUSIONS
As opposed to the peak shear strength, the effect
1000 1500
of matric suction appears to be less significant on
ultimate shear strength. Based on the laboratory test
results of unsaturated soils presented in this paper, it
may be concluded that suction can be neglected for
analyzing slopes that contain pre-existing surfaces or
433
that have history of previous sliding. However, the
effect of matric suction should be considered while
incorporating the presence of a tension crack in slope
stability analysis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to extend a special thank to O.
Ayodeji, Fairfax County, Department of Public Works,
Virginia, USA for reviewing this manuscript. Valu-
able comments and suggestions made by anonymous
reviewers also helped to improve the quality of this
paper. This paper reflects the personal opinion of
the author and not necessarily those of GeoConcepts
Engineering, Inc.
REFERENCES
Bishop. A.W. 1955. The use of the slip circle in the stability
analysis of slopes. Geotechnique. 5: 7–17.
Escario, I. & Saez, J. 1986. The shear strength of partly
saturated soils. Geotechnique. 36: 453–456.
434
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics for
Unsaturated Soils. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Janbu, N. 1968. Slope stability computations. Via US army
Corps of Engineer, EM 1110-2-1901. 2003.
Hamid, T.B. 2005. Testing and modeling of unsaturated inter-
faces. Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Civil and Environ-
mental Engineering department. University of Oklahoma,
USA.
Kohgo, Y., Nakano, M. & Miyazaki, T. 1993, Theoretical
aspects of constitutive modelling for unsaturated soils.
Soils and Foundations. 33(4): 49–63.
Morgenstern, N.R. & Price, V.E. 1965. The analysis of
the stability of general slip surfaces. Geotechnique. 15:
70–93.
Spencer, E. 1967. A method of analysis of the stabil-
ity of embankments assuming parallel inter-slice forces
Geotechnique. 17: 11–26.
Toll, D.G. & Ong, B.H. 2003. Critical-state parameters for
an unsaturated residual sandy clay. Geotechnique. 53(1):
93–103.
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Geotechnique. 55 (4): 307–317.
US Army Corps of Engineer. Slope Stability. EM 1110-2-
1901. 2003.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Critical State conditions for an unsaturated artificially bonded soil

D.G. Toll
School of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, UK

Z. Ali Rahman
Faculty of Sciences and Technology, National University of Malaysia (UKM), Selangor, Malaysia

D. Gallipoli
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper reports on a set of triaxial test data on an artificially bonded sand tested in unsaturated
conditions. Tests were performed using the axis translation technique to measure suctions while shearing under
constant water content conditions. The results at the Critical State are interpreted to obtain the variation in
the stress ratios: Ma representing the net stress component and Mb representing the suction component. These
are also presented as Critical State angles of friction, (φ a )c and (φ b )c . It is found that Ma is higher than the
saturated critical state stress ratio, Ms (i.e. (φ a )c > φc ). This supports the observation that we should not always
make the assumption that φ a = φ  . The changes in Ma and Mb can be related to the different phases of water
retention behaviour. The regions of behaviour seem to be (i) before the air entry value Ma = Mb = Ms (ii) in
the desaturation stage Ma rises above Ms but Mb = Ms (iii) in the residual stage Ma remains constant and Mb
starts to reduce.

1 INTRODUCTION net stress component and Mb for the suction compo-

This paper reports on a set of triaxial test data on an
artificially bonded sand tested in unsaturated condi-
tions. The results are relevant to the understanding of
tropical residual soils, since these are typically bonded
in nature and frequently exist in an unsaturated state.
The use of artificial specimens allows reproducibility
of bond strength, which is difficult to achieve with
naturally bonded soils, such as residual soil.
Tests on an artificially bonded sand in saturated
conditions have been reported by Toll & Malandraki
(1993); Malandraki & Toll (2000); Malandraki & Toll
(2001) and Toll et al (2006). Further testing on satu-
rated specimens has been carried out by Ali Rahman
(2008).
Tests on the unsaturated specimens were performed
under constant water content conditions while using
the axis translation technique to measure suctions.
Shearing was carried out at three values of radial net
stress (50, 100 and 300 kPa) and the suctions ranged
from 0 to 560 kPa.
The test results on the unsaturated bonded soil are
interpreted by considering separately the contributions
from net stress and suction. Critical State stress ratios
are interpreted for each stress component: Ma for the
nent. These are also presented as Critical State angles
of friction, (φ a )c and (φ b )c .
2 MATERIAL & TEST PROCEDURES
The artificial soil was produced by mixing sand and
kaolin (87% sand: 13% kaolin) and then firing the
mixture at 500◦ C in a furnace. This was a technique
first used by Maccarini (1987). At this temperature
the kaolin changes in nature, forming a bond between
the sand particles. The bond formed is not time depen-
dent, so this technique has many advantages over using
cement or other bonding agents that require a curing
period and show a change in strength with time.
The sand used for making the samples was Leighton
Buzzard sand, a uniform medium sand (Figure 1).
The tests described in this paper were all on speci-
mens prepared at the same initial void ratio (e = 0.6).
Specimens for testing in unsaturated conditions were
initially prepared in a saturated state and then allowed
to air-dry in the laboratory until each achieved a
required value of water content.
Figure 2 shows the water retention curve for the
artificial soil. The drying curve was obtained from

435
 The net stress was then increased to the desired
value (50, 100 or 300 kPa) by reducing the pore
air pressure at constant cell pressure under constant
water content conditions (allowing volume change
to occur due to air flow, but preventing any flow of
water). The changes in pore-water pressure and vol-
ume were observed until consolidation was deemed to
be complete.
Specimens were then sheared under constant water
content conditions with radial net stress held constant.
Measurements of pore-water pressure and volume
change were made during shearing.

Figure 1. Particle size distribution for the Leighton Buzzard 3 SHEAR STRESS AT CRITICAL STATE
sand used to make the bonded soil. IN UNSATURATED SOILS

Fredlund et al (1978) gave the shear strength equation

100 for unsaturated soils as:
Drying - Axis translation
Degree of saturation, Sr: %

80 Wetting - Axis translation

(Walker et al, 2005) τ = c + (σ − ua ) tan φ a + (ua − uw ) tan φ b (1)
Wetting - Filter Paper
60 (Walker et al, 2005)
where
40
τ is shear strength
20 σ is the total stress
ua is the pore air pressure
0 uw is the pore water pressure
0.1 1 10 100
Matric suction (u a - uw): kPa
1000 c is the cohesion when the two stress variables
(σ − ua ) and (ua − uw ) are zero
Figure 2. Water retention curve. φa is the friction angle with respect to net stress
(σ − ua )
φb is the friction angle with respect to matric
suction (ua − uw )
measurements of suction on different specimens fol-
lowing air drying from saturated conditions to a spe- Fredlund et al (1978) went on to suggest that, when
cific water content (or degree of saturation). It can be the matric suction is zero, the (σ − ua ) plane will
seen that the retention curve is very steep in the suction have the same friction angle as the (σ − uw ) plane.
range 2–4 kPa, (with some scatter in the data, which Therefore, they suggested that φ a is the same as φ 
is emphasised by the logarithmic scale) followed by (the friction angle with respect to effective stress).
an almost flat portion once the degree of saturation Fredlund and Rahardjo (1993: p. 238) suggest that the
drops below 25%. This made the control of suction friction angle φ a ‘‘appears to be essentially equal to the
quite difficult. Nevertheless, it was possible to pre- effective angle of internal friction obtained from shear
pare specimens at a range of suction from <1 kPa to strength tests on saturated soil specimens’’. Fredlund
over 500 kPa. et al (1978) also suggested that c is the same as c
After drying to the required water content, speci- (the effective cohesion).
mens were then installed in a triaxial cell fitted with a Therefore, making these two assumptions,
500 kPa high air entry base ceramic for measurement equation [1] becomes the following:
of pore-water pressure. The pore air pressure was con-
trolled through an air line connected to a coarse filter
at the top of specimen. The air pressure was slowly τ = c + (σ − ua ) tan φ  + (ua − uw ) tan φ b (2)
increased to 595 kPa while also increasing the cell
pressure to 600 kPa in order to maintain a small net and it is this equation that is commonly quoted (eg
stress (σ − ua ) of 5 kPa. The specimen was allowed Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1993).
to equilibrate under this small net stress (and con- Toll (2000) has argued that φ a is not necessarily the
stant water content conditions) until a stable value of same as φ  and therefore we should use the general
pore-water pressure was observed. form of the equation represented by Eq. [1].

436
 For the particular conditions of the Critical State, the Ma ( p − ua ) term. If the suction is zero then:
equation [1] can be rewritten as:
q
Ma = (7)
τc = (σ − ua ) tan(φ a )c + (ua − uw ) tan(φ b )c (3) ( p − ua )

However, since the suction values are non-zero, the

where
(φ a )c is the critical state angle of friction with
respect to (σ − ua )
(φ b )c is the critical state angle of friction with
respect to (ua − uw )
and taking the cohesion intercept to be zero for critical
state conditions (Atkinson, 1993: p. 116).
This has been expressed using more general stress
variables by Toll (1990) and Toll & Ong (2003) as:
q = Ma ( p − ua ) + Mb (ua − uw )
where
q is the deviator stress (σ1 − σ3 )
p is the mean total stress (σ1 + σ2 + σ3 )/3
Ma is the critical state stress ratio with respect
to net mean stress (p − ua )
Mb is the critical state stress ratio with respect
to matric suction (ua − uw )
For comparison with the Barcelona Basic Model
(BBM) (Alonso et al, 1990), the BBM assumes that
the contribution from net stress is constant and equal
to the saturated critical state stress ratio, M . In the
BBM the contribution from matric suction is repre-
sented as a decrease in the intercept of the Critical State
Line (CSL) on the p−ua axis defined by a parameter k.
Therefore the relationships in the BBM are:
Ma = M
Mb = kM
The major difference is that BBM assumes that M
and k are constant, while here it is taken that Ma and
Mb change with of degree of saturation or fabric of the
soil.
values could have a small effect (particularly at lower
values of net stress).
A second assumption could be that the values of Ma
and Mb would be equal at high degrees of saturation
(Toll, 1990). This assumption would lead to:
q q
Ma = Mb = = (8)
(p − ua ) + (ua − uw ) (p − uw )
However, some of the degrees of saturation are less
than 50% even for the tests at low suction. Therefore,
this assumption may not be valid.
(4) A third possible assumption is to assume that the
values of Mb would be equal to Ms (the saturated
critical state ratio). This assumption would lead to:
q − Ms (ua − uw )
Ma = (9)
( p − ua )
All three assumptions have been used to calculate
Ma in Table 1. The range of average values for Ma
is 1.38 to 1.41. These values equate to an equivalent
angle of friction of (φ a )c = 34−35◦ .
The values of deviator stress, q, at the Critical State
from saturated tests have been plotted against mean
effective stress, p , in Figure 3. The values for the
unsaturated (low suction) tests have been superim-
posed on the plot. It can be seen that value of Ma
is higher than the saturated value of Ms = 1.23, which
is equivalent to φ  = 31◦ .
This supports the observation by Toll (2000) that
we should not always make the assumption that φ a =
(5) φ  . The results for the bonded soil show a significant
difference between the two values.
(6)
Table 1. Critical State values of the state variables for low
suction tests.
q p − ua ua − u w Sr Ma Ma Ma
(kPa) (kPa) (kPa) (%) (Eq. 7) (Eq. 8) (Eq. 9)

269 190 4.1 77.4 1.42 1.39 1.39

298 200 5.5 75.7 1.50 1.45 1.46
3.1 Net stress component, Ma 137 96 1.2 70.7 1.44 1.42 1.42
To estimate the stress ratio due to net stress, Ma , tests 735 545 1.1 48.4 1.35 1.34 1.34
141 97 6.1 47.9 1.46 1.37 1.38
at low suctions have been considered. Eight tests were 108 86 0.1 46.6 1.25 1.25 1.25
carried out where the suction at the critical state was 825 577 3.3 40.3 1.43 1.42 1.42
6 kPa or less. 821 575 5.4 31.1 1.43 1.41 1.42
For these tests, the Mb (ua − uw ) term in Eq. 4 Average: 1.41 1.38 1.39
becomes small and the controlling component will be

437
Figure 3. Comparison of Critical State stress ratios for saturated and unsaturated tests.

3.2 Suction component, Mb Table 2. Critical State values of the state variables for all
tests.
The values of Mb have been calculated by re-arranging
Eq [4] so that Mb is given by: q p − ua ua − u w Sr
(kPa) (kPa) (kPa) (%) Ma Mb
q − Ma (p − ua )
Mb = (10) 285 196 492.0 16.9 1.39 0.02
(ua − uw )
213 121 403.6 18.1 1.39 0.11
210 121 385.9 18.2 1.39 0.11
From the previous discussion about Ma values, it 217 122 479.7 18.9 1.39 0.10
seems sensible to take an average value of Ma = 1.39 205 118 119.0 19.6 1.39 0.34
(based on Eq. [9]). Therefore, for tests performed at 348 216 260.5 19.6 1.39 0.18
higher suctions, Mb has been calculated from Eq. [10] 355 219 392.1 19.9 1.39 0.13
by assuming a constant value of Ma = 1.39. One value 211 121 498.7 19.9 1.39 0.08
of Ma has been adjusted slightly (1.36) as otherwise 230 127 168.8 20.7 1.39 0.32
an apparent negative value of Mb would be obtained. 282 194 100.7 21.8 1.39 0.12
For the lower suctions, the individual values of Ma 328 209 104.0 21.8 1.39 0.35
753 552 245.4 21.9 1.36 0.00
calculated from Eq. [9] in the previous section have
991 631 300.4 22.6 1.39 0.38
been used. The values of Ma and Mb calculated in this 313 155 87.7 24.2 1.39 1.12
way are given in Table 2. 821 575 5.4 31.1 1.42 1.23
The values in Table 2 are plotted against degree 825 577 3.3 40.3 1.42 1.23
of saturation in Figure 4(a). It can be seen that 108 86 0.1 46.6 1.25 1.23
Mb drops sharply at degrees of saturation below 141 97 6.1 47.9 1.38 1.23
30%. For comparison the soil water retention 735 545 1.1 48.4 1.34 1.23
curve at Critical State conditions is plotted with 137 96 1.2 70.7 1.42 1.23
Sr on the horizontal axis in Figure 4(b). It can 298 200 5.5 75.7 1.46 1.23
269 190 4.1 77.4 1.39 1.23
be seen that there is a sharp increase in suc-
tion below 30%, showing a mirror image. The
drop in Mb coincides with the sharp change in the
water retention behaviour (the end of the desatura- be related to the different phases of water retention
tion zone). behaviour in Figure 5(b). The regions of behaviour
The same data is plotted in terms of variation with seem to be (i) before the air entry value Ma = Mb =
suction in Figure 5(a). The changes in Ma and Mb can Ms (ii) in the desaturation stage Ma rises above Ms

438
 Ma 1.5 Ma
1.5 35
35 '
′ Ms
30
Ms 30
1.0

Angle of friction,
Angle of friction,

Stress ratio, M
Stress ratio, M

25
1.0 25
Mb 20
Mb 20
15
15 0.5
0.5 10
10
(a) 5
(a) 5
0.0 0
0.0 0 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Matric suction (ua-uw): kPa
0 20 40 60 80 100
Degree of saturation, Sr: %
100
Residual

Degree of saturation, Sr: %

600
zone
Matric Suction (ua- u w): kPa

80
500
60
400
Residual
40
300 zone

200
100
(b)
0 Matric suction (u a - uw): kPa
0 20
Degree of saturation, Sr: %
Figure 4. (a) Variation in Critical State stress ratios with
degree of saturation (b) Suction vs degree of saturation at
Critical State.
but Mb = Ms (iii) in the residual stage Ma remains
constant and equal to 1.39 while Mb starts to reduce.
It does of course have to be noted that the conditions
Mb = Ms in region (ii) and Ma = 1.39 in region (iii)
have been explicitly imposed in the present model.
Nevertheless, the possible range of values that satisfies
the values of the state variables q, p − ua and ua − uw
is not that large.
It is particularly interesting that for this bonded
material, the value of Mb seems to remains close
to Ms even when the degree of saturation is signifi-
cantly reducing. This is probably due to the uniform
nature of the bonded sand. The desaturation pro-
cess in this material probably represents a removal
of ‘‘bulk’’ water and the development of ‘‘meniscus’’
water (Karube and Kawai, 2001) as opposed to emp-
tying of pores. In more widely graded materials, the
desaturation process will be more complex (involving
a wider range of pore sizes) and it might be expected
that Mb (and hence (φ b )c ) would drop within the desat-
uration zone (Vanipalli et al, 1996; Toll and Ong,
2003).
Toll et al (2006) interpreted values of φ b at peak
state conditions for this artificially bonded soil based
on the assumption that φ a = φ  . This led to apparently
20
Desaturation
Desaturation (b) zone
zone 0
0.1 1 10 100 1000
40 60 80 100
Figure 5. (a) Variation in Critical State stress ratios with
suction (b) Degree of saturation vs suction at Critical State.
anomalous results with values of φ b in excess of φ  .
The analysis here suggests that a value of φ a > φ 
should have been used, which would then give sensible
values for φ b .
4 CONCLUSIONS
A set of triaxial test results performed on unsaturated
specimens have been used to derive the variation in
the Critical State stress ratios: Ma representing the
net stress component and Mb representing the suction
component. These are also presented as Critical State
angles of friction, (φ a )c and (φ b )c .
It is found that Ma is higher than the saturated crit-
ical state stress ratio, Ms (i.e. φ a > φ  ). This supports
the observation that we should not always make the
assumption that φ a = φ  .
The changes in Ma and Mb can be related to the dif-
ferent phases of water retention behaviour. The regions
of behaviour indicate that (i) before the air entry value
Ma = Mb = Ms (ii) in the desaturation stage Ma rises
above Ms but Mb = Ms (iii) in the residual stage Ma
remains constant and Mb starts to reduce. This pat-
tern of behaviour is probably explained by the narrow
range of pore sizes in the uniform bonded sand.

439
REFERENCES
Atkinson, J.H. (1993). The Mechanics of Soils and Founda-
tions, London: McGraw Hill.
Ali Rahman, Z. (2008). The Engineering Behaviour of a
Weakly Bonded Soil including the Unsaturated State. PhD
Thesis, Durham University.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, (1990). A Constitutive
Model for Partially Saturated Soils, Géotechnique 40(3):
pp. 405–430.
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. and Widger, R.A. (1978).
The Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils, Canadian
Geotechnicl Journal, 15: pp. 313–321.
Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. (1993). Soil Mechanics for
Unsaturated Soils, New York: Wiley.
Karube, D. and Kawai, K. (2001). The role of pore water in the
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. Geotechnical
and Geological Engineering, 19: pp. 211–241.
Maccarini, M. (1987). Laboratory Studies of a Weakly
Bonded Artificial Soil. PhD thesis, University of London.
Malandraki, V. and Toll, D. (2000). Drained Probing Triaxial
Tests on a Weakly Bonded Artificial Soil. Géotechnique,
50(2): pp. 141–151.
Malandraki, V. and Toll, D.G. (2001). Triaxial Tests on a
Weakly Bonded Soil with Changes in Stress Path. Jour-
nal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
127(2): pp. 282–291.
Toll, D.G. (1990). A Framework for Unsaturated Soil
Behaviour, Géotechnique, 40(1): pp. 31–44.
Toll, D.G. (2000). The Influence of Fabric on the Shear
Behaviour of Unsaturated Compacted Soils, In Shackle-
ford, C., Houston, S.L. and Chang, N.Y. (eds.), Advances
440
in Unsaturated Soils, Geotechnical Special Publication
No. 99, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston:
pp. 222–234.
Toll, D.G., Ali Rahman, Z. and Gallipoli, D. (2007). Towards
Understanding the Behaviour of Unsaturated Bonded
Soils, Proc. 3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
Nanjing, P.R. China, (eds. Yin, Z.Z., Yuan, J.P. and Chiu,
A.C.F), Beijing: Science Press, pp. 139–142.
Toll, D.G. and Malandraki, V. (1993). Stress Path Triaxial
Testing of a Weakly Cemented Soil. In Anagnostopou-
los, A., Schlosser, F., Kalteziotis, N. & Frank, R. (eds.),
Geotechnical Engineering of Hard Soils—Soft Rocks,
Rotterdam: Balkema, Vol.1: pp. 817–823.
Toll, D.G., Malandraki, V., Ali Rahman, Z. and Gal-
lipoli, D. (2006). Bonded Soils: Problematic or Pre-
dictable? Proc. 2nd International Conference on Prob-
lematic Soils, Malaysia, Singapore, CI-Premier: pp.
55–62.
Toll, D.G. and Ong. B.H. (2003). Critical State Parameters
for an Unsaturated Residual Sandy Clay, Géotechnique,
53(1): pp. 93–103.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E. and Clifton,
A.W. (1996). Model for the Prediction of Shear Strength
with Respect to Soil Suction, Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 33: pp. 379–392.
Walker, S., Gallipoli, D. and Toll, D.G. (2005). The Effect
of Structure on the Water Retention of Soil Tested using
Different Methods of Suction Measurement. Proc. Inter-
national Symposium on Advanced Experimental Unsat-
urated Soil Mechanics, Trento, Italy, London: Taylor &
Francis, pp. 33–39.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Determination of the shear strength behavior of an unsaturated soil

in the high suction range using the vapor pressure technique

T. Nishimura
Ashikaga Institute of Technology, Tochigi, Japan

H. Toyota
Nagaoka University of Technology, Niigata, Japan

S.K. Vanapalli & Won Taek Oh

University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT: The shear strength behaviour of an unsaturated silty soil in the high suction range was determined
from unconfined compression tests using specially designed shear testing equipment with a dual cylinder triaxial
cell. The relative humidity conditions of the compacted specimens used for testing were controlled in desicca-
tors in a temperature controlled chamber. The high suction values achieved in the compacted specimens were
calculated using Kelvin’s equation. The stress-strain curve behaviour of the compacted soil specimens with high
suctions following both the drying and wetting path were measured and presented in this paper. The peak values
of shear strength for all the tested specimens were observed to occur at axial strains lower than 1%. The test
results suggest that there is little difference in the measured shear strength values of the tested specimens at high
suction values. These results also suggest that the shear strength envelope is horizontal in the high suction range
for the soil tested.

1 INTRODUCTION behaviour. The osmotic or vapour pressure technique

has been commonly used in the literature for measure-
1.1 Background ment of the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC)
behaviour in the high suction range (Fredlund and
The shear strength of unsaturated soils in the matric
Rahardjo, 1993; Vanapalli et al. 1999). This technique
suction range of 0 to 700 kPa (0 to 100 psi) are
is useful in achieving high suction values in soil speci-
conventionally measured using modified triaxial or
mens by controlling relative humidity conditions using
modified direct shear equipment using axis translation
different salt solutions in a temperature controlled
technique. Typically, soil specimens used for the deter-
environment. The soil specimens achieve equilibrium
mination of shear strength are initially in a saturated
conditions with respect to their moisture content over
state. These specimens are subjected to desaturation
a considerable period of time. Several investigators
by increasing the matric suction by varying the applied
have used this technique to achieve high suction values
pore-air pressure, ua and pore-water pressure, uw using
in the specimens and studied the mechanical behav-
axis translation technique. The increase in the matric
ior of unsaturated soils (Cui and Delage, 1996; Blatz
suction in the range of 0 to 700 kPa results in a decrease
and Graham, 2000; Nishimura and Fredlund, 2003
in the water content the soil specimens. In recent years,
and Nishimura and Vanapalli, 2005). Similar tech-
there has been a significant interest in understanding
niques with some modifications are used in this paper
the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils such as
for determining shear strength behaviour of an unsat-
shear strength and volume change in the high suction
urated silty soil from unconfined compression tests
range greater than 3,000 kPa, (Cui and Delage, 1996;
through the use of specially designed equipment.
Nishimura and Vanapalli, 2005). Changes in mois-
ture content in unsaturated soil specimens at suctions
greater than 3,000 kPa can be controlled using vapor
1.2 Purpose of this study
phase equilibrium. It is convenient and as well safer
to use osmotic control or vapour pressure technique The study presented in this paper focuses on the
to determine the shear strength and volume change determination of the shear strength behaviour of

441
compacted unsaturated soil specimens in the high suc-
tion range both along the drying and wetting path from
unconfined compression tests. Predetermined relative
humidity (RH ) conditions were achieved in the soil
specimens by placing them in desiccators with differ-
ent salt solutions in a temperature controlled environ-
ment. These specimens were then placed in specially
designed triaxial testing equipment with a dual cylin-
der triaxial cell. The specimens were sheared without
application of confining pressures. The unconfined
compressive strengths of specimens with high suction
values were determined and the stress versus strain
relationships are presented and discussed.
2 MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1 Soil properties
The study presented in this paper was carried out on a
relatively non-plastic silty soil. The properties of the
soil are summarized in Table 1. Figures 1, 2 show grain
size distribution and compaction curves respectively.
2.2 Soil specimen preparation
The soil specimens of 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm
in height were prepared using static compaction
technique. A steel mould of 50 mm in diameter and
300 mm in height was used for preparing the soil
Table 1. Properties of the soil used in this study.
Liquid Limit, wL (%)
Plastic Limit, wP (%)
Plasticity Index, Ip
Specific gravity, Gs
Max. dry density, γd(max) (kN/m3 )
Optimum moisture content, OMC (%)
100
80
Percent finer (%)
60
40
20
0
0.001 0.01
Particle size (mm)
Figure 1. Grain size distribution curve.
specimens. The water content (10%) and dry density
(13.73 kN/m3 ) used in the preparation of the spec-
imens correspond to the dry side of optimum mois-
ture content (17%) and maximum dry density value
(15.1 kN/m3 ) determined from Proctors compaction
curve (Table 1). The inner surface of the steel mould
that was used for the preparation of the static com-
paction specimens was coated with acrylic to achieve
negligible friction between the inner surface of the
steel mould and lateral surface of the compacted soil
specimen. This technique was useful in the removal
of relatively non-plastic silty soil specimens after
compaction with ease and without any disturbance.
2.3 Specimens with high soil suction values
High suction values can be achieved by placing soil
specimens in desiccators with different salt solu-
tions which are capable of inducing different relative
humidity (RH ) conditions in a temperature controlled
environment (Fig. 3).
24.7
22.8
1.9
2.65
15.1 Figure 2. Compaction curve.
17.0
Temperature and
Temperature
Humidity controlled
chamber
Desiccator
Salt solution
0.1 1
Figure 3. Compacted specimens placed in desiccators with
different salt solutions to achieve high suction values in a
temperature controlled chamber.
442
 The salt solutions such as Potassium Sulfate
(K2 S04 ), Potassium Nitrate (KNO3 ), Ammonium
Dihydrogenphosphate (NH4 H2 PO4 ), Sodium Chlo-
ride (NaCl), Magnesium Nitrate (Mg(NO3 )2 .6H2 O),
Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2 .6H2 O) and Lithium
Chloride (LiCl) are commonly used to achieve dif-
ferent relative humidity conditions (Oteo-Mazo et al.
1995; Delage et al. 1998). These salt solutions are
capable of inducing RH in the range from 98% to
11% to the soil specimens in a controlled environmen-
tal chamber. In other words each of the salt solution is
capable of inducing a different suction value to the soil
specimens. The suction values that can be achieved in
the specimens range from 2,830 kPa to 296,000 kPa for
the RH values in the range of 98% to 11%. The value
of soil suction at a temperature of 20◦ C can be calcu-
lated using Lord Kelvin’s equation (Eq. 1) by knowing
the relative humidity (RH ).

ψ = −135022 ln(RH ) (1)

ψ = soil suction or total suction (kPa) (2)
RH = relative humidity (%) (3)

Figure 4. Triaxial cell set up used in the study.

2.4 New triaxial test apparatus for determining
the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils
A new apparatus was designed for determining the
mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils by modify-
ing a conventional triaxial testing apparatus. A dual
cylinder triaxial cell was used instead of conventional
triaxial cell. Figure 4 shows the triaxial cell set up used
in the study to perform unconfined compression tests
with the measurement of volume change during shear
stage. Figure 5 shows the schematic of the equipment
set up providing all the key details.
Several investigators have provided various tech-
niques to reliably measure the volume change
behaviour of unsaturated soils (Bishop and Donald,
1961; Cui and Delage, 1996; Ng et al. 2002; Infante
Sedano et al. 2007). The volume changes of the soil Figure 5. Schematic of the triaxial test apparatus set up
specimen during the shearing stage in this study were used in the study.
measured using difference displacement gap sensor
placed in the side chamber which is connected to inner
cell of the triaxial cell made of transparent acrylic unsaturated soil specimens. More details of the proce-
(Figs 4, 5). The volume change of the specimen in the dures could not be discussed in the paper due to space
inner cell is equal to the amount of water which moves limitations.
into or out of the side chamber connected outside of
the inner cell. A gap sensor facilitates in measur-
ing the difference of the voltage due to the changes
2.5 Equilibrium time
in the movement of water associated with volume
changes. The volume change of the soil specimen The procedure followed towards achieving predeter-
can be calculated using a calibration curve between mined RH in the soil specimens is explained in this
volume changes versus voltage, developed prior to section. For example, a soil specimen can be subjected
testing (Fig. 6). This is a reliable technique for mea- to drying to achieve RH of 45% in the desiccator at a
surement of the volume change of both saturated and temperature of 20◦ C in the humidity chamber (Fig. 3).

443
 14
minute. The axial deformation in the soil specimens
Volume = 20.403 x Voltage
along with their volume change behavior during the
12 R 2 = 0.998
shearing stage was measured until failure conditions
10 in the tested soil specimens.
Volume (cc)

6
3 TEST RESULTS
4

2 3.1 Stress versus strain relationships

0 Figure 7a, b show the stress versus strain relation-
0.0 0.2 0.4
Voltage (V)
Figure 6. Calibration curve for measuring specimen volume
change.
The same specimen of RH of 45% can also be sub-
jected to wetting by placing the specimen in a different
desiccator to achieve, say for example a different RH
of 60% by wetting process. The salt solutions used in
the desiccators to achieve different relative humidity
conditions were discussed in an earlier section of the
paper.
Several trial studies confirmed that equilibrium
0.6 0.8
ships from unconfined compression tests conducted
on specimens following the drying path. The test
results from all the specimens show that the axial stress
increases rapidly. All the specimens tested failed at
axial strain values less than 1%.
Figure 8a, b show the stress versus strain relation-
ships from unconfined compression tests conducted
on specimens following the wetting path. The stress-
strain characteristics were similar to that of specimens
70
RH 60%
60 RH 70%
RH 80%
Deviator stress (kPa)

conditions with respect to different relative humidity 50

conditions (i.e. suction values) can be achieved in the
40
specimens by placing them in the humidity chamber
for a period of 30 days. The mass of the soil specimens 30
attains a constant value at equilibrium conditions.
20

2.6 Unconfined compression tests 10

The specimens were subjected to different relative 0

humidity conditions to achieve high values of soil suc- 0 1 2 3
tions. The RH conditions chosen for the present study Axial strain (%)
were in the range of 80% to 40% with 10% differences
(RH = 80%, 70%, 60%, 50% and 40%). This series Figure 7a. Stress-strain curve behavior of specimens fol-
of tests represent the drying path. Another series of lowing the drying path.
tests were also conducted to determine the unconfined
compressive strength of the specimens following the 70
wetting path. The relative humidity of the specimens RH 40%
60 RH 50%
which were first subjected to 40% was increased in
10% stages to achieve RH values in the 40% to 80%
Deviator stress (kPa)

50
range. The RH values chosen in the study result in suc-
tion values in the range of 2830 kPa to 296,000 kPa in 40
the soil specimens. The prepared soil specimens were 30
then placed in the test set up of the triaxial test appara-
tus shown in Figure 4. The specimen to be tested was 20
covered with a rubber membrane in order to facilitate
10
measurement of volume change behavior during the
shearing stage. However, the influence of the rubber 0
membrane on the shear strength and the variation of 0 1 2 3
suction values during the shearing were not taken into Axial strain (%)
account in this paper.
Unconfined compression tests were conducted on Figure 7b. Stress-strain curve behavior of specimens fol-
the specimens using a shearing rate of 0.1% per lowing the drying path.

444
 70 -1.0
RH 50% RH 40%
60 RH 60% RH 50%
-0.5 RH 60%

Deviator stress (kPa)

Deviator stress (kPa)

50 RH 70%
RH 80%
40
0.0
30

20 0.5

10

0 1.0
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3
Axial strain (%) Axial strain (%)

Figure 8a. Stress-strain curve behavior of specimens fol- Figure 9a. Dilation at unconfined compression on drying
lowing the wetting path. path.

70 -2.0

RH 70% RH 50%
60 -1.5 RH 60%
RH 80%
RH 70%
Volumetric change (%)
Deviator stress (kPa)

50 RH 80%
-1.0

40
-0.5
30
0.0
20
0.5
10

1.0
0
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3
Axial strain (%) Axial strain (%)

Figure 8b. Stress-strain curve behavior of specimens fol- Figure 9b. Dilation at unconfined compression on wetting
lowing the wetting path. path.

following the drying path. The peak values of stresses
were reached in the specimens at axial strains less
than 1%.
3.2 Volume change behavior during shearing stage
Figure 9a, b show the volume change versus percent-
age axial strain relationships for specimens at various
RH . While positive values indicate compression, neg-
ative values suggest expansion, i.e., dilation, in the
specimens. All soil specimens undergo some compres-
sion during the initial stages of shearing. The specimen
dilates during the later stages of shearing until the
failure which typically occurs at axial strains lower
than 1%.
3.3 SWCC and the shear strength versus suction
relationship
The unconfined compressive strength i.e., the
shear strength is half the maximum deviator stress
determined from stress versus strain relationships. The
term deviator stress is used in the paper as there will
be a little influence of the confining pressure due to
the use of the rubber membrane. As discussed earlier,
the influence on rubber membrane was not considered
in this study. The soil suction values of the specimens
were estimated using Equation 1 knowing the relative
humidity.
The entire soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC)
in the suction range of 0 to 106 is shown in Figure 10.
The test data suggest that the gravimetric water content
of the tested soil is low (i.e., less than 2%) for the
suction range in which the shear strength and volume
change behavior was determined. The suction range
studied in the present research program is mainly in the
residual stage of saturation (Vanapalli et al. 1996). The
water content in sands and silts at residual conditions
can be low and may not transmit suction effectively
to soil particle or aggregate contact. Thus, even large
suction values will not contribute towards significant
increases in shear strength.

445
 30 Figure 11a, b respectively. Numbers in parenthesis
correspond to magnitude of relative humidity applied
Gravimetric water content (%)

25 to soil specimen. The test results suggest that the shear

strength increase is negligible with increasing soil suc-
20
tion in the range of RH from 40% to 60% (i.e., for
Residual stage the suction range of 130,000 to 70,000 kPa). In other
15 of desaturation
words, for all practical purposes the shear strength
10
envelope may be considered to be horizontal for the
suction range (Fig. 11b). The results presented in this
5 paper are consistent with the observations of Vanapalli
et al. (1996) and Vanapalli & Fredlund (2000).
0
1e-1 1e+0 1e+1 1e+2 1e+3 1e+4 1e+5 1e+6
Suction (kPa) 4 CONCLUSIONS
Figure 10. SWCC of the compacted soil specimen. The stress-strain curve behaviour of the compacted soil
specimens with high suctions following both the dry-
2.0 ing and wetting path were measured from unconfined
Drying process compression tests. High suction values were achieved
Gravimetric water content (%)

Wetting process
in the specimens by controlling relative humidity. The
1.5
unconfined compressive strength of the compacted
specimens was determined under unconfined condi-
1.0 tions using specially designed triaxial equipment with
a dual cylinder triaxial cell. The peak shear strength
Suction range used for
unconfined compression tests values for all the tested specimens were observed to
0.5 occur at axial strains lower than 1%. The variation of
shear strength with respect to high soil suction values
both for drying and wetting paths exhibited essentially
0.0
1000 10000 100000 1000000 horizontal shear strength envelope in the high suction
Soil suction (kPa)
range used in this study.

Figure 11a. SWCC of the compacted soil specimens in the

high suction range. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

100 This research work was supported by the Grants-

Unconfined compressive strength (kPa)

(number) : RH in-Aid for Scientific Research (No.18206051) from

80
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
(50) (40) Technology, Japan.
(60)
(70)
60
(80)

40
REFERENCES

Drying process Bishop, A.W. and Donald, I.B. 1961. The experimental study
20
Wetting process of partially saturated soil in triaxial apparatus, Proceed-
ings of fifth International conference on Soil Mechanics
0 and Foundation Engineering, 1: 3–21.
0 50000 100000 150000 Blatz, J.A. and Graham, J. 2000. A system for controlled
Soil suction (kPa) suction in triaxial tests, Géotechnique, 50(4): 465–478.
Cui, Y.J. and Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behavior
Figure 11b. Variation of unconfined compressive strength of an unsaturated silt, Géotechnique, 46(2): 291–311.
with respect to soil suction in the high suction range. Delage, P., Howat, M.D. and Cui, Y.J. 1998. The relation-
ship between suction and swelling properties in a heavily
compacted unsaturated clay, Engineering Geology, 50:
31–48.
The SWCC and the relationship between uncon- Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics for
fined compressive strength and suction from the Unsaturated Soils, John Wiley & Sons, USA.
two different series (drying path and wetting path) Infante Sedano, J.A., Vanapalli, S.K. and Garga, V.K. 2007.
highlighting the high suction range are plotted in Modified ring shear apparatus to determine the shear

446
 strength of unsaturated soils testing, Geotechnical Testing
Journal, 30(1): 1–9.
Ng, C.W.W., Zhan, L.T. and Cui, Y.J. 2002. A new simple
system for measuring volume changes in unsaturated
soils, Comput. Graph. Image Process, 39: 757–764.
Nishimura, T. and Fredlund, D.G. 2003. A new triaxial appa-
ratus for high total suction using relative humidity control,
12th Asian Regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, 65–68.
Nishimura, T. and Vanapalli, S.K. 2005. Volume change
and shear strength behavior of an unsaturated soil with
high soil suction, 16th International Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 563–566.
447
Oteo-Mazo, C., Saez-Aunon, J. and Esteban, F. 1995. Labora-
tory tests and equipment with suction control, Proceedings
of the 1st International Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
Paris, 3: 509–1515.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G. and Pufahl, D.E. 1996.
The relationship between the soil-water characteristic
curve and the shear strength of a compacted glacial till.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, GTJODJ 19(3): 259–268.
Vanapalli, S.K. and Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Comparison
of empirical procedures to predict the shear strength
of unsaturated soils uses the soil-water characteristic
curve. Geo-Denver 2000, ASCE, Special Publication 99:
195–209.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effect of suction on compressibility and shear behaviour of unsaturated

silty soil

A.R. Estabragh
Faculty of Soil and Water Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

A.A. Javadi
School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Exeter, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the effect of suction on compressibility
and shear behaviour of unsaturated silty soil under various types of loading. A series of laboratory experiments
have been conducted in a double-walled triaxial cell on samples of a compacted silty soil. In the experiments
the soil samples were subjected to isotropic consolidation followed by unloading and subsequent reloading
under constant suction. The experimental results will be presented in the context of an elasto-plastic model for
unsaturated soil. The effect of suction on mechanical behaviour of unsaturated silty soil will be presented and
discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION of unsaturated soil. Fredlund and Morgenstern (1977)

Unsaturated soil is a three phase material contain-
ing solid particles, water and air. The mechanical
behaviour of unsaturated soil is strongly influences
by both pore air pressure (ua ) and pore water pressure
(uw ). The difference between ua and uw is defined
as suction (s = ua − uw ). Early investigations of the
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils focused on
attempts to combine total stress, σ pore air pressure,
ua and pore water pressure, uw within a single effective
stress, σ  as suggested by Bishop (1959):
σ  = σ − ua + χ(ua − uw ) (1)
where χ is a factor varying with the degree of sat-
uration, Sr from zero for dry soil to unity for fully
saturated conditions.
Jenning and Burland (1962) were the first authors
to challenge the validity of Bishop’s effective stress.
They recognised that the mechanical behaviour of an
unsaturated soil can not be described in term of a single
stress state parameter because the suction within the
pore water and external stress applied to the boundary
of a soil element act in qualitatively different ways on
the soil skeleton. Therefore this led to use of two stress
state variables: net stress (σ − ua ) and suction (s).
One of the application of the concept of two inde-
pendent stress state variable is to explain the volume
change behaviour of unsaturated soil. Matyas and
Radhakrishna (1968) were amongst the first researchers
to consider the two stress state variables as two inde-
pendent stress state for describing the volume change
proposed sets of constitutive equations to relate the
volume change of unsaturated soil to two stress state
variable. Another important contribution of two stress
state variables was the development of a constitu-
tive model for unsaturated soil behaviour by Fredlund
et al. (1978) who suggested a relationship between the
shear strength of unsaturated soil and two stress state
variables as:
τ = c + (σ − ua ) tan φ  + (ua − uw ) tan φ b (2)
where c and φ  are the cohesive and friction angle
(with respect to effective stress) at saturation condition
and φ b is the angle of internal friction with respect to
suction.
In recent years researchers have been attempting to
analyse unsaturated soil in terms of constitutive rela-
tions linking volume change; shear deformation and
strength in the context of a single elasto-plastic model.
Alonso et al. (1987) were among the first researcher
to propose an integrated framework incorporating both
the volumetric and shear behaviour of unsaturated soil.
This proposed framework was based on the theory of
elasto-plastic and was initially proposed in qualitative
way, rather than with full mathematical development.
A fully developed mathematical formulation for unsat-
urated soil was proposed by Alonso et al. (1990) in the
form of critical state type model.
This study focuses on the effect of suction on the
consolidation and shear strength behaviour of unsat-
urated silty soil. In what follows the experimental
program and results are presented and discussed.

449
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES 1.75

s = 300 kPa
A series of suction controlled consolidation and triax- 1.7

Specific volume,
ial tests were carried out on samples of compacted silty
soil to investigate the influence of suction on mechani- 1.65

cal behaviour of unsaturated soil. The silty soil used in s = 100 kPa
s = 200 kPa
this work consist of 5% sand, 90% silt and 5% clay. It 1.6

had a liquid limit of 29% and plasticity index of 19%.

All samples were prepared at a water content of 10% 1.55 s = 0kPa
(4% below the optimum value from the standard proc-
tor compaction test). The samples were compacted by 1.5

static compaction in nine layers with each layer being 100 1000
subjected to a vertical stress 1600 kPa. Mean net stress, p′ : kP
The tests on unsaturated soil samples were con-
ducted in a Bishop-Wesley hydraulic triaxial cell, Figure 2. Normal consolidation lines for different values of
modified to a double-walled cell by Estabragh et al. suction.
(2004). The suction in the samples was controlled by
the axis translation technique. The samples were ini-
tially subjected to an equalization stage. Subsequently
all samples were subjected to isotropic consolidation
0.12
to the defined mean net stress. The next stage involved
isotropic unloading to a predefined value and final step
was shearing (reloading). 0.1
s)

0.08
3 TEST RESULTS
0.06
In consolidation tests the mean net stress was increased
from 20 or 50 kPa to 550 kPa (target value) while hold-
ing suction constant (0, 100, 200 or 300 kPa). Typical 0.04
variation of specific volume (v) with mean net stress 0 100 200 300
(p ) during consolidation is shown in Figure 1. It is Suction, s : kPa
shown in this figure that the volume of soil decreased
as mean net stress increased. A continuous increase in Figure 3. Variation of λ(s) with suction.
mean net stress caused the soil to start yielding at some
point. The values of yield stresses were estimated by
the method of intersection of two linear segments of the
consolidation curve as suggested by Cui and Delage
(1996). As expected the yield stresss increased with
increasing suction. When the yield stress at a particu-
lar value of suction was exceeded, the soil state falls
1.82 on an isotropic normal consolidation line as shown in
s = 200 kPa
Figure 2. The slope of normal consolidation line (λ(s))
s = 300 kPa
1.77 and its intercept (N (s)) were calculated from results.
Specific volume, v

1.72
The variation of λ(s) with suction is shown in Figure 3.
Drained shear tests were performed at the end of
s = 100 kPa
1.67 unloading stage at constant cell pressure and suction.
In this work five cell pressures (50, 100, 200, 300 and
1.62 400 kPa), four suction (0, 100, 200 and 300 kPa) and
s = 0 kPa a number of pre-defined value of OCR (overconsoli-
1.57
dation ratio) were used. During the test the variation
1.52 specific volume and water content were recorded. Typ-
10 100 1000 ical results of the triaxial tests for s = 100 kPa are
Mean net stress, p ′ : kPa shown in Figure 4. Compression of a sample during
shearing is expressed using a negative sign, and a posi-
Figure 1. Variation of specific volume during consolidation tive sign is used for dilation of the sample in the graphs
for different values of suction. of volumetric strain versus axial strain.

450
 1000 40 0

3 = 400 kPa
800
Deviator stress, q : kPa

30 0

Suction , s : kPa
600 3 = 300 kPa
20 0
400 3 = 200 kPa

200 3 = 100 kPa 10 0

3 = 50 kPa
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 100 200 300

Axial strain, a:%

Mean net stress, p ′: kPa
(a)
Figure 5. Loading-collapse (LC) yield curve.
3

3= 50 kPa
%

1 50 0
v:

3= 300 kPa
3 = 200 kPa
-1
Volume strain,

Deviator stress, q : kPa

-3
40 0

-5
3 = 100 kPa

-7
3= 400 kPa
30 0
-9

0 5 10 15 20
20 0
Axial strain, a :%
0 10 0 20 0 300
(b)
Suction, s : kPa
Figure 4. Stress-strain curves (a), volumetric–axial strain
curve at s = 100 kPa under various cell pressures. Figure 6. Variation of maximum deviator stress with
suction.

10 0

4 DISCUSSION
Cohesion,c : kPa

For the isotropic stress state, the intersection of the

yield surface with q = 0 plane defines a loading- 50
collapse (LC) yield curve, with the isotropic yield
stress increasing with increase in suction from the
saturated value zero suction. The stresses on the LC
yield curve correspond to virgin state, and the result-
ing values of specific volume lie on a unique isotropic 0

normal compression surface in v − p – space s. 0 10 0 20 0 30 0

This corresponds to a series of normal compression Suction, s : kPa

lines for different values of suction in the v − p
plane. The LC yield curve was produced from the Figure 7. Variation of cohesion with suction.
yield points obtained from the isotropic consolidation
curves (Fig. 5). The shape of the LC yield curve is
consistent with that proposed in the model of Alonso consistent with model of Alonso et al. (1990) who pro-
et al. (1990). posed that the slope of isotropic normal consolidation
It was found from the experimental results that lines λ(s) decreases monotonically with increasing
λ(s) is a function of suction. The value of λ(s) suction from saturation condition.
decreased with increasing suction (for suction greater The results of triaxial test at cell pressure of 50 kPa
than 80 kPa) but λ(s) appeared to decrease sharply (Fig. 4) shows that the deviator stress first increased
as the suction reduced to zero. This behaviour was not to a peak value of 250 kPa at about 2% axial strain

451
after which it became nearly constant. During shear-
ing the volume of the sample increased after a slight
initial contraction. In test with cell pressure of 100 kPa
shearing continued up to an axial strain of about 18%
as shown in Figure 4. The deviator stress increased
to a peak value of about 370 kPa at axial strain of
nearly 2% and then remained nearly constant while the
volume of sample decreased. The shear tests for cell
pressures of 200, 300 and 400 kPa were performed
up to 12, 15 and 18% axial strains respectively. In
these tests the deviator stress increased to a peak value
and then remained nearly constant. In the tests with
cell pressure of 50 kPa and suctions of 200 and 300
kPa the deviator stress first increased and then slightly
decreased and during shearing the volume of these
samples increased after a slight initial contraction.
Therefore these samples with cell pressure of 50 kPa
exhibited a relatively brittle behaviour during shear-
ing. This behaviour can be attributed to the influence of
suction on the stiffness, brittleness and dilatancy of the
soil sample at low confining pressure. Figure 6 shows
typical results of variation of maximum deviator stress
with suction at constant cell pressure. This figure
shows that the deviator stress increases with increasing
suction. The brittleness of soil decreased with increas-
ing confining pressure and the strength increases with
increasing suction in a non linear fashion. Under con-
stant suction the increase in cell pressure causes a
progressive evolution from dilatancy to compression
behaviour until the dilatancy completely disappears.
Figure 7 presents another pattern of increase in cohe-
sion intercept with increase in suction at the peak
shear stress for all samples tested at different confining
pressures.
5 CONCLUSION
An experimental program consisting of a series of con-
trolled suction consolidation and drained triaxial tests
were used to investigate the effect of suction on subse-
quent mechanical behaviour of unsaturated silty soil.
452
Based on the test results the following conclusion can
be drawn:
With increasing suction the yield stress increases
but λ(s) generally decreases.
The LC yield curve is consistent with the model of
Alonso et al. (1990).
Dilatancy in the sample depends on the value of
suction: at a constant cell pressure, a greater suction
causes more dilatancy.
For a given cell pressure, the increase in soil stiff-
ness depends on the value of suction. Both suction and
confining pressure affect the shear strength behaviour
of unsaturated soil and cohesion is also a function of
suction in a non linear fashion.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Hight, D.W. 1987. Special
problem soils. General report. In proceedings of the 9th
European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineer ing, Vol. 3, pp. 1087–1146.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive for
partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40, No.3, 405–430.
Bishop, A.W. (1959). The principle of effective stress.
Teknisk Ukeblad 106, No.39, 859–863.
Cui, Y, J., and Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic
behaveiour of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotech-
nique, Vol. 46, No.2, 405–430.
Estabragh, A.R., Javadi, A.A. and Boot, J.C. 2004. Effect of
compaction pressure on consolidation behaviour of unsat-
urated silty soil. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 41,
No.3, 540–550.
Fredlund, D.G., and Morgestern, N.R. 1977. Stress state vari-
ables for unsaturated soils. Journal of the Geotechnical
Engineering, Division, ASCE, Vol. 15, No.3, 313–321.
Fredlund, D.G., Rahardjo, H. and Gan, J.K.M. 1978. The
shear strength of unsaturated soil, Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, No.15, 313–321.
Jenning, J.E.B. and Burland, J.B. 1962. Limitation to the use
of effective stress in partially saturated soils, Géotech-
nique, 12, No.2, 125–144.
Matyas, E.L. and Radhakrishna, H.S. 1968. Volume change
characteristics of partially saturated soils. Géotechnique,
Vol. 18, No.4, 432–448.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Mechanical behaviour of an unsaturated clayey sand

A. Mirzaii & S.S. Yasrebi

University of Tarbiat Modares, Tehran, Iran

B. Gatmiri
University of Tehran, Iran
Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausses, France

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the mechanical behaviour of an unsaturated clayey sand. 12 triaxial
compression tests were performed on a sand-kaolinite mixture, including 3 saturated drained (CD), 3 satu-
rated undrained (CU) and 6 unsaturated constant water content (CW) triaxial tests. Unsaturated constant water
content tests were carried out with a double-walled triaxial cell and using the axis translation technique. The
soil samples were remolded and brought to initial matrix suctions of 100 and 150 kPa. The soil specimens were
consolidated and sheared under different values of net confining stress. Based on the results, the stress-strain and
critical state behaviour of the soil are shown in terms of net stresses and suction. The water retention behaviour
is presented as a surface relating degree of saturation to suction and specific volume.

1 INTRODUCTION in error by Escario & Saez (1986). This nonlinear-

Bishop and Blight (1963) presented the principle of
effective stress in unsaturated soils by using two inde-
pendent stress variables of matrix suction (ua − uw )
and net normal stress (σ − ua ) as:
σ  = (σ − ua ) + χ(ua − uw ) (1)
where σ  is the effective stress, σ is the total stress and
ua , uw are pore air and water pressures respectively.
χ is the effective stress parameter and has a value of
zero for dry soils; while the soil is saturated it becomes
equal to 1 and Equation 1 is similar to the principle of
effective stress in saturated soils described by Terzaghi
(1936).
Fredlund, Morgenstern and Widger (1978) intro-
duced the shear strength of unsaturated soils by using
two stress variables of matrix suction and net normal
stresses:
τ = c + (σ − ua ) tan ϕ  + (ua − uw ) tan ϕ b (2)
where τ is the shear stress, ϕ  is the effective angle
of internal friction and ϕ b is the angle of internal fric-
tion with respect to matrix suction. The value of ϕ 
was assumed to be constant for all values of matrix
suction and was taken to be equal to that measured
in saturated conditions. Additional test data inter-
preted using Equation 2 were presented by Ho &
Fredlund (1982). However the use of a linear rela-
tionship between τ and ua − uw was shown to be
ity was confirmed by Fredlund, Rahardjo & Gan
(1987) who assumed ϕ b varied as a function of matrix
suction.
Some attempts has also been made to use soil-
water retention curves for predicting the mechanical
behaviour such as models suggested by Fredlund
et al. (1994) and Vanapalli et al. (1996) for pre-
dicting the shear strength of unsaturated soils by
using the retention curves and saturated shear strength
parameters.
Shear strength equations formulated for saturated
soils, within the context of critical state models have
also been extended to unsaturated soils. Several mod-
els have been proposed (e.g. Toll 1990; Alonso et al.
1990; Wheeler and Sivakumar 1995) to describe the
shear strength of an unsaturated soil under critical state
condition.
The previous proposed frameworks relate the stress-
strain behaviour to the variation of net stresses and
matrix suction and do not provide information on the
variation of degree of saturation, Sr . In early attempts,
changes in degree of saturation were related to the
matrix suction by assuming either a unique water
retention curve (or SWCC curve) or a unique ‘‘state
surface’’ expression relating Sr to matrix suction and
net stress. However the relationship between degree
of saturation, Sr and matrix suction, s would be non-
unique due to the changes of void ratio and ‘‘hydraulic
hysteresis’’ (Gallipoli, Wheeler & Karstunen 2003).
By neglecting the effect of hydraulic hysteresis, the
relationship between matrix suction, s and degree of

453
saturation, Sr should be modified to take account of The soil samples had a diameter of 49.5 mm and
volume changes. The general hypothesis proposed by height of 100 mm and were compacted in 8 equal lay-
Gallipoli, Wheeler & Karstunen is: ers and brought to a dry density that was 84% of the
maximum dry density achieved in the Standard Proc-
Sr = f (v, s) (3) tor compaction test. The physical properties of soil
samples are given in Table 2.
where v is the specific volume. Considering Equa-
tion 3, Gallipoli, Wheeler & Karstunen proposed a Table 1. Classification properties of soil.
unique relationship between matrix suction and degree
of saturation incorporating the effect of changes in Soil type: (unified system) SC
specific volume as: Liquid limit % 23.5
Plastic limit % 14
 m Plasticity index % 9.5
1 Specific gravity (Gs ) 2.66
Sr =
n (4)
1 + (v − 1)ψ · s Clay percent % 40
Optimum water content∗ % 9.58
Maximum dry unit weight∗ (kN/m3 ) 19.71
where , ψ, n, m are soil constants. Equation 4
∗
describes a series of water-retention curves of Sr plot- From standard proctor compaction test.
ted against s each for a different value of v. As the
specific volume decreases, the dimensions of voids Table 2. Physical properties of compacted soil samples.
would be expected to decrease, so that a higher value
of suction would be required to produce a given degree Wet unit weight (kN/m3 ) 18.04
of saturation, resulting in a corresponding shift of Dry unit weight (kN/m3 ) 16.64
the water retention curves. Initial Sr % 39.36
This paper presents the results of an experimental Moisture content % 8.4
programme including a series of 12 triaxial compres- Void ratio 0.568
Porosity 0.362
sion tests to study the mechanical behaviour and water
retention behaviour of an unsaturated clayey sand.

500
CD 200
2 TEST PROGRAMME & MATERIALS
400

Constant water content triaxial tests were carried out

Dev. Stress (kPa)

300
on unsaturated soil samples of clayey sand. In addition
CD 100
consolidated drained (CD) and consolidated undrained
200
(CU) triaxial compression tests were performed to
define soil behaviour in the saturated condition. The CD 50
100
soil tested was a mix of 60% sand and 40% kaolin-
ite. The particle size distribution of the soil mixture is
0
shown in Figure 1 and classification properties of the 0 5 10 15 20 25
soil are given in Table 1. Axial strain %
(a)
Axial strain %
100 0 5 10 15 20 25
0

80
-1
Vol. Strain %

60
Finer %

-2

40 CD 50
-3

20 -4 CD 100

CD 200
0 -5

0.001 0.01 0.1 1 (b)

Diameter (mm)
Figure 2. Results for saturated CD tests plotted against axial
Figure 1. Particle size distribution of soil. strain: a) Deviator stress, q; b) Volume strain %.

454
 Three drained triaxial compression tests (CD) were 600
CW-S100-200
performed on saturated samples. The samples were
450
isotropically consolidated to effective consolidation

Dev. Stress (kPa)

pressures of 50, 100 and 200 kPa and were sheared CW-S100-100
300
with an axial strain rate of 0.05%/min. The shear- CW-S100-50
ing stage was continued until the samples reached the 150
critical states. The results are plotted in Figure 2.
Three undrained triaxial compression tests (CU) 0
were carried out on saturated samples at effective con- 0 5 10 15 20 25

solidation pressures of 50, 100 and 200 kPa, with Axial Strain %

(a)
200
Axial Strain %
CU 200 0 5 10 15 20 25
0
150
Dev. Stress ( kPa)

-1 CW-S100-50

-2
CU 100

Vol. Strain %
100
-3
CW-S100-100

CU 50 -4

50 -5

-6 CW-S100-200

0 -7

0 5 10 15 20 25 (b)
Axial strain %
(a)
CW-S100-50
160
160
CW-S100-100 CW-S100-200
CU 200
Matrix suction ( kPa )

120

120

80
P.W.P ( kPa)

80
CU 100 40

40
CU 50 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Axial strain %
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 (c)
Axial strain %
(b) Figure 5. Results for constant water content tests at ini-
tial matrix suction of 100 kPa plotted against axial strain: a)
Figure 3. Results for saturated CU tests plotted against axial Deviator stress, q; b) Volumetric strains; c) Matrix suction.
strain: a) Deviator stress, q; b) Changes in P.W.P.

shearing at an axial strain rate of 0.5%/min. The shear-

5
ing stage was continued until the pore water pressure
S100 of the specimen remained constant and the sample
4
reached a critical state. The results are plotted in
Vol. of water flow (cc)

3 Figure 3.
S150
A series of constant water content triaxial tests were
2 carried out on unsaturated soil samples with a suction-
controlled doubled-wall triaxial cell, designed and
1
built at the University of Tarbiat Modares. After com-
0
paction of the soil samples, they were brought to initial
0 50 100 150 200 250 matrix suctions of 100 or 150 kPa using the method
Time (hr) of wetting and axis translation technique. During this
equalization stage an elevated air pressure of 300 kPa
Figure 4. Wetting curves during equalization stage. was applied to the top of the soil samples and water

455
 750 in volume of the specimens were determined by mea-
CW-S150-200 suring the volume of flow in or out of the inner acrylic
600
triaxial cell and a correction was applied due to the
downward movement of the loading ram. A constant
Dev. Stress (kPa)

450
CW-S150-100
axial strain rate of 0.009%/min was applied to the spec-
300
imens to give consistent readings of matrix suction.
CW-S150-50 The shearing stage continued until the sample reached
150 a critical state. The results are shown in Figures 5 and 6.

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Axial Strain %
3 RESULTS
(a)
3.1 Saturated soil behaviour
Axial Strain %
The results of 6 saturated CD and CU tests are plotted
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0 in Figures 2 and 3 respectively. The saturated drained
CW-S150-50 tests (CD50, CD100 and CD200) (Fig. 2) show that
-2 both the deviator stress and the volumetric strain lev-
eled off at axial strains of 20–25% and the soil reached
Vol. Strain %

-4
CW-S150-100 a critical state. In the saturated undrained tests (CU50,
CU100 and CU200) (Fig. 3) the deviator stress and
-6
pore water pressure became constant at axial strains
CW-S150-200
-8 of 15–20% and similar to the drained tests the soil
reached a critical state. The stress paths for saturated
-10 drained and undrained tests are plotted in Figure 7.
The critical state and Mohr Coulomb parameters of
(b) the saturated soil are presented in Table 3 obtained
from CD and CU tests. Due to the relative compaction
210
CW-S150-100 CW-S150-50 of the soil, volumes of the specimens decreased dur-
CW-S150-200 ing drained tests and pore water pressure increased in
170
Matrix suction (kPa)

undrained tests.
130

3.2 Unsaturated soil behaviour

90
Constant water content triaxial tests were continued
until the deviator stress, volumetric strain and matrix
50
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
suction tended to constant values. The test results are
Axial strain % shown in Figures 5 and 6 for initial matrix suctions of
(c) 100 and 150 kPa respectively. Table 4 shows the values
of stress state and phase state variables at the end of
Figure 6. Results for constant water content tests at ini-
tial matrix suction of 150 kPa plotted against axial strain: 500
a) Deviator stress, q; b) Volumetric strains; c) Matrix suction.
400 CD 200
Dev. Stress ( kPa)

back pressure of 200 or 150 kPa was applied to the bot- 300
tom of the specimen through a 5 bar high entry porous
ceramic disk to reduce the initial matrix suction of the 200
CD 100

samples to 100 or 150 kPa. This stage continued until CU 200

CD 50
the volume of the water in the soil remained constant 100 CU 100
CU 50
(6–8 days). The wetting curves during the equalization
stage are plotted in Figure 4. 0
After the equalization stage the soil samples were 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

isotropically consolidated to a net confining pressure Mean effective stress (kPa)

of 50, 100 or 200 kPa. The specimens were then
sheared at constant water content by preventing any Figure 7. Stress paths for saturated drained and undrained
flow of water in or out of the specimen. The changes tests.

456
Table 3. Critical state and Mohr Coulomb parameters during the shearing stage. Considering Tables 3 and 4,
obtained from saturated drained and undrained tests. the values obtained for ϕ  from unsaturated constant
water tests have good consistency with the value
c (kpa) 3.8
ϕ  (deg) 30.7
gained from saturated drained and undrained tests. The
M 1.30 values obtained for ϕ b are lower than the values gained
λ −0.061 for ϕ  from constant water tests.
 1.73 The variations of degree of saturation, Sr matrix
suction, s and specific volume, v are plotted in Figure 8
by passing a three dimensional fitting curve through
Table 4. Failure stress state and phase state variables at the data obtained from shearing stage. Considering
constant water triaxial tests. Figure 8, the specimen air volume tends to decrease
during axial loading and causes a decrease in the void
S100 S150 spaces and particularly volume of the specimen. As
Test the void ratio decreases, the specimens become denser
(σ3 − ua ) 50∗ 100 200 50 100 200 and the values of degree of saturation and soil matrix
suction increases.
(σ1 − σ3 )f 199.9 300 524 232.9 356 616
(ua − uw )f 152.5 153.7 151 186.8 199.1 191
(Sr )f % 49.5 53.7 62.9 45.8 52.2 61.9
(1 + e)f 1.53 1.48 1.41 1.53 1.50 1.4 4 CONCLUSIONS
c (kpa) 3.81 3.81

ϕ (deg) 33.15 34.62 34.13 29.57 31.39 30.8 In this paper the mechanical behaviour of an unsatu-
ϕ b (deg) 7.72 5.34 6.79 10.14 7.38 9.216 rated clayey sand was studied in terms of net stresses
and matrix suction, s. In addition, water retention
∗ Stress variables are in kPa. behavior was represented as a relationship between
degree of saturation, matrix suction and specific vol-
ume. Based on the results as the initial matrix suctions
of specimens increased the value of degree of satura-
1
tion reduced and this caused an increase in the value of
0.9 deviator stress during shearing. During constant water
Degree of saturation,Sr

content shearing the reduction of void spaces caused an

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0 2
50
100
150
Matrix Suction, s (kPa)
1.4
Figure 8. Surface fitting experimental data obtained for
shearing stage in constant water tests in (Sr , s, v) space.
each test. The values of the shear strength parameters
proposed by Fredlund et al. (see Equation 2) are also
calculated and presented in Table 4.
Based on the results (Figs. 5 and 6) the volumetric
strains in test group S150 are greater than in the tests
carried out at an initial suction of 100 kPa (S100). As
the initial volume of air in the void spaces increases,
it causes a higher reduction in the total volume of the
soil during shearing, explaining the greater volumet-
ric strains in the samples of S150. The irregularities in
the deviator stress diagrams (Figs. 5(a) and 6(a)) were
probably due to the occurrence of shear zone failures
increase in the values of Sr and s. Based on the results,
by relating mechanical behaviour to net stresses and
suction and by assuming a relationship between matrix
suction, s and degree of saturation, Sr incorporating
the variations of specific volume, it is possible to rep-
resent both mechanical and water retention behaviour
of the unsaturated soil.
1.8
1.6
Specifc Volume,v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by grants given by the Uni-
versity of Tarbiat Modares and performed under the
supervision of Dr. S.S. Yasrebi. The authors are thank-
ful for useful comments of Dr. D.G. Toll (University
of Durham) and Prof. N. Khalili (University of New
South Wales) during the project.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Bishop, M.A. & Blight, G.E. 1963. Some aspects of effective
stress in saturated and partly saturated soil. Geotechnique
13(3): 177–197.

457
Escario, V. & Saez, J. 1986. The shear strength of partly sat-
urated soils. Some aspects of effective stress in saturated
and partly saturated soil. Géotechnique 36(3): 453–456.
Fredlund, D.G., Rahardjo, H. Gan, J.K.M. 1987. Nonlinearity
of strength envelope for unsaturated soils. Proc. 6th Int.
Conf. expansive soils. New Dehli, 49–54.
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. & Widger, R.A. 1978.
The shear strength of unsatuarted soils. Can. Géotech. J.
15(3): 177–197, 313–321.
Fredlund, D.G. & Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil-water
characteristic curve. Can. Geotech. J., 31(4):533–546.
Gallipoli, D., Wheeler, S.J. & Karstunen, M. 2003. Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Géotechnique 53(1): 105–112.
Ho, D.Y.F. Fredlund, D.G. 1982. Increase in strength due
to suction for two Hong-Hong soils. Proc. Conf. Engng
458
and Construction in Tropical and residual soils, Honolulu,
263–295.
Terzaghi, K. 1936. The shearing resistance of saturated soils
and the angle between the planes of shear. Proc. 1st Int.
Conf. Soil Mech. 1:54–56.
Toll, D.G. 1990. A framework for unsaturated soil behaviour.
Géotechnique 40(1): 31–44.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E& Clifton, A.W.
1996. Model for the prediction of shear strength with
respect to soil suction. Can. Geotech. J. 33: 379–392.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic critical
state framework for unsaturated soil. Géotechnique 45(1):
35–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Shear strength of unsaturated soil and its influence on slope stability

O. Tomboy, V. Whenham & M. De Vos

Belgian Building Research Institute, Belgium

R. Charlier
Université de Liège, Belgium

J. Maertens
Jan Maertens bvba & Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

J.-C. Verbrugge
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

ABSTRACT: Within the framework of a national project undertaken in Belgium (2003–2009), investigations
on the stability of temporary trenches in unsaturated soil are carried out by means of theoretical and experimental
approaches. It is well known that soil matric suction is an essential stress variable that influences the shear strength
of unsaturated soil and consequently slope stability. In this contribution, the characterisation of the shear strength
of a partially saturated quaternary loam is achieved by using simple unconfined compression tests. The derived
shear strength is then used for numerical simulations of a 5 m depth full-scale experimental trench, executed
and monitored in the unsaturated loam at the site of Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI). Comparison
of numerical investigations and practical observations reveals that the adopted procedure remains on the safe
side. This paper includes descriptions of the laboratory investigations, full scale experiments and numerical
simulations.

1 INTRODUCTION in this project since the concept of apparent cohesion

At present, common design methods which are applied
in Belgium for trench and slope stability do not take
into account the suction which can be present in silty
and sandy unsaturated soils. This suction is one of
the reasons why steeply inclined slopes remain stable,
but this stability can not be proven by common design
rules. Because of the large occurrence of unsaturated
loam and sand soils (possibly after groundwater low-
ering) during excavations, a research project on the
stability of temporary trenches in unsaturated soil has
been carried out in Belgium since 2003.
The project aims at establishing guidelines for con-
tractors and consultants to take into account the degree
of saturation-dependent strength of soil for temporary
trenches. To address this issue, the seasonal varia-
tions of suction in different soils typically encountered
in Belgium are firstly investigated. Its influence on
trench stability is then quantified thanks to the combi-
nation of laboratory tests and full scale experimental
trenches.
Complete hydro-mechanical modelling is known to
be very complex. Simplifying assumptions are made
is considered in order to take into account the influ-
ence of capillary forces or matric suction on slope
stability. The apparent cohesion is derived from sim-
ple laboratory tests, i.e. unconfined compression tests
and compared to traditional estimating methods. In
this paper the results obtained on a quaternary loam
found at the site of BBRI are presented. It includes
descriptions of the laboratory investigations, full scale
experiments and numerical simulations.
2 STRATEGY OF THE PROJECT
The actions undertaken to attain a better understanding
of the stability of temporary trenches in unsaturated
soils can be classified into three broad categories:
(1) laboratory tests for characterising the unsaturated
soils (mechanical and hydraulic behaviours), (2) mon-
itoring of a full scale experimental trench, and (3)
numerical investigations to validate the experimental
results. It was decided to focus on soils commonly
encountered in Belgium, i.e. mainly quaternary loam
and Brusselian sand. Among others, the site of BBRI

459
 Unconfined ca [kPa]
compression tests
w [%] Ψ [kPa]
d
SWR C
θ [%]
Figure 1. Relationship between the key parameters.
at Limelette where the subsoil consists of overlying
quaternary loam was selected.
At the site of BBRI, a total of nearly 80 tensiometers
have been installed since 2003 in the unsaturated loam
at different depths close to the full-scale experimental
trench. Knowing the evolution of the matric suction in
the soil, there is a great interest to adopt a methodology
that allows the apparent cohesion to be related to the
matric suction.
Figure 1 illustrates the strategy adopted within this
research concerning the determination of the appar-
ent cohesion. It shows the relationship between the
different key parameters, i.e. apparent cohesion ca ,
volumetric and gravimetric water contents θ and w,
and matric suction .
The strategy consists firstly in determining the
relationship between the apparent cohesion and the
gravimetric water content thanks to unconfined com-
pression tests. The results of these laboratory tests,
characterising the mechanical behaviour of the unsat-
urated quaternary loam, are presented in section 3. The
hydraulic behaviour, defined by the soil water reten-
tion curve of the soil, has then been obtained using the
Richards apparatus. The coupling of these characteri-
sations leads us finally to the link between the matric
suction and the apparent cohesion.
It should be emphasised that the procedure adopted
assumes that the effective friction angle is independent
of the confining pressure of the specimen and that the
matric suction remains relatively constant during the
unconfined compression test.
3 CHARACTERISATION OF SHEAR
STRENGTH BASED ON LABORATORY
EXPERIMENTS
Within the concept of effective stress, the shear
strength τf for an unsaturated soil may be given by
460
Equation 1 proposed by Fredlund et al. (1978)
τf = c + (σ − ua ) tan ϕ  + (ua − uw ) tan ϕ b (1)
where c is the effective cohesion (kPa); σ is the total
stress (kPa); ua is the pore air pressure (kPa); ϕ  is the
effective friction angle; uw is the pore water pressure
and ϕ b is the friction angle taking into account the
variations of matric suction. The difference (ua − uw )
is the matric suction. Compared to the shear strength
of a dry soil, it can be stated that the apparent cohesion
ca exhibited by an unsaturated soil is expressed as:
ca = (ua − uw ) tan ϕ b (2)
Several authors suggested expressions for tan ϕ b , as
e.g. Oberg & Salfors (1997) or Vanapalli et al. (1996).
According to Oberg & Salfors (1997), tan ϕ b can be
replaced as a first approximation by the degree of sat-
uration Sr multiplied by tan ϕ  . Vanapalli et al. (1996)
suggested a similar expression but used the normal-
ized volumetric water content = θ/θs (θ and θs are
the volumetric water content, and that one at satura-
tion, respectively) and a fitting factor k based on best
fit of their equation to experimental data. Garven and
Vanapalli (2006) suggested expression to estimate k as
a function of the plasticity index Ip of the soil. These
predicting approaches are listed in Table 1.
In this contribution a simple experimental approach
is adopted to determine the shear strength of an unsat-
urated soil. The approach proposed by Vanapalli et al.
(1999) has been selected to that end. It consists in per-
forming unconfined compression tests on unsaturated
soil samples.
At the failure, the stress state in the sample under
simple compression may be represented by the tra-
ditional Mohr circle as shown in Figure 2. In this
figure, the concept of apparent cohesion, reflecting the
influence of the partly saturated state, is emphasised.
Equation 3 expresses the apparent cohesion deduced
from an unconfined compression test. In order to
determine the apparent cohesion, only the saturated
parameters are required, i.e. the effective cohesion
and friction angle.
σ1(a)
ca =   − c (3)
2 tan π4 + ϕ2
Table 1. Predicting approaches for estimating the shear
strength of an unsaturated soil.
Appr. Equ. for tan ϕb Reference
1 Sr. tan ϕ Oberg & Sallfors (1997)
2 ( )k . tan ϕ Vanapalli et al. (1996)
 (a) unsaturated soil a function of the depth of the specimen: the samples
(b) saturated soil taken at a depth less than 2 m and those taken at a
greater depth. The distinction may be argued by the
heterogeneity of the ground. As revealed by the fric-
ca
tion ratio plotted on Figure 3, the 2 first meters exhibit
a more cohesive behaviour. If the data are grouped by
c' ' ' depth, then it can be observed that the apparent cohe-
1(b) 1(a)
, ' sion increases as the water content in the specimen
decreases, as would be expected.
Figure 2. Mohr circles at failure for an unconfined com- The determination of the SWRC has been made
pression test. with Richards apparatus. These results are presented in
Figure 5. An average of the experimental data and the
interpolation of Fredlund & Xing (1994) are plotted.
qc (MPa) Rf (%)
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 0 1 2 3 4 5 A different behaviour was also found for the samples
0 0 taken at more and less than 2 m.
2 2 Figure 6 depicts the apparent cohesion as a func-
4 4
tion of the matric suction for samples taken at depths
greater and less than 2 m. This figure is obtained using
z(m)
z(m)

6 6
the methodology proposed in Figure 1. In other words
8 8 it consists of coupling Figures 4 and 5.
10 10 As expected, the apparent cohesion increases as the
12 12
matric suction increases due to the increase of capillary
forces.
Figure 3. Average CPT results at the site of BBRI. The experimental data have been compared with
prediction methods listed in Table 1. The degree of
Table 2. Mechanical properties of the quaternary loam for
different periods of the year.
60
Sample depth < 2 m
apparent cohesion (kPa)

Oct. 2006 Dec. 2006 Feb. 2007 50

Sample depth > 2 m
Layer c ϕ   ca  ca  ca 40

30
<2.25 m 8 29.6 30 20 0 0 0 0
2.25–3 m 0 33.1 25 10 18 8 0 0 20
3–7 m 0 34.4 30 14 40 18 40 18 10
>7 m 0 35 – – – – – –
Safety factors 1.14 <1 <<1 0
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
gravimetric water content (%)

A series of 35 unconfined compression tests have Figure 4. Results of the unconfined compression tests on
been conducted on undisturbed specimens of quater- the quaternary loam.
nary loam with a natural gravimetric water content
ranging from 17% to 25%. The specimens have been
taken at several depths ranging from 0.5 m to 3.5 m. 45
40
The quaternary loam was extensively investigated
35
volumetric water content (%)

and described in Van Alboom & Whenham (2003).

Figure 3 depicts average results of eight cone penetra- 30

tion tests performed at the site of BBRI. The plasticity 25

index of the soil is found to be close to 10% for the 5 20

15
first meters and triaxial tests on saturated undisturbed exp. data : < 2m
10 exp. data > 2m
specimen have been performed to determine the effec- Fredlund & Xing : < 2m
5
tive mechanical properties. The mechanical properties Fredlund & Xing : > 2m
0
are given later in Table 2.
1 10 100 1000 10000
Figure 4 depicts the deduced apparent cohesion of matric suction (kPa)
the loam as a function of the gravimetric water con-
tent. Two different behaviours can be distinguished as Figure 5. Soil water characteristic curves of the loam.

461
 60 vertical trench. The goal of the second experiment
apparent cohesion (kPa)
exp. data : depth < 2m
50
(June 2005–June 2006) was to provide insight on the
Oberg & Salfors 1997 beneficial effect of protection installed on a slope.
40 Vanapalli et al. 1996 The protection aims at minimizing the water infil-
30 tration and in turn the variations of soil suction with
time. As a consequence, the slope remained stable for
20
longer time. For the third experiment (June 2006–June
10 2007), an enlargement and deepening of the trench
0 was executed (see further). The specific goal of that
experiment was to analyze the effect of a change in
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
trench geometries since inclination has been taken
matric suction (kPa) into account.
In this contribution, the results of the third exper-
60
exp. data : depth > 2m imental trenches are presented. More details on the
apparent cohesion (kPa)

50 Oberg & Salfors 1997
40 Vanapalli et al. 1996
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
matric suction (kPa)
Figure 6. Apparent cohesion derived from the matric
suction.
saturation (Sr ) required for the estimating approach
has been calculated based on the SWRC curves while
the k value has been calculated based on the plasticity
index Ip of the soil as proposed by Garven & Vanapalli
(2006).
The comparison reveals a relatively good agreement
between the experimental data and the predictions
which tend to be on the safe side.
4 FIELD EXPERIMENTS
Three experimental trenches have been excavated suc-
cessively in the unsaturated loam of the site of BBRI
between 2004 and 2006. The objective of these exper-
iments was to visualise the influence of the seasonal
variation of soil suction on the stability of full-scale
trenches. The geometries of the trenches have been
chosen in accordance with this objective, i.e. it should
remain stable during the dry season due to apparent
cohesion while it should collapse during winter (when
the soil suction decreases).
The experiments started each time in June during
the dry period and took place during about one year.
During the first experiment (June 2004–June 2005),
the slope consisted of 3 m deep vertical walls. Fail-
ure occurred in January 2005 and emphasized the
primordial effect of soil suction on the stability of a
results obtained for the previous experiments may be
found among others in De Vos & Whenham (2007),
Whenham et al. (2007) and Tomboy et al. (2007). For
the third experiment, a 20 m long and 5 m deep exper-
imental trench has been executed in June 2006. The
profile of the trench is depicted in Figure 7. A total of
nearly 80 tensiometers were installed to monitor the
soil suction. The investigated depths range from 0.5 m
to 3.5 m.
Figure 8 provides the matric suction measured
(weekly readings) during the period June 2006–June
2007 in the quaternary loam at the site of BBRI, while
Figure 9 presents the corresponding rain measure-
ments. The water table is situated at a depth of 55 m,
implying that it has no effect on the soil suction for the
investigated depths.
As a first approximation, changes in soil suction
would result mainly from infiltration and/or evapora-
tion. Figures 8–9 clearly point out that each decrease
of soil suction value at shallow depths corresponds to
a rain period. The influence of rainfall on soil suc-
tion appears mainly near the ground surface (0.5 m to
1.5 m depth). Moreover, it can be highlighted that dur-
ing summer, the evaporation involves a relatively rapid
increase of matric suction near the ground surface after
a rain event. This observation is not valid in winter.
On the other hand, it is clear from Figure 8 that the soil
suction remains relatively constant for depths larger
than 2 m. In other words, the matric suction has a more
11 m
North South
10˚
5m 3m
20˚ 2m
Figure 7. Profile of the experimental trench.

462
 Average 0,5m Average 1,0m Average 1,5m periods are given in Figure 10. It can be observed
Average 2,5m Average 3,5m that no damage occurred till the middle of February.
0 From December 2006 till February 2007, measure-
-10
ments reveal the soil suction value was about 0 near
the ground surface (depth < 2 m) while it decreases
Suction [kPa]

-20
from 20 kPa to nearly 0 kPa at 2.5 m depth (Fig. 8).
-30 On Figures 8–9, the failure period is represented
-40 by a vertical black line. It clearly points out that fail-
-50
ure occurred when the matric suction at 2.5 m fell to
nearly 0. A similar behaviour of the trench was already
-60
observed during the previous experiments (Whenham
07-Jun 07-Aug 07-Oct 07-Dec 06-Feb 08-Apr
et al. 2007 and Tomboy et al. 2007).
Figure 8. Average matric suction measurements around the
experimental trench at the site of BBRI.

40 5 NUMERICAL APPLICATION

Numerical investigations using 2D plane strain finite

30
element method has been conducted to simulate the
Rainfall [l/m²j]

trench corresponding to third full scale experiment

20 presented above (Fig. 10). Based on the results of
the cone penetration tests (Fig. 3) and the laboratory
10 characterisation, it was decided to consider four layers
to model the soil. The soil is modelled using elasto-
plasticity with a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion.
0
Three different periods have been chosen in order to
07-Jun 07-Aug 07-Oct 07-Dec 06-Feb 08-Apr
investigate the effect of matric suction on the stability
Figure 9. Rainfall measurement at the site of BBRI.
of the trench. Table 2 lists the three selected periods
and the corresponding sets of soil suction and apparent
cohesion. In Table 2, c ,  and ca are given in kPa and
ϕ  in ◦ .
a) b) For the numerical calculations, the apparent cohe-
sion has been added to the effective cohesion to obtain
the total cohesion. The calculated safety factors based
on the concept of ‘‘phi-c reduction’’ are also included
in Table 2.
The numerical investigations reveal that the appar-
c) ent cohesion introduced in the model is not sufficient
to assure the stability of the trench during the period
of December while the practice proved that the trench
remained stable during this period. That means that
the adopted procedure kept the numerical estimations
on the safe side.

Figure 10. Views of the experimental trench: a) August

2006, b) 13th February 2007 and c) 26th February 2007. 3 2

8 9
18 17
4 7

global behaviour and it changes only if an accumula-

tion of evaporation and/or infiltration occurred during 6 5 10

a large period (as e.g. during the winter when the evap-
oration is very small and consequently the infiltration 14 15

higher). y

A first collapse of the trench on the south side 0 x 1

appeared on 26 February 2007 after an important rain-

fall. Some pictures of the south slope for different Figure 11. Numerical model of the slope.

463
6 CONCLUSION
This paper aims at giving insights on the stability of
trenches in an unsaturated soil. To that end both lab-
oratory and full-scale tests have been conducted. The
investigated soil is a quaternary loam which has been
characterised with laboratory tests. From a mechanical
point of view, unconfined compression tests provided
the variation of the apparent cohesion as a function
of the water content. These results have been coupled
with the SWRC of the soil (obtained with the Richards
apparatus) in order to relate the apparent cohesion
to the matric suction of the soil. These experimental
results appear to be in good agreement with traditional
prediction methods.
An experimental trench has been constructed in
order to analyse the influence of the matric suction on
the stability of the trench at full scale. Measurements
reveal that sliding occurred when suction at 2.5 m tend
to 0 while the suction at higher depths remains more
stable and the suction at lower depths equalled nearly
0 for several weeks.
The numerical investigations show that the appli-
cation of the apparent cohesion deduced from the
characterisation of the soil is on the safe side since the
failure of the trench is modelled for a period which has
not been critical in practice. So, the use of the predic-
tion method to evaluate the apparent cohesion appears
to be on the safe side, at least for the studied case.
REFERENCES
BBRI—Research report. 2005. Stabilité des talus: Méthodes
de calcul avec prise en compte du degré de saturation du
sol, et déduction de règles pratiques pour l’exécution des
tranchées et fouilles temporaires, biennale 2003–2005.
De Vos, M. & Whenham, V. 2007. De stabiliteit van bouw-
putten in overzadigde gronden. Geotechniek, 2007 1:
50:55.
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. & Widger, R.A.
1978. The shear strength of unsaturated soils. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal 15: 313–321.
464
Fredlund, D.G. & Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil-water
characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 31:
521–532.
Garven, E.A. & Vanapalli, S.K. 2006. ‘‘Evaluation of empir-
ical procedures for predicting the shear strength of unsat-
urated soils’’, In Miller et al. (eds.) Proceedings of the
4th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils. 2–6
April 2006, Carefree, AZ. ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication no. 147. pp. 2570–2581.
Leclercq, J. & Verbrugge, J.C. 1986. Moisture influence on
the Cohesion of a Loam, Proceedings of the 8th Danube-
European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Founda-
tion Engineering, Nuremberg, Fed. Rep. of Germany,
September 24–26, 1986. Vol. 1: 147–149.
Öberg, A.-L. & Salfors, G. 1997. Determination of shear
strength parameters of unsaturated silts and sands based on
the water retention curves. Geotechnical Testing Journal,
Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 40–48.
Tomboy, O., Whenham, V., De Vos, M., Charlier, R.,
Maertens, J. & Verbrugge. 2007. Influence of soil suction
on trench stability. XIV European Conference on Soils
Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Madrid, Spain,
September 24–27, 2007.
Vanapalli, S.K., Pufahl, D.E. & Fredlund, D.G. 1999.
Interpretation of the shear strength of unsaturated
soils in undrained loading conditions. Proceedings of
the 52th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, Regina,
Saskatchewan, October 24–27, 1999: 643–650.
Vanapalli, D.G., Fredlund, D.E., Pufahl, D.E. & Clifton, A.W.
1996. Model for the prediction of shear strength with
respect to soil suction. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 33:
379–392.
Van Alboom, G. & Whenham, V. 2003. Soil investigation
campaign at Limelette (Belgium): Results. In J. Maertens
and N. Huybrechts (eds), Belgian Screw Pile Technology
—design and recent developments; Proceedings of
the 2nd symposium on screw piles, Brussels, Belgium,
May 7, 2003. Vol. 1: 21–70. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Whenham, V., De Vos, M., Legrand, C., Charlier, R.,
Maertens, J. & Verbrugge, J.-C. 2007. Influence of soil
suction on trench stability. 2nd International Conference
on Mechanics of unsaturated soils, Weimar, Germany,
March 7–9, 2007.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Behaviour of a silt used in flood embankment construction in Indonesia

G. McCloskey, M. Sanchez, M. Dyer & M. Kenny

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

ABSTRACT: Oedometer tests were carried out on a silt used in flood embankment construction in Indonesia.
Three test series were carried out at dry-of-optimum, wet-of-optimum and prepared wet and then dried, initial
conditions. Where collapse was observed, the collapse potential for the specimen was evaluated and severity of
collapse determined. This material has been sampled from embankments in East Java, Indonesia where there is
a recurrent history of geotechnical failures. These preliminary results show the importance of good compaction
control at the site and help to explain some failures observed at the site.

1 INTRODUCTION and the deep-seated collapse of compacted soils. Sev-

Many unsaturated soils may undergo a significant set-
tlement when wetted under load. If water is readily
available then this settlement can occur rapidly; this
is known as collapse. There are four main conditions
required for collapse to occur: (Barden et al. 1973,
Mitchell 1976) (i) an open partly unstable, partly satu-
rated fabric; (ii) high enough total stress that causes the
structure to be metastable; (iii) a binding or cementing
agent which stabilises the structure when dry and (iv)
addition of water. Each of these must be present to pro-
duce a collapse phenomenon, the degree to which each
is present influences the resulting collapse observed.
Barden et al. (1973) postulated three types of
bonding material or force: (i) simple capillary forces
between silt-silt and silt-sand bonds; (ii) clay but-
tresses, where clay plates exist between sand or silt
grains and (iii) chemical agents such as iron oxide, or
calcium carbonate, often the bonding agent in loessial
soils. However in many cases more than one of these
types of bonding will be involved in stabilising the
unsaturated soil.
Lawton et al. (1989) carried out double oedometer
tests using a moderately plastic soil. They reported that
the soil exhibited both swelling and collapse depend-
ing on the overburden stress; that volume changes
were inversely related to initial moisture content as was
maximum collapse. Compacting the soil at a moisture
content greater than optimum and to a level above a
critical compaction value were suggested as two means
of eliminating both collapse and swelling behaviour.
Wetting-induced collapse is defined by Lawton
et al. (1992) as the densification of a soil caused by
the addition of water at a constant total vertical stress.
Lawton et al. (1992) highlight the difference between
the near surface collapse in naturally deposited soils
eral case histories regarding the collapse of earth dams
are discussed in Lawton et al. (1992), where it is indi-
cated that damage or failure occurred soon after the
initial filling of these reservoirs.
More recent research in this area has focused on
performing collapse tests using triaxial equipment
(Lawton et al. 1991, Pereira & Fredlund 2000) and
on the influence of cyclic wetting and drying (Rao &
Revanasiddappa 2006).
This paper presents a series of oedometer tests
investigating the collapse behaviour of a silt used in
flood embankment construction in Indonesia. It has
been reported that tropical unsaturated soils have been
typically less studied than soils from temperate cli-
mates (Futai & Almeida 2005). Flood embankments
are constructed of compacted fills and interchange
between the unsaturated and saturated states depend-
ing on the water table, flood levels and also infiltrated
rainfall and precipitation. At the site under inves-
tigation a number of engineering works have been
constructed to improve the stability of the embank-
ments. However it is proposed here that these works
provide the loading required, alongside the readily
available access to water, low densities and mois-
ture contents dry-of-optimum to produce conditions
favouring collapse.
2 SITE DESCRIPTION
The soil investigated here was sampled from a site
located along the flood defence embankments of the
Bengawan Solo River, in the village of Kedunhardjo,
East Java, Indonesia. The Bengawan Solo River is the
longest river on the Island of Java at 540 km, with

465
the source located in central Java and entering the sea,
north of Surabaya in East Java.
The river level can vary as much as 10 m between
the dry and wet seasons. The embankment is a 10 m
high two-step embankment which is frequently over-
topped in the rainy season. At this site the Bengawan
Solo River is 100 m wide. Located to the landward
side of the embankment is the village of Kedunhardjo.
This village has to be evacuated each time overtopping
of the embankments occur. This is a recurrent prob-
lem along the length of the Bengawan Solo River as
Java is the most densely populated island in the world, (a)
with a population of 124 million. As a result many vil-
lages have to be relocated during periods of flooding.
Not only are there immediate financial consequences
but this repeated flooding has negative impacts
on local agriculture, particularly reducing crop
yields.
Figure 1 highlights some of the geotechnical prob-
lems encountered along the embankments of the
Bengawan Solo River. Figure 1a shows erosion of
the natural embankment which runs along one side of
the river at this section. It is this eroded material which
has been removed from the river bed and used to con-
struct the man-made embankment on the other side (b)
of the river. The material can therefore be considered
a transported alluvial silt. As such, it is unlikely that
a chemical agent provides the stabilising force in the
unsaturated condition. Therefore according to Barden
et al. (1973) it may be assumed that the bonding forces
are due to simple capillary forces or clay buttresses.
The natural embankment is in a continual state of ero-
sion and failure; evidence of which was observed along
the entire length of the natural embankment. Figure
1b shows a global slip failure which occurred on the
gabion reinforced section of the embankment. This
measure put in place by the Ministry for Public works,
(c)
due to previous failure of the embankment at this loca-
tion, was constructed during the dry season of 2005.
Figure 1. Failures along the Bengawan Solo Embankments:
The failure observed in Figure 1b occurred during the (a) erosion of natural embankments; (b) global failure of
first wet season after this construction, in December gabion reinforced embankments; (c) differential settlement
2005. This failure could be attributed to a deep-seated under concrete protection slabs.
collapse of a compacted fill under heavy loading, after
first wetting as described by Lawton et al. (1992).
In another location, Figure 1c, the Ministry installed as low as 0.8–1.0 Mg/m3 have been found along these
concrete slabs to act as protection to the slope of the embankments. Shear vane tests were also carried out
embankment against erosion. Differential settlements and the cohesion ranged from 20 kPa to 40 kPa,
and slippage of the slabs have been observed here. indicating a soft soil as classified in BS: 8004:1986.
The site was visited at the beginning of May 2006,
at the end of the wet season, one week previous, the
embankments had been overtopped and the village
3 LABORATORY TESTS
flooded. Sand cone tests were carried out and low
in-situ densities were found ranging from 1.18–1.36
3.1 Material properties
Mg/m3 alongside high moisture contents ranging from
36–43%. Dr Ria Soemitro of ITS, Surabaya working The material investigated here was sampled at a
in collaboration with the Ministry for Public Works depth of 1–1.5 m from the crest of the step of the
has communicated to the authors that in-situ densities embankment at a location close to a site of previous

466
failure. Table 1 presents the material properties for the 1.2
Bengawan Solo fill.
1.0
Figure 2 shows the soil water retention curve for the
Bengawan Solo fill material obtained using the filter 0.8
paper method. Specimens were prepared at a dry den-

e
sity of 1.2 Mg/m3 and five different moisture contents. 0.6

Whatman No. 42 filter paper was used and the sam- 0.4
ples were left for 7 days to allow equilibrium to be
0.2
reached. At a moisture content of 20%, the material at
this density has a suction of almost 1000 kPa. 0.0
0 1 10 100 1000 10000
Vertical Stress (kPa)
3.2 Oedometer tests (a)

Oedometer tests were carried out on compacted spec- 1.1

imens of particle size passing the 4.0 mm sieve. Of
particular interest was the behaviour of the soil at a 1
low dry density and dry-of-optimum water content.
Under these conditions the material was found to be 0.9

collapsible.
e
Figure 3 presents oedometer tests carried out under 0.8

(a) dry-of-optimum (Series A), (b) wet-of-optimum

0.7
(Series B) and (c) prepared wet and dried to 20%
(Series C) initial conditions. In Series A, specimens
0.6
had an initial dry density of 1.16 Mg/m3 and a mois- 0 1 10 100 1000
ture content between 18 and 19%. A fully saturated and Vertical Stress (kPa)
(b)
1
Table 1. Soil properties.
0.9

Property Value 0.8

Liquid Limit (%) 53 0.7

Plastic Limit (%) 37
e

Plasticity Index 16 0.6

Particle Density (Mg/m3 ) 2.49

0.5
Sand Content (%) 36
Silt Content (%) 47 0.4
Clay Content (%) 17 0 1 10 100 1000

Mean Grain Size (mm) 0.026 Vertical Stress (kPa)

Coefficient of uniformity 40 (c)
Max. dry density (Mg/m3 ) 1.44
Optimum moisture content (%) 27 Figure 3. Oedometer results: (a) dry of optimum, (b) wet of
optimum, (c) prepared wet and then dried to 20% moisture
content.
45
Gravimetric Moisture Content (%)

40
fully unsaturated test is shown alongside two wetting
35 paths where water was added at 63 kPa and 127 kPa
respectively. It can be seen that after inundation the
30
collapse curves follow closely the behaviour of the
25 fully saturated curve. The final reading of settlement
for all the collapse conditions presented here was taken
20
60 mins after the addition of de-aired water.
15
Oedometer tests were further carried out wet-
1 10 100 1000 of-optimum (Series B) to highlight the importance
Matric Suction (kPa) of initial moisture content in producing collapse.
These specimens were prepared at a dry density
Figure 2. Soil water retention curve. of 1.16–1.20 Mg/m3 and a moisture content close

467
to 36%. Under these conditions tests were carried out
on a specimen soaked at the beginning of the test, an
unsoaked specimen and a specimen soaked at 63 kPa.
It is clear that under these wet conditions the addi-
tion of water does not result in collapse, in fact slight
swelling was observed, Table 3.
In Series C, the specimens were prepared at 36%
moisture content and then dried to 20% moisture con-
tent; two different dry densities were tested: 1.26 and
1.38 Mg/m3 . It is evident here that the specimen at
1.26 Mg/m3 on wetting at 127 kPa resulted in signifi-
cantly more collapse than the specimen of dry density
1.38 Mg/m3 wetted at the same vertical stress.
Where collapse was observed the specimens were
evaluated in terms of their collapse potential. The col-
lapse potential was calculated from Equation (1) (after
Jennings & Knight 1957):
−e
Collapse Potential = × 100% (1)
1 + eunsoaked
where e is the decrease in void ratio of the speci-
men on wetting under the desired pressure (63 kPa or
127 kPa); eunsoaked is the void ratio of the unsoaked
specimen at that pressure. Where swell potentials
(positive values) are presented in Table 3, they were
calculated as in Equation (1), but with e equal to the
increase in void ratio of the specimen on wetting.
The collapse potential test as originally carried out
by Jennings & Knight (1957) involved saturating the
specimen after loading to 200 kPa. Here much lower
values of vertical stress were used: 63 and 127 kPa;
still significant collapse settlements were observed.
Low pressures were chosen to identify if the collapse
mechanism could be responsible for collapse under
small loads such as those generated under the con-
crete protection slabs installed at the site (Fig. 1c).
Table 2 presents a qualitative guide to understanding
collapse potentials and the severity of the problem;
this guide is primarily for use in relation to tropical
residual soils, (Fookes 1990).
In Table 3 the results of Series A highlight the influ-
ence of the loading pressure at which saturation occurs;
under the same initial conditions doubling the vertical
stress increased the collapse potential by more than
Table 2. Guidance for collapse potential (after Fookes
1990).
Collapse potential (%) Likely severity of problem
<1 No problem
1–5 Moderate trouble
5–10 Trouble
10–20 Severe trouble
>20 Very severe trouble
468
Table 3. Collapse potential and severity of collapse.
Vertical Collapse
w ρd stress potential Severity
Series (%) (Mg/m3 ) (kPa) (%) (Fookes 1990)
A 18.2 1.16 63 −9.9 Trouble
18.8 1.15 127 −13.8 Severe Trouble
B 36.2 1.18 63 +0.004 Slight swelling
C 20.1 1.38 63 +0.13 Slight swelling
19.8 1.38 127 −3.3 Mod. Trouble
20.1 1.26 127 −9.1 Trouble
one third. This resulted in moving the severity from
a Trouble scenario to a Severe Trouble scenario. Fur-
thermore in Series C, an increase in loading pressure
of saturation resulted in similar specimens changing
from exhibiting slightly swelling behaviour (+0.13%)
to exhibiting significant collapse behaviour (−3.3%).
The overburden pressure is a key factor in producing
a collapsible material.
From Series B it is clear that no collapse occurred on
saturating a sample already wet-of-optimum. However
very slight swelling of negligible quantity occurred
(Table 3). These results are in agreement with the
suggestion by Lawton et al. (1989) that compact-
ing wet-of-optimum can eliminate collapse behaviour.
However this could not be implemented as a prac-
tical solution in Indonesia where flood embankment
works can only be carried out during the dry season
due to high river levels. Even if soil was compacted at
a moisture content wet-of-optimum, the climate would
ensure that the material dried quickly resulting in spec-
imens not unlike those tested in Series C, where again
collapse was observed.
From the retention curve (Fig. 2), a specimen at
1.2 Mg/m3 dry density and 20% moisture content has
a matric suction value close to 1000 kPa. For 36%
moisture content at the same dry density, matric suc-
tion lies close to 30 kPa. It is clear that suction is
playing an important role in stabilising the structure
of the unsaturated soil and for this reason at higher
moisture contents (i.e. wet-of-optimum) where suction
is already low, no collapse has been observed. More
work is planned to include for suction monitored tests
to be carried out in the oedometer to further verify the
role of suction as the bonding force for this material.
The last two entries in Table 3, Series C highlight
the influence of dry density on collapse potential. Both
saturated at loading pressures of 127 kPa, a decrease
in dry density of 8.5% from 1.38 Mg/m3 (96% ρdmax )
to 1.26 Mg/m3 (88% ρdmax ) almost trebled the col-
lapse potential determined. The embankment under
investigation was constructed at 80–85% optimum
dry density; therefore the material as constructed
is at a dry density suitable for collapse conditions.
Furthermore this result indicates that for this material
a small reduction in dry density can have a significant
impact on the collapse behaviour. For this reason good
control of compaction on site during construction is of
utmost importance.
The results identify that the Bengawan Solo fill
material is a collapsible material at low dry densities,
similar to those found in-situ and at dry-of-optimum
moisture contents. Collapse potentials as high as
13.8% have been determined indicating that there is
a severe problem regarding collapse of the soil under
these conditions. The loading induced by engineering
works at the site, combined with low dry densities,
dry-of-optimum moisture contents and wetting from
the river may have resulted in fulfilling the conditions
required to produce collapse.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Results found that increasing the vertical pressure
at which saturation occurred, resulted in higher col-
lapse potentials. Increasing the initial moisture con-
tent of the specimen to wet-of-optimum, effectively
eliminated collapse behaviour. Small decreases in
dry density were found to significantly increase col-
lapse potentials. This result highlights the impor-
tance of good compaction control during construction
of embankments using this material. The collapse
behaviour is thought to have been one of the main
mechanisms resulting in failure of the gabion rein-
forced embankment and the differential settlements
under the protection slabs at the site.
These preliminary results are part of an ongoing
research being carried out at the University of Strath-
clyde on the Bengawan Solo fill material. Future work
will include suction monitored and suction controlled
experiments to further improve the understanding
regarding the collapse behaviour of this material.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance
of Andrew Galbraith and Pierre Cunat in carrying out
some of the oedometer tests presented here.
469
The help of Dr. Ria Soemitro and the technical staff
of the Soil Mechanics Laboratory, ITS, Surabaya is
also greatly appreciated. Travel to ITS and the site
investigation carried out at the Bengawan Solo River
was supported by a travel grant from the Carnegie
Trust.
REFERENCES
Barden, L., McGown, A. and Collins, K. 1973. The collapse
mechanism in partly saturated soil, Eng. Geol., 7, 49–60.
Fookes, P.G. 1990. Tropical Residual Soils, Report of the
Geological Society Engineering Group Working Party,
Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 23, 4–101
Futai, M.M. and Almeida, M.S.S. 2005. An experimental
investigation of the mechanical behaviour of an unsat-
urated gneiss residual soil, Géotechnique 55, No. 3,
201–213.
Jennings, J.E.B. and Knight, K. 1957. The additional settle-
ment of foundations due to collapse of structure of sandy
subsoil on wetting; Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech.
and Found. Engrg., Vol. 1, 316–319.
Lawton, E.C., Fragaszy, R.J. and Hardcastle, J.H. 1989.
Collapse of compacted clayey soils, J. Geotech. Engrg.,
ASCE, 115, 1252–1267.
Lawton, E.C., Fragaszy, R.J. and Hardcastle, J.H. 1991.
Stress ratio effects on collapse of compacted clayey sand,
J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 117, 714–730.
Lawton, E.C., Fragaszy, R.J. and Hetherington, M.D. 1992.
Review of wetting induced collapse in compacted soil,
J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 118, 1376–1394.
Mitchell, J.K. 1976. Fundamentals of soil behavior, Wiley,
New York.
Pereira, J.H.F. and Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Volume change
behaviour of collapsible compacted gneiss soil, Journal of
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE,
126, 907–916.
Rao, S.M. and Revanasiddappa, K. 2006. The influence of
cyclic wetting drying on collapse behaviour of compacted
residual soil, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering,
24, 725–734.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Strength and yielding of unsaturated compacted silt from

Beijing – Kowloon railway embankment

J.K. Liu & L.Y. Peng

School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Consolidated Undrained (CU) triaxial tests under different water contents were conducted
to study the strength and yielding character of unsaturated compacted silt used as fill material in the
Beijing—Kowloon railway embankment. It was found that the silt compacted dry of the optimum water content
exhibits a work softening character and has higher strength, while the silt compacted on the wet side of the
optimum water content exhibits a work hardening character and has lower strength. Within the water content
range under study (8.2%–29.2%), both the yield stress and strength decreases with the water content increase,
suggesting a water softening effect on the soil behavior. It was also observed that the Critical State Lines (CSL)
in q-p plane at different water content are linear parallel lines, meaning that the slope of the CSL was independent
of the value of the water content. Nonlinear relationship exists between the apparent cohesive strength and water
content, which shows the contribution of water content to shear strength. Besides, a simplified shear strength
formula relating water content was proposed.

1 INTRODUCTION τf = c + (σ − ua )tgϕ  + (ua − uw )tgϕ b (1)

Compacted soil can be encountered in nearly all areas
of earthwork related engineering: railway, airport,
highway embankment construction; earth dam erec-
tion; backfilling of pit foundations, retaining walls
and barriers etc. Soils after compaction usually exhibit
favourable engineering properties such as higher shear
strength, lower permeability and less compressibility
because of the reduction in volume of voids during
compaction. A plastic flow rule of an unsaturated com-
pacted silt was proposed by Cui (1998) by studying
the relationship between the direction of the plastic
strain increment and the stress ratio; Research on the
behavior of a compacted silty sand during suction con-
trolled testing was put forward by Rampino (1998);
Yoshimura (1998) studied the effect of suction and
moisture on strength and deformation of a compacted
clay using an unconfined compression tests.
Numerous shear strength tests of unsaturated soil
have been conducted during the past 30 years. It
is now widely accepted that the stress state for an
unsaturated soil can be adequately described by two
independent stress state variables: the net normal stress
and the matric suction (Matyas and Radhakrishna,
1968). These two variables can be used to describe
the shear strength of soil using a Mohr-Coulomb
type equation with the following form (Fredlund and
Rahardjo, 1993)
where: τf = shear strength on a failure plane, c =
cohesion, σ is total stress normal to the failure plane,
ua is pore air pressure, ϕ  is angle of internal friction
associated with the net normal stress, uw is pore water
pressure and ϕ b is angle of internal friction associated
with the matric suction. Note that for a saturated soil
ua = uw and c and ϕ  become effective stress strength
parameters.
Actually, due to the difficulty in measuring suc-
tion, equation (1) was not widely used in engineering
practice. To simplify the unsaturated soil strength
theory for practical use, several alternative forms of
shear strength equations have been presented. A shear
strength formula of unsaturated expansive soil linking
the shear strength and expansive force was proposed
by Lu (1997); On the basis of fractal microstruc-
ture, Xu (1998) studied the shear strength character
of unsaturated expansive soil; Using multistage triax-
ial tests, a hyperbola model describing a characteristic
of shear strength of unsaturated soil was put forward
by Shen (1996) and Yu (1998). Based on micro anal-
ysis, Vanapalli and Fredlund (1996) adopted the soil
water characteristic curve (SWCC) to predict the shear
strength of unsaturated soil. Combined Bishop’s for-
mula and Fredlund’s formula together, a shear strength
expressions taking water content as parameters was
proposed by Miao (1999).

471
 Different from saturated soil, the yield points of 300
unsaturated soil are distributed in the invariant stress
250
space p (net mean press)—q (deviatoric stress)—s

Deviator stress q /kPa

(suction) and the yielding was characterized by two 200
curves: loading-collapse (LC) and suction-increase
(SI), its hardening laws were controlled by the total 150
plastic volumetric deformation (Alonso et al. 1990).
The soil suction is directly related to water content, 100
so the yielding of unsaturated soil with the change of
50
moisture is as important as that of suction.
This paper presents experimental study results on 0
silt under unsaturated conditions, with emphasis on 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
the influence of water content on the shear strength
and yield characteristic, taking the water content as
parameter which can be used easily in the engineer- Figure 1. Stress-strain curves of compacted silt at different
ing practical. Using traditional Bishop type strength water content σ 3 = 100 kPa.
equation, a simplified shear strength formula relating
water content was proposed. 0 5 10 15
1.5
1
2 SHEAR STRENGTH OF UNSATURATED 0.5
COMPACTED SILT 0
0.5
v /%

The silt in this study is from Beijing to Kowloon rail- 1

way embankment. The physical properties of the soil
are given in Table 1.
The sample was prepared as close as possible to
the embankment state. The procedure included mix-
ing a dry soil with de-aired and de-mineralising water
to obtain the required water content and compacting it
by layers to get the required density. A series of com-
pacted samples with different water content (8.2%,
10.4%, 12%, 18%, 29.2%) were consolidated at cell
pressure of 100 kPa and then undrained triaxial tests
were performed until they failed.
Fig. 1 illustrates stress-strain behavior of samples
sheared at different cell pressure. It is observed that
strength increased with ω (water content) reduction
and stress-strain curves exhibited peak strength fol-
lowed by strain softening when compacted on the dry
side of ωopt . (optimum water content), and exhibited
strain hardening when compacted on the wet side of
ωopt . The magnitude of strength reduction was differ-
ent on the two sides of ωopt . Note that the strength at
ωsat (saturated water content) only accounts for half of
that at ωopt , but strength at ω = 8.2% is close to the
strength at ωopt , so it can be concluded that samples
compacted on the dry side of ωopt have more strength
Table 1. Main physical properties of the test soil.
Fraction (mm) %
ωL ωP
% % IP 0.25–0.075 0.075–0.005
30.4 21.4 9.0 20.55 67.76
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Figure 2. Volumetric vs axial strain curves of compacted
silt at different water content (σ3 = 100 kPa).
than that compacted on the wet side of ωopt . Besides,
the peak strength at ω = 8.2% and ω = 10.4% were
similar to the strength at ωopt. with the strain of 15%, it
means that further reduction of water content (less than
8.2%) would not have much influence on the strength.
Silt with a large amount of fine grains will not be
compacted very densely, even at ωopt and compacted to
maximum dry density, there will be many void existing
between grain particles. Due to this special fabric, silt
exhibits stronger water sensitivity, so a small increase
in moisture can cause substantial reduction of strength.
Fig. 2(b) shows the relations of volumetric strain vs
axial strain of compacted silt at different water con-
tent. It is found that when compacted at dry side of
optimum water content, the silt sample will contract
during shear at first then dilate (when volumetric strain
is larger than 6%); when compacted on the wet side
<0.005
of optimum water content, the silt sample will shrink
11.69 continuously. Under the same confining pressure, the
more water content in compaction, the silt sample will

472
 25 where: a, b, c, d are test parameters acquired from the
curves of c − ω and φ − ω.
Total cohension/kPa

20 By substituting ω = Sr e/Gs into the Eq. (4) a

strength formula of unsaturated soil related to satu-
15
rated degree, can be obtained as:
10
 −b    
Sr e Sr e −d
5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
τf = a + σ tg c (5)
Gs Gs
Water content/%
(a)
35
Taking water content or the degree of saturation
30
as variables, equation (4) and (5) can be easily used
Water content/%

in engineering practice without suction control and

25
measurement.

20
3 YIELDING CHARACTERISTIC
15
0 10 20 30 40 OF UNSATURATED COMPACTED SILT
Friction angle/°
(b) In the q-p plane, a critical state line equation of unsat-
urated soil at different matric suction was proposed by
Figure 3. The curve of water content vs (a) total cohesion, Wheeler (1995) in the following form:
(b) vs friction angle.

q = M (s)p + μ(s) (6)

have more volumetric strain; Under the same water
content in compaction, the higher confining pressure
will produce more volumetric strain.
As shown in Fig. 3(a) and Fig. 3(b) the cohesion
and friction angle at different water content exhibited
an exponent relationship, which can be expressed as
follows: y = ax−b , where: a, b = test parameters.
For Fig. 3(a), a = 87.349 b = 0.7441, For Fig. 3(b),
a = 55.086 b = 0.2688.
Using a Mohr-Coulomb type equation, for unsatu-
rated expansive soil Miao (1999) gave the following
form:
τf = ctotal + σ tgϕtotal
where: ctotal and ϕtotal are no longer constant but func-
tions of water content including the contribution of
matric suction and structure of expansive soil which
have great influence on shear strength.
For the experimental data of the studied silt, after
regression analysis we have:
ctotal = aω−b , ϕtotal = cω−d
Combining Eq. (2) and Eq. (3) together, the strength
formula of unsaturated soil considering water content
is expressed as follows:
τf = aω−b + σ tg(cω−d )
where: M (s) is the slope of the critical state line and
μ(s) is the intercept of the critical state line on q axis,
both of them are functions of matric suction.
For the studied silt the critical state lines on the q-p
plane at different water contents (8.2%, 10.4%, 12%,
18% and 29.2%) are given in Fig. 4. It is observed
that the CSLs exhibit linear relationships at different
water content and can be described by the same type of
equation as Eq. (3), but coefficients M (ω) and μ(ω)
will be the functions of water content.
It can be found that the 5 CSL obtained in the tests
are nearly parallel (Fig. 4), meaning their slopes are
(2) constant with water content. This agrees well with the
results of Wheeler (1995) that M (s) was a constant
with matric suction. Here M (ω) = 1.08 for the tested
compacted silt.
The intercept of CSL μ(ω) on the q axis reflects
the contribution of water content to shear strength.
As shown in Fig. 5, μ(ω) and water content have an
exponential relationship, which can be expressed as
μ(ω) = aω−b , here a = 197.86, b = −0.8174.
By substituting M (ω) = cons, μ(ω) = aω−b into
(3) Eq. (6), a CSL equation of unsaturated soil related to
water content, can be obtained as following:
q = cp + aω−b (7)
where: a, b, c are test parameters from the critical state
(4) lines in the q-p plane.

473
 375 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
325
This research is supported by National Natural Sci-
Deviator stress q/kPa

275 ence Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant

225
No. 50678020 and Program for New Century Excel-
lent Talents Plan funded by Ministry of Education of
175 China under Grant NCET-05-0092.
125

75
25
50 100 150 200
Mean net stress p/ kPa
Figure 4. Yield loci in q-p plane at different water content.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 432–448.
0 10 20
Figure 5. The curve of μ(ω) and water content.
From Fig. 4 with Fig. 5, it can be concluded that the
yielding strength of unsaturated soil is influenced sub-
stantially by the water content. μ(ω) is not a constant
but increases when water content decreases.
4 CONCLUSION
Stress-strain curves of unsaturated compacted silt
from the Beijing—Kowloon railway embankment
exhibited peak strength followed by strain softening
when compacted on the dry side of ωopt , and exhibited
strain hardening when compacted on the wet side of
ωopt . Samples compacted dry side of ωopt are stronger
than those compacted on the wet side of ωopt .
The shear strength and yielding stress increase with
reduction in water content. Taking water content or
saturation degree as variables, the strength equation
proposed in this paper can be used easily in practical
engineering without measuring suction.
The slope of the critical state line M (ω) is a constant
with water content; the intercept of critical state line on
qaxis μ(ω) reflects the contribution of water content
to shear strength.
REFERENCES
250 300 Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils, Geotechnique, 40(3):
405–430.
Cui, Y.J., Sultan, N. and Delage, P. 1998. Plastic flow of
an unsaturated compacted silt. Proceedings of the Second
International Conference on Unsaturated Soils: Beijing:
International Academic Publishers.
Lu Zhaojun, Wu Xiaoming and Sun Yuzhen. 1997. The appli-
cation of expansive force in unsaturated soils strength
theory. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering.
19(5): 20–27.
Lu Zhaojun, Zhang Huiming, Chen Jianhua and Feng Man.
1992. Shear Strength and Swelling Pressure of Unsatu-
rated Soil. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,
14(3): 1–8.
Matyas E.L. and Radhakrishna, H.S. 1968. Volume changes
characteristics of partially saturated soils. Geotechnique,
30 40 Miao Linchang, Zhong Xiaochen and Yin Zonze. 1999.
The Relationship Between Strength and Water Content of
Expansive Soil. Rock and Soil Mechanics. 20(2): 71–75.
Rampino, C., Mancuso, C. and Vinale, F. 1998. Behav-
ior of the compacted silty sand during suction controlled
tests. Proceedings of the Second International Conference
on Unsaturated Soils: Beijing: International Academic
Publishers.
Shen Zhujiang. 1996. Some Problems of Unsaturated Soil
in Present Study. Conference of regional geotechnical
engineering problem: Beijing Atomic Energy Publishers.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E. and Clifton,
A.W. 1996. Model for the Prediction of Shear Strength
with respect to Soil Suction, Can. Geotech. Jnl., Vol. 33.
Wheeler, S.J. and Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic crit-
ical state framework for unsaturated soil. Geotechnique,
45(1): 35–53.
Xu Yongfu, Gong Yongping and Ying Zongze. 1998. Fractal
characteristic of shear strength of unsaturated expansive
soils. Engineering Mechanics. 15(2): 76–81.
Yoshimura, Y. and Kato, S. 1998. Effects of suction and soil
moisture on strength and deformation of a compacted silty
clay in unconfined compression test. Proceedings of the
Second International Conference on Unsaturated Soils:
Beijing: International Academic Publishers.
Yu Shenggang, Ma Yongfeng and Wang Zhao. 1998. The fea-
ture of suction and hyperbola model for shear strength of
unsaturated soil. Proceedings of the Second International
Conference on Unsaturated Soils: Beijing: International
Academic Publishers.
Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

474
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Estimation of the shear strength of lean clay based on empirical equations

and a laboratory experiment on slope failure

J.V. Vasquez & L.M. Salinas

Laboratorio de Geotecnia, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia

ABSTRACT: A series of laboratory tests and experiments were conducted to obtain the shear-strength envelope
of an unsaturated lean clay soil. It was estimated with the equations proposed by Vanapalli et al. (1996) and
measured using the conventional direct shear apparatus following the procedure proposed by Vanapalli & Lane
(2002). Additionally, a physical model was vertically loaded to failure and shear strength along the surface was
calculated by back analysis. The Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC) was estimated by means of the filter-paper
method. The results show a good approximation between the shear strength estimated and the one back calculated
from the physical model.

1 INTRODUCTION and the saturated shear strength parameters. Further-

Shear strength is an important engineering property in
the design of numerous structures such as earth dams
and retaining walls. Usually the mechanical proper-
ties of the soil are analyzed ignoring the unsaturated
state of the soil, even though soils encountered in
engineering practice are often unsaturated.
To have a better approximation of the shear strength
behaviour of the soil, it is necessary to take into
account the unsaturated state of the soil, which is
possible using unsaturated soil mechanics theory. The
shear strength of an unsaturated soil can be determined
using modified direct shear or triaxial shear equip-
ment. However, experimental studies related to the
determination of the shear strength of unsaturated soils
are time consuming and require extensive laboratory
facilities, which are costly. Due to these reasons, appli-
cation of shear strength studies in engineering practice
has been limited.
Hence, the estimation methods and techniques for
determining the unsaturated shear strength are use-
ful to determine the unsaturated shear strength in an
economical and practical way. Several semi-empirical
shear strength functions were proposed to predict the
unsaturated shear strength. The proposed procedures
use the saturated shear strength parameters (i.e. c
and φ  ) along with the soil water retention curve
(Vanapalli et al., 1996; Fredlund et al., 1996; Oberg &
Salfors, 1997; Khallili & Khabbaz, 1998; Bao et al.,
1998). The prediction method selected was the non-
linear function proposed by Vanapalli et al. (1996).
This equation provides predictions using the entire
soil water retention curve (i.e. 0 to 1,000,000 kPa)
more, a simple experimental technique was used for
determining the same shear strength envelope of the
soil, following a procedure proposed by Vanapalli and
Lane (2002).
In this regard, the envelopes found using the non-
linear function proposed by Vanapalli et al. (1996) and
the procedure proposed by Vanapalli & Lane (2002)
were compared between each other. Later, both of
them were also assessed with the shear-strength values
found by the back analysis of the failure surface of the
physical model.
2 MATERIAL AND METHODS
The soil is lean clay typical of that from Cochabamba,
Bolivia which was separated through sieve No. 4
(i.e. 4.75 mm). Liquid and plastic limits have been
measured following the standard-test method ASTM
D4318. The liquid limit found was 31.1%, the plastic
limit, 18%, and the plastic index, 13%. The samples
of soil used in laboratory experiments were compacted
using a reduced Proctor. Reduced Proctor follows the
same specifications as the standard Proctor but with
only 12 drops of the compactive ram per lift rather than
25 drops. The dry density of the soil is 16.0 kN/m3
with an initial water content of 12.4%.
The saturated shear strength parameters have been
measured from a direct shear test following the stan-
dard test method ASTM D3080-98. The cohesion
found was 0 kPa and, the effective angle of internal
friction, 29.3◦ .

475
2.1 SWRC determination
The SWRC was determined following the standard
test method ASTM D5298-94, and the filter paper
used was Whatmann No. 42. The samples, compacted
at the desired dry density, were shaped using plas-
tic rings of 76.2 mm diameter and 30 mm height. The
specimens were wrapped in paper and saturated by
submerging the samples in water with the plastic rings
for a period of 48 hours. The saturated samples were
placed in a drying room with a constant temperature of Figure 1. Relationship between the fitting parameter, κ, and
the plastic index (from Vanapalli and Fredlund 2000).
27◦ C. Several 59 mm diameter by 20 mm height soil
specimens were extracted by forcing a ring cutter into
the samples, each one with different water content.
The calibration curve used was the bilinear equation
proposed by Leong & Rahardjo (2002) (Equations
1 and 2).

Logψ = 2.909 − 0.0299wf wf > 47 (1)

Logψ = 4.945 − 0.0673wf wf ≤ 47 (2)

where wf = water content of filter paper; ψ = soil

suction.
The results found in the filter-paper test were fitted
using the equation proposed by Fredlund and Xing
(1994) (Equation 3).

⎡   ⎤ Figure 2. Direct shear box.

ψ
ln 1 +
⎢ hr ⎥
θw (ψ) = θs ⎢
⎣1 −  ⎥
106 ⎦
ln 1 + where κ = fitting parameter used to obtain a best
hr fit between the measured and predicted values; =
⎡ ⎤ normalized water content.
⎢ 1 ⎥ The fitting parameter was obtained from the rela-
×⎢
⎣ )  n ,m ⎥
⎦ (3) tionship between the fitting parameter, κ, and the
ψ
ln exp(1) + plastic index (Fig. 1).
a

where ψ = soil suction; θs = saturated volumetric 2.3 Direct test shear on unsaturated soil
water content; θw = volumetric water content; hr = specimens
suction value for residual water content.
The samples were prepared following the same
procedure used in the filter paper test. They were
2.2 Predicting the shear strength extracted using a 59 mm square by 20 mm height
cutter. The procedure used in this investigation was
The function used to predict the shear strength was
the technique proposed by Vanapalli & Lane (2002).
the procedure proposed by Vanapalli et al. (1996).
The soil specimen was subjected to consolidation in a
This function is the more general, non-linear func-
conventional direct shear apparatus under an applied
tion using the entire soil water retention curve (i.e.
net normal stress of 27.6 kPa for a period of 24
0 to 1,000,000 kPa) and the saturated shear strength
hours (Fig. 2). The soil specimens were sheared at
parameters (Equation 4).
a strain rate of 1.25 mm/min. The specimens were

sheared using a direct test shear (Fig. 2) in accordance
τ = c + (σn − ua ) tan φ  with ASTM standard D3080-98. It is assumed that
. /
there was no significant change in suction of the soil
+ (ua − uw ) ( κ )(tan φ  ) (4) specimen during the shearing stage.

476
Figure 3. View of the physical model.
Figure 4. Slip surface.
2.4 Physical model
The physical model was built with the following
dimensions: 1 m high by 1.5 m length by 0.4 m thick.
The slope of the soil model was 64.1◦ , and the height
of the slope 0.66 m. The soil used in the model was
compacted at a dry density of 16 kN/m3 , with an initial
water content of 12.4% (Fig. 3).
The water-table level was maintained at the height
of the toe of the slope. The slope was gradually verti-
cally loaded until 215 kN/m2 , where the slope failed
(Fig. 4).
The vertical force was generated by hydraulic
equipment (Fig. 5).
Many soil samples were taken at different points
in order to obtain the variation of suction with depth,
and the distinct values of the physical model, such as
the slip surface, were simulated using SLOPE/W. The
equilibrium limit theory was used and the selected
method was Morgenstern & Price (1965). The back
analysis was aimed at finding the shear strength acting
in the slip surface, which was subdivided into 30 slices.
The values of net normal stress and suction of slices
477
Figure 5. View of the hydraulic equipment.
were used to find the values of the shear strength. An
angle of shearing resistance with respect to matric suc-
tion, φ b = 14◦ , was used, and the shear strength was
calculated using the equation proposed by Fredlund
et al. (1978) (Equation 5).
τ = c + (σn − ua ) tan φ  + (ua − uw ) tan φ b (5)
where φ b = angle of shearing resistance with respect
to matric suction; and (ua − uw ) = matric suction of
the soil on the plane of failure.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the filter-paper test were fitted using
the mathematical equation proposed by Fredlund and
Xing (1994) (Equation 3). The obtained SWRC is
presented in Figure 6, the model parameters used
can be observed in Table 1; the correlation was of
R 2 = 0.957.
The estimated shear strength envelope was obtained
using Vanapalli et al. (1996) criteria, and the measured
shear strength envelope was obtained using the Vana-
palli & Lane (2002) technique. Both are presented in
Figure 7 for 0 to 100 kPa suction range, and Figure 8,
for 0 to 10,000 kPa suction range.
For a range of 0 to 100 kPa, a maximum variation
of 30% was observed between the measured and the
estimated values. For a range of 0 to 10,000 kPa, there
is a reasonable correlation between the measured and
the estimated envelopes.
 0.25
Gravimetric water content,w (%)

0.20

0.15

0.10

Fredlund and Xing (1996) fitting

0.05
Filter Paper test

0.00
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1E+06
Suction (kPa)
Figure 8. Shear strength envelopes for a suction range from
Figure 6. SWRC by means of filter-paper test and Fred- 0 to 10000 kPa.
lund & Xing (994) fitting.
80

70
Table 1. Fredlund & Xing (1994) model parameters. 60
Shear strength estimated using

Shear strength (kN/m†)

Vanapalli et al. (1996)

50 Shear strength in the physical model

Parameters Value 40

30
a (kPa) 2500
20
n 0.323
10
m 2.799
0
hr (kPa) 94567 5 10 15 20 25 30
Slices

Figure 9. Shear strength values versus number of slices.

60

50
Shear strength (kN/m²)

40

30

20 Estimated envelope using Vanapalli

et al. (1996) equation
Measured envelope using Vanapalli
10 and Lane (2002) technique
Shear strength from the physical model
at normal stress of 27.65 (kPa)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Suction (kPa)

Figure 7. Shear strength envelopes for a suction range from Figure 10. Comparison between both the estimated enve-
0 to 100 kPa. lope (Vanapalli et al. 1996) and the measured envelope
(Vanapalli and Lane, 2002) and the obtained shear strength
from the physical model at a net normal stress of 27.65 kPa.
The slope failure obtained from the back analysis
has a factor of safety close to 1 (i.e. 0.98).
The estimated and observed shear-strength values Vanapalli et al. (1996) and Vanapalli & Lane (2002)
are shown in Figure 9. There is a good approximation are methods that estimate the unsaturated envelope.
between the estimated shear strength and the back- Both of them provide similar results for the range
analysis-shear-strength results. 0 kPa to 10000 kPa (Fig. 8), although the magni-
Figure 10 shows the back calculated value of shear tude of strength is larger using the first method in the
strength with a net normal stress of 27.6 kPa for range of suction of 0 to 4000 kPa and lower in the
comparison with the estimated envelopes. second part.
The calibration curve used was the bilinear equation The physical model used in the present research
proposed by Leong & Rahardjo (2002), which was was a very important tool of validation instead of more
proven to be satisfactory for the estimations used in costly tests (e.g. modified triaxial tests). Nevertheless,
the present paper. in future, a better system of suction measurement

478
during shearing of the soil must be used to provide
better values of shear strength at failure.
The unsaturated direct shear experiments proposed
by Vanapalli & Lane (2002) show a reasonable cor-
relation for a net normal stress of 27.6 kPa. More
experiments using different net normal stress and
different dry density are required.
4 CONCLUSIONS
During the development of this research project, the
methods used were found to be useful, practical, eco-
nomic and efficient for predicting the shear strength
envelope. Both Vanapalli et al. (1996) and Vanapalli &
Lane (2002) provided reasonable results for unsatu-
rated shear strength envelopes compared with actual
shear strength values back-calculated from a slope
failure surface.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support
from the IUC-UMSS program.
REFERENCES
ASTM Standard. 1997. D 5298-94: Standard test Method for
the Measurement of Soil Potential (Suction) Using Filter
Paper, annual Book of ASTM Standard, Vol. 04.09.
ASTM Standard. 1999. D 3080-98: Standard test Method for
Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained
479
Conditions. Annual Book of ASTM Standard, ASTM.
West Conshohocken, PA.
Bao, C.G., Gong, B. & Zan, L. 1998. Properties of Unsat-
urated Soils and Slope Stability of Expansive Soils,
Keynote Lecture, UNSAT 98, 2nd International Confer-
ence on Unsaturated Soils, Beijing.
Fredlund, D.G. & Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the Soil-Water
Characteristic Curve, Canadian Geotechnical Journal,
Vol. 34 No. 4, pp.
Fredlund, M.D. & Barbour, S.L. 1996. The Relationship
of the Unsaturated Soil Shear Strength Function to the
Soil-Water Characteristic Curve. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal. Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 440–448.
Khalili, N. & Khabbaz, M.H. 1997. A unique relationship for
x for the determination of the shear strength of unsaturated
soils. Geotechnique, 48. No. 5, pp. 681–687.
Oberg, A. & Salfours, G. 1997. Determination of shear
strength parameters of unsaturated silts and sands based on
the water retention curve. Geotechnical Testing Journal,
GTJODJ, 20. pp. 40–48.
Leong, E.C. & Rahardjo, H. 2002. Factors Affecting the
Filter Paper Method for Total and Matric Suction Mea-
surements. Geotechnical Testing, Sept, 2002, Vol. 25
No. 3.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E. & Clifton, A.W.
1996. Model for the Predicting of Shear Strength with
Respect of Soil Suction. Canadian Geotechnical Journal,
33(3): 379–392.
Vanapalli, S.K. & Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Comparison of
different procedures to predict unsaturated soil shear
strength. Department of Civil Engineering, University of
Saskatchewan, SK, Canada, S7N 5A9.
Vanapalli, S.K. & Lane, J.J. 2002. A simple technique for
determining the shear strength of fine-grained unsatu-
rated soils using the conventional direct shear apparatus.
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada,
P7B 5E1.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effects of drying and wetting cycles on unsaturated shear strength

E.Y.M. Tse & C.W.W. Ng

Department of Civil Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR

ABSTRACT: In humid and subtropical regions, for instance, Hong Kong, slope stability is threatened by
intense rainfall. Alternate rainfall infiltration and subsequent evaporation cause soil to be constantly subjected
to drying and wetting cycles. Hysteresis observed in the soil water characteristics curve seems to imply hysteresis
in unsaturated shear strength. Some attempts have been made in recent years to investigate changes of unsaturated
shear strength only within the primary drying and wetting cycles but not beyond. Also, the suction history effects
on shear strength are still unclear. In this study, re-compacted soil specimens of completely decomposed tuff are
tested in a modified direct shear box, subjected to different suction histories but sheared at identical net normal
stress as well as matric suction.

1 INTRODUCTION soil; (σn − ua ) is the net normal stress; (ua − uw ) is the

The predominant failure mode of slide-debris flows
that have occurred in Lantau Island, Hong Kong is a
translational one which is usually located at a depth
of 0.5–2 m (Fuchu et al., 1999) and well above the
ground water table. The unsaturated soil within the
vadose zone is naturally subjected to various suction
histories caused by alternate rainfall precipitation and
subsequent evaporation due to climatic changes.
The shear strength variations of soil induced by the
corresponding suction histories determine the slope
stability. Some studies in the literature have demon-
strated different shear strengths attained by soil spec-
imens reaching the same net normal stress and matric
suction via drying and wetting paths. Han et al. (1995)
suggested higher shear strength of the soil on the dry-
ing path in comparison with that at wetting due to
its higher water content. On the contrary, Gallage &
Uchimura (2006) presented counter findings (higher
shear strength on the wetting path) and explained this
was attributed to the more contractive behavior exhib-
ited by the specimen at wetting than that at drying.
Further investigation is thus required to manifest how
drying and wetting cycles actually influence unsatu-
rated shear strength parameters and thereafter provide
consistent explanations.
According to Vanapalli et al. (1996), the shear
strength of an unsaturated soil at a given value of
suction can be given by:
  
θ − θr
τ = c + (σn − ua ) tan φ + (ua − uw ) tan φ
θs − θr
where τ is the shear strength of an unsaturated soil;
c is the effective cohesion of saturated soil; φ is the
effective angle of shearing resistance for a saturated
matric suction; θ is the volumetric water content; θr is
the residual volumetric water content; and θs is the sat-
urated volumetric water content. This prediction was
based on the drying path of the primary drying-wetting
cycle in soil water characteristics curves (SWCC),
suggesting the dependency of shear strength on volu-
metric water content. Ng & Pang (2000) presented the
hysteretic influences of drying and wetting cycles on
SWCC of a completely decomposed volcanic, includ-
ing the corresponding changes in volumetric water
content, air-entry value, adsorption and desorption
characteristics. The hydraulic hysteresis demonstrated
by the soil in response to drying-wetting cycles seem-
ingly signifies that according change would be induced
in shear strength.
Hence, two series of direct shear tests were
designed to be sheared at identical net normal stress
of 40 kPa but different matric suction values, 20 kPa
and 400 kPa. The first two tests of series 1 and the two
tests of series 2 were used to study how shear strengths
deviate when attaining the desired suction along dry-
ing and wetting paths in the primary drying-wetting
cycle. However, in test series 1 of this study, the direct
shear tests were repeated for one more wetting-drying
cycle beyond the primary one to investigate the hys-
teretic effects imposed by drying-wetting cycles on
unsaturated shear strength.
(1) 2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
The soil investigated in this study is a completely
decomposed tuff (CDT) from Tung Chung, Hong
Kong. The detailed stress paths to which the specimens

481
were subjected prior to shearing are depicted in
Figure 1 and Table 1.
The specimen identity, Xi_Y denotes that the CDT
specimen subjected to X (D = drying; W = wetting)
in the ith wetting drying cycle was sheared at matric
suction of Y kPa and net normal stress of 40 kPa.
Taking D1_20 as an example, the specimen was sub-
jected to drying path in the first wetting-drying cycle
before being sheared at matric suction of 20 kPa and
net normal stress of 40 kPa.

2.1 Testing equipment

The direct shear tests were carried out in the modi-
fied direct shear box (Gan (1986), Gan et al. (1988), Figure 2. Modified direct shear box at the Hong Kong
Zhan (2003)) as shown in Figure 2. Modifications to University of Science and Technology.
the conventional apparatus enable matric suction con-
100
trol as well as change of unsaturated soil specimen
90

Percentage passing (%)

water content measurement. The two stress state vari- 80
ables, i.e. net normal stress and matric suction can 70
be controlled independently. The net normal stress is 60
applied by applying the required vertical weight onto 50
the loading frame. Suction is applied to a soil spec- 40
imen based on the axis-translation technique (Hilf, 30
1956) by maintaining a constant air and water pressure 20
10
in the air chamber and the water compartment below
0
the ceramic disk of 5 bar air entry value. The test-
0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000 10.000
ing system consists of two LVDTs, a load cell, a
differential pressure transducer and a diffused air Particle size (mm)
volume indicator for horizontal as well as vertical
Figure 3. Particle size distribution of CDT.

F
displacements, shear force, change of water content
400 E and diffused air volume monitoring respectively. All
Matric Suction (kPa)

the electrical instruments are connected to a data log-

300 ger for data acquisition. Zhan (2003) provides further
details of the modified shear box.
200 D

2.2 Testing material and specimen preparation

100
A C According to Unified Soil Classification System, the
0 testing soil is classified as an inorganic silty clay of low
B to medium plasticity (CL). The grain-size distribution
0 10 20 30 40 50
Net Normal Stress (kPa) determined by sieve and hydrometer analyses (British
Standards Institution, 1990) as shown in Figure 3
Figure 1. Stress paths adopted in the tests. exhibits that the CDT consists of 25% sand, 60% silt
and 15% clay. Some index properties of the soil are
Table 1. Test program. summarized in Table 2.
Soil specimens for direct shear tests were cuboids with
Series Specimen identity Stress path dimensions of 50 mm × 50 mm × 21 mm prepared
by static compaction at gravimetric water content
1 D1_20 A→B→C of 17.3%. The static compaction was conducted in
1 W1_20 A→B→D→C three layers to achieve a uniform specimen with dry
1 D2_20 A→B→D→B→C density, specific volume and degree of saturation of
1 W2_20 A→B→D→B→D→C
2 D1_400 A→B→E
1600 kg/m3 , 1.68 and 69% respectively. As measured
2 W1_400 A→B→F→E by a small tip tensiometer, the initial suction of the
compacted specimen was 54 kPa.

482
Table 2. Index properties of the CDT. Table 3. Summary of θw , e and S values prior to and post
shearing for the six specimens.
Specific gravity 2.68
Maximum dry density (kg/m3 ) 1777 Before shearing After shearing
Optimum moisture content (%) 17.2
Initial moisture content (%) 17.3 ID θw (%) e S θw (%) e S
Sand content (≤2 mm, %) 25.0
Silt content (≤63 μm, %) 60.0 D1_20 31.0 0.663 0.794 31.8 0.669 0.781
Clay content (≤2 μm, %) 15.0 W1_20 27.8 0.657 0.700 29.6 0.673 0.735
Liquid limit (%) 34.2 D2_20 28.3 0.657 0.713 29.8 0.680 0.736
Plastic limit (%) 20.2 W2_20 28.1 0.657 0.708 29.8 0.683 0.734
Plasticity index (%) 14.0 D1_400 25.2 0.649 0.639 22.8 0.725 0.542
W1_400 23.9 0.634 0.615 21.0 0.757 0.486

2.3 Testing procedures

Each test was composed of three stages, namely con-
solidation, drying-wetting cycles and drained shearing
at constant suction. Water pressure beneath the high
air entry ceramic disk was maintained at atmospheric
pressure throughout the tests, i.e. matric suction
numerically equals applied air pressure in the cham-
ber. After specimen preparation and setting up, the
vertical stress of 40 kPa was applied progressively
until flow of water into the specimen as well as verti-
cal deformation ceased. Thereafter, the specimen was
subjected to the desired suction history as listed in
Table 1. Each suction equalization stage was con-
sidered to be completed when negligible specimen
water volume change (<0.05 cm3 /day) was observed.
Having reached the desired matric suction and net
vertical stress as well as having experienced a pre-
defined suction history, the soil specimen was sheared
at a constant displacement rate of 0.003 mm/min
till 10 mm horizontal displacement was achieved.
During the drained shearing, variations of specimen
water volume, shear force, horizontal as well as ver-
tical displacements were recorded. Upon completion
of shearing and after dismantling the set-up, water
content of the specimen was then determined.
3 EXPERIEMENTAL RESULTS – SHEAR
BEHAVIOR OF CDT
As summarized in Table 1, six direct shear tests were
conducted on CDT specimens after undergoing six dif-
ferent suction histories. The volumetric water content
(θw ), void ratio (e) and degree of saturation (S) prior to
and post shearing of the specimens are listed in Table 3.
Figure 4(a) shows the shear stress variations
with horizontal displacement. As illustrated, shear
strength and stiffness increase with suction. Peak shear
strengths are observed with strain softening followed
by leveling off around 4 mm and 2 mm respectively
in the case of the two specimens sheared at suction of
400 kPa, i.e. D1_400 and W1_400. The former speci-
men which achieved suction of 400 kPa on the drying
path possesses a greater peak shear strength than the
latter which attained the same suction along the wet-
ting path, with respective magnitudes of 139 kPa and
109 kPa.
On the contrary, shear stresses of the four speci-
mens sheared at low suction, 20 kPa, increase mono-
tonically with horizontal displacement and reach an
ultimate value of approximately 30 kPa as illustrated
in Figure 4(b). At low suction (20 kPa), though the
discrepancies between the maximum shear strengths
of the soil specimens are relatively insignificant, two
trends are noted:
1. shear stress at drying is greater than that of the one
at wetting within the same drying-wetting cycle;
2. shear stress given by specimen at drying in the pri-
mary drying-wetting cycle is greater than one in the
second drying-wetting cycle. Whereas, a reverse
trend is observed in specimens at wetting.
The first observation is more drastic as indicated
by the higher suction cases (D1_400, W1_400). This
signifies the dependency of shear strength on suction
history and suction level.
Notwithstanding the similar shear stress variation
with horizontal displacement, D1_20, W1_20, D2_20
and W2_20 dilate with increasing magnitudes as
shown in Figure 4(c). Dilatancy δy/δx, is defined
as the ratio of incremental vertical displacement, δy,
to incremental horizontal displacement, δx. Nega-
tive sign denotes dilative behavior. Within the same
drying-wetting cycle, the dilatancy curve given by a
specimen at drying is always above that of the one at
wetting, indicating less dilative behavior. Addition-
ally, the optimum dilatancy increases with suction,
i.e. more negative dilatancy. This is consistent with
the results reported by Gan & Fredlund (1996), Ng &
Zhou (2005) and Zhan & Ng (2006).
Figure 4(d) illustrates the responses of volumetric
water content to shearing. The increase in volumetric
water content (θw ) observed in the four soil speci-
mens sheared at low suction (20 kPa) is as a result
of their dilative behavior. As a specimen dilates, the
void ratio increases and so do the dimensions of voids

483
 150 40
(a) (b)
120
30
Shear stress (k Pa)

Shear stress (k Pa)

90
D1_20 W2_20 20
60 W1_20 D1_400 D1_20
D2_20 W1_400 W1_20
10 D2_20
30
W2_20

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Horizontal displacement (mm) Horizontal displacement (mm)

Change of volumetric water content (%)

0.1 2

0.0 1
-0.1
Dilatancy, y/ x

0
D1_20
-0.2 D1_20 W2_20
W1_20
-1 W1_20 D1_400
D2_20
-0.3 D2_20 W1_400
W2_20
D1_400 -2
-0.4
(c) W1_400 (d)
-0.5 -3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Horizontal displacement (mm) Horizontal displacement (mm)

Figure 4. Results of direct shear tests on unsaturated re-compacted CDT specimens: (a) shear stress versus horizontal
displacement of Series 1 & 2; (b) shear stress versus horizontal displacement of Series 1; (c) dilatancy versus horizontal
displacement; (d) change in volumetric water content (θw ) versus horizontal displacement.

as well as the connecting channels among voids. Con-
sequently, a higher value of volumetric water content
is required to produce a given suction. D1_400 and
W1_400 demonstrate greater dilatancies in compari-
son to the specimens in the first series of testing and
thus a greater extent of increase in volumetric water
content is expected. However, a counter response is
given, i.e. the volumetric water contents of the two
specimens sheared at high suction decreases progres-
sively with horizontal displacement. At such a high
suction, water exists mostly in the form of menis-
cus water at inter-particle contact points. As the soil
specimen dilates at 400 kPa, the coordination num-
ber decreases, resulting in loss of meniscus water at
the inter-particle contact points and hence reduction
in volumetric water content.
4 DISCUSSION
4.1 Effects of suction history on shear strength
within the primary drying-wetting cycle
In the literature, studies like Han et al. (1995) and
Gallage & Uchimura (2006) reported different stress-
strain behavior exhibited by soil subjected to drying
and wetting. From the experimental results obtained
from D1_400 and W1_400, peak shear strength given
by the former is higher than the latter by 28%. This
is consistent with Han et al. (1995) but contrary to
Gallage & Uchimura (2006). The higher shear strength
given by the specimen at drying in comparison to
the one at wetting is attributed to the higher degree
of saturation (Sr) prior to, during and after shearing
as shown in Table 3 and Figure 4(d). There are two
forms of liquid water in an unsaturated soil, namely the
bulk and meniscus water. Bulk water provides tangen-
tial and normal forces at inter-particle contacts while
meniscus water imposes stabilizing influence through
normal inter-particle forces. According to Wheeler
et al. (2003), inter-particular forces imposed by suc-
tion within bulk water is dependent on both suction
value and degree of saturation. The additional inter-
particle normal force due to meniscus water can be
assumed to be constant whenever a meniscus water
lens exits. The overall stability of the soil skeleton
is controlled by the number of inter-particle contacts
influenced by the meniscus water lens. At a high suc-
tion of 400 kPa, in which plastic changes of Sr in
response to emptying of voids with water occurred, the
water phase is discontinuous and the water phase exists
mostly in the form of meniscus lenses. Thus, the higher
the Sr, the more is the number of contacts affected by
meniscus water and thus normal forces stabilizing the
soil particles. As a result, shear strength of D1_400 is
greater than that of W1_400.

484
 Meanwhile, a more pronounced dilative behavior is
associated with W1_400 as shown in Figure 4(c) due
to the smaller void ratio caused by drying and subse-
quent wetting. In saturated soil mechanics, the peak
friction angle can be considered as the sum of inter-
particle friction, rearrangement, crushing, and then
the dilation contribution. Bolton (1986) proposed the
flowing empirical equation that relates the mobilized
friction angle φ at a given stress state to the critical
state friction angle φ crit and dilation angle ψ:
φ = φ crit + 0.8ψ (2)
Also, according to Zhan and Ng (2006),
τf = c +(σ−ua ) tan(φ + ψ)+(ua −uw )f tan φb (3)
where σ is the total normal stress, ua is the pore-air
pressure, uw is the pore-water pressure, ψ is the dila-
tion angle, φb represents the effect of capillary force on
frictional resistance, c is the true cohesion, and φ is
the internal frictional angle. These suggested that the
greater the dilatancy, the higher is the shear strength.
Thus, it is expected that W2_400 should have higher
shear strength when comparing to D1_400. However,
obviously, the effect of the lower S outweighs the
contribution of shear strength from the more dilative
behavior in the case of W1_400.
For the low suction cases, i.e. D1_20 and W1_20,
the difference in shear strength magnitude is relatively
less significant but the same trend (shear strength at
drying is greater than that at wetting) is observed.
in this study, the contribution to increment in shear
strength by Sr outweighs that of dilatancy at a given
suction and grows progressively with suction. Han
et al. (1995) demonstrated (Figure 5) that soil spec-
imens at drying attained higher peak shear strength
than those at wetting did over the suction range beyond
60 kPa. And, below 60 kPa suction, a counter case with
a discernible discrepancy associated exists. Thus, it
may be probable that there is a watershed (I) beyond
which shear strength of a specimen at wetting is lower
than that at drying as a result of Sr decrement induced
by the drying-wetting cycle. And, the counter case
occurs below the suction at the watershed. This suc-
tion value may be dependent on the soil properties,
like soil grain size distribution and soil-water charac-
teristic curve. Referring to Table 4, it is hypothesized
that the higher the proportion of fine grains, the higher
is the suction at which curves of shear strength versus
matric suction at drying and wetting intersect (inter-
sections I1 and I2 in Figure 5). However, intersection
I1 is deduced from the limited experimental results in
this study. Further investigation and extra experiments
are required to confirm this preliminary hypothesis.
4.2 Cyclic drying-wetting effects on shear strength
At a suction of 20 kPa, the shear stresses given by the
four specimens subjected to different drying-wetting
800
Drying - this study
700
Peak Shear Strength (kPa)

Drying - Han et al. (1995)

W1_20 exhibits a more dilative behavior than D1_20 600 Wetting - this study
Wetting - Han et al. (1995)
does due to lower pre-shearing void ratio associated 500
with W1_20. Considering D1_20, the lesser extent I2
of stabilizing power arisen from dilatancy is counter- 400
balanced by that contributed by its greater Sr for the 300
CDT specimen at drying sheared at suction of 20 kPa 200 I1
in the primary drying-wetting cycle, resulting in a net
100
decrease in shear strength caused by drying-wetting
cycle. 0
Actually, shear strength achieved by a specimen at 0 100 200 300 400
Matric suction (kPa)
a given suction is always affected simultaneously by
the two factors, degree of saturation and dilatancy. It
Figure 5. Peak shear strength versus matric suction for the
is hence proposed that: primary drying-wetting cycle.
τ = c + (σn − ua ) tan(φ + ψ)
   Table 4. Summary of particle size distribution and suction
θ − θr
+ (ua − uw ) tan φ (4) (I) at which the curves of shear strength versus matric suction
θs − θr given by specimens at drying and wetting intersect.

As discussed above, the influences induced by the two This study Han et al. (1995)
factors generally occurs in a counteracting manner.
For a given specimen on the drying path, higher initial Sand content 25% 49%
degree of saturation is associated with a less dilative Silt content 60% 25%
Clay content 15% 26%
behavior while the contrary case occurs in specimen Position of I 20 kPa 60 kPa
on the wetting path. At the two suction values studied

485
histories attain nearly the same maximum (around
30 kPa) but at different increasing rates. The shear
stress-displacement curve given by D1_20 is the high-
est among the four in test Series 1 with D2_20, W2_20
and then W1_20 lying below. This order of variation
is in consistent with that of volumetric water content
prior to shearing. In this case, dilatancy no longer
diverts the trend in shear stress variation.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Two series of direct shear tests were conducted on CDT
specimens subjected to six different suction histories
to investigate the influences of drying-wetting cycles
on unsaturated shear strength and corresponding vol-
umetric behavior. The following conclusions can be
drawn:
i. strain softening is observed for soil specimens
sheared at suction of 400 kPa while shear stresses
monotonically increase with horizontal displace-
ment for specimens sheared at low suction of
20 kPa regardless of the suction history;
ii. within the primary drying-wetting cycle, peak
shear strength attained by specimen at drying is
higher than that at wetting for both of the high and
low suction cases though the discrepancy in shear
strength magnitudes is relatively less noticeable in
the latter case;
iii. dilatancy is more pronounced in the wetting path
and in the second drying-wetting cycle which
is attributed to the lower void ratio induced by
drying-wetting cycles;
iv. shear stress given by specimen at drying in the
primary drying-wetting cycle is greater than that
in the second drying-wetting cycle. However, a
reverse trend is observed in specimens at wetting;
v. both degree of saturation, Sr and dilatancy con-
tributes to shear strength increment (see equation
(4)). In this study, the increment of shear strength
contributed by Sr outweighs that of dilatancy.
ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS
The authors express their gratitude towards the
research grants offered by HKUST (CA-MG07/08.
EG01) as well as Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong
Limited., Dr. Jack Pappin in particular.
REFERENCES
Alshihabi, O., Shahrour, I. & Mieussens, C. 2002. Exper-
imental study of the influence of drying-wetting cycles
on the resistance of a compacted soil. Proceedings of the
486
third international conference on unsaturated soils,
Vol. 2, 491–494, Recife, Bazil.
Bolton, M.D. 1986. The strength and dilatancy of sand.
Geotechnique 36, No. 1, 65–78.
BSI. 1990. BS1377: Methods of test for soils for civil
engineering purposes. British Standards Institution.
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
pp. 227.
Fuchu , D., Lee, C.F. & Wang, S. 1999. Analysis of
rainstorm-induced slide-debris flows on natural terrain
of Lautau Island, Hong Kong. Engineering Geology. 50:
279–290.
Gallage, C.P.K. & Uchimura, T. 2006. Effects of wetting
and drying on the unsaturated shear strength of a silty
sand under low suction. Proc. of the 4th Int. Conf.
on Unsaturated Soils. Vol. 1. Carefree, Arizona, USA.
1247–1258.
Gan, J.K.M. 1986. Direct shear strength testing of unsat-
urated soils. M.Sc. Thesis; University of Sakatchewan,
Saskatoon.
Gan, J.K.M., Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1988. Deter-
mintaion of shear strength parameters of an unsaturated
soil using direct shear test. Can. Geotech. J., 25, No. 3,
500–510.
Gan, J.K.M. & Fredlund, D.G. 1996. Shear strength charac-
teristics of two saprolitic soils. Can. Geotech. J., Vol. 33,
pp. 595–609.
Han, K.K., Rahardjo, H. & Broms, B.B. 1995. Effects
of hysteresis on the shear strength of a residual soil.
E.E. Alonso & P. Delage (Eds), Unsaturated soils, 2,
499–504.
Hilf, J.W. 1956. An investigation of pore water pressure in
compacted cohesive soils. Technical Memo 654, Bureau
of Reclamation, Denver.
Huang, S.Y., Fredlund, D.G. & Barbour, S.L. 1995. Measure-
ments of the coefficient of permeability of an unsaturated
soil. E.E. Alonso & P. Delage (Eds), Unsaturated soils, 2,
505–511.
Ng, C.W.W., & Pang, Y.W. 2000. Experimental investigations
of the soil-water characteristics of a volcanic soil. Can.
Geotech. J. 37: 1252–1264.
Ng, C.W.W. & Zhou, R.Z.B. (2005) Effects of soil suc-
tion on dilatancy of an unsaturated soil. Proce. Of
the 16th ICSMGE, 12–16 Sept. Osaka, Japna. Vol. 2,
559–562.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E., Clifton,
A.W. 1996. Model for the prediction of shear strength
with respect to sil suction. Can. Geotech. J. 33:
379–392.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.J. & Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour
in unsaturated soils. Geotechnique 53., No. 1, 41–54.
Zhan, L.T. 2003. Field and laboratory study of an unsaturated
expansive soil associated with rain-induced slope stability.
PhD Thesis. The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, HKSAR.
Zhan, L.T. & Ng, W.W. 2006. Shear strength characteristics
of an unsaturated expansive clay. Can. Geotech. J. 43:
751–763.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Degradation of compacted marls due to suction changes

R. Cardoso
Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal

E.E. Alonso
Universitat Poltècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: Marls are classified as hard-soils/ soft rocks and require special attention when used as construc-
tion materials since their mechanical and hydraulic properties change due to alternate wetting-drying cycles as
well as to other weathering processes. This evolution of behaviour is characterized by crack opening and/or loss
of bonding, having in general negative impact on the strength and compressibility of the material. Embankments
made with marls and other soft clayey rocks result in an agglomerated structure of rock fragments. The grading of
these materials evolves resulting in relevant modifications of the overall behaviour of the aggregate. Settlements
and loss of strength are the main concerns in practice and require suitable constitutive and computational models
to predict these phenomena. This paper presents a study where the evolution of Jurassic marls (Arruda dos
Vinhos, Portugal) is simulated considering concepts of unsaturated soil mechanics. The mechanisms leading to
the breakage and eventually the destructuration of rock particles are investigated. Numerical simulations of the
behaviour of individual rock fragments under wetting were performed and the contribution of initial suction has
been analysed. The results obtained provide an insight into the nature of degradation induced by wetting. They
also help to explain the overall mechanical behaviour of aggregates (compacted material) observed in suction
controlled oedometric tests presented in this paper.

1 INTRODUCTION and Nova, 1993, Vaughan, 1997, Rouania and Muir

Marls are classified as hard-soils/soft rocks and exhibit
evolution of behaviour mainly associated to crack
opening and/or loss of bonding. These processes
usually have negative impact on strength and com-
pressibility.
This paper examines the physical phenomena con-
trolling the evolution of behaviour of hard-soils/soft
rocks when compacted and used for embankment con-
struction. Embankments made with marl and other soft
clayey rocks result in an agglomerated structure of
finite size particles (just as in a rockfill). However,
these particles evolve and result in major changes of
the overall behaviour of the aggregate. Common com-
paction practices do not avoid the consequences of the
evolutive behaviour of the aggregates, since the frag-
ment left after compaction still allows the development
of settlements and the loss of strength with time.
There is an increasing number of studies on the evo-
lution of the mechanical behaviour of hard soils/soft
rocks (shales, mudstones, claystones, calcarenites and
weak limestones) (Leroueil and Vaughan, 1990, Gens
Wood, 1998, Vaunat and Gens, 2003, Pinyol et al.,
2007, among others). However, very few studies are
known to exist concerning the behaviour of aggregates.
The study of the evolutive behaviour of individ-
ual rock fragments can be used to understand the
behaviour of aggregates of marl particles (compacted
material). Wetting and drying cycles controlled by
atmospheric changes, which result in strong changes
in suction, are probably one of the main reasons for
rock degradation. For this reason it was considered
appropriate to introduce concepts associated with
the mechanics of unsaturated soils to investigate the
causes of degradation, mainly associated with particle
breakage and disintegration.
Mechanisms leading to the breakage and eventu-
ally to the destructuration of single rock fragments are
analysed. In particular, wetting effects will be analysed
in some detail.
The results of the study presented for one single
fragment of rock will help to describe the behaviour of
aggregates of particles (compacted material) observed
in suction controlled oedometric tests.

487
2 DEGRADATION MECHANISMS
The photographs of marl fragments before and after a
wetting cycle, presented in Figure 1, show the degrada-
tion phenomena of an unconfined set of particles with
uniform size (particle dimensions varying between
9 mm and 4.75 mm) subjected to one wetting-drying
cycle in a laboratory environment (T = 20◦ C ± 5◦ C
and RH = 45% ± 10%). The water content before wet-
ting was 9% (it corresponds to a suction of 10 MPa,
according to the water retention curve of the material).
Similar behaviour was observed for materials with dif-
ferent initial water contents. The observed degradation
was higher for drier fragments.
A possible explanation of the degradation mecha-
nisms of marl fragments is schematically presented in
Figure 2. During wetting the particle boundary is first
wetted and a suction gradient is created inside the rock
fragment. This suction gradient induces water transfer
and reduces in time until it reaches a zero value when
full saturation is reached. As long as there are suction
gradients, differential swelling deformations will be
developed inside the rock fragment.
The geometry and confinement of the fragment
restrain swelling displacements and leads to tensile
and shear stresses which eventually result in crack-
ing and destructuration. This degradation mechanism
will be controlled by suction gradients. In fact, it was
observed (Fig. 1) that the drier the fragments ini-
tially subjected to wetting, the more significant the
degradation observed.
It was decided to explore the nature of these
phenomena through numerical simulations of the
behaviour of individual rock fragments subjected to
suction cycles. They can also be useful at a larger
scale, when the mechanical behaviour of aggregates
of particles is investigated
3 NUMERICAL MODEL AND TESTS
PERFORMED FOR ITS CALIBRATION
The material under investigation comes from Aba-
dia Formation (Upper Jurassic, Arruda dos Vinhos,
Portugal). Mineralogy analysis showed the presence
of chlorite and gypsum, besides quartz, CaCl2 and
mica. Its basic identification properties are presented
in Table 1.
A coupled hydro-mechanical computational model
(CODE_BRIGHT, Olivella et al. 1996) was used
adopting the Barcelona Basic Model, BBM (Alonso
et al., 1990), as the constitutive mechanical model.
The code solves the balance of water in liquid and
gas phases, adopting Darcy’s law and Fick’s law for
the calculation of the flux of water inside the mate-
rial. The intrinsic permeability was calculated by
Kozeny’s model and for the definition of the water
retention curve (WRC, in Fig. 3), Eq. (1) was used

Table 1. Identification properties of Abadia marl.

Porosity win situ LL PI Solid unit weight, γs

37% 17% 47% 25% 27.4 kN/m3

Figure 1. Particle breakage and destructuration observed
in uniform-size particles (9 mm ≥ D > 4.75 mm) during a
wetting-drying cycle.

1000.00
Drying _ Block
differential deformation due to swelling Wetting _ Block
(proportional to the differential of suction) WRC-Drying
100.00 WRC-Wetting
Total suction (MPa)

Wet zone
(sinitial<s<0) 10.00

sinitial
Dry zone 1.00
s=0 MPa
(suction=sinitial)
(saturated in
the border)
0.10
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Tension development
(cracking) water content, w (%)

Figure 2. Degradation mechanisms inside a rock fragment. Figure 3. Water retention curves of Abadia marl.

488
(Van Genuchten, 1980),
  λ −λ
 1−λ
P g − Pl
Se = 1 +
P diameter) was adopted under plane strain conditions.
where Se is the degree of saturation at the current liquid
pressure, Pl . Pg is the gas pressure (assumed to be
the atmospheric pressure, 0.1 MPa), P is the pressure
associated with the air entry value and λ is a fitting
parameter.
Several experimental tests on marl samples were
performed to calibrate the numerical model, namely:
(i) swelling tests in oedometric conditions of rock
samples under different vertical stresses and with dif-
ferent initial suctions, (ii) Brazilian splitting tests and
unconfined compression tests in marl samples under
different suctions and (iii) suction controlled compres-
sion tests on marl samples in oedometric cells. The
intrinsic permeability coefficient of the marl was also
measured. Table 2 presents representative mechanical
and hydraulic parameters adopted in the model.
was assumed to start in a uniform manner at the parti-
cle boundary. Boundary suction was reduced from the
initial value to saturated conditions (s = 0) in 15 min-
utes. For simplification, a circular geometry (9 mm
(1)
Degradation mechanisms were investigated for the
confinement conditions presented in Figure 4. Since
particles in the granular structure are confined by
the neighbouring rock fragments, in a complex and
heterogeneous manner, more confinement cases were
analysed. Cardoso and Alonso (2008) present a more
detailed analysis and describe the effect of other cases
analysed.
Since fracture is not incorporated in the numerical
model adopted, degradation will be identified by the
pattern of tensile stresses developed in the fragment
and by the pattern of plastic deviatoric deformation,
δεsP , and of plastic volumetric deformation, δεvP . The
constitutive model is defined in terms of net mean
stress, calculated through
p = p − max{patm ; pl } (2)

4 ANALYSIS OF WETTING where p is total mean stress, patm is the atmospheric

pressure and pl is the liquid pressure.
Numerical simulations of individual fragments of rock Plastic deformations and tensile stresses developed
subjected to suction cycles were performed. Wetting during wetting are presented in Figures 5a, b.

Table 2. Constitutive parameters for Abadia marl.

Value
Constitutive
model Parameter Description Fragment Backfill III

BBM λ(0) Stiffness parameter for changes in net mean stress for 0.027 0.104
virgin states in saturated conditions

λ(S) Stiffness parameter for changes in net mean stress λ(S) = λ(0) (1 − r)e−βs + r
for virgin states
r Parameter defining maximum stiffness 0.65 0.20
β Parameter controlling the rate of stiffness increase 0.05 MPa−1 0.05 MPa−1
with suction
κ Elastic stiffness parameter for changes in net mean stress 0.007 0.007
κs Elastic stiffness parameter for changes in suction 0.020 0.0002
p∗o Pre-consolidation stress for saturated conditions 1.0 MPa 0.5 MPa
pc Reference stress 0.27 MPa 0.05 MPa
M Slope of the critical state lines 1.0 1.0
K Parameter describing the increase in cohesion with suction 0.007 0.007
c0 Tensile stress resistance for saturated conditions 0.4M Pa 0.004 MPa
ν Poisson coefficient 0.25 0.25
WRC Pg Gas pressure (assumed to be equal to the 0.1 MPa 0.1 MPa
atmospheric pressure)
P Pressure corresponding to the air entry value 0.3 MPa (drying 1 MPa
branch) 0.9
MPa (wetting
branch)
λ Fitting parameter 0.20 (both branches) 0.20
Permeability k Intrinsic permeability 8 × 10−21 m2 8 × 10−18 m2

489
 E 150
D AE
C
B 50
A BD
Figure 4. Confinement case considered and finite element
discretization of one particle.
Figure 5. Damage pattern identification.
Swelling progresses from the boundary towards
the centre. Vectors corresponding to the maximum
principal stress in the fragment for two time instants
(Figure 5) allow understanding the cracking pattern
due to tensile stress. Tensile stresses develop inter-
nally while a boundary annulus increases volume and
detaches from the core of the particle. This mechanism
leads to cracking interpreted as peripheral detachment.
This is the case for instant 15 minutes after wetting
(Figure 5a). When the water reaches the inner core
it starts swelling, pushing out the outer layers. This
mechanism corresponds to radial cracking (Figure 5b,
5 hours after wetting). The corresponding plastic shear
490
max. principal stress (kPa)
C
100
Compression Tensile stress
B E
D D
C
B
0
C A
AE
–50
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Not saturated Fully Saturated
time (hours)
Figure 6. Time evolution inside the fragment of the maxi-
mum principal stress, σI .
deformations, plotted also in Figure 5 show con-
centrated shear damage in the outer border of the
particle.
Stresses σI developed during wetting inside the
fragment (points B, C and D, see Figure 4) are pre-
sented in Figure 6. The evolution of tensile stresses
follows the explanation given before and helps to
understand the development of cracking. However a
complete analysis must also consider shear stress. The
stress path in space (p, q, s) is presented in Figure 7 for
the centre point C. It is a complex stress path, repre-
sented also in three auxiliary two-dimensional stress
spaces for a better comprehension. The shear stress
reaches a peak when the suction s = 200 kPa, in the
proximity of full saturation. Critical state conditions
are closely approached at the end of the simulation
performed.
5 COMPACTED SAMPLES
Suction controlled tests on compacted aggregates of
marl were performed in oedometer cells. All the
samples tested were compacted in similar conditions,
adopting uniform size of particles (9 mm ≥ D >
4.75 mm) in order to speed up the suction imposi-
tion by vapour equilibrium. The protocol followed for
these tests included drying under a small vertical load
(σv = 50 kPa) followed by a suction increase applied
by standard salt solutions, loading and finally satura-
tion at σv = 600 kPa. The results of these tests are
presented in Figure 8 and Table 3.
Tests results show that the virgin compressibility,
Cc, of the compacted marl decreases with increasing
suction (values shown in Table 3). A similar behaviour
is exhibited by rockfills and can be explained by a
crack propagation phenomenon, with cracking speed
increasing with water content, as if water would act
as a corrosive agent (Oldecop and Alonso, 2003).
 q (kPa)
2500 1000
900
2000
800

deviatoric stress, q (kPa)

1500 700
600 Yielding point
1000 500
yielding point 400
500 300
200
0
5 100
10
0
0
10 10000 1000 100 10 1 0
-5 2000 3000 4000
10 -1000 0 1000
s (kPa) p (kPa) suction, s (kPa)

10000 1800
MCC curve
(s=10MPa )
1000

deviatoric stress, q (kPa)

1200 CSL
Yielding point
100
suction, s (kPa)

saturated
Yielding point

10
600
Tensile yield
locus MCC
1 saturated
LC (q=0 ) curve

0 0
-60006001200 -60006001200

net mean stress, p (kPa) net mean stress, p (kPa)

Figure 7. Stress path for point C (in the centre of the fragment) in space (p, q, s) (sinitial = 10 MPa).

1.1 Table 3. Results of suction controlled oedometer tests of

1.0 marl aggregates (e = 1.078 ± 0.005, w = 15% ± 2%).
0.9 drying
Initial Volume Collapse
v=50kPa
Void ratio, e

0.8 suction Compres. decrease due to due to full

0.7 s=230MPa (MPa) index, Cc drying (1) wetting (2)
s=38MPa full
0.6 230 0.095 3.9 % 20.4 %
saturation
s=12MPa 38 0.379 3.4 % 15.7 %
0.5 v=600kPa
s=3MPa 12 0.394 1.3 % 13.9 %
0.4
Saturated test 3 0.536 – 9.7 %
0.3 Saturated 0.141 – –
1 10 100 1000 10000
(1) initial suction s = 3 MPa, vertical stress, σv = 50 kPa.
vertical stress (kPa)
(2) after saturation (final s = 0 MPa), σv = 600 kPa.
Figure 8. Suction controlled oedometer tests of compacted
marls.

the compressibility of the saturated marl aggregates

Test results also show that marl aggregates and rock- (Cc = 0.141) is similar to the compressibility of a
fill have similar behaviour on the high suction range reconstituted sample prepared with a water content
(deformation is mainly explained by particle break- w = 1.35LL (Burland, 1990). This result indicates that
age). However, as the suction decreases, the observed wetting leads not only to particle breakage but also to
response becomes similar to a clayey soil. In fact, strong destructuration. This is consistent with visual

491
observations during the wetting-drying cycle of marl Fragments Stiff frame

fragments (Fig. 2). LC (Marl)

LC (Backfill III)
The experimental results on compacted samples
10 A D
can be analysed considering the behaviour of the sin-

s (MPa)
gle fragments of marl: (i) global volume decrease
caused by drying (higher for higher suctions applied) 0
B C
is due to volume decrease of each particle when dried; Backfill 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
p (kPa)
(ii) collapse with full saturation is explained by particle
breakage and rearrangement of the broken fragments. Figure 9. Numberical model for the marl aggregate, load-
ing path followed and LC curves for the fragments and
Backfill III.

6 SIMULATION OF OEDOMETRIC TESTS

ON AGGREGATES OF FRAGMENTS Table 4. Results of the numerical model (Backfill III).

The degradation mechanism analyzed does not explain Compressibility. Deformation

the transition from rockfill behaviour (dry samples) to Path followed index, Cc due to wetting
a clayey soil (fully saturated samples). Besides crack-
ing phenomena, the global porosity changes due to ABC (s = 0 MPa) 0.088 1.06% (swelling)
ADC (s = 10 MPa) 0.057 –0.58% (collapse)
wetting in a fully degraded material must also be taken
into account to simulate this transition.
The combined behaviour of aggregates of frag-
ments was investigated against stress and suction paths 1.10
(Fig. 9) which included full saturation for a given B
stress level: (i) path ABC—full saturation under ver- swelling
1.09
tical stress, followed by loading; and (ii) path ADC— due to
void ratio, e

loading under a constant initial suction, followed by wetting

1.08 A
full wetting at high vertical stress. The purpose of D collapse
this model was to analyse the effect, in the global C due to
behaviour, of the degradation of the fragments when 1.07 ADC (III)
C wetting
wetted. ABC (III)
CODE_BRIGHT was also used. The numerical 1.06
model, shown in Figure 9, includes circular fragments 100 1000 10000
(diameters of 9 mm, 7 mm and 5 mm) and a backfill vertical stress (kPa)
material. The fragments were arranged to obtain an
initial void ratio of 1.082, similar to the one adopted Figure 10. Numerical results for Backfill III.
for the oedometer tests previously presented. Material
parameters are given in Table 2.
The virgin saturated compressibility of the back- Figure 10 presents the evolution of the void ratio
fill (which represents de-structured fragments) was in the fragments and in the backfill for loading paths
similar to the experimental value derived from the ABC and ADC. Contrary to the predictions of a pure
oedometer test on the saturated aggregate (Fig. 8). BBM model, the mixture III experiences different
Several sensitivity tests of the backfill properties were reduction in void ratio when comparing path ADC
performed so the collapse of this material when fully (first loading and then wetting), with path ABC.
saturated would partially compensate the swelling con- The initial void ratios adopted for the fragments
tribution of the individual fragments. Three different (0.37) and for the backfill (0.54) were different. How-
cases were analyzed by Cardoso and Alonso, 2008 ever, wetting and loading tend to produce a rather
(Backfill I, II and III) through three different LC homogeneous mixture (uniform void ratio of 0.47),
curves. This paper presents the results for only one a behaviour observed in practice. Another interesting
case (Backfill III). result was strains development in time in two time
As presented in Table 4 and Figure 10, swelling scales.
was calculated for wetting under low vertical stress
(path AB). Collapse was found for wetting under high
vertical stress (path AD). The driest sample shows the 7 CONCLUSIONS
lowest overall compressibility (lower compressibility
index, Cc ), which agrees, in a qualitative manner, with Numerical simulations of individual fragments of rock
the experimental results from Table 3. (a porous marl) were performed. They show the

492
development of definite patterns of tensile stress, shear
stress and plastic deformation during wetting. These
patterns allowed the identification of degradation
mechanisms of fragments of marl. Suction gradients
inside the fragment, developed during wetting, play
a significant role. This gradient allows the develop-
ment of differential swelling deformations, leading to
tensile stress/shear development and consequently to
cracking.
The numerical results from individual rock frag-
ments provided a mechanical explanation for the
overall behaviour of aggregates (compacted material)
observed in experimental tests. Cracking development
due to saturation leads to fragment size reduction and
the collapse observed results from the rearrangement
of the broken fragments.
Numerical simulation of oedometric tests on par-
ticle arrangements, where different properties were
adopted for the fragments and for the backfill mate-
rial, were also performed. The mixture behaves as a
‘‘double porosity’’ material as strains develops in time
in two time scales. An interesting result of modelling
was the observed trend towards a homogeneous distri-
bution of porosity inside the mixture, a result which
agrees with experimental observations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Professor Emanuel
Maranha das Neves for his useful comments in the
preparation of this paper.
Acknowledgement is also due to the Portuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT, for the
financial support that allowed this study (SFRH/BD/
25846/2005, POCTI/ECM/59320/2004).
493
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40 (3),
pp. 405–430.
Burland, J.B. 1990. On the compressibility and shear strength
of natural clays. Géotechnique, 40 (3), pp. 329–378.
Cardoso, R and Alonso, E.E., 2008, Degradation of com-
pacted marls—a microstructural investigation. Soils and
Foundations (in prep.).
Gens, A. and Nova, R. 1993. Conceptual bases for a con-
stitutive model for bonded soils and weak rocks. Symp
on Geotechnical Eng. Hard Soils-Soft Rocks, vol. 1, pp.
485–494.
Leroueil, S. and Vaughan, P. 1990. The general and congruent
effects of the structure in natural soils and weak rocks.
Géotechnique, vol. 40 (3), pp. 467–488.
Oldecop, L. & Alonso, E.E. 2003. Suction effects on rockfill
compressibility, Géotechnique, vol. 53 (2), pp. 153–164.
Olivella, S., Gens, A., Carrera, J. and Alonso, E.E. 1996.
Numerical formulation for simulator (CODE_BRIGHT)
for coupled analysis of saline media. Eng. Computations,
13 (7), pp. 87–112.
Pinyol, N.M., Alonso, E.E. Vaunat, J. 2007 A constitu-
tive model for soft clayey rocks that includes weathering
effects Géotechnique vol. 57 (2), pp. 137–151.
Rouania, M. and Muir Wood, D. 1998. A kinematic harden-
ing model for structured clays, The geotechnics of hard
soils—soft rocks, Evangelista & Picarelli (eds), Balkema,
Rotterdam, vol. 2, pp. 817–824.
Van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed-form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, pp. 892–898.
Vaughan 1997. Engineering behaviour of weak rocks: Some
answers and some questions. Geotechnical Engineering
of Hard Soils-Soft Rocks. Balkema, pp. 1741–1765.
Vaunat, J. and Gens, A. 2003. Bond degradation and irre-
versible strains in soft argillaceous rock. Proc. 12th
Panamerican Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering, vol. 1, pp. 479–484.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Multiaxial behavior of partially saturated sand at high stresses

N. Massoudi
Bechtel Power Corporation, Frederick, Maryland, USA

H.-Y. Ko & S. Sture

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

ABSTRACT: Results of 60 experiments conducted on a well-graded, partially saturated sand at high stresses
are presented. These include drained and undrained isotropic compression, triaxial, and strain-controlled exper-
iments. A multiaxial cubical apparatus with a pressure capacity of 69 MPa (10,000 psi) was utilized. Results
indicate that the presence of even a small volume of air significantly affects the generated pore pressures in
undrained loading, and in turn influence the state of effective stress and strength of the soil. Additionally, high
confining stresses result in the dense sand responding in stress-strain characteristics resembling that typically
observed in loose sands. And finally, intermediate principal stresses highly affect the soils’ response and their
strength. High confining stresses also result is particle crushing, impacting material properties.

1 INTRODUCTION proportional loading conditions. They used the test

The behavior of partially saturated soils can be more
conveniently examined experimentally than analyti-
cally or in the field. The advantage of performing
laboratory tests is in its greater control over test con-
ditions such as the degree of saturation. The natural
ground is rarely fully saturated. In fact, the seasonal
fluctuation in groundwater level can lead to entrap-
ment of air bubbles and produce levels of saturation
below 100%.
The objective of the experiments described herein
was to provide a general understanding on the behav-
ior of partly saturated sands with the aim of producing
results on the stress-strain-strength behavior of the
tested sand. The factors studied were the influence of
high pressures, intermediate principal stress, and the
1-D behavior at partial saturation.
The behavior of partly saturated soils has been
studied for several decades. A single compilation of
such works resulted from the 1960 Conference on
Pore Pressure and Suction in London. A more recent
undertaking is reflected in results of the 4th Interna-
tional Conference on Unsaturated Soils in Arizona,
in 2006. These studies concentrated on understanding
the basics of unsaturated properties of soils.
Casagrande & Hirschfeld (1960) studied the behav-
ior of partially saturated compacted clay at differ-
ent water contents under undrained hydrostatic and
results to construct a relationship between pore pres-
sure, water content, confining stress, and total major
principal stress.
Lee & Haley (1968) studied the influence of com-
paction methods on the stress-strain-strength charac-
teristics of partly saturated compacted Kaolinite and
silty clay at high pressures. They showed that the
behavior of these soils when subjected to high stresses
will no longer be controlled by their initial fabric and
structure; rather, regardless of the particle arrange-
ment, the soil response is ductile and large positive
pore pressures will develop.
For soils containing a single pore fluid the effec-
tive normal stress was given by Terzaghi (1936). Its
success led researchers to define similar relationships
for unsaturated soils. The case of partially saturated
soils, however, calls for special treatments because the
pores are occupied by more than one fluid, usually air
and water. A tentative expression for such case was
introduced by Bishop (1960) as
σ = σ − ua + x(ua − uw ) (1)
The parameter x in Eq. (1) is a function of the degree
of saturation, but affected by factors such as soil struc-
ture, cycles of wetting or drying, stress state, etc.
A number of similar relationships have been intro-
duced to define the effective stress in partly saturated

495
soils. Common to all is the effort to keep their appear- 100

ance as close to that of Terzaghi’s, however, incorporat-

Finer by Weight (%)

75
ing a parameter in the relationship which is a function
of the degree of saturation and soil type. Despite the 50
simple appearance of these equations, evaluation of
the parameters is not as simple. 25

More recent formulations include the works of

0
Fredlund (1979) and Hasan & Fredlund (1980). Fred- 10 1 0.1 0.01
lund et al. (1978) introduced a relationship for shear Grain Size - mm
strength of partly saturated soils that included terms
for pore air, pore water, suction, and other effects, Figure 2. Grain size distribution of the test soil.
represented by

τf = c + (σn − ua ) tan φ + (ua − uw ) tan φb (2)

Measuring some of the terms in Eq. (2) is difficult.

Some have attempted to simplify these using curve
fitting (Rohm and Vilar, 1995 and Abramento and
Carvalho, 1989) while others have resorted to methods
such as fractal models (Xu, 2004).
For experiments described in this paper, a multiaxial
cubical device was used. The apparatus had a pressure
capacity of 69 MPa (10,000 psi) and provided several
advantages over other geotechnical testing devices.
These include the ability to independently control the
applied stresses, which permits reaching virtually any Figure 3. The 3-dimensional stress space.
point in the stress space, and the fluid cushion type
boundaries that tremendously reduce the boundary
problems normally encountered in other soil testing During sample preparation, the breaking of the indi-
devices. The device has been described in detail by Ko vidual particles due to large compaction efforts was
et al. (1984). A schematic of the apparatus is shown in clearly audible.
Fig. 1. The experimental schedule consisted of tests along
The relative magnitude of intermediate principal different stress paths in the three-dimensional stress
stress was assigned to parameter b (the principal stress space that is shown in Fig. 3. In all triaxial experiments,
ratio), defined as the stress paths were maintained in the octahedral
plane, i.e., Δσoct = 0, with the octahedral normal
σ 2 − σ3 stress (or mean stress) defined as
b= (3)
σ1 − σ3
σoct = 1/3(σ1 + σ2 + σ3 ) (4)
The test soil was classified, using the Unified Soil
Classification System, as a well-graded sand (SP-SC)
with about 5% fines by weight and with a specific
gravity of 2.61. The sand’s gradation is shown in Fig. 2. 2 NEAR SATURATION TECHNIQUE

The degree of saturation was calculated based on the

weight-volume relationships. A value of about 85%
was common for the specimens. Skempton B-values
of about 0.02 were commonly measured.
To examine specimen air contents, the volume of
expelled water was visually observed and recorded
during drained hydrostatic compression tests in addi-
tion to the routine volumetric calculation as sum of
the three principal strains. Any difference in volume
measurements (due to the presence of air) would have
manifested itself in the form of two different volu-
Figure 1. Cubical cell apparatus and cubical soil specimen. metric responses because the calculation technique

496
 Axial Strain (%)
0 1 2 3 4 5
Volumetric Strain (%)

0 Calculated
Measured
5

10

15

20

Figure 4. Calculated and measured volume changes.

provides an overall volume change (without separat-

ing for air and water), whereas the visual measurement
only refers to the volume of expelled water. The results
are shown in Fig. 4.
It is noticed that the two responses were quite sim-
ilar despite the fact that air bubbles were observed
to leave the specimen. Such volumetric responses are
expected of soils with high saturation, especially in
dense soils, because all but a small fraction of the void
phase is occupied by water. Figure 5. Undrained triaxial compression tests (b = 0).

3 UNDRAINED TRIAXIAL EXPERIMENTS

The influence of confining stress on the stress-strain-

strength of the test sand is shown in Fig. 5. The
identifying numbers correspond to the confining total
stress prior to the triaxial loading. Note that these
stresses may equal ‘effective’ stresses depending on
the pore pressure state of the specimen at commence-
ment of shearing. The influence of intermediate prin-
ciple stress is shown in Fig. 6 for confining stress of
6.9 MPa (1,000 psi).
Several observations are made from the results: {i.}
With increase in magnitude of effective confinement,
the sand’s stiffness increases. This was true regardless
of the b-value. {ii.} Under the experimental proce-
dure described, the sand’s strength is a maximum at
a confining stress of around 6.9 MPa (1,000 psi).
With increase in total stress, though an initially stiffer
response is produced due to greater effective confine-
ment, the reaching of a sample to a state of full or near
full saturation causes greater excess pore pressures
thus reducing the overall strength. {iii.} Volumetric
responses indicate that the sand dilates at low con-
finement. With increase in stress the tendency towards
dilation decreases. Tests at confining stresses where
the soil had reached full saturation indicate small vol-
ume change during shear. This could be the result of a Figure 6. Undrained triaxial tests with varying b-value.
combination of factors, such as compression of water,
compression of solid particles, and the time-dependent
dissolution of air bubbles. {iv.} No excess pore pres- the rate and the magnitude of excess pore pressure
sures are generated at low confining stresses, which at failure increase. {iv.} For isotropic total stress lev-
implied that the air content was significantly affecting els larger than 10.4 MPa (1,000 psi), the soil reached
the results. With increase in confinement, however, full saturation, the effective confining stress remained

497
essentially unchanged, and the subsequent response
resembled that for fully saturated conditions. It must
be noted that reaching of full saturation at 10.4 MPa
(1,000 psi) is associated with the 85% saturation level
for the test sand. At other saturation levels this pressure
would be different. {v.} The influence of interme-
diate principal stress on the soil’s response does not
depart from those that have been established for the
fully saturated condition (Ko et al., 1984). {vi.} The
largest volume change during shear is associated with
larger b-values. This is regardless of the nature of vol-
ume change (expansion or contraction). {vii.} Any one
experiment that produces the greatest volume change
also produces the greatest pore pressure at failure.
4 STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS
Strength of partially saturated soils, like that of fully
saturated soils, is controlled by the effective stresses
within that soil. The Mohr-Coulomb strength envelope
obtained from the nearly saturated undrained triaxial
compression (TC, b = 0) experiments is presented in
terms of effective stress in Fig. 7.
The one distinguishing aspect of this envelope in
Fig. 7 (a) is its cohesive intercept which is thought to be
due to capillary effects (apparent cohesion) because of
the <100% saturation, the large overconsolidation of
the compacted soil at low stresses, and the presence
of some fines in the soil.
The results are also plotted in terms of total stress,
as shown in Fig. 7(b). They indicate two different
angles of shearing resistance, each belonging to dif-
ferent states of saturation. A small cohesion intercept
and a φ  = 27 degrees belong to the partially satu-
rated state, whereas a rather large cohesive intercept
and φ = 0 manifest for the fully saturated state.
In general, the φ = 0 concept does not apply to
Figure 7. Strength envelope (a) effective stress, (b) total
stress.
498
partially saturated soils, but once the confining stress
becomes large enough to cause full saturation, any fur-
ther increase in total stress does not cause an increase in
effective stress and from this point the φ = 0 concept
does apply. In this case the undrained strength may be
specified in terms of total stress parameters cu and φu .
5 INFLUENCE OF INTERMEDIATE
PRINCIPAL STRESS ON STRENGTH
It is now widely accepted that the intermediate prin-
cipal stress can exert a significant influence on the
behavior of soils. The degree of such influence, how-
ever, can vary substantially. For instance, condition
of failure defined by a state of stress σ2 = σ1 (triax-
ial extension, TE) or σ2 = σ3 (triaxial compression,
TC) influences the magnitude of volume change or
excess pore pressure whose reflections become visible
on strength of the soils.
The effective stress paths in triaxial plane repres-
enting conditions of TC (b = 0) and TE (b = 1) is
shown in Fig. 8. The number identifying a particular
stress path refers to the total confining stress that the
specimen was subjected to before shear.
It is noted that for the lower confinement levels, lack
of excess pore water pressure made the total and effec-
tive stresses identical, and also the effective stress path
was identical to the total stress path. With increase in
confining stress a larger volume of the pore air is dis-
solved into the pore water, bringing the sample closer
to a state of full saturation. Stress paths for other inter-
mediate principal stresses (not shown here) suggest
similar findings. Thus, depending on the magnitude of
confinement and the volume of air in voids, a nearly
saturated sample may respond as if it was 100% satu-
rated and loaded under fully drained, partially drained
and undrained, or fully undrained conditions.
The influence of intermediate principal stress on the
angle of shearing resistance is shown in Fig. 9.
Figure 8. Strength envelopes in triaxial plane (b = 0 and 1).

Figure 9. Angle of shearing resistance and b-value.
The angle of shearing resistance is represented in
two forms. In the first approach, φ  is defined by
Eq. (5) and the strength component associated with
cohesion is neglected.
 
σ 1 − σ3
φ  = sin−1
σ1 + σ3
In the second approach, φ  is defined as
 
σ1 − σ3 − 2c cos φ 
φ  = sin−1
σ1 + σ3
In Eq. (6) the value of c was assumed to remain
unchanged and at 275 kPa (40 psi) for different
b-values. In solving this equation, a value of φ  was
assumed and a new value was calculated. The iteration
continued until the two values converged.
In Fig. 9, the lowest φ  occurs at the condition
of b = 0 and increases sharply to conditions 0.2 ≤
b ≤ 0.5, with subsequent increase or decrease in φ 
with change in b-value. The trend is noticeably sim-
ilar to that observed for tests at full saturation. For
case of Eq. (6) an overall reduction in the value of
φ  is observed compared to Eq. (5). Such reduction
is in correspondence with the general representation
of strength in the Mohr-Coulomb diagram where a
flattening of the strength envelope will be noticed if
the envelope was to include a cohesive intercept and
still represent a strength at the same effective normal
stress. This latter representation of φ  results in a clus-
tering of the curves for different stresses as opposed to
the more widespread responses in the first approach.
A noticeable trend in the representation of φ  vs. b-
value for the two approaches is: (1) the rather similar
shape of the two curves for identical magnitude of
stress and (2) the rather insignificant influence of c
on φ  calculations at higher stresses.
6 KO EXPERIMENTS
Five undrained uniaxial strain tests with different lev-
els of effective confining stress were conducted on the
nearly saturated sand. In spite of the flexible bound-
aries of the apparatus, lateral strains were controlled
within small fractions of one percent. At no time dur-
ing the Ko loading did the lateral strains exceed 0.01%.
The experiments were typically terminated when the
soil reached full saturation. A typical stress-strain
response for these tests is shown in Fig. 10 in terms of
both total and effective stress. The response indicates
perfect Ko condition.
The response of the soil in the axial (z) direction
indicates an initial curvature which reduces with fur-
ther straining. This curvature is related to the stress
history of the specimen, is reduced with increasing
confining stress, and disappears when the specimen
preconsolidation pressure of 9 MPa (1,300 psi) is
exceeded. Results indicate that there is practically
no difference between the total and effective stress-
strain relations until the soil goes into full saturation
(5)
at which point further increase in total stress is negated
by the generated pore pressures, resulting in no further
straining of the material.
The stress history of the soil can best be studied
from the results of Ko tests plotted in terms of void
(6) ratio-log of effective stress, as shown in Fig. 11.
From Fig. 11, the maximum past consolidation
stress is estimated to be about 9 MPa (1,300 psi). This
is somewhat near the 9.7 MPa (1,400 psi) pressure
that the specimens were compacted to. The com-
pression and expansion indices are calculated to be
Cc = 0.19 and Ce = 0.01; they compare well with 0.2
and 0.02 values, respectively, obtained from isotropic
Figure 10. Ko tests.
499

Figure 11. Comparison of isotropic and Ko loading condi-
tions.
Figure 12. Ko (a) total and (b) effective stress paths.
compression tests. Such values are usually associ-
ated with highly compressible soils. Other studies
have also shown that sands subjected to high stresses
could become as compressible as clays (Roberts and
DeSouza, 1958). Fig. 11 also shows very close corre-
spondence between the two Ko and isotropic loading
cases, even though they were generated via different
stress paths. It is for this reason that soils retrieved
from a site are usually loaded isotropically in the labo-
ratory in lieu of trying to mimic a 1–D compression as
is the more probable stress state existing in the ground.
The stress paths that were generated during the Ko
experimentation are displayed in Fig. 12.
In Fig. 12(a), each total stress path starts at the con-
fining stress that the sample was subjected to before
the 1-D loading. Though all tests started at differ-
ent stresses with different slopes, of interest is the
final destination which they all seem to be converg-
ing towards. The effective stress paths for the same
experiments, shown in Fig. 12(b), are similarly point-
ing towards a unique direction and had it not been
for the reaching of full saturation, they would have
undoubtedly ended up along the same path as that in
total stress space.
In Fig. 12(b), the effective stress paths for the
1.4 MPa (200 psi) and 3.5 MPa (500 psi) experiments
suggest that no increase in lateral stresses were needed
500
Figure 13. Evolution of Ko values with stress history.
along certain portions of the stress path (shown by
vertical rise in σ1 ), indicating that when an increment
of axial stress was applied, the deformation in lateral
directions were so small that no increase in lateral
stresses were required to maintain zero lateral defor-
mations. It is believed that this behavior is associated
with a combination of particle crushing and the stiff
soil skeleton. The effect of the latter is evident in the
response of the 9 MPa (1,300 psi) experiment where
reduced lateral stresses rendered the stress path for
this Ko experiment resembling a conventional triaxial
compression (CTC) stress path. This is not at all a con-
clusion that the Ko and CTC stress paths are similar,
rather a realization that a stiff soil skeleton can pro-
vide substantial resistance to lateral deformation even
at large applied axial stresses.
Ko values are known to vary with stress his-
tory. Similar trends are indicated in Fig. 13 for the
tested soil.
All experiments initially show large Ko values. With
increase in stress, Ko values converge toward a con-
stant value of about 0.45. With further increase in
stress, there appears a slight increase in Ko values,
approaching 0.50. The 9 MPa (1,300 psi) experiment
basically exhibits a similar trend to others in the Ko
evolution, with the exception that its Ko values are
higher than those experiments with lower stresses.
This is attributed to the crushing of particles which
occur at high pressures, resulting in a reduction in φ 
and in turn an increase in the Ko values.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Behavior of a nearly saturated sand in undrained con-
ditions followed an evolution resembling both drained
and undrained loading depending on its initial mois-
ture state and loading conditions. At low confining
stresses, lack of generated pore pressures due to a
highly compressible pore fluid resulted in the total
and effective stresses being identical. With increase in
stress, a greater volume of air was dissolved into the
pore liquid and brought the sample closer to the state
of full saturation, dictating the stress-strain-strength
characteristics were comparable with those at full
saturation.
The influence of intermediate principal stress on
stress-strain and strength of nearly saturated sand did
not significantly depart, in qualitative terms, from that
for fully saturated conditions, i.e., the greatest volume
change (dilative or contractive) seemed to be asso-
ciated with the TE condition. Intermediate principal
stresses, however, affected the angle of shearing resis-
tance, such that φ  for the TC condition is always lower
than that for the TE case, although at very high stresses
this difference is much less pronounced.
The test sand, although very dense, indicated rel-
atively high compressibility at high stresses, as often
observed in normally consolidated soils. High stresses
render even dense soils rather compressible. This is
also observed in results of the Ko experiments, with Ko
values approaching 0.5 or even higher at high stresses,
which is partly impacted by particle crushing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The research described in this paper was funded
by the United States Army Corps of Engineers,
Waterways Experiment Station, Geomechanics Divi-
sion, Vicksburg, Mississippi. This support is greatly
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Abramento, M. & Carvalho, C.S. 1989. Geotechnical Param-
eters for the Study of Natural Slopes Instablisation at
501
‘Serra do Mar’ Brazil. Proceedings, 12th Intl. Conf. on
Soil Mech. & Found. Engrg., Rio de Janeiro: 1599–1602.
Bishop, A.W. 1960. The Measurement of Pore Pressure in the
Triaxial Test. Conference. on Pore Pressure and Suction
in Soils, London: 38–46.
Casagrande, A. & Hirschfeld, R.C. 1960. Stress-Deformation
and Strength Characteristics of a Clay Compacted to a
Constant Dry Unit Weight. ASCE Research Conf. on
Shear Strength of Cohesive Soils, Boulder, Colorado:
359–417.
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. & Widger, R.A. 1978.
The Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal 15: 313–321.
Fredlund, D.G. 1979. Appropriate Concepts and Technology
for Unsaturated Soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 16:
121–139.
Hasan, J.U. & Fredlund, D.G. 1980. Pore Pressure Parameters
for Unsaturated Soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 17:
395–404.
Ko, H-Y., Sture, S. & Janoo, V.C. 1984. Development of
A 10,000 psi Multiaxial Cubical Cell for Soil Testing
with Pore Pressure Measuring Facilities. Report Submit-
ted to Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station,
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Lee, K.L. & Haley, S.C. 1968. Strength of Compacted
Clay at High Pressure. ASCE Geotechnical Journal 94(6):
1303–1332.
Roberts, J.E. & De Souza, J.M. 1958. The Compressibility of
Sands. Proceedings, 61th Annual Meeting of ASTM 58:
1269–1277.
Rohm, S.A. & Vilar, O.M. 1995. Shear Strength of Unsat-
urated Sandy Soils. Proceedings, 1st Intl. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils, Paris, 189–193.
Terzaghi, K. 1936. The Shearing Resistance of Saturated
Soils. Proceedings, 1st International Conference on Soil
Mechanics 1.
Xu, Y.F. 2004. Fractal Approach to Unsaturated Shear
Strength. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvir. Engrg.
130: 264–272.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A simple method for the prediction of modulus of elasticity for unsaturated

sandy soils

S.K. Vanapalli & Won Taek Oh

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

A.J. Puppala
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA

ABSTRACT: A simple method is proposed in this paper to predict the variation of modulus of elasticity with
respect to matric suction in unsaturated sandy soils using the Soil-Water Retention Curve (SWRC) and modulus
of elasticity values under saturated conditions. Comparisons are provided between the predicted and measured
modulus of elasticity and settlement values from model footing test results on three different sands using this
method. The results of this study are encouraging as there is a good agreement between the predicted and
measured moduli of elasticity and settlement values.

1 INTRODUCTION the ground water table in homogeneous deposits of

The design of a foundation is significantly influenced
by the bearing capacity and settlement behavior of
soils. In many cases, it is the settlement behavior which
governs the design of a foundation in comparison to the
bearing capacity. This is particularly true in the case
of coarse-grained soils such as sands in which settle-
ments are immediate in nature due to relatively high
coefficient of permeability values. In sandy soils, set-
tlement must be estimated or predicted reliably due to
two main reasons. Firstly, the differential settlements
in sandy soils are more predominant in comparison to
clayey soils because sand deposits are typically hetero-
geneous in nature. Secondly, the settlements in sandy
soils occur quickly and may cause significant damages
to the superstructures (Maugeri et al. 1998).
It is conventional engineering practice to design
a foundation assuming the soil is typically in a sat-
urated condition. The concepts of conventional soil
mechanics used for saturated soils may not be valid
in the estimation of immediate settlement of foun-
dations in unsaturated soils. Some studies have been
performed to study the contribution of matric suction
towards bearing capacity of unsaturated sandy soils
(Steensen-Bach et al. 1987; Mohamed and Vanapalli
2006). However, there is limited information in the
literature particularly with respect to the estimation of
the settlement behavior of foundations in sandy soils
that are in an unsaturated condition.
The key parameter used in the estimation of foun-
dation settlements is the modulus of elasticity which is
typically assumed to be constant both below and above
sands. In other words, the influence of matric suction
(i.e., unsaturated conditions) is not taken into account.
A close examination of the experimental results of
stress versus settlement relationships for model foot-
ing tests conducted on soils that are in an unsaturated
condition show that the modulus of elasticity is sig-
nificantly influenced by matric suction (Vanapalli and
Mohamed 2007).
In this paper, stress versus settlement relationships
from model footing tests performed on three different
sands under unsaturated conditions is presented. The
variation of modulus of elasticity with respect to matric
suction is derived from the above results and plotted
along with their soil-water retention curve (SWRC)
behavior. These plots show that there is a relation-
ship between the SWRC and the elasticity behavior,
which is similar to the relationship between the SWRC
and the shear strength/bearing capacity of unsaturated
soils. Using similar procedures that were followed for
the prediction of the shear strength and bearing capac-
ity in unsaturated soils, a simple method is developed
and presented in this paper for predicting the variation
of modulus of elasticity with respect to matric suction
using the SWRC and the modulus of elasticity under
saturated conditions (Esat ).
Comparisons are provided between the predicted
and measured moduli of elasticity values from model
footing test results using the proposed method. The
results show a good comparison between the mea-
sured and predicted values of moduli of elasticity and
settlement for the three different sands studied in this
paper.

503
2 BACKGROUND
2.1 Foundation settlement
The settlement of foundations consists of three
components.
δ = δi + δc + δs (1)
where δ = total settlement, δi = immediate or elastic
settlement, δc = consolidation settlement and δs =
secondary settlement or creep.
The immediate or elastic settlement in coarse-
grained soils occur under drained conditions while
in fine-grained soils they occur under undrained con-
ditions without significant dissipation of excess pore
pressures. The total settlement in sands is associated
with immediate or elastic settlement as there will be
relatively no consolidation or secondary settlement.
The foundation settlement in sands is convention-
ally estimated based on the theory of elasticity using
two soil parameters: modulus of elasticity, E and Pois-
son’s ratio, ν. According to the previous studies by
Lade and Nelson (1987), Lade (1988) and Lancel-
lotta (1995), the technique or the procedure used in
the determination of E has a significant effect on
the estimation of immediate or elastic settlement. In
comparison to E value, the Poisson’s ratio, ν does not
play an important role. For analysis purposes, these
parameters may be assumed to be constant although
they vary with time for undrained loading condition
(ν = 0.5 for idealized undrained case) and drained
loading condition (0.15 ≤ υ ≤ 0.35 for loose to dense
sand).
The modulus of elasticity, E can be estimated
both from laboratory and field tests. In general, the
modulus of elasticity for fine-grained soils from con-
ventional triaxial tests can be underestimated due to
sample disturbance caused by stress relief and other
mechanical disturbance. To overcome this disadvan-
tage, Davis and Poulos (1968) suggested the use of
K0 -consolidation triaxial test results to derive modu-
lus of elasticity values. According to the test results
by Simons and Som (1970), the modulus of elasticity
from K0 -consolidation triaxial tests are much higher
than those determined from conventional undrained
triaxial tests.
Plate load tests, cone penetration tests, pressureme-
ter tests or geophysical methods (i.e., seismic method)
are usually used to estimate in situ modulus of elas-
ticity values. In case of plate load tests (or model
footing tests), the modulus of elasticity can be cal-
culated using the equation below (Timoshenko and
Goodier 1951).
(1 − ν 2 )
E= δ
Bp Iw (2)
qp
504
where (δ/δqp ) = slope of settlement versus plate
pressure, ν = Poisson’s ratio (a value of 0.3 was
used for this study assuming drained loading con-
ditions), Bp = width or diameter of plate, and
Iw = influence factor (i.e., 0.79 for circular plate
and 0.88 for square plate). This value of modulus of
elasticity determined using Eq. (2) is representative
of soil within a depth zone which is approximately
1.5Bp ∼2.0Bp .
2.2 The relationship between the SWRC and the
shear strength/bearing capacity of unsaturated
soils
Vanapalli et al. (1996) proposed a semi-empirical non-
linear function for predicting the shear strength of
an unsaturated soil using the SWRC and the shear
strength parameters under saturated conditions. The
shear strength contribution due to matric suction from
that relationship can be determined using the equation
below:
τus = (ua − uw )(S κ )(tan φ  ) (3)
where τus = Shear strength contribution associated
with matric suction, (ua − uw ), S = degree of
saturation and κ = fitting parameter.
According to the studies by Vanapalli and Fred-
lund (2000) and Garven and Vanapalli (2006), a fitting
parameter κ = 1 is required for predicting the shear
strength of unsaturated sandy soils (i.e., for soils with
Ip = 0).
The nonlinear variation of shear strength with
respect to matric suction can be obtained by differ-
entiating Eq. (3).
dτus
tan φ b =
d(ua − uw )
 
  d (S κ )
= S κ + (ua − uw ) tan φ  (4)
d(ua − uw )
It is of interest to notice that the net contribution of
suction close to the residual state conditions causes a
reduction in the shear strength of sandy soils since S is
small and the value of [d(S κ )/[d(ua − uw )] is negative
(see Fig. 1(a)).
Vanapalli and Mohamed (2007) suggested an equa-
tion for predicting the bearing capacity of surface
footings on unsaturated sandy soils as follows.
qult = [c + (ua − uw )S ψ tan φ  ]Nc ξc + 0.5γ BNγ ξγ
(5)
where qult = ultimate bearing capacity, c = effective
cohesion, φ  = effective internal friction angle, ψ =
fitting parameter, B = width of footing, γ = soil unit
 100 where Eunsat = modulus of elasticity under unsatu-
Degree of Saturation, S (%)
rated condition, Esat = modulus of elasticity under
Air entry value saturated condition, S = degree of saturation, and α
(ua-uw)b Residual and β are fitting parameters.
suction value
In Eq. (6), the terms, (S)β and α control the nonlin-
ear variation of the modulus of elasticity. A value of β
equal to 1 is used for providing comparisons between
0 the measured and predicted modulus of elasticity val-
ues following the earlier concepts discussed for shear
bearing capacity
strength and bearing capacity of unsaturated sandy
Bearing capacity

soils (i.e., Ip = 0). The differential form of Eq. (5)

Shear strength /

shown in Eq. (6) can be used for providing mathemat-

ical explanations with respect to the nonlinear behavior
of modulus of elasticity under unsaturated conditions.
shear strength
(a)    
dEunsat  β d Sβ
= Esat α S + (ua − uw ) (7)
d(ua − uw ) d(ua − uw )
Elastic modulus

It can be seen that Eq. (6) is similar in form to that

of Eq. (3). In other words, the net contribution of
matric suction towards increase in modulus of elas-
ticity starts decreasing as matric suction approaches
residual suction value in coarse-grained soils such as
settlement
Immediate

gravels and sands (Fig. 1(b)). More details with respect

to settlement behavior are offered while analyzing
(b)
experimental results.
Matric Suction

Figure 1. SWRC and the variation of shear strength, bearing 3 TEST RESULTS
capacity, modulus of elasticity, and settlement behavior with
respect to matric suction in sandy soils. 3.1 Summary of the properties of the three sands
studied
weight, Nc and Nγ = bearing capacity factors from The properties of the sandy soils analyzed in this paper
Terzaghi (1943) and Kumbhokjar (1993) respectively are summarized in Table 1.
and ξc , ξγ = shape factors from Vesić (1973). The SWRCs for three sands are shown in Figure 2.
The results of the study by Vanapalli and Mohamed It can be seen that at the same degree of saturation,
(2007) demonstrate that the variation of bearing capac- Sollerod sand shows the highest suction value fol-
ity with respect to suction is nonlinear and has similar lowed by Coarse-grained sand and Lund sand. The
trends as the shear strength behavior (see Fig. 1(a)). Lund sand offers less resistance to desaturation due to
Their studies have also shown that the fitting parame- relatively low percentage of fines. In other words, the
ter ψ = 1 is required for sandy soils with Ip = 0 for
predicting the bearing capacity of unsaturated sandy Table 1. Summary of the data of three different sands.
soils using Eq. (5).
Vanapalli and
2.3 Estimation of modulus of elasticity Mohamed Steensen-Bach et al.
in unsaturated sandy soils (2006) (1987)

A simple equation is proposed in this paper for predict- Soil type Coarse-grained Sollerod Lund
ing the variation of modulus of elasticity of unsaturated
sandy soils using the SWRC and the modulus of Shear failure General shear failure
elasticity under saturated conditions extending simi- B(mm) × L(mm) 100 × 100 22 × 22
lar concepts described in section 2.2. In this equation, 150 × 150
two fitting parameters, α and β are used. c (kPa) 0.6 0.8 0.6
β φ  (◦ ) 35.3 35.8 44
Eunsat = Esat + Esat α(ua − uw )(S) (ua − uw )∗b (kPa) 4.0 5.7 1.1
. /
= Esat 1 + α(ua − uw )(S)β (6) ∗ Air-entry value.

505
 100 1000
Coarse-grained Sand
(Mohamed and Vanapalli 2006)
Degree of saturation (%)

80 900
(3)
BxL = 100x100 (mm)
(2) 800 (ua-uw) = 6 kPa
60

700

Applied stress (kPa)

40
(1)
600
20 Lund sand (1) 4 kPa
Coarse-grained sand (2)
Sollerod sand (3) 500
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 400 2 kPa
Matric suction, (u a-uw) (kPa)
300
Figure 2. Soil-water retention curves of the three sands
200
studied.
100
0 kPa
pore spaces in Lund sand are relatively larger than the 0
other two sands. 0 5 10 15 20 25
Settlement (mm)
3.2 Coarse-grained sand
1000
Mohamed and Vanapalli (2006) carried out model Coarse-grained Sand
(Mohamed and Vanapalli 2006)
footing tests using two different footing sizes (i.e., 900
100 × 100 mm and 150 × 150 mm) in specially BxL =150x150 (mm)

designed bearing capacity tank (0.9 × 0.9 × 0.75 m) 800

(ua-uw) = 6 kPa
which has provisions to simulate saturated and unsatu-
700
Applied stress (kPa)

4 kPa
rated conditions. The tests results for two footings with
different matric suction values are shown in Figure 3. 600 2 kPa
The matric suction value at the center of gravity of the
matric suction distribution diagram from 0 to 1.5Bp 500
depth region was considered as the average value of
matric suction in the analysis of the results (Mohamed 400
and Vanapalli, 2006 and Vanapalli and Mohamed,
2007). This is the zone of depth in which the stresses 300
due to loading are predominant (Poulos and Davis
200
1974).
100 0 kPa
3.3 Sollerod and lund sand
Steensen-Bach et al. (1987) performed model footing 0
0 5 10 15 20 25
(22 × 22 × 20 mm) tests using a circular steel test
pit (0.2 m diameter × 0.12 m height). The variation of Settlement (mm)
degree of saturation due to the drainage of water from a
saturated sample or the imbibitions into an unsaturated Figure 3. The relationship between the applied stress versus
sample was monitored by means of an electronic bal- settlement in Coarse-grained sand.
ance. The model footing tests results for Sollerod and
Lund sand are shown in Figures 4 and 5 respectively.
Sollerod sand shows relatively low values of modulus
of elasticity in comparison to other sands studied. suction for two model footing tests conducted on
Coarse-grained sand. The fitting parameter, α was
estimated as 1.5 and 2.5 for 100 × 100 mm and
4 ANALYSIS OF THE TESTS RESULTS
150 × 150 mm footings respectively. For all the three
sands studied in this paper, comparisons are provided
4.1 Coarse-grained sand
between the measured and predicted values of settle-
Figure 6 shows the SWRC and the variation of modu- ments for an applied stress of 40 kPa. At this stress
lus of elasticity and settlement with respect to matric value, all sands exhibit elastic behavior.

506
 1000 100
Sollerod Sand Coase-grained sand

Degree of saturateion, S (%)

Mohamed and Vanapalli (2006)
(Steensen-Bach et al. 1987)
900 80
BxL = 22x22 (mm)
800
60
(ua-uw) = 8.04 kPa
700
Applied stress (kPa)

Measured from
40 Tempe cell apparatus
Measured from
600 the test tank

20
500 1.96 kPa

0
400

Elastic modulus, E (kPa)

12x103
= 2.5
300
10x103

200 8x103 = 1.5

9.81 kPa
100 6x103
0 kPa
4x103
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
2x103
Settlement (mm)
0
predicted (100x100 mm)
Figure 4. The relationship between the applied stress versus measured (100x100 mm)
Settlement (mm)

settlement in Sollerod sand. 3 predicted (150x150 mm)

measured (150x150 mm)

600
Lund Sand 2
(Steensen-Bach et al. 1987)

500 BxL = 22x22 (mm)

1
Applied stress (kPa)

400 0
(ua-uw) = 0.98 kPa 0 2 4 6 8 10

Matric suction, (ua-uw)(kPa)

300
1.96 kPa
Figure 6. SWRC, variation of modulus of elasticity and
immediate settlement with matric suction from model footing
200 0.49 kPa tests in Coarse-grained sand (Mohamed and Vanapalli 2006).
0 kPa
moduli of elasticity are significantly lower than val-
100 ues which are commonly observed for sandy soils.
This behavior may be attributed to the relatively
small size of the model footings used for testing and
0 hence the modulus of elasticity values calculated using
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Eq. (2) are also relatively low. The α values required
Settlement (mm) for Sollerod sand and Lund sand are estimated as 2.5
and 1.5 respectively.
Figure 5. The relationship between the applied stresses
versus settlement in Lund sand.
5 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

4.2 Sollerod sand and lund sand 5.1 Fitting parameter α

Figures 7 and 8 show the variation of modulus of elas- The parameter, α in Eq. (5) used for providing best-
ticity and settlement with respect to matric suction fit values with the experimental results for the three
from model footing tests on Sollerod sand and Lund different sands studied in this research program are
sand respectively. It can be seen that the estimated summarized in Table 2.

507
 600 1000
Lund sand
Sollerod sand
Steensen-Bach et al. (1987)
Elastic modulus, E (kPa)

500 Steensen-Bach et al. (1987)

Elastic modulus, E (kPa)

800
α = 1.5
α = 2.5
400
600
300

400
200

200
100

0 0
predicted predicted
measured measured
20 2.0

Settlement (mm)
Settlement (mm)

15 1.5

10 1.0

5 0.5

0 0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 1 2 3

Matric suction, (ua-uw)(kPa) Matric suction, (ua-uw)(kPa)

Figure 7. The variation of modulus of elasticity and imme- Figure 8. The variation of modulus of elasticity and elastic
diate settlement with matric suction from model footing tests settlement with matric suction from model footing tests in
in Sollerod sand (Steensen-Bach et al. 1987). Lund sand (Steensen-Bach et al. 1987).

Table 2. Fitting parameter α for each test. iii. Residual zone: the modulus of elasticity non-
linearly decreases and approaches a constant
Soil α value.
Coarse-grained sand
100 mm × 100 mm 1.5 5.3 Variation of settlement with matric suction
150 mm × 150 mm 2.5
Sollerod sand The settlements gradually decrease with an increase
22 mm × 22 mm 2.5 in the modulus of elasticity values as matric suction
Lund sand increases in the boundary effect zone. In the transition
22 mm × 22 mm 1.5 zone, settlements are still decreasing to some extent
but gradually start increasing as the suction approaches
the residual zone. The settlement behavior in the resid-
ual zone approximately corresponds to the saturated
5.2 The variation of modulus of elasticity soil behavior for the Coarse-grained soil tested. This
with respect to matric suction can be attributed to the fact that the modulus of elastic-
ity at zero suction is almost the same as that at 10 kPa
From Figures 6, 7 and 8, it can be seen that the moduli of matric suction (i.e., degree of saturation is close to
of elasticity behavior is different in the three stages of zero) (Fig. 6).
desaturation; that is boundary effect zone, transition Sollerod and Lund sand (Figures 7 and 8 respec-
zone and residual zone (Vanapalli et al., 1999). tively) show relatively poor fit results in compari-
son to Coarse-grained sand (Figure 6) test results.
i. Boundary effect zone: the modulus of elasticity However, the proposed function (Eq. (6)) is able
linearly increases up to air-entry value. to provide reasonable trends of measured values of
ii. Transition zone: the modulus of elasticity nonlin- both modulus of elasticity and settlement for all
early increases up to a certain suction value then the three sandy soils in all the three zones of the
gradually decreases. SWRC.

508
6 CONCLUSIONS
The conclusions obtained from this study are as
follows.
1. The predicted modulus of elasticity and settlement
values using the proposed method are approxi-
mately the same as the measured values.
2. The fitting parameter value of α(=1.5) and
β(=1) are expected to provide reasonable estima-
tions of settlement behavior of unsaturated sandy
soils in foundation engineering practice. How-
ever, more test results are necessary both in the
laboratory and in situ conditions.
3. The modulus of elasticity start decreasing as suc-
tion approaches the transition zone. It is of interest
to notice that the settlement behavior of foundations
in saturated conditions is similar to that of residual
zone for the Coarse-grained sand tested.
REFERENCES
Davis, E.H. & Poulos, H.G. 1968. The use of elastic theory for
settlement prediction under three-dimensional conditions.
Géotechnique 18(1): 67–91.
Garven, E. & Vanapalli, S.K. 2006. Evaluation of empirical
procedures for predicting the shear strength of unsatu-
rated soils. Proc. of the Fourth Int. Conf. on Unsaturated
Soils, Carefree, Arizona, ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication 147(2): 2570–2581.
Kumbhokjar A.S. 1993. Numerical evaluation of Terza-
ghi’s Nγ . Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, American
Society of Civil Engineers 119(3): 598–607.
Lade, P.V. 1988. Model and parameters for the elastic
behaviour of soils. Proc. Conf. on Numer. Methods in
Geomech. Roterdam: Balkema.
Lade, P.V. & Nelson, R.B. 1987. Modeling the elastic
behaviour of granular materials. Int. J. Numer. and
Analytical Methods in Geomech 11: 521–542.
Lancelotta, R. 1995. Geotechnical Engineering. Rotterdam:
Balkema.
509
Maugeri, M., Castelli, F., Massimino, M.R. & Verona, G.
1998. Observed and computed settlements of two shal-
low foundations on sand. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental engineering 124(7): 595–605.
Mohamed, F.M.O & Vanapalli, S.K. 2006. Laboratory
investigations for the measurement of the bearing capac-
ity of an unsaturated coarse-grained soil, Proceed-
ings of the 59th Canadian Geotechnical Conference,
Vancouver. (http://www.x-cd.com/SeatoSkyOnline/S1/
0219-226.pdf).
Poulos, H.G. & Davis E.H. 1974. Elastic solutions for soil
and rock mechanics. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Simon, N.E. & Som, N.N. 1970. Settlement of structures
on clay with particular emphasis on London clay. Constr.
Industry Research Institute Assoc. Report 22, 51pp.
Steensen-Bach, J.O., Foged, N. & Steenfelt. J.S. 1987. Capil-
lary induced stresses—Fact or fiction? Proc. 9th European
conference on soil mechanics and foundation engineering,
Budapest, Hungary, 83–89.
Terzaghi, K. 1943. Theoretical Soil Mechanics, John Wiley
and Sons, New York, NY, USA.
Timoshenko, S. & Goodier, J.N. 1951. Theory of Elasticity.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G. & Pufahl. 1999. Influ-
ence of soil structure and stress history on the soil-water
characteristics of a compacted till. Géotechnique 49(2):
143–159.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E. & Clifton,
A.W., 1996. Model for the prediction of shear strength
with respect to soil suction. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal 33(3): 379–392.
Vanapalli, S.K. & Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Comparison of
empirical procedures to predict the shear strength of unsat-
urated soils using the soil-water characteristic curve. Geo-
Denver 2000, ASCE, Special Publication 99: 195–209.
Vanapalli, S.K. & Mohamed, F.M.O. 2007. Bearing capac-
ity of model footings in unsaturated soils, Experimen-
tal Unsaturated Soil mechanics. New York: Springer.
483–493.
Vesić A.B. 1973. Analysis of ultimate loads of shallow foun-
dations, Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Division, ASCE 99 (SM1): 45–73.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Suction effects on the pre-failure behaviour of a compacted clayey soil

J.A. Pineda & E.E. Romero

Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

J.E. Colmenares
National University of Colombia, Arauca, Colombia

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the pre-failure behaviour of a compacted clayey soil, when subjected to
shearing (axial compression) under undrained conditions. Specifically, the study focuses on the effect of the
suction state on the undrained Young modulus. The experimental programme carried out in a controlled-suction
triaxial cell involved two stages. In the first stage, samples were left to equalise at specified matrix suctions
using the axis translation technique. Afterwards, undrained axial compression tests with pore-water pressure and
sample deformation measurements were run at a relatively low constant displacement rate to allow for suction
equalisation throughout the sample. Axial stiffness could be related to the initial matrix suction before the
shearing stage. In this way, the evolution of the undrained Young’s modulus was tracked during shearing where
different responses were observed. To the authors’ knowledge, available information concerning this aspect of
unsaturated soil is very limited in spite of its practical relevance.

1 SOIL STIFFNESS q=( a - )

r E Tan and E sec
Failure
qf Eo Large strains
Very Small strains
ETan
The influence of non-linear soil stiffness on the small
strains
behaviour of geotechnical structures is a key aspect Esec E sec
during the design and construction of any engineer- E Tan

ing project. Typical stiffness decay curves for soils Eo

have been presented, for instance, by Atkinson & f 0.1% log

Sallfors (1991) and Mair (1993) (see Figure 1). These

are defined in terms of Young’s modulus Etan or Esec
or shear modulus G, and can be obtained from typi-
cal stress-strain curves. Three different zones define
a stiffness decay curve: (i) an initial zone of very
small strains where moduli are ‘‘unchanged’’ with
strain, (ii) an intermediate zone of small strains where
the stiffness-strain curve presents a higher slope, and
(iii) a final zone of large strains (conventional lab-
oratory tests) where soil stiffness leads to a residual
value (see Figure 1b). Two limit strain values define
the three zones: the initial very small strain ε0 delimit-
ing the zone where stiffness is still ‘‘constant’’, while
the second limit value is defined for a strain value of
0.1% which has been shown to coincide with char-
acteristic ground strains near to structures (Atkinson,
2000). This value is the lowest that can be measured
in conventional tests.
During a shear test, peak stress is located within the
large strain zone at a strain value εf defining the mate-
rial failure. Deviatoric peak stress qf , failure strain εf
and the stiffness at very small strains E0 are param-
eters needed to calculate both rigidity and degree of
Figure 1. Schematic stress-strain and stiffness-strain curves
for a natural soil (from Atkinson, 2000).
non-linearity of soils. These are two parameters are
used to determine the stiffness decay curve of soils
(Atkinson, 2000). Rigidity is defined as the ratio of
stiffness to strength (E/qf = 1/εf ) while the degree
of non-linearity can be defined as the ratio of failure
strain to a reference strain εf /εr . Using these con-
cepts Atkinson (2000) presented a simple non-linear
stiffness-strain curve in terms of the tangent Young’s
modulus Etan that is mathematically defined as:
 ε r
f
Etan 1−
=  ε r (1)
E0 εf
1−
ε0
where E0 is the Young modulus at very small strain for
a strain ε0 , εf is the strain at the peak deviatoric stress
and r is a soil parameter which includes the degree

511
of non-linearity. According to Atkinson (2000), for
saturated conditions, r can vary from 0.1 to 0.5.
In the following sections studies on the influence of
matric suction on the stiffness decay curves for com-
pacted kaolin samples is presented. The influence of
matrix suction on the axial stiffness is analysed and
interpreted, and test results presented and commented
within a conceptual framework. In the last part of the
paper, a simple model able to simulate the observed
axial stiffness decay curves depending on the initial
Young modulus, the current matrix suction, and the
axial strain is proposed.
2 MATERIAL USED AND EXPERIMENTAL
PROCEDURE
2.1 Compacted samples
Commercial Kaolin (index properties shown in
Table 1) was chosen as a soil to be tested. Dry pow-
dered commercial kaolin was mixed with distilled
water at a moisture content of 32% (3% less than the
optimum from the standard Proctor compaction test,
Herrera 2004). In order to allow hydration, the mate-
rial was wrapped inside a self sealing polyethylene bag
and stored for 48 hours. Triaxial samples, 50 mm in
diameter and 100 mm high, were prepared by static
compaction in ten layers using a compression frame
at a fixed displacement rate of 1.5 mm/min. The total
vertical total stress applied to the soil specimens was
equal to 400 kPa. This resulted in a dry density of
1.22 Mg/m3 , a void ratio of 1.145 and a degree of
saturation of 73%. The initial matrix suction of the
sample was measured using the filter paper technique
(Chandler et al. 1992) and was found to equal 550 kPa.
2.2 Determination of soil water retention curve
(SWRC)
The suction-water content relationships under drying
and wetting paths were obtained using the filter paper
method where matrix suction of the soil can be related
to the water content of the filter paper using the cali-
bration of Chandler et al. (1992). At the same stage
samples were weighed, and measured to determine
their volumes. The final weight was used to establish
Table 1. Index and compaction properties of kaolin.
Liquid Limit (LL) 84%
Plastic Limit (PL) 46%
Plasticity Index (IP ) 38%
Gs 2.61
Maximum dry density 1.24 Mg/m3
Optimum moisture content (OMC) 35%
512
the water content (wc), void ratio (e) and the degree of
saturation (Sr ) of the sample at each stage of the test.
2.3 Shear tests
Undrained compression tests with pore water pressure
measurement were conducted using a conventional tri-
axial apparatus (Bishop & Henkel, 1957), modified
by Pineda (2004) to test unsaturated samples using
the axis translation technique (Hilf, 1956). Pore water
pressure uw was applied or measured at the base of
the sample through a ceramic disc with an air entry
value of 500 kPa. Pore air pressure, ua was applied
at the top of the sample through a porous filter with
a low air entry value. Cell pressure σ 3 , pore water
pressure uw and pore air pressure ua were each inde-
pendently controlled, and simultaneously axial load,
axial displacement and flow of water from the sample
were measured. Global displacement measurements
were made using conventional micrometers. The ini-
tial phase of each test consisted of a wetting stage
during which the samples were brought to a matrix
suction value of 25 kPa, 50 kPa, 100 kPa, 200 kPa,
300 kPa or 400 kPa. This was achieved by applying
a water pressure of 50 kPa to the base of the sample
using an air back-pressure of 75 kPa, 100 kPa, 150 kPa,
250 kPa, 350 kPa or 450 kPa to the top of the sam-
ple, and a cell pressure of 80 kPa, 105 kPa, 155 kPa,
255 kPa, 355 kPa or 455 kPa respectively. The wetting
stage of each test was finished when no change in the
flow of water into the sample was registered (typically
after 4–30 days).
Then, each sample was subjected to shearing
in undrained conditions with measurement of pore
water pressure. Shearing was conducted at a constant
displacement rate equal to 0.05 mm/min. By mea-
suring the excess pore water pressure and keeping
constant the pore air pressure during shearing, it was
possible to evaluate changes in matrix suction.
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
A comprehensive analysis of the influence of the
matrix suction on the shear strength and volumetric
behaviour of this material was presented by Pineda &
Colmenares (2005a, 2005b and 2006), respectively.
This paper focuses on the evaluation of the decay of
the stiffness as a function of matrix suction.
3.1 Soil water retention curve (SWRC)
Figure 2 shows the gravimetric water content-matric
suction relationship for compacted commercial kaolin
obtained during the drying process. Additionally, the
SWRC of reconstituted commercial kaolin (consoli-
dated to a total vertical stress of 200 kPa) obtained by
 45
40
Gravimetric water content (%)
Wetting path before
35 shearing
30 Drying curve for compacted kaolin
25
20 Soil behaviour is controlled by the
15
macrostructure
10
5 curves such as was reported by Pineda-Jaimes (2003).
0
10 100 1000
Matric suction (kPa)
Figure 2. Soil water retention curve for compacted and
reconstituted commercial kaolin.
Pineda-Jaimes (2003) is included. The drying curve
for the compacted kaolin lies below that of the reconsti-
tuted kaolin but is more or less parallel up to a suction
of about 1000 kPa. For a suction value of 1500 kPa
the reconstituted kaolin curve merges with the com-
pacted curve and for higher suctions both follow a
similar path. The differences between both curves
can be explained by the different fabrics obtained
by the preparation process. For fine-grained unsat-
urated soils, compaction processes lead to different
structures, which depend mainly on water content con-
trolling the mechanical behaviour (Gens et al. 1995).
Soils compacted at water contents dry of optimum gen-
erally show a flocculated structure where aggregates
of soil particles with an inherent bimodal pore size dis-
tribution are developed. In this case, a microstructural
level is referred to the intra-aggregate voids within
the particle aggregates while the macrostructural level
is referred to the inter-aggregate voids between the
aggregates. It has been demonstrated experimentally
using, for instance, MIP tests as reported by Thom
et al. (2007) for compacted kaolin, and Romero et al.
(1999) for compacted Boom clay. Romero et al. (1999)
showed that for deformable clayey soils in the low
range of water content (i.e. high range of suction)
the behaviour of the SWRC is determined by the spe-
cific surface. They point out that the main wetting and
drying paths indicate a delimiting zone in the water
retention curve separating a region of intra-aggregate
porosity from an inter-aggregate porosity adjoining
area. In the intra-aggregate region, water-ratio is not
dependent on void ratio and retention curve parameters
are mainly dependent on specific surface. However, in
the inter-aggregate region, water ratio depends on void
ratio and is strongly coupled to mechanical actions.
On the other hand, reconstituted soils have been
recognized as consisting of a uniform arrangement of
soil particles compressed to form a single mass. The
high coherence between both compacted and reconsti-
tuted samples at suction values greater than 1500 kPa
Drying curve for reconstituted kaolin
(Pineda-Jaimes, 2003)
Soil behaviour is controlled by the
microstructure
10000
shows that although the macrofabrics are considerably
different, the microfabrics are probably similar.
Figure 2 also includes the final suction and water
content values obtained at the end of the wetting stage
(open circles) in which wetting path corresponds to a
scanning curve due to fact that the initial unsaturated
state of the samples (wc = 32% and s = 550 kPa)
locates them between the main wetting and drying
100000
3.2 Shear tests
The deviatoric stress-axial strain relationship obtained
from the unconfined compression tests is presented
in Figure 3. Both stiffness and strength increase with
the initial matrix suction value before shearing is
increased. This is due to the increment of the interpar-
ticle forces, which tends to stabilize the soil structure
due to capillary effects (Burland & Ridley, 1996).
Two different responses can be distinguished in Figure
3 depending on the initial suction value. Samples with
lower initial suction values (s ≤ 100 kPa) showed
a stress-strain behaviour similar to normally consol-
idated soils while samples with higher initial suction
values (s > 100 kPa) showed a stress-strain response
typical of overconsolidated samples (softening after
peak). Similar results have been reported by Ridley
et al. (1995) and Colmenares & Ridley (2002) for
both reconstituted Speswhite kaolin and a reconsti-
tuted silty clay soil, respectively. On the other hand,
strain at peak decreases as suction increases accom-
panied by a higher peak stress (see Figure 4). In this
case, a linear relationship was obtained between the
deviatoric stress and the axial strain at peak. Sample
M(0) with an initial suction value of 25 kPa shows a
strain value at peak of 10.2% while sample M(5) with
a suction value of 400 kPa reached the stress peak at a
strain value of 2.7%. This means that wetting process
leads to an increase in the strain at failure (softening)
of about 4.5 times between sample M(5) and M(0) (400
and 25 kPa).
Using data presented in Figure 4, secant modu-
lus at peak (Esec = qpeak /εpeak ) was obtained for
each sample. Figure 5 shows the variation of secant
Young’s modulus with the matrix suction at peak. It
can be seen that secant modulus increases as the suc-
tion increases. A non-linear relationship is observed
where a smaller variation of the secant modulus
was obtained for samples with lower initial suction
values (25, 50 and 100 kPa). On the other hand, sam-
ples with suction values greater than 100 kPa show
an increase in secant modulus at peak without evi-
dence of a limit value. Comparison of secant modulus
at peak for samples M(0) and M(5) show an increase of
about 14 times between them following a exponential
relationship with the matrix suction at peak.
513
 200 25
s=400 kPa s=400 kPa
180 s=300 kPa Peak deviatoric stress

Secant Modulus, Esec (MPa)

Sri = 75,1% s=300 kPa
s=200 kPa
Deviatoric stress, q (kPa)

160 s=100 kPa 20 s=200 kPa

Sri = 77,1% s=50 kPa s=100 kPa
140 s=25 kPa s=50 kPa
Sr i = 80,0%
120 15 s=25 kPa
100 Sri = 84,9%

80 10
60
40 5
Sri = 90,1% Sri = 88,9%
20
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0.1 1 10
Axial strain a (%) log a (%)

Figure 3. Stress-strain-suction curves for Commercial com- Figure 6. Variation of Esec with axial strain during shearing.
pacted kaolin.

200
S i = 400kPa large strain zone (zone 3 in Figure 1). Secant modulus
Esec and tangent modulus were evaluated as Esec =
qi /εi and Etan = dqi /dεi , where i describes the current
S i = 300kPa
150
Deviatoric stress (kPa)

S i = 200kPa
strain value on shearing.
100 Figure 6 and Figure 7 shows the variation of secant
S i = 100kPa and tangent moduli with axial strain during shear-
S i = 50kPa ing where strain has been is plotted on a log scale.
50 S i = 25kPa
A strong non-linearity in the stiffness-strain curves is
observed in all samples. Different slopes of the stiff-
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
ness decay curves were obtained for different initial
Axial strain (%) suction values. Secant modulus showed higher val-
ues than tangent modulus but also a higher slope was
Figure 4. Relationship between deviatoric stress and axial observed as suction increases. Arrows in Figure 6
strain at peak for compacted commercial kaolin. indicate the strain value at failure (εf ) which corre-
sponds to a slope change in the stiffness curve (see
8 Figure 6) and also with a value of tangent modulus of
7 cero (Figure 7).
Secant Modulus, E sec (MPa)

6
Figure 8 shows a comparison between secant and
tangent modulus for two kaolin samples with the
5
extreme suction values tested here. Squares are used
4
to describe the behaviour of the sample with a
3 matrix suction of s = 400 kPa while circles are used
2 to the sample with a suction value of 50 kPa. These
1 matrix suction values correspond to initial degree of
0 saturation values of 75.1% and 88.90%, respectively.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 Figure 8 clearly shows the influence of the matrix suc-
Matric suction at peak (MPa) tion on the stiffness behaviour of compacted kaolin
samples. Although at very small strains both secant
Figure 5. Variation of the secant modulus at peak with the and tangent modulus have to be the same E0 = Etan =
axial strain. Esec (which is not contained in Figure 8), for strain
values greater than 0.1% secant and tangent mod-
uli are very different. For instance, at 0.2% of axial
4 STIFFNESS DEGRADATION
strain, the stiffness moduli were about 5 times greater
(25 MPa versus 5 MPa for Esec and 20 MPa versus
4.1 Experimental results
4 MPa for Etan ) in the sample with an initial suction
Using the experimental data contained in Figure 3, of 400 kPa compared with the sample with the lower
stiffness moduli (secant and tangent modulus) were suction value (50 kPa). As the strain increases both
calculated. Very-small and small-strain zones (zones tangent and secant modulus decrease. However, values
1 and 2 in Figure 1) were not determined due to the of tangent modulus decrease more quickly compared
accuracy of the gauges used during shear tests. For this with secant modulus which decreases slowly and tends
reason, stiffness moduli were evaluated only within the to reach a ‘‘limit’’ value at large strain.

514
 20
Table 2. Parameters required for Equation (5).
s=400 kPa
Tangent Modulus, E tan (MPa)

s=300 kPa
15
s=200 kPa Initial matrix E0 ε0 εf
s=100 kPa Sample suction (kPa) (kPa) (%) (%)
s=50 kPa
s=25 kPa
10 M(0) 25 40100 0.001 10.2
M(1) 50 43000 0.001 10.0
M(2) 100 50250 0.001 8.50
5
M(3) 200 64900 0.001 5.60
M(4) 300 85000 0.001 4.50
0 M(5) 400 110000 0.001 2.70
0.1 1 10
log a (%)

Figure 7. Variation of Etan with axial strain during shearing. 25

s=400 kPa

Tangent Modulus E tan (MPa)

s=300 kPa
s=200 kPa
20 20
s=100 kPa
Esec s=400 kPa s=50 kPa
Esec s=50 kPa s=25 kPa
15 Model s=400 kPa
15 Etan s=400 kPa
Model s=300 kPa
Esec, Etan (MPa)

Etan s=50 kPa

Model s=200 kPa
10 Model s=100 kPa
Model s=50 kPa
10
Model s=25 kPa
5

5
0
0.01
Figure 8. Comparison between secant and tangent modu-
lus for two compacted kaolin samples with different initial
suctions.
The analysis of the experimental behaviour of com-
pacted kaolin samples indicates that although all initial
stress states are inside the inter-aggregate region of the
SWRC (s < 1500 kPa), which is mainly controlled
by macrofabric, the ‘volumetrically-stiffer’ effect of
matrix suction leads to different stiffness responses.
4.2 A simple model of stiffness degradation
during shearing
As described above, a simple non-linear stiffness-
strain behaviour can be represented in terms of rigidity
and degree of non-linearity. These two concepts are
defined by four soil parameters E0 and qf (which
define the rigidity), and finally εf and εr (which define
the degree of linearity, where εr is a reference strain).
Equation (1) was used as a first attempt to describe
the experimental behaviour of unsaturated compacted
kaolin samples. According to Atkinson (2000) param-
eter r of Equation (1), which relates rigidity and degree
of non-linearity, can vary from 0.1 to 0.5 for satu-
rated conditions but there are no reported values for
unsaturated samples.
Young’s moduli at very small strains E0 were
obtained from bender element tests carried out by
0
0.1 1 10
Log a (%)
0.1 1 10
log a (%) Figure 9. Comparison between experimental and simulated
stiffness-decay curves (tangent modulus).
Pineda (2007) on a kaolin sample compacted under
similar initial conditions to the triaxial samples.
Table 2 shows the parameters used to model the exper-
imental behaviour of samples with different initial
suction values.
Figure 9 shows the simulated stiffness decay curves
in terms of tangent Young’s modulus Etan obtained
using Equation (1). The parameter r was obtained by
fitting the synthetic curves with the experimental data.
Good agreement was obtained in all cases although
some scatter is observed in samples with higher initial
suction values (e.g. s = 400 kPa in Figure 9).
This could be due to the brittle behaviour of this
sample which is not characterized in a ‘perfect’ way
by Equation (1). In order to improve the agreement
with experimental data, Equation (1) was modified to
incorporate the influence of the matrix suction as
 ε r(s)
f
Etan 1−
= ε
 r(s) (2)
E0 εf
1−
ε0
where r(s) is a function of the initial matrix suc-
tion. To evaluate this relationship Figure 10 shows the
variation of the parameter r with the initial matrix suc-
tion of each sample. A linear relationship was found

515
 0.45 By comparison between fitted and calculated values
0.4 of the parameter r, it was possible to evaluate the mean
0.35 Experimental data error in each case. The maximum error in the predicted
0.3 value of r with respect to the fitted value was equal
Parameter r

0.25 to 5.6% (sample M(4) s = 300 kPa) indicating that

0.2 Equation (4) can be used to describe the variation of
0.15 the r parameter with the matrix suction. In addition,
0.1 results indicate that Equation (5) could reproduce in
0.05 a realistic manner the stiffness response of compacted
0 kaolin samples during shearing.
0 100 200 300 400
Initial matric suction (MPa)

Figure 10. Variation of the ‘‘r’’ parameter with the initial 5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
matrix suction.
The influence of matrix suction on the pre-failure
behaviour of compacted kaolin has been presented in
to fit well with the experimental data which can be this paper. The stiffness-decay curves show a clear
defined as: dependence of the initial matrix suction.
From experimental results it is clear that although
r(s) = r(0) + μ · s (3) all initial stress states are inside the inter-aggregate
region of the SWRC (s < 1500 kPa), which is mainly
controlled by macrofabric, the ‘volumetrically-stiffer’
where r (0) is the value of the r parameter for kaolin
effect of matrix suction leads to different stiffness
in a saturated condition, s is the initial matrix suc-
responses.
tion value (kPa) and μ is the slope of the linear
The influence of matrix suction has been incur-
relationship which depends of the type of mate-
porated in a conventional stiffness strain relationship
rial. Using a value of r for saturated conditions
(Equation 1) using a linear relationship for r (s) (Equa-
equal to 0.44 (a typical value for kaolin), the value
tion 3). Using the r parameter for saturated conditions
of the slope μc an be mathematically expressed
(r (0)) the stiffness-decay curves of unsaturated sam-
in terms of initial and final suction values as fol-
ples can be determined. Good agreement between
lows:
experimental and calculated stiffness-decay curves
r(0)(smax − smin ) was obtained using Equation (5).
μ=− (4)
2pref
REFERENCES
where pref is a reference pressure and is equal to
1 kPa, smax and smin are the maximum and mini- Atkinson, J.H. & Sallfors, G. 1991. Experimental determina-
mum initial matrix suction values (in kPa). Using tion of soil properties. General report to Session 1. Proc.
equations (3) and (4), equation (2) can be re-written 10th ECSMFE, Florence 3, pp. 915–956.
as: Atkinson, J.H. 2000. Non-linear soil stiffness in routine
design. 40th Rankine Lecture, Geotèchnique 50 (5),
 ε r(0)+μ·s pp. 487–508.
f
Etan 1− Bishop, A.W. & Henkel, D.J. 1957. The measurement of Soil
= ε
 r(0)+μ·s properties in the triaxial cell. Edward Arnold (Publishers)
E0 εf Ltd. London.
1−
ε0 Burland, J.B. & Ridley, A.M. 1996. The importance of
⎛ ⎞ suction in soil mechanics. Proc. 12th Southeast Asian
r(0)(smax − smin ) Geotechnical Conference, May, Kuala Lumpur.
 ε r(0)−⎝ ⎠·s
Chandler, R.J., Crilly, M.S. & Montgomery-Smith, 1992.
f 2pref
1− A low-cost method of assessing clay desiccation for low-
= ε ⎛ ⎞ (5) rise buildings. Proc. Instn. Civ. Engng, 92;2; 82–89.
r(0)(smax − smin )
 r(0)−⎝ ⎠·s Colmenares, J.E. & Ridley, A. 2002. Stress-strain and
εf 2pref strength relationships for a reconstituted clayey silt.
1− UNSAT 2002 (Brazil), pp. 481–484
ε0
Gens, A., Alonso, E.E., Suriol, J. & Lloret, A. 1995. Effect
of structure on the volumetric behaviour of a compacted
Equation (5) defines a simple stiffness-strain relation- soil. Proc. Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils, Paris, 83–88.
ship for compacted kaolin in terms of tangent Young’s Herrera, A.F. 2004. Estudio experimental del compor-
modulus Etan . tamiento volumétrico de muestras de caolín compactadas

516
 sometidas a proceso de humedecimiento. Bachelor Dis-
sertation, National University of Colombia.
Hilf, J.W. 1956. An investigation of pore water pressure in
compacted cohesive soils. Tech. memo 654, U.S. Dept
Interior.
Mair, R.J. 1993. Developments in geotechnical engineering
research: applications to tunnels and deep excavations.
Unwin memorial Lecture 1992. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., 3,
pp. 27–45.
Pineda, J.A. 2004. Influence of matric suction on the shear
strength of a compacted soil (in Spanish). MSc The-
sis in Soil Mechanics, National University of Colombia,
Bogotá, pp. 120.
Pineda, J.A. & Colmenares, J.E. 2005a. Influence of suction
on shear strength of a compacted soil under uncon-
fined condition. Part 1: Experimental results. Int. Symp.
EXPERUS2005, Trento, pp. 215–220. Balkema.
Pineda, J.A. & Colmenares, J.E. 2005b. Influence of suction
on shear strength of a compacted soil under unconfined
condition. Part 2: Shear strength prediction. Int. Symp.
EXPERUS2005, Trento, pp. 215–220. Balkema.
Pineda, J.A. & Colmenares, J.E. 2006. Stress-strain-suction
behaviour of two clayey materials under unconfined
517
conditions. Proc. UNSAT 2006, Phoenix Arizona, ASCE
Geotechnical Special publication No 147, pp. 1109–1120.
Pineda, J.A. 2007. Calibration and performance of
bender/extender elements. Internal report, UPC.
Pineda-Jaimes, J.A. 2003. An Experimental study of the
volumetric behavior of a shallow clay from Bogotá
basin following a drying path (in Spanish). MSc The-
sis in Soil Mechanics, National University of Colombia,
Bogotá.
Ridley, A.M., Burland, J.B. & Monroe, A.S. 1995. Uncon-
fined compression tests with pore pressure measurements.
Proc. 11th African Regional Conference. SMFE. Cairo.
Romero, E., Gens, A. & Lloret, A. 1999. Water perme-
ability, water retention and microstructure of unsatu-
rated compacted Boom clay. Engineering Geology, (54),
117–127.
Thom, R., Sivakumar, R., Sivakumar, V., Murray, E.J. &
Mackinnon, P. 2007. Pore size distribution of unsaturated
compacted kaolin: the initial states and final states fol-
lowing saturation. Technical Note Gèotechnique 57 (5),
pp. 469–474.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Influence of hydraulic paths on the low-strain shear modulus of a stiff clay

J.A. Pineda, A. Lima & E. Romero

Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: This paper shows the results of an experimental programme aimed at evaluating the low-strain
shear modulus of a stiff clay (Boom clay, Belgium) and its dependency on water content changes (or, alternatively,
degree of saturation or suction) and hydraulic history. Resonant column and bender element tests were carried
out at different hydraulic states. Drying and wetting paths were followed using the vapour equilibrium technique,
in which samples were allowed to equalise in sealed chambers at controlled relative humidity (44% to 97%).
Time domain technique has been used to determine the travel time in bender element tests. The evolution of the
shear modulus was carefully monitored along these hydraulic paths. Shear moduli results and their dependence
on water content (suction or degree of saturation) and stress/hydraulic history, are discussed and interpreted. In
addition, discrepancies observed in the results between the two dynamic techniques are evaluated and discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION modulus of natural Boom clay and its dependency

Belgium investigates the design for disposal of its
High Level Radioactive Waste in a deep clay forma-
tion, the ‘Boom clay’ (Mol, Belgium). To study this
clay, an underground laboratory at 230 m depth was
constructed (HADES, High Activity Disposal Exper-
imental Site). This Tertiary clay is located between
190 and 210 m deep and belongs to the Lower
Oligocene period. This formation is the subject of an
extensive research programme dealing with all phe-
nomena that may possibly affect the performance of
this potential disposal site during gallery construction
and final operation. Specifically, during excavation of
the deep underground facility some de-saturation can
be induced on the formation by ventilation in the gal-
leries. On the one hand, it is necessary to examine
more systematically partial saturation consequences
on the hydro-mechanical response of natural Boom
clay. On the other hand, the low-strain shear modu-
lus is of great importance for geotechnical analysis
due to the non-linear behaviour of soils. In addi-
tion to its well known dependence on strain level
and confining stress, water content—or, alternatively,
degree of saturation or suction—and temperature play
an important role on this parameter, especially in
water and heat sensitive geomaterials. Regarding
these aspects, the study of the influence of wetting
and drying paths on the evolution of the low-strain
shear modulus is important to monitor degradation
and stiffness loss due to cyclic geoenvironmental
actions.
This paper shows results of an experimental pro-
gramme aimed at evaluating the low-strain shear
on water content changes and hydraulic history. The
study was performed using two low-strain dynamic
techniques, namely, resonant column equipment under
torsional mode of vibration and pulse transmission/
detection technique using bender elements. In addi-
tion, it presents the detailed characterisation of the
stiff clay (microstructural analysis and water reten-
tion properties). The results obtained are evaluated and
discussed.
2 TESTED MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL
PROGRAMME
2.1 Basic characterisation and porosimetry
Boom clay presents a clay fraction between 30%
and 70% (average 55%). From this percentage, illite
is the main mineral (50%), followed by smectite
(30%), inter-stratification of illite-smectite and kaoli-
nite (10%). Non-clayey fraction is composed of quartz
(25%) and feldspar (Coll, 2005). Table 1 summarises
the basic characterisation and the main volumetric and
gravimetric properties of the natural material, which
is slightly overconsolidated.
A mercury intrusion porosimetry test was per-
formed on an ‘AutoPore IV 9500—Micromeritics
Instrument Corp.’ porosimeter to characterise the
porosity network of a freeze-dried sample. Figure 1
presents the pore size density function plotted against
the entrance pore size. The graphic shows one domi-
nant pore mode at 90 nm, as expected for a matrix type
microstructure.

519
Table 1. Main properties of natural Boom clay. 1000
WP4 equipment
Property Value drying wetting
Vapour equilibrium technique (LiCl)

Total suction (MPa)

Density, ρ 1.99 to 2.05 Mg/m3 100 drying wetting
Dry density, ρd 1.65 to 1.71 Mg/m3
Gravimetric water content, w 21 to 25%
Initial total suction,  2–4 MPa
Density of soil solids, ρs 2.67 Mg/m3 10
Void ratio, e 0.560 to 0.618
Porosity, n 0.358 to 0.382
Degree of saturation, Sr 91 to 100%
Liquid limit (SBCW), wL (55.7 ± 0.9)%
Plasticity index, PI (26.9 ± 1.0)% 1
0 5 10 15 20 25
Water content, w (% )

1.00 Figure 2. Water retention curve for natural Boom clay.

Natural Boom Clay

0.80
by Cardoso et al. (2007). Figure 2 shows the drying and
Pore size density function, - e nw/̀

wetting branches of the water retention curve. A small

hysteretic loop between drying and wetting paths for
0.60 suction values higher than 20 MPa is observed.

0.40 2.3 Experimental programme to evaluate

0.20
0.00
1 10
Entrance pore size, x (nm)
Figure 1. Pore size density function of natural Boom clay.
2.2 Water retention properties
The soil water retention curve was obtained by a
chilled-mirror dew-point psychrometer (WP4, Deca-
gon Devices, Inc, USA) under unstressed conditions.
This instrument measured the temperature at which
condensation first appeared (dew-point temperature)
of an environment in equilibrium with a sample
(37 mm in diameter and 7 mm height). An air dry-
ing procedure was followed to induce suction increase.
The wetting path was followed by adding small water
drops to the sample. With this procedure, the range of
total suction studied was between 4 MPa and 100 MPa.
Higher suction data were obtained via vapour equilib-
rium technique (Delage et al, 1998; Romero, 2001).
This technique is based on the control of the rela-
tive humidity inside a closed system, in which the
soil is immersed. In our case, lithium chloride (LiCl)
was used to apply a relative humidity of around 15%.
Readings of total suction on WP4 were registered after
24 hours to ensure sample equalisation, and data cor-
rected according to the calibration equation proposed
the shear modulus Gmax
The influence of hydraulic paths on the shear modulus
was studied by using two different techniques. Reso-
nant column and bender element tests were carried out
100 1000 10000
on samples starting at different initial states. Besides
evaluating the influence of relatively small total suc-
tion changes on shear stiffness, resonant column tests
also allowed studying the influence of the stress state.
On the other hand, the water content dependency
on the shear modulus Gmax along a drying/wetting
cycle was studied using bender element transducers
on a sample that was subjected to a previous drying
process. A relatively small sample size was chosen to
ensure a faster equalisation along the hydraulic paths.
The hydraulic cycle was applied using vapour equi-
librium technique. The procedures and results will be
described hereafter.
3 GMAX RESULTS USING RESONANT
COLUMN
Resonant column tests at constant water content were
performed to obtain shear moduli variation on a wide
range of small shear strains (≤10−3 %). The influ-
ence of degree of saturation was evaluated using two
different samples that were previously equilibrated at
different relative humidity values (corresponding to
total suctions of 4 and 10 MPa). The description of the
equipment is detailed in Suriol (1993).
The main properties of samples used in reso-
nant column tests are indicated in Table 2 where the

520
Table 2. Main properties of Boom clay samples tested in
resonant column tests.
Samples ψ w0
(n◦ ) (MPa)
1 4∗
2 10
∗ Initial condition of Boom clay sample.
500
Low-strain s hear modulus, G (MPa)
40 0
30 0
20 0 Sample 1
total suction 10MPa
(vertical): 0.2MPa 0.7MPa
100 Sample 2
natural state
(vertical): 0.2MPa 0.7MPa
0 the true travel time due to near field effects (Sanchez-
1E-005 3E-005
Figure 3. Variation of shear modulus Gmax with stress level
and suction changes.
confining stress values applied were 200 and 700 kPa.
Samples were 38 mm in diameter and 76 mm in height.
Figure 3 shows the low-strain shear modulus plotted
against the shear strain. Test results are also sum-
marised in Table 3. As observed, comparable increases
in the shear stiffness were obtained when increasing
confining stress and total suction.
4 GMAX RESULTS USING BENDER ELEMENTS
As described in section 2.3, sequential bender element
tests were performed following a drying/wetting cycle
on a sample (38 mm in diameter and 28 mm high)
that was previously dried. This drying process origi-
nated some degradation of the sample, which ended in
a slightly larger initial void ratio of e = 0.68. The
starting water content was w = 19.5% (degree of
saturation around 75%). An air drying process was
followed at a relative humidity of the laboratory of
50% and T ≈ 20◦ C. Distilled water was used to trans-
fer water vapour inside a desiccator and induce the
progressive wetting of the sample.
Volume and mass measurements were registered
during the application of the hydraulic paths in order
to obtain the variation of water content, void ratio
and degree of saturation. Moreover, relative humidity
and temperature were monitored using a hygrometer
σ3 G installed inside the desiccator (refer to Figure 4).
(%) e (kPa) (MPa)
Shear modulus Gmax was evaluated by means of
21.35 0.58 200 300 bender element transducers developed to determine
700 340 the shear wave velocity of soils (Shirley & Hampton,
15.21 0.62 200 360 1978). In this technique, two polarised piezoceramic
700 420 transducers (one transmitter and one receiver) are used
to transmit and capture a dynamic signal which trav-
els through the soil sample. The time delay (or travel
time) between emitted and received signals is used
to determine the shear wave velocity (Vs ) where the
travel length has been commonly taken as the tip-to-
tip distance between piezoceramics (e.g., Viggiani &
Atkinson, 1995; Jovicic et al, 1996). Thus, the low-
strain shear modulus (Gmax ) can be obtained from
the total density (ρt ) and the shear wave velocity
(Gmax = ρt Vs2 ).
In this study a pair of ‘bender-extender’ transduc-
ers (Lings & Greening, 2001) designed at Bristol
University, UK, were used to determine the shear
wave velocity of Boom clay samples. Travel time was
obtained form the output signal by direct detection
of the first significant deflection. To avoid masking
0.0001 0.0003 0.001 0.003 0.01 Salinero et al, 1986) a sine pulse with a high frequency
Shear strain (%) of 40 kHz (amplitude = 20Vpp ) was used as input
signal. By using this high input frequency f , the wave
number Rd = lf /Vs , where l is the travel distance,
was higher than 1.5 as recommended by Arulnathan
et al. (1998). Input signal was generated and emitted by
a programmable function generator, while both input
and output signals were acquired through a digital
oscilloscope. Due to the good quality of the out-
put signal further amplification was not necessary.
Figure 4 shows the setup used during the application
of hydraulic paths and bender element tests presented
in this paper.
Figure 5 shows the evolution of the shear wave
velocity (Vs ) with the gravimetric water content (w)
Figure 4. Setup of bender element tests. Bender element
tests during the application of hydraulic paths.
521

Shear wave velocity, Vs (m/s)
600
500
400
Micro-Cracks
opening
300
200
100
0
0 2 4 6
Gravimetric water content (%)
Figure 5. Variation of shear wave velocity with gravimetric
water content along drying-wetting paths.
600
Shear wave velocity, Vs (m/s)
550
500
450
400
350 Cracks opening
300
250
200
0,5 0,55
Figure 6. Variation of shear wave velocity with void ratio
along drying-wetting paths.
during the application of the drying and wetting paths.
As complementary information, the Vs —void ratio (e)
relationship is presented in Figure 6.
The evolution of the shear wave velocity displays
a hysteretic behaviour during the application of the
hydraulic cycle. For the initial condition (w = 19.5%,
e = 0.68) the measured shear wave velocity was
equal to 326 m/s. From this point on, shear wave
velocity shows a quasi-linear increase as water con-
tent decreases. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 6,
this increase in Vs is also associated with the decrease
of void ratio observed during the shrinkage path.
Once a void ratio of e = 0.55 is reached, a further
increase in Vs is detected, which is only associated
with the decrease in water content. It is assumed that
for reductions in water content beyond 6%, in which
no appreciable volume changes were detected (near
the shrinkage limit), changes in Vs are a consequence
of the changes in stiffness of the clay aggregations
(microstructure scale). This statement is based on the
assumption the water content is held within clay aggre-
gations at these relatively high total suction values
(around 100 MPa, as observed in Figure 2).
During the first stage of the wetting path, Vs quickly
reduced, as a consequence of crack opening that could
be detected (see Figure 6). Subsequent wetting, led to a
faster decrease of the shear wave velocity compared to
Stiffness dominated by smaller voids of clay-
microstructure the drying path. Comparison of both drying and wet-
ting paths demonstrate clearly the hysteretic behaviour
of Vs for Boom clay subjected to hydraulic effects.
Crack opening also evolved on progressive wetting,
Sample Initial state
broken leading to sample breakage during the seventh wetting
step (see Figure 5). It is assumed that these microc-
Drying racks could also affect the observed response, due to
Wetting
the fact that Vs is transmitted trough the solid structure
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
of the material. Final values before sample breakage
were Vs = 289 m/s, w = 13.6% and e = 0.64.
Figure 7 shows a comparison of the results using
both techniques. Shear strains for resonant column
were obtained directly from the torsional motion of
the apparatus, while in the case of bender elements the
determination of shear strain was based on the piezoce-
ramic properties, bender size and sample size. Several
Drying
Wetting authors have determined that strain applied for bender
elements could be lower than 0.001% (e.g., Dyvik &
Madhus, 1985). In our case, based on the ceramic por-
perties (PZT-5B piezoceramic; Vernitron, 1992) and
the dimensions of the transducer (length, width and
INITIAL STATE thickness) the strain generated by the transmitter ele-
ments was about 0.001% for an input voltage of 20Vpp .
This value is in agreement with the upper limit sug-
0,6 0,65 0,7
gested (e.g., Dyvik & Madhus, 1985; Sulkorat, 2007).
Void ratio (e) In addition, it is also expected that deflections gen-
erated in receiver elements are always smaller due to
signal attenuation through the soil sample. As shear
strain in the receiver element is unknown, the strain
used to compare resonant column results with bender
element tests was the one obtained for the transmitter
element (0.001%).
As observed in Figure 7, shear moduli Gmax show a
strong dependency on water content (the initial value
of 200 MPa increases to a maximum of 524 MPa
at the end of the drying path). As previously indi-
cated, this increase in shear stiffness was also a
consequence of the void ratio decrease observed on
drying. On the other hand, the degradation induced
on the wetting path on the unconfined sample, led
600
End of drying : w = 4.8% ; e = 0.55, Sr ≈0.25
Shear modulus, G (MPa)
500 Wetting path
400
300
Drying path
200 Initial state : w =19.5% ; e = 0.68, Sr≈0.75
Final state : w =13.60% ; e = 0.64, Sr≈0.55
100
Natural BC 200kPa Natural BC 700kPa
Dried sampe BC 200kPa, S=10MPa
Weathered BC Drying
Dried sample BC 700kPa, S=10MPa
Weathered BC Wetting
0
1,E-05 1,E-04 1,E-03 1,E-02 1,E-01
Shear strain, (%)
Figure 7. Comparison between shear moduli Gmax obtained
with resonant column and bender elements.
522
to a final shear modulus of 152 MPa, considerable
lower than the obtained during the drying path at
equivalent water content. Shear moduli results using
both techniques compare well, despite the degradation
problems detected on the unconfined sample.
5 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
The main properties of the material used in the
experimental programme (natural Boom clay) were
described in detail (initial state, water retention prop-
erties and pore size distribution).
Shear stiffness results along drying and wetting
paths were continuously monitored using bender ele-
ments installed inside a desiccator. The results were
compared with resonant column data, in which total
suction effects also induced higher shear stiffness.
A quite good agreement was observed between the
different techniques used, despite some degradation
was detected in the unconfined sample with bender
elements.
The drying results showed an important depen-
dency of the shear stiffness with water content and
void ratio. At the ultimate drying stage, the stiff-
ness increased only as a consequence of water content
changes, due to the fact that no important vol-
ume changes were detected below w = 6% (near
the shrinkage limit). This response was assumed to
be associated with the increase in stiffness of the clay
aggregations, where water is held at elevated total
suctions (around a total suction of 100 MPa).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work described has been financially supported by
EIG-EURIDICE/SCK.CEN through a PhD collabora-
tion with UPC, which is greatly acknowledged.
The first author acknowledges the financial sup-
port provided by ALBAN PROGRAMME grants from
523
the European Commission, EU Programme of High
Level Scholarships for Latin America, id number
E04D027285CO.
REFERENCES
Arulnathan, R., Boulanger, R.W. & Riemer, M.F. (1998)
Analysis of bender element tests. ASTM Geotechnical
Testing Journal, vol XXI, n 2, pp. 120–131.
Cardoso, R., Romero, E., Lima, A., Ferrari, A. (2007).
A comparative study of soil suction measurement using
two different hight-range psychrometers. Mechanics of
unsaturated soils. Weimar.
Coll, C. (2005) Endommagement des Roches Argileuses
et Perméabilité Induite au Voisinage d’Ouvrages Souter-
rains, PhD Thesis, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble.
Delage, P., Le, T.-T., Tang, A.-M., Cui, Y.-J. & Li, X.-L.
(2007). Suction effects in deep Boom Clay block samples.
Géotechnique 57, n 1, 239–244.
Lings, M.L. & Greening, P.D. (2001) A novel bender/extender
element for soil testing. Technical Note Geotechnique,
51, n 8, pp. 713–717.
Romero, E.E. (2001) Controlled suction techniques. Proc. 4◦
Simposio Brasileiro de Solos Nao Saturados. Gehling and
Schnaid Edits. Porto Alegre, Brasil, pp. 535–542.
Sanchez-Salinero, I., Roesset, J.M. & Stokoe, K.H. (1986)
Analytical studies of body wave propagation and attenu-
ation. (Geotechnical Engineering Report N0. GR86-15)
Civil Engineering Department, University of Texas at
Austin.
Shirley, D.J. & Hampton, L.D. (1978) Shear-wave measure-
ments in laboratory sediments. J. Acoustical Soc. Am. 63,
n 2, pp. 607–613.
Sukolrat, J. (2007) Structure and destructuration of Both-
kennar clay. PhD Thesis, University of Bristol, UK,
396p.
Suriol, J. (1993). Medida de la deformabilidad de suelos
mediante el equipo de columna resonante. Revista de
Obras Públicas, n 3 (319) 140, pp. 57–66, Madrid.
Vernitron (1992) Ceramic acoustic elements in bimorph and
multibimorph, for pick up cartridges, microphones paging
systems and other law frequency uses. Bulletin 66012/D.
Viggiani, G. & Atkinson, J.H. (1995) Interpretation of Bender
Element Tests. Geotechnique, 45, n 1, pp. 149–154.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Drying and wetting effects on shear wave velocity of an unsaturated soil

J. Xu, C.W.W. Ng & S.Y. Yung

Department of Civil Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HKSAR

ABSTRACT: Measurements of shear wave velocity provide a simple and direct way to determine the small
strain shear modulus of a soil. Shear wave velocity of an unsaturated soil are influenced by many factors, such
as the confining stresses in the plane of shear, void ratio and matric suction. The effects of confining pressure,
void ratio and matric suction on shear wave velocity have been studied by many researchers. However, as far as
the authors are aware, drying and wetting effects on shear wave velocity have rarely been studied. In this study,
drying and wetting tests at constant net mean stress were conducted on an unsaturated Completely Decomposed
Tuff (CDT) using a modified triaxial apparatus equipped with three pairs of bender elements. Drying and wetting
effects on multidirectional shear wave velocities and degree of stiffness anisotropy are investigated.

1 INTRODUCTION unsaturated London clay under zero confining stress

Shear waves provide a simple and direct way of deter-
mining the small strain shear modulus (G0 ) of a soil.
The velocities of shear waves propagating in differ-
ent planes and polarizations of a soil specimen (νs(ij) ,
where i is the direction of wave propagation and j is
the direction of particle motion) can be measured by
bender elements (Pennington et al. 2001, Ng et al.
2004).
Previous studies found that the shear wave veloc-
ity propagating in a completely dry or saturated soil
depends on the effective stresses in the directions
of wave propagation and particle motion and that
it is independent of the effect stress normal to the
plane of shear (Roesler 1979, Stokoe et al. 1995,
Jamiolkowski et al. 1995). Increasing the confin-
ing pressure increases shear wave velocity (Hardin &
Richart 1963, Leong et al. 2004). In addition to confin-
ing stresses, void ratio also has an effect on the shear
wave velocity. Different void ratio functions have been
proposed to account for the influence of the void ratio
on shear wave velocity in saturated soils (Hardin &
Drnevich 1972, Shibuya et al. 1997). Considering all
these factors, Ng & Leung (2007) proposed a semi-
empirical equation relating the shear wave velocity to
the state of a soil. They also conducted series of tests
on saturated intact samples of a completely decom-
posed tuff (CDT) to study the degrees of inherent and
stress-induced stiffness anisotropy and to investigate
the effect of void ratio on shear wave velocities.
Other than confining stresses and void ratio, the
shear wave velocity propagating in an unsaturated
soil is also significantly influenced by matric suc-
tion. Marinho et al. (1995) measured G0 in compacted
using bender elements. They found that there was
an initial rapid increase in G0 with increasing suc-
tion, followed by a leveling off or decline in G0 . This
finding was similar to that of Picornell & Nazarian
(1998), who investigated the influence of matric suc-
tion on G0 in coarse sand, fine sand, silt and clay using
bender elements fixed inside a pressure-plate extrac-
tor. Cabarkapa et al. (1999) measured shear wave
velocity and shear modulus of moist tamped quartz
silt during isotropic loading and unloading tests at
constant suctions using bender elements. At a given
net mean stress, the measured G0 increased with an
increase in suction but at a reducing rate. Many other
researchers (Vinale et al. 1999, Mancuso et al. 2000,
Vassallo & Mancuso 2000, Mancuso et al. 2002, Kim
et al. 2003) also studied effect of suction on small
strain behaviour of soils. Ng & Yung (2008) con-
ducted isotropic compression tests on recompacted
CDT at constant suctions, and measured the multi-
directional shear wave velocities of CDT using 3 pairs
of bender elements. They found that shear wave veloc-
ities all increased non-linearly with an increase in
net mean stress but at a reducing rate. At any given
net mean stress, shear wave velocities also increased
non-linearly with increasing matric suction.
Though the influence of suction on shear wave
velocity has been investigated by many researchers,
they were mainly limited to one direction, except for
Ng & Yung (2008). Moreover, as far as the authors
are aware, drying and wetting effects on shear wave
velocity have rarely been studied, with exception of
Vassallo et al. (2006, 2007a, 2007b). In this study,
wetting and drying tests are carried out on unsaturated
CDT using a modified triaxial apparatus equipped

525
with three pairs of bender elements, to investigate the
drying and wetting effects on multidirectional shear
wave velocities.
2 TESTING EQUIPMENT
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the modi-
fied triaxial testing system for testing unsaturated soils
used in this study. The axis translation technique (Hilf
1956) was employed to control matric suction, so that
cavitation could be avoided. Air pressure was con-
trolled through a coarse low air-entry value corundum
disk placed on top of a soil specimen, while water pres-
sure was controlled through a saturated high air-entry
value (3 bars) ceramic disk sealed to the pedestal of
the triaxial apparatus. The conventional base pedestal
was modified so that both a high-entry value ceramic
disk and a bender element could be embedded into it.
A spiral-shaped drainage groove that was 3 mm wide
and 3 mm deep connected to the water drainage system
was carved on the surface of the modified pedestal. Air
bubbles that may have been trapped or may have accu-
mulated beneath the high air-entry value ceramic disk
due to diffusion during long periods of unsaturated
soil testing could be removed by flushing de-aerated
water along the spiral-shaped drainage groove. More
details of the modified triaxial testing system and base
pedestal are given by Ng & Yung (2008).
In addition to taking conventional external mea-
surements of axial strain using a Linear Variable Dif-
ferential Transformer (LVDT), the modified triaxial
apparatus was equipped with two axial and one radial
Hall effect transducers (Clayton et al. 1989) for
measuring the local axial and radial displacements of
each soil specimen. As a result, the current tip-to-
tip travelling distance of shear waves and the volume
change of each soil specimen can be determined
throughout each test.
Three pairs of bender elements were mounted on
each soil specimen to measure the velocities of the
shear waves propagating in different planes with dif-
ferent polarizations. The shear wave velocity, νs(vh) ,
was determined by a pair of bender elements incorpo-
rated in the top cap and base pedestal. The shear wave
velocities, νs(hv) and νs(hh) , were evaluated by making
use of a pair of bender element probes inserted into
the mid-height surface of each soil specimen. Details
of the bender element probes are given by Ng et al.
(2004). An HP3563A control system analyzer was
used as the shear wave generating and measuring sys-
tem for the bender elements. The input signal consists
of a single sinusoidal pulse with a frequency of 4
to 10 kHz. The range of frequency was selected to
obtain a clear signal and to minimize the near field
effect (Sanchez-Salinero et al. 1986). The transmit-
ted and received signals of the shear wave propagating
in the soil specimen were captured by the HP3563A
control systems analyser simultaneously. The arrival
time of shear wave was determined by measuring the
peak-to-peak time distance between the transmitted
and received signals (Callisto & Rampello 2002, Ng &
Yung 2008). The traveling distance was determined as
the current tip-to-tip distance between the transmit-
ter and receiver bender elements (Dyvik & Madshus
1985, Viggiani & Atkinson 1995).

3 TESTING MATERIAL AND SPECIMEN

Load cell PREPARATION

LVDT 3.1 Testing material

The testing material in this research is a com-
pletely decomposed tuff (CDT) extracted from a
Frictionless
loading rod deep excavation site in Hong Kong. Figure 2 shows
Top cap Coarse porous 100
disk
Specimen Bender element
Hall effect (vs(vh)) 80
Percentage passing (%)

transducer Bender element

(radial) probe (vs(hh), vs(hv)) 60
Hall effect Bender element
transducer (vs(vh))
40
(axial) High air-entry
Base pedestal value disk
Air Cell pressure 20
pressure
Water Water inlet 0
outlet 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
Particle size (mm)

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the modified triaxial sys- Figure 2. Particle size distribution of CDT (Ng & Yung
tem for testing unsaturated soils (Ng & Yung 2008). 2008).

526
the particle size distribution of the CDT determined
by sieve and hydrometer analyses. The material is
yellowish-brown, slightly plastic, with a very small
percentage of fine and coarse sand. The specific
gravity (Gs ) of the material is 2.73. The liquid limit
and plasticity index of the fines portion (finer than
425 μm) are 43% and 14%, respectively. According
to the Unified Soil Classification System, the CDT is
described as clayey silt (ML).
3.2 Specimen preparation
Triaxial specimens, 76 mm in diameter and 152 mm
in height, were prepared by moist tamping method
at the optimum water content of 16.3%. Each soil
specimen was compacted dynamically in ten layers
directly onto the base pedestal of the triaxial cell in
order to avoid any disturbance caused by transporta-
tion and to improve the contact between the specimen
and the ceramic disk. The under-compaction method
proposed by Ladd (1978) was adopted to achieve a
more uniform specimen. The middle four layers of
each soil specimen were compacted at the desired
dry density, while the top three layers were com-
pacted to be 4% denser than the desired dry density
and the bottom three layers 4% looser. After sample
preparation, the initial matric suction of soil speci-
men measured by a small tip tensiometer was about
54 kPa.
4 TESTING PROGRAM AND PROCEDURES
To study the drying and wetting effects on shear wave
velocities of CDT, two drying and wetting tests were
conducted on recompacted specimens at constant net
mean stresses of 110 and 300 kPa.
Each soil specimen was firstly brought to the
desired net mean stress and then left for equalization at
zero suction. The equalization stage was considered to
be terminated when the changing rate of water content
was less than 0.04% per day (Fredlund & Rahardjo
1993), which corresponded to a water flow of about
0.5 cm3 per day. Shear wave velocities were mea-
sured at the end of the equalization stage, and then
the matric suction was increased to the next desired
value. The matric suction was varied by changing
pore water pressure while keeping cell pressure and
pore air pressure constant. After the matric suction
was changed, the soil specimen was left for equaliza-
tion again. Upon completion of the drying phase up
to a matric suction of 250 kPa, each test proceeded to
the wetting phase. The drying and wetting tests con-
sisted of many equalization stages. Measurements of
shear wave velocities were performed at the end of
each equalization stage.
527
5 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 Stress-dependent soil water characteristic
curves (SDSWCCs)
The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) repre-
sents the water retention ability of an unsaturated soil.
A stress-dependent soil-water characteristic curve
(SDSWCC) considers both the net normal stress effect
and volume change of a soil specimen. Ng & Pang
(2000) investigated the SDSWCCs of a completely
decomposed volcanic (CDV), and found that the spec-
imen subjected to a higher net normal stress possessed
a higher air-entry value, lower rates of desorption and
adsorption and a smaller hysteresis loop.
During the drying and wetting tests at constant net
mean stresses of 110 and 300 kPa, in addition to the
measurements of shear wave velocities, total volume
change and water volume change of each soil spec-
imen were also measured and recorded. Thus, the
SDSWCCs of the two recompacted CDT specimens
subjected to net mean stresses of 110 and 300 kPa can
be determined, as shown in Figure 3.
It can be seen from Figure 3 that net mean stress
has a significant influence on the SDSWCCs. The soil
specimen under a higher net mean stress tends to pos-
sess a higher air-entry value. In Figure 3, the air-entry
values of CDT are estimated as 55 and 85 kPa at net
mean stresses of 110 and 300 kPa, respectively. When
suction increases beyond the air-entry values, the two
specimens start to desaturate but at different rates. The
specimen subjected to 300 kPa net mean stress shows
a lower desorption rate than the one under 110 kPa net
mean stress. The reason for the above observations is
probably that the soil specimen under higher net mean
stress has a smaller average pore-size distribution and
thus a better water retention ability (Ng & Pang 2000).
Upon completion of the drying phase up to a matric
suction of 250 kPa, the tests proceed to the wetting
phase. At net mean stresses of both 110 and 300 kPa,
there is a marked hysteresis between the drying and
100
S r (%)
80
Degree of saturation,
60
40
p -u a =110kPa
p -u a =300kPa
20
1 10 100 1000
Matric suction, u a -u w (kPa)
Figure 3. Stress-dependent soil-water characteristic curves
(SDSWCCs) of CDT (Ng et al. 2008).
wetting curves. The size of the hysteresis loop appears 450
(a)

Shear wave velocity, νs(vh) (m/s)

to be smaller at the higher net mean stress. This is 400
probably because of a less pronounced ink-bottle effect
Wetting
(Hillel 1982) and a smaller difference in the receding 350
and advancing contact angles due to a smaller pore size 300
distribution at a higher net mean stress (Ng & Pang
2000). The ink-bottle effect and the difference in the 250
Drying
receding and advancing contact angles are the major 200 -u a =110kPa
p(r-dw-p110)
causes of the formation of hysteresis in SDSWCCs. -u a =300kPa
p(r-dw-p300)
As a result, the resultant hysteresis loop is smaller for 150
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
the specimen subjected to 300 kPa net mean stress. Matric suction, u a -u w (kPa)
As shown in Figure 3, the end point of the wetting
450
curve corresponding to the net mean stress of 110 kPa (b)

Shear wave velocity, νs(hv) (m/s)

Wetting
is lower than the corresponding starting point of the 400
drying curve. This may be due to air being trapped in
350
the soil specimen. In contrast, the end point of wetting
curve almost returns to the starting point of the drying 300
curve when net mean stress is 300 kPa. This is prob- 250 Drying
ably because it is easier to displace the air trapped in
-u a =110kPa
p(r-dw-p110)
the small pores by capillary force than to displace the 200
-u a =300kPa
p(r-dw-p300)
air trapped in the large pores (Ng & Pang 2000). 150
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Matric suction, u a -u w (kPa)
5.2 Drying and wetting effects on shear wave
450
velocities (c)
Shear wave velocity, νs(hh) (m/s)

Wetting
400
The variations of the measured shear wave veloci-
ties with matric suction during the two drying and 350
wetting tests are shown in Figure 4. It can be seen
300
that the variations of the shear wave velocities, νs(vh) ,
νs(hv) and νs(hh) , with matric suction follow a simi- 250 Drying
lar trend. The shear wave velocities increase with an -u a =110kPa
p(r-dw-p110)
200
increase in matric suction in a non-linear fashion at -u a =300kPa
p(r-dw-p300)
a reducing rate. At early stages of the drying pro- 150
cess, i.e. when matric suction is relatively low, bulk 0 50 100 150 200
Matric suction, u a -u w (kPa)
250 300

water effects dominate the soil stiffness. Any increase

in suction is practically equivalent to an increase in the
confining pressure (Mancuso et al. 2002, Ng & Yung
2008). Therefore, shear wave velocities increase with
an increase in matric suction. When drying contin-
ues, meniscus water effects become dominative. The
meniscus water induces a normal force holding the soil
particles together, so the soil specimen is compressed
and the shear wave velocities increase. However, the
induced normal force can not increase infinitely, due
to the progressive reduction in the meniscus radius
as suction increases (Mancuso et al. 2002, Ng &
Yung 2008). Thus, the increasing rate of shear wave
velocities becomes smaller when suction is higher.
After drying to the maximum suction of 250 kPa,
matric suction is reduced for wetting a soil specimen.
The shear wave velocities, νs(vh) , νs(hv) and νs(hh) , all
decrease with decreasing matric suction at a similar
rate as that during drying. Similar to the SDSWCCs
(see Fig. 3), there is a hysteresis between the drying
and wetting curves of the variations of shear wave
velocities with matric suction. At a same suction, the
shear wave velocities measured during wetting phase
Figure 4. Variations of shear wave velocities with matric
suction during drying and wetting tests: (a) νs(vh) , (b) νs(hv) ,
(c) νs(hh) .
are consistently higher than those obtained during dry-
ing process. This is probably due to the irrecoverable
volume compression induced during the drying and
wetting cycle (Ng et al. 2008). During the drying pro-
cess, both elastic and plastic compression take place,
while only elastic swelling is resulted in the wetting
process.
It is noted from figure 4 that the shear wave veloc-
ities of CDT at a net mean stress of 300 kPa are
consistently higher than those at a net mean stress of
110 kPa. This is because when the applied net normal
stress is higher, the total volume shrinkage is larger.
Thus, the soil is stiffer and the shear wave velocities are
higher. Besides, at higher net mean stress, the chang-
ing rate of shear wave velocities with respect to matric
suction is lower. For example, at net mean stress of

528
110 kPa, the shear wave velocities, vs(vh) , vs(hv) and respectively. This stiffness anisotropy is probably the
νs(hh) , increase by 48%, 46% and 47% as suction inherent stiffness anisotropy due to sample prepara-
increases from 0 to 250 kPa, respectively. While at tion, as discussed in Ng & Yung (2008). At a given
net mean stress of 300 kPa, the shear wave velocities, net mean stress, when matric suction increases, the
νs(vh) , νs(hv) and νs(hh) , only increase by 26%, 29% and degree of stiffness anisotropy increases slightly at a
30%, respectively, for the same suction change. The gradually reducing rate, but the increase is smaller
reason is probably that the specimen with higher stiff- than 1%. Similar to the SDSWCCs (see Fig. 3), there
ness at a higher net mean stress would have a higher is also a hysteresis between the drying and wetting
resistance to volume change due to drying and wetting curves. Though the changes in the degree of stiff-
(Ng et al. 2008). ness anisotropy and the size of hysteresis loop are
In an ideal elastic continuum, νs(hν) should be equal very small, the trends are clear. Therefore, drying and
to νs(νh) . However, the measured value of νs(hν) is wetting appear to have small effects on the degree of
consistently higher than νs(νh) , as shown in Figure 4. stiffness anisotropy.
The discrepancy between νs(hν) and νs(νh) may be
due to the preferred orientation of soil particles in
horizontal plane (Jardine et al. 1999, Ng & Leung
2007) or the different boundary conditions of different 6 CONCLUSIONS
bender elements (Pennington et al. 2001, Ng & Yung
2008). Drying and wetting effects on the shear wave
velocities of unsaturated CDT were studied by two
drying and wetting tests at constant net mean stress.
5.3 Drying and wetting effects on degree Three pairs of bender elements were used to measure
of stiffness anisotropy the multidirectional shear wave velocities, νs(vh) , νs(hν)
In this paper, the degree of stiffness anisotropy is and νs(hh) .
expressed as G0(hh) /G0(hv) or (νs(hh) /νs(hν) )2 . νs(hh) and During the drying and wetting tests, the shear
νs(hv) are chosen for determining stiffness anisotropy, wave velocities increased with an increase in matric
because they had the same boundary conditions, fre- suction at a reducing rate. Moreover, the changing
quency and travelling distance (Pennington et al. 2001, rate was lower at higher net mean stress. Similar
Ng et al. 2004). The variations of the degree of stiff- to the SDSWCC, there was a hysteresis between
ness anisotropy with matric suction during the drying the drying and wetting curves of the variations of
and wetting tests are shown in Figure 5. shear wave velocities with matric suction. The shear
It can be seen from Figure 5 that the variations of wave velocities measured during the wetting phase
the degrees of stiffness anisotropy with matric suction are consistently higher than those obtained during
at different net mean stresses follow a similar trend. the drying process, probably due to the irrecoverable
However, the degree of stiffness anisotropy at net mean volume shrinkage induced in the drying and wetting
stress of 300 kPa is consistently higher than that at net cycle.
mean stress of 110 kPa by about 1%. Initially at zero The degrees of inherent stiffness anisotropy of
suction, the degrees of stiffness anisotropy are 1.026 recompacted CDT specimens were 1.026 and 1.039
and 1.039 at net mean stresses of 110 and 300 kPa, at net mean stresses of 110 and 300 kPa, respectively.
The degree of stiffness anisotropy increased slightly
with matric suction at a reducing rate during drying
and wetting tests at constant net mean stress, but the
1.06 increase was smaller than 1%. The degree of stiffness
anisotropy also showed hysteretic characteristic during
2
G0(hh) / G0(hv) or ( vs(hh) /vs(hv) )

Wetting
1.05 drying and wetting tests, though the size of hysteresis
loop was very small. It can be concluded that drying
1.04
and wetting seem to have small effects on the degree
of stiffness anisotropy.
1.03 Drying
p -u a =110kPa
(r-dw-p110)
p -u a =300kPa
(r-dw-p300)
1.02 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Matric suction , u a -u w (kPa)
The authors would like to acknowledge the finan-
Figure 5. Variations of degree of stiffness anisotropy with cial support from research grants CA-MG07/08.EG01
matric suction during drying and wetting tests (Ng et al. and DAG04/05.EG31 provided by the Hong Kong
2008). University of Science and Technology.

529
REFERENCES
Cabarkapa, Z., Cuccovillo, T. & Gunn, M. 1999. Some
aspects of the pre-failure behavior of unsaturated soil.
Proc. of II Int. Symp. On Prefailure Deformation Charac-
teristics of Geomaterials 1: 159–165.
Callisto, L. & Rampello, S. 2002. Shear strength and small-
strain stiffness of a natural clay under general stress
conditions. Géotechnique 52(8): 547–560.
Clayton, C.R.I., Khatrush, S.A., Bica, A.V.D. & Siddique, A.
1989. The use of Hall effect semiconductors in geotech-
nical engineering. Geotechnical Testing Journal 12(1):
69–76.
Dyvik, R. & Madshus, C. 1985. Laboratory measurement
of Gmax using bender elements. Proceedings of ASCE
Annual convention: Advances in the Art of Testing Soils
under Cyclic Condition: 186–196. Detroit.
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils. New york: Wiley-Interscience Publi-
cation.
Hardin, B.O. & Richart, F.E. 1963. Elastic wave veloci-
ties in granular soils. Journal of the Soil Mechanics and
Foundations Division, ASCE 89: 33–65.
Hardin, B.O. & Drnrvich, V.P. 1972. Shear modulus and
damping in soils: measurements and parameter effects.
Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
ASCE 98: 603–624.
Hillel, D. 1982. Introduction to soil physics. San Diego, CA,
USA: Acadamic Press.
Jamiolkowski, M., Lancellotta, R. & Lo Presti, D.C.F. 1995.
Remarks on the stiffness at small strains of six Italian
clays. In S. Shibuya, T. Mitachi and S. Muira (eds.),
Proceedings of International Symposium on Pre-failure
Deformation of Geomaterials 2: 817–836.
Jardine, R.J., Kuwano, R., Zdravkovic, L. & Thornton, C.
1999. Some fundamental aspects of the pre-failure
behaviour of granular soils. Proc. Int. Symp. on Pre-
failure Deformation of Geomaterials 2: 1077–1111.
Kim, D.S., Seo, W.S. & Kim, M.J. 2003. Deformation char-
acteristics of soils with variations of capillary pressure and
water content. Soils and Foundations 43(4): 71–79.
Ladd, R.S. 1978. Preparing test specimens using under-
compaction. Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM 1:
16–23.
Leong, E.C., Yeo, S.H. & Rahardjo, H. 2004. Measurement
of wave velocities and attenuation using an ultrasonic test
system. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 41(5): 844–860.
Mancuso, C., Vassallo, R. & d’Onofrio, A. 2000. Soil
behaviour in suction controlled cyclic and dynamic tor-
sional shear tests. Proc. of 1st Asian Regional Conference
on Unsaturated Soils, Singapore: 539–544.
Mancuso, C., Vassallo, R. & d’Onofrio, A. 2002. Small strain
behavior of a silty sand in controlled-suction resonant
column—torsional shear tests. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal 39(1): 22–31.
Marinho, E.A.M., Chandler, R.J. & Crilly, M.S. 1995. Stiff-
ness measurements on an unsaturated high plasticity clay
using bender elements. Proceedings of the 1st Interna-
tional Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT ’95,
Paris, 2: 535–539.
Ng, C.W.W. & Pang, Y.W. 2000. Experimental investiga-
tions of the soil-water characteristics of a volcanic soil.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 37(6): 1252–1264.
530
Ng, C.W.W., Leung, E.H.Y. & Lau, C.K. 2004. Inherent
anisotropic stiffness of weathered geomaterial and its
influence on ground deformations around deep excava-
tions. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 41(1): 12–24.
Ng, C.W.W. & Leung, E.H.Y. 2007. Determination of
shear-wave velocities and shear moduli of completely
decomposed tuff. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvi-
ronmental Engineering. ASCE 133(6): 630–640.
Ng, C.W.W. & Yung, S.Y. 2008. Determination of the
anisotropic shear stiffness of an unsaturated decomposed
soil. Géotechnique 58(1): 23–35.
Ng, C.W.W., Xu, J. & Yung, S.Y. 2008. Effects of wetting-
drying and stress ratio on anisotropic small strain stiffness
of an unsaturated soil. Submitted to Canadian Geotechni-
cal Journal.
Pennington, D.S., Nash, D.F.T. & Lings, M.L. 2001. Horizon-
tally mounted bender elements for measuring anisotropic
shear moduli in triaxial clay specimen. Geotechnical
Testing Journal 24(2): 133–144.
Picornell, M. & Nazarian, S. 1998. Effects of soil suction
on the low-strain shear modulus of soils. Proceedings of
the 2nd International Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
UNSAT ’98, Beijing, China, 2: 102–107.
Roesler, S.K. 1979. Anisotropic shear modulus due to stress
anisotropy. J. Geotech. Eng. Div., Am. Soc. Civ. Eng.
105(7): 871–880.
Sanchez-Salinero, I., Roesset, J.M. & Stokoe, K.H. 1986.
Analytical studies of body wave propagation and attenu-
ation. Report GR 86-15, University of Texas, Austin.
Shibuya, S., Hwang, S.C. & Mitachi, T. 1997. Elastic
shear modulus of soft clays from shear wave velocity
measurement. Géotechnique 47(3): 593–601.
Stokoe, K.H. II, Hwang, S.K., Lee, J.N.K. & Andrus, R.D.
1995. Effects of various parameters on the stiffness and
damping of soils at small to medium strains. In S. Shibuya
et al. (eds.), Proc., Int. Symp. on Pre-failure Deformation
of Geomaterials 2: 785–816.
Vassallo, R. & Mancuso, C. 2000. Soil behaviour in the small
and the large strain range under controlled suction condi-
tions. International Workshop on Experimental Evidence
and Theoretical Approaches in Unsaturated Soils, Trento:
75–89.
Vassallo, R., Mancuso, C. & Vinale, F. 2006. Effects of stress-
strain history on the initial shear stiffness of an unsaturated
compacted silt. Geotechnical Special Publication 147:
1145–1156.
Vassallo, R., Mancuso, C. & Vinale, F. 2007a. Effects of net
stress and suction history on the small strain stiffness of a
compacted clayey silt. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 44
(4): 447–462.
Vassallo, R., Mancuso, C. & Vinale, F. 2007b. Mod-
elling the influence of stress-strain history on the initial
shear stiffness of an unsaturated compacted silt. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal 44(4): 463–472.
Viggiani, G. & Atkinson, J.H. 1995. Interpretation of bender
element tests. Géotechnique 45(1): 149–154.
Vinale, F., D’Onofrio, A., Mancuso, C., Santucci de Mag-
istris, F. & Tatsuoka, F. 1999. The pre-failure behaviour of
soils as construction materials. Proc. of II Int. Symp. On
Prefailure Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials 2:
955–1007.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effects of unsaturated soil state on the local seismic response of soil deposits

F. D’Onza
University of Glasgow, UK

A. d’Onofrio & C. Mancuso

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

ABSTRACT: This work is part of a wider research program in progress for several years at the Dipartimento
di Ingegneria Idraulica, Geotecnica e Ambientale (DIGA) of the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II in
Naples, Italy focusing on the analysis of the effects of partial saturation on the seismic response of soil deposits.
This study is particularly relevant to the relatively high seismicity area of Naples (Italy), where unsaturated soils
are often encountered. The paper summarises a parametric study based on the experimental results obtained
during a comprehensive laboratory program carried out using a Resonant Column Torsional Shear device under
suction controlled conditions. A set of 1D linear analyses were carried out and interpreted in terms of a transfer
function, in order to highlight the role played by the unsaturated condition on the amplification function. Finally
a synthesis of the results is attempted in order to quantify the effect of partial saturation on subsoils characterized
by different plasticity index values. Results clearly show significant effects of the unsaturated state on the local
seismic response in terms of both amplification ratio and natural frequency. This could be particularly relevant
to the local response of deposits of limited thickness.

1 INTRODUCTION
During a seismic event, a key role in the wave prop-
agation is played by the shallowest deformable soil
deposits above the bedrock. The shallow soils act
as a filter and significantly change the amplitudes
and frequency content of the reference input motion
registered on outcropping bedrock. Therefore, for
a proper ground surface motion determination the
subsoil geometry, as well as the stiffness and dissi-
pative properties of the soil above the bedrock should
carefully be determined.
The natural shallow soil deposits are often located
above the water table in a partially saturated state. In
spite of this, the effects of suction are often ignored in
the determination of local seismic response, due to the
experimental difficulties in measuring the stress-strain
behaviour of unsaturated soils at small strains.
The influence of unsaturated soil conditions on
local seismic response has been demonstrated here
to be very relevant and justifies further efforts to
investigate these effects.
2 EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE
A wide experimental programme aimed at analysing
the effects of suction on the mechanical behaviour of
soils has been carried out and is still underway at the
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Idraulica, Geotecnica e
Ambientale (DIGA) of the Università degli Studi di
Napoli Federico II in Naples, Italy.
The main goal is the investigation of the effects of
mean net stress and suction on the initial shear stiffness
(G0 ) and damping ratio (D0 ) of soils with different
plasticity indices.
Different soils, in terms of particle grading, index
limits and fabric, have been tested. These include a
clayey silt and a silty sand compacted at the optimum
water content following the standard and modified
Proctor procedures respectively as well as a pyroclas-
tic silty sand prepared by air pluviation technique and
then saturated at constant volume. The main charac-
teristics of the tested soils are summarised in Table 1.
The experimental program has been carried out using
a Resonant Column Torsional Shear apparatus prop-
erly modified to perform tests in suction controlled
condition, by means of the axis translation technique.
Details of this device can be found in Mancuso et al.
(2002).
G0 and D0 have been measured almost contin-
uously, by resonant column tests, along various
isotropic stress paths, including compressions and dry-
ing/wetting single stages or cycles. The main purpose
of the experimental work has been the investigation of
the influence of the stress state and history, in terms of

531
Table 1. Average properties of tested materials. 250

Plasticity Water Degree of 200

index, PI content, w saturation, Sr
Material % % %

G0 (MPa)
150
Metramo
silty sand 13.7 9.5 86.9 100
Magispo
clayey silt 17.9 23.1 92.5 (ua-uw)s = 0 k Pa
50 (ua-uw)s= 100 k Pa
Pyroclastic (ua-uw)s= 200 k Pa
silty sand 0 55.2 100 a) (ua-uw)s= 400 k Pa
0
0 200 400 600 800
(p-ua) kPa
5
both suction and mean net stress, on the small strain (ua-uw)s = 0 kPa
(ua-uw)s = 100 kPa
behaviour of the tested soils. (ua-uw)s = 200 kPa
The observed behaviour during compression stages 4 (ua-uw)s = 400 kPa
at constant suction is qualitatively similar to that of

p (% )
saturated soils.

D0h(%)
In normally consolidated conditions, G0 increases 3
less than linearly while D0 decreases as the mean net
stress increases at constant suction. This is shown, for
2
example, in Figure 1 where the initial shear stiffness
and the damping ratio measured on Magispo clayey
b)
sand are reported as a function of the applied mean 1
net stress, (p − ua ) at constant suction, s. On the other 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
hand, at equal mean net stress and in normally consol- p-ua (kPa)
idated conditions, G0 increases and D0 decreases as
suction increases. Figure 1. a) Initial shear modulus, and b) initial damping
ratio versus mean net stress at different suction.
In more detail, the initial shear modulus seems to
be differently influenced by the suction level. As an
example, G0 values measured on the Magispo clayey 250
silt are plotted against suction in Figure 2, which refers
to experimental data shown in Figure 1. This figure
plots the shear modulus as a function of both mean net 200
stress at null suction (left diagram) and suction under
a mean net stress equal to 200 kPa (right diagram).
An S-shaped trend can be observed, which complies 150
G0 (MPa)

with the different arrangement of water and air within

the voids and the interaction between water, air and
soil skeleton as described in the following. 100
In a saturated soil, Terzaghi’s principle of effective
stress is valid and, in the presence of a positive value
of suction, a curved air-water interface will exist at 50
experimental data
the soil boundary as the pore water is subjected to a
pressure smaller than the surrounding air pressure. In -- simulation
this situation, a variation in suction at constant net 0
0 100 200 100 200 300 400
stress changes both normal and tangential forces at
the contacts between particles as it is equivalent to [(p-ua) + (ua-uw) (kPa)] (ua-uw s) (kPa)
a variation in mean effective stress p . Similarly, at
high degrees of saturation, the mechanical response Figure 2. Initial shear modulus vs. suction.
is essentially influenced by bulk-water and thus the
effects of an increase of suction, s, are those of an
equal increase of mean effective stress. resulting in a cohesive pull holding particles together.
As suction increases and the soil starts to desaturate, At low degree of saturation, the effect of menisci-water
bulk water is progressively replaced by menisci-water starts to become dominant and the significance of
in the form of water lenses at the inter-particle contacts such cohesive inter-particle pull increases accordingly.

532
This is simplified by the Fisher’s model (1926) (which 1.0 e+2
refers to two spherical particles with a water menis- RCTS - Sr controlled tests
cus in between them), and Gili (1988) (which refers to bender element tests
more complex particle configurations and meniscus bender element tests in TX cell
RCTS - suction controlled tests
shapes). Such behaviour has a corresponding influ-
ence on the curve G0 : s. The way in which a real soil 1.0 e+0
moves from a behaviour dominated by bulk-water to a
behaviour dominated by menisci-water depends on the

values
soil grading curve, mineralogy and, for the same soil
in normally consolidated conditions, on the applied 1.0 e-2
mean net stress. In any case it is possible to identify
a defined suction value, s∗ , corresponding to the tran-
sition from a behaviour dependent on bulk water to a
behaviour dependent on menisci-water.
Together with the data gathered by the Authors, a 1.0 e-4 a)
number of other measurements of G0 in unsaturated 20
normally consolidated soils have been presented in the
literature. A detailed report about soils, compaction
procedures and testing conditions relevant to these 15
measurements can be found in Mancuso et al. (2002).
All these data confirm the above described trend in
r values

terms of G0 versus suction. 10

Once the suction exceeds the value s∗ , the variation
of G0 with suction can be predicted by the relationship
proposed by Mancuso et al. (2002):
G0 (s) ∗
= {[1 − r] · e−β·(s−s ) + r}; (s − s∗ ) ≥ 0
G0 sat
(1)
where G0 sat is the value of stiffness corresponding to
a suction equal to s∗ , β is a parameter that controls the
rate of increase of G0 with suction (i.e. a measure of
the soil sensitivity to suction changes) and r is the ratio
between shear stiffness at very large values of suction
and the shear stiffness at suction equal to s∗ .
The relatively good fit of Equation 1 to the experi-
mental data shown in Figure 2 indicates that this
equation can properly describe the experimentally
observed trend even for relatively high suction values.
Equation 1 has also been used to interpret other data
reported in the literature and described in Mancuso
et al. (2002). The results of such analyses are shown
in Figure 3 where the corresponding values of r and β
are related to the Plasticity Index (PI) of each soil.
Despite the variety of preparation procedures, test-
ing conditions and techniques, a general trend can be
detected in Figure 3. In particular, β decreases by
about two orders of magnitude moving from coarse
to fine grained soils (Fig. 3a); on the contrary r seems
to be rather constant at least for relatively low plas-
ticity soils (Fig. 3b). Best fitting equations, of both β
and r values versus plasticity index, can be expressed
as follows:
malised shear modulus G0 (s)/G0 (0) corresponding to
β = 0.1552 · (1 − 0.0199) · e−0.1284·PI + 0.0199
(2)
5
b)
0
0 20 40 60 80
plasticity index, PI (%)
Figure 3. (a) β vs. PI and (b) r vs PI.
r = 1.4081 · e0.0246·PI (3)
Note that PI is expressed as percentage in Equation 2.
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the shear
stiffness at a generic suction s, normalized by the
shear stiffness at zero suction, G0 (s)/G0 (0) versus
suction for constant confining stress. This relationship
is given by Equation 1 where the additional simpli-
fying assumption of s∗ equal to zero is introduced.
Two curves are shown in Figure 4 corresponding to
the two different values of the plasticity index of 0%
and 10% respectively with different values of β and
r calculated from Equations 2 and 3. Note that the
simplifying assumption that s∗ coincides with zero
introduces a slight overestimation of the shear modulus
at low suction values. As shown in Figure 4, an equal
value of the normalized shear modulus G0 (s)/G0 (0)
corresponds to different values of suction, depending
on the values of β and r. Given the value of the nor-
a particular suction s in a generic soil (with parameter
values βgen , rgen and PIgen ), it is possible to evaluate

533
 2.00 3 PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
1.90
))/G 0 (0,p-ua)

1.80
1.70
A set of dynamic analyses have been carried out to
1.60
assess the effects of partial saturation on the local seis-
0(s) /Ga0(0)

1.50 mic response of subsoils of different plasticity. Input

w),(p-u

1.40 conditions have been simplified as much as possible

G0((u a -u G

1.30 to isolate the effects of partial saturation from other

1.20
PI
Ip=0%
affecting factors. With this aim, a series of one dimen-
1.10
PI
Ip=10% sional ground response analysis have been carried out
1.00
0 s 10 20 30 40 s eq 50 60 on fictitious subsoils, assuming horizontal soil lay-
(ua-uw)s (kPa) ering and SH wave propagation. Each fictitious soil
deposit consist of an homogeneous material lying on
Figure 4. G0 (s)/G0 (0) as a function of suction for different the bedrock and has been divided in a number of
values of PI. layers to account for the influence of different con-
fining stresses acting at different depths. Each layer
2.1
2.0
consists of a continuous homogeneous single-phase
visco-elastic linear material characterised in terms of
0(0) 0 (0,p-u a )

1.9
1.8 initial shear modulus and damping ratio as a function
1.7 of mean net stress and suction. The assumption of a
a ))/G

1.6
linear response ensures the independency of the anal-
0(s) /G
),(p-u

1.5
yses on the input motion characteristics. A 30 m depth
G0 ((u a -u wG

1.4
1.3 and a shear wave velocity of 800 m/s was assumed for
PI
Ip=0%
1.2
PI
Ip=5%
the bedrock.
1.1 PI
Ip=10% Constant profiles of suction with depth have been
1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
adopted since preliminary analyses demonstrate a neg-
(u a -u ws) / * (kPa) ligible influence of suction variation with depth on the
seismic response.
Figure 5. Ratio G0 (s)/G0 (0) versus equivalent suction. To take into account the dependency of G0 on suc-
tion and stress state, it has been first necessary to
model the variation of G0 with stress state in the
the equivalent suction seq corresponding to the same saturated condition and then take into account the
value of the normalized shear modulus in a reference additional effect of suction through Equation 1.
soil (with parameter values βref , rref and PIref ). Such The dependency of shear modulus on confining
equivalent suction seq can be related to the suction s in stress in saturated conditions has been modelled using
the generic soil. the relationship proposed by Rampello et al. (1994):
For relatively low-medium PI values it is reason-
able to assume a constant r index. In this case, the  n
expression of the equivalent suction is obtained as G0 p
follows: =S (8)
pr pr
   
G0 (s) G0 (seq )
= (4)
G0 (0) gen G0 (0) ref where pr is a reference pressure, here taken equal to
−βgen ·s −βref ·seq
100 kPa and S and n are stiffness dimensionless param-
(1 − r) · e + r = (1 − r) · e +r (5) eters which describe respectively the initial stiffness
e −βgen ·s
=e −βref ·seq
⇒ βgen · s = βref · seq evaluated at reference pressure, and the sensitivity of
G0 on stress state. A relationship between the dimen-
βgen sionless parameters S and n of Equation 8 and the
⇒ seq = ·s (6)
βref plasticity index has been proposed by d’Onofrio &
Silvestri (2001) on the basis of a large number of data
βgen from literature, as reported in Figure 6.
seq = ·s (7)
βref The initial shear stiffness profile corresponding
to a given suction has been obtained combining the
Representing G0 (s)/G0 (0) versus seq , a unique dependency of shear stiffness on confining stress in
curve for every PI value is obtained once a βref is saturated conditions given by Equation 8 with the
fixed (Fig. 5). This curve allows easy evaluation of effect of suction under partly saturated conditions
the shear stiffness ratio G0 (s)/G0 (0) corresponding to given by Equation 1 in which s∗ has been assumed
a given suction whatever the soil. equal to 0 kPa. The values of β and r corresponding

534
 1500 1.5
a)
1.4
marine clays
stiffness coefficient, S

1.3
fluvial clays

/f1(0)/F 1(0)
1000
1.2

1(ua-uw)
1.1 PI
IP=0

fF1(s)
500 S=217+805.84*exp(-Ip/18.94) 1 PI
IP=5
PI
IP=10
0.9 PI
IP=50

a 0.8
0 0 200 400 600 800 1000
0 50 100 150 200
(ua-uw), s((kPa)
plasticity index, PI (%)

1
1.2
PI
IP=0
b
1 PI
IP=5
0.8 PI
IP=10
stiffness index, n

0.8

/A1(0)
PI
IP=50

1(s) /A1(0)
0.6
n=0.68-0.162*exp (-Ip/23)
A1(ua-uw)
0.6
0.4
A
0.4
0.2 fluvial clays
0.2
marine clays b)
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 200 400 600 800 1000
plasticity index, PI (%) (ua-uw),s (kPa)

Figure 6. a) Stiffness coefficient and b) stiffness index Figure 7. First peak frequency (a) and first peak amplifica-
variation with PI. tion ratio (b) normalized by the corresponding values under
zero suction.

to different plasticity indexes have been calculated by values. This can be explained with reference to the
using Equations 2 and 3. simplified pattern of a homogeneous visco-elastic stra-
Analyses have been carried out by EERA code, a tum (i.e. with a constant value of G0 with depth) with
Shake—like code, designed by Bardet at the Southern shear wave velocity Vs and thickness H lying on a
California University (Bardet et al. 2000), working in deformable bedrock. In this case, it is possible to
the frequency domain. express the nth natural frequency fn and peak value
Modelling the soil as a linear visco-elastic medium of the amplification function An as a function of the
allows the evaluation of the results in terms of a transfer mechanical and geometrical properties of the stratum:
function (i.e. the ratio between the amplitude motion at
surface and bedrock as a function of frequency) which (2n − 1) · Vs 1
is influenced by the geometrical and mechanical prop- fn = ; An = (9)
4H μ + (2n − 1) π2 D0
erties of the soil but is independent on the input motion.
Analyses for each fictitious subsoil have been com-
pared with a similar analysis corresponding to a null The natural frequencies increase because the overall
suction profile. The results were examined in terms value of the shear wave velocity increases with suc-
of amplification ratio, comparing the response of the tion. As for the amplification ratio, it depends on both
subsoil in the unsaturated state with that of the same soil/bedrock impedence ratio, μ and internal damp-
subsoil under null suction condition. Figure 7 shows ing, D0 . The first peak of amplification significantly
the two ratios between the first peak amplification reduces at increasing suction, because the decrease in
A1(s) and the first frequency f1(s) in unsaturated condi- the impedance contrast plays a major role. The damp-
tions and the corresponding quantities A1(0) and f1(0) ing decrease with suction mainly affects the amplitude
under a null value of suction for different values of the ratios of the subsequent modes which also increase as
plasticity index. suction increases.
The natural frequencies increase while the ampli- As it appears from Figure 7, in analogy to shear
fication ratios decrease as the suction attains larger stiffness, an equal variation of amplification ratio and

535
 1.5 If the unsaturated state is not taken into account,
a) the error on amplification ratio reaches 48% and that
1.4
on frequencies 38% for relatively high values of suc-
1.3 tion, depending on mechanical properties of the soil
/F 1(0)

1.2 deposits. These results emphasize that the unsaturated

/f 1(0)

state could be meaningful in the local response of

1(ua-uw)

1.1 PI
IP=0 deposits of limited thickness, as it is the case in the
fF1(s)

1 PI
IP=5 Neapolitan area.
PI
IP=10
0.9
Therefore, for a proper prediction of the local seis-
PI
IP=50
mic response of a particular site, it is important to
0.8 take into account the unsaturated state of the soil
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 deposit.
(ua-uw)s *, (kPa)

1.2 REFERENCES
PI
IP=0
1 PI
IP=5 Bardet, J.P., Ichii, K. & Lin, C.H. 2000. Eera a computer
PI
IP=10 program for equivalent—linear earthquake site Response
0.8
1(s) /A 1(0)1(0)

PI
IP=50 Analyses of Layered Soil Deposits. Software manual.
/A

University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

A1(ua-uw)

0.6
d’Onofrio, A. & Silvestri, F. 2001. Influence of micro-
structure on small-strain stiffness and damping of fine
A

0.4
0.2
0 Diego.
0 200 400 600
(ua-uw)s
Figure 8. First peak frequency (a) and first peak amplifica-
tion ratio (b) normalized by the corresponding values under
zero suction versus equivalent suction.
peak frequency corresponds to different values of suc-
tion depending on PI values. It is then possible to plot
the normalized values of the first peak amplification
A1(s) and frequency f1(s) , evaluated in unsaturated con-
dition, with respect to that corresponding to the same
subsoil under a null suction condition (i.e. A1(0) , f1(0) ),
as a function of the equivalent suction defined in the
previous section. As expected the curves correspond-
ing to different values of PI overlap (Fig. 8). It is then
possible to evaluate the variation with suction of both
first peak frequency and amplification of the trans-
fer function for a homogeneous subsoil with a given
plasticity index by knowing the results for a reference
subsoil with the same geometric characteristics.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Results clearly show the effects of partial saturation on
the local seismic response. Natural frequency values
of a soil deposits significantly increase with suction.
This effect is more evident for shallowest bedrocks.
Maximum amplification ratios, in the field of
earthquake motion characteristic frequencies, are sub-
stantially reduced.
grained soils and effects on local site response. Fourth
international Conference on Recent Advances in Geotech-
b) nical Earthquake Engineering and soil Dynamics, San
800 1000 1200 Fisher, R.A. 1926. On the capillary forces in an ideal soil,
Journal Agr. Science, 16: 492–505.
*, (kPa)
Gili, Y.Y. 1988. Modelo microestructural para medios
granulares no saturados. Doctoral Thesis, Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Mancuso, C., Vassallo, R. & d’Onofrio, A. 2002. Small
strain behaviour of soils in controlled suction condi-
tions. Proceedings of the third international conference
on unsaturated soils, Recife, Brazil.
Rampello, S., Silvestri, F. & Viggiani, G. 1994. The depen-
dence of small strain stiffness on stress state and history for
fine-grained soils: the example of Vallericca clay. I Symp.
Pre-failure Deformations of Geomaterials; 1: 273–279.
Balkema.
Schnabel, P.B., Lysmer, J. & Seed, H.B. 1972. SHAKE:
A computer program for earthquake response analysis
of horizontally layered sites. Report No. EERC 72-12,
Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of
California, Berkeley.
Vassallo, R., Mancuso, C. & Vinale, F. 2007. Modelling
the influence of stress-strain history on the initial shear
stiffness of an unsaturated compacted silt. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, April/March issue.
Vassallo, R. & Mancuso, C. 2000. Soil behaviour in the small
and the large strain range under controlled suction condi-
tions. International Workshop on Experimental Evidence
and Theoretical Approaches in Unsaturated Soils, Trento,
Italy, 75–90, Tarantino & Mancuso Ed.
Vinale, F., d’Onofrio, A., Mancuso, C., Santucci De
Magistris, F. & Tatsuoka, F. 2001. The pre-failure
behaviour of soils as construction materials. Pre-
failure Deformation Characteristics of geomaterials.
Jamiolkowski, Lancellotta & Lo Presti Ed.
Yang, J. & Sato, T. 2001. Analytical study of saturation
effects on seismic vertical amplification of a soil layer.
Géotechnique, 52: 161–165.

536
Constitutive modelling
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Thermo-plasticity in unsaturated soils, a constitutive approach

B. François & L. Laloui

Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: Research interest in the thermo-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils is growing as a result
of an increasing number of geomechanical problems involving both thermal and unsaturated effects. A new
constitutive model dealing with partially saturated soils under non-isothermal conditions is presented through a
unified and highly coupled constitutive approach. In the context of the elasto-thermoplasticity and the critical
state theory, the so-called ACMEG-TS model uses the concepts of multi-mechanism and bounding surface
theory. The generalized effective stress framework is adopted to represent the stress state in the soil. This model
brings advancements on the thermo-hydraulic couplings that directly affect the mechanical behaviour of the
materials. The constitutive relations based on the evolutions of the two key parameters (the preconsolidation
pressure and the air-entry suction) make it possible to reproduce the main features of the thermo-mechanical
behaviour of unsaturated soils. Theoretical aspects of the paper are supported by comparisons between numerical
simulations and experimental results extracted from literature.

1 INTRODUCTION This paper describes a new constitutive model

In recent decades, the effect of temperature and humid-
ity variations on the mechanical behaviour of soils has
become more widely investigated following the need
to consider such non-conventional external loadings
for many applications in the field of geomechanics
(Vulliet et al. 2002). The engineering applications
where such effects are to be considered are: high-
level nuclear waste disposal (Gens & Olivella 2001),
geothermal structures (Laloui et al. 2006, Brandl
2006), petroleum drilling, injection and production
activities (Dusseault et al. 1988) or zones around
buried high-voltage cables (Anders & Radhakrishna
1988). All display challenges to understand and to
reproduce complex processes in which temperature
and relative humidity effects have a key role.
Some relevant contributions have been made in the
development of unsaturated constitutive relations in
non-isothermal conditions. Such models combine the
formalism of unsaturated soils and thermo-plasticity.
Similar to isothermal models, the choice of stress
framework remains a matter of discussion. Gens
(1995) and Wu et al. (2004) founded their constitutive
relations on the two independent stress variables (net
stress, suction) based on the Barcelona Basic Model
(Alonso et al. 1990). On the contrary, Khalili & Loret
(2001) and Bolzon & Schrefler (2005) elaborated their
mechanical frameworks on a unified averaged stress
variable.
using the so-called generalized effective stress accord-
ing to Nuth & Laloui (2007a). This model brings
advances concerning the thermo-hydraulic couplings
that directly affect the mechanical behaviour of the
materials. Those improvements are achieved using
two interconnected constitutive parts. The first deals
with the stress-strain relationship including possible
changes in thermal and retention states, while the
second focuses on the relationship between degree
of saturation and suction considering the effects
of stress and temperature states (François et al.
2007).
Based on experimental evidence, the thermo-hydro-
mechanical (THM) features of behaviour considered
in the present model are briefly presented. Then,
the constitutive relations of both parts of the model
are introduced focusing on the connections between
them. Finally, some selected comparisons between
model simulations and experimental results for dif-
ferent combinations of temperature, suction and stress
paths are presented.
2 EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE
Figure 1 summarizes the THM interactions in unsat-
urated soils and divides them in three categories;
each being addressed in the three following sections,
respectively. Those interactions between thermal,

539

Figure 1. Schematic overview of the THM interactions
considered in the ACMEG-TS model.
retention and mechanical parts are fully coupled within
a unified approach in the constitutive relations.
2.1 Thermo-mechanical interactions
Under normally consolidated conditions, clay con-
tracts when it is heated and a significant part of
this deformation is irreversible upon cooling. This
behaviour over the whole cycle is representative of
thermal hardening. Also, it has been shown that the
preconsolidation pressure decreases with increasing
temperature (Laloui & Cekerevac 2003).
2.2 Hydro-mechanical interactions
The interactions between the deformations of the solid
skeleton and the retention response must be consid-
ered as a double-way coupling. First, the suction
variations affect the stress state of the material and
the preconsolidation pressure which notably increases
upon desaturation, causing peculiar swelling and col-
lapse behaviours to occur upon wetting. However, this
increase of the isotropic yield limit is recognized as
being activated solely for suctions higher than the air
entry value se , which is when air begins to enter the
pores (Nuth & Laloui 2007a). Secondly, the reten-
tion capacity of soils has proved to be enhanced with
increasing dry density because of a reduction of pore
dimensions (Gallipoli et al. 2003).
2.3 Thermo-hydraulic interactions
The main thermal effect on the retention behaviour
concerns the diminishing retention capacity of soils
with temperature increase, mainly because the interfa-
cial tension between the water and the grains decreases
under heating (Romero et al. 2001). This thermal
effect indirectly influences the mechanical response
540
of the soils by changing the degree of saturation for
the same suction value.
3 CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONS
3.1 Generalized effective stress
In partially saturated media, when air and water phases
coexist in pores, the difference of pressure between the
two fluid phases induces an internal stress variable, the
suction (s = pa − pw ). Aiming to derive a single stress
to describe the mechanical behaviour, combinations
between stress tensors and fluid pressures are assessed
in the generalized effective stress approach (Nuth &
Laloui 2007b):
 
σij = σij − pa δij + Sr (pa − pw ) δij (1)
where σij , pa , pw , Sr are respectively the mechanical
external stress, pore air pressure, pore water pressure
and degree of saturation. δij is the Kronecker’s symbol.
This expression follows from Bishop (1959) in which
the effective stress parameter is equal to the degree of
saturation, as suggested by Bishop & Blight (1963)
and by Schrefler (1984).
Since the retention capacity of the soil depends on
THM conditions (e.g. the suction level, the followed
hydraulic paths, the dry density and the temperature),
the inclusion of product Sr s in the effective stress for-
mulation itself includes a number of intrinsic THM
connections.
3.2 Mechanical constitutive part
The ACMEG-TS model considers that the total strain
dε is generated by a non-linear thermo-elasticity,
inducing reversible strain dε e , coupled with a multi-
dissipative thermo-plasticity, producing irrecoverable
strain dεp . Due to the strain history dependence, the
formulation is given in terms of infinitesimal incre-
ments. Reference is made here to strains and stresses
in the small deformation domain.
The elastic part of the deformation is expressed as
following:
−1 1
dεije = Eijkl dσkl − βs dT δij (2)
3
where compression is taken as positive. Eijkl is the
mechanical elastic tensor and βs the volumetric ther-
mal expansion coefficient of the solid skeleton. Elastic
strain may be induced either by total stress, suction,
saturation degree variation (first term of Equation 2),
or by temperature change (second term of Equation 2).
Eijkl is composed of the following hypo-elastic moduli
which are assumed independent of temperature and critical pressure, pcr . M is the slope of the critical
suction value: state line in the (q − p ) plane and may depend on
temperature:
 ne  ne
p p
K = Kref G = Gref (3) 6 sin φ0
pref pref M = M0 − g (T − T0 ); M0 = (6)
3 − sin φ0

where Kref and Gref are the reference bulk and shear
elastic moduli, respectively, at a reference pressure,
pref ; ne is a material parameter.
Using the concept of multi-mechanism plasticity
(Mandel 1965), the total irreversible strain increment
p p
dεij is induced by two coupled dissipative processes:
an isotropic and a deviatoric plastic mechanism. Each
p,iso
produces plastic strain increments, dεij and dεij ,
p,dev
respectively.
The yield limits of each mechanism, restricting the
elastic domain in the generalized effective stress space,
take the following expressions (Fig. 2):
fiso = p − pc riso = 0
where φ0 is the friction angle at critical state at the
reference temperature T0 and g is a material parame-
ter. The preconsolidation pressure pc is shared by both
yield limits which makes the two mechanisms cou-
pled. Moreover, this parameter is the main hardening
variable and depends on volumetric plastic strain εv
(in the sense of Cam-Clay model family according to
Roscoe & Burland (1968)), on temperature and on suc-
tion. It has been shown that logarithmic relations of pc
with temperature and suction are in good agreement
with experimental observations (Salager et al. 2008).
As a consequence, the evolution of pc with the THM
variables is given by:
 
(4) pc εvp , T , s
  ⎧   p

dp
fdev = q − Mp 1 − b ln  rdev = 0
{1 − γT log [T /T0 ]} if s ≤ se
pc
where q is the deviatoric stress. b is a material param-
eter and d the distance (in the logarithmic plane)
between the preconsolidation pressure, pc , and the
(5) ⎨pc0 exp βεv
⎪
= pc0 exp βεvp {1 − γT log [T /T0 ]}
⎪
⎩
× {1 + γs log [s/se ]} if s ≥ se (7)
where pc0 is the initial preconsolidation pressure (at
initial temperature and under saturated conditions) and
β the plastic compressibility modulus. γT and γs are
material parameters. riso and rdev are the degree of plas-
tification of the isotropic and deviatoric mechanisms,
respectively. According to the bounding surface theory
(Dafalias & Herrmann 1980), this enables a progres-
sive evolution of the isotropic and deviatoric yield
limits during loading following the next two equations,
respectively (Hujeux 1979):

p,iso
εv (1 − riso )2 p,iso
riso = riso
e
+ p,iso
; driso = dεv
c+ εv c

(8)
p
εd (1 − rdev )
2
p
rdev = rdev
e
+ p; drdev = dεd (9)
a + εd a

e
where c and a are material parameters while riso and
e
rdev define the size of the elastic nuclei of the isotropic
p
and deviatoric mechanisms, respectively. εd is the
p,iso
deviatoric plastic strain and εv the volumetric plastic
strain induced by the isotropic mechanism.
Figure 2. Yield limits for the THM elasto-plastic frame- The flow rule of the isotropic mechanism is asso-
work. ciated, while the deviatoric one is not, and they are

541
assumed to take the following forms, respectively: two successive retention limits, fdry and fwet , upon
drying and wetting paths, respectively:
p
p,iso λiso
dεii = (10)
3 fdry = s − sd = 0 (13)
   
p,dev p 1 ∂q q 1 fwet = sd shys − s = 0 (14)
dεij = λdev +α M −  δij (11)
Mp ∂σij p 3
where sd is the drying yield limit and shys a material
where α is a material parameter. The plastic multi- parameter considering the size of the retention hystere-
p p
pliers, λiso and λdev , are determined using Prager’s sis. If the initial state is saturated, the initial retention
consistency equation for multidissipative plasticity drying limit sd0 is equal to air-entry suction se and
(Prager 1958, Rizzi et al. 1996). The two consistency increases when suction overtakes se as follows:
conditions must be met simultaneously, leading to the
solving of two equations with two unknowns: sd = sd0 exp (−βh Sr ) (15)
⎧
⎨dF = ∂F : dσ  + ∂F · dT + ∂F · ∂π · λp ≤ 0
∂σ  ∂T ∂π ∂λp (12) where βh is the slope of the desaturation curve in the
⎩ p (Sr − ln s) plane (Fig. 3).
λ ≥ 0; dF · λp ≥ 0
Finally, because the air-entry suction of the mate-
rials depends on temperature and dry density, sd0 is a
where σ  is the generalized effective stress vector and
p function of temperature and volumetric plastic strain
π the internal variable matrix (riso and εv for the
p (François & Laloui, 2007):
isotropic plastic mechanism and rdev and εv for the
deviatoric plastic mechanism). λ and F are the plastic
P

multiplier and yield limit vectors, respectively. sd = sd0 exp (−βh Sr )

3.3 Retention constitutive part
In terms of retention response, desaturation is also
seen as a yielding phenomenon. As long as the soil is
dried, suction increases and the degree of saturation,
Sr , tends to decrease mainly when the air-entry suc-
tion se is reached. Thereby, se is here considered as a
retention limit separating fully and partially saturated
states. Under re-wetting, a hysteretic retention phe-
nomenon occurs which is represented by a second limit
(Fig. 3). Then a sorption-desorption cycle activates
  
× 1 − θT log [T /T0 ] − θe log 1 − εvp (16)
where θT and θe are material parameters describing
the logarithmic evolution of the air-entry suction with
respect to temperature and volumetric plastic strain,
respectively.
Because this retention response is governed by
yielding mechanisms, the processes must be con-
trolled by evolution laws in agreement with consis-
tency equations, in addition to yield functions. The
two following equations describe the flow rules of the
drying and wetting mechanisms, respectively:

p ∂fdry p
dSrdry = λdry = λdry ≤ 0 (17)
∂s
p ∂fwet p
dSrwet = λwet = −λwet ≥ 0 (18)
∂s

In contrast to the mechanical mechanisms, these two

Figure 3. Modelling of the water retention curve with
its hysteresis. The air-entry suction depends on volumetric
plastic strain and temperature.
retention mechanisms cannot be active simultaneously
because they are activated in two opposite directions
of hydraulic loading. As a consequence, the two reten-
p p
tion plastic multipliers (λdry and λwet ) are independent.
Moreover, these plastic multipliers must be negative
because an increase of suction tends to reduce Sr .
Within this framework, the current degree of saturation
is given by:
Sr = Sr0 + Srdry + Srwet (19)

542
where Sr0 is the initial degree of saturation. The simulations are displayed in the net stress reference
consistency conditions impose that: (σij,net = σij − pa ), although the model uses the
generalized effective stress.
⎧ ∂Fhyd ∂Fhyd ∂Fhyd
Figure 4 compares the numerical simulations with
p ∂F
⎪
⎪ dF = ∂s ds+ ∂T dT + ∂εvp dεv + ∂π hyd experimental results of oedometric compression tests
⎪ hyd
⎨
∂π p at different suctions and at ambient temperature.
× ∂λphyd · λhyd ≤ 0 (20) The initial strain observed at 0.1 MPa of net stress
⎪
⎪
⎪
hyd
⎩ p p is due to the suction path from 127 MPa to the suction
λhyd ≤ 0; dFhyd · λhyd ≥ 0

where Fhyd is the retention yield function vector and

π hyd , the internal variables vector. These retention
mechanisms include only one internal variable, the
p
variation of degree of saturation Sr . λhyd is the
retention plastic multiplier vector.
For very high suctions, the retention conditions
reach a residual state defined by the residual degree
of saturation Sr,res . At this state, no more variation of
degree of saturation is possible, even if the suction
increases (Fig. 3).
Figure 5. Numerical simulations of oedometric compres-
sion tests of FEBEX bentonite at the hydroscopic suction and
4 NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS two different temperatures. Comparisons with experiments.

In this section, comparison between numerical sim-

ulations and experimental results on compacted
FEBEX bentonite are presented. These materials have
been tested along coupled suction, temperature and
mechanical paths under oedometric conditions by
Lloret et al. (2004) and Romero et al. (2004). A set
of 13 tests have been simulated. All the tests start at an
applied initial stress of 0.1 MPa and at a compaction
suction of about 127 MPa.
Among these tests, 6 tests ((1), (3), (6), (7), (9)
and (10) in Figures 4 to 7) were used to calibrate
parameters, as presented in Table 1, while the 7 other
tests are blind simulations. Because no deviatoric tests Figure 6. Numerical simulation of retention curve of
are available, the deviatoric parameters are not consid- FEBEX bentonite at three different temperatures. Compar-
ered in these simulations. All the results and numerical isons with experiments.

Figure 4. Numerical simulations of oedometric compres- Figure 7. Numerical simulation of retention curve of
sion tests of FEBEX bentonite at different suctions. Compar- FEBEX bentonite at two different dry densities ρd . Com-
isons with experiments. parisons with experiments.

543
Table 1. Material parameters of the FEBEX bentonite used
in the numerical simulations.
Elastic parameters
Kref , n, βs [MPa], [−], [◦ C−1 ] 16, 1, 6.67 10−4
Isotropic plastic mechanical parameters
β, γs , γT , c, riso
ela [−], [−], [−], [−], [−]14.3, 16, 2.1, 0.02, 0.45
Retention parameters
se0 , βh , θT , θe , shys [MPa], [−], [−], [−] 4, 8.64, 0.7, 10.8, 0.6
Figure 8. Numerical simulation of combined THM paths in
oedometer on FEBEX bentonite. Comparisons with experi-
ments.
applied during compression. The subsequent compres-
sion paths clearly show the enhancement of the elastic
domain when suction increases. Figure 5 reproduces
the numerical simulation of oedometric compression
tests at two temperatures under 127 MPa of suction.
The initial strain observed for path (6) is due to the
temperature increase. Figure 6 underlines the effect of
temperature on the retention curve as considered by
the ACMEG-TS model and compares it with experi-
ments. In the (Sr − ln s) plane, the shift of the wetting
curve to the left when temperature increases is well
reproduced by the model. Figure 7 brings to light the
retention hysteresis in addition to the effect of den-
sity. Consequently, this means the denser the soil, the
higher the degree of saturation for a same suction.
The experimental paths followed in the results pre-
sented in Figure 8 may be separated in five steps
(Romero et al. 2004). (i) The heating phase induces
an elastic mechanical response of the bentonite (e.g
dilation). (ii) The wetting from a suction of 127 MPa
to 14 MPa produces swelling. (iii) The mechanical
load from 0.1 MPa to 5 MPa of net vertical stress
showing a progressive change of compression slope
mirrors an elasto-plastic behaviour. (iv) The wetting
until a suction of 0.1 MPa exhibits a combination
544
of elastic swelling and plastic collapse predicted by
ACMEG-TS. (v) Finally, the mechanical unloading
takes place elastically.
5 CONCLUSIONS
When a soil is simultaneously submitted to mechani-
cal, hydraulic and thermal variations, several coupling
effects are involved in its global THM response.
Those interactions have been presented here based
on experimental evidence and have been incorpo-
rated in a unified constitutive framework, so-called
ACMEG-TS, including two interconnected aspects.
A generalized effective stress expression is used as
a unique stress so as to convert a complex multi-
phase, multi-stress medium into a single mechanical
state. The advanced coupling between the air-entry
suction, the temperature and the dry density provides
further performance to the framework. In addition,
the double way coupling between the mechanical and
the retention responses including temperature effects
brings substantial advances in the field of constitu-
tive modelling of thermal effects in partially saturated
materials. Moreover, this theoretical and constitutive
approach has been compared with experimental results
through a set of numerical predictions which tend to
prove the accuracy of the developed model.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was partly supported by the Swiss State
Secretariat for Education and Research SER, Grants
OFES C04.0021.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40(3),
405–430.
Anders, G. & Radhakrishna, H. 1988. Computation of
temperature field and moisture content in the vicin-
ity of current carrying underground power cables. IEE
Proceedings, 51–62.
Bishop, A.W. 1959. The principle of effective stress. Tecnisk
Ukeblad, 39, 859–863.
Bishop, A.W. & Blight, G.E. 1963. Some aspects of effective
stress in saturated and unsaturated soils. Géotechnique,
13, 177–197.
Bolzon, G. & Schrefler, B.A. 2005. Thermal effects in par-
tially saturated soils: a constitutive model. International
Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geome-
chanics, 29(9), 861–877.
Brandl, H. 2006. Energy foundations and other thermo-active
ground structures. Géotechnique, 56(2), 81–122.
Dafalias, Y. & Herrmann, L. 1980. A bounding surface soil
plasticity model. International Symposium on soils under
Cyclic and Transient Loading, Swansea, 335–345.
Dusseault, M.B., Wang, Y. & Simmons, J.V. 1988. Induced
stresses near a fire flood front. AOSTRa Journal of
research, 4, 153–170.
François, B., Nuth, M. & Laloui, L. 2007. Mechanical consti-
tutive framework for thermal effects on unsaturated soils.
10th International Symposium on Numerical Models in
Geomechanics, NUMOG X, 9–13.
François, B. & Laloui, L. 2007. A stress-strain framework for
modelling the behaviour of unsaturated soils under non-
isothermal conditions. Springer proceedings in Physics
113, 119–125.
Gallipoli, D., Wheeler, S.J. & Karstunen, M. 2003. Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Géotechnique, 53(1), 105–112.
Gens, A. 1995. Constitutive laws. In Modern issues in non-
saturated soils, Springer, 129–158.
Gens, A. & Olivella, S. 2001. Clay Barrier in radioactive
waste disposal. R.F. Génie Civil, 5(6), 845–856.
Hujeux, J.C. 1979. Calcul numérique de problèmes de con-
solidation élastoplastique. PhD Thesis, Ecole Centrale de
Paris.
Khalili, N. & Loret, B. 2001. An elasto-plastic model for
non-isothermal analysis of flow and deformation in unsat-
urated porous media: formulation. International Journal
of Solids and Structures, 38, 8305–8330.
Laloui, L. & Cekerevac, C. 2003. Thermo-plasticity of
clays: An isotropic yield mechanism. Computer and
Geotechnics, 30, 649–660.
Laloui, L., Nuth, M. & Vulliet, L. 2006. Experimental
and numerical investigations of the behaviour of a heat
exchanged pile. International Journal for Numerical and
Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 30, 763–781.
Lloret, A., Romero, E. & Villar, M. 2004. FEBEX II Project:
Final report on thermo-hydro-mechanical laboratory tests.
Publicación técnica 10/2004, ENRESA.
Mandel, W. 1965. Généralisation de la théorie de Koiter.
International Journal of Solids and Structures, 1,
273–295.
545
Nuth, M. & Laloui, L. 2007a. New insight into the uni-
fied hydro-mechanical constitutive modeling of unsatu-
rated soils. Proceeding of the 3rd Asian Conference on
Unsaturated Soils, 109–126.
Nuth, M. & Laloui, L. 2007b. Effective stress concept in
unsaturated soils: Clarification and validation of a uni-
fied framework.’’ International Journal of Numerical and
Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. In press.
Prager, W. 1958. Non-isothermal plastic deformation.
Koninkklijk-Nederland Akademie Van Wetenschappen Te
Amsterdam—Proc. of the section of sciences-B, 61,
176–182.
Rizzi, E., Maier, G. & Willam, K. 1996. On failure indica-
tors in multi-dissipative materials. International Journal
of Solids and Structures, 33(20–22), 3187–3214.
Romero, E., Gens, A. & Lloret, A. 2001. Temperature
effects on the hydraulic behaviour of an unsaturated clay.
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 19, 311–332.
Romero, E., Villar, M.V. & Lloret, A. 2004. Thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of two heavily overconsolidated
clays. Engineering Geology, 81, 255–268.
Roscoe, K.H. & Burland, J.B. 1968. On the generalized
stress—strain behaviour of ‘‘wet’’ clay. In Engineer-
ing plasticity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
England, 535–609.
Salager, S., François, B., El Youssoufi, M.S., Laloui, L. &
Saix, C. 2008. Experimental investigations on temperature
and suction effects on mechanical behaviour of a sandy
silt. Soils and Foundations. Accepted for publication.
Schrefler, B.A. 1984. The finite element method in soil
consolidation (with applications to surface subsidence).
Ph.D. Thesis, University College of Swansea, C/Ph/76/84.
Vulliet, L., Laloui, L. & Schrefler, B.A. 2002. Environmental
geomechanics, EPFL Press, Lausanne.
Wu, W., Li, X., Charlier, R. & Collin, F. 2004. A thermo-
hydro-mechanical constitutive model and its numer-
ical modelling for unsaturated soils. Computer and
Geotechnics, 31, 155–167.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A thermomechanical framework for modeling the response

of unsaturated soils

S. Samat, J. Vaunat & A. Gens

Technical University of Catalonia UPC, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: Unsaturated soils present challenging aspects from constitutive modeling point of view
because stress-strain relationship have to include variables associated to the effect of air and water phase
and also to the interfaces between them. Most traditional constitutive models have considered the suction
(difference between air and water pressure) as an additional parameter that affects soil properties, as does,
for example a structuration parameter (Alonso et al. 1990). However there are now increasing evidence that
suction cannot be treated only as a parameter and that a comprehensive modeling of unsaturated materials
have to associate to it an extensive variable such that the product of this variable by suction enters as an
additional term in the energy balance of the triphasic medium (Houlsby 1997). In this paper, a model is
proposed to represent, in a thermomechanical approach the response of unsaturated soils under load and
suction changes. Energy concepts in triphasic medium are first revised and controlling variables defined
(Coussy 2004). They include strain ij , net stress σ defined as the difference of total stress and air pres-
sure, change in volumetric water content w and suction s. Relationship between s and w integrates the
hysteresis of the retention curve as a hydraulic elastoplastic mechanism. Particular attention is given to the
thermomechanical consistency of the generalized potentials associated to the model, with the objective to
propose a comprehensive and sound formulation of the effect of suction on the response of unsaturated materials.
Keywords: hyperporoplasticity, poromaterial, unsaturated soils, interface energy, shift stress, dissipation,
energy function.

1 INTRODUCTION hyperplasticity approach has been initiated by (Ziegler

In the present work a theoretical framework based
on thermodynamic principles is outlined as a general
approach to analyze the constitutive behavior of tripha-
sic media. The study of porous continua is still a theme
of debate due to the variety and complexity of coupled
physical phenomena that naturally appears. A very
deep physical study of this class of media has been per-
formed by (Coussy 2004; Coussy & Fleureau 2004),
mainly based on the pioneer works (Biot 1941; Biot
1977). The framework developed establishes a sepa-
ration concept of the phases solid-fluid, studying the
open system as an skeleton with porous voids and the
corresponding energies of interface. The study of con-
stitutive equations for fluid infiltrated porous solids is
performed based on thermodynamic principles com-
bining the first and second laws of thermodynamics
yields to the Clausius-Duhem inequality. The last one
becomes very important allowing the determination of
couple conjugate state variables which are energy con-
jugate, (Houlsby 1997; Coussy 2004). The approach
presented here is to start with thermodynamics poten-
tial and develop the plasticity model from them. This
1977) and so far extended by (Houlsby 1981; Collins
& Houlsby 1997; Puzrin & Houlsby 2001; Houlsby
& Puzrin 2006). The formulation proposed here under
the light of the previous mentioned is adequately called
‘‘hyperporoplasticity’’. The remaining part of the arti-
cle is organized in three sections: first the notation used
is established, secondly the thermodynamics basis for
triphasic media are described and finally the well
known model for unsaturated soils BMM, (Alonso
et al. 1990), is derived from thermodynamic potential
energy functions.
2 NOTATION AND TERMINOLOGY
Before continue further, the notation and terminology
used is presented in table 1.
3 THERMODYNAMICS OF TRIPHASIC MEDIA
By triphasic media we understand a continuum formed
by three components (porous skeleton, air and water)
the porous space becomes filled with two fluids so

547
Table 1. Terminology. The Clausius-Duhem equality for an isothermal
process can be written now using the energy function
u : specific internal energy function of the porous skeleton as
g : specific Gibbs energy function
f : specific Helmholtz energy function σij d ij + pl dφl + pg dφg − dfs = 0 (4)
gs : Gibbs energy func. of the skeleton
fs : Helmholtz energy func. of the skeleton where is important to notice that apart from the
d : dissipation function energy of the solid matrix, the energy corresponding
σij , p : stress tensor and pore pressure to the interfaces, fluid-fluid and solid-fluid, is consid-
ij , φ : strain tensor and porosity ered. The state equations obtained by derivation of eq.
mf : fluids concentrations [4] are expressed as
T : temperature
s : entropy σij = ∂ ij fs ; pl = ∂φl fs ; pg = ∂φg fs (5)
αij , αp : kinematic internal variables
χij , χp : generalized stress tensors The Clausius-Duhem inequality is the cornerstone
ρij , ρp : shift stress tensors of any energy approach to the constitutive equations of
fy : yield function materials allowing the determination of adequate con-
p
ij , φ p : plastic strain and porosity tensors jugate variables (Houlsby 1997; Coussy 2004; Laloui
Eχ : generalized poroelastic domain et al. 2003) and can be expressed as
φo : Lagrangian porosity
pl , pg : liquid and gas fluid pressures σij d ij + pl dφl + pg dφg − dfs ≥ 0 (6)
φl , φg : liquid and gas current porosities
ϕl , ϕg : liquid and gas lagrangian porosities Using the relations φl = φ0 Sl +ϕl , φg = φ0 Sg +ϕg ,
Sg , Sl : saturation degree of gas and liquid phases 1 = Sl + Sg , jj = ϕl + ϕg where φo stands for the
fm : Helmholtz energy of the solid matrix initial porosity, and replacing them in eq. [6], after
fI : interface energy function some algebraic steps, one arrives to
g
fs : energy function of unsat. soil skeleton
(σij d ij + pg dϕg ) + pl dϕl − (pg − pl )φo dSl − dfs ≥ 0
(7)

that the material is said to be unsaturated. The inter- Considering the incompressibility of the solid
nal energy of the porous continua admits as natural matrix eq. [7] yields
arguments ij , mfα , s, αij , αp , then we can write
(σij + pl δij )d ij − (pg − pl )(Sl d jj − φo dSl ) − dfs ≥ 0
(8)
u = u( ij , mfα , s, αij , αp ) (1)
The term Sl d jj − φo dSl = d w is called the
hydraulic strain and is used when the net stress is
where ij is the strain tensor, mfα is the mass con- adopted as state stress variable to model partially sat-
centration of fluids, αij and αp are internal kinematic urated soils. The last set of conjugate variables has
variables. In eq. [1] the thermohydromechanical cou- been used by (Vaunat & Romero 2000) to develop a
plings associated with the surface tension or energy hydromechanical model based on BBM, (Alonso et al.
related to each fluid-fluid or fluid-solid are introduced. 1990). For isothermal process and using the first and
The Helmholtz free energy of the porous continua second laws of thermodynamics the increment of fs is
f = u − T s becomes
dfs = σij d ij + pl dϕl + pg dϕg − Tdsi (9)
f = f ( ij , mfα , T , αij , αp ) (2)
where dsi is the irreversible part of the rate of
entropy production within a material element. The last
The porous skeleton Helmholtz energy function equation can be rearranged to give
(Coussy 2004) obtained extracting the mass concen-
tration of fluids fs = f − mfα gfα , becomes a function σij d ij + pl dϕl + pg dϕg = dfs + d (10)
of the arguments
On the other hand, an evolution of the Helmholtz
skeleton energy can be obtained differentiating eq. [3]
fs = fs ( ij , φ, T , αij , αp ) (3) with respect to its variables

548
 p p
dfs = ∂ ij fs d ij + ∂ϕl fs dϕl + ∂ϕg fs dϕg function of the skeleton gs (σij , s, ij , w ) can be written
as, (Collins & Houlsby 1997),
+ ∂αij fs dαij + ∂αp fs dαp (11)

Now, comparing eq. [10] and eq. [11] we have gs = −[gm1 (σij ) + gc1 (σij , s) + φo gI1 (s)]
p
+(σij ij + s wp )
d = Tdsi = −∂αij fs dαij − ∂αp fs dαp
p p
−[gm2 ( ij ) + gc2 ( ij , so ) + φo gI2 (so )] (17)
= χij dαij + χp dαp (12)

where χij and χp are called dissipative or general- where gm correspond to the energy of the matrix, gI
ized stresses and can be obtained as is the interface energy, gc correspond to the coupling
energy and so is the hardening parameter of the suction
χij = −∂αij fs ; χp = −∂αp fs (13) curve.

For decoupled poromaterials the Helmholtz free

energy of the skeleton fs ( ij , φ, αij , αp ) takes the form
5 BARCELONA BASIC MODEL—BBM
fs = fs1 ( ij − αij , φ − αp ) + fs2 (αij , αp ) (14) 5.1 Hyperporoelastic potential functions
For a porous material the stresses relating the gen- The performance of the model derived from hyper-
eralized and true stresses are the back or shift stresses poroplastic principles is obtained starting with the
determined as proposed potential energy functions, which in general
form is eq. [17]. Before continuing further the notation
ρij = σij − χij = ∂αij fs2 ; ρp = p − χp = ∂αp fs2 used is summarized in a table.
where ICL and NCL are the isotropic compression
(15)
line and normal compression line respectively. For the
elastic case, the Gibbs free energy function of the
skeleton gs1 (p, q, s) can be explicitly expressed as
4 INTERFACE ENERGY—SUCTION CURVE
     
Several kinds of curves representing the relationships p s + pat
between the water content and suction (pg − pl ) have gs1 = −κ ∗ p ln − 1 − κ ∗
s p ln
pc pat
been proposed. For the non-deformable and isothermal
case ij = 0 and φ = φo and T = 0 the state equation q2
− − gI1 (s) (18)
reduces to 6G

s = ∂ w fs ( w ) = ∂ w fI ( w ) (16)
Table 2. Notation.
where fI is the interface energy function. The rela-
tionship from eq. [16] shows clear hysteretic behavior p : mean net stress
s : suction
under non-monotonic flow conditions. In fact when a
q : deviatoric stress
sample of porous material is subjected to a wetting- v : volumetric strain
drying cycle, a hysteresis loop is observed so that w : hydraulic strain
the link between suction and degree of saturation is s : deviatoric strain
not one-to-one. A model proposed by (Wheeler et al. κ∗ : slope of ICL in plane v − ln (p)
2003) for the suction curve approximate its smooth κs∗ : slope of elastic branch in plane w − ln (p)
nature by two straight lines with slopes κω∗ for the elas- pc : reference pressure
tic path and λ∗ω for the plastic one and will be used pat : atmospheric pressure
further. An advanced and more realistic assumption κω∗ : slope of the scanning curves
G : shear modulus
is to introduce explicitly a dependence of the suction
λ∗(s) : slope of NCL at suction s
curve on the porous volume, allowing to rewrite the
λ∗s : inelastic branch in plane w − ln (p)
interface energy function as fI = fI (Sl , φ). Coussy λ∗ω : main wett-dry curves plane w − ln (s)
(2004) shows that the latter relation can be expressed e : void ratio
after a dimensional and mathematical analysis as fI = fy
LC
: loading-collapse yield surface
φ − 3 fI φ (Sl ). For the case of decoupled poromaterials
1
So
f y : suction increase-decrease yield loci (o = I − D)
and under isothermal conditions, the Gibbs free energy

549
 From eq. [18] the hydraulic strain w derived using an appropriate potential energy function to tackle this
the state equation w = −∂s gs1 will take the form phenomenon. The Legendre transformation becomes
a central tool in hyperporoplastic approach, because it
p allows a great number of possibles formulations inter-
w = −∂s gs1 = κs∗ + gI1 (s) (19)
s + pat changing extensive variables by the intensive ones.
Applying a partial Legendre transformation to eq. [20]
The interface energy function gI1 (s) can be defined for the case of isothermal poromaterial expressed as
explicitly using for example the model proposed by
(Wheeler et al. 2003). The Gibbs energy function of fsg1 = gs1 + p v + q s (24)
the skeleton gs (p, q, s) which includes the interface
energy gI (s) can be expressed as and eliminating p and q through eq. [23] a more
      convenient energy function is obtained
p s + pat
gs1 = −κ ∗ p ln − 1 − κ ∗
s p ln   3
pc fsg1 = κ ∗ pc exp ∗s + G s2 − κω∗ (s + pat )
pat v
    κ 2
q 2
s + pat    
− − κω∗ (s + pat ) ln −1 s + pat
6G pat × ln −1 (25)
pat
(20)
From eq. [25] the conjugate variables are obtained
By differentiation of the eq. [20], the expressions by using the corresponding state equations
for the strain state variables becomes
     
vs
p s + pat p = pc exp
v = −∂p gs1 = κ ∗ ln + κ ∗
s ln κ∗
pc pat    
  κs∗ pc s + pat
exp ∗s + κω∗ ln
v
p s + pat w =
w = −∂s gs1 = κs∗ + κω∗ ln s + pat κ pat
s + pat pat
q = 3G s (26)
q
s = −∂q gs1 = (21)
3G and the stiffness matrix modulus is derived by double
The compliance modulus is obtained by double differentiation of eq. [22]
differentiation of eq. [20] as g
 
vs
Cfs = pc exp
⎡κ ∗
κs∗ ⎤ κ∗
0 ⎡ 1 κs∗ ⎤
⎢ p s + pat ⎥
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ κ∗ κ∗ (s + pat )
0
⎥
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎢ κs∗ κs∗ p κω∗ ⎥ ×⎢ κs∗ κs∗ ⎥
D =⎢
gs
− − 0 ⎥ ⎣ β 0 ⎦
⎢ s + pat (s + pat ) 2 s + pat ⎥ κ ∗ (s + pat ) (s + pat )
⎢ ⎥
⎣ ⎦ 0 0 3G
1
0 0 (27)
3G
(22)
where β = κs∗ /(κ ∗ (s + pat )) + κω∗ /κs∗ .
From equation [21a], it is possible to extract the
mean net stress and the deviatoric stress as 5.2 Trapped energy—hardening plasticity
⎛  ⎞
v − κs∗ ln s+p at
  The coupled behavior between the mechanical and
⎠ = pc exp vs
p
p = pc exp ⎝ the hydraulic phases in a partially saturated media
at

κ ∗ κ∗ extends over more than the elastic stage, providing a

cross hardening of the corresponding loading surfaces
S LC
q = 3G s (23) (f y O, f y ) once the plastic stage has been reached.
p p p  p
These coupled plastic works, Wv w and Ww v
where vs = v − κs∗ ln((s + pat )/pat ). In unsat- are considered to contribute to the trapped (or stored)
urated soils, an important issue that always makes energy recoverable in a reversible loading process (not
the computations more complex is the mixed control dissipative). The comprehension of this physical phe-
that naturally arise from the suction control of the nomena allows to write the energy function of the
test. Because of this fact, it is of interest to obtain skeleton gs2 (po , so ) in the form

550
    
1 ∗  po
gs2 = − λ(s) − κ ∗ po ln − 1 Using the complementary state equations it is
2 pc possible to derive the shift or back stresses as
 
  so + pat  
− λ∗s − κs∗ po ln − λ∗ω − κω∗ ρp = ∂ vp f2 ;
g
ρs = −∂so f2
g
(34)
pat
   
so + pat that are written explicitly as
× (so + pat ) ln −1 (28)
pat  
p
1 c vs
As before, it is possible to obtain
g p
fs2 ( v , so ) from ρp = p exp
2 λ∗(s) − κ ∗
gs2 (po , so ) as
 
  so + pat
fsg2 vp , so = −gs2 (po , so ) + po vp (29) ρs = −(λ∗ω − κω∗ ) ln
pat
 
from where it is possible to extract po as 1 λ∗s − κs∗ c
p
vs
  + p exp (35)
p 2 so + pat λ∗(s) − κ ∗
vs
po = p exp
c
(30)
λ∗(s) − κ ∗ g
The translation matrix modulus R fs giving the
translation rule between the generalized stress space
where vs = v − (λ∗s − κs∗ ) ln((so + pat )/pat ).
p p
(χ -space) and the true stress space (σ -space) is
Replacing eq. [30] in eq. [29] the conjugate function g
g p obtained by double differentiation of f2 and is writ-
fs2 ( v , so ) becomes
ten as
 p

∗ ∗ c vs g po
fs2 = (λ(s) − κ )p exp ∗
g
+ (λ∗ω − κω∗ ) R fs =
λ(s) − κ ∗ (so + pat )
    ⎡ (s + p ) −(λ∗s − κs∗ ) ⎤
so + pat o at
0
× (so + pat ) ln −1 (31) ⎢ 2(λ∗(s) − κ ∗ ) 2(λ∗(s) − κ ∗ ) ⎥
pat ⎢ ⎥
×⎢ ∗
⎢ −(λs − κs )
∗
λ∗ω − κω∗ (λ∗s − κs∗ )2 ⎥
⎣ 2(λ∗ − κ ∗ ) − 0⎥
2(λ∗(s) − κ ∗ )so ⎦
g
Finally the energy function fs is expressed with all (s) po
its terms as 0 0 0
 p (36)
vs − v 3
fsg = κ ∗ pc exp − gI1 (s) + G( s − sp )2
κ∗ 2
 p

vs 6 DISSIPATION AND YIELD FUNCTION
∗ ∗ c
− s w + (λ(s) − κ )p exp ∗
p
+ gI2 (so )
λ(s) − κ ∗ The second required function to completely define the
(32) hydromechanical model for the fluid infiltrated porous
material is the dissipation energy which is an homo-
where gI1 (s) and gI2 (so ) represents the parts of the geneous function on the rate of plasticstrains and also
p p
g
energy function fs corresponding to the interface depends on the internal variables, d χπo , d v , d s .
energy. Explicitly eq. [32] becomes This function takes the form, (Moradessi et al. 1994;
Houlsby 1981)
 p
vs − v 3
fsg = κ ∗ pc exp + G( s − sp )2 d LC = χπo (s, vp )[(d vp )2 + M 2 (d sp )2 ]1/2
κ∗ 2 (37)
   
s + pat
− κω∗ (s + pat ) ln − 1 − s wp From eq. [37] the yield locus is obtain as a
pat degenerate case of Legendre transformation,
 p

∗ ∗ c vs
+ (λ(s) − κ )p exp ∗ χπ2 χ2
+ 2τ 2 = 1
LC
λ(s) − κ ∗ fy : (38)
χπ o
2 M χπ o
   
so + pat
+ (λ∗ω − κω∗ ) (so + pat ) ln −1 when eq. [38] is transformed to true stress space
pat
by using the standard shift stresses the resulting yield
(33) condition is

551
 Dissipative Stress Space
True Stress Space between the true stresses and the dissipative ones
through the back or shift stresses. The latter is phys-
ically derived from the fact that not all plastic work
is dissipated but trapped (or stored) as plastic energy.
Finally a modified version of BBM has been derive
within the framework of hyperporoplasticity.

REFERENCES

Alonso, E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. (1990). A constitutive

Figure 1. Yield surface transformation. model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40,
No.3, (405–430).
Biot, M. (1941). General theory of three dimensional con-
solidation. Journal of applied physics, No. 12, 155–164.
 p 2 Biot, M. (1977). Variational Lagrangian-thermodynamics of
o
p− − ps q2 non isothermal finite strain. Mechanics of porous solid
yLC 2 +
f :  p 2  p 2 = 1 and thermomolecular diffusion. International journal of
o o solids and structures No. 12, 579–597.
M2
2 2 Collins, I. & Houlsby, G. (1997). Application of thermo-
(39) mechanical principles to the modelling of geotechnical
materials. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 453, 1975–2001.
Eqs. [33] and [38] indicate that the plastic yielding Coussy, O. (2004). Poromechanics. John wiley & Sons, Ltd.
at the suction changes does not contribute to the plastic Coussy, O. & Fleureau, J. (2004). Méchanique des sols non
saturés. John wiley & Sons, Ltd.
dissipation but only to the plastic work (Sheng et al.
Houlsby, G. (1981). A study of plasticity theories and their
2004). This means that all plastic work associated with applicability to soils. Cambridge University, PhD. Thesis.
p
a plastic increment of the hydraulic strain dw is stored Houlsby, G. (1997). The work input for an unsaturated
and can be recovered during a reverse plastic incre- granular material. Géotechnique 47, No. 1, (193–196).
ment of saturation. This fact confirms the yield loci Houlsby, G. & Puzrin, A. (2006). Principles of Hyperplas-
S S
fy D, fy I , ticity. Springer.
Laloui, L., Klubertanz, G. & Vulliet, L. (2003). Solidliquid-
So air coupling in multiphase porous media. International
fy : = χs = w − ρs = 0 → o = I , D (40) Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geome-
chanics, v27-3, (183–206).
The resulting elastic domain and the corresponding Moradessi, H., Laloui, L. & Aubry, D. (1994). Ther-
yield functions for the modified BBM are shown in modynamical approach for camclay-family models with
fig. [1]. Roscoe-type dilatancy rules. Int. J. Num. Analyt. Meth.
Geomech. 18, (133–138).
Puzrin, A.M. & Houlsby, G.T. (2001). Fundamentals of kine-
matic hardening hyperplasticity. Int. J. Solids Struct. 38,
7 CONCLUDING REMARKS
(3771–3794).
Sheng, D., Sloan, S.W. & Gens, A. (2004). A consti-
A thermomechanical approach to derive unsaturated tutive model for unsaturated soils: thermomechanical
soil models in agreement with thermodynamics princi- and comutational aspects. Computational Mechanics,
ples has been presented. With regard to the mechanical (31–44).
behavior of porous material the existence of the inter- Vaunat, J. & Romero, E. (2000). An elastoplastic hydrome-
face energy between the components phases (solid, air, chanical model for unsaturated soils. Proc. Int.Work. on
water) has been considered. Thus, starting by propos- Unsaturated Soils, Trento-Italy, (121–138).
ing potential energy functions, Gibbs or Helmholtz Wheeler, S., Sharma, R.S. & Buison, M.S.R. (2003). Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress—strain behaviour
energy and the dissipation energy, a complete elasto-
in unsaturated soils. Géotechnique 53, No. 1, 41–54.
plastic model can be derived. The hyperporoplas- Ziegler, H. (1977). An Introduction to Thermomechanics.
tic approach gives rise to the fundamental relation North-Holland, Amsterdam.

552
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Discussion on meta-stable equilibrium in unsaturated soils

E.J. Murray
Murray Rix Geotechnical, Warwickshire, UK

B.J. Murray
School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, UK

V. Sivakumar
Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT: A discussion is presented on meta-stable equilibrium and the significance in interpreting the
behaviour of unsaturated soils. The paper brings together examples of thermal, mechanical and chemical meta-
stable conditions to illustrate the problem in terms of thermodynamics. The arguments are extended to describe
collapse and hysteresis mechanisms in unsaturated soils and the critical state strength on the transition between
unsaturated and saturated conditions.

1 THE THERMODYNAMIC POTENTIAL The three conjugate paired intensive variables (T ,

The principles of thermodynamics can be used to
examine many aspects of material behaviour. This
includes equilibrium and meta-stable equilibrium,
numerous examples of which can be found in chem-
istry or physics. Under meta-stable equilibrium a
material or system is not at its lowest possible thermo-
dynamic potential. The system is likely to change to a
lower potential state following some perturbation and
given sufficient time. The conditions necessary for a
meta-stable state are: (i) there must be a lower potential
state; and (ii) mechanisms through which this meta-
stable state may relax to a more stable state must be
inhibited. Changes of phase between solid, liquid and
gas provide the most frequent examples of meta-stable
states but the thermodynamic potential and its min-
imisation is not just dictated by thermal and chemical
change.
A standard presentation of the thermodynamic
potential in terms of the internal energy U is given
in Equation 1:
U = TS − pV + μi mi (1)
where,
T is absolute temperature
S is entropy
p is pressure
V is volume
μi is the chemical potential
mi mass
p and μi ) and extensive variables (S, V and m) on the
right of Equation 1 represent the heat, mechanical and
chemical potentials respectively. The significance of
the extensive variables is that they are additive. Thus
the total volume of a multi-phase material, such as an
unsaturated soil, may be written as the sum of the vol-
umes of the individual phases. In unsaturated soils the
total volume is given by addition of the volumes of the
air, water and solid phases (if the volumes of the inter-
actions such as the contractile skin are included within
the phase volumes). The paired intensive and extensive
variables in Equation 1 are also extensive quantities.
Thus the total chemical potential is often represented,
as in Equation 1, by the summed potentials of the
individual chemical potentials.
While other potentials such as electrical or mag-
netic potentials can exist, the discussion is restricted to
those in Equation 1. The various additive components
of the thermodynamic potential will each tend to min-
imise at ‘equilibrium’, whether this is a true minimum
equilibrium condition or a meta-stable equilibrium
condition.
The temperature T , pressure p and chemical poten-
tial μi may be thought of as intensive ‘forces’, which
drive changes in the extensive entropy S, volume V
and chemical mass mi respectively. Thus a small incre-
mental change in the energy of a thermodynamic
system may be expressed as the sum of the products
of the intensive ‘forces’ and the generalized exten-
sive ‘displacements’. Imbalance in the ‘forces’ causes
‘displacement’ and the products of the conjugate pairs
given in the following equation is the total energy

553
transfer for the condition where S, V and mi are the
variables of state.
dU = TdS − pdV + μi dmi
Equation 2 is the differential form of the ther-
modynamic potential Equation 1 for infinitesimal
changes.
2 META-STABLE EQUILIBRIUM
There are physical and chemical phenomena where
analogous behaviour can be used to explain the under-
lying concepts. A simple mechanical analogy of a
potential and its minimization is illustrated in Figure 1
where a ball is shown rolling down a valley side. The
ball at A has a tendency to reduce its potential energy
to a minimum value, which within the defined system
is at D in the valley bottom. The potential energy for
a ball of given mass is dictated by its height above the
valley floor. The significance of the minimization of
the thermodynamic potential for a soil is that equilib-
rium conditions are established and the potential of
the soil system comprising the particles, water and
air achieves a minimum under this equilibrium state.
However, achieving an absolute minimum potential is
‘easier said than done’. Conditions can arise where a
meta-stable equilibrium is established where an abso-
lute minimum potential is not achieved as can be
explained by again examining Figure 1.
As the ball rolls down the valley side it is possible
that a ledge (Position B) prevents the ball rolling down
to the valley bottom, without some other factor agitat-
ing the ball in order for it to pass over the lip of the
ledge at Point C, to the more stable state at D. Point
B represents a position of meta-stable equilibrium as
a lower equilibrium potential exists within the system.
The lip at C represents an ‘energy barrier’ preventing
the ball from achieving a minimum potential state.
The phase changes of water present readily appreci-
ated meta-stable conditions. Consider the case where
A
decreasing
Elevation
potential
C at the extremes of mechanical change in soils. Such
B behaviour is considered true of unsaturated soils at the
D various degrees of stability. In fact, while stable con-
Figure 1. Analogy of ball rolling down valley side.
water is contained in a beaker and heated in a
microwave. The water may not change to vapour at its
boiling point of 100◦ C if the water is ‘clean’ as nucle-
(2) ation of the vapour phase is inhibited. When water
exists at ambient pressure but at a temperature above
100◦ C, it is said to be in a superheated state. If this
meta-stable water is agitated, possibly by the introduc-
tion of a solid substance, such as coffee, nucleation to
the vapour phase occurs and the liquid suddenly boils
as the superheated liquid changes to a vapour phase.
Accidental superheating of a liquid is best avoided for
safety reasons (Erné, 2000).
At the other extreme of freezing it is interesting
to draw on the contents of a letter written by Joseph
Black (Professor of Chemistry in Edinburgh) in 1775
to Sir John Pringle. In the letter the writer describes
some crude experiments of the freezing of water: (i) of
water initially boiled then cooled to room temperature;
and (ii) of water thawed from snow to room tempera-
ture. Separate cups of boiled and unboiled water were
placed outside under freezing conditions. The boiled
water froze readily and the unboiled water remained
fluid. However, on agitation with a toothpick, the
unboiled water also froze. Drawing on earlier work
by Fahrenheit, who found that boiled water placed in
glass globes purged of air did not freeze at tempera-
tures some degrees below the normal freezing point, he
described how Fahrenheit found that the supercooled
water suddenly froze on agitation or exposure to air.
Black (1775) argued that since one effect of boiling
water was to expel the air, which it naturally contained,
then as soon as the water cooled it began to absorb
air again over a period of time; and the air entering
the boiled water provided sufficient agitation to the
water to facilitate passing over the energy barrier and
freezing.
The examples of meta-stable superheated and
supercooled water illustrate that the creation of a new
phase involves an interface, which in many situations
costs energy and gives rise to an energy barrier to the
formation of the new phase, analogous to the energy
barrier at Point C in Figure 1. The examples also illus-
trate that substances under meta-stable conditions can
experience dramatic change if a mechanism for change
exists. The phase changes of water are driven by
heat and chemical potentials. But the thermodynamic
potential of Equation 1 also includes a mechanical
potential term (pV) and there is no reason to sup-
pose that similar abrupt energy changes will not occur
extremes of near-saturation and very dry conditions.
Some caution must however be exercised as the
occurrence of meta-stable conditions may represent
ditions may be perceived to exist, gradual changes
may actually be taking place. Consider the nucleation
554
of gas bubbles in water and their attachment to the
sides of a container. The bubbles may be perceived as
attaining meta-stable equilibrium and only with some
other influencing factor is a lower potential achiev-
able by agitation of the bubbles allowing them to rise
through the liquid. However, the growth and decay
of gas bubbles (Keller, 1964), particularly within the
void spaces of soils, is complex (Murray, 2002) and the
rate of expansion and decay of the volume of free air
is likely to influence the perceived equilibrium con-
ditions. Bardon and Sides (1967) concluded that in
unsaturated soils there is evidence that equilibrium in
terms of Henry’s law may require a considerable time
interval, far greater than in the absence of soil particles.
3 MINIMISATION OF THE POTENTIAL
Enthalpy, H , acts as the potential for work for a system
at constant pressure (Callen, 1965) and is given by:
H = pV + U (3)
The Enthalpy Minimum Principle means that the
mechanical equilibrium of a specimen in the triax-
ial cell under constant pressure is controlled by the
minimization of the enthalpy which acts as the ther-
modynamic potential. This is true not just for isotropic
loading conditions. As shown by Murray and Brown
(2006), under anisotropic stress condition p is the
mean stress, which complies with the term pV being
an extensive quantity.
Consistent with the minimization of the total
enthalpy of a soil system at equilibrium is the min-
imization of the individual components of the total
enthalpy. This is the same as saying that the stresses
and pressures within the soil system will adjust to
achieve a minimum energy condition. A more com-
plete statement would be ‘the stresses adjust to a
minimum under the volumetric restrictions’ as it is
necessary to allow for meta-stable equilibrium of the
soil particle structure. There could be a lower thermo-
dynamic potential and reduced stresses and pressures
associated with a redistribution of the particles. The
analogy of a ball on a ledge on the valley side may again
be drawn on. The ball is in meta-stable equilibrium on
the ‘ledge’ but could achieve a lower potential if it
were to roll down the slope to the valley bottom. This
might correspond to collapse of a soil structure. At
the ledge, the components of the soil system minimise
their potential within the confines of the system.
4 STAGED CHANGES
As discussed by Mullen (2001), in the early part
of the 19th century several researchers made the
555
experimental observation that some aqueous solutions
of inorganic salts, when cooled rapidly, first deposited
crystals of a less stable form than that which normally
crystallises. Ostwald (1897) attempted to generalize
this sort of behaviour by propounding a ‘rule of stages’
which Mullen states as:
‘An unstable system does not necessarily change
directly into the most stable state, but into one
which most closely resembles its own, i.e. into
another transient state whose formation from the
original is accompanied by the smallest loss of
free energy.’
This quote succinctly summarises the law of stages
and also hints at a physical explanation for it. If the
transitions to lower energy states are governed by
energy barriers then the height of these energy bar-
riers will necessarily govern the rate at which the new
states form. Hence, the state that forms from a meta-
stable state is governed not by thermodynamics, but
by kinetics (the kinetic rate being defined as the rate
of change from one state to another). In many circum-
stances the energy barrier will be much smaller, and
kinetics faster, for the transition to some intermedi-
ate state that more closely resembles the initial state.
A good example of this is the formation of ice crystals
from cold supersaturated water vapour. In an elegant
experiment, Huang and Bartell (1995) cooled water
vapour very rapidly in a jet expansion and at 200 K
clusters of molecules formed. At this low temperature
the thermodynamically most stable phase of the clus-
ters is ice, however they demonstrated that liquid water
droplets initially formed and only at some finite time
later did these droplets then relax to form crystalline
ice. In fact, when ice did form it did so in a meta-stable
cubic form rather than the more stable hexagonal form
and only at some later stage did the cubic ice particles
relaxed to hexagonal ice.
It is worth noting that such phase transformations
can take protracted periods of time and meta-stable
states can appear to be the most stable state (Murray
and Bertram, 2006; Murray et al. 2005).
A similar cascade through a sequence of meta-
stable states may occur as soils relax. For instance
in soils that are subject to collapse, there are a num-
ber of interacting factors including the interparticle
stresses, the re-orientation of soil particles (or aggre-
gates of particles) and the movement of water and air
within void spaces that are changing anisotropically.
The interplay between these factors may lead to the
formation of meta-stable states which form more read-
ily that the most stable state. Only given enough time
and sufficient disturbance may the most stable state be
obtained.
5 HYSTERESIS AND COLLAPSE IN SOILS
The dependence of soil behaviour on stress history is
apparent in moisture characteristic curves obtained on
wetting and drying. On desaturation of a fine-grained
soil, an aggregated structure results as air begins to fill
the larger void spaces, with water filling the smaller
intra-aggregate pore spaces with a small amount of
water remaining at the inter-aggregate contact points.
The aggregated structure persists during subsequent
wetting and drying. Only if the soil is wetted and
sufficiently agitated would it be possible to restore a
dispersed soil structure.
Wheeler et al. (2003) describe the existence of bulk
water within the water-filled voids and meniscus water
at the inter-particle contacts around air-filled voids.
The bulk water complies with the water retained within
the smaller intra-aggregate pores of fine-grained soils
and the meniscus water complies with the water at the
points of contact between the aggregations. The suc-
tion within the bulk water influences the normal and
tangential forces at particle contacts whereas the suc-
tion within the meniscus water influences only the nor-
mal forces at inter-particle or inter-aggregate contacts.
Wheeler et al. (2003) link the irreversibility during
wetting and drying, and the onset of plastic defor-
mations at suctions below suction levels previously
experienced, with hydraulic hysteresis forces arising
from the bulk and meniscus water. This gives rise to
not only hysteresis but a plastic creep phenomenon
during repeated wetting and drying.
It is interesting to re-examine the results of a
suction-controlled oedometer test on highly expansive
clay reported by Alonso et al. (1995). The results
are presented as Figure 2. During the first wetting
path C1 , initial swelling was followed by collapse
compression as the suction was progressively reduced.
The plot shows significant irreversible components
of compression during subsequent drying-stages of
wetting-drying cycles C2 to C5 . The phenomenon of
Figure 2. Wetting-drying cycles performed on Boom clay
under oedometer conditions (Alonso et al. 1995).
556
collapse is consistent with an abrupt energy change
from a meta-stable to a more stable, lower potential
state. The subsequent phenomenon of hysteresis and
plastic irreversible strains are consistent with meta-
stable conditions and the soil not necessarily changing
directly into the most stable state. The soil exhibits a
staged transition analogous to the transient meta-stable
phases observed by Ostwald (1897). Mathematical
models of soils must take into consideration these
meta-stable states in addition to considering the most
thermodynamically favourable state.
6 CRITICAL STATE STRENGTH
OF UNSATURATED SOILS
For saturated soils the deviator stress, q, at critical state
is given by:
q = M (p − uw ) (4)
where
M is the stress ratio parameter
q = (σ1 − σ3 )
p = (σ1 + 2σ3 )/3
uw is the pore water pressure
σ1 and σ3 are the axial and radial total stresses in a
triaxial cell test
This is based on the effective stress being the con-
trolling stress state variable. However, in unsaturated
soils it is necessary to take account of the dual stress
regime. Murray (2002), Murray & Sivakumar (2005)
and Murray & Sivakumar (2006) derive the follow-
ing equation for the stress state in an unsaturated soil,
based on enthalpy being an extensive thermodynamic
variable:
vw
pc = (p − ua ) + s (5)
v
where,
pc is the mean coupling stress
ua is the pore air pressure
vw is the specific water volume
v is the specific volume
s = (ua − uw ) is the matric suction
The results of triaxial shearing tests on unsaturated
kaolin (LL 70%, PL 34%, clay content 80%) tested
to the critical state (Wheeler & Sivakumar, 1995) are
plotted in Figure 3. The critical state results lie close
to a unique line given by the following equation:
  
q p
= Ma c − 1 +  (6)
s s
! !
where  is the intercept on the q s axis at pc s = 1.
 3.0
Ma
2.5
2.0
1
M
q/s
1.5
1.0 M = 0.84
= 0.6
0.5
0 0.7
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
p'c/s
Figure 3. q/s against pc /s
for unsaturated conditions and
q against (p − uw ) for saturated conditions.
Substituting for pc from Eq. (5) gives
q = Ma ( p − ua ) + Mb s
where,
"v # ber of other tests and on a range of materials confirm
Mb = Ma
w
−1 +
v It is instructive to examine Equation 3 for enthalpy
Ma and Mb are the net stress and suction stress ratios
respectively.
Equation 7 is in a similar form to that suggested by
Toll (1990) and Toll & Ong (2003). In their analysis it
is assumed that there is a smooth transition of critical
state strength from unsaturated to saturated conditions
and accordingly Ma and Mb vary with suction with the
condition Ma = Mb = M at saturation. The derivation
given above of Equation 7 does not rely on this assump-
tion and Ma is shown experimentally in Figure! 3 to
be constant, with Mb varying linearly with vw v as
in Fig. 4. Decreasing Mb is consistent with the water
phase being drawn back into the finer pores in the soil
aggregations.
Toll (1990, 2003) suggested that the packets of
aggregated particles in an unsaturated soil act like large
particles that are maintained by the suction and are
not easily broken down or destroyed even at shearing
to the critical state. If an aggregated structure were to
be maintained on saturation of a soil specimen, Equa-
tion 7 indicates that the deviator stress would be given
by q = Ma (p − uw ). The value of Ma from Figure 3
is 0.86 which is greater than M = 0.82 for a satu-
rated soil. The difference though small is important
and reflects the difference in the particle structure or
soil fabric. The aggregated particle structure gives rise
to a greater stress ratio parameter. As suggested by
Murray (2002), under shearing to the critical state
the aggregated structure in unsaturated soils is only
Ma
Suction stress ratios Ma and Mb
0.8
0.6
Ma
0.4
Mb
0.2 = 0.6
0.8 0.9 1
4 vw/v
Figure 4. Plots of Ma and Mb against vw /v for kaolin.
likely to break down to a more dispersed structure
at low values of suction and there is a discontinu-
ity, or abrupt energy change, between saturated and
(7) unsaturated conditions. No obvious breakdown of the
aggregate structure during shearing is indicated for
suctions even below 100 kPa. Results of a large num-
the relationships.
where the isotropic pressure p is replaced by the mean
stress. The equation may be written as:
1
H= (σ1 + 2σ3 ) V + U
3
1
= (σ1 − σ3 ) V + σ3 V + U (8)
3
Thus for a givenσ3 , the potential given by H for
a pressure controlled system is a minimum when
q = (σ1 − σ3 ) is a minimum. If the suction is not
sufficient to hold the aggregation of particles together
under shearing, they are likely to break down to form
a more dispersed structure and give a lower shearing
resistance at critical state.
The transition of critical state strength from unsatu-
rated to saturated conditions is thus seen as exhibiting
phenomenon consistent with meta-stable conditions
previously discussed. There is an energy barrier which
has to be overcome by shearing in order to break
down the aggregated soil structure to the more sta-
ble lower potential, lower strength state, of a dispersed
soil structure. It is not clear from available evidence
whether this is in stages but further investigation at low
values of suction would shed light on the behavioural
trends.
557
7 CONCLUSIONS
Unsaturated soils exhibit meta-stable conditions which
can lead to abrupt changes such as collapse settle-
ment. They also exhibit hysteresis in the moisture
characteristic curves and plastic deformations below
the previous maximum stress level consistent with a
staged change to a lower potential. There are a number
of interacting factors affecting the rate, magnitude and
degree of change in any specific test. These including
the interparticle stresses, the re-orientation of soil par-
ticles (or aggregates of particles) and the movement
of water and air within void spaces. Stress history and
anisotropy of the soil affect the starting conditions and
will also play a major role.
The transition of critical state strength from unsat-
urated to saturated conditions also exhibits abrupt
changes as a result of soil fabric changes from an
aggregated to a more dispersed soil structure, and
the soil endeavouring to relax to a lower, more sta-
ble, potential state. It is argued that the suction acts as
an ‘energy barrier’ to the changes.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Lloret, A., Gens, A. and Yang, D.Q. (1995).
Experimental behaviour of highly expansive double-
structure clay. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. On Unsaturated Soil,
Paris, 1, 11–16.
Barden, L., and Sides, G.R. (1967). The diffusion of air
through the pore water of soils. Proceedings of the
3rd Asian Regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Israel, Vol. 1, 135–138.
Black, J. (1775). The supposed effect of boiling upon water,
in disposing it to freeze more readily, ascertained by
experiments. Letter to Sir John Pringle, Bart. P.R.S.,
in Philosophical Transactions (1683–1775) of the Royal
Society, Vol. 65 (1775), 124–128.
Callen, H.B. (1965). Thermodynamics. John Wiley and
Sons, Inc.
Erné, B.H. (2000). Thermodynamics of water superheated in
the microwave oven. Jnl. of Chemical Education, Vol. 77,
No. 10, 1309–1310.
Huang, J.F. & Bartell, L.S. (1995). Kinetics of homogeneous
nucleation in the freezing of large water clusters. J. Phys.
Chem. 99, 3924–3931.
558
Keller, J.B. (1964). Growth and decay of gas bubbles in
liquids. Proc. of the Symp. on Cavitation in Real Liq-
uids. General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren,
Michigan, 1962, Ed. Davies R., Elsevier Publishing Co.:
Amsterdam—London—New York.
Mullen, J.W. (2001). Crystallization. Fourth Edition, Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann, ISBN 0 7506 4833 3.
Murray, B.J. and Bertram, A.K. (2006). Formation and sta-
bility of cubic ice in water droplets. Phys. Chem. Chem.
Phys., 8, 186–192.
Murray, B.J., Knopf D.A. and Bertram A.K. (2005). The for-
mation of cubic ice under conditions relevant to Earth’s
atmosphere. Nature, 434, 202–205.
Murray, E.J. (2002). An equation of state for unsaturated
soils. Can. Geotech. J. 39, 125–140.
Murray E.J. and Brown, J. (2006). Assumptions in equilib-
rium analysis and experimentation in unsaturated soils.
Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2006,
Carefree, Arizona, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publica-
tion No 147, Ed. Miller, G.A., Zapata, C.E., Houston,
S.L. and Fredlund, Vol. 2, 2401–2407.
Murray, E.J. and Sivakumar, V. (2005). Stresses and conju-
gate strain-increments in plotting experimental data for
unsaturated soils. International Symposium on Advanced
Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Trento, Italy,
27–29 June, Ed. Tarantino, A, Romero, E. and Cui, Y.J.
Murray E.J. and Sivakumar, V. (2006). Equilibrium stress
conditions in unsaturated soils. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on
Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2006, Carefree, Arizona,
ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication No 147, Ed.
Miller, G.A., Zapata, C.E., Houston, S.L. and Fredlund,
Vol. 2, 2392–2400.
Ostwald, W. (1897). Studien über die Bildung und Umwand-
lung fester Körper. Z. Phys. Chem. 22, 289–330.
Toll, D.G. (1990). A framework for unsaturated soil behaviour.
Geotechnique 40, No. 1, 31–44.
Toll, D.G. (2003). On the shear strength of unsaturated soils.
International Conference on Problematic Soil, Vol. 1,
Nottingham, UK, 127–136.
Toll, D.G. and Ong, B.H. (2003). Critical state parameters
for an unsaturated residual sandy soil. Geotechnique 53,
No. 1, 93–103.
Wheeler, S.J. and Sivakumar, V. (1995). An elasto-plastic crit-
ical state framework for unsaturated soils. Geotechnique
45, No.1, 35–53.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. and Buisson, M.S.R. (2003).
Coupling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain
behaviour in unsaturated soils. Geotechnique 53, No.1,
41–54.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Advanced hydro-mechanical coupling for unified constitutive modelling

of unsaturated soils

M. Nuth & L. Laloui

Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: A new unified constitutive hydro-mechanical model named ACMEG-s is formulated to improve
modelling of unsaturated soils in free or constrained conditions. Indeed, due to particular mechanical and
hydraulic boundary conditions, some natural and engineered fine grained soils are highly constrained. When
submitted to in-situ wetting-drying cycles, such soils are prone either to collapsing or to generating swelling
pressures. The proposed unified framework provides a direct explanation for complex confined behaviour of
unsaturated soils. A sophisticated saturated model based on two coupled plastic mechanisms has been extended
to deal with partially saturated states. The adopted stress framework includes a Bishop-type effective stress
for the mechanical part and the matric suction for the hydraulic part. Some simplifications brought by the so-
called generalised effective stress representation versus conventional net stress and suction representation are
overviewed and related to the definition of the ‘Loading Collapse’ yield curve. Other implications of the unique
mechanical stress associated with suction couplings are shown to be essential in prediction. The most pioneering
results from the model validation by integration via a custom numerical tool are exposed. The combination of
the advanced yet simple stress framework and the adapted yield locus is used for the prediction of oedometric
and constant volume tests, leading to a straightforward interpretation of swelling pressure tests.

1 INTRODUCTION Indeed, partial saturation in geomechanical problems

The current knowledge of unsaturated soil behaviour
has been established from laboratory tests that shall
be termed here as ‘‘conventional’’. The volumet-
ric information, namely the mechanical deformation
and pore fluids distributions are expressed as func-
tions of variations in mechanical load, or exterior
stress, and water content changes, or matric suction.
Cohesive soils commonly present a preconsolida-
tion pressure that increases with suction, meanwhile
the soil stiffness evolves with saturation. Lastly, the
shear strength is usually observed to increase with
dehydration.
The laying down of natural soil layers in the field
often induces particular mechanical and hydraulic
boundary conditions that go beyond the conventional
laboratory tests. In fact, swelling collapse behaviour,
which is the most harmful feature of behaviour for any
engineering work on unsaturated soils occurs under
important mechanical loads. A further level of com-
plexity is reached for deep underground layers, where
the hydraulic and mechanical elasto-plastic response
to wetting under fully confined conditions is hardly
predictable at present.
raises the need for (i) an advanced elasto-plastic frame-
work, (ii) the identification of hydro-mechanical state
variables and (iii) the accounting for intrinsic hydro-
mechanical couplings. It is proposed thus to extend
a saturated elastoplastic model (Hujeux 1985) to par-
tial saturation by using an adequate effective stress, a
simplified reversible description of the water retention
curve and accounting for the capillary effects on the
mechanical stress-strain response. Judging on experi-
mental results, the key parameter to be modified with
suction is the preconsolidation pressure through an
improved version of the Loading Collapse yield curve.
Among the noticeable breakthroughs, it is shown
that a single mechanical stress leads to a number
of simplifications in the constitutive modelling. The
model is integrated in order to simulate experimen-
tal results essentially from drying wetting cycles.
Combination between imposed stresses, strains and
suction are made possible in the numerical simula-
tions. Whenever displacements are free to occur, the
repartition of the elastic and plastic deformations as
well as non-linearity are automatically accounted for
by the model. Swelling pressures are also accurately
generated within the proposed framework.

559
2 BASIC IMPLICATIONS OF GENERALISED
EFFECTIVE STRESS
The original concept of effective stress (Terzaghi
1936) intends reaching homogenization of a multi
phase porous medium into a mechanically equivalent,
single-phase, single-stress state continuum. Then, the
deformations are linked to changes in the macroscopic
stress quantity:
e −1
dεije = Dijkl dσkl (1)
where dεije is the elastic strain increment of the solid
e
skeleton, Dijkl is the mechanical elastic matrix, and
dσkl the increment of effective stress. Among the
possible forms of effective stress extended to unsat-
urated soils, that of Bishop-Schrefler’s (Bishop 1959,
Schrefler 1984) is used:
σij = (σij − pg δij ) + Sr (pg − pl )δij (2)
where pg and pl define the gas and liquid pressures,
respectively, with the assumption of two idealised
homogenous fluid phases filling the porous space. σij
is the external stress. Sr is the degree of saturation,
used to scale down the fluids contributions to the effec-
tive stress proportionally to their respective volumetric
fractions. Equation (2) defines the ‘generalised effec-
tive stress’. Following the discussion from Nuth and
Laloui (2007), this effective stress constitutes a single
mechanical stress variable to be used within advanced
constitutive frameworks. However, if thermodynamic
considerations (Hutter et al. 1999) do justify the choice
of this mechanical effective stress, they also con-
verge towards the need for a second stress variable to
build an exhaustive stress and work conjugate strains
hydro-mechanical framework, as written below:
   
σij = σnet ij + Sr sδij εij
and (3)
s = pg − pl Sr
σnet ij = σij − pg δij is the net stress and εij the skeleton
strain.
Equation (2) reveals an implicit direct dependency
of the effective stress on both the matric suction and
the degree of saturation. The major contribution of
the use of a single mechanical effective stress is thus
perceptible at the constitutive modelling level. The
generalised effective stress (Eq. 2) is non linearly
incremented either by modifications in the external
mechanical stress σij or in the matric suction s or
a combination of both, the consequence of which
is a generation of a skeleton strain ε. Its increment
dε is decomposed into an elastic part and a plas-
tic part (dε = dεe + dε p ). As the mechanical stress
560
1 106
Possible
Net stress yield limits
5
8 10
interpretation
Matric suction s (Pa)
6 105
4 105
2 105
0 Effective stress
interpretation
-2 105
0 4 104 8 104 1.2 105
Mean stress pnet or p' (Pa)
Figure 1. Drying path in two interpretations on Sion silt,
experimental data from Geiser et al. (2006).
is unique, it is easy to determine whether the stress
state remains inside the elastic domain, on the basis
of the value of effective stress and yield locus only.
Consequently, a single mechanical yield surface is
sufficient. Yielding is thus uniquely predictable upon
conventional mechanical loading path as well as along
wetting-drying processes. By opposition, if the num-
ber of mechanical stress variables is double (e.g. net
stress and suction), the strain increment will be divided
into two parts related to each stress variable, and
the yield locus will be double. For instance in BBM
type frameworks (Alonso et al. 1990) the only way to
yield upon drying (Fig. 1) is to introduce the ‘Suction
Increase’ yield curve in addition to the ‘Loading Col-
lapse’ curve. As illustrated in Fig. 1, such a SI yield
locus is no longer necessary when using generalised
effective stress.
In the following, the analysis of experimental
results within the proposed framework provides a con-
vincing justification for simplifying the yield locus as
proposed. Other advantages of framework (3) such as
simplification in shear strength modelling have been
investigated by Nuth and Laloui (2007).
3 CONSTITUTIVE MODELLING
A new constitutive model for unsaturated soils
was formulated to understand better the constrained
behaviour under hydric cycles. The principle is first
to take advantage of the generalised effective stress as
a single mechanical stress replacing the conventional
Terzaghi’s effective stress. Then, an advanced satu-
rated elasto-plastic constitutive model (Hujeux 1985)
is used as a reference for the conventional mechanical 1.2
behaviour (non linear elasticity, plastic mechanisms, (a)
hardening plasticity). The hydraulic behaviour of the A B
1 C
partially saturated soil (soil water retention curve) is

Degree of saturation Sr (-)

E
also added to the framework, and the reference model
is modified to include the effects of suction on the 0.8
mechanical behaviour. To summarize the formulation
of the model ACMEG-s detailed in Laloui and Nuth 0.6
(2005):
i. The skeleton strain is directly linked only to 0.4
σ  (Eq. 1). Secondary effects of suction on
mechanical compressibility are featured within
the constitutive relations. 0.2
Exp.
ii. The distribution of pore fluids is described via Van Genuchten D
the degree of saturation. In conformity with 0
4 6 8
framework (3), Sr is related to s by the soil 100 10 10 10
water retention curve anytime. An elementary Matric suction (Pa)
non-linear reversible model is used here (Van 109
Genuchten 1980) for the hydraulic behaviour.
Stress path D
iii. The mechanical yield surface depends on the 108 Initial LC
level of suction and, in particular, the precon- Final LC Wetting
solidation pressure pc , is directly dependent on
Matric suction s (Pa)

107
suction. Equation (4) below defines an improved
s C
‘Loading Collapse’ curve: e
106
⎧
⎨p̃c (s) = pc0 for 0 < s < se Yielding
"  # 105
zone
⎩p̃c (s) = pc0 1 + γs log sse for s > se (4) B
104
Drying
pc0 is the initial preconsolidation pressure at zero
1000
suction, γs is a material parameter, and se is the air
entry suction (that is the suction beyond which the A (b)
E
degree of saturation becomes smaller than 1). Eq. (4) 100
4 6
100 10 10 108
accounts for the effect of capillarity on the size of the Mean effective pressure p' (Pa)
elastic domain.
The reference stress-strain relationship in the satu- (c)
rated model is basically given by equation (1) for the A
elastic behaviour. Irreversible behaviour of the soil 0
B Exp.
p
gives birth to a volumetric plastic strain εv follow- ACMEG-s
(-)

ing the normal compression line in plane εv − ln p

p
v

which slope is defined by that of the critical state line: -0.12

Volumetric strain

Drying
p
log CR = βεvp (5)
pCR0 -0.24

where pCR , pCR0

are respectively the actual and initial E
critical state pressures ( pc = d · pCR , d is a material -0.36
C D
parameter), and β the coefficient of compressibility. Wetting

-0.48
3.1 Isotropic stress paths
100 104 106 se 108
Figures 2a and 2c plot the laboratory experimental Matric suction (Pa)
result of a wetting drying cycle on clay under free
mechanical boundary conditions. The fine grained Figure 2. Simulation of volumetric response to hydric cycle
material, initially slightly overconsolidated, is free to under constant null net stress. Experimental points from tests
deform. Plastic straining is observed up to the air entry on white clay (Fleureau et al. 1993).

561
value of suction se , while for suctions greater than se 10
6

the material volume tends to stabilize. (a)

According to the present constitutive interpreta- A
tion, the change in mean effective stress is caused by

Matric suction s (Pa)

changes in both suction s and degree of saturation Sr .
The soil water retention curve (Fig. 2a) is therefore an Wetting
important input to the model. The mobilisation  of the
isotropic plastic mechanism is shown in the s − p 5
10
stress plane, along with the followed stress path
(Fig. 2b). B
The volumetric response εv is plotted as a function s
Yielding zone
of matric suction in Fig. 2c. e
C
Even though the matric suction is the only con- Wetting path
trol variable in this experiment, the model predictions Initial LC
are the result of the mechanical relationship linking D Final LC
εv to variations in p . Consequently, the elastic and 10
4
5
10
plastic behaviour depends on the effective stress state
(Fig. 2b) being inside the elastic domain or on the Mean effective pressure p' (Pa)
yield locus. The advanced shape of the loading col- 0.03
lapse curve (Fig. 2b), combining a straight vertical (b)
part and an upper non-linear outline, contributes to
achieving a proper fit. 0.015
(-)
B
In the saturated domain s < se ; Sr = 1 any change Wetting
v

in suction is directly equivalent to a change in p

Volumetric strain

0 A
(Eq. 3) like during an isotropic purely mechanical
loading. When Sr = 1, the volumetric
 response is
thus identical in both εv − ln p and (εv − ln s) rep- -0.015
resentations, with standard unloading-reloading paths D
(path AB and CE) and elasto-plastic part (path BC). -0.03 C
Once se is reached the preconsolidation pressure is
imposed to increase with suction (Eq. 4), faster than
the mean effective stress increases (Fig. 2b), resulting -0.045
in recovering Wetting path
 an elastic
 response (CD). The elastic lin- Mech. path
ear path in εv − ln p whose slope is indicated in dot- -0.06 5
ted line in Fig. 2c for a matter of comparison permits 10
to estimate (via Eq. 2) the response in (εv −ln s) plane. Mean effective pressure p' (Pa)
The obtained solid line CD in Fig. 2c is non linear.
The swelling collapse behaviour upon soaking is a 0.02
(c)
second inbuilt feature of the model. It is widely observ-
able experimentally (Fig. 3c) when wetting a material B
0.01
under a high initial net stress. Again, this behaviour
(-)

justifies the use of the Loading Collapse curve for the A

v

0
constitutive framework,
  even though the stress path is
Volumetric strain

non-linear in s − p plane. Starting from the exper-

imental initial state A (Fig. 3a), pc decreases faster -0.01 Wetting
than the mean effective stress upon wetting (Eq. 4). D
Two volumetric responses are predicted (Figure 3b
-0.02
and c); (i) a fully reversible swelling upon effective
stress relief along paths AB and CD and (ii) a plastic C Exp. 1
Exp. 2
compression due to yielding on LC curve along path -0.03
Exp. 3
BC. The superposition of numerical and experimen- ACMEG-s
tal results for kaolin shows discrepancies between the -0.04
predicted suction levels for the activation of the plastic 0 2 10
5
4 10
5

response, mostly attributable to possible inaccuracy in Matric suction s (Pa)

the LC curve determination, carried out on the basis
of other isotropic loading tests at various levels of Figure 3. Prediction of wetting collapse. Experimental
suction. However, the volumetric variations are fairly points from tests on kaolin (Sivakumar 1993).

562
well predicted and the qualitative trends for alternative 10
9

swelling and collapse are reliable. Test 1 (a)

Initial Test 2
3.2 Oedometric conditions

Matric suction s (Pa)

8
10 point
Although oedometric paths are hardly ever used in con-
ventional validation processes, they have major impor- Test 3
tance in experimental characterisation of unsaturated 10
7
soil behaviour, provided that unsaturated oedometric
Test 4
cells are more widespread in geotechnical laborato-
ries than unsaturated triaxial or isotropic compression
apparatuses. 106
Basically, experimental results from oedometric
tests (e.g. Fig. 4) are similar to those of unsaturated Final
isotropic compression, with an apparent preconsolida- 5
point Test 5
tion pressure shifted with suction and modifications in 10
4 6 8
compressibility. However, only an advanced numeri- 10 10 10
cal integration of the model catering for zero lateral Vertical stress (Pa)
v
total strain condition enables to reproduce such paths.
The stress paths (Lloret et al. 2004) simulated here
include a hydraulic equalization to a given level of 0.32 (b)
suction and an oedometric compression at a constant Exp. test 1
(-)

level of suction (Figure 4a). ACMEG-s test 1

v

Simulation of the wetting or drying processes 0.24 Exp. test 3

Volumetric strain

ACMEG-s test 3
from an initial suction of 138 MPa shows the model Exp. test 5
to predict satisfactorily the trend and magnitude ACMEG-s test 5
of volumetric strains (Fig. 4b). Even though the 0.16
global swelling trend is observed upon wetting for
all tests, punctual decrease in εv is attributed to
0.08 Initial
(i) the occurrence of mechanical compression prior point
to or during equalization and (ii) seamless plastic
episodes with initiation of wetting collapse. Sub-
0 Wetting
sequent oedometric compression tests (Fig. 4c) at
constant suctions from 0 (test5) to 500 MPa (test1)
5 7 9
are also remarkably well-predicted with the proposed 10 10 10
framework. Matric suction s (Pa)

0.4
3.3 Swelling pressure (c) Exp. 1
Mod. 1
The experimental behaviour of fully confined sam- Exp. 2
ples submitted to a wetting path is plotted in Fig. 5b 0.3 Mod. 2
(-)

and 5c. During swelling pressure tests, the total strain Exp. 3
v

Mod. 3
is imposed to remain null whereas effective and net
Volumetric strain

0.2 Exp. 4
stresses are generated within the cell. As soil wetting Mod. 4
provokes swelling or collapse under free displace- Exp. 5
ment conditions, confined soaking generates stresses Mod. 5
0.1
to prevent such straining. According to the initial state
(level of suction), the maximum generated pressures
are variable. Also, the generated vertical stress σv
0
does not hold a linear dependency on matric suction,
and its evolution trend even tends to reverse twice
(Fig. 5b). -0.1 4 5 6 7 8
Again, with the help of the LC yield curve and 10 10 10 10 10
effective stress concept together, ACMEG-s provides Vertical net stress (Pa)
v
a straightforward interpretation of the swelling pres-
sure
 record,
 with a distinctive stress path in the planes Figure 4. Back prediction of hydro-mechanical tests under
s − p and (s − pnet ) (Fig. 5a). The deduced stress oedometric conditions (Lloret et al. 2004).

563
 plane (s − σv ) (Fig. 5b) also reflects three zones of
Effective stress (a)
interest, the repartition of which is linked to the
100 Net stress shape of the LC curve. At the initiation of wetting,
i.e. domain A, the process is fully reversible as the
Matric suction (MPa)

A stress state remains within the elastic domain; only

10 constitutive equation (1) is needed. The elastic defor-
mation is null so the variation in effective stress
Yielding zone B
must be null too. This requires an increase in
1 net stress to compensate the reduction of suction
C (Figure 5b).
This phenomenon is in agreement with the uni-
Wetting fied framework according to which the increment of
0.1
net stress is deduced from generalised effective stress
Initial LC definition:
Final LC
0.01      
1 100  σnet ij =  σij − Sr sδij = − Sr sδij (6)
Mean stress p', p (MPa)
net

1000 Equation (6) also indicates that the soil water reten-
SP1 EXP
(b)
SP2 EXP
tion curve model controls the non linearity of stress
SP3 EXP
response in (s − σv ) plane anytime. Then, wetting in
Matric suction s (MPa)

SP4 EXP zone B implies yielding on the LC curve. The total

100 SP1 MOD deformations remain null but a plastic deformation is
SP2 MOD generated, balancing the elastic part of the deforma-
SP3 MOD
SP4 MOD
tion. The occurrence of elasto-plastic strains provokes
a release of the effective stress according to the elasto-
10
plastic constitutive model, and obviously a different
Wetting

trend for the evolution of the net stress. Once suction

drops down to the air entry value, the ultimate zone
1 C is entered. Due to the shape of LC curve, all defor-
mations are elastic in this zone so that Eq. (1) only is
needed, with the simplification Sr = 1.

0.1
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Vertical net stress σ (MPa) 4 CONCLUSIONS
v

1.2
A unified constitutive framework for unsaturated soils
(c)
is proposed. It takes advantage of the generalised
1 effective stress along with advanced couplings includ-
Degree of saturation S (-)

ing capillary effects. The experimental behaviour

r

under free swelling as well as constrained condi-

0.8
tions justify the need for an improved shape of the
LC yield curve. Also, during the wetting-drying
0.6 cycles the water retention curve has a strong influ-
ence on the mechanical stress-strain response. The
unified framework thus provides a straightforward
0.4
interpretation of swelling pressure tests without intro-
ducing further complex concepts linked to expansive
0.2 materials.
Exp.
Van Genuchten
0
0.1 10 1000
Matric suction (MPa) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Figure 5. (a) (b) Stress responses to swelling pressure This work was partly supported by Swiss Competence
tests (c) Soil Water Retention Curve. Experimental points: Center Environment and Sustainability, project ‘Trig-
bentonite (Lloret et al. 2004). gering of Rapid Mass Movements in Steep Terrain’.

564
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A Constitutive
Model for Partially Saturated Soils. Geotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Bishop, A.W. 1959. The principle of effective stress. Tecnisk
Ukeblad 39: 859–863.
Fleureau, J.M., Kheirbeksaoud, S., Soemitro, R. & Taibi, S.
1993. Behavior of Clayey Soils on Drying Wetting Paths.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 30(2): 287–296.
Geiser, F., Laloui, L. & Vulliet, L. 2006. Elasto-plasticity of
unsaturated soils: laboratory test results on a remoulded
silt. Soils and Foundations Journal 46(5): 545–566.
Hujeux, J. 1985. Une loi de comportement pour le charge-
ment cyclique des sols. In Génie Parasismique: 287–353.
Paris, Les éditions de l’ENPC.
Hutter, K., Laloui, L. & Vulliet, L. 1999. Thermodynamically
based mixture models of saturated and unsaturated soils.
Mechanics of cohesive-frictional materials 4: 295–338.
Laloui, L., Nuth, M. 2005. An introduction to the constitutive
modelling of unsaturated soils. European Journal of Civil
Engineering, 9(5–6): 651–670.
565
Lloret, A., Romero, E. & Villar, M.V. 2004. FEBEX II
Project: Final report on thermo-hydro-mechanical labo-
ratory tests, ENRESA.
Nuth, M. & Laloui, L. 2007. Effective stress concept in
unsaturated soils: Clarification and validation of a unified
framework. International journal for numerical and ana-
lytical methods in Geomechanics. DOI 10.1002/nag.645.
Schrefler, B.A. 1984. The finite element method in soil con-
solidation (with applications to surface subsidence). PhD.
Thesis. University College of Swansea.
Sivakumar, V. 1993. A critical state framework for unsat-
urated soils. PhD. Thesis. Sheffield, University of
Sheffield.
Terzaghi, K. 1936. The shearing resistance of saturated
soils and the angle between the planes of shear. Inter-
national Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering: 54–56. Harvard University Press.
Van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed form of the equation for
predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Society of America Journal (44): 892–898.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Generalised elasto-plastic stress-strain relations of a fully coupled

hydro-mechanical model

M. Lloret, M. Sanchez & M. Karstunen

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

S. Wheeler
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

ABSTRACT: Wheeler and co-workers have recently proposed an elasto-plastic framework involving the
coupling of hydraulic and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated soils. A characteristic of the model is that it
has been formulated in terms of Bishop’s stress and modified suction (i.e. suction multiplied by porosity).
By using these new stress variables it is possible to predict the influence of the degree of saturation on the
stress-strain behaviour. In particular, this new framework is able to represent the coupling between hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour, allowing the prediction of influences of changes in the degree of saturation on the
stress-strain behaviour and conversely, influences of volumetric strains on the water retention relationship. In this
paper a 3D generalization of the stress-strain governing equations of this model is proposed based on concepts of
multi-dissipative materials. This is a proper framework as in this model the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour
is described by three elasto-plastic mechanisms.

1 INTRODUCTION example, the model does not give complete informa-

1.1 General
Recently, the interest for understanding the behaviour
of unsaturated soils and for improving the knowledge
of them has considerably increased. Reasons for that
may be found by the fact that the unsaturated condition
is observed in many engineering problems: construc-
tion of embankments, constructions near the ground
surface and a wide range of geo-environmental prob-
lems. Moreover, the recently observed variability of
climate, mainly in terms of dry-wet seasons (rainfalls,
flooding, drought periods followed by wet season,
etc.) may lead to the need of a better understanding
of unsaturated soil behaviour.
Constitutive models are very useful tools as they
can be used as conceptual frameworks to improve
our understanding by analysing the main mechanisms
that underline the behaviour of unsaturated soils; and
also, after the implementation of the models in com-
puter codes, they can be used to solve actual problems
involving unsaturated conditions.
The Barcelona Basic Model, BBM (Alonso et al.,
1990) is the most commonly used constitutive model
for unsaturated soils. This is because the BBM is
able to include, within the same framework, the main
characteristics of unsaturated soil behaviour. However,
some particular features of the unsaturated condi-
tion can not be fully described by this model. For
tion of the proportion of the void occupied by water;
hence, mechanisms involving this variable, such as
hydraulic hysteresis observed in wetting/drying paths,
can not be completely described. In order to charac-
terise these particular features, Wheeler et al. (2003)
proposed a new framework of analysis involving the
degree of saturation. In this work an extension to
the 3D conditions of the isotropic model originally
developed by Wheeler and co-workers is proposed.
2 MODEL FORMULATION
2.1 Isotropic stress state
Due to space constraints only the main features of the
coupled hydro-mechanical model are presented in this
section. A more detailed description of it can be found
in Wheeler et al. (2003).
Considering the increment of work input per unit of
unsaturated soil (Houlsby, 1997), the stress variables
adopted in this work will be Bishop’s stress and modi-
fied suction (Wheeler et al., 2003). Particularly, for
the isotropic stress state, the stress variables used can
be expressed as:
p∗ = p − Sr uw − (1 − Sr )ua (1)
s∗ = ns = n(ua − uw ) (2)

567
 Elastic volumetric strains can be expressed as:

κ dp∗
dεve = (6)
v p∗

where κ is the slope of an elastic swelling line in the

(v, ln p ) plane for saturated conditions.
When yielding only on the LC curve, plastic
volumetric strains are given by:

λ − κ dp∗0
dεvp = (7)
v p∗0

where λ is the slope of the normal compression line for

saturated conditions and p∗0 is the hardening parameter
defining location of LC yield curve.
Figure 1. LC, SD and SI yield curves for isotropic stress The flow rule for the LC curve corresponds to:
states (after Wheeler et al., 2003).
p
dSr
p =0 (8)
dεv
where p∗ is the mean Bishop’s stress, p is the mean
stress, Sr is the degree of saturation, uw pore water Elastic increments of Sr can be expressed as
pressure, ua is the pore air pressure, s is suction, n is
the porosity and s∗ is the modified suction. Note that κs ds∗
dSre = − (9)
this choice implies that the Bishop’s stress tensor, σij∗ , s∗
is work-conjugate with dεij whereas modified suction,
s∗ , is work conjugate with −dSr . where κs is an additional elastic constant. When yield-
Two elasto-plastic physical processes are consid- ing only on the SI or SD yield curve, plastic changes
ered within the model. One is the mechanical process of Sr are given by
of deformation of the soil skeleton under applied
stresses and the second is the hydraulic process of dsI∗ ∗
dsD
water inflow and outflow to individual voids. The plas- dSrp = −(λs − κs ) ∗ = −(λs − κs ) ∗ (10)
sI sD
tic mechanisms are described by three different yield
surfaces (see Fig. 1). One is associated to the slip-
Equations (9) and (10) predict the water retention
page at inter-particle or inter-packet contacts (Loading
behaviour showed in Fig. 2. As noted by Wheeler et al.
Collapse yield curve, LC) and the other two are
(2003) the model of water retention behaviour shown
associated to irrecoverable changes of Sr when dry-
in this figure is relatively crude, and refinement may
ing (Suction Increase, SI ) or when wetting (Suction
be desirable.
Decrease, SD). Yielding on LC curve causes plastic
The flow rule for the SI and SD yield curves
volumetric strain, which produces coupled upwards
corresponds to:
movements of SI and SD curves. Yielding on SI
causes plastic decrease of Sr , which produce coupled p
upward movement of SD curve and outward move- dεv
p =0 (11)
ment of LC curve. Yielding on SD curve causes plastic dSr
increments of Sr , which produce coupled downward
movement of the SI curve and inward of the LC When yielding only on SI or SD curves, coupled
curve. These curves can be expressed in the following movements of the LC curve are given by:
form:
dp∗0 dsI∗ dsD∗
= k1 = k1 (12)
p∗0 sI∗ ∗
sD
∗
p = p∗0 (3)
∗
s∗ = sI∗ (4) where k1 is a coupling parameter and sD and sI∗ are the
hardening parameters defining location of SD and SI
s∗ = sD∗
(5) curves respectively.

568
 When yielding only on LC curve, coupled
movements of the SI and SD curves are given by:
dsI∗ dsD∗
dp∗0
= = k2 (13)
sI∗ ∗
sD p∗0

where k2 is the second coupling parameter.

By considering these equations, the overall move-
ment of the LC curve is given by:

dp∗0
p p
vdεv k1 dSr
= − (14)
p∗0 λ−κ λs − κs

And, similarly, the overall movement of the SI and

SD curves is given by:
Figure 2. Model for water retention behaviour (After
dsI∗ ∗ p p
dsD dSr vdεv Wheeler et al., 2003).
∗ = ∗ =− + k2 (15)
sI sD λs − κs λ−κ

Combining the last two equations a general expres-

sion for plastic volumetric strain increments and
plastic changes of Sr can be obtained.
 ∗ ∗ 
λ−κ dp0 dsD
dεvp = − k 1 (16)
v(1 − k1 k2 ) p∗0 dsD∗
 ∗ 
λs − κs dsD dp∗0
−dSrp = ∗ − k 2 ∗ (17)
(1 − k1 k2 ) dsD p0

2.2 3D generalisation
Based on the ideas collected from the 3D generalisa-
tion of the BBM (Alonso, 1993), a 3D extension of the
model presented in Section 2.1 is proposed here. The
model will be formulated in terms of the three stress
invariants ( p∗ , J , θ ) and the modified suction (s∗ ). In
addition, the concept of generalised stress and strain
vectors proposed in Vaunat et al. (2000) is adopted
here, being:
 ∗ ∗ ∗ T
σ̃ ∗ = σxx , σyy , σzz , τxy , τyz , τxz , s∗ (18)
 T
ε̃ = εxx , εyy , εzz , γxy , γyz , γxz , −Sr (19)
The saturated model adopted as a limit condition
is a version of the Modified Cam Clay model which
is extended along the s∗ axis following the shape of
the LC shown in Figure 1. Accordingly, it is proposed
that the yield curve for a sample at constant s∗ will be
described by an ellipse which exhibits an isotropic pre-
consolidation stress lying on the LC yield curve. The
resulting shape of the yield surface in the ( p∗ , J , s∗ )
space is a half elliptic cylinder (see Fig. 2) extended
∗
from the plane s∗ = sD to the plane s∗ = sI∗ .
In order to define the ellipse it is necessary to spec-
ify the failure states. A critical state line (CSL) for the
unsaturated condition should be defined. In the BBM
Figure 3. Evolution of CSL with suction in ( p∗ , q) plane
(data from Wheeler & Sivakumar (1995); after Khalili et al.,
2004).
the increase of suction is represented by an increase in
cohesion maintaining the slope M of the CSL for sat-
urated conditions. In here, the same assumption about
M is held and the increase of cohesion is implicitly
considered by using p∗ and s∗ as stress variables. From
the observed behaviour, the assumption of considering
M constant in the plane ( p∗ , q) seems to be reasonable
(see Fig. 3). In fact, as Khalili et al. (2004) showed
using the triaxial experimental results of Wheeler &
Sivakumar (1995), Cui & Delage (1996) and Maâtouk
et al. (1995) re-plotted in the (p∗ , q) plane, that critical
state is represented by a unique state line for different
levels of suction (Laloui et al., 2005).
From this assumption and considering the shape of
the LC curve suggested by Wheeler et al. (2003), the
yield surfaces can be represented as shown in Figure 4.
A generalized version of the Modified Cam Clay in
terms of (p∗ , J , θ, s∗ and p∗0 ) is proposed as follows:
J2 1  
FLC = − ∗ p∗0 − p∗ = 0 (20)
g 2 (θ) p∗2 p

569
 joint action of several mechanisms that can act simulta-
neously. Concepts of multi-dissipative materials intro-
duced by Rizzi et al. (1996) have been considered to
take into account that different mechanisms can induce
plastic generalized deformations.
To develop the governing equations, a procedure
similar to the one presented in Sánchez et al. (2005)
has been followed here. A first step is the assumption
of an additive decomposition of the generalized strains
into elastic and plastic components; so, the increment
of total generalised strains can be expressed as:

n=na
d ε̃ = d ε̃ e + d ε̃ pn (26)
n=1
Figure 4. Three dimensional view of the yield surface in
( p∗ , q, s∗ ) stress space.
where na is the number of active plastic mechanisms
that correspond to one subset of the total plastic
where p∗ is the first invariant of the Bishop’s stress possible mechanisms. The model has three inelastic
tensor: p∗ = 1/3(σ1∗ + σ2∗ + σ3∗ ); J2 is the sec- mechanisms: LC, SD and SI. Two is the maximum
ond invariant of the deviatoric Bishop’s stress tensor number of simultaneous active plastic mechanisms
(sij∗ = σij∗ − δij p∗ ), and g(θ) is a function of the Lode i.e. LC plus SD or SI (see Section 2.1).
angle (equivalent to M in the (p∗ , q) space). Differ- In classical plasticity theory, it is assumed that the
ent expressions of g(θ) are given for different failure material behaves either in elastic or plastic fashion.
criteria (i.e. Alonso, 1993). The yield surface defines the transition from elasticity
The other two yield surfaces are the same of the to plasticity, stress states inside the yield surface are
isotropic conditions, equations (4) and (5), and are considered as elastic (F < 0). When a loading process
expressed in the following form: is inelastic, plastic strain rates are assumed to be gov-
erned by a flow rule. For the LC plastic mechanism,
the generalized strain increment can be expressed as:
FSI = s∗ − sI∗ = 0 (21)
∗ ∗
FSD = s − sD =0 (22)
∂FLC
d ε̃p = χLC = χLC mLC (27)
The generic expression introduced as follows will ∂ σ̃ ∗
be used in this work:
When the yielding is on the SI or SD surface, the
Fβ = s∗ − sβ∗ = 0 β = SI or SD (23) generalized plastic strain increment can be obtained
through:
As a first approximation, associated plasticity is
considered within this framework. Hence, the yield
surfaces and plastic potentials are defined by the same ∂Fβ
d ε̃p = χβ = χβ mβ (28)
equations. ∂ σ̃ ∗
The hardening rules can be expressed as:
 p p  In classical plasticity it is assumed that once yield
vdεv k1 dSr occurs (that is F = 0), the stresses must remain
dp∗0 = p∗0 − (24)
λ−κ λs − κs on the yield surface during plastic deformation. This
 p p  constraint is enforced by the consistency condition,
dSr vdεv
dsβ∗ = sβ∗ − + k2 β = SI or SD which implies that dF = 0. The consistency condi-
λs − κs λ−κ tions for the plastic mechanisms consider here are
(25) introduced as follows.
Consistency condition: LC yield curve:
2.3 Governing equations
The behaviour of the soil described by the model intro- ∂FLC ∗ ∂FLC ∗
dFLC = d σ̃ + dp0 = 0 (29)
duced above can be regarded as the consequence of the ∂ σ̃ ∗ ∂p∗0

570
 Using equation (24), the consistency equation can Introducing (39) and (40) in (37) and (38) the final
be expressed as: expressions are obtained:
 p 
∂FLC ∗ ∂FLC ∗ v dSr T
mLC d σ̃ ∗ − HLC χLC − hβ χβ = 0 (43)
∗ d σ̃ + ∗ p0 dεvp − k1 =0
∂ σ̃ ∂p0 λ−κ λs − κs
(30) mβT d σ̃ ∗ − Hβ χβ − hLC χLC = 0 (44)

Consistency condition: SI/SD yield curves: where HLC , Hβ , hLC , hβ are moduli related to the
plastic mechanisms evaluated according to:
∂Fβ ∗ ∂Fβ ∗
dFβ = d σ̃ + ∗ dsβ = 0 (31)
∂ σ̃ ∗ ∂sβ HLC = −H1 mεT mLC (45)

Using the hardening rule for sβ (25), the following hβ = H2 msT mβ (46)
expression is obtained: Hβ = H3 msT mβ (47)
 
∂Fβ ∗ ∂Fβ ∗
p
−dSr v hLC = −H4 mεT mLC (48)
d σ̃ + ∗ sβ + k2 dε p = 0
∂ σ̃ ∗ ∂sβ λs − κs λ−κ v
(32) 2.4 Elasto-plastic stress-strain relations
In this model the material behaviour is described by
The following expressions are adopted for the elasto-plastic mechanisms that can be activated dur-
generalised moduli: ing the loading process. The set of active plastic
  mechanisms is not known in advance. Therefore it is
∂FLC ∗ v necessary to use an iterative procedure to find them
H1 = ∗ p0 (33)
∂p0 λ−κ (Simó & Hughes, 1998). A possibility is to assume that
  all the plastic mechanisms are initially active. Here it
∂FLC ∗ k1 is assumed that both plastic mechanisms are initially
H2 = p (34)
∂p∗0 0 λs − κs active: LC and β (that is SD or SI ).
  The increment of generalised stress can be
∂Fβ 1 expressed in terms of the elastic operator and the
H3 = ∗ sβ∗ (35) elastic and total elastic generalised strain increment
∂sβ λs − κs
according to:
 
∂Fβ v  
H4 = ∗ sβ∗ k2 (36)
∂sβ λ−κ d σ̃ ∗ = De d ε̃ − χLC mLC − χβ mβ ; β = SI , SD
(49)
Using the notation introduced above the consistency
equations (30) and (32) can be expressed as: where:
T
mLC d σ̃ ∗ + H1 dεvp − H2 dSrp = 0 (37) ⎛ ⎞
E11 E12 E13 0 0 0 0
⎜ E22 E23 0 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
mβT d σ̃ ∗ − H3 dSrp + H4 dεvp = 0 (38) ⎜ E33 0 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
De = ⎜ E44 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
The plastic volumetric strain and the plastic change ⎜ sym E55 0 0 ⎟
⎝ E66 0 ⎠
in degree of saturation are obtained as follows:
E77
dεvp = χLC mεT mLC (39)
and:
dSrp = χβ msT mβ (40) E11 = E22 = E33 = K + 4/3G = (v/k)p∗ + 4/3G;
E44 = E55 = E66 = G;
where the auxiliary vectors are as follows: E12 = E23 = E13 = K−2/3G and
E77 = K̄ = (1/ks )s∗
mε = (1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0)T (41)
Substituting this equation into the ones obtained
ms = (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, −1) T
(42) from the consistency condition in the previous section,

571
the following expressions are obtained: The assumption that H is a P-matrix implies that
  each diagonal element of the H matrix plus the corre-
T
mLC De d ε̃ − χLC mLC − χβ mβ sponding diagonal element of the Hc matrix is greater
than zero (i.e. (HLC + HLC
c
) > 0 and (Hβ + Hβc ) > 0).
− HLC χLC − hβ χβ = 0 (50)
Therefore, the condition of H̄ > 0 is satisfied for
 
mβT De d ε̃ − χLC mLC − χβ mβ each plastic mechanism. The solution of the sys-
tem (62) requires the inversion of the H matrix which
− Hβ χβ − hLC χLC = 0 (51) is assumed to be a P-matrix, obtaining:

Rearranging, −1
χ =H e (62)
   
χLC HLC + HLCc
+ χβ hβ + hβ = eLC c
(52) The choice of the plastic mechanisms initially
    assumed active should be verified by checking that
χβ Hβ + Hβc + χLC hLC + hcLC = eβ (53) they are actually active (Simó & Hughes, 1998). If one
of them is not active, in this model, the case becomes
c
where HLC , Hβc , hcLC , hcβ , are moduli related to the plas- a single dissipative model.
tic mechanisms and eLC and eβ are variables linked Finally, the generalized stress increment (49) can
to the increment of generalised strains. The system be expressed as:
formed by Equations (52) and (53) can be written as:  
n=na
&
χLC H̄LC + χβ h̄β = eLC d σ̃ ∗ = De d ε̃ − d ε̃ p (63)
(54) n=1
χβ H̄β + χLC h̄LC = eβ
After some algebra the following general equation
where: can be obtained:

H̄LC = HLC + HLC

c
= HLC + mLC
T
De mLC (55) d σ̃ ∗ = Dep d ε̃ (64)

h̄β = hβ + hcβ = hβ + mLC

T
De mβ (56) The form of Dep (64) will depend on the plastic
mechanism(s) active during loading (i.e. only the LC
eLC = mLC
T
De d ε̃ (57) plastic mechanism is active, or only a β mechanism is
active, or both plastic mechanisms are active). The spe-
H̄β = Hβ + Hβc = Hβ + mβT De mβ (58)
cific elasto-plastic operators for each case, and more
h̄LC = hLC + hcLC = hLC + mβT De mLC (59) details of the generalized model, can be found in Lloret
(2007).
eβ = mβT De d ε̃ (60)

Equivalently the system (54) can be written in a 3 CONCLUSIONS

compact form as:
Hχ = e; where H = H + H c
The hardening modulus matrix (H) is symmetric
when there is reciprocity in the hardening rules of
both mechanisms (reciprocal hardening implies that
Hij = Hji for i = j). This model has non-reciprocal
hardening (as for the general case H12 = H21 ). There
is a unique increment of ε for any increment of σ if, and
only if, H is a P-matrix (Rizzi et al., 1996). When this
condition is satisfied, the flow rule of the multidissipa-
tive materials exhibits hardening, otherwise it exhibits
softening. Finally, for H = 0 the behaviour is perfectly
plastic. For the general case of non-associative plastic-
ity, there is a unique increment of σ for any increment
of ε if, and only if, the effective hardening matrix H
is a P-matrix. Hc is the critical softening matrix.
A generalisation of the isotropic elasto-plastic frame-
(61) work presented by Wheeler et al. (2003) has been
proposed in this work. A characteristic of the model
is the proposal of a number of plastic mechanisms for
describing the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour
observed in unsaturated soils. A formal framework for
multi-dissipative materials has been used in this work
to formulate the 3D generalised stress-strain relation
of this model.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Geotechnique (40)3:
405–430.
Alonso, E. 1993. Unsaturated soils: recent developments
and applications. Constitutive models of unsaturated soils.

572
 Civil engineering European courses, UPC, Barcelona,
Spain.
Cui, Y.J. & Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Geotechnique (46):
291–311.
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Geotechnique (47) 1: 193–196.
Khalili, N., Geiser, F. & Blight, G.E. 2004. Effective
stress in unsaturated soils: Critical review with new evi-
dence. International Journal of Geomechanics. ASCE;
4(2): 115–126.
Laloui, L. & Nuth, M. 2005. An introduction to the con-
stitutive modelling of unsaturated soils. Multiphysics
Geomechanics 651–669.
Lloret, M. 2007. Numerical Modelling of Coupled Behaviour
in Unsaturated Soils. PhD Progress Report, University of
Strathclyde and University of Glasgow, UK.
Maâtouk, A., Leroueil, S. & La Rochelle, P. 1995. Yielding
and critical state of a collapsible unsaturated silty soil.
Geotechnique (45): 465–477.
573
Rizzi, E., Giulio, M. & William, K. 1996. On failure indica-
tors in multi-dissipative materials. International Journal
of Solids and Structures. 33 (20–22): 3187–3214.
Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Guimarães, L. & Olivella, S. 2005. A
double structure generalized plasticity model for expan-
sive materials. International Journal for Numerical and
Analytical Methods in Geomechanics (29): 751–787.
Simó, J. & Hughes, T. 1998. Computational Plasticity.
Springer: New York.
Vaunat, J., Cante, J., Ledesma, A. & Gens, A. 2000. A stress
point algorithm for an elastoplastic model in unsaturated
soils. International journal of plasticity (16): 121–141.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elastoplastic critical
state framework for unsaturated soil. Geotechnique (45)
1: 35–53.
Wheeler, S., Sharma, R.S. & Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour
in unsaturated soils. Geotechnique (53) 1: 41–54.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Effect of degree of saturation on mechanical behaviour

of unsaturated soils

A.R. Estabragh
Faculty of Soil and Water Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

A.A. Javadi
School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

ABSTRACT: The effect of the unsaturated condition in soils is commonly expressed through suction. It is
generally accepted that the suction and degree of saturation have a significant effect on the mechanical behaviour
of unsaturated soils. However, the effect of degree of saturation is generally not included in the majority of
existing elasto-plastic constitutive models. It is believed that inclusion of degree of saturation in constitutive
models for unsaturated soils could lead to significant simplification for practical purposes. This paper presents
the results of an investigation into the effect of degree of saturation on the behaviour of unsaturated silty soil in
the light of a comprehensive set of experiments. The variation of degree of saturation during loading/unloading,
wetting/drying and reloading is studied. The results show that the degree of saturation has a direct effect on
the behaviour of unsaturated silty soil. The applicability of degree of saturation in an elasto-plastic constitutive
model proposed in the literature is examined in the light of the experimental data and a suggestion is made for
possible improvement in modelling of unsaturated soils.

1 INTRODUCTION subjected to the same values of suction can have sig-

Unsaturated soil is a three phase material, contain-
ing solid particles, water and air. The presence of air
along with water in the soil voids leads to two types
of pore pressure: pore air pressure, ua and pore water
pressure, uw . The pore air pressure is generally higher
than the pore water pressure because of surface tension
effects. It is generally accepted that suction, s (ua −uw )
and degree of saturation, Sr have a significant effect
on the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils
(Gallipoli et al., 2003). In fact suction influences the
mechanical response of unsaturated soil through two
basic mechanisms: the perturbing action of the aver-
age stress state and the stabilising effect of the water
menisci at inter particle contacts. These two mecha-
nisms that result from effects of suction are influenced
by the state of saturation of the soil. The hystere-
sis phenomenon is usually observed in the soil-water
characteristic relationship that is expressed in term of
degree of saturation, Sr and suction, s. Many factors
such as non-uniform pore size distribution and pres-
ence of entrapped air in the soil are considered to be
the main causes for hysteresis in the soil-water charac-
teristic curve. The occurrence of hydraulic hysteresis
in the soil-water characteristic curve during drying
and wetting means that two samples of the same soil
nificantly different values of Sr if one is on the drying
path and the other is on the wetting path. It shows that
the inter-particle contact forces transmitted through
the soil skeleton would be different in the two cases.
Wheeler et al. (2003) indicated that two elastic-plastic
processes can be considered for unsaturated soils: the
first is the mechanical process of straining of the soil
skeleton under changes of applied load which consists
of elastic strain due to the elastic deformation of soil
particles and plastic strain due to slippage of parti-
cles at contacts. The second is the hydraulic process
of water inflow and outflow to individual voids that
provides elastic deformation by changing the interface
position (menisci separating air and water).
2 ELASTO-PLASTIC MODELS
Two well-known classes of elasto-plastic models for
unsaturated soils have been published in the past years.
The first class of models were presented in terms of the
mean net stress, p (the difference between total stress
and pore air pressure) and suction, s (the difference
between pore air pressure and pore water pressure)
(Alonso et al., 1990; Josa et al., 1992; Wheeler and
Sivakumar, 1995 and Cui and Delage, 1996). In this

575
class of models the unsaturated condition is expressed of the elasto-plastic model of Wheeler et al. (2003) for
through suction without any direct influence of degree unsaturated silty soil is also examined in the light of
of saturation, Sr . Therefore, these models are not experimental evidence and a suggestion is presented
able to provide correct predictions when the influ- for elasto-plastic modelling of unsaturated soils.
ence of hydraulic hysteresis on mechanical behaviour
is prevalent (e.g., when studying behaviour of a soil
under cycles of drying and wetting). The second
class of elasto-plastic models for unsaturated soils are 3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
expressed in terms of a different set of constitutive
variables that include the degree of saturation in their A set of experimental tests were performed on sam-
definition (Bolzon et al., 1996; Karube et al., 1998 ples of a compacted silty soil following the procedure
and Karube and Kawai, 2001). The stress variable in explained by Estabragh et al. (2004). Several isotropic
this class of models has the form of Bishop (1959) compression tests involving loading to a virgin state
relationship given as: and unloading to a predefined stress, suction change
(wetting or drying) and subsequent reloading were car-
σij = σij − δij [ua − χ (ua − uw )] (1) ried out in this research program. During each stage of
the tests the variations of specific volume and degree
where σij is the total stress, σij has been referred to as of saturation were measured. From the results of these
Bishop’s stress (Bolzon et al. (1996) and Gallipoli et al. experiments the values of slope and intercept of normal
(2003)) or average skeleton stress (Jommi, 2000). χ compression lines in the v−ln p space were calculated
is a soil parameter depending on the degree of sat- for different values of suction.
uration and ranges between one (at saturation) and Typical experiments results are shown in Figs. 1
zero (dry condition), δij is Kronker’s delta and ua and 2. Data from these experiments were used to exam-
and uw are pore air pressure and pore water pressure ine the prediction capabilities of the model proposed
respectively. Although this class of models intro- by Wheeler et al. (2003).
duced Sr into the definition of a soil variable, they
have some limitations when predicting certain impor-
tant aspects of unsaturated soil behaviour such as
irreversible compression during the drying stages of
wetting-drying cycle and the influence of a wetting-
drying cycle on subsequent behaviour during isotropic
loading. Recently Wheeler et al. (2003) presented
a new model which involves coupling of hydraulic
hysteresis and mechanical behaviour and is suitable
for prediction of hydraulic response and mechanical
response of unsaturated soils. They concluded from
Houlsby’s theoretical analysis (Houlsby, 1997) of work
input for granular unsaturated soils that another alter-
native choice of stress state variables for isotropic
condition would be as:

p∗ = p − Sr .uw − (1 − Sr )ua (2)

∗
s = n(ua − uw ) (3)

where p∗ is mean Bishop’s stress, n is porosity and

s∗ is modified suction. p∗ in the above equation rep-
resents the influence of applied total stress, pore air
pressure and pore water pressure within bulk water
whereas s∗ represents the influence within meniscus
water. Wheeler et al. (2003) stated the elastic region in
this model is surrounded by LC (loading and collapse),
SD (suction decrease) and SI (suction increase) yield
curves. Figure 1. Effect of wetting on subsequent soil behaviour
In this paper, the variation of specific volume and during loading, initial s = 300 kPa, final s = 50 kPa; vari-
degree of saturation during loading/unloading, wet- ation of (a) specific volume; (b) degree of saturation with
ting/drying and reloading are studied. The application mean net stress.

576

Figure 2. Effect of wetting on subsequent soil behaviour
during loading, initial s = 50 kPa, final s = 300 kPa; vari-
ation of (a) specific volume; (b) degree of saturation with
mean net stress.
4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Figs. 1 (a) and 2 (a) show the results of two typical tests
involving an isotropic loading and unloading cycle a-
b-c at constant suctions of 300 and 50 kPa respectively;
followed by a wetting (or drying) cycle cd and subse-
quent isotropic reloading de. The results for each of
these two tests are presented in a conventional for-
mat consisting of two plots; in the first plot the stress
path followed in the test is shown (Figs. 1 (a) and
2 (a)) while in the second plot the variation of degree
of saturation is plotted against mean net stress, p (on
a logarithmic scale). In the test, the mean net stress
was increased from 20 kPa to 550 kPa during load-
ing path ab and then it was reduced from 550 kPa to
50 kPa in the unloading path bc. During the unload-
ing path, suction was held constant throughout the test
at 300 and 50 kPa in the first and second test respec-
tively. Fig. 1 (a) shows the results from a typical test
involving an isotropic loading and unloading cycle
a-b-c at a constant suction of 300 kPa, followed by
a wetting cycle cd and a subsequent isotropic reload-
ing de. During the wetting stage, swelling occurred in
the sample (path cd in Fig. 1 (a). As shown in Fig.
2 (a) loading and unloading were done at suction of
50 kPa; the drying stage continued until s = 300 kPa
and was followed by the subsequent reloading stage.
577
Inspection of Figs. 1 (a) and 2 (a) shows that there
was a change in the slope of compression curve dur-
ing loading stage ab, corresponding to a yield point
on the LC yield curve. During isotropic loading (path
ab) when large plastic reduction in void ratio occurred,
a significant increase in the degree of saturation was
observed. In contrast, during subsequent unloading
(path bc), when only a very small elastic swelling
occurred, the changes of degree of saturation were
very small and irreversible changes of degree of satura-
tion were observed. As the specific volume decreases,
the dimensions of voids and the connecting passage-
ways between the voids tend to decrease, so that a
higher value of suction is needed to produce a given
degree of saturation. Figs. 1 (b) and 2 (b) show that
the main variation in degree of saturation occurred
after the yield point, as the great proportion of defor-
mation occurred after yielding when large changes of
specific volume were occurring. Inspection of Figs 1
and 2 shows that the degree of saturation increased in
the wetting path cd (Fig. 1 (b)) and decreased in the
drying path cd (Fig. 2 (b)). It shows that the value of
Sr was higher in the drying path (Fig. 2 (b)) than in the
wetting path (Fig. 1 (b)) at any given value of suction.
The occurrence of hydraulic hysteresis is obvious by
comparing the results of these two tests. In the sub-
sequent reloading a yield point was observed, but the
value of the yield stress does not correspond to the
maximum value of mean net stress that was previ-
ously applied; this was because of the change in the
initial value of suction in the sample during wetting
or drying.
5 MODEL PREDICTION
In order to show the capabilities of the model in
predicting different types of stress path in isotropic
conditions the following values of soil constants
were obtained for the soil from the experimental
results:
λ (parameter for volumetric strain on LC curve) =
0.075
k (parameter for elastic volumetric strains) = 0.013
λs (parameter for change of degree of saturation on SI
or SD curve) = 0.12 and
ks (parameter for elastic changes of degree of satura-
tion) = 0.032.
The initial state of the soil sample for test 1 is:
p = 20 kPa, s = 300 kPa, v = 1.7519, Sr = 0.798
and pc = 190 kPa.
The initial state of soil sample for test 2 is:
p = 20 kPa, s = 50 kPa, v = 1.7519, Sr = 0.798 and
pc = 150 kPa.
The increments of p∗ and s∗ can be expressed by the
following equations (Wheeler et al., 2003):

dp∗ = d(p − ua ) + Sr ds + sdSr (4)

ds∗ = nds − sdε/v (5)

The experimental and predicted results are shown

in Figs. 3 and 4. The resulting stress paths in the s∗ : p∗
plane are shown in Figs. 3 (b) and 4 (c). The first case
involves loading, unloading, wetting (suction decrease
from 300 to 50 kPa) and reloading whereas the second
case involved loading, unloading, drying and reload-
ing. As shown in Figs. 3 (b) and 4 (c) during initial
section AB of the loading path the value of s∗ reduces
very slightly because of small decrease of porosity
n, caused by elastic volumetric strain resulting from
increase in p∗ . The LC yield curve is reached at B
when substantial plastic volumetric strain commences.
Large plastic increase of Sr therefore occurs as the
loading proceeds beyond point B. During unload-
ing the behaviour is purely elastic. During wetting
(suction decrease from 300 kPa to 50 kPa) in test 1
(Figs. 1 (a) and 1 (b)) the volume of the sample
increases and Sr increases significantly and over-
all there is a reduction in p∗ and a large reduc-
tion in s∗ . When reduction in suction takes place
at p = 50 kPa the stress path remains inside the
LC yield curve throughout the wetting process and

Figure 4. Model prediction of isotropic loading, unloading

at constant s = 50 kPa, drying and reloading at s = 300 kPa;
(a) specific volume; (b) path in modified stress space.

volumetric response consists of elastic swelling caused

Figure 3. Model prediction of isotropic loading, unloading
at constant s = 300 kPa, wetting and reloading at s = 50 kPa;
(a) specific volume; (b) path in modified stress space.
by reduction of p∗ .
In the second test (Fig. 2 (a)) drying (suction
increase from 50 to 300 kPa) occurs at p = 50 kPa.
In this case, reduction is observed in both Sr and vol-
ume of the sample. Overall increases are observed in
p∗ and s∗ as shown in Fig. 4 (c) During drying suction
increases and degree of saturation decreases and the
net effect is a significant reduction in p∗ . Through-
out the drying stage yielding occurs on the SI yield
curve causing significant plastic increase in Sr . Figs.
3 (b) and 4 (c) show the path of the reloading stages
for suctions of 300 and 50 kPa respectively. Fig. 4
(c) shows that the soil yields at point I on the LC
yield curve so the value of p is less than 550 kPa
that was previously applied. From I to F yielding
takes place on the LC yield curve leading to plas-
tic volumetric strain. Figs. 3(a), 4(a) and 4(b) show
the comparison between the model predictions and

578
the measured results. It is shown that although the
model is able to predict qualitatively various aspects
of the soil behaviour, quantitatively, there are dif-
ferences between the measured results and model
predictions.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The results show that significant variations occurred
in Sr during isotropic loading. This can be attributed
to the influence of volumetric strains, as the main
part of changes of Sr coincides with the post yield
sections of loading stages where large changes of v are
occurring. The experimental results indicate the occur-
rence of hydraulic hysteresis in the drying and wetting
stages. The model that was proposed by Wheeler
et al. (2003) for unsaturated soils is a new model that
includes coupling of hydraulic hysteresis and mechan-
ical behaviour. The performance of the model was
examined in the light of results of experiments on an
unsaturated silty soil in order to evaluate the capa-
bilities of the model in predicting some aspects of
unsaturated soil behaviour during loading, unloading,
drying, wetting and reloading. It is concluded from the
comparison of estimated and measured results that the
model is able to predict qualitatively various aspects of
the soil behaviour. However, the model predictions for
some conditions do not coincide with the experimen-
tal results and in some cases there are considerable
differences between them. It may be that some of
the mathematical expressions of the model should be
improved and the model needs to be fully validated
by experimental data including extension to triaxial
stress states. The effect of meniscus water on mechan-
ical behaviour is likely to be dominantly a function of
degree of saturation, Sr rather than s∗ . An increase of
Sr suggests a decrease in the stabilising effect of menis-
cus. Therefore for modelling the hysteresis effects, a
model which includes a link between Sr and s∗ might
be appropriate.
579
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique, Vol. 40,
No.3, 405–430.
Bolzon, G., Schrefler, B.A. and Zienkiewiez, O.C. 1996.
Elasto-plastic soil constitutive laws generalised to par-
tially saturated state. Géotechnique, Vol. 46, No. 2,
279–289.
Cui, Y.J. and Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotechnique, Vol. 46,
No. 2, 405–430.
Bishop, A.W. 1959. The principle of effective stress. Teknisk
Ukeblad 106, No. 39, 859–863.
Estabragh, A.R., Javadi, A.A. and Boot, J.C. 2004. Effect of
compaction pressure on consolidation behaviour of unsat-
urated silty soil. Canadian Geotechnical Journal No. 41:
540–550.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharma, R.S. and Vaunat, J. 2003. An
elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
effect of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
behaviour. Géotechnique, Vol. 53, No. 1, 123–135.
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Géotechnique, Vol. 47, No. 1, 193–196.
Jommi, C. 2000. Remarks on the constitutive modelling
of unsaturated soils. In Proceedings of the International
workshop on unsaturated soils. 139–153.
Josa, A., Balmaceda, A. Gens, A. and Alonso, E.E. 1992. An
elasto-plastic model for partially saturated soils exhibiting
a maximum collapse. Proc. 3rd, Int. Conf. Computational
plasticity, Barelona, 815–826.
Karube, D., Kato, S., Honda, M. and Kawai, K. 1998. A
constitutive model for unsaturated soil evaluating effects
of soil moisture distribution. In Proceedings of 3rd Int.
Conf. on Unsaturated soils, Beijing, 485–490.
Karube, D. and Kawai, K. 2001. The role of pore water in
the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. Geotech.
Geolog. Engineering, No.19, 211–241.
Wheeler, S.J and Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic crit-
ical state framework for unsaturated soil. Géotechnique,
Vol. 45, No. 1, 35–53.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. and Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour
in unsaturated soils. Géotechnique, Vol. 53, No. 1,
41–54.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

An improved constitutive model for unsaturated and saturated soils

K. Georgiadis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

D.M. Potts & L. Zdravkovic

Imperial College, London, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a constitutive model for unsaturated and saturated soils based on the critical
state framework. The model includes a versatile expression for yield and plastic potential surfaces, the option
of linear or nonlinear increase of shear strength with suction and three options for the shape of the unsaturated
isotropic compression lines. The latter feature is of particular importance as it controls the amount of potential
collapse the soil can experience due to wetting. Depending on the type of boundary value problem analysed a
linear, bi-linear or exponential relationship can be used. Two sets of finite element analyses are presented here
which investigate the influence of the shape of the isotropic compression line on the behaviour of strip footings
and axially loaded single piles.

1 INTRODUCTION of the yield and plastic potential surfaces. The advan-

tages of these improvements are demonstrated in the
Most existing constitutive models for unsaturated soils finite element analyses of a surface strip foundation
are based on fully saturated models, and in particular and an axially loaded pile.
on a critical state framework. The effects of partial sat-
uration and suction within a three-dimensional consti-
2 CONSTITUTIVE MODEL
tutive model are taken into account by the introduction
of suction or equivalent suction as an additional stress
2.1 Stress invariants
state variable.
Many of these models assume a linear relation- Two independent stress variables are required to model
ship for the variation of shear strength with suction unsaturated soil behaviour. A convenient choice of
(e.g. Alonso et al. 1990) and for the shape of the stress variables for partially saturated conditions is the
partially saturated isotropic compression lines (e.g. pair of equivalent stress:
Alonso et al. 1990, Wheeler & Sivakumar 1995).
Experimental evidence, however, suggests that these σ̃ = σ̄ + sair (1)
relationships are nonlinear. Of particular importance
is the shape of the isotropic compression line for unsat- and equivalent suction:
urated conditions, as it is directly related to the amount
of potential collapse that the soil will experience upon seq = s − sair (2)
wetting. Experimental results indicate that the amount
of potential collapse increases nonlinearly at low con-
where σ̄ (= σ − ua ) is the net stress, s is the matrix
fining stresses, reaches a maximum at a certain value
suction and sair is the air entry value of suction. The
of the confining stress and decreases at high confining
constitutive model is formulated in four-dimensional
stresses (e.g. Booth 1975, Yudhbir 1982).
stress space (J , p, θ, seq ), where J is the gener-
This paper presents a number of refinements made
alised three dimensional deviatoric stress, p̃ is the
to the existing critical state constitutive model for
mean equivalent stress and θ is the Lode’s angle.
unsaturated soils presented by Georgiadis et al. (2003)
and Georgiadis et al. (2005) that aid flexibility and
2.2 Yield function and plastic potential surface
applicability. These involve an exponential expression
for unsaturated isotropic compression lines, a nonlin- The following modified version of the Lagioia et al.
ear expression for the variation of shear strength with (1996) expression is used for the yield function and
suction, as well as a flexible function for the shapes plastic potential equations:

581
   Kβ2
η f J
' 1+
F p̃ + k · seq K2 constant k
= −  Kβ1 = 0 (3)
G p̃o + k · seq η f
1+
K1 k = Sr

where p̃o is the isotropic yield equivalent stress at the

current value of suction, k controls the increase in
apparent cohesion due to suction, K1 , K2 and βf are
constants calculated from the model parameters αi and
μi from the following expressions:
 ( 
μi (1 − αi ) 4αi (1 − μi )
K1,2 = 1± 1−
2 (1 − μi ) μi (1 − αi )2
βf = (1 − μi ) (K1 − K2 )
and η is the normalised stress ratio:
!  
J p̃ + f seq
η=
Mji
where Mji is the ratio J/(p̃ + f (seq )) at which either
∂F/∂ p̃ = 0 or ∂G/∂ p̃ = 0.Mji depends on the Lode’s
angle θ and the model parameter Mi and is calculated
from the Matsuoka—Nakai criterion (Matsuoka &
Nakai 1974).
The parameters αi , μi and Mi are equal to αf , μf and
Mf when the yield surface is being calculated and equal
to αg , μg and Mg when the plastic potential surface is
being calculated. Mg is the gradient of the critical state
line in the conventional q − p space, corresponding
to triaxial compression (θ = −30◦ ). The parameters
αf , μf and Mf and αg , μg and Mg control the shape of
the yield and plastic potential surfaces, respectively.
With appropriate choice of these parameters a wide
range of surfaces can be achieved including most of
the well-known yield and plastic potential surfaces.
2.3 Variation of apparent cohesion with suction
The parameter k in equation (3) controls the increase
of apparent cohesion Jci with suction through the
following expression:
Jci = k · Mji · seq
A constant value of k is only realistic if the problem
analysed involves small variations of suction. In other
cases it must be a function of suction or the degree
of saturation (Figure 1). An expression relating the
seq
Figure 1. Linear and non-linear variation of apparent
cohesion with equivalent suction.
(4)
degree of saturation, Sr , to suction has been proposed
by van Genuchten (1980):
 m
(5) 1
Sr =  n (1 − Sro ) + Sro (8)
1 + seq · ψ
where, ψ, m and n are fitting parameters, and Sro is
the residual degree of saturation at very high values of
suction.
(6)
2.4 Isotropic compression line
The isotropic yield equivalent stress, p̃o , at the cur-
rent value of suction depends on the shape of the
isotropic compression line. Three different options are
incorporated in the model.
2.4.1 Option 1—linear isotropic compression line
This option is the same as that proposed by Alonso
et al. (1990) in the Barcelona Basic model and has
been adopted in many other models, such as the Bolzon
et al. (1996), Cui & Delage (1995), Modaressi &
Abou-Bekr (1994) models. The isotropic compression
line for this option (Figure 2) is given by:
   
v = v1 seq − λ seq ln p̃o (9)
where v1 (seq ) is the specific volume at unit pressure
and the current value of equivalent suction and λ(seq )
is the partially saturated compressibility coefficient.
λ(seq ) is given by the following empirical expression
(Alonso et al. (1990)):
   
λ seq = λ(0) (1 − r) e−βseq + r (10)
(7) where λ(0) is the fully saturated compressibility coef-
ficient and β and r are model parameters which control
the shape of the primary yield and plastic potential
surfaces in the p̃ − seq plane.
This assumption for the isotropic compression line
leads, through the same calculations as those described

582
 p = 1kPa pm lnp
v1(0)
v1(seq)
Option 1

1
(seq)
~ ~
1 pc 1/b p~m
1 (0)
Saturated (0) Figure 3. Variation of potential plastic reduction of specific
volume due to wetting with isotropic yield stress.
Option 2

Figure 2. Isotropic compression lines for options 1 (linear)

and 2 (bi-linear). for the yield surface in the isotropic yield equivalent
stress—equivalent suction space becomes:

in Alonso et al. (1990), to the following expression !

(λ(0)−λ(seq )) (λ(seq )−κ )
relating the isotropic yield equivalent stress, p̃o , to the p̃o = p̃∗o · αc (12)
equivalent fully saturated yield stress, p̃∗o :

 (λ(0)−κ)!(λ(seq )−κ ) where, αc = p̃∗o /p̃c is a model parameter. The partially

p̃∗o
p̃o = p̃c ·
p̃c
where p̃c is the characteristic pressure defining the
limiting lower value of the equivalent fully saturated
yield stress, p̃∗o , for which the Loading-Collapse yield
curve is a vertical line (initially introduced by Alonso
et al. 1990) and κ is the compressibility coefficient
along elastic paths and is assumed to be independent
of suction.
Equation (11) implies that the amount of potential
collapse due to wetting (vertical distance between the
fully and partially saturated lines in the v-lnp̃ plane)
increases linearly with the increase of the logarithm of
the confining stress, p̃. This is a realistic assumption
for the low confining stresses at which many labora-
tory tests on partially saturated soils are performed,
but may give unrealistically high values of the yield
stress, p̃o , and the wetting induced volumetric plastic
strains, at high confining stresses.
2.4.2 Option 2—Bi-linear isotropic compression
line
The characteristic pressure p̃c is an arbitrary parameter
the value of which is selected such that the shape of
the Loading-Collapse yield curve matches the experi-
mental data, and is assumed to be constant and unique
for a particular soil. However, to avoid inconsistencies
at high stress levels it would appear that p̃c must be
stress level dependent.
An alternative approach is to assume that the
ratio p̃∗o /p̃c is constant for confining stress ranges
higher than those at which the experiments where
performed. Adopting this approach, the expression
saturated isotropic compression line for this option is
(11) bi-linear and is shown in Figure 2. At low confin-
ing stresses expression (11) is adopted giving a linear
increase of the amount of collapse with stress, while
at high confining stresses expression (12) is adopted
giving a constant amount of collapse.
The switch from expression (11) to expression (12)
takes place when the two expressions are equal. It can
be shown that the confining stress, p̃m , at which this
switch takes place, is given by:
!
(λ(0)−κ) (λ(seq )−κ )
p̃m = p̃c · αc (13)
2.4.3 Option 3—Non-linear isotropic compression
line
The idealised relationship between the amount of
potential plastic reduction of the specific volume,
vp , due to wetting of a partially saturated soil lying
on the isotropic compression line, and the isotropic
yield stress, po , is given in Figure 3. A mathematical
expression of this form is the following:
 −b
p̃o p̃o
vp = λm ln (14)
p̃c p̃c
where λm and b are model parameters.
The partially saturated isotropic compression line
is shown in Figure 4 and is given by:
v = v1 (0) − λ (0) ln p̃ + v (15)

583
 ~ ~ option is given by the following equation:
N(0) ⎛ ⎞
N(seq) λm x−b
⎝1− ⎠
λ (0) − κ p̃o
1 p̃∗o = p̃c x , where x = (21)
p̃c
1

Option 3
3 FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSES
Saturated
3.1 General
Two boundary value problems analysed with the
Figure 4. Isotropic compression line for option 3 above constitutive model are presented in this paper.
(non-linear). The analyses aim to highlight the influence of the
shape of the isotropic compression line on the
behaviour of shallow and deep foundations.
where
3.2 Surface strip footing
v = vp − ve
 −b All analyses involved a 2 m wide rough rigid strip foot-
p̃o p̃o seq + patm ing bearing on a uniform soil. The groundwater table
= λm ln c − κs ln (16)
p̃c p̃ patm was at −2 m with a hydrostatic pore pressure profile to
the ground surface. An air entry suction value of zero
The slope of the partially saturated compression line was used and therefore the soil was treated as partially
at any value of p̃o is calculated as follows: saturated from the water table to the ground surface.
Two sets of analyses were performed. In the first set
 −b   the footing was loaded to failure and in the second
  p̃o p̃o the footing was first loaded to a certain load with the
λ seq = λ (0) − λm 1 − b ln (17) water table at −2 m and subsequently the groundwater
p̃c p̃c
table was raised to the ground level at constant applied
The initial slope of the isotropic compression load. Three different loads were considered: 100 kN,
line, λin (seq ), is obtained by setting p̃o = p̃c in 175 kN and 350 kN.
Equation 17: Both sets of analyses outlined above were per-
formed with options 1 (linear isotropic compression
  line) and 3 (non-linear isotropic compression line).
λin seq = λ (0) − λm (18) The soil parameters used in the analyses are shown in
Table 1. Three values of b were considered: 0.1, 0.226
The parameter λm is therefore a measure of the and 0.472, which correspond to maximum potential
soil stiffness at low confining stresses and is depen- collapse at a confining stresses, pm , of approximately
dent on equivalent suction. It can be assumed that 265 MPa, 1000 kPa and 100 kPa, respectively. A con-
the initial slope of the isotropic compression line, stant value with depth of 1.5 was assumed for the OCR
λin (seq ), is given by equation (10). λm is obtained from throughout the soil. OCR in this case refers to the
combination of Equations 10 and 18 as follows: equivalent fully saturated state (seq = 0): OCR = p̃∗o /p̃.
 
λm = λ (0) (1 − r) 1 − e−βseq (19) Table 1. Material properties for footing analyses.

The value of p̃o at which maximum collapse takes αf 0.4 r 0.35

place is given by: μf 0.9 β 0.0164 kPa−1
Mf 1.2 κs 0.001
αg 0.4 ν1 2.0
p̃m = p̃c e1/b (20) μg 0.9 k 0.8
Mg 1.2 μ 0.2
pc 12.0 kPa sair 0.0 kPa
The relationship between the partially saturated and
λ(0) 0.066 Ko 1.0
the equivalent fully saturated isotropic yield stress κ 0.0077 γ 17.0 kN/m3
which corresponds to the non-linear curves of this

584
 500 For the lower load of 175 kN only small settlements
450 take place, which initially increase linearly with the
400
350
rise of the groundwater table but level off as the
G.W.T. approaches the ground surface. For the higher
Load (kN)

300
250 load of 350 kN much larger settlements are predicted
200 Option
model 11 indicating failure.
150 b = 0.1 Unlike the predictions for the load-settlement
100 b = 0.226
50
curve, the shape of the isotropic compression line can
b = 0.472
0 be seen to greatly affect the behaviour of the footing
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 due to wetting. The settlements reduce significantly
Settlement (m) with increasing b. For the lower load of 175 kN an
increase of the parameter b from 0 (equivalent to the
Figure 5. Load-settlement curves. analysis with option 1) to 0.472 leads to a decrease of
the final predicted settlement of approximately 73%.
Rise of groundwater table (m)
For the larger load of 350 kN the effect of the para-
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 meter b is even greater. At a rise of the G.W.T. from
0
−2 m to −1 m the settlement predicted for b = 0
0.05 is 150% larger than that predicted for b = 0.472.
For isotropic stress states it is only the relationship
Settlement (m)

0.1 Option 1 (175kN)

b = 0.1 (175kN)
between the yield stress, p̃∗o , and the equivalent fully
0.15 b = 0.226 (175kN) saturated yield stress, p̃o , that controls the amount of
b = 0.472 (175kN)
Option 1 (350kN) wetting induced collapse. In any other case the change
0.2 b = 0.1 (350kN) in apparent cohesion also affects the predicted amount
b = 0.226 (350kN)
0.25
b = 0.472 (350kN) of collapse, but generally to a much lesser extent.

Figure 6. Progression of vertical movement with rise of

groundwater table—influence of the parameter b.
For simplicity and since the problem analysed does not
involve high values of suction (s ≤ 39.24 kPa) a linear
increase of the apparent cohesion with suction was
assumed (k = const.). Finally, the same unit weight
of 17 kN/m3 was assigned to the soil above and below
the groundwater table for all analyses.
The predicted load-settlement curves from the first
set of analyses are plotted in Figure 5. It can be seen
that the parameter b does not have any significant
influence on the predicted curves. Consequently nei-
ther does the shape of the isotropic compression line
nor the shape of the Loading-Collapse curve. It is evi-
dent from this that for the low suction levels of this
particular problem it is the increase of apparent cohe-
sion that controls the soil strength and not the value
of the isotropic yield stress, po . At these low values
of suction the value of the isotropic yield stress does
not vary sufficiently enough to significantly affect the
size of the primary yield surface.
Figure 6 shows the progression of the settlement
with the rise of the G.W.T. predicted by the second set
of analyses (rise of the groundwater table at a constant
load of 175 kN and 350 kN) The results are directly
comparable as the initial stress-strain conditions at the
beginning of wetting are very similar for the given
loads.
The settlements predicted with option 3 follow the
same pattern as that observed in the option 1 analyses.
3.3 Single pile
The influence of the shape of the isotropic compres-
sion line on the behaviour of bored piles endbearing in
partially saturated soil is investigated in this section.
The analyses presented here are supplementary to the
analyses of a pile in Canary Wharf, London presented
by Georgiadis et al. (2003). The ground profile used
in the finite element analyses comprised (from top to
bottom) 10 m of fill, 3.8 m of Terrace Gravel, 3.9 m of
Lambeth Group Clay, 6.5 m of Lambeth Group Sands,
12.8 m of Thanet Sands underlain by Chalk.
The pile analysed was of 1.5 m diameter and 20.5 m
length and was wished in place. Two sets of analyses
are presented. The first set of analyses involves axial
loading of the pile to failure with the ground water
table at the initial level shown in Figure 7. The second
set includes analyses in which the pile was loaded to
a certain load and subsequently the groundwater table
was raised to the final level, also shown on the same
figure.
The model parameters for the Lambeth sand and
Thanet sand layers are given in Tables 2 and 3. Because
of the large suctions involved in this problem the cohe-
sion increase parameter, k, was set equal to the degree
of saturation, Sr . The variation of the degree of satu-
ration with suction was obtained from the particle size
distribution curves of the materials using the Arya &
Paris (1981) method. These were in turn fitted into the
Van Genuchten (1980) expression for the soil water
characteristic curve.

585
 -5 Table 4. Material properties for Terrace Gravel, Lambeth
Clay and Chalk.

-10 Terrace Gravel Lambeth Clay Chalk

φ 33◦ 29◦ 34◦

-15 μ 0.2 0.2 0.2
E 30 MPa 30 MPa 1000 MPa

-20
maximum potential collapse takes place at a very high
-25 Cessation of confining stress pm ≈ 26000 kPa.
dewatering The Terrace Gravel, Lambeth Clay and Chalk layers
were modelled with the generalised Mohr-Coulomb
-30 model. The soil properties adopted for the analyses
Pile construction are shown in Table 4. A value of zero was set for
the angle of dilation for these layers. The Lambeth
-35 Clay was assumed to behave undrained. The Ko values
assigned to each soil layer were 0.5 for the Terrace
-40
Gravel, 1.15 for the Lambeth Clay, Lambeth Sands
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 and Thanet Sands, and 1.0 for the Chalk. These values
Piezometric Level
refer to the initial fully saturated conditions, prior to
pile construction.
Figure 7. Canary Wharf pile analyses—Pore pressure The concrete pile behaviour was modelled as linear
profiles. elastic. A Young’s modulus of 20 GPa and a Poisson’s
ratio of 0.15 were used in the analyses.
Table 2. Material properties for Lambeth sand. Figure 8 shows the load-displacement curves pre-
dicted with option 3 for the three different values of
αf 0.08 β 0.02 kPa−1 b. Unlike the footing case, where the parameter b did
not affect the predicted ultimate load, the ultimate pile
μf 2.0 κs 0.001 load increases with decreasing value of b, and con-
Mf 0.9 ν1 1.826 sequently increasing isotropic yield stress p̃o . In this
αg 0.01 μ 0.2 case the suctions and stresses in the partially saturated
μg 0.57 sair 15.0 kPa
zone are sufficiently high to produce p̃o values much
Mg 1.32 ψ 0.03 kPa−1
αc 1.667 m 0.35
higher than the equivalent p̃∗o value, therefore affecting
λ(0) 0.06 n 4.5 significantly the size of the primary yield surface.
κ 0.005 Sro 0.15 Plotted on the same figure is the load-displacement
r 0.25 curve predicted with option 2. It can be seen that this
curve is very close to and slightly lower than that pre-
dicted with option 3 for b = 0.226 (approximately
Table 3. Material properties for Thanet sand. 3% lower). This is due to the fact that the isotropic
compression line for option 2 is very close to that
αf 0.08 β 0.02 kPa−1 corresponding to option 3 and b = 0.226 for the con-
μf 2.0 κs 0.001 fining stress level relevant to this analysis (higher than
Mf 1.0 ν1 1.872
αg 0.01 μ 0.2
200 kPa).
μg 0.57 sair 13.0 kPa The progression of the vertical displacements of the
Mg 1.46 ψ 0.014 kPa−1 pile with the rise of the groundwater table, at different
αc 1.667 m 0.4 constant loads, is shown in Figure 9, for option 2 and
λ(0) 0.06 n 5.0 option 3 with b = 0.226. It can be seen that the results
κ 0.005 Sro 0.13 are in good agreement, with option 2 giving slightly
r 0.25 lower displacements at the higher loads of 32 MN and
26 MN, and identical results at the low load of 19 MN.
This is consistent with the results of the loading analy-
Three different values of the parameter b are inves- ses discussed above, therefore confirming that the two
tigated; b = 0.472 which corresponds to maximum models produce very similar results for the given αc
potential collapse at pm = 100 kPa, b = 0.226 which and b values, and the stress and suction range under
corresponds to pm = 1000 kPa, and b = 0.1 for which consideration.

586
 60 Rise of water table (m)
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15
50 0

40 10

Vertical Displacement (mm)

Load (MN)

20
30
30
Option 2
20 40
Option 3 - b=0.1 b=0.226 (d=14.2mm)
Option 3 - b=0.226 50 b=0.472 (d=14.2mm)
10
Option 3 - b=0.472 b=0.226 (d=20mm)
60 b=0.472 (d=20mm)
0
70 b=0.226 (d=30mm)
0 20 40 60 80 100
b=0.472 (d=30mm)
Settlement (mm) 80

Figure 8. Load-settlement curves for different values of b. Figure 10. Progression of vertical displacements for differ-
ent values of b.

Rise of water table (m)

0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 they are not performed for the same load levels. How-
0 ever, close inspection of the load-displacement curves
10 in Figure 8 shows that the b = 0.472 analysis starts
Vertical Displacement (mm)

20 closer to the ultimate pile load with the shaft friction

Op. 2 (L=19MN)
30
fully mobilised and is therefore more likely to pre-
Op. 3 - b=0.226 (L=19MN)
Op. 2 (L=26MN)
dict collapse. The difference between the analyses can
40
Op. 3 - b=0.226 (L=26MN) therefore be attributed primarily to the value of the
50
Op. 2 (L=32MN) parameter b and the shape of the isotropic compression
60 Op. 3 - b=0.226 (L=32MN) line.
70
80

Figure 9. Progression of vertical displacements: compari- 4 CONCLUSIONS

son of option 2 and 3.
The influence of the parameter b on the pile
response to wetting can be seen in Figure 10 which
presents pile movements due to rise of the groundwa-
ter table for different values of b (0.226 and 0.472) and
initial pile settlement (14.2 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm).
It was chosen to make the comparison at the same val-
ues of initial settlement instead of the same load levels
because the latter would have been meaningless, espe-
cially at high loads, where the settlements increase
rapidly (see Figure 8). The pile loads which corre-
spond to initial displacements of 14.2 mm, 20 mm
and 30 mm are 19 MN, 26 MN and 32 MN for b =
0.226, and 19 MN, 25 MN and 28 MN for b = 0.472,
respectively.
For the lowest initial settlement of 14.2 mm the
value of b has no influence on the pile response; both
analyses give purely elastic heave. For 20 mm initial
settlement the two analyses produce very close results,
giving near-elastic heave. In contrast to them, for the
large initial settlement of 30 mm the predictions are
very different. The analysis with b = 0.226 predicts
much larger settlements than the b = 0.472 analy-
sis indicating failure of the pile. It is acknowledged
that the two analyses are not directly comparable, as
A constitutive model is presented in this paper which
provides three different options for the loading col-
lapse yield surface. Option 1 gives a linear isotropic
compression line leading to a constant increase of the
amount of potential wetting induced collapse with the
increase of the confining stress. Option 2 gives a bi-
linear compression line leading to a constant amount
of potential collapse beyond a certain value of the con-
fining stress. Finally, option 3 adopts an exponential
expression, so that the amount of potential collapse
increases with confining stress at low stresses, reaches
a maximum value and then decreases to zero at very
high confining stresses.
The influence of the shape of the isotropic compres-
sion line was investigated for two common boundary
value problems. The following conclusions can be
drawn:
• For the low suction and stress range involved in
the strip footing analyses, the shape of the isotropic
compression line does not affect the predicted load-
settlement curve (options 1 and 3 give similar
results). This indicates that in this suction and stress
range it is the variation of apparent cohesion with
suction that controls the shear strength of the soil.
The Canary Wharf pile analyses, however, showed
that for higher stress levels, the shape of the isotropic

587
 compression line has a significant effect on the
predicted load-settlement curve.
• For the suction and stress ranges involved in the
problems analysed (both footing and Canary Wharf
pile analyses), the response to rising groundwater
table significantly depended on the shape of the
isotropic compression line.
• The Canary Wharf pile analyses showed that when
the model parameters α c (for option 2) and b
(for option 3) are selected such as to give simi-
lar isotropic compression lines over the stress and
suction range relevant to the problem analysed, the
finite element predictions are also very similar.
REFERENCES
Alonso E.E., Gens A. & Josa A. 1990. A constitutive model
for partially saturated soils. Geotechnique 40, No. 3,
pp. 405–430.
Arya L.M. & Paris J.F. 1981. A physicoempirical model to
predict the soil moisture characteristic from particle-size
distribution and bulk density data. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.,
pp. 1023–1031.
Bolzon G., Schrefler B.A. & Zienkiewicz O.C. 1996. Elasto-
plastic soil constitutive laws generalised to partially
saturated states. Geotechnique 46, No. 2, pp. 279–289.
Booth A.R. 1975. The factors influencing collapse settle-
ment in compacted soils. Proc. 6th Reg. Conf. For Africa
on Soils Mech. And Found. Eng. Durban, pp. 57–63.
588
Cui Y.J., Delage P. & Sultan N. 2003. An elastoplastic model
for compacted soils. 1 st Int. Conf. On Unsaturated Soils,
Paris, 2, pp.703–709.
Georgiadis K., Potts D.M. & Zdravkovic L. 2003. The
influence of partial soil saturation on pile behaviour.
Geotechnique 53, No. 1, pp. 11–25.
Georgiadis K., Potts D.M. & Zdravkovic L. 2005. Three-
Dimensional Constitutive Model for Partially and Fully
Saturated Soils. International Journal of Geomechanics,
Volume 5, Issue 3, pp. 244–255.
Lagioia R., Puzrin A.M. & Potts D.M. 1996. A new ver-
satile expression for yield and plastic potential surfaces.
Computers and Geotechnics 19, No. 3, pp. 171–191.
Matsuoka H. & Nakai T. 1974. Stress-deformation and
strength characteristics of soil under three different prin-
cipal stresses. Proc. Jap. Soc. Civ. Eng. 232, pp. 59–70.
Modaressi A. & Abou-Bekr N. 1994. Constitutive model
for unsaturated soils: validation on silty material. 3rd
Eur. Conf. Num. Methods Geotech. Eng. Manchester,
pp. 91–96.
Van Genuchten M.T. 1980. A closed-form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., pp. 892–898.
Wheeler S.J., & Sivakumar V. 1995. An elastoplastic critical
state framework for unsaturated soil. Geotechnique 45,
No. 1, pp. 35–53.
Yudhbir 1982. Collapsing behaviour of residual soils. Proc.
7th Southeast Asia Geot. Conf. Hong Kong. Vol. 1,
pp. 915–930.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Modifying the Barcelona Basic Model to account for residual void ratio
and subsequent decrease of shear strength relative to suction

M.E. Bardanis & M.J. Kavvadas

National Technical University, Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT: The paper presents modifications to the Barcelona Basic Model to account for two aspects of
unsaturated soil behaviour affecting the predictions for both fine-grained and granular soils: stabilisation of
void ratio and different patterns of shear strength evolution with increasing suction. The first modification
improves predictions of volume change at suctions close to the residual state. The second modification improves
predictions of shear strength evolution with increasing suction for various types of soils. It is shown how
the proper selection of values for the new parameters introduced allows the prediction of either continuously
increasing shear strength, or stabilising shear strength, or even subsequently decreasing shear strength after an
initial increase. The paper concludes with a presentation of the differences caused by these modifications in the
shape of the yield surface in the p − q − s space and the possible shape of the boundary of plastic volumetric
deformation in the p-s plane.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 BBM AND OTHER MODELS

The Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) introduced by
Alonso et al. (1990) was the first complete con-
stitutive model for non-expansive unsaturated soils
to capture the fundamental aspects of unsaturated
soil behaviour. Since then other models based on
BBM have been proposed, which introduce more
detail into the prediction of unsaturated soil behaviour.
All these models are based on critical state theory
extended to include suction as a separate stress param-
eter. While they succeed in predicting the general
behaviour of unsaturated soils, such as the increase
of shear strength with suction exhibited by clays and
the volume changes with suction expected for the
corresponding total stress magnitude, they cannot pre-
dict certain specific characteristics which have been
experimentally established. The first is the prediction
of the range of suction in which shrinkage actually
takes place for relatively low total stress. The sec-
ond is the possibility of subsequent stabilisation or
decrease of shear strength after an initial increase
up to the air-entry pressure, as alternatives to con-
tinuous increase of shear strength exhibited by BBM
and other models. The modifications introduced pre-
dict volume decrease only up to the shrinkage limit
and the possibility of any shear strength evolution
scenario past the air-entry pressure of the soil, i.e. fur-
ther increase of shear strength, stabilisation of shear
strength or even decrease to a lower value or even
zero.
BBM remains until today the reference constitutive
model describing the mechanical behaviour of non-
expansive unsaturated soils. The model is formulated
in the p-q-s space, where p = (σ1 + 2σ3 )/3 − ua ,
q = σ1 − σ3 and s = ua − uw (ua and uw are the pres-
sures of the pore air phase and the pore water phase
respectively, and σ1 , σ2 and σ3 are the principal total
stresses). The yield locus in the p-q plane is described
by Equation 1, where ps is the tensile strength devel-
oped by suction, as described by Equation 2, M is the
slope of the critical state line, po the yield stress on the
v-p plane (s = 0) and k the rate of the tensile strength
increase with suction.
 
f1 p, q, s, p∗0 = q2 − M2 (p + ps ) (p0 − p) = 0 (1)
ps = ks (2)
The yield stress po evolves with suction according to
Equation 3 where p∗o is the yield stress on the v-p plane
(s = 0), pc is a reference stress, κ and λ(0) the com-
pression indices on the v-p plane (s = 0) and λ(s) the
compression index for p > po (s = 0) as described by
Equation 4, where r and β are empirical parameters.
  λ(0)−κ
po p∗o λ(s)−κ
= (3)
pc pc
λ(s) = λ(0) [(1 − r) exp(−βs) + r] (4)

589
The yield locus in the p-q-s space is supplemented by
Equation 5, where so is the yield suction on the v-s
plane.
f2 (s, s0 ) = s − s0 = 0 (5)
As can be seen from Equations 1 to 5 (and from
Curve a in Fig. 1), BBM incorporates only 3 parame-
ters describing volume change directly associated to
a variation of suction: κs , λs & so . These param-
eters allow the prediction of an initial low volume
decrease (determined by κs ) up to an essentially arbi-
trary value of suction so (which can be considered to
describe physically the maximum suction applied to
the soil) and then a further (and generally larger) value
of volume decrease (determined by λs ). Although this
formulation is adequate for the range of suction sig-
nificantly below the shrinkage limit of the soil, with
the additional advantage that it is analogous to the
formulation for volume decrease under zero suction
conditions, it does not include a boundary correspond-
ing to the shrinkage limit (either in terms of suction
or void ratio) up to which volume may decrease, as
presented by Curve b in Figure 1. For suctions close to
residual water content, or higher, this type of formula-
tion overestimates volume change as it underestimates
final specific volume/void ratio values.
As far as shear strength is concerned, setting p = 0
into Equation 1, and replacing ps , po and λ(s) from
Equations 2, 3 and 4 respectively yields Equation 6
which represents the intersection of the 3-dimensional
yield surface with the q-s plane (for q > 0). Plot-
ting Equation 6 in Figure 2 shows that BBM predicts
continuous increase of shear strength with increasing
suction. Although this is true for clays, it is not the
case for sands, tuffs and sometimes silts, as shown
by experimental results presented by Fredlund et al.
(1995).
e or
so sr ln s
s
s and wetting of soil which predicts the limiting of
er (b)
(a)
Figure 1. Void ratio/Specific volume changes with increas-
ing suction under zero total stress: Curve a does not account
for residual void ratio, while Curve b takes residual void ratio
into account.
590
400
300
q (kPa)
200
100
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
s (kPa)
Figure 2. Shear strength evolution with increasing suction
according to BBM (graphical representation of Eq. 6).
√  ∗  2·λ(0)[(1−r)·exp(−βs)+r]−2·κ
λ(0)−κ
√ ) po
q= k · M · s · pc (6)
pc
The terms in Equation 6 have been placed in such
a sequence, so as the different effect of each factor
can be distinguished. k 1/2 expresses the effect of the
evolution of tensile strength. M expresses the direct
effect of the slope of the critical state line on unsatu-
rated shear strength. s1/2 expresses the direct effect of
suction increase on the increase of shear strength.
The rest of the terms essentially express the effect
of the loading history and the effect of drying-wetting
cycles (indirect effect of suction on the evolution of
shear strength).
Despite the presence of numerous other factors
however, none can alter the continuous increase of
shear strength shown in Figure 2 (as was proven by
extensive parameter analyses carried out). For com-
parison, the curve shown in Figure 2 has been obtained
for the set of values used by Alonso et al. (1990)
for the ‘reference soil’ they used for their predic-
tions with BBM (λ(0) = 0.2, κ = 0.02, r = 0.75,
β = 12.5 MPa−1 , pc = 0.1 MPa, p∗o = 0.6 MPa,
M = 1, k = 0.6).
Other constitutive models which do not incorpo-
rate a limiting value of void ratio change or alternative
possibilities for shear strength evolution have been
proposed (e.g. Wheeler & Sivakumar, 1995). Toll
(1995) presented a conceptual model for the drying
void ratio changes and therefore the calculated volume
changes up to the void ratio corresponding to shrink-
age limit. Kohgo et al. (1993a & b) and Kohgo (2004)
have proposed models which have limiting parameters
for volume change and the capability to model alter-
native patterns of shear strength evolution. Georgiadis
et al. (2003) proposed among other modifications that
parameter k can vary with suction by setting k equal
to degree of saturation and therefore the evolution of
k with suction equal to the soil-water characteristic
curve of the soil. This approach solves the problem
for soils expected to exhibit an initial increase of shear
strength with suction and then a subsequent decrease,
like granular soils, but it does not provide a universally
applicable equation for shear strength evolution, mak-
ing it therefore necessary to switch between equations
for k for each type of material.
Other approaches in constitutive modelling of
unsaturated soils have focused on combining LC and
SI curves into one single surface. Delage & Graham
(1996) proposed first that the two curves are probably
one single locus in the p-s plane. Sivakumar & Doran
(2000) presented first experimental evidence to sup-
port this, while Tang & Graham (2002) took the effort
one step further by proposing a conceptual but com-
plete constitutive model with one single continuous
3-dimensional yield surface in the p-q-s space. This
constitutes a different approach towards incorporat-
ing the capability to model various scenarios of shear
strength evolution.
3 THE MODIFICATIONS TO BBM
Common shrinkage limit tests and a large number
of published drying curves indicate that clayey soils
shrink to a minimum value of their void ratio during
drying and then shrink no more, irrespective of how
large the suction becomes. As shown by Curve a in
Figure 1 therefore the specific volume-suction curve
described by only 4 parameters (initial value N of spe-
cific volume at atmospheric pressure pat , κs , λs and so )
should be substituted by the idealised Curve b shown in
Figure 1 with a flat final portion corresponding to the
residual void ratio er (vr = 1 + er ). This curve needs
only one additional parameter for its description, either
the residual void ratio er , or the suction at which it is
first achieved. Recently, Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006)
proposed an empirical relation predicting the residual
void ratio of low to medium plasticity clays and marls
which have been consolidated to various stresses from
a slurry condition and then unloaded and left to dry
to residual water content in atmospheric conditions.
The residual void ratio is predicted from the physical
properties of the soil (wL , Gs ) and its initial state before
drying, as expressed by initial void ratio before drying,
eo , and an empirical parameter, m, found to be 0.43
for the soils tested by Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006).
More recently Bardanis & Kavvadas (2008) proposed
another empirical relation (derived from many more
soils and test results) based on wp rather than wL and an
empirical parameter, me , equal to −0.38, along with
its conceptual generalisation for soils with structure
by addition of another parameter, Ms . The proposed
relations by Bardanis & Kavvadas (2006 & 2008) are
represented by Equations 7 & 8 respectively for soils
591
without natural structure, and by Equation 9 for natural
soils.
 
m
er = eo 1 − · eo (7)
wL · Gs
 
eo
er = eo · exp me · (8)
wP · Gs
 
eo
er = Ms · eo · exp me · (9)
wP · Gs
The set of Equations 7 to 9 allows the prediction of
the residual void ratio and as a result the calculation
of the residual specific volume for incorporation as a
model parameter into BBM. The use of the residual
void ratio in the formulation of the BBM allows more
realistic predictions of volume changes due to suction
increase under constant total mean stress during elastic
or elasto-plastic loading. It allows for the derivation
of a limiting line in the p-s plane up to which volume
changes do actually occur due to suction changes for
the same mean total stress magnitude. Past this line
the only volume changes that may occur are due to
mean stress p increase. This point is further discussed
in Section 4.
For the more accurate prediction of shear strength,
the most suitable term from Equation 6 was selected.
This was k and it was given such a form so as to pre-
dict either continuous increase of shear strength, or
initial increase and then stabilisation, or finally initial
increase and then decrease of the shear strength. In
order for this to take place it is proposed that k may
be described by a function of the degree of saturation
which takes the form of Equation 10.
k = ζk · Sηr k (10)
In Equation 10, k is the factor giving tensile stress,
Sr is the degree of saturation and ζk and ηk are
empirical parameters.
For ηk = 0 and arbitrary values of ζk , prediction
of shear strength is essentially as in the BBM. For
ηk = 1 and ζk = 1, k becomes equal to the degree of
saturation as adopted by Georgiadis et al. (2003). For
selected values of ηk and ζk the prediction of all scenar-
ios of the evolution of shear strength with increasing
suction is possible. In Figure 3 the effect of ηk for
constant ζk is shown and in Figure 4 the effect of ζk
for constant ηk is shown. In order to plot Figures 3
and 4 a soil-water characteristic curve was assumed
for the material corresponding to the parameter values
mentioned in Section 2. This soil-water characteristic
curve was produced by use of the Fredlund & Xing
(1994) equation assuming the following values for the
empirical parameters of the equation: a = 600 kPa,
n = 4, m = 2 and sr = 5000 kPa. For the set of values
 800 the initial slope and subsequent position of the q-s
curve.

600
4 EFFECT ON THE SHAPE
BBM, k=0.6 OF THE YIELD LOCUS
q (kPa)

ηk=0.2
400
Apart from the direct effect on the predictions of
ηk=0.5 volume change and shear strength evolution with
increasing suction, the modifications introduced into
200 BBM have a major effect on the shape of the yield sur-
ηk=1 face in the p-q-s space. In Figure 5a the intersection of
ηk=2 the 3-dimensional yield surface of the BBM with the
0 p-s plane is presented. The increase in the size of the
0 1000 2000 3000 yield locus in the p-q plane (or its trace on the p-s plane)
s (kPa)
is continuous according to the tensile strength increase
law on one side and the evolution of the LC curve with
Figure 3. The effect of parameter ηk on the evolution of
suction on the other. For a material exhibiting contin-
shear strength with suction. ζk is constant with a value of 0.6
and the rest of the parameter values are the same as those for uous increase of tensile/shear strength with suction,
the curve in Figure 2 (bold curve in this figure). the shape of the intersection of the yield surface
with the p-s plane for the modified BBM is expected
to be the same as for BBM (Fig. 5a). For materials
400 exhibiting shear strength stabilization or decrease after
an initial increase of shear strength however, the shape
BBM, k=0.6
of the intersection of the yield surface with the p-s
300
plane is expected to change as shown in Figures 5b &
5c respectively. For a soil with continuously increas-
ζk=1.0 ing shear strength with suction, the left point of the
q (kPa)

ellipse defining the yield locus will continuously move

200
ζk=0.6
ζk=0.3
100
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
s (kPa)
Figure 4. The effect of parameter ζk on the evolution of
shear strength with suction. ηk is constant with a value of 2
and the rest of the parameter values are the same as those for
the curve in Figure 2 (bold curve in this figure).
selected to plot Figure 2 the same relation between q
and s is predicted for ζk = k of BBM and ηk = 0.
Continuous increase of shear strength is also exhib-
ited for ηk = 0.2, but the increase is smaller, while
for a value of ηk = 0.5 the strength practically sta-
bilises after its initial increase, while for ηk = 1 and
ηk = 2 rapid decrease occurs after the initial increase
in strength. The parameter ηk can be used therefore
for determining the evolution of the shear strength
of unsaturated soils past the initial increase, whether
that may be further increase, stabilisation, or decrease.
As far as the parameter ζk is concerned, it determines
towards more negative values of total mean stress
(Fig. 5a). For a soil with stabilizing shear strength
after a certain value of suction, this point will sta-
bilise in the p-q plane and the expansion of the yield
locus will be only due to a mean total stress increase
(Fig. 5b). Finally for a soil with initially increasing and
subsequently decreasing shear strength with suction,
this point of the ellipse on the p-q plane will tend to
approach the origin of the plot of this plane and once
again the expansion of the yield locus will be only due
to a mean total stress increase (Fig. 5c).
As already mentioned in Section 3, the use of the
residual void ratio in the formulation of the BBM
allows for the derivation of a limiting line in the p-s
plane up to which volume changes do actually occur
due to suction changes for the same mean total stress
magnitude. Past this line the only volume changes that
may occur are due to mean stress p increase.
Using one of the Equations 7 to 9 residual void
ratio may be predicted. The initial void ratio eo before
drying needs to be specified first. Once the residual
void ratio has been predicted, then using so and λs
(already used parameters of BBM) the value of the suc-
tion at which the residual void ratio is achieved may
be calculated. Introducing now the change in initial
void ratio caused by κ for zero suction in the elas-
tic region, then the evolution of the suction at which
the residual void ratio is achieved for constant total

592

Figure 5. Intersection of the 3-dimensional yield surface
with the p-s plane for a soil: a) with continuous increase of
shear strength, b) with initial increase and then stabilisation of
its shear strength, and c) with initial increase and subsequent
decrease of its shear strength with suction.
593
3.5
A
3.0
2.5 B
2.0
s (MPa)
1.5
1.0
0.5 po*=0.2MPa, so=0.3MPa
0.0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60
p (MPa)
Figure 6. p-s plane with SI and LC loci and the predicted
curve limiting the region of possible states for volume change
to occur due to shrinkage for p < po ∗ .
stress suction paths (for p < p∗o ) is obtained. This is
as shown by curve A-B in Figure 6 for the parameter
values mentioned in Section 2 (assuming eo = 0.9 for
p = 10 kPa, which yields er = 0.629 according to
Eq. 8 for this value of net mean stress and e = 0.840
for κ = 0.02 at p = 200 kPa, which itself yields
er = 0.601 according to Eq. 8). The space in the p-s
plane between the SI locus and curve A-B constitutes
the space where plastic volumetric strains (in the form
of irrecoverable shrinking) due to suction increase will
take place for p values in the elastic region of the
fully saturated soil yield locus. For constant total stress
suction paths corresponding to p values greater than
p∗o (which means that plastic volumetric deformation
has already occurred before drying commences) and
more complex paths involving alternations between
constant total stress paths and constant suction paths
or simultaneous p and s change paths it is considered
that Equations 7 to 9 are not appropriate for an esti-
mation of the locus limiting volume changes due to
constant total stress suction changes.
This limiting line is strongly dependent on the value
of κ as this parameter controls the values of initial void
ratio in the elastic region of the fully saturated yield
locus. Figure 7 shows the different lines defined for
various values of κ ranging from 0 to 0.04. The limiting
curves in Figure 7 do not start from the axis p = 0
because of the logarithmic nature of the elastic relation
between void ratio and mean net stress. A value of
 4.0
3.5 κ=0
3.0 κ=0.01
2.5
s (MPa)
κ=0.02
2.0
κ=0.04
1.5
1.0
0.5 so=0.3MPa
0.0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20
p (MPa)
Figure 7. p-s plane with SI locus and the predicted curves
limiting the region of possible states for volume change to
occur due to shrinkage for various values of κ(p < p∗o ).
κ = 0 yields a limiting line parallel to the SI locus
as no change to initial void ratio before drying can
occur in the elastic region. As the value of κ becomes
higher, then the value of the suction that residual void
ratio is achieved becomes smaller with increasing p,
greater than 1.5 MPa for the values selected for the
rest of the parameters in Figure 7. For simplicity the
p axis in Figure 7 has been limited to 0.2 MPa, which
is the fully saturated yield total stress (shown also in
Figure 6), so as not to show the different LC yield locus
that is derived for each of the κ values used.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Most of the existing constitutive models cannot pre-
dict stabilization of void ratio as a result of attaining a
minimum total volume during shrinkage. Also they do
not incorporate the possibility to model various sce-
narios of shear strength evolution with suction increase
(continuous increase, stabilization or decrease after an
initial increase up to the air-entry pressure).
Various approaches towards solving these two prob-
lems have been published but either they do not pro-
pose single equations predicting all types of response
by controlling the values of parameters, or they have
proceeded to totally different approaches in the treat-
ment of the 3-dimensional yield surface; an approach
that elevates constitutive modeling of unsaturated soils
at another level of difficulty.
The modifications proposed for BBM in this paper
maintain the capability to work with a well-established
and well-understood framework, while capturing
important aspects of unsaturated soil behaviour by the
use of one single equation, universally applicable for
594
all types of materials, : maximum volume shrinkage
limited by residual void ratio, and various scenarios
of shear strength evolution with suction. Apart from
achieving the goals for which these modifications were
introduced, they also have a strong effect on the shape
of the 3-dimensional yield locus in the p-q-s space
as indicated by its intersections with the p-s plane in
Figure 5.
For a soil with continuously increasing shear
strength with suction, the left point of the ellipse defin-
ing the yield locus will continuously move towards
more negative values of total mean stress. For a soil
with stabilizing shear strength after a certain value of
suction, the distance of this point from the suction axis
will stabilise and the expansion of the yield locus will
be only due to a mean total stress increase. Finally for a
soil with initially increasing and subsequently decreas-
ing shear strength with suction, the distance of this
point from the suction axis will tend to decrease to zero
and once again the expansion of the yield locus will
be only due to a mean total stress increase. As far as
the effect of the residual void ratio is concerned, a line
limiting the plastic strain due to constant total stress
suction changes for total stress values lower than the
yield stress of the fully saturated soil may be defined.
The area between the SI curve of the BBM and this
limiting line defines the area of possible plastic strains
due to shrinkage in the p-s plane, for total stress values
lower than the yield stress of the fully saturated soil.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part of the research by M.E. Bardanis has been funded
by the National Scholarship Foundation (IKY) of
Greece.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Bardanis, M., Kavvadas, M. 2006. Prediction of the limit-
ing void ratio of clayey soils after drying. In Miller et al
(eds), Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree,
Arizona, 2–5 April, 2006, 1085–1096, Reston, Virginia:
ASCE Press.
Bardanis, M., Kavvadas, M. 2008. Prediction of the residual
void ratio of clayey soils after drying, from their initial
state, physical properties and structure. Proc. 1st Eur.
Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Durham, UK, 2–4 July, 2008.
Delage, P., Graham, J. 1996. Mechanical behaviour of unsat-
urated soils: Understanding the behaviour of unsaturated
soils requires reliable conceptual models. In Alonso &
Delage (eds), Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils, Paris,
3: 1223–1256, Rotterdam: Balkema.
Fredlund, D.G., Xing, A., Fredlund, M.D., Barbour, S.L.
1995. The relationship of the unsaturated soil shear
strength to the soil-water characteristic curve. Can.
Geot. J. 32: 440–448.
Fredlund, D.G., Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil-water
characteristic curve. Can. Geot. J. 31: 521–532.
Georgiadis, K., Potts, D.M., Zdravkovic, L. 2003. The
influence of partial soil saturation on pile behaviour.
Géotechnique 53(1): 11–25.
Kohgo, Y. 2004. Elastoplastic models for unsaturated soils
with two suction effects and unsaturated soil behavior. In
Jucá et al. (eds), Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils,
3: 905–915, Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Kohgo, Y., Nakano, M., Miyazaki, T. 1993a. Theoretical
aspects of constitutive modeling for unsaturated soils.
Soils & Foundations 33(4): 49–63.
595
Kohgo, Y., Nakano, M., Miyazaki, T. 1993b. Verification
of the generalized elastoplastic model unsaturated soils.
Soils & Foundations 33(4): 64–73.
Sivakumar, V., Doran, I.G. 2000. Yielding characteristics
of unsaturated compacted soils. Mechanics of Cohesive-
Frictional Materials 5: 291–303.
Tang, G.X., Graham, J. 2002. A possible elastic-plastic
framework for unsaturated soils with high plasticity. Can.
Geotech. J. 39 ( . . . ): 894–907.
Toll, D.G. 1995. A conceptual model for the drying and wet-
ting of soil. In Alonso & Delage (eds), Proc. 1st Int.
Conf. Unsaturated Soils, Paris, 2: 805–810, Rotterdam:
Balkema.
Wheeler, S.J., Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic critical
state framework for unsaturated soil. Géotechnique 45(1):
35–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A cap model for partially saturated soils

R. Kohler, M. Hofmann & G. Hofstetter

University of Innsbruck, Austria

ABSTRACT: An elastic-plastic constitutive model for partially saturated soils is presented. It is formulated
in terms of two stress state variables, consisting of the effective stress tensor for partially saturated soils and
matric suction. The yield surface consists of a shear failure surface and a strain hardening cap. The plastic strain
rate is computed by means of non-associated flow rules for both yield surfaces. The capability of the developed
constitutive model is demonstrated by the numerical simulation of a series of suction controlled tests. In addition,
an extension of the model in order to account for swelling soil behavior is presented.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 CONSTITUTIVE MODEL

Partially saturated soils are three-phase media con- A basic assumption of the elastic-plastic constitutive
sisting of a deformable soil skeleton and the two model is the additive decomposition of the total strain
fluid phases water and air. The difference between tensor ε into an elastic part ε e and a plastic part εp :
the pressures in the water and the air phase, called
capillary pressure or matric suction, has a consider- ε = εe + εp (1)
able impact on the mechanical behavior of partially
saturated soils. Experimental evidence shows that an
From thermodynamic considerations (Houlsby,
increase in matric suction in general results in an
1997; Schrefler, 2002; Borja, 2004) it follows that
increase of the shear strength, the preconsolidation
a material model for the soil skeleton of a partially
pressure and the elasto-plastic stiffness of the soil.
saturated soil can be formulated in terms of the effec-
Furthermore, a decrease in matric suction, i.e. an
tive stress tensor for partially saturated soils (i.e., the
increase of the degree of water saturation, under high
Bishop stress with the Bishop parameter equal to the
values of external stress can result in an irreversible
degree of water saturation)
decrease of the soil volume, denoted as collapse on
wetting.
Several elastic-plastic material models for unsatu- σ  = σ − p a I + S w ( pa − p w ) I (2)
rated soils have been proposed in recent years, see e.g.
(Alonso et al., 1990; Wheeler et al., 1995; Bolzon and matric suction
et al., 1996; Geiser et al., 2000; Gallipoli et al., 2003;
Tamagnini, 2004; Santagiuliana et al., 2006). Most of pc = pa − pw (3)
these material models adopt some type of Cam clay
formulation.
σ denotes the total stress tensor, S w represents the
In this contribution, a cap model for partially sat-
degree of water saturation and pa and pw are the pres-
urated soils is presented. It is formulated in terms of
sures of the fluid phases air and water; I denotes the
the effective stress tensor for partially saturated soils
second order unit tensor. In the present model pc plays
and matric suction, the latter playing the role of a
the role of a stress-like plastic internal variable. Hence,
stress-like plastic internal variable. The model is vali-
the elastic strain tensor solely depends on the effective
dated by an extensive series of suction controlled tests,
stress tensor and for the special case of linear elasticity
described in (Macari et al., 2001) and (Macari et al.,
the constitutive relations are given as
2003). In addition, lab tests for swelling soil behavior
are simulated numerically. To this end, the cap model is  
extended by adopting ideas for modelling of swelling σ  = C : εe = C : ε − εp (4)
presented in (Gens et al., 1992) and further developed
in (Sanchez et al., 2005). with C denoting the elasticity tensor.

597
 The degree of water saturation S w is expressed as
a function of matric suction by the approximation
proposed in (Van Genuchten et al., 1985)
  c n −m
p
S w = Srw + (Ssw − Srw ) 1 + (5)
pcb

In (5) Ssw and Srw denote the maximum and residual

degree of water saturation, respectively, and pcb is the
air entry value; m and n are parameters to fit the empir- Figure 1. Yield surface of the cap model.
ical equation to experimental data. For many soils, use
of n = 1/(1 − m) can be made.
The functional form of the shear failure surface is The hardening law for the cap surface is given as
defined as
    Ẋ (κ( pc )) − 3 (Ṡ w pc + S w ṗc )
f1 σ  , pc = L(ϑ)s − Fe I1 − Fs ( pc ) (6) ε̇vp = λ( pc ) (12)
X (κ( pc )) − 3 S w pc
with
  It is obtained from a logarithmic hardening law, for-
Fe I1 = α + θ I1 and Fs ( pc ) = k pc , (7) mulated in terms of net stress, relating the plastic
p
volumetric strain rate ε̇v to the hardening parameter
where I1 and s denote the first invariant and the
norm of the deviatoric part of σ  , L(ϑ) accounts for
the dependence of the yield surface on the Lode angle
ϑ according to (de Borst et al.,) and α, θ and k are
material parameters.
The functional form of the strain hardening cap is
given as
   
κ( p ), which is transformed to effective stress. Since
c
X is related to the first invariant of the stress, it follows
from (2) that the difference between effective stress
and net stress is given as 3S w pc , which results in the
terms related to S w in (12). In (12)
   
λ pc = λ(0) (1 − r) exp(−βpc ) + r (13)
f2 σ  , κ( pc ), pc = Fc s, I1 , ϑ, κ( pc ) is a scaling factor for the plastic volumetric strain rate.
 
− Fe κ( pc ) − Fs ( pc ) (8) It is assumed to decrease from λ(0) at zero matric
suction to λ(pc ) → r · λ(0) for pc → ∞ with β and r
with κ( pc ) ≤ I1 ≤ X (κ( pc )) and (with r < 1) as material parameters accounting for the
increasing plastic stiffness under hydrostatic loading
(
  with matric suction (Alonso et al., 1990).
  I1 −κ( pc ) 2 The plastic potentials g1 and g2 for the non-
Fc s, I1 , ϑ, κ( pc ) = L2 (ϑ) s2 +
R associated Koiter’s flow rule are obtained from the
(9)
where R is a material parameter, defining the ratio of
the major to the minor axis of the elliptic cap, and
κ( pc ) is a hardening parameter.
     
X κ( pc ) = κ( pc ) + R Fe κ( pc ) + Fs ( pc ) (10)
denotes the apex of the elliptical cap. The yield surface
of the cap model is shown in Fig. 1.
The hardening parameter κ( pc ) is obtained by cal-
culating the intersection of the elliptical cap and the
failure envelope (Fig. 1) by inserting (71 ) with I1 =
κ( pc ) into (10) and making use of the so obtained
relation also for the special case of pc = 0 as
X (κ( pc )) − X (κ(0)) − RFs ( pc )
κ( pc ) = κ(0) +
1 + Rθ
(11)
,
yield functions (6) and (8) by setting L(ϑ) = 1 and
by replacing θ by ψ, which determines the amount of
plastic dilation.
For more information on the constitutive model
refer to (Kohler, 2006; Kohler et al., 2007).
3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SUCTION
CONTROLLED TESTS
The extended cap model was validated by the numeri-
cal simulation of a series of suction controlled tests
(Macari et al., 2001; Macari et al., 2003), which
were conducted on cubical specimens of a silty sand.
The stress paths followed in the experiments included
hydrostatic compression (HC) tests, consisting of
loading and unloading at different values of matric suc-
tion, triaxial compression (TC) tests and conventional
triaxial compression (CTC) tests as well as triaxial
598
extension (TE) tests and simple shear (SS) tests at dif-
ferent values of matric suction and different values of
hydrostatic pressure, and a wetting path.
The material parameters for the cap model, deter-
mined from the experimental data, are given in the
second column of Table 1. In this table Xinit denotes
the initial value for the apex of the cap at water sat-
urated conditions. Since the relationship between the
degree of water saturation and matric suction was not
known from the tests, the hydraulic parameters of the
S w pc -relationship (5) were chosen according to values
for silty sands given in the literature.
Here, only comparisons of the predicted and mea-
sured constitutive response for the HC tests (Fig. 2)
and the TC tests (Fig. 3 to Fig. 6) are shown. Results
for the CTC tests, TE tests, the SS tests and the wet-
ting test can be found in (Kohler, 2006; Kohler et al.,
2007). Since the test data are given in terms of net
stress, the numerical results are also shown in terms
of net stress.

Table 1. Material parameters.

Parameter Silty sand Swelling soil Unit

K 42440 41700 kPa

G 8803 19200 kPa
α 0 0 kPa
θ 0.269 1.0 –
R 3.0 2.0 –
λ(0) 0.095 0.03 –
Xinit 126.3 100.0 kPa
Xc 108.0 10.0 kPa
r 0.2 0.78 –
β 0.018 0.005 kPa−1
k 0.6 1.0 –
ω 0.8 0.8 –
η -0.1 -0.1
Srw 0.25 0.0 –
Ssw 0.95 1.0 –
pcb 50.0 500.0 kPa
m 0.32 2.1 – Figure 3. Comparison of the measured (dotted lines) and
the computed (continuous lines) q − εq response for TC tests
at I1 = 150 kPa and 3 different values of matric suction.

Figure 2. Comparison of the measured (dotted lines) and the Figure 4. Comparison of the measured (dotted lines) and
computed (continuous lines) response for HC stress paths at the computed (continuous lines) q − εq response for TC tests
3 different values of matric suction. at I1 = 600 kPa and 3 different values of matric suction.

599
 Figure 2 demonstrates the ability of the model to
describe the stiffening effect due to matric suction
under hydrostatic loading. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show the
measured and computed relations between the devi-
atoric stress q and the shear strain εq for TC tests,
conducted at two different values of I1" (i.e. the first
invariant of net stress) and three different values of pc
(i.e., pc = 50 kPa, pc = 100 kPa and pc = 200 kPa).
For the same tests Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show the measured
Figure 5. Comparison of the measured (dotted lines) and
the computed (continuous lines) v − εq response for TC tests
at I1 = 150 kPa and 3 different values of matric suction.
Figure 6. Comparison of the measured (dotted lines) and
the computed (continuous lines) v − εq response for TC tests
at I1 = 600 kPa and 3 different values of matric suction.
600
and computed relation between the specific volume v
and the shear strain εq . It follows from the latter figures
that both the increasing shear strength with increas-
ing matric suction and the dependence of the volume
change on matric suction can be well described by the
cap model.
4 MODELLING OF SWELLING
The cap model, presented so far, predicts an increase
of the specific volume upon wetting by the change
of the effective stress (2) due to changes in matric
suction. Hence, the increase of the volumetric strain
due to wetting depends on the bulk modulus of the
soil skeleton K and the employed S w pc -relationship
(5). However, in argillaceous rocks considerably larger
volume changes are observed due to stress relief and/or
wetting. This swelling behavior of argillaceous soil
and rock often poses severe problems to the design
and construction of tunnels. Tunnel excavation causes
a stress redistribution in the vicinity of the tunnel,
resulting in stress relief above the crown and below the
invert. Additionally, water plays an important role for
swelling. Water may already be present or, at initially
unsaturated conditions, seepage water from adjacent
zones might reach expansive zones by flowing along
or beneath the invert of the tunnel.
In the context of the cap model swelling is mod-
elled by adopting ideas sketched in (Gens et al.,
1992) and further developed in (Sanchez et al., 2005).
A basic idea is to consider a microstructural and a
macrostructural level of an argillaceous soil or rock.
The origin of swelling are physico-chemical reactions
at the microstructural level resulting in volumetric
strains at the microstructural level, which lead to defor-
mations at the macrostructural level depending on
interactions between both levels.
According to (Sanchez et al., 2005) the volumet-
ric strain at the microstructural level depends on an
effective pressure p̂, which is given as
p̂ = p − pa + χ pc (14)
with p = σii /3 and a constant χ > 0. For p̂˙ < 0
the microstructural volume is increasing whereas for
p̂˙ > 0 the microstructural volume is decreasing. The
respective microstructural volumetric strain is deter-
mined assuming an elastic constitutive response as
p̂˙
ε̇vm = (15)
Km
with K m representing the microstructural bulk modu-
lus. The swelling strains at the macrostructural level,
caused by the microstructural strains, are considered of Xr /X close to 1. Consequently, different interac-
as irreversible strains. They are added to the plas- tion functions are used for microstructural swelling
tic strains due to loading. According to (Gens et al., and microstructural contraction (Sanchez et al., 2005).
1992) the volumetric swelling strain at the macrostruc- For the numerical simulation of the swelling tests,
tural level is obtained from the microstructural strain presented subsequently, the interaction functions for
through an interaction function h(Xr , X ), yielding swelling and contraction, are chosen as
  *
ε̇v,sw
p
= h(Xr , X ) ε̇vm (16) Xr 2 Xr
hs (Xr , X ) = 1 − and hc (Xr , X ) =
X X
(17)
The interaction function depends on the position
of the cap for the current stress point, X , and on the First, the swelling pressure test, described in
position of a ‘‘reference cap’’, Xr , which contains the (Romero, 1999) is simulated. In this test an initially
current stress point (Fig. 7). The ratio Xr /X ≤ 1 unsaturated soil specimen was wetted at fully con-
characterizes the preloading of the macrostructure. straint deformations and subsequently dried. It can be
A small value of Xr /X indicates large previous
preloading and, hence, a dense macrostructure of the
soil. In this case a larger fraction of the microstructural
swelling strain will be present as deformations at the
macrostructural level. Conversely, a smaller fraction
of the microstructural swelling strain will be present
as swelling strains at the macrostructural level in the
case of a looser macrostructure, which is character-
ized by values of Xr /X close to 1. On the other hand,
microstructural contraction has a stronger impact on
the deformations at the macrostructural level for values

s pc

Fe (I1) + Fs(pc)

I' 1
r Xr X

Figure 7. Definition of X and Xr .

Figure 8. Comparison of the computed soil response in a Figure 9. Comparison of the computed response in a
swelling pressure test (continuous line) with experimental free swelling test (dotted lines) and a Huder-Amberg test
results (crosses). (continuous lines).

601
seen in Fig. 8 that the model allows to represent the
development of the first invariant of net stress, I1 , due
to wetting and subsequent drying quite well. An inter-
esting feature of this test is the fact that the largest
value of I1" , i.e. the largest swelling pressure, occurs
before the specimen is fully saturated. This behavior is
a consequence of the so-called collapse upon wetting,
which is reproduced by the employed model (the two
dotted lines in Fig. 8 represent the load collapse yield
curve).
Fig. 9 contains a comparison of the computed soil
response between a free swelling test and a Huder-
Amberg swelling test. In a free swelling test the
initially unsaturated soil specimen is wetted, which
results in the soil response, shown in Fig. 9 by the dot-
ted lines. In a Huder-Amberg test the soil specimen in
an oedometer is loaded first in axial direction (part 1
of the continuous lines), followed by wetting (part 2
of the continuous lines) and, subsequently, the axial
loading is reduced in several steps, in each step keep-
ing the axial stress constant until no further increase
of the deformations is observed (parts 3 to 5 of the
continuous lines).
5 CONCLUSIONS
The proposed cap model allows to represent basic
features of the behavior of partially saturated soils,
e.g. the increase of the shear strength and of the
elasto-plastic stiffness with increasing matric suc-
tion and an irreversible decrease of the soil volume,
denoted as collapse on wetting, due to an increase
of the degree of water saturation, under high values
of external stress. For the extensive suction controlled
tests conducted on a silty sand, documented in (Macari
et al., 2001; Macari et al., 2003), the proposed cap
model yields good agreement with the measured soil
behavior. In addition, the cap model was extended
to take into account swelling behavior of soils and it
was shown that the soil behavior, observed in typical
swelling tests, can be reproduced.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., and Josa, A. (1990). A consti-
tutive model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique
40(3):405–430.
Bolzon, G., and Schrefler, B.A. (1996). Elastoplastic soil
constitutive laws generalized to partially saturated states.
Géotechnique, 46(2):279–289.
Borja, R.I. (2004). Cam-clay plasticity. part V: A math-
ematical framework for three-phase deformation and
strain localization analyses of partially saturated porous
media. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and
Engineering, 193:5301–5338.
602
de Borst, R., and Groen, A.E. (2000). Computational
strategies for standard soil plasticity models. In Zaman,
M., Booker, J., and Gioda, G., editors, Modeling in
Geomechanics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharma, R., and Vaunat, J. (2003). An
elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
behaviour. Géotechnique, 53(1):123–135.
Geiser, F., Laloui, L., and Vulliet, L. (2000). Modelling
the behaviour of unsaturated silt. In Tarantino, A.,
and Mancuso, C., editors, Experimental Evidence and
Theoretical Approaches in Unsaturated Soils, 155–176.
27:1079–1098.
Gens, A., and Alonso, E.E. (1992). A framework for
the behavior of unsaturated expansive clays. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 29:1013–1032.
Houlsby, G.T. (1997). The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Géotechnique, 47(1):193–196.
Kohler, R. (2006). Numerical modelling of partially satu-
rated soils in the context of a three-phase-FE-formulation.
Dissertation, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Kohler, R., and Hofstetter, G. (2007). A Cap Model for Par-
tially Saturated Soils. International Journal for Numerical
and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, in press.
Macari, E.J., and Hoyos, L.R. (2001). Mechanical beha-
vior of an unsaturated soil under multi-axial stress states.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, 24(1):14–22.
Macari, E.J., Hoyos, L.R., and Arduino, P. (2003). Constitu-
tive modeling of unsaturated soil behaviour under axisym-
metric stress states using a stress/suction-controlled
cubical test cell. International Journal of Plasticity,
19:1481–1515.
Romero, E. (1999). Characterisation and thermal-hydro-
mechanical behavior of unsaturated Boom clay: an exper-
imental study. Ph.D. Thesis, Technical University of
Catalonia, Spain.
Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Guimarães, L.d.N., and Olivella, S.
(2005). A double structure generalized plasticity model
for expansive materials. International Journal for
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics,
29:751–787.
Santagiuliana, R., and Schrefler, B.A. (2006). Enhancing
the Bolzon-Schrefler-Zienkiewicz Constitutive Model for
Partially Saturated Soil. Transport in Porous Media, 65:
1–30.
Schrefler, B.A. (2002). Mechanics and thermodynamics of
saturated/unsaturated porous materials and quantitative
solutions. Applied Mechanics Reviews, 55(4):351–387.
Tamagnini, R. (2004). An extended Cam-Clay model for
unsaturated soils with hydraulic hysteresis. Géotechnique,
54(3):223–228.
Van Genuchten, M. Th., and Nielsen, D. R. (1985).
On describing and predicting the hydraulic proper-
ties of unsaturated soils. Annales Geophysicae, 3(5):
615–628.
Wheeler, S.J., and Sivakumar, V. (1995). An elasto-plastic
critical state framework for unsaturated soils. Géotech-
nique, 45(1):35–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Boundary surfaces and yield loci in unsaturated compacted clay

A. Tarantino & S. Tombolato

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Strutturale, Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy

ABSTRACT: Water-undrained one-dimensional compression tests with suction monitoring using Trento high-
capacity tensiometers were carried out. During the loading-unloading cycles, suction, total vertical stress, degree
of saturation, and specific volume were measured. It was observed that water retention behaviour is coupled
to mechanical behaviour through the specific volume and, in turn, mechanical behaviour is coupled to water
retention behaviour through the degree of saturation. The average skeleton stress and modified suction were
adopted as generalised stress variables to model coupled behaviour and derived a ‘virgin loading’ mechanical
boundary surface in the space: average skeleton stress, modified suction, and specific volume and a ‘main
wetting’ hydraulic boundary surface in the space: modified suction, degree of saturation, and specific volume.
This made it possible to investigate the yield loci in the generalised stress plane and it was observed that their
shape differs from those suggested in the literature.

1 INTRODUCTION per unit volume of unsaturated soil (Houlsby, 1997).

The degree of saturation has an independent role on the
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. At the same
suction, the higher the degree of saturation, the stiffer
the soil is in the net stress-void ratio plane during virgin
loading (Gallipoli et al., 2003a), the lower is the yield
point in the net stress-void ratio plane (Wheeler et al.,
2003), the higher is the ultimate shear strength under
the same normal net stress (Tarantino & Tombolato,
2005, Boso, 2005).
To account for the effect of the degree of satu-
ration, and more in general the coupling between
mechanical and water retention behaviour, constitutive
models have recently been proposed that incorpo-
rate the degree of saturation into the stress variables
(Jommi, 2000; Wheeler et al., 2003; Gallipo li et al.,
2003a; Tamagnini, 2004).
In particular, the model by Wheeler et al. (2003)
is formulated in terms of two generalised stress vari-
ables, the average skeleton stress and the modified
suction, which can be written under one-dimensional
conditions as follows:
σv = σv + sSr
(1)
s∗ = ns
where σv is the average skeleton stress, s∗ is the mod-
ified suction, σv is the total vertical stress, s is the
suction, Sr is the degree of saturation, and n is the
porosity.
These stress variables can be extracted as work-
conjugate stress variables from the rate of work input
The advantages in using the average skeleton stress
and the modified suction are discussed by Wheeler
et al. (2003).
The basic framework proposed by Wheeler et al.
(2003) included simple water retention and mechan-
ical constitutive relationships. These allowed com-
plex forms of mechanical behaviour to be simulated
though at a qualitative level. However, it is likely
that more realistic water retention and mechanical
constitutive relationships would be required to quan-
titatively reproduce observed unsaturated coupled
behaviour.
This paper presents an experimental study of one-
dimensional compression behaviour of non-active
clay. Tests were carried out under water-undrained
conditions with matric suction monitoring using
Trento high-capacity tensiometers.
During the loading-unloading cycles, the suction s,
the total vertical stress σv , the degree of saturation Sr
and the porosity n were monitored. As such, hydraulic
and mechanical paths in terms of average skeleton
stress and modified suction could be investigated. In
particular, we could derive a ‘virgin loading’ mechan-
ical boundary surface in the space: average skeleton
stress, modified suction, and specific volume and
a ‘main wetting’ hydraulic boundary surface in the
space: modified suction, degree of saturation, and spe-
cific volume. We could also derive the mechanical and
hydraulic reversible responses in the planes σv −v and
the plane s∗ − Sr respectively. This made it possible to
investigate the form of the yield loci in the generalised
stress plane σv − s∗ .

603
2 EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT
2.1 Trento high-capacity tensiometer
The Trento high-capacity tensiometer was used to
measure matric suction (Tarantino & Mongiovì, 2002).
The tensiometer was calibrated in the positive range
0–1500 kPa with a measured standard deviation of
accuracy of ±1.5 kPa. It was assumed that calibra-
tion could be extrapolated into the negative range
according to Tarantino & Mongiovì (2003).
2.2 Oedometer cell for one-dimensional
compression tests
The soil was one-dimensionally compressed in the
apparatus shown in Figure 1 (Tarantino & De Col,
2008). It consists of an oedometer cell, a loading pad
and a pneumatic actuator. The oedometer cell was
made impermeable at its base by inserting a stain-
less steel sheet between the base and ring. Two holes
were machined into the loading pad to install two
tensiometers. An O-ring was positioned in the ten-
siometer hole to avoid evaporation of soil water from
the measurement area. Tensiometers were kept in place
by small caps (not shown in the figure) which were
tightened to the pad by means of three screws.
A membrane obtained by cutting and pasting nitrile
elastomer Bellofram rolling diaphragms was used to
seal the annular gap between the loading pad and
the oedometer ring. The membrane attachment was
designed to minimise the volume of air enclosed by
the membrane. A sphere was interposed between the
loading pad and the ram to ensure that no moments
were transferred to the loading pad.
The apparatus was equipped with a load cell for
measuring the vertical force (2000 N capacity with
a measured standard deviation of accuracy of ±3 N)
Figure 1. Schematic layout of the oedometer cell for one-
dimensional compression (Tarantino & De Col 2008).
604
and one potentiometer displacement transducer for
measuring the vertical displacements (34 mm travel
with measured standard deviation of accuracy of
±0.01 mm). An electrovalve connected to the labora-
tory air supply system was used to control air pressure
in the pneumatic actuator. The oedometer ring had
diameter of 100 mm and height of 40 mm.
3 MATERIAL AND SPECIMEN PREPARATION
Speswhite Kaolin with plastic limit, wP = 0.32 and
liquid limit, wL = 0.64 was chosen for tests presented
in this paper. The grain size distribution showed it to
have 0.20 silt fraction, and 0.80 clay fraction.
Samples were prepared according to the procedure
described by Tarantino & Tombolato (2005). Dry pow-
dered Kaolin was laid in a large plastic basin in layers
of about 10 mm and each layer sprayed with dem-
ineralised water to reach the target water content.
The moistened powder was hand-mixed and saturated
lumps were cut using four spatulas attached together.
The material was sieved through a 1 mm aperture sieve
to reduce the aggregate size. This size was considered
acceptable when compared to the 20–25 mm specimen
height. The moistened powder was wrapped inside two
sealed plastic bags, placed in a plastic container and
stored in a high-humidity room for at least 7 days.
For the one-dimensional compression tests, the
powder was placed in the oedoemeter and then com-
pressed at loading rate of 5 kPa/min.
4 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The kaolin powder was placed in the oedometer ring
up to its height (40 mm). After placing the loading
pad on the powder, a vertical stress of 150 kPa was
applied and the membrane was set in place. Tensiome-
ters were installed after applying a soil paste to the
porous ceramic and were allowed to equilibrate for typ-
ically 1–2 hours. Prior to measurement, tensiometers
were conditioned according to the procedure described
by Tarantino (2004).
The loading path involved loading-unloading
cycles to 300, 600, 900, and 1200 kPa (Figure 2). The
total vertical stress σv was increased or decreased at
the constant rate of 5 kPa/min and each applied vertical
stress was maintained constant for 30 min.
The states of the specimen under quasi-zero verti-
cal stress (14 kPa) were assumed to correspond to the
states referred to as ‘as-compacted’ in the literature.
The loading rate was selected on the basis of prelim-
inary tests carried out at loading rates of 20, 10, and
5 kPa/min (Tarantino & De Col, 2008).
After applying 150 kPa vertical stress, a calliper
having 0.02 mm resolution was used to measure the
distance between the loading cap and a reference point.
 3
1200 11 w=0.259
d v/dt=5 kPa/min
1050 w=0.275 w=0.254 w=0.236
Vertical stress, v : kPa

w=0.299
8 2.8 w=0.215
900 10
w=0.311
750
600 5 7 2.6

Specific volume, v
450 Tensiometer
insertion
300 2 4
2.4
150
1 12
3 6 9
0
0 400 800 1200 1600 2.2
Time: min

Figure 2. Loading path in one-dimensional tests. Numbers 2

indicate first loading (1, 2, 5, 8, 11), unloading (3, 6, 9, 12)
and reloading (4, 7, 10) vertical stresses (Tarantino & De Col
2008). 1.8
1000
Average skeleton stress, v
This made it possible to determine the initial height
of the specimen. As the vertical displacement was Figure 3. Mechanical paths in terms of average skeleton
monitored during the one-dimensional compression stress and specific volume.
process, the void ratio and hence the degree of satura-
tion could be back calculated at any stage of the test.
1
As no drainage was provided during the test, water
content remained constant during one-dimensional
compression and was measured at the end of the test.
0.8
5 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Degree of saturation, Sr

One-dimensional compression tests with continuous

suction monitoring were carried out at 7 different water 0.6

contents: 0.215, 0.236, 0.254, 0.259, 0.275, 0.299, and

0.311. The mechanical paths are represented in terms
of specific volume, v, versus vertical average skeleton w=0.311
stress, σv , in Figure 3. Irreversible virgin compres- 0.4 w=0.299
w=0.275
sion paths and ‘reversible’ unloading-reloading paths w=0.259
w=0.254 w=0.236
can be clearly recognised. After every unloading- w=0.215
reloading cycle, the specific volume recovers the 0.2
virgin compression curve. 0 200 400 600 800
The hydraulic paths are represented in terms of Modified matric suction, s *: kPa
degree of saturation, Sr , versus modified suction s∗ in
Figure 4. When the soil is ‘virgin’ compressed under Figure 4. Hydraulic paths in terms of modified suction and
constant water content, the soil experiences the high- degree of saturation.
est degrees of saturation and is therefore subjected to
‘main wetting’. The implicit assumption throughout
the paper is that an increase in saturation due to com- main wetting paths (virgin compression) and having
pression at constant water content is equivalent to an void ratios of 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 were selected.
increase in water content at constant void ratio accord- These data were interpolated using an equation of the
ing to Tarantino & Tombolato (2005). When the soil is form suggested by Gallipoli et al. (2003a) for the main
unloaded and reloaded, the degree of saturation moves wetting surface:
along scanning curves.  m
1
Sr = (2)
6 BOUNDARY SURFACES 1 + (φvψ s∗ )n

To model ‘main wetting’ behaviour, data from the where v is the specific volume and φ, ψ, m and n are
seven one-dimensional compression tests lying on the parameters determined by best-fitting using the least

605
 1 1.6

'saturated' specific volume, v/vs

Degree of saturation, Sr

Specific volume over

0.8
1.4

0.6

1.2
0.4

0.2 1
100 1000 10000 100000 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6

Normalised modified matric suction v s*: kPa Modified matric suction over average skeleton stress
s*/ "v: kPa

Figure 5. Hydraulic ‘main wetting’ boundary surface.

Figure 6. Mechanical ‘virgin loading’ boundary surface.

squares method. With respect to the equation origi- Within the boundary surfaces, the behaviour is
nally proposed by Gallipoli et al. (2003b), the specific reversible as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4. In
volume and modified suction now replace the void particular, reversible degree of saturation paths (scan-
ratio and suction respectively. ning paths) appear to be independent of specific
The main wetting surface given by Eq. 2 acts as volume Figure 4 and can be described by the following
lower boundary surface in the space (s∗ , v, Sr ) (Vaunat equation:
et al., 2000; Gallipoli et al., 2003a; Tarantino &
Tombolato, 2005) and is associated with the suction Sr = Sr0 − κs s∗ (5)
decrease (SD) yield locus discussed by Wheeler et al.
(2003). where κs is the slope of the scanning paths in the plane
The capability of Eq. 2 to capture the effect of s ∗ − Sr .
specific volume on degree of saturation is shown in Reversible specific volume paths (unlolading-
Figure 5 where the degree of saturation is plotted reloading paths) appear to be independent of modi-
against the modified suction normalized with respect fied suction (Figure 3) and can be described by the
to specific volume, vψ s∗ . following equation:
To model ‘virgin loading’ behaviour, data from the
seven one-dimensional compression tests lying on vir- v = vk − κ ln σv (6)
gin compression curves and having void ratios of 1.0,
1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 were selected. These data were
where κ is the slope of the unloading-reloading paths
interpolated using the following equation:
in the plane ln (σv ) − v and vk is the specific volume
  ∗ b  at σv = 1 kPa.
s
v = vs · 1 + a (3)
σv
7 HARDENING LAWS
where a and b are best-fit parameters and vs is the
specific volume in saturated conditions at the same Wheeler et al. (2003) presented a constitutive model
average skeleton stress. The saturated specific vol- for isotropic stress states. Yield curves in the plane
ume vs was derived from tests on saturated specimens (p − s∗ ), with p being the mean average skeleton
(Tarantino & De Col 2008): stress, were assumed to be as shown in Figure 7. The
locations of the LC and SD curves are defined by p∗0
∗
vs = N1−D − λ ln σv (4) and sD and these are related to the plastic volumetric
p
deformations dεv and the plastic degree of saturation
p
where N1−D and λ are the saturated virgin loading change dSr by the following hardening laws:
parameters. The virgin loading surface given by Equa-  
tion (3) acts as boundary surface in the space (σv , s∗ , v) p λ−κ dp∗0 ∗
dsD
and is associated with the load-collapse (LC) yield dεv = ∗ − k1 ∗
v (1 − k1 k2 ) p0 sD
locus discussed by Wheeler et al. (2003). (7)
The capability of Eq. 3 to capture the effect of aver-  ∗ 
p λs − κs dsD dp∗0
age skeleton stress and modified suction on specific dSr =− ∗ − k2 ∗
volume is shown in Figure 6. (1 − k1 k2 ) sD p0

606
where λ and κ are the parameters of the mechanical This suggests that the yield loci SD and LC may not
model, λs and ks are the parameters of the water reten- have the form proposed in Figure 7.
tion model, and k1 and k2 are coupling parameters.
Let us assume that this constitutive model also
applies to one-dimensional stress states with p 8 YIELD LOCI
replaced by σv . During the one-dimensional virgin
compression, the soil contemporarily moves along the The yield locus SD can be derived by the intersection
mechanical boundary surface (Eq. 3) and the water of the ‘main wetting’ lower boundary surface (Eq. 2)
retention boundary surface (Eq. 2). The stress state is with the elastic wall defined by Eq. 5. The specific
then located on the bottom-right corner of the elas- volume that appears in Eq. 2 is the volume associated
tic domain shown in Figure 7. As such, during virgin with an elastic path reaching the SD yield locus and
∗
loading, s∗ ≡ sD and σv = σ0∗ . this is given by Eq. 6. The yield locus SD is obtained
p
The hardening law associated with dSr can then be in implicit form as follows:
derived by differentiating Eq. 2 and Eq. 5 and assum- ⎧ ⎫m
ing that the specific volume is given by Eq. 3. The ⎪
⎨ ⎪
⎬
p 1
hardening law associated with dεv can be derived Sr0 − ks s∗ = "   # (10)
by differentiating Eq. 3 and Eq. 6. The following ⎪
⎩ 1 + φ vk − k ln σv ψ s∗ ⎪
n
⎭
hardening laws were thus obtained:
  The yield locus LC can be derived by the intersec-
p dσ0∗ B ∗
dsD tion of the ‘virgin loading’ boundary surface (Eq. 3)
dεv = (A+B−C) ∗ − ∗
σ0 A + B − C sD with the elastic wall defined by Eq. 6. The following
 ∗  (8) implicit equation was obtained:
dsD ψ (A + B) dσ0∗
p
dSr = −DE −   ∗ b 
∗
sD E σ0∗  s
vk − k ln σv = vs · 1 + a (11)
σv
where:
The LC and SD yield loci derived from the water
λ  vsat  κ retention and mechanical boundary surfaces and their
A= ;B = b 1 − ;C = ;
vsat v v evolution with loading are plotted in Figure 8 for the
(9) compression test at w = 0.311. As expected, the LC
  s∗ and SD yield curve have a more complex shape than
Sr /
1m
D = mnSr 1 − ; E = ψB + 1 − κs . assumed by Wheeler et al. (2003) in their basic model.
D

If Eq. 8 is compared with Eq. 7, it can be observed 400

that the coupling terms k1 and k2 are not recovered.

300 Start of test

Modified suction, s *: kPa

200

100 LC

SD
0
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Average skeleton stres, v" : kPa

Figure 8. LC and SD yield loci derived from the water reten-

Figure 7. LC, SI and SD yield curves for isotropic stress tion and mechanical boundary surfaces for the compression
states according to the model by Wheeler et al. (2003). test at w = 0.311.

607
9 CONCLUSIONS
The paper has presented water-undrained one-
dimensional compression tests with suction monitor-
ing using Trento high-capacity tensiometers. Loading
and water retention paths were investigated using two
generalised stress variables, the average skeleton stress
and the modified suction.
We derived a ‘virgin loading’ mechanical boundary
surface in the space: average skeleton stress, modi-
fied suction, and specific volume and a ‘main wetting’
hydraulic boundary surface in the space: modified suc-
tion, degree of saturation, and specific volume. In turn,
these boundary surfaces were used to derive the yield
loci in the generalised stress plane. It was observed
that their shape differs from those suggested in the
literature.
Equations for the LC and SD yield loci were
obtained in implicit form. Future work will involve
defining simpler explicit equations for the yield loci
and deriving suitable hardening laws.
REFERENCES
Boso, M. 2005. Shear strength behaviour of a reconstituted
partially saturated clayey silt. PhD dissertation, Università
degli Studi di Trento, Italy.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharma, R. & Vaunat, J. 2003a. An
elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
behaviour. Géotechnique 53 (1): 123–136.
Gallipoli, D., Wheeler, S.J. & Karstunen, M. 2003b. Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Géotechnique, 53 (1): 105–112.
608
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Géotechnique 47 (1): 193–196.
Jommi, C. 2000. Remarks on the constitutive modelling of
unsaturated soils. In Experimental Evidence and The-
oretical Approaches in Unsaturated Soils, Proceedings
of an International Workshop (eds A. Tarantino and
C. Mancuso), pp. 139–153. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Tamagnini, R. 2004. An extended Cam-clay model for
unsaturated soils with hydraulic hysteresis. Géotechnique
54 (3): 223–228.
Tarantino, A. 2004. Panel report: Direct measurement of
soil water tension. In Proceedings 3rd International Con-
ference on Unsaturated Soils (eds J.F.T. Jucá, T.M.P. de
Campos and F.A.M. Marinho), Recife, 3, pp. 1005–1017.
Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2002. Design and construction
of a tensiometer for direct measurement of matric suction.
In Proceedings 3rd International Conference on Unsatu-
rated Soils (eds J.F.T. Jucá, T.M.P. de Campos and F.A.M.
Marinho), Recife, 1, pp.319–324.
Tarantino, A. & Mongiovì, L. 2003. Calibration of tensiome-
ter for direct measurement of matric suction. Géotech-
nique, 53 (1): 137–141.
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Géotechnique 55 (4): 307–317.
Tarantino, A. & De Col, E. 2008. Compaction behaviour of
clay. Géotechnique, in press.
Vaunat, J., Romero, E. & Jommi, C. 2000. An elasto-
plastic hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated soils. In
Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches in
Unsaturated Soils, Proceedings of an International Work-
shop (eds A. Tarantino and C. Mancuso), pp. 121–138.
Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. & Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour
in unsaturated soils. Géotechnique 53 (1): 41–54.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Application to a compacted soil of a Cam Clay model extended

to unsaturated conditions

F. Casini
Università Roma ‘‘La Sapienza’’, Roma, Italy

R. Vassallo
Università della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

C. Mancuso
Università ‘‘Federico II’’, Napoli, Italy

A. Desideri
Università Roma ‘‘La Sapienza’’, Roma, Italy

ABSTRACT: This paper presents an interpretation of experimental results obtained at the Department of
Geotechnical Engineering of the Università di Napoli Federico II. The results are part of an extensive program
carried out to investigate the effects of partial saturation on the volumetric behaviour and on the initial shear
stiffness of a compacted silt. Tests were performed using two suction-controlled devices, a triaxial cell and a
Resonant Column Torsional Shear (RCTS) cell. The compatibility of experimental data with a Bishop Stress
Model (BSM) is discussed in the paper. The BSM permits highlighting of the two main effects of suction on soil
behaviour: the increase of the average stress acting on the soil skeleton and the hardening—cementing of the soil
packing. Hydraulic hysteresis is included in the definition of the water retention curve so that its effects, such
as the irreversible component of volume change recorded during drying paths, are automatically incorporated
in the predictions of the model.

1 INTRODUCTION This work takes a step forward by accounting for hys-

An extensive experimental program was carried out
at the Department of Geotechnical Engineering of
the Università di Napoli Federico II to investigate
the effects of partial saturation on the volumetric
behaviour and on the initial shear stiffness, G0 , of a
compacted clayey silt (Vassallo et al., 2007a). A first
interpretation of the results was provided by Vassallo
et al. (2007b), using an approach in terms of net
stresses and suction in the framework of the Barcelona
Basic Model.
In this paper some of the experimental data are
re-interpreted using a Modified Cam Clay Model
extended to unsaturated conditions (Jommi, 2000;
Tamagnini, 2004). A similar approach has already
been used by Casini et al. (2007) in order to under-
stand if the model could predict the general features of
the experimental results on the clayey silt. The model
predicts correctly the influence of Sr on compressibil-
ity. However, for the sake of simplicity, the hydraulic
hysteresis of the water retention curve was neglected.
teresis and its effects on soil behaviour. The focus is
on tests which included a compression stage and, then,
wetting-drying cycles.
1.1 Material properties, experimental program
The tested soil is the Po silt: a clayey—slightly
sandy silt representative of the materials used for the
construction of embankments on the Po river (Italy).
On average, the material has a liquid limit (wL )
of 50.4%, a plastic limit (wP ) of 32.5% and there-
fore a plasticity index (IP ) of 17.9%. According to the
Casagrande chart, it is classified as inorganic silt of
medium/high compressibility.
The material was compacted at the optimum water
content by using the Standard Proctor procedure
(ASTM, 2005). Table 1 summarises the average
properties of the silt after compaction.
Fifteen suction controlled tests were performed
using a triaxial cell (Vassallo et al., 2007a). Three
of them consisted of isotropic compression with

609
Table 1. Average properties of the tested material after where σij are total stresses, ua is the air pressure, uw is
compaction. the water pressure, δij is the Kronecker delta, χ(Sr ) is a
weighing parameter which can account for the effects
w (%) γd (kN/m3 ) v Sr (%) of surface tension. In this work χ(Sr ) was assumed
equal to Sr . It has been argued that expression (1),
23.1 ± 0.3 15.59 ± 0.08 1.731 ± 0.009 86.9 ± 1.9
often called Bishop’s stress with χ(Sr ) = Sr , rep-
resents the average stress acting on the solid phase
if one neglects the work of the air-water interface
Table 2. Stress paths of tests mp05RC and mp07RC. (Hassanizadeh & Gray, 1980; Lewis & Schrefler,
1987; Hutter et al., 1999).
mp05RC mp07RC Starting from the modified Cam Clay model for
saturated conditions (Roscoe & Burland, 1968) and
p − ua ; ua − uw (kPa) p − ua ; ua − uw (kPa) using the conceptual framework proposed by Jommi
10 200 10 400 (2000) and Tamagnini (2004), the model is formulated
200 200 200 400 as follows.
200 400 200 100 As in the original modified Cam-clay model, elastic
200 100 200 400 behaviour is defined by:
200 400 200 200
200 100 550 200 1  1
200 200 – – ε̇ve = ṗ ε̇de = q̇ (2)
K 3G

where p is the mean effective stress, q is the deviator

unloading and reloading stages. In the other twelve
tests, the samples were isotropically consolidated at
constant suction and then sheared. Besides the fully
saturated condition, suctions of 50, 100, 200 and
400 kPa were investigated.
Twelve suction controlled tests were carried out
using a Resonant Column Torsional Shear (RCTS) cell
(Vassallo et al., 2007a). During seven of them, after
a preliminary equalization stage, an isotropic consol-
idation stage was carried out (in three cases including
both loading and unloading) measuring almost con-
tinuously the initial stiffness G0 . The remaining five
tests included stages of compression and of drying and
wetting at constant mean net stress (p−ua ), again with
a continuous measure of the initial stiffness G0 . Over-
all, three levels of suction (100, 200, 400 kPa) and
mean net stresses ranging from 25 to 700 kPa were
investigated.
This paper focuses on two out of the five tests which
included stages of drying and wetting. Table 2 sum-
marises the stress paths followed in these tests, in terms
of (p − ua ) and matric suction (ua − uw ).
The soil parameters used to model the volumetric
behaviour observed during these two tests are obtained
from the complete set of isotropic stage results (both
equalization and compression).
2 ELASTO-PLASTIC MODEL
2.1 Bishop stress model
The classic Bishop equation for effective stress is
adopted:
σ  ij = σij − ua + χ(S r )(ua − uw )δij
stress, ε̇ve and ε̇de are the increments of elastic volumet-
ric strain and elastic deviatoric strain, respectively, K is
the bulk modulus and G is the shear modulus.
The yield locus has the usual form:
f = q2 + M 2 p · (p − p c ) (3)
where M is the slope of the critical state line in the p : q
plane, and pc is the scalar internal variable (overcon-
solidation pressure) describing isotropic hardening.
The evolution of pc is defined in terms of a double
hardening mechanism:
ṗc = ṗc sat + ṗc unsat (4)
where
vpc v
ṗc sat = ε̇ (5)
λ−κ p
describes the evolution of the yield function produced
p
by plastic volumetric strains ε̇v as predicted in the
original model for saturated soils. Parameter λ is the
slope of the normal compression line, κ is the slope
of unloading-reloading lines, and v is the specific
volume. On the other hand, the expression:
ṗc unsat = −bpc Ṡr (6)
describes the evolution of the yield surface produced
by changes in the degree of saturation, which may
occur even if the current stress lies in the elastic
(1) domain. Parameter b is a constant soil property.

610
 The integration of Equation (4) yields to:
pc = pc sat · exp[b(1 − Sr )]
Thus, b controls the rate of change in pc caused by
variations in Sr .
Hardening has an irreversible component depen-
dent on the development of plastic volumetric strains,
related to the evolution of pc sat , and a reversible
component related to changes in Sr .
The model requires a hydraulic constitutive rela-
tionship describing the water storage mechanism, as
shown in Figure 1. The retention curve θw = θw (s)
obtained upon an imbibition process differs from that
obtained upon drying (hysteresis). Equilibrium at a
given suction may be obtained with different θw . The
two main curves are linked by scanning curves that
can be linear or not.
The issue of the hydraulic component of constitu-
tive models was first addressed by Wheeler (1996)
and by Dangla et al. (1997). Probably, the first
full attempt to couple hydraulic behaviour with a
mechanical model for unsaturated soils was proposed
by Vaunat et al. (2000). More recently, Wheeler
et al. (2003) presented an elastoplastic constitutive
model that also fully couples hydraulic hysteresis with
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. A compre-
hensive review of constitutive models for unsaturated
soils, including those based on Bishop’s stress, was
presented by Gens et al. (2006).
In this study the equation proposed by Van
Genuchten (1980):
 m
1 parameters chosen for the water retention curve.
θw = θw sat
1 + (αs)n
is used, where θw is the volumetric water content,
θw sat is the volumetric water content under saturated
conditions and s is matric suction.
s
main drying
scanning curve
main wetting
w w (%)
Figure 1. Constitutive relationships describing water
storage mechanism.
The main drying and wetting curves are obtained
assuming different values for the constitutive param-
(7) eters α, n and m (Romero & Vaunat, 2000). Scanning
curves are assumed linear in the θw : s plane:
θ̇w = −ks ṡ (9)
in which the constitutive parameter ks is the slope of
the scanning curves.
Since different values of θw can correspond to the
same value of s, as shown in Figure 1, the hardening
parameter p c in Equation (7) results smaller along the
main drying curve than along the main wetting curve
for the same values of suction and porosity.
The physical meaning of the assumptions above
rests on the fact that lower degree of saturation implies
a higher number of contact zones between the pore flu-
ids (menisci) so that the bonding effect exerted by the
menisci is higher along a wetting path than along a
drying path (Tamagnini, 2004).
2.2 Modelling of experimental results
Figure 2 reports, in the θw : s plane, the 26 experimen-
tal points relative to the end of the equalization stages
for all triaxial and resonant column tests together with
the adopted water retention relationship. The average
suction of the tested soil after compaction is about
140 kPa (Vassallo et al., 2007a).
Therefore, equalization at suction 200 and 400 kPa
is a drying process while equalization at lower suc-
tion is a wetting process. Table 3 summarises the
(8)
All the available experimental data from compres-
sion stages were analysed to obtain the parameters of
Equations (5) and (6), reported in Table 4.
400 drying
scanning curve
wetting
300
s (kPa)
200
main drying
100
main wetting
0
30 35 40 45
Figure 2. Experimental results of equalization stages versus
the adopted water retention relationship.
611
 The performance of the model was verified for tests
mp07RC and mp05RC, whose results are described in
detail by Vassallo et al. (2007a).
Figure 3a reports a comparison between model pre-
dictions and experimental results for test mp07RC. As
reported in Table 2, this test consisted of a compression
at constant suction s = 400 kPa, up to p ∼ = 510 kPa
(path 0-1), followed by several wetting-drying stages
to s = 100–400–200 kPa (path 1-2-3-4) and finally by
compression to p ∼= 710 kPa (path 4-5). Experimental
data for drying and wetting stages show only two data
points at the beginning and at the end of each stage.
Since suction was applied immediately at the boundary
of the specimen, then waiting for the achievement of
equilibrium, only the initial and final specific volumes
can be attributed to the imposed net stress and suction.
Differently, a complete v : p curve was obtained for
each stage by modelling.
During the first wetting stage at s = 100 kPa (path
1-2) the material swells. During the following drying
at s = 400 kPa (path 2-3) there is a small accumula-
tion of irreversible deformations due to the increase
in suction, as shown by the specific volume at point
Table 3. Parameters describing soil water retention curve.
α(kPa−1 ) n m θw sat (%)
Drying 0.11 1.07 0.07 44
Wetting 0.07 1.10 0.09 44
Table 4. Parameters describing soil compressibility and the
evolution of the yield surface produced by changes in Sr .
λ κ b N (Sr = 1)
0.06 0.018 7 2.015
3 which is smaller than that at point 1. During the
subsequent wetting at s = 200 kPa (path 3-4) the mate-
rial swells. Then, in the final stage of compression, the
material seems to reach a normally consolidated state
at p ∼
= 490 kPa.
Model predictions are also reported in Figures 3b
and 3c in θw : s and p : (1 − Sr ) planes. An over-
consolidated state is predicted at point 0 (beginning of
compression). Points 0 and 1 lie on the main drying
curve (Fig. 3b) as the imposed suction (400 kPa) is
greater than the after compaction suction. Compres-
sion stage 0-1 does not affect the predicted value of θw
(Fig. 3b). On the other hand, there is a change in Sr ,
and thus in variables (1 − Sr ) and p , due to the change
in porosity (Fig. 3c). For this stage, the prediction in
the p : v plane is satisfying.
The model also predicts well soil behaviour for the
wetting stage 1-2 from s = 400 kPa to s = 100 kPa,
that lies completely in the elastic domain, and for the
drying stage 2-3 from s = 100 kPa to s = 400 kPa,
that represents an elasto-plastic path. In the first case
the state path follows first a scanning curve and then
reaches the main wetting curve; in the second case,
the model predicts that the state path returns to the
same value of θw of points 0-1. Furthermore, the model
predicts some (slight) hardening in the p : (1 − Sr )
ks (kPa−1 ) plane due to the different changes which both p and
p c experience along paths 1-2 and 2-3 (Fig. 3c).
0.00256 The subsequent wetting 3-4 to s = 200 kPa only
0.00256 induces elastic strains, in good agreement with exper-
imental data. The final compression stage is also well
predicted by the model.
Figure 4a compares experimental results to model
predictions for test mp05RC. This test included a com-
pression at constant suction s = 200 kPa, up to
p − ua = 200 kPa (path 0-1), then several drying-
wetting stages s = 400–100–400–100–200 kPa (path
1-2-3-4-5-6) (see Table 2).

(a) (b) (c)

1.78 experimental data 0-1-3 0.3
model predictions

0 0
main

1.76 300 1
3
s.c. 0.2 4
d

2 5
.
s (kPa)

1 2
1-S r

1.74 4
v

3 4-5
s.c. 5
0.1 3-4
ma

1.72 100 2 1-2

in
w.

5 Y.L. 0
1.70
100 1000 30 35 40 10 100 1000
p'=p–ua+Sr(ua–uw) (kPa) w (%) p' (kPa)

Figure 3. Test mp07RC. Experimental data versus predictions in p : v plane (a); predictions in θw : s plane (b) and p : (1−Sr )
plane (c).

612
 (a) (b)
1.76 experimental data
model predictions
0
1.74 300
s.c.
s (kPa)
1 6
1.72
v
3mod 5
6 4-5-6
ma
1.70 5mod 3 42 100
in
mod
6mod 24
mod
1.68
100 1000 30
p'=p– ua+Sr(ua–uw) (kPa)
Figure 4. Test mp05RC. Experimental data versus predictions in p : v plane (a); predictions in θw : s plane (b) and p : (1−Sr )
plane (c).
The first drying at s = 400 kPa (path 1-2) induces
irreversible deformations due to the increase in suction
above its maximum past value (Vassallo et al. 2007a-
b). The irreversibility of previous volume changes
is shown by the much smaller absolute value of the
variation of v observed during the first wetting at
s = 100 kPa (path 2-3). As expected, this wetting path
induces swelling. The subsequent drying and wetting
stages cause volume changes comparable to those of
wetting 2-3 and smaller than those of drying 1-2. The
material always swells along wetting paths and shrinks
along drying paths. Substantially, all the experimental
points, from 2 on, are very close to a single line in the
p : v plane.
Figures 4b and 4c show model predictions in the
θw : s and p : (1 − Sr ) planes. The model predicts an
overconsolidated state at the beginning of compres-
sion. Similarly to test mp07RC, the results of the first
compression stage are well predicted. The model also
predicts an irreversible reduction of v, quite close to
the measured one, during the subsequent drying 1-2
to s = 400 kPa. For the model, the path 2-3 from
s = 400 kPa to s = 100 kPa is elastic. The sec-
ond drying 3-4 to s = 400 kPa is elasto-plastic like
the first one, although predicted shrinkage is much
smaller than for path 1-2. Irreversible strains along
cycle 2-3-4 are due to the different changes which p
and pc experience along path 2-3 and 3-4 (Fig. 4c),
linked to the shape of the water retention relation-
ship in the θw : s plane (Fig. 4b). The closed cycle
in this plane does not correspond to a closed cycle
in the Sr : s plane, which is relevant for model pre-
dictions. The second wetting 4-5 and the final drying
5-6 are elastic. It is worth noting that the measured
value of v in point 2 is slightly smaller than that of
point 4, i.e., the material accumulates a small swelling
during a drying-wetting cycle. This cannot be easily
explained from a physical point of view and could be
due to incomplete equalization during some stages of
613
(c)
2-4 0.3
main
0.2 0 2
1
d.
4
1-S r
3
6
0-1 5
s.c. 0.1
2-3
3-5 1
w.
Y.L. 0
35 40 10 100 1000
w(%) p' (kPa)
the test. More appropriately the model predicts a slight
accumulation of shrinkage. However predictions are
substantially in good agreement with measurements
from point 2 to point 6.
Points 0 and 1 in Figure 4b lie on a scanning curve
because the imposed suction, s = 200 kPa, is just
slightly higher than the after compaction suction. Sim-
ilarly to test mp07RC, which was analyzed above,
compression 0-1 does not influence the value of θw
while it changes porosity and, thus, variables p and
(1 − Sr ), as shown in Figure 4c. During the first dry-
ing 1-2, the main drying curve is reached and the yield
locus is significantly shifted rightwards. This confirms
that path 1-2 is elasto-plastic. During the wetting 2-3
a scanning curve is followed until the main wetting
curve is reached; an elastic path is predicted in the
plane p : (1 − Sr ). The same value of θw as at point
2 is reached after the second drying path 3-4. The
model predicts a slight hardening, i.e., a slight further
shift rightwards of the yield locus, linked to the dif-
ferent changes which both p and p c experience along
paths 2-3 and 3-4 (Fig. 4c). The yield locus remains
unvaried during the final wetting-drying stages 4-5-6.
2.3 Interpretation of stiffness measurements
Vassallo et al. (2007a-b) used the framework of the
Barcelona Basic Model to interpret the measurements
of initial shear stiffness G0 along both compression
and wetting-drying paths. It was concluded that there
is a significant influence of suction on stiffness, which
generally increases as (ua − uw ) increases. Never-
theless, changes of suction may cause significant
accumulation of irreversible changes of specific vol-
ume, accompanied by a further increase of G0 relative
to a general stress state (p − ua ), (ua − uw ). In other
words, there can be a significant effect of the stress
history, expressed in terms of (p − ua ) and (ua − uw ),
on the initial stiffness.
 (a) (b)
250 mp05RC
mp07RC
05-2
200
G0 (MPa)
1-Sr
150 07-2 05-1 07-1
07-0
05-P
100
05-0
50
200 300 400 500
p' (kPa)
Figure 5. Measured initial stiffness G0 versus p for tests mp05RC and mp07RC (a); predictions in the p : (1 − Sr ) plane for
tests mp05RC (b) and mp07RC (c).
As highlighted by Casini et al. (2007), an alterna-
tive approach is using Equation (1) and referring G0
measured values to corresponding p values. This way,
the effects of partial saturation on the initial shear stiff-
ness result similar to those ascribable to the structure
of a natural soil compared to the same soil reconsti-
tuted (Rampello et al. 1994). In fact, as far as data
collected during isotropic compression are concerned,
moving from complete saturation to partial saturation
induces a translation of experimental G0 : p curves.
Figure 5a reports for tests mp05RC and mp07RC
stiffness versus p , measured during the first compres-
sion stage and the subsequent first wetting or drying
stage. Compression stage data belong to a narrow
range centred on the dashed line plotted in the same
figure. This proves that the stiffness of the unsaturated
soil can be fundamentally interpreted by a single curve
in the p : G0 plane. On the other hand, the stiffness
measured after a drying or a wetting stage results sig-
nificantly higher than the values on the dashed curve.
Comparison can be made between points 05-2 and
07-1, characterized by the same (p−ua ) and (ua −uw ),
and 05-P and 07-2, characterized by the same p . This
suggests that there is also an effect of stress history in
terms of Bishop’s stress.
Figures 5b and 5c report model predictions in the
plane p : (1 − Sr ) for the same tests. Point 2 of test
mp05RC and point 1 of test mp07RC belong to dif-
ferent yield loci and have different (1 − Sr ) and p .
The yield locus is more expanded for test mp05RC.
As a consequence of different history, point P of test
mp05RC is on the current yield locus while point 2 of
test mp07RC is inside the yield locus. All this could
justify the differences in measured stiffness.
3 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This paper verifies the possibility of interpreting some
data from the comprehensive experimental study by
(c)
0.3 0.3
0
1
0.2 0 P1 0.2
2
2
2
0.1 0.1
1
P
1-2
Y.L. 0 Y.L. 0
10 100 1000 10 100 1000
p' (kPa) p' (kPa)
Vassallo et al. (2007a) within the framework of a
Bishop Stress Model (BSM).
Casini et al. (2007) had already confirmed that the
BSM can interpret the progressive shift of normal con-
solidation lines as the degree of saturation decreases
and, more in general, the influence that Sr has on
compressibility.
Herein, a step forward was taken in modelling, by
accounting for the hysteresis of the water retention
curve and for its effects on soil behaviour. This deter-
mines a hysteresis in the internal variable describing
isotropic hardening (Tamagnini, 2004) and can jus-
tify the occurrence of irreversible deformations such
as those induced by drying-wetting cycles.
The predictions of the chosen model are in good
qualitative and quantitative agreement with the exper-
imental data in terms of specific volume changes
plotted versus Bishop mean effective stress p . The
representation of test paths and of yield loci in the
plane p : (1 − Sr ) also seems quite useful to inter-
pret the effects of stress state and stress history on the
initial shear stiffness G0 .
REFERENCES
ASTM 2005. D0698-00 AE01 Test method for laboratory
compaction characteristics of soil using standard effort
(12, 400 ft · lbf /ft3 (600 kN · m/m3 )), ASTM Book of
Standards, vol. 04.08, Philadelphia, USA.
Casini F., Vassallo R., Mancuso C. & Desideri A. 2007.
Interpretation of the behaviour of compacted soils using
Cam-Clay extended to unsaturated conditions. Proceed-
ings of the Second International Conference Mechanics
of Unsaturated Soils, Weimar (Germany), 29–36.
Dangla O.L., Malinsky L. & Coussy O. 1997. Plasticity and
imbibition-drainage curves of unsaturated soils: a uni-
fied approach. 6th International Conference on numerical
models in geomechanics, Montreal, 141–146.
Gens A., Sanchez M. & Sheng D. 2006. On constitutive
modelling of unsaturated soils. Acta Geotechnica, 1,
137–147.
614
Hassanizadeh S.M. & Gray W.G. 1980. General conservation
equations for multiphase systems: 3. Constitutive the-
ory for porous media flow. Advanced Water Resource,
3, 25–40.
Hutter K., Laloui L. & Vulliet L. 1999. Thermodynamically
based mixture models for saturated and unsaturated soils.
Mechanics of Cohesive-frictional Materials, 4, 295–338.
Jommi C. 2000. Remarks on the constitutive modelling of
unsaturated soils. Proceedings of the International Work-
shop Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches
in Unsaturated Soils, Trento (Italy), 139–153.
Lewis R.W. & Schrefler B.A. 1987. The finite element
method in the deformation and consolidation of porous
media. Wiley, Chichester.
Rampello S., Silvestri F. & Viggiani G. 1994. The depen-
dence of small strain stiffness on stress state and history
for fined grained soils: the example of Vallericca clay.
Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Pre-
failure Deformation of Geomaterials, Sapporo (Japan),
273–278.
Romero E. & Vaunat J. 2000. Retention curves of deformable
clay. Proceedings of the International Workshop Experi-
mental evidence and theoretical approaches in unsaturated
soils, Trento (Italy), 91–106.
Roscoe K.H. & Burland J.B. 1968. On the Generalized Stress-
Strain Behavior of Wet Clay. Engineering Plasticity,
Cambridge University Press, 535–609.
615
Tamagnini R. 2004. An extended Cam-clay model for
unsaturated soils with hydraulic hysteresis. Géotechnique,
54, 223–228.
Van Genuchten M.T. 1980. A closed-form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44, 892–898.
Vassallo R., Mancuso C. & Vinale F. 2007a. Effects of net
stress and suction history on the small strain stiffness of
a compacted clayey silt. Canadian Geotechnical Journal,
44, 447–462.
Vassallo R., Mancuso C. & Vinale F. 2007b. Modelling
the influence of stress-strain history on the initial shear
stiffness of an unsaturated compacted silt. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 44, 463–472.
Vaunat J., Romero E. & Jommi C. 2000. An elastoplastic
hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated soils Proceed-
ings of the International Workshop Experimental evidence
and theoretical approaches in unsaturated soils, Trento
(Italy), 121–138.
Wheeler S.J. 1996. Inclusion of specific water volume within
an elastoplastic model for unsaturated soil. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 33, 42–57.
Wheeler S.J., Sharma R.S. & Buisson M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress strain behaviour in
unsaturated soils. Géotechnique, 53, 41–54.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Mixed isotropic-rotational hardening to model the deformational

response of unsaturated compacted soils

C. Jommi
Department of Structural Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy

E. Romero
Department of Geoengineering and Geoscience, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: The pattern of volumetric strains of unsaturated compacted soils along drying and wetting cycles
have received considerable attention in the last years due to its practical implications during the service life of
earth structures and backfills. Much attention has been devoted to the amount of collapse upon wetting as a
function of suction and stress level. Oedometer test data are presented here to quantify the amount of collapse
and shrinkage strains in wetting-drying-wetting cycles. Besides, results of an isotropic wetting test show that
collapse is in general accompanied by distortional strains as a result of the initial anisotropy created during
compaction. An elastic plastic model, in which the evolution of the soil structure is described by means of a
mixed isotropic-rotational hardening, is presented. Coupling between hydraulic and mechanical behaviour is
provided by a hysteretic retention curve. Comparison between model simulations and experimental data show
that the model is able to reproduce correctly the whole irreversible strain path upon both wetting and drying.

1 INTRODUCTION strains and may even be of comparable magnitude

The deformational response of compacted soils under
environmental actions is of paramount importance in
the analysis of the service life of earth constructions
such as dams, embankments, waste disposal facilities.
Hydraulic loads, i.e. cyclic drying and wetting, besides
changes in external loads, may condition to a large
extent the overall behaviour of this class of structures.
The abrupt volume reduction, termed collapse,
that a compacted soil may undergo upon wetting,
is considered to be the most problematic aspect of
the deformational response of a compacted soil (e.g.
Pereira & Fredlund 2000, Lim & Miller 2004). That
soils compacted dry of optimum at low dry den-
sity undergo collapse when wetted under constant
total stress is well known (Jennings & Burland 1962,
Barden et al. 1973). More recent experimental results
have shown that even soils compacted at optimum
conditions or wet of optimum may experience collapsi-
ble behaviour at high stresses, if they undergo drying
before wetting (Gens et al. 1995, Suriol et al. 1998).
These experimental data suggest that the whole suc-
tion history, besides void ratio and suction, rules the
overall deformational response of compacted soils.
Less attention was paid in the past to irreversible
volumetric strain experienced by compacted soils upon
first drying, which are of the same sign as collapse
(e.g. Dif & Bluemel 1991, Fleureau et al. 1993).
Besides, the role played by the initial anisotropic
fabric created by the compaction procedures on the
deformational response of compacted soils has not
been studied in detail, although different researchers
have highlighted the significant initial anisotropy
developed under one-dimensional oedometer com-
paction (Zakaria et al. 1995, Cui & Delage 1996,
Estabragh & Javadi 2006). Moreover, Zakaria et al.
(1995) and Barrera et al. (2000) observed that a
clear evolution of the anisotropic fabric occurs along
the subsequent loading paths. In particular, Romero
(1999) showed that, due to the initial anisotropic
fabric, distortional strains may be appreciable along
wetting paths under an external isotropic stress state.
Shrinkage strains upon drying and collapse or
swelling strains developed upon wetting are consid-
ered to be the result of different irreversible deforma-
tional mechanisms. Consequently, in the framework
of elastoplasticity they are usually modelled with sep-
arate, although coupled, yield funcitons (e.g. Alonso
et al. 1990, Wheeler et al. 2003, Sheng et al. 2004,
Sun et al. 2007).
A possible alternative unified view of the over-
all volumetric strains experienced by compacted soils
along generalised hydraulic paths is suggested here.
A rather simple elastic plastic constitutive model

617
is proposed, which exploits the hysteretic retention
characteristics of compacted soils to describe both irre-
versible collapse upon wetting and irreversible shrink-
age upon drying in a unified framework. A unique
mixed isotropic-rotational hardening law describes the
evolution of the soil fabric along generalised stress
paths, allowing for irreversible shrinkage, irreversible
collapse and anisotropy evolution to be taken into
account at the same time.
Relevant experimental results, coming from a wide
investigation performed on compacted Boom clay
(Romero, 1999) are presented and simulated numer-
ically by means of the proposed model. Oedometer
tests are exploited to analyse volumetric strains as a
function of the stress level. A wetting-drying-wetting
test under constant isotropic external load is then pre-
sented to highlight changes in the direction of plastic
strain increments occurring along the hydraulic path.
The latter test clearly shows the distortional effects
caused by the initial anisotropic fabric and the evo-
lution of fabric anisotropy, and allows a complete
description of the general deformational response of
the compacted soil.
2 CONSTITUTIVE FORMULATION
2.1 Theoretical basis
Referring to axisymmetric test conditions, a full
description of the soil state may be accomplished
by adopting triaxial stress and strain variables. Total
stress state will be described by total mean stress,
p = (σa + 2σr )/3, deviator stress, q = (σa − σr ),
and suction, s = (ua − uw ), where ua and uw are
the air and the water pressures, respectively. As for
the strain variables, volumetric strain, εv = εa + 2εr ,
and shear strain, εs = 2(εa − εr )/3, will be adopted.
Subscripts a and r refer to axial and radial compo-
nents, respectively. The amount of pore water will be
described by both gravimetric water content, w, and
degree of saturation, Sr . The average stress acting on
the soil skeleton (‘‘skeleton stress’’ in the following)
is adopted in the development of the constitutive for-
mulation. With reference to axisymmetric conditions,
mean skeleton stress, p̂ = [(p−ua )+Sr s] and deviator
stress, q, describe the constitutive stress state.
The modelling criteria suggested by Jommi & di
Prisco (1994) are followed. Given an elastic plas-
tic model conceived for soils in saturated conditions,
its extension to unsaturated conditions may be sim-
ply conceived as follows. By substituting the skeleton
stress for effective stress in the original constitutive
equations, increase in the average stress acting on the
soil skeleton due to suction may be taken into account.
Besides, the ‘‘bonding’’ effect provided on the soil
macrostructure by water menisci may be translated in
618
a generalisation of the hardening rules, by inserting a
suitable dependence of the hardening parameters on
suction or on degree of saturation.
To keep the model as simple as possible, Modi-
fied Cam Clay with associated plastic potential is
adopted herein as a reference for the saturated state.
The formulation for unsaturated conditions is a rather
simple extension of the works by Jommi (2000) and
Tamagnini (2004).
To complete the description of the soil behaviour a
model for the retention curve is mandatory. Consistent
advantages in modelling the deformational behaviour
of unsaturated soils are provided if hysteresis in the
soil water retention mechanism is taken into account,
as previously discussed by Tamagnini (2004). To the
latter aim, the hysteretic retention model proposed by
Romero & Vaunat (2000) is introduced in the cou-
pled hydro-mechanical model, and formulated as an
additional constitutive law.
2.2 Mechanical model equations
Starting from Modified Cam Clay, a rotation of
the axis of the yield surface and plastic potential
can be introduced to allow for the description of
an anisotropic response, following the proposal by
Dafalias (1986):
 2    
f = q − Mα p̂ + M 2 − Mα2 p̂ p̂ − p̂0 = 0 (1)
where M describes critical state obliquity, which is
assumed to be independent of suction.
The internal variables p̂0 , describing the current
preconsolidation pressure, and Mα , representing the
inclination of the current rotated yield surface with
respect to the p̂ axis, govern the isotropic and rota-
tional hardening, respectively. The evolution of the two
variables is ruled by both plastic strains and degree of
saturation.
The preconsolidation pressure in unsaturated condi-
tions, p̂0 , is defined as the sum of the preconsolidation
pressure in saturated conditions, p∗0 , depending on
volumetric plastic strains, plus a term depending on
degree of saturation,
p̂0 = p∗0 {1 + b1 [exp [b2 (1 − Sr )] − 1]} (2)
governed by parameters b1 and b2 . For p∗0 , the classical
critical state evolution law is adopted:
(1 + e) p∗0 p
dp∗0 = dεv (3)
λ−κ
where λ and κ are the elastic-plastic and elastic loga-
rithmic volumetric compliances, e is the void ratio and
p
dεv the volumetric plastic strain increment.
 Following Dafalias (1986), rotational hardening is Table 1. Parameters adopted in the simulation of compacted
assumed to be governed by the current angle between Boom clay.
the obliquity, η̂ = q/p̂, and the inclination Mα of the
yield surface: Mechanical parameter

. .  κ 0.014
dMα = c . dεvp . η̂ − ξ Mα (4) G (MPa) 40
λ 0.125
M 0.87
where c governs the rate of evolution of Mα , while ξ ξ 1.484
controls the target value of Mα for a given obliquity, b1 0.11
hence dMα = 0 for ξ = η̂/Mα . b2 8.2
A constant shear modulus, G, completes the c 136
description of a classical hypoelastic behaviour.
The model is defined in terms of eight material Hydraulic parameter Wetting Drying Scanning
parameters. Four of them, M , λ, κ and G, describe
a (MPa) 300 400 –
the behaviour of the isotropic soil under saturated
α (MPa−1 ) 19.3 1.4 –
conditions, and may be calibrated on the basis of n 1.12 0.95 –
conventional laboratory tests performed on saturated m 0.20 0.41 –
samples. In principle, parameter c, ruling the veloc- l (MPa−1 ) – – 0.02
ity of rotational hardening, can be determined with
reference to saturated samples too. Due to lack of
information, in the present case, c was calibrated on
the basis of the triaxial data on the unsaturated soil 1000
presented in the following. Parameter ξ can be cali- wetting: experimental data
drying: experimental data
brated from compaction data, assuming that at the end 100 drying: model
of compaction the direction of plastic strain increment wetting: model
Suction, s (MPa)

were not changing any more. The initial values of 10

the hardening parameters, p̂0in and Mαin can also be
determined from the compaction data. 1
Only the calibration of the two parameters b1 and
b2 , governing the rate of evolution of the preconsol-
0.1
idation pressure with the degree of saturation, need
experimental data from tests run on samples in unsat-
0.01
urated conditions. Here, they were calibrated in order 0 20 40 60 80 100
to minimise the difference between experimental data Degree of saturation, Sr (%)
and numerical simulation of volumetric plastic strain
along the first wetting path of the isotropic test pre- Figure 1. Water retention curve: experimental data and
sented in Section 5. The complete set of parameters model.
adopted is listed in Table 1.

a function of suction, s (Romero & Vaunat 2000):

2.3 Hydraulic model equations
Literature data (e.g. Gallipoli et al. 2003, Tarantino &
Tombolato 2005) show that irreversible strains under-
gone by a compacted soil along different hydro-
mechanical stress paths affect its water retention
properties. Nevertheless, a unique hysteretic retention
curve in the suction-degree of saturation plane was
chosen here, as a first approximation.
Figure 1 shows the main wetting and drying
branches of the water retention curve of Boom clay,
based on experimental data obtained with both vapour
equilibrium and axis translation techniques, for a
constant void ratio of e0 = 0.93 characterising the
as-compacted conditions (Romero 1999). The water
retention data were fitted to a modified form of van
Genuchten’s expression for degree of saturation, Sr , as
 m  
1 ln 1 + as
Sr = C(s) ; C(s) = 1 − .
1 + (α s)n ln(2)
(5)
Fitted parameters for the description of the retention
curve are listed in Table 1. Parameters n, m and α
are the same as used in van Genuchten’s expression.
Parameter α is inversely associated with the air-entry
value of the soil in the drying branch and with the air
occlusion pressure in the wetting branch. The correc-
tion function C(s) is introduced to fit retention curve
data for clayey soils at high suctions.
The slope of the scanning curves, l, is given a con-
stant value. It is worth noting that the hydraulic model

619
equation may be interpreted as a reversible-perfectly -4
irreversible constitutive law, with no hardening. -2

Volumetric strain, εv (%)

0

2
3 MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL TESTS
4

The experimental data refer to Boom clay from Mol 6 net vertical stress 0.085 MPa
(Belgium). The moderately swelling clay (20%–30% 8
experimental
numerical with rotational hardening
kaolinite, 20%–30% illite and 10%–20% smectite) has numerical isotropic
a liquid limit of wL = 56%, a plastic limit of wP = 10

29%, density of solid particles ρs = 2.70 Mg/m3 and 12

a clay fraction CF = 50%. 0.01
0.02 0.05
0.1
0.2 0.5
1
2

Suction, s (MPa)
The samples were prepared by static oedometer
compaction, on the dry side of optimum, at con- -4
net vertical stress 0.3 MPa
stant water content w = 15% to a dry density ρd = -2 experimental

1.40 Mg/m3 . Initial void ratio, e0 = 0.93, and degree numerical with rotational hardening

Volumetric strain, εv (%)

0 numerical isotropic
of saturation, Sr0 = 0.44, are not far from the optimum
2
standard Proctor value. The loading path to fabri-
cate the soil and the following unloading path prior to 4
testing were performed at an approximately constant 6
suction, s = 1.9 MPa, which was determined from
8
psychrometer readings. Maximum fabrication net ver-
tical and horizontal stress were around 1.2 MPa and 10
0.44 MPa, respectively. 12
After preparation, some samples were reloaded at 0.01
0.02 0.05
0.1
0.2 0.5
1
2

constant water content in a controlled-suction oedome- Suction, s (MPa)

ter up to four different net vertical stresses, namely -4
net vertical stress 0.6 MPa
0.085, 0.30, 0.60 and 1.2 MPa. Wetting was then -2 experimental
carried out using axis translation technique with numerical with rotational hardening
Volumetric strain, εv (%)

four equalisation stages (s = 0.45, 0.20, 0.06 and 0 numerical isotropic

0.01 MPa). Afterwards, a multi-step drying, up to 2

s = 0.45 MPa, and a subsequent wetting path were 4
performed at the same net vertical stresses, fol-
6
lowing the same equalisation stages. Air pressure
was maintained constant at 0.5 MPa throughout the 8
wetting-drying-wetting process. 10
The soil sample tested in the triaxial cell was
12
removed from the oedometer ring after unloading and 0.02 0.05 0.2 0.5 2
0.01 0.1 1
the lateral stress was released. Afterwards, the sam- Suction, s (MPa)
ple was mounted in the triaxial cell and subjected to -4
an isotropic loading path at constant water content. net vertical stress 1.2 MPa
At p = 0.6 MPa, the sample underwent a wetting- -2 experimental
numerical with rotational hardening
Volumetric strain, εv (%)

drying-wetting cycle, with the same four equalisation 0

numerical isotropic
stages as before, by means of axis translation technique 2
applied to both ends of the sample.
4

4 OEDOMETER TESTS 8

10
In Figure 2 the experimental data of the oedometer 12
tests performed at constant net vertical stress, ranging 0.02 0.05 0.2 0.5 2
0.01 0.1 1
from 0.085 MPa and 1.2 MPa are presented together Suction, s (MPa)
with the numerical results. Numerical simulations run
with the mixed isotropic-rotational hardening model Figure 2. Oedometer tests: experimental data and numeri-
presented herein are compared with the prediction of a cal simulations.

620
conventional isotropic hardening model (Jommi 2000,
Tamagnini 2004).
The influence of stress level on the volumetric strain
experienced by the soil in the first wetting path, as well
as in the following drying and wetting paths, may be
clearly appreciated by comparison of the experimental
data presented in the figures. During the first wet-
ting stages, the competing deformational mechanisms,
unloading of the aggregates (possibly accompanied by
swelling of the aggregates themselves) and collapse of
the macrostructure, may result in a net increase or a
net decrease of volume, as a function of the applied
vertical net stress.
In any case, the volumetric strain experienced dur-
ing the whole first wetting stage is almost irreversible,
as the data for the following drying stage clearly show.
In the first drying path, the soil experiences again
a considerable irreversible volume reduction. At low
stress levels shrinkage can be comparable to, or even
higher than, the amount of collapse previously due
to wetting. The ratio between the amount of collapse
during first wetting and shrinkage during first dry-
ing increases with the stress level, as expected. The
last wetting path induces a moderate elastic swelling,
and further drying-wetting cycles, not shown here, are
almost completely reversible (Romero 1999).
Comparison between experimental data and numer-
ical simulations show that the constitutive model with
rotational hardening is able to capture all the relevant
features of the experimental behaviour in the hydraulic
cycle. The numerical simulations run with a simpler
isotropic model are worse for low stress levels, while
for the higher stress levels they are very similar to the
previous ones. The differences at the lower stress lev-
els are mostly due to a wider elastic domain predicted
by the isotropic model with respect to the anisotropic
one. If the isotropic model is adopted, for a net verti-
cal stress of 0.0085 MPa the whole first wetting path
lies inside the elastic domain, which overestimates the
overall swelling. In any case, the volumetric strains
predicted by the two models at the end of each whole
hydraulic cycle do not differ much, which is consis-
tent with the dependence of the hardening function on
volumetric plastic strains only. In fact, some literature
data seem to substantiate this choice (e.g. Lawton et al.
1992).
It is worth noting that, in the elastic plastic models in
which hardening is ruled by suction, two distinct yield
functions, usually termed loading-collapse (LC) and
suction increase (SI) yield functions, must be intro-
duced in order to describe irreversible collapse upon
first wetting and irreversible shrinkage upon first dry-
ing. On the contrary, if the hardening laws are ruled by
degree of saturation (Eqs. 2,4), and hysteresis is explic-
itly taken into account, the preconsolidation pressure
(and the direction of the yield surface axis for the
621
rotational model) evolves differently in wetting and
drying paths, hence allowing for irreversible strains to
be correctly predicted in both cases. This model fea-
ture was highlighted by Tamagnini (2004). Here, its
quantitative reliability is verified against data spanning
over a wide stress range.
5 ISOTROPIC TRIAXIAL TEST
The advantages provided by the possibility of repro-
ducing an anisotropic response by means of rotational
hardening can be appreciated much better with ref-
erence to the experimental data presented in the fol-
lowing. Figures 3–4 show the whole strain path expe-
rienced by the initially anisotropic sample, reloaded
to the isotropic pressure, p = 0.6 MPa, and then
subjected to a hydraulic cycle.
Figure 3 shows the axial and the radial strain data.
In Figure 4, the evolution of volumetric and distor-
tional strains with suction are shown, to highlight the
influence of the initial anisotropic fabric and its evo-
lution on the overall deformational response of the
soil sample. Along the first wetting stage, distortional
strain, due to anisotropy, accompanies the plastic vol-
ume collapse. Accumulated plastic strains eventually
erase initial anisotropy. Starting from a suction value
of 0.2 MPa, in the last wetting stages and in the follow-
ing drying-wetting cycle the behaviour of the sample
is isotropic.
As in the previous oedometer tests, the following
drying path induces a small, but irreversible, volume
reduction. Distortional strains are negligible in the
drying-wetting cycle, and the deformational response
is fully isotropic.
The numerical simulations of the triaxial test data,
presented in Figure 3, show that the axial strain evo-
lution is well predicted by both models. Rotational
hardening does not seem to influence this strain com-
ponent to a large extent. Differences are observed in
0.0 numerical with rotational hardening
numerical isotropic
1.0
experimental
(%)
2.0
a
3.0
0.0
1.0
(%)
2.0
r
3.0
4.0
0.01
0.02 0.05
0.1
0.2 0.5
1
2
Suction, s (MPa)
Figure 3. Isotropic test (0.6 MPa): axial and radial strain
evolution: experimental data and numerical simulations.
 numerical with rotational hardening
numerical isotropic
-0.6 experimental
-0.4
(%)
-0.2
s
0.0
0 sion of the model to general stress and strain paths,
(%)
5 accomplished following literature suggestions, may
v
10
30
w (%)
25
20
15 0.02 0.05 0.2 0.5
0.01 0.1
Suction, s (MPa)
Figure 4. Isotropic test (0.6 MPa): distortional strain, volu-
metric strain, and water content evolution: experimental data
and numerical simulations.
the prediction of the radial strain component. While
the model with rotational hardening allows for dif-
ferent values to be predicted, axial and radial strain
components are obviously equal if an isotropic model
is adopted. Advantages coming from rotational hard-
ening appear clearly if attention is focused on the
distortional strain, which cannot be reproduced by the
isotropic model (Fig. 4). As a result, the total volumet-
ric collapse is a little underestimated by the isotropic
model.
Experimental data in Figure 4 show that water con-
tent changes in the drying-wetting cycle following
collapse are almost reversible. This observation con-
firms that plastic strains affect the retention properties
of the soil too. Although the numerical predictions
are still good quantitatively, the latter feature is not
reproduced by the present model, in which a fixed
retention curve in the suction-degree of saturation
plane is assumed.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The results presented show that the evolution of a
compacted soil fabric may be correctly reproduced
with simple, but coupled, elastic plastic models, by
adopting the average stress acting on the soil skele-
ton to reproduce the confining stress increment due to
suction, taking into account the hysteretic and irre-
versible water retention properties of the soil, and
ruling hardening via both plastic strains and degree
of saturation. The latter choice appears crucial in the
interpretation and in the description of the overall
deformational response. Lack of information on the
evolution of hydraulic properties complicates the inter-
pretation of the behaviour of unsaturated soils, which
may be greatly simplified if a complete description
of the hydraulic state evolution, besides stresses and
strains, is provided.
Rotational hardening, describing the evolution of
the anisotropic fabric of a compacted soil along
its mechanical and hydraulic history, could be eas-
ily introduced thanks to advanced experimental data
allowing for calibration of the evolution laws. Exten-
provide a useful tool for engineering purposes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
2
1
The financial support of the Spanish Ministry of
Science (CGL2005-03677/BTE: Advances in Unsat-
urated Soil Mechanics: Behaviour under Generalised
Stress States) is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Barden, L., McGown, A. & Collins, K. 1973. The collapse
mechanism in partly saturated soil. Engrg. Geol. 7: 49–60.
Barrera, M., Romero, E., Lloret, A. & Gens, A. 2000. Col-
lapse test on isotropic and anisotropic compacted soils. In
A. Tarantino and C. Mancuso (eds.). Experimental Evi-
dence and Theoretical Approaches in Unsaturated Soils:
33–45. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Cui, Y.J. & Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotechnique 46:
291–311.
Dafalias Y.F. 1986. An anisotropic critical state soil plasticity
model. Mech. Res. Comm., 13(6): 341–347.
Dif, A.E. & Bluemel, W.F. 1991. Expansive soils under cyclic
drying and wetting. Geot. Testing J., 14(1): 96–102.
Estabragh, A.R. & Javadi, A.A. 2006. Yielding of unsat-
urated compacted silty soil under anisotropic condi-
tions. In G.A. Miller, C.E. Zapata, S.L. Houston and
D.G. Fredlund (eds.). Unsaturated Soils 2006, 1:
1259–1266. Virginia: ASCE.
Fleureau, J.-M., Kheirbek-Saoud, S., Soemitro, R. & Taibi, S.
1993. Behaviour of clayey soils on drying-wetting paths.
Can. Geotech. J., 30: 287–296.
Gallipoli, D., Wheeler, S.J. & Karstunen., M. 2003. Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Géotechnique 53(1): 105–112.
Gens, A., Alonso, E.E., Suriol, J. & Lloret, A. 1995. Effect of
structure on the volumetric behaviour of a compacted soil.
In E.E. Alonso and P. Delage (eds.), Unsaturated Soils,
1: 83–88, Rotterdam, Balkema.
Jennings, J.E. & Burland, J.B. 1962. Limitations to the use of
effective stresses in partly saturated soils. Géotechnique
12(2): 125–144.
Jommi, C. 2000. Remarks on the constitutive modelling of
unsaturated soils. In A. Tarantino and C. Mancuso (eds.).
Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches in
Unsaturated Soils: 139–153. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Jommi, C. & di Prisco, C. 1994. A simple theoretical
approach to model the mechanical behaviour of partially
622
 saturated granular soils (in Italian). Proc. of Italian Conf.
Role of fluids in Geotechnical engineering. Mondovì,
1(II): 167–188.
Lawton, E.C., Fragaszy, R.J. & Herington, M.D. 1992.
Review of wetting-induced collapse in compacted soil.
J. Geotech. Engrg. ASCE, 118(9): 1376–1394.
Lim, Y.Y. & Miller, G.A. 2004. Wetting-induced compres-
sion of compacted Oklahoma soils. J. Geotech. Geoenv.
Engng. 130(10): 1014–1023.
Pereira, J.H.F. & Fredlund, D.G. 2000. Volume change
behaviour of collapsible compacted gneiss soil. J. Geotech.
Geoenv. Engng. 126(10): 907–916.
Romero, E. 1999. Characterisation and thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated Boom clay: an
experimental study. PhD Thesis, UPC, Barcelona.
Romero, E. & Vaunat, J. 2000. Retention curves of
deformable clays. In A. Tarantino and C. Mancuso (eds.).
Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches in
Unsaturated Soils: 91–106. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Sheng, D., Sloan, S.W. & Gens, A. 2004. A constitu-
tive model for unsaturated soils: thermomechanical and
computational aspects. Computational Mechanics, 33:
453–465.
623
Sun, D.A., Sheng, D.C., Cui, H.B. & Sloan, S.W. 2007.
A density-dependent elastoplastic hydro-mechanical
model for unsaturated compacted soils. Int. J. Numer.
Anal. Meth. Geomech., 31: 1257–1279.
Suriol, J., Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1998. Behaviour of
compacted soils in suction-controlled oedometer. In Proc.
2nd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils. Beijing, China,
1: 438–443. Beijing: International Academic Publishers.
Tamagnini, R. 2004. An extended Cam-clay model for
unsaturated soils with hydraulic hysteresis. Géotechnique,
54(3): 223–228.
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Géotechnique, 55 (4): 307–317.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. & Buisoon, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour in
unsaturated soils. Géotechnique, 53(2): 41–54.
Zakaria, I., Wheeler, S.J. & Anderson, W.F. 1995. Yield-
ing of unsaturated compacted kaolin. In E.E. Alonso
and P. Delage (eds.), Unsaturated Soils, 1: 223–228,
Rotterdam: Balkema.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

An anisotropic elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soils

K. Stropeit & S.J. Wheeler

University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

Y.J. Cui
Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, France

ABSTRACT: A new anisotropic elasto-plastic constitutive model for unsaturated soils (ABBM) has been
developed, by combining features of the conventional Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) for unsaturated soils and
the anisotropic S-CLAY1 model for saturated soils. In addition, the possibility of a non-linear variation of
cohesion intercept with suction is introduced for both the BBM and the ABBM. Simulations with the ABBM
and the BBM have been compared with experimental data from tests on compacted Jossigny silt reported by
Cui & Delage (1996). The ABBM is able to provide a much better match than the BBM to the observed shape
and size of the yield surface produced by one-dimensional compaction. In addition, the ABBM is able to provide
improved predictions of yield stresses and volumetric strains during constant suction shearing, particularly if
a non-linear variation of cohesion intercept with suction is incorporated. The current version of the ABBM
can, however, sometimes result in unrealistic predictions of immediate post-yield softening, and further work is
required to refine and fully validate the model.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 ABBM MODEL

Many soils display anisotropy of mechanical behaviour,
as a consequence of anisotropy of the soil fabric
(e.g. Graham et al. 1983, Cui & Delage 1996).
This anisotropy of fabric may be initiated during
formation of the soil (e.g. deposition of natural
soils or placement and compaction of fills), but
it can be altered subsequently by plastic strain-
ing, which can produce re-arrangement of the
fabric.
Many anisotropic elasto-plastic constitutive mod-
els for saturated soils have been published in the
literature. One of these anisotropic saturated mod-
els is S-CLAY 1, presented by Wheeler et al. (2003),
which has a rotational hardening law (describing the
development of anisotropy during plastic straining)
that has now been extensively validated by experi-
mental programmes on several soft saturated clays.
Little, however, has been published on development
of anisotropic elasto-plastic constitutive models for
unsaturated soils.
This paper presents a new anisotropic unsat-
urated elasto-plastic constitutive model (ABBM),
in which the modelling of anisotropy from S-
CLAY1 is used to enhance the conventional
Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) of Alonso et al.
(1990).
The new anisotropic elasto-plastic model for unsatu-
rated soils (ABBM) is presented here for the simplified
stress space of the triaxial test, in terms of mean net
stress p, deviator stress q and suction s. Generaliza-
tion of the model to three-dimensional stress states,
including the possibility of rotation of principal stress
directions, can be achieved by following the same logic
as presented by Wheeler et al. (2003) for the saturated
model S-CLAY 1.
Modelling of elastic anisotropy that can change
with plastic straining would be extremely complex
(see Wheeler et al. 2003). In the interest of simplic-
ity, therefore, the ABBM (like S-CLAY 1) assumes
isotropic elastic behaviour. The elastic increments of
volumetric strain and deviatoric strain are given by the
same expressions as in the BBM.
2.1 Yield surface
Constant suction cross-sections of the ABBM yield
surface take the form of geometrically sheared ellipses
in the q: pf plane:
 
3
(q − αp)2 = (M2 − α 2 ) p + f (s) ( pm (s) − p)
2
(1)

625
where M is the saturated critical state stress ratio. The
parameters α and pm (s) define the inclination and size
respectively of the yield curve (see Fig. 1), with the
magnitude of α representing a measure of the current
degree of plastic anisotropy. The value of α can change
during plastic straining (as anisotropy changes), but it
is assumed that cross-sections of the yield surface at
different suctions all have the same inclination α (see
Fig. 1). This assumption appears reasonably consistent
with the experimental yield curves presented by Cui &
Delage (1996).
The yield curve for a given suction s has vertical
tangents at two points, A and B, both falling on a line
of gradient α through the origin, with point A hav-
ing a coordinate p = −3f (s)/2 and point B having
a coordinate p = pm (s) (see Fig. 1). f (s) is a func-
tion of suction (see later) which has a value of zero at
s = 0. The yield curve for s = 0 corresponds to the
S-CLAY1 anisotropic model for saturated soils. With
α = 0 (isotropic behaviour) and a linear variation of
f (s) with suction, Equation 1 gives the BBM yield
curve expression. A single value of M can be used for
the entire yield curve, or alternatively a lower triaxial
extension value of M can be used for the section of
yield curve below the vertical tangent points A and
B (a possibility introduced in S-CLAY 1 by Wheeler
et al. 2003).
The size of the yield curve pm (s) is assumed to
vary with suction according to the LC yield curve
expression of the BBM:
2.2 Flow rule and hardening laws
The ABBM employs an associated flow rule, which
can be expressed as:
p
dεs 2 (ηα − α)
p = (3)
dεv M2 − ηα2
where ηα is the gradient of the line in the q: p plot
from the vertical tangent point A (see Figure 1) to the
current stress point:
!
q + α · 3 2 f (s)
ηα = ! (4)
p + 3 2 f (s)
Equation 3 reverts to the flow rule of the S-CLAY 1
model for the case s = 0. Wheeler et al. (2003)
showed that, for saturated soils, an associated flow
rule combined with the inclined S-CLAY 1 yield curve
gives a reasonable match to observed patterns of
behaviour, in contrast to the isotropic Modified Cam
Clay model, where a non-associated flow rule gen-
erally gives improved predictions. Similarly, Alonso
et al. (1990) suggested the use of a non-associated
flow rule in the isotropic BBM.
The ABBM incorporates two hardening laws. The
first hardening law takes a similar form to the BBM
hardening law and relates the change of size of the
yield surface to the plastic volumetric strain:

  λ(0)−κ dpm (0) v · dεv

p
pm (s) pm (0) λ(s)−κ
= (5)
= (2) pm (0) λ(0) − κ
pc pc
The second hardening law gives the change of yield
where pm (0) gives the size of the yield curve at surface inclination α produced by plastic straining:
s = 0 (see Fig. 1) and pc is a reference pressure (a soil
constant). The variation of λ(s) with suction follows   η  . 
3ηα / 0 α .
the same expression as in the BBM. dα = μ − α · dεvp + b − α · .dεsp .
4 3
(6)

where μ and b are two soil constants. For the case s = 0

(when ηα is replaced by the conventional stress ratio
η), Equation 6 corresponds to the rotational hardening
law of the S-CLAY 1 model. This saturated version
of Equation 6 has now been extensively validated in
experimental test programmes on several soft saturated
clays, but there has been no validation for unsaturated
conditions. An explanation of the rotational hardening
law is given by Wheeler et al. (2003).

2.3 Critical states

Equation 3 indicates that critical states are reached
Figure 1. Constant suction cross-sections of yield surface. when ηα = M . Inspection of Equation 6 then shows

626
that the ABBM (like S-CLAY1) predicts a unique
critical state value of yield curve inclination αcs :
M G
αcs = (7)
3 κs
For each value of suction there is a unique critical
state line in the q:p plane, defined by:
q = Mp + Mf (s) (8)
i.e. critical state lines for different values of suction
all have the same gradient M , with an intercept on the
p axis at—f (s) (see Fig. 1).
When α reaches the critical state value given by
Equation 7, the vertical tangent point A falls on the
extension of the critical state line defined by Equa-
tion 8 (see Fig. 1). As a consequence, when α = αcs
the horizontal tangent point on the yield curve coin-
cides with the intersection of the yield curve with the
critical state line. This is not true for other values of
α, except for the case s = 0.
Two different forms have been assumed for the vari-
ation of f (s) with suction. The first version involves a
linear variation of cohesion intercept with suction:
f (s) = ks (9)
where k is a soil constant. With this assumption, the
critical state line defined by Equation 8 coincides with
the BBM critical state line expression. In the sec-
ond version of the model, a non-linear variation of
cohesion intercept with suction is assumed:
  s  2003).
f (s) = a 1 − exp − (10)
a
where a is a soil constant. Equation 10 gives a non-
linear increase of shear strength with suction, as
reported by many authors (e.g. Gan et al. 1988), with
f (s) reaching a limiting value, of magnitude a, as suc-
tion tends to infinity. The form of Equation 10 ensures
that a plot of f (s) against s has an initial gradient of
unity at s = 0, thus satisfying the saturated effective
stress requirement as s tends to zero. The non-linear
cohesion intercept expression of Equation 10 can be
used in the BBM as well as in the ABBM.
3 INVESTIGATION OF MODEL VALIDITY
Experimental data from controlled-suction triaxial
tests on unsaturated compacted Jossigny silt reported
by Cui & Delage (1996) have been used to evaluate the
ability of the ABBM to reproduce observed behaviour.
Tests were performed at four different values of con-
stant suction: 200, 400, 800 and 1500 kPa, and the
627
Table 1. BBM and ABBM parameter values for compacted
Jossigny silt.
19.0 MPa β 0.004 kPa−1
κ 0.0047 M 1.1
0.004 k 0.29
pc 2.0 kPa a 352.0 kPa
λ (0) 0.064 μ 187.5
N (0) 1.9 b 1.0
r 0.8
programme involved isotropic loading tests, propor-
tional (constant η) loading tests and conventional shear
tests (with radial net stress held constant).
Simulations were performed at a stress point level
with both the new ABBM and with the conventional
BBM. In both cases, two versions of the model were
employed, with either a linear or a non-linear varia-
tion of cohesion intercept with suction (Eqs. 9 and 10
respectively). For the ABBM simulations the associ-
ated flow rule of Equation 3 was employed, whereas
the non-associated flow rule suggested by Alonso et al.
(1990) was used in the BBM simulations.
Parameter values employed in the simulations were
selected using all the experimental data from Cui &
Delage (1996) and are presented in Table 1.
For the ABBM, the value of the parameter μ was
determined using the empirical method suggested by
Wheeler et al. (2003). In the absence of direct evidence
on the value of the parameter b, a value of unity was
selected (rather than using the indirect procedure for
selecting a value for b suggested by Wheeler et al.
The simulations presented here focus on two issues:
the ability of the models to match the shape and size of
the yield surface produced by one-dimensional com-
paction and the prediction of stress-strain behaviour
during constant suction shearing.
3.1 Yield surface prediction from compaction
procedure
The samples of Jossigny silt were one-dimensionally
compacted in a mould under an average vertical net
stress of 840 kPa (the value varied slightly between
samples). The suction after removal of the compaction
load was measured at 200 kPa. Experience on other
compacted soils suggests that the suction probably
changed very little during removal of compaction load,
and it was therefore assumed that the same suction
of 200 kPa was present when the vertical compaction
stress was applied.
To calculate the values of mean net stress p and
deviator stress q applied during compaction, it was
necessary to estimate the value of horizontal net
stress induced during compaction. For the ABBM
simulations, the value of horizontal net stress was
estimated by assuming that the value of ηα during
one-dimensional compaction (at a suction of 200 kPa)
was the same as the saturated normally consolidated
K0 value of stress ratio η (calculated by assuming
K0 = 1 − sinφ  = (6 − 2M )/(6 + M )). For the BBM
simulations an equivalent assumption was made. This
resulted in slightly different sets of estimated p and
q values during compaction for the different simula-
tions, depending on the model used and on the assumed
value of α in the ABBM simulations (see below).
Knowing the values of p and q applied during com-
paction, it was possible to fit the ABBM yield curve
expression of Equation 1 through the compaction
stress point and hence calculate a value of yield curve
size pm (s) at a suction of 200 kPa. To do this, a value
had to be assumed for the yield curve inclination α
induced by the one-dimensional compaction process.
Wheeler et al. (2003) presented a method for calcu-
lating the value of αK0 , produced by K0 consolidation
of a saturated clay under normally consolidated con-
ditions. This procedure has now been well validated
for a range of soft saturated clays, but it is unlikely to
be valid for one-dimensional compaction under unsat-
urated conditions, because the ABBM predicts that
the resulting value of α would also be affected by
any change of suction occurring during the applica-
tion of compaction load. Different values of α were
tried, in order to examine the fit with the experimen- Figure 2. Comparison of yield surface model predictions
tal yield curve data. The value that was selected as with experimental yield points: (a) BBM; (b) ABBM with
giving the best match (α = 0.75) is much higher α = 0.75.
than the value of saturated αK0 = 0.42 calculated
according to the method proposed by Wheeler et al.
(2003).
Having calculated the value of pm (s) at a suction with suction) for the case α = 0.75. This provides
of 200 kPa, it was then possible to use the LC yield a significantly better match to the experimental yield
curve expression of Equation 2 to calculate the sizes points than the BBM model, although yield stresses
of yield curves at different values of suction and hence still appear to be over-predicted by the ABBM.
the complete form of the yield surface. An equivalent The experimental yield points measured during
procedure was used with the BBM. isotropic loading were probably the most reliable.
Figure 2a shows the predicted BBM yield curves Figure 3 therefore examines the ability of the two
(assuming a conventional linear variation of cohesion models to match these isotropic yield points. The
intercept with suction) for the four experimental values BBM (curve (a)) grossly overpredicts the yield points
of suction. Also shown are the corresponding exper- observed during isotropic loading (see also Fig. 2a).
imental yield points, as reported by Cui & Delage The ABBM with α = 0.75 (curve (c)) predicts sub-
(1996). The experimental yield points were taken from stantially lower isotropic yield stresses (the effect is
isotropic loading, constant η and conventional shear less marked with α = αK0 = 0.42, see curve (b)).
tests. Interpretation of yield points from experimen- Even with α = 0.75, however, the ABBM still over-
tal data generally involves significant subjectivity, and predicts the experimentally observed isotropic yield
therefore all experimental yield data should be viewed stresses (see also Fig. 2b). The final curve in Figure 3
with a degree of caution. It is, however, clear from (curve (d)) shows the ABBM prediction with α = 0.75
Figure 2a that, as expected, the isotropic BBM is but with a lower value of critical state stress ratio
unable to provide a good match to the experimentally Me = 0.9 assumed in triaxial extension. This lower
observed yield curves. value Me has been used in the yield curve expres-
Figure 2b shows the predicted ABBM yield curves sion for the part of the yield curves below the vertical
(assuming a non-linear variation of cohesion intercept tangent points A and B (see Fig. 1), as suggested by

628
Figure 3. Comparison of model predictions with exper-
imental yield points measured during isotropic loading;
dashed lines linear cohesion intercept, solid lines non-linear
intercept.
Figure 4. Variation of deviator stress with shear strain dur-
ing constant suction shearing: (a) s = 200 kPa; (b) s =
800 kPa.
Wheeler et al. (2003), whereas the triaxial compres-
sion value Mc = 1.1 has been retained for the upper
part of the yield curves, above the vertical tangent
points. Use of a lower value of M in triaxial exten-
sion than in triaxial compression is consistent with
expected behaviour for all soils. Inspection of Figure 3
629
Figure 5. Variation of specific volume with mean net stress
during constant suction shearing: (a) s = 200 kPa; (b) s =
800 kPa.
shows that the combination of a lower Me value and
α = 0.75 allows the ABBM to provide an excellent
match to the experimentally observed isotropic yield
stresses.
3.2 Predicted behaviour during shearing
All constant suction shear tests reported by Cui &
Delage (1996) have been simulated with the ABBM
and the BBM. Two tests are shown here as examples.
Both tests were conducted at a constant net radial stress
of 200 kPa, with the first test at a suction of 200 kPa and
the second at a suction of 800 kPa. For the ABBM sim-
ulations an initial yield curve inclination of α = 0.75
was assumed, and a single value of M = 1.1 was
used for the entire yield surface. The initial value of
po (0) (for the BBM) or pm (0) (for the ABBM) was
selected to provide a best fit to the measured isotropic
yield stresses at the 4 values of suction. This would be
a common practice in selecting an appropriate initial
state for numerical simulations.
Figure 4 shows the variation of deviator stress with
shear strain for the two example tests. Inspection of
Figures 4a and 4b shows that the use of a non-linear
variation of cohesion intercept with suction provides a

Figure 6. Variation of volumetric strain with shear strain
during constant suction shearing: (a) s = 200 kPa; (b) s =
800 kPa.
significant improvement in the prediction of the final
critical state values of deviator stress.
In Figures 4a and 4b the yield stresses predicted
by the ABBM are significantly higher than those pre-
dicted by the BBM, and this provides a better match
to the observed behaviour, which is relatively stiff up
to high values of q. The ABBM predictions of imme-
diate post-yield behaviour are however a poor match
to observed behaviour. In particular, the ABBM sim-
ulations at a suction of 800 kPa (Fig. 4b) show a small
drop of deviator stress immediately post-yield, which
is not seen in the experimental results.
The unrealistic immediate post-yield softening in
some of the ABBM simulations is mainly a conse-
quence of the selection of an initial value of α much
higher than the final critical state value αcs . The pre-
cise form of the yield curve expression of Equation 1
together with the flow rule of Equation 3 and the rota-
tional hardening law of Equation 6 also contribute
to the unrealistic prediction of immediate post-yield
softening, and the validity of all three requires further
investigation for unsaturated conditions.
Figure 5 shows the variation of specific volume
v with mean net stress p during the shearing stages
of the two example tests. Inspection of Figures 5a
and 5b shows that the ABBM simulations provide a
better match to the experimental results than the BBM
630
simulations, in terms of both the yield stress and the
final magnitude of the change of v during shearing.
Again, however, the form of immediate post-yield
behaviour predicted by the ABBM is unrealistic, as
a consequence of the initial softening described in the
previous paragraph.
Figure 6 shows plots of volumetric strain against
shear strain for the two example shear tests. The
best match to the experimental results is produced
by the ABBM with a non-linear variation of cohesion
intercept with suction.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Simulations with the new ABBM and the conven-
tional BBM have been compared with experimental
data from tests on compacted Jossigny silt reported by
Cui and Delage (1996). The comparisons show that
the ABBM is able to provide a much better match than
the BBM to the observed shape and size of the yield
surface produced by one-dimensional compaction. To
provide a good match, the compaction-induced value
of yield curve inclination α used in the ABBM must be
much greater than would be predicted for K0 consoli-
dated saturated samples of the same soil. Using a high
value of α and different values of critical state stress
ratio M in triaxial compression and triaxial extension,
the ABBM is able to provide an excellent match to
the values of yield stress observed during subsequent
isotropic loading, whereas the isotropic yield stresses
are grossly overpredicted by the BBM.
Simulations of constant suction shear tests gener-
ally show better predictions from the ABBM than from
the BBM. Final critical state values of deviator stress
are best predicted by assuming a non-linear variation
of cohesion intercept with suction (this feature can
be incorporated in either the ABBM or the BBM).
Yield stresses during shearing are better predicted by
the ABBM than the BBM, and the magnitudes of vol-
umetric strain during shearing are best predicted by
the ABBM with a non-linear variation of cohesion
intercept with suction.
ABBM simulations of constant suction shearing
sometimes show unrealistic softening in the imme-
diate post-yield response. Final recommendations on
the best forms for the ABBM yield curve expression,
the flow rule and the rotational hardening law, which
could address this problem, will require compar-
isons with experimental data from other unsaturated
soils.
Overall, the results presented here suggest that
incorporation of anisotropy in elasto-plastic consti-
tutive models for unsaturated soils may result in
significantly improved predictions, but further work is
required to finalise aspects of a fully realistic model.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The support of the European Commission via ‘Marie-
Curie’ Research Training Network contract number
MRTN-CT-2004-506861 is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
631
Cui, Y.-J., Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Géotechnique 46(2):
291–311.
Gan, J.K.M., Fredlund, D.G., Rahardjo, H. 1988. Determi-
nation of the shear strength parameters of an unsaturated
soil using the direct shear test. Can. Geotech. J. 25(3):
500–510.
Graham, J., Noonan, M.L. and Lew, K.V. 1983. Yield states
and stress-strain relations in natural plastic clay. Can.
Geotech. J. 20: 502–516.
Wheeler, S.J., Näätänen, A., Karstunen, M., Lojander, M.
2003. An anisotropic elastoplastic model for soft clays.
Can. Geotech. J. 40: 403–418.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

An elasto-viscoplastic model for chalk including suction effects

F. Collin
Université de Liège (FNRS, Department ARGENCO), Belgium

V. De Gennaro & P. Delage

Ecole des Ponts, Paris (Université Paris-Est, Navier Institute – CERMES), France

G. Priol
Arcadis, Paris, France

ABSTRACT: During the six years long Pasachalk project devoted to the mechanical behaviour of high porosity
chalks from North Sea oilfields, the constitutive model Pasachalk (Collin et al., 2002) was proposed based on
the Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) (Alonso et al., 1990). The approach was based on the similarities found
between the oil-water interactions (oil and water being the non wetting and wetting fluid respectively) in oil
reservoir chalk and the air-water interactions in unsaturated soils. This approach appeared to be relevant to
interpret the subsidence of the seafloor during waterflooding operations for enhanced oil recovery that has been
observed in North Sea oilfields (e.g. Ekofisk oilfield). Another important component of subsidence was then
related to the creep behaviour of the multiphase chalk (De Gennaro et al., 2003). A modified Pasachalk model
was proposed to account for time effects using the framework of Perzyna’s viscoplasticity (1964) but without
considering suction effects. Based on available experimental results (Priol et al., 2007), a modified version of
the viscoplastic Pasachalk model including suction effects is proposed in this paper.

1 INTRODUCTION resulting in creep, a behaviour feature particularly

The mechanical behaviour of chalk has been exten-
sively studied since the early eighties, in particular
with regard to the behaviour of oil reservoir chalks
in the North Sea (Ekofisk oilfield, see Hermansen
et al., 2000, Nagel 2001). More recently, the risk
assessment of the long-term stability of chalk pillars in
mineworkings has been considered. In both situations,
two poorly miscible pore fluids of different wettabili-
ties are contained by chalk: water and oil in reservoir
chalks and water and air in continental chalks from
mines and quarries. In multiphase chalks, the partial
saturation can change with time. The water saturation
in oil reservoir chalks can increase due to reservoir
enhanced exploitation by waterflooding (e.g. Ekofisk
oilfield). Water saturation changes in mine chalks can
be a consequence of the combined effects of changes
in water table and in the hygrometry of the mine.
Like in unsaturated soils, it has been showed that
changes in partial saturation have an influence on the
mechanical response of chalk, the higher the degree
of water saturation, the higher the compressibility and
the lower the strength (water weakening effect). In oil
reservoirs, mines and quarries, the overburden for-
mations apply long term hydro-mechanical loadings,
pronounced in chalks.
Some recent experimental and theoretical appr-
oaches carried out on partially saturated chalks have
confirmed the relevance of some concepts of the
mechanics of unsaturated soils to multiphase chalk
behaviour, as suggested by Delage et al. (1996). Collin
et al. (2002) proposed a modified version of the
Barcelona Basic Model (BBM, Alonso et al., 1990)
called Pasachalk model to model the behaviour of oil
reservoir chalks. This model was extended to include
viscoplastic behaviour of reservoir chalk but this lat-
ter model did not take implicitly the suction effect into
account (De Gennaro et al., 2003). The effects of the
oil-water suction on the time dependent behaviour of
reservoir chalks has only been partially explored up
to now. In this regard, recent findings (Priol, 2005;
Priol et al., 2007) from oedometer tests carried out on
chalk samples seem to suggest that the delayed strain
of chalk is well correlated with the over-stress ratio
(i.e. the ratio between the actual stress and the yield
stress).
Based on these findings and on other avail-
able results, a modified version of the viscoplastic
Pasachalk model including oil-water suction effects
is proposed in this paper.

633
2 EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE OF CREEP
IN CHALK
Priol (2005) and Priol et al. (2007) reported results
of oedometer compression tests carried out on Lixhe
chalk (an outcrop chalk from Belgium) saturated with
oil, with water, partially saturated and dry (Fig. 1). By
analyzing the evolution of the creep curves obtained
during multiple step loading tests, it was suggested
to consider the following rheological law to fit the
experimental data:
e
= βi t −αcr
eoi
where e is the void ratio, eoi the initial void ratio, t the
time, βi a coefficient accounting for the instantaneous
1
NORMALISED VOID RATIO e/eo
settlement and αcr for the time dependent settlement.
The evolution of αcr is directly related to the creep
behaviour of chalk (Fig. 2). One can observe that
the amount of creep is both stress and suction depen-
dent, the higher the wettability of chalk, the larger the
amount of creep.
3 MODEL FORMULATION
Perzyna’s viscoplastic approach (Perzyna, 1964) has
been adopted because it is based on a framework
(1) similar to that of elastoplasticity, facilitating fur-
ther time-dependent developments of the elastoplastic
Pasachalk model. Various viscoplastic models have
been formulated adopting the Bjerrum’s notion of
equivalent (or reference) time (e.g. Bjerrum, 1967;
Borja & Kavazanjian, 1985; Hickman & Gutierrez,
2007). Other models have used the concept of the Non
Stationary Flow Surface (NSFS) theory (e.g. Nova,
1982; Liingaard et al., 2004). A recent review of the
literature is given by Liingaard et al., (2004). The
Pasachalk model (Collin et al., 2002) is a cap model

0.9
with a yield surface composed of three components:
(i) Cam-Clay pore collapse model
The Cam-Clay yield surface is adopted at low stress
inclinations, with the following expression:
0.8  
3c(s)
f1 ≡ IIσ̂2 + m2 Iσ + (Iσ − 3p0 ) = 0 (2)
DRY SAMPLE
tan φC
OIL SATURATED SAMPLE
s = 200 kPa
WATER SATURATED SAMPLE where Iσ and II σ are the first and second stress invari-
0.7 ants, c is the cohesion, φC is the friction angle in
100 1000 10000 100000 compression path, p0 is the apparent pre-consolidation
VERTICAL STRESS (kPa) pressure that defines the size of the yield surface and
m is a coefficient taking into account the effect of the
Figure 1. Oedometer compression tests on Lixhe chalk at Lode angle β. The coefficient m is defined by:
various saturation states (Priol et al., 2007).
m = a (1 + b sin 3β)n (3)
0.02

WATER SATURATED S
B S = 200 kPa where parameters a, b and n must verify some
0.016
WATER SATURATED OIL SATURATED SAM convexity conditions (Van Eekelen, 1980).
sDRY SAMPLE
= 200 kPa Assuming associated plastic flow, the apparent pre-
0.012 consolidation pressure p0 is related to the volumetric
Water infiltration plastic strain dεvp following the kinematic equation:
0.008
A OIL SATURATED 1+e
dp0 = p0 dεvp (4)
0.004
λ−κ
DRY
where λ is the compression coefficient and κ is the
0
0 10000 20000 30000
elastic coefficient.
VERTICAL STRESS (kPa) Expression (4) allows both hardening or softening
behaviour to be accounted for according to the sign
Figure 2. Influence of stress level and suction on the creep of the volumetric plastic strain. However the soften-
coefficient αcr (Priol et al., 2007). ing zone will not be considered here. It can also be

634
noted that the irreversible volumetric strain includes time-dependent. The following relationship is taken
the coupled effect of mechanical and suction changes. [Alonso et al., 1990]:
(ii) Internal friction model κs ṡ
In order to formulate a friction model based on a Mohr- ε̇ijs,e = δij = heij ṡ (9)
Coulomb type failure criterion with a smoothed plastic (1 + e) (s + pat )
surface, Van Eekelen’s (1980) formulation has been
adopted. It is based on a modification of Drucker- The stress increment can thus be expressed as follows:
Prager’s failure cone by introducing a dependence on
Lode’s angle β, leading to the following expression of σ̇ = C e (s) (ε̇ − ε̇ s,e − ε̇ m,vp ) (10)
the failure criterion:
  Since only the irreversible behaviour is time-
3c(s) dependent, the elastic moduli of the Pasachalk model
f2 ≡ IIσ̂ − m Iσ + =0 (5)
tan φC can be kept. The values of the moduli defining Hooke’s
law are recalled in Table 1. The elastic parameters
An associated plasticity is considered also for the are suction dependent. The following linear expres-
friction mechanism. sions (Pasachalk 2, 2004) have been chosen for the
volumetric and shear moduli as a function of suction:
(iii) Suction effect on yield surface (BBM model)
Several phenomena are typical of unsaturated soils:
K(s) = K(0) + ks · s (11)
– The yield stress p0 and the material stiffness
increase with suction. In BBM this is described by G(s) = G(0) + gs · s (12)
the LC curve, the formulation of which has been
adapted for chalk as follows: where K(0) and G(0) are the elastic moduli for a nul
s suction (water saturated condition), ks and gs are equal
p0 (s) = p0 (0) + p0 (6) to 38 and 66.7 respectively to model the increase of
s + s∗ stiffness with the suction.
where p0 (0) is the yield stress for s = 0, p0 is The irreversible strain may be described as normal
the variation of p0 between water and oil saturated to some potential g:
sample and s∗ is a parameter controlling the shape
∂g
of the LC curve. ε̇m,vp = γ φ(f ) (13)
– Cohesion increases with suction. This is modelled ∂σ
using Eq. (7).
This formulation is similar to the elastoplastic one,
c(s) = c(0) + k s (7) but it is not based on the consistency condition. The
amount of strain rate is described with respect to a ref-
where k is a material constant, c (0) is the cohesion erence surface f , similar to the yield surface. Then,
at water saturated state. Note that in chalk, experi- one may define two irreversible mechanisms, one
ments showed that the friction angle is independent dedicated to the pore collapse mechanism named fc ,
of the saturating fluid. the second one to friction failure named fd .
The reference surfacefc has the same equation as f1
Mechanical elastoviscoplastic model in the Pasachalk model. The reference surface actu-
Viscous effects in chalk may be observed in tri- ally represents the elastoplastic yield surface defined
axial tests performed at various stress rates and/or based on a hypothetical experiment with an infinitely
involving creep stages (Pasachalk2, 2004). The time- low strain rate. The function fc may help to define the
dependent behaviour of chalk is introduced here overstress, as a measure of the amount of the stress
based on the elastoviscoplastic approach proposed state going outside the reference surface.
by Perzyna (1964). Hence, strains are divided into
reversible and irreversible parts (related mechanical Table 1. Elastic parameters (Collin et al., 2002).
and suction loading):
m,vp s,p
Water Oil
ε̇ij = ε̇ijm,e + ε̇ijs,e + ε̇ij + ε̇ij (8)
K [MPa] 612 726
It has been observed that suction variations do not G [MPa] 500 700
E [MPa] 1180 1590
evolve permanent strains. Moreover, it is assumed ν [−] 0.18 0.14
that reversible strains related to suction are not

635
Concerning the pore collapse mechanism, the creep
potential is based on the following equations:
 αc
pd0
φc (fc ) = vp − 1 (14)
p0
and (Shao et al., 1993):
 ι
Iσ
γ =ω (15)
pa
where the viscous parameters are: γ , the fluidity
parameter, ω, pa and ι, the parameters defining the
influence of stress on the fluidity parameter and αc ,
the exponent of the visco-plastic strain relation (14).
The parameters defining the yield surface of the
elastoplastic model for a stress rate of 10−3 MPa/s
are given in the Table 2. The viscous parameters con-
cern mainly the pore collapse mechanism because the
failure criterion is assumed to be time-independent.
Hence, only the viscous parameters γ (fluidity param-
eter), the reference surface fc and the exponent αc of
visco-plastic strain relation have to be determined.
As shear failure is assumed to be time indepen-
dent, the reference surface fc related to pore col-
lapse only depends on the apparent viscoplastic pre-
vp
consolidation pressure p0 . Experiments have shown
that the pre-consolidation pressure depended directly
on the stress-rate. This relation is not defined directly
in the model: the effect of rate dependence comes as a
result of the chosen visco-plastic formulation.
vp
The p0 value and the other viscous parameters have
been determined by trial and error process in order
to fit isotropic compression tests on saturated chalk
(oil and water), with loading rate ranging between
5 × 10−5 and 10−2 MPa/s (Pasachalk 2, 2004). Within
the assumed loading rate range the final values of all
parameters are given in Table 3. Note that, in agree-
ment with the notion of overstress, it is not necessary to
chose different values of viscous parameters (α, ω, ι)
for oil or water saturated samples, as the influence
of suction is taken into account through the apparent
pre-consolidation pressure.
For intermediate degrees of saturation, the LC curve
adopted is similar to that used in the elastoplastic
vp vp
model, using Eq. (6) with p0 = 3 MPa, p0 (0) = 2
Table 2. Yield surface parameters of the elastoplastic
model.
Water Oil
Friction angle φ [◦ ] 22 22
Cohesion c [MPa] 1.5 2.0
Pre-consolidation p0 [MPa] 10 21
Compressibility index λ 0.195 0.195
636
Table 3. Viscous parameters of the model.
Water Oil
vp
Pre-consolidation p0 [MPa] 2 5
Parameter αc 5 5
Parameter ω 5.1 10−9 5.1 10−9
Parameter ι 0,0 0,0
MPa et s∗ = 0.2 MPa. It is important to notice that the
same value of the compressibility index λ has been
used for the definition of the hardening law of the
viscoplastic model.
4 ASSESSMENT OF THE VISCOUS
PARAMETERS
One of the major shortcomings associated with
Perzyna’s approach is the definition of the viscous
parameters and of the reference surfaces, which are
usually found by a trial and error process and not
directly experimentally determined. In order to link
more directly the parameters to experimental mea-
surement the results of CRS (Constant Rate of Strain)
oedometer compression tests at different strain rates
and suction (water or oil saturated, 200 kPa suction
and dry samples) are first analysed (Priol, 2005; Priol
et al., 2007).
It was observed that for a given suction the yield
limit (i.e. apparent pre-consolidation pressure) is a
function of the imposed strain rate, as already shown
in clays by Leroueil et al. (1985). The following rela-
tionship coupling the yield limit and the strain rate
proposed by Leroueil appeared to fit reasonably data
obtained on Lixhe chalk:
1
log10 (σp ) = A + log10 (ε̇1 ) (16)
m
where σp is the yield limit, ε̇1 is the strain rate and A
and m two material parameters. Table 4 summarizes
the values of A and m obtained for Lixhe chalk. Equa-
tion (16) describes a linear relationship between yield
limit and strain rate in a log10 (σp ) : log10 (ε̇1 ) plot. It
is worth noting that values of m depends now also on
suction (Tab. 4). In other words the slope of the lin-
ear relationship (16) increases when suction decreases.
This is a new further coupling which extends the orig-
inal Leroueil’s relationship. Equation (16) gives the
opportunity to define the size of the reference sur-
face defined as the elastoplastic yield surface based
on a hypothetical experiment with an infinitely low
strain rate. Considering an extremely low strain rate
(10–13 s−1 ), the yield stress of the reference surface
Table 4. Material parameters of Leroueil’s law. 0.020

0.018

A m 0.016

0.014
Water 4,462 9,25 0.012
s = 200 kPa 4,516 10,9

αcr [-]
Water
0.010
Oil 4,451 16,66 0.008
Oil
Dry 4,499 22,2 Suction
0.006
Dry
0.004

0.002
3.5
0.000
3 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Normalized stress [-]

2.5
Figure 4. Influence of ‘‘normalized’’ stress level and suc-
Suction [MPa]

Experimental data
2 tion on the creep coefficient αcr (Priol et al. 2007).
LC curve
1.5

1 Table 5. Viscous parameters of the model for unsaturated

conditions.
0.5

0 Water
0 1 2 3
pvp
0
[MPa]
Figure 3. LC curve of the reference surface.
for the different suction conditions could be defined,
together with the LC curve of the viscous reference
surface (Fig. 3).
Viscous parameters should now to be linked to the
βi and αcr parameters of equation (1). Figure 2 shows
a first discrepancy between the evolution of αcr and
the viscous parameters of the model. Indeed Figure 2
does not show a unique relation between αcr and the
stress state for the different saturation conditions. On
the other hand, it is not necessary to chose different
values of viscous parameters for oil or water saturated
samples. The influence of suction is only taken into
account through the LC curve.
The apparent contradiction can be explained by
inspecting Figure 2. One can observe that the creep
parameter αcr remains very low up to a threshold
that depends on the saturation conditions. Above the
threshold, parameters follow a more or less linear rela-
tionship with slopes also depending on the saturation
conditions. However, if the stress value is normalized
with the apparent pre-consolidation pressure of each
test as presented in Figure 4, the observed behaviour
becomes reasonably independent of the saturation
conditions.
It would be interesting to find a direct relationship
between the αcr and βi parameters of equation (1)
and the ω and αc parameters of the viscous model
(Equation 13). Unfortunately, it was not possible to
find such a relationship analytically. The main rea-
son is that equation (1) defines the total creep strain
and the viscous strain rate is modelled through equa-
tion (13). Moreover, the analytical integration of the
4 5
vp
Pre-consolidation p0 [MPa] at s = 0 MPa 1,143
vp
Parameter p0 [MPa] 4
Parameter s∗ [MPa] 0.5
Parameter αc 5
Parameter ω 5,1 10−9
viscous model is not possible for any values of the
material parameters.
It was thus decided to keep the first estimation of
the two viscous parameters for the modelling of the
multi-stage loading tests.
5 NUMERICAL MODELLING
Some experimental results obtained by Priol (2005) by
running creep oedometer tests under different suction
conditions (water saturated, oil saturated and suction
equal to 200 kPa) are reported in Figure 5 in terms
of strain versus time curves. One can clearly see in
the figure the various loading steps and the creep
deformations under different applied stresses.
With the single set of parameters and the pro-
posed visco-plastic model, the three tests have been
modelled. Figures 6–8 show satisfactory agreement
between experimental data and numerical predictions.
It should be emphasised that, besides creep tests,
the collapse experiment can also be modelled by
the proposed constitutive law. Indeed, during water-
flooding, the suction is decreasing as well as the
pre-consolidation pressure following the LC curve.
This means that the overstress is growing during water-
flooding, leading to an increase of the viscous creep
deformation.

637
 0.14 0.02

0.018
0.12
0.016
0.1 0.014

0.012
0.08
Strain [-]

Strain [-]
Water 0.01
0.06 Oil 0.008 Step 6
Suction
0.006 Modelling (6)
0.04
Step 7
0.004 Modelling (7)
0.02 Step 8
0.002
Modelling (8)
0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 0.0E+00 2.0E+05 4.0E+05 6.0E+05 8.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.2E+06 1.4E+06
Time [hour] Time [s]

Figure 5. Multiple stage loading tests for different satura- Figure 8. Numerical modeling of creep phase for unsatu-
tion conditions (Priol, 2005). rated chalk samples (s = 200 kPa).

0.05 significant creep deformations. The Pasachalk elasto-

0.045 plastic model (Collin et al., 2002) derived from
0.04 the Barcelona Basic Model for multiphase reservoir
0.035 chalk has been extended to account for time effects
0.03
and creep behaviour as a function of suction.
Strain [-]

0.025
Step 13 Some experimental results of multiple stage loading
0.02
Modelling (13) tests carried out on Lixhe chalk under different suc-
Step 12
tion conditions showed that the results obtained under
0.015 Modelling (12)
various suctions could be summarized into a single
0.01
normalized curve.
0.005
The relevant viscous parameters of the model were
0
0.0E+00 1.0E+06 2.0E+06 3.0E+06 4.0E+06 5.0E+06 6.0E+06 7.0E+06 8.0E+06 9.0E+06 1.0E+07 determined based on these experimental results, with-
Time [s]
out using a trial and error method. This has only been
possible for the definition of the viscous reference
Figure 6. Numerical modeling of creep phase for water
saturated chalk samples.
surface. We did not succeed to find an analytical rela-
tionship between the parameters of the viscous model
and the constitutive law.
By using one single set of parameters, different
0.04
creep experiments under various suction conditions
0.035 were simulated, with a satisfactory agreement between
0.03 experimental data and numerical predictions.
0.025
Strain [-]

Step 7
0.02 Modelling (7)

0.015
Step 8
Modelling (8)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Step 10
0.01
Modelling (10)
The authors thank the FNRS for its financial support
0.005
during the stay of the first author in CERMES.
0
0.0E+00 1.0E+06 2.0E+06 3.0E+06 4.0E+06 5.0E+06 6.0E+0
Time [s]

Figure 7. Numerical modeling of creep phase for oil satu- REFERENCES

rated chalk samples.
Alonso, E.E., Gens A. and Josa A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40 (3):
405–430.
Bjerrum, L. (1967): Engineering geology of Norwegian
6 CONCLUSIONS normally-consolidated marine clays as related to settle-
ment of buildings. Géotechnique, 17: 81–118.
High porosity chalks have a complex mechanical Borja, R.I., Kavazanjian, E. 1985. A constitutive model for
behaviour that depends on chalk porosity, mineral- the stress—strain-time behaviour of wet clays. Géotech-
ogy, pore fluids, of temperature and of time with nique, 35 (3): 283–298.

638
Collin F., Cui Y.J., Schroeder C. and Charlier R. 2002.
Mechanical behaviour of Lixhe chalk partly saturated
by oil and water: experiment and modelling. J. Num.
Analytical Meth. In Geomechanics, 26, 897–924.
De Gennaro V., Delage P., Cui Y.C., Schroeder Ch. & Collin F.
2003. Time-dependent behaviour of oil reservoir chalk:
a multiphase approach. Soils and Foundations, 43 (4),
131–148.
Delage P., Schroeder C. & Cui Y.J. 1996. Subsidence and
capillary effects in chalks. Proc. EUROCK’96 Conf., vol.
2, 1291–1298, Torino, Italy.
Hermansen H., Landa G.H., Sylte J.E. & Thomas L.K. 2000.
Experiences after 10 years of waterflooding the Ekofisk
field, Norway. J. of Petroleum Science and Eng., 26,
11–18.
Hickman, R.J. & Gutierrez, M.S. 2007. Formulation of a
three-dimensional rate-dependent constitutive model for
chalk and porous rocks. Int. J. of Numerical and Anal.
Meth. in Geomechanics, 31 (4): 583–605.
Leroueil S., Kabbaj M., Tavenas, F. and Bouchard, R. 1985:
Stress-strain-strain rate relation for compressibility of
sensitive natural clays. Géotechnique 35 (2): 159–180.
Liingaard M., Augustesen P. & Lade P.V. 2004. Characteri-
zation of Models for Time-Dependent Behavior of Soils.
Int. J. of Geomechanics ASCE, 4 (3): 157–177.
Nagel N. 2001. Ekofisk geomechanics monitoring, Int.
Workshop on Geomechanics in Reservoir Simulation, IFP,
Reuil-Malmaison, France.
639
Nova, R. 1982. A viscoplastic constitutive model for nor-
mally consolidated clays. Proc. IUTAM Conf. on Def.
and failure of Granular Materials, Delft 1982: 287–295.
Pasachalk2. 2004. Mechanical Behaviour of PArtially and
Multiphase SAturated CHALKs Fluid-skeleton Interac-
tion : Main Factor of Chalk Oil Reservoirs Compaction
and Related Subsidence, Part 2, Publishable Final report,
European contract N˚ ENK6-CT2000-0008, Brussels.
Perzyna, P. 1964. The constitutive equations for rate sensitive
plastic materials. Quart. Appl. Mech., 20, 321–332.
Priol G. 2005. Comportement mécanique d’une craie pétro-
lifère—comportement différé et mouillabilité. PhD The-
sis, Ecole des ponts, Paris.
Priol G., De Gennaro V., Delage P. and Servant T.
2007. Experimental investigation on the time dependent
behaviour of a multiphase chalk. Experimental Unsatu-
rated Soil Mechanics, Proc. Physics 112, Springer, T.
Schanz (ed.), 161–167.
Shao J.F., Bederiat M. and Schroeder C. 1993. A viscoplas-
tic theory for soft rock behaviour and application. Proc.
Geotech. Eng. Hard Soils—Soft Rocks Conf., Balkema.
Van Eekelen H.A.M. 1980. Isotropic yield surfaces in three
dimensions for use in soil mechanics. Int. J. Num. and
Anal. Meth. in Geomechanics, 4, 98–101.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

New basis for constitutive modelling of unsaturated aggregated soil

with structure degradation

A. Koliji, L. Vulliet & L. Laloui

Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

ABSTRACT: The paper deals with the unsaturated aggregated state of soils, a commonly occurring state
in natural and engineered materials. These soils are characterized by a double porosity fabric and exhibit
a strong interaction between the fabric and inter-particle bonding in their structure. A new baseline for a
hardening elasto-plastic constitutive model for these materials is proposed which incorporates the combined
effects of soil structure (fabric and inter-particle bonding) and partial saturation. It uses a generalized effec-
tive stress and the critical state concept in unsaturated soils. Based on multi-scale experimental evidences, a
state parameter is introduced to quantify the soil structure. An expression of apparent preconsolidation pres-
sure is presented with respect to the combined effects of soil structure and partial saturation that describes
the extension of the yield limit in unsaturated aggregated soil compared with the corresponding saturated
reconstituted soil.

1 INTRODUCTION incorporate the combined effects of soil structure

1.1 Background
Aggregation of particles is a commonly observed
phenomenon in natural and agricultural soils (Horn
2003), compacted clays at dry side of optimum
water (Sridharan et al. 1971, Collins & McGown
1974) and compacted expansive clays (Lloret et al.
2003). However, size of aggregates in expansive
and compacted clays are some orders of magni-
tude smaller than aggregates in natural or agricul-
tural soils.
Aggregated soils, in general, are characterized by
a fabric with two dominant pore sizes corresponding
to micro (intra-aggregate) and macro (inter-aggregate)
pores. The presence of the aggregated structure and
double porosity fabric was found to have a major influ-
ence on the water retention properties and hydraulic
behaviour of both agricultural (Coppola 2000) and
compacted clays (Romero et al. 1999). Moreover, the
mechanical behaviour of the soil is reported to be
significantly influenced by the inter-particle bonding
effects (e.g., Leroueil and Vaughan 1990).
When dealing with unsaturated soils in a hydro-
mechanical process, the coupling between the
mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of unsaturated
soils as well as the factors influencing this behaviour
are of significant importance, specially, if the con-
stitutive stress of the model depends on the degree
of saturation. An appropriate constitutive model
for unsaturated aggregated soil, therefore, should
(fabric and inter-particle bonding) and partial sat-
uration on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of the
material.
Increasing interest in understanding and modelling
of the influence of soil structure on the mechanical
behaviour of unsaturated soils, in particular expan-
sive soils, has led to development of new constitutive
models. The proposed models are aimed to describe
the material behaviour with respect to the micro-
structure and double porosity fabric (Alonso et al.
1999, Sanchez et al. 2005).
In these models, however, soil structure effects are
considered only through the fabric effects and the inter-
particle bonding and its degradation are not essentially
considered.
Alternatively and in line with the experimental
observations revealing the importance of soil struc-
ture effects on the mechanical behaviour of natural
structured soils, improvements to constitutive mod-
els for these materials have been proposed by making
explicit consideration of soil structure and its degra-
dation (Rouainia & Wood 2000, Gens & Nova 1993,
among others).
Although many natural structured soils are unsat-
urated, few studies have considered the combined
effect of partial saturation and inter-particle bonding
on soil behaviour (Alonso & Gens 1994, Leroueil &
Barbosa 2000). It is reported in these works that suc-
tion in bonded soils has two effects corresponding to
capillary effects on soil matrix and strengthening of
inter-particle bonds.

641
1.2 Modelling approach 2 FEATURES OF BEHAVIOUR
In aggregated soils, there is a strong interaction
An extensive oedometric testing programme has been
between the soil structure components, namely, soil
carried out by the authors to evaluate the mechanical
fabric and inter-particle bonding. The macropores are
behaviour of aggregated silts at different saturation
retained by an aggregated structure and the openness of
conditions. The main features of this behaviour are
fabric depends on the size and strength of aggregated
outlined here.
particle assemblages which are formed as a result of
Figure 1 shows the oedometric compression of an
inter-particle bonding.
aggregated silt sample (average aggregate size of about
The aim of this paper is to propose a baseline
2 mm) and a sample of the corresponding reconsti-
for a constitutive model capable of describing the
tuted soil of the same mineralogy, both tested under
behaviour of aggregated soils over a wide range of sat-
the constant matric suction of 1500 kPa. The aggre-
uration conditions with explicit consideration of soil
gated sample was initially in a normal consolidation
structure evolution. Based on multi-scale experimen-
state. However, an initial stiff behaviour followed by
tal evidences, the model is expected to unify the effects
yielding was observed in the oedometric compression
of inter-particle bonding, fabric and partial saturation
of this sample. The yield limit is here referred to as
in a single framework.
apparent preconsolidation stress, which is a function
The model is based on the framework of strain hard-
not only of stress state and stress history but also of
ening elasto-plasticity. For the constitutive stresses the
soil structure.
model adopts the matric suction, s, and a generalized
At a given value of applied stress, a sample of aggre-
effective stress which is the Bishop’s effective stress
gated soil has a higher void ratio than reconstituted soil
(Bishop 1959) with the Bishop’s parameter being equal
and the compression curve of aggregated soil is located
to the degree of saturation, Sr .
to the right side of the reconstituted compression curve
Accordingly, the relation between the so-called gen-
at the same suction.
eral effective stress tensor, σ  , and the total stress
The compression curves of aggregated and recon-
tensor, σ , reads:
stituted soils at the same suction tend to converge at
σ  = (σ − pa I) + Sr sI (1) higher values of applied effective stress. The main
effect of suction in reconstituted samples was found to
where pa is the air pressure and I is the second order be the increase of effective apparent preconsolidation
identity tensor. stress with suction. In structured samples, however,
Although the representation of stress paths in this a combined effect of suction and soil structure was
stress framework is rather complex, the transition from observed. In these samples, similar to reconstituted
the saturated to the unsaturated state is smooth and samples, a higher matric suction results in higher val-
straightforward. ues of effective apparent preconsolidation stress. This
The critical state concept for unsaturated soils has is linked to the capillary effects. In addition to this
been evaluated by different authors (Alonso et al.1990,
among others). Khalili et al. 2004 successfully investi-
gated the uniqueness of the critical state line (CSL) in
the q−p plane (deviatoric stress versus mean effective
pressure) for unsaturated soils with different suctions.
They used the Bishop’s effective stress with a particu-
lar expression for the Bishop’s parameter. Uniqueness
of the CSL in terms of generalized effective stress
has been further evaluated by Nuth & Laloui (2007b).
These authors reported the unification of the CSL in
the stress space of q−p for unsaturated soils regardless
of the suction level.
Adopting the generalized effective stress as the con-
stitutive stress, the general incremental stress-strain
constitutive relation reads:

dσ  = Dep : dε (2)

where ε is the strain tensor and Dep is the elasto-

plastic constitutive matrix. In this equation, symbol
‘:’ denotes the inner product of tensors with double Figure 1. Oedometric response of unsaturated aggregated
contraction and d(.) denotes the incremental value. (average aggregate size 2 mm) and reconstituted silt.

642

Figure 2. 3D neutron tomography volume of an aggregated
silt sample (sample size 35 mm in height & 80 mm in
diameter).
effect, the horizontal separation between the compres-
sion curve of structured soils and normal consolidation
line of reconstituted soil in the oedometric compres-
sion space was found to increase with suction. This
evidence shows that suction has a hardening effect on
the inter-particle bonding in the soil structure.
In addition to the macro scale experiments, the
behaviour of the material and the soil structure at
the pore-scale has been evaluated using a combina-
tion of different methods. Results of mercury intrusion
porosimetry showed that unsaturated aggregated sam-
ples initially exhibit a multi-modal PSD with at least
two dominant pore radii corresponding to micro- and
macropores. At the same condition, a corresponding
reconstituted soil exhibits a uni-modal PSD with the
dominant pore radius coinciding with the micropores
in structured samples.
During a wetting or mechanical loading, however,
aggregated samples undergo structure degradation and
they end up with a structure identical to that of
reconstituted soil.
On the other hand, the advanced method of neu-
tron tomography was employed for a 3-dimensional
evaluation of soil structure modifications during the
oedometric testing (Fig. 2). Results of these tests
showed that changes in macroporosity are associated
mainly with plastic strain. This important experimen-
tal finding has a major impact on the modelling of this
phenomenon.
3 CONSTITUTIVE FRAMEWORK
3.1 Degree of soil structure
At a given state for an aggregated soil, the macro
void ratio (ratio of macropore volume over the solid
volume) could represent the actual state of the soil
structure with respect to its initial state and a fully
reconstituted state. However, quantification of soil
643
structure and its degradation requires an internal
parameter capable of representing the state of the
material in relation to its initial intact condition.
Accordingly, a state parameter called degree of soil
structure is here introduced as the ratio of the cur-
rent macro void ratio, to its initial value at intact state.
On the basis of the pore-scale experimental observa-
tions, the evolution of the degree of soil structure has
been found to be reasonably reproduced by a decreas-
ing exponential function of plastic strain (Koliji et al.
2007):
R = exp(−ωεD ) (3)
where R is the degree of soil structure, εD is a com-
bination of volumetric and deviatoric plastic strains,
and ω is the parameter controlling the rate of structure
degradation.
The expression of the degree of soil structure given
by Equation 3 provides an experimentally based rela-
tion which establishes a link between the pore-scale
structure of the soil and the macroscopic behaviour of
the material.
3.2 ACMEG-2S constitutive framework
The constitutive model ACMEG-2S, (Advanced Con-
stitutive Model for Environmental Geomechanics,
extension for unsaturated structured soils) is an elasto-
plastic model based on the critical state concept. It uses
non-linear elasticity and two plastic mechanisms: one
isotropic and one deviatoric.
The plastic mechanisms are coupled through the
volumetric plastic strain. The model adopts an
isotropic plastic strain hardening with the volumetric
plastic strain being the hardening parameter. The flow
rule is associated for isotropic mechanism and could
be associated or non-associated for the deviatoric
mechanism.
The limit of elasticity and the onset of plastic defor-
mations in each mechanism are determined by the
yield criterion corresponding to that mechanism:
fiso = p − pc riso = 0 (4)
 
 p d
fdev = q − Mp 1 − b ln  rdev = 0 (5)
pc
In these equations, riso and rdev are degrees of mobi-
lization of the isotropic and deviatoric plastic mech-
anisms and are hyperbolic functions of the plastic
volumetric strain provoked by the isotropic mechanism
and of the plastic deviatoric strain respectively. M , b
and d are material parameters directly inherited from
the saturated reconstituted soil and pc is the apparent
effective preconsolidation pressure. The elastic region

Figure 3. Yield surfaces and elastic region in ACMEG-2S
model.
given by Equations (4) and (5) in the q − p plane is
depicted in Figure 3.
Detailed description of the model formulation will
be presented elsewhere. Here attention is given to the
evaluation of the apparent preconsolidation pressure
and its evolution.
Combining the effects of suction and soil structure,
a general expression for the apparent preconsolidation
pressure in unsaturated structured soils is:
∗ ondary effects of suction on soil structure should be
pc = ψ st ψ s pc0
∗
where pc0 is the reference effective preconsolidation
pressure in saturated reconstituted soil, and, ψ st and
ψ s are two functions which incorporate the effects of
soil structure and of suction respectively.
The preconsolidation
∗
pressure of saturated recon-
stituted soil, pc0 , evolves according to a plastic
strain hardening rule similar to the Cam-clay model
(Roscoe & Schofield 1963):
∗ ν ∗ ψist = 1 limits the validity of this equation to the struc-
dpc0 = p dεp
λ∗ − k c0 ν
p
where εν is the plastic volumetric strain, ν is the spe-
cific volume, and, λ∗ and k are material parameters
for reconstituted soil.
The primary effects of suction on the increase of
effective preconsolidation pressure are of the same
nature in reconstituted and aggregated soils and are
taken into account by ψ s . These effects are linked
to the capillary effects and depend on the geometry
of the pores and the air entry value of the system
of the pores. Adopting an approach similar to that
presented by Nuth and Laloui (2007b), a reversible
function is proposed to quantify the evolution of
apparent preconsolidation pressure due to primary
suction effects:
⎧
⎨ 1; if 0 < s < s1e
ψs = 1 + γs log(s/se1 ); if s1e ≤ s < sref (8)
⎩
1 + γs log (s/se ); if s ≥ sref
in which s1e and se are the air entry value suction of
micropores and reconstituted soil respectively; and,
γs and γs are two dependent material parameters.
The relation between the two parameters γs and γs
is derived from the second and third expression in
Equation 8:
log (sref /se1 ) 
γs = γ (9)
log (sref /se ) s
In the expression of apparent preconsolidation pres-
sure (Eq. 6), ψ st is a function of degree of soil structure
and it controls the extension of yield limit with respect
to the reconstituted reference state. At constant suc-
tion, the following evolution rule has been derived for
this variable (Koliji et al. 2007):
ψ st = exp[R ln ψist ] (10)
where the subscript i designates the initial value.
In the presence of suction variation, however, sec-
(6)
considered in ψ st . The following relation is proposed
to account for the additional effects of suction:
 
s + pat nst
ψ st = ψref
st
, ψist = 1 (11)
sref + pat
in which ψref st
is the value at the reference suction
sref and the exponent nst is a material parameter.
The atmospheric pressure pat in the denominator is
added to avoid infinite values when the saturated state
(zero suction) is the reference state. The condition
(7) tured soils, in which the initial yield limit is basically
influenced by the inter-particle bonding effects.
Figure 4 plots the prediction of the proposed
equation (bold line) and the experimental values of
ψist for three unsaturated aggregated silt and the
corresponding reconstituted samples (dots). With a
reference suction of 500 kPa and nst = 0.375, this
relation appears to successfully reproduce the experi-
mental data.
Double effects of suction on the apparent precon-
solidation pressure in structured soils are illustrated
in Figure 5. In this figure, the abscissa is the ratio
of apparent preconsolidation pressure over the satu-
rated preconsolidation
∗
pressure in reconstituted sate
(pc /pc0 ). The increase of apparent preconsolidation
644

Figure 4. Influence of suction on the soil structure
parameter.
Figure 5. Combined effects of suction and soil structure on
the apparent isotropic preconsolidation pressure.
pressure due to intrinsic suction effect (ψ1 ) is repre-
sented by curve a. Multiplication of this curve with a
reference soil structure function ψref
st
gives the curve b
which represents the increase in the apparent precon-
solidation pressure due to intrinsic suction (ψ1 ) and
pure soil structure effects (ψ2 ) without considering
the suction-hardening of soil structure.
Accounting for this latter effect by Equation 11,
the final evolution of apparent preconsolidation pres-
sure with suction in structured soils is represented by
curve c. The gray area between curve b and c (ψ3 )
corresponds to the effects of suction on the soil struc-
ture given by Equation 11. This effect is a hardening
effect for suctions beyond sref and a softening effect
for suction below this suction.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The main features of the mechanical behaviour of
unsaturated aggregated soils, stemming from the
645
combined effects of partial saturation and soil struc-
ture, have been reviewed on the basis of multi-scale
experimental evidences.
The constitutive framework, ACMEG-2S, based on
the critical state concept was presented within the
framework of strain hardening elasto-plasticity.
The model adopts the generalized effective stress
to describe the material behaviour in different con-
ditions of saturation. A new state parameter called
degree of soil structure is introduced to quantify
the soil structure and its evolution. This param-
eter establishes the pore-scale information of the
soil to the macroscopic response in terms of plastic
strains.
The apparent preconsolidation pressure, as the main
parameter controlling the yield limit, was formulated
with respect to the combined effects of partial sat-
uration and soil structure. The proposed modelling
approach provides a logical unification of the effects
of inter-particle bonding, fabric and partial saturation
in a single framework.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E. and Gens, A. 1994. Keynote lecture: on the
mechanical behaviour of arid soils. In Conference on
Engineering Characteristics of Arid soils. London, pp.
173–205.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soil. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Alonso, E.E., Vaunat, J. and Gens, A. 1999. Modelling the
mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engineering
Geology 54: 173–183.
Bishop, A.W. 1959. The principle of effective stress. Tecknish
Ukeblad 106: 859–863.
Collins, K. and McGown, A. 1974. The form and func-
tion of microfabric features in a variety of natural soils.
Géotechnique 24(2): 223–254.
Coppola, A. 2000. Unimodal and bimodal descriptions of
hydraulic properties for aggregated soils. Soil Science
Society of America Journal, 64(4): 1252–1262.
Gens, A. and Nova, R. 1993. Conceptual bases for a con-
stitutive model for bonded soils and weak rocks. In
A. Anagnostopoulos, F. Schlosser, N. Kalteziotis &
R. Frank (eds), Geotechnical Engineering of Hard Soils—
Soft Rocks: 485–495. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Horn, R. 1993. Mechanical properties of structured unsatu-
rated soils. Soil Technology 6: 47–75.
Khalili, N., Geiser, F. and Blight, G.E. 2004. Effective
stress in unsaturated soils: Review with new evidence.
International Journal of Geomechanics 4(2): 115–126.
Koliji, A., Vulliet, L. and Laloui, L. 2007. Soil struc-
ture evolution: Experimental and constitutive consid-
eration. In Edited by G.N. Pande & S. Pietruszczak
(eds), Numerical models in geomechanics, NUMOG X:
133–138. Balkema.
Leroueil, S. and Vaughan, P.R. 1990. The general and con-
gruent effects of structure in natural soils and weak rocks.
Géotechnique 40(3): 467–488.
Leroueil, S. and Barbosa, A. 2000. Combined effect of fab-
ric, bonding and partial saturation on yielding of soils. In
Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils: 527–532.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sanchez, M., Gens, A., Pintado, X.
and Alonso, E.E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour of heav-
ily compacted bentonite under high suction changes.
Géotechnique 53(1): 27–40.
Nuth, M. and Laloui, L. 2007a. Implications of a generalized
effective stress on the constitutive modelling of unsatu-
rated soils. In T. Schanz (ed.), Theoretical and Numerical
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics: 75–82. Springer.
Nuth, M. and Laloui, L. 2007b. New insight into the unified
hydro-mechanical constitutive modelling of unsaturated
soils. In Z. Yin, J. Yuan & A.C.F. Chiu (eds), The 3rd
Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils: 109–126. China:
Science Press.
Romero, E., Gens, A. and Lloret, A. 1999. Water perme-
ability, water retention and microstructure of unsaturated
compacted Boom clay. Engineering Geology 54(1–2):
117–127.
646
Roscoe, K.H. and Schofield, A.N. 1963. Mechanical
behaviour of an idealised wet clay. In European Con-
ference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
Vol.1: 47–54.
Rouainia, M. and Wood, D.M. 2000. A kinematic hardening
constitutive model for natural clays with loss of structure.
Géotechnique 50(2): 153–164.
Sanchez, M., Gens, A., Guimarães, L.N. and Olivella,
S. 2005. A double structure generalized plasticity
model for expansive materials. International Journal for
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 29:
751–787.
Sridharan, A., Altaschaeffl, A.G. and Diamon, S. 1971. Pore-
size distribution studies. Journal of the Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Division ASCE 97: 771–787.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A damage model for unsaturated natural loess submitted to cyclic loading

J.M. Pereira, A.N. Ta, Y.J. Cui & J.P. Karam

Université Paris-Est, UMR Navier, Ecole des Ponts – CERMES, Marne-la-Vallée, France

H.Y. Chai
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT: High speed railway from Northern France has encountered several stability problems in zones
where loessic soils are present. Important sinkholes have been observed and were mainly due to the collapse
susceptibility of the encountered loess when submitted to the cyclic loadings imposed by the passage of the
high speed trains. This collapse susceptibility seems to be related to the degradation of the cemented bonds
and to either the collapse under wetting at constant applied load or liquefaction depending on the natural water
content of the soil. In this paper, a constitutive model is developed to gain insight into cyclic behaviour of theses
soils. This model is an extension of a model previously proposed by the authors for modelling degradation of
bonds and liquefaction potential of natural cemented soils under saturated states. The platform model, from
which the extension is carried out, is based from one hand on the bounding surface plasticity theory for the
description of the cyclic response of the soil and is inspired on the other hand from the work of Vaunat & Gens
(2003) concerning bond degradation modelling. Influence of non-saturation effects is introduced following an
approach similar to that of the Barcelona Basic Model (Alonso et al. 1990). The developed model is thus capable
to describe the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated bonded soils under cyclic loading.

1 INTRODUCTION

High speed railway from Northern France crosses

areas characterized by important loess deposits (aeo-
lian sediments) which may reach some meters in
thickness. In that region, sinkholes have been observed
along the railway thus showing an important collapse
risk for this kind of soils.
Loessic soils are composed of a solid matrix made
of sand grains which are cemented by various materi-
als such as calcium carbonate, clay and silica. Figure 1
shows a schematic representation of loess in an unsat-
urated state. Due to the mode of deposition of these
sediments, loessis soils present a high porosity which Figure 1. Schematic representation of loess in an unsatu-
may lead in some cases to significant collapse defor- rated state.
mations. Among the possible physical explanations
at the origin of these phenomena, degradation of soil
structure can be cited. pressures, these soils present a risk of liquefaction
As for other cemented geomaterials such as soft when loaded from an initial saturated state or even near
argillaceous rocks, stiff clays, aged sands, residual to it. A precise description of bond damage is thus of
soils etc., the overall mechanical behaviour of loess first importance in order to obtain a satisfactory con-
is largely influenced by the presence of these bonds stitutive model able to simulate the cyclic behaviour of
in terms of stiffness, yield locus and strength. Under loess and its liquefaction potential. For this purpose,
mechanical loadings, the bonding between matrix a model has been proposed in Chai (2005) and Chai
grains may be affected by damage. Furthermore, since et al. (2007).
this degradation may lead to significant volumetric Besides damage and liquefaction potential, envi-
deformations and thus to large increases in pore water ronmental loadings imposed by rainfalls or flooding

647
may induce collapse due to wetting if the soil is stresses in the triaxial stress space. The indices m
non-saturated, this phenomenon being well known in and b respectively refer to the matrix and to the bond
unsaturated soil mechanics. material.
Of course, observed collapses along the high speed Strains of the bonds εvb and εqb are defined over the
railway may originate from bond degradation, wetting bond phase (volume Vb ) and their apparent expressions
and more probably from couplings between these two (i.e. defined over total volume Vt ) are the follow-
phenomena. For instance, bond degradation will facil- ing, after having defined the bond concentration β =
itate collapse under wetting or wetting could reduce Vb /Vt :
the strength of bonds. Furthermore, a collapse under
wetting may be followed by a liquefaction of the soil βεvb ; βεqb (2)
if cyclic loadings are subsequently applied to wetting.
Due to the complexity of possible phenomena and Similarly, apparent strains of the matrix which are
couplings between them, this paper aims at presenting defined over voids Vv and solid matrix Vm volumes
a constitutive model in order to assess the collapsibility write as follows:
of loess under cyclic and environmental loadings, from
the point of view of unsaturated soil mechanics. (1 − β)εvm ; (1 − β)εqm (3)
After a concise description of the platform model,
its extension to unsaturated states is presented. The
A relation between total strain and strains in the
paper ends with simulations of laboratory tests in order
matrix and bond phases can then be derived:
to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed model.
dεv = (1 − β)dεvm + βdεvb
2 CONSTITUTIVE MODEL dεq = (1 − β)dεqm + βdεqb (4)

The proposed model consists in the extension of a Elastic relations with respect to the different strains
model developed for saturated loess under cyclic load- previously introduced are assumed as follows:
ing (Chai 2005, Chai et al. 2007). This platform model
is based on the theory of bounding surface plasticity dpm dq
(Dafalias 1986) to simulate cyclic behaviour of loess. e
dεvm = ; e
dεqm = (5)
To account for the possibility of damage of the soil Km 3Gm
structure, modelling of bond degradation follows the dpb dqb
work of Vaunat & Gens (2003).
e
dεvb = ; e
dεqb = (6)
Kb 3Gb
The extension to unsaturated states of the platform
model is dealt with by following the framework intro- where Km , Gm are the elastic moduli of the matrix and
duced in the Barcelona Basic Model from Alonso et al. Kb , Gb are those related to the bonding phase under
(1990). Net stress (excess of total stress over gas pres- current state of degradation.
sure, pg ) and matric suction (s = pg − pw where Using Equations (4), (5) and (6) together with (1)
pw stand for water pressure) are used as independent provides total elastic strain increments:
stress state variables and yield limit is assumed to
be dependent of suction in order to simulate collapse  
dp Kb
under wetting according to the loading-collapse (LC) dεve = (1 − β) + β − (1 − β) e
dεvb
equivalence principle. Km Km
 
Before going deeper in the unsaturated damage dq Gb
model for loessic soils, the bases of the saturated ver- dεqe = (1 − β) + β − (1 − β) e
dεqb (7)
3Gm Gm
sion from which it is extended are recalled. Interested
readers may find further details in (Chai 2005, Chai
Since pb and qb are unknown, elastic strain incre-
et al. 2007).
ments of bonds remain to be computed. Following
Vaunat & Gens (2003), the ratios of elastic strains of
e e
2.1 Cementation effects bonds dεvb , dεqb to total elastic strains dεve , dεqe are
A partition of the total effective stress between matrix assumed constant before damage and depending on
and bond contributions is assumed as follows: this latter afterwards:

pm = p − pb ; qm = q − qb (1)
e
dεvb /dεve = χ0 ; e
dεqb /dεqe = χ1 (8)

where p and q are respectively the total (appar- where χ0 and χ1 are positive scalars lower than 1. For
ent and saturated) effective isotropic and deviatoric simplicity, it will be assumed that χ0 = χ1 .

648
2.2 Description of damage of bonds The yield function and plastic potential are inspir-
ited from (Pastor et al. 1985). After modifications to
Following basic elastic damage theory, it is sup-
account for interparticle bonding and its damage, they
posed that bonds are submitted to elastic strains only.
both read as follows:
Beyond a certain level of energy elastically stored, a
degradation of their mechanical properties is assumed.    αf 
1 p̄
A damage scalar variable D varying from 0 to 1 F(σ , p0 ) = q̄ − Mf p̄ 1 + 1−
can classically be introduced (Lemaître & Chaboche, αf p̄0
1985). However, as previously done by Carol et al.     
(2001), a rescaled counterpart L (varying from 0 and 1 p̄ αg
G(σ , pg ) = q̄ − Mg p̄ 1 + 1−
infinity) of the damage variable D is preferred in what αg p̄0g
follows. It is defined by: (15)
 
1
L = ln (9) where σ = ( p , q)T and Mf , αf , Mg , αg are parameters
1−D to determine and p̄0g is related to the size of the plastic
potential. As in (Pastor et al. 1985), the bounding and
Expressions (8) can then be rewritten to account for yield surfaces are assumed to coincide.
the damage state of bonds: On the bounding surface, the plastic strain incre-
ment is defined by the following flow rule:
e
dεvb /dεve = χ0 e<L0 −L> ; e
dεqb /dεqe = χ1 e<L0 −L>
(10) ngL/U (nT · dσ )
dε p = (dεvp , dεqp )T = cs (16)
HL/U
where L0 is associated to the energy level at which
degradation effectively starts and <x> represents the
positive part of x. with ngL/U and n the normal tensors to respectively the
The evolution of L is assumed to depend on both plastic potential surface during loading or unloading
cs
volumetric and shear strains as follows: and the bounding surface and HL/U , the plastic mod-
1 1 ulus during loading or unloading. This latter can be
. . computed using the consistency condition:
L(ε) = kv ξv + kq ξq ; ξv = |dεv |; ξq = .dεq .
 T  T
(11) ∂F ∂F ∂p0 ∂F
· dσ + · dε p + dL = 0
∂σ ∂p0 ∂εp ∂L
where kv and kq are materials constants to be deter- (17)
mined.
Inside the domain delimited by the bounding surface,
2.3 Constitutive model for the matrix the following mapping rule, inspired by the works pre-
sented in (Zienkiewicz et al. 1985, Pastor et al. 1985),
A model based on bounding surface plasticity the- is used to link the hardening modulus of the current
ory (Dafalias, 1986) has been rimentally simulate stress point HL/U to that of the conjugate stress point
observed accumulation of irreversible strains even if cs
HL/U :
the loading cycles are small compared to the yield limit
estimated from monotonous tests.  γ0
HL/U δ0
Bonding effects are introduced in the plastic poten- = (18)
tial and the yield function by defining the following
cs
HL/U δ
changes of variable:
where γ0 is a material parameter. Following the theory
p̄ = p + χpbc ; q̄ = q + χqbc (12) of bounding surface plasticity, HL/U is then used to
classically compute the plastic strain increment inside
where pbc and qbc are material constants to be deter- the elastic domain.
mined and: Figure 2 presents schematic representation of this
mapping rule.
χ = χ0 e<L0 −L> (13)
2.4 Extension to unsaturated states
The hardening parameter pc is also modified in the
following way: The extension to unsaturated states is implemented fol-
lowing the framework of the Barcelona Basic model
p̄0 = (1 + χ)p0 (14) (BBM) from Alonso et al. (1990).

649
 The energy-linked threshold L0 can be assumed to
be dependent on the suction value.
Concerning the modification of the yield surface,
it is directly inspired from the Barcelona Basic Model
(Alonso et al. 1990) so that:

F(σ, p0 , L, s)
   αf 
1 p̄
= q̄ − Mf (p̄ + ps ) 1 + 1− (24)
Figure 2. Schematic representation of the mapping rule αf p̄0
used to link plastic moduli at actual and conjugate stress
points.
with

The main part of the saturated model presented here p̄ = p + eL0 −L pbc ; q̄ = q + eL0 −L qbc (25)
before remains valid. The effective stress p only has to
be replaced by the net stress. The other modifications p̄s = k0 s; p̄0 = (1 + χ)p0 (26)
that are required to define the unsaturated model are χ = χ00 exp(L0 _L) (27)
now presented.
By analogy to the mechanical behaviour, total elas- The so-called LC curve is defined by:
tic strains associated to suction variations are given by:
  λ(0)−κ
  p0 p∗0 λ(s)−κ

1−β β = (28)
dεvse = s
+ s ds (19) pc pc
Km Kb
λ(s) = λ(0) ((1 − r) exp(−bs) + r) (29)
where Kms and Kbs are the bulk moduli associated to
suction variations of, respectively, the matrix and the where p∗0 corresponds to the saturated yield limit
bonds. introduced in Equations (14) and (15).
Interparticle bonding being constituted of clay and The plastic potential is chosen as:
calcite, it will be assumed further on that the air entry
value of the bond material is larger than usual val- G(σ , p0 , L, s)
ues of suction to which the soil is submitted. Since     αg 
1 p̄
in that case the bonding material remains saturated, = q̄ − Mg (p̄ + ps ) 1 + 1− (30)
Terzaghi’s effective stress remains valid. With this αg p̄0
assumption, the following simplification can be added
to the previous equation: and the plastic strain increment formally given in the
saturated case by (16) and (18) remains the same.
The hardening law is given by:
Kbs = Kb (20)
 
dp∗0 1+e ∂ξ
After some derivations, it can be shown that the ∗ = dεvp + β0 β1 e−β0 ξ p dεqp (31)
p0 λ(0) − κ ∂εq
variations of the stress in the bond are given by:
The consistency condition now takes into account
dpb = Kb0 χ00 eL0 −L suction changes and writes as follows:
"  #
× dεve − εpe (−1)n kv dεv + (−1)m kq dεq  T  T
∂F ∂F ∂p∗0 ∂F
· dσ + ∗ · dε p + dL
(21) ∂σ ∂p0 ∂εp ∂L
L0 −L ∂F
dqb = Gb0 χ11 e + ds = 0 (32)
" ∂s
 #
× dεqe − εqe (−1)n kv dεv + (−1)m kq dεq The suction increase yield locus (SI) introduced in
(22) BBM that is:

SI (s, s0 ) = s − s0 (33)
and, in the matrix, by:
is not considered in this study due to a lack of exper-
dpm = dp − dpb ; dqm = dq − dqb (23) imental data justifying its existence. In other words,

650
the suction value s0 which corresponds to the high- 900
est value at which the soil as ever been submitted is 800
assumed to be larger than usual values encountered in 700

Shear stress (kPa)

the applications here considered. 600
500
Concerning the hydraulic behaviour, van Genu-
400
chten’s equation (van Genuchten 1980) is considered
300
for the water retention curve modelling so that: 200
100 s=25 kPa
s=1 kPa
 m 0
1 0 2 4 6 8 10
Sr (s) = (34)
1 + (Bs)n Axial strain (%)

Figure 4. Influence of suction on monotonous triaxial tests

where B, m and n are material parameters. performed at constant suction.
Another choice is also considered, following
Brooks & Corey’s proposal (1964): 700
600
 s α
Shear stress (kPa)
e 500
Sr (s) = (35)
s 400
300
200
where se and α are material parameters.
100 s=1 kPa
s=25 kPa
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Axial strain (%)
3 PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Figure 5. Influence of suction of cyclic triaxial tests per-
Preliminary results are now presented. They aim at formed at constant suction.
presenting the possibilities of the model to simulate
the behaviour of unsaturated cemented materials.
All simulation use van Genuchten’s equation to
3.1 Monotonous triaxial tests
model the water retention curve of loess. The initial
void ratio e is 0.83 and the initial stress is isotropic and Monotonous triaxial tests are simulated at two imposed
close to zero since isotropic consolidation stages are suctions. They were performed after an isotropic com-
simulated before starting triaxial tests. pression stage. Results are presented in Figure 4 and
Figure 3 presents the water retention curves of the show as expected an increase of the stiffness and the
loess studied in this work obtained experimentally by yield limit of the material when suction is increased.
Karam (2006) and simulated using Equations (34)
and (35).
3.2 Cyclic triaxial tests
Finally, in order to illustrate the effects of bond degra-
1200
Experimental data
dation on the performance of the unsaturated model
1000 van Genuchten proposed in this paper, a cyclic triaxial test is simu-
Brooks & Corey lated at two imposed suctions. These tests consist in
Suction (kPa)

800
imposing a given number of shear stress cycles after
600
an isotropic consolidation stage.
400 The results are presented in Figure 5. The influence
200 of a suction increase is characterised by the reduction
of axial strain at the end of a given cycle. Concern-
0
0.30 0.39 0.45 0.48 0.55 0.68 0.73
ing the modelling of damage, it appears that the first
Degree of saturation
cycles (for both suction values) present higher stiff-
ness, higher yield limits and larger irreversible strains
Figure 3. Experimental and simulated water retention than the last cycles. This observation can be explained
curves of loess from Northern France (experimental data easily by considering that the first cycles involve a
from (Karam 2006); simulated data using van Genuchten’s lowly damaged material which tends to increasingly
and Brooks & Corey’s models). degrade during the loading process.

651
Table 1. Material parameters of bonds. REFERENCES

χ00 = χ11 β kα = kβ Kb (kPa) νb pbc (kPa) Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
0.35 0.35 2.0 5000 0.25 10 405–430.
Brooks, R. & Corey, A. 1964. Hydraulic properties of porous
media, Colorado State University Hydrology Paper 3:
27 pp.
Table 2. Material parameters of matrix. Carol, I., Rizzi, E. & Willam, K. 2001. On the formula-
tion of anisotropic elastic degradation. I. Theory based
λ1 κ ν Mg Mf αg αf β0 β1 γ on a pseudo-logarithmic damage tensor rate. International
Journal of Solids and Structures 38(4): 491–518.
0.17 0.012 0.25 1.35 0.58 0.45 0.45 4.3 0.23 1.4 Chai, H.Y. 2005. Modelling of the Mechanical Behaviour
of Loessic soils under cyclic loadings. Research report.
ENPC.
Chai, H.Y., Pereira, J.M., Cui, Y.J. & Karam, J.P. 2007.
Modelling loess behaviour under cyclic loadings using
Table 3. Material parameters of unsaturated extension and a damage model. International Journal for Numerical and
water retention curve (van Genuchten’s model). Analytical Methods in Geomechanics (submitted).
Dafalias, Y.H. 1986. Bounding surface plasticity: I. Math-
r b pr (kPa) k κs n m B ematical foundation and hypoplasticity. Journal of Engi-
neering Mechanics (ASCE) 112(9): 966–987.
0.75 0.01 25 0.02 0.01 0.5 1 5 × 10−5 van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. Closed-form equation for predict-
ing the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils, Soil
Science Society of America Journal 44(5): 892–898.
Karam, J.P. 2006. Étude de la rhéologie des loess du Nord
de la France. Application à l’évaluation de leur risque de
3.3 Material parameters liquéfaction. PhD Thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et
The materials parameters used in the simulations are Chaussées, Paris, France.
Pastor, M., Zienkiewicz, O. & Chan, A.H.C. 1990. General-
summarized in the Tables 1–3.
ized plasticity and the modelling of soil behaviour. Inter-
Mechanical parameters (of bonding material and national Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in
matrix, see Tables 1–2) were determined by curve Geomechanics 14(3): 151–190.
fitting from experimental data in (Chai 2005). Pastor, M., Zienkiewicz, O.C. & Leung, K.H. 1985. Simple
Unsaturated parameters were estimated from exper- model for transient soil loading in earthquake analysis. II.
imental results on similar soils and van Genuchten’s Non-associative models for sands. International Journal
parameters were determined by curve fitting (see for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics
Figure 3 and Table 3). 9: 477–498.
Ta, A.N. 2006. Prise en compte de la non-saturation dans
un modèle élastoplastique avec endommagement. MSc
Thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris,
4 CONCLUSIONS France.
Vaunat, J. & Gens, A. 2003. Bond degradation and irre-
A model that aims at assessing the collapsibility of versible strains in soft argillaceous rock. In Proc. of the
loessic soils encountered along the high speed railway 12th Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and
in Northern France has been presented. Theses soils Geotechnical Engineering: 479–484.
are submitted to cyclic mechanical loadings and to Zienkiewicz, O.C., Leung, K.H. & Pastor, M. 1985. Simple
environmental loadings which may lead to important model for transient soil loading in earthquake analysis. I.
collapse deformations. Basic model and its application. International Journal for
This model is able to simulate the effects of degra- Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 9:
453–476.
dation of bonds and non-saturation on the behaviour
of natural cemented soils. Preliminary results have
been presented and show the good capabilities of the
model.

652
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Desiccation shrinkage of unconstrained soil in the saturated phase

L.B. Hu & T. Hueckel

Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

H. Peron & L. Laloui

EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: Analysis of macroscopic desiccation shrinkage experiments indicates that most of the shrinkage
occurs during drying while soil is still 100% wet. When air starts penetrating the soil, shrinkage practically
ceases, while the water content is still above 20%. The remaining drying process occurs with a much-reduced
shrinkage. In this context we look at the data of pore space evolution during saturated phase of drying as obtained
via porosimetry. The observed behavior is modeled at a microscale using Poiseuille flow in capillary vessels
with deformable walls driven by evaporation flux at the external boundary. A macroscopic model using Biot and
Darcy theories for the continuum were recently presented by the authors.

1 INTRODUCTION

Desiccation phenomena in soils have been investigated

for decades bringing progressively a better under-
standing of the mechanisms and physics involved
(Abu-Hajleh & Znidarcic 1995, Kodikara et al. 1999,
Konrad & Ayad 1997, Miller et al. 1998).
Recent desiccation experiments (Peron et al. 2006)
on initially saturated soils near liquid limit point out
to the conclusion that most of the shrinkage occurs
during saturated phase of the process. This is in agree-
ment with a general perception that unsaturated soil
has a much higher stiffness than saturated soil. This
is quite a universal behavior independently of the type
of soil and type of pore fluid, as shown by Hu et al.
2007 (Fig. 1). That includes shrinkage of soil perme-
ated with ethanol solution, which has surface tension
coefficient that is less than a half of that of water.
When soil becomes unsaturated, shrinkage practi-
cally stops, while the water content is still above 20%.
The remaining drying process occurs with a much-
reduced deformation. Hu et al. 2007 have also shown
that the amount of deformation during the saturated
drying and the shrinkage limit in terms of void ratio
depend on the compressibility of the solid, but seems
to be independent of surface tension and/or fluid satu-
ration vapor pressure which characterizes evaporation
process, or finally, from fluid viscosity. However, the
rate of fluid loss and rate of shrinking are controlled
by the evaporative and hydraulic conductivity proper-
ties, thus, those of the fluid. As it is generally agreed
that capillary effects are caused by the fluid surface
Figure 1. Void ratio evolution during drying versus the vol-
umetric fluid content change in clayey silt [Bioley silt] (left)
and a granite powder (right) filled with water, water/ethanol
50–50 mixture and water-ethylene glycol 65–35 mixture (see
Peron et al. 2007 for details).
tension, it is postulated that the saturated phase of dry-
ing is largely independent from capillary effects, and
shrinkage is due to the fluid removal from the pore
space via Darcian flow, while fluid-gas interface is
confined to the external soil mass boundary, where all
the phase transition takes place. Furthermore, possible
capillary effects at the boundary appear to play a minor
role in deformation, and hence the so-called ‘‘skin
effect’’ is a negligible factor in deformation analysis.
A microscopic model of pore system deformation
and transport is proposed to corroborate this hypothe-
sis in relationship to the actual data on the evolution of
the pore space. A macroscopic counterpart model has
been recently developed using Biot and Darcy theories
by Hu et al. 2007.

653
2 PORE SPACE EVOLUTION
2.1 Pore size distribution
Pore size distribution was obtained for Bioley
clayey silt filled with water using Mercury Intrusion
Porosimetry. The measurements were conducted at
three stages of unconstrained desiccation: at the value
of the water content of 33.1%, 24.8% and at 0.8%.
These instants correspond to the initial state, near
the shrinkage limit, and after the completion of the
process. Figure 2 visualizes the volume fraction for
each instant. The evolution of the pore space can be
summarized as follows: (1) the initial pore size is visi-
bly bi-modal, with Large Pores (LP), ranging between
0.6 μm and 3 μm occupying initially 17% of the vol-
umes of the medium, and Small Pores (SP), ranging
between 0.09 μm and 0.6 μm occupying initially 21%
of the volume of the medium. There are also minor vol-
umes of peripheral size pores outside of the range of
MIP, including those of clayey fraction (see Peron 2008
for details). (2) At near shrinkage limit the LP take less
than 5% of the volume of the medium, whereas the SP
amount to 29%. Finally at near the completion of dry-
ing, the LP take less than 0.5% of the volume of the
medium, whereas the SP still amount to 27%.
2.2 Assessment of the pore space evolution
during drying
This result is very significant, as it indicates that dur-
ing the entire process the Small Pores do not decrease
significantly, neither in size nor in total volume they
occupy. To the contrary, at near shrinkage limit, they
probably include the volume of former LP. The LP
themselves practically all close during the saturated
phase of drying and disappear at completion of the
process. Similar results were recently obtained by
Figure 2. Pore size distribution evolution during drying of
Bioley silt.
654
Cuisinier & Laloui (2004) and Koliji et al. (2006)
during suction induced desaturation process. Interest-
ingly, it has been known for sometime that in bi-modal
porosity soils, the SP remain virtually unchanged dur-
ing consolidation process, whereas all volume changes
are accommodated by LP (Delage & Lefebre 1984).
In reference to the desiccation process such evolution
of the pore space implies that only the water volume
contained in the LP is subject to evacuation during the
saturated phase, and only that water volume produces
the observed shrinkage.
3 MICROSCOPIC MODEL OF PORE SPACE
EVOLUTION
3.1 Formulation
The above observations will be framed into a model of
an evolving microscopic structure, based on the fol-
lowing specific postulates. It is recognized that the
pore system of soil is made of sectors of straight tubes
of two initial sizes: small (ST) and large (LT), with
their internal diameters coinciding with the average
values of the pore modes, identified in the preceding
Section as 0.5 μm and 1 μm. The total initial vol-
umes of the pores are set as equal to the initial value of
the pore space of the corresponding modal volumes.
The external radii of the tubes are not connected to any
physical currently used characteristics of soils, except
that the total volume of the solids of all the tubes must
be representative of the total volume of the solids.
Hence its value is determined as 2.5 μm. The grain
size distribution data could provide some help, but not
without a more extensive study.
To begin with we consider a representative elemen-
tary volume (REV) in a form of a single cylindrical
deformable tube around a single cylindrical Large Pore
located centrally and a series of parallel cylindrical
Small Pores, all filled with water, and connected at
their extremities to the atmosphere with which they
can exchange gas and fluid. The tube representation is
shown in Figure 3(a).
The solid of the tube represents a granular mate-
rial, hence deforming irreversibly. The macroscopic
Figure 3. Schematics of a pore system in a cylindrical REV
(a) and a BVP for a Small (b) eventually approximated via
(d) and for a Large Pore (c).
experiments (Peron et al. 2006) indicate that drying Q is the volume-flow rate, F is the volume flux, p is
shrinkage strain is largely irreversible, while in the water pressure, μ is viscosity and a is the inner radius
unsaturated phase the deformation is reversible to the of the tube. We assume that the flow is solely attributed
state of the onset of desaturation, upon the removal to the loss of volume of the inner conduit, i.e. due to the
of suction or re-wetting. The behavior of the solid change in a, thus the volume change of an infinitesimal
material surrounding the pores will be considered as tube element per unit volume is
plastic, however it will be approximated via a linearly
elastic law during loading and considered as perfectly ∂v 2πa ∂a 2 ∂a
rigid during an unloading. The adoption of a linear = = (2)
deformation law allows one to use a principle of super- ∂t πa2 ∂t a ∂t
position and hence represent the pore system of Figure
3(a) as a superposition of effects of a LP and multi- And the mass conservation requires (in 1D)
ple SPs. Eventually, for the reasons of simplicity, SPs
will all be located centrally as well. Hence, the prob- ∂v ∂F
lem is reduced to that of a single tube with a single =− (3)
∂t ∂x
cylindrical pore.
The tube is considered as symmetric along and
Thus substituting the flux into Equation 3, an
around its axis, loaded with a negative pore fluid pres-
approximate Poiseuille’s equation for the collapsing
sure at the ends. It is assumed that a tube is completely
tube is obtained
filled with water during the considered phase (satu-
rated). Water undergoes a viscous (Poiseuille) flow, i.e.
an incompressible Newtonian fluid through a cylindri- 16μ ∂a ∂ 2 p 2 ∂a ∂p
= + (4)
cal tube. For the external boundary conditions for the a3 ∂t ∂x2 a ∂x ∂x
fluid one can envision either a known (negative) water
pressure history, or an imposed flux, resulting from the It should be pointed out that a similar equation can
evaporation flux. The removal of water from the tube also be obtained from Equation 1 by replacing the
implies that its volume is compensated by the defor- volume flow rate with the total volume loss of tube.
mation of the tube. The time evolution of the negative
pressure applied is reconstructed from the experiment 1  
x
∂a (x, t)
(Peron et al. 2005, 2006) and shown in Figure 4. At Q=− 2πa · dx (5)
the axis of the symmetry at the tube half-length the 0 ∂t
no-flow condition is imposed.
Water transport in the tube is a viscous non- In reality the tube radius a varies with x because
frictional (Poiseuille) flow with the externally applied of the elastic deformation in response to the vari-
negative pressure, which is evaporation-driven. able (negative) pressure. A classical tube expan-
sion/compression solution provides such a relation-
∂p 8μ 8μ ship. To further simplify the mathematical solution
= − 4Q = − 2 F (1) Fung (1984) expresses the change in radius as a
∂x πa a function of the inner pressure by ignoring the radial
strain
 
a0 p(x) −1
a(x) = a0 1 − (6)
Eh

E is the Young’s modulus, a0 is the initial value

Figure 4. The negative pore pressure function imposed at
the boundary x = L (from the experimental data).
of the inner radius a, h is the thickness of the tube.
Fung has shown that the latter approximation is very
good, especially for low values of Poisson coefficient.
As indicated in the subsequent context, the simulated
deformation appears to be rather large, hence, a finite
strain configuration may become a better approach.
However, as our current priority in this paper is to
examine the idea of using a deformable pore model
to simulate the shrinkage, the mathematical merit of
employing large deformation will be pursued in future
work.

655
 Substituting Equation 6 into the original
Equation 4 produces a partial differential equation for
pore pressure p.

 2  pa 
∂ 2p 2a0 ∂p 16μ 1 − Eh0 ∂p
+  pa0  =
∂x2 Eh 1 − Eh
∂x a0 Eh ∂t
(7)

The initial condition is: at t = 0, p = p0 = 0. The

boundary conditions are as follows: x = 0, ∂p/∂x = 0
and x = ±L, p = p (t), see Figure 4. Equation 7 is
a parabolic PDE. Its solution has been obtained using
Mathlab© . Figure 5(a). Evolution of radii in LP at x = L, x = L/2,
and x = L/4.

3.2 Results
The solutions are obtained numerically for large and
small pores separately. The numerical value of the
deformability modulus E = 50 KPa, and water vis-
cosity chosen the same for the analyses of the LP and
the SPs. The length of the tubes is 15 cm, taken as the
length of the macroscopic experiments (see Peron et al.
2005). Both types of pores are subjected to the same
external negative pressure evolution, as resulting from
the same flux of water vapor (see Hu et al. 2007). The
most significant difference between the two types of
pores is in the amount of closure of the inner cavity: in
5 hours needed for reaching the shrinkage limit, the SP
closes over 0.08 μm from the original 0.5 μm at the
external boundary, whereas the LP closure amounts Figure 5(b). Evolution of radii in SP at x = L, x = L/2,
to 0.33 μm from 1 μm. This reflects correctly the and x = L/4.
porosimetry observation that the Large Pores convert
into 0.6 μm (or nearly Small Pore types) in that period
of time.
The evolution of radii for selected cross sections
of the tube proceeds similarly, but with a small but
marked delay, as seen in Figures 5(a) and (b).
The profiles of the opening along the axis for each
pore type are shown in Figure 6.
The results also indicate a different efficiency of
SPs and LPs in transport of water toward the evapo-
rating boundary. Figure 7 shows water flux evolution
at the boundary for both types of pore relative to their
cross section surface area. A single LP provides more
than twice of water than a SP after 5 hours.
Notably, as the areas of the individual tubes Figure 6. Radius profile for small and large pore after
decrease in a significantly different manner, the vol- 5 hours of drying.
ume flow rates per single tube yield a different picture
(Fig. 8). Indeed, because of a large reduction of the
cross section area of the large pore tube, it appears Hence, the outflow from the system stabilizes and
that the latter reaches a maximum of the water output then gradually decreases, driven by the tube constric-
at about two hours from the onset of the process of tion. Whether this remains within the range of validity
drying. It may be expected that the small tubes reach of the presented model remains an open question. The
a similar maximum at a later moment. cumulative volume loss via single LP and SP from

656
Figure 7. Water flux evolution at the external boundary for
individual LP and SP.

Figure 10. Small pore tube: evolution of the pressure profile

along the tube axis.

Figure 8. Volume flow rate evolution per single tube.

Figure 11. Large pore tube: evolution of the pressure profile

along the tube axis.

Figure 9. Cumulative volume output per single tube.

the onset of evaporation is shown in Figure 9. On

the mechanics side of the problem it is interesting to
note that because of the common value of the exter-
nally applied negative pressure, both types of tubes are
exposed to very similar pressure throughout almost
the entire history of the drying process in the satu-
rated range. Figures 10 and 11 present the evolution
of such pressure along respectively LP and SP, indi-
cating indeed very limited differences. It has to be
realized however, that the two types of tubes have dras-
tically different stiffness because of the differences in
their thickness. This indeed produces such a dramat-
ically different response in terms of the deformation Figure 12. Evolution of pressure in LP at x = L/2 and x =
of the tubes. Finally, it is also seen that for selected L/4. For comparison also the boundary pressure is shown.

657
cross sections of the tube the negative pressure evolves
similarly, but with a marked delay, as visible in
Figure 12. In fact the pressure evolution mimics that
of the radius of the pore as may be expected from the
form of Equation 6.
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The presented highly idealized microscopic model and
numerical simulations of the drying process in its sat-
uration phase indicate a series of characteristics that
agree qualitatively with the experimental findings.
The centerpiece of the model is transport of water
toward the perimeter of the drying body producing
the collapsing of the vessels. The model is largely
based on the evolution of the pore system, idealized
as bimodal. In particular, a significant reduction in
diameter of large pores is seen, compared to that of
smaller mode pores that is attributed to the difference
in their deformability due to size difference. Trans-
port of water is characterized by an initial phase (two
hours) when the discharge increases via large pores
to stabilize at start to gently decrease after about four
hours. An open question remains whether the afore-
mentioned decrease remains within the range of the
model validity.
Several simplifications and assumptions require
further investigations, to start with the deforma-
tion modulus of the medium that comprises (only)
smaller pores. An obvious limit of the validity of the
model is the air entry moment. However, a micro-
scopic criterion for this occurrence is still a point of
discussion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is funded by a cooperation between the
Swiss National Science Foundation, grant 200020-
109661 and the US National Science Foundation,
grant # 0324543.
REFERENCES
Abu-Hajleh, A.N. & Znidarcic D. 1995, Desiccation theory
for soft cohesive soils, J. Geotech. Eng. 121 (6): 492–502.
Cuisinier, O. & Laloui, L. 2004, Fabric evolution during
hydromechanical loading of a compacted silt, Int. J. for
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 28:
483–499.
658
Delage, P. & Lefebre, G., 1984, Study of the structure of
the sensitive Champlain Clay and of its evolution during
consolidation, Canadian Geotechnical J., 21 (1): 21–35.
Fung, Y.C. 1984. Biodynamics: Circulation. New York:
Springer.
Hu, L.B., Peron, H., Hueckel, T. & Laloui, L. 2006. Numeri-
cal and phenomenological study of desiccation of soil. In
N. Lu, L.R. Hoyos and L. Reddi (eds.), ASCE Geotech-
nical Special Publication: Advances in Unsaturated Soil,
Seepage, and Environmental Geotechnics, 166–177.
Hu, L.B., Peron, H., Hueckel, T. & Laloui, L. 2007. Dry-
ing shrinkage of deformable porous media: mechanisms
induced by the fluid removal. In H.W. Olson (ed.), ASCE
Geotechnical Special Publication 157: Geo-Denver 2007,
New Peaks in Geotechnics. 10 pages, CD-ROM.
Kodikara, J., Barbour, S.L. & Fredlund, D.G. 1999. ‘‘Changes
in clay structure and behaviour due to wetting and dry-
ing.’’ Proceedings of the eighth Australia New Zealand
Conference on Geomechanics, Hobart, 1: 179–185.
Koliji, A., Laloui, L. Cuisinier, O. & Vulliet, L. 2006, Suc-
tion Induced Effects on the Fabric of a Structured Soil,
Transport in Porous Media 64: 261–278.
Konrad, J.M. & Ayad, R. 1997. An idealized framework
for the analysis of cohesive soils undergoing desiccation.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 34: 477–488.
Miller, C.J., Mi H. & Yesiller, N. 1998. Experimental analy-
sis of desiccation crack propagation in clay liners. Journal
of the American Water Resources Association 34 (3):
677–686.
Peron, H. 2008. Ph. D. Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique Fed-
eral de Lausanne, ENAC, Lausanne, Switzerland, in
preparation.
Peron, H., Laloui, L. & Hueckel, T. 2005. An experimen-
tal Evidence in Desiccation Cracking in Sandy Silt, in
Tarantino, Romero and Cui (eds.), Advanced Experimen-
tal Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Proceeding of Confer-
ence, Trento, Italy, April 2005, Taylor and Francis Group,
London, 475–480.
Peron, H., Laloui, L., Hueckel, T. & Hu, L.B. 2006. Exper-
imental study of desiccation of soil. In G.A. Miller, C.E.
Zapata, S.L. Houston and D.G. Fredlund (eds.), ASCE
Geotechnical Special Publication 147: Unsaturated Soils
2006, 1073–1084.
Peron, H., Hu, L.B., Hueckel, T. & Laloui, L. 2007. The
influence of the pore fluid on desiccation of a deformable
porous material. In T. Schanz (ed.), Springer Proceedings
in Physics, Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics,
413–420.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Modelling of the collapsible behaviour of unsaturated soils

in hypoplasticity

D. Mašín
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

N. Khalili
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

ABSTRACT: The paper presents a recently developed constitutive model for unsaturated soils, based on
the theory of hypoplasticity and the effective stress principle. The mathematical formulation of the model is
outlined and the required state variables and parameters are described. The model is, among other features
of unsaturated soil behaviour, capable of predicting collapse upon wetting, a phenomenon that could not be
modelled with earlier hypoplastic models. Predictions of wetting-induced collapse agree well with experimental
data on statically compacted Pearl clay.

1 INTRODUCTION The aim of this contribution is to outline mathe-

Hypoplasticity, a particular class of incrementally non-
linear constitutive models, has undergone a notable
development during last two decades. Recently,
hypoplastic models cover a wide range of geomateri-
als, such as granular materials, soils with a low friction
angle and clays. Procedures to incorporate anisotropy,
viscosity, structure and the elastic behaviour in the
very small strain range and the effects of recent history
are available. To date, however, most contributions on
the constitutive modelling of soils using the theory of
hypoplasticity have been in the domain of saturated
soils. Extension of this class of constitutive models to
unsaturated soils is presented in this contribution.
Mašín and Khalili (2007) have recently developed
a new hypoplastic model for unsaturated soils. The
model is based on the hypoplastic model for clays by
Mašín (2005). It is thus, as other advanced hypoplastic
models, characterised by the following rate form:
matical formulation and basic features of the hypo-
plastic model for unsaturated soils. The model is
then evaluated with respect to experimental data
on one characteristic feature of the unsaturated soil
behaviour—collapse of the structure caused by wet-
ting. More detailed description and evaluation of the
model may be found in Mašín and Khalili (2007).
Throughout this paper, sign conversion of con-
tinuum mechanics is considered, i.e. compression is
taken as negative.
2 STRESS STATE VARIABLES
Central to the framework presented here is the con-
cept of effective stress which can be defined in the
following general form, subject to the solid grains
incompressibility constraint (e.g., Bishop 1959)

T̊ = fs (L : D + fd ND) (1)
where T̊ is the objective rate of Cauchy stress tensor,
D is Euler stretching tensor, L and N are two constitu-
tive tensors and fs and fd are two scalar factors (named
barotropy and pyknotropy factors respectively) that
incorporate the influence of mean stress and void ratio.
The model by Mašín (2005) is characterised by a low
number of parameters and a simple calibration proce-
dure. This advantageous property of the basic model
is naturally shared also by its extension for unsaturated
soils.
659
T = Tnet + 1χs (2)
Stress variables without any superscript (T) denote the
effective stress, Tnet is the net stress defined as Tnet =
Ttot − 1ua and s = ua − uw is the matric suction. Ttot
is the total stress, ua is the pore air pressure and uw is
the pore water pressure.
A simple formulation for the effective stress ten-
sor T based on Eq. (2), which is sufficient for
many practical applications, has been put forward by
Khalili and Khabbaz (1998) and further evaluated by
Khalili et al. (2004). On the basis of an extensive
evaluation of experimental data they proposed the
following empirical formulation for χ:
& p
1  for s ≥ se
χ= s γ e (3)
for s < se
s
where se is the suction value separating saturated
from unsaturated states. It is equal to the air entry
value for drying processes and the air expulsion value
for wetting processes. γ is a material parameter, and it
has been shown that for a broad range of different soils
it is sufficient to assign γ = 0.55 (Khalili and Khabbaz
1998). For suctions lower than se the effective stress
parameter χ is equal to 1, i.e. the soil is saturated
and Eq. (2) reduces to the Terzaghi effective stress
definition.
Time differentiation of Eq. (2), with the use of (3)
and taking into account rigid body rotations, imply
the following formulation of the objective rate of the
effective stress
net
T̊ = T̊ + 1(1 − γ )χ ṡ (4)
In addition to the effective stress tensor T, suction
s is considered as a state variable that quantifies the
stiffening effect of the water menisci.
3 HYPOPLASTIC MODEL
FOR UNSATURATED SOILS
In this section, the hypoplastic model for unsaturated
soils proposed recently by Mašín and Khalili (2007)
will be presented. The basic aim of the derivations
in this section is to demonstrate a conceptual way
to incorporate the behaviour of unsaturated soils into
hypoplasticity. The particular formulation adopted is
very simple, but it may be readily modified by using
the general rules outlined in this section.
3.1 Model for constant suction
The overall mechanical response of a soil element is
controlled by the effective stress tensor. Suction influ-
ences the effective stress and, in addition, it increases
normal forces at interparticle contacts and thus acts as
a quantity that increases the overall stability of the soil
structure. In terms of the critical state soil mechan-
ics, it increases the size of the state boundary surface
(SBS), in a similar manner to bonding between soil
particles in saturated cemented materials. State bound-
ary surface is defined as a boundary of all possible
states of a soil element in the stress vs. void ratio space.
The incorporation of structure into hypoplastic
model has been discussed in detail by Mašín (2007). In
this context, the size of the SBS for unsaturated soils
660
is controlled by the isotropic virgin compression line
with the formulation according to Butterfield (1979)
ln(1 + e) = N (s) − λ∗ (s) ln (5)
pr
where e is the void ratio, which is considered as a
state variable, and pr = 1 kPa is a reference stress.
Quantities N (s) and λ∗ (s) define the position and the
slope of the isotropic virgin compression line in the
ln(p/pr ) vs. ln(1 + e) plane for given suction s.
For the evaluation of model predictions through this
paper, we assume for ln(s/se ) > 0 (unsaturated state)
the following simple logarithmic dependency of N (s)
and λ∗ (s) on s:
 
s
N (s) = N + n ln (6)
se
 
s
λ∗ (s) = λ∗ + l ln (7)
se
where the quantities n and l represent two additional
soil parameters. For ln(s/se ) < 0 (saturated state)
N (s) = N and λ∗ (s) = λ∗ . It is, however, empha-
sized that the general formulation of the model can
accommodate any other more complex relationships
between N (s), λ∗ (s) and s.
Mašín (2007) demonstrated that incorporation of
variable virgin compressibility and the intercept N (s)
into the hypoplastic model requires a modification of
both barotropy and pyknotropy factors fs and fd in
(1), which are now calculated in terms of N (s) and
λ∗ (s). The respective expressions are given in Mašín
and Khalili (2007).
3.2 Incorporation of wetting-induced collapse
at normally consolidated states
When an unsaturated soil with an initially open struc-
ture is subjected to a decreasing suction, the reduction
in the normal forces acting at the inter-particle con-
tacts may result in a situation in which the structure,
for the given effective stress T and void ratio e, is no
longer stable, and thus it collapses. This phenomenon,
referred to as a wetting-induced collapse, cannot be
modelled with the model for structured clays Mašín
2007), as T̊ = 0 implies D = 0 (see Eq. (1)), i.e. no
deformation of the soil skeleton can be predicted for
variable suction with constant effective stress.
In the context of the critical state soil mechanics,
all admissible states of a soil element are bounded
by the SBS. As the hypoplastic model from Sec. 3.1
predicts constant void ratio sections through the SBS
of the same shape (see Mašín and Herle (2005)), it
is advantageous to study collapse due to wetting in
the stress space normalised by the size of the SBS
for current e. This size is quantified by the Hvorslev 1
m=1
equivalent pressure pe , implied by Eq. (5). m=2
Mašín and Khalili (2007) have shown, that normali- 0.8
m=5
m=10
sation with respect to pe allows us to derive the follow- m=100
ing expression that ensures consistency of the model
0.6
predictions with the SBS of suction-dependent size:

fu
0.4
T̊ = fs (L : D + fd ND) + H (8)

0.2
where H is a new term given by

T ∂pe 0
H= ṡ (9) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
pe ∂s p/pSBS

From the expression for the Hvorslev equivalent pres-
sure pe follows
 
T ∂N (s) ∂λ(s) pe
H= − ln ṡ (10)
λ(s) ∂s ∂s pr
3.3 Model for any state of overconsolidation
The model from Sec. 3.2 may be used for constant
value of suction (ṡ = 0) and for wetting at normally
consolidated states (states at the SBS). The following
assumptions are utilised to extend Eq. (8) for arbitrary
(physically admissible, i.e. inside the SBS) states and
arbitrary loading conditions:
1. As suction controls stability of inter-particle con-
tacts, increasing suction under constant effective
stress imposes no deformation of soil skeleton.
2. The more open the soil structure, the larger the
inter-particle contact shear forces and therefore the
greater the number of inter-particle contact slips
under wetting at constant effective stress.
To reflect these two assumptions, the rate formulation
of the model is written as
Figure 1. The influence of the parameter m on the value of
suction hardening pyknotropy factor fu .
The following expression for the factor fu satisfying
these requirements is proposed:
 m
p
fu = (13)
pSBS
where pSBS is the effective mean stress at the
SBS corresponding to the current stress state T/ tr T
and current void ratio e and m is a model parame-
ter controlling the influence of overconsolidation on
the wetting-induced collapse. Eq. (13) is demonstrated
graphically in Fig. 1. Clearly, value of the parameter
m controlls dependency between collapse of structure
and distance of the current state from the SBS. Note
that basic elasto-plastic models based on suction hard-
ening concept imply m → ∞ (collapse at the yield
surface only).
It may be shown from the definition of the
pyknotropy factor fd of the basic hypoplastic model
and using rules derived by Mašín and Herle
(2005) that
T̊ = fs (L : D + fd ND) + fu H (11)  m/α
fu = fd fs A−1 : N (14)
with
  where the fourth-order tensor A is given by
T ∂N (s) ∂λ(s) pe
H= − ln ṡ (12)
λ(s) ∂s ∂s pr 1
A = fs L − T⊗1 (15)
λ∗ (s)
where the operator x denotes positive part of any
scalar function x and fu is a new pyknotropy factor
controlling tendency of the soil structure to collapse 4 WETTING-INDUCED STRAIN RATE
upon wetting.
The factor fu must be equal to unity for states at the Wetting of normally consolidated soil at anisotropic
SBS (in that case the structure is as open as possible stress state causes in addition to volumetric collapse
and collapse is controlled by H only) and fu → 0 development of shear strains (Sun et al. 2004, 2007).
for OCR → ∞ (no wetting-induced inter-particle Eq. (8) allows us to derive an expression for the
slippage occurs in highly overconsolidated soil). direction of stretching implied by wetting at constant

661
 0.05
experiment
0.6
m=1
0.04 m=2
0.4 m=5
m=10
0.03 m=100
0.2
q/p*e, dεs

εv [-]
0 0.02

– 0.2 0.01

– 0.4
0
– 0.6
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 –0.01
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
p/p*e, dεv
s [kPa]

Figure 2. Direction of strain rate tensor induced by wetting Figure 3. s vs. v relationship for wetting of slightly
at constant effective stress for Pearl clay parameters. overconsolidated soil at constant net stress.

Table 1. Parameters of the hypoplastic model for Pearl clay 0.86

(calibrated using data from Sun et al. (2004)). 0.84

29◦ λ∗ κ∗
0.82
ϕc 0.05 0.005 N 1.003 r 0.5
0.8
n 0.164 l 0.024 m2 se [kPa] -15
ln (1+e)

0.78
0.76
0.74
effective stress for states at the SBS (see Mašín and 0.72
Khalili (2007)). 0.7
0.68 NCLs
−1
 =− A :N
D (16)
3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5

A−1 : N ln (p/pref)

0.86
where the fourth-order tensor A is given by Eq. (15).
0.84
Eq. (16) implies purely deviatoric strain rate at the
critical state and purely volumetric strain rate at the 0.82

isotropic stress state. Direction of the strain increment 0.8

ln (1+e)

vector for different stress obliquities is graphically 0.78

demonstrated in Fig. 2, together with the shape of the 0.76
bounding surface for Pearl clay parameters (Tab. 1), 0.74
evaluated by Mašín and Khalili (2007). It is clear that 0.72
the strain increment vector is not perpendicular to 0.7
the SBS (in terms of elasto-plasticity, neglecting the
0.68 NCLs
effects of elastic strains, this would be implied by a
3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5
non-associated flow rule).
ln (p/pref)

Figure 4. Isotropic compression tests at constant suction

5 PREDICTING THE COLLAPSIBLE
BEHAVIOUR OF UNSATURATED SOILS
Thorough evaluation of the hypoplastic model for
unsaturated soils is presented in Mašín and Khalili
(2007). It contains response to drying and wetting
paths of soil specimens at isotropic and anisotropic
stress states and response to constant suction shear
tests and isotropic loading tests at different suction lev-
els. Tests on five different soils performed in different
and wetting tests at constant net stress by Sun et al. (2007)
replotted in the effective stress space (top) and predictions by
the proposed model (bottom).
soil mechanics laboratories are used for evaluation.
Due to the limited space, in this paper we restrict
the model evaluation to tests at the isotropic and
anisotropic stress state under constant and decreasing
suction. The response to wetting paths is with respect

662
 0.06 3
pnet=20 kPa
0.05 pnet=49 kPa
pnet=98 kPa
net
p =196 kPa 2.5
0.04 net
p =392 kPa
pnet=588 kPa
0.03

R [-]
εv [-]

2
calib. m
0.02

0.01 1.5
R=1.5
0 R=2
R=2.5
1
– 0.01 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
εa [-]
– s [kPa]
3
0.06
pnet=20 kPa
0.05 pnet=49 kPa
pnet=98 kPa
pnet=196 kPa 2.5
0.04 pnet=392 kPa
pnet=588 kPa
0.03 R [-] 2
εv [-]

calib. m
0.02

0.01 1.5
R=1.5
0 R=2
R=2.5
1
– 0.01 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 εa [-]
– s [kPa]

Figure 6. Constant net mean stress shear tests and constant

Figure 5. Wetting tests at constant isotropic net stress by R wetting tests by Sun et al. (2007) plotted in a vs. R = Ta /Tr
Sun et al. (2007) plotted in s vs. v plane (top) and predictions plane (top) and predictions by the proposed model (bottom).
by the proposed model (bottom).

Figure 4 shows graphs of the constant suction

to hypoplastic modelling the most important to study,
as in this case the new terms H and fu are activated.
The model is evaluated by means of experimental
data on statically compacted Pearl clay by Sun et al.
(2004, 2007). Pearl clay is a moderate plasticity soil
with very little expansive clay minerals. The first set
of experimental data consist of tests on soil specimens
that have been isotropically compressed at constant
suction −147 kPa to different mean net stress levels
(49, 98, 196, 392 and 588 kPa). At this stage, the spec-
imens were wetted at constant net stress and suction
was decreased to zero. Some of the specimens were
further compressed at zero suction to the mean net
stress 588 kPa.
Figure 3 shows response to wetting tests at the high-
est apparent overconsolidation ratio (the test where
wetting took place at pnet = 49 kPa) and predictions
by the model with different values of the parameter m
from Eq. (14). The higher the value of m, the closer to
the SBS the volumetric collapse takes place. The value
of m = 2 has been considered as a suitable value to
represent Pearl clay behaviour. Calibration of all other
model parameters for Pearl clay (Tab. 1) is detailed in
Mašín and Khalili (2007).
isotropic compression tests and constant net stress
wetting tests replotted in the effective stress space.
Predictions are in a good agreement with the exper-
imental results, the model predicts correctly both the
constant suction and wetting parts of the experiments.
In the wetting tests at the lower net mean stresses, the
experiments show the initial decrease of the effective
stress with very small change of void ratio. This aspect
of the observed soil behaviour, which is progressively
less pronounced with decreasing apparent OCR, can
be modelled correctly by the proposed model thanks
to the new pyknotropy factor fu .
Results of the wetting parts of the experiments from
Fig. 4 are plotted in the suction vs. volumetric strain
plane in Fig. 5. The model predicts correctly the
qualitative influence of the net mean stress on the vol-
umetric behaviour. When the soil is wetted at low net
mean stress (49 kPa), it first swells and only after the
state gets closer to the state boundary surface the struc-
ture starts to collapse. On the other hand, specimens
wetted at higher net mean stresses (i.e. at lower appar-
ent OCRs) collapse since the beginning of the wetting
test. This aspect of the soil behaviour is predicted
correctly thanks to the proposed formulation for the

663
 3 radial net stresses. At this stage, suction was decreased
to zero under constant net stress, and finally the shear
test continued under constant mean net stress and s =
2.5 0 kPa to failure. The specimens had approximately
equal initial void ratios (initial apparent OCRs) and
they were wetted at different values of the ratio R (1.5,
R [-]

2
2 and 2.5).
Figure 6 shows the results of the three constant net
1.5 mean stress shear tests in the axial strain vs. princi-
R=1.5 pal net stress ratio plane. The corresponding radial
R=2 strains are in Fig. 7. Correct predictions of the constant
R=2.5
1 suction parts of the tests demonstrate the predictive
–0.07 –0.06 –0.05 –0.04 –0.03 –0.02 –0.01 0 0.01
capabilities of the basic hypoplastic model, which
εr [-]
predicts the non-linear soil behaviour with gradual
3 decrease of the shear stiffness. In the wetting parts of
the tests, the model predicts significant increase of the
collapse axial strains and of the negative radial strains
2.5
at higher ratios R. The good quantitative agreement
for both a and r demonstrates adequate modelling of
the wetting-induced collapse strain rate direction. The
R [-]

2
1.5
R=1.5
R=2
R=2.5
1
–0.07 –0.06 –0.05 –0.04 –0.03 –0.02 –0.01 0 0.01
εr [-]
Figure 7. Constant net mean stress shear tests and constant
R wetting tests by Sun et al. (2007) plotted in
a vs.
r plane based on the theory of hypoplasticity, it is thus capable
(top) and predictions by the proposed model (bottom).
factor fu . The experiments show the lowest collapsible
strains for the wetting at the highest net mean stress
(588 kPa). Correct predictions of the final value of the
volumetric strains after collapse are achieved thanks to
the converging normal compression lines of the satu-
rated and unsaturated soils (Fig. 4), i.e. thanks to l > 0
(Eq. (6)). The predicted shape of the wetting path in
the s vs.
v plane is controlled by the factor fu (for the collapse, presented in this paper, agree well with
initially apparently overconsolidated specimens) and
by the interpolation function for the quantities N (s)
and λ∗ (s) (Eq. (6)). Good agreement between experi-
mental data and model predictions also for wetting at
higher net mean stresses (where the factor fu takes a
constant value equal to 1) suggests that the logarith-
mic interpolation adopted is suitable to represent the
actual soil behaviour.
The second set of experimental data allows us to
investigate the influence of the stress anisotropy on the
wetting-induced collapse behaviour. The specimens
were, after isotropic compression at constant suction
s = −147 kPa to mean net stress pnet = 196 kPa,
subjected to constant suction and constant net mean
stress shear tests up to a target principal net stress ratio
R = Tanet /Trnet , where Tanet and Trnet are the axial and
analytical expression for this direction has been (for
constant effective stress) derived in Sec. 4, see Fig. 2
for Pearl clay parameters.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
A recently developed constitutive model for unsatu-
rated soils is presented in the paper. The model is
of predicting pre- and post-peak non-linear deforma-
tion behaviour of unsaturated soils, and the variation
of the soil stiffness with loading direction—important
aspects absent from many of the current constitu-
tive models proposed for the behaviour of unsaturated
soils.
A specific feature of unsaturated soil behaviour—
collapse of the structure induced by wetting—can
be predicted thanks to the factors H and fu , novel
to hypoplasticity. Predictions of the wetting-induced
experimentally observed behaviour.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The first author acknowledges the financial support
by the research grants GAAV IAA200710605, GACR
103/07/0678 and MSM0021620855.
REFERENCES
Bishop, A.W. (1959). The principle of effective stress.
Teknisk Ukeblad 106(39), 859–863.
Butterfield, R. (1979). A natural compression law for soils.
Géotechnique 29(4), 469–480.

664
Khalili, N., F. Geiser, and G.E. Blight (2004). Effec-
tive stress in unsaturated soils: Review with new evi-
dence. International Journal of Geomechanics 4(2), 115–
126.
Khalili, N. and M.H. Khabbaz (1998). A unique relation-
ship for χ for the determination of the shear strength of
unsaturated soils. Géotechnique 48(2), 1–7.
Mašín, D. (2005). A hypoplastic constitutive model for
clays. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical
Methods in Geomechanics 29(4), 311–336.
Mašín, D. (2007). A hypoplastic constitutive model for
clays with meta-stable structure. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal 44(3), 363–375.
665
Mašín, D. and I. Herle (2005). State boundary surface of a
hypoplastic model for clays. Computers and Geotechnics
32(6), 400–410.
Mašín, D. and N. Khalili (2007). A hypoplastic model
for mechanical response of unsaturated soils. Interna-
tional Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in
Geomechanics (submitted).
Sun, D.A., H. Matsuoka, and Y.F. Xu (2004). Collapse
behaviour of compacted clays in suction-controlled tri-
axial tests. Geotechnical Testing Journal 27(4), 362–370.
Sun, D.A., D. Sheng, and Y.F. Xu (2007). Collapse behaviour
of unsaturated compacted soil with different initial densi-
ties. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 44(6), 673–686.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Swelling pressure in compacted bentonite: Laboratory tests and modelling

M. Sanchez
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

M.V. Villar & R. Gómez-Espina

CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain

A. Lloret & A. Gens

UPC, Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT: The aim of this work is to extend an existent double structure model for expansive clays (Sanchez
et al., 2005) to include the thermal effects in the analysis. Experimental results obtained in the context of the
NF-PRO project have been used to extend the constitutive law. A fundamental characteristic of the double
structure framework is the explicit distinction of two actual structural levels existent within the material: the
macrostructural level, which accounts for the larger scale structure of the material and the microstructural
level, associated with the active clay responsible for the swelling behaviour. In addition, the model considers
the interaction between the two structural levels. In this paper the dependence of the swelling behaviour on
temperature has been directly included in the constitutive law that describes the microstructural behaviour. This
is the natural way to consider the thermal effects in expansive clays, as their swelling behaviour is controlled
mainly by the clay minerals (microstructure).

1 INTRODUCTION clay behaviour. A basic feature of the model is the

This research has been carried out in the context of
projects concerning the engineered clay barrier of deep
geological radioactive waste repositories. This barrier,
made of compacted bentonite (a highly swelling mate-
rial), will be placed between the waste canisters and
the host rock, and will be saturated by the ground-
water while it is subjected to high temperatures due to
the radioactive decay of the wastes. These temperature
changes affect the hydraulic and mechanical response
of the bentonite, what has important implications on
the design and performance of the repository.
The behaviour of expansive soils is potentially very
complex owing to the interaction between the volume
change of aggregates made up of highly expansive clay
minerals (microstructure) and the rearrangement of
the granular-like skeleton formed by the aggregates
(macrostructure). The BBM (Barcelona Basic Model),
developed by Alonso et al. (1990) is able to deal with
the main features of unsaturated soils but it is not able
to describe the behaviour of expansive soils. The aim
of this work is to extend an existent double struc-
ture model, specially developed for expansive clays
(Sanchez et al., 2005), to include (in a consistent
way) the influence of temperature on the expansive
explicit distinction of two actual structural levels exis-
tent within the material: the macrostructure and the
microstructure. The macrostructure accounts for the
larger scale structure of the material and it is described
using the BBM. The inclusion of the microstructural
level (associated with the active clay particles) in
the analysis allows the consideration of the physico-
chemical phenomena occurring at particle level. In
addition, the model considers the interaction between
the two structural levels. This is a key mechanism to
describe the behaviour of swelling clays. The con-
stitutive laws incorporate key aspects to model the
complex behaviour of highly expansive material, such
as, large swelling under wetting, yielding, stress path
dependency, clay-fabric changes, among others. Even
though the model is general, it has been mainly applied
to explain and reproduce the behaviour of expansive
clays used as engineered barrier to isolate high level
radioactive waste (HLW).
Figure 1 shows a typical scheme adopted in the
design of clay barriers for HLW. In field conditions
the clay barrier will be hydrated (due to the water
coming from the host rock) under confined conditions
and will also undergo heating (induced by the heat-
emitting waste) up to a maximum of 100◦ C (according

667
 Rock
Compacted
bentonite
Nuclear
waste Container

Figure 1. Scheme of an engineered barrier made up of

compacted clay for a high level radioactive waste repository.

to the Spanish concept for the disposal of HLW).

To understand and reproduce satisfactorily the
behaviour of such kind of barriers it is crucial to vali-
date a mechanical constitutive model able to reproduce
the main trends of the expansive clays behaviour when
are submitted to complex Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Figure 2. Schematic representation of the oedometer cell
(THM) paths. for tests at high temperature.
An extensive experimental campaign carried out on
compacted FEBEX bentonite, which combined suc-
tion and load changes, has been used to validate the
The oedometer assemblage was placed inside a
hydro-mechanical behaviour of the double structure
silicone oil thermostatic bath that kept target tempera-
model (Lloret et al., 2003).
ture. Once the temperature stabilised, the sample,
In the context of the ongoing NF-PRO project
confined between porous stainless steel sinters, was
a research program is being carried out to advance
hydrated at constant volume through the bottom
the knowledge of the thermal behaviour of expansive
face with deionised water injected at a pressure of
clays. Results of saturation under load and swelling
0.01 MPa, while the upper outlet remained open to
pressure tests at temperatures ranging from 30 to 80◦ C
atmosphere. At the same time, a load cell installed
have been used in this work (Villar & Gómez-Espina
in the loading frame measured the swelling pressure
2006). For the material considered in this work, the
exerted by the clay. The small vertical deformation
FEBEX bentonite, a decrease of swelling capacity and
of the specimen, due mainly to load cell and frame
swelling pressure with temperature has been observed.
deformability, was measured by two LVDTs. An auto-
The upgrade of the model proposed in this work has
matic volume change apparatus measured the water
been based on this experimental evidence.
exchange of the specimen. The values of load, strain
This work is organized as follows; firstly the main
and water exchange were automatically recorded.
aspects of the experimental program are introduced.
Figure 2 presents a schematic representation of the
Then, the mechanical constitutive model for expan-
device used in the experimental program.
sive soils is briefly presented. After that, the inclusion
Once the sample was completely saturated (which
of the thermal effects in the analysis and the main
was assumed by the stabilisation of water intake and
results are discussed. Finally, the main conclusions
swelling pressure development), the injection of water
of the work are presented.
was stopped, and the pressure registered was consid-
ered the swelling pressure value for the dry density
attained. The actual density may differ slightly from
2 EXPERIMENTAL WORK the nominal one due to the small displacement allowed
by the equipment (about 10 μm when a vertical stress
The determination of the swelling pressure and perme- of 2.2 MPa is applied). The main results of the swelling
ability as a function of temperature was performed in pressure tests are presented in Section 4.
high-pressure oedometer equipment. Granulated clay
was compacted uniaxially and statically at room tem-
perature in the oedometer ring, which had an inner
diameter of 5.0 cm, the length of the resulting spec- 3 DOUBLE STRUCTURE MODEL
imen being 1.2 cm. Nominal dry densities of 1.50
and 1.60 Mg/m3 were reached by applying vertical Expansive clays generally present a clear double
stresses of 11 and 16 ± 2 MPa, respectively. structure, made up from clay aggregates and large

668
Figure 3. Distributions of incremental pore volume
obtained using MIP technique (Lloret et al., 2003)
and schematic representation of the two structural levels
considered.

macrostructural pores (e.g. Pusch, 1982). As an

example, the mercury intrusion porosimetry tests pre-
formed to examine the pore size distribution of the
statically compacted samples of FEBEX bentonite are
presented in Figure 3. This figure shows the measured
incremental pore volume for two samples compacted
to very different values of dry density (ρd ), 1.5 Mg/m3
and 1.8 Mg/m3 . It can be observed that the pore
size distribution is clearly bimodal. The dominant val-
ues are 10 nm that would correspond to the pores
inside clay aggregates and a larger pore size that
depends on the compaction dry density and ranges
from 10 μm (for ρd = 1.8 Mg/m3 ) to 40 μm (for
ρd = 1.5 Mg/m3 ). These larger voids would cor-
respond to the inter-aggregate pores. The boundary
between the two pore size families can be seen to be
around 0.13 μm, as pores smaller than this size do not
appear to be affected by the magnitude of the com-
paction load. The pore space inside the aggregates is
constituted by voids of a much smaller size.
The two dominant pores size could be associated
with two basic structural levels (Figure 3):
• The macrostructural level, which accounts for the
larger scale structure of the material.
• The microstructural level, associated with the active
clay responsible for the swelling behaviour.
Only these two basic structural levels identified
above are considered herein. The approach is open
enough and it could be extended to include more
structural levels in the analysis, if it deemed relevant.
The soil fabric plays a crucial role to understand
and to reproduce the behaviour of expansive clays. In
this model, the inclusion of the clay fabric in the anal-
ysis is considered in the definition of laws for: 1) the
macrostructural level, 2) the microstructural level, and
3) for the interaction between both structural levels.
Figure 4. a) BBM yield surface. b) Microstructural load
directions on the p-s plane.
3.1 Macrostructural model
The inclusion of this structural level in the analysis
allows the consideration of phenomena that affect the
skeleton of the material, for instance deformations due
to loading and collapse. The BBM (Barcelona Basic
Model) has been adopted to describe the macrostruc-
tural behavior (Alonso et al., 1990). The BBM consi-
ders two independent stress variables to model the
unsaturated behaviour: the net stress (σ ) computed
as the excess of the total stresses over the gas pressure,
and the matric suction (s), computed as the diffe-
rence between gas pressure and liquid pressure
(pg − pl ). Figure 4a shows the BBM yield surface
(FLC ), defined as:
 2
g(θ)
FLC = 3J 2 − M 2 (p + ps )(p0 − p) = 0
g(−30◦ )
(1)
where M is the slope of the critical state, po is the
apparent unsaturated isotropic pre-consolidation pres-
sure, g(θ) is a function of the Lode angle and ps
considers the dependence of shear stress on suction

669
and temperature. A basic point of the model is that
the size of the yield surface increases with matric suc-
tion. The trace of the yield function on the isotropic
p-s plane is called the LC (Loading-Collapse) yield
curve, because it represents the locus of activation of
irreversible deformations due to loading increments
or collapse. The position of the LC curve is given by
the pre-consolidation yield stress of the saturated state,
p∗o (hardening variable), according to:
• (1 + e) • p
p∗0 = p∗0 ε (2)
(λ(0) − κ) v
• functions f . The plastic macrostructural strains are
p
where e is the void index, εv is the volumetric plastic
strain, κ is the elastic compression index for changes
in p and λ(0) is the stiffness parameter for changes in p
for virgin states of the soil in saturated conditions. In
additions, the model is able to describe the reduction
of the size of the yield surface and the strength of the
material with the increase of temperature, according
to the model suggested in Gens (1995). The Appendix
contains the main model equations.
3.2 Microstructural model
The microstructure is the seat of the basic physico-
chemical phenomena occurring at clay particle level.
The strains arising from microstructural phenom-
ena are considered elastic and volumetric (Gens &
Alonso, 1992). The microstructural effective stress is
defined as:
p̂ = p + χs (3)
It is assumed that the total suction is equal to the
matric suction (s), because the effect of the osmotic
suction is not considered in this work. χ is a con-
stant. It is also assumed hydraulic equilibrium between
the water potentials of both structural levels. A more
general formulation with non-equilibrium between
water potentials is presented in Sanchez (2004). The
increment of microstructural strains is expressed as:
• • • 6
• p̂ p s
εv1 = = +χ (4)
K1 K1 K1
where the subscript 1 refers to the microstructural
level, the subscript v refers to the volumetric com-
ponent of the strains and K1 is the microstructural
bulk modulus. The Neutral Line (NL) corresponds to
constant p̂ and no microstructural deformation occurs
when the stress path moves on the NL (Figure 4b).
The NL divides the p-s plane into two parts, defin-
ing two main generalized stress paths, which are
identified as: MC (microstructural contraction) and
MS (microstructural swelling).
670
3.3 Interaction between macro and micro
structure
In expansive soils there are other mechanisms in addi-
tion to the ones included in the BBM which induce
plastic strains. This irreversible behaviour is ascribed
to the interaction between the macro and micro struc-
tures (Gens & Alonso 1992). It is assumed that the
microstructural mechanical behaviour is not affected
by the macrostructure but the opposite is not true.
An assumption of the model is that the irreversible
deformations of the macrostructure are proportional
to the microstructural strains according to interaction
evaluated by the following expression:
• •
p •
εvp = εvLC + f εv1 (5)
p
where εvLC is the plastic strains induced by the yielding
of the macrostructure (BBM).
In fact the coupling is given by p∗o , hardening vari-
able of the macrostructure (Figure 4a), which depends
on the total plastic volumetric strain (Equation 2).
In this way it is considered that the microstructural
processes can affect the global arrangements of aggre-
gates. More details can be found in Sánchez et al.
(2005).
4 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON SWELLING
The swelling pressure results for the two dry den-
sities tested are plotted in Figure 5. Deformations
induced in the experimental device due to thermal
effects have been calibrated and deducted from the
informed results. The dispersion of data can be mostly
attributed to the variations in dry density (whose aver-
age values were in fact 1.58 and 1.49 Mg/m3 ). This
is caused by the small displacement allowed by the
Error bars obtained from values of Dry density (Mg/m3)
Swelling pressure (MPa)
tests performed at laboratory
1.6 1.5
temperature (1.6Mg/m ) 3
Test Test
Model Model
4
2
Error bars obtained from values
of tests performed at laboratory
0
temperature (1.5 Mg/m3)
20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Temperature (°C)
Figure 5. Swelling pressure as a function of temperature
for saturated FEBEX clay compacted to different nominal
dry densities. Experimental and modelling data.
equipment, as the swelling pressure value is very
sensitive to small density changes. The error bars
shown in the figure were obtained from values mea-
sured in tests performed at laboratory temperature
(Lloret et al., 2003). A decrease of swelling pressure
as a function of temperature is observed. This would
be in accordance with the results obtained in soaking
under load tests, which predict a decrease in swelling
capacity with temperature (Villar & Gómez-Espina,
2006). The extrapolation towards higher tempera-
tures would indicate that swelling pressures higher
than 1 MPa would be developed even for tempera-
tures of 100◦ C. Lingnau et al. (1996) also observed a
reduction in swelling pressure with temperature for a
sand/bentonite mixture, although it did not show any
loss in the self-healing capability of the material, even
for temperatures of up to 100◦ C.
In order to represent more closely the behaviour of
expansive clays it is important to consider the influ-
ence of temperature on swelling. With this aim the
model presented in Section 3 has been extended to
include thermal effects. In the constitutive law pre-
sented above, the large swelling of the material is
modelled (mainly), through the microstructural law
(Section 3.2). This has a strong physical sense because
the expansive behaviour of soils is due to the wet-
ting of the active clay minerals, which constitute
the microstructure of expansive clays. So, the aim
here is to include at this level the change in the
swelling capacity of expansive clays due to thermal
effects.
The mechanical behaviour at microstructural
level is represented by a non-lineal elastic model,
because it is assumed that the expansion is con-
trolled by physico-chemical effects occurring at
clay particle level (microstructure) that are basically
reversible.
In this law (Equation 4) the expansion of the mate-
rial depends on the microstructural effective stress
(Equation 3) through a microstructural bulk modulus
(K1 ). A first attempt to model the thermal effect is to
include a dependence of K1 on temperature.
The expression used to validate the expansive model
with data of FEBEX bentonite (Lloret et al., 2003) is
presented as follows:
e−αm p̂
K1 = (6)
βm
where αm and βm are model parameters. The exten-
sion suggested here is to include a dependence of
the parameter βm on temperature. The following
expression is proposed:
βm
βm = T
(7)
τ Tref
e analysed.
671
100.0
ΔT (°C) τ : 0.12
0 20 40 60
(p+s) (MPa)
10.0
1.0
0.1
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
K1 (MPa)
Figure 6. Changes in micro-structural stiffness with
temperature.
where T is the temperature difference, that is the
actual temperature minus Tref , a reference tempera-
ture (i.e. 20◦ C), and τ is a new parameter that may be
obtained from experiments. In this analysis τ has been
obtained by back-analysing the experiments.
Figure 6 shows how the change of temperature
affects the microstructural bulk modulus according to
the suggested law. An increase in the microstructural
stiffness with temperature is predicted with this law.
This means lower expansion when tests are conducted
at higher temperature.
In order to check the capabilities of the extended
constitutive law a series of analysis has been carried
out in order to describe the dependence of swelling on
temperature observed experimentally.
Swelling pressure tests at constant temperature have
been modelled (Figure 5). The initial suction has been
determined from the retention curve.
No major effects of temperature on retention
behaviour of FEBEX bentonite have been observed,
at least for the range of temperature analysed herein
(FEBEX, 2006).
The rest of initial and boundary conditions have
been adopted to reproduce closely the conditions
observed during the test (Villar & Gómez-Espina,
2006). As has been already mentioned, for the
FEBEX bentonite, the main parameters of the con-
stitutive law were previously obtained during the
validation of the constitutive law (Lloret et al., 2003).
In this work, the only parameters adjusted are the
ones related to the new microstructural law. The main
model parameters used in the analysis are presented
in Table 1. In this model, the dependence of swelling
on initial density is taken into account in a consis-
tent way through the parameter p∗0 (Gens & Alonso,
1992).
As can be observed from Figure 5, the model is able
to reproduce quite well the dependence of swelling
pressure on temperature for the two dry densities
 Table 1. Mechanical constitutive law parameters.
Parameters defining the BBM (macrostructure)
κ κs λ(o) r ζ (MPa−1 )
5−3 1−3 8−2 9−1
Parameters defining microstructural behaviour (emicro = 0.46)
αm (MPa−1 ) = 5.0 e−2 βm (MPa−1 ) = 7.8 e−4
Interactions functions
fC = 1 + 0.9 tan h (20 (pr /po ) − 0.25)
(∗1 ) dry density 1.6 (Mg/m3 ) p∗o = 7.0 (MPa)
(∗1 ) dry density 1.5 (Mg/m3 ) p∗o = 4.5 (MPa)
5 CONCLUSIONS
A double structure model, based on the general frame-
work for expansive materials proposed by Gens &
Alonso (1990) has been presented. In order to be
closer to the typical fabric of expansive materials, the
existence of two pore structures has been explicitly
included in the formulation. The distinction between
the macrostructure and microstructure provides the
opportunity to take into account the dominant phe-
nomena that affect the behaviour of each structure in
a consistent way. The major advantage of this model
is that it incorporates in a natural way the key aspects
that control the behaviour of expansive clays, indi-
cated as follows: the swelling features of clay minerals
are explicitly considered through a microstructural
law; the relevant effects of the granular-like skele-
ton are contemplated through the macrostructural law
and the model also considers the interaction between
both structural levels. In this paper the double struc-
ture model (Sanchez et al., 2005) has been extended to
consider the effect of temperature on swelling. As the
clay particles are mainly responsible for the expansive
behaviour of clays a dependence of the microstructural
law on temperature has been suggested in this work.
It has been observed that the model is able to capture
the main trends observed in the tests.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E., Gens, A. & Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40(3):
405–430.
FEBEX Report. 2006. Full-scale Engineered Barriers Exper-
iment. Updated Final Report 1994–2004. Publicación
Técnica ENRESA 05-0/2006. 590 pp. Madrid.
672
p∗o (MPa) α0 (◦ C−1 )
1. (∗1 ) 1.−5
τ = 0.12 χ=1
fS = 0.8 − 1.1 tan h (20 (pr /po ) − 0.25)
e macro = 0.228
e macro = 0.340
Gens, A. 1995. Constitutive Laws. In A. Gens P. Jouanna &
B. Schrefler Modern issues in non-saturated soils:
129–158. Wien New York: Springer-Verlag.
Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1992. A framework for the behav-
ior of unsaturated expansive clays. Can. Geotech. Jnl.
29:1013–1032.
Lingnau, B.E., Graham, J., Yarechewski, D., Tanaka, N. &
Gray, M.N. 1996. Effects of temperature on strength and
compressibility of sand-bentonite buffer. Eng. Geol. 41
1–4: 103–115.
Lloret, A., Villar, M.V., Sánchez, M., Gens, A.,
Pintado, X. & Alonso, E. 2003. Mechanical behaviour of
heavily compacted bentonite under high suction changes.
Géotechnique, 53(1): 27–40.
Pusch, R. 1982. Mineral water-interaction and their influ-
ence on the physical behaviour of highly compacted Na
bentonite. Can. Geotech. Jnl., 19: 381–387.
Sánchez, M. 2004. Thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled anal-
ysis in low permeability media. Ph. D. Thesis, Technical
University of Catalonia. Barcelona.
Sánchez, M., Gens, A., Guimarães, L. & Olivella, S. 2005.
A double structure generalized plasticity model for
expansive materials. Int. Jnl. Num. Anal. Meth. in Geom.
29: 751–787.
Villar, M.V. & Gómez-Espina, R. 2006. Deliverable 3.2.9:
Progress report on laboratory tests performed by CIEMAT
(WP3.2 NF-PRO Report). Madrid. EC.
APPENDIX
The BBM plastic potential (G) is expressed as:
 2
g(θ)
G = α3J 2 − M 2 (p + ps ) (p0 − p) = 0
g(−30◦ )
(A1)
where α is determined according to Alonso et al.
(1990). The dependence of the tensile strength on
suction and temperature is given by: where pc is a reference stress, α1 and α3 are model
parameters. λ(s) is the compressibility parameter for
ps = ks e−ρT (A2) changes in net mean stress for virgin states of the soil;
which depends on suction according to:
where k and ρ are model parameters. The dependence
of p0 on suction is given by: λ(s) = λ(0) [r + (1 − r) exp (−ζ s)] (A4)
  λλ(0)−κ
−κ
p∗0T (s)
where r is a parameter which defines the minimum
p0 = pc ; soil compressibility. ζ is a parameter that controls
pc
the rate of decrease of soil compressibility with
p∗0T = p∗0 + 2(α1 T + α3 T | T | ) (A3) suction.

673
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Modelling water retention characteristic of unsaturated soils

Y. Wang
Institute for Materials Research, School of Computing, Science and Engineering,
University of Salford, Manchester, UK

G. Wu
Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P.R. China

S.M. Grove
Advanced Composites Manufacture Centre, School of Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

M.G. Anderson
School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

ABSTRACT: The water retention characteristic or Water Retention Curve (WRC) is an important constitutive
feature of soils. Previous experiments have indicated that specific surface area has effects on the WRC. It has
also been observed that a linear relationship generally exists between the air-water interface area and the pore
saturation in unsaturated soils. However it seems that no study on their internal linkage with the WRC has
been reported yet. This paper tries to explain the water retention curve according to the physical and chemical
behaviours of the phases involved in unsaturated soils. Using the capillary, interfacial surface theories and
averaging theorem, a deterministic formula which represents the water retention characteristic is derived. This
formula demonstrates the internal linkage of the WRC to the specific surface area of porosities. It shows
agreement with experimental observations. Based on this formula, a fitting model is proposed for the WRC
of soils. Finally, this model is tested to fit the WRCs of a wide range of soils, and compared with other main
models.

1 INTRODUCTION functions (Assouline et al. 1998), which has been

The water retention characteristic or water retention
curve (WRC) is an important constitutive feature of
soils. It is an indispensable requirement in hydraulic
transport modelling. Due to its great interest, a large
number of research studies have been conducted and
many models were proposed for the WRCs of soils.
In general, these models could be classified into two
groups, they are: the phenomenological or empirical
models, and the conceptual or physical models. In the
first group, van Genuchten’s model (van Genuchten
1980) could be the most popular one. But previous
practice has shown it usually fails at low water con-
tent (Ippisch et al. 2006). Most conceptual models use
a bundle of cylindrical capillaries (BCC) to represent
the pore space geometry. They assume that the soil
particle size distribution (PSD) due to the fragmenta-
tion processes decides the void/pore size distribution
(VSD). It is the VSD that decides the WRC accord-
ing to Laplace’s equation in capillary law. Different
PSD models have been proposed, including power
backed by the single fractal models (Xu & Dong 2004),
and log-normal functions according to the probability
of fragmentation theory (Tuli et al. 2001, Hwang &
Choi 2006). A key issue of these models is that the
relationship between VSD and PSD is not determi-
nate, which could be linear or nonlinear (Assouline
et al. 1998). Recently, a liquid configuration-based
model was proposed to take account of the effect of
the adsorption of solid surface (Tuller et al. 1999).
But it has been pointed out that its representative
unit cell cannot generally represent the irregular pore
space in actual soils (Chertkov 2004). Precisely, all
of these preceding models were proposed to model
the WRC under static conditions, which do not take
account of dynamic effects, such as the fluid in
flowing processes, the viscous and/or gravity effects
(Beliaev & Hassanizadeh 2001). The dynamic effects
on WRC are very important. Some researchers ever
studied the dynamic capillary pressure according to
the thermodynamic behaviour of the fluids in multi-
phase flowing processes within porous media (Gray

675
and Hassanizadeh 1998). This paper, however, still meniscus. In another word, it could be said that, under
only discusses the WRC under static conditions. equilibrium, the position of the meniscus just balances
Previous experiments have shown that unsaturated the pressure difference between the water and vapour
soils present a linear relationship between air-water phases. It is this mechanism that decides the WRCs of
interfacial area and the pore saturation. Petersen et al. soils.
(1996) found that water retention characteristic was It has been suggested that the chemical potential
significantly connected with the specific surface area change caused by surface adsorption can be evaluated
of the soil (Bachmann & van der Ploeg 2002). This using Kelvin’s equation (Tuller et al. 1999):
paper tries to investigate the internal relations between  
the WRCs and these observations. A traditional BCC P
model is employed to represent capillary pore geom- uf = RT ln (2)
P0
etry, meanwhile interfacial surface theory is used to
describe the individual behaviour of the coexisting where uf is the molar chemical potential change of
water and vapour phases in unsaturated porous media. the adsorbed fluid on the substrate surface; R is the gas
Finally volume averaging analysis generates a determi- constant; T is temperature; and P/P0 is the relative
nate formula for water retention characteristic. Based pressure of the equilibrium vapour surrounding the
on the formula, a simplified WRC model is proposed. adsorbed fluid.
The model is tested on different soils and compared According to the mechanical equilibrium, the abso-
with other models. lute pressure of the adsorbed fluid equals to its sur-
rounding vapour pressure plus the chemical potential
change due to adsorption, i.e.:
2 THEORY
 
uf uf
In unsaturated soils, the curved meniscus is only a Pfad = + P0 exp (3)
small part of the water-vapour interface. Because, at Vf RT
the start of a wetting or the end of a draining pro-
cess, a thin uniform water film which coats the whole where Vf is the molar volume of the fluid;
pore surface has been formed, the water-vapour inter- Logically, Eq. (3) is applicable to both water
facial area should decrease with water content once and vapour phases in unsaturated soils. When the
the meniscus is formed, and becomes zero at full atmospheric pressure is set as reference, the indivi-
saturation (Costanza-Robinson & Brusseau 2002). dual absolute pressures of the two phases can be
Modern interfacial science suggests that surface expressed as:
forces modify the properties and chemical potential of  
the interfacial region relative to their free bulk phase uw uw
Pw = + P0 exp (4a)
values (Tuller et al. 1999). Due to their surface interac- Vw RT
tions with the solid phase, the water and vapour phases  
in unsaturated soils have their individual pressures. uv uv
Pv = + P0 exp (4b)
Under equilibrium, the pressure difference of the two Vv RT
phases is balanced by the capillary pressure due to the
meniscus, which follows the Young-Laplace equation where the subscript w and v indicate the water and
(Dullien 1991): vapour phases, respectively.
Substituting Eq. (4) into (1) yields:
2σws 2σvs
Pc = Pw − Pv = − (1)    
r r uw uw uv uv
Pc = + P0 exp − − P0 exp
Vw RT Vv RT
where Pc is the capillary pressure; Pw and Pv are the
(5)
absolute pressures of the water and vapour phases,
respectively; σws is the interfacial tension between
water and solid phases; σvs is the interfacial ten- Eq. (5) describes the phase equilibrium at micro-
sion due to the molecular interaction between vapour scopic pore scale. Using volume averaging theorem
and solid phases via a thin intervening water film the macroscopic average of Pc is defined as:
(Iwamatsu & Horii 1996); r is the local pore size at 1
1
the position of meniscus. Pc  = Pc dV
Eq. (1) could be understood to mean that the pres- Vpore Vpore

sures of the water and vapour phase in unsaturated 1   

soils are caused by their respective interactions with 1 uw uw
= + P0 exp dV
the solid phase, and related to the position of the Vpore Vpore Vw RT

676
 1   
1 uv uv to the bulk volume of the porous material), the molar
− + P0 exp dV chemical potential changes of the water and vapour
Vpore Vpore Vv RT
1    phases in unsaturated soils can be related to the spe-
1 uw uw cific surface areas of the two distinctive parts which are
= + P0 exp dV
Vpore Vwater Vw RT occupied by the water and vapour phases, respectively,
1    i.e.:
1 uv uv
− + P0 exp dV (6)
Vpore Vvapour Vv RT
w Vw s̄ws + Aw Vw s̄ws + Aw Vw s̄ws
uw = Am 3 e 2 s
(10a)
where Vpore represents the total pore volume with an
uv = Am 3
v Vv s̄vs + Aev Vv s̄vs
2
+ Asv Vv s̄vs (10b)
representative elementary volume (REV) of porous
media; Vwater is water volume; Vvapour is vapour volume.
Because the discussion is under the assumption of where the subscript w and v indicate the water and
static/equilibrium states, when the local Pw and Pv are vapour phases, respectively; A is constant; V is molar
either constant (an intrinsic phase average) at any place volume; s̄ws is the specific surface area of the water-
where they occupy, respectively, or zero otherwise, filled part of porosity, and s̄vs is the specific surface
Eq. (6) can be further developed as: area of the vapour filled part of porosity, they are
defined as:
1   
S uw  uw 
Pc  = + P0 exp ds Sws
0 Vw RT s̄ws = (11a)
1 1−S    Vbulk S
uv  uv 
− + P0 exp d(1 − s) (7) s̄vs =
Svs
(11b)
0 Vv RT Vbulk (1 − S)
where S is water saturation, uw  and uv  are the
intrinsic average molar chemical potential changes of where Sws is the water-solid interfacial area; Svs is the
the water and vapour phases due to the adsorption vapour-solid interfacial area; Vbulk is the bulk volume
effect of pore surfaces, which is defined as: of the porous material.
Because a thin water film intervenes between all
1 of the vapour-solid interfaces, it can be approximated
1
uw  =
Vpore
uw dV (8a) that Svs ∼
= Svw by ignoring the extremely small cross
Vwater
1 section of the throats which connect pores, where Svw
1 is the vapour-water interfacial area. Published exper-
uv  = uv dV (8b)
Vpore Vvapour iments (Karkare & Fort 1996, Kim & Rao 1997,
Costanza-Robinson & Brusseau 2002) and modelling
According to Iwamatsu and Horii (1996) and Tuller works (Cary 1994, Bradford & 1997, Nordhaug et al.
et al. (1999), the molar chemical potential of an 2003) have generally demonstrated a linear relation-
adsorbed fluid is related to the fluid thickness h ship between vapour-water interfacial area and water
on the substrate surface, and consists of several saturation degree in unsaturated soils, i.e.:
components, i.e.:
  Svs ∼ Svw
uf (h) = Vf m (h) + e (h) + s (h) + a (h) (9) = = s̄(1 − S) (12)
Vbulk Vbulk

where m (h) originates from van der Waals molecular where s̄ is the specific surface area of the bulk porous
interaction which is proportional to 1/h3 ; e (h) is the material, which is defined as:
electrostatic component proportional to 1/h2 ; s (h) is
the structural component proportional to 1/h; a (h) is Svs + Sws
a component due to non-uniform concentrations in the s̄ = (13)
Vbulk
film which will be ignored in the following discussion.
Using a BCC geometric model, the thickness h of
the adsorbed fluid could be understood as the radius Substituting Eq. (12) into (13) yields:
of the representing capillary. Under the rule of the
same in pore surface area, the BCC model could be Sws
= s̄S (14)
further equivalent to a single capillary with a Vbulk
‘hydraulic radius’ which is defined as the ratio of the
pore volume to the pore surface area (Dullien 1991). Substituting Eqs. (12) and (13) into (11) yields that
Because ‘hydraulic radius’ is inversely proportional to s̄ws = s̄vs = s̄. So Eq. (10) represents two constants
‘specific surface area’ (the ratio of pore surface area which depend on the specific surface area of a porosity.

677
As a result, Eq. (8) can be rewritten as:
uw  = uw0 + uw S
uv  = uv0 + uv (1 − S)
where uw0 and uv0 are initial chemical potential
changes due to the formation of an initial water molec-
ular film on pore surfaces before water and vapour
phases start to accumulate within pore spaces.
Substituting Eq. (15) into (7), then the integral
produces:
⎡ Pc = φ0 + P0 exp(αSe ) − exp(β(1 − Se ))
Se = (S − Sr )/(Ss − Sr ) due to inaccessible pore spaces,
where Sr is the remaining saturation and Ss is the sat-
(15a) urated saturation. All of the constants, φ0 , φ1 , φ2 , Pw0 ,
Pv0 , αw and αv , are related to the specific surface area of
(15b) the porous material. However, Eq. (17) is not conve-
nient in practice. There are too many parameters and
they are related to each other. To overcome this disad-
vantage, we propose to use the following model to fit
WRCs (a detailed discussion on the reason to choose
such form will be discussed elsewhere (Wang et al.
2008)):
 
(18)

⎢ uw uw 2
0
Pc  = ⎣ S+ S where φ0 , P0 , α and β are four redefined fitting param-
Vw 2Vw
eters. In the following, Eq. (18) will be compared with
  ⎤ other models to fit the measurements of the WRCs of
P0 exp
uw
0
    a wide range of soils.
RT uw S ⎥
+ uw
exp −1 ⎦
RT
RT
⎡ 3 EXAMPLES
⎢ u uv
0
− ⎣ v (1 − S) + (1 − S)2 Figure 1 shows the fitting results for five soil sam-
Vv 2Vv
ples and the comparison with van Genuchten model.
  ⎤ The fitting parameters are listed in Table 1. As we
P0 exp
uv0    
RT uv (1 − S) ⎥ can see, good fitting results have been obtained by
+ uv
exp −1 ⎦ both models, but a further improvement at the two
RT
RT
ends can be observed in the case of Beit Netofa Clay
when using the proposed model. An inflection point
(16)
is seen in most cases, except for Beit Netofa Clay.
If the measurements of Beit Netofa Clay are care-
If we set: fully studied, it can be noticed that its WRC is not
 0 2 continuous but presents an irregular concave shape in
uw uw
Pw0 = P0 exp ; the middle of the curve. This is similar to an experi-
RT RT
mental result of dual-porosity soils (Kohne & Gerke
 02 2002). That means two differently scaled pore systems
uv uv
Pv0 = P0 exp ; could co-exist in the Beit Netofa Clay at the same
RT RT
time, for example, the clay sample could have frac-
tures (a structured porosity) within it. According to the
uv0 uv
φ0 = − − + Pv0 − Pw0 ; dual-porosity theory, the two different porosities have
Vv 2Vv
different ‘specific surface area’, and as a result the
uw0 uv0 uv two different porosities have their individual WRCs
φ1 = + + ; which could be fitted using Eq. (16), respectively.
Vw Vv Vv
A detailed study on the application on the multi-
uw uv uw uv porosity problems is underway.
φ2 = − ; αw = ; αv = , Figure 2 shows a comparison with a fractal model
2Vw 2Vv RT RT
which is in a power-law form. It can be seen that the
Eq. (16) can be written as: proposed model presents a much better result, particu-
larly relating to the shape of the WRC. It demonstrates
Pc = φ0 + φ1 S + φ2 S 2 + Pw0 exp(αw S) an inflection point which is in agreement with the
experimental measurements.
− Pv0 exp(αv (1 − S)) (17) Figure 3 shows a comparison with two lognormal
PSD models which assume a linear and nonlinear rela-
Theoretically, Eq. (17) represents the water reten- tion between PSD and VSD, respectively. It can be seen
tion characteristic of porous media. The saturation that the proposed model is even better than the origi-
S need to be replaced using the effective saturation nal nonlinear model in the two cases, in particular on

678
 Table 1. Fitting Parameters for the Soil Sample in Fig. 1.

φ0 (cm) P0 (cm) α β Sr Ss

Hygiene
Sandstone −127.8 0.2289 5.07 5.715 0.15 0.25
Touchet
Silt Loam −209.8 0.2342 6.227 6.745 0.18 0.47
Silt Loam −255.5 2.048 4.728 7.223 0.131 0.396
Beit Netofa
Clay −5.375e-5 1489 0.13 5.342 0.0 0.446
Guelph
Loam
(drying) −98.69 3.673 3.166 5.726 0.218 0.52

(a) Fitting results use the proposed model

(b) Original data and modelling

Figure 2. Comparison with a fractal model (Xu & Dong P.

2004).

the side of low saturation where the accuracy improve-

ment is more significant. Because the pressure head
is presented in lognormal form, the fitting improve-
ment at the low saturation (high pressure head) side
will enhance the total accuracy significantly.
Figure 4 shows a comparison with the configuration-
Figure 1. WRCs for soils (van Genuchten 1980). based unit cell model. It can be seen that the proposed

679

Figure 3. Comparison with a lognormal PSD model
(Hwang & Choi 2006).
(a) Fitting results using the proposed model
(b) Original data and modelling
Figure 4. Comparison with a unit cell model (Tuller & Or
2002).
model works very well on both of the soil samples. The
fitted WRCs present a very good shape and accuracy
against the measurements.
4 CONCLUSIONS
This paper tried to explain the water retention char-
acteristic according to the physical and chemical
behaviours of the phases involved. The analysis, which
follows the capillary, interfacial surface theories and
680
volume averaging theorem, generates a determinis-
tic formula for the water retention characteristic of
unsaturated porous media. This formula demonstrates
the internal linkage between the WRCs and the ‘spe-
cific surface area’. Based on this formula, a simplified
fitting model has been proposed for the WRCs. Com-
pared with other main models, it has been shown that
this model is more accurate, particularly at the side of
low saturation or high pressure head.
REFERENCES
Assouline, S. & Tessier, D. 1998. A conceptual model of
the soil water retention curve. Water Resources Research
34(2): 223–231.
Bachmann, J. & van der Ploeg, R.R. 2002. A review on recent
developments in soil water retention theory: interfacial
tension and temperature effects. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.
165: 467–478.
Beliaev, A.Y. & Hassanizadeh, S.M. 2001. A theoretical
model of hysteresis and dynamic effects in the capillary
relation for two-phase flow in porous media. Transport in
Porous Media 43: 487–510.
Bradford, S.A. & Leij, F.J. 1997. Estimating interfacial areas
for multi-fluid soil systems. J. Comtam. Hydrol. 27:
83–105.
Cary, J.W. 1994. Estimating the surface area of fluid phase
interfaces in porous media. J. Comtam. Hydrol. 15:
243–248.
Chertkov, V.Y. 2004. A physically based model for the water
retention curve of clay pastes. Journal of Hydrology 286:
203–226.
Costanza-Robinson, M.S. & Brusseau, M.L. 2002. Air-
water interfacial areas in unsaturated soils: Evaluation
of interfacial domain. Water Resources Research 38(10):
13.1–13.17.
Dullien, F.A.L. 1991. Porous media fluid transport and pore
structure. Academic Press Inc. USA
Gray, W.G. & Hassanizadeh, S.M. 1998. Macroscale contin-
uum mechanics for multiphase porous-media flow includ-
ing phases, interfaces, common lines and common points.
Advances in Water Resources 21: 261–281.
Hwang, S. Il. & Choi, S. Il. 2006. Use of a lognormal dis-
tribution model for estimating soil water retention curves
from particle-size distribution data. Journal of Hydrology
323: 325–334.
Ippisch, O. et al. 2006. Validity limits for the van Genuchten-
Mulalem model and implications for parameter estimation
and numerical simulation. Advances in Water Resources
29: 1780–1789.
Iwamatsu, M. & Horii, K. 1996. Capillary condensation and
adhension of two wetter surfaces. Journal of Colloid and
Interface Science 182: 400–406.
Karkare M.V. & Fort T. (1996). Determination of the air-
water interfacial area in wet ‘unsaturated’ porous media.
Langmuir 12(8): 2041–2044.
Kim, H. & Rao, P.S. 1997. Determination of the effective air-
waterinterfacial area in partially saturated porous media
using surfactant adsorption. Water Resources Research
33(12): 2705–2711.
Kohne, J.M. & Gerke, H.H. 2002. Estimating the hydraulic
functions of dual-permeability models from bulk soil data.
Water Resources Research 38: 26.1–26.11.
Nordhaug, H.F. Celia, M. & Dahle, H.K. 2003. A pore
network model for calculation of interfacial velocities.
Advances in Water Resources 26: 1061–1074.
Petersen, L.W. Moldrup, P. Jacobsen, O.H. & Rolston, D.E.
1996. Relations between specific surface area and soil
physical and chemical properties. Soil Science 161: 9–12.
Tuli, A. Kosugi, K. & Hopmans, J.W. 2001. Simultaneous
scaling of soil water retention and unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity functions assuming lognormal pore-size dis-
tribution. Advances in Water Resources 24: 677–688.
Tuller, M. & Or, D. 2002. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
of structured porous media: A review of liquid configu-
ration-based models. Vadose Zone Journal 1: 14–37.
681
Tuller, M. Or, D. & Dudley L.M. 1999. Adsorption and
capillary condensation in porous media: Liquid retention
and interfacial configuration in angular pores. Water
Resources Research 35(7): 1949–1964.
van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A close-form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Soc. Am. J. 44: 892–898.
Wang, Y. Grove, S.M. & Anderson, M.G. 2008. A physical-
chemical model for the static water retention character-
istic of unsaturated porous media, Advances in Water
Resources (in press).
Xu, Y.F. & Dong, P. 2004. Fractal approach to hydraulic prop-
erties in unsaturated porous media. Chaos Solutions &
Fractals 19: 327–337.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Temperature effect on hydric behaviour for unsaturated deformable soils

S. Salager, M.S. El Youssoufi & C. Saix

Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil, Université Montpellier 2, France

ABSTRACT: Considering an unsaturated soil with pure water, the suction can be expressed with respect
to three independent variables: water content, void ratio, and temperature. From the expression of the total
differential of the suction, we propose a constitutive relation which links variations of suction, water content,
void ratio, and temperature. This relation allows the analysis of several particular cases. At constant temperature,
this relation could be represented by a characteristic surface in the parameter space (water content, suction, void
ratio). This surface, which reflects the hydro-mechanical couplings in soils, can be considered as a generalization
of the classical Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC). At constant suction, the constitutive relation allows
to predict the water content variations due to temperature changes. Thus, from a SWCC obtained at a given
temperature, the model can predict this curve for other temperatures. This model has been successfully tested
by the authors on experiments performed on two different materials.

1 INTRODUCTION model allowing to predict the effect of temperature on

The relationship between suction and soil water con-
tent is generally presented through the Soil Water
Characteristic Curve (SWCC); it is a fundamental
relation used to describe the hydric behaviour of unsat-
urated soils. The SWCC was widely studied during the
last decades: (i) fitting equation (Fredlund and Xing
1994), (ii) influence of soil compaction conditions
(Sugii et al. 2002); (Verbrugge and Fleureau 2001);
(Tarantino and Tombolato 2005); (iii) hysteresis mod-
elling (Pham et al. 2005) (iv) temperature influence
(Salager et al. 2006). Most of these authors present
the SWCC using the saturation degree or the water
content, but despite void ratio measurements in some
cases, very few models taking into account volume
changes have been proposed (Gallipoli et al. 2003);
(Salager 2007).
In the thermo-hydro-mechanical framework, a
complete characterization of the hydric behaviour
needs to use more complex tools than SWCC to take
into account hydro-mechanical and hydro-thermal
couplings. In this respect, this paper presents the devel-
opment of constitutive relations which lead to provide
a basis for analyzing the hydric behaviour of soil in a
thermo-hydro-mechanical framework.
At constant temperature, the constitutive relations
define the characteristic surface which reflects the
hydric behaviour of a soil taking into account hydro-
mechanical couplings. The equation of this surface has
been established in the case of a clayey silty sand from
250 experimental measurements. At constant suction,
the constitutive relations lead to a thermo-hydric
the SWCC. This model has been successfully tested by
the authors on experiments performed on two different
materials.
2 CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONS
To describe the evolution of the thermodynamic state
of an unsaturated soil, the most frequently used vari-
ables are volume strain εv = tr(ε), water content w
and temperature T . The volume strain, as usually in
soil mechanics, will be linked to the void ratio varia-
tions e through the relation e = −(1 + e0 )tr(ε).
The water content w could be substituted by the water
volume fraction θ, or the degree of saturation Sr . The
evolution of the thermodynamic state of a partially sat-
urated soil could be, consequently, described by means
of one of the three following sets of state variables:
− water volume fraction θ, temperature T and void
ratio e,
− water content w, temperature T and void ratio e,
− degree of saturation Sr , temperature T and void
ratio e.
The following theoretical developments are based on
the different expressions of the suction differential
with respect to the three variables of each set proposed
above. In addition, only monotonic drying hydric paths
are considered, permitting thus to avoid hysteresis
phenomena.

683
2.1 Suction differential with respect to θ , T , e the lack of information available in literature on this
parameter, it is assumed that the contact angle is only
The suction differential with respect to the set of
a function of the temperature. This leads to:
variables θ , T , e can be written:
 
      ∂φ dφ
∂s ∂s ∂s = (8)
ds = dθ + dT + de (1) ∂T θ,e dT
∂θ T ,e ∂T θ ,e ∂e θ ,T
The last term of equation (6) is the variation of the
In addition, the water volume fraction can be written mean pore radius due to the temperature. The water
as a function of the density of the solid phase ρs , the volume fraction and the void ratio remaining constant,
density of the liquid phase ρe , the water content w, and this term is equal to zero.
the void ratio: Finally, equation (6) is reduced to:
ρs w  
θ= (2) ∂s s dσs dφ
ρe (1 + e) = − s tan φ (9)
∂T θ,e σs dT dT
By introducing the volumetric thermal expansion coef-
ficient of water βe = − ρ1e dρe By introducing equations (3), (4) and (9) in equa-
dT and of the solid phase
tion (1), the final form of the suction differential is
βs = − ρ1s dρ
dT , the infinitesimal variation of θ
s
could be obtained:
written :  
∂s
ρs ρs w ds = dw
dθ = dw + (βe − βs )dT ∂w T ,e
ρe (1 + e) ρe (1 + e)   
ρs w ∂s s dσs dφ
− de (3) + w(βe −βs )+ −s tan φ dT
ρe (1 + e)2 ∂w T ,e σs dT dT
    
Equation (2) also allows to write: ∂s ∂s w
+ − de (10)
    ∂e θ,T ∂w T ,e (1 + e)
∂s ρe (1 + e) ∂s
= (4)
∂θ T ,e ρs ∂w T ,e
2.2 Suction differential with respect to w, T , e
In pendular and funicular domains, water is in a cap- and with respect to Sr , T , e
illary state, it is so justified to use Jurin’s law. This In the same way, the suction differential could be
law expresses the suction s as a function of the surface expressed with respect to the set of variables w, T , e:
tension of water σs , the mean pore radius r, and the
contact angle φ.  
∂s
ds = dw
2σs cos φ ∂w T ,e
s= (5)    
r s dσs dφ s ∂r
+ − s tan φ − dT
Equation 5 allows to write : σs dT dT r ∂T w,e
 
      ∂s
∂s s ∂σs ∂φ + de (11)
= − s tan φ ∂e w,T
∂T θ ,e σs ∂T θ ,e ∂T θ ,e
 
s ∂r and with respect to the set of variables Sr , T , e. The
− (6) final form obtained is always written with the same
r ∂T θ ,e
set of variables than equations (10) and (11):
The surface tension of pure water depends mainly on  
∂s
the temperature. Thus, it comes: ds = dw
∂w T ,e
  
∂σs dσs   
= (7) s dσs dφ s ∂r
∂T θ ,e dT + − s tan φ − dT
σs dT dT r ∂T w,e
The contact angle depends mainly on surface rough-     
∂s ∂s w
ness of solid phase, temperature, and meaning evo- + − de (12)
lution of the hydric state (wetting or drying). Given ∂e Sr ,T ∂w T ,e e

684
2.3 Parallel between the three developments angle variation at constant water content and
void ratio.
One can introduce in the three final equations obtained
from each of the three previous developments the 3.
notations below:     
    ∂s w ∂s
∂s ∂s Fe = − Fw =
Fw = ; FT = ; ∂e
θ,T (1 + e) ∂e T ,w
∂w T ,e ∂T w,e   
  ∂s w
∂s = − Fw (18)
Fe = (13) ∂e Sr ,T e
∂e T ,w
Fe is the function associated with the suction vari-
The identification between these three equations ation due to the void ratio variation at constant
(equations (10),(11), and (12)) leads to make explicit temperature and water content.
the state functions Fw , FT , and Fe .
The sets of variables which involves the water
1. content w is certainly the most appropriate for a com-
  parison with experimental results. It is in connection
∂s with the easy determination of w which requires only
Fw = (14)
∂w T ,e mass measurements, in opposition to water volume
fraction θ and degree of saturation Sr which require
Fw is a function associated with the suction varia- volume measurements. Nevertheless,
 ∂r  one can note the
∂s
tion due to the water content variation at constant difficulty to access the terms ∂T w,e
and ∂e θ,T
.
temperature and void ratio. For an undeformable Consequently to these two reasons, the following
media, this term is the inverse of the SWCC slope. final form will be retained for the suction differential
This function is negative because an increase of expression:
water content induces a decrease of suction.
2. ds = Fw dw
 
s dσs dφ
s dσs dφ + Fw w(βe − βs ) + − s tan φ dT
FT = Fw w(βe − βs ) + − s tan φ (15) σs dT dT
σs dT dT
  + Fe de (19)
s dσs dφ s ∂r
FT = − s tan φ − (16) Equation (19) defines an expression of the thermo-
σs dT dT r ∂T w,e
dynamic state evolution which links suction, water
content, temperature, and void ratio variations in the
One can deduce from equations (15) and (16),
general case. This expression will be used in the
a relation which links the volumetric thermal
following in different particular cases.
expansion coefficients of water and solid phase
to meniscus radius as well as its variation with
temperature. 2.4 Analysis of elementary cases
  Relation (19) can be used in the analysis of some
s ∂r elementary cases. This analysis, which allows the con-
− = Fw w(βe − βs ) (17)
r ∂T w,e sistency of the proposed expression to be confirm, is
based on the negative or positive sign of the three func-
From the equation (15), one can also define three tions Fw , FT and Fe . Accounting for the SWCC shape,
functions: the function Fw is negative. The derivative of the sur-
face tension with respect to temperature is negative,
− FT β = Fw w (βe − βs ) : which is the function and therefore the function FT is negative. To determine
associated with the suction variation due to the the variation of the function Fe , in a first approxima-
thermal expansion of liquid and solid phases at tion, one can consider a physical model composed by
constant water content and void ratio, two grains linked by a water meniscus. This function is
− FT σ = σss dσ s
dT : which is the function associ- determined at constant water content and temperature.
ated with the suction variation due to surface The meniscus water volume is constant. If the grains
tension variation at constant water content and are pulled aside to increase the void ratio, the menis-
void ratio, cus hollow increases leading a decrease of the radius
− FT φ = −s tan φ dφ
dT : which is the function asso- of curvature, and using the Jurin’s law, an increase of
ciated with the suction variation due to contact suction. Function Fe appears to be positive. Of course

685
a variation of void ratio induces in the soil more com-
plex phenomena but the characteristic surface that will
be presented later confirms the results obtains with this
simple physical model.
Six cases where two of the four variables s, T , w,
and e remain constant are presented here:
– Case 1, e and T constant: in this case, equation
(19) comes ds = Fw dw. Allowing that the function
Fw is negative, a water content increase leads to
a suction decrease. This is a classical result on the
variations of water content and suction in the case of
SWCC.
– Case 2, w and T constant: in this case, it comes ds =
Fe de. The function Fe is positive, and therefore void
ratio increase leads to a suction increase. This result
is also consistent because a void ratio increase at
constant water content leads to a decrease of the
degree of saturation Sr = Gs we and consequently a
suction increase.
– Case 3, e and w constant: in this case, it comes
ds = FT dT . The function FT being negative, a
temperature increase leads to a suction decrease.
This means that the temperature and suction vary
in opposite directions if the other variables are held
constant.
– Case 4, s and T constant: in this case, it comes
Fw dw + Fe de = 0. The function Fw being negative
and Fe positive, it is possible to infer that the void
ratio and the water content vary in the same direction
if the other variables remain constant. It means that
a void ratio increase should be concomitant with a
water content increase and vice versa.
– Case 5, e and s constant: in this case, it comes
Fw dw + FT dT = 0. The functions being negative,
it is possible to infer that a temperature increase
should be concomitant with a water content decrease
if the other variables remain constant.
function could be represented by a surface in the space
defined by the three variables.
This surface which gives the retention capacity of
the soil for any void ratio value could be named the Soil
Water Characteristic Surface (SWCS). This surface
has been established on a clayey silty sand in the case
of monotonic drying hydric paths. This soil is classi-
fied as SC-CL according to the USCS. The liquid and
plastic limits are respectively 25% and 14.5%. Sand,
silt, and clay fraction are 72%, 18%, and 10% respec-
tively. The clay fraction consists mainly of smectite,
chlorite, and phyllite.
Triplets (s, w, e) have been measured all along five
drying paths corresponding to five initial void ratios.
Each of these paths leads to 16 or 18 measurements
(s, w, e). Each measurement itself is the average of
the measurements done on three samples. Thus, the
whole measurements are related to a total of 150 sam-
ples. These experimental results can be fitted to an
analytical form of the characteristic surface which can
be written (Salager et al. 2007):
if w ≤ e/Gs ⇒ f = w − a · e − b · (1 − a · Gs ) = 0
e
if w ≥ e/Gs ⇒ f = w − =0 (21)
Gs
where a and b are characteristic functions of the soil
which depend on suction (a = a(s) and b = b(s)).
These functions could be modeled by means of rela-
tions derived from the following expression (Fredlund
and Xing 1994):
 ⎞
⎛
ln 1 + ssr x(0)
x(s) = ⎝1 −  ⎠   n  m
106
ln 1 + sr ln exp(1) + ss
i

– Case 6, w and s constant: in this case, it comes (22)

Fe de + FT dT = 0. The function Fe being posi-
tive and FT negative, it is possible to conclude that
void ratio and temperature vary in the same direc-
tion; it means that a temperature increase should be
concomitant with a void ratio increase if the other
variables remain constant.
where x(0) is the value of the function at saturation, sr ,
si , n and m are parameters adjusted from experimental
results. The characteristic surface of the clayey silty
sand is given in figure 1.
The characteristic surface equation allows to pro-
posed explicit expressions of the functions Fw and Fe :

3 CONCEPT OF CHARACTERISTIC SURFACE 1

Fw = ∂a ∂b
(23)
∂s (e − bGs ) + ∂s (1 − aGs )
At constant temperature, equation (19) leads to:
−a
Fe = ∂a
w  ∂b
(24)
ds = Fw dw + Fe de (20) ∂s a − b
a + ∂s (1 − aGs )

This equation shows, that at a temperature T0 , there Figure 2 represents the function Fw with respect to
exists a function f which links the variations of suction, suction and void ratio; Figure 3 represents the function
water content, and void ratio: f (s, w, e) = 0. This Fe with respect to suction and water content.

686

Figure 1. Characteristic surface of the clayey silty sand.
Figure 2. Fw evolution versus suction for different void
ratios.
Figure 3. Fe evolution versus suction for different water
contents.
4 PREDICTIVE EQUATION FOR
TEMPERATURE EFFECT ON SWCC
Several mechanisms can be proposed to explain the
influence of temperature on the unsaturated soil hydric
behaviour: thermal expansion of liquid and solid
phases, surface tension of water, and contact angle
variations (Bachmann and van der Ploeg 2002). The
equation of the thermodynamic state evolution (19)
takes into account all these phenomena.
687
To extract an equation of thermo-hydric evolution
from the equation 19, one can consider, in the case
of hydric loading path, a specified suction (s = cst,
ds = 0). During a thermo-hydric process, the void
ratio varies with suction and temperature. But it is
already established that temperature has only a neg-
ligible effect on void ratio, compared to the suction
effect (Francois et al 2007). In this case, specifying a
suction implies specifying the void ratio too. In this
condition, equation (19) could be reduced to a relation
between water content and temperature variations.
FT
dw = − dT (25)
Fw
In addition, there are few literature results concern-
ing contact angle but it is known that, in natural soil,
this angle and its variation versus temperature are
very limited (Bachmann et al. 2000). Thus, it will
not be taken into account. Futhermore, the volumet-
ric thermal expansion coefficient of the solid phase is
supposed to be negligible, compared with volumetric
thermal expansion coefficient of water. It comes a sim-
plified expression of the function FT and the explicit
expression of the equation of thermo-hydric evolution
could be written:
 
s dσs
dw = − wβe + dT (26)
Fw σs dT
βe and σs are water characteristics. Consequently,
the equation of thermo-hydric evolution (26) needs
only the knowledge of the function Fw . In the case of
undeformable media, this function simply correspond
to the inverse of the slope of the SWCC obtained at a
reference temperature. In the general case, Fw depends
on the suction and the void ratio. Consequently, its
determination needs the knowledge of the derivative
of the suction with respect to water content for each
void ratio value. In this case, a reference SWCC is not
sufficient. The approriate tool is the SWCS (Salager
et al. 2007).
The first media used to test the validity of the
equation of thermo-hydric evolution is a ceramic. Its
SWCC has been determinated experimentally for two
temperature: 20 and 60◦ C. The SWCC obtained at
20◦ C is taken as reference. The function Fw is cal-
culated from this curve. Using this function, equation
(26) allows to predict the SWCC at 60◦ C. Figure 4
shows the SWCC obtained for the ceramic. The solid
line represents the results corresponding to 20◦ C and
the dashed line reprensents the ones corresponding to
60◦ C. These curves are modelled from experimental
data using the fitting function of Fredlund and Xing
(Fredlund and Xing 1994). The line with circle rep-
resents the SWCC corresponding to 60◦ C calculated

Figure 4. SWCC for the ceramic; experiments and
modelling.
Figure 5. SWCC for the clayey silty sand; experiments and
modelling.
from the predictive model. In spite of a little devi-
ation around the slope changing of the curve, the
results coming from the experiments and from the
model are in good agreement for this material and
validate the predictive function (26) for undeformable
media.
Like it has been done for the ceramic, two series of
tests have been performed to determine the SWCC
corresponding to 20 and 60◦ C of the clayey silty
sand. This soil is deformable under hydric loading.
Consequently, hydro-mecanical couplings have to be
taken into account. The function Fw is calculated from
its SWCS established beforehand and presented in
Figure 1. Figure 5 shows the SWCC obtained for the
clayey silty sand. The graphic guidelines is the same
as for the ceramic. Concerning low suctions, the pre-
dictive model overestimates the temperature effect.
However, for the rest of the suction range, the pre-
dictive model permits a good prediction of the SWCC
at 60◦ C. This result validates the predictive function
(26) for deformable media.
688
5 CONCLUSIONS
This paper proposed a constitutive relation which leads
to a basis for the analyzis of the hydric behaviour of soil
in a thermo-hydro-mechanical framework. In particu-
lar, this relation introduces the concept of soil water
characteristic surface which appears to be relevant
to model volume changes in deformable unsaturated
soils. An example of soil water characteristic surface
was presented in the case of monotonic drying paths
for a clayey silty sand. This relation makes it possible
to define a predictive equation on temperature effect
on SWCC. This equation has been tested with success
on two materials.
REFERENCES
Bachmann, J., R. Horton, R. van der Ploeg, and S. Woche
(2000). Modified sessile drop method for assessing initial
soil-water contact angle of sandy soil. Soil Science Society
of America Journal 64, 564–567.
Bachmann, J. and R. van der Ploeg (2001). A review on recent
developments in soil water retention theory: interfacial
tension and temperature effects. Journal of Plant Nutrition
Soil Science 165, 468–478.
Francois, B., S. Salager, M. El Youssoufi, D. Ubals Picanyol,
L. Laloui, and C. Saix (2007). Compression tests on a
sandy silt at different suction and temperature level. In
CDrom, 10 pages, Denver. GeoDenver.
Fredlund, D. and A. Xing (1994). Equations for the soil-water
characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal
31(3), 521–532.
Gallipoli, D., S. Wheeler, and M. Karstunen (2003). Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Geotechnique 53(1), 105–112.
Pham, H., Fredlund, D. and Barbour, S. (2005). A study
of hysteresis models for soil-water characteristic curves.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 42, 1548–1568.
Salager, S. (2007). Etude de la rétention déau et de la consol-
idation des sols dans un cadre thermo-hydro-mécanique.
Ph. D. thesis, Université Montpellier 2.
Salager, S., M. El Youssoufi, and C. Saix (2007). Experi-
mental study of the water retention curve as a function of
void ratio. In CDrom, Denver, pp. 10. GeoDenver.
Salager, S., F. Jamin, M. El Youssoufi, and C. Saix (2006).
Influence de la température sur la courbe de rétention
d’eau. C.R. Mécanique 334, 393–398.
Sugii, T., K. Yamada, and T. Kondou (2002). Relationship
between soil-water characteristic curve and void ratio.
Volume 1, pp. 209–214. 3rd International Conference on
Unsaturated Soils: Swets and Zeitlinger.
Tarantino, A. and S. Tombolato (2005). Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Geotechnique 55(4), 307–317.
Verbrugge, J. and J. Fleureau (2002). Bases expérimentales
du comportement des sols non satur´es. In O. Coussy
and J. Fleureau (Eds.), Mécanique des sols non saturés,
pp. 69–112. Hermes.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A study of applied pressure on the Soil Water Characteristic Curve

J. Zhou
Geotechnical Engineering Institute, Civil Engineering Department, Zhejiang University, China

ABSTRACT: In order to study the influence of applied pressure on the Soil Water Characteristic Curve
(SWCC), samples with different initial void ratio/density were tested in a triaxial apparatus for unsaturated soil.
This paper focuses on the influence of pressure on SWCC and hydraulic hysteresis by analyzing the data reported
in the literature. Results show that the higher the pressure, the higher the saturation and the air-entry value. The
size of hysteresis loop becomes smaller with the applied pressure, which indicates that the effect of hydraulic
hysteresis on soil behavior gets smaller. Based on the study, the SWCC under different applied pressure can
be easily modeled since the same mathematical expression can be used due to little change in the shape. The
findings described in this paper can also be used as a proof of coupled effect of pressure and suction.

1 INTRODUCTION the effect of applied pressures on SWCC through the

The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) plays a
very important role in the behaviour of partially sat-
urated soils. A number of properties of a partially
saturated soil can be obtained from the SWCC, such
as the coefficient of permeability, shear strength and
volume strain, pore size distribution, the amount of
water contained in the pores at any suction.
Due to the enormous potential in application,
many researchers have proposed general mathemat-
ical expressions for SWCC, which suit various soil
types and have only a few parameters with clear
physical meaning. Models such as that of Gardner
(1956), Brooks & Corey (1964), Brutsaert (1966),
van Genuchten (1980), McKee & Bumb (1987),
Burdine (1953), Mualem (1976), Kosugi (1994),
Fredlund & Xing (1994) are widely used. However,
studies on this subject are still carried out, because
various factors influencing the SWCC have not
received much attention. Of those the applied pressure
is a crucial one. In the field, due to its depositional
history, soil normally experiences a certain stress,
which is recognized to have some influence on SWCC
(Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993).
The suction probe and the filter paper technique
are often used for determining a SWCC from uncon-
fined soil samples. Models based on these techniques
cannot consider the effect of applied pressure. How-
ever, preparing sample with different initial void
ratio/density or using modified triaxial tests can be
an alternative method. In fact it is neither possible nor
necessary to conduct tests under every condition, since
tests of SWCC are very time-consuming. Regard-
ing this, it is meaningful and worthwhile to study
existing data.
Hydraulic hysteresis is a significant characteristic
for partially saturated soil. When a soil is saturated or
de-saturated, the corresponding soil water character-
istic curve is different. This means that there is two
different degrees of saturation corresponding to the
same predetermined suction; one is on the drying path
and the other on the wetting path. How the pressure
affects hydraulic hysteresis is considered, as well as
its influence on a single drying/wetting curve. A mod-
ified mathematical expression is proposed to easily
simulate SWCC under different pressures.
2 EFFECT ON A SINGLE DRYING/WETTING
CURVE
As mentioned before, many current techniques for
determining SWCC are incapable of applying ver-
tical pressure on unsaturated soil. Some alternative
methods can be used; among which preparing spec-
imen with different initial void ratio is one of the
indirect ways.
2.1 Effect of initial void ratio
Kawai et al. (2000) used a silty clay to study the effect
of initial void ratio on the SWCC by oedometer appara-
tus, in which suction was applied by means of pressure
plate method. How air-entry value (AEV) changes
with void ratio is shown in Fig. 1. The AEV (denoted
SA in Fig. 1) reflects the magnitude of the capillary sat-
uration zone in a soil. The larger the bulk pore sizes,
the smaller the AEV. It can be seen that the smaller the

689

Figure 1. Relationship between void ratio and AEV (Kawai
et al., 2000).
Figure 2. SWCC for series 7–10 and 5–10 during first
drying and wetting (Jotisankasa, 2005).
initial void ratio (i.e. the denser the soil), the higher the
air-entry value, and the higher the residual degree of
saturation as well. The air-entry value and the residual
degree of saturation Sr0 can be expressed in terms of
void ratio e using empirical relationships.
The AEV is an important parameter for partially
saturated soils since the degree of saturation starts to
drop rapidly when the suction exceeds the AEV. There
is a large range of AEVs corresponding to different
void ratio values, as shown in Fig. 1. The denser the
soil the higher the AEV, which implies that for soils
with low void ratio values, if only small changes in
degree of saturation occurred at low suctions, the soil
can be simplified as fully saturated. This is a help-
ful assumption when dealing with soils from different
depths.
Jotisankasa (2005) also investigated the influence
of initial void ratio on SWCC. The soil was artificial
silty clay compacted dry of optimum. Fig. 2 shows
690
Figure 3. Soil-water characteristics for specimens com-
pacted at optimum water content (Vanapalli, Fredlund &
Pufahl, 1999).
the results of two series of samples, namely 7–10
and 5–10. The properties of the samples and the test
procedures can be referred to the original thesis.
All the samples in each series have nearly the same
moisture content, but different void ratio, as shown in
the legend in Fig. 2.
It is clear from the test results in Fig. 2 that, as the
void ratio becomes smaller, the hysteresis loops tend
to move to higher suctions on the Sr -suction plot. This
indicates the hysteresis loops should be dependent on
void ratio.
2.2 Effect of stress state
Vanapalli et al. (1996; 1998 and 1999) studied the
influence of total stress state on the SWCC of a
compacted fine-grained soil indirectly by pressure
plate apparatus. The concept of equivalent pressure
was used to represent different stress state.
The SWCCs for the specimens compacted at opti-
mum water content and with equivalent pressures of
25, 35, 80 and 200 kPa are shown in Fig. 3. It clearly
shows that the air-entry value of specimens increases
with increasing equivalent pressure. Specimens sub-
jected to higher equivalent pressure correspond to
higher saturation. The same conclusion can be drawn
from the results of different equivalent pressures dry
of optimum water content and wet of optimum water
contents. So as the pressure increases, SWCCs move
towards the right hand side with an increased value of
AEV (the air-entry value).
3 EFFECT ON HYDRAULIC HYSTERESIS
In the constitutive model considering hydraulic hys-
teresis proposed by Wheeler et al. (2003), the coupled
effect of stress and hydraulic hysteresis was simplified,
as shown in Fig. 4. The increased plastic volume strain,

Figure 4. Influence of plastic volumetric strain on primary
drying and primary wetting curve (Wheeler et al., 2003).
0.44
0.42
0.40
Volumetric water content
0.38
0.36 CDV-N1 (0kPa)
CDV-N2 (40kPa)
0.34
CDV-N3 (80kPa)
0.32
0.30
0.1 1 10
Matric suction (kPa)
Figure 5. Effect of stress state on SWCCs (Ng et al., 2000b).
which was induced by stress, caused the primary
drying and wetting curves to shift from the position
shown by the solid lines to that of chain-dotted lines. In
other words, the soil subjected to higher stresses will
have higher saturation. But no detail was presented
about how the stress influences the hysteresis loop
itself, i.e. will the loop change its size when subjected
to different stress.
To investigate this phenomenon, Ng and Pang
(2000) studied the influence of stress state on the
SWCC of an ‘‘undisturbed’’ or natural, completely
decomposed volcanic soil. A conventional volumet-
ric pressure plate extractor and a modified one were
used together. The SWCCs under different net normal
stress from their research are shown in Fig. 5.
It can be seen that soil specimens loaded to higher
net normal stress exhibit lower initial volumetric water
contents. The result implies that as matric suction
increases, the volumetric water content of the spec-
imen decreases, but at a different rate. The higher the
Figure 6. Results of bentonite/kaolin (Sharma, 1998).
applied load, the lower the rate of reduction in volumet-
ric water content. In the end all three wetting curves
shift to the positions lower than the original. Fig. 5 also
shows that the size of these loops becomes smaller with
stresses.
The point where the volumetric water content starts
to decrease significantly indicates the air-entry value.
A general tendency that soil specimens subjected to
higher stress exhibits higher air-entry values, which is
related to the presence of a smaller average pore sizes
distribution in soil specimens under higher load, can
be observed.
Testing data reveal that stress history or applied
stresses seem to have little effect on the shape of
SWCC. This is good news for mathematical modeling.
100 1000 Sharma (1998) conducted suction tests on ben-
tonite/kaolin samples with the same maximum suc-
tion 400 kPa under different compaction pressures of
400 kPa, 800 kPa and 3200 kPa. Results are shown
in Fig. 6. Results demonstrate that with the increase
of the compaction pressure, the size of hysteresis loop
gets smaller. Since the sample is expansive soil, its
behavior is expected to be a little different from non-
expansive soil. However the general tendency shows
that the degree of saturation gets higher with pres-
sure. This conclusion agrees with what Vanapalli et al.
(1999) gained for a single drying/wetting path and
Ng et al. (2000b) for drying-wetting cycle.
4 MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION
From the above results, the shape of SWCC can be
assumed not significantly affected by pressure. Hence
the same mathematical expression for zero pressure
can be chosen while using different parameters. For
example if using the van Genuchten model, a differ-
ent set of parameters can be used for the drying curve
and the wetting curve to simulate hydraulic hystere-
sis. If considering the effect of pressure on SWCC,
a simple modification can be made by either relating
691

Figure 7. SWCC changing with applied pressure (only m
changing with pressure).
the m parameter, or m and a parameters to the pres-
sure, while keeping the remnant unchanged, since m
is related to the asymmetry of the curve and a shifts
the curve towards the higher or lower suction regions
of the plot, but does not affect the curve shape.
If only considering the m parameter changing with
pressure, the following modification can be used:
m = m[(1 − r) exp(−βp) + r] (1)
where m is the original parameter in van Genuchten’s
model and m is the modified parameter. r and β
are best-fitting parameters for a certain soil. p is
the applied pressure. Assuming m = 1, n = 1.5,
a = 0.00013, r = 0.26 and β = 0.0164 and only
considering modified parameter m changing with
pressure, results in Fig. 7 show that the influence of
pressure is significant at lower values and becomes
smaller at higher values. At lower pressure values
the gradient of the change in degree of saturation
is significant, while it reduces with the increase of
pressure. The air-entry value is increased with pres-
sure. This is consistent with what was observed for
non-expansive soils. As for expansive soil, different
modifications may be preferred since the soil behaves
in a different way. In modeling hydraulic hystere-
sis, parameters in two sets (one for drying curve and
another for wetting curve) both need to be modified.
Following the same concept, other models can also be
modified.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The influence of applied pressure on SWCC was
investigated from existing published data. Single dry-
ing/wetting curves and hysteresis loops were both
studied. It can be seen that a higher pressure leads to
a high air-entry value and a high degree of saturation.
When applying different pressures p1 , p2 and p3 ,
the primary drying and wetting curves will shift and
692
Figure 8. Illustration of SWCC changing with different
applied pressure.
change, as illustrated in Fig. 8. With the increase of
applied pressures, a) the size of the hysteresis loop
becomes smaller; b) the slope of SWCC becomes flat-
ter; c) the degree of saturation gets higher. Results
here clearly demonstrate that the coupled movement
of SWCC and the volumetric stain, shown in Fig. 4,
need to be modified.
The shape of SWCC is not strongly influenced by
the applied pressure, so the same mathematical expres-
sion can be applied after modifying the parameters.
This provides a convenient way for modeling. A sim-
ple expression of relating m parameter with applied
pressure by using van Genuchten’s model is presented.
More tests on different soils and with large stress
range are necessary. Further numerical analyses to
verify the conclusions are also needed. Conclusions
obtained in this paper are not only useful for mathemat-
ical modeling of SWCC under different pressure, but
also helpful for the validation of coupled effect of suc-
tion and applied pressure when dealing with hydraulic
hysteresis in constitutive modeling.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Financial support from China Scholarship Council
through Grant No.22833012 and from Chinese Edu-
cation Ministry for overseas scholars is gratefully
acknowledged. The author also acknowledges the New
Star Project of Zhejiang University for its support, as
well as the support and help from the host Imperial
College, London, and in particular Prof. David M.
Potts & Dr. Lidija Zdravkovic.
REFERENCES
Brooks, R. & Corey, A. 1964. Hydraulic Properties of Porous
Media, Hydrology Paper No.3. Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, CO.
Brutsaert, W. 1966. Probability laws for pore size distribu-
tion. Soil Science, 101:85–92.
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics for
Unsaturated Soils. New York: Wiley.
Fredlund, D.G. & Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil-water
characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 31:
521–532.
Gardner, W. 1956. Mathematics of isothermal water condi-
tion in unsaturated Soils. Highway research board special
report 40 international symposium on physico-chemical
phenomenon in soils: 78–87. Washington D.C.
Jotisankasa, A. 2005. Collapse behaviour of a compacted
silty clay. PhD thesis, Imperial college, London.
Kawai, K., Karube, D. & Kato, S. 2000. The model of
water retention curve considering effects of void ratio.
In: Rahardjo, H., Toll, D.G. & Leong, E.C. (Eds.), Unsat-
urated Soils for Asia: 329–334. Rotterdam: Balkema.
McKee, C. & Bumb, A. 1987. Flow-testing coalbed methane
production wells in the presence of water and gas. SPE
Formation Evaluation 10: 599–608.
Mualem, Y. 1976. A new model for predicting the
hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.
Water Resources Research 12: 593–622.
Ng, C.W.W. & Pang, Y.W. 2000. Influence of stress state
on soil-water characteristics and slope stability. Journal
of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
126 (2): 157–166.
693
Sillers, W.S., Fredlund, D.G. & Zakerzadeh, N. 2001,
Mathematical attributes of some soil-water characteristic
curve models. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering
19: 243–283.
Vanapalli, S.K., Fredlund, D.G., Pufahl, D.E. & Clifton, A.W.
1996. Model for the prediction of shear strength with
respect to soil suction. Canadian Geotechnical Journal
33: 379–392.
Vanapalli, S.K., Pufahl, D.E. & Fredlund, D.G. 1998. The
meaning and relevance of residual water content to unsat-
urated soils. Proceedings of 51st Canadian Geotechnical
Conference: 101–108, Edmonton, AB.
Vanapalli, S.K., Pufahl, D.E. & Fredlund, D.G. 1999. The
influence of soil structure and stress history on the soil-
water characteristic of a compacted till. Geotechnique
49 (2): 143–159.
van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed form equation predict-
ing the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil
Science Society of America Journal 44: 892–898.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharama, R.J. & Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behavior in
unsaturated soils. Geotechnique 53(1): 41–54.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Outline of the modelling of the excavated damaged zone

in geological barriers

C. Arson
CERMES, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, France

B. Gatmiri
University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
CERMES, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, France

ABSTRACT: This paper deals with the modelling of the massif neighbouring a nuclear waste repository before
waste disposal. The main features of micromechanical and phenomenological damage modelling are reviewed.
Flow computation tools provided by fracture network representations are also presented. A mixed damage model
is developed for unsaturated porous media in isothermal conditions. It is formulated in independent state variables
(net stress and suction), in order to be implemented in -Stock finite element software.

1 INTRODUCTION is assumed that stresses are redistributed due to a

Damage in unsaturated media is generally tackled
either through purely mechanical theories or merely
hydraulic flow representations. In the unsaturated
Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ) surrounding an
empty nuclear waste repository, suction effects are
combined with mechanical loading and fracturing.
This induces complex coupled behaviour laws. It
is thus necessary to combine Continuum Damage
Mechanics concepts and fracture flow data in order
to achieve a good representation of the EDZ. A rel-
evant mechanical damage model has to be extended
from dry to unsaturated materials, and damage has to
be introduced in the formulas quantifying the flow in
a porous medium. Firstly, the principles of microme-
chanical and phenomenological damage theories are
reviewed. Secondly, the main highlights provided by
hydraulic flow models are presented. Lastly, a damage
model is proposed to extend the model of unsatu-
rated soil programmed in -Stock software (Gatmiri
1997, Jenab-Vossoughi 2000) to fractured unsaturated
porous materials.
decrease of the effective material area. Stress-strain
relationships are thus written in terms of effective (or
damaged) variables. The stress that develops in the
fictive undamaged counterpart of the system is named
the damaged stress σ̂, and is usually defined by means
of a specific damaged stress operator M():
σ̂ = M() : σ (1)
where  is the damage variable, which may be a tensor.
The damaged stress concept is often combined to the
Principle of Equivalent Elastic Energy (PEEE) to com-
pute the damaged rigidity tensor De (). As recalled in
Hansen & Schreyer (1994), this approach consists in
postulating that the elastic energy of the intact mate-
rial submitted to the damaged stress σ̂ is equal to the
elastic energy of the damaged material submitted to
the real stress σ :
We (σ̂ ,  = 0) = We (σ , ) (2)

2 CONTINUUM-BASED DAMAGE THEORIES which results in:

2.1 Micromechanical concepts De () = M()−1 : D0e : M()−T (3)

Micromechanical damage theories consist in modelling
the influence of local damage on the macro-mech-
anical behaviour. Damage variables have a physical
meaning related to the degradation of elastic properties
or to the characteristics of the fracture network. It
D0e denotes the intact rigidity tensor. The definition of
a damaged stress provides a framework to determine
the damaged mechanical properties of the material.

695
However, damage remains an abstract notion,
represented by its influence on behaviour laws.
That is why in some models, damage is also given
a physical meaning, generally related to fracturing.
Cracks of close orientations are often gathered in
‘‘families’’ (Swoboda & Yang, 1999, Shao et al.,
2005a). Supposing for example that the material is
fractured in three principal directions, ni , the damage
variable  can be written as a diagonal tensor whose
eigenvalues di represent crack densities:
3 system. The gradient of damage plays the same role
= di ni ⊗ ni (4)
i=1
Adopting the definition 4 implies that damage can
be quantified by three fictive homogenized fractures
characterized by a normal vector ni and a relative
volume di .
2.2 Phenomenological frames
Energy considerations are particularly suited to model
dissipative phenomena such as damage and plasticity.
Thermodynamic potentials are given specific forms.
The resolution of the problem of maximum dissipa-
tion makes it possible to deduce the behaviour, flowing
and hardening/softening laws. The model is thus auto-
matically thermodynamically consistent. Moreover,
the manipulation of huge quantities of microscopic
parameters is avoided, which accelerates numerical
computations. In many models, the expression of
the free energy is chosen depending on the expected
behaviour law (Svedberg & Runesson, 1997; Homand-
Etienne et al., 1998; Menzel & Steinmann, 2001;
Shao et al., 2005a,b). Formulations starting from the
Principle of Virtual Power (Frémond & Nedjar, 1995;
Pires-Domingues et al., 1998; Nedjar, 2001; Zhao
et al., 2005) can encompass an enrichment of the mate-
rial’s structure, implying the definition of higher-order
stresses and specific boundary conditions.
In phenomenological damage models, dissipation
variables νi (x) are generally assumed to have the
dimension of strains. In this case, it is possible to
define stress-like variables conjugated to νi (x) through
the free energy. The evolution laws of the dissipation
variables νi (x) are then deduced from the deriva-
tion of a given dissipation potential, relatively to the
stress-like conjugates of the νi (x). Alternatively, yield
functions (fd ) have to be defined. If flow rules are
non-associated, additional damage potentials have to
be expressed. The damage multiplier increment (λ̇d ) is
computed by means of the consistency equation. The
complementary conditions of Kuhn-Tucker have also
to be met:
λ̇d ≥ 0, fd ≤ 0, λ̇d fd = 0 (5)
696
Some conditions on the form of the internal power
density may be set before assuming the expression of
the free energy. By doing so, it is possible to change the
global form of the Principle of Virtual Power, which
influences the formulation of the balance equations.
Moreover, the model of the material structure may
be affected by the introduction of gradient variables
in the expression of the internal power. For exam-
ple, Frémond (Frémond & Nedjar, 1996) enriched the
structure of the medium by introducing the gradient of
damage in the expression of the internal power of the
as the gradient of macrodeformations in the theory of
Germain (Germain, 1973). Its introduction requires
the definition of higher-order terms in the application
of the Principle of Virtual Power. Other researchers
followed the same reasoning, like Pires-Domingues
(Pires-Domingues et al., 1998), who studied non-
linear elastic brittle materials, and Nedjar (Nedjar,
2001), who coupled the damage model of Frémond to
an elastoplastic theory. Zhao and his co-workers (Zhao
et al., 2005) based their model of coupled plasticity
and damage on a second gradient theory, including
the gradient of deformations in the internal power and
the gradient of the hardening variable in the expression
of the free energy.
3 HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF AN INTACT
POROUS MEDIUM
Many flow theories are based on the van Genuchten-
Mualem model (van Genuchten, 1980). Originally,
the purpose of this model was to give a framework
to determine the hydraulic retention and conductivity
properties of an unsaturated medium of heterogeneous
porosity. Van Genuchten thus considered that a sin-
gle porous network drove the flow. In multimodal or
multi-continua models, each porous system is charac-
terized by a set of hydraulic relations, which may be
chosen similar to van Genuchten’s. But to represent
the global hydraulic behaviour of the Representa-
tive Volume Element (RVE), an equivalent medium
has to be defined. The equivalent hydraulic proper-
ties of the RVE are deduced from a homogenisation
technique.
Using the van Genuchten-Mualem model to study
a fractured porous medium amounts to considering
that cracks and matrix pores are all connected and
form a unique network, of space-variable pore size.
Moreover, a Bell-type relation is assumed between
the adimensional water content (h) and pressure
head h:
 −m
(h) = 1 + (αh)n (6)
in which the adimensional water content is defined as:
θw (h) − θwr
(h) = (7)
θws − θwr
θwr and θws are the residual and saturated water con-
tents respectively. α is the pore size for which pore
density is maximal. The α parameter thus gives an idea
of the more frequent pore size characterizing the mate-
rial. m and n control the distribution extent towards
a fine or coarse medium. Resorting to Mualem’s
integral formula, the relative water permeability is
defined as:
⎡3 ⎤2
(h) 1
dx
kR ((h)) = [(h)]1/2 ⎣ 3 1 ⎦
0 h(x)
(8)
1
0 h(x) dx
The integration scheme imposes that:
1 permeability is defined as:
m =1− , 0<m <1 (9)
n
Taking the inverse of relation 6 leads to:
"  m #2
kR ((h)) = [(h)]1/2 1 − 1 − [(h)]1/m
(10)
4 HYDROMECHANICAL COUPLINGS
IN A FRACTURED POROUS MEDIUM
Continuum Damage Mechanics describes the degraded
mechanical behaviour of the rock mass. Flow net-
work theories predict water transfers, considering only
hydraulic parameters. The main issue in modelling
the EDZ is thus to combine hydromechanical and
damage concepts in a single theory. A fully thermo-
hydro-mechanical coupled model for unsaturated soils
has been implemented in the finite element software
-Stock. The integrated formulation is based on the
use of independent variables (suction and net stress)
and on the introduction of state surfaces for the void
ratio and the saturation degree. The elasto-plastic
Barcelona model (Alonso et al., 1990) has been modi-
fied to include temperature effects (Gatmiri & Delage,
1995: Gatmiri, 1997: Gatmiri & Delage, 1997: Jenab-
Vossoughi, 2000). The aim of the following section
is to propose a fully coupled hydromechanical dam-
age model, which would conform to the formulation
adopted in -Stock.
4.1 Introducing damage in hydraulic properties
Some damage models introduce a damage dependency
in the expression of permeability (Yang et al., 2007,
697
Shao et al., 2005b). But the given formulas gener-
ally involve mechanical parameters only. In fact, the
computed permeability reduces to the intrinsic com-
ponent of absolute permeability. It is possible to define
the absolute permeability of an unsaturated damaged
medium as the product of a damaged intrinsic per-
meability with a van Genuchten-Mualem type relative
permeability (van Genuchten 1980):
K abs (ε, , ) = k rel ()k int (ε, ) (11)
The relative permeability k rel () is only related to
interstitial fluids, and does not depend on damage.
The intrinsic permeability k int (ε, ) characterizes the
damaged solid part of the medium, and takes irre-
versible fracturing and path orientation into account.
In -Stock, the strain dependency reduces to a porosity
(n) dependency. For an undamaged unsaturated mate-
rial subjected to isothermal conditions, the intrinsic
k int (n,  = 0) = k0 · 10αk ·e Id (12)
k0 is a reference permeability and αk is a material
parameter. e is the void ratio, defined by a state surface
depending on stress and suction (Gatmiri & Delage,
1995).
To extend the model to a damaged unsaturated
material, it is proposed to split the intrinsic perme-
ability as follows:
k int n,  = k1 nrev ,  + k2 nfrac ,  (13)
nrev represents the reversible evolution of volumetric
deformations, including crack closing. As the dam-
age model induces a dependency between strains and
damage, the reversible component of the intrinsic per-
meability k1 depends not only on reversible porosity
nrev , but also on damage .
By analogy with the formulas adopted in -Stock, the
following expression is chosen:
 
k1 nrev ,  = k0 · 10αk ·e Id
rev
(14)
erev is the void ratio deduced from the computation of
reversible deformations.
nfrac refers to the porosity generated by fracturing.
Damage is defined by means of a formula similar
to expression 4. It is thus assumed that three main
families of cracks damage the RVE chosen to study
the massif. Following the reasoning of Shao and his
co-workers (Shao et al., 2005b), it is supposed that
cracks are penny-shaped planes of radius rk , of open- effects in the constitutive stress relation. Capillarity
ing ek and of normal direction nk , in which the effects on deformation are neglected. Damage growth
interstitial liquid flows in the direction parallel to the is still synonymous with fracturing increase. Defect
plane. Applying the Navier-Stokes formulas to com- initiation or crack aperture generates a rise of pore
pute the celerity of the flow in the fracture network size at the scale of the global network of the equiva-
frac
(vw ) provides: lent medium. Bigger pores induce smaller capillarity
effects, and consequently, a weaker rigidity (Gatmiri,
1997). Conversely, suction is work-conjugated to
w =
vfrac
 
the quantity nSw (Houlsby, 1997), which originates
1 π
3   hydraulic effects in the mechanical behaviour. That
− · · rk · ek · δ − nk ⊗ nk
2 3
· ∇pw is why a formulation based on net stress and suc-
12μw a3
k=1 tion might be more satisfying from a conceptual point
(15) of view. To the authors’ knowledge, formulations
based on net stress and suction for damage models of
μw is the dynamic viscosity of the interstitial liquid, a unsaturated media do not exist in the current literature.
is the characteristic dimension of the RVE, and pw Lu and his co-workers (Lu et al., 2006) proposed
is the interstitial liquid pressure. Like in the other splitting total stresses σa into a relatively damaged part
behaviour models programmed in -Stock, the liquid
σd and a relatively intact part σi :
transfer is assumed to be diffusive, and the Darcy law
is adopted:
  σa = (1 − ω)σi + ωσd (19)
  pw
vfrac = −k2 n , · ∇
frac
+z (16)
w
γw ω is a scalar (isotropic) damage variable supposed to
depend on suction s and deviatoric strains εs :
in which γw is the volumetric weight of the interstitial
liquid, and z denotes the vertical coordinate, oriented dω = L1 (εs , s) : dε + L2 (εv , s) ds (20)
positively upward. Equations 15 and 16 result in the
following expression for the irreversible component of
the intrinsic permeability: εv refers to volumetric strains. Contrary to a mere
effective stress concept, the damaged regions of
  the material are still submitted to stresses, even if
k2 nfrac ,  these ‘‘damaged stresses’’ σd do not follow the same
3   stress/strain relations than the ‘‘undamaged stresses’’
γw π σi . The damage threshold is supposed to be reached
= · · rk · ek · δ − nk ⊗ nk
2 3
(17)
12μw a3 before the plastic threshold. Accordingly, Lu affected
k=1
a non-linear elastic behaviour law to the intact stresses
and an elasto-plastic Barcelone-like behaviour law to
4.2 Extending damage models to unsaturated
the damaged stresses:
materials
Damage modelling in unsaturated materials is fre- dσi = De : dε + Dse ds (21)
quently based on Biot’s theory. Most approaches
combine a micromechanical definition of damage  dσd = Dep : dε + Dsep ds (22)
with a postulate on the expression of the free energy
F(ε, ) (Shao et al., 2005a). The constitutive relation
De and Dep are respectively the elastic and elastoplas-
has the following general expression:
tic mechanical rigidity tensors, and Dse and Dsep are
⎛ ⎞
∂F(ε, )   respectively the elastic and elastoplastic suction rigid-
dσ = d ⎝ ⎠ − b Sw dpw + (1 − Sw ) dpg · Id
∂ε ity tensors. Considering equation 19, the evolution of
total stresses would be written:
(18)
dσa = (1 − ω)dσi + ωdσd + σr dω (23)
b is Biot’s hydromechanical coupling parameter, pg
is the gas pressure, and Sw denotes the liquid saturation
degree. Adopting such a representation of stress makes in which the stress difference σr = σd − σi rep-
it possible to uncouple poromechanical and damage resents the transition between relatively intact and

698
relatively broken states. The increment of total stress The reversible strains associated with suction εrev
s
are
is determined by combining equations 23, 21, 22 and calculated by an energy method. The free energy of
20. Supposing that strain and suction change con- the skeleton contained in the RVE is split:
sistently during loading in the relatively intact and ⎧      
relatively damaged regions, it is possible to simplify ⎪
⎪ F ε, s,  = Fed ε ,  + Fpe εrev , s, 
the constitutive relation into a general expression of ⎪
⎨ M
the type: dε = dεrev + dεd (28)
⎪
⎪ M M
⎪
⎩ dεrev = dεrev + dεrev
dσa = Dedmg : dε + Dsdmg ds (24) M S
 
Fed ε ,  is related to the degraded mechanical
Dedmg and Dsdmg denote the elastoplasticity damage M  
behaviour of the material, and Fpe εrev , s,  corre-
rigidity tensors associated with strain and suction
respectively. The model of Lu and his co-workers sponds to the poroelastic aspect
 of themodel. A partial
(Lu et al., 2006) can easily be extended to anisotropic Legendre transform of Fpe εrev , s,  gives:
damage. However, the approach is merely microme-
chanical and thermodynamic requirements are not ⎛    
considered. Fpe εrev , s,  + Gpe σ , s,  = σ : εrev
In -Stock, the behaviour laws of unsaturated ⎜  
⎜
media are formulated in net stress σ = σ − pg · Id ⎜ ∂Fpe εrev , s, 
⎜
and suction s = pg − pw . Corresponding to the chosen ⎜ σ =
⎜ ∂εrev (29)
stress state variables, strain components are defined as ⎜
⎜  
follows (Gatmiri 1997, Gatmiri & Delage 1997): ⎜ ∂Gpe σ , s, 
⎜
⎝ εrev =
⎧ ∂σ
⎪
⎪ dε = dε + dε
⎪
⎨ M S
dε = D−1e : dσ

(25)
⎪
⎪
M Equation 28 shows that εrev can be deduced from
⎪
⎩ dε = D−1
s · ds
S
S εrev and εrev . εrev is known by applying the PEEE to
M M
a Cordebois-Sidoroff type damage model (equations
De is the standard stiffness tensor, and Ds is defined as 26, 3 and 27). εrev can be computed by derivation
a rigidity associated to suction. An irreversible defor- of a given poroelastic Gibbs free energy Gpe (σ , s, )
mation εd related to damage is added, and it is assumed (equation 29). Following the reasoning usually
that the reversible strains also depend on damage: adopted in the models programmed in -Stock, it is
assumed that the deformation related to suction εrev
⎧ S
⎪ dε = dεrev + dεrev + dεd is isotropic (Gatmiri, 1997, Jenab-Vossoughi, 2000).
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎨
M
 S−1 It is expressed as:
dε = De 
rev
: dσ (26)
⎪
⎪ M
 −1  −1
⎪
⎪
⎩ dεrev = Ds  · ds dεrev = βs s,  · Id · ds (30)
S S

Assuming the existence of a damage yield function The rigidity associated to suction Ds () is thus repre-
fd , the irreversible strain increment dεd is computed sented by a scalar modulus βs (s, ). Only the knowl-
by means of an associative flow rule. The damaged edge of the volumetric part (εrev
S )v of the deformations
rigidity tensor De () is determined by applying the related to suction is needed to complete the behaviour
PEEE (equation 3). The classical Cordebois-Sidoroff laws:
damaged stress operator M() is adopted:
1  
dεrev = · d εrev
S v · Id
   −1/2  −1/2 S 3
σ̂ = M  : σ = Id −  · σ · Id −  1      
= · d εrev v − d εrev
M v · Id (31)
(27) 3

699
  
d εrev
M v can be deduced from ε . The resulting
rev
start from a postulate about the expression of the free
M
expression is of the following type (Gatmiri 1997): energy of the medium.
Saturation variations around galleries hugely influ-
   −1 ence the Excavation Damaged Zone. That is why
d εrev 
M v = K σ , dp (32) damage has to be included in hydraulic transfer models
and mechanical damage theories have to be extended
in which K(σ , ) is the degraded compressive to unsaturated porous media.
Most of the hydro-mechanical models of damage
modulus and p is the mean net stress. The are based on a Biot’s representation of stresses, defined
requirements on the poroelastic Gibbs free energy for saturated soils. This theoretical frame cannot rep-
Gpe (σ , s, ) reduce to a relation of the form: resent the effect of damage on suction rigidity, as is
done in the -Stock software. A fully coupled formu-
⎛  ⎞ lation based on net stress and suction state variables

  ∂G pe
p , s, 
⎜ ⎟ may give a more complete description of damage in
d εrev v = d ⎝ ⎠ (33) the EDZ. That is why, in the continuity of the works
∂p
of Gatmiri’s research team, a model based on an addi-
tive breakdown of strains is proposed, to extend the
By analogy with the model presented by Jenab (Jenab- behaviour laws existing for intact unsaturated soils to
Vossoughi 2000), the following formula is proposed: fractured unsaturated porous media. Water transfers
are also made dependent on damage by a double split
 
1 of permeability. The intrinsic permeability, represent-
∂Gpe p , s,   −1
ing the solid contribution, is written as the sum of a
= K σ ,  dp
∂p reversible component and an irreversible component,
  both related to damage. The main difficulty of such an
ks ŝ + patm
+ · ln (34) approach lies in the evaluation of suction rigidity, the
1 + e0 ŝg + patm definition of which remains rather abstract.

ks is a compression modulus associated to suction

effects in the reversible domain, e0 is the initial void
ratio, and patm refers to the atmospheric pressure.
A damaged suction ŝ is defined, in the same way as
damaged stresses (equation 1). ŝg is the biggest dam-
aged suction ever submitted to the material. It is the
equivalent of a consolidation stress. Equations 28, 32,
33 and 34 lead to:
 
 rev  ks 1 ∂ ŝ s, 
d εS v = · · · ds (35)
1 + e0 ŝ + patm ∂s
As explained before, the expression of the damaged
suction ŝ(s, ) can be deduced from a relation of the
type of equation 1, which enables the full calculation
of expression 35. Equations 26, 31 and 35 sum up
the hydromechanical damage model proposed here for
-Stock software in unsaturated and isothermal con-
ditions. Water transfers are also coupled to damage
(equations 11, 10, 13, 14, 17).
5 CONCLUSIONS
A representation of damage is required to predict the
evolution of fracturing in the neighbourhood of exca-
vated galleries. Micromechanical models are based on
effective mechanical concepts, crack characteristics
and fracturing criteria. Phenomenological approaches
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is supported by the European project TIMO-
DAZ (Thermal Impact On the Damaged Zone around
nuclear waste disposals in clay host rocks), launched
by EURATOM.
REFERENCES
Alonso, Gens & Josa. 1990. A constitutive model for partially
saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40, 3, 405–430.
Frémond & Nedjar. 1996. Damage, gradient of damage and
principle of virtual power. Int. J. Solids Structures, 33, 8,
1083–1103.
Gatmiri. 1997. Analysis of fully coupled behaviour of unsat-
urated porous media under stress, suction and temperature
gradient. In: CERMES final report, 58p.
Gatmiri & Delage. 1995. Nouvelle formulation de la surface
d’état en indice des vides pour un modèle non linéaire élas-
tique des sols non saturés—Code U-Dam. In: Alonso &
Delage (eds), Proc. Unsaturated Soils: 1049–1056 (in
French).
Gatmiri & Delage. 1997. A formulation of fully cou-
pled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of saturated
porous media—numerical approach. Int. J. for Numer-
ical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 21, 3,
199–225.
Germain. 1973. La méthode des puissances virtuelles en
mécanique des milieux continus. Première partie: Théorie
du second gradient. Journal de mécanique, 12, 2, 235–274
(in French).

700
Hansen & Schreyer. 1994. A thermodynamically consistent
framework for theories of elastoplasticity coupled with
damage. Int. J. Solids Structures, 31, 3, 359–389.
Homand-Etienne, Hoxha & Shao. 1998. A continuum dam-
age constitutive law for brittle rocks. Computers and
Geotechnics, 22, 2, 135–151.
Houlsby. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated granular
material. Technical Note. Géotechnique, 47, 1, 193–196.
Jenab-Vossoughi. 2000. Etude numérique de la modélisation
thermo-élasto-plastique des sols non saturés. PhD disser-
tation, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris. (in
French).
Lu, Chen, Fang, Guo & Zhou. 2006. Structural damage
model of unsaturated expansive soil and its application
in multi-field couple analysis on expansive soil slope.
Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English edition),
27, 7, 891–900.
Menzel & Steinmann. 2001. A theoretical and computational
framework for anisotropic continuum damage mechan-
ics at large strains. International Journal of Solids and
Structures, 38, 9505–9523.
Nedjar. 2001. Elastoplastic-damage modeling including
the gradient of damage: formulation and computational
aspects. Int. J. Solids and Struct., 38, 5421–5451.
Pires-Domingues, Costa-Mattos & Rochinha. 1998. Mod-
elling of nonlinear damage on elastic brittle materials.
Mechanics Research Communications, 25, 2, 147–153
701
Shao, Ata & Ozanam. 2005a. Study of desaturation and
resaturation in brittle rock with anisotropic damage.
Engineering Geology, 81, 341–352.
Shao, Zhou & Chau. 2005b. Coupling between anisotropic
damage and permeability variation in brittle rocks. Inter-
national Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in
Geomechanics, 29, 1231–1247.
Svedberg & Runesson. 1997. A thermodynamically consis-
tent theory of gradient-regularized plasticity coupled to
damage. Int. J. of Plasticity, 13, 6–7, 669–696.
Swoboda & Yang. 1999. An energy-based damage model of
geomaterials. II. Deduction of damage evolution laws. Int.
J. Solids and Struct., 36, 1735–1755.
van Genuchten. 1980. A closed-form equation for predict-
ing the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil
Science Society of America Journal, 44, 892–898.
Yang, Liu, Zhu, Elsworth, Tham & Tang. 2007. A cou-
pled flow-stress-damage model for groundwater outbursts
from an underlying aquifer into mining excavations. Int.
J. Rock Mech. And Min. Sci., 44, 87–97.
Zhao, Sheng & Zhou. 2005. Shear banding analysis of geo-
materials by strain gradient enhanced damage model. Int.
J. Solids and Struct., 42, 5335–5355.
Numerical modelling
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Stress path dependency and non-convexity of unsaturated soil models

D.C. Sheng, D. Pedroso & A.J. Abbo

Centre for Geotechnical and Material Modelling, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

ABSTRACT: Yield surfaces for unsaturated soils are inevitably non-convex if the size of the yield surface has
to increase with increasing suction. An expanding yield surface with increasing suction is crucial for modelling
the volume collapse due to wetting. The non-convexity always exists at the transition between saturated and
unsaturated states, irrespective of the stress variables used in the model. Some recent models for unsaturated
soils also possess a stress path dependent hardening law. The non-convexity and stress-path dependency of the
constitutive model make the implementation into finite element codes very challenging. This paper discusses
aspects of stress integration schemes for non-convex and stress-path dependent models for unsaturated soils.

1 INTRODUCTION is illustrated in Figure 2. If a slurry soil is dried from

Constitutive models for unsaturated soils usually adopt
a yield surface that expands with increasing suction,
in order to model the volume collapse during wetting.
The non-convexity of the yield surface thus exists at
the transition between saturated and unsaturated states,
irrespective of the stress variables used in the model
(see Figure 1 below). The only exception is the model
by Wheeler et al. (2003), where the size of the yield
surface does not change with the modified suction.
Another feature of unsaturated soil models is the
stress-path dependent hardening law. Such a feature is
present in a recent model by Sheng et al. (2006) and
point A to B, the yield surface expands from p̄0 to p̄yB ,
with its shape remaining unchanged. If the unsaturated
soil at point B is then compressed to point C, the yield
surface expands and its shape changes as well (denoted
by the solid curve p̄yC ) . However, if the slurry soil at
point A is first compressed to point D and then dried
to C, the yield surface would take a different shape
(denoted by the dashed curve p̄yC ). The essential rea-
son for this stress path dependency is that a change in
suction has a different effect on the plastic volumet-
ric strain than a change in mean stress when the soil
becomes unsaturated.

s s
s

Elastic zone
B C
Elastic zone

p0 p yB pyC
unsaturated p yC

p
ssa
p′
45°
saturated
p
A 45° D
(a) net stress (b) effective stress

Figure 1. Non-Convexity of unsaturated soil models (p̄: net Figure 2. Stress path dependency of the model by Sheng
mean stress; p : effective mean stress; s: suction). et al. (2006), Ssa : saturation suction.

705
 The non-convexity and stress-path dependent
hardening laws of unsaturated soil models present dif-
ficulties in the implementation of these soil models
into finite element codes, particularly regarding the
stress integration.
2 NON-CONVEX YIELD SURFACE
For given strain and suction increments, the current
stress state and internal variables must be updated in
accordance with the constitutive law. This update is
generally carried out using numerical stress integra-
tion schemes. Both implicit and explicit schemes have
been used to integrate elastoplastic models. Implicit
schemes, where all gradients are estimated at an
advanced stress state, cannot be used for elastoplas-
tic models with non-convex yield surfaces, because
the extrapolated gradients cannot be determined due
to the uncertainty of whether an advanced position
is inside or outside the yield surface. On the other
hand, explicit schemes can proceed in an incremental
fashion, but require the intersection between the cur-
rent yield surface and an elastic trial stress path to be
determined.
A key issue in integrating the incremental stress-
strain relationships using an explicit method is thus to
find the intersection between the elastic trial stress and
the current yield surface. Figure 3 illustrates some pos-
sible situations. The most complicated situation occurs
when the yield surface is crossed three times. However,
it is not possible to know a priori how many times the
yield surface is crossed, because the size of the yield
surface will change after the first intersection due to
hardening. Therefore, for non-convex yield surfaces,
the key task is to find the very first intersection for any
possible path.
In order to determine whether the yield surface is
crossed, a secant trial stress increment is computed,
based on an elastic stress-suction-strain relationship.
This elastic trial stress is given as follows:
σ tr = De : ε + W e s (1)
where the stress is either the net stress or effective
stress (depending on the model), De is the fourth order
elastic stiffness tensor and W e is a second order tensor
defined according to a specific law for unsaturated
soils; for example, the equations presented in Sheng
et al. (2003, 2004, 2006) may be adopted. For models
of saturated soils, the term W e s depends on the stress
variables used. If the effective stress is used, the term
W e s becomes zero and can be disregarded. On the
other hand, if the net stress is used, the term W e s
becomes −I uw , where I is the second order identity
tensor and uw the pore water pressure.
706
tr
f= 0
Figure 3. Intersections between non-convex yield surface
and elastic trial stress path.
In equation (1), ε is the strain increment provided
from the finite element routines prior to the compu-
tation of the residuals between internal and external
forces. For unsaturated soils, the increment of suc-
tion s is also input for the stress-update algorithm.
If the elastic modulus is linear, i.e. it is independent of
the stresses, suction and internal variables, it is trivial
to compute the elastic trial increment. Otherwise, for
some non-linear relations, a secant analytical modulus
may be considered.
Finding the intersection between the elastic trial
stress increment and the current yield surface can be
cast into the problem of finding multiple roots of a
nonlinear equation. fα (α) = 0. The roots (α) must be
computed inside the interval [0, 1]. As this function
involves the evaluation of the yield function along the
strain and suction paths, it is given as
fα (α) = f (σα , sα , zk ) (2)
where f (σ , s, zk ) is the yield function, zk indicates a
set of internal variables and the intermediate stress-
suction states σα and sα are calculated according to
σα = σcurrent + ασ tr and sα = scurrent + αs
(3)
in which σcurrent and scurrent are the current stress and
suction states. Note that in equation (2) the internal
variables zk are kept constant during the solution for
the intersection. These variables only change during
hardening/softening when a portion of the trial stress-
suction path is located outside the yield surface.
The technique proposed here follows the Kronecker-
Picard (KP) formula for the determination of the
number of roots of a nonlinear equation (Kavvadias it does not constrain the solution to lie within speci-
et al., 1999). This formula, given by fied bounds. Therefore, more advanced methods can
be used here. For example, the Pegasus method used
b in Sloan et al. (2001) is very robust and competitively
−γ fα (x)hα (x) − g(x)2 fast. The method by Brent (1971) provides another
N = dx
π fα (x)2 + γ 2 gα (x)2 attractive alternative here. The Brent method does not
a use any derivative, does not require initial guesses and
 
1 γ ([fα (a)gα (b) − fα (b)gα (a)]) guarantees the convergence as long as the values of
+ arctan the function are computable within a given region con-
π fα (a)fα (b) + γ 2 gα (a)gα (b)
taining a root. This characteristic of the Brent method
(4) is due to the combination of the bisection method,
the secant method and inverse quadratic interpolation.
requires that fα (α) must be continuously or piecewise Therefore, it has the reliability of the bisection method
differentiable to the second order for values of α from and the efficiency of the less reliable secant method or
a to b. In equation (4), gα and hα represent the first inverse quadratic interpolation.
and second derivatives of the function fα with respect The evaluation of the integral in equation (4) with
to α, respectively, and γ is a small positive constant the KP formula is generally not trivial and so a numeri-
which does not affect the results computed with the cal integration or quadrature technique has to be used.
KP formula (Kavvadias et al., 1999). The first and For example, the Gauss-Legendre method (Forsythe
second derivative of fα with respect to α can be directly et al., 1990) can be used here. In addition, for highly
determined as follows: non-linear yield functions, an adaptive integration
scheme may also have to be used. In the numerical
∂fα ∂fα dσα ∂fα dsα examples presented in this paper, the adaptive inte-
gα (α) = = : + gration scheme explained in Piessens et al. (1983),
∂α ∂σα dα ∂sα dα
  implemented in the QAGS routines, is used. These
∂f  ∂f  routines which are based on the QUADPACK library,
= : σ tr
+ s (5)
∂σ  α ∂s  α
available at www. netlib. org, can efficiently per-
form the numerical integration even for functions with
singularities.

∂ 2 fα ∂ 2 f 
hα (α) = = σ tr
: : σ tr
∂σ ∂σ α
3 STRESS PATH DEPENDENCY
∂α 2
 
∂ 2 f  ∂ 2 f  The discussion in this section is limited to the SFG
+ 2σ tr : s + s2 (6)
∂σ ∂s α ∂s2 α model by Sheng et al. (2006). In this model, the yield
function is written as
The number of roots estimated according to equa- f = q2 − M 2 (p̄ − p0 (s))(py (s, z0 , z1 ) − p̄) = 0 (7)
tion (4) is used to divide the interval of α into subinter-
vals until each subinterval contains at most one root. where q is the deviatoric stress, M is the slope of the
First, N is computed for the interval [a, b]. If N is critical state line, z0 and z1 are internal variables and
larger than one, the interval [a, b] is divided into two p0 and py are yield stresses given as follows:
equal subintervals, [a, (a + b)/2] and [(a + b)/2, b].
The number of roots for each subinterval is then com- 
k(s) if s > ssa
puted and any subinterval that contains more than one p0 (s) =
root is further divided into two equal sub- subintervals. −s otherwise
This process continues until each subinterval contains  z0
z0 − s + [s + k(s)] if s > ssa
at most one root. As shown by Kavvadias et al. (1999), py (s, z0 , z1 ) = z1
the usage of equal-size intervals (equiprobable parts) z0 − s otherwise
is not much worse than an algorithm which would (8)
consider the statistical distribution of the roots inside
[a, b], such as the algorithm presented in Kavvadias where
et al. (1999).  
Once the roots are bracket, the solution of each 1+s
k(s) = −ssa − (1 + ssa ) ln (9)
root can be found by using existing numerical meth- 1 + ssa
ods such as the Newton-Raphson method. It should
be noted that the Newton-Raphson method, although Internal variable z0 corresponds to the size of the yield
fast, may not converge in some circumstances because surface for saturated conditions. The other internal

707
variable z1 is an auxiliary measure to the solution The stress-strain relationship may be derived from the
(integration) of the SFG model, and may be interpreted above equations (Sheng et al. 2006), leading to:
as a control on the shape of the yield surface. When it
is smaller than z0 , the yield surface may be non-convex ∂f
˙ e:
σ̇ = De : ε̇ − D + W e ṡ (14)
and the collapse due to wetting can be simulated. ∂σ
The evolution for z0 defines the hardening of the
model. An isotropic hardening similar to the one used and
by the Cam Clay model (Schofield & Wroth, 1967) is
adopted. The evolution of z1 is determined according ˙ k
żk = H (k = 0 or 1) (15)
to the stress-path, which is an interesting feature of
SFG model, which leads to a stress path dependent where
hardening law.
For elastoplastic behaviour, the suction-stress  
∂f ∂f ∂f
path can be measured according to the following ∂σ : De : ε̇ + ∂σ : We + ∂s ṡ
˙ =
 (16)
expression: ∂f ∂f ∂f ∂f
∂σ : De : ∂σ − ∂z0 H0 − ∂z1 H1
 
| d p̄ | and
β = arctan (10)
ds  
z0 ∂f ∂f ∂f
H0 = + + ,
The evolution for z0 is given by λ−κ ∂σ11 ∂σ22 ∂σ33

H1 = cpath H0 (17)
z0 p
ż0 = ε̇ (11)
λ−κ v De and W e can be found in Sheng et al. (2006).
Equations (14) and (15) are used in the stress-update
The rate of change of the internal variable z1 is given algorithm. For the implementation in a FEM code, the
as a function of the rate of change of z0 : following equation is required as well:

ż1 = cpath × ż0 (12) σ̇ = Dep : ε̇ + W ep ṡ (18)

where cpath is a parameter reflecting the path- where Dep and W ep are tangent modulus and are also
dependent hardening law. The basic requirements for presented in Sheng et al. (2006).
the hardening law (11) are:
• if s > ssa 4 SIMULATIONS
◦ if p̄˙ > 0 and ṡ = 0, the auxiliary internal variable We first demonstrate the numerical solutions of the
z1 must stay unchanged intersection and the stress updates for specific stress-
◦ otherwise, suction paths. Figures 4 and 5 show two examples
 if ṡ > 0 and p̄˙ = 0, z1 must change at the where the initial stress/suction state is inside the yield
same rate as z0 surface and an intersection must be determined. In
 else, z1 changes at a rate proportional to z0 these two cases, only the first intersections are needed.
that z1 /z0 stays constant The second intersection actually never happens due to
hardening (inside the updated yield surface) and hence
• otherwise, is irrelevant. The final yield surfaces are tangent to
the stress paths. The material properties are listed in
◦ the ratio z1 /z0 stays constant
Table 1. It may be concluded that the algorithm per-
In this way the behaviour of both normally consoli- forms very well in finding the appropriate intersection
dated and compacted materials can be captured by the points.
system of equations. Any expression for cpath satis- Four different stress/suction paths are studied here,
fying these requirements can be adopted. Here, we to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algo-
introduce the following expression: rithms in tackling the stress path dependency and the
non-convexity problems. These paths are denoted as
 
ABB CD, ABCD, ADCD and AFD and are shown in
z1 β
cpath = (1 − sin β) 1 − 1 − (13) Figure 6–9, respectively. The material parameters are
z0 π given in Table 1.

708
 100 150 200 250 300
B′
100
B C
80

suction [kPa]
60

50
s
40

A D

0
0 50 100 150 200
p [kPa]

1.70
20

1.65
0

1.60
v
0 20 40 60 80 100
p B
B′

Figure 4. Yield surface of SFG model and a stress-suction 1.55 C

path with increasing suction. The initial state is inside the
1.50

initial yield surface. After the first intersection, hardening

takes place and the yield surface advances to the new position D
as shown. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
suction [kPa]
1.70

A
FEM
1.60 1.65
v

B B′
1.55

C
1.50

D
0 1 2 3 4 5
ln(p) [kPa]

Figure 6. Results for stress path ABB CD.

Test ABB CD represents an over consolidated clay

subjected to an increase in suction, followed by an
increase of mean stress and decrease of suction. Tests
ABCD and ADCD represent a slurry soil and are
Figure 5. Yield surface of SFG model and a stress-suction useful to check the stress/suction path dependency pre-
path with decreasing suction. dicted by the SFG model. In test ABCD, the suction is
increased firstly and then the mean stress is increased,
followed by a decrease in suction. Test ADCD does
Table 1. Parameters used in simulation.
the opposite: increase mean stress first and then
λ κ #v φ G, kPa ssa , kPa
increase (and decrease) the suction. Therefore, com-
o
paring the results between ABCD and ADCD tests, it
0.1 0.02 1.7 (ABB CD) 25◦ 100 10 (ABB CD) is possible to observe that the predicted behaviour is
3 (others) 100 (others) different, according to the path, due to the different
shapes that the yield surface can exhibit, even thought
# Initial specific volume at initial mean stress and suction. the initial and final states are the same.

709
 1000

1000
800 B C C

400 600 800

suction [kPa]
suction [kPa]
400 600
200

200
A D
0

A D

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000
p [kPa] p [kPa]
3.0

3.0
A A
2.5

2.5
v

v
2.0

2.0
B
C
1.5
1.5

D D C
0 200 400 600 800 1000
0 200 400 600 800 1000
suction [kPa]
suction [kPa]
3.0

A
3.0

FEM A
FEM
2.5

2.5
v

v
2.0

2.0

B
C
1.5

D
1.5

D
C
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ln(p) [kPa] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ln(p) [kPa]

Figure 7. Results for stress path ABCD.

Figure 8. Results for stress path ADCD.

The test AFD is useful to check the behaviour
predicted by the SFG model, considering the path
dependent hardening introduced here. In this case, the
intermediate values calculated with equation (13) are
used, since this test is set for combined increments of
mean net stress and suction.
Figures 6–9 present the results of the simula-
tions. In each figure, three plots are presented: the
suction/mean net stress path and the corresponding
yield surface evolution; the specific volume—suc-
tion relationship; and the specific volume—net mean
stress relationship. From these figures, it is possi-
ble to conclude that the methods proposed here can
reasonably deal with the stress-path dependency and
the non-convexity problems in the unsaturated soil
models.
5 CONCLUSIONS
A simple method to account for the stress-path depen-
dency during the stress update of an unsaturated soil
model has been introduced. The method is based on the
incorporation of a trial stress/suction increment into a
second order explicit scheme. The non-convexity of
the yield surface has also been considered by means
of an explicit stress integration algorithm. This algo-
rithm uses a recursive scheme to find all intersections

710
 REFERENCES
1000
F

Brent, R.P. (1971), An algorithm with guaranteed conver-

800

gence for finding a zero of a function, The Computer

suction [kPa]

Journal, 14:422–425.
400 600

Forsythe, G., Malcolm, M. & Moler, C. (1990), Com-

puter Methods for Mathematical Computations, Mir Ed.,
Moscou, Russia.
Kavvadias, D.J., Makri, F.S. & Vrahatis, M.N. (1999), Locat-
200

ing and computing arbitrarily distributed zeros, SIAM

Journal on Scientific Computing, 21(3):954–969.
A D
0

Piessens, R., Doncker-Kapenga, E.D., Uberhuber, C. &

0 200 400 600 800 1000 Kahaner, D. (1983), Quadpack: a Subroutine Package for
p [kPa]
Automatic Integration, Springer Verlag.
Schofield, A.N. & Wroth, C.P. (1968), Critical State Soil
3.0

A
Mechanics, McGraw-Hill, London, 1968.
Sheng, D., Fredlund, D.G. & Gens, A. (2006), A new mod-
elling approach for unsaturated soils using independent
2.5

stress variables, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 45(4),

2008 (in press. A short version of the report was published
v

in the Proceedings of 3rd Asian Conference on Unsatu-

rated Soils, Nanjing, April 19–22, 2007, Science Press,
2.0

pp. 405–413).
Sheng, D., Sloan, S.W., Gens, A. & Smith, D.W. (2003),
F Finite element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated
1.5

D soils. Part I: Theory, International Journal for Numerical

0 200 400 600 800 1000 and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 27:745–765.
suction [kPa] Sheng, D., Sloan, S.W. & Gens, A. (2004), ‘A constitutive
model for unsaturated soils: thermomechanical and com-
3.0

A putational aspects’, Computational Mechanics, 33(6),

FEM
453–465.
Sloan, S.W., Abbo, A.J. & Sheng, D. (2001), Refined explicit
integration of elastoplastic models with automatic error
2.5

control, Engineering Computations, 18:121–154.

Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S. & Buisson, M.S.R. (2003), ‘Cou-
v

pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour in

2.0

unsaturated soils’, Geotechnique, 53(1), 41–54.

F
1.5

D
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ln(p) [kPa]

Figure 9. Results for stress path AFD.

that may arise during the stress update. The key step is
the computation of the number of roots, which is done
with the aid of the Kronecker-Picard formula. The only
requirement for this method is that the yield function
must be piecewise differentiable to the second order
along the stress/suction secant path.

711
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Implicit integration of an extended Cam-clay model for unsaturated soils

R. Tamagnini & V. De Gennaro

ENPC (Université Paris-Est, Navier Institute – Cermes), Paris, France

ABSTRACT: Recent developments in the field of constitutive modelling of partially saturated soils have
shown the relevancy of the following two constitutive assumptions: (i) the use of an averaged stress similar
to the so-called Bishop stress as an alternative stress component and (ii) the introduction of a hardening rule
enabling the effect of changes in the degree of water saturation on the plastic yield function to be accounted for.
This paper deals with the numerical integration of a constitutive model for partially saturated soils based on an
extension of the Modified Cam Clay model for saturated soils (Tamagnini 2004). The proposed elastic-plastic
stress-strain-saturation relationship is obtained following the two above mentioned constitutive assumptions.
The rate constitutive equation is integrated adopting a return mapping scheme similar to that developed for
saturated material, but modifying the elastic predictor stage. In particular, the dimension of the trial elastic
domain is modified by the changes in the degree of saturation, independently of the state of stress existing at
the beginning of the integration step. This mathematical feature follows from the hypothesis that the hardening
variable which defines the initial size of the plastic yield function and its evolution during plastic loading is a
function of the saturation degree. The derivation of the consistent tangent operators is then presented and some
numerical applications discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION Houlsby 1997, Lewis & Schrefler 1998). The aim

In the last decades the mechanics of multiphase mate-
rials has been increasingly investigated and many
advances in both the theoretical and experimental
aspects have been obtained. Contrary to the mechanics
of saturated geomaterials, in a three-phase geoma-
terial, where air and water interact with the soil
skeleton, the basic constitutive assumptions are not
so straightforward. In particular, the definition of
the independent state variables and the corresponding
state equations, or the hardening variables control-
ling the mechanical behaviour of the solid phase is
not direct and the experimental verification not obvi-
ous. This is due to the complex interaction between the
fluid phases and the effects of this interaction on the
behaviour of the solid skeleton. It is well-known that
the presence of two different fluids (a wetting and a
non-wetting phase) implies the presence of interfaces
into which the capillary forces act; this physical prop-
erty strongly affects the mechanical response of the
material.
It is now well accepted that a thermodynamic con-
sistent framework for unsaturated soils based on the
theory of multiphase mixtures involves an ‘‘effective’’
stress as an independent stress variable, energy con-
jugate with the skeleton strains and a capillary stress
as a second stress variables, energy conjugate to the
water saturation degree (Coussy 1995, Coussy 2003,
of this paper is to present the numerical integration
of a constitutive model for partially saturated soils
(Tamagnini 2004) developed within the previously
outlined theoretical framework.
The rate equations are integrated adopting a return
mapping scheme that allows for a fully implicit inte-
gration (Borja and Lee, 1990). The key role played
by the water saturation degree in the soil modelling
is discussed by means of some numerical simulations.
The coupling arising between the water retention prop-
erties (modelled by the water retention curve WRC)
and the mechanical response during saturation time
evolution is highlighted. The constitutive framework
and the adopted numerical scheme are the base for
the definition of a more accurate constitutive equa-
tion for three-phase porous material and its numerical
integration.
2 CONSTITUTIVE EQUATIONS
Tamagnini (2000, 2003, 2004) proposed an extension
of the modified Cam-clay model (Roscoe & Burland,
1968) for the description of the behaviour of par-
tially saturated soils. Moving from a thermodynamic
based approach for multiphase mixtures the defini-
tion of an ‘‘effective’’ stress state variable, some times
called improperly the Bishop’s stress, was introduced.

713
The hardening law is formulated according to the with the decrease of Sr . In order to define the plas-
proposal of Jommi & di Prisco (1994) and it includes tic part of the constitutive model the plastic flow is
the degree of saturation as a hidden variable. This vari- introduced as:
able is used to model the bonding exerted by capillary
forces and it will be shown that this assumption can
p ∂f
overcome the limitation of a single ‘‘effective’’ stress dεij = dλ (5)
approach in modelling the collapse upon wetting. The ∂σij
Cam-clay ellipse is used to describe soil behaviour dur-
ing deviator stress paths and in the sake of simplicity
an associative flow rule is adopted. in which λ is the plastic multiplier and it can be
The constitutive equation of the model is defined obtained by the consistency:
in the space of the following stress tensor:
 

1 ∂f  ∂f ∂f 
σij = σij − ua δij + Sr (ua − uw )δij (1) dλ = dp + dq −  pc bdSr (6)
H ∂p ∂q ∂pc
This stress variable is similar to the Bishop’s stress ∂f vpc ∂f
H =−
(Bishop, 1959) that was defined experimentally and in ∂pc λ − k ∂p
which Sr is replaced by χ that is a function of the sat-
uration degree. In equation (1) ua and uw are the pore
air and water pressures, respectively. Their difference Starting from the expression:
is termed suction, s; σij is the total stress tensor. In the
following, the mean effective stress p and the deviator

stress invariant q will be used and these are defined as: ∂f

dσij = Dijkl
e
dεkl − dλ  (7)
∂σkl

1  3 1
p = σ q= ||ξii || ξij = σij − σii (2)
3 ii 2 3 e
in which Dijkl is the fourth order elastic constitutive
tensor and the following relations:
The yield surface is represented by the ellipse:

f = q2 + M 2 p (p − pc ) = 0 (3) ∂f v  3K  (1 − 2ν)

Hs = bp K = p G = (8)
∂pc c k 2(1 + ν)
in which M is the slope of the critical state line. The
preconsolidation pressure pc describes the evolution of
the ellipse dimension and it is defined in the rate form The constitutive equation is obtained in its incremental
as proposed by Jommy Jommi & di Prisco (1994): form as follows:

vpc ⎛ ⎞
dpc = dε p − pc bdSr (4) ∂f ∂f
∂σab ⊗
e e
λ−κ v Dijab ∂σcd Dcdkl
dσij = ⎝Dijkl
e
− ∂f
⎠ dεkl
e ∂f
H+ ∂σij Dijkl ∂σkl
the first term is the classic isotropic strain hardening
rule in which λ and k are the elatoplastic and elastic e
Dijkl ∂f
volumetric stiffness and it is defined for the saturated
case; the second one introduces the effects of cap-
illarity bonding, b is a constitutive parameter and it
controls the sensitivity of the solid matrix to the effects
of the intergranular forces exerted by interfaces. It has
to be noticed that the increase of the yield surface
dimension can occur even if the current Bishop stress
is not on the yield surface and this kind of hardening
can be reversed during suction cycles. The mechanical
effects of wetting-drying cycles have been discussed
by Tamagnini (2004) and they are not treated in this
paper. Equation (4) states that capillarity hardening
is an exponential function of the saturation degree
(Tamagnini, 2000), and it increases monotonically
714
+   dSr (9)
Hs−1 H + ∂f
De ∂f ∂σkl
∂σij ijkl ∂σkl
Note that in equation (9) the second right hand side
term in which the saturation degree rate appears has
the role of a stress rate. It means that soil behaviour is
controlled by the changes in the Bishop stress, which
depends on the saturation degree, but also by the
changes in the capillary forces. In other words, the
rate of Sr in (9) describes the variation in the content
of interfaces within the representative volume and this
is consistent with the hypothesis of the phase energy
separation proposed by Coussy (2003).
 Equation (9) can be rewritten in the following form: From the discrete Khun-Tucker condition results:

dσij − dσij∗ f (σn+1 ; qn+1 ) = 0 λ̇n+1 ≥ 0 (12)

⎛ ⎞
∂f ∂f
∂σab ⊗
e e
Dijab ∂σcd Dcdkl
= ⎝Dijkl
e
− ∂f
⎠ dεkl The aim of the plastic corrector is the definition of the
e ∂f
H+ ∂σij Dijkl ∂σkl plastic multiplier at time tn+1 and then to compute the
(10) stress through the equations:

⎧
⎪ pk
From this expression it is clear that the stress rate ⎪
⎪ σijkn+1 = σijtriial − Dijkl
e
εkl
exerted by the interfaces, σij∗ , is added to the ⎪
⎨
n+1 n

pk
averaged macroscopic fluids pressures introduced in
⎪ pkcn+1 = ptrial
cn exp(−θn εkl )
(13)
equation (1). The role of dσ ∗ in (10) will be discussed ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎩ k
based on the results of some numerical simulation that fn+1 = f (pkl n+1 ; qn+1 ; pcn+1 )
k k

are obtained with the numerical algorithm developed

in the next section.
The rate of the equilibrium condition can be formu-
lated as follow:

3 IMPLICIT INTEGRATION OF THE

∂f int (σn+1
k )
CAM-CLAY MODEL FOR UNSATURATED f int (σn+1
k
) − f ext + ukn+1
SOILS ∂(ukn+1 )
 
∂f int (σn+1
k ) ∂(Swk n+1 )
An extensive study on the numerical methods for the + (pkan+1 −pkwn+1 ) =0
consolidation analyses of multiphase porous material ∂(Swk n+1 ) ∂(pkan+1 − pkan+1 )
can be found in Lewis and Schrefler (1998). As regards (14)
the use of a so-called Bishop stress in the vector of
internal forces, Tamagnini (2003) has discussed an
implicit integration scheme with an elasto-plastic sin- The first derivative in (14) is the classic consis-
gle tangent matrix for the extended Cam-clay. The tent tangent matrix. The second group of derivatives
Cam Clay is integrated enhancing the return mapping in parentheses represents the variation of the internal
scheme proposed by Borja and Lee (1990) for the sat- forces due to the changes in suction (or degree of sat-
urated Cam Clay. The improvement is based on two uration). The coupling matrices are included in the
points: the modification of the elastic trial step and vector of the external forces. Note that during the iter-
the derivation of a second consistent tangent matrix ative solution, the equilibrium and then the internal
that describes the variation of the ‘‘effective’’ stress forces vector can be perturbed by the variation in cap-
due to changes in the degree of saturation (or better in illary forces, this implies a direct dependency of the
the number of the interfaces between fluids). displacement vector on degree of saturation (or suc-
At time tn , in the equilibrium condition at the gen- tion). This mathematical feature is fundamental for
eral iteration k, the increments: that can be written as the modelling of collapse upon wetting. The first con-
εijk n+1 ; Srkn+1 are known and the trial state variables sistent tangent operator can be obtained adapting the
can be written as: work of Borja and Lee (1990) for the unsaturated case.
The second consistent tangent matrix is obtained, for
⎧ trial constant strain, as follows:
⎪
⎪ σijn+1 = σijn + Dijkl e
εklk n+1
⎪
⎪
n
⎨
∂σijkn+1 ∂Srkn+1
cn+1 = pcn exp(−bSrn+1 )
ptrial k
(11) Csrk n+1 = Aksn+1 ; Aksn+1 =
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ∂Srkn+1 ∂(pa − pw )kn+1
⎩ f trial = f (ptrial ; qtrial ; ptrial )
n+1 n+1 n+1 cn+1
(15)

The hardening rule is integrated in closed form and

split by adopting Lie’s formula (Tamagnini 2000); this and then:
is a modification of the standard implicit scheme.  
The plastic corrector uses the trial stress and trial ∂pkn+1 2 ∂qn+1
k
hardening as the initial condition and through a return Csrk n+1 = 1+ n Aksn+1 (16)
∂Srkn+1 3 ∂Srkn+1
mapping computes the stress and plastic strains.

715
the derivatives of the invariants and the preconsolida- with:
tion pressure are:
 c8 = c3 c6 + c5 c9 = c3 c7 + c4 (23)
∂pkn+1 ∂λkn+1
= −K n (2pkn+1 − pkcn+1 ) For the deviatoric stress component:
∂Srkn+1 ∂Srkk+1
 
2∂pkn+1 ∂pkcn+1 ∂qn+1
k
∂λkn+1 k
6μqn+1
+λn+1
k
− k (17) = c10 c10 = −
∂Srkn+1 ∂Sr n+1 ∂Srkn+1 ∂Srkk+1 M 2 + 6μλkn+1
(24)

∂pkcn+1 ∂λkn+1 The derivative of the plastic multiplier with respect
= pkcn+1 θn (2pkn+1 − pkcn+1 )
∂Srkn+1 ∂Srkk+1 to the saturation degree can be obtained from the
  consistency condition:
2∂pkn+1 ∂pkcn+1
+ λkn+1 − k − bpkcn+1 ∂fn+1
k k
2qn+1 ∂λkn+1
∂Srkn+1 ∂Sr n+1 = c + (2pkn+1 − pkcn+1 )
10
  ∂Srkn+1 M2 ∂Srkn+1
∂qn+1
k
6μn ∂λkn+1 k ∂qn+1
k
   
=− 2 q + λn+1 k
k
∂λkn+1 ∂λkn+1
∂Srkn+1 M ∂Srkk+1 n+1 ∂Srn+1 × c 6 + c7 − pn+1 c8 + c9
k
=0
∂Srkn+1 ∂Srkn+1
(18)
(25)
Equations (17) and (18) can be written as:
The plastic multiplier results:
∂pkn+1 ∂pk ∂λkn+1
= c1 c3 n+1 + (c2 c4 + c2 ) + c1 c5 ∂λkn+1
∂Srn+1 f k ∂Srn+1
k nSrkk+1 c11 =
(19) ∂Srkn+1
(2pn+1 − pkcn+1 )c6 + pn+1 c8
with: = − 
2qn+1
c + (2pn+1 − pcn+1 )c7 − pn+1 c9
Kn λnk+1 Kn (2pnk+1 − pkcn+1 ) M 2 10
c1 = c2 = −
(1 + 2Kn λkn+1 ) (1 + 2Kn λkn+1 ) (26)
2pkcn+1 θn λnk+1 Substituting (20), (22), (24) and (26) in (16) the
c3 =
(1 + θn pcn+1 λkn+1 ) consistent tangent matrix can be obtained:
 
pkcn+1 θn (2pkn+1 − pkcn+1 ) 2
c4 = (20) Csrk n+1 = (c6 + c7 c11 )1 + c10 n Aksn+1 (27)
(1 + θn pcn+1 λkn+1 ) 3
−bpkcn+1
c5 =
(1 + θn pcn+1 λkn+1 ) 4 NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS
∂pkn+1 ∂λkn+1
= c7 + c6 In order to verify the proposed numerical integration
∂Srkn+1 ∂Srkk+1 of the model two numerical tests have been produced.
Both are intended to check the hydro-mechanical cou-
and: pling between the water retention properties of the
c1 c5 (c1 c4 + c2 ) materials and the mechanical equations.
c6 = c7 = (21) The first numerical test consisted in the simulation
(1 − c1 c3 ) (1 − c1 c3 ) of an isotropic wetting process under isochoric (con-
The derivative of the preconsolidation pressure can be stant volume) condition (referred to the solid matter)
defined as: and constant applied mean net stress. The isochoric
boundary condition is the same as the experimen-
∂pkcn+1 ∂λkn+1 tal results of Romero (1999) reported in Figure 1.
= c9 + c8 (22) However, it must be noted that the assumption of con-
∂Srkn+1 ∂Srkk+1 stant net mean stress during isochoric conditions is

716
 the saturation degree, that is the driving force for the
numerical tests. The correspondent suction value is
obtained directly from equation (26) as:

dσ ∗ − sn dSr
dsn+1 = (29)
Srn

Material constitutive parameters are: k = 0.028;

λ = 0.1; M = 1.0; ν = 0.3, b = 5.0. The initial
values of the state variables are: Sr = 0.36; s = 2500
(these are not dimensional values but could be referred
to kPa); v = 2.0 (specific volume); pc0 = 1000 corre-
sponding to an initial mean net stress of 100. Figure 2
shows the computed water retention curve and it shows

10000

1000

100
suction

Figure 1. Wetting test at constant volume after Romero

(1999).
10

only valid for part of the wetting test (when wetting

from 400 kPa to 0.01 kPa). Also Romero’s data is for
1
one-dimensional loading in an oedometer, rather than
isotropic conditions.
In this test the Bishop stress (1) and the yield surface
0.1
are reduced by saturation. For the sake of simplicity the
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
influence of hysteresis in the WRC is not considered Sr
as it would require a more detailed thermodynamic
discussion and numerical considerations and only a Figure 2. Water retention curve obtained by the computa-
monotonic wetting path is simulated. tion.
Since saturation induces changes in the capillary
forces, the second left hand side term −dσ ∗ in 4000

equation (10) results in a compressive stress during

saturation, the rate of stress dσ  is negative (unload-
ing) in order to contrast the compressive rate −dσ ∗
and this ensure the overall isochoric condition (i.e. 3000 Applied total stress
σ = 100
dσ  − dσ ∗ = 0). In order to obtain the hydraulic
σ = 160
part of the constitutive model and imposing null
strains (isochoric condition), the equation (10) can be
suction

written as: 2000

dσij = sdSr + Sr ds = tr
⎛ ⎞
1000
e
⎜ Dijkl ∂f ⎟
×⎜
⎝    ⎟ dSr = dσ ∗
∂f ∂σkl ⎠
Hs−1 H + De ∂f
∂σij ijkl ∂σkl
0
(28) 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sr
The term dσ ∗ is then computed numerically dur-
ing the simulation, starting from the increment dSr in Figure 3. Different WRC at different applied mean stress.

717
 1000

suction (KPa)
100

10

0 400 800 1200

0 p' (KPa)

100

q (KPa) 200

300

Figure 6. Stress paths during the stress relaxation (Data

redrawn from Romero 1999).
Figure 4. Test by Romero (1999) at constant skeleton
volume.

1000 with the following initial stress: Sr = 0.36; s = 4000;

pc0 = 1600 corresponding to an initial mean net stress
of 160, the remaining constitutive parameters are the
same of the previous analysis. The results plotted in
Figure 3 clearly show that the increase in the applied
100 mean net stress implies the upward translation of the
WRC. This feature agrees with the experimental data
suction (KPa)

for example by Ng and Pang (2000). The results plot-

ted in Figure 3 shows that an increase of the mean net
stress (p − ua ) at fixed suction and isochoric condi-
10
tion implies a higher saturation degree. This implies
that the number of interfaces is lower and provides a
possible explanation to the tensile nature of the capil-
lary stress and the compressive effects arising during
the equalization stages of the wetting path when the
1
effective stress in (10) is reduced. In other words, in
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
order to equilibrate the elastic swelling produced by
Sr the Bishop stress the induced collapse due to the cap-
illary stress has to be smaller if the net applied stress
Figure 5. Simulation of the constant skeleton volume wet- is higher; this feature agrees with the experimental
ting (dots are experimental data). results of Romero (1999). Figure 1 shows that for lower
applied net stress at the same suction value the applied
net stress has to be reduced to obtain the isochoric con-
qualitatively a good agreement with the usual experi- dition (it is also true that the two tests have different
mental data in which a water entry value is recorded densities). It is also interesting to observe that in a free
(e.g. Romero, 1999). In Figure 3 the ideal WRC of the strain condition a higher applied total stress implies a
first analysis (dashed line) is compared with the WRC larger collapse. Indeed in this case the stored energy
(solid line) obtained for another isochoric condition represented in the hydraulic plane Sr :s of the WRC is

718
greater, and for a fixed value of Sr the increase in the
mean net stress implies an increase of the interfaces
energy. Many other authors have studied the effects
of the void ratio in the water retention properties; in
this paper the effects of the total or net stress are dis-
cussed. The evolution of the mean Bishop stress of
the test reported in Figure 1 is reported in Figure 4,
(Romero, 1999) with the parameter χ = Sr . Figures
5–6 report the back analysis of the experimental data
at high density packing with γd equal to 16.7 kN/m3 .
In Figure 6 the evolution of the mean Bishop stress
and the deviator stress are reported, the simulation
starts from the suction value of 400 kPa when the
collapse at constant mean applied stress takes place.
The obtained parameters are: k = 0.065; λ = 0.12;
M = 1.0; ν = 0.25, b = 4.283. The initial values
of the state variables are: Sr = 0.8; s = 400 kPa the
resulting initial Bishop stress tensor components are
σ  = (920; 1070; 1070; 0; 0; 0) kPa. Figure 5 reports
the obtained WRC.
REFERENCES
Bishop A.W. 1959. The principle of effective stress, Teknisk
Ukeblad, 106(39); 859–863.
Borja R.I. and Lee S.R. 1990, Cam-Clay plasticity, Part I:
Implicit integration of elasto-plastic constitutive relations,
Comp. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng., 78 49–72.
719
Coussy O. 1995. Mechanics of Porous Continua, Ed.
J. Wiley & Sons.
Coussy O. 2003, Poro-mechanics, Ed. J. Wiley & Sons
Houlsby G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated granular
material, Géotechnique 47(1), 193–196.
Jommi C. and di Prisco C. 1994. A simple theoretical
approach for modelling the mechanical behaviour of
unsaturated granular soils (in Italian), Conf. Il ruolo dei
fluidi nei problemi di ingegneria geotecnica, Mondovi,
1994, pp.167–188.
Lewis R.W. and Schrefler B.A. 1998. The finite element
method in the static and dynamic deformation and con-
solidation of porous media, J. Wiley & Sons.
Ng C.W.W. and Pang Y.W. 2000. Influence of stress state on
soil-water characteristics and slope stability, J. Geotech
Geo-env. Eng, ASCE, 126(6) 1252–1264.
Romero E.M. 1999. Characterization and thermo-hydro-
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated Boom clay, PhD
Thesis, UPC, Barcelona.
Roscoe, K.H. and Burland, J.B. 1968. On the genera-
lized stress-strain behaviour of wet clay, Eng. Plast.,
Heyman, J. Lechie, F.A.A. Cambridge Press, Cambridge,
pp. 535–609.
Tamagnini R. 2000. Unsaturated soil modeling and FE
implementation, MSc Thesis, (in Italian), Rome.
Tamagnini R. 2003. The influence of hydraulic hystere-
sis in unsaturated soils FE analyses, Int. Conf.: From
Experiment Evid. Towards Num. Mod. of Unsat Soils,
September 18th–19th, 2003, Weimar, Germany.
Tamagnini R. 2004. An extended Cam-clay model for unsatu-
rated soils with hydraulic hysteresis, Geotechnique 54(3),
223–228.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Parametric investigations on a three-invariant implicit integration

algorithm for unsaturated soils

L.R. Hoyos
The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA

P. Arduino
The University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

ABSTRACT: This paper introduces an implicit integration algorithm that has been implemented to simulate
stress-strain response of unsaturated soils under suction-controlled multiaxial stress paths that are not achievable
in a conventional cylindrical apparatus. The algorithm supports numerical analyses in a deviatoric stress plane
(π-plane) by using a mixed control constitutive driver, in conjunction with a Generalized Cam-Clay model, within
a constant-suction scheme, also incorporating the influence of a third stress invariant or Lode-angle θ. The classic
Willam-Warnke surface, along with the generalized Barcelona model, is used for simulation of soil behavior in
three-invariant stress space p-q-θ (mean stress-deviator stress-Lode angle). A thorough parametric investigation
of the numerical algorithm has been undertaken for suction states ranging from 50 to 200 kPa using constitutive
model parameters that were previously devised experimentally for compacted silty sand. Numerical predictions
are presented in terms of deviatoric stress versus principal strain response as well as strength envelopes in octa-
hedral plane. The developed algorithm will prove to have a wide application potential in geotechnical boundary-
value problems involving unsaturated soil deposits or geotechnical infrastructure made of compacted soil.

1 INTRODUCTION behavior of the soil-structure system require that the

soil constitutive relations be valid for all multiaxial
Soils are often subject to three-dimensional stress stress paths likely to be experienced in the field.
gradients due to continuous changes in stress state In the present work, an implicit integration algo-
variables (σij − ua δij ) and (ua − uw )δij , as shown rithm, originally introduced by Macari et al. (2003),
schematically in Figure 1. Therefore, in geotechnical has been refined to predict unsaturated soil response
boundary-value problems involving unsaturated soil along a wide range of constant-suction multiaxial
deposits, the accurate predictions of the stress-strain stress paths that are not achievable in a conventional
cylindrical cell. The work is intended to facilitate
more elaborate numerical solutions in geotechnical
Traffic load Foundation load boundary-value problems that involve soil deposits
oscillating under various partially saturated states as
climatic conditions vary throughout the year.
The developed algorithm is based on a few modifi-
Pavement cations made to the constitutive framework originally
postulated by Alonso et al. (1990), referred to as the
( 1
– u a) (ua – uw) ( 1
– ua) (ua – uw) Barcelona model in this work. The refined algorithm
supports numerical analyses in the deviatoric plane
(ua – uw) (ua – uw) (π-plane) using a mixed control constitutive driver,
( 2 – ua) ( 2 – ua) in conjunction with a Generalized Cam-Clay model,
( – ua) (ua – uw) ( – ua) (ua – uw) that also accounts for the influence of a third stress
invariant, i.e. Lode-angle θ, within a constant-suction
3 3

scheme.
The well-known Willam-Warnke (1975) ellipti-
Figure 1. Unsaturated soil systems subject to multiaxial cal surface was then used for simulation of unsat-
stress states. urated soil response in three-invariant stress space

721
(p:q:θ). Numerical predictions are presented in terms parameter controlling the rate of increase of slope λ(s)
of deviator stress versus principal strain responses for with suction; r = 0.21, parameter defining maximum
different net octahedral stress levels and suction states, stiffness; pc = 0.036 MPa, reference stress for which
as well as in the form of failure surfaces on the π-plane. the LC locus becomes a straight line; G = 8.8 MPa,
shear modulus; M = 0.982, slope of critical state line;
k = 1.324, parameter controlling increase in cohesion
2 MODEL PARAMETERS with suction; and, po (0) = 0.041 MPa, yield stress for
the saturated case. Model parameters were obtained
Alonso et al. (1990) postulated a critical state based from a previously accomplished series of constant-
framework (Barcelona model) involving four state suction isotropic and axisymmetric loading tests on
variables: net mean stress, p = (1/3)(σ1 + 2σ3 ) − ua , silty sand (Hoyos and Macari 2001).
deviator stress, q = (σ1 − σ3 ), suction, s = (ua − uw ),
and specific volume, v = (1 + e). The model rigor-
ously respects the well-established framework of the 3 IMPLICIT INTEGRATION SCHEME
Modified Cam-Clay model, featuring elastic strains
when the soil state lies inside a state boundary sur- In this work, the computational implicit integration
face, and plastic strains when this surface is reached. driver is developed as a Backward Euler return rule
Elasto-plastic behaviour occurs as the soil state tra- based scheme for integrating the constitutive relations
verses the (p:q:s) boundary surface shown in Figure 2, postulated by the Barcelona model. The solution of
causing an expansion or contraction of such surface. the unsaturated problem can be devised as the projec-
A detailed description of the model yield loci, flow tion (via Closest-Point-Projection-Method) of a trial
rules, hardening laws, and elasto-plastic strain defini- stress state (σ , s) onto an updated yield surface n+1 F,
tions is given by Alonso et al. (1990) and Macari et al. as depicted schematically in Figure 3. In this figure,
(2003). σ = net stress tensor, s = matric suction, po = yield
The best-fit values of Barcelona model parameters stress, and so = maximum past suction. Validation of
used for numerical predictions presented in this work the algorithm for the θ = 0◦ case, that is, axisym-
can be summarized as follows: λ(0) = 0.22, slope of metric case, is presented by Macari et al. (2003).
normal compression line in (v:p) plane for saturated A mixed-control driver was implemented as a user-
case; k = 0.011, elastic swell index corresponding to model operator.
a change of p; ks = 0.0096, elastic swell index corre- The updated surface n+1 Fi is expressed in terms of
sponding to a change of suction; β = 17.9 (MPa)−1 , three stress invariants, that is, p, q, and Lode-angle θ.
q With the help of the Lode-angle θ, yield functions
CSL (s )

CSL (s = 0) ( n+1 e , n+1 se )

1 e
M Δ , Δse
1
M
q 2 M 2 {p + ps}{p o (s) p}= 0 ( n , ns )

d p
q ( n , ns ) ( n+1 , n+1 s )

p
d p

s=0 s
p
ps p o (0) p o (s ) n n+1
F ( , s , po , so ) = 0
F ( , s , po , so ) = 0
s o

(LC)
Figure 3. Implicit CPPM-based integration scheme.

s = so SI
LC
s c = 1.0 c = 0.7 c = 0.53
k
1 Elastic region (0) k
⎧ p o (s ) ⎫ ⎧ p o ( 0 ) ⎫ (s) k
⎨ c ⎬=⎨ c ⎬
⎩ p ⎭ ⎩ p ⎭
s=0 p 2(1 c2 ) cos( / 3) (1 2c) 4(1 c2 ) cos2 ( / 3 ) + 5c 2 4c
g( , c) =
ps pc p o (0 ) p o (s ) 4(1 c2 ) cos2 ( / 3) + (1 2c)2

Figure 2. Barcelona model framework in (p:q:s) space. Figure 4. Willam-Warnke surface in octahedral plane.

722
defined in 2-D space can be expanded into 3-D space
via a function g (θ, c) in which parameter ‘‘c’’ controls
the shape of yield surface in (p:q:θ) space, represent-
ing the ratio of yield stresses in extension to those in
compression, as shown in Figure 4.
In this work, a function g (θ, c) originally proposed
by Willam and Warnke (1975) for characterization
values s = 50, 100, and 200 kPa. Likewise, Figures 8
and 9 show predicted deviator stress versus principal
strain response from TC tests for the same variables.
In general, predictions capture the compressive (+) or
0.50

of concrete behavior under general stress states was

adopted. The function has been successfully used to 0.40

Deviator stress, q : MPa

capture constitutive response of soils (Manzari and
s = 200 kPa
Dafalias 1997) and is defined in Figure 4. With the 0.30
developed algorithm, the influence of Lode-angle θ
on unsaturated soil response in (p:q:θ) space is para-
0.20 s = 100 kPa
metrically investigated using the Barcelona model
parameters described in section 2 above for compacted
silty sand. 0.10
s = 50 kPa

0.00
-0.10 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10
4 PREDICTIONS OF SOIL RESPONSE Principal strain : cm/cm

Volumetric strain : cm/cm

0.000
4.1 General multiaxial stress response
0.005 s = 200 kPa
The parametric investigations of the developed algo- s = 100 kPa
rithm are based on simulations of silty sand response 0.010
s = 50 kPa
along constant-suction, monotonic triaxial compres-
sion (TC), triaxial extension (TE), and simple shear 0.015
0.00 0.05 0.10
(SS) stress paths imposed on cubical, normally con- Major principal strain : cm/cm
solidated soil specimens. Test schemes are depicted
schematically on a deviatoric plane in Figure 5. Figure 6. Simulated response from TC test at σoct = 50 kPa.
In this work, the net octahedral stress σoct and devi-
ator stress q are both defined in terms of total principal 0.50
stresses σ1 , σ2 , and σ3 as follows: s = 200 kPa

σ1 + σ 2 + σ 3 0.40
σoct = − ua (1)
Deviator stress, q : MPa

3 s = 100 kPa

1 
0.30
q = √ (σ1 − σ2 )2 + (σ2 − σ3 )2 + (σ1 − σ3 )2 (2)
2 s = 50 kPa
0.20

Figs. 6 and 7 show predicted deviator stress versus

principal strain response of silty sand from TC tests 0.10
at σoct = 50 and 200 kPa, respectively, for suction
0.00
-0.10 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10
(σ1 – ua) Principal strain : cm/cm
Volumetric strain : cm/cm

0.000
σ2 – σ3
TC (b = 0, θ = 0o) b=
SS (b = 0.5, θ = 30 )
o σ1 – σ3 s = 200 kPa
0.005
TE (b = 1, θ = 60o) s = 100 kPa
θ
σoct = 50, 100, or 200 kPa
s = 50 kPa
0.010
A s = 50, 100, or 200 kPa
0.015
0.00 0.05 0.10
Major principal strain : cm/cm
(σ2 – ua) (σ3 – ua)
Figure 7. Simulated response from TC test at σoct =
Figure 5. Simulated suction-controlled testing schemes. 200 kPa.

723
 0.50 4.2 Strength loci in deviatoric plane
As previously mentioned, the Willam-Warnke ellipti-
0.40 cal surface defined in Figure 4, along with the gener-
Deviator stress, q : MPa

alized Barcelona framework, was used for simulation

of unsaturated soil response in a three-invariant stress
0.30
space. By using this approach, critical state lines
s = 200 kPa

0.20
s = 100 kPa 0.50

0.10
s = 50 kPa 0.40
s = 200 kPa

Deviator stress, q : MPa

0.00
-0.10 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10
0.30
Principal strain : cm/cm
s = 100 kPa
Volumetric strain : cm/cm

0.000
0.20
s = 50 kPa
0.005 s = 200 kPa
s = 100 kPa 0.10
0.010
s = 50 kPa
0.00
0.015 -0.10 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10
0.00 0.05 0.10 Principal strain : cm/cm
Major principal strain : cm/cm
Volumetric strain : cm/cm
0.000

s = 200 kPa
Figure 8. Simulated response from TE test at σoct = 50 kPa.
0.005
s = 100 kPa
s = 50 kPa
0.010

0.015
expansive (−) nature of the principal strains depending 0.00 0.05
Major principal strain : cm/cm
0.10

on the nature of the simulated stress path.

In all cases, matric suction is predicted to have a Figure 9. Simulated response from TE test at σoct =
significant effect on soil’s shear strength, with a con- 200 kPa.
siderable increase in strength for s = 200 kPa. As it
is expected, confinement, in the form of net octahe-
dral stress σoct , also plays a significant role in soil’s ( 1
– ua)

multi-axial response, with a considerable increase in

strength for σoct = 200 kPa. =0
o

Matric suction is also predicted to have a paramount 50.0

influence on soil’s volumetric response, with a consid-

erable increase in volumetric stiffness for s = 200 kPa.
Volumetric strain in Figures 6 through 9 is defined as: 37.5
εv = ε1 + ε2 + ε3 . = 30
o

During TC testing, the major principal stress σ1 is

increased while the minor principal stresses σ2 and σ3 25.0
are reduced of the same amount, hence the net octa-
hedral stress σoct remains constant (Fig. 5). Hence, = 60
o

the corresponding minor and intermediate principal 12.5

strains are predicted to be expansive (−) whereas the s = 200 kPa

major principal strain will be compressive (+). s = 100 kPa

s = 50 kPa
During TE testing, the major and intermediate prin- 00.0
cipal stresses σ1 and σ2 are equally increased while the
minor principal stress σ3 is decreased (Fig. 5). Conse- ( 2
– ua) ( 3
– ua)
quently, the major and intermediate principal strains
are predicted to be compressive (+) while the minor Figure 10. Predicted strength loci in π-plane for σoct =
principal strain will be expansive (−). 50 kPa.

724
 ( 1
– ua)

o
=0

50.0

(a)

37.5
o
= 30

25.0
o
= 60

s = 200 kPa 12.5

s = 100 kPa
s = 50 kPa

00.0

( 2
– ua) ( 3
– ua)
(b)

Figure 11. Predicted strength loci in π-plane for σoct =

100 kPa.

( 1 – ua)

o
=0

o
50.0
= 30

37.5

(c)

o
= 60
25.0

s = 200 kPa
s = 100 kPa
s = 50 kPa
12.5

00.0

( 2 – ua) ( 3 – ua)

Figure 12. Predicted strength loci in π-plane for σoct = (d)

200 kPa.

(failure loci) predicted by Barcelona model for dif-

ferent matric suction states can be extended to a 3-D
stress space with different strengths in compression
and extension. It is assumed that the strength ratio ‘‘c’’
(Fig. 4) remains constant with suction s, and also that Figure 13. Predicted failure by decreasing suction
the soil behaves as an isotropic material. (wetting).

725
 Figures10–12 show the predicted strength loci of
unsaturated silty sand in the π-plane along with pre-
dictions of the Willam-Warnke failure criteria for all
TC, TE, and SS tests simulated at σoct = 50, 100, and
200 kPa for the various matric suctions, s = 50, 100,
and 200 kPa.
From these figures, it can be readily observed, in
all cases, the significant influence that matric suc-
tion exerts on the size and position of the shear
strength envelopes, with a considerable expansion of
the envelopes for s = 200 kPa.
5 SIMULATING WETTING-DRIVEN FAILURE
Simulations presented in the previous section corre-
spond to constant-suction stress-strain responses that
can be experimentally validated via axis-translation
technique. However, the implicit algorithm also sup-
ports analyses with varying matric suction.
Figure 13(a) shows a simulated stress path illustrat-
ing the possibility of failure of a stressed unsaturated
soil when suction is considerably reduced due to a
wetting front. This type of failures is significant in
partially saturated soil slopes subjected to wetting due
to infiltration from rainfalls (Alonso et al. 1990).
Suction was first increased (drying) to a value of
200 kPa at constant net mean stress of 150 kPa. The
net mean stress was then increased at constant suction
to a value of 250 kPa.
A deviatoric stress was then applied at constant suc-
tion and constant net mean stress from 0 to 250 kPa,
following a TC stress path. At this point, suction was
finally steadily reduced until failure was achieved.
The effect of final wetting stage on soil deforma-
tion is illustrated in Figures 13(b)–(d). Soil failure,
so simulated, takes place at almost full saturation
condition (s → 0).
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Numerical predictions with the refined implicit inte-
gration algorithm summarized in this work are able to
capture the compressive (+) or expansive (−) nature
of the principal strain response of silty sand, depending
on the nature of the simulated stress path.
Adoption of the Willam-Warnke function g (θ, c),
with a constant strength ratio ‘‘c’’ in compression and
726
extension, can be considered reasonably appropriate
in predicting unsaturated soil response in the three-
invariant stress space.
The predicted response of unsaturated silty sand
underscores the potential of the developed CPPM-
based implicit algorithm for numerical analyses
of geotechnical boundary-value problems involving
unsaturated soil deposits that are subject to simulta-
neous, three-dimensional stress gradients defined by
the net stress tensor (σij − ua δij ) and the matric suc-
tion tensor (ua − uw )δij . The implicit algorithm also
supports analyses with varying matric suction states.
Currently, a comprehensive series of multiaxial,
suction-controlled tests on cubical specimens of silty
sand are being conducted by the first author for further
refinement and fine-tuning of the developed algo-
rithm. To this end, a novel true triaxial (cubical) device
has been implemented.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The true triaxial device has been implemented under
U.S. National Science Foundation Award # 0216545.
This research support is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. and Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique, 40(3),
405–430.
Hoyos, L.R. and Macari, E.J. 2001. Development of a
stress/suction-controlled true triaxial testing device for
unsaturated soils. Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM,
24(1), pp. 5–13.
Macari, E.J., Hoyos, L.R. and Arduino, P. 2003. Constitutive
modeling of unsaturated soil behavior under axisymmet-
ric stress states using a stress/suction-controlled cubi-
cal test cell. International Journal of Plasticity, 19(10),
1481–1515.
Manzari, M.T. and Dafalias, Y.F. 1997. A critical state two-
surface plasticity model for sands. Géotechnique, 47(2),
255–272.
Willam, K.J. and Warnke, E.P. 1975. Constitutive model
for the triaxial behavior of concrete. Proceedings of the
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engi-
neering (IABSE), Bergamo, Italy, May 1974, Paper III-1,
19, 1–30.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A multi-cell extension to the Barcelona Basic Model

W.T. Solowski & R.S. Crouch

Durham University, Durham, UK

D. Gallipoli
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

ABSTRACT: One of the sources of discrepancy between laboratory observations and the predicted behaviour
of unsaturated soil (by many existing constitutive models) is the sharp transition between the elastic and elasto-
plastic regimes exhibited by the latter but not the former. Such a transition is present in, for example, the
Barcelona Basic Model. This paper suggests that by using the water retention curve and a multi-cell approach
it is possible to overcome this limitation. The proposed enhancement may be incorporated relatively easily into
many existing elasto-plastic models for unsaturated soils without addition of any new constitutive variables. The
introduction of the algorithm presented here can improve the predictions in pre-yield states. In this paper the
multi-cell approach has been implemented into the Barcelona Basic Model (BBM). The algorithm is described
in detail using an illustrative stress path that involves hydrostatic compression, drying and wetting. The paper
closes with a comparison of the modified model with the original BBM.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 UNSATURATED SOIL MICROSTRUCTURE

The Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) proposed by
Alonso et al. (1990) is perhaps the most widely used
nonlinear continuum constitutive model for unsatu-
rated soils. Despite its attractiveness this model has
several shortcomings. For example, the model pre-
dicts an abrupt transition from elastic to elasto-plastic
behaviour in a similar fashion to the Modified Cam
Clay (MCC) model. In the light of laboratory evi-
dence, such a response simplifies the behaviour of
unsaturated soil substantially. To rectify this issue, the
commonly employed solution is to create a constitutive
model within a multi- or bounding surface plasticity
framework (e.g. Russell & Khalili, 2005). Unfor-
tunately, such an approach leads to (i) an increase
in number of constants required by the model and
(ii) additional numerical complexity. Therefore multi-
or bounding surface plasticity models require greater
experience to calibrate when compared with conven-
tional elasto-plastic models.
The proposed modifications to the BBM allow for
a smoother modelling of the transition between the
elastic and elasto-plastic regimes. The modified model
uses only the BBM constants with the additional infor-
mation given by the water retention curve. Also, the
numerical algorithms required remain mostly the same
as for the original BBM. The calibration process of the
modified model is, however, more involved, but this
is not a serious limitation.
The main idea of the proposed constitutive model
stems from an examination of the microstructure and
water retention in unsaturated soils. Most constitutive
models (with the exception of models using a double
structure framework, such as developed by Gens &
Alonso, 1992) ignore important aspects of micro-
scopic soil fabric and thus assume a homogeneous
medium, simply extending the continuum constitutive
frameworks developed for fully saturated soils. How-
ever, fine grained unsaturated soil can have a much
more complex fabric at microscopic level than satu-
rated soil. The clay platelets combine together creating
larger clusters commonly referred to as aggregates
(this fact has been pointed out already by Alonso et al.,
1987). The pores between the aggregates (macropores)
are larger than within the aggregates (micropores)
which leads to a double porosity structure. Such a
structure can be seen in environmental scanning elec-
tron microscopy (ESEM) images and is confirmed by
mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests (see e.g.
Monroy, 2005).
The non-homogeneous microstructure of unsatu-
rated soil is also indirectly confirmed by the water
retention curve. This curve describes the relationship
between the suction and the water content for a given
soil. The amount of water retained under a given suc-
tion is related to pore size distribution of the soil
according to the Young-Laplace equation. Therefore,

727
the water retention curve can be used to calculate the
radius of the largest pores filled with water at a given
suction. As the water content of soil is known, the vol-
ume of pores with a smaller radius than this can also
be estimated.
Such an estimation of pore sizes in unsaturated soil
via the water retention curve is helpful but imperfect,
as drying/wetting of the soil leads to changes in its
structure. The soil structure (skeleton) may change
irreversibly as the wet portion of soil is drawn together
or undergoes swelling due to variation of suction. So,
while the water retention curve can be used to esti-
mate the pore size distribution, the outcome will not
be entirely representative for the soil given the non-
uniqueness of the relationship between suction and
water content caused by both irreversible strains and
hydraulic hysteresis. This dependence of water reten-
tion behaviour on the soil deformation history has
indeed been observed during experiments and par-
tially incorporated in recent models for water retention
behaviour (Gallipoli et al., 2003).
3 USING WATER RETENTION CURVE
TO ENHANCE THE CONSTITUTIVE MODEL
Despite the shortcomings mentioned above, the water
retention curve carries useful information about the
microstructural behaviour of unsaturated soil. It is
thus appropriate to use this information in constitutive
modelling. Here, to keep the modification as simple
as possible, it is assumed that a unique water reten-
tion curve, independent from the deformation and
wetting/drying history of soil, exists.
Such a water retention curve can be expressed as a
direct relationship between suction and degree of sat-
uration. Given this relationship, it is straightforward
to determine what percentage of soil has experienced
a maximum given value of suction—it is the corre-
sponding value of degree of saturation Sr read from
the water retention curve. It follows that at a given
value of suction, the average mean stress acting on the
soil skeleton is equal to the sum of the external stress p
and the current suction multiplied by the correspond-
ing degree of saturation sSr . This follows from the
stress definition given by Houlsby (1997).
Such an average stress does not account, however,
for the history of soil, i. e. it does not take into account
that the parts of soil which are currently dry, previously
experienced suction. An assumption has been made
here that the dried part of soil behaves ‘as though’ the
suction value that it has recently experienced is still
acting.
The soil then may be thought of as being composed
of a large number of internal cells. In Sr percent of
cells the suction is equal to the current suction s. It is
assumed that in each of the remaining cells the amount
728
of suction acting is equal to the latest value of suction
experienced in that cell. Then, for every cell a separate
instance of the constitutive model is run. During the
analysis each cell experiences the same mean stress,
but has a separate hardening parameter value and suc-
tion. After the computations, the deformations are
averaged. During implementation, the number of cells,
n, must be chosen to arrive at a balance between
computational efficiency and realism.
4 IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTI-CELL
FRAMEWORK FOR BBM
The multi-cell concept based on the use of the water
retention curve as described above has been imple-
mented in the BBM.
It is convenient to assume that in the initial state the
material is saturated, so that the initial value of suction
in all cells is set equal to zero. The other assump-
tion made at the beginning of the simulation is that the
hardening parameter p∗0 (BBM preconsolidation stress
for saturated conditions) in all cells is identical. Once
suction is applied, the values of current preconsoli-
dation pressure p0 in each cell are dependent on the
value of hardening parameter p∗0 and the most recently
experienced suction s
  λ(0)−κ
p∗0 λ(s)−κ
p0 = p0 ( p∗0 , s) = pc (1)
pc
where pc is the value of the reference stress and λ(s)
is the slope of the virgin compression line at suction s.
This slope is calculated as:
!
λ(s) = λ(0) (1 − r)e−βs + r (2)
where λ(0)is the slope of the virgin compression line
for the fully saturated soil, r and β are BBM con-
stants. In every cell a separate instance of the BBM is
used and, subsequently, the values from all cells are
averaged.
5 EXAMPLE
In this section an illustrative example is given. To keep
the example as simple as possible it was decided to
use 5 cells (n = 5). The water retention curve is
given in Figure 2. Initially (Fig. 1, point A) the soil
is fully saturated, with a mean net stress p of 10 kPa
which is also the value used for the reference pressure
pc in BBM. The soil is normally consolidated, so the
hardening parameter p∗0 is equal to 10 kPa. The other
BBM parameters used were: elastic stiffness param-
eter for changes in net mean stress κ = 0.02, elastic
stiffness parameter for changes in suction κs = 0.05,
atmospherics pressure patm = 100 kPa, stiffness
parameter for changes in net mean stress for virgin
states of the soil (with suction s = 0) λ(0) = 0.2,
parameter defining the maximum increase of soil stiff-
ness with suction β = 0.01 1/kPa and parameter
defining the maximum soil stiffness r = 0.75. The ini-
tial specific volume at the reference pressure pc is set
to 2.6. The initial soil state is given in Table 1.
The stress path and corresponding values of the spe-
cific volume of soil are summarised in Figure 1. First,
the soil is isotropic loaded until p = 100 kPa (Fig. 1,
path A-B). The state of soil after such loading is given
in Table 2.
At this stage (Fig. 1, point B) the values of spe-
cific volume for each cell ν1i in Table 2 are equal and
calculated as
p∗,i
ν1i = N (0) − λ(0) ln 0
, i = 1..5 (3)
pc
The average specific volume is
1" i
n
ν 1 + ν12 + ν13 + ν14 + ν15
ν1 = ν1 = 1 = 2.139
n i=1 5
(4)
where n is the number of cells used.
The soil is then dried until suction reaches 200 kPa
(Fig 1, B–C). The values of suction corresponding to
Sr equal to 0.9, 0.7, 0.5 and 0.47 are 30 kPa, 100 kPa,
180 kPa and 200 kPa respectively (see Fig. 2). The
cells are dried in a sequence, assuming that the cell
is dry when it is less then half full. This fully arbi-
trary assumption leads to drying the cells once the
degree of saturation reaches 0.9, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3 which
correspond to 30 kPa, 100 kPa, 180 kPa and 460 kPa
suction respectively (see Fig. 2). As at final suction
200 kPa the corresponding degree of saturation is
0.47 > 0.3, so the cells 4 & 5 remain wet. The evo-
lution of cell suction is given by Table 3, where s(Sr )
denotes suction corresponding to the value of degree
of saturation as given by the water retention curve
(Figs 2 & 3).
The soil state after drying is summarized in Table 4.
The specific volume for each cell ν2i and preconsoli-
dation pressure pi0 in Table 4 are calculated using:

si + patm
ν2i = ν1i − κs ln , i = 1..5 (5)
patm

Figure 1. Stress path, as calculated in the example.

Table 1. Initial condition of soil (Fig. 1, point A).

Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5

Hard. par. p∗0 [kPa] 10 10 10 10 10

Suction [kPa] 0 0 0 0 0
Specific vol. N (0)* 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6

*N (0) is the specific volume at the reference pressure pc .

Table 2. Soil state at p = 100 kPa (Fig. 1, point B).

Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5

Hard. par. p∗0 [kPa] 100 100 100 100 100

Suction [kPa] 0 0 0 0 0
Specific volume ν1i 2.139 2.139 2.139 2.139 2.139
Figure 2. Water retention curve.

729
 1 " i ν21 + ν22 + ν23 + ν24 + ν25
n
Table 3. Evolution of suction during drying.
ν2 = ν = = 2.097 (7)
n i=1 2 5
Suction Value [kPa]

Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5 After drying, the soil is isotropically loaded to

p = 500 kPa (Fig 1, C–D). This final value of mean
Sr > 0.9 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr )
Sr = 0.9 30 30 30 30 30 net stress is higher than the value of the preconsolida-
0.9 > Sr > 0.7 30 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) tion pressure p50 given in Table 4, so all the cells will be
Sr = 0.7 30 100 100 100 100 at stress states on the yield locus. The evolution of elas-
0.7 > Sr > 0.5 30 100 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) tic and elasto-plastic loading is given in Table 5. The
Sr = 0.5 30 100 180 180 180 soil state after loading to 500 kPa is given in Table 6.
0.5 > Sr > 0.3 30 100 180 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) Note that after loading the cell hardening parameters
Sr = 0.47 30 100 180 200 200 are different,

p∗,1 ∗,2 ∗,3 ∗,4 ∗,5

0 > p0 > p0 > p0 = p0 ,

whereas the preconsolidation pressure p0 is the same

for each cell. This is because the values of suction are
different for cells 1, 2, 3 and 4.
As the cells do not start yielding at the same mean
net stress (compare Table 5) the transition between
elastic and elasto-plastic regime appears smoother
than in the original BBM. The greater the number of
cells used in the model, the smoother the transition.
The value of hardening parameters p∗,i0 and specific
volumesν3i in Table 6 are calculated using:

  λ(s i )−κ
pi0 λ(0)−κ
p∗,i
0 =p c
, i = 1..5 (8)
pc

Table 5. Evolution of hardening during loading.

Figure 3. Illustration of suction distribution within cells
after drying to s = 200 kPa (Fig. 1, point C). A cell is assumed Loading
to be dry when its Sr > 0.5.
Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5
Table 4. Soil state after drying to s = 200 kPa (Fig. 1, p < p10 e e e e e
point C).
p10 < p < p20 ep e e e e
Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5 p20 < p < p30 ep ep e e e
Hard. par. p∗0 [kPa] 100 100 100 100 100 p30 < p < p40 ep ep ep e e
Suction [kPa] 30 100 180 200 200 p > p40 = p50 ep ep ep ep ep
Specific volume ν2i 2.126 2.104 2.088 2.084 2.084
e–elastic; ep–elasto-plastic.
Precons. pres. pi0 [kPa] 119.6 163.3 200.4 207.1 207.1

Table 6. Soil state at p = 500 kPa (Fig. 1, point D).

  λ(0)−κ
p∗,i
i
λ(s )−κ Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5
pi0 = p0 ( p∗,i
0 ,s ) = p
i c 0
, i = 1..5 (6)
pc Hard. par. p∗,i
0 [kPa] 377.3 253.6 202.6 195.4 195.4
Suction [kPa] 30 100 180 200 200
where patm = 100 kPa is atmospheric pressure. The Specific volume ν3i 1.855 1.906 1.929 1.932 1.932
average specific volume is, similarly to equation (4), Precons. pres. p0 [kPa] 500 500 500 500 500
given by:

730
 p0 si + patm Table 9. Evolution of hardening during loading.
ν3i = N (0) − λ(si ) ln c
− κs ln , i = 1..5
p patm
(9) Loading

Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5
The average specific volume is:
p < p∗,1
0 e e e e e
1" i
n
ν 1 + ν32 + ν33 + ν34 + ν35 p∗,1 <p< p∗,2
ν3 = ν3 = 3 = 1.911 0 0 ep e e e e
n i=1 5
p∗,2
0 <p< p∗,3
0 ep ep e e e
(10) p∗,3 <p< p∗,4 ep ep ep e e
0 0

In the next stage, the soil is unloaded until it reaches p> p∗,4
0 = p∗,5
0 ep ep ep ep ep
the mean stress of 100 kPa (Fig. 1, D-E). The specific
e—elastic; ep—elasto-plastic.
volume for each cell is then:
p Table 10. Soil state at p = 500 kPa (final, Fig. 1, point G).
ν4i = ν3i − κ ln , i = 1..5 (11)
p0
Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5
The average specific volume is calculated similarly as
Hard. par. p∗0 [kPa] 500 500 500 500 500
before (see e.g. 4). Suction [kPa] 0 0 0 0 0
At this stage the sample is wetted until fully satu- Specific volume ν6i 1.818 1.818 1.818 1.818 1.818
rated (Fig 1, E–F). The evolution of suction during Precons. pres. p0 [kPa] 500 500 500 500 500
wetting is given in Table 7 and the soil state after
wetting is identified in Table 8. After saturation, the
hardening parameters are unchanged and the value of
preconsolidation pressure in each cell is equal to the
value of hardening parameter in this cell.
The specific volume in Table 8 is calculated as

p + patm
ν5i = ν4i + κs ln , i = 1..5 (12)
patm

Table 7. Evolution of suction during wetting [kPa].

Loading

Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5

Sr = 0.47 30 100 180 200 200

Sr < 0.5 30 100 180 s(Sr ) s(Sr )
Sr = 0.5 30 100 180 180 180
0.5 < Sr < 0.7 30 100 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr )
Sr = 0.7 30 100 100 100 100
0.7 < Sr < 0.9 30 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr )
Sr = 0.9 30 30 30 30 30
Sr > 0.9 s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) s(Sr ) Figure 4. Influence of number of cells used in simu-
lation—comparison between simulation with 2 and 100
e—elastic; ep—elasto-plastic. cells.

Table 8. Soil state after wetting (s = 0 kPa) (Fig. 1, point F). The average specific volume is the mean of the
specific volumes of calculated in each cell (see eq. 4).
Cell (i) 1 2 3 4 5 Finally, the soil is loaded until the mean net stress p
reaches a value of 500 kPa (Fig. 1, F–G). The loading
Hard. par. p∗,i
0 [kPa] 377.3 253.6 202.6 195.4 195.4 is initially elastic, but as the mean stress increases, so
Suction [kPa] 0 0 0 0 0
the cells yield. The evolution of hardening during this
Specific volume ν5i 1.900 1.972 2.012 2.019 2.019
Precons. pres. pi0 [kPa] 377.3 253.6 202.6 195.4 195.4
loading is given in Table 9, and the final soil state is
given in Table 10.

731
Figure 5. Influence of number of cells used in simula-
tion—enlarged detail from Figure 4. Comparison between
simulations using 2, 3, 5, 10 and 100 cells.
The value of specific volume for each cell is then
calculated as in (3) and the average specific volume as
in (3). Note that the plastic behaviour will start gradu-
ally, with some yielding of the material before reaching
the virgin compression line. This gradual transition
will be better approximated when more cells are used.
The influence of the number of cells used is illustrated
in Figures 4 and 5.
6 COMPARISON WITH THE ORIGINAL BBM
The comparison has been made using a problem given
in section 5. All the parameters used for the BBM were
the same as in the previous example. The test began
with a mean net stress p = 10 kPa on a saturated
virgin compressed soil and the water retention curve
is as depicted in Figure 2.
The comparison of the modified model prediction
with the original BBM prediction (Fig. 6) reveals the
differences. The slopes of the unsaturated compres-
sion lines are slightly different. This is to be expected,
as the modified model effectively averages the specific
volume and a range of suctions are operating within
the material, whereas the original BBM uses only the
current value of suction. The model can be calibrated,
however, such that the fully yielded behaviour is sim-
ilar. The other noticeable difference is the amount of
elastic shrinking and swelling predicted by the mod-
els. This occurs because in the original formulation
the shrinking depends on the final value of suction
whereas in the modified form it is averaged over
different changes in suction across the cells. As the
732
Figure 6. Comparison of the modified BBM with the
original formulation.
shrinking and swelling behaviour are different, and
the slope of the unsaturated compression line λ(s) is
steeper in the case of the modified model, the amount
of collapse predicted by the original model is larger.
Finally, it is evident that the modified model pre-
dicts a smoother transition between the elastic and
elasto-plastic regions. This smooth transition occurs
also in the case of loading a fully saturated soil when
it has previously been in an unsaturated state and was
loaded beyond the yield point (of any of cells).
7 CONCLUSIONS
The proposed modifications to the BBM improve the
capabilities of the model by offering more realistic
material behaviour during yielding. The number of
parameters in the model is unchanged as the water
retention curve is also a pre-requisite for the BBM.
On the other hand, the proposed solution may be just
regarded as a convenient ‘fix’ to the model, as it does
not work for the particular case of a saturated soil.
The calibration of the model requires some care,
as calculations of the slope of the unsaturated com-
pression line slope λ(s) and amount of elastic shrink-
ing/swelling is not so straightforward. The calibration
process could employ an optimisation algorithm which
would allow for automation of the process. Alterna-
tively, the model parameters may be computed in a
series of approximations. The latter approach would
require an algorithm that would calculate deformations
under given loading. It should be pointed out that the
calibration of the model still does not require a greater
number of tests than those required for the BBM. This
is certainly an advantage over a model that would
introduce a bounding surface plasticity framework into
the BBM.
The amount of computer resources required is
higher than for the BBM. However, on current
machines, it is entirely feasible to perform 2D Finite
Element simulations with more than 105 elements
using the enhanced model. Given that the speed (and
memory) of computers continues to increase, it is very
likely that in few years 3D analyses will be almost as
quick as current 2D simulations.
It is worth adding that the algorithm complexity
of this enhanced model is not significantly increased
compared with the original BBM, as much of the code
used for each of the cells is the same.
The proposed modified model is in the process of
being validated against a wide range of experimental
data. Only then can the improvements in prediction
of unsaturated soil behaviour given by the modified
model can be truly assessed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding by the
European Commission through the MUSE Research
733
Training Network, contract: MRTN-CT-2004-506861.
The authors would like to also thank the reviewer for
valuable comments and insights.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40(3):
405–430.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A., Hight, D.W. 1987. Special
problems soils. General Reports. In proceedings of the 9th
European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering. Dublin. 3: 1087–1146.
Gallipoli, D., Wheeler, S.J., Karstunen, M. 2003. Mod-
elling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable
unsaturated soil. Géotechnique 53(1): 105–112.
Gens, A., Alonso, E.E. 1992. A framework for the behaviour
of unsaturated expansive clays. Can. Getech. J. 29:
1013–1032.
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material. Géotechnique 47(1): 193–196.
Monroy, R. 2005. The influence of load and suction changes
on the volumetric behaviour of compacted London Clay.
PhD thesis. Imperial College, London.
Russell, A.R., Khalili, N. 2005. A unified bounding surface
plasticity model for unsaturated soils. Int. J. Numer. Anal.
Meth. Geomech. 30: 181–212.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A numerical simulation of triaxial tests of unsaturated soil at constant

water and air content by using an elasto-viscoplastic model

F. Oka, H. Feng & S. Kimoto

Department of Civil and Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

T. Kodaka
Department of Civil Engineering, Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan

H. Suzuki
Osaka Gas, Osaka, Japan

ABSTRACT: It is known that air can be trapped in some parts of embankments during heavy rain or overflow.
In this case, air pressure, as well as water pressure, may change under partially drained conditions. However, most
laboratory test programs have been conducted under constant air pressure conditions. In this paper, a numerical
model for unsaturated soils based on the mixture theory and an elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model is presented.
The collapse behavior, due to a decrease in suction, is expressed by the shrinkage of the overconsolidation
boundary surface, the static yield surface, and the viscoplastic potential surface. The theory used in the analysis
is a generalization of Biot’s two-phase mixture theory for saturated soil. A soil-water-air coupled finite element
method is developed in the present study using the governing equations for multiphase soil based on the nonlinear
finite deformation theory. Three-dimensional numerical analyses at constant water and constant air content are
conducted and the applicability of the proposed method is confirmed. The performance of the model is examined
with reference to triaxial compression tests preformed on unsaturated soil at constant water and air content.

1 INTRODUCTION et al. 1990). Recently, the so called average skeleton

Most laboratory test programs have been conducted on
unsaturated soils under constant air pressure. However,
drained conditions for water and air cannot always be
attained in engineering problems. For example, the air
pressure in river embankments increases during the
seepage processes and air pressure may also vary dur-
ing soil compaction. Yamamura (1971) indicated that
air can be trapped in parts of embankments during
heavy rain or overflow. In these cases, the air pressure
changes under partially drained conditions. It means
that constant water and constant air content tests are
necessary to accurately verify numerical models of
unsaturated soil for general boundary value problems.
In this work, triaxial tests on silty clay at constant
water and air content have been conducted where both
the pore water and air pressures have been accurately
measured.
The stress variables of suction and excess of total
stress over air pressure (or the excess of total stress
over water pressure) have usually been employed to
describe the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils
(Bishop 1960; Fredlund & Morgenstern 1977; Alonso
stress has been used from the viewpoint of the mixture
theory (Bolzon et al. 1996; Jommi 2000; Ehlers 2004),
where an average pore pressure composed of pore
water pressure and pore air pressure is adopted to deter-
mine the stress acting on the soil skeleton. Hereafter,
the average skeleton stress is called skeleton stress to
avoid confusion of the average skeleton stress with the
mean skeleton stress. A number of constitutive models
have been proposed for unsaturated soil (Alonso et al.
1990; Wheeler & Sivakumar 1995; Wheeler & Karube
1996; Cui & Dleage, 1996; Thomas & He 1998; Sheng
et al. 2003; Kohgo et al. 1993) but most of them are
formulated within a rate-independent framework such
as elasto-plastic models.
By adopting the skeleton stress from the viewpoint
of mixture theory and by introducing the suction effect
into an elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model for satu-
rated soils with structural degradation (Kimoto & Oka
2005), an elasto-viscoplastic model for unsaturated
soils has been recently developed (Kim et al. 2005).
Although the collapse behavior, which is brought
about by a decrease in suction, can be reproduced,
such model is still based on two phases, which can

735
not reflect the evolution of pore water pressure and It is assumed that the strain rate tensor consists of
pore air pressure separately. For this reason, a van the elastic stretching tensor Dije and the viscoplastic
Genuchten type of equation is employed as the con- vp
stretching tensor Dij as
stitutive equation between degree of saturation and
suction. Based on this, an air-water-soil three-phase vp
coupled model has been proposed (Oka et al. 2006; Dij = Dije + Dij (3)
Feng et al. 2006) and used for two-dimensional numer-
ical simulations under plane strain conditions. In the The elastic stretching tensor is given by a general-
present study, this research is extended by employing ized Hooke type law, namely,
a three-dimensional multiphase finite element method
incorporating an elasto-viscoplastic constitutive equa-
tion to simulate the triaxial behavior of unsaturated 1 κ σ̇m
Dije = Ṡij + δij (4)
cylindrical specimens. 2G 3 (1 + e) σm

where Sij is the deviatoric stress tensor, σm is the mean

2 ELASTO-VISCOPLASTIC CONSTITUTIVE skeleton stress, G is the elastic shear modulus, e is
MODEL INCLUDING SUCTION EFFECT the initial void ratio, κ is the swelling index, and the
superimposed dot denotes time differentiation.
The constitutive model for unsaturated soils used in
this work is formulated in terms of the skeleton stress.
The definitions of the skeleton stress and the average 2.1 Overconsolidation boundary surface
pore fluid pressure are given as follows:
The overconsolidated boundary surface separates the
σij = σij − P F δij (1) normally consolidated (NC) region, fb ≥ 0, from the
overconsolidated region, fb < 0, as follows:
P F = sP W + (1 − s)P G (2)
∗ σm
fb = η̄(0) + Mm∗ ln  =0 (5)
where σij is the skeleton stress, P W and P G are the pore σmb
∗
water pressure and the pore gas pressure respectively, = {(ηij∗ − ηij(0)
∗
)(ηij∗ − ηij(0)
∗ 1
η̄(0) )} 2 (6)
s is the degree of saturation and P F is the average
pore pressure. The adoption of the skeleton stress rep-
resents a natural extension of the mixture theory to where ηij∗ is the stress ratio tensor (ηij∗ = Sij /σm ), and
unsaturated soil. Therefore, it is possible to formulate (0) denotes the state at the end of the consolidation, in
a model for unsaturated soil starting from a model for other words, the initial state before the shear test. Mm∗
√
saturated soil by substituting the skeleton stress for the is the value of η∗ = ηij∗ ηij∗ when the volumetric strain
effective stress. In addition, it is necessary to incorpo- increment changes from negative to positive dilatancy,
rate the effect of suction into the constitutive model. which is equal to ratio Mf∗ at the critical state. σmb is the
This means that two independent stress variables are strain-hardening parameter, which control the size of
needed, i.e. the skeleton stress and the suction. The the boundary surface. The suction effect is introduced
skeleton stress has been called average skeleton stress into the value of σmb as
by Jommi (2000) but the term skeleton stress is pre-
ferred here to avoid confusion with the mean skeleton  
  1 + e vp
stress. σmb = σma exp εkk
In this study, the saturated elasto-viscoplastic model λ−κ
for overstress-type viscoplasticity with soil structure   c 

degradation proposed by Kimoto & Oka (2005) has
been extended to unsaturated soils using the skele-
ton stress and including suction effects. The collapse
behavior of unsaturated soils is macroscopic evidence
of the structural instability of the soil skeleton and it is
totally independent of the chosen stress variables (Oka
1988; Jommi 2000). In the present model, the collapse
behavior is described by the shrinkage of the overcon-
solidated boundary surface, the static yield surface,
and the viscoplastic surface due to the decrease in
suction.
Pi
× 1 + SI exp −Sd − 1 (7)
Pc
vp
where εkk is the viscoplastic volumetric strain, P c is
the present suction value, Pic is a reference suction,
SI denotes the increase of yield stress when suction
increases from zero to the reference value Pic . Sd con-
trols the rate of increasing or decreasing of σmb with
suction and σma is a strain-softening parameter used
to describe degradation caused by structural changes,
namely

736
    
σma = σmaf + (σmai − σmaf ) exp (−βz) (8) 2.3 Viscoplastic potential function
The viscoplastic potential function is given by
t #
vp vp
z= żdt with ż = ε̇ij ε̇ij (9)
∗ σm
0 fp = η̄(0) + M̃ ∗ ln 
=0 (14)
σmp
 
in which σmai and σmaf are the initial and the final
 
values of σma while β controls the rate of degrada- where σmp denotes the mean skeleton stress at the inter-
vp
tion with viscoplastic strain, and ε̇ij is the viscoplastic section of the viscoplastic potential function surface
strain rate. and the σm axis.

2.2 Static yield function 2.4 Viscoplastic flow rule

To describe the mechanical behavior of the soil at its Finally, the viscoplastic stretching tensor is based on
static equilibrium state, a Cam-clay type static yield Perzyna’s type of viscoplastic theory (Perzyna 1963)
function is assumed: and is given as

σm ∂fp
fy = η∗(0) + M̃ ∗ ln (s)
=0 (10) vp
Dij = γ 1 (fy )
(15)
σmy ∂σij

where M̃ ∗ is assumed to be constant in the NC region where the symbol

is defined as
and varies with the current stress in the OC region as

⎧ ∗ 1 (fy ); fy > 0
⎪
⎨ Mm # : NC region 1 (fy )
= (16)
ηij∗ ηij∗ 0; fy ≤ 0
M̃ ∗ = (11)
⎪
⎩− : OC region
ln(σm /σmc  )
in which 1 denotes a material function for rate sen-
sitivity. Herein, the value of fy is assumed to be

where σmc denotes the mean skeleton stress at the inter- positive for any stress state in this model, in other
section of the overconsolidated boundary surface and words, the stress state always exists outside of the static
the σm axis as yield function, so that viscoplastic deformation always
occurs. Based on the experimental results of constant
# strain-rate triaxial tests, the material function 1 is
∗ ∗
ηij(0) ηij(0) defined by an exponential function (Kimoto & Oka
 
σmc = σmb exp (12) 2005).
Mm∗
  
The static strain hardening parameter σmy (s) σm
controls γ 1 (fy ) = Cijkl σm exp m  ∗
η̄(0) M̃ ∗ ln (s)
(17)
the size of the static yield surface. In the same way as σmy
the overconsolidation boundary surface, the parame-
(s)
ter σmy varies with the changes in suction as well as
where m is the viscoplastic parameter that controls
with the changes in viscoplastic volumetric strain and
rate sensitivity and the viscoplastic parameter Cijkl is
structural degradation:
a fourth rank isotropic tensor given by
(s)  
σmyi 1 + e vp
(s)
σmy = 
σma exp εkk Cijkl = aδij δkl + b(δik δjl + δil δjk ), C1 = 2b,

σmai λ−κ
  c 
C2 = 3a + 2b (18)
Pi
× 1 + SI exp −Sd −1 (13)
Pc
where a and b are material parameters, which have
a relation with the deviatoric component C1 and vol-
(s) (s)
where σmyi is initial value of σmy . umetric component C2 of the viscoplastic parameter.

737
The viscoplastic deviatoric and volumetric strain rates 3 NUMERICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
are obtained as follows:
Based on the Theory of Porous Media (TPM), an air-
   ∗ ∗
σ ηij − ηij(0) water-soil coupled finite element model has been used
= C1 σm exp m η̄(0)
∗
+ M̃ ∗ ln m
vp
ėij for a numerical investigation of the triaxial compres-
σmb η̄∗
sion behavior of unsaturated silty clay under constant
(19) water and constant air conditions. Based on the finite
   
σ deformation theory, a three-dimensional soil-water-
∗
= C2 σm exp m η̄(0) + M̃ ∗ ln m
vp
ε̇kk air coupled finite element code has been developed
σmb
  (Kimoto et al. 2007). Figure 2(a) shows a twenty-
∗ ∗ ∗
ηmn (ηmn − ηmn(0) ) node isoparametric element with a reduced Gaussian
× M̃ ∗ − (20) (2 × 2 × 2) integration for the soil skeleton and an
η̄∗
eight-node isoparametric element with a full (2×2×2)
integration for pore water and pore air. Figure 2(b)
In case of isotropic consolidation, the suction effect shows the finite element mesh together with the
on the over consolidation boundary surface, fb static boundary conditions. All boundaries are assumed to
yield function, fy and viscoplastic potential function, fp
 be impermeable and the horizontal deformation is
are illustrated in the σm − Sij Sij space in Figure 1. For constrained at both top and bottom boundaries.
this overstress type viscoplastic model, the viscoplas- The main material parameters and the initial con-
tic strain rate depends on the current stress state and ditions used in the analysis are listed in Table 1. Soil
the static hardening parameters given by Equation 13. parameters are obtained by triaxial compression tests
The collapse behavior is due to the viscoplastic strains (Suzuki 2006).
caused by shrinkage of the static yield surface due to The numerical examples presented in this paper
a decrease of suction. exhibit typical behavior of unsaturated soil under
undrained conditions for water and air, such as changes
in volumetric strain, shear strength, and pore air pres-
2.5 Soil-water characteristic curve sure. Predictions of the variation in suction were
The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is defined compared against the experimental results. Figure 3
as the relationship between the degree of saturation illustrates the stress paths of samples with different
and suction. The SWCC is a measure of the water- levels of initial suction. A good agreement can be
holding capacity of the soil when subjected to changes observed. By introducing the suction effect into the
of suction. In this model, the van Genuchten (1980) model, the model can reflect the fact that strength of
type of equation is adopted as

$ %−m
s = (smax − smin ) (1 + (αP C )n + smin (21)

where smin and smax are the minimum and the max-
imum degree of saturation, α and n are material
parameters and m = 1 − 1/n.
10cm

Z
Y
X

2.5cm
× Gauss point
Displacement Fixed
Pore fluid pressure Horizontally fixed
(a) (b)

Figure 1. Static yield and overconsolidation boundary Figure 2. (a) Isoparametric elements and (b) Finite element
surfaces. mesh and boundary conditions.

738
Table 1. Material parameters and initial condition. 500

Initial suction (kPa) 0 30 50 100 400

Deviator stress (kPa)

Initial void ratio e0 1.0 1.05 1.07 1.05
Shear modulus G0 (GPa) 34.8 40.6 45.1 46.8 300
 (kPa)
Yield stress σmbi 160 160 160 160 c
P =100kPa
Swelling index κ 0.0086 0.0094 0.0102 0.0102 200 c
P = 50kPa
Compression index λ 0.095 0.105 0.114 0.114 c
P = 30kPa
Parameter m 52 c
P = 0kPa
100
Parameter C1 (1/s) 1.0 × 10−11
Parameter C2 (1/s) 1.5 × 10−11
Critical ratio Mm∗ 1.23 0
 0 100 200 300 400 500
Parameter σmaf (kPa) 160
Mean skeleton stress (kPa)
Structure parameter β 0.0
Suction parameter SI 0.5 (a)
Suction parameter Sd 0.25 500
Reference suction PiC 100
Parameter α (1/kPa) 0.03 400

Deviator stress (kPa)

Parameter n 1.45
Permeability of water 300
at s = 1 k W (m/s) 1.0 × 10−6
Permeability of gas at
s = 0k G (m/s) 1.0 × 10−5 200
Shape parameter a 3.0
Shape parameter b 2.3 100
Saturation (Max) smax 1.0
Saturation (Min) smin 0
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Mean skeleton stress (kPa)
(b)
unsaturated soil increases with the increase in the ini-
tial suction. The mean skeleton stress also increases Figure 3. Stress paths with different levels of initial suction
(a) simulated results; (b) experimental results.
with compression due to the presence of gas phase.
Deviator stress-axial strain curves under different
initial suctions are presented in Figure 4. It can be 400
seen that the deviator stress is higher in the case of a
higher initial suction.
300
Predicted volumetric strain during triaxial compres-
Deviator stress (kPa)

sion with different levels of initial suction for silty clay

is shown in Figure 5. In the model, the pore air is 200
assumed to be compressible and the volumetric strain c
P =50kPa
can be seen as the compression of air. For this reason, c
P =30kPa
the volumetric strain is higher in the case of a higher 100 c
P =50kPa(exp)
level of suction due to a higher air content. c
P =30kPa(exp)
Figure 6 illustrates the relationship between suction
0
and axial strain for different levels of initial suction.
It shows that suction (P G − P W ) decreases during com-
pression, which is similar to the experimental results 0 5 10 15
except at the very beginning where a sudden drop in Axial strain (%)
suction is observed. This might be due to changes in
the initial soil structure of the samples. Figure 4. Deviator stress vs. axial strain.
In such multiphase coupled analysis, the displace-
ment, the pore water pressure, and the pore air pressure
are unknown values. The change of pore pressures with 4 CONCLUSIONS
compression can be calculated under constant water
content and constant aiir content conditions. Figure 7 An air-water-soil three-phase coupled finite element
gives the changes in pore water pressure P W and pore model incorporating an elasto-viscoplastic constitutive
air pressure P G with compression (P c = 50 kPa). soil model has been proposed. This method adopts

739
 A van Genuchten type soil water characteristic curve is
0 employed as the constitutive equation linking suction
and degree of saturation.
Volumetric strain (%)

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of triax-

c
1 P =30kPa ial compression tests under constant water and air
c
P =50kPa conditions have been conducted using the proposed
model. Comparisons with experimental results show
2
that the model makes it possible to reproduce the
behavior of unsaturated soil during triaxial compres-
3 sion under undrained conditions for pore water and
air, including changes in pore air pressure, pore water
pressure, degree of saturation and volumetric strain.
4
0 4 8 12 16
Axial strain (%)
REFERENCES
Figure 5. Volumetric strain vs. axial strain.
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A. & Josas, A. 1990. A constitu-
50 tive model for partially saturated soils. Geotechnique
40(3):405–430.
Biot, M.A. 1941. Three-dimensional theory of consolidation.
40 J. Appl. Physics 12:155–164.
Bishop, A.W. 1960. The measurement of pore pressure in
the triaxial test. Proc. Conf. Pore pressure and suction in
Suction (kPa)

30
soils: 38–46; Butterworths, London.
Bolzon, G., Schrefler, B. & Zienkiewicz, O.C. 1996.
20 c Elastoplastic soil constitutive laws generalized to partially
P =30kPa
c saturated states. Geotechnique 46(2):279–289.
P =50kPa
10 c Cui, Y.J. & Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic
P =30kPa(exp) behaviour of an unsaturated compacted silt. Geotechnique
c
P =50kPa(exp) 46(2):291–311.
0 Ehlers, W., Graf, T. & Ammann, M. 2004. Deformation and
0 4 8 12 16 localization analysis of partially saturated soil. Compt.
Axial strain (%) Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 193:2885–2910.
Feng, H., Kimoto, S., Oka, F., Kodaka, T. & Suzuki, H.
Figure 6. Changes in suction with axial strain. 2006. Three-dimensional multiphase analysis of elasto-
viscoplastic unsaturated soil. Proc. 19th KKCNN Symp.
on Civil Engg.:449–452.
c
P =50kPa Fredlund, D.G. & Morgenstern, N.R. 1977. Stress state vari-
360 ables for unsaturated soils. J. Geotech. Engng Div. Am.
Deviator stress (kPa)

G
P Soc. Civ. Engr. 103, GT5:313–321.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharama, R. & Vaunat, J. 2003. An
320 elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
w
P effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
280 behaviour. Geotechnique 53(1):123–135.
Jommi, C. 2000. Remarks on the constitutive modeling of
240 unsaturated soils. In Tarantino, A. & Manvuso, C. (eds),
Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Approaches in
Unsaturated Soils: 139–153. Balkema.
200 Kim, Y., Kimoto, S., Oka, F. & Kodaka, T. 2005. Numerical
simulation of the triaxial compression behaviour of unsat-
0 5 10 15 20 25 urated silt using an elasto-viscoplastic model. Proc. 11th
Mean skeleton stress (kPa) IACMAG 1:361–367. Torino, Italy, 19–24 June 2005.
Kimoto, S. & Oka, F. 2005. An elasto-viscoplastic model
Figure 7. Pore pressure vs. axial strain. for clay considering destructuralization and consolida-
tion analysis of unstable behavior, Soils and Foundations
45(2):29–42.
the average skeleton stress from the viewpoint of Kimoto, S., Oka, F. & Higo, Y. 2004. Strain localiza-
the mixture theory, and the suction effect is intro- tion analysis of elasto-viscoplastic soil considering struc-
duced in the hardening and softening of the yield tural degradation. Compt. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg.
surface and the over-consolidation boundary surface. 193:2845–2866.

740
Kimoto, S., Oka, F., Fushita, T. & Fujiwaki, M. 2007.
A chemo-thermo-mechanically coupled numerical sim-
ulation of the subsurface ground deformations due to
methane hydrate dissociation, Computers and Geotech-
nics, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 216–228.
Kogho, Y., Nakano, M. & Miyazaki, T. 1993a. Theoretical
aspects of constitutive elastoplastic model for unsaturated
soils. Soils and Foundations 33(4):49–63.
Kogho, Y., Nakano, M. & Miyazaki, T. 1993b. Verification of
the generalized elastoplastic model for unsaturated soils.
Soils and Foundations 33(4):64–73.
Loret, B. & Khalili, N. 2000. A three phase model for
unsaturated soils. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech.
24(11):893–927.
Loret, B. & Khalili, N. 2002. An effective stress elastic-
plastic model for unsaturated porous media. Mechanics
of materials 34: 97–116.
Oka, F., Kodaka, T., Kimoto, S., Kim, Y. & Yamasaki, N.
2006. An elasto-viscoplastic model and multiphase cou-
pled FE analysis for unsaturated soil. Unsaturated Soils
2006(2):2039–2050; Proc. 4th Int. Conf. Unsat. Soils,
Carefree Arizona, 2–6 April 2006. ASCE.
Oka, F. 1988. The validity of the effective stress concept
in soil mechanics. In M. Satake & J.T. Jenkins (eds),
Micromechanics of Granular Materials:207–214. Elsevier
Science Publisher B.V.: Amsterdam.
Oka, F. 1982. Elasto-viscoplastic constitutive equation
for overconsolidated clay. In Zurich, Dungar, R.,
Pande, G.N. & Studer, J.A. (eds), Numerical Models in
Geomechanics; Proc. 1st Int. Symp.:147–156, Balkema.
741
Perzyna, P. 1963. The constitutive equation for work hard-
ening and rate sensitive plastic materials, Proc. of
Vibrational Problems, Warsaw, 4(3):74–85.
Sheng, D., Sloan, W., Gens, A. & Smith, D.W. 2003. Finite
element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated soils
Part I: Theory. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech
27:745–765.
Suzuki, H., Kodaka, H. & Oka, F. 2006. Mechanical Prop-
erties of Unsaturated Silt under Unexhausted and pore air
pressure controlled condition. Proc. 41st Annual Meeting
of JGS: 323–324, Kagoshima (in Japanese).
Thomas, H.R. & He, Y. 1998. Modeling the behaviour of
unsaturated soil using an elastoplastic constitutive model.
Geotechnique 48(5):589–603.
Van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A Close-form Equation for Pre-
dicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils.
Soil Science Society of America Journal 44: 892–898.
Wheeler, S.J. & Karube, D. 1996. State of the art report-
constitutive modeling. 1st Int. Conf. on Unsaturated soils,
Paris 3: 1323–1356.
Wheeler, S.J. & Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic crit-
ical state framework for unsaturated soil. Geotechnique
45(1):35–53.
Yamamura, K. 1971. Soil engineering research of river
embankment. Doctoral thesis, Kyoto University, Japan;
(in Japanese).
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Stress condition of an unsaturated pendular state granular soil

C. Medina & M. Zeghal

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA

ABSTRACT: A micro-mechanical analysis is used to investigate the impact of inter-particle water bridges
on the stress condition of unsaturated pendular-state granular soils. The discrete element method was used to
idealize the soil skeleton. Bridge suction forces were used to model the effects of pendular water bridges, which
develop at interparticle contacts. Computational simulations were employed along with analytical derivations
to propose an expression providing the suction and effective stresses within unsaturated pendular-state granular
soils. Suction stress was found to be a direct function of porosity, water content, and water bridge coordination
number and fabric tensor. The outcome of the conducted simulations provided a valuable insight into the stress
condition of unsaturated pendular-state granular soils.

1 INTRODUCTION of the soil is provided by solving the equations of

The principle of effective stress is a fundamental con-
cept in soil mechanics. However, its applicability to
unsaturated soils has been a subject of debate for a
long time and remains a highly active area of research.
The mechanical behaviour of unsaturated granular
soils depends not only on interparticle forces and con-
tact conditions but also on the interaction with pore
water. At low levels of moisture, pore liquid within
an unsaturated granular soil exists in a pendular state
(Newitt & Conway-Jones 1958) and consists only of
isolated water bridges. These bridges generate suction
forces that hold neighbouring soil particles together;
increasing shear strength and stiffening soil response.
In this study, the discrete element method (DEM)
is used to idealize the particles of unsaturated soils
and a suction force model is used to account for the
effects of pendular water bridges. Numerical simu-
lations were used along with analytical derivations
to assess the suction and effective stresses within
unsaturated pendular-state granular soils.
2 A MICRO-MECHANICAL MODEL
FOR UNSATURATED SOILS
A DEM model (Cundall & Strack 1979) was used
to idealize a deposit of unsaturated pendular-state
granular soil as a collection of discrete spherical par-
ticles. For these soils, the particles are subjected to
gravity forces, interparticle (repulsion) contact forces
and suction (attraction) forces exerted by pendular
water bridges. A complete description of the motion
linear and angular momentum for each particle (i.e.
Newton’s second law). For a particle p these equations
are given by:
" "
mp v̇p = mp g + fc + fb (1)
c b
"
Ip ω̇p = rc × fc (2)
c
where vp and ωp are translational and rotational
velocity vectors of particle p (a superposed dot indi-
cates a time derivative), mp and Ip are particle
mass and moment of inertia, g is gravity vector,
fc refers to the interparticle contact force at contact
c(c = 1, 2, . . . ), rc is vector connecting the centre of
particle p to the location of contact c, and fb is force
exerted by the pendular water bridge b(b = 1, 2, . . . ).
The bridge forces are assumed to be radial and do not
generate a moment. When the particles are in con-
tact, the contact force, fc , and the bridge force, fb ,
(due to the generation of a water bridge) are taken into
account. Only the bridge force, fb , is considered when
two particles, formerly in contact are moving away
from each other until the critical rupture distance of
the pendular water bridge is reached (Lian et al. 1993).
A constitutive law provided the contact forces, fc ,
as a function of the relative movement of the par-
ticles. The normal interparticle contact forces were
modeled using a nonlinear Hertz spring (Mindlin &
Deresiewicz 1953) in parallel with a dashpot. The
shear interparticle contact forces were idealized using
a Kelvin model (elastic spring in parallel with a dash-
pot) in series with a frictional slider. The shear and

743
normal interparticle contact forces are related by a slip
Coulomb relationship (Itasca 2003).
Bridge forces develop when pendular water bridges
form between particles. This force includes suction,
fs , and viscous, fν , components. The viscous compo-
nent arises when the involved two particles move with
respect to each other leading to a water flow in the
bridge. This component is only significant when the
pore liquid viscosity is high or particles are approach-
ing each other at high relative velocities (Adams &
Perchard 1985). This study focused on static soil con-
ditions and the viscous component of the bridge force
was not considered.
The suction component of the bridge force accounts
for the reduced hydrostatic pressure, P, within the
water bridge and the force caused by the water surface
tension, Ts , at the water-air-particle interface. For a
pendular state and small particles (diameters less than
about 1 mm), the effects of gravity on water bridges
are negligible. The bridge force is then given by (Hotta
et al. 1974):
& '
fs = π R22 P + 2πTs R2 n̂ (3)
where n̂ is unit vector connecting the centers of the
particles and P is the reduced hydrostatic pressure
(or better known in soil mechanics as matric suction)
given by the Laplace-Young equation (e.g., Lu & Likos
2004):
 
1 1
P = Ts − (4)
R1 R2
in which R1 and R2 are radii of the principal cur-
vature of the pendular bridge. Assuming a toroidal
approximation of the liquid bridge (Fisher 1926),
R1 and R2 may be related geometrically to the vol-
ume of the bridge (Fig. 1). This procedure gives an
implicit relationship between the suction force and
the water bridge geometrical parameters. An alterna-
tive explicit relationship (similar to those published
Figure 1. Geometry of a pendular water bridge between two
particles of different size (Rp1 and Rp2 are the particle radii,
R1 and R2 are radii of principal curvature of the pendular
bridge, and d is the separation distance between the particles).
744
Figure 2. Explicit (solid lines) and implicit (discrete points)
functions of the variation of the normalized suction force
component fs∗ between two particles as a function of the
normalized interparticle separation distance δ (for equal
size particle, ρ = Rp2 /Rp1 = 1, different size particle,
ρ = Rp2 /Rp1 > 1, and the limiting case of a particle and
a wall, ρ = Rp2 /Rp1 ∼∞).
by others, e.g., Weigert & Ripperger 1999) was devel-
oped by the authors using regression and optimization
techniques. This explicit relationship is appropriate
for discrete element implementations. Details of the
computation of fs as a function of water content
and particle separation distance are given by Medina
(2007). Figure 2 shows the normalized suction force
fs∗ = fs /(2πTs Rp1 ) as a function of normalized inter-
particle separation distance δ = d/Rp1 for monosize
particles, different size particles and a particle and
a wall.
3 EFFECTIVE STRESS TENSOR
OF UNSATURATED PENDULAR-STATE
GRANULAR SOILS
The principle of effective stress is a fundamental well-
established concept in the mechanics of fully saturated
soils. Numerous efforts have been made to extend
this concept to unsaturated soil since the late 1950s.
A well known expression for the effective stresses for
an unsaturated soil is given by (Bishop, 1959):
σ  = (σ tot − ua δ) − χP δ (5)
where σ  is the effective stress tensor, σ tot is the total
stress tensor, ua is atmospheric pressure, δ is the Kro-
necker delta, and χ is a scalar quantity called effective
stress parameter. Researchers have debated over the
last four decades the issue of whether there exists a
state variable for unsaturated soils that plays a role
equivalent to that of the effective stress in the mechan-
ics of saturated soils. Applicability of the effective
stress principle to unsaturated soils remains a highly
active area of research, and experimental investiga-
tions have been carried out by researchers to explore
the validity as well as the limitations of this concept
(e.g., Jennings & Burland 1962; Khalili et al. 2004).
Strictly speaking, stress is a continuum characteris-
tic which does not apply to an assemblage of discrete
particles in a granular soil. Averaging procedures may
be used to evaluate stress fields consistent with particle
contact forces (Cundall & Strack, 1983). For unsatu-
rated pendular-state granular soils, the water bridges
exert attractive forces that push the particles against
each other leading to an increase in interparticle con-
tact forces. Averaging of these forces gives a tensile
suction tensor such as: Figure 3. Variation of f (, ρavg ) as a function of the
normalized average bridge volume  (Medina, 2007).

σ  = σ net − s (6)

where σ  is effective stress tensor which reflects the

interparticle contact forces, σ net = (σ tot − ua δ) is net
stress tensor associated with all external and internal
forces except suction forces, and s is suction ten-
sor associated to bridge suction forces. This tensor is
obtained by homogenization of the water bridge suc-
tion forces acting on the particles (Medina, 2007). The
suction tensor is essentially diagonal in view of the
fact that the suction forces are normal to interparti-
cle contacts. The negative sign in Equation 6 is used
to conform to the soil mechanics sign convention (i.e.,
compressive forces produce positive average stresses).
Numerical simulations of regular periodic packing
of spherical particles and analytical derivations were
employed to derive an expression for the suction tensor
as a direct function of soil properties (Medina, 2007):
s = − (1 − n) bn f (, ρavg )PFb (7)
where n is soil porosity, bn is average number of
bridges per particle or bridge coordination number,
Fb is average fabric tensor of the water bridges, and
f (, ρavg ) is a scalar soil characteristic function that
depends on soil properties such as, grain size dis-
tribution, packing arrangement, and water content.
Numerical simulations and analytical derivations were
employed to obtain an expression linking the variations
of this function f to the normalized average size ratio
ρavg of particles linked by a water bridge and normal-
ized average bridge volume  (where normalization
is obtained by dividing the volume bridge by the vol-
ume of the smaller of the two involved particles). This
function was found to depend primarily on the normal-
ized average bridge volume  (i.e. on water content).
The variation of ρavg has a minor impact that manifest
mostly at very low levels of water content, as shown in
Figure 3. Using Equations 6 and 7, the effective stress
Figure 4. Normalized suction stress as a function of water
content: Effect of average particle size ratio ρavg on random
packing of spherical particles.
tensor of an unsaturated pendular-state granular soil,
may be expressed as:
σ  = σnet + χPFb (8)
& '
where χ = (1 − n) bn f , ρavg .
Figure 4 exhibits the variation of the normalized
suction stress components as a function of water
content for three simulations of random packing of
spherical particles with three different grain size dis-
tributions (Table 1). In order to ensure a concise com-
parison that includes all suction stress components,
the component of the suction tensor were normal-
ized by the matric suction, P and the correspond-
ing fabric tensor component, i.e., [s]ij /(P[F]ij ).
Good agreements were obtained between the stress
ratios computed using Equation 7 and those provided
by numerical simulations using the discrete element
model for unsaturated pendular-state granular soil
(Medina, 2007).
Equation 8 shows that the stress state of an unsat-
urated soil in a pendular state is a direct function of
the matric suction P, which in turn is a function

745
Table 1. Numerical data for random packing of particles. was found to depend on water bridge fabric tensor
Fb , matric suction P and a newly defined pendular
Particles effective stress parameter χ. This parameter is a direct
Diameter (mm) 0.55–0.85 0.085–0.85 0.85 function of porosity, water content, and water bridge
ρavg 1.00 1.16 2.09 coordination number.
Porosity, n (%) 43 42 41
bn 4.55 4.78 4.90
Fluid REFERENCES
Water content (%) 0.5–4 0.5–4 0.25–0.75
F11 0.315 0.318 0.315 Adams, M.J. & Perchard, A. 1985. The cohesive forces
F22 0.320 0.319 0.320 between particles with interstitial liquid. In IChemE
F33 0.365 0.363 0.365 Symposium Series (91):147–160.
Cundall, P.A. & Strack, O.D.L. 1979. A discrete numer-
Computation parameters ical model for granular assemblies. Géotechnique
Time step for DEM 1.0 × 10−7 s 29(1):47–65.
Cundall, P.A. & Strack, O.D.L. 1983. Modeling of micro-
scopic mechanisms in granular material. In J.T. Jenkins &
M. Satake (eds.), Mechanics of Granular Materials, New
Models and Constitutive Relations; Proc. US-Japan sem-
inar on new models and constitutive relations in the
mechanics of granular materials, Ithaca, New York, 23–27
August, 1983: 137–149. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.,
Amsterdam.
Fisher, R.A. 1926. On the capillary forces in an ideal soil;
corrections of formulae given by W.B. Haines. Journal of
Agricultural Science 16:492–505.
Itasca. 2003. Particle Flow Code, PFC3D, release 3.0. Itasca
Consulting Group, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jennings, J.E. & Burland, J.B. 1962. Limitations to the use of
effective stresses in partly saturated soils. Géotechnique
12(2):125–144.
Khalili, N., Geiser, F. & Blight, G.E. 2004. Effective
stress in unsaturated soils: Review with new evidence.
Figure 5. Soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) for cubic International Journal of Geomechanics 4(2):115–126.
and hexagonal periodic packing of spherical particles. Li, X.S. 2003. Effective stress in unsaturated soil: a
microstructural analysis. Géotechnique 53(2):273–277.
Lian, G., Adams, M.J. & Thornton, C. 1998. Discrete particle
of moisture content. The relationship between matric simulation of agglomerate impact coalescence. Chemical
suction and moisture content is generally expressed Engineering Science 53:3381–3391.
by the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC). This Lu, N. & Likos, W. 2004. Unsaturated soil mechanics. John
curve was evaluated for numerical simulations of cubic Wiley and Sons, Inc.
and hexagonal periodic packing of spherical particles, Medina, C. 2007. A micro-mechanical study of the response
as displayed in Figure 5. This figure also shows a good of unsaturated pendular state granular soils. Ph. D. Thesis,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
agreement between the results of conducted simula- Mindlin, R. & Deresiewicz, H. 1953. Elastic spheres in
tions in comparison and the SWCC theoretical curve contact under varying oblique forces. Journal of Applied
proposed by Reinson et al. (2005). Mechanics, ASME 20:327–344.
Newitt, D.M. & Conway-Jones, J.M. 1958. A contribution to
the theory and practice of granulation. Transactions of the
Institution of Chemical Engineers 36:422–442.
4 CONCLUSIONS Reinson, J.R., Fredlund, D.G. & Wilson, G.W. 2005. Unsatu-
rated flow in coarse porous media. Canadian Geotechnical
A discrete element model and numerical simula- Journal 42:252–262.
tions were used to investigate the impact of pendular Weigert, T. & Ripperger, S. 1999. Calculation of the liquid
water bridges on the stress condition of unsaturated bridge volume and bulk saturation from the half-filling
soils. These simulations were employed along with angle. Particle and Particle Systems Characterization
analytical derivations to develop an expression pro- 16:238–242.
viding the suction and effective stresses within unsat-
urated pendular-state granular soils. The suction stress

746
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A numerical investigation of steady-state unsaturated conductivity tests

G. Steger & S. Semprich

Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria

M.P.H. Moncada, T.M.P. de Campos & E. Vargas Jr.

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

ABSTRACT: The determination of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils in steady-state permeameters is

experimentally challenging. Apart from the experimental difficulties there is, however, another important aspect
which has not yet been investigated in detail: The non-uniform distribution of matric suction in the soil specimen.
The results of unsaturated permeability tests are usually referred to the arithmetic average of matric suction. This
implies a linear approximation to the strongly non-linear unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function of soils. It
is the aim of this paper to investigate the correctness of this simple approach. Beyond, two simple methods to
improve inaccurate hydraulic conductivity data are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION qw
water pump

The steady-state method for the determination of

hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils is carried pore water pressure
measurement
out at constant magnitudes of matric suction respec-
tively water content. Common steady-state methods
are the ‘‘constant-head’’ method and the ‘‘constant- air pressure supply at
soil specimen
constant pressure
flow’’ method. Recently developed constant-head per-
meameters are Gan & Fredlund (2000) or Agus confining wall
et al. (2003), and recently developed constant-flow
permeameters are Lu et al. (2006) or Moncada (2008). filter paper
Figure 1 shows the experimental system for HAE disk reservoir at constant
a constant-flow permeameter, similar to Moncada water pressure
(2008). A controlled water flow rate is applied at the ua = u w
qw
top of the permeameter, while the water pressure at the
base high air entry (HAE) disk is maintained constant.
The induced pressure change behind the top HEA disk Figure 1. Experimental system of a constant-flow
is measured. The described experimental system will permeameter.
be the basis for the subsequent numerical investiga-
tions. The results obtained, however, do not depend
on a specific permeameter system, and are equally hydraulic conductivity; hw,b = water pressure head at
valid for the constant-head as well as the constant-flow base; hw,t = water pressure head at top; and l = height
method. of soil sample.
Physically, all the different steady-state permeame- The steady state method is usually considered as
ter methods are the same. The unsaturated hydraulic the most accurate method for determining the unsatu-
conductivity is computed using Darcy’s law: rated hydraulic conductivity (Benson & Gribb 1997).
There are, however, various difficulties associated
q with this method. Experimental challenges include
ν= = −k(ψ) · (hw,b − hw,t )/l (1) the long testing periods and the adherent problems
A
of water losses and air diffusion, and measurement
where ν = Darcy velocity; q = flow rate; A = uncertainties. System head losses may also falsify the
cross section; k(ψ) = suction dependent unsaturated obtained conductivity values.

747
 There is a further aspect which may contribute to
misinterpretation of unsaturated hydraulic conductiv-
ity data, and which is usually not accounted for: The
non-uniform distribution of matric suction in the soil
specimens.
2 NON-UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION OF MATRIC
SUCTION AND ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS
Different magnitudes of pore water pressures are
applied behind the base and the top HEA disk of the
permeameter. This results in a (necessary) matric suc-
tion gradient across the soil specimen. All the recent
permeameter developments (see previous references)
left the idea of measuring pore water pressures inside
the sample. The distribution of matric suction in the
soil specimen is therefore unknown.
However, the derived hydraulic conductivity from a
permeameter test has to be referred to a certain suction
value. This ‘‘average’’ suction is usually computed as
the arithmetic average of the suction at the base and
the top of the soil sample.
It has long been recognized that the obtained
hydraulic conductivity from the permeameter does
not necessarily correspond to the ‘‘average’’ matric
suction (e.g. Benson & Gribb 1997). To reduce the
problem of the non-uniform distribution of matric
suction, Benson & Gribb (1997) suggest applying
suction gradients as small as possible while main-
taining measurable flow rates. Lu et al. (2006) state
that the problem may be greatly reduced in future by
reducing the magnitude of the imposed flow rates of
constant-flow permeameters.
Improvements of the experimental systems will
certainly allow applying lower flow rates and measur-
ing lower head differences and vice versa. But apart
from a technical point of view further considerations
have to be taken into account. Firstly, low flow rates
respectively low suction gradients result in low flow
velocities. Times to reach steady-state increase rapidly
and for silty and clayey soils they are fast beyond
practical limits. With adherent long testing times, the
problems of water leakage and air diffusion turn more
and more severe. Secondly, below a certain threshold
gradient the water may show non-Newton properties.
Small countercurrents along the pore walls may occur.
This phenomenon may result in flow not obeying the
Darcy law or no flow at all before the threshold gradi-
ent is exceeded. For clay soils the threshold gradient
may even exceed 30 (Bear 1988).
Due to the latter considerations we are convinced
that the non-uniform distribution of matric suction will
always affect steady-state unsaturated conductivity
testing, even with improved experimental equipment.
It is therefore important to investigate these effects in
detail.
748
3 BASICS OF NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS
3.1 General concept
The purpose of the numerical investigations is to sim-
ulate a series of unsaturated steady state tests for
two reference soils. For the reference soils, a set of
parameters describing the matric suction function and
hydraulic conductivity function is assumed. The pres-
sure change due to the imposed flow rates obtained
from the numerical simulation is used to compute
the hydraulic conductivity with Darcy’s law given
in (1). The derived conductivity is then referred to
the arithmetic average matric suction. This procedure
corresponds to the commonly adopted approach for
the steady-state method.
In a second step, the ‘‘true’’ unsaturated conductiv-
ity for the assigned ‘‘average’’ suction value is com-
puted solely with a hydraulic conductivity function.
Finally, the conductivities obtained from the numerical
simulation (= permeameter approach) are compared
with those computed directly with the hydraulic con-
ductivity function (= true value). Thus, the data
interpretation error caused by the arithmetic average
suction-approach becomes obvious.
3.2 Software
For the numerical investigations the multi-phase fluid
and heat flow simulator TOUGH2 (Transport of
Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat; Pruess et al.
1999) is employed. The use of a multi-phase flow
code allows taking explicitly into account the air flow
to the simulated permeameter tests. Possible influ-
ences of the air phase to the test results are therefore
incorporated.
TOUGH2 sets up identical mass and energy balance
equations for all phases (e.g. water or air). Depending
on the thermodynamic state (pressure, temperature,
saturation), the thermophysical parameters (relative
permeability, capillary pressures) are then assigned to
the mass balance equation for each flow phase. The
mass balance equations set up by TOUGH2 have the
following structure:
  
∂
M κ dVn = FK • ndn + qκ dVn (2)
∂t
Vn n Vn
where Vn = an arbitrary sub-domain, bounded by
the closed surface n ; M = mass or energy per vol-
ume, κ = labeling the different mass components;
F = mass or heat flux; q = sinks and sources; and
n = normal vector on the surface element n .
The introduction of the intrinsic permeability k
allows a multiphase formulation of Darcy’s law for
 Table 1. Numerical modeling parameters.
Neumann-BC; qw = const.
ksat θs θr,w α n
0.7 cm

N-BC;
q=0
HAE disk
Material m/s – – m−1 –

Esperance Sand 4.9 · 10−7 0.39 0.02 1.8 1.6

Dirichlet-BC;
9.5 · 10−9

pa = const.
Beit Netofa Cl. 0.45 0.0 0.15 1.17
3.0 cm

soil specimen HEA disk 1 8.6 · 10−8 0.40 0.2 0.1 100
HEA disk 2 8.6 · 10−6 0.40 0.2 0.2 100

3.4 Reference soils and material parameters

N-BC;
0.7 cm

q=0
HAE disk
Dirichlet-BC; pw = const.
r = 3.5 cm
Figure 2. Numerical model of permeameter.
computation of the phase fluxes F β :
krβ ρβ & ' Two different HEA disks are modelled, depending
Fβ = ρβ uβ = −k ∇Pβ − ρβ g
μβ
where uβ = Darcy velocity (volume flux), krβ =
relative permeability; μβ = viscosity with respect to
phase β and Pβ = fluid pressure in phase β (Pruess
et al. 1999).
3.3 Permeameter model
The experimental system is assumed as characterized
in Figure 1, but with flow in horizontal direction. A
diameter of 7 cm and a height of 3 cm for the soil
specimen are chosen. The HAE-disks have a thickness
of 7 mm. Flow is induced via application of a constant
flow rate at the top of the model. Below the base HAE
disk the water pressure is kept constant. Matric suction
is applied by distributing an elevated air pressure via
a filter paper around the perimeter of the soil column.
The cross section of the numerical model and assigned
boundary conditions are shown in Figure 2. A rather
fine meshed axis-symmetric model, with 72 element
rows in axial and 10 element rows in radial direction,
is used.
A Neumann-boundary condition with a constant
flux according to the injected water volume is assigned
at the top HAE disk. Neumann boundary conditions
with zero flux are also assigned to the lower and upper
lateral wall of the permeameter. The filter paper strip
in between is simulated with a Dirichlet-boundary con-
dition at constant air pressure. The water reservoir at
constant pressure below the base HAE disk is also
represented by a Dirichlet-boundary condition, but
here a constant water pressure is assigned.
Two different soil types are chosen to carry out the
numerical simulations. The first one, Esperance Sand,
is poorly graded, medium-fine sand, characterized by
Lu et al. (2006). For the second soil, Beit Netofa
Clay, results were presented by van Genuchten (1980).
For both soils the matric suction function and the
hydraulic conductivity function are described by the
van Genuchten model (1980) respectively the van
Genuchten-Mualem model (1976, 1980). Table 1
contains the assigned parameters.
(3)
on whether a high or a low suction value is applied.
An n-value of 100 and α-values of 0.1 respectively 0.2
ensure full water saturation in the disks, independent
of the applied suction.
4 RESULTS OF NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS
In this section, the results of four simulation series are
presented. Six different flow rates at different matric
suction values were simulated for both Esperance Sand
and Beit Netofa Clay. Very low flow rates in the
order of 1 · 10−7 cm3 /s were also assigned to show
convergence of the numerical model. The results are
summarized in tables presented below. The key infor-
mation, the error caused by referring the obtained
unsaturated conductivity of the permeameter test to
the linear average suction, is given in the last col-
umn of the tables. Additionally, figures indicate the
simulated distributions of matric suction for hydraulic
conductivities in the soil specimens.
4.1 Esperance sand
Table 2 contains the simulation results for an applied
suction of 5 kPa at the base HAE disk. The maximum
data interpretation error is 32.5% for the flow rate of
5 × 10−3 cm3 /s. The resulting gradients for the four
lower flow rates are very low and not recommendable
for practical applications.
Figure 3 shows the distribution of matric suction
in the soil sample for the first four flow rates. It can
be seen that for the two highest applied flow rates the

749
Table 2. Simulation results for 5 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk.

Flow rate savg p grad kperm ktrue error

cm3 /s kPa kPa – m/s m/s %

5 · 10−3 2.900 4.200 14.0 9.3 · 10−8 7.0 · 10−8 32.5

2.5 · 10−3 3.454 1.907 10.2 6.4 · 10−8 5.4 · 10−8 20.1
1 · 10−3 4.087 1.804 6.04 4.3 · 10−8 4.0 · 10−8 7.6
5 · 10−4 4.451 1.086 3.62 3.6 · 10−8 3.4 · 10−8 4.9
1 · 10−4 4.867 0.264 0.88 2.9 · 10−8 2.8 · 10−8 3.2
1 · 10−5 4.986 0.028 0.09 2.8 · 10−8 2.7 · 10−8 2.6

savg = arithmetic average of matric suction; p = pressure difference due to induced flow; grad = gradient; kperm =
conductivity computed due to p; and ktrue = ‘‘true’’ permeability for savg .

Table 3. Simulation results for 20 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk.

Flow rate savg p grad kperm ktrue (savg ) error

cm3 /s kPa kPa – m/s m/s %

1 · 10−3 12.372 14.079 46.9 5.4 · 10−9 2.7 · 10−9 102

5 · 10−4 13.634 12.129 40.4 3.2 · 10−9 2.0 · 10−9 58.5
1 · 10−4 16.728 6.417 21.4 1.2 · 10−9 1.1 · 10−9 13.1
1 · 10−5 19.427 1.126 3.75 6.9 · 10−10 6.6 · 10−10 3.8
1 · 10−6 19,939 0.122 0.41 6.2 · 10−10 6.1 · 10−10 2.1
1 · 10−7 19.995 0.011 0.04 6.0 · 10−10 6.0 · 10−10 −0.3

30 30

q = 5*10-3 cm³/s q = 1*10-3 cm³/s

25 q = 2.5*10-3 cm³/s 25 q = 5*10-4 cm³/s
q = 1*10-3 cm³/s q = 1*10-4 cm³/s
20 q = 5*10-4 cm³/s 20 q = 1*10-5 cm³/s
height [mm]

height [mm]

15 15

10 10

5 5

0
0
0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
matric suction [kPa]
matric suction [kPa]

Figure 3. Distribution of matric suction for Esperance Sand Figure 4. Distribution of matric suction for Esperance Sand
for 5 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk. for 20 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk.

distribution is rather non-linear, thus explaining the
high deviations between permeameter permeability
kperm and true permability ktrue .
Table 3 contains simulation results for a suction
of 20 kPa applied at the base disk. The induced
flow rates are even lower than before but conductivity
computation errors are as high as 102%. The first
flow rate, where the conductivity error with 3.8% is
an acceptable range, is 1 × 10−5 cm3 /s. In contrast,
the according gradient of 3.75 is already rather low.
Figure 4 shows the strong non-linearity of matric
suction distribution for the simulation series given in
table 3. Evidently, referring the obtained conductivity
values to the arithmetic average suction is highly
erroneous for the first three flow rates. Figure 5
additionally depicts the wide range of hydraulic con-
ductivity across the soil specimen.
4.2 Beit netofa clay
Table 4 shows the simulation results for an applied suc-
tion of 20 kPa at the base HAE disk. The maximum
flow rate is 2 × 10−4 cm3 /s. Higher flow rates cause
full water saturation of the top end of the specimen.

750
Table 4. Simulation results for 20 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk.

Flow rate savg p grad kperm ktrue (savg ) error

cm3 /s kPa kPa – m/s m/s %

2 · 10−4 10.878 17.913 59.7 8.6 · 10−10 7.0 · 10−10 22.7

1 · 10−4 13.741 12.352 41.2 6.3 · 10−10 5.8 · 10−10 8.7
5 · 10−5 16.215 7.487 25.0 5.2 · 10−10 4.9 · 10−10 4.7
1 · 10−5 19.018 1.949 6.50 4.3 · 10−10 4.2 · 10−10 2.8
1 · 10−6 19.901 0.198 0.66 4.1 · 10−10 4.0 · 10−10 2.1
1 · 10−7 19.991 0.019 0.06 4.0 · 10−10 4.0 · 10−10 −0.1

Table 5. Simulation results for 70 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk.

Flow rate savg p grad kperm ktrue (savg ) error

cm3 /s kPa kPa – m/s m/s %

2 · 10−4 38.252 60.039 200.1 2.6 · 10−10 1.8 · 10−10 46.0

1 · 10−4 46.421 46.422 154.7 1.7 · 10−10 1.4 · 10−10 20.3
5 · 10−5 53.770 32.090 107.0 1.2 · 10−10 1.1 · 10−10 9.3
1 · 10−5 65.323 9.275 30.9 8.4 · 10−11 8.1 · 10−11 3.2
1 · 10−6 69.480 1.033 3.44 7.5 · 10−11 7.3 · 10−11 2.7
1 · 10−7 69.948 0.105 0.35 7.3 · 10−11 7.2 · 10−11 1.6

30
30
q = 2*10-4 cm³/s
q = 1*10-3 cm³/s 25 q = 1*10-4 cm³/s
25
q = 5*10-4 cm³/s
q = 5*10-5 cm³/s
q = 1*10-4 cm³/s 20 q = 1*10-5 cm³/s
20 -5
q = 1*10 cm³/s
height [mm]
height [mm]

15
15

10
10

5
5

0
0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
0.0E+00 5.0E-09 1.0E-08 1.5E-08 2.0E-08 2.5E-08
matric suction [kPa]
hydraulic conductivity [m/s]

Figure 6. Distribution of matric suction for Beit Nefota Clay

Figure 5. Distribution of hydraulic conductivity.
for 20 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk.

The maximum data interpretation error is 22.7%. Once

again the flow rates with acceptable data interpre- of 2 × 10−4 cm3 /s is 46.0%. Only the permeameter
tation errors produce rather low gradients, requiring test with the flow rate of 1 × 10−5 cm3 /s produces
equilibrium times of several days. an acceptable deviation of 3.2% while maintaining a
Figure 6 depicts the distribution of matric suc- reasonable high gradient of 30.9. The equilibrium time
tion for the flow rates from 2 × 10−4 cm3 /s to for this gradient is, however, about one week.
1 × 10−5 cm3 /s. The distributions do not exhibit Figure 7 shows the suction distributions for the sim-
the extreme non-linearity as seen for Esperance Sand ulations presented in Table 5. The range of matric
though the suction varies approximately in the same suction from 10 to 70 kPa is very wide and shows
range. again strong non-linearity, but still not as strong as
Table 5 contains the results for an applied suction for Esperance Sand. Figure 8 displays the according
of 70 kPa at the base disk. The error for the flow rate distribution of hydraulic conductivity.

751
 30 8.0E-09
q = 2*10-4 cm³/s
25 q = 1*10-4 cm³/s
q = 5*10-5 cm³/s 6.0E-09
20 q = 1*10-5 cm³/s
height [mm]

v*h [m²/s]
15 4.0E-09
k( l)
10 1
2.0E-09
5

l
0 0.0E+00
0.0 15.0 30.0 45.0 60.0 75.0 0.25 0.75 1.25 1.75
matric suction [kPa] suction head l[m]

Figure 7. Distribution of matric suction for Beit Nefota Clay Figure 9. Determination of ‘‘correct’’ hydraulic con-
for 70 kPa matric suction applied at base-HAE-disk. ductivity.

30
q = 2*10-4 cm³/s
Table 6. Data interpretation errors for different approaches.
25 q = 1*10-4 cm³/s
q = 5*10-5 cm³/s
equation 5,6 S & T
20 q = 1*10-5 cm³/s
arithmetic suction (1968)
Soil &
height [mm]

Flow rate savg,lin error savg(6) error error

15
cm3 /s kPa % kPa % %
10
E. Sa. 1 · 10−3 12.4 101.7 10.0 10.1 7.4
5 E. Sa. 5 · 10−4 13.6 58.3 11.6 −1.6 6.3
E. Sa. 2 · 10−4 15.0 32.8 13.4 2.2 3.3
0 BNC. 2 · 10−4 38.9 44.2 28.7 −2.9 3.8
0.0E+00 2.0E-10 4.0E-10 6.0E-10 8.0E-10 BNC. 1 · 10−4 46.4 20.3 38.7 −6.3 2.3
hydraulic conductivity [m/s]
BNC. 5 · 10−5 53.8 9.3 48.4 −3.0 5.6

Figure 8. Distribution of hydraulic conductivities for E.Sa. = Esperance Sand; BNC. = Beit Netofa Clay;
Beit Netofa Clay for 70 kPa matric suction applied at savg,lin = arithmetic average suction; savg(5) = reference
base-HAE-disk. suction computed with (5) and (6); error = conductivity
interpretation error.

5 IMPROVEMENT OF HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY DATA
The results of the numerical simulations indicate that
referring the derived permeameter conductivities to
an arithmetic average suction is likely to be highly
erroneous. This holds especially true for flow rates
producing reasonably high gradients over low testing
times. Smiles & Towner (1968) presented a simple
but effective way to obtain the ‘‘correct’’ hydraulic
conductivities. Integrating the Darcy-equation over the
length of the soil sample, and subsequent differentia-
tion leads to the following formulation (for details see
Smiles & Towner 1968):
∂v
l· = −k(φt )
∂φt
where l = height of the soil sample; φt = suction head
at the top of the soil column; and k(φb ) = hydraulic
conductivity at a suction of φt .
Suppose that the suction head φb at the base of the
soil column is maintained constant, the left side of
equation (4) gives the hydraulic conductivity for dif-
ferent values of φt . This curve can be obtained by
performing various experiments with different flow
rates at the same applied matric suction at the base of
the soil sample. The hydraulic conductivity for a cer-
tain φt -value is given by the slope of this curve, see
Figure 9. The curve in the diagram corresponds to the
numerical simulations with Esperance Sand at 20 kPa
matric suction. Results of improved unsaturated per-
meability values obtained with the Smiles & Towner
method (1968) are given in Table 6.
Obviously, the more experiments that are car-
ried out, the higher the accuracy of the obtained
(4)
hydraulic conductivities. Therefore, the Smiles &
Towner method is primary of interest for soils with
relatively high unsaturated conductivity values.
Considering the suction distributions in Figures 3
and 4 compared to Figures 6 and 7, it becomes clear

752
that the true average suction is always lower than the
linear mean suction. This does not necessarily imply
that the true average suction corresponds to the per-
meability obtained with the permeameter. However,
a more appropriate average matric suction obviously
has to be lower than the linear mean suction.
In addition to the presented results, further simula-
tions for soils with n-values up to 2.5 were conducted.
These simulations proved that a slight correction of
the arithmetic average suction leads to a significantly
more appropriate reference suction sref :
suction causes high errors in the determination of
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The method of
Smiles & Towner (1968) was checked for its ability
to correct unsaturated conductivity data from steady-
state tests. Considerable increase of the accuracy
of the data was gained. However, this method is
experimentally tedious.
Additionally, a new formula to compute an imp-
roved reference suction was presented. This simple
formula shows a very good performance particularly
for higher flow rates. It is therefore suggested to use
expression (6) in future to assign appropriate matric
1& ' 1 & ' sb  suction values to hydraulic conductivity data obtained
sref = s b + st − sb − st if sb − st ≤
2 8 2
(5)
where sb = (higher) suction at the base HAE disk; and
st = (lower) suction at the top HEA disk. For higher
relative suction differences a stronger correction is
required:
1& ' 1& ' & ' sb
sref = sb + st − sb − st if sb − st > (6)
2 6 2 Dover.
It was found that for all conducted simulations,
Equations (5) and (6) prove to be more accurate than
the usual approach with the arithmetic average of suc-
tion. Notable improvements were obtained for the
higher flow rates.
Table 6 shows results for: 1) assigning a linear
mean suction to the permeameter results; 2) assign-
ing a reference suction employing equation (6); and
3) employing the Smiles & Towner method (1968).
Results are given for the simulation series of Esper-
ance Sand at 20 kPa and Ben Netofa Clay at 70 kPa
for the three highest flow rates each. Table 6 shows
that employing Equation (5) and (6) instead of comput-
ing an arithmetic average suction significantly reduces
data interpretation errors.
6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Interpretation of the hydraulic conductivity of unsatu-
rated soils in steady-state permeameters is troubled by
the non-uniform distribution of matric suction. Several
arguments speak in favor of applying higher flow rates,
even though improved experimental equipment may
be available. Firstly, testing times are much shorter.
Secondly, short testing times decrease the likelihood
of experimentally caused errors. Thirdly, low flow
rates imply very low gradients and thus, flow may be
non-Darcian nature.
Numerical simulations were carried out for two
reference soils. It showed that for flow rates with
reasonable high gradients and therewith reasonable
testing times, the non-uniform distribution of matric
753
with the steady-state method.
REFERENCES
Agus S.S., Leong, E.C. & Rahardjo, H. 2003. A flexible wall
permeameter for measurements of water and air coeffi-
cients of permeability of residual soils. Can. Geotechn. J.
40(3): 559–574.
Bear, J. 1988. Dynamics of fluids in porous media. Mineola:
Benson C.H. & Gribb M.M. 1997. Measuring hydraulic con-
ductivity in the laboratory and in the field. Unsaturated
soil engineering practice. ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 68, 113–168.
Gan, J.K.M. & Fredlund, D.G. 2000. A new laboratory
method for the measurement of unsaturated coefficients
of permeability of soils. In Rahardjo, H., Toll DG. &
EC Leong (eds.), Unsaturated Soils for Asia, Singapore,
381–386. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Lu, N., Wallace, A., Carrera, J. & Likos, W. 2006. Con-
stant Flow Method for Concurrently Measuring Soil-
Water Characteristic Curve and Hydraulic Conductivity
Function. Geotech. Testing. J. 29(3): 230–241.
Pruess, K., Oldenburg, C. & Moridis, G. 1999. TOUGH2
User’s Guide. Version 2.0. Berkeley: Earth Sciences
Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Moncada, M.P.H. 2008. Avaliação da curva de retenção
e da função de permeabilidade em solos não saturados
(in portugese). PhD-thesis. Rio de Janeiro: Pontifícia
Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (in prep.).
Mualem, Y. 1976. A New Model for Predicting the Hydraulic
Conductivity of Unsaturated Porous Media. Water Res.
Res. 12(3): 513–522.
Smiles, D.E. & Towner, G.D. 1968. The steady-state mea-
surement of the relation between hydraulic conductivity
and moisture content in soils. Water Resources Res. 4(5):
1029–1030.
Van Genuchten, M. Th. 1980. A Closed-form Equation
for Predicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated
Soils. Soil Sci. Am. J. 44: 892–898.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical modelling of hydraulic hysteresis in unsaturated soils

A.A. Javadi
Computational Geomechanics Group, School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics,
University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

A.S.I. Elkassas
Ove Arup and Partners, Cardiff, Wales

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the implementation of a constitutive model for coupling of hydraulic hys-
teresis and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils in a fully coupled hydro-mechanical finite element model.
The constitutive model considers the effects of plastic changes of degree of saturation on stress-strain behaviour
and the influence of plastic volumetric strains on the water retention behaviour. The mathematical framework and
the numerical implementation of the model are presented and discussed. The model is validated by application
to standard experiments on unsaturated soils involving various combinations of loading-unloading and drying-
wetting tests. The model can be used to study various aspects of the behaviour of unsaturated soils under drying
and wetting as well as loading and unloading paths. The merits and limitations of the model are highlighted.

1 INTRODUCTION during the wetting path associated with an increase

Modelling the hydraulic hysteresis in unsaturated soils
has become the subject of many research works in
recent years. Hydraulic hysteresis is defined as the
occurrence of irreversible changes in degree of sat-
uration during wetting and drying of soils. When
subjecting unsaturated soils to cycles of wetting and
drying a large component of plastic volumetric strain
may accumulate. Many of the existing elasto-plastic
constitutive models for unsaturated soils are not able
to simulate the influence of the change in the degree
of saturation on the stress-strain behaviour of unsat-
urated soils. Alonso et al. (1995) carried out a series
of suction controlled oedometer tests which showed
that a large component of plastic compressive volu-
metric strain occurred on the first wetting path during
stages of wetting and drying cycles. The amount of
irreversible strain in the first drying path was greater
than the amount in the second drying path, the third
one, and so on. Although the Barcelona Basic Model is
able to predict the swelling and collapse in the first wet-
ting path it is unable to predict the irreversible strains
due to cycles of wetting and drying in the subsequent
stress paths.
Sharma (1998) presented experimental results that
showed the effect of changes in the degree of satura-
tion on the mechanical response of unsaturated soils.
He carried out several triaxial experiments, including
drying and wetting tests, on samples of compacted
kaolin. The results indicate that swelling occurred
in the degree of saturation, while a significant compo-
nent of volumetric compressive strain appeared in the
drying stage associated with a decrease in the value of
the degree of saturation.
In general, it has been considered insufficient to
describe the behaviour of unsaturated soils based
on suction and net mean stress only. Incorporating
the effects of the degree of saturation on the stress-
strain response of unsaturated soils has become one of
the recent modifications to the classical constitutive
models (Gallipoli, et al. 2003).
Wheeler et al. (2003) proposed a theoretical elasto-
plastic framework to model the hysteresis in the water
retention curve. In the work presented in this paper, the
elasto-plastic model proposed by Wheeler et al. (2003)
has been implemented in a fully coupled hydro-thermo
mechanical finite element model for unsaturated soils.
In what follows, the finite element model is presented
briefly followed by the governing equations used in the
numerical model. The validation of the model is then
presented based on some experimental results from
literature.
2 FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING
OF UNSATURATED SOILS
The authors have developed a fully coupled tran-
sient hydro-thermo-mechanical finite element model
to simulate the behaviour of unsaturated soils (Javadi

755
and Elkassas, 2004; Elkassas, 2006). The model Clu = (Sl ρl − Sa ρv ) m H T
− −
includes full coupling between hydraulic (air and water
flow), thermal and mechanical (stress and strain) fields ρSl
in unsaturated porous media. In the model, unsatu- Cal = −nρda (Ha − 1) + n(Sa + Ha Sl )
ds
rated soil is treated as a multiphase medium in which   
Rv dh dψ
the voids in the deformable solid are filled partly with ρ◦
liquid water and partly with gas phase (ideal mixture Rda dψ ds
of air and water vapour). The model consists of four ∂Sl
main equations including two mass balance equations Caa = nρda (Ha − 1) + n(Sa + Ha Sl )
ds
for the liquid and air phases, conservation of energy for   
temperature and a stress equilibrium equation for the 1 Rv dh dψ
− ρ◦
solid skeleton. In the mass balance equation for the Rda T Rda dψ ds
air phase, both diffusional and advectional transport
mechanisms are considered. The balance equation for Cau = ρda (Sa + Ha Sl ) m H T
− −
the water phase includes both liquid water and water
vapour. Cul = H D As
− − −
In what follows, a brief description of the govern-
ing equations, the constitutive model for hydraulic Cua = −H D As − H m
− − − − −
hysteresis and its incorporation in the FE model are
presented and discussed. Cuu = H D H T
− − −
 
ρl Kl ∂h ∂ψ
3 GOVERNING EQUATIONS Kll = + Datms vv n ρ◦
γl ∂ψ ds
 
Ignoring the temperature terms (the thermal effects are ∂h ∂ψ
Kla = ρv Ka − Datms vv n ρ◦
outside the scope of this paper) the governing differ- ∂ψ ds
ential equations of the model, expressed in terms of
ρda Ha
three state variables, i.e., air pressure, ua , water pres- Kal = Kl
sure, uw and displacement vector of the solid matrix, γl
u may be written as (Elkassas, 2006): Kaa = ρda Ka
−
Moisture flow equation:  
−ks
As = m
∂u − v (s + patms )
∂ul ∂ua −
Cll + Cla + Clu = ∇ [Kll ∇ul ]
∂t ∂t ∂t
where n is porosity, ρl and γl are density and unit
+ ∇ [Kla ∇ua ] + ρ∇ (Kl ∇z) (1)
weight of liquid respectively, ρv is density of water
Air flow equation: vapour, Sl is degree of saturation of pore fluid, Sa
is degree of saturation of pore air, s is suction, ρ◦
∂u is density of saturated soil water vapour, h is rela-
∂ul ∂ua − tive humidity, ψ is capillary potential, m = {1, 1, 0},
Cal + Caa + Cau = ∇ [Kal ∇ul ] −
∂t ∂t ∂t

∂/∂x 0 ∂/∂y
+ ∇ [Kaa ∇ua ] + ρda Ha ∇ (Kl ∇z) (2) H= 0 ∂/∂y ∂/∂y
, Datms is molecular dif-
−
fusitivity of vapour through air, vv is mass flow factor
Deformation equation: for the vapour flow, Kl is unsaturated hydraulic con-
ductivity to water, Ka is unsaturated conductivity to
[Cul dul ] + [Cua dua ] + [Cuu duu ] air, Rv is specific gas constant for water vapour, Rda
− HDdεpp − HDdεsp db = 0 (3) is specific gas constant for dry air, Ha is Henry’s vol-
p p
umetric coefficient of solubility, dεp and dεs are the
In the above equations, the coefficients C and K are plastic volumetric strains due to changes in stress and
defined as: suction respectively, b is the body force, D is elasticity
−
∂Sl ∂h dψ matrix, z is the elevation, v is the specific volume and
Cll = −n (ρl − ρv ) − nSa ρ◦ patms is the atmospheric pressure.
∂s ∂ψ ds The above equations define the complete for-
∂Sl ∂h dψ mulation of the coupled transient hydro-mechanical
Cla = n (ρl − ρv ) + nSa ρ◦ behaviour of unsaturated soils. Simultaneous solution
∂s ∂ψ ds

756
of these equations, after consideration of appropriate
constitutive relationships and boundary and initial
conditions, provides the values of state variables at
various points and times in the soil medium.
4 CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Modelling the hysteresis in the soil-water character-
istic curve (SWCC) represents a major challenge in
modelling the behaviour of unsaturated soils. The hys-
teresis in the relation between suction s = ua − uw
and the degree of saturation Sr is an important fac-
tor in the mechanical response of unsaturated soils.
It is generally accepted that suction plays an impor-
tant role in understanding the mechanical behaviour
of unsaturated soils and therefore, it has been used as
a fundamental stress state variable in many constitutive
models. Many of the existing constitutive models such
as those proposed by Alonso et al. (1990), Wheeler and
Sivakumar (1995), Cui and Delage (1996) and others,
use suction together with net mean stresses (the dif-
ference between total mean stress and air pressure) to
describe the stress state in an unsaturated soil. One of
the major factors which is strongly related to suction
is the degree of saturation.
In general, it has been considered insufficient to
describe the behaviour of unsaturated soils based on
suction and net mean stress only. Incorporating the
effects of the degree of saturation on the stress-strain
response of unsaturated soils has become one of the
major modifications to the classical constitutive mod-
els (Gallipoli, et al. 2003). In recent years, many
researchers have proposed different sets of stress state
variables incorporating the effect of the degree of sat-
uration. For example Bolzon, et al. (1996), Lloret and
Khallili (2000) and Karube and Kawai (2001) used a
stress state variable as:
σ  = σt − δ (ua − χs) (4)
where σ  is the average effective stress, σt is the total
stress, s is the matrix suction, δ is the Kronecker delta
and χ is a soil parameter. Bolzon et al. (1996) assumed
that χ can be considered as the degree of saturation Sr
with a value ranging from 1.0 corresponding to satu-
rated conditions to zero at dry conditions. Although
these models have incorporated Sr in the stress state
variable σ  , they are not able to explain two observed
behaviours of unsaturated soils including the large
plastic volumetric strains that occur during wetting
from a high value of suction, which cannot be recov-
ered during subsequent drying and wetting of the soil,
and the difference in behaviour during isotropic load-
ing at constant suction between samples subjected
to cycles of wetting and drying and other samples
(Wheeler et al. 2003).
757
4.1 Stress and strain variables
The first stress variable used in this framework is
defined as:
σij∗ = σij − [Sr uw + (1 − Sr )ua ] δij (5)
where σij is the total stress tensor and the stress tensor
σij∗ is usually termed Bishop’s stress. It is similar to
the Bishop’s effective stress (equation 4) where the
weighting factor is replaced with Sr (Bolzon et al.
1996). In addition to σij∗ , the modified suction s∗ = ns
(Houlsby, 1997) is used as the second stress variable
to account for the effect of the meniscus water. In this
way, the porosity nis incorporated with the stress state
variables rather than with the strains. The model uses
the following stress state variables:
p∗ = p − Sr uw − (1 − Sr )ua (mean Bishop stress),
∗
s = ns (modified suction) and
q (deviator stress in the case of anisotropic loading).
The advantage of using these stress variables is that
it gives more power of modelling the behaviour of soils
as s∗ includes porosity n and p∗ includes the degree of
saturation. Another advantage of using Bishop’s stress
is that it retrieves to the saturated effective stress when
the soil changes to saturated conditions even if the
suction is not zero.
For the complete theoretical formulation of the hys-
teresis constitutive model the reader is referred to
Wheeler et al. (2003).
5 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE FE MODEL
The constitutive model described above has been
implemented in a fully coupled hydro-mechanical
finite element model, developed by the authors for
simulating the behaviour of unsaturated soils. The
constitutive model includes coupling of the effects
of hydraulic hysteresis and mechanical behaviour of
unsaturated soils. In the finite element model, the
changes in suction can be applied either by chang-
ing the pore air pressure while keeping the pore water
pressure constant, by changing the pore water pres-
sure while keeping the pore air pressure constant or by
changing both air and water pressures. The shape func-
tions are assumed to be the same for the deformation
analysis and the hydraulic analysis. The plastic strain
is a non-linear function of the stress level, suction
and hardening parameters, and thus can be evaluated
only by an iterative procedure. The solution using a
finite element method is based on spatial discretisa-
tion of the domain into small elements and temporal
discretisation of the solution with a time-stepping
procedure.
6 DISCRETISATION IN TIME between successive time steps and is considered to
have been achieved when
The governing equations of the model, expressed in  
 n+1 
φ − φ n
terms of the three state variables, may be written in a − −
 < Tolerance (10)
general compact form as (Elkassas, 2006):
A maximum number is set for iterations to achieve
C(φ)φ + K(φ)φ + f (φ) = 0 (6) convergence. If the maximum number of iterations is
reached before the solution is converged, the time step
t is halved and the equations are solved with the new
where φ T = {u, ul , ua } is the vector of unknown time step. If the convergence is quick, the time step is
state variables, K(φ) and C(φ) are assembled stiff- doubled to provide a quicker solution to the equations
ness matrix and capacitance matrix respectively and in the following steps.
f (φ) is the assembled load vector.
The final forms of the governing equations can be
written in a matrix form as: 7 NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
− − − u Cuu Cul Cua In this example the behaviour of compacted kaolin
⎝ − Kll Kla ⎠ ⎝ ul ⎠ + ⎝ Clu Cll Cla ⎠ is studied under isotropic loading and unloading fol-
− Kal Kaa ua Cau Cal Caa lowed by wetting and drying and then re-loading
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ under constant suction. The experiment starts with an
∂u/∂t fu isotropic loading from A (see Fig. 1) at net mean stress
× ⎝ ∂ul /∂t ⎠ = ⎝ fl ⎠ (7) of p − ua = 10 kPa to C at net mean stress p − ua =
∂ua /∂t fa 50 kPa followed by unloading from C to D, back to net
mean stress of p − ua = 10 kPa at a constant suction
of s = 200 kPa. The loading continues with a wetting
A time discretisation of equation (7) is applied by and drying cycle DEF, performed at D with suction
the application of a fully implicit mid-interval back- decreasing to 120 kPa and then increasing back to
ward difference algorithm (Thomas and Rees 1990). 200 kPa followed by reloading (under the constant suc-
The general form of a two level difference scheme is: tion s = 200 kPa) to J at net mean stress = 1200 kPa.
The soil parameters are summarised in Table 1.
 
  The developed finite element model has been used
A φ n
(1 − θ ) φ n+1
+θφ n
+B φ n to simulate the behaviour of the soil under the above
− − − − − − stress paths. Figure 1 shows the results of the FE anal-

  ysis. As shown in the figure, during loading path AB,
× φ n+1
φ
− /t + C φ n = 0
n
(8) the Bishop stress p∗ increases as a result of increasing
− − − −
net mean stress which causes a reduction in the poros-
ity and consequently causes a slight reduction in the
⎞ ⎛ ⎛ ⎞ modified suction s∗ = ns. During the loading path AB
− − − Cuu Cul Cua and due to the reduction in s∗ , the soil yields on the
where A = ⎝ − Kll Kla ⎠, B = ⎝ Clu Cll Cla ⎠ , SD line causing a slight increase in the degree of satu-
− −
− Kal Kaa Cau Cal Caa ration as shown in the Figure. At point B the LC line is
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ reached and significant reduction in specific volume
fu u
C = ⎝ fl ⎠ and φ = ⎝ ul ⎠ .
−
fa ua Table 1. The parameters used in the example.

Parameter Value
(φ n ) is the level at which the matrices A, B and C are
− − − −
λ 0.15
to be evaluated, and it is given by the equation: κ 0.02
λs 0.12
(φ n ) = θ (φ n+1 ) + (1 − θ ) φ n (9) κs 0.02
− − −
k1 0.7
k2 0.8
where θ defines the required time interval such that p∗◦ 140
θ ∈ (0,1) and θ = 0, 0.5, 1 represent backward SD 109.1
difference, central difference and forward difference SI 1091.1
schemes, respectively. The convergence is checked

758
 120 and plastic changes in the degree of saturation Sr . The
A B soil reaches the saturated conditions at I and from I to J
Modified suction s*(kpa)

110
F C
100 D the soil is on the isotropic normal compression line.
G
H These results are in close agreement, both qualitatively
90
(a) and quantitatively, with the results of the constitutive
80 model simulations presented by Wheeler et al. (2003).
I
70
J It is shown that the developed finite element model,
incorporating this constitutive model, can be applied
60
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
to boundary value problems involving stress paths with
Mean bishop stress p* (kpa) various combinations of cycles of loading, unloading,
wetting and drying.
2.3
A B
2.2
D, C 8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
2.1 (b)
Specific volume v

F H
2 G

1.9
This paper has presented the incorporation of an
elasto-plastic constitutive model for coupling of
1.8
hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour in
1.7
I unsaturated soils, into a fully coupled transient hydro-
1.6 J
mechanical finite element model. The constitutive
1.5
10 100 1000 10000
model considers the effects of plastic changes of
Mean net stress (p-ua)
degree of saturation on stress-strain behaviour and the
influence of plastic volumetric strains on the water
retention behaviour. The basic concepts and mathe-
1 matical formulation of the constitutive model and its
I J implementation in the finite element model were pre-
Degree of saturation Sr

0.9
0.8 F G
0.7 D C
A B
0.6
0.5
10
Figure 1. Results of the FE analysis.
starts to occur as plastic volumetric strains accumu-
late up to point C. The yielding on the LC line causes
a subsequent upward movement of the SD and SI yield
curves which leads to plastic changes in Sr from B to
C (Fig. 1c). During the wetting and drying cycle DEF
the stress path remains inside the LC line, and as a
result, no collapse or yielding occurs on the LC line.
On the wetting path DE, due to the yielding occurring
on the SD line, only the plastic changes in the Sr start
to accumulate with a coupled inward movement of the
LC line. As a result, for the final isotropic loading
from F to J the soil yields on point G at a p∗ value less
than the maximum previous applied load experienced
by the soil. From G to H yielding occurs only on the
LC line which causes coupled upward movements of
the SD lines; no plastic changes occur in Sr and only
plastic volumetric changes are predicted due to yield-
ing on LC. From H to I, yielding occurs on both LC
and SD lines causing both plastic volumetric changes
sented. The governing partial differential equations of
unsaturated soils, including the mass balance equa-
H
tion for water, mass balance equation for air and the
stress equilibrium equation for the solid skeleton, were
(c)
solved simultaneously after incorporation of the con-
stitutive relationships and appropriate boundary and
100 1000 10000 initial conditions. The model was validated by appli-
Mean net stress (p-ua) cation to an example from literature. The application
of the model to study various aspects of the behaviour
of unsaturated soils under cycles of loading-unloading
and wetting-drying was presented and discussed. It
appears that the constitutive model for hydraulic hys-
teresis provides a relatively simple and efficient way
of coupling the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour
of unsaturated soils. It was shown that the developed
finite element model incorporating the above con-
stitutive model is able to predict various aspects of
behaviour of unsaturated soils subjected to different
combinations of loading, unloading, wetting, drying
paths.
It should be noted that the constitutive model of
Wheeler et al. (2003) in the current form, has been
specifically developed for isotropic stress states and
therefore, the developed finite element model is only
applicable to isotropic loading conditions.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens, A., Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive model
for partly saturated soils. Geotechnique, 40(3): 405–430.

759
Alonso, E.E., Lloret, A., Gens, A., Yang, D. Q. 1995. Exper-
imental behaviour of highly expansive double-structure
clay. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Unsaturated Soils, Paris, 1:
11–16.
Bolzon, G., Schrefler, B.A., Zienkiewicz, O.C. 1996.
Elastoplastic soil constitutive laws generalised to
partially saturated states. Geotechnique, 46(2):
279–289.
Cui, J.J., Delage, P. 1996. Yielding and plastic behaviour
of an unsaturated compacted silt. Geotechnique, 46(3):
405–430.
Elkassas, A.S.I. 2006. Numerical modelling of unsaturated
soil behaviour. PhD thesis, University of Exeter, UK.
Estabragh, A.R. 1998. Yielding and critical state of unsat-
urated silty soils. PhD thesis, University of Bradford,
UK.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharma, R.S., Vaunat, J. 2003. An
elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
behaviour. Geotechnique, 53(1): 123–135.
Feng, M., Fredlund, D.G. 1999. Hysteretic influence asso-
ciated with thermal conductivity sensor measurements.
Proceedings From Theory to Practice of Unsaturated Soil
Mechanics, In association with 52nd Can. Geotech. Conf.,
Regina, Saskatchewan, 651–657.
Houlsby, G.T. 1997. The work input to an unsaturated
granular material Geotechnique, 47(1): 193–196.
760
Javadi, A.A., Elkassas, A.S.I. 2004. Finite Element Mod-
elling of the Behaviour of Unsaturated Soils. Proceedings
of the 6th World Congress on Computational Mechanics
(WCCM VI), Beijing, China, 5–10 Sept. 2004.
Karube, D., Kawai, K. 2001. The role of pore water in the
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. Geotechnical
and Geological Engineering, 19: 211–241.
Li, X.S. 2005. Modelling of hysteresis response for arbi-
trary wetting/drying paths. Computers and Geotechnics,
32: 133–137.
Lloret, B., Khalili, N. 2000. An effective stress elasto-
plastic model for unsaturated porous media. Mechanics
of Materials, 34: 97–116.
Sharma, R.S. 1998. Mechanical behaviour of unsaturated
highly expansive clays. DPhil Thesis, Univ. of Oxford,
UK.
Thomas, H.R. and Rees, S.W. 1990. Modelling field infil-
tration into unsaturated clay. J. Geotechnical Engineering
Division, ASCE, 116(10): 1483–1501.
Wheeler, S.J., Sharma, R.S., Buisson, M.S.R. 2003. Cou-
pling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behaviour
in unsaturated soils, Geotechnique, 53(1): 41–54.
Wheeler, S.J., Sivakumar, V. 1995. An elasto-plastic criti-
cal state framework for unsaturated soil. Geotechnique,
45(1): 35–53.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

The drift shadow phenomenon in an unsaturated fractured environment

Claudia Cherubini
Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy

T.A. Ghezzehei & G.W. Su

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

ABSTRACT: The presence of subterranean holes creates a capillary barrier in an unsaturated environment.
This phenomenon has been referred to as ‘‘Drift Shadow’’ and indicates a region that is sheltered from the
downward percolating water. If the lateral hydraulic conductivity is insufficient to divert the water, fully saturated
conditions are reached locally, and seepage occurs as the capillary barrier fails. Natural heterogeneities in
hydrological properties can reduce the probability of seepage only if the flux is largely diverted around the drift.
Previous numerical studies have been performed investigating various aspects of capillary barrier performance in
engineered or naturally layered systems. Many authors examined the impact of heterogeneity on the distribution
and rate of water seepage across a capillary barrier and into a drift, but the seepage exclusion problem has not
been formally analyzed for fractured formations, in which the physical processes governing seepage in porous
media also represent key factors. This paper analyzes the effect that a fracture network can have on the drift
shadow. In a fractured environment, the effectiveness of the capillary barrier is determined by the capability of
individual fractures to hold water by capillary forces and by the permeability and connectivity of the fracture
network, which allow water to be diverted around the drift. The orientation of any individual fracture in relation
to the opening, the discreteness and the anisotropy of the fracture network are all geometric factors affecting
seepage, because they have a relevant influence on the hydraulic properties in the immediate vicinity of the
drift wall.

1 INTRODUCTION et al. 2003) that deal with drift shadow assume an

The presence of a cavity in an unsaturated zone results
in flow diversion around the cavity. In such envi-
ronments, the zone immediately below the cavity
is typically much drier than the surrounding rock,
because the capillary forces that draw water back to
the dry zone are often weaker than the gravitational
forces. In the context of drifts mined in homogeneous
medium, the shape of the dry zone is similar to that
of a shadow cast by an object of similar geometry and
is commonly referred to as ‘‘drift shadow’’ (Fig. 1).
The presence of a drift shadow below a cavity can
potentially minimize the escape of substances from
the cavity by limiting the pathways available for water
and dissolved species. This feature is one of many
desirable characteristics of underground contaminant
isolation schemes. Whether the drift shadow provides
significant retardation of contaminant release from
cavities depends on a number of factors including the
size and shape of the cavity, the flux of water around
the cavity, and the hydrologic properties of the sur-
rounding medium. Most studies (Philip et al. 1989,
Finsterle 2000a, Finsterle et al. 2003, Houseworth
unfractured homogeneous media (Fig. 2) or a contin-
uum representation of fractures. The role of discrete
fractures around cavities on drift shadow is not well
understood yet.
In this study, we provide some insights on how
discrete fractures could affect the drift shadow by
using high-resolution simulations. The remainder of
this paper is organized as follows: first we provide
a brief overview of the theory behind drift shadow
(Section 2) followed by description of the modeling
study that was performed (Section 3). Subsequently,
we present the main results and discussions of our
studies to date (Section 4) and we conclude with a sum-
mary of the main results and future research directions
(Section 5).
2 THEORY
Flow in unsaturated homogeneous media is commonly
described using the Richards equation,
∂θ/∂t = ∇ · {K(∇h − 1)} (1)

761

Figure 1. Conceptual model of drift shadow (Su et al. 2006).
Figure 2. Definition of terms for drift shadow analysis in
homogeneous media (Kneafsey et al. 2005).
where θ and h are water content and matric suction
head respectively, and K is the hydraulic conductiv-
ity and can be described using the Gardner (1953)
relationship
K(h) = KS exp(α [h − he ])
where he is air-entry pressure and α is the sorptive
number. Under steady state conditions, Equation 1
can be solved analytically (Philip et al. 1989) sub-
ject to the conditions provided by Equation 2 and no
seepage into the cavity. The solution can be modi-
fied to provide estimates of the length and width of
the shadow zone as shown in Figure 2. For a cylin-
drical cavity of radius ro , the size of the shadow is
Table 1. Sandstone properties.
Permeability 9.869 · 10−14 m2
Porosity 0.35
Van Genuchten
residual saturation 0.23
M 4.5
α 12000 Pa
proportional to s = α ro /2. However, this simple
approach does not apply to fractured media. There-
fore, we use high-resolution numerical modeling to
analyze the phenomenon of drift shadow in fractured
rocks.
3 MODEL DESCRIPTION
On the basis of the examinations of many sites, a
silica-sand mine located in California was chosen,
whose location and configuration makes it an excel-
lent site to analyze the drift shadow phenomenon.
The mine is located in a porous sandstone unit of
the Domengine formation, an approximately 230 m
thick series of interbedded Eocene-age shales, coals,
and massive–bedded sandstones (Su et al. 2006).
Measured hydrologic properties of the proposed site
were not available. Therefore, for modelling pur-
poses, porosities and permeabilities of the matrix were
approximated to be as that of the Hygiene Sandstone
(van Genuchten 1980) and are given in Table 1.
The modeling work used in this study was
performed using the numerical simulator TOUGH2
(Finsterle 2000b). The domain size used is two dimen-
sional, 8 m wide and 10 m long, and contains a
circular drift of 1 m radius. The grid has a regular
mesh of 2 cm × 2 cm, with no refinement. It has
been chosen to consider the fractures as discrete ele-
ments having a constant aperture, and distributed over
a homogeneous matrix. The fracture intersections were
not given any special considerations. The different
fracture characteristics are discussed in Section 4.
The top boundary condition is set to a constant flow
rate that represents the long term mean percolation
flux. All of the side boundaries are set to no-flow con-
dition. The bottom of the flow domain is set to free
(2) (gravitational) drainage.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Initial simulations were run first with only one frac-
ture, whose position was changed inside the model
domain. We analyzed how the drift shadow varies with
the position of the fracture at two infiltration rates of
10−4 and 10−5 m/s.
762

Figure 3. Drift shadow with infiltration rate equal to
10−4 m/s (a) no fracture (b, c, d) with a single fracture in
different positions.
Figure 4. Drift shadow with infiltration rate equal to
10−5 m/s (a) no fracture (b, c, d) with a single fracture in
different positions.
The corresponding distributions of water saturation
are shown in Figures 3 and 4, respectively. The pres-
ence of only one fracture, even if intercepting the drift,
does not influence significantly the phenomenon.
763
Figure 5. Different configurations of drift shadow.
Table 2. Fractures properties.
b (mm) φ = b/a Ks = b3/12a 1/α = 2σ/b
0.01 0.00025 2.08333E-15 14400
0.1 0.0025 2.08333E-12 1440
0.5 0.0125 2.60417E-10 288
a = mesh size; σ = 0.072 N/m.
The number of fractures was afterwards increased
and different scenerios were considered, varying frac-
ture angles and positions (Fig. 5): for some con-
figurations it is easy to detect how certain fractures
inclinations make drift shadow discontinuous, and the
discontinuity increases with the number of fractures.
A setting of three fractures was finally chosen and
nine scenerios were analyzed, by combining three dif-
ferent apertures (0.01 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm) and
background degree of saturations (0.1, 0.5 and 0.9).
The permeability and van Genuchten α parameter were
calculated from fracture aperture using the cubic-law
approximation (Witherspoon et al. 1980) and Young-
Laplace equation, respectively, and are given in Table 2
(equations given in first row of Table 2).
The behavior of the fractures with the lowest aper-
ture (0.01 mm) is quite similar to that of the matrix
as far as saturation levels and capillary pressures are
concerned. The wider fracture aperture is, the more
the fractures behave as capillary barriers. For each
value of background saturation (0.1, 0.5 and 0.9) both
the 0.5 mm and the 0.1 mm fractures are drier than the
matrix (Fig. 6).

Figure 6. Three fractures with different apertures (0.01 mm,
0.1 mm and 0.5 mm) and initial saturations (0.1, 0.5 and 0.9).
Moreover, if the three fractures are distributed in
such a way that just one intercepts the drift shadow
completely, then its interference does not visibly affect
much the drift shadow.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The drift shadow phenomenon has seldom been
studied for fractured formations, where the physical
processes governing seepage in porous media also
represent key factors.
The effectiveness of the capillary barrier is deter-
mined by the capability of individual fractures to
hold water by capillary forces and by the permeabil-
ity and connectivity of the fracture network, which
allow water to be diverted around the drift. However,
the discreteness of the fractured system increases the
importance of the geometric and hydraulic properties
in the immediate vicinity of the drift wall (Finsterle
2000a).
From the simulations carried out it is possible to
infer that fracture orientations and position in relation
to the drift are the factors affecting the shape of the dry
zone; moreover it becomes more discontinuous if the
number of fractures intercepting the drift increases.
Finally, as far as unsaturated fracture flow is con-
cerned, the simulation results proved to be coherent
with what previous studies (Wang & Narasimhan
1993, Singhal & Gupta 1999) have stated: in the
764
presence of fractures characterized by significant aper-
tures, fracture flow appears to be insignificant as
compared to matrix flow in unsaturated conditions.
On the contrary, when fractures are characterized by
very small apertures, they behave like voids, that is to
say they are always more conductive than the matrix.
REFERENCES
Finsterle, S. 2000a. Using the continuum approach to model
unsaturated flow in fractured rock, Water Resources
Research, 36 (8): 2055–2066.
Finsterle, S. 2000b. iTOUGH2 Users’ Guide, Lawrence
Berkeley national Laboratory, Pub. No 40040, Berkeley,
Cal.
Finsterle, S., Ahlers, C.F., Trautz, R.C. and Cook, P.J. 2003
Inverse and predictive modeling of seepage into under-
ground openings, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology,
62–63: 89–109.
Houseworth, J.E., Finsterle, S. and Bovardsson G.S. 2003.
Flow and transport in the drift shadow in a dual-
continuum model, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
62–63: 133–156.
Kneafsey, T.J., Su G., Ghezzehei, T., Onishi, T., Mar-
shall, B.D., Stuckless, J., Petermann, Z. and Paces, J.
2005. Natural Analogue Studies of the drift shadow effect-
S&T Natural Barriers Thrust FY Second Quarter Progress
report—LBL Internal Use only.
Philip, J.R., Knight, J.H., and Waechter, R.T. 1989. Unsat-
urated seepage and subterranean holes: conspectus and
exclusion problem for circular cylindrical cavities. Water
Resour. Res., 25: 16–28.
Singhal, B.B.S. and Gupta R.P. 1999. Applied hydroge-
ology of fractured rocks Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Netherlands.
Su, G. and Kneafsey, T.J., Ghezzehei, T., Cook, P.J. and
Marshall, B.D. Field investigation of the drift shadow.
11th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Man-
agement Conference (IHLRWM), April 30–May 4, 2006,
Las Vegas, Nevada, American Nuclear Society, 2006.
Su, G. and Ghezzehei T. 2006. Preliminary modeling of the
drift shadow at the Black Diamond mine LBL Internal
report.
Van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed-form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils,
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44 (5): 892–898.
Wang, J.S.Y. and Narasimhan. 1993. Unsaturated flow
in fractured porous media, in ‘‘flow and contaminant
transport in fractured rock’’ (eds J. Bear, C.F. Tsang and
G. De Marsily) Academic Press, San Diego: 325–95.
Witherspoon, P.A., Wang, J.S.K., Iwai, K. and Gale, J.E.
1980. Validity of Cubic Law for fluid flow in a deformable
rock fracture, Water Resources Res.: 1016–1024.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Identification of hydraulic parameters for unsaturated soils using

particle swarm optimization

Y. Zhang & C.E. Augarde

Durham University, Durham, UK

D. Gallipoli
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

ABSTRACT: Determination of material parameters for unsaturated soils from laboratory or field tests can
be difficult due to the large number of parameters required for many constitutive models. With increasing
computing power readily available, parameter search using modern optimisation procedures is now feasible. In
this study the identification of hydraulic parameters from the back analysis of a transient infiltration problem is
illustrated. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is utilized in the search for the optimal set of parameter values.
Two approaches are described: one where a limited set of the parameters is sought and the second where the
whole set is sought. For the latter it is shown that a multi-step range contracting method is appropriate and leads
to a computationally economic solution.

1 INTRODUCTION results. Two types of optimization algorithms exist:

The movement of water in unsaturated soils is an
important scientific problem in many areas, such as
geotechnical, environmental and agricultural engi-
neering. Water flow through an unsaturated soil can
be predicted by using two coupled constitutive models:
the soil-water retention curve, which links the water
content to pore water pressure head, and the unsat-
urated water conductivity, which defines the rate of
movement of water through unsaturated soil. The esti-
mation of the parameters for these two models can
be achieved through laboratory and field tests. Lab-
oratory tests are usually carried out on soil samples
taken from the field. However, due to in-situ soil
heterogeneity and disturbance caused by sampling,
the parameters from laboratory tests may not be the
same as those from in-situ tests (Eching & Hopmans,
1993; Nutzmann et al. 1998). In-situ tests therefore
often provide a more reliable and convenient way of
estimating hydraulic parameters than laboratory tests
(Tyner & Brown, 2004).
This study attempts to identify the hydraulic param-
eters from one-dimensional transient infiltration tests.
These tests can be performed in-situ as well as in
the laboratory (on a representative soil column). The
parameter values correspond to the solution of an
optimization process enforcing agreement between
a computational model (formulated in terms of the
hydraulic parameters being sought) and experimental
gradient-based algorithms, such as Newton meth-
ods, and stochastic evolutionary algorithms, such as
genetic algorithms. For gradient-based optimization
algorithms, when the objective function has many
local minima, it is usual for the solution to converge
to a local (and incorrect) minimum unless the initial
guess is very close to the global minimum. In addi-
tion, numerical errors can dominate gradient-based
approaches and lead to many local minima (Mous,
1993). Evolutionary algorithms as population-based
global optimization methods are more robust.
A particular evolutionary algorithm is the parti-
cle swarm optimization (PSO), which is briefly out-
lined below. This algorithm was introduced relatively
recently by Kennedy & Eberhart (1995) and is both
simple and robust. In this research, PSO is used to
determine the values of the whole set of parameters in
the two constitutive models that govern water infiltra-
tion in unsaturated soils. This is a challenging problem
and, to the authors’ knowledge, no similar studies have
been reported.
2 PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION
The general optimization problem consists in find-
ing the optimal solution vector X, which corresponds
to the minimum value of a nonlinear objective func-
tion F(X), with X = [x1 , x2 , . . ., xr ]T where r is the

765
dimension. The domain of the objective function is The maximum ‘‘velocity’’ Vmax is set relative to the
limited to the interval X ∈ [Xmin , Xmax ] where Xmin = upper and lower limit of the search interval:
[x1 min , . . ., xmin ]T and Xmax = [x1 max , . . ., xr max ]T are
the lower and upper limits of the interval. Vmax = s (Xmax − Xmin ) (4)
PSO is a population-based bio-inspired optimiza-
tion method making use of ‘‘swarm’’ intelligence. where the factor s is equal in this study to 0.3. The
It is based on social-psychological principles and learning coefficients c1 and c2 are both set to 2 (this
provides insights into social behaviour (Kennedy & gives good results for most problems) and a swarm of
Eberhart 1995). In a PSO system, particles ‘‘fly’’ in the 50 particles is used.
r-dimensional search space. The value of the objec-
tive function corresponding to the current position of
a given particle is used to define a measure of that 3 UNSATURATED TRANSIENT
particle’s ‘‘fitness’’. The goal for particles is to fly INFILTRATION
to the best position (i.e. the global minima). During
the flight, each particle adjusts its position according 3.1 Mathematical description of infiltration process
to the memory of its own best position and the best
The movement of water in unsaturated soils is gov-
position of neighbouring particles. In doing so, each
erned by Richards’ equation. The ‘‘θ-based’’ one-
particle goes trough an iterative process where the cur-
dimensional form of this equation is written as
rent position Xki is updated to the new position Xk+1 i (Celia & Bouloutas, 1990):
based on the current ‘‘velocity’’ Vk+1 as:
i

∂θ ∂ ∂θ ∂K(θ)
= D(θ) + (5)
Xik+1 = Xik + Vik+1 (1) ∂t ∂z ∂z ∂z

where k, k + 1 are the iteration numbers and i is the where K(θ) is the hydraulic conductivity (m/s), θ is the
particle number. The particle’s velocity is also updated volumetric water content, D(θ) is the unsaturated dif-
in each iteration as: fusivity (m2 /s), t is time (s), z is the vertical coordinate
& ' & ' (m) measured positive upwards.
Vik+1 = wk Vik + c1 r1 Pi − Xik + c2 r2 Pg − Xik The initial and boundary conditions for the one-
(2) dimensional infiltration problem are:

where Pi is the best position achieved so far by the par- h(z, 0) = h0 0<z<L (6)
ticle, Pg is the best position achieved by neighbouring h(0, t) = ht t>0 (7)
particles, r1 and r2 are two random factors in the [0,1]
interval which generate diversity of the swarm, wk is h(L, t) = hb or q(L, t) = q0 t>0 (8)
the inertia weight and c1 and c2 are constants weight-
ing the ‘‘cognitive’’ and a ‘‘social’’ component of the where h is the pressure head (m), hb and ht are
search method respectively. the constant pressure head at the bottom and top of
the soil column respectively, h0 is the hydraulic head
at the initial time, q0 is the flux at the top and L is the
2.1 Choice of algorithmic parameters in PSO height of the soil column.
The selection of suitable parameters is crucial for the
performance of the PSO algorithm. The most impor- 3.2 Numerical simulation of infiltration test
tant parameter is the inertia weight wi , which was
introduced by Shi & Eberhart (1998b) to control the To solve Richards’ equation numerically, the modi-
particles momentum. A large inertia weight favours fied Picard scheme is adopted here (Celia et al. 1990).
global search while a small one favours local search. This is based on a Taylor expansion of the time
A linear decrease of inertia weight during iteration was derivative that maintains perfect mass conservation.
proposed by Shi & Eberhart (1998a) as: The temporal discretisation uses the backward Euler
approximation,
wk = (wmax − wmin ) (MaxIter − k)/MaxIter + wmax

(3) θ n+1,m+1 −θ n ∂ ∂ ∂K n+1,m

= Dn+1,m θ n+1,m+1 +
t ∂z ∂z ∂z
where wk is the inertia weight for the current itera- (10)
tion, MaxIter is the maximum number of iterations set
by the user and wmax and wmin are the maximum and where t is the time increment, n is the time
minimum inertia weight (usually set as 0.9 and 0.4). step number and m is the Picard iteration number.

766
 .  
Equation 10 is rewritten in the following equivalent /" "
/ m n
& ' & '!2 & ' & '!2
form: F =0 w1 h∗i tj − hj tj + w2 Q∗ tj − Q tj
j=1 i=1

(14)
θ ∂ ∂ θ n − θ n+1,m
− Dn+1,m (θ ) =
t ∂z ∂z t ∗
where Q (tj ), Q(tj ) are the observed and computed
cumulative water content change for the whole domain

∂ ∂ ∂K n+1,m at time tj · h∗i (tj ) and hi (tj ) are the observed and com-
+ Dn+1,m θ n+1,m + (11) puted pressure head at point i and time tj . n is the
∂z ∂z ∂z
number of points where measurements of hydraulic
head are taken andm is the number of times when mea-
where the incremental change in water content is surements of water content change and hydraulic head
θ = θ n+1,m+1 − θ n+1,m . Discretization in space by are taken over a given period. w1 and w2 are weighting
the finite difference method leads to: factors making the magnitude of the two parts of the
  same order. In this study, w1 and w2 are set to 1.0 and
n+1,m
1 Dj+1 Dn+1,m n+1,m
Dj−1 10.0 respectively.
+ /2 + j−1/2 θj − /2 θ
j−1
t z 2 z 2 z 2
3.4 Seamless integration of PSO and unsaturated
n+1,m
Dj+1 n+1,m
Dj+1 flow simulator
− / 2
θj+1 = /2 θ n+1,m
z 2 z 2 j+1 In PSO, for each particle one unsaturated flow calcu-
n+1,m n+1,m n+1,m lation using different parameters in each iteration is
Dj−1 θjn Kj+1 − Kj−1 carried out. So some variables in the code are continu-
+ /2 θ n+1,m + + /2 /2
z 2 j−1 t z ously changed by particles using different parameters.
 n+1,m  These variables should be maintained properly in order
1 Dj+1 Dn+1,m to obtain the correct results. Some of them should
− + /2 + j−1/2 θjn+1,m (12)
t z 2 z 2 be reinitialized, and some should reset to 0, so as to
provide the correct start values for the next computa-
tion. To achieve this, in this implementation the finite
where z is the spatial distance between nodes and difference calculation is integrated directly with the
j is the node number. Incorporation of the boundary PSO. For the former only the mesh, initial conditions
conditions yields a tri-diagonal system of equations: and the boundary conditions remain the same for the

⎡ ⎤⎡ θ1m+1
⎤ ⎡
d1m+1
⎤
bm c1m 0 0 ··· 0 0 0
⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
1
⎢ am bm c1m ··· θ2m+1 d2m+1
⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
0 0 0 0
⎢ 2 2
⎢ 0 am bm c1m ··· 0 0 0 ⎥⎢ θ3m+1 ⎥ ⎢ d3m+1 ⎥
⎢ 3 3 ⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 am bm ··· 0 0 0 ⎥⎢ θ4m+1 ⎥ ⎢ d4m+1 ⎥
⎢ 4 4
⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎢ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ⎥⎢ .. ⎥=⎢ .. ⎥ (13)
⎢ ··· ⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
. . . . . . . . .
⎢
⎢ 0 0 0 0 · · · bm cNm −2 0 ⎥⎢ θNm+1 ⎥ ⎢ dNm+1 ⎥
⎢ N −2 ⎥⎢ −2 ⎥ ⎢ −2 ⎥
⎣ 0 0 0 0 · · · am
N −1 bmN −1 cNm −1 ⎦⎢
⎣ θNm+1
⎥ ⎢
⎦ ⎣ dNm+1
⎥
⎦
−1 −1
0 0 0 0 ··· 0 am bm dNm+1
N N θNm+1

where ai , bi , ci and di are coefficients depending on

the unsaturated diffusivity and conductivity.
3.3 Objective function
The success of the optimization procedure depends
much on the objective function chosen. Ideally enough
information should be included in the objective func-
tion to make the solution unique. Usually pressure
head and cumulative flow are employed to define the
objective function. Here the objective function is set
similar to Simunek et al. (1998).
problem with different constitutive parameters, while
other variables in the code need to be reinitialized
to 0. A maximum number of iteration and a minimum
value of objective function are the termination criteri-
ons. Either of the two criterions meets, the calculation
terminate. The integrated algorithm is as follows:
Step 1: swarm initialization
for i = 1 to number of particles
randomize parameter vector Xi ∈ [Xmin , Xmax ]
randomize velocity vector Vi ∈ [−Vmax , Vmax ]
end

767
 Step 2: evaluate particle fitness Table 1. Typical Mualem-van Genuchten parameters
for i = 1 to number of particles (Schaap et al., 1998; Budiman, 2002).
set Xi as parameters in finite difference code
re-initialize finite difference simulator θr θs α n Ks
perform finite difference simulation
Texture − − m−1 − m/s
extract data and calculate objective function
end Clay 0.098 0.459 2.55 1.26 3.44e-7
Step 3: update positions and local and global best C Loam 0.079 0.442 2.74 1.44 5.78e-7
for i = 1 to number of particles Loam 0.061 0.399 2.05 1.50 4.28e-7
update particle velocity using Equation 2 L Sand 0.049 0.39 4.48 1.80 2.81e-6
update particle position using Equation 1 Sand 0.053 0.375 3.79 3.30 2.83e-6
update local best and global best S Clay 0.117 0.385 4.86 1.21 5.03e-7
end S C Loam 0.063 0.384 3.77 1.35 8.03e-7
S Loam 0.039 0.387 3.83 1.47 1.79e-6
Step 4: check the termination conditions
Silt 0.05 0.489 0.73 1.71 3.86e-7
Si Clay 0.111 0.481 2.60 1.34 3.67e-7
Si C Loam 0.09 0.482 1.25 1.55 2.58e-7
4 CONSTITUTIVE MODELS Si Loam 0.065 0.439 0.74 1.70 2.03e-7

4.1 Mualem-van Genuchten model

In this study, the Mualem-van Genuchten model Table 2. Parameters’ ranges used in this study for the
(Mualem, 1976; van Genuchten, 1980) is employed to Mualen-van Genuchten model.
describe the soil water retention relationship between
effective degree of saturation and pressure head: Parameter Unit Minimum Maximum
!−m n − 1.001 3.5
Se = 1 + |αh|n (15) α m−1 0.1 9.6
θs − 0.21 0.7
where α(m−1 ) is a parameter related to the air-entry θr − 0.001 0.20
pressure head, n is a parameter related to the pore-size Ks m/s 5.0e-8 5.0e-4
distribution and m = 1 – 1/n. The effective degree of
saturation Se is given by:

Se = (θ − θr )/(θs − θr ) (16) a guide on the parameter values to be used for different

soils (see Table 1).
The ranges of parameter values used in this study
where θs is the saturated water content and θr is the
are listed in Table 2. These are slightly larger than the
residual water content.
ranges in Table 1 to ensure a wider search.
Similarly, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K
is a function of the effective degree of saturation Se
and saturated conductivity Ks :
5 NUMERICAL EXAMPLES
1   m 2
K = Ks kr = Ks Se 1 − 1 − Se1/m
2
(17) The coupled water retention and conductivity rela-
tions given in the previous section were used for the
The unsaturated diffusivity D(θ) can be derived as, numerical simulations of one-dimensional water infil-
tration in unsaturated soil. These simulations were
dh Ks (1 − m) 1/2−1/m −1 ! used within an optimization procedure to search for
D=K = S A +A−2 the values of the hydraulic parameters in Table 2. From
dθ αm(θs − θr ) e initial calculations it was apparent that some param-
(18)
eters are more sensitive than others. In particular, it
1/m m
was found that n is the most sensitive parameter, i.e.
where A = (1 − Se ) . n approaches the optimal value very quickly, with α
being the second most sensitive parameter. This sen-
sitivity allows a multi-step range control procedure,
4.2 Ranges of parameter values
which progressively restricts the range of variation of
As shown in Section 4.1, there are five parameters in the most sensitive parameters and therefore facilitates
the Mualem-van Genuchten model. Budiman (2002) the search of the least sensitive parameters. The first
sorted the results from Schaap et al. (1998) to provide search is performed for all parameters over a wide

768
range of values whereas, for the second search, smaller
ranges are set for n and α. The process goes on with
progressively smaller ranges for n, α, θr , θs , and Ks . It is
expected that, for each search, the final value of objec-
tive function shall be smaller than in the previous one.
5.1 Forward analysis of infiltration problem
The above optimisation procedure is tested against a
numerical simulation (named a ‘‘forward’’ analysis) of
one-dimensional water infiltration in a 1 m high unsat-
urated soil column subjected to an uniform initial water
pressure head of −10 m. The objective is to determine
if and how quickly the optimization procedure returns
the same parameter values used in the forward anal-
ysis. These values are α = 3.35 m−1 , n = 2, Ks =
9.22e-5 m/s, θs = 0.368 and θr = 0.102 and corre-
spond to a site in New Mexico described in Celia et al.
(1990). During infiltration the water pressure at the top
of the column is set to −0.75 m while the bottom pres-
sure is maintained at −10 m. The time increment is set
to 36 s and 100 elements are used for the spatial dis-
cretization of the column. Transient profiles of water
content and pressure are shown in Figures 1 and 2.
5.2 Back analysis and parameter identification
Two optimizations are carried out: one in which some
selected parameters are initially known and one in
which no parameter is known at the beginning of the
search. All optimisations were carried out using a
-11.0 -9.0 -7.0 -5.0 -3.0 -1.0
1 the objective function is achieved. For each search, the
0.8
depth(m)
personal computer with 3.20 GHz Xeon CPU, 3.00
GB RAM, and MS WindowsXP.
Case 1: Ks and θ s are known
In this case, it is assumed that the saturated water
conductivity Ks and the saturated water content θs
are known beforehand (and equal to the values given
in section 5.1). This is realistic because both these
parameters can be accurately measured by means of
relatively simple tests on saturated samples. The goal
is therefore to estimate the remaining three parameters
α, n, and θr . It only takes 380 iterations to achieve the
values of α = 3.35 m−1 , n = 2 and θr = 0. 101999
with a corresponding value of the objective function
F = 6.660e-6. The details of this search are presented
in Table 3 and Figures 3–6.
Case 2: no parameters are known
This case, where no one of the five hydraulic
parameter values is initially known, proved to be very
challenging. The reason for the difficulties could be
due to the multi-modal properties of the objective func-
tion. The optimal parameter values were found by
gradually contracting the search ranges as shown in
the upper part of Table 4 where the ranges of parame-
ter values used for subsequent searches are provided.
The lower part of Table 4 shows the parameter values
identified at iteration i during each search together
with the corresponding value of the objective function.
In the first run, parameter values were sought over rel-
atively wide ranges and the optimal values for n and α
were equal to 2.00 and 3.30 respectively. In the second
run, the ranges of variation for these two parameters
were contracted to [1.8, 2.1] and [2.0, 4.0] respectively
and this helped to locate θr close to its optimal value.
This process goes on until a satisfactory small value of
t = 1 hr
calculation is terminated by users when the results are
t = 2 hr
acceptable. In the last (fourth) run, n is set to 2.0 and
t = 3 hr

0.6 all parameters become very close to the optimal val-

t = 4 hr
0.4
ues. Selected iterations for the fourth search are listed
t = 5 hr
in Table 5 and the variation of objective function with
0.2 t = 6 hr
iteration number is given in Figure 7.
0

Figure 1. Water pressure profile. Table 3. Values α, n, θr and F at different iterations in

case 1. (correct parameters are α = 3.35, n = 2, Ks =
0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 9.22e-5, θs = 0.368, θr = 0.102).
1
t = 1 hr Iteration F α n θr
0.8 t = 2 hr
t = 3 hr 1 9.847 3.671 1.111 0.04721
depth (m)

0.6
t = 4 hr 10 2.401e-1 3.335 1.985 0.09286
0.4 t = 5 hr
50 2.883e-2 3.345 1.994 0.09933
100 4.176e-3 3.348 2.001 0.10179
t = 6 hr
0.2 150 3.162e-3 3.349 2.001 0.10233
250 5.374e-4 3.35028 2.000 0.10202
0
350 3.108e-5 3.34999 2.000 0.101997
380 6.660e-6 3.350 2.000 0.101999
Figure 2. Water content profile.

769
 1.0 2.4
2.3
0.0
2.2
-1.0
2.1
-2.0 2.0
log(F)

n
-3.0 1.9
1.8
-4.0
1.7
-5.0
1.6
-6.0 1.5
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
iteration iteration

Figure 3. Objective function vs. iteration for case 1. Figure 5. Value of parameter n vs. iteration for case 1.

8.0 0.14
0.13
7.0
0.12
6.0
residual water content

0.11
5.0 0.10
0.09
4.0 0.08
3.0 0.07
0.06
2.0
0.05
1.0 0.04
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
iteration iteration

Figure 4. Value of parameter α vs. iteration for case 1. Figure 6. Value of parameter θ r vs. iteration for case 1.

Table 4. Estimated values at different iteration number. (correct parameters are α = 3.35, n = 2, Ks = 9.22e-5, θs = 0.368,
θr = 0.102).

1st search 2nd search 3rd search 4th search

n [1.001, 3.5] [1.8, 2.1] [1.8, 2.1] 2.0

α [0.1, 9.6] [2.0, 4.0] [3.2, 3.8] [3.2, 3.7]
θr [0.001, 0.2] [0.001, 0.2] [0.08, 0.12] [0.09, 0.12]
θs [0.21, 0.9] [0.21, 0.9] [0.2, 0.6] [0.34, 0.39]
Ks [5. e-8, 5. e-4 ] [5. e-6, 5. e-4 ] [5. e-6, 4. e-4 ] [7. e-5, 2. e-4 ]
i 250 3000 850 3000
F 6.97e-2 1.25e-2 5.42e-3 9.7e-5
n 2.00 1.99 2.00 2.00
α 3.30 3.56 3.46 3.35
θr 0.073 0.098 0.103 1.0196
θs 0.668 0.425 0.364 0.3684
Ks 1.59e-5 1.38e-4 1.00e-4 9.24e-5

770
Table 5. Values α, n, θr and F at different iterations in case 2 REFERENCES
(4th search, correct parameters are α = 3.35, n = 2, Ks =
9.22e-5, θs = 0.368, θr = 0.102). Budiman, M. 2002. Efficient Methods for Predicting Soil
Hydraulic Properties, Ph. D. Thesis, Department of Agri-
Iteration F α θr Ks θs cultural Chemistry and Soil Science, The University of
Sydney: 19–20.
1 1.329 3.31 0.110 8.32e-5 0.374 Carsel, R.F. & Parrish, R.S. 1988. Developing joint proba-
100 1.00e-2 3.33 0.102 9.17e-5 0.372 bility distributions of soil water retention characteristics.
500 7.00e-4 3.35 0.102 9.26e-5 0.369 Water Resour. Res. 24: 755–769.
1000 4.66e-4 3.35 0.102 9.27e-5 0.369 Eching, S.O. & Hopmans, J.W. 1993. Optimization of
1500 2.36e-2 3.35 0.102 9.26e-5 0.369 hydraulic functions from transient outflow and soil water
2000 1.93e-4 3.35 0.102 9.25e-5 0.369 pressure data. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 57: 1167–1175.
2500 1.21e-4 3.35 0.102 9.24e-5 0.369 Freeze, R.A. & Cherry, J.A. 1979. Groundwater. Prentice
3000 9.70e-5 3.35 0.102 9.24e-5 0.368 Hall, New Jersey.
Kennedy, J. & Eberhart, R. 1995. Particle swarm optimiza-
tion, Proc. of the IEEE Int. Conf. on Neural Networks,
0.5 Piscataway, NJ, pp. 1942–1948.
0.0
Kool, J.B. 1985a Parker, J.C. & Van Genuchten M.T.
-0.5
Determining soil hydraulic properties from one-step
outflow experiments by parameter estimation: I the-
-1.0
ory and numerical studies. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49:
-1.5
1348–1354.
log(F)

-2.0
-2.5
-3.0
-3.5
-4.0
-4.5
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
iteration
Figure 7. Objective function vs. iteration for case 2 (fourth
search).
6 CONCLUSIONS
Automated optimisation procedures appear to be useful
in determining geotechnical properties from laboratory
or field experiments. In this study, an example of
parameteridentificationfortheMualem-vanGenuchten
water retention and permeability model is presented
using an optimisation procedure for a one-dimensional
infiltration problem. It is shown that, if one seeks all
parameters at once, the optimal parameter values may
not be found easily. Alternatively, if certain parameters
are excluded from the search (such as those which can
be easily determined through alternative tests), then
the search efficiency is much improved. In addition a
multi-stageapproach, whererangesofparametervalues
are adjusted and the optimisation procedure restarted,
shows considerable promise. The procedures outlined
in this paper are clearly applicable to a wide range of
geotechnical problems and the authors are currently
engaged in research on parameter identification from
pressuremeter data.
Mous, S.L.J. 1993. Identification of the movement of water
in unsaturated soils: the problem of identifiability of the
model. Journal of Hydrology 143: 153–167.
Mualem, Y. 1976. A new model for predicting the hydraulic
conductivity of unsaturated porous media, Water Resour.
Res. 12: 513–522.
Mualem, Y. 1976. A new model predicting the hydraulic
conductivity of unsaturated porous media. Water Resour.
Res. 12: 513–522.
Nutzmann, G. Thiele, Maciejewski M.S. & Joswig, K. 1998.
Inverse modeling techniques for determining hydraulics
properties of coarse-textured porous media by transient
outflow methods. Advances in Water Resources, 22(2):
273–284.
Schaap, M.G., Leij, F.L. & van Genuchten, M.T. 1998. Neu-
ral network analysis for hierarchical prediction of soil
hydraulic properties. Soil Science Society of America
Journal 62: 847–855.
Shi, Y. & Eberhart, R.C. 1998a. Parameter selection in parti-
cle swarm optimization. Proceedings of the 1998 Annual
Conference on Evolutionary Computation. 591–600.
Springer-Verlag, New York.
Shi, Y. & Eberhart, R.C. 1998b A Modified Particle
Swarm Optimizer, IEEE International Conference on
Evolutionary Computation, Anchorage, Alaska, May
4–9.
Simunek J. van Genuchten M.T. Gribb, M.M. & Hop-
mans, J.W. 1998. Parameter estimation of unsaturated soil
hydraulic properties from transient flow processes. Soil &
Tillage Research, 47(1): 27–36.
Tyner, J.S. & Brown, G.O. 2004. Improvements to estimating
unsaturated soil properties from horizontal infiltration.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 68:
Van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44: 892–898.

771
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A precipitation boundary condition for finite element analysis

P.G. Smith
Geotechnical Consulting Group, London, UK

D.M. Potts
Imperial College, London, UK

T.I. Addenbrooke
Formerly Imperial College, London, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a precipitation boundary condition for use in numerical analysis of unsat-
urated soils that enables the simulation of rainfall on a ground surface (i.e. precipitation). A novel application
of the boundary condition to simulate the ground water recharge that occurs at the base of the computational
domain when modelling a partially saturated slope is also described.

1 INTRODUCTION during any increment (stage) of a numerical analysis,

When using numerical methods (e.g. finite element or
finite difference techniques) to analyse boundary value
problems involving partially saturated soils it is often
necessary to account for both the mechanical and fluid
flow components of soil behaviour. This leads to a cou-
pled analysis in which both the equilibrium and fluid
flow equations are solved simultaneously. Appropriate
boundary conditions will be required and for the fluid
flow component of behaviour this implies the speci-
fication of either prescribed pore water pressures (or
head) or fluid flow values at boundary nodes.
In this respect the simulation of infiltration result-
ing from a precipitation process can be problematic as
the choice of boundary condition (i.e. prescribed pore
pressure or fluid flow) will depend on the intensity and
duration of the rainfall, the geometry of the soil sur-
face and its porosity, and the initial conditions prior
to the start of precipitation. Consequently the type of
boundary condition (i.e. prescribed pore pressure or
fluid flow) is likely to change throughout an analysis.
This paper describes the implementation of such
a boundary condition for use in unsaturated numeri-
cal analysis to simulate rainfall on a ground surface
(i.e. precipitation). It acts either as an infiltration
(specified flow) condition, or as a prescribed pres-
sure (variable flow) condition. Its operation requires
that an infiltration rate (i.e. the rainfall at the ground
surface) be specified, along with a maximum thresh-
old value of the pore water pressure at the surface
boundary. As it is only possible to specify either a
flow or pore pressure condition at a node or grid point
an algorithm is described that decides which bound-
ary condition (flow or pore pressure) to apply and
how to automatically adjust the increment size when
the boundary condition switches. This algorithm has
been successfully implemented in the Imperial Col-
lege Finite Element Program (Smith 2003) and its
use to model rainfall infiltration into level ground
and its novel application to simulate the ground water
recharge that occurs at the base of the computational
domain when modelling a partially saturated slope is
described.
2 MODELLING PRECIPITATION
The potential for precipitation to either infiltrate into
soil or pond/run off has long been recognized: Rubin
and Steinhardt (1963) studied rain infiltrating into
soil, and showed how either infiltration or ponding
occurred, depending on the infiltration rate relative to
the (fully saturated) permeability of the soil.
This has been demonstrated in reality by the work
of Ng et al. (2003), who describe a field experiment
where a slope was subjected to artificial rain, with the
slope run-off collected and measured. For the slope
studied (which was composed of fissured clay) 100%
of the precipitation became infiltration for the first
day and a half, but this reduced to approximately 30%
precipitation as infiltration, with the remaining 70%
becoming run-off, thereafter.
Numerous authors have made some attempt to
model infiltration and run-off. Ng & Shi (1998)

773
modelled an unsaturated soil slope, but modelled the
rainfall as a specified infiltration rate on the boundary
surface, and allowed compressive pore water pressures
to develop (i.e. ponding). However, such results are
clearly nonsensical where the soil surface is steeply
sloping.
Fredlund and Barbour (1992) presented an example
analysis that followed a similar approach; the speci-
fied infiltration rate was equal to the average annual
precipitation for the area of the slope being modelled,
though on part of the slope, infiltration was reduced
to 10% of this value, to reflect slope protection and
steepness of the slope.
Chapuis et al. (2001) recognized that simply speci-
fying an infiltration rate could generate unrealistically
high pore water pressures, and suggested adding a
surface layer of (high permeability) gravel into the
analysis model, to mimic more open surface material
and to more readily allow lateral flow, to prevent this
problem.
Ng et al. (2001) state the difficulty in determining
the actual infiltration pattern, and in their analysis,
modelled the infiltration/run-off ratio by taking 60%
of the actual rainfall as infiltration, this being the sta-
tistical value typical for Hong Kong, the location of Figure 1. Precipitation boundary condition.
the slope modelled. This ratio of 60% precipitation as
infiltration, 40% as run off, for Hong Kong is repeated Alternatively if at the start of the increment the
in Ng and Pang (2000). pore water pressure at the surface boundary equals
Tsaparas et al. (2002) adopted an approach whereby or exceeds (that is, is more compressive than) the
the surface pore water pressure at any particular THV, then the boundary condition is set to be that of
boundary node was set to 0 kPa if, after any step of a prescribed pore water pressure with a value equal to
the analysis, the surface pore water pressure became the THV.
compressive. This prevents unrealistically high pore This implies that throughout the increment the pore
pressures at the surface, so gives a more realistic water pressure will be maintained at the THV and
boundary condition, but can still result in unrealistic that this will be achieved by applying an inflow of
pore water pressure distributions below the surface, water that is some proportion of the specified infil-
depending on the size of the time step used in the tration rate. Any ‘excess’ proportion of the specified
analysis, as demonstrated below. infiltration is disregarded.
To accurately model the infiltration process there- If on subsequent increments of the analysis the spec-
fore requires some method by which the division of ified infiltration rate is reduced after the boundary has
rainfall into infiltration and run-off is automatically been set to a constant pore pressure boundary, then it
and continuously calculated, and which can accurately may switch back to being an infiltration boundary if the
determine the correct infiltration rate at all bound- new maximum inflow rate is insufficient to maintain
ary surface nodes of the analysis. This has been the THV pressure.
done through the implementation of a precipitation In applying the precipitation condition, the spec-
boundary condition. ified infiltration rate is normally taken as the actual
The operation of the precipitation boundary condi- rainfall for the site under investigation. If allowance
tion is illustrated in Figure 1. The boundary condition is required for canopy intercept, this must be done
requires that an infiltration rate (i.e. the rainfall inten- by inputting a reduced rainfall rate. However, no
sity at the ground surface) be specified, along with allowance needs to be made for run off: the bound-
some maximum threshold value (THV) of the pore ary condition automatically determines the portion of
water pressure at the surface boundary. If at the start the specified inflow that enters the mesh and treats the
of an increment (stage) of an analysis, the pore water remainder as run-off, based on the THV chosen. The
pressure at the surface boundary is below (that is, is proportion of the infiltration that becomes run-off is
more tensile than) the THV, then an infiltration (spec- not, however, explicitly modelled. Rather, it is simply
ified flow) boundary, using the specified infiltration discounted from the analysis, since this flow occurs
rate, is used. outside of the analysis mesh.

774
 Typically for slope analysis, the THV would be
set to 0 kPa. Thus the soil could develop an all-
compressive (‘fully saturated’) pore water pressure
profile, but a compressive pore water pressure greater
than zero could not build up at the ground surface.
Non-zero THVs may also be specified: Compressive
pore water pressures greater than zero may be speci-
fied for the THV, to allow surface ponding to occur.
The maximum depth of ponding that can be achieved
will thus be determined by the value of the THV spec-
ified. Alternatively, a tensile THV may be specified,
which prevents total loss of suction at the ground
surface.
As stated above, boundary pore water pressures are
adjusted back to the THV if at the start of an incre-
ment the pressure exceeds the THV as a result of the
previous increment’s infiltration. This could occur if
during the previous increment infiltration conditions
(i.e. prescribed nodal flows) had been active. Where
inflows are relatively small and the increment time step
is short, the amount by which the pore water pressures
exceed the THV is likely to be small, thus the method
of operation is reasonable. Figure 2. Precipitation boundary condition with large
However, problems can be encountered if the infil- timestep and inflow rate.
tration rate is high (relative to the soils permeability)
and/or the time step is large. In such cases very high
compressive pore water pressures can be generated
at the slope surface on the last increment in which
the inflow boundary condition is active. This is illus-
trated in Figure 2. ‘Increment 0’ represents some
pre-existing pore water pressure distribution at the
beginning of an analysis. Precipitation is then applied
from increment 1, and the precipitation inflow rate
is high relative to the permeability of the soil, while
the time step of the increment is relatively long. As
the THV = 0 kPa at the beginning of increment 1 an
inflow boundary condition (prescribed flow) is acti-
vated. The pore water pressure distribution at the end
of increment 1 is as shown in Figure 2 and can be
seen to give values in excess of the THV at the ground
surface. At the beginning of increment 2 this over-
shot is detected and the boundary condition at the
ground surface is switched to a prescribed pore pres-
sure. While this has the effect of reducing the pore
water pressure on the ground surface to equal the THV
at the end of increment 2, the shallow sub-surface pore
water pressure distribution is in error. The increment
2 pore water pressure distribution shown is obviously
unrealistic given that the surface pore water pressure
should not be able to exceed 0 kPa. Clearly it is desir-
able to modify the boundary condition to limit the Figure 3. The tolerance zone for the precipitation boundary
amount by which the THV can be exceeded before the condition.
condition switches from inflow (prescribed nodal
flow) to a constant prescribed pore water pressure. Applying such a procedure requires the specifica-
This can be achieved by subdividing any increment tion of a tolerance around the precipitation threshold
in which a serious overshoot occurs into a series of value (THV) (for a THV of 0 kPa, the tolerance should
smaller sub-increments. be of the order of ±0.1 kPa), see Figure 3. Should the

775
boundary pore water pressure remain more tensile then
the THV and lie outside the tolerance, the boundary
condition remains an infiltration condition for the next
increment (sub increment).
If the boundary pore water pressure becomes more
compressive, such that it lies within the tolerance zone
Figure 4. Determination of sub-increment size during
application of the precipitation boundary condition.
Figure 5. Schematic operation of existing ICFEP AI procedure for precipitation.
776
surrounding the THV, then it can be accepted as being
equal to the THV, and the boundary condition changed
to a pore water pressure condition for the next incre-
ment (or sub increment), with the pressure being set
exactly equal to the THV.
However, if the calculated pore water pressure on
the boundary at the end of an increment (sub incre-
ment) is more compressive than the THV and lies
outside of the tolerance specified, then the incre-
ment is rejected. Instead, a smaller sub-increment
size is automatically calculated, and the increment
(sub increment) repeated to calculate the pore water
pressure changes over the shorter period of time
compatible with the new sub-increment size. The new
sub-increment size is calculated as a proportion of the
failed increment. This proportion can be determined
by comparing the difference between the boundary
pore water pressure at the start of the increment and
the THV to the change of the pore water pressure at
the boundary calculated over the failed sub-increment.
From this and assuming a linear variation of pore
water pressure over the failed increment, the new sub-
increment size is determined as a proportion of the
old one, see Figure 4. Since non-linear behaviour is
being modelled, this linear method rarely gives a suf-
ficiently accurate result immediately. That is, at the
end of the new sub-increment under or overshoot can
occur. If undershoot is experienced (i.e. the bound-
ary pore water pressure remains more tensile then
the THV and lies outside the tolerance) then the sub-
increment can be accepted and the analysis moves on
to the next sub-increment still with an inflow condi- compressive pore water at the base of the mesh. This
tion applied at the boundary. However if overshoot can be set to be consistent with the maximum height of
is experienced (i.e. the boundary pore water pressure the phreatic surface above the base (assuming a hydro-
is more compressive than the THV and lies outside of static profile), during ‘normal’ conditions. The effect
the tolerance) then the process is repeated and the sub- of this is illustrated in Figure 6.
increment size recalculated with the new data and the Hydraulic boundary conditions for the sides of the
analysis for the sub-increment repeated. This process mesh may be set as specified flow or specified pore
continues until the boundary pore water pressure is water pressure boundaries. However, since the aim
approximately equal to (within the specified tolerance) is to allow the phreatic surface freedom to move, it
the THV at the end of a sub-increment. At this point is clearly preferable to set no-flow side boundaries,
the boundary condition is changed and what remains which will provide no restraint on the response of
of the full increment is applied, with a pore water pres- the phreatic surface, while also avoiding the impo-
sure boundary condition. This is often completed in a sition of potentially unrealistic inflows across these
single sub-increment, but if the soil behaviour is highly boundaries.
nonlinear may be broken into several sub-increments. During dry periods, the slope will tend to dry out
This procedure is illustrated schematically in Figure 5, as water drains down and out of it under gravity, but
where for simplicity, each sub-increment is shown as continuous recharge from the greater part of the soil
being half the size of the preceding one. mass that is not explicitly modelled will maintain a
deep phreatic surface.
Wetter periods will tend to raise the phreatic surface,
3 MODELLING RECHARGE as the precipitation rate begins to match the drainage,
and may do so sufficiently to switch the base boundary
As noted above the precipitation boundary condition conditions to a fixed pore water pressure condition.
enables a flow rate to be specified to a boundary Under extreme rainfall, transient perched water tables
unless and until the pore water pressure on that or non-hydrostatic pore water pressure profiles are free
boundary becomes more compressive and reaches a to develop.
user-prescribed value. This capability can be used to Hence use of the precipitation boundary condition
model processes other than precipitation. as a recharge condition on the base of the analysis mesh
One issue that needs to be addressed in slope sta- enables a variable pressure boundary condition to be
bility problems is the presence of groundwater, and maintained, which is relatively sensible and realistic,
specifically, how to model the phreatic surface. While and does not restrict the pore water pressure response
it may be appropriate to place an impermeable bound- to precipitation events.
ary along the base of a slope mesh in some situations,
this is not generally the case. Additionally, the head
and foot of an analysis mesh will rarely if ever be
impermeable boundaries. It is therefore generally the
case that some degree of flow needs to be permitted
through these boundaries.
While a fixed pore pressure boundary would enable
flow through the boundaries to develop freely, such
boundaries place artificial restraints on the pore
water pressure response to other stimuli, such as
precipitation. The alternative, of a specified flow
boundary condition, leaves the pore water pressure
free to vary, but can instead result in an unrealis-
tic build up of pore water pressure, since accurately
determining the flow rate is difficult, especially since it
may well vary throughout the duration of the analysis.
The precipitation boundary condition provides an
alternative to these options, by providing a form of
‘recharge’ into the analysis when the boundary condi-
tion is specified along the base of the analysis mesh.
The inflow rate, instead of being based on rainfall data,
is set equal to the fully saturated permeability of the
soil, specifically, the permeability of the soil underly-
ing the mesh, and therefore outside the analysis. The Figure 6. Precipitation boundary condition used to simulate
THV may be set to give the maximum permissible recharge.

777
4 CONCLUSIONS
A precipitation boundary condition for numerical
analysis of either fully saturated or partially saturated
soil has been presented and an outline of its implemen-
tation into a finite element program described. This
involves the specification of both an infiltration rate
and a maximum threshold value of pore water pressure
(or head) for the same surface boundary. The deci-
sion process for deciding which of these two boundary
conditions to impose in an increment (stage) of an
analysis is discussed. This is likely to involve split-
ting of the increment of the analysis into a series of
sub-increments. An algorithm to automatically select
the size of these sub-increments is described.
The novel application of the boundary condition to
simulate the ground water recharge that occurs at the
base of the computational domain when modelling a
partially saturated slope is discussed.
REFERENCES
Chapui, R.P., Chenaf, D., Bussiere, B., Aubertin, M. and
Crespo, R. 2001. A user’s approach to assess numeri-
cal codes for saturated & unsaturated seepage conditions.
Canadian geotechnical journal, vol 38, pp 1113–1126.
Fredlund, D.G. and Barbour, S.L. 1992. Integrated seep-
age modelling and slope stability analysis: A generalised
778
approach for saturated/unsaturated soils. Chapter 1 in
Geomechanics and water engineering in environmental
management, ed R.N. Chowdhury, Balkema.
Ng, C.W.W. and Shi, Q. 1998. A numerical investigation
of the stability of unsaturated soil slopes subject to tran-
sient seepage. Computers and Geotechnics, vol 22, No 1,
pp 1–28.
Ng, C.W.W. and Pang, Y.W. 2000. Influence of stress-state
on soil—water characteristics and slope stability. Jour-
nal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
vol 126, No 2, Feb 2000 ASCE.
Ng, C.W.W., Wang, B. and Tung, Y.K. 2001. Three
dimensional numerical investigations of groundwater
responses in an unsaturated slope subject to various rain-
fall patterns. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol 38,
pp 1049–1062.
Ng, C.W.W., Zhan, L.T., Bao, C.G., Fredlund, D.G. and
Gong, B.W. 2003. Performance of an unsaturated expan-
sive soil slope subjected to artificial rainfall infiltration.
Geotechnique 53, No 2, pp 143–157.
Rubin, J. and Steinhardt, R. 1963. Soil water relations dur-
ing rain infiltration: 1 Theory. Soil Science Society of
America Proceedings, vol 27, pp 246–251.
Smith, P.G. 2003. Numerical analysis of infiltration into par-
tially saturated soil slopes. PhD thesis, Imperial College
of Science, Technology & Medicine, London.
Tsaparas, I., Rahardjo, H, Toll, D.G. and Leong, E.C. 2002.
Controlling parameters for rainfall—induced landslides.
Computers and Geotechnics, vol 29, pp 1–27.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

On boundary condition in tunnels under partial saturation

P. Gerard, R. Charlier & F. Collin

University of Liège, Department ArGEnCO, Belgium

ABSTRACT: A new hydraulic boundary condition modelling the hydraulic transfers between porous medium
and ambient atmosphere occurring during gallery excavations is described. It combines two modes of water
exchanges in partial saturation: seepage and evaporation flows. Numerical simulations of a gallery excavation in
dilatant geomaterial are carried out in isothermal conditions. The results show the influence of hydric boundary
condition on the convergence of the gallery and the importance of the determination of vapour transfer coefficient
between atmosphere and porous medium.

1 INTRODUCTION flows can be found in the literature, which usually

Nowadays, the solution for the high level radioactivity
waste lies in nuclear waste disposals in deep and low
permeable geological layer. All the processes altering
this natural barrier are thus crucial issues. An impor-
tant topic concerns the development of a damaged zone
(named EDZ) during the excavation of the galleries.
The extent of the EDZ increases the permeability of
the host formation and consequently the radionuclides
migration as well. A correct numerical prediction of
the coupled processes occurring during the excavation
is therefore needed. For this purpose, the hydraulic
boundary condition at the gallery wall has a deep influ-
ence on the response of the low-permeability dilatant
geomaterial. Indeed the usual boundary condition (for
the flow problem) during excavation is a progressive
decrease of the pore pressure down to the atmospheric
pressure at the end of the excavation. On one hand,
such boundary condition can lead to unphysical pore
pressure distribution. On the other hand, the relative
humidity in the gallery is usually controlled through an
‘‘air conditioning system’’. This could be modelled by
a decrease of the pore pressure down to the correspond-
ing suction at the end of the excavation [Hoxha et al.,
2004]. This boundary condition relies on the assump-
tion of a quasi-instantaneous equilibrium between the
gallery relative humidity and the wall pore pressure.
This highlights the need of a more detailed expression
of the water exchanges between air gallery and gallery
wall. Two modes of exchange can occur: seepage flow
and vapour flow. The seepage flows are liquid flows
that tend to reduce the gallery wall pore pressure down
to the atmospheric pressure. Vapour exchanges occur
when the relative humidities of air gallery and rock
mass are different. Several formulations of the vapour
assume that the flow is proportional to the difference
of relative humidity [Anagnostou, 1995], vapour pres-
sure [Zhongxhuan et al., 2004], the vapour potential
[Kowalski, 1997] or the volumetric vapour mass [Ben
Nasrallah & Pere, 1998].
In this paper, the expression of the new flow bound-
ary condition in isothermal conditions is first devel-
oped (Section 2). After, an example of the influence
of the hydraulic boundary condition will be presented
for the excavation and ventilation of a deep cylindri-
cal cavity (Section 3), before the discussions and the
conclusions.
2 WATER AND VAPOUR EXCHANGES
AT THE GALLERY WALL
During the excavation processes, the pore pressure at
the gallery wall is decreasing. After excavation, for
long term predictions, we can consider that a thermo-
dynamical equilibrium has to be reached between the
air gallery and rock mass. The wall moisture has to
be in equilibrium with the air humidity in the tunnel.
Water and vapour exchanges take place at the boundary
between gallery and rock mass.
Water exchanges in liquid phase can occur accord-
ing to the difference of water pore pressure between
rock mass and gallery. In some coupled phenom-
ena like dilatancy, numerical responses with classical
boundary conditions of the flow problem provide
totally unphysical results as an injection of a huge
amount of water in the medium during excavation. An
unilateral flow condition is thus imposed in order to
avoid water inflow into the rock mass: water outflows
can only be created if pore pressure in the formation

779
is higher than the air pressure in the gallery. Seepage
flow S can be expressed as follows:
 f
S = β · (pw − patm )2
f gal
if pw ≥ pw and pw ≥ patm
f gal f
S=0 if pw < pw or pw
f gal
with pw and pw the water pressures respectively in the
formation and in the gallery, patm the atmospheric pres-
sure and β a seepage transfer coefficient. This transfer
coefficient should be as high as possible (penalty
condition) in order to respect the seepage condition.
Vapour exchanges occur when a difference between
relative humidities of air gallery and rock mass exists.
Vapour inflows or outflows are physically possible.
Several formulations of these fluxes can be found in
the literature. Each of them is using a mass transfer
coefficient which can be expressed as a function of
the degree of saturation, the porosity or the air wind-
speed in the gallery [Dracos, 1980; Anagnostou, 1995;
Zhongxhuan et al., 2004]. To obtain the evaporation
flow, this mass transfer coefficient can be multiplied
by the difference of relative humidity [Anagnostou,
1995], vapour pressure [Zhongxhuan et al., 2004] or
vapour potential [Kowalski, 1997] between air gallery
and the geological formation. As proposed by Ben
Nasrallah & Pere [1998], we choose to express vapour
exchanges as the difference of volumetric vapour mass
between the tunnel atmosphere and rock mass:
E = α · (ρνf − ρνgal )
f gal
with ρν and ρν volumetric mass respectively in the
formation and in the gallery and α a vapour transfer
coefficient.
The volumetric vapour mass is given by the follow-
ing thermodynamic relationship:
ρν = h · ρν,0
where h is the relative humidity and ρν,0 the saturated
vapour volumetric mass.
Relative humidity in porous medium is related to
the suction by the Kelvin’s law and saturated vapour
volumetric mass is obtained by ideal gas law.
The saturated vapour pressure given by the experi-
mental expression following [Collin, 2003]:
pν,0 = a · exp(−b/T )
with a = 112659 MPa and b = 5192, 74 for
temperatures included between 273 and 373◦ K.
On the basis of previous relations, the total flow
q between air gallery and the geological formation is
simply expressed as the sum of the seepage flow and
vapour exchange flux, which can occur near tunnel
surface:
f
q=S +E (5)
< patm
Because of permanent air ventilation of the galleries
(1) in the tunnel, we can consider that air relative humidity
and volumetric mass in the tunnel are constant. Evap-
oration and seepage flows evolve thus according to the
f
value of water pressure pw at the gallery wall (Fig. 1).
Initially, if:
• rock mass humidity is higher than air gallery
f gal
humidity ( pw ≥ patm > pw ).
Vapour exchanges take place from the geological
formation to the gallery. Evaporation flow remains
constant as long as rock mass is totally saturated
f
(pw > patm ). When soil surface water pressure is lower
than atmospheric pressure, the geological formation
is desaturated and vapour exchanges decrease until
the equilibrium between porous medium and ambient
atmosphere is obtained. Seepage flow exists only if
pore pressure at the gallery wall is higher than gallery
pore pressure.
• rock mass humidity is lower than air gallery
f f gal
humidity ( pw < patm and pw < pw ).
Evaporation flows take place from the tunnel atmo-
sphere into the formation in order to re-saturate the
rock mass. The saturation increases progressively to
reach the gallery relative humidity level. On the other
(2) hand, no seepage flow occurs, because only gaseous
exchanges exist.
In order to solve numerically in finite element code
the field equations using this new boundary condition,
a linear auxiliary problem can be defined following
the ideas of Borja & Alarcon [1995] and the field
of unknowns is obtained through a Newton-Raphson
scheme. The linear auxiliary problem is discretized
(3)
(4)
Figure 1. Evaporation and seepage flows.
780
using the finite element methodology [Zienkiewicz & 3.2 Hydraulic properties
Taylor, 2000]. Large strain isoparametric coupled
The mass flow mti is defined as follows:
finite elements and a specific element for the boundary
condition have been introduced in the finite element  
code Lagamine [Collin, 2003] for the modelling. κkr,w
t
∂pt
mti = −ρwt + ρwt gi (6)
μ ∂xit
3 NUMERICAL MODELLING
OF AN EXCAVATION where κ is the intrinsic permeability, kr,w t
is water
relative permeability and μ is the fluid viscosity.
Within the framework of nuclear waste disposals in The compressible fluid is assumed to respect the
deep geological layer, a correct numerical prediction following relationship [Lewis & Schrefler, 2000]. This
of the coupled processes occurring during disposal predicts an increase of fluid density as a function of the
excavations is needed. With the aim of studying the pore pressure, defining χw as the fluid bulk modulus:
influence of hydric boundary condition, the excava-
tion of a cylindrical gallery located in a homogeneous ρwt t
low permeability formation is simulated. The geom- ρ̇wt = ṗ (7)
χw
etry and the mechanical law used are those proposed
in the GdR-Momas benchmark exercise [Chavant &
Fernandez, 2005]. The following parameters have been used in the
A cylindrical unsupported cavity of 3 m diame- excavation gallery simulation (Table 2).
ter is located in an homogeneous low permeability The retention curve of the medium and the water
formation. The excavation process is modelled by relative permeability function are given by the follow-
decreasing the initial total stress and pore pressure ing relationships, proposed previously in the frame
towards atmospheric pressure. An initial isotropic of GdR-Momas benchmark exercises [Chavant &
stress state allows one dimensional axisymetrical mod- Fernandez, 2005]:
elling: σr = 7 MPa and pw = 5 MPa. Two steps are  −0.412
considered in the simulation: first the excavation pro-  p  1
c 1−0.412
cess (duration T = 1.5 Ms, around 17 days) and a Sr,w = 1+ and Sr,w = 1 if pc < 0
107
second phase during which the radial convergence of
(8)
the cavity evolves due to the water diffusion process.
The final modelling time is 300 Ms (about 9.5 years). !−1
At the external boundaries of our model, the initial kr,w = 1 + (Sr,w −2.429 − 1)1.176 (9)
conditions are assumed to be preserved in terms of
total stress and pore pressure. This supposes that the
external boundaries are far enough from the cavity. with Sr,w the water relative saturation, kr,w the water
In the modelling, they are located at a radial distance relative permeability and pc the capillary pressure
seven times the cavity radius. This distance, maybe a (pc = pg − pw ).
little short to avoid boundary influence, is imposed by
the geometry of the GdR-Momas benchmark.
Table 1. Parameters of the mechanical model.
The conditions are isotherms (T = 293◦ K) and gas
pressure is assumed constant (equal to the atmospheric E0 Young modulus 5800 MPa
pressure). υ0 Poisson ratio 0.3 –
C0 Initial cohesion 1 MPa
ϕ Friction angle 25 Degree
3.1 Mechanical constitutive law α Residual cohesion 0.01 –
p
In order to reproduce the progressive decrease of the γR Dev. Strain threshold 0.015 –
material strength, the elasto-plastic strain-softening
model (with an associated Drucker-Prager yield crite-
rion) proposed previously in the frame of GdR-Momas
benchmark exercises [Chavant & Fernandez, 2005] Table 2. Parameters of the flow model.
is used. Due to the associated plastic law, the result-
ing behaviour of the material is highly dilatant, which κ Intrinsic permeability 10−19 m2
increases the coupling effects between the mechanical ρw,0 Water density 1000 kg/m3
0 Initial porosity 0.15 –
and the flow problem. χw Bulk modulus 2000 MPa
The following simulations have been performed μ Dynamic viscosity 0.001 Pa.s
with the parameters values defined in Table 1.

781
3.3 Reference case humidity in the tunnel is usually controlled by an
‘‘air conditioning system’’ maintaining constant air
In this axisymetrical modelling, a classical flow
relative humidity. After excavation, for long term pre-
boundary condition is imposed: the pore pressures
dictions, a thermodynamical equilibrium might be
at the wall are decreased towards the atmospheric
reached between the air gallery and the geological
pressure during excavation and then remain constant
formation.
(Fig. 2). Due to the hydro-mechanical coupling (dila-
In these simulations (Case 2), a combined boundary
tancy effect), a pore pressure decrease is observed
condition with seepage and evaporation flows is thus
in the damaged zone, which implies an unphysical
used, as defined in Equation (4). A relative humidity
‘numerical’ injection of water into the formation.
of 0.96 (corresponding to a negative pore pressure of
Figure 3 presents the stress path followed in the first
−5 MPa) is imposed for the gallery atmosphere, but
finite element at the wall. The behaviour is first elastic
pore pressures at the wall are not controlled. The seep-
before the stress path reaches the initial yield surface.
age transfer coefficient β of Equation (1) is assumed
Due to softening, the cohesion is decreasing, inducing
equal to 10−7 s3 · kg−1 .
dilatancy at the same time. At the end of the modelling,
The results depend on the vapour mass transfer
the stress state tends to zero as no more deviatoric
coefficient α, defined in Equation (1). However,
stresses are allowed. The radial displacement is equal
this coefficient is difficult to determine. With a
to 1.75 cm at the end of the excavation and reaches
small vapour transfer coefficient (Case 2-1 − α =
21.2 cm after 300 Ms. The coupling effects between
10−4 m/s), only seepage flows have influence on
the water diffusion and the mechanical process are thus
flow boundary behaviour. The pore pressure profiles
important.
(Fig. 4) tend towards atmospheric pressure on the wall
and are thus similar to those from a simulation using
3.4 Influence of hydraulic boundary condition only seepage boundary condition.
Using 100 times larger mass transfer coefficient
The reference case highlights the need of a more (Case 2-2 – α = 10−2 m/s), evaporation flow becomes
detailed expression of the water exchanges between preponderant on seepage flow. Pore pressure remains
air gallery and gallery wall. Furthermore, relative negative and close to the imposed pore pressure in

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 t = 1.5 E6 s
3
Pore pressure [MPa]

t = 5.0 E6 s
Pore pressure [MPa]

2 2 t = 50 E6 s
t = 300 E6 s
1 1

0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
-1 -1
t = 1.5 E6 s -2
-2
t = 5.0 E6 s
t = 50 E6 s -3
-3
t = 300 E6 s
-4 -4
Radial distance [m] Radial distance [m]

Figure 2. Case 1—Reference Case—Pore pressure Figure 4. Case 2-1—Pore pressure distribution.
distribution.
Second deviatoric stress invariant [MPa]

12 12 Initial yield surface

Second deviatoric stress invariant [MPa]

Initial yield surface Final yield surface

10 Final yield surface 10

8 8
End of excavation
6 6

4 4

2 2
End of excavation
0 0
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
First stress invariant [MPa] First stress invariant [MPa]

Figure 3. Case 1—Reference Case—Stress path curve. Figure 5. Case 2-1—Stress path curve.

782
 6 1

4 -4
= 10 m/s
Pore pressure [MPa]

0.99
t = 1.5 E6 s

Relative humidity (-)

2 t = 5.0 E6 s
t = 50 E6 s
t = 300 E6 s 0.98
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 -3
= 10 m/s
-2
0.97
-2
= 10 m/s
-4
Air gallery relative humidity
0.96
-6 0.0E+00 5.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.5E+08 2.0E+08 2.5E+08 3.0E+08
Radial distance [m]
Time (s)

Figure 6. Case 2-2—Pore pressure distribution. Figure 8. Case 2—Relative humidity evolutions.

16
Initial yield surface
14
Table 3. Cavity convergence for different cases.
Second deviatoric stress invariant [MPa]

Final yield surface

12

10 Case 1 Case 2-1 Case 2-2 Case 2-3

8 End of excavation
1.5 Ms 1.75 cm 1.50 cm 1.41 cm 1.48 cm
6
3 Ms 21.2 cm 5.28 cm 1.47 cm 1.73 cm
4

-10
Figure 7.
the gallery (Fig. 6). The pore pressure profiles in the
formation are quite similar to those obtained when a
relative humidity (corresponding to a negative pore
pressure of −5 MPa) is imposed at the cavity wall as
boundary condition.
Due to these different pore pressure distributions
relative humidity at the wall evolves according to
the vapour transfer coefficient. Figure 8 presents the
temporal evolution of relative humidity of geolog-
ical formation at the wall in different cases. With
small vapour transfer coefficient (Case 2-1 – α =
10−4 m/s), seepage flow is predominant and the equi-
librium between the gallery atmosphere and the wall
is not reached at the end of the simulation. In the
other hand, with high vapour coefficient (Case 2-2 –
α = 10−2 m/s), the equilibrium is quickly reached. In
an intermediate situation (Case 2-3 – α = 10−3 m/s),
seepage and evaporation flows are both influent. In a
first time formation relative humidity increases, before
decreasing to stabilize finally.
These different pore pressure distributions have a
direct influence on the convergence predicted. Table 3
presents the results for the different cases. At the end
of the excavation, the convergences are more or less
the same. But as far as the long-term response is
concerned, the predicted displacements are rather dif-
ferent. Indeed in Case 2-2, due to the high vapour
transfer coefficient used, the remaining suction near
0
0 10 20 30 40
First stress invariant [MPa]
the tunnel ensures an additional strength and limits the
Case 2-2—Stress path curve. material deformations. The stress paths followed in the
first finite element near the wall confirm these results.
Indeed, Figure 7 presents more or less the same stress
states at the end of the excavation and after 300 Ms.
The geological formation recovers an elastic behaviour
at the end of the simulation and the high final value
of the deviatoric stress is an indicator of the low plas-
tic deformations. The comparison with the stress path
in Case 1 (Fig. 3) shows clearly the difference of final
value of the deviatoric stress and allows explaining the
obtained convergences.
With small vapour transfer coefficient (Case 2-1),
the stress path shows that the residual value of cohe-
sion is reached and the behaviour is still plastic at the
end of the simulation (Fig. 5). The final value of the
deviatoric stress is a little higher than in Case 1, so that
the convergence is less important. It is also interesting
to note that the stress paths become purely deviatoric
(constant mean stress) during excavation when atmo-
sphere in the tunnel begins to be unsaturated, due to
the expression of seepage flow (Eq. 1).
In the reference case (Case 1), the EDZ extends
on 2.1 times the internal radius. With the mixed flow
condition (Case 2-1/3), the simulations predict a rather
narrow EDZ in comparison with the Case 1. However,
the EDZ in Cases 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3 are quite simi-
lar (between 1.71 and 1.74 times the internal radius),
which means that the mass transfer coefficient has a
small influence on the EDZ. The intensity of the corre-
sponding plastic deformations is not the same, which
involves the differences of convergence.

783
4 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Within the framework of nuclear waste disposals in
deep geological layer, a correct numerical prediction
of the coupled processes occurring during theses exca-
vations is needed. With the strain-softening constitu-
tive model used, the coupling effects between water
diffusion and the mechanical aspects are very impor-
tant. A new boundary condition combining seepage
and evaporation flows has been developed and the
modelling has shown that the flow boundary condi-
tion at the cavity wall deeply influences the cavity
convergence.
In low permeability and highly dilatant medium,
wall pressure decreased (Case 1) leads to unphysical
phenomenon, as the model predicts a massive injection
of water into the formation. Furthermore thermody-
namical equilibrium has to be reached between air
gallery and rock mass, due to ‘‘air conditioning sys-
tem’’ in the tunnel. This highlights the need of this
new boundary condition, combining two modes of
exchange: seepage flow and vapour flow. Depend-
ing on the value of vapour transfer coefficient, this
boundary condition predicts low convergence, as for
suction imposed condition or higher radial displace-
ment as with only seepage flow condition. But with
such coefficients, the computations provide realistic
responses, that means ‘physical’ water flow and equi-
librium between gallery atmosphere and rock mass
relative humidities reached at the end of the simulation.
However, the value of the vapour exchange coef-
ficient is difficult to determine. Experimental studies
with clay sample will be realised to determine and
analyze the influence of this coefficient.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the FRS-FNRS and
the European project TIMODAZ for their financial
support. TIMODAZ is co-funded by the European
Commission (EC) as part of the sixth Euratom research
784
and training Framework Programme (FP6) on nuclear
energy (2002–2006).
REFERENCES
Anagnostou, G. 1995. Seepage flow around tunnels in
swelling rock. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech.
19:705–724.
Ben Nasrallah, S. & Pere, P. 1998. Detailed study of a model
of heat and mass transfer during convective drying of
porous media. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 31-5:957–967.
Borja, R. & Alarcon, E. 1995. A mathematical framework
for finite strain elastoplastic consolidation part 1: balance
law, variational formulation and linearization. Comput.
Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 122:765–781.
Chavant, C. & Fernandez, R. 2005. Evaluating the reliability
of hydro-mechanical simulation: a benchmark of numeri-
cal techniques carried out by Research Group of MoMas.
2nd International Meeting Clays in Natural and Engineer-
ing Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement, Tours;
249–250.
Collin, F. 2003. Couplages thermo-hydro-mécaniques dans
les sols et les roches tendres partiellement saturés. Thèse
de doctorat. Université de Liège.
Dracos, Th. 1980. Hydrologie, Eine Einführung für Inge-
nieure. Springer-Verlag: Wien New York.
Hoxha, D., Giraud, A., Blaisonneau, A., Homand, F. &
Chavant C. 2004. Poroplastic modelling of the excava-
tion and ventilation of a deep cavity. Int. J. Numer. Anal.
Meth. Geomech. 28:339–364.
Kowalski, S.J. 1997. Moisture transport, thermodynamics,
and boundary conditions in porous materials in presence
of mechanical stresses. Chemical Engineering Science
52–7:1141–1150.
Lewis, R.W. & Schrefler, B.A. 2000. The Finite Element
Method in the Static and Dynamic Deformation and
Consolidation of Porous Media. Wiley: New York.
Zhongxuan, L., Fengzhi, L., Yingxi, L. & Yi, L. 2004.
Effect of the environmental atmosphere on heat, water
and gas transfer within hygroscopic fabrics. Journal of
Computational and Applied Mathematics 163:199–210.
Zienkiewicz, O. & Taylor, R. 2000. The Finite
Element Method (5th edn). Butterworth-Heinemann:
Stonchem, MA.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical modelling of tree root-water-uptake in a multiphase medium

S. Hemmati
Institut Navier, CERMES/ENPC, Université Paris-Est, France

B. Gatmiri
Institut Navier, CERMES/ENPC, University of Tehran, Iran
Université Paris-Est, France

ABSTRACT: Water uptake by tree roots can change the water content of a soil in a significant manner and
cause ground settlement in unsaturated expansive soils. Ground settlement can damage light buildings supported
by shallow foundations through cracking. A root-water-uptake model is implemented in a three phase fully
coupled finite element program θ-stock (Gatmiri/CERMES). Various expressions of root water extraction term
are studied. A two dimensional root water extraction term, i.e. sink term is considered. This model takes into
account the root density distribution, potential transpiration and soil suction.

1 INTRODUCTION be characterized by a number of different parameters

(Lynch 1995) including morphology, topology, dis-
Water uptake by tree roots can change the water content tribution and architecture. In general, trees tend to
of a soil in a significant manner. Soil shrinkage- have deeper root systems whilst shrubs tend to con-
swelling phenomena and ground settlement occur due centrate roots at superficial levels in the soil (Becker
to water content changes in unsaturated soils. Ground and Castillo 1990). The need for efficient resource
settlement can damage light buildings supported by exploitation determines not only the extent of root sys-
shallow foundations through cracking. This phe- tem but also the density of the root mass. Dupuy et al.
nomenon is more prevalent in long periods of drought (2005) note that most root systems can be classified
with greater fluctuations in the soil water content. according to four basic arrangements: heart, tap, her-
In this paper the development of a two-dimensional ringbone and plate. A series of principles can guide
model for root-water-uptake integrated in the finite the selection of root zone geometries. It is important to
element program θ-stock (Gatmiri 1997) is pre- have some idea of the root mass structure. For example
sented. This code is a fully-coupled Thermo–Hydro–
Mechanical program for multiphase porous media.
Table 1. Ratio of the influence distance D to the height H
Studies for water uptake by plant roots have been of a single tree (data collected by Fityus et al.).
classified into three categories. The first category
includes microscopic approachs which deal with radial D/H Species Ref.
flow of moisture to a single root. This method needs
detailed information on the geometry of root sys- <0.5 Significant effect for a Bozozuk, 1962
tem. In the second category which is a macroscopic row of elm trees
approach, water extraction by plant root is treated as a Up to 1.5 A range of tree species Biddle, 1983
sink term distributed in the root zone. The third cate- <0.7 Highly affected zone Cameron, 2001
for a single eucalypt
gory or hybrid approach is similar to the second one,
<1.5 Highly affected zone Cameron, 2001
but also takes into account the time dependent plant for a row of mature
root and soil parameters such as root density distribu- eucalypts
tion, root water potential and soil suction in the sink 0.5 to 1 Single eucalypt in Jaska et al. 2002
term. In this work the third category is used. relatively consistent
deep clay
0.8 to 1.1 Row of eucalypts in Jaska et al. 2002
2 ROOT ARCHITECTURE AND ROOT ZONE relatively consistent
deep clay
1 Single tree Blight, 2003
The ‘‘root system’’ of a plant refers to the ‘‘entire below 1.5 Row of trees Blight, 2003
ground structure of a plant’’ (Berntson 1994). It may

785
the ratio of the influence distance of some species to
their heights is presented in Table 1.
Some examples of depth of affected zone and the
maximum active root length density can be found in
Biddle (1983), Fatahi (2006), etc.
3 ROOT-WATER-UPTAKE MODELS
The transpiration rate of trees is dependent of root-
water-uptake (Figure 1):
 Various equations proposed for Smax are presented in
T (t) = SdV (1)
V (t)
where T is the transpiration rate and S is the root-
water-uptake.
The root-water-uptake models found in literature
are similar but they use different extraction functions
or sink terms. These models are generally based on
Richards’ equation including a sink term S which
describes water uptake by plant roots. Based on
macroscopic model of Feddes et al. (1978), S is
expressed as:
S = αSmax
Smax = g(β)f (TP )
Figure 1. Relation of transpiration rate and extraction
function.
where α is a reduction function due to soil suction
ψ that can be expressed as a function of soil suction
or water content θ or pressure head h, β is root den-
sity distribution and TP is potential transpiration. The
functions of Smax and α are described in following
paragraphs.
3.1 Maximum root-water-uptake Smax
Smax is the maximum possible root water extraction
rate, if there is no limiting with soil water content.
Table 2. Empirical and experimental coefficients in
these equations should be calibrated considering soil
and tree conditions such as soil texture, tree species
and age, etc.
In this work, the functions proposed by Indraratna
et al. (2006) are used. These functions have been
defined considering a non linear relationship between
root length density and relative water up take after
Landsberg (1999), and a linear potential transpiration
distribution proposed by Nima and Hanks (1973).
3.2 Reduction function α
(2) Existing expressions of the reduction function α in the
literature are mostly like the one presented in Figure 2,
(3) with different definitions. For example a function of
suction (Feddes et al. 1978) or a function of pressure
head (Prasad 1988).
Different points of reduction function can be
defined: Field capacity, maximum soil water deficit,
permanent wilting point. Following definitions are
taken from British Columbia, Water conservation
factsheet.
– Field capacity (FC)
The water content of the soil where all free water
has been drained form the soil through gravity. Sandy
soils may drain within a few hours but fine textured
soils such as clay may take a few days to drain. Proper
irrigation brings soil moisture up to field capacity.
– Maximum soil water deficit (MSWD)
Only a portion of the available water is easily used
by the crop. The maximum soil water deficit is the
amount of water stored in the plant’s root zone that is
readily available to the plant.
– Permanent wilting point (PWP)
The soil moisture content at which the plant will
wilt and die. While there still may be water in the soil,
the plant is not able to extract sufficient water from the
soil to meet its needs.
– Plant available soil moisture (PAW)
Available soil moisture is defined by the difference
between the amount of water in the soil at field capac-
ity and the amount at the permanent wilting point.
786
Table 2. Maximum root-water-uptake suggested by different authors.

Smax Model description Ref.

Tp
Smax = 1D model Feddes 1978
zr
 
2Tp z
Smax (z) = 1− 1D linear model Prasad 1988, Hayhoe and
zr zr DeJong 1988

Tp α(h) f (z)
Smax (h, z) = 1 zr 1D model considering Li et al. 2001
0 α(h) f (z)dz water availability and root
f (z) = −β z ln β distribution in depth

 
1
β = 0.01 zr

π R2 β(r, z)Tp
Smax (r, z) = 1 Zm 1 Rm Axisymmetric model considering Vrugt et al. 2001
2π 0 0 rβ(r, z)dr dz root distribution density in
   both horizontal and vertical
z r
β(r, z) = 1 − 1− e−A directions, and potential
zr rr transpiration distribution
A = ( pz /zr )| z ∗ − z | + ( pr /rr )| r ∗ − r |

pz , pr : empirical parameters

Smax (r, z, t) = G(β)F(Tp ) Axisymmetric model considering Indraratna et al. 2006

root distribution density in
tan h(k3 β) both horizontal and vertical
G(β) = 1 directions, and potential
V (t) tan h(k3 β)
transpiration distribution
1
with V (t) G(β)dV = 1

∗ (t) |−k | r−r ∗ (t) |

β(r, z, t) = βmax (t)e−k1 | z−z 2

TP (1 + k4 (zr − z))
F(Tp ) = 1
V (t) G(β)(1 + k4 (zr − z))dV
k1 , k2 : empirical coefficients

k3 , k4 : experimental coefficients

Typical values for different soil classes are presented deformation, moisture, and heat should be also regar-
in Table 3. ded. The theory of Philip & de Vries (1957) is known as
a basic framework and a comprehensive theory of moi-
sture and heat movement in an incompressible porous
medium. In this theory, moisture and heat transfer
4 FINITE ELEMENT CODE AND GOVERNING
equations are formulated in terms of temperature (T)
EQUATIONS
and volumetric water content (θ). In this theory, in the
absence of water continuity all transfers are in vapor
4.1 Presentation of θ-stock
phase and with increasing moisture content, the liq-
Soil deformation due to water content changes is signi- uid phase transfer becomes dominant. A suction-based
ficant in expansive soils. The coupling effects among mathematical model for thermo-hydro-mechanical

787
 4.2 Equations
4.2.1 Solid skeleton behavior
– Equilibrium equation:

(σij − δij pg ) j + pg, j + bi = 0 (4)

Incremental constitutive law under small deforma-

tion assumption:
d(σij − δij pg ) = Ddε − Fd( pg − pw ) − CdT (5)
– Thermal void ratio state surface:
Figure 2. Reduction function α as a function of soil suction
or water content or pressure head. 1 + e0
e=   −1
exp A
Kb (1−m) exp [ce (T − T0 )]
    

σ − pg σ − pg pg − pw 1−m
Table 3. Average estimated plant available water for various A= a +b 1−
soils (after Evans et al. 1996). patm σc patm
(6)
Plant available water
Textural class inches of water per inch of soil
(Soil Classification) (Volumetric water content) – Thermal degree of saturation state surface:

Coarse sand and gravel 0.02–0.05 Sr = 1 − B exp (ds (T − T0 ))

Sand 0.05–0.11
Loamy sand 0.09–015 where
Sandy loam 0.11–0.15
Loams 0.11–0.17 B = [as + bs (σ − pg )][1 − exp(cs (pg − pw ))] (7)
Silt loam 0.11–0.18
Silty clay loam 0.11–0.15 4.2.2 Moisture phase movement equations
Clay loam 0.09–0.16
Sandy clay loam 0.09–0.15
– Total moisture transfer equation:
Silty clay 0.10–0.16
Clay 0.10–0.16 q qvap qliq
= + = V + U = (DTV + DTW ) ∇T
ρw ρw ρw
− (Dθv + Dθw ) ∇θ − Dw ∇Z (8)

behavior of unsaturated media is presented by Gatmiri – Moisture mass conservation equation:

(1997) and Gatmiri et al. (1997a, b, 1999 and 2002).
In this approach, heat and moisture transfer equa- ∂T ∂pw ∂Sr
tions are given in an alternative form based on water nSr βT + nSr βP + (ρw − ρv ) n
∂t ∂t ∂t
and air pressures. Temperature-dependent state sur-
face formulations are given for void ratio and degree ∂n ∂ρv
+ (Sr ρw + ρv (1 − Sr )) + n (1 − Sr )
of saturation variations within porous media. The cou- ∂t ∂t
pling effects of temperature and moisture content on = div (ρw Dw ∇z) + div (ρw DT ∇T )
deformation of skeleton, and the inverse effects are
included in this model via thermal state surface con- + div(ρw Dp ∇(pw − pg )) + Qm (9)
cept. The non-linear constitutive law for strain-stress
relationship is considered. In this form of formulation, 4.2.3 Energy equations
the soil nonhomogeneity and hysteretic effect can be – Total heat flow (Philip & de Vries, 1957):
included. The phase change between liquid and vapor
phases is taken into account. Q = −λ∇T
As root-water-uptake can be considered as a
hydraulic loading, only final principal equations of + [Cpw ρw U + Cpv ρw V + Cpg ρg Vg ] (T − T0 )
solid skeleton behavior and moisture transfer and con- + ρw hfg V + ρv hfg Vg
servation and energy equation, used in the computer
code θ stock are presented in the following paragraphs. λ = (1 − n)λs + θλw + (n − θ) λv (10)

788
– Energy conservation equation:

∂
(CT (T − T0 ) + (n − θ )ρv hfg )
∂t
− div(λ(θ )∇T ) + Cpw ρw div(U (T − T0 ))
+ Cpv ρw div(V (T − T0 )
+ Cpg ρg div(Vg (T − T0 ))

+ ρw hfg div(V ) + hfg div(ρv Vg ) = 0 (11)

5 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

In this work, boundary conditions of root zone

elements are time dependent hydraulic boundary Figure 3. Created mesh with tree root elements.
conditions. Flux boundary conditions are imposed.
Calculated water uptake volume in corresponding time
step will be applied as an outlet discharge of each root
element:

ρw (U ) n − (qw ) = 0 ∀x ∈ QW (12)

S (t) = −qw (t) (13)

where qw (t) is water discharge of an element at

time t.
A preliminary example of numerical modelling of
root water uptake is performed in order to demon-
strate the functionality of the implemented program.
A row of trees is considered in this plane-strain exam-
ple. A water flux boundary condition equal to root-
water-uptake is applied on the root elements. The
created mesh with tree root elements is presented in Figure 4. Degree of saturation.
Figure 3. The applied water flux boundary condi-
tion is variable in different time steps as a function
of the results obtained in the previous time step. The
contour graph of degree of saturation is presented in
Figure 4. As can be seen the degree of saturation in
the tree root zone is considerably decreased due to root
water uptake. Consequently the suction is increased
in the same zone (Figure 5). Figure 6 presents the
vertical displacement. As can be seen, the vertical
displacement near the tree centre is more important
and reduced with the distance from the tree. This pre-
liminary example shows that using this thermo hydro
mechanical model we can model the effect of tree roots
water uptake in the expansive soils. The variations of
water content, suction and finally the vertical displace-
ments can be predicted by the numerical model. It is
clear that the model should be calibrated for the site
specific soil characteristics, climatic data and the type
of the tree. Figure 5. Suction.

789

Figure 6. Vertical displacements.
6 CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVE
In this study, a mathematical model is presented
and implemented in the finite element program
θ-stock (Gatmiri, Cermes 1997). Series of differ-
ent root-water-uptakes models have been studied.
A sophisticated model of root-water-uptake proposed
by Indraratna et al (2006) is considered. This root-
water-uptake model is programmed and integrated in
θ-stock. Hydraulic and heat boundary conditions are
calculated and then applied on root zone elements. Val-
idation of this model with the existing examples found
in literature has been performed.
REFERENCES
Becker, P. & Castillo, A. 1990. Root architecture of shrubs
and saplings in the understory of a tropical moist forest in
lawland Panama, Biotropica, 22:242–249.
Bernston, G. 1994. Modelling root architecture: are there
tradeoffs between efficiency and potential of resource
acquisition? New Phytologist, 127:483–493.
Biddle, P.G. 2001. Patterns of drying and moisture deficit
in the vicinity of trees in clay soils. Géotechnique,
33:107–126.
Blight, G. 2005. Desiccation of a clay by grass, bushes
and trees, Geotechnical and geological engineering, 23,
697–720.
Bozozuk, M. 1962. Soil shrinkage damages shallow founda-
tions at Ottawa, Canada, Div. of Building Research NRCC
Canada, Research paper 63.
British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture. 2002. Water
Conservation Factsheet, Order No. 619.000-1.
Evans, R., Cassel, D.K. & Sneed, R.E. 1996. Soil, water, and
crop characteristics important to irrigation scheduling.
790
North Carolina Cooperative Extension service, Publica-
tion Number: AG452-1.
Fatahi, B. 2006. Pers. Comm. Uni. of Wollogong. School of
civil, Mining and Enviro. Engg.
Feddes, R.A., Kowalik, P.J. & Zarandy, H. 1978. Simula-
tion of field water use and crop yield. Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
Fytius, S., Cameron, D. & Driscol, C. 2007. Observation
of root architecture and their implications for modelling
water movement in partially saturated soils, 3rd Asian
Conf. on Unsat. Soils, pp. 207–212.
Gatmiri, B. 1997. ‘‘Effect of nonlinearity in thermohydrome-
chanical coupling’’, XIV International Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, September 6–12,
1997 at Hamburg.
Gatmiri, B., Delage, P. & Fry, J.J. 1997. ‘‘Numerical Aspects
Of Thermoelastoplastic Behaviour Of Saturated Soil’’,
NAFEMS World congress ‘97, Stuttgart, April 9–11.
Gatmiri, B., Seyedi, M., Delage, P. & Fry, J.J. 1997.
A new suction-based mathematical model for thermohy-
gromechanical behaviour of unsaturated porous media’’,
NUMOG VI.
Gatmiri, B. 1997. Analysis of fully coupled behaviour
of unsaturated porous media under stress, suction and
temperature gradient, Final report of CERMES-EDF,
France.
Gatmiri, B., Jenab-Vossoughi, B. & Delage, P. 1999. Valida-
tion of θ-STOCK, a finite element software for the analysis
of thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of engineered clay
barriers. Proceedings of NAFEMS WORLD CONGRESS
99 on Effective Engineering Analysis, Vol. 1:645–656.
Gatmiri, B. & Jenab-Vossoughi, B. 2002. Effects of heat
convection and phase changes on heat and fluid transfer
in unsaturated porous media, Third International Confer-
ence on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2002, Recife, Brasilia,
10–13 March 2002, pp. 77–82.
Hayhoe, H.N. & De Jong, R. 1988. Comparison of two soil
water models for soybeans. Can. Agric. Eng. 30:5–11.
Indraratna, B., Fatahi, B. & Khabbaz, H., 2006. Numer-
ical analysis of matric suction effects of tree roots.
Geotechnical Engineering, 159, Issue GE2, 77–90.
Jaska, M., Kaggwa, W., Woodburn, J. & Sinclair, R. 2002.
Influence of large gun trees on the soil suction profile in
expansive soils, Australian Geomechanics, 36:23–33.
Li, K.Y., Bisvert, B.J. & De Jong, R. 2001. An exponential
root-water-uptake model with water stress compensation.
J. Hydrol., 252:189–204.
Lynch, J. 1995. Root architecture and plant productivity, Plant
Physiology, 109:7–13.
Nimah, M.N. & Hanks, R.J. 1973. Model for estimating soil
water plant, and atmospheric interrelations. I. Description
of sensivity. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 37:522–527.
Philip, J.R. & de Vries, D.A. 1957. Moisture movement in
porous materials under temperature gradients. Trans. Am.
Geophys. Un., 38:222–232.
Prasad, R. 1988. A linear root-water-uptake model. J. Hydrol.
99:297–306.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical modelling of the soil surface moisture changes

due to soil-atmosphere interaction

S. Hemmati
Institut Navier, CERMES/ENPC, Université Paris-Est, France

B. Azari
Civil Engineering Department, University of Tehran, Iran

B. Gatmiri
Institut Navier, CERMES/ENPC, University of Tehran, Iran and Université Paris-Est, France

ABSTRACT: In this paper, a two-dimensional model for soil-atmosphere interaction developed by

considering the mass and energy balance equations is presented. This model is integrated in θ-stock (Gatmiri,
1997a), a finite element program for modelling Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) behaviour of unsaturated
soils. In this research, the exchange of moisture and heat between a multiphase soil and an atmosphere
layer is simulated. Considering the latent and sensible heat transport equations and consequently the moisture
exchange (evaporation and condensation), equations are developed by taking into account climatic measured
factors such as wind, temperature, precipitation, humidity and radiation. These boundary conditions are cou-
pled with a system of equations incorporating THM behaviour for multiphase medium integrated in θ-stock.
The numerical results are then compared with the available experimental test results in order to validate the
model.

1 INTRODUCTION paper, a two-dimensional model for soil-atmosphere

The computation of soil-atmosphere water fluxes (e.g.
infiltration, evapotranspiration, runoff, precipitation,
and interception) is required for the analysis of
numerous problems in geotechnical engineering,
geoenvironmental engineering and hydrology. Direct
measurement of evapotranspiration is difficult or
expensive at field scale; hence numerous equations
exist to estimate it. Evapotranspiration includes evap-
oration of water from the soil or other surfaces and
transpiration through plant stomata (Tahiri et al.,
2006). Energy balance models provide a viable means
of estimating evapotranspiration, but are subject to
large sensitivity to input variables, especially air tem-
perature, humidity and wind. Solar radiation plays
an important role in estimating evapotranspiration.
Incoming solar radiation is partially reflected, with the
reminder absorbed by vegetation and wetland water.
This net radiation is partially intercepted by the veg-
etative canopy, and drives transpiration in plants. The
second portion of net radiation is absorbed by wetland
water, and drives evaporation. Convection and diffu-
sion carry water away from the surface, and transfer
heat from air to the wetland (Kadlec 2005). In this
interaction, developed by considering the mass and
energy balance equations, is presented. This model is
integrated in θ-stock (Gatmiri, 1997a), a finite element
program for modelling Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical
(THM) behaviour of unsaturated soils. The exchange
of moisture and heat between a multiphase soil and an
atmosphere layer is simulated.
2 ENERGY BALANCE EQUATIONS
The main driving force for evapotranspiration (ET) is
solar radiation. A good share of that radiation is con-
verted to the latent heat of vaporization. Therefore,
the energy balance is the proper framework to inter-
pret and predict not only evaporative processes, but
also wetland water temperature. A modification of the
Penman (1948) approach is described here (Wright,
1982). It is to be noted that there are many other ver-
sions of the energy balance (Priestly & Taylor, 1972;
Montieth, 1981; Shuttleworth & Wallace 1985; Walter
et al., 2000). Several of these have been evaluated for
green crops, because of the importance of irrigation
requirement in arid regions (ASCE 1990).

791
 The total energy balance equation can be exp- pressure gradient with height above ground level,
ressed by: Dv = diffusivity for vapour in air.
The latent heat for vaporization of water is
Rn + WE = G + H + Le (1) given by:

where Rn = net radiation in potential conditions; hfg = 4.186(607 − 0.7T) (6)

WE = wind energy; G = the convective transfer
to ground; H = the convective transfer to air; and where T = water temperature.
Le = latent heat flux for vaporization.
2.3 Wind energy
2.1 Net radiation in potential conditions Wind energy is expressed in the form:
Extraterrestrial radiation is depleted by the clear atmo-
sphere and by cloud cover. A fraction α, the wetland 1
WE = ρa ZU 3 (7)
albedo, of this amount is reflected. The remainder 200
reaches the soil-plants system. Plant transpiration par-
where Z = thickness of air layer; and U = air velocity.
tially intercepts it while another portion reaches the
The value of WE is approximately 2% of net radia-
wetland. The part absorbed by the surface is called net
tion in potential conditions hence; it can be neglected.
radiation in potential condition. The net radiation in
Then equation (1) reduces to:
potential conditions can be obtained as:
 
Rn = (1 − α) Rg + εs εa σ Ta4 − σ Tsp
4
(2)
where α = the surface albedo; Rg = the incoming
solar radiation; εa = the air emissivity; σ = the
Stefan-Boltzman constant; Ta = the air temperature
at reference height; εs = the surface emissivity; and
Tsp = the surface temperature in potential conditions.
The albedo factor is:
Rn = G + H + Le (8)
3 MASS BALANCE EQUATIONS
The net soil-atmosphere moisture flux is a function of
some of the key components of the hydrology cycle;
namely, precipitation, actual evaporation, run off,
and interception. The net soil-atmosphere flux may
result in either infiltration (positive flux) or exfiltration
⎧  2
⎨1 − 1 − v (negative flux).
vfc v ≤ vfc The total mass balance equation can be expressed by:
α= (3)
⎩ & '
1 v > vfc I = P − Roff + E + Iinte (9)
where v = the volumetric soil water content of the top where I = infiltration; P = precipitation; Roff =
soil layer; and vfc = the volumetric soil water content runoff ; E = surface evaporation; and Iinte =
at field capacity. interception.

2.2 The convective heat transfer from the water 3.1 Surface evaporation
to the air and latent heat flux for vaporization
Infiltration, I , corresponds to a natural boundary con-
The convective heat transfer from the water to the air dition. The amount of precipitation, P, runoff, Roff ,
can be expressed by: and interception, Iinte , are ‘‘known’’ inputs which can
be obtained by direct measurement at field scale. Sur-
H = ρa Ca Dta T (4) face evaporation can be expressed by many equations.
Here surface evaporation is obtained by the Penman
where ρa = density of air; Ca = specific heat of air; (1948) equation:
and Dta = heat diffusivity in air.
The latent heat flux for vaporization is:
r (Rn −G)
ρa hfg + γ Ea
Le = hfg εDv Pv (5) E= (10)
Pa r + γ

where hfg = latent heat for vaporization of water; where r = slope of the saturation vapour pressure-
Pa = atmospheric pressure; and ε = ratio of molec- temperature curve; γ = psychrometric constant; and
ular masses of water and dry air, Pv = vapour Ea = evaporation rate.

792
 14 wind function obtained by Blight (1997) is used:
Saturated vapor pressure (kPa)

12  
U2
10 f (u) = 0.165 0.8 + (14)
100
8

6
where U2 = the wind speed at 2 m height. The
4 wind speed at 2 m height can be obtained from the
2 wind speed Uw at the generic height Zw by using
0
the following equation:
0 10 20 30 40 50
4.87
Temperature (˚C) U2 = Uw (15)
ln(67.8Zw − 5.42)
Figure 1. Saturation vapor pressure curve.
4 MODEL DESCRIPTION

The key variables that effect energy and mass balance

A graph of the saturation vapour pressure against
temperature is shown in Figure 1. This is called the
psychrometric chart. The gradient of the curve is
denoted r and is a function of temperature, T , and
saturation vapour pressure Pvs (Dodds et al. 2005).
Allen et al. (1998) calculate r using:
4098Pvs
r =
(T + 237.3)2
where Pvs = the saturation vapour pressure; and T =
temperature.
The saturation vapour pressure is calculated using
the equation:
have been briefly described in previous sections while,
in this section, the numerical model is described. The
model uses a subroutine which has been designed for
taking into account soil-atmosphere interaction. The
climatic data (e.g. temperature, the incoming solar
radiation, precipitation, and runoff) is inserted in the
subroutine. These data are separated into two parts:
the first part is used for estimating temperature flux by
(11) considering the energy balance equation while another
part is used for estimating water flux by considering
the mass balance equation. Temperature and water flux
(infiltration) are input data to the main program which
estimates soil stresses, strains, suctions, etc. Thermal
and hydraulic loading of each time step, are calcu-
lated based on the results of preceding time step. Soil

 
17.27T
Pvs = 0.618 exp (12)
T + 237.3

where T = temperature.
Modern study of evaporation began with Dalton
in the late eighteenth century. Dalton ‘‘theorised
that evaporation from a surface, must be a con-
sequence of the combined influence of the wind,
atmospheric moisture content, and characteristic of
the surface (Rosenberg et al., 1983). The Dalton aero-
dynamic equation for evaporation from a free water
surface is:

Ea = f (u)(Pvs − Pva ) (13)

where f (u) = wind function; Pvs = the vapour pres-

sure at the evaporating surface; Pva = the vapour
pressure of the atmosphere above (Penman 1948).
There are many versions of wind function
(Penman, 1984; Wilson 1990; Blight 1997). Here the Figure 2. Model description.

793
surface temperature and vapour pressure, calculated Thermal void ratio state surface:
in the preceding time step, together with the climatic
1 + e0
data, that are independent of soil condition, are used e=   −1
to calculate the thermal and hydraulic loading for the exp A
Kb (1−m) exp [ce (T − T0 )]
current time step. A schematic view of this process is     

depicted in Figure 2. σ − pg σ − pg pg − pw 1−m

A= a +b 1−
patm σc patm

5 FINITE ELEMENT CODE (18)

AND GOVERNING EQUATIONS Thermal degree of saturation state surface:

5.1 Presentation of θ -stock Sr = 1 − B exp (ds (T − T0 ))

Soil deformation due to water content changes is where
significant in expansive soils. The coupling effects
among deformation, moisture, and heat should be also B = [as + bs (σ − pg )][1 − exp(cs (pg − pw ))] (19)
regarded. The theory of Philip & de Vries (1957) is
a basic framework for moisture and heat movement
in an incompressible porous medium. In this theory, 5.2.2 Moisture phase movement equations
moisture and heat transfer equations are formulated in Total moisture transfer equation:
terms of temperature (T ) and volumetric water content q qvap qliq
(θ). In the absence of water continuity all transfers = + =V +U
ρw ρw ρw
are in the form of vapour while, with increasing
moisture content, the liquid phase transfer becomes = − (DTV + DTW ) ∇T − (Dθ v + Dθ w ) ∇θ − Dw ∇Z
dominant. A suction-based mathematical model for
thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated (20)
media is presented by Gatmiri (1997b), Gatmiri et al Moisture mass conservation equation:
(1997) and Gatmiri and Jenab (2002). In this approach, ∂T ∂pw ∂Sr
heat and moisture transfer equations are written using nSr βT + nSr βP + (ρw − ρv ) n
water and air pressures. Temperature-dependent state ∂t ∂t ∂t
surface formulations are given for void ratio and ∂n ∂ρv
+ (Sr ρw + ρv (1 − Sr )) + n (1 − Sr )
degree of saturation variations within porous media. ∂t ∂t
The coupling effects of temperature and moisture con-
= div (ρw Dw ∇z) + div (ρw DT ∇T )
tent on deformation of skeleton, and the inverse effects & & ''
are included in this model via the thermal state sur- + div ρw Dp ∇ pw − pg + Qm (21)
face concept. A non-linear constitutive law for the
strain-stress relationship is considered. In this type of
formulation, soil heterogeneity, hysteretic effects and 5.2.3 Energy equations
phase changes between liquid and vapour phases can Total heat flow (Philip & de Vries, 1957):
all be taken into account.
In the following part, only the main equations of Q = −λ∇T
solid skeleton behaviour, moisture transfer and energy !
conservation used in the computer code θ-stock are + Cpw ρw U + Cpv ρw V + Cpg ρg Vg (T − T0 )
presented (a list of symbols is provided at the end of + ρw hfg V + ρv hfg Vg
the paper).
λ = (1 − n)λs + θλw + (n − θ) λv (22)
5.2 Equations
Energy conservation equation:
5.2.1 Solid skeleton behaviour
Equilibrium equation: ∂ & '
CT (T − T0 ) + (n − θ) ρv hfg
∂t
(σij − δij pg ),j + pg,j + bi = 0 (16) − div (λ (θ) ∇T ) + Cpw ρw div (U (T − T0 ))
Incremental constitutive law under small deforma- + Cpv ρw div (V (T − T0 ))
tion assumption: & '
+ Cpg ρg div Vg (T − T0 )
& '
d(σij − δij pg ) = Ddε − Fd(pg − pw ) − CdT (17) + ρw hfg div (V ) + hfg div ρv Vg = 0 (23)

794
6 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS surface element:

In finite element simulations, surface elements are G (t) = qh (t) (25)

subjected to time dependent hydraulic and ther-
mal boundary conditions. Flux boundary conditions where qh (t) is a positive or negative heat flux on each
impose in each time step calculated inflow or outflow surface element.
infiltration rates to each surface element:

I (t) = qw (t) (24) 7 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

where qw (t) is water discharge of an element at A two-dimensional model for soil-atmosphere inter-
time t. action conforms to the equations of THM formulation
Heat flux boundary condition in the correspond- integrated in θ-stock (Gatmiri, 1997a) is developed. A
ing time step is applied as an energy flux on each preliminary example is presented. In this example an

800
700
Energy flux (Wm )

600
-2

Rn
500
400 Le
300
200 G
100
H
0
-100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (day)

Figure 3. Evolutions of net radiation Rn, sensible heat H, soil heat G, and latent heat for evaporation Le.

30

25
Temperature (˚C)

20 d=0.0

15
d=0.1
10 d=0.68
d=1.16
d=0.2
d=2.12
5

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (day)

Figure 4. Evolution of temperature at different depths, d(m).

30000
25000
d=0.1
20000 d=0.0
Suction (Pa)

15000 d=0.2
d=0.68
10000
d=1.16
5000
0
d=2.12
-5000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (day)

Figure 5. Evolutions of soil suction at different depth, d(m).

795
unsaturated soil with an initial degree of saturation
equal to 0.9, and initial temperature equal to 7◦ C
is analysed. Meteorological data used in this prob-
lem relates to the Rouen test embankment constructed
at the LCPC experiment centre, France (Gao et al.,
2006). Energy and mass flux is calculated from
meteorological data and soil condition and is used as
boundary condition on the surface elements. Calcu-
lated energy flux is presented in Figure 3. Temperature
and suction evolution on the soil surface and at dif-
ferent depths are presented in Figure 4 and Figure 5
respectively.
8 LIST OF PARAMETERS OF θ -STOCK
σij : total stress tensor,
D: strain tensor,
e: void ratio
n: porosity
δij : Kronecker symbol,
pw : water pressure
pg : air pressure
pv : vapour pressure
patm : atmosphere pressure
pg − pw : suction
ρw , ρv , ρg : density of water, vapour and air
θw , θv , θg : volumetric content of water, vapour and air
U , V , Vg : flux of water, vapour and air
hfg : latent heat of water
λs , λv , λw : thermal conductivity of solid, vapour and
water
λ: Fourier homogenized diffusivity
DTV , DTW : thermal diffusivity of vapour and water
Dθ V , Dθ W : isothermal diffusivity of vapour and water
DW : gravitational diffusivity
Cpv , Cpg , Cpw : specific heat at constant pressure
vapour, air and water
Q: heat flux
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge BRGM for finan-
cial supporting of this research.
REFERENCES
ASCE 1990. Evapotranspiration and Irrigation Water
Requirements, ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineer-
ing Practice No.70, American Society of Civil Engineer-
ing. New York.
Allen, R.G., Pereira, L.S., Raes, D. & Smith, M. 1998. Crop
evapotranspiration-guidlines for computing crop water
requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper, No.56,
FAO, Rome.
796
Blight, G.E. 1997. Interactions between the atmosphere
and the Earth. (37th Rankine Lecture). Geotechnique.
London, United Kingdom. 47(4) 715–767.
Dodds, P.E., Meyer, W.S. & Barton, A. 2005. A review
of methods to estimate irrigated reference crop evapo-
transpiration across Australia. CRC for Irrigation Futures
Technical Report No. 04/05.
Gao, Y.B., Cui, Y.J. & Audiguier, M. 2006. From meteo-
rological data to the prediction of embankment stability,
Final report. ENPC/CERMES.
Gatmiri, B. & Jenab, B. 2002. Effects of heat convection
and phase changes on heat and fluid transfer in unsatu-
rated porous media. Third International Conference on
Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2002, Brasilia, 77–82.
Gatmiri, B., Seyedi, M., Delage, P. & Fry, J.J. 1997. A
new suction-based mathematical model for thermohy-
gromechanical behaviour of unsaturated porous media,
NUMOG VI: 291–296.
Gatmiri, B. 1997a. Analysis of fully coupled behaviour
of unsaturated porous media under stress, suction and
temperature gradient. Final report of CERMES-EDF,
France.
Gatmiri, B. 1997b. Effect of nonlinearity in thermohydrome-
chanical coupling. XIV International Conference on
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Hamburg:
1815–1818.
Kadlec, R.H. 2005. Water temperature and evaporation in
surface flow wetlands in hot arid climate. Ecological
Engineering: 1–13.
Montieth, J.L. 1981. Evaporation and surface temperature.
Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc. 107(451): 1–27.
Penman, H.L. 1948. Natural evapotranspiration from open-
water, bare soil and grass. Proc. Roy. Soc. Acad. 193:
120–145.
Philip, J.R. & de Vries, D.A. 1957. Moisture movement in
porous materials under temperature gradients, Trans. Am.
Geophys. Un. 38: 222–232.
Priestley, C.H.B. & Taylor, R.J. 1972. On assessment
of surface heat flux and evaporation using large scale
parameters. Mon. Weath. Rev. 100: 81–92.
Rosenberg, N.J., Blad, B.L. & Verma, S.B. 1983. Microcli-
mate: The biological environment, 2nd edition. New York:
John Wiley & Sons.
Shuttleworth, W.J. & Wallace, J.S. 1985. Evaporation from
Sparse Crops-an energy combination theory. Quart. J. Roy.
Meteorol. Soc. 111: 839–855.
Tahiri, Z.A., Anyoji, H. & Yasuda, H. 2006. Fixed and
variable light extinction coefficients for estimating plant
transpiration and soil evaporation under irrigated maize.
Agricultural Water Management 84: 186–192.
Walter, I.A., Allen, R.G., Elliott, R., Jensen, M.E., Itenfisu,
D., Mecham, B., Howell, T.A., Snyder, R., Brown, P.,
Eching, S., Spofford, T., Hattendorf, M., Cuenca, R.H.,
Wright, J.L. & Martin, D. 2000. The ASCE Standard-
ized Reference Evapotranspiration Equation. ASCE, New
York.
Wilson, G.W. 1990. Soil evaporative fluxes for geotech-
nical engineering problems, PhD thesis, University of
Saskatchewan.
Wright, J.L. 1982. New evapotranspiration crop coefficients.
J. Irrig. Drain. Div. ASCE 108 (IR2): 57–74.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Identification of coupled hydro-mechanical parameters with application

to engineered barrier systems

T. Schanz
Laboratory of Soil Mechanics, Bauhaus-Universitat Weimar, Germany

M. Datcheva
Institute of Mechanics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

M. Zimmerer
VAROCON, Weimar, Germany

ABSTRACT: Bentonite based buffer materials are well recognized as an important component in engineered
barrier systems. Due to the bentonite component their main mechanical characteristic is the ability of swelling
while encountering water. Because of the complex and coupled behaviour mathematical modelling is a difficult
task and results in sophisticated constitutive models with a large number of associated parameters. These call for
advanced, unique, time to develop methodology for model identification based on less experiments combined
with numerical simulation and consequently back calculation of the model parameters. The aim of the presented
study is to investigate the ability of a direct iterative model calibration to serve as a tool for complex coupled
hydro-mechanical (HM) model parameters identification. As a result a critical discussion is presented regarding
the importance of boundary and initial conditions applicable to the experimental installation in calibration of the
constitutive functions. Application examples are given based on laboratory experiments on highly compacted
bentonite-sand mixtures.

1 INTRODUCTION model parameters that are difficult to be determined

In practice, it may not be always possible directly
to measure or provide sufficient and reliable labo-
ratory tests data for determining the material model
parameters and to fit the constitutive functions. This
is specially applicable to models coupling different
physical processes and particulary for boundary value
problems involving mechanical and hydraulic forces.
That is why often in numerical simulations the con-
stitutive functions and the involved parameters are
subjected to assumptions and simplifications. In the
literature devoted to parameters calibration in unsat-
urated soil mechanics the common approach is to
perform and use data from two types of experiments,
namely constant suction and constant net stress tests.
It is a rare practice to verify the procedure used in
best fit analysis and to validate the model calibra-
tion. This deficiency reflects to the quality of the
numerical simulations and respectively reduces the
trust in the numerical predictions. The analysis pre-
sented here concerns the identification of coupled HM
directly and reliably from laboratory or field measure-
ments.
2 CONCEPTUAL MODEL
An important point in completing successfully the
model identification procedure is to choose the solu-
tion strategy that is the most proper regarding the
model features, the available observation data and
suitable concerning the requested applications. The
solution strategy consists of: a) selection of the back
analysis approach; b) sensitivity analysis; c) selec-
tion of the subset of parameters to be subject of
an optimization; d) assessing the parameters con-
straints or trusted zone and initial values, if requested;
e) selection of the most suitable optimization prob-
lem algorithm. It is of paramount importance to build
the model and the identification procedure in the way
they provide efficient, robust and resource provident
analysis.

797
2.1 Back analysis approach
Back analysis problems may be solved in two differ-
ent ways, defined as inverse and direct approaches,
see (Cividini et al. 1981). The inverse back analysis
consists in inverting the model equation with respect
to the parameters that are unknown and subject to
identification. The direct approach is based on an
iterative procedure correcting the trial values of the
unknown parameters by minimizing error functions.
This way the model response data are provided by
trial forward solutions of the problem used for model
parameters identification. For the analysis presented
here the iterative direct approach has been chosen.
The decision is based on the fact that such approach
gives the opportunity to be coupled with standard and
well approved finite elements/differences programs
and does not require access to the source code. Addi-
tionally for complex and nonlinear problems direct
approach is not only more robust but may be the only
possible solution.
2.2 Sensitivity analysis
The aim of sensitivity analysis is to estimate the rate
of changes in the output of a given model with respect
to changes in the model input. Such knowledge is
important for evaluating the applicability of the model
and for understanding the behaviour of the system
being modelled. Sensitivity analysis provides informa-
tion for model parameters whose values determination
requires specific measurements, precision and amount
of data. In spite of its restrictions we have chosen to
perform local sensitivity analysis for accessing our
model response. In this analysis the focus is on esti-
mating model sensitivity to parameter variation in the
vicinity of a sample point. This sensitivity is often
characterized by gradients or partial derivatives at the
chosen sample point. In this study the sensitivity has
been assessed using a scaled sensitivity (SS) analysis.
Let note the vector of model parameters with x and the
model output vector with y . The latter is called in this
section ‘‘observation’’. The SS analysis indicates the
amount of information provided by the i-th observa-
tion for the estimation of j-th parameter, (Zhang et al.
2003). The scaled sensitivity SSi, j of the yi observation
to the model parameter xj is defined by:
 
∂yi √
SSi, j = xj wi (1)
∂xj
Weighting factor wi is related to the i-th observation
and is evaluated based on some statistics, i.e. vari-
ance, standard deviation or coefficient of variation of
the error of the observations (Hill 1998). The over-
all model sensitivity to a given model parameter xj
798
is assessed by a composite scaled sensitivity, CSSj
(Anderman et al. 1996; Hill 1998):
. 
/
/ 1 " N
CSSj = 0 SS 2
(2)
N i=1 i, j
Low values of CSSj indicate large uncertainty in the
parameter estimate. For comparing CSS values the
following measure is used:
CSSj
γj = (3)
max(CSS)
Comparatively small value of γj is a warning for pos-
sible evolving of poor confidence to the identified xj
if using the observations involved in computing the
CSS. As it has been stated in (Zhang et al. 2003),
the dimensionless sensitivity measures are required to
compare the relevance of different types of observa-
tions or the overall appropriateness of the observations
for the estimation of a given model parameter.
2.3 Optimization procedure
The optimization problem in its general formulation
reads:
minimize f (xx )
subject to constraints cj ≤ xj ≤ Cj , ∀j
where f (xx ) is a proper measure of the disagreement
between model prediction and experimental observa-
tions, called hereafter objective function.
The proper choice of the parameter estimation tech-
nique and the method for solution of the objective
function minimization problem are of a paramount
importance for the efficiency and robustness of the
back analysis results. Over the past decade a number
of optimization algorithms have been used exten-
sively in optimization tasks, from gradient-based algo-
rithms using continuous and in most cases convex
design spaces, to non-gradient probabilistic- based
search algorithms widely applied for global and non-
convex design exploration. Representative for the
former are local search Newton—Raphson method
(e.g. Levenberg & Marquart algorithm) and gradient
based derivative free method, (Davidon and Nazareth
1977). Non gradient methods are derivative free
solution strategies such as downhill simplex method
(Nelder and Mead 1965) and global search evolution-
ary algorithms, one of whose representatives is Particle
Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique, (Eberhardt and
Kennedy 1995).
3 CONSTITUTIVE MODEL as candidates for optimization, namely: αi , κs0 , αsp ,
pref and αss .
The identification strategy has been built up taking
into account the specific features of both the constitu-
tive model and the finite elements (FE) code this model 3.2 Hydraulic phenomena
has been implemented. The material model considered The liquid flow follows the generalized Darcy’s law
here is the thermoelastoplasic (TEP) model for soils and therefore we have two constitutive functions to be
which is a part of the material models library of the FE determined and calibrated. These functions are reten-
code Code_Bright, (Code_Bright 2002). The accep- tion curve and relative permeability. The former is
tance of two stress state variables concept is basic for taken to obey the following analytical form:
the TEP model. The two stress state variables are the
net stress, computed as the excess of the total stresses ⎡ 1 ⎤−λ
over the gas pressure pg : σ = (σ σ total − pg I ) and the  
matric suction s = pg − pl , where I is the unit ten- Sl − Srl ⎢ p g − pl 1−λ⎥
Se = = ⎣1 + ⎦ (7)
sor, pl is the pore liquid pressure. Here only the elastic Sls − Srl P0
part of the TEP model is presented. For the full model
description one has to refer to (Code_Bright 2002) and
for further details to (Alonso et al. 1999). where Sl is the degree of saturation; Srl and Sls are
model parameters related to the residual and maximum
saturation. The relative permeability is supposed to be
3.1 Mechanical phenomena directly related to the retention curve equation and is
The increment of the strain state variable is decom- given by:
posed to elastic (e) and plastic (p) parts: dεε = dεε e +
dεε p . Following the two stress state concept, the elastic   & 'λ 2
krl = Se 1 − 1 − Se1/λ (8)
part of the strain increment is taken to be a sum of suc-
tion induced and net stress induced strain increments:
dεε e = dεε σ −e + dεε s−e . The constitutive equations for Intrinsic permeability is supposed to be isotropic, that
net stress and suction induced elastic strains read: is k11 = k22 = k33 The parameters k11 , λ, P0 , Srl are
considered as prospective for optimization.
κi (s) dp κs (p, s) ds The total number of the coupled HM model param-
dε σv −e = ; dε s−e = (4) eters is 23 with 8 for the elastic law, 10 for the plastic
1+e p v
1 + e s + 0.1 law and 5 for the constitutive functions characterizing
soil-water interaction.
The mean stress p is positive for compression and
e is the void ratio. The two constitutive functions
associated with Equation 4 are defined as: 4 NUMERICAL IMPLEMENTATION

κi0 (1 + αi s) if s ≤ −0.999αi The material used for this example of model parame-
κi (s) = (5) ters identification is a mixture of calcium—type ben-
0.001 κi0 if s > −0.999αi
tonite Calcigel and quartz sand. The material is heavily
compacted based on dry mass 50% Calcigel and 50%
κs (p, s) = κs0 κsp exp(αss s) (6) sand mixture, (Agus ans Schanz 2005). Extensive
experimental data for this material is reported in (Agus
⎧  −20  2005). The liquid used in experiments and simula-
⎪
⎪
10
⎪
⎪1 + α sp ln if p ≤ 10−20 tions presented in this section is distilled water. The
⎪
⎪ pref  
⎨ −1
gas pressure is taken equal to zero because the only gas
κsp = 0 if p ≥ pref exp considered here is air and it is freely drained from the
⎪
⎪   αsp sample. Results from swelling pressure tests were used
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ p for calibration of TEP model parameters. The swelling
⎩1 + αsp ln elsewhere
pref pressure test offers valuable information related to the
behaviour of expansive soils. What makes this test
The coefficient κi0 gives the slope of the rebound exceptional is that both stress state variables, namely
part of the void ratio versus effective pressure the net mean stress and the suction, are not constant
compression-rebound test graph at saturated condi- during the test.
tion. This parameter is supposed to be easy and The reason we chose elastic constitutive functions
confidently determined directly from the experimental to be back analysed is that the swelling pressure tar-
data. Hence 5 parameters are chosen to be investigated get for optimization is less than the preconsolidation

799
pressure calibrated in (Agus 2005). Therefore we Table 1. Constraints—retention curve, permeability.
expect less influence of plastic law parameters.
Parameter Unit Min Max

4.1 Formulation of the forward problem P0 MPa 0.01 10

λ 0.01 0.8
In this section simulations of the tests carried out by k11 (log scale) log m2 −21 −15
(Agus 2005) and (Arifin and Schanz 2007) on samples
of Calcigel—sand mixture are presented. The swelling
pressure cell used for obtaining the data and an exem-
plary FE model are given in Figure 1. The model Table 2. Constraints—TEP elasticity.
predicted variables that serve as model ‘‘estimation’’
for the optimization procedure are obtained solving Parameter Unit Min Max
two types of problems, namely simulating multistep
(MSP) and one-step swelling pressure (1SP) tests. αi MPa−1 −0.0066 −0.0054
The data from SP-HC-50B-4 test (axis translation test κs0 0.0057 0.0171
ATT) and SP-HC-50B-3 test (vapor equilibrium tech- αss MPa−1 −0.4506 −0.15019
nique VET), (Agus 2005) are used as ‘‘observation’’ αsp −0.9410 −0.3137
data for the MSP optimization. The ‘‘observation’’ pref MPa 0.657 0.803
data for the 1SP test is taken from (Arifin and Schanz
2007). Boundary conditions for displacements are
imposed in the way to satisfy the constant volume con-
dition. Boundary conditions for pore water pressure pl with increasing their arguments an implicit constraint
are: impervious top and lateral sides of the sample and is that parameters αi , αsp and αss are not positive. Con-
at the bottom side imposed constant for 1SP and step- straints intervals used in the optimization procedure
wise variable for MSP. The height of the sample is are listed in Table 1 and Table 2.
0.02 m and the radius is 0.025 m. Initial suction of
22 MPa is imposed at each point of the domain. Initial
porosity is taken according as reported in the corre- 4.3 Parameter sensitivity analysis
sponding experimental data. The problem is solved as
axisymmetric even some problems with this type of FE For the sensitivity analysis, each of the parameters xj
has been observed during the simulations. The axial was varied over the constraint interval (Table 1 and
stress (σyy ) at a chosen point in the vicinity of the mid- Table 2) keeping at the same time all other parameters
point of the sample top side has been extracted from fixed allowing this way to evaluate γj from Equation 3.
the solution and used to build the objective function for The vector y used to calculate CSS is obtained from the
the consecutive optimization. It has to be mentioned solutions of the 1SP and MSP problems. This proce-
that Code_Bright provides the output of the solution dure has been performed for 100 sets of parameters that
including stress values in prescribed domain points are randomly chosen and belong to the entire admis-
sible domain. The mean of the calculated γj , that is
and not in the integration points. 2
γ̄j = (1/100) 100 i=1 γj is used to compare the sen-
i

sitivity of the model response to the corresponding

4.2 Parameter constraints
The two constitutive functions from the mechani-
cal model that have to be fit in conformity with
experimental data are given with Equations 5 and 6.
Based on the observation that both κi and κs decrease
Figure 1. Swelling pressure cell (UPC) and the FE model.
parameter xj . Figure 2 shows the results for sensitiv-
ity analysis including both hydraulic and mechanical
model parameters. The ‘‘observation’’ variables vec-
tor is the time evolution of the swelling pressure (σyy )
at a given point from the solution of the MSP problem.
The analysis of the results in Figure 2 suggests special
attention to intrinsic permeability and the parame-
ters involved in the constitutive function κsp . Figure 3
depicts the results for the case where the solution of the
1SP problem has been used for collecting ‘‘observa-
tions’’. The pronounced significance of the retention
curve parameters λ and P0 and the intrinsic perme-
ability may be due to the poor ability of the model
to simulate the first step of suction loading from the
experiment. Still the importance of αsp is manifested
and this is one of the parameters that are difficult to
be assessed directly from experimental data.

800
 pref 1
alphasp
alphai
alphass
kappas
k11
lambda
P0 0

k11
P0

pref
alphai
kappas0
lambda

alphass

alphasp
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
MSP mean gamma

Figure 2. Sensitivity analysis—MSP numerical simulation. Initial 3 Loading Steps - SNM

3 Loading Steps - PSO 4 Loading Steps - PSO
pref
alphasp
Figure 4. Results of different optimization procedures.
alphai
alphass
kappas Table 3. Results—retention curve, permeability.
k11
lambda Parameter Unit Unitial Final
P0
P0 MPa 1.2 7.6
1SP
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
mean gamma
0.8 1 λ 0.386 0.2685
k11 m2 6e-19 2e-19
Figure 3. Sensitivity analysis—1SP numerical simulation.

4.4 Results of the parameter optimization Table 4. Results—TEP elasticity.

2
Different optimization algorithms, part of VARO PT Parameter Unit Initial Final
(VAROCON, Weimar) optimization program, have
been used and we found the downhill simplex method αi MPa−1 −0.006 −0.0062
(SNM) to provide fast, robust and reliable solution. κs0 0.0047 0.0123
The chart in Figure 4 compares the solutions obtained αss MPa−1 −0.1128 −0.334
by two different optimization methods, namely SNM αsp −0.3 −0.6454
pref MPa 0.73 0.71
and PSO for MSP back analysis. It presents also
the difference in optimization solution depending on
whether we take 3 or 4 loading steps. The objective
function reads: back analysis may be due to the much smaller number
of data points specially for calibration of κs . It has to
"
N
be pointed out that for the nonlinear function κs (p, s)
F= fn wn (9) even the variables are separated, it is difficult to prove
n=1 the goodness of fit done as section fit with respect
2m to each of the function variables (conventional model
where fn = i=1 ymeas − ycalc ri , wn and ri are
i i
calibration practice). The reason is that constant suc-
weight factors, n = 1, . . . , N is the counter of load- tion type of tests can not be used for calibration of
ing steps used in optimization process. Therefore not κs (p, s) because in this type of tests dε s−e
v = 0 and κs
only different optimization procedures give different plays no role.
results, but also different data sampling. Uniqueness of the optimization problem solution
The initial values for the parameter vector have been has been verified by cross section graphs of the
taken from (Agus 2005) where model calibration has objective function along each of the back analysed
been done by best fit to constant suction and constant parameters xj . An example of such matrix graph is
net stress type of experimental data without doing back given in Figure 5 and it shows well represented minima
analysis. The solution obtained after SNM optimiza- except for the intrinsic permeability .
tion procedure is given in Tables 3 and 4. The observed Figure 6 shows the results of MSP (ATT)
discrepancy between conventionally derived model simulations. These results are discussed here because
parameters and the optimized after 1SP and MSP tests of the discrepancy between calculated and measured

801
 4.5 Verification
To verify the parameters obtained after back analysis
αi κs0 αsp of the MSP and 1SP tests we performed a simulation
of a compression-rebound test. The test procedure and
the results of CR-3 test are reported in (Agus 2005).
Results are given in Figure 7.

αss λ
k11 5 CONCLUSIONS

The paper presents a procedure for identification

of TEP model parameters based on swelling pres-
sure tests data. The procedure consists in sensitivity
Figure 5. Cross sections of the objective function along xj . analysis based on numerical simulations of swelling
pressure tests, choice of optimization algorithm, solu-
tion of the optimization problem and verification of the
calibrated model using compression—rebound tests
data. The quality of the forward calculation is of sig-
Swelling Pressure
Calculated

nificant importance and it has to be monitored during

the run of the back analysis. The influence of the finite
elements discretization and the loading path has to
MSP be taken into account when accepting the goodness of
the fit. Large increments of suction in ATT tests lead to
0 Measured .55 0 Time [h] 1500 a solution with not constant porosity along the sample
height. It is an object of future research to analyse this
Figure 6. Calculated vs measured swelling pressure. observation. The next outcome of the performed anal-
ysis is that within the experimental error the solution of
the optimization procedure is not unique. The unique-
0 ness of the solution particularly, is strongly dependent
on the quality of the numerical model and on the error
involved at different stages of the test. Different opti-
mization procedures may also give different solutions.
axial displ. [mm]

0.5 experiment That is why the verification of the back analysis is

TEP model
1
1.5
10 axial stress [kPa]
Figure 7. Compression—rebound test (verification).
swelling pressure at the first stage of the suction load-
ing. Possible reason is the problem with the ceramic
disk and the influence to the experimental data of
its hydraulic conductivity of 1.12e-10 m/s. Another
observation is the influence of the loading program
to the porosity distribution at final equilibrium. The
application of suction in ATT test is with large initial
increment which leads to non constant porosity along
the sample height at maximum swelling pressure. For
this reason at this stage of our research we did not
include the measured water intake in the definition of
the objective function.
important and integral part of the identification proce-
dure. Finally one can state, that using swelling pressure
test data and the proposed identification procedure a
successful back analysis of the unknown TEP model
parameters can be done.
100000
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The financial assistance of German Federal Ministry
of Education and Research (grant 02C0881) is grate-
fully acknowledged. Authors wish to express their
gratitude to Mr Yulian Arifin for the valuable help
with the experimental data.
REFERENCES
Agus, S. (2005). An experimental study on hydro—
mechanical characteristics of compacted bentonite–sand
mixtures. Ph.D. thesis, Bauhaus—Universitat Weimar.
Agus, S.S. and T. Schanz (2005). Swelling pressure and total
suction of compacted bentonite—sand mixtures. In Proc
Int Conf on Problematic Soils, Cyprus, pp. 61–70.

802
Alonso, E.E., J. Vaunat, and A. Gens (1999). Modelling
the mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engng Geol
54(12), 173–183.
Anderman, E., M. Hill, and E. Poeter (1996). Twodimen-
sional advective transport in ground-water flow parameter
estimation. Ground Water 34(6), 1001–1009.
Arifin, Y. and T. Schanz (2007). Modified isochoric cell for
temperature controlled swelling pressure test. In T. Schanz
(Ed.), Proc 2nd Int Conf Mech Unsat Soils, Weimar,
Germany, pp. 229–242. Springer.
Cividini, A., L. Jurina, and G. Gioda (1981). Some
aspects of characterization problems in geomechanics.
Int J Rock Mech Min Sci and Geomech Abstr 18(6),
487–503.
Code_Bright (2002). USER’S GUIDE: A 3-D program
for Thermo–Hydro–Mechanical analysis in geological
media. UPC, Barcelona.
803
Davidon, W.C. and L. Nazareth (1977). OCOPTR—A
Derivative Free FORTRAN Implementation of Davidon’s
Optimally Conditioned Method. Argonne Nat Lab—Appl
Math Div, Tech Memorandum No 303.
Eberhardt, R. and J. Kennedy (1995). A new optimizer using
particle swarm theory. In Proc 6th Int Symp on Micro
Machine and Human Science, Nagoya, Japan, pp. 39–43.
IEEE Service Center.
Hill, M.C. (1998). Methods and Guidelines for Effective
Model Calibration. Denver, Colorado: U.S. Geological
Survey Water–Resources Investigation Report 98–4005.
Nelder, J.A. and R. Mead (1965). A simplex method for
function minimization. Computer Journal 7, 308–313.
Zhang, Z.F., A.L. Ward, and G.W. Gee (2003). Estimating
Soil Hydraulic Parameters of a Field Drainage Experi-
ment Using Inverse Techniques. Vadose Zone Journal 2,
201–211.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Surface flux boundary simplifications for flow through clay

under landscaped conditions

H.B. Dye, S.L. Houston & W.N. Houston

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

ABSTRACT: The quality of the solution of moisture flow through expansive soils for the purpose of depth of
moisture influence determination for residential foundation design depends on properly described flux bound-
ary conditions including appropriate environmental factors and inclusion of the microclimate created by human
activity. In this study, both climatic and human imposed conditions typical to Phoenix, Arizona, were considered
in 1-D unsaturated flow modeling. Many years of recorded precipitation data were obtained, and common irriga-
tion practice from surveys of municipalities, together with evapotranspiration data from the regions, were used
to determine the surface flux conditions for modeling. Rigorously described surface flux boundary conditions
were used in the analyses, and simplifications to these conditions were systematically made to determine the
impact of simplified boundary conditions on the final solution. It was found that major simplifications, through
averaging of flux conditions and increased time-steps for application, result in only negligible difference in
computed matric suction compared to more detailed simulations of flux when the capacity of the soil to absorb
applied surface water is not exceeded, such as for the desert landscape conditions of this study. Otherwise, as
observed for the turf irrigation case of this study, averaging surface flux can result in significant over-estimate
of the extent and degree of wetting in the profile.

1 INTRODUCTION is tedious, and complex input generally requires long

It is well established that damage to structures built on
expansive soils is mainly caused by changes in soil suc-
tion (Chen 1988, Fredlund 1993). The suction change
is generally attributed to environmental conditions,
change in depth of water table, water uptake by veg-
etation, removal of vegetation or landscape irrigation.
Foundations on expansive soils must resist short-term
cyclic swell/shrinkage due to seasonal moisture varia-
tion and long-term swell/shrinkage. It was established
by Fredlund (1993) that the prediction of expansive
soil movement requires implementation of unsatu-
rated soil mechanics where the moisture flow and
deformation are analyzed in a coupled or uncoupled
manner.
There is a large body of literature on the measure-
ment and prediction of swell/shrinkage of soils and
analysis of actual soil behavior in the field. Some
of these studies have resulted in numerical analy-
ses for evaluation of unsaturated flow and heave in
the soil profiles (e.g. Fredlund et al. 1984, 1993,
and 2004). The implementation of these numerical
methods involves a detailed description of the flux
boundary condition that reflects the actual wetting and
drying at the surface of the soil profile. The process of
mathematically describing the surface flux condition
finite element code run-time.
This paper focuses on the moisture flow portion
of the problem, where the impact of input flux sim-
plification on the solution is analyzed. Two different
conditions were considered: desert landscape and turf
landscape in an arid region. The analysis was per-
formed for one Phoenix area expansive soil using
SVFlux 5.80, a finite element computer program for
unsaturated flow (Fredlund 2004).
2 PROBLEM SET-UP
The 1-D flow analyses were carried out on a 10-m
deep profile using a finite element program, SVFlux
5.80. SVFlux utilizes adaptive unstructured mesh
generation and adaptive time stepping using implicit
2nd order Backwards Difference (Gear’s method) to
solve Richard’s equation adapted for both infiltration
and evapotranspiration (SVS 2005a).
The study was carried out to obtain soil response
due to typical input flux discretized first on an hourly
basis, and then monthly for both desert and turf land-
scapes. The profiles were assumed to be well-sloped
at the surface so that run-off would occur. For all
runs, mesh refinements and time-step refinements

805
were performed to assure convergence and stability 1.0 1E-04

of the matric suction response. 0.9 1E-05

0.8 1E-06

Hydraulic Conductivity [m/h]

Saturation [decimal]
0.7 1E-07
2.1 Boundary and initial conditions
0.6 1E-08

The profile has two boundary conditions (BCs). Total 0.5 1E-09
head of−153 m was applied to the bottom bound- 0.4 1E-10
ary. This value is based on laboratory testing of field 0.3 SWCC Lab Data 1E-11
samples, illustrating a 1000 to 2000 kPa matric suc- 0.2 SWCC, Fredlund Fit 1E-12
tion range at depths of approximately 2 to 3 meters 0.1 Kunsat, Leong Fit 1E-13
for undeveloped regions in the Phoenix area. A Neu- 0.0 1E-14
mann BC was applied at the soil surface. It consists 1.E-02 1.E-01 1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06
of precipitation, typically applied irrigation, poten- Suction [kPa]
tial evaporation, relative humidity and temperature
parameters representative of Arizona climatic condi- Figure 1. Unsaturated soil property functions.
tions (see section 2.3 for details). The initial total head
profile of was assumed to be constant with depth and
equal to −153 m. 2.3 Input flux
Expansive soils in the Phoenix metropolitan area can
2.2 Soil properties experience a wide range of flux conditions that include
precipitation, evaporation and irrigation. Two extreme
The expansive soil properties used in this study are flux conditions typical for the Phoenix region were
given in Table 1 and Figure 1. The following required identified. They are turf landscape, where the lawn is
parameters were determined experimentally: specific irrigated every day, and desert or ‘‘xeriscape’’, where
gravity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, ksat , Soil a negligible amount of water is introduced to the soil
Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC), and saturated surface. These two fluxes were used in the one-year
volumetric water content. The SWCC experimen- long analysis requiring four flux components to be
tal data were fitted using the Fredlund and Xing described, flux onto the soil such as irrigation or pre-
(1994) equation to yield the SWCC curve fitting cipitation, potential evaporation, relative humidity and
parameters. temperature.
The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve was
estimated using the Leong and Rahardjo equation,
where the slope of the curve was assumed to be sim- 2.3.1 Desert landscape
ilar to other clayey soils published in literature and The potential evaporation data for the Phoenix region
available though SoilVision (Leong & Rahardjo 1997, were obtained from three internet sources 1) US
SVS 2005b). Weather Service, Arizona Department of Water
Resources, 2) NOAA, Western Regional Climate Cen-
ter, and 3) Arizona Meteorological Network (Internet
Table 1. Soil properties. source a, b & c 2006). Measured data for one year
were available from source 1 and 2, while source
Parameter 3 provided 6 years of estimated PE based on measured
Parameter name value relative humidity, RH, and temperature data, T . The
average from all three sources was used to develop PE
LL 85 flux used in the analysis, and is presented in Table 2.
PI 53 The SVFlux code utilizes the formulation developed
γd 13.4 kPa
Gs 2.80
by Wilson et al. (1994) for computation of actual evap-
P-200 86 oration, AE. The general relationship between AE and
% clay 33 PE in terms of soil surface total suction is illustrated
θsat 51.2 in Figure 2, where AE is equal to PE for soil suction
SWCC parameters (Fredlund and Xing, 1994) smaller then 3000 kPa (Wilson et al. 1995). As the soil
af 140 surface suction increases the AE decreases to a value of
bf 0.6 0, corresponding to suction value at applied RH. The
cf 0.9 6-year averages of RH and T from source 3 were fur-
hr 2000 ther used to develop RH and T program input, Table 2.
kunsat parameters (Leong and Rahardjo, 1997)
ksat 8.7e-6 m/h
The amount of water typically applied to desert
p 12 landscape or ‘‘xeriscape’’ is negligible. Therefore, the
amount of water applied to the soil surface is assumed

806
Table 2. Desert flux input. 0.0020
Precipitation
Evaporation
Prec. #Rainy #Rainy PE RH T Ave. Prec. 0.0015 Average Flux
Mo. [m/h] hours days [m/h] [%] [C] [m/h]

Flux [m/h]
0.0010
1 7.1E-04 7 6 1.2E-04 53 12 3.3E-05
2 6.2E-04 8 6 1.5E-04 49 13 3.4E-05 0.0005
3 7.2E-04 8 7 2.3E-04 45 17 3.8E-05
4 7.1E-04 5 4 3.1E-04 34 21 1.1E-05 0.0000
5 1.7E-03 1 3 4.0E-04 26 27 5.1E-06
-0.0005
6 8.0E-04 1 2 4.2E-04 25 31 1.1E-06
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
7 1.1E-03 5 8 4.3E-04 32 34 3.5E-05 Time [h]
8 1.5E-03 2 9 3.6E-04 42 32 2.8E-05
9 1.5E-03 3 5 3.1E-04 39 30 2.5E-05
10 1.2E-03 4 4 2.3E-04 50 22 2.0E-05 Figure 3. Desert landscape input.
11 8.8E-04 6 4 1.5E-04 50 15 2.4E-05
12 7.6E-04 6 5 9.8E-05 52 10 2.7E-05
2.3.2 Turf landscape
The potential evapotranspiration data, ET0 , for tall,
well watered, cool season grass were obtained from
University of Arizona for a golf course in Cave Creek,
Arizona (UA 2000). The evapotranspiration rates were
modified by a 0.6 landscape coefficient to simulate the
evapotraspirationexperiencedbywarmseasonBermuda
grass, a plant commonly used in Phoenix landscapes.
The plant evapotranspiration rate is, in part, a function
of leaf length, since ET 0 was determined for long leaf
vegetation, the correction was necessary to adequately
describe the typical site conditions (UA 2000).
Figure 2. Relationship between AE/PE to total suction for Proper irrigation of turf landscape consists of a
sand, silt and clay (after Wilson et al. 1995). yearly flux equal to the yearly evapotranspiration rate.
Therefore, the warm season Bermuda grass requires
117 cm/year (0.6 ∗ 196 cm/year) of water. The
to be from precipitation only. For the purpose of devel- grass is semi-dormant in the wintertime (November
oping a reasonable input flux, 24-year daily precipita- through February) when a reduced watering regimen
tion and 9-year hourly precipitation data obtained from is required when compared to the summer months.
National Climatic Data Center website was studied for The local recommendation on irrigation is to apply
the Phoenix area. The data revealed that the average 1.9 cm of water during every irrigation event. In gen-
rainfall in Phoenix is 20 cm/year with a standard devia- eral, the warm season grass should be provided with
tion of 7.6 cm/year. Furthermore, the rainy days within about 2.5 cm of water once a month between November
a given month occurred close together and rainy hours through February and 5 to 7.6 cm of water a week from
within a day, for the most part, occurred one after May through September when the plants are irrigated
another. The input used in this analysis consisted of a once every few days. This kind of infrequent watering
stepped function flux where a net precipitation of 20 pattern encourages the plants to develop a deep root
cm is applied per year. The precipitation was applied system and produces hardy plants (McCaleb 2005 and
on an hourly basis where the rainy days as well as City of Mesa 2005).
the rainy hours within a day were grouped together Based on information obtained from the landscape
because this grouping was consistent with typically- professionals and Phoenix area government agencies,
observed rain patterns. During each rainy day the it is estimated that the turf landscapes are often over-
precipitation was applied for the determined number watered by 2 to 5 times the above recommended
of hours and then the rain was followed by a period amount. The mismanagement of water use is mainly
of evaporation. Other than the rainy days, the flux BC attributed to homeowners’ lack of knowledge about
consisted of evaporation only for the remaining por- grass needs. Landscapes are typically irrigated every
tion of the month. Table 2 gives the applied desert day where the water is applied once or twice a day.
landscape input data, which are plotted in Figure 3. The common once a day option consists of 15–20
The simplified average flux scheme consists of the minute watering period equivalent to application of
same PE, RH and T input data and averaged precipi- 0.1 to 1.6 cm of water per irrigation event. The twice a
tation over the period of each month. The last column day watering pattern typically last 5 to 10 minutes and
of Table 2 gives the monthly averaged precipitation. corresponds to 0.04 to 0.8 cm of water per application.

807
 The typical flux input scheme for the numeri- 3 MODELING RESULTS
cal models of this study for turf landscape consists
of one hour of irrigation every day followed by 23 3.1 Desert or low water use landscape
hours of evapotranspiration. There are two magnitudes
The desert or low water use landscape consisted of
of applied irrigation. The first flux has magnitude
2.3-m of PE and 0.2-m of rainfall annually. The anal-
of 0.19 cm/hour and is applied between November
ysis with hourly discretized flux, HF, produced large
through April; it is referred to as the Winter irrigation.
matric suction variations at the soil surface ranging
The second flux, also called the Summer irrigation is
from 190 000 kPa at the end of dry period in Jun
applied during the remaining portion of the year and
to 0 kPa after a precipitation event. These suction
has magnitude of 1.16 cm/hour.
swings are not present in the average flux, AF, anal-
The evapotranspiration rate increases from win-
ysis as expected. The soil surface suctions approach
ter months to the mid-summer and then it decreases
the values calculated with HF analysis except for very
towards December. The actual evapotranspiration rate
shallow depth. Just below the surface, the soil response
varies parabolicly with time, but for the purpose of
in terms of suction is similar for both types of analysis
modeling, the rate was simplified to vary on a monthly
as illustrated in Figure 5. Figure 6 (suction variation
basis. The applied flux consists of precipitation and
with depth at the end of year) further shows that the
irrigation where the precipitation data are given in
discrepancy between these two approaches exists only
Table 2, while the irrigation and PE data are provided
in the initial 0.2-m of the profile. At larger depths the
in Table 3. The turf surface flux boundary condition is
solutions are identical.
plotted in Figure 4.
The simplified average flux scheme consists of the
same PE, RH and T input data and averaged both 0
precipitation and irrigation over the period of each
Pore Water Pressure [kPa]

month, as given in Table 3.

-50000
Table 3. Turf flux input.

Prec. PE Ave. Prec. -100000

Mo. m/h m/h m/h
0m - HF
0m - AF
1 4.61E-3 4.45E-5 1.32E-4 -150000
0.1m-HF
2 4.62E-3 6.35E-5 1.35E-4 0.1m-AF
0.2m-HF
3 4.64E-3 9.59E-5 1.42E-4 0.2m-AF
4 4.68E-3 1.39E-4 1.13E-4 -200000
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
5 1.06E-2 1.81E-4 4.41E-4 Time [d]
6 1.06E-2 2.11E-4 4.37E-4
7 1.06E-2 2.16E-4 4.82E-4
8 1.06E-2 1.97E-4 4.68E-4 Figure 5. Desert landscape. Pore water pressure variation
9 1.06E-2 1.72E-4 4.63E-4 with time at selected depths for hourly flux (HF) and average
10 1.05E-2 1.38E-4 4.57E-4 flux (AF).
11 4.65E-3 9.75E-5 1.25E-4
12 4.62E-3 5.75E-5 1.25E-4
-0.2
Distance from Surface [m]

0.012
0

0.010 0.2
0.008
0.4
Flux [m/h]

0.006

0.004 0.6
0.002
HF
0.8
0.000
AF
1
-0.002 -100000 -80000 -60000 -40000 -20000 0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 Pore Water Pressure [kPa]
Time [h]
Irrigation and Precipitation Evaporation Average Flux
Figure 6. Desert landscape. Pore water pressure variation
with depth at the end of year for hourly flux (HF) and average
Figure 4. Turf landscape surface flux input. flux (AF).

808
 The net flux, as calculated by the computer program
for 1 m2 surface area, is presented in Figure 7 for both
HF and AF analyses. The cumulative flux is similar
for HF and AF runs, and approaches −0.058 m3 at
the end of one year. This helps explain why the results
obtained with both approaches produce similar results.
Although runoff of water that does not infiltrate is
an option utilized for the desert landscape condition
(i.e. well-graded/sloped soil surface), the surface flux
conditions are such that essentially no runoff occurred
for either hourly or monthly averaged flux steps.
3.2 Turf landscape
The turf landscape consists of 1.16-m of PE, 0.2-m
of precipitation and 2.37-m of irrigation per year. The
hourly discretized flux was applied daily per half an
0.02
Cumulative Flux [m3]
hour during the winter regimen and per one hour dur-
ing the summer irrigation schedule. The analysis with
hourly discretized flux, HF, produced large matric
suction variations at the soil surface ranging from
50 000 kPa at the end of April to about 0 kPa after
precipitation or irrigation event as illustrated in Figure
8. The suction fluctuations due to individual irrigation
or precipitation events were observed to a depth of
0.05-m from the surface. Figure 9 shows that although
the suction variation at the soil surface might be quite
large, the immediate influence of the wetting event
does not exceed 0.05-m. Fluctuations due to monthly
averaged input occur to a depth of about 0.5-m.
The results obtained with monthly average flux are
very different from the results obtained with hourly
discretized conditions (Fig. 8). For the averaged mon-
thly flux, the surface matric suction decreases from
the initial condition to near 0 kPa, increases to about
200 kPa in April and goes back to 0 kPa after April,
where it remains essentially constant. In contrast, the

0.01 HF AF
0 0.00
Distance from Surface [m]

-0.01
0.02
-0.02
-0.03 0.04
-0.04
-0.05 0.06
-0.06 before rainfall
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 0.08
Time [d] after rainfall
0.10
Figure 7. Desert landscape. Cumulative flux (for a 1 m2 -10000 -8000 -6000 -4000 -2000 0
surface area) for hourly flux (HF) and average flux (AF) Pore Water Pressure [kPa]
analyses.
Figure 9. Turf landscape. Pore water pressure variation
with depth before and after a rainfall event (HF).
0
Pore Water Pressure [kPa]

0
Distance from Surface [m]

-10000
2
-20000
4
-30000
6
-40000 HF
0m - HF 8
AF
0m - AF
-50000 10
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 -2000 -1500 -1000 -500 0
Time [d] Pore Water Pressure [kPa]

Figure 8. Turf landscape. Pore water pressure variation Figure 10. Turf landscape. Pore water pressure variation
with time at the soil surface for hourly flux (HF) and average with depth at the end of year for hourly flux (HF) and average
flux (AF) analyses. flux (AF).

809
 0.35
HF AF
0.3
Cumulative Flux [m3]
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Time [d]
Figure 11. Turf landscape. Cumulative flux for hourly flux
(HF) and average flux (AF) analyses.
surface suction varies widely for the HF input. The
depth of influence obtained with AF is 2.5-m, com-
pared to 1.9-m with HF, Figure 10, and the AF results
in higher degree of saturation. The increased depth
of wetting is associated with larger amount of water
absorbed in the AF scheme, Figure 11. After one year,
the cumulative flux, as calculated by the computer pro-
gram, is 0.33-m3 for AF and 0.11-m3 for HF. The
difference is attributed to runoff and reduced time for
infiltration in the HF analyses.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of desert landscape revealed that sim-
plification of precipitation data by averaging pro-
duces adequate approximation of soil behavior. This
finding is applicable to flux conditions dominated
by evaporation. However, the flux simplification
scheme, wherein averaging of flux over each month is
employed, is not appropriate for irrigation or precipi-
tation dominated scenarios such as the turf landscape
example of this study. The averaging overestimates
both the degree of saturation and the depth of wetting
for cases where there is surface run-off resulting from
exceeding of the soil surface capacity to absorb water.
It is recommended that the effect of simplification
of surface flux conditions be carefully considered on
a case-by-cases basis. While there is a high price to
pay with regard to run-times for detailed modeling of
actual surface flux conditions, it is clear that there are
many important problems for which highly detailed
flux input is required to achieve reasonable simulation
of field conditions.
Finally, the most important soil response with which
to judge appropriate surface flux simplifications for
the case of foundations on expansive soils is the surface
810
deformations. Further studies evaluating the effect of
shrinkage soil cracking on moisture flow, coupled and
decoupled flow and soil deformation will be useful in
refining recommendations of surface flux simplifica-
tions for modeling suction change-induced foundation
movements for expansive soil profiles.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Homebuilders Associ-
ation of Central Arizona (HBACA) and Construction
Inspection and Testing Co. (CIT). This support is
gratefully acknowledged. The views presented are
those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the
supporting organizations.
REFERENCES
Chen, F.H. 1988. Foundations on Expansive Soils, Devel-
opment in Geotechnical Engineering, 54, New York,
Elsevier Science Publishers.
Fredlund, D.G. and Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics for
Unsaturated Soils, Wiley, New York.
Fredlund, D.G., Vu, H., Fredlund, M.D. and Thode, R. 2004.
Modeling soil-structure interaction of slabs on expansive
soils. Soil Vision Systems Ltd. Saskatchewan, Canada.
Fredlund, D.G. and Xing, A. 1994. Equations for the soil
water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical jour-
nal, 31(3): 521–532.
Internet Source. 2006. http://ag.arizona.edu/azmet/15.htm
Internet Source. 2006. http://www.peoriaaz.com/Utilities/
oldfiles/xeriscapef.htm
Internet Source. 2006. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/
westevap.final.html#ARIZONA
Leong, E.C. and Rahardjo, H. 1997. Permeability Func-
tions for Unsaturated Soils. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, Dec., 1118–1126.
Personal Communication. 2005. City of Mesa, Depart-
ment of Water Use. Discussion about landscape schemes,
irrigation systems and common issues.
Personal Communication. 2005. McCaleb, Kevin, Orovalley
owner, Discussion about landscape schemes, irrigation
systems and common issues.
Soil Vision Systems Ltd. 2005. SoilVision User’s and Theory
Guide, Version 4. Saskatchewan, SK, Canada.
Soil Vision Systems Ltd. 2005b. SVFlux User’s and Theory
Guide, Version 5. Saskatchewan, SK, Canada.
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. 2000. Basics
of Evaporation and Evapotranspiration. Turf Irrigation
Management Series: I, paper #1194.
Wilson, G.W., Fredlund, D.G. and Barbour, S.L. 1994. Cou-
pled soil-atmosphere modeling for soil evaporation. Can.
Geotech. J., 31: 151–161.
Wilson, G.W., Barbour, S.L. and Fredlund, D.L. 1995.
The prediction of Evaporative Fluxes from Unsatu-
rated Soil Surfaces. Unsaturated Soils, Alonso, E.E,
Delage, P. (eds.): 423–429.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Preliminary analysis of tree-induced suctions on slope stability

N. Ali & S.W. Rees

Cardiff School of Engineering, Cardiff, Wales

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the development and application of a numerical model of water uptake in
the vicinity of established trees. A preliminary assessment of the significance of water content (and therefore
suction) changes on the stability of soil slopes is provided. This is a problem that is exacerbated by climate
change and increasingly intense rainfall events. Design, repair, maintenance and operation of railway and road
earthworks are particular areas where this issue is important. For a typical slope geometry the research indicates
that tree-induced suction variations can cause the factor of safety against failure to vary by between 5% and 7%.
This result is independent of other associated contributions that may arise from root reinforcement, windthrow,
weight of vegetation etc. Therefore, further work is needed to consider the overall effect of vegetation and to
reduce parametric uncertainty.

1 INTRODUCTION in embankments. The study showed that most

It is now recognized that variations in soil suction
that may occur in the presence of vegetation, and
indeed those that can occur on removal of vegetation,
have an important role to play in the performance of
engineered and natural soil slopes. This is a problem
that is exacerbated by climate change and increasingly
intense rainfall events. Repair, maintenance and oper-
ation of railway and road embankments are particular
areas where this issue is important.
Previous experience in Malaysia indicates that
removal of vegetation can be the main cause for the
failure of a slope (Technical Committee of Investi-
gation 1994). In this tragedy, investigation of the
substructure and the surroundings revealed that clear-
ing of trees on the adjacent slope led to the water level
in soil to rise, thus causing the instability of slope.
Some researchers (Thorne, 1990, Simon et al. 2000,
MacNeil 2001) claim that vegetation is widely
believed to increase the stability of slope. Simon and
Collison (2001) suggested that the impact of veg-
etation on slope or bank stability can be divided
into mechanical and hydrologic effects. Mechanical
effects are associated with the root tensile strength
and hydrologic effects include increased slope stabil-
ity by extraction of soil moisture for transpiration. In
their work, it was found that hydrologic effects can
be as important as mechanical effects and in certain
cases.
Ridley et al. (2004) discussed the relationship
between climate, in the form of soil moisture deficit,
the presence of trees and pore water pressures
embankment failures in London were due to an
increase in soil moisture content. Recently Greenwood
(2006) considered the potential engineering influ-
ences of vegetation and how it can be character-
ized on site within a geotechnical framework for
slope stability assessments. Greenwood’s software
(SLIP4EX—based on equilibrium of forces) may be
used for estimating the factor of safety (FOS) against
slope failure and can be readily adapted to include
vegetation effects. The program uses the method
described by Greenwood et al. (2004) to include the
influence of vegetation mass, effects on the groundwa-
ter regime, enhanced cohesion due to fine roots, wind
forces and the anchoring effects of the larger roots.
Changes in ground water table due to vegetation were
included however the effect of negative water pressure
was excluded from the equation.
For the situations where the ground water table is
deep and where tree root activity is involved, tree-
induced suctions may be significant. In these cases, it
may be appropriate to perform slope stability analyses
which include the shear strength contribution from the
negative pore pressure. A modified form of the Mohr-
Coulomb equation can be used to link shear strength
to soil suction.
Therefore, this paper explores the application of the
water uptake model described previously (Rees and
Ali 2006) to provide a preliminary assessment of the
significance of water content (and therefore suction)
changes on the stability of unsaturated soil slopes. This
research only considers hydrological effects (i.e. water
uptake) at this stage.

811
2 THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL Where (ua − uw ) is the matric suction and φ b is an
BACKGROUND angle indicating the rate of increase in shear strength
relative to matric suction. (σn − ua ) is the net normal
2.1 Limiting equilibrium forces for unsaturated stress, c is the effective cohesion and φ  is angle of
slope stability friction. Combining equations (1) and (2), gives,
This study uses the theory of limit equilibrium of !
forces and moments to compute the FOS against fail- l c + (σn − ua ) tan φ  + (ua − uw ) tan φ b
Sm =
ure. The limit equilibrium method of slices is widely F
used for its simplicity particularly when compared (3)
to the finite element method (Fredlund and Rahardjo
1993, Renaud et al. 2003). The FOS is defined as that From Figure 1, (taking point O as centre of the
factor by which the shear strength of the soil must be moments) the summation of moments in the slope,
reduced in order to bring the mass of soil into a state yields:
of limiting equilibrium along a selected slip surface. " "
Calculations for the stability of a slope are performed Wx − Sm R = 0 (4)
by dividing the soil mass above the circular slip surface
into vertical slices. The limit equilibrium formulation
assumes that the factor of safety is equal for all soils Substituting equation (3) into (4) and substituting
involved and for all slices. (ua − uw ) = S (matric suction) and assuming air pore
The current work aims to explore the importance pressure is atmospheric, ua = 0, equation (4) becomes
of suction changes on shear strength. Therefore, in 2
the example considered, the water table is assumed to c lR + NR tan φ  + SRl tan φ b
F= 2 (5)
be below the zone of interest. Tension cracks are, Wx
therefore, excluded from the current work. It is also
assumed that there are no interslice shear forces Equation (5) has been used throughout this research for
involved in the equation for both horizontal and ver- calculating the FOSs. Note that if the matric suction is
tical forces. This assumption has been made for the zero (i.e. the soil is saturated) Equation (5) becomes
following reasons; the standard Fellenius’s method (Fellenius, 1936).
i. Vertical interslice forces can be assumed equal and
opposite (Bishop, 1955). 2.3 The water-uptake model
ii. The resultant of the interslice forces acting on a
slice can be assumed to act parallel to the base of The two-dimensional water-uptake model provided by
the slice. By resolving forces normal to the base of Rees and Ali (2006) is used here. In Cartesian form,
the slice, the interslice forces are eliminated. the sink term can be written as:
  
4T z x
S(ψ, x, z) = α(ψ) 1 − 1− (6)
2.2 FOS for an unsaturated slope zr xr zr xr
To calculate the FOS of an unsaturated soil slope and
link this with the effect of tree-root-water uptake, a Where S (ψ, x, z) is the sink term (cm3 /cm3 /s),
force equation which includes matric suction must be T is the potential transpiration rate (cm/s), xr is the
established first. The analysis is an extension of con- maximum rooting horizontal distance (cm), zr is the
ventional limit equilibrium analysis where an equation maximum rooting depth (cm), α(ψ) is a dimension-
is formed using the basic principle of static equilibrium less water stress function (see Feddes et al. 1976),
of forces and moments. The mobilized shear force
at the base of a slice can be written as (Lambe and o
Whitman, 1969)

τl 8 350cm
Sm = (1) 6
7

F 5
27˚cm

4 8
500cm

750cm 3
Where τ is shear strength of unsaturated soil. Fredlund
1 2
7
1
250cm

6
et al. (1978) provided the following expression for 2 3 4 5

shear strength: Origin

1600cm

 
τ = c + (σn − ua ) tan φ + (ua − uw ) tan φ b
(2) Figure 1. Test slope geometry.

812
z is the vertical coordinate (cm) and x is the horizontal The time dependent nature of Equation (9) is dealt
coordinate (cm). with via a mid-interval backward difference technique,
Combining the Richards equation (Richards 1931) yielding:
and the sink term in Equation (6), provides the

following moisture transfer equation: ψ n+1 − ψ n

K n+1/2 ψ n+1 + C n+1/2
t

∂ψ ∂ ∂ψ
C(ψ) = K(ψ) + J n+1/2 + S n+1/2 = 0 (14)
∂t ∂x ∂x

This finite element spatial discretisation proce-
∂ ∂ψ ∂K (ψ)
+ K(ψ) + − S(ψ, x, z) (7) dure and a finite difference time-stepping scheme
∂z ∂z ∂z
has been coded in FORTRAN and used throughout
the simulation in this study. Further detail of the
A solution of Equation (7) is obtained via a finite ele- water-uptake model can be found in Rees and Ali
ment spatial discretisation procedure and a finite dif- (2006).
ference time-stepping scheme. In particular, adopting
a Galerkin weighted residual approach yields:
3 CASE STUDY

∂Ns ∂Nr
− K ψs ∂e 3.1 Slope geometry and slip surface
∂x ∂x
e For the purposes of this paper, a typical 1 in 2
 
∂Nr ∂Ns ∂K slope has been considered. In this study, location of
− K ψs ∂e − Nr ∂e the critical slip surface has been determined using
∂z ∂z ∂z
e e SLOPEW—employing 147 trial surfaces. For stability
  analysis, the slope has been divided into eight slices,
+ Nr λ∂ − Nr S(x, z)∂e numbered from 1 at the toe, to 8 at the crest of the
 e
slope. Figure 1 shows the geometry of the slope, the
 position of each slice and the location of the critical
∂ψs slip surface.
− Nr Ns C ∂e = 0 (8)
∂t
e
3.2 Soil properties
Using, Green’s formula and introducing boundary The soil chosen for consideration here follows from
terms leads to the final discretised form: the work of Rees and Ali (2006). In particular, the
behaviour of Boulder clay is considered. The relevant
∂ψs shear strength properties of Boulder clay are given in
Kψs + C +J +S =0 (9) Table 1.
∂t
The water retention curve and the hydraulic con-
ductivity relationship for this material are shown in
where Figures 2 and 3 respectively. The figures also show
measured data for three other soils as references: typ-
"m 

∂Ns ∂Nr ∂Ns ∂Nr ical sand, Kimmeridge clay and typical Loam (Rees
K= K · +K · ∂e 1990). A comparison of results would appear to sug-
∂x ∂x ∂z ∂z
e=1 e gest that the assumed relationship for Boulder clay is
(10) within the range of previously published data for this
m 
"
soil type.
C= [Nr Ns C]∂e (11)
e=1 e

m 
"
"m 
∂K Table 1. Material properties (Bishop et al. 1960).
J = Nx ∂e − [Nx λ]∂ e (12)
e=1 e
∂x e=1 Soil γ c φ φb
e
type (kN/m3 ) (kPa) (degrees) (degrees)
m 
"
S= [Nx S (x, z)]∂e (13) Boulder
clay 22 9.6 27.3 21.7
e=1 e

813
 1.0E+05 Boulder Clay
(Biddle, 1998). The mesh consists of seven hundred,
Sand
Kimmeridge Clay eight-noded isoparametric elements with 2231 nodes
Capillary Potential (negative value,cm)

1.0E+04 Loam in total. The mesh was configured to offer some refine-
ment within the root zone area since this is the region
1.0E+03
where the most significant moisture content variations
were expected to occur.
1.0E+02
The simulated period covered a spring/summer soil-
1.0E+01
drying phase of 9 months (270 days). The simulation
employed a time-step size of 21600 seconds, which
1.0E+00
was held constant for the entire period considered.
0.05 0.20 0.35
Volumetric Water Content (%)
0.50 0.65 A transpiration rate of 5 mm/day is used for this
tree (Biddle, 1998). In this case, water extraction is
Figure 2. Water retention curve for Boulder clay. assumed to take place at its potential rate. Through-
out the simulation, capillary potential was dry from
−20 cm to −130 cm. Therefore α(ψ) in Equation (6)
Volumetric Water Content (%)
0.05 0.15 0.25 0.35 0.45 0.55 0.65
has been taken as unity as this range of capillary poten-
1.0E-05 tial is within the range of optimal water extraction
(Feddes et al. 1976).
1.0E-06
Boulder Clay
A uniform initial value of capillary potential of
Hydraulic Conductivity (cm/s)

−20 cm is assumed to apply throughout the domain.

Kimmeridge Clay
1.0E-07
Silt
This indicates that this soil is close to field capacity
1.0E-08
(Biddle 1998). The drying phase was represented via
1.0E-09
the application of the above transpiration rate within
the root-water uptake model. The surface bound-
1.0E-10 ary, the lower boundary and the far-field vertical
boundary were unconstrained (natural) throughout the
1.0E-11
simulation.
Figure 3. Hydraulic conductivity for Boulder clay. The results of the drying phase water-uptake simu-
lation were first determined via the solution of Equa-
tion (7). The suction values this obtained were then fed
into a slope stability analysis based on Equation (5).

700 elements
Mature Tree
2231 nodes 4 RESULTS

5m Figure 5 summarizes the results of the water-uptake

5m

simulation. The figure shows simulated contours in

2m

terms of capillary potential after a 270 day drying

period.
16m
The numerical solution yields raw output in terms of
capillary potential. These values have been converted
Figure 4. Finite element mesh.
to matric suction for each node at the centre of the
base of each slice. The resulting suctions have then
been employed in Equation (5) to calculate the FOS of
The water-uptake problem considered here repre- the slope.
sents drying of the soil from a near-saturated initial
state. Hysteresis is not considered.
7 8
6
5
3.3 Numerical representation 4
3
1 2
In the first instance the case study presented here con-
5m

12.311.1
9.9
Origin line

siders the effect of a mature lime tree located near the 8.8
6.5
4.2
toe of the embankment. Figure 4 shows a diagram- 2.0

matic representation of the tree, the extent of the root 6m

7.5 m
10 m
zone and the finite element mesh. 16 m

The root zone is assumed to extend a depth of 2 m

and a radial distance of 5 m both left and right direction Figure 5. Matric suction (kPa) contours at 270 days.

814
 Although the active root zone of the tree lies below 2.96
the start of the slope, Figure 5 reveals that suctions
2.94
have been generated within on the lower section of FOS
the slope itself. The water-uptake model, only applies 2.92
the sink (extraction) within the pre-defined geome-

FOS
try of the root zone. However, moisture is free to 2.90
migrate towards this zone from the surrounding soil.
2.88
Hence, a ‘drawdown’ of moisture from the slope can
be expected. 2.86
Figure 6 shows the changes of matric suction at
nodes located at the centre of the base of some selected 2.84
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
slices (see Figure 3). The most significant changes in Days
matric suction occur near the centre of tree (i.e. slice
no 1). This effect diminishes as the distance from the Figure 8. Variation of FOS with time.
centre of tree increases (slice no 2 > slice no 4 > slice
no 8). For ease of interpretation, Figure 7 also shows
the results in terms of volumetric moisture content at Table 2. Comparison of FOS at various conditions.
these slices.
Percentage
Figure 8 shows the corresponding changes in the
Conditions Description FOS difference (%)
FOS computed at various times during the drying
period. This figure shows that FOS varies with time Fully Trial slope with no
and increases with matric suction. saturated tree water up-take 2.74 0
Tree near Position of tree;
toe x = 6 m,
12.0 y = 2.5 m 2.95 7.7
Tree at Position of tree;
10.0
Slice 1
Slice 2
mid-slope x = 10 m, Coor-
Slice 4 dinate y = 4 m 2.89 5.47
Matric Suction (kPa)

8.0 Slice 8 Tree near Position of tree;

crest x = 12.5 m,
6.0
y = 5.0 m 2.88 5.11
4.0

2.0
Further work has also been undertaken to examine
0.0 the effect of changing the position of the tree in relation
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Days
to the slope. Presentation of the detailed results is not
possible in this paper due to space limitations. How-
Figure 6. Matric suction (kPa) at the base of selected slices ever, a brief summary of the overall result is presented
(Refer to Figure 3). for two cases; 1) tree located at mid-slope, and 2) tree
located at crest of slope. Based on these variations, two
new water-uptake simulations have been performed.
4.0E-01 All other characteristics of these simulations remain
as described above.
3.8E-01
Volumetric Moisture Content (%)

Table 2 shows a comparison of the resulting FOS

3.6E-01 calculated at the end of each simulation. The table
3.4E-01
also indicates the percentage difference in the FOS as
compared to the saturated base-line. The coordinates
3.2E-01 Slice 1 are based on the origin at lower left corner of the model
3.0E-01
Slice 2 (see Figure 1).
Slice 4
Slice 8
This comparison indicates that changes in matric
2.8E-01 suction considered here can result in a variation in the
2.6E-01
FOS against slope failure of between 5 % and 7 %. This
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 result is indicative of one particular possible benefit of
Days root water uptake. It should be noted, however, that this
variation in FOS arises as a result of only one specific
Figure 7. Volumetric moisture content (%) at the base of aspect of the problem, i.e. suction induced variation in
selected slices (Refer to Figure 3). shear strength.

815
5 CONCLUSIONS
The application of a numerical model for the simula-
tion of moisture migration patterns due to tree water
uptake in relation to a soil slope has been presented. An
approach has been illustrated that enables the result-
ing prediction of soil suction variations to be related
to a subsequent calculation of slope stability. Stabil-
ity calculations have been performed by application of
the standard theory of limit equilibrium of forces and
moments. The model proposed then extends the stan-
dard framework to include a shear strength equation
that is suction dependent.
Suction variations generated in relation to a mature
lime tree located on (or near) a typical soil slope have
been presented. A range of tree locations have been
considered. The problem chosen for consideration
covered a full spring/summer drying period.
The results of this study indicate that matric suction
generation caused by the presence of a mature tree can
readily increase the factor of safety against slope fail-
ure by more than 5%. These results are independent
of related vegetation effects e.g. weight of vegetation,
windthrow, root strength etc. and must therefore be
treated only as a one component of the overall problem.
In addition, it is evident that vegetation may induce
much higher suctions than those considered here. Fur-
ther work is therefore needed to validate the approach
presented and to set it in a more general context.
REFERENCES
Biddle, P.G. 1998. Tree Root Damage to Buildings. Wil-
lowmead Publishing Ltd, Wantage.
Bishop, A.W. 1955. The use of the slip circle in the stability
analysis of earth slopes. Géotechnique, 5(1): 7–17.
Bishop, A.W., Alphan I., Blight, G.E. & Donald, I.B. 1960.
Factors Controlling the Shear Strength of Partly Satu-
rated Cohesive Soils. Proc. ASCE conf. cohesive soils,
Colorado, 503–532.
Fellenius, W. 1936. Calculation of the Stability of Earth
Dams. Trans. 2nd Int. Cong. Large Dams, Washington,
445–459.
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. & Widger, R.A.
1978. The shear strength of unsaturated soils. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 15: 313–321.
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil Mechanics of
Unsaturated Soils. John Wiley & Sons: New York.
816
GEO—SLOPE ver 6.17 Software, GEO-SLOPE/W Interna-
tional Ltd, Calgary Alberta, Canada, 2004.
Greenwood, J.R. 2006. SLIP4EX—A program for routine
slope stability analysis to include the effects of vegetation,
reinforcement and hydrological changes. Geotechnical
and Geological Engineering, 24: 449–465.
Greenwood, J.R., Norris, J.E. & Wint, J. 2004. Assessing
the contribution of vegetation to slope stability. ICE Proc.
Geotechnical Engineering, 157: 199–207.
Janbu, N., Bjerrum, L. & Kjaernsli, B. 1956. Soil mechan-
ics applied to some engineering problems. Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute Publication, 16.
Lambe, T.W. & Whitman, R.V. 1969. Soil Mechanics. Wiley,
New York, 363–365.
Morgenstern, N.R. & Price, V.E. 1965. The analysis of the
Stability of General Slip Surfaces. Géotechnique, 15:
79–93.
Rees, S.W. 1990. Seasonal Ground Movement Effects on
Buried Services, PhD thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff.
Rees, S.W. & Ali, N. 2006. Seasonal water uptake near trees:
A numerical and experimental study. Geomechanics and
Geoengineering, 1(2): 129–138.
Renaud, J.P., Anderson, M.G., Wilkinson, P.L., Lloyd, D.M. &
Wood, D.M. 2003. The importance of visualisation of
results from slope stability. ICE Proc. Geotechnical
Engineering, 156(1): 27–33.
Richards, L.A. 1931. Capillary conduction of liquids in
porous media. Physics, 1: 318–333.
Ridley, A., Ginnity, M. & Vaughan, P. 2004. Role of
pore water pressures in embankment stability. ICE Proc.
Geotechnical Engineering, 157: 193–198.
Simon, A. & Collison, A.J. 2002. Quantifying the mechanical
and hydrologic effects of Riparian vegetation on stream-
bank stability. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms,
27: 527–546.
Simon, A., Curini, A., Darby, S.E. & Langendoen, E.J.
2000. Bank and near-bank processes in an incised channel.
Geomorphology, 35: 193–217.
Spencer, E. 1967. A Method of Analysis of the Stabil-
ity of Embankments Assuming Parallel Interslice Forces.
Géotechnique, 17: 11–26.
Technical Committee of Investigation 1994. The Collapse of
Block 1 and the Stability of Blocks 2 and 3 Highland Tow-
ers Condominium. Report of the Technical Committee,
Hulu Klang, Malaysia.
Terzaghi, K. 1936. The Shear Resistance of Saturated Soils.
Proc. Conf. Soil Mech. Found. Eng., Cambridge, 54–56.
Thorne, C.R. 1990. Effects of vegetation on riverbank erosion
and stability. In Vegetation and Erosion: Processes and
Environments, John Wiley and Sons, 125–144.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical predictions of seasonal pore water pressure fluctuations

using FLAC tp flow

O.C. Davies, M. Rouainia & S. Glendinning

School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper details the development of a transfer method of the hydraulic boundary conditions
from a hydrological finite difference code, SHETRAN, into a geotechnical finite difference code, FLAC two
phase (tp) flow. This transfer allows the daily predicted surface pore water pressures from SHETRAN to be
applied to the surface boundary of the FLAC tp flow model. Once the surface pore water pressures have been
applied then any of the constitutive soil models within FLAC tp flow can be used to model the mechanical
response. This process offers the advantage that actual or predicted climate data can be used together with soils
and vegetation data to model the seasonal responses of an embankment. Ultimately this model will be used with
predicted future climate data to predict the response of infrastructure embankments to climate change.

1 BACKGROUND face pore pressures to the FLAC tp flow model. The

third test imitates the second but for an embankment
Observations have shown that embankments shrink model with bare slopes. The fourth test is as the third
and swell due to the cyclic changes in pore water pres- but with grass covered slopes.
sures. These movements can lead to the progressive
failure of an embankment. The rate of progressive
1.2 SHETRAN
failure depends upon the severity of the shrink/swell
cycle together with the number of cycles (Kovacevic SHETRAN is a 3D coupled surface/subsurface phys-
et al. 2001). SHETRAN is hydrological modelling ically based spatially distributed finite difference
software capable of modelling the complex surface model for coupled water flow together with sediment
boundary conditions of a catchment area together with and solute transport modelling capabilities (Ewen et al.
saturated and partially saturated subsurface flow. It 2000). For the purpose of this modelling only the water
is for this reason that this model has been chosen flow component is considered. The SHETRAN flow
to predict the pore water pressure changes within an model for an embankment (Figure 1) can be thought
embankment. FLAC tp flow is geotechnical modelling to consist of 3 components:
software capable of modelling saturated and partially
1. Interception and evapotranspiration
saturated subsurface flow and coupling this with a
2. Overland flow
mechanical simulation. However FLAC tp flow is not
3. Subsurface flow
capable of modelling the surface boundary condition
to the same accuracy as SHETRAN. It is for this reason
that a method has been developed to allow the transfer
of daily surface pore water pressures from SHETRAN
to the FLAC tp flow boundary thus allowing a fully
coupled simulation to be carried out.

1.1 Examples
For the purpose of this paper four tests have been con-
ducted. The first test consists of a simple caisson where
the SHETRAN—FLAC models have been run sepa-
rately in order to validate the newer FLAC tp flow
model against the more established SHETRAN model.
The second test involves first running the SHETRAN
model with actual climate data and transferring the sur- Figure 1. SHETRAN surface model.

817
 Data requirements for the model are meteorological with the more established SHETRAN model. This
data, soils data, vegetation properties and overland validation exercise involved the modelling of a par-
flow data together with boundary and initial condition tially saturated caisson.
settings. SHETRAN will then automatically output The caisson was 6 m deep and the pore pressure
pore pressures for each cell within the grid. At the was hydrostatic with an initial head of −6 m at the
surface boundary, interception of precipitation is mod- surface and 0 m head at the base. Infiltration of the
eled by a modified Rutter model (Rutter et al. 1971) caisson took place at a rate of 0.2 m/day until full sat-
allowing the calculation of net rainfall reaching the uration was reached. The caisson was then permitted
ground together with the amount of stored water on the to drain. Each software model requires different input
vegetation canopy and evaporation from the canopy. parameters for the soil. The soil parameters were set
Evapotranspiration, the movement of water from the for the FLAC tp flow calculation and the SHETRAN
soil and within plants, is modelled within SHETRAN parameters derived from these, as shown in Tables 1
using the Penman-Montieth equation for actual evap- and 2.
otranspiration (Monteith 1965). This is calculated as a
loss term to describe the uptake of water through plant Table 1. FLAC tp flow soil properties.
roots. Overland flow is also calculated within the pro-
gram. The depth of runoff water is determined from Saturated mobility coefficient 2.92 × 10−10 m2 /(Pa-s)
the available water from the interception evapotranspi- Porosity 0.33
ration component and the rate of infiltration into the Residual saturation 0
subsurface. Flow resistance parameters are then used P0 0.699 × 104 Pa
to model the overland flow using approximations of the a 0.336
St. Venant equations of continuity and momentum. b 0.5
The subsurface is assumed to consist of a porous c 0.5
medium with saturation a function of moisture content.
Flow through the medium is calculated by solving the
non-linear partial differential Richards equation.
where P0 , a, b and c are Van Genuchten parameters
used in the FLAC tp flow program. Saturated hydraulic
1.3 FLAC tp flow
conductivity in SHETRAN is equal to the Saturated
The FLAC finite difference code allows the numerical mobility coefficient in FLAC multiplied by ρω g. The
modelling of structures built of soil and rock. The two- parameters α and n used in SHETRAN are defined as
phase flow option within the FLAC program considers follows:
two immiscible fluids within a porous medium. This
ρω g
allows the modelling of an unsaturated soil assum- α= (1)
ing the fluids present within the soil are water and P0
gas. FLAC tp flow is capable of solving a fluid only
calculation and a fully coupled fluid mechanical calcu- where ρω is the density of water = 103 Pa/m3 and
lation. For the purpose of this paper, only the fluid flow g is the force due to gravity = 10 ms−2 . The
calculation is considered. FLAC tp flow requires soil Van Genuchten parameter n used in SHETRAN is
properties, water properties and boundary and initial defined as
conditions to be specified. Water is able to enter the
1
grid by specifying either a discharge or a pore water n= (2)
pressure at the boundary. The two phase calculation 1−a
approximates the Richards equation if it is assumed
that air within a partially saturated medium is at atmo-
spheric pressure and has a density of zero, and that Table 2. SHETRAN soil properties.
the porous medium has a constant volume and cannot
deform. These assumptions are specified in the fol- Saturated hydraulic conductivity 2.92 × 10−6 m/s
lowing examples in order to validate FLAC tp flow θs 0.33
against the more established SHETRAN model. θr 0
A 1.43 (1/m)
N 1.506
2 CAISSON COMPARISON

Before a transfer of pore water pressures was attemp- where θs is the saturated volumetric moisture con-
ted a simple validation exercise was conducted in order tent (porosity) and θr is the residual volumetric water
to compare the relatively new FLAC tp flow model content.

818
2.1 Saturation
Figure 2 shows the variation of moisture content
for both models during the saturation phase of the
modelling. It can be seen that both models have iden-
tical initial conditions. Through the first 2.5 days the
SHETRAN caisson was marginally more saturated
than the FLAC tp flow caisson. This divergence of the
models continued over time as can be seen from the
plots at 4.25 days.
Figure 3 shows the variation of head with depth for
both SHETRAN and FLAC tp flow models for the
caisson. Again both models have almost identical ini-
tial conditions. At 2.5 days negative pore pressures
within both models were almost identical, however
the FLAC tp flow model showed a slight positive pore
pressure within the saturated zone. At 4.25 days the
positive pore pressure continued within the saturated
zone stabilising at just above 0.5 m within the top
third of the caisson. Within the area of negative pore
pressures both models again gave similar results.
2.2 Drainage
Figure 4 displays the variation in pore pressure with
depth under drainage from the base of the caisson
(base boundary condition, head = 0 metres). The
SHETRAN and FLAC codes correlate well with only
some divergence at the base of the model. At this point
over time the SHETRAN model loses some moisture
content and is not fully saturated as within the FLAC
model.
Figure 5 displays variation of head over depth within
the two modelled caissons. Due to the FLAC model
having a much higher initial pore pressure through-
out the grid the two models differ at day one but by no
more than 0.2 m. The later measurements of head after
day 4 correlate very well. These results provide confi-
dence in the capabilities of the FLAC tp flow program
to calculate the flow of water through a porous par-
tially saturated medium. The next example attempts
the transfer of the SHETRAN surface pore pressures
to the surface of the FLAC tp flow grid.

Variation of moisture content with depth Moisture content during drainage

6 6

5 5 initial
SHETRAN initial SHETRAN day 1
4 SHETRAN 2.5 days 4 SHETRAN day 4
elevation

SHETRAN 4.25 days SHETRAN day 20

elevation

3
FLAC initial 3 SHETRAN day 100
2 FLAC 2.5 days FLAC day1
2 FLAC day 4
FLAC 4.25 days
1 FLAC day 20
1
FLAC day 100
0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0
0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
moisture content
moisture content

Figure 2. Comparison of variation of moisture content

Figure 4. Moisture content profiles of caisson during
within the caisson for SHETRAN and FLAC tp flow.
drainage.

Variation in pore pressure with depth

Variation head with depth under drainage
6
6
5 SHETRAN initial
5 SHETRAN day 1
FLAC initial
4 SHETRAN day 4
FLAC 2.5 days
4
elevation

FLAC 4.25 days SHETRAN day 20

3
elevation

SHETRAN initial SHETRAN day 100

3
SHETRAN 2.5 days FLAC initial
2
SHETRAN 4.25 days FLAC day 1
2
1 FLAC day 4
1 FLAC day 20
0 FLAC day 100
-6 -4 -2 0 0
pore pressure (m) -3 -2 -1 0 1
head (m)

Figure 3. Comparison of variation of pore pressure within

the caisson for SHETRAN and FLAC tp flow. Figure 5. Pore pressure profiles of caisson during drainage.

819
3 CAISSON WITH PORE PRESSURE
TRANSFER
For this test the caisson model was run within the
SHETRAN program but this time with climate data
obtained for north Yorkshire, UK in 1994. A pore
pressure boundary input file was then created from
the SHETRAN results file. This file contained the
daily pore pressures for the uppermost cell within the
SHETRAN grid. Pore pressures within SHETRAN
were calculated for the centre of each cell. These daily
pore pressures were then transferred to the top of the
FLAC tp flow grid at grid points. A pore pressure read-
ing was transferred for day 1 and the FLAC tp flow
model allowed to run for 1 day. The next day’s pore
pressure was then applied and the model run again, and
so on until the end of the simulation. Within the FLAC
tp code, if a pore pressure is applied at the boundary
then water is effectively exchanged with the outside
world to maintain that pore pressure, i.e. for a nega-
tive pore pressure water is extracted from the grid and
for a positive pore pressure water is pumped into the
grid. This will effectively simulate the infiltration of
water at positive pressures and the extraction of water
due to evapotranspiration at negative pore pressures.
The test was run for a period of 100 days.
Figure 6 shows the variation in pore pressure within
the caisson at depths of 0.9 m and 1.8 m below the sur-
face of the caisson for both the SHETRAN simulation
and the FLAC tp flow simulation. The figure again
shows a slight delay within the FLAC tp flow cal-
culation compared with the SHETRAN calculation.
The differences are, however, negligible and the same
steady states are achieved with reasonable correlation.
Figure 7 shows the correlation between the models.
At the surface there is an exact match due to the pore
pressure calculated from SHETRAN being applied to
the FLAC tp flow surface. Lower down in the grid
FLAC tp flow shows marginally less saturation than
Variation of head over 100 days
-1.00
-1.50
-2.00
-2.50
head (m)
-3.00
-3.50
-4.00
-4.50
-5.00
-5.50
0 20 40 60 80 100
days
Figure 6. Pore pressure time series for SHETRAN and
FLAC tp flow after transfer of surface pore pressures.
Saturation profile at 100 days
6
5 FLAC saturation
elevation (m)
profile 100 days
4
3
SHETRAN
2
saturation profile
1 100 days
0
0.4 0.6 0.8 1
saturation
Figure 7. Saturation profiles after 100 days.
SHETRAN. Again it is apparent that the SHETRAN
grid ‘wets up’ slightly faster than the FLAC tp flow
grid. Below the 2 m mark both models show there
has been no infiltration of water and initial conditions
persist.
The combined caisson modelling show that the
FLAC tp flow model is capable of modelling the
flow of water through the unsaturated zone and that
the method of transfer of pore water pressure from
the SHETRAN surface cells to the FLAC surface is
effective. These tests were carried out under a one-
dimensional condition only, for the next test the same
process was attempted for a two-dimensional problem.
4 EMBANKMENT TEST WITH BARE SLOPES
For this exercise an embankment was modelled in
SHETRAN with initial very dry conditions and with
the same climate data as used for the caisson with
pore pressure transfer example (see above). The pore
pressures within the centre of the top cell from the
SHETRAN grid were then imported daily to the
boundary grid points of the FLAC tp flow grid.
Figure 8 shows how the FLAC tp flow grid and the
SHETRAN grid overlap each other. The grey cells
represent the cells for which daily pore pressures have
been transferred. Several files were created from the
SHETRAN simulations, one for each of the surfaces
FLAC 0.9 m depth
cells. Each file again contained the daily calculated
pore pressures from the SHETRAN calculation. For
SHETRAN 0.9 m
day 1 the pore pressures were applied and the model
depth
FLAC 1.8 m depth run for a day, then day 2 pore pressures applied and so
on as within the caisson examples.
SHETRAN 1.8 m
depth The soil properties for this simulation are given in
Table 3.
4.1 Comparison of results
Figures 9, 10 and 11 show the variation in head over
the SHETRAN grid and the FLAC tp flow grid for a
820
period of 4 years for 3 points within the grids (indicated
by the dots on the grid on ech figure). It can be seen Head Variation 4yrs

that the transfer method was efficient in applying the 0

SHETRAN boundary condition to the FLAC boundary -0.5

condition. -1

Just below the embankment surface (Figures 9 -1.5

Head m
-2
and 10) the FLAC tp flow calculation shows an initial
-2.5
lag behind the SHETRAN simulation, this is due to -3
the two phase model assumptions not exactly approx- Flac tp flow 7.5m from cent 2m elevation
-3.5
Shetran 7.5m from cent 2m elevation
imating to the Richards equation, but after a period of -4
100 days both models correlate well. Deeper within 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Days
the embankment (Figure 11) the lag is more pro-
nounced; good correlation is not achieved until 300
days. This initial lag deep within the embankment is Figure 10. Pore pressure variation for 4 years for embank-
caused by the excessively dry initial conditions. As ment with bare lopes at height 2 m above foundation.
it can be seen for the remaining 3 years the models
correlate well. Such excessively dry initial conditions

head variation 4yrs

0

-0.5

-1

-1.5
head m

-2

-2.5

-3
Flac tp flow 1.5m from cent 2m elevation
-3.5
Shetran 1.5m from centre 2m elevation
-4
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
days
Figure 8. Overlap of SHETRAN and FLAC tp flow grids.
Figure 11. Pore pressure variation for 4 years for embank-
Table 3. Embankment test FLAC tp flow soil properties. ment with bare slopes at height 2 m above foundation.

Saturated mobility coefficient 2.04 × 10−10 m2 /(Pa-s)

Porosity 0.5
Residual saturation 0.15 are unlikely to be encountered for a real embankment
P0 9.810 × 104 Pa problem and were only used to create a robust test for
A 0.16667 the comparison.
B 0.5
C 0.5

5 EMBANKMENT TEST WITH GRASS

COVERED SLOPES
Head over 4yrs
0.00
Figures 12, 13 and 14 show the variation of pore pres-
-1.00
sure over a period of 4 years for the embankment with
-2.00
a grass canopy. All other variables remained the same
-3.00
as for the previous simulation.
head (m)

-4.00
It can be seen from these Figures when compared
-5.00
shetran 0.5m cent 5.5m elevation to Figures 9, 10 and 11, which represent the simu-
-6.00

-7.00
Flac tp flow 0.5m cent 5.5m elevation
lation for bare ground, there is a much greater range
-8.00
between the summer and winter pore pressures. This
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 greater range is much more pronounced at the surface
days
(Figures 8, 9, 11 and 12). The SHETRAN program
results and the FLAC tp program results still compare
Figure 9. Pore pressure variation for 4 years for embank- well for the three areas investigated despite the greater
ment with bare slopes at height 5.5 m above foundation. variance in pore pressures.

821
 Head variation over 4 years
6 CONCLUSIONS
1.00
From these simple tests it has been established that
-1.00
FLAC tp flow is capable of modelling unsaturated flow
-3.00
through a porous medium with a high degree of accu-
-5.00
racy. It has also been shown that the method of transfer-
head (m)

-7.00
ring surface pore pressures from the SHETRAN grid
-9.00

-11.00
Flac tp flow 0.5m from cent 5.5m to the surface grid points of the FLAC tp flow grid is
elevation
-13.00 SHETRAN 0.5m from cent. 5.5m an efficient way to apply the more complex surface
-15.00
elevation condition model of SHETRAN to the FLAC tp flow
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 calculation.
days
It will now be possible to run a simulation within
SHETRAN for a fully vegetated embankment with
Figure 12. Pore pressure variation over 4 years for embank- actual measured or predicted climatic data and trans-
ment with grass covered slopes at height 5.5 m above fer the pore pressures over to FLAC tp flow to run
foundation.
a fully coupled analysis and establish the mechanical
response of the embankment.
Head variation over 4 years

0.00
REFERENCES
-1.00

-2.00 Ewen, J., Parkin, G. & O’Connell, P.E. 2000. SHETRAN:

Distributed River Basin Flow and Transport Modelling
head (m)

-3.00
System, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 5, (3), pp.
-4.00
250–258.
-5.00
Flac tp flow 7.5m from cent 2m elevation Kovacevic, K., Potts, D.M. & Vaughan, P.R. 2001. Progres-
-6.00
SHETRAN 7.5m from cent. 2m elevation
sive failure in clay embankments due to seasonal climate
-7.00
changes, 5th Int. Conf. Soil Mech. Geotech. Engng.
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Istanbul, 2127–2130.
days
Monteith, J.L. 1965. Evaporation and environment. Proc.
18th Symposium Society for Experimental Biology.
Figure 13. Pore pressure variation over 4 years for embank- Swansea: Cambridge University Press, London, 205–234.
ment with grass covered slopes at height 2 m above Rutter, A.J., Kershaw, K.A., Robins, P.C. & Morton, A.J.
foundation. 1971. A predictive model of rainfall interception in
forests, 1. Derivation of the model from observations in a
plantation of Corsican pine. Agricultural Meteorology, 9,
Head variation over 4 years
pp. 367–384.
-1.00

-1.50

-2.00
head (m)

-2.50

-3.00

-3.50
Flac tp flow 1.5m from cent. 2m elevation
-4.00
SHETRAN 1.5m from cent. 2m elevation
-4.50
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

days

Figure 14. Pore pressure variation over 4 years for embank-

ment with grass covered slopes at height 2 m above
foundation.

822
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Infiltration analysis in unsaturated soil slopes

J.F. Xue & K. Gavin

University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a simple model which can be used to estimate the time needed for a wetting
front to develop in an unsaturated soil slope. The model is an extended form of the traditional Green-Ampt
method. The first extension recognises that ponding of water cannot occur on a soil slope. It further allows the
user to indirectly account for antecedent rainfall conditions by separating slopes into two categories depending on
their initial suction profiles. In the first category, where the initial suctions are large, the rate of the development
of the wetting front depth is controlled by the rainfall intensity. In the second, where the initial suction is low,
the time taken for a wetting front to develop to a given depth depends on the infiltration capacity of the soil. In
the final section of the paper results from the new model are compared to numerical predictions of wetting front
depth in a fine sand slope.

1 INTRODUCTION process (See Fredlund et al. 1994, Ng and Shi 1998,

To analyse landslides triggered by rainfall, it is impor-
tant to understand the infiltration process. In most
current methods, such as the Green-Ampt model, the
infiltration analyses are based on theories derived for
saturated soils. However, the mechanisms controlling
infiltration into unsaturated soil are different to the sat-
urated condition. Key differences include the fact that
the permeability of unsaturated soil changes continu-
ously throughout infiltration, and that a major driving
force for water flow in saturated soils is the head of
water. In unsaturated soil flow problems such as slope
failures, where there is no surface ponding, the main
driving force is not gravity, but differential suction. In
this paper a model which was developed to analyse the
rainfall infiltration into unsaturated soils is presented
and applied to a published case history of a numerical
analysis of infiltration into a fine sand slope.
2 BACKGROUND
The stability of many man-made and natural slopes is
enhanced by near surface negative pore water pressure
(suctions). An understanding of how rainfall infiltrates
into these slopes and reduces suction is critical to a full
understanding of slope stability problems. Predicting
the rate of infiltration of water into unsaturated soils
is a complex process. This is due in part to the vari-
able rainfall and irrigation patterns that occur, and the
highly non-linear permeability of unsaturated soil. In
addition the geometry, vegetation and the roughness
of the ground surface will influence the infiltration
Zhan and Ng 2004, and others).
Field measurements of the variation of suction in an
instrumented slope by Rajhardjo et al. (2005) reveal
some of the complexities involved in attempting to
predict the infiltration response of soil slopes. The
authors show that during the early stages of a low inten-
sity rainfall event, when the infiltration capacity of the
slope is highest, all of the rainfall infiltrates into the
slope. As the rainfall continues, the in-situ suction and
therefore the infiltration capacity of the slope reduce
and run-off begins. The time at which run-off begins
depends on the initial suction in the slope and the rain-
fall intensity, with the time to run-off, increasing when
the initial suctions are highest and the rainfall intensity
is low. By placing suction probes at various depths in
the slope, and along the slope face, the effect of sub-
slope drainage was observed, with the water content
at a given depth in the slope being highest near the toe
of the slope and lowest near the crest.
There are several methods commonly used to ana-
lyze the infiltration process, ranging from simple
methods such as the Green-Ampt model, to the more
complex finite element method (FEM). Some of the
simple methods are briefly reviewed as the new method
is essentially an extended form of an existing model.
2.1 Green-Ampt model
The Green-Ampt (1911) model was first developed
to analyze the infiltration process under ponded con-
ditions (i.e. assuming standing water on a horizontal
ground surface). The basic assumption underpinning
the model is that infiltration causes the development

823

H Infiltrating water
Saturated soil Zf
Wetting front;
matric suction pulls Wetting front
moves down
water into dry soil
into dry soil
Figure 1. Two-layered soil profile defined in Green-Ampt
model.
of well-defined wetting front (See Figure 1). The
soil above the wetting front is fully saturated, whilst
below the wetting front it remains at the initial (pre-
infiltration) water content. Gravity and matric suction
effects control the movement of water in the saturated
zone, and the hydraulic gradient (hi ) at the wetting
front is:
H + Zf + S
hi = (1)
Zf
where H is the depth of ponded water, Zf is the wetting
front depth and S is the suction at the wetting front.
Since the soil above the wetting front is assumed to
be fully saturated, using the permeability coefficient
of the saturated soil Ks , and applying Darcy’s Law, the
infiltration rate of the soil can be calculated:
H + Zf + S
i = Ks (2)
Zf
The model was originally developed to analyse the
infiltration of ponded water into homogenous soils.
Variations of the Green-Ampt model to account for
steady (Mein & Larson 1973) and unsteady (Chu 1978)
rainfall events have been developed. However, the
basic assumption of the two-layer model (with the wet-
ting front forming a boundary between the saturated
and unsaturated zones) remains. Research on infiltra-
tion in the field by Mishra et al. (2003) found the
Green-Ampt model to be conservative, with the time
predicted for a wetting front to develop being much
lower the in-situ measurements reveal. This is at least
partly due the use of the saturated soil permeability in
Equation 2 (Bouwer 1966), and the assumption that the
near surface soils are fully saturated. Field measure-
ments show that near surface soils rarely become fully
saturated Williams et al. (1998). Therefore the appli-
cability of the Green-Ampt model for unsaturated soil
infiltration analysis is questionable.
824
2.2 Horton equation
Run-off from a slope will occur only when the rain-
fall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity of the
soil. Considering Equation 2 we see that the infiltra-
tion capacity of the slope reaches a limiting minimum
value, equal to the saturated permeability of the
soil (Ks ) when the near surface soils become satu-
rated. Field measurements contradict this assumption.
Rahardjo et al. (2005) revealed that run-off occurred
on slopes when the rainfall intensity was lower than Ks .
The Horton equation (Jury & Horton 2004) is used
to describe the infiltration capacity of soil with time (t).
i = if + (i0 − if ) exp(−βt) (3)
where: i0 is the initial infiltration capacity at t = 0; if
is the steady state final infiltration capacity; β is a
constant which describes the rate of decrease of the
infiltration capacity; and t is time.
From Equation 3, we see that the final infiltration
capacity is not constrained to the limiting value Ks ,
rather a limiting value if , which is typically lower than
Ks , can be used. Considering Equation 3, run-off will
occur at any time when the rainfall intensity exceeds
the infiltration capacity of the soil. Although Horton’s
equation provides a simple mathematical description
of the reduction of the infiltration capacity of a soil
during rainfall, in practice it is difficult to implement
because of difficulties associated with the choice a
unique β value for a given slope, see Mishra et al.
(2003) and Xue & Gavin (2007).
3 PROPOSED METHOD
Considering some of the drawbacks outlined above
a modified model based on the Green-Ampt model,
Darcy’s Law and the Law of mass conservation is
developed in this section to analyse one-dimensional
vertical infiltration into unsaturated soil slopes.
3.1 Infiltration capacity of unsaturated soil slopes
Making the assumption that:
1. During rainfall on a slope where ponding cannot
occur, the soil is continuously supplied with water,
but not fully saturated within the wetted zone.
2. After rainfall the final suction profile in the wetted
zone is linearly distributed within the wetting front
(See Figure 2), where St and Sb are the initial suc-
tions at the top and base of the wetting front, and
Su is the limiting final suction.
3. The permeability of the soil above the wetting
front is uniform with depth and time. In the class
of simple infiltration models considered, the soil
permeability is often assigned a constant value
 e and the hydraulic head in this zone is controlled
r fac
pe su
fall slo
ain
aft er r tion
suc
fall
St
re rain
efo
Su b fro
tti ng
we
Hf
Sb
suction profile
y
Figure 2. Suction profile assumed in the new model.
Figure 3. Hydraulic head due to water pressure from higher
up the slope.
(usually the saturated permeability because of the
assumption that the soil becomes fully saturated
during infiltration). If the soil is partially saturated
the permeability depends on the negative porewa-
ter pressure (or the degree of saturation), Ng &
Shi (1998). Whilst it is strongly recommended
that the permeability of the soil over the appro-
priate range of suction values is measured using
the Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC), in
the absence of specific information the recommen-
dation by Bouwer (1966) that K = 0.5 Ks can be
adopted.
4. The model assumes one-dimensional vertical infil-
tration only. The water table is well below the
ground surface and the slope is gentle. The head dif-
ference due to the sloping water table (See Figure 3)
is small in comparison to matric suction effects.
5. Because of the assumption of 1-D flow, only flow
perpendicular to the slope surface is considered;
flow parallel to the ground surface is ignored.
Since ponding cannot occur on a slope, the
hydraulic gradient originating from the ponded
water (H) in Equation 1 is neglected. As the
water phase in the wetting front is not continuous,
the water in this zone cannot impart a hydraulic
gradient to the water beneath. Thus, the static
hydraulic head (Zf ) in Equation 1 does not exist
exclusively by matric suction. Since the water sup-
ply at the ground surface is continuous during
rainfall, suction values at the ground surface are
zero. Setting the ground surface as the reference
nt elevation and considering vertical flow only, the
hydraulic gradient at depth y should be:
Sy
hi = (4)
y
where Sy is the suction value at depth y. The
infiltration capacity of the soil at depth y is:
Sy
i=K (5)
y
in which K is the permeability of the soil at the
depth y.
In Equation 4, the infiltration capacity is con-
trolled by the permeability of the soil and the
hydraulic gradient due to matric suction. The
infiltration capacity will be greater than the per-
meability of the soil when Sy /y > 1. This situation
occurs in dry soils with high initial matric suction.
If during a rainfall event, the rainfall intensity (Ri )
is less than the infiltration capacity i, all the precip-
itation will infiltrate into the soil. In contrast if the
rainfall intensity is larger than infiltration capac-
ity, runoff will occur. As soils within the wetting
front become more saturated and the matric suc-
tion at the wetting front reaches a limiting value,
the infiltration capacity in Equation 5 converges
to a constant value. This agrees with the trend of
infiltration capacity decay described with the Hor-
ton equation. We therefore consider the infiltration
process in two stages:
Stage 1: When the rainfall intensity is smaller than
the infiltration capacity: Ri ≤ i. From Equation 5
we have: in stage 1, Sy ≥ (Ri /K)y.
Stage 2: When Ri exceeds the infiltration capacity:
Ri > i. In this stage we have: Sy < (Ri /K)y.
Given the initial and final suction profile in the soil,
the wetting front can be divided into two zones with
the line Sy = (Ri /K) y as shown in Figure 4. The ratio
Ri /K, which can be defined as the relative rainfall
intensity (Rri ), describes the ratio between the actual
rainfall intensity and the permeability of the soil. If the
initial suction values in the soil are such that part of the
profile falls into zone 1, the soil will initially have an
infiltration capacity higher than the rainfall intensity.
If the suction values in the soil fall into zone 2, and
the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity
of the soil, run-off will occur (at the rate Ri − i).
825
 Su St 4 APPLICATION OF THE MODEL
H2 zone 1
Tami et al. (2004) performed numerical simulations
H1 using SEEP/W (Geoslope Int.) to investigate the effect
of the duration of a rainfall event on the infiltration
response of a slope which was subjected to a fixed
zone 2
H rainfall intensity of 86.4 mm/hr. Two rainfall dura-
Sy=(Ri/K)*y tions were considered, 15 and 42 minutes. This rainfall
intensity was chosen to correspond to a rate of 10%
of the saturated permeability of the sand. The 30◦
Sb slope considered was made up of a 400 mm deep fine
y sand layer overlying a 200 mm thick gravely sand.
The fine sand had a saturated permeability (Ks ) of
Figure 4. Suction profile divided into two zones. 2.4×10−4 m/s, and the variation of suction with water
content is shown in Table 1.
The initial and final suction profiles for the
According to the Law of mass conservation, in 15 minute infiltration event is shown in Figure 5. It
zone 1, we have: is apparent that after 15 minutes rainfall there was a
significant reduction in suction at the slope surface, a
small reduction at a depth of 200 mm and no change at
Ri dt = θ1 dy (6)

Rewriting the equation and integrating with depth Table 1. Water content of the fine sand at different suctions.
(y), we have the time required to form the wetting front
Suction
to depth H1 in zone 1 (Figure 4):
(kPa) 5.4 4 3.5 2.5 1 1.5

θ1 H1 Water content 7% 8% 8.5% 10% 22% 15%

T1 = (7)
Ri

As infiltration continues, suction values in the 1.5 kPa 5.4 kPa

soil decrease and eventually fall into zone 2. In this

200 mm
zone, the infiltration capacity is lower than the rainfall Zone 1
Final
intensity. So in this zone we have:

400 mm
Initial
  3.5 kPa
Sb
K dt = θ2 dy (8)
y
2.5 kPa

in which Sb is the suction value at wetting front and Sy=0.2y

θ2 is the change of volumetric content in zone 2. So
the time for zone 2 to develop can be calculated with: Figure 5. Initial and final suction profile in the slope with
the 15 min precipitation of 86.4 mm/h.
θ2 (H 2 − H22 )
T2 = (9) 1.0 kPa 5.4 kPa
2KSb
Zone 1
So the total time is:
400 mm

Final

T = T1 + T2 (10) Initial

2.5 kPa
It should be noted that in stage 2 as the soil becomes
nears full saturation, it may behave as a saturated soil. Sy=0.2y
In such cases Equation 10 may be overestimate the
actual time required for a wetting front to form in latter Figure 6. Initial and final suction profile in the slope with
parts of stage 2. the 42 min precipitation of 86.4 mm/h.

826
Table 2. Comparison of result from FEM and proposed
method in this paper.
Time (min)
This paper
Case FEM Green-Ampt T1 T2 Total
1 15 2.2 10.4 0 10.4
2 42 10.2 37.5 0 37.5
400 mm, suggesting that the wetting front depth just
exceeded 200 mm. When the duration was increased
to 42 minutes the wetting front depth evidently pene-
trated through the entire 400 mm depth of fine sand
(See Figure 6).
Calculation of the time needed to form these wet-
ting front depths was carried out using the Green-Ampt
method and the new model and the results are shown
in Table 2. Consideration of Figures 5 and 6 show that
in both cases, because the rainfall intensity is low in
comparison to the infiltration capacity, the soil falls
completely in zone 1, and therefore only T1 needs to
be calculated. Whilst the predictions made using the
new model are compatible with the FEM analyses, the
Green-Ampt model severely under-predicted the infil-
tration time. This is presumably due to the combined
effect of the use of Ks and the role of the static water
head (imparted by the wetting front) increasing the
hydraulic gradient.
5 CONCLUSION
To determine the stability of unsaturated soil slopes,
it is important to determine the depth of the wet-
ting front. The Green-Ampt model and FEM analyses
are widely used to predict the formation of the wet-
ting front. Whilst FEM analyses can provide rigorous
results, the input data required for the models is not
readily available for all soils. Whist the Green-Ampt
model is widely used and relative easy to apply, some
of the fundamental assumptions used in its derivation
are shown to be questionable when the soil surface is
not subject to ponding.
A simple extension of the Green-Ampt model is
proposed in this paper. In the model the soil above
the wetting front is assumed to remain unsaturated
throughout infiltration. The time for a wetting front
to develop is considered in a two-stage process. In
the first stage infiltration is controlled by the rain-
fall intensity and in the second part infiltration is
827
controlled by the infiltration capacity of the wetted
soil. When compared to the results from FEM analyses
and the Green-Ampt model, the new model provided
estimates that were compatible with FEM results and
a significant improvement on the Green-Ampt model,
especially during the early stage of infiltration. This
method has an obvious advantage in performing pre-
liminary design prior to the decision to carry out a full
FEM analysis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project is funded by Iarnród Éireann. The authors
would like to thanks Mr. Brian Garvey, former Chief
Civil Engineer with Iarnród Éireann for financial
assistance received. The first author was the recip-
ient of a Geotechnical Trust Fund award from the
Geotechnical Society of Ireland.
REFERENCES
Bouwer, H. (1966). Rapid field measurement of air entry
value and hydraulic conductivity of soil as significant
parameters in flow system analysis. Water Resources
Research 2(4): 729–738.
Chu, S.T. (1978). Infiltration during an unsteady rain. Water
Resources Research 14(3): 461–466.
Green, W.H. & C.A. Ampt (1911). Studies on soil physics:
Flow of air and water through soils. Journal of Agricultural
Science 4: 1–24.
Jury, W.A. & R. Horton (2004). Soil Physics. New Jersey,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mein, R.G. & C.L. Larson (1973). Modeling infiltration
during a steady rain. Water Resources Research 9(2):
384–394.
Mishra, S.K., J.V. Tyagi & V.P. Singh (2003). Compar-
ison of infiltration models. Hydrological processes 7:
2629–2652.
Ng, C.W.W. & Q. Shi (1998). A numerical investigation of the
stability of unsaturated soil slopes subjected to transient
seepage. Computer and Geotechnics 22(1): 1–28.
Rahardjo, H., T.T. Lee, E.C. Leong & R.B. Rezaur (2005).
Response of a residual soil slope to rainfall. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal 42: 340–351.
Tami, D., H. Rahardjo, E.C. Leong & D.G. Fredlund (2004).
Design and laboratory verification of physical model of
sloping capillary barrier. Canada Geotechnical Journal
41(9): 814–830.
Williams, J.R., Y. Ouyang, J.S. Chen & V. Ravi (1998).
Estimation of infiltration rate in the vadose zone: Compi-
lation of simple mathematical models (2), United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
Xue, J. & K. Gavin (2007). Effect of rainfall intensity on infil-
tration into partly saturated slopes. Journal of Geotechni-
cal and Geological Engineering. Published online October
2007, DOI 10.1007/s10706-007-9157-0.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Prediction of changes in pore-water pressure response due to rainfall events

M. Karthikeyan, D.G. Toll & K.K. Phoon

Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore

ABSTRACT: Global climate change is expected to result in worldwide increases in temperature and alteration
of rainfall patterns. Such changes have the potential to activate rainfall triggered landslides and a study is
underway in Singapore to investigate these possible effects. The main objective of this work is to calibrate
a numerical model for future prediction by making use of cases where in-situ measurements of pore-water
pressures/suctions have been made in Singapore. The results presented in this study show that the prediction of
changes in the pore-water pressure profile is highly sensitive to the soil-hydraulic properties used in the analysis.
It was found that a SEEP/W flow model is able to capture the general trend of field behaviour of the changes in
the pore-water pressure profile response due to rainfall events. However, the results from the numerical models
indicate that further research is warranted to improve the accuracy of the numerical analysis by better definition
of critical input parameters.

1 INTRODUCTION even relatively small amounts of rainfall the suctions

Rain-induced slope failures are a common geotech-
nical problem in tropical areas like Singapore (Pitts
1984, Chatterjea 1989, Toll et al. 1999). The trop-
ical climate of Singapore causes slopes to remain
unsaturated during long hot and dry periods. How-
ever, there are numerous cases of slope failures in
Singapore during severe rainfall events. Recent predic-
tions of climate change as a consequence of increased
greenhouse-gas production suggest that the evapotran-
spiration—precipitation balance is likely to change.
This will affect the hydrological environments govern-
ing slope instability through, for example, changes in
antecedent pore-water pressures and alteration of trig-
gering event magnitudes. This could increase the fre-
quency of occurrence of high positive pore pressures,
and thus the activity of rainfall-triggered landslides
(Buma 2000, Dehan et al. 2000, Dixon and Brook
2007).
Transient pore-water pressure in response to short
intense rainfall plays an important role in shallow land-
slide occurrence. Highly negative pore-water pres-
sures may exist in the slope because of moisture
loss either through evaporation or evapo-transpiration.
These negative pore-water pressures may be lost with
the occurrence of rainfall. Landslides are generally
caused by a gain in pore-water pressure (or loss of suc-
tion) as a result of rainfall infiltration from the slope
surface. Field observations show that significant suc-
tions (in excess of 80 kPa) can develop near the surface
of a slope during dry periods in Singapore (Gasmo
et al. 1999, Tsaparas et al. 2003). However, after
can be lost, and small positive pore-water pressures
(up to about 5 kPa) can develop to depths of 1–2 m
(Tsaparas et al. 2003). The data show that, for a sce-
nario where the water table is at significant depth, most
pore-water pressure changes take place near the sur-
face (<2m) (Tsaparas et al. 2003). This is consistent
with the observation that many minor landslides in
Singapore are quite shallow in nature. Failures tend to
occur within the near-surface zone where pore-water
pressures increase close to hydrostatic levels.
The infiltration and internal flow processes within
slopes need to be modelled using numerical models
calibrated against measurements of pore-water pres-
sures. An understanding of the hydrological behavior
of residual soil slopes under different climatic condi-
tions is needed to develop an appropriate strategy to
limit or prevent rainfall-induced slope failures in the
future.
In this paper, a comparison is made between pre-
diction of pore-water pressure response due to rainfall
events from the numerical model and field data from
an instrumented slope in Singapore. The effects of
water retention curve and permeability functions on
the changes in the predicted distribution of pore water
pressure are also discussed.
2 DESCRIPTION OF INSTRUMENTED SLOPE
The case study under investigation was reported by
Tsaparas et al. (2003). They present data from an
instrumented slope located on the campus of Nanyang

829
Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where
the Jurong sedimentary rock formation is the predom-
inant geological formation. The residual soils derived
from the Jurong formation are usually clayey materi-
als with sand or silt (Pitts 1984). Due to the warm and
humid climate of Singapore, the residual soils have an
unsaturated zone, which extends to large depths, above
the usually deep groundwater table. Failures of resid-
ual soil slopes in the Jurong formation during severe
rainfall are usually shallow and associated with the
development of a perched water table near the ground
surface and the build-up of high positive pore-water
pressures.
The detailed description of this instrumented slope
can be found in Tsaparas et al. (2003). The NTU-ANX
slope has an inclination of 29◦ , height of 21 m, and
length of 43 m. The instrumented area of the site is
relatively small (6 m in length) in comparison with the
size of the slope. The ground surface of the NTU-ANX
slope is covered with Buffalo Grass.
The simplified soil profile consists of two soil lay-
ers. Layer 1 is the surface soil layer that extends to
a depth of 10 m. Layer 1 is a hard silty to sandy
clay that has an orange color, moderate plasticity, and
58% fines. Layer 2 is clayey silt with siltstone and
sandstone fragments and a fines content of 32%. The
ground table lies at depths between 15 m and 17 m
from the ground surface and is not greatly affected
by rainfall events. Hence, in this numerical analysis,
the hydrological properties of soil layer 2 were less
important.
The main instrumentation of the NTU-ANX slope
consisted of three rows of tensiometers, a rain gauge,
and a piezometer. Three rows (A, B & C) of jet-fill ten-
siometers were spaced 3 m apart. Each row consisted
of five tensiometers (spaced 0.5 m apart) for measur-
ing the pore-water pressures at depths of 0.5, 1.1, 1.7,
2.3 and 2.9 m. These measuring depths were chosen to
study the variation of the pore pressure increase with
depth during a rainfall event. A rain gauge was also
installed next to the study area.
3 REVIEW ON WATER RETENTION CURVES
AND PERMEABILITY FUNCTIONS
Fundamental to a transient seepage analysis is an
understanding of the relationship between matric suc-
tion (in terms of pore water pressure) and volumetric
water content. As water flows through soil, a certain
amount of water is stored or retained within the soil
structure. The amount of water stored or retained is a
function of pore water pressure and this is described
by the water retention curve. Since the water content
is a function of pore water pressure this means that
the hydraulic conductivity is also a function of pore
water pressure. For unsaturated geotechnical analysis,
830
information pertaining to the hydraulic properties such
as water retention capacity and permeability functions
of the soil is important.
Agus et al. (2001) reported a large number of water
retention curves for Singapore residual soil samples,
at various depths. Soils near the ground surface are
expected to undergo more severe weathering com-
pared to the underlying soils. These soils have less
water retention capacity as they are commonly looser
with some micro structure, such as cracks and fissures.
Figure 1 shows the wetting water retention curve of a
soil sample obtained from the NTU-ANX slope at a
depth of 0.4 m (denoted as Tsarapas 2002). The sat-
urated volumetric water content was 0.53 and when
an applied negative pore-water of 200 kPa was estab-
lished in the sample, then the volumetric water content
reduced to 0.38.
Agus et al. (2001) reported an envelope for water
retention curves established for Jurong Sedimentary
formation residual soils and these are included in the
Figure 1 for comparison. The upper, average and lower
water retention curves shown in Figure 1 were estab-
lished using saturated volumetric water content of 0.53
and the curve fitting parameters reported in Agus et al.
(2001).
Other water retention curves from the NTU campus
reported by Agus et al. (2003) are also shown in Figure
1. These are for different depths (5.60 m and 4.0 m).
The figure shows that there is similar trend in the shape
of the water retention curve for Jurong Sedimentary
Formation residual soils even though there is differ-
ence in the saturated volumetric water content. Agus
et al. (2001) also examined the effect of weathering on
the shape of the water retention curves and reported
that there are no significant difference between the
shape of these curves and the depth of weathering for
Jurong sedimentary formation residual soils.
Measurement of permeability functions for unsatu-
rated soils is tedious, time consuming and labor inten-
sive process and there are often limited data. However,
0.60
Tsaparas(2002)
0.50
UP-1 (Agus et al. 2003)
UP-3 (Agus et al. 2003)
Volumetric water content
0.40 Upper Bound
0.30
Note:
Upper and lower water
Average
0.20
retention curves obtained
from Agus et al. (2001)
0.10
using saturated
volumetric water content
Lower Bound
of 0.53.
0.00
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Matric Suction (kPa)
Figure 1. Water retention curves envelopes for Jurong
formation residual soils.
Agus et al. (2003, 2005) presented unsaturated per- In situ permeability measurements at the study area
meability functions measured in the laboratory for showed that the saturated coefficient of permeabil-
Singapore residual soils. Figure 2 shows the unsat- ity with respect to water, ks , for the surface soil is
urated permeability functions measured for Jurong 6 × 10−7 m/s, measured at approximately 0.4 m deep
sedimentary formation residual soil samples. using a Guelph Permeameter (Tsaparas et al. 2003).
From Figure 2, it can be seen that there is close Other measurements for ks of Jurong soil are shown
agreement between these two soil samples for suctions in Figure 3. It can be seen that ks can vary between
above 20 kPa. Even though the saturated permeabil- 10−10 m/s and 10−6 m/s. The saturated volumetric
ity values are different (due to differences in saturated water content for these soils varies between 0.25 and
volumetric water content as can be seen in Figure 1) 0.60. No clear trend is seen in the saturated coeffi-
the unsaturated permeability functions are almost cient of permeability and saturated volumetric water
identical in the higher suction range. content, which highlights the difficulty of generaliz-
The commonly used integration functions for pre- ing the properties of residual soils. However, the field
dicting the unsaturated permeability function from measurement by Tsaparas (2002) falls within the range
water retention data (Green and Corey 1971, Van of values, and is in agreement with data by Agus et al.
Genuchten 1980, Fredlund et al. 1994) were investi- 2003.
gated for the Jurong residual soil. The predicted curves It can be seen from Figure 2 that there is lack of
showed significant differences between the experi- information on experimental data near the air entry of
mental data reported by Agus et al. (2003) and the value of the soil (below a matric suction of 20 kPa).
predictions. The Green and Corey (1971) method gave Therefore, the Green and Corey (1971) equation was
a curve closest to the experimental results but was still used to estimate the unsaturated coefficient permeabil-
very different. This indicates the danger in using such ity values near the air entry of value up to the matric
expressions without an experimental confirmation of suction of 20 kPa using the water retention curve
their validity. shown in Figure 1 (identified as Tsaparas, 2002) with
saturated coefficient of permeability of 6 × 10−7 m/s.
The fitted permeability function shown in Figure 2
1.0E-06 is based on the Green and Corey equation to 20 kPa
Unsaturated coefficient of Permeability (m/s)

1.0E-07 suction and on experimental observations for higher

suctions. This curve has been used in the analyses that
1.0E-08
follow.
1.0E-09

1.0E-10

1.0E-11
UP-1 (Agus et al. 2003) 4 DESCRIPTION OF NUMERICAL MODEL
UP-3 (Agus et al. 2003)
Fitted Permeability function
1.0E-12 Green and Corey (1971)
The commercial finite element code, SEEP/W (Geo-
1.0E-13 Slope International, 2004) was used for the numerical
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Matric Suction (kPa)
modelling of the field measurements, adopting a two-
dimensional and transient seepage model in an infinite
Figure 2. Measured unsaturated permeability function for slope. The geometry of the slope used in the numer-
Jurong Sedimentary Formation. ical analysis is shown in Figure 4. The boundaries of
the finite element mesh are at great distance from the
1.0E-10 study area (rows A to C), to avoid any influence of
Rahardjo et al (2005) the boundary conditions on the computed pore-water
Saturated coefficient of permeability (m/s)

Agus et al (2003)
1.0E-09
Gasmo et al (2000)
pressure changes. The finite element mesh used in this
Rezaur et el (2003) analysis is very fine with dimensions 0.25×0.25 m and
1.0E-08 Rahardjo et al (2001)
Tsaparas (2002)
consists of 8 node iso-parametric elements, in order to
1.0E-07
avoid any possible numerical instability that may occur
in the solution (Karthikeyan et al. 2001).
1.0E-06

1.0E-05
5 MODELLING OF FIELD RESPONSE
1.0E-04
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Saturated volumteric water content
In this study, a comparison is made between the
predictions of the numerical model and the field
Figure 3. Variations of Saturated coefficient of permeabil- observation of changes in the pore-water pressure for
ity and volumetric water content. the period from 23 March 2000 to 24 March 2000

831
 to −2 kPa for all depths. The file generated by steady
state analysis was used as the initial condition file for
transient seepage analysis. During the transient analy-
sis, the rainfall event shown in Figure 5 was applied as
a flux boundary condition along the slope surface to
predict the changes in the pore-water pressure profiles.

6 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A comparison between the field observation and

numerical simulation of the variation of pore-water
pressure was carried out using the rainfall data from
the field measurement on 23–24 March 2000. The
water retention curve of a soil sample obtained from
the NTU-ANX slope, denoted as Tsarapas (2002) in
Figure 1 and the fitted unsaturated permeability func-
tion shown in Figure 2 were used in this numerical
Figure 4. Geometry of the slope used in the numerical analysis.
analysis. Figure 6 shows the comparison of measured pore-
water pressure in the field with numerically predicted
values at a depth of 0.5 m below the ground surface.
2.5E-05
The comparison of the results shows the numerical
23-24 March 2000
2.0E-05
model under-predicts the change in the pore water
pressure profile. This is due to relatively low satu-
Rainfall (m/s)

1.5E-05 rated coefficient of permeability of 6 × 10−7 m/s used

in this analysis. Infiltration of water into such low per-
1.0E-05 meability soils is normally very slow and frequently
accompanied with surface runoff (Novak et al. 2000,
5.0E-06
Tsaparas & Toll 2003).
0.0E+00
In reality, the ground surface of the slope is covered
0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 by grass and may have dessication cracks. Due to root
Time (sec) pathways and surface cracks the coefficient of perme-
ability can be significantly higher at the ground surface
Figure 5. Recorded rainfall events from 23–24 March 2000. than at greater depths (Anderson et al. 1996). Chap-
pell and Lancaster (2007) reported that the wet-period
determined saturated coefficient of permeability (ks )
values were typically lower than the values determined
(Tsaparas et al. 2003). During this time period two in the dry-period by up to a factor of two orders of mag-
natural rainfall events were recorded on this slope. nitude. The lower wet period values are most likely
Figure 5 shows the recorded rainfall events from 23 due to closure of desiccation cracks with prolonged
to 24 March 2000. exposure to moisture.
The pore-water pressures near the ground surface
(at a depth of 0.5 m) were affected by these rainfall
events but there was no significant change in the pore- 4
water pressure profiles for deeper depths (at depths 3
Pore-water pressure (kPa)

1.1 m, 1.7 m, 2.3 m and 2.9 m). Hence, in this study, the
2
pore water pressure variation in Row A obtained at a
1
depth of 0.5 m below ground surface is compared with
0 Field (Depth 0.5m)
the numerical solution. From the field measurement on
23 March 2000, the pore-water pressure profiles for all -1 Numerical model

depths were close to −2 kPa. The piezometeric mea- -2

surements showed that the groundwater table stands -3
between 15 m and 17 m below the ground surface. -4
In order to simulate the initial condition for tran- 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000
sient analyses, a steady state analysis was performed Time (sec)
by specifying an initial pressure head equal to 0.2 m at
all nodes in the mesh. This gave a matric suction of up Figure 6. Pore water pressure variations at 0.5 m depth.

832
 One of the major issue facing researchers dealing
with the unsaturated zone is the overwhelming het-
erogeneity of the subsurface soils due to fractures,
fissures, cracks and inter-aggregation pores (Novak
et al. 2000). Ignoring the infiltration through these
features usually leads to severely underestimated infil-
tration rates and hence an unrealistic description of the
soil water regime (Van Genuchten et al. 1999). Flow
in structured porous media is frequently described
using dual permeability models (Fig. 7) in which soil
consists of two regions, one associated with macro
pores (the crack network) and the other with the less
permeable matrix region (Van Genuchten et al. 1999).
Tsaparas & Toll (2002) recognized the effect of the
higher permeability surficial layer and tried to take
account of it by including a more permeable surface
layer of 0.25 m (the depth affected by rooting). In
this analysis, studies were also conducted by introduc-
ing a 0.25 m thick higher permeabity layer. However,
unlike the analysis of Tsaparas and Toll, this layer was
modelled with highly anisotropic permeability, using a
high permeability perpendicular to the surface (taking
account of cracking and root passages in this direc-
tion), but maintaining the same value of permeability
as the matrix soil for flow parallel to the ground sur-
face. The ratio of hydraulic conductivities (kx /ky ) was
set to 1 × 10−3 m3 /s, with the saturated value of kx set
to 6 × 10−7 m/s (and hence ky = 6 × 10−4 m/s).
Figure 8 shows the comparison of the measured
pore-water pressure in the field with the numerically
Figure 7. Schematic of increasingly of complex models that
may be used to simulate preferential flow (Van Genuchten
et al. 1999).
833
4
3
Pore-water pressure (kPa)
2
1
0
-1
-2 Field (Depth 0.5m)
-3 0.25m thick permeable layer
-4
0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000
Time (sec)
Figure 8. Comparison of pore water pressure variations for
0.25 m thick permeable layer.
predicted values when including the 0.25 m thick more
permeable layers. The trend in the results is the same
as that shown by the field measured values. How-
ever, the numerical predication still underestimates the
magnitude of the pore water pressure change when
compared with field measurement. Nevertheless they
show significantly improved predictions compared to
Figure 6.
Further attempts have been made to introduce dual
porosity and permeability models in the analysis.
However, the numerical results show the inability of
SEEP/W to handle the steep changes in material prop-
erties required; the solution tends to diverge instead of
converge and oscillate between two extreme solutions
represented by the extremities of the hydraulic conduc-
tivity function. This is a short coming that needs to be
addressed by developing solvers that can ensure con-
vergence under highly non-linear conditions (Fredlund
2007).
The results from the numerical models indicate that
further research is warranted to improve the accuracy
of the numerical analysis. The critical input param-
eters required for models needs to be refined based
on the measurements made in the field and laboratory
to a far greater extent than is commonly undertaken.
To improve the accuracy of the numerical model rep-
resentations, better definition of the soil hydraulic
properties is required. This is the case even for the
Jurong residual soil where significant efforts have
been made to carry out research on its properties.
7 CONCLUSIONS
This paper describes a comparison of changes in the
observed pore-water pressure profile with predictions
from a numerical model. This is to allow the model to
be calibrated against observed events, so that it can be
used to predict the effects of future expected climate
change. The results presented in this study shows that
the prediction of changes in the pore-water pressure
profile with field observation is highly sensitive to the
soil hydraulic properties used in the analysis. It was
found that the SEEP/W flow model was able to capture
the general trend of field behaviour of the changes in
the pore-water pressure profile due to rainfall events.
This could only be achieved by taking account of a
more permeable surficial layer to allow for the pres-
ence of root passages and desiccation cracking. The
results from the numerical models indicate that fur-
ther research is warranted to improve the predictive
ability of the numerical analysis by better definition
of critical input parameters.
REFERENCES
Agus, S.S., Leong, E.C. and Rahardjo, H. (2003). A flexi-
ble wall permeameter for measurements of water and air
coefficients of permeability of residual soils, Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 40, pp. 559–574.
Agus, S.S., Leong, E.C. and Rahardjo, H. (2005). Estimat-
ing permeability functions of Singapore residual soils,
Engineering Geology, Vol. 78, pp. 119–133.
Agus, S.S., Leong, E.C. and Rahardjo, H. (2001). Soil-
water characteristic curves of Singapore Residual soils.
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, Vol. 19,
pp. 285–309.
Anderson, M.G., Collison, A.J.C., Hartshorne, J.,
Lloyd, D.M. and Park A. (1996). Developments in
Slope Hydrology-Stability Modeling for Tropical Slopes,
Advances in Hillslope Processes, Vol. 2, pp. 799–821.
Buma, J. (2000). Finding the most suitable slope stability
model for the assessment of the impact of climate change
on a landslide in SE France, earth Surface Processes
Landforms. Vol. 25, pp. 565–583.
Chappell, N.A, and Lancaster, J.W. (2007). Compari-
son of methodological uncertainties within permeabil-
ity measurements. Hydrological Processes, Vol. 21,
pp. 2504–2514.
Chatterjea, K. (1989). Observations on the fluvial and slope
processes in Singapore and their impact on the urban envi-
ronment. PhD thesis, National University of Singapore,
Singapore.
Dehan, M., Burger, G., Buma, J. and Gasparetto, P.
(2000). Impact of climate change on slope stability using
expanded downscaling. Engineering Geology, Vol. 55,
pp. 193–204.
Dixon, N. and Brook, E. (2007). Impact of predicted climate
change on landslide reactivation: case study of Mam Tor,
UK. Landslides, Vol. 4, pp.137–147.
Fredlund, D.G. (2007). Engineering Design protocols for
unsaturated soils. Proceedings of the 3rd Asian Confer-
ence on Unsaturated Soils, eds. Yin, Z., Yuan, Z and Chiu,
A.C.F. Science Press, Beijing, China, pp. 27–45.
Fredlund, D.G., Xing, A. and Huang, S. (1994). Predicting
the permeability functions for unsaturated soils using the
soil-water characteristics curve, Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, Vol. 31, pp. 533–546.
834
Gasmo, J.M., Hritzuk, K.J., Rahardjo, H. and Leong,
E.C. (1999). Instrumentation of an unsaturated residual
soil slope. Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, 22(2),
pp. 128–137.
Geo-Studio (2004). User’s manual for SEEP/W, Geo-Slope
International Ltd., Canada.
Green, R.E. and Corey, J.C. (1971). Calculation of hydraulic
conductivity: A further evaluation of some predictive
methods, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. Vol. 35, pp. 3–8.
Karthikeyan, M., Tan, T.S. and Phoon, K.K. (2001). Numer-
ical oscillation in seepage analysis of unsaturated soils.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 38, pp. 631–651.
Novak, V., Simunek, J. and Genuchten, M. Th. (2000). Infil-
tration of water into soil with cracks. Journal of irrigation
and Drainage Engineering, Vol. 126, No. 1, pp. 41–47.
Pitts, J. (1984). A Review of Geology and Engineering
Geology in Singapore, Quarterly Journal of Engineering
Geology, Vol. 17, pp. 93–101.
Rahardjo, H., Lee, T.T., Leong, E.C. and Rezaur, R.B. (2005).
Response of a residual soil slope to rainfall. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 42, pp. 340–351.
Rahardjo, H., Li, X.W., Toll, D.G. and Leong, E.C.
(2001). The Effect of Antecedent Rainfall on Slope Sta-
bility, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, Vol. 19,
No. 3/4, pp. 369–397.
Rezaur, R.B., Rahardjo, H., Leong, E.C. and Lee, T.T.
(2003). Hydrologic behavior of residual soil slopes. Jour-
nal of hydrologic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 8, No. 3,
pp. 133–144.
Toll, D.G. (2001). Rainfall induced Landslides in
Singapore, Proc. Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotech-
nical Engineering, Vol. 149, 4, pp. 211–216.
Toll, D.G., Rahardjo, H. and Leong, E.C. (1999). Land-
slides in Singapore, Proc. 2nd International Conference
on Landslides, Slope Stability and the Safety of Infra-
Structures, 27–28 July 1999, Singapore.
Tsaparas, I. (2002). Field measurements and numerical mod-
eling of infiltration and matric suctions within slopes, PhD
Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Durham,
United Kingdom. 314p.
Tsaparas, I. and Toll, D.G. (2003). Factors affecting infil-
tration into an unsaturated soil slope. Proceedings of the
2nd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils (UNST-ASIA
2003), Osaka, Japan, pp. 463–468.
Tsaparas, I., Rahardjo, H., Toll, D.G. and Leong, E.C. (2003).
Infiltration characteristics of two instrumented soil slopes.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 40, pp. 1012–1032.
Van Genuchten, M.T. (1980). A closed-form equation
for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated
soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 44,
pp. 892–898.
Van Genuchten, M.Th., Schaap, M.G., Mohanty, B.P.
Simunek, J. and Leij, F.J. (1999). Modeling flow and trans-
port processes at the local scale, in Modeling of transport
process in soils at various scales, J. Feyen and K. Wiyo
(eds.), Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 23–45.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Modelling unsaturated soil slopes subjected to wetting and drying cycles

Y.D. Zhou, C.Y. Cheuk, L.G. Tham & E.C.Y. To

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

ABSTRACT: Water infiltration changes the pore pressure distribution in unsaturated slopes leading to slope
movement, and therefore has been one of the most common triggering mechanisms for landslides in tropical
areas. Field monitoring data suggest that seasonal wetting and drying cycles cause gradual and progressive
downward slope deformation, despite the fact that limited upward movement also occurs in dry seasons. This
paper presents a numerical study aimed at examining the deformation and stress path characteristics in an
unsaturated slope subjected to wetting and drying cycles. The results demonstrate that progressive deformation
is caused by plastic deformation when the stress path of a soil element intercepts the failure criterion during
wetting. The amount of plastic strain varies with locations, and depends on the initial stress state of the soil
element as well as the amount of pore pressure change. The global behaviour of the slope is largely affected by
stress re-distribution.

1 INTRODUCTION during seasonal wetting and drying cycles, progres-

Rainfall infiltration has been the major cause of many
slope failures and landslides in many countries and
regions where rainfalls of high intensity are frequent.
Hong Kong is particularly susceptible to landslide risk
due to its steep natural topography and prolonged peri-
ods of high intensity rainfall. In addition, many old fill
slopes were formed in the early 1970’s by end-tipping
on top of the natural ground with hardly any compact-
ing effort. Rain-induced failures of loose fill slopes
pose significant geotechnical threats and have caused
severe damages and losses during the past decades
(Lumb, 1975; Brand, 1984; Wong et al., 1998). The
1976 Sau Mau Ping landslide in Hong Kong (Hong
Kong Government, 1977) that killed 18 people is a
typical failure of loose fill slope.
Relevant issues concerning rainfall-induced slope
failures, such as the physical process of rainfall infil-
tration into unsaturated soil slopes (Li et al., 2005;
Olivares & Damiano, 2007; Zhan et al., 2007), the
influence of infiltrated water on soil suction and shear
strength (Collins & Znidarcic, 2004; Farooq et al.,
2004; Melinda et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2004), and
the relationship between periods of rainfall and appear-
ance of sliding failures (Lumb, 1962; Ho & Fredlund,
1982; Brand, 1985; Fredlund & Barbour, 1992) have
been investigated by many researchers using exper-
imental or numerical approaches. Slope behaviour
under cyclic changes of pore water pressure due to
wetting and drying has not received as much attention.
Field monitoring data collected from some local
slopes which comprise residual soils suggest that,
sive downward slope displacements were mobilised,
but the field records also reveal that limited upward
movement occurred in some parts of the slopes dur-
ing dry seasons. Nevertheless, the rebound could only
partially recover the downward deformation triggered
during the wetting process, leading to significant per-
manent deformation and possibly final collapse of the
slope (Endicott, 2007). Very similar observations were
also made in a field test conducted on a purpose-built
loose fill slope (Li, 2003).
A numerical study was carried out to examine the
deformation pattern and the stress paths involved in
the wetting and drying process. The numerical model
considers an initial unsaturated slope formed by loose
completely decomposed granite (CDG) which is com-
monly found in Hong Kong. This paper presents the
representative results of the analyses and the implica-
tion of the bounce-back behaviour of slope movement
is also discussed.
2 MODEL FOR UNSATURATED SOILS
2.1 Basic assumptions
It has been identified that, for most decomposed soil
slopes, the upper 3–4 metres of material remains unsat-
urated in its natural state due to the low groundwater
table. This zone is therefore subjected to changing pore
pressure distribution during seasonal rainfall. Hence,
the role of matric suction has to be taken into account,
which has been found to be absolutely crucial to the

835
stability of unsaturated slopes (Fredlund & Rahardjo,
1993). Redistribution of moisture content may influ-
ence the slope deformation and stress distribution, as
well as the global stability. In this study, the decom-
posed soil is treated as a porous medium and modelled
by the conventional approach that considers soil as a
multi-phase material and adopts the effective stress
principle to describe coupled flow and deformation
behaviour. The finite element packages ABAQUS
were used as a platform for the analysis (ABAQUS
2006).
The elementary volume of the soil material, dV ,
is made up of a volume of solid grains, dVg , and
a volume of voids, dVv , i.e., dV = dVg + dVv . A
volume of pore water, dVw ≤ dVv , is free to flow
through the soil. It is assumed that the decomposed soil
is permeable enough for the air phase to be exposed
to the atmosphere, and a simplified effective stress
principle originally proposed by Bishop (1955) can be
formulated as follows:
σ̄ = σ − χ (Sw ) uw I (1)
where σ̄ and σ are the effective and total stresses
respectively; uw denotes the pore water pressure; χ is
a factor that depends on water saturation degree Sw ,
and is assumed to be equal to the saturation degree of
soils; I is a second-order unit tensor.
2.2 Governing equations
The fundamental equations describing the stress equi-
librium for the solid phase and flow continuity for pore
water flow inside the soil are as follows:
   Figure 1. The geometry of the slope is the same as
σ : δεdV = t · δvdS + f · δvdV
V s V
 an inclination angle of 33◦ to the horizontal, which is
+ Sw nρw g · δvdV (2)
V 1999). The slope is 4.75 m high with a flat crest of 4 m.
⎛ ⎞
 
d⎝ ρw ⎠ = − ρw Sw nn · vw dS
Sw ndV (3)
dt ρw0 ρw0
V s
be valid for unsaturated soils as well as saturated soils
(Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993).
∂h
Sw nvw = −k · (4)
∂x
where k denotes the soil permeability and h is the
piezometer head, defined as h = z +uw /ρw g, in which
z is the elevation above a reference datum and g is the
gravitational acceleration.
2.3 Solution algorithm
As the deformation behaviour of unsaturated soils
is strongly coupled with pore fluid flow, the above
stress equilibrium and flow continuity equations are
solved simultaneously. The stress equilibrium equa-
tion is discretised using a Lagrangian formulation for
the solid phase of the soil, with displacements taken
as nodal variables, whilst the continuity equation is
integrated in time using the backward Euler approxi-
mation method discretised with finite elements using
pore pressure as a basic variable. It would be in general
a nonlinear case when the seepage and deformation
behaviour are coupled in the established system equa-
tions, and the Newton-Raphson method is applied
during the incremental numerical solutions.
3 SLOPE MODEL
3.1 Slope geometry and finite element
discretisation
A simple 2-D slope model is established, as shown in
the central section of a real slope on which field tests
were conducted (Li, 2003). The exemplary slope has
equivalent to an average slope angle of 1 on 1.5, similar
to many existing loose fill slopes in Hong Kong (Sun,
The slope is discretised using a finite element mesh
which is made up of 1142 plane strain 4-node bilinear

where δε = sym (∂δv/∂x) denotes the virtual rate of

deformation; δvis a virtual velocity field; t are surface
tractions per unit area; f are body forces (excluding
pore water weight) per unit volume; n is the porosity
of soils; ρw is the water density, and g is the gravi-
tational acceleration; vw is the seepage velocity; n is
the outward normal to S; ρw0 is the reference density
of pore water for normalization of the flow continuity
equation.
Darcy’s Law (Equation 4) is adopted to simulate the
pore water flow in the soil, which has been shown to Figure 1. Finite element model of a loose fill slope.

836
elements. To allow coupling between pore fluid and
mechanical calculations, finite elements with multi-
ple degrees of freedom including pore pressure and
displacements are adopted.
3.2 Material model and parameters
The model slope is formed entirely by CDG, a com-
mon soil type in Hong Kong. For simplicity, the CDG
is modelled by an elasto-plastic model with a Mohr-
Coulomb (M-C) failure criterion and non-associated
flow. As assumed in most critical state models, non-
linearity is incorporated into the elastic part of the
stress-strain relationship, and the bulk modulus K is
assumed to be a function of the effective mean stress
p according to
∂p ν
K= = p (5)
∂εve κ
where εve denotes the elastic volumetric strain, ν is the
specific volume, and κ is the slope of an unloading-
reloading line in the ν −ln p space. The Poisson’s ratio
μ is assumed to be constant, and the shear modulus G
can be written as
A smooth flow potential function proposed by
Menétrey and Willam (1995) is adopted in the numer-
ical model, which has a hyperbolic shape in the
meridional stress plane and a piecewise elliptic shape
in the deviatoric stress plane. It should be noted that
plastic flow in the deviatoric and meridional planes is
in general non-associated.
Table 1 summarises the model parameters adopted
in the analyses which are derived from relevant exper-
imental results (Li, 2003). A perfect plastic hardening
law is assumed in the calculations. To control possible
dilation caused by the flow potential, the angle of dila-
tion (ψ) is chosen as a small value (ψ = 5◦ ). Hydraulic
properties of the CDG, including the permeability
coefficient as a function of saturation degree (Sw ) and
the adopted soil water characteristics curve (SWCC),
are shown in Figures 2 and 3 respectively. No hystere-
sis is considered in this study, since field measured
results suggested that the SWCC during wetting and
drying are very similar (Li, 2003). Nonetheless, the
possible influence due to hysteresis should be explored
as a further study.
Table 1. Summary of material parameters.

3(1–2μ) Properties Loose fill

G= K (6)
2(1 + μ) Basic γd = 1.41 Mg/m3 , e0 = 0.86, w0 = 14.9%,
μ = 0.05
To incorporate the contribution of matric suction to Elastic Function (Equations 5 and 6)
shear strength, Fredlund et al. (1978) proposed a mod- κ = 8.4 × 10−3
ified M-C failure criterion based on unsaturated soil Shear strength c = 2 kPa, φ = 30◦ , ψ = 5◦
mechanics, in which two friction angles, φ  and φ b are Hydraulic Function (Figures 2 and 3)
used to quantify the increased shear strength associ-
Note: w, γd , e are moisture content, dry density, void ratio
ated with the net normal stress and the matric suction
respectively, and the subscript ‘‘0’’ denotes the initial value.
respectively. For residual soils in Hong Kong, the value
of φ b was found to be equal to or less than φ  (Gan &
Fredlund, 1996), and an equality of these two angles
is assumed in this paper such that the original M-C 7
Permeability coefficient (10–5m/s)

failure criterion follows:

6
 
τ = c + (σ − χ · uw ) tan φ (7) 5

4
where τ is shear strength on the failure plane; c is
the intercept of the ‘‘extended’’ M-C failure envelope 3
on the shear stress axis where the net normal stress
and the matric suction at failure are zero; σ is the 2
total normal stress on the failure plane; uw is the pore
water pressure on the failure plane and φ  is the angle 1
of internal friction. When uw is negative, its magni- 0
tude is equivalent to matric suction (ua − uw ) since 30 40 50 60 70 80
pore air pressure, ua , is assumed to be zero. It should Degree of saturation (%)
be noted that the assumption of φ  = φ b may not be
valid, particularly at low degrees of saturation. As a Figure 2. Permeability coefficient vs. degree of saturation
preliminary study, this assumption has been adopted. for the loose fill.

837
 defined on the right vertical edge of the model to sim-
Volumetric moisture content (%)
50
45 ulate free water flow out of the slope when the soil at
40 this location is fully saturated, whilst other boundaries
35 are assumed to be impervious.
30
25 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
20
15 4.1 Displacements
10 Figure 5 plots the variation of horizontal displacement
5 at some typical points within the slope during the wet-
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
ting and drying process. Three nodes, located on the
Suction (kPa)
slope crest (Node 703), at the middle of the slope sur-
face (Node 475) and near the slope toe (Node 1559)
Figure 3. Water retention curve for the loose fill.
are chosen. Their locations are shown in Figure 1. Cor-
responding soil elements containing these nodes are
10 also marked in Figure 1 and their centroid points are
AB C D denoted as ‘‘CPx’’, in which x represents the element
number.
8 It can be observed that at all the three locations, the
Flux (Litre/minute)

horizontal displacements generally increase during the

6 wetting periods. The horizontal displacements, which
are mainly pointing downwards, are caused by water
infiltration which reduces the suction, and hence shear
4
strength of the material. It is, however, interesting to
see that only the soil at the mid-height of the slope
2 (Node 475) exhibits reserved uphill movement during
E the half-day pause between the first and the second
0
rainfall events. The deformation occurred at the slope
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 crest and slope toe remains permanent. This is mainly
Day caused by pore pressure redistribution occurred during
the first drying period. On the other hand, a consistent
Figure 4. Time history of wetting flux. reversed trend is observed under the effect of long-
term drying process.
Despite the consistent general displacement trends,
3.3 Loading and boundary conditions there are some differences between the deformation
patterns at different locations. For Node 703 at the
The initial values of the void ratio and saturation slope crest, small negative horizontal and upward dis-
degree of the soil are taken as 0.86 and 0.454 respec- placement is initially mobilised during the first two
tively. These values are chosen based on the initial
conditions measured in a field test (Li, 2003). The
initial distributions of internal stresses and pore water
(including suction) pressures within the slope under
the gravity loads are obtained by a long-term redistri-
bution through attaining equilibrium conditions in the
numerical model, before applying the flux (loading)
conditions. The prescribed wetting and drying process
is shown in Figure 4. Two cycles of a half day rainfall
with a total boundary flux of 8 litres per minute (equiv-
alent to 63 mm/hour) separated by half day of drying
are applied in the upper region of the slope (Figure 1).
The calculations continue for five and a half days to
achieve equilibrium pore pressure distribution.
The displacement boundary conditions of the
numerical model are taken as vertical rollers on the left
and right vertical boundaries, with full fixity along the Figure 5. Variation of horizontal displacement at typical
base. Moreover, free drainage boundary condition is points during the wetting and drying process.

838
hours of wetting and then the direction of the defor-
mation changes to downward. Similar deformation
pattern can be observed at this location during the sec-
ond wetting period. This observation can be explained
by the elastic swelling behaviour exhibited by the soil
on the upper surface of the slope crest when the effec-
tive mean stress of the soil is reduced during water
infiltration. For the Nodes 475 and 1559 located on
the inclined surface, the rate and magnitude of the
downward movement at the slope toe (1559) are much
smaller than those at the middle of the slope (475),
which can be attributed to the fact that Node 1559
is outside the wetting area. Moreover, it can be seen
that only small horizontal bounce-back is observed for
the soil at Node 1559 during the first drying period,
whilst the soil at Node 475 displays prominent reversed
movement. The calculated results also suggest that
larger horizontal displacements are triggered in the
soils beneath the central part of the inclined slope
surface, up to a depth of ∼2 m.
The numerical results suggest that the soils at typ-
ical positions would not rebound back to the initial
locations corresponding to the start of first wetting
process, even after a sufficiently long drying pro-
cess. The permanent and progressive downward move-
ments are consistent with field observations.

4.2 Stress path characteristics

It is expected that, for a soil element subjected to an
increase in pore pressure due to water infiltration, the
effective mean stress, denoted as p , would decrease.
The deviatoric stress, denoted as q, would also change
due to stress redistribution. Figure 6 presents the stress
path of some typical elements in the q − p plane dur-
ing the wetting and drying cycles. These points are
located at the upper region (CP573), middle region
(CP425) and lower region (CP1306) of the slope as
shown in Figure 1. Different stages during the wetting
and drying cycles are marked, which can be referred
to Figure 4. The M-C shear failure surfaces are shown
for reference. It should be noted that the slope and the
location of the M-C failure criterion are not unique
when the three dimensional surface is plotted in the
q − p plane due to the change in the intermediate
principal stress. Therefore, both the upper and lower
bounds of the failure surface, which represent the high-
est and lowest projections of the yield function on the Figure 6. Stress path in the q − p plane at typical points.
q − p plane respectively, are presented for indication
of possible yielding in shear.
In general, significant changes in the stress state during the drying periods, i.e., from B to C, and from
caused by the wetting and drying effect can be D to E. However, the trend of the response at CP1306 is
observed for all the three chosen locations. For ele- opposite, showing an increasing trend during the wet-
ments CP425 and CP573, which are directly affected ting stages and a reduction during the drying stages.
by the surface infiltration, a reduction in both q and p The opposite observation can be attributed to the fact
is induced during the wetting periods, i.e., from A to B, that CP1306 is positioned near the slope toe where
and from C to D, whilst a reversed pattern is observed the mobilised shear stress is increased when the shear

839
strength at the upper portion of the slope is reduced
due to wetting.
It is also found that the stress states at most of the
material points would not return back to the initial
state corresponding to the start point of first wetting
process, which can be mainly attributed to the effect
of redistribution of internal stress and pore water pres-
sure by the wetting and drying cycles. Particularly for
the soil at CP573, significant plastic deformation is
mobilised during the two wetting stages, and addi-
tional plastic strain is also induced during the long
drying process due to the redistribution of pore water
within the loose fill, as presented in Figure 6(b) the
stress path approaches the upper failure bound during
the later period.
5 CONCLUSIONS
To investigate the deformation behaviour of unsatu-
rated slopes during the wetting and drying cycles, a
preliminary numerical study has been carried out on a
typical loose fill slope subjected to periodical wetting
and drying. Some representative results of horizontal
displacement and stress path at typical points are pre-
sented. It is found that the simple numerical model
is capable of predicting the bounce-back behaviour
which is consistently observed from field monitoring
records collected from some local slopes. Neverthe-
less, gradual permanent deformation is also predicted
during each wetting process. The mobilisation of
plastic deformation is accompanied by stress redistri-
bution. The results indicate that the global behaviour
of the unsaturated slope is largely influenced by stress
redistribution during and after rainfall infiltration.
More detailed analyses are underway aiming to
identify if this behaviour would reach a steady state
after a large number of wetting and drying cycles, and
also the sensitivity of the major governing parameters
including the soil properties and the rainfall pattern.
REFERENCES
ABAQUS Inc. 2006. Analysis user’s manual, Version 6.6.
Bishop, A.W. 1955. The principle of effective stress. Lecture
delivered in Oslo, Norway, in 1955; published in Teknisk
Ukeblad, 106 (39): 859–863, 1959.
Brand, E.W. 1984. Relationship between Rainfall and Land-
slides in Hong Kong, Proceedings of 4th International
Symposium on Landslides, Toronto, 1: 377–384.
Brand, E.W. 1985. Landslides in Hong Kong. VIII Southeast
Asian Geoth. Conference Kuala Lumpur: 1–15.
Collins, B.D. & Znidarcic, D. 2004. Stability analyses of
rainfall induced landslides. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, 130 (4): 362–372.
Endicott, L.J. 2007. Private communication.
Farooq, K., Orense, R. & Towhata, I. 2004. Response of
unsaturated sandy soils under constant shear stress drained
condition, Soils and Foundations, 44 (2): 1–13.
840
Fredlund, D.G. & Barbour, S.L. 1992. In R.N. Chowdhury
(ed.), Integrated seepage modelling and slope stability
analysis: A generalized approach for saturated /unsatu-
rated soils. Balkema: 3–35.
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. & Widger, R.A. 1978.
Shear Strength of unsaturated soils. Canadian Geotechni-
cal Journal, 15 (3): 313–321.
Fredlund, D.G. & Rahardjo, H. 1993. Soil mechanics for
unsaturated soils, Wiley: New York.
Gan, J.K.M. & Fredlund, D.G. 1996. Direct shear and triaxial
testings of a Hong Kong soil under saturated and unsatu-
rated conditions. Geotechnical Engineering Office, Hong
Kong Government.
Ho, D.Y. & Fredlund, D.G. 1982. Increase in strength due to
suction for two Hong Kong soils. ASCE Conference on
Engineering and Construction in Tropical and Residual
Soils. Honolulu: 263–295.
Hong Kong Government. 1977. Report on the Slope Failure
at Sau Mau Ping, August 1976, Hong Kong Government
Printer.
Li, A.G., Yue, Z.Q., Tham, L.G., Lee, C.F. & Law, K.T.
2005. Field-monitored variations of soil moisture and
matric suction in a saprolite slope, Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 42 (1): 13–26.
Li, J. 2003. Field study of a soil nailed loose fill slope. PhD.
Thesis, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Lumb, P. 1962. Effects of rain storms on slope stability.
Symposium on Hong Kong Soils: 73–87
Lumb, P. 1975. Slope Failures in Hong Kong, Q.J. Engng.
Geol, 8: 31–65.
Melinda, F., Rahardjo, H., Han, K.K. & Leong, E.C. 2004.
Shear strength of compacted soil under infiltration con-
dition, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, 130 (8): 807–817.
Menétrey, P. & Willam, K.J. 1995. Triaxial failure criterion
for concrete and its generalization. ACI Structural Journal,
92 (3): 311–318.
Montgomery Watson Hong Kong Limited (MWH). 2000.
Re-assessment of stability conditions and proposal of
remedial works for feature No. 8SW-C/CR175. Report
to Water Supplies Department, Hong Kong SAR Govern-
ment. MWH Limited, Hong Kong.
Olivares, L. & Damiano, E. 2007. Postfailure mechanics
of landslides: Laboratory investigation of flowslides in
pyroclastic soils, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvi-
ronmental Engineering, 133 (1): 51–62.
Sun, H.W. 1999. Review of fill slope failures in Hong Kong.
GEO Report No. 96, Geotechnical Engineering Office,
Hong Kong.
Wong, H.N., Ho, K.K.S., Pun, W.K. & Pang, P.L.R.
1998. Observations from Some Landslide Studies in
Hong Kong, Slope Engineering in Hong Kong, Balkema:
Rotterdam: 277–286.
Zhan, T.L.T., Ng, C.W.W. & Fredlund, D.G., 2007. Field
study of rainfall infiltration into a grassed unsaturated
expansive soil slope, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 44
(4): 392–408.
Zhang, L.L., Fredlund, D.G., Zhang, L.M. & Tang, W.H.
2004. Numerical study of soil conditions under which
matric suction can be maintained. Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 41 (4): 569–582.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical analysis of piezocone penetrometer testing in partially

saturated marine sediments

A. Haghighi, B. Gatmiri & V. De Gennaro

Ecole des Ponts (Université Paris-Est, Navier Institute – CERMES), Paris, France

N. Sultan
IFREMER, Brest, France

ABSTRACT: During exploration and exploitation in deep offshore areas (beyond 1000 metres depth) oil
companies have recently been faced with geotechnical problems related to the presence of shallow gas in marine
sediments leading to eruptions during drilling, difficulties in conductor installation and anomalous high pore
pressures measurements during piezocone penetrometer testing (PCPT). Gassy soils can result from various
factors, including hydrates dissociation. They represent a critical issue for the oil and gas industry, at least for
two reasons: (i) the detection of gas is still not reliable, and (ii) the effect on the mechanical properties of the
soil is still rather unclear. In this paper a preliminary numerical analysis of an ideal piezocone penetration in
gassy sediment is presented. This study will serve as a basis in view of a possible interpretation of available in
situ measurement of cone penetration resistance in gas-bearing sediments.

1 INTRODUCTION to the increasing activity of the oil production industry

1.1 Procedure of gas production in soil
Gas-bearing soils, which are called ‘‘gassy soils’’,
are the subject of renewed research interest. Gases
that can be found in marine sediments are: carbon
dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, ethane and methane, but
methane is the only gas that can be found in large
quantities. Methane is produced from a biogenic or
an abiogenic process. The former is related to bac-
terial activity that could develop at depth below the
seabed, and time has a significant effect in this process
(Mitchell & Santamarina, 2005). The latter could be
the result of thermal degradation of organic matter in
deep sediments. The gases produced by these two pro-
cedures may migrate toward the surface and become
trapped as shallow gas accumulation. Although the
organic origin of methane is the most commonly
accepted source, hydrothermal or volcanic emana-
tions may also result in shallow gas accumulations
(Floodgate & Judds, 1992; Grozic & Kvalstad, 2001).
These two sources are considered to be the most
plausible for natural shallow gas accumulations on
continental shelves, and destabilization of methane
gas hydrates is a further potential source of shallow
gases. The most interesting subject in this area in
the last two decades is mainly related to the engi-
neering properties of deep offshore gassy sediments
(i.e. their compressibility and strength) closely related
and offshore installations safety (Wheeler, 1988a, b).
Free gas phases can be encountered not only in deep
offshore gassy sediments (typically from 300 m to
1500 m water depth) but also at shallower depths
in cold areas (e.g. Arctic). The presence of undis-
solved gases in pore water has an important impact
also in other fields of geomechanics. Decrease of shear
strength and increase of the sediment compressibility
could be the result of the presence of voids in the soil,
and could also alter the response to cyclic loading (e.g.
tidal waves) affecting the mechanical stability of the
sediments. Therefore, understanding of the mechani-
cal behaviour of gassy sediments should be placed in
the broad context of environmental risks and geohaz-
ards. An important environmental risk is gas release
in marine sediment which could cause the destabiliza-
tion of submarine slopes (Sultan et al., 2004). These
slopes (even at angles of a few degrees) are often close
to their stability limit.
It is therefore important that the geotechnical iden-
tification of marine sediments using the piezocone
penetrometer test (PCPT) is better understood partic-
ularly the influence of gases on the response of the
piezocone in terms of pore water pressure and tip resis-
tance measurements. This understanding will then be
useful to propose a method for the interpretation of
piezocone tests in gassy soils and help develop, if
needed, improved probes for this type of soil. In this

841
work the effect of the penetration of a piezocone in a modulus matrix. The nonlinear elasticity matrix Cijkl
partially saturated medium is studied. The piezocone is a function of the independent variables σ − ua and
penetration is simulated using the finite-element code ua − uw .
θ-STOCK (Gatmiri, 1997; Gatmiri & Delage, 1997;
Jenab, 2000) and the similarity between this process
2.2 Hydraulic equations
and a cavity expansion problem in partially saturated
(gassy) sediment is to be noted. Special attention is Mass conservation equation of water and air can be
paid to the development of elasto-plastic formulations written as follows:
capable of reproducing the characteristic features of
the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. A fully ∂
(ρw nSr ) + div(ρw vw ) = 0 (3)
coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical approach able to ∂t
take into account the effect of partial saturation will be
∂
used, considering gas-liquid suction as an additional [ρa n(1 − Sr + HSr )] + div[ρa (va + Hvw )] = 0
state variable. Emphasis is given to the effect of partial ∂t
saturation on the evolution of the pore water pressure (4)
in the vicinity of the probe shaft.
where n is porosity, Sr is degree of saturation, H is the
Henry’s constant, ρa and ρw are the air and water den-
sities. Water and air flow are assumed to be governed
2 FIELD EQUATIONS AND FEM by Darcy’s law:
FORMULATION
 
uw
Unsaturated soil mechanics is a relatively new area of vw = −K w .grad +Z (5)
γw
research in geotechnical engineering and possibly the
area where the most significant advances have been  
ua
made during recent years. There is now a general con- va = −K a .grad +Z (6)
sensus on the choice of adequate and independent state γa
variables able to present most of the significant effects
Water and air permeabilities (Kw , Ka ) are tonsorial val-
involved in the coupled process of a deformable unsat-
ues and depend on the suction (Gatmiri et al., 1998).
urated porous medium with three phases (skeleton,
Figure 1 presents an example of variation of gas rela-
water and air). The two independent tensorial vari-
tive permeability as a function of e and Sr . The total
ables: net stress σ − ua and suction ua − uw , (where σ
moisture movement in unsaturated soil due to tem-
is the total stress, and ua and uw the air and water pres-
perature gradient and its resulting moisture content
sures, respectively) have been adopted. Based on this
gradient is equal to the sum of the flows which take
choice, the basic assumptions for the description of
place in both phases, vapor and liquid. Thus:
the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of an unsatu-
rated porous medium are presented. The finite element q
code θ -STOCK is used here to integrate the resulting = −DT ∇T − Dθ ∇θ − Dw ∇Z (7)
ρw
field equations and to simulate the penetration of a
piezocone probe in a partially saturated sediment. where DT is thermal moisture diffusivity and its equal
to DTV + DTW , and Dθ is thermal moisture diffusivity
and it is equal to DθV + DθW . Combining, therefore,
2.1 Mechanical equations
equations (3) and (7) yields the general differential
The total deformation of the porous medium can be equation in an alternative form:
evaluated by using the equilibrium equation of the    
skeleton with a constitutive law. In this paper isotropic ∂ρw ∂T ∂ρw ∂P ∂Sr
nSr + nSr + (ρw − ρv )n
nonlinear elastic behaviour has been considered. The ∂T ∂t ∂P ∂t ∂t
equilibrium equation and the stress-suction-strain rela-
∂n ∂ρv
tion which considers the effect of suction on strain can + (Sr ρw + ρv (1 − Sr )) + n(1 − Sr ) (8)
be written as follows: ∂t ∂t
= ρw div(Dw ∇z) + div(ρw DT ∇T )
(σij − δij ua ),j +ua,j + bi = 0 (1) + div(ρw Dθ ∇θ) + Qm
−1
dεij = Cijkl d(σkl − δkl ua ) + Fij−1 d(δij (ua − uw )) (2)
2.3 State surface
where σij is the stress tensor, εij is the strain ten- During the last three decades, various constitutive
sor, Cijkl the elasticity matrix, and Fij the suction laws have been proposed, such as the incremental

842
 3 CAVITY EXPANSION MODELLING
IN UNSATURATED SOIL

Cavity expansion has been the subject of extended

studies in soil mechanics, mostly related to the
behaviour of saturated soils (e.g. Carter et al., 1979;
Collins & Yu 1996).
When dealing with unsaturated soils few contri-
butions are available and, with few exceptions (e.g.
Schnaid et al. 2005), contributions are essentially the-
oretical (e.g. Russell & Khalili 2002). One of the issues
associated with the use of CPT or pressuremeters for
the mechanical characterization of unsaturated soils
is the evolution of suction during probing (Gallipoli,
2005). This is an open question which deserves fur-
ther analysis, both theoretically and experimentally,
for a correct interpretation of these tests. In what fol-
lows a preliminary numerical analysis, based on the
state surface approach proposed in θ-STOCK code, is
Figure 1. Gas relative permeability (Gatmiri 1997).
presented and results are briefly discussed.

3.1 Mechanical properties of the sediment

elastic formulation suggested by Coleman (1962) and
Fredlund (1979), and the state surface concept develo- The sediments used for the mechanical characteriza-
ped in order to describe the volumetric behaviour of tion were retrieved at 1500 m depth in Gulf of Guinea,
soil under the coupled effects of net stress and suction in an area rich of methane hydrates. Development of
changes. petroleum activity in this area may cause a change
Alonso et al. (1988) have adapted two independent in the thermodynamic conditions of stability of gas
expressions for state surface of void ratio and degree of hydrates (in terms of pressure, temperature, salin-
saturation. These two state surfaces are the following: ity) and the dissociation of gas hydrates may result
in the generation of gas in the sediment around. Four
oedometric tests were carried out on the samples at
Sr = 1 − [as + ds (σ − ua )]th[bs (ua − uw )] (9) different depths (3, 5, 8 and 10 m below the seabed).
These oedometric tests allowed the identification of
the coefficients of compressibility Cc and swelling
e = de + ae log(σ − ua ) + be log(ua − uw ) Cs of the sediment and its consolidation state. The
+ ce log(σ − ua ) log(ua − uw ) (10) sediment at the shallower depth, from 0 to 7 m, is
slightly overconsolidated (OCR between 1.8 and 2);
in the deeper layer beyond 7 m, the OCR ranges
The formulations of the state surfaces proposed by between 0.68 and 0.8. Granulometric tests carried out
Gatmiri and Delage (1995) considered in the code of along the core sample showed a very fine homoge-
θ-STOCK are as follows: neous sediment with a majority of argillaceous and
silt fractions. Measurements of the coefficients of
permeability were carried out during the oedometric
Sr = 1 − [as + ds (σ − ua )][1 − exp(cs (ua − uw ))] tests. The variation of the coefficients of permeability
according to the void ratio presents the same tendency
(11) on the whole of the sample (Fig. 2). The perme-
ability varies between 1.5 × 10−8 and 5 × 10−9 m/s
for a void ratio between 2 and 3.8. Measurements
1+e0 of undrained cohesion by means of vane tests were
e= ⎡  
1−m ⎤−1
(σ −ua ) (σ − ua ) (ua − uw ) carried out on core sample N2-KSF43 to obtain infor-
⎢ a P + b 1− ⎥ mation on the consolidation state of the sediment.
⎢ atm σe Patm ⎥
exp ⎢ ⎥
⎣ Kb (1 − m) ⎦ Indeed, through knowledge of the relationship between
undrained cohesion Su and the effective stress σv we
can approximately define the consolidation state of the
sediment (Skempton & Bishop, 1950). The result can
(12) be clearly seen in Figure 3. A ratio Su /σv close to one is

843

Figure 2. a) Oedometric curve b) Variation of the perme-
ability as a function of void ratio (Vernant et al., 2004).
typical of normally consolidated clays. Values of Su /σv
exceeding unity identify an overconsolidated state.
When Su /σv is lower than one a state of undercon-
solidation is suspected, with pore-water pressures that
exceed the hydrostatic pressure (Hutchinson, 1970).
Thus, a state of under-consolidation of the sediment
is possible below a depth of 5 m (Fig. 3a). Mea-
surement of velocity of the P-waves was carried out
using an ‘‘IFREMER-celerimeter’’. A sharp reduction
of approximately 10 m/s in Vp (compression wave
velocity) below a depth of 5 m is clearly identified.
The results of Figure 3 confirm the state of under-
consolidation of the sediment below a depth of 5 m
(Vernant et al., 2004).
3.2 Modelling and results
The numerical analysis focussed on a soil layer 100
centimetres in radius and 10 cm in depth (Fig. 4) sim-
ulated using an axisymmetric model. The speed of
844
Figure 3. Consolidation state of the sediment: (a) undrained
cohesion vs. depth and (b) Vp measurements (Vernant et al.,
2004).
Axis of cavity
10 cm
0.1 R0 R0 100 cm
Figure 4. Axisymmetric model for the spherical cavity
expansion.
penetration of the piezocone is 2 cm/sec, the depth of
the piezocone is 10 cm and the diameter is 3.56 cm.
There are several methods described in the literature
to analyse and interpret the piezocone penetration
problem: Bearing capacity methods (BCM), Cav-
ity expansion methods (CEM), Strain path methods
(SPM), and finite element methods (FEM) are exam-
ples. In this paper, the finite element simulation of the
piezocone penetration is assumed to be completed in
two stages by the use of the cavity expansion theory.
In the first stage, the piezocone is radially expanded
from an initial small radius (0.1 R0 ) to the piezocone
radius, R0 (piezocone volume expansion). The use of
an initial small radius in the cavity expansion is nec-
essary in numerical analysis to avoid infinite strain
(Abu-Farsakh et al., 2003). In the second stage, the
continuous penetration of the piezocone penetrom-
eter is simulated by imposing incremental vertical
displacements of the nodes representing the piezo-
cone boundary. The rate of volume expansion in the
first stage was set up such that the time required for
expansion is equal to the time needed to penetrate the
piezocone to that depth at the rate of 2 cm/s. This stage
 8 1.0

Sig-Pa=25 Kpa
7 Sig-Pa=50 Kpa
0.9
Sig-Pa=100 Kpa
6 Sig-Pa=150 Kpa

Degree of saturation
Sig-Pa=200 Kpa
Sig X (MPa)

5 0.8 Sig-Pa=250 Kpa

Sig-Pa=300 Kpa
4
Sig-Pa=350 Kpa
0.7 Sig-Pa=400 Kpa
3
Stage 1, s=15 (Kpa), D=5 (m)
2 0.6
Stage 1, s=5 (Kpa), D=5 (m)
1
Stage 2, s=15 (Kpa), D=5 (m)
0.5
0 0 50000 100000 150000 200000
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
Capillary pressure (Pa)
Time (S)

Figure 7. Trace of surfaces of the degree of saturation for

Figure 5. Variation of horizontal stress close to the surface the various values of net stress.
cavity as a function of time.

40

1 Stage 1, s=15 (Kpa), D=5 (m)

35

0.95 Stage 1, s=5 (Kpa), D=5 (m)

30
Stage 2, s=15 (Kpa), D=5 (m)
0.9
degree of saturation

25
Succion (Kpa)

0.85
20
0.8
15
0.75
Stage 1, s=15 (Kpa), D=5 (m) 10
0.7 Stage 1, s=5 (Kpa), D=5 (m)
5
Stage 2, s=15 (Kpa), D=5 (m)
0.65
0
0.6 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
Time (S)
Time (S)

Figure 8. Variation of suction close to cavity surface as a

Figure 6. Variation of degree of saturation close to the function of time.
cavity surface as a function of time.

is almost water saturated but still gas-water menisci are

provides the initial conditions for the second stage.
The second stage simulates the continuous penetra-
tion of the piezocone by applying incremental vertical
displacements at the nodes representing the piezo-
cone boundary. The finite element mesh and boundary
conditions used in this study are presented in Figure
4.
An axisymmetric finite element mesh of eight-
noded quadrilateral elements with four Gaussian inte-
gration points per element was used in this simulation.
The proposed numerical model is used to study the
effects of the vertical and lateral stresses caused by
cone penetration on the variation of suction, degree
of saturation and stresses in the soil elements around
the piezocone. For the current analysis the effect of
temperature is not considered. In this modelling four
different depths have been simulated and for each
depth, two different suctions are considered. The
numerical results of both stages at 5 m depth are
presented in Figures 5–8 considering two values of
suction: 5 kPa and 15 kPa. These low values of suc-
tion correspond to the situation in which the sediments
present.
The evolution of horizontal stresses is presented in
Figure 5. It is noticeable that after stabilization, the
value of the stress only depends on the depth and is
not changed by suction, however for the points near
the cavity surface the horizontal stress decreases with
the increase in the initial suction value.
The variations of degree of saturation during expan-
sion are presented in Figure 6. It is clear that increasing
the amount of suction causes a decrease in the degree
of saturation. It should be noted that the degree of
saturation changes very little with the depth. The
relationship between suction and degree of saturation
plays an essential role in determination of mechanical
and hydraulic behaviour of unsaturated soils. Sev-
eral mathematical equations have been proposed for
determination of soil water retention curves by several
researchers (e.g. Lloret and Alonso, 1985; Fredlund
and Xjng, 1994). The water retention curve used in
this research, is given by equation (11). Parameters
as , bs and ds were adjusted to best fit the soil water
retention curve of the marine sediment found in the

845
laboratory. The values of these parameters used in this
research are 0.75, 0.1 × 10−4 and 0.11 × 10−4 respec-
tively. The water retention curves in terms of degree
of saturation are illustrated in Figure 7, for the various
values of mean net stress.
The variations of suction close to the cavity surface
during expansion are presented in Figure 8. It can be
seen that during the horizontal loading, suction in the
first centimetres of the model, during 5 seconds of
loading, increases and then decreases. These evolu-
tions are not influenced by the depth, but do depend
on initial suction.
4 CONCLUSION
An axisymmetric modelling of the piezocone penetra-
tion in partially saturated marine sediment is simulated
using the finite element code θ -STOCK, developed
at CERMES by Gatmiri (1997), and the concept of
the cavity expansion theory is extended to accom-
modate the framework of unsaturated soil behaviour.
The variables considered were net stress and suc-
tion. The adopted thermo-hydro-mechanical approach
allows the analysis of the effect of suction on the defor-
mation of the skeleton and the permeability of water
and air, as well as the influence of the stress state on
the evolution of the degree of saturation and the pore
water pressure.
For the given initial condition (almost saturated
sediment) it was found that suction decreases during
cavity expansion and that the limit value of horizon-
tal stress is not dependent on suction but only on
initial stress state (i.e. depth). However, for points
near the surface cavity, horizontal stress decreases
with an increase in initial suction value. Further work
is planned to validate the theoretical approach and
to correlate numerical analyses with available in situ
measurements.
REFERENCES
Carter, J.P., Randolph, M.F. & Wroth, C.P. 1979. Stress
and pore pressure changes in clay during and after the
expansion of a cylindrical cavity, International Journal
for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics
3: 305–322.
Collins, I.F. & Yu, H.S. 1996. Undrained cavity expansion
in critical states soils. International Journal for Numerical
and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 20: 489–516.
Coleman, J.D. 1962. Stress strain relations for partly saturated
soil. Géotechnique 12 (4): 348–350.
846
Floodgate, G.D. & Judds, A.G. 1992. The origin of shallow
gas. Continental shelf Research 12 (10): 1145–1156.
Fredlund, D.G. & Xjng, A. 1994. Equations for the soil-
water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal
31: 521–532.
Fredlund, D.G. 1979. Appropriate concepts and technology
for unsaturated soils. Can. Geotech. J. 16: 121–139.
Gallipoli, D. 2005. Unsaturated constitutive surfaces from
pressuremeter tests—Discussion. Journal of Geotechnical
and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 130 (2): 1181–1183.
Gatmiri, B. 1997. Analysis of fully Coupled Behaviour
of Unsaturated Porous Media under Stress, Suction and
Temperature Gradient. Final report of CERMES-EDF,
ENPC.
Gatmiri, B. & Delage, P. 1997. A formulation of fully cou-
pled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of saturated
porous media—numerical approach. Int. J. Numer. Anal.
Meth. Geomech 21 (3): 199–225.
Gatmiri, B. & Delage, P. & Cerrolaza, M. 1998. UDAM: A
powerful finite element software for the analysis of unsat-
urated porous media. International journal of advances in
engineering software 29 (1): 29–43.
Grozic, J.L.H. & Kvalstad, T.J. 2001. Effect of gas on deepwa-
ter marine sediments. Conference on Marine Geotechnical
Engineering 1: 329–344.
Hutchinson, J.N. 1970. A coastal mudflow on the London
clay cliffs at Beltinge, North Kent. Géotechnique, 20 (4):
412–438.
Jenab, B. 2000. Etude numérique de la modélisation thermo-
élasto-plastique des sols non saturés. Thèse ENPC,
CERMES.
Lloret, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1985. State surface for partially
saturated soil, In proceedings international conference
soil mechanics and foundation engineering, San Francisco
1: 557–562.
Mitchell, J.K. & Santamarina, J.C. 2005. Biological consid-
erations in geotechnical engineering. J. Geotech. Geoen-
viron. Eng. 131 (10).
Russell A.R. & Khalili, N. 2002. Cavity expansion in unsat-
urated soils. Proc. Unsaturated soils conference, Recife
(Brasil) Jucà, de Campos & Marinho (eds): 233–238.
Schnaid, F., Kratz de Oliveira, L.A. & Gehling, W.Y.Y.
2005. Unsaturated constitutive surfaces from pressureme-
ter tests. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, 130 (2): 174–185.
Skempton, A.W. & Bishop, A.W. 1950. The measurements of
the shera strength of soils. Géotechnique, 2 (2): 90–116.
Sultan, N., Cochonat, P., Foucher, J.P. & Mierent, J. 2004.
Effect of gas hydrates melting on seafloor slope instability.
Marine Geology 213: 379–401.
Vernant, A.M., Sultan, N. & Colliat, J.L. 2004. Etude des
propriétés acoustiques d’un sédiment marin en présence
de gaz. Journées AUM/AFM, France.
Wheeler, S. 1988. A conceptual model for soils containing
large gas bubbles. Géotechnique 38 (3): 399–397.
Wheeler, S. 1988. The undrained shear strength of soils con-
taining large gas bubbles. Géotechnique 38 (3): 399–413.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Experimental and numerical studies of the hydromechanical behaviour

of a natural unsaturated swelling soil

H. Nowamooz, M. Mrad, A. Abdallah & F. Masrouri

Laboratoire Environnement Géomécanique & Ouvrages, École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie,
Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, France

ABSTRACT: This paper presents an experimental study of a natural swelling soil using oedometer tests by
imposing the suction variations with the osmotic technique. Three successive swelling-shrinkage cycles were
applied in a suction range comprised between 0 and 2 MPa under three different values of constant vertical
net stress (20, 40 and 60 kPa). The test samples showed cumulative swelling strains during the cycles. The
volumetric strains also reached an equilibrium stage which indicates an elastic behaviour of the samples at
the end of the suction cycles. Based on these results, the parameters of the elastoplastic model for swelling
unsaturated soils BExM (Barcelona Expansive Model) are derived. This model implemented in the finite-
element code (Code_Bright) is then applied to the practical problem of a shallow foundation based on the natural
swelling soil. This application studies the effects of hydraulic changes due to the variations of climatic conditions
(rainfall and drought) on settlements of this shallow foundation. The obtained results show the capacity of the
model to solve complex hydromechanical coupled problems.

1 INTRODUCTION Basma et al. (1996) reported cumulative shrinkage or

Shrinkage-swelling of clayey soils causes many dis-
orders in structures built on their surface (shallow
foundations, retaining structures, landfill liner sys-
tems, earth dam cores . . .) and also buried structures
(tunnels, drains, deep foundations . . .). These clayey
materials are likely to be subjected to complex suc-
tion/stress paths involving significant variations of
their hydromechanical properties. In this context, it
is important to be able to study the hydromechanical
behaviour of these materials, in order to better control
their use.
The expansive soils contain generally smectite
clayey particles which join the other soil compo-
nents to form aggregates. Two structural levels were
observed by Pusch (1982): the microstructure which
corresponds to the aggregates, and the macrostructure
which corresponds to the arrangement of the aggre-
gates. Experimental cyclic wetting and drying results
reported by Dif and Bluemel (1991), Al-Homoud et al.
(1995) and Alonso et al. (2005) show evidence of a
shrinkage accumulation that increases under high ver-
tical stresses. This behaviour was explained in terms
of a continuous rearrangement of soil particles, lead-
ing to a less active microstructure. On the other hand,
Chu and Mou (1973) and Pousada (1984) observed
an opposite effect, in which the amount of swelling
increased with the number of cycles. Day (1994) and
expansive strains, depending on the suction reached
during the drying paths. These tests show that the
equilibrium elastic state can be reached at the end of
several cycles.
The swelling behaviour of unsaturated expansive
clays has often been described through relatively
simple and empirical laws which relate the mate-
rial response to suction changes and applied stresses.
There are few formulations that integrate the main
aspects of their coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour
in a unified framework. In that sense, the model pro-
posed by Gens & Alonso (1992) and Alonso et al.
(1999) (BExM: Barcelona Expansive Model) can be
mentioned as a reference framework to analyse the
behaviour of unsaturated expansive materials which
takes into account the accumulation of strains during
the wetting and drying cycles.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
2.1 Studied material
The experimental site is in the region of Mignaloux-
Beauvoir, in proximity of Le Deffend, about 4 km
south-east of Poitiers. An in-situ coring was performed
to the depth of 7 metres for the geological and geotech-
nical investigations within the framework of ANR

847
Table 1. Properties of the clayey soil in the experimental
site of Le Deffend.
Liquid limit (%) 85.6
Plasticity index (%) 31.9
Specific gravity, Gs 2.60
Passing sieve 80 μm (%) 99%
Clay content (<2 μm) 72%
Table 2. Description of the followed stress paths for the
natural soil of Le Deffend.
Test Followed stress path
D1 A-B-E1 -H1 -E2 -H2 -E3 -H3 -E4 -H4 -E5 -K-L
D2 A-C-F1 -I1 -F2 -I2 -F3 -I3 -F4 -I4 -C’-P-A’
D3 A-D-G1 -J1 -G2 -J2 -G3 -J3 -G4 -J4 -M-N
ARGIC project (Vincent et al., 2006). The studied
clayey layer is located between 6.10 m and 6.80 m of
depth. The dry density of the clayey soil varies between
1.05 and 1.25 Mg/m3 and its water content is between
41 and 50 %. The total suction measured by the filter
paper technique (ASTM, 1995a) varies between 200
and 700 kPa. The geotechnical characteristics of the
clayey material are presented in Table 2. The mea-
surement of the swelling potential and the swelling
pressure was carried out on the soil from 6.25 m depth
by using the free swelling method (ASTM 1995b). The
sample presents an initial dry density of 1.20 Mg/m3
and an initial water content of 41%. The swelling
potential and the swelling pressure are 7% and 225 kPa
respectively.
2.2 Osmotic technique
The principle of this method is to put in contact the
soil sample and a solution of macromolecules with
the semi-permeable membrane between them (Zur,
1966). This membrane prevents the solution of macro-
molecules to move towards the sample but it allows
water exchange. Water movements, and thus suction
variations, are controlled by the osmosis phenomenon.
The higher the concentration of the solution, the higher
the imposed suction. The relation proposed by Cui
(1993):
s = 11 c2 (1)
where c is the concentration and s is the imposed
suction, was characterized and justified by the data
by various authors (Williams & Shaykewich, 1969;
Delage et al., 1998; Cuisinier & Masrouri, 2005).
The molecular weight of PEG (polyethylene glycol)
848
10
N H I J M
Suction (MPa)
1
A B C D P
Test D1
Test D2
0.1
Test D3
L E F G K
0.01
10 100 1000 10000
Vertical net stress (kPa)
Figure 1. Description of (σv -s) plan for the natural soil of
Le Deffend.
chosen for these tests is 6 000 Da (1 Dalton, Da =
1.6605 10−24 g) which makes it possible to impose
a maximum suction of 8.5 MPa. The study of the
hydromechanical behaviour of the natural mixture
used in this paper was performed in the osmotic
oedometer proposed by Kassif & Ben Shalom (1971)
and modified by Delage et al. (1992).
2.3 Followed stress path
The oedometric tests (D1, D2 and D3) were carried
out on the soil located between 6.25 and 6.35 m of
depth. The initial state of the samples is represented
by point A on Figure 1 for the three tests. This point
corresponds approximately to an initial dry density
of 1.22 Mg/m3 and an initial water content of 43%.
The initial height of the samples is 11.6 mm and their
diameter is 70 mm. The initial suction of the soil is
0.5 MPa. The initial vertical pressure applied is about
10 kPa. Three different loads were applied to the three
samples: 20 kPa (Point B) for the D1 test, 40 kPa
(point C) for the D2 test and 60 kPa (point D) for the
D3 test. Then, three successive cycles of wetting and
drying were applied between 0 and 2 MPa. The fol-
lowed stress paths of three tests (D1, D2 and D3) are
shown in Figure 1 and in Table 2. At the end of the suc-
cessive cycles, a loading/unloading cycle was applied
at three constant suctions. These applied suctions are
0 MPa for the test D1, 0.5 MPa for the test D2 and
2 MPa for the test D3.
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The volumetric strains of the three samples are pre-
sented in Figures 2a to 2c where the swelling strains are
considered positive. The samples present a swelling
accumulation at the end of the successive cycles and
the volumetric strains converge towards an equilibrium
stage. A completely reversible behaviour is reached for
the D3 test, whereas one or two additional cycles could
(a) 0.10 1.5
S = 0 MPa
E D1 ( σv=20 kPa) 1.4 S = 0.5 MPa
0.08 E45 E S = 2 MPa
Volumetric strain (–)

E3 1.3

Void ratio (–)

0.06 E2 C'
1.2
H4 J4
0.04 E1 H3 1.1
L, N, A'
H2 1
0.02
H1 P
A 0.9
0.00 KM
B 0.8
0.02 10 100 1000 10000
0.01 0.1 1 10 Vertical net stress (kPa)
Suction (MPa)

(b) 0.10 Figure 3. Compression curves at different suctions.

0.08 D2 ( σv =40 kPa)

Table 3. Mechanical parameters at different applied
Volumetric strain (–)

F4
0.06 F3 suctions.
F2
0.04 C'
F1 I4 Suction
I3
0.02 I2 Test (MPa) P0 (kPa) λ(s) κ
A I1
0.00 D1 0 500 0.19 0.04
C
0.02 D2 0.5 550 0.17 0.04
0.01 0.1 1 10 D3 2 700 0.16 0.04
Suction (MPa)

(c) 0.10

0.08 D3 ( σv =60 kPa)

Volumetric strain (–)

Free swelling tests let us find out the mechanical soil

0.06
G4 parameters at the saturated state without the influence
0.04 G3 of suction cycles. Accordingly, we can state that for
G2
0.02 G1 J2 this material, the wetting and drying cycles introduce
J3
J4
a swelling accumulation and therefore decrease the
0.00 A
D
J1 preconsolidation stress from 600 to 500 kPa. These
0.02 suction cycles do not influence the λ and κ values.
0.01 0.1 1 10
Suction (MPa)

Figure 2. Volumetric strains in cyclic controlled-suction

paths under the vertical stresses a) 20 kPa, b) 40 kPa and
c) 60 kPa for the natural soil of Le Deffand.
have been necessary for the tests D1 and D2 in order
to reach completely this elastic state.
Three loading/unloading cycles at three different
suctions (0, 0.5 and 2 MPa) were carried out after
having reached the equilibrium state at the end of the
successive suction cycles (Figure 3). The compression
curves made it possible to estimate the final mechani-
cal behaviour of soil, i.e. the virgin compression index
λ(s), the preconsolidation mean net stress p0 (s) and
the elastic compression index κ at the corresponding
imposed suction (Table 5). A suction increase tends
to rigidify the soil, which results in an increase in
the preconsolidation stress. The virgin compression
index λ(s) decreases monotonously when suction is
increased and the elastic compression index κ is con-
stant with suction. The majority of the results available
in the literature agree with these results.
4 NUMERICAL MODELLING
In this section, we study the influence of the hydraulic
change due to the variation of the climatic conditions
(evaporation and precipitation) on displacements of a
shallow concrete foundation based at 60 cm depth in
the natural soil of Le Deffend.
4.1 Soil and foundation Characteristics
The shallow foundation is located on a homogeneous
layer of clayey soil of Le Deffend (Figure 4). The
behavior of this soil is supposed to be elastoplastic and
represented by the BExM model (Alonso et al., 1999).
The parameters of this model were obtained based on
the test results. Table 4 summarizes the values of these
parameters.
The saturated hydraulic conductivity ks of this soil
is about 8 × 10−12 m/s. The soil water retention curve
parameters (van Genuchten, 1980) were determined
by fitting the experimental data. Table 5 summarizes
the values of these parameters.

849
 Zero flux 0.15 m Table 5. Clayey soil parameters.

2m 0.6 m Parameter Value

0.2 m

0.6 m
100 kPa
Saturated hydraulic conductivity ks 8 × 10−12 m/s
Concrete foundation Parameters of the soil water retention
curve (van Genuchten, 1980)
Sr − Sr(res)

Zero flux
= [1 + (αS)n ]−m
Zero flux

H=6m
Se =
Clayey Soil of Le Deffend
Sr(sat) − Sr(res)
α 0.00886 MPa−1
n 3.582
ux= 0 ux= 0 m = 1–1/n 0.721
Sr(res) 0.1
Sr(sat) 1
ux = 0 et uy = 0

Zero flux
Parameters of the hydraulic
L=7m
conductivity curve (Mualem, 1976;
van Genuchten, 1980)
Figure 4. Geometry and boundary conditions of the model.  m
2
√ 1
k = ks Se 1 − 1 − Sem
m 0.721
Table 4. Parameters of the BExM model for the clayey soil Sr(res) 0.1
of Le Deffend. Sr(sat) 1
Parameters of the macrostructure
Table 6. Parameters characterizing the foundation concrete
κ 0.04 (Burlion et al., 2005).
λ(0) 0.19 p∗0 600 kPa
r 0.7 s0 1 MPa Material Concrete
β 0.6 MPa−1 sh 0 MPa
κs 0.01 k 0.09 Elastic linear
pc 200 kPa M 0.57 Behaviour E = 27000 MPa
ν = 0.2
Parameters of the microstructure Specific gravity γs 2.65
Saturated hydraulic conductivity ks 10−12 m/s
κm 0.025 em 0.74
Parameters of the soil water retention
Interaction functions curve (van Genuchten, 1980)
Sr − Sr(res)
Se = = [1 + (αS)n ]−m
Sr(sat) − Sr(res)
fI 1 = 0.519 fD1 = −1.161
α 0.0235 MPa−1
fI 2 = −0.460 fD2 = 1.183
n 2.105
kI = 10 kD = 10
m = 1–1/n 0.525
xI = 0.15 xD = 0.15
Sr(res) 0
Sr(sat) 1
Parameters of the hydraulic
conductivity curve (Mualem, 1976;
The concrete foundation is assumed to exhibit linear van Genuchten, 1980)
 m
2
elastic behaviour. Its mechanical and hydraulic prop- √ 1
k = ks Se 1 − 1 − Sem
erties used in the calculations are presented in Table 6
(Burlion et al., 2005). m 0.17
Sr(res) 0
Sr(sat) 1

4.2 Modelling
A strip foundation subjected to a vertical stress of
300 kPa is modelled in a 2D plane-strain finite-element
analysis (Figure 4). The influence of the building
protection was taken into account. The soil and the
concrete were discretized by 4 noded-quadrilateral
finite elements. The mesh was made up of 1344
elements and 1419 nodes.
Before any loading, an initial stress state corre-
sponding to the soil weight was defined. Initially, the
soil of Le Deffend was almost saturated with initial
suction of 0.5 MPa.

850
Table 7. Description of calculation phases. Vertical displacements

Boundary condi- The vertical displacements predicted by the model at

Duration tions applied on different points under the base of the foundation are
Phase Description (month) the surface shown in Figure 6. The mechanical loading produces
a maximum displacement of 5,8 mm under the foun-
0 Initial state and Instantaneous __ dation (points B, C, D). During the evaporation phase,
mechanical the soil settles down gradually with time at different
loading points: 4 mm at point A, 5 mm at the point B, 6.34 mm
I Evaporation 6 Suction = 100 MPa
in the center of the foundation (point C), 7.71 mm at
II Rainfall 2 Suction = 0 MPa
the point D and 12 mm at the point E. For the points A

The boundary conditions of the model are as follows 0.65 m

(Figure 4): A: x = –1m E: x = 1 m
C
B: x = – 0.3 m x = 0 D: x = 0.3 m
– vertical and horizontal displacements are fixed at
6 m depth and horizontal displacements are fixed 4
on the model side borders;
– a zero water mass-flow is imposed on the lower soil 3.5
base and on the model side borders 3
– because of the building protection, a zero water
Suction (MPa)

2.5 A
mass-flow is imposed on the top left borders of the B
model (under the building); 2 C
– the nodes at the base of the foundation are loaded 1.5
D
E
up to a uniform vertical stress of 100 kPa, and a
1
null flow for water is imposed on the surface of the
foundation. 0.5
drying wetting
For these calculations two consecutive phases were 0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240
considered (Table 7). In each phase, a boundary con-
Time (day)
dition simulating a rainfall or a drought period was
imposed on the soil surface.
Figure 5. Suction variations versus time for the different
points of the studied swelling soil.
4.3 Simulations results
Suctions
0.65 m
The evolution of suction versus elapsed time for dif- A: x = –1m E: x = 1 m
ferent points of the soil located under the base of the C
B: x = – 0.3 m x = 0 D: x = 0.3 m
foundation is presented in Figure 5. The values of suc-
tion increase gradually with time during the drying 0

phase (phase I) and decrease quickly during the wet- –2

ting phase (phase II). For the points situated under the
Vertical displacement (mm)

–4
building and at the base of the foundation (points A, B,
C, D), the suction increase during the drying phase is –6 A
B
less than the other points (Point E) located at the same –8 C
level but outside the foundation, because the building D
–10
and its foundation prevent the flow entrance. E
For the points C, D and E, during the wetting phase –12
(Phase II) the suction initially increases before it starts –14
to decrease. This period of suction increase is even drying wetting
–16
more significant for the point E. This is due to the fact 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240
that it takes a certain time for the water to pass through Time (day)
the surface. For the points A and B the suction decrease
starts immediately once the null suction is applied on Figure 6. Vertical displacement versus time for the dif-
the surface because the soil under the building remains ferent points of the studied swelling soil located under the
almost saturated even after 8 months of drying. foundation.

851

Figure 7. Schematic rotation of the rigid foundation at the
end of the wetting phase.
and B, during the drying phase the soil initially expe-
rienced expansion because of the great amount of soil
settlement on the right-hand side of the foundation.
The rainfall phase produces soil heaving for the
points to the right from the foundation center (0.53 mm
at the point D and 1.16 mm at the point E) and a
settlement on the left of the center of the founda-
tion (4.22 mm at point A, 4 mm at the point B and
1.64 mm as in point C) due to the rotation of the foun-
dation (Figure 7). It can also be observed that a small
immediate wetting in a lower suction range produces
a significant settlement for points A and B (Figures 5
and 6).
5 CONCLUSION
This paper has presented an experimental study of a
natural swelling soil using oedometer tests by impos-
ing suction variations with the osmotic technique.
Three successive swelling and shrinking cycles were
applied in a suction range between 0 and 2 MPa under
different values of constant vertical net stress (20,
40 and 60 kPa). The test samples showed cumula-
tive swelling strains during the cycles. The volumetric
strains also reached an equilibrium stage which indi-
cates an elastic behaviour of the samples at the end of
the suction cycles.
Within the framework of BExM model, the hydro-
mechanical behaviour of a shallow foundation resting
on a swelling-shrinking soil is presented. The scope
of this study was to analyze the effects of a dry-
ing path (drought) and a wetting path (rainfall) on
soil settlement under a shallow foundation built on
a natural clayey soil. The results showed that the
852
numerical model is able to predict qualitatively soil
displacements during the different hydraulic changes.
The mechanical loading produces a maximum dis-
placement in the center of the foundation. The soil
(initially saturated) settles down during the 6 months
drying, with a maximum compression on the right-
hand of the foundation. The wetting period causes a
rotation of the rigid foundation and consequently a
compression of the soil located under the building.
At this stage, it would be interesting to have the
in-situ measurements of the volumetric deformations
during the wetting and drying cycles in order to val-
idate the obtained numerical results for the natural
swelling soil.
REFERENCES
Al-homoud, A.S., Basma, A.A., Husein Malkawi, A.I. &
AL Bashabsheh, M.A. 1995. Cyclic swelling behav-
ior of clays. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 121:
562–565.
Alonso, E.E., Vaunat, J. & Gens, A. 1999. Modelling the
mechanical behaviour of expansive clays. Engineering
Geology, vol. 54: 173–183.
Alonso, E.E., Romero, E. Hoffemann, C. & García-
Escudero, E., 2005. Expansive bentonite/sand mixtures in
cyclic controlled suction drying and wetting. Engineering
Geology, 81: 213–226.
ASTM D 5298-94, 1995a. Standard test method for mea-
surement of soil potential (suction) using filter paper, vol.
4.09: 154–159.
ASTM D 4546-90, 1995b. One-dimensional swell or settle-
ment potential of cohesive soils, vol. 4.08: 693–699.
Basma, A.A., Al-Homoud, A.S., Husein Malkawi, A.I. &
Al-Bashabsheh, M.A., 1996. Swelling-shrinkage behav-
ior of natural expansive clays. Applied Clay Science, 11
(2–4): 211–227.
Burlion, N., Bourgeois, F. & Shao, J.F. 2005. Effects of des-
iccation on mechanical behaviour of concrete. Cements &
Concrete Composites; 27: 367–379.
Chu, T.Y. & Mou, C.H. 1973. Volume change characteristics
of expansive soils determined by controlled suction tests.
Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Expansive Soils, Haïfa, 2: 177–185.
Cui, Y.J. 1993. Étude du comportement d’un limon compacté
non saturé et de sa modélisation dans un cadre élasto-
plastique. Doctoral Thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et
Chaussées, Paris, France.
Cuisinier, O. Masrouri, F. 2005. Hydromechanical behavior
of a compacted swelling soil over a wide suction range.
Engineering Geology, 81: 204–212.
Day, R.W. 1994. Swell-shrink behavior of compacted clay.
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 120: 618–623.
Dif, A.E. & Bluemel, W.F. 1991. Expansive soils under cyclic
drying and wetting. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 14:
96–102.
Delage, P., Suraj Da Silva, G.P.R. & De Laure, E., 1992.
Suction controlled testing of non-saturated soils with an
osmotic consolidometer. Proc. of the 7th Int. Conf. on
Expansive Soils, Dallas, 206–211.
Delage, P., Howat, M.D. & Cui, Y.J. 1998. The relationship
between suction and the swelling properties in a heav-
ily compacted swelling clay. Engineering Geology, 50:
31–48.
Gens, A. & Alonso, E.E. 1992. A framework for the
behaviour of unsaturated expansive clays. Revue Cana-
dienne de Géotechnique, 29: 1013–1032.
Kassif, G. & Ben Shalom, A. 1971. Experimental relation-
ship between swell pressure and suction. Géotechnique,
21: 245–255.
Mualem, Y. 1976. A new model for predicting the
hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.
Water Resources Research, 12: 513–522.
Pousada, E. 1984. Deformabilidad de arcillas expansivas
bajo succión controlada. Doctoral Thesis, Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid, Spain.
Push, R. 1982. Mineral-water interactions and their influ-
ence on the physical behaviour of highly compacted
Na-bentonite. Revue Canadienne de Géotechnique,
19:381–387.
853
Romero, E., Lloret, A. & Gens, A. 1999. Water permeability,
water retention and microstructure of unsaturated Boom
clay. Engineering Geology, 54: 117–127.
van Genuchten, M.TH. 1980. A closed-form equation for
predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Society American Journal; 44: 892–898.
Vincent, M., Bouchut, J., Fleureau, J.M., Masrouri, F.,
Oppenheim, E., Heck, J.V., Ruaux, N. Le Roy, S.,
Dubus, I. & Surdyk, N., 2006. Étude des mécanismes de
déclenchement du phénomène de retrait-gonflement des
sols argileux et de ses interactions avec le bâti. Rapport
final du projet RGC& U, BRGM/RP-54862-FR, Octobre,
2006.
Williams, J. & Shaykewich, C.F. 1969. An evaluation of
polyethyleneglycol (PEG) 6000 and PEG 20 000 in the
osmotic control of soil water matric potential. Canadian
Journal of Soil Science, 49: 397–401.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical modelling of shallow foundations on swelling clay soil

using the swelling equilibrium limit

G.A. Siemens
GeoEngineering Centre at Queen’s-RMC, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Canada

J.A. Blatz
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

ABSTRACT: Damage caused to shallow foundations constructed on swelling clay soil is extensive and is
usually observed as deformations and cracks in the superstructure as well as basement walls and floor. Generally
this is due to swelling soil responding to changes in the surrounding moisture content regime as a result of
removal of vegetation including trees and grasses as well as covering the ground with a basement. Both lead
to increases in water content in a soil with swell potential. Siemens and Blatz (2008) reported on a new Swell
Equilibrium Limit (SEL) for swelling soil. This limit forms an upper bound for volume expansion and stress
increase in specific volume-mean stress (V-p) space. The final location along the SEL depends on the initial
conditions and boundary conditions encountered during wetting. Boundary conditions can range from constant
stress to constant volume with deformation boundary conditions between the two extremes. In this paper, the
SEL is formulated in a numerical modelling program to model construction and long-term behaviour of shallow
foundations constructed on swelling clay soils. The attempt is intended to be a simplified modelling approach
to capture complex swelling mechanisms by applying an elastic solution to model volume changes due to both
total stress and suction. Triaxial and oedometer results are used to calibrate and validate the numerical model as
well as illustrate the approach. Using the validated model, deformations and swelling induced stresses around
a shallow foundation and basement constructed in swelling clay soil are modelled. Two different scenarios are
modelled including removal of vegetation followed by basement construction, and influence of drainage around a
building. Model results are interpreted and mitigation measures proposed to attenuate deformations and swelling
induced stresses.

1 INTRODUCTION

Swelling soils are found in many locations around the

world. They are often used in geoenvironmental appli-
cations for protection of the environment from contam-
inants. Swelling soils are also responsible for extensive
damage to structures founded in them. In particular,
light-framed structures such as residential buildings
are susceptible to ground movements as shown in
Figure 1. This is due to the relatively light loads
provided by the buildings combined with changes in
suction in the near-surface environment. Figure 1 illus-
trates potential problems that can occur to foundations
on swelling soil. Significant heave is observed under
the house due to wetting that will occur since the
ground is now covered by the basement. Previously
a vegetative cover contributed to increased suction
due to evapotranspiration. On the right side, shrink- Figure 1. Damage to houses caused by ground movements
age occurs in response to the suction induced by the of swelling soils (Domaschuk, 1986).

855
tree roots. As the tree grows taller and its root system
expands, this effect increases. The result is differen-
tial displacements in the foundation that cause damage
to the adjacent structure. Unsuspecting home owners
can unknowingly increase the effect of swelling soil
by changing vegetation as well local drainage around
their homes. Incurred costs to fix damages after they
have occurred are quite significant in relation to the
value of standard homes. Therefore, homeowners have
the choice to live with the damage, periodically per-
form surficial repairs, or go through with costly and
intrusive remediation measures. A change in founda-
tion type, such as piles, can be required and other more
drastic measures are also attempted.
This paper investigates the effect of swelling on
a residential foundation through numerical modelling
of the Swell Equilibrium Limit (SEL, Siemens 2006,
Siemens and Blatz 2008). The SEL was discovered
through laboratory testing of a highly swelling soil that
investigated the influence of hydraulic and mechani-
cal boundary conditions on the behaviour of swelling
soil during infiltration. This model is intended to
be a simplified approach for researchers and practi-
tioners to predict displacements and swelling induced
stresses in swelling soil. In this paper, results from the
laboratory testing are used to calibrate and validate
the SEL in a finite element modelling program. The
limit is then formulated for Lake Agassiz Clay using
oedometer results and two different scenarios for a
shallow foundation including basement construction
and the influence of ponding around a building are
modelled. Numerical modelling shows that, despite
the significant assumptions and simplified approach
of the formulation, the SEL can be used to predict
plausible displacements and swelling induced stresses
around shallow foundations and basement walls.
2 SWELL EQUILIBRIUM LIMIT
The SEL is an upper bound on expansion and swelling
induced stresses that can occur during infiltration
or wetting (increasing water content). As a swelling
soil increases in water content, water is taken up by
the clay particles and they expand at the molecular
level. Large-scale behaviour of the soil depends on
the boundary conditions imposed. Boundary condi-
tions range from constant stress to constant volume
with an infinite number of possibilities between that
include both expansion and stress increase. Regardless
of the applied boundary condition, the same mecha-
nism of water uptake by the clay particles occurs at the
pore scale. The SEL gives evidence for this unifying
concept for swelling soil. Displacements, stresses, and
water content are predicted by the SEL.
In the field, constant stress boundary condi-
tions are found beneath shallow foundations. Strictly
856
speaking, examples of constant volume boundary
conditions are rare since soil requires some finite
displacement in order to mobilize strength however
these conditions are approached in examples such as
a reinforced retaining wall or adjacent to a rigid wall.
2.1 Swell Equilibrium Limit (SEL) development
Laboratory evidence for the SEL is displayed in
Figure 2, which plots specific volume versus mean
stress (V-p) from laboratory tests on a highly swelling
material known as Bentonite Sand Buffer (BSB, details
of the laboratory testing can be found in Siemens
and Blatz 2008 and Siemens 2006). Boundary con-
ditions ranging from constant mean stress (CMS) to
constant volume (CV) as well as constant stiffness
(CS25 and CS75), which is a spring-type bound-
ary condition that includes both increasing volume
and stress were imposed on the soil during wetting.
Each specimen was prepared in the same manner and
brought to the same stress state prior to wetting and,
therefore, the influence of boundary conditions can
be viewed directly. The CMS specimen experiences
the greatest expansion while the CV specimen expe-
riences the highest swelling induced stresses, which
are required to maintain initial volume. The constant
stiffness specimens also swell up to the limit.
The line on the figure is the SEL which was deter-
mined by fitting a line to the final stress, water content
and volume states that occurred during the physi-
cal tests. Siemens and Blatz (2008) showed the SEL
agreed with 1-D ‘‘swell pressure’’ measurements that
were converted to equilibrium mean stresses using an
assumption of elasticity. All specimens approached
the SEL during wetting and the point at which they
meet the limit is determined by their initial stress and
volume conditions as well as the boundary conditions
Figure 2. Laboratory evidence for the Swell Equilibrium
Limit (SEL) plotted in total specific volume versus mean
stress (V-p) space (after Siemens and Blatz 2008).
imposed during wetting. The SEL is the upper bound
on expansion and swelling induced stresses observed
in the tests shown (250 kPa pre-wetting mean stress)
as well as in tests with pre-wetting mean stress up
to 1500 kPa. In general, as pre-wetting mean stress
increases, potential expansion as well as swelling
induced stresses decreases. This is because of the
greater confining stresses prior to contact with water.

3 NUMERICAL FORMULATION

The finite element programs SIGMA/W and SEEP/W

(GeoStudio 2007) were used to formulate the Swell
Equilibrium Limit (SEL). SIGMA/W was used to
determine stresses and deformations while pore pres-
sure modelling was performed using SEEP/W.

3.1 Laboratory test calibration and validation

The first step was to calibrate and validate the SEL
from the laboratory samples. An axi-symmetric finite
element model was used to model the 50 mm diameter
by 100 mm tall specimens.
Original development of the SEL relied on elasticity
and a linear elastic constitutive model was selected for
the swelling soil. Laboratory results from the tests with
pre-wetting mean stresses of 250 kPa, 1000 kPa, and
1500 kPa tests were used to calibrate the SEL and then
the model was validated using the 500 kPa results.
Modelling was completed in a three-step process
that included isotropic compression, wetting under
constant mean stress boundary conditions and finally
recompression to pre-swelling volume. Schematics of
the experimental and modelling stress-volume paths
are shown in Figure 3. Isotropic compression and free
swell wetting paths are modelled directly. Isotropic
compression models consist of modelling increasing
mean stress and corresponding decrease in suction.
Wetting under a CMS boundary modelled the pore
pressure change from the measured pre-wetting suc-
tion to the final pore pressure applied during the
experiments. This assumes air pressure is constant
and the resulting deformations are only due to changes
in the pore water pressure. Modelling CV infiltration
involved a final step following free swell. The addi-
tional step was recompression of the specimen to initial
volume. In the physical testing, CV conditions were
automatically controlled as water ingress occurred.
The selected analysis type did not allow this to be mod-
elled directly so this recompression step was required.
The intent of the model is to represent CMS and CV
infiltration stress-volume paths using an elastic con-
stitutive model. In each case this final state is achieved
using an elastic model to represent the experimental
results.
Figure 3. Schematics of laboratory and model stress-
volume paths in specific volume-mean stress (V-p) and
suction-mean stress spaces.
3.1.1 Isotropic compression
Isotropic compression modelling consisted of increas-
ing confining stress incrementally. Elasticity param-
eters were taken from Chandler (2000) (E =
30,000 kPa, ν = 0.18). In parallel to the stress-
deformation modelling, steady-state groundwater
models were performed to represent suction measure-
ments at the beginning and end of isotropic compres-
sion at each level. Numerical results compared very
well with the laboratory measurements however since
the purpose of this paper is to display the SEL the
isotropic results will not be included here.
3.1.2 Constant mean stress wetting
Modelling wetting at constant mean stress represented
the CMS laboratory tests. As mentioned earlier, as
pre-wetting isotropic stress level is increased, reduced
expansion during wetting was observed. In the numer-
ical model, this was represented by varying Young’s
Modulus with pre-wetting mean stress while holding
Poisson’s ratio constant. Throughout each individ-
ual model, Young’s Modulus was held constant. The
interpreted Young’s Modulus versus pre-wetting mean

857
stress relationship is shown in Figure 4. In the experi-
mental results, reduced expansion was observed when
pre-wetting mean stress was increased even though
the change in suction was relatively similar. Reduced
expansion corresponds with increasing stiffness as
shown in Figure 4.
In SIGMA/W, the ‘‘Volume Change’’ Analysis Type
requires an initial stress condition as well as initial
and final pore pressures to calculate volume changes.
Total stresses are not permitted to change during the
analysis. The stress-volume paths are shown schemat-
ically in Figure 3. Initial pore pressures were known
from suction measurements in the laboratory tests.
The final pore pressure was taken as the water pres-
sure applied during wetting (200 kPa), which assumed
the specimen reached equilibrium throughout. In this
analysis type, displacements due to positive pore pres-
sure changes are calculated using Young’s Modulus
(E). Displacements due to changes in negative pore
pressure are calculated using the suction modulus, H,
which is set by the program as H = E/(1 − 2υ).
Therefore, change in volume due to changes in pore
water pressure (both positive and negative) was deter-
mined from elastic constitutive models. For calibra-
tion, Young’s Modulus (and therefore the calculated
suction modulus) was modified until volume changes
observed during CMS wetting were modelled. Since
total stresses were held constant, deformations mod-
elled were entirely due to pore water pressure changes.
As shown in Figure 4, the free swell modulus
increases with increasing mean stress as anticipated.
Physically this represents a stiffer material that expe-
riences less expansion as pre-wetting mean stress
increases. A second order polynomial was fit to the
250 kPa, 1000 kPa, and 1500 kPa tests and the result-
ing equation was used to calculate the elastic modulus
for the 500 kPa test. Again, good agreement was found
between the model and physical results.
Figure 4. Variation of constant mean stress and recom-
pression moduli versus pre-wetting mean stress.
858
3.1.3 Recompression
The third step of modelling was recompression to
pre-swelling volume to model the swelling induced
stresses as illustrated in Figure 3. The constant mean
stress model results were used as initial conditions
in the models and displacement boundary conditions
were imposed to the periphery of the cylindrical spec-
imens to bring them back to their pre-wetting volume.
As shown in Figure 3, pore pressures were held
constant in this step. In the physical tests, swelling-
induced stress changes were less than the changes in
suction observed during wetting. This is represented in
the numerical model as a lower ‘‘recompression mod-
ulus’’ relative to the ‘‘free swell modulus’’ as observed
in Figure 4. In the CV wetting experiments, volume
was held constant. Therefore the recompression mod-
ulus was varied to calibrate against swelling-induced
stresses measured in the physical tests. Once again,
the 250 kPa, 1000 kPa, and 1500 kPa tests were
used to calibrate the recompression modulus func-
tion, which was validated with the 500 kPa test.
Similar to the free swell modulus, the recompres-
sion modulus increases with increasing mean stress.
This is representative of a stiffer material. Interest-
ingly, although the recompression modulus is less
than the free swell modulus, at lower stresses, they
appear to converge (Figure 4). As mentioned above the
swelling induced stresses observed during CV wetting
were significantly less than the pore pressure change.
From the free swell and recompression modulus rela-
tionships, this behaviour is confirmed with the free
swell moduli being consistently 5–7x greater than the
recompression moduli.
3.2 Lake Agassiz Clay calibration
Following calibration and validation of the SEL using
the laboratory tests, the model was also calibrated for
Lake Agassiz Clay. The resulting parameters could
then be used directly in basement models. First the
SEL was calculated for Lake Agassiz Clay by deter-
mining the EMDD from its montmorillonite content of
30% (Dixon et al. 2002) as well as elasticity parame-
ters given in Graham and Houlsby (1983). Infiltration
tests such as those used to develop the SEL have not
been performed on Lake Agassiz Clay specimens so
the model was calibrated using a free swell oedometer
test that allowed vertical swell under a nominal load
followed by compression to original volume. Simi-
lar to above, models were completed in a three-step
process of insitu stresses, free swell and recompres-
sion. The results agreed with earlier observations
that the free swell modulus is relatively greater than
the recompression modulus although they are almost
equal (Efreeswell = 1.8 MPa, Erecompression = 1.2 MPa)
for Lake Agassiz Clay at low initial stresses.
4 BASEMENT MODEL 20

Following calibration of the SEL for Lake Agas-

siz Clay, the impact of changing pore pressure Surface ponding
15 0
regimes due to construction of a residential basement
was considered to predict displacements as well as

Local Elevation (m)

0 sec
swelling induced stresses. Parameters used in the base-
ment model were taken from the previous calibration 10
exercise. 40

4.1 Insitu
5
An insitu model was completed to calculate the exist-
ing stresses prior to construction and following excava- 80
tion of the basement. Half the basement was modelled
in two-dimensional space with the depth of 2 m and 0
0 5 10 15 20
total width of 10 m. To ensure validity of the mechan-
Distance (m)
ical parameters, similar suction levels were used as
a boundary condition at the surface (150 kPa suc-
tion) and the groundwater table was maintained at 5 m Figure 6. Pore pressure distribution for ponding underneath
foundation.
depth. The initial pore pressure conditions are shown
in Figure 5.
40

4.2 Basement construction

Vertical displacement (mm)

30
The first scenario investigated is basement construc-
tion. During construction, a vapour barrier is placed 20
below the floor to prevent moisture from entering
40.7 mm differential displacement
the house. As a result, water vapour can be trapped
10
below the floor and could result in development of
ponding, especially if the drainage plumbing becomes
0
clogged. Ponding was modelled using SEEP/W as
a zero pore pressure boundary at the base of the
-10
excavation while the surface boundary condition was 0 1 2 3 4 5
maintained at 150 kPa suction. The resulting pore pres- Distance (m)
sure distribution is shown in Figure 6 and the induced
displacements below the foundation are shown in Figure 7. Vertical displacements as a result of ponding at
foundation base.

20
Figure 7. Ponding results in rising of the groundwater
table at the base of the foundation. The vertical dis-
150 kPa suction at surface placements as a result of increase in pore pressure are
15 34.6 mm at the centre of the house with some compres-
-120 sion observed at the edge. The resulting differential
Local Elevation (m)

-80 displacements of over 40 mm over a length of just 5 m

-40 would be extremely damaging to the above structure.
10
0 sec 0
4.3 Drainage modelling
40
The second scenario considers the effect of poor
5 drainage adjacent to a house. Following construction,
80
homeowners can inadvertently affect their foundation
120
performance through changing vegetation as well as
having the ground slope towards the house. To inves-
0
0 5 10 15 20 tigate the swelling induced stresses along side a house
Distance (m) foundation caused by poor drainage or a loss of veg-
etation, ponding at the surface was modelled. This
Figure 5. Initial pore pressure distribution. would also be representative of a long-term rain event

859
that raises the water table to the surface. Similar to the
calibration and validation modelling procedures, first
a free swell model was performed and then horizon-
tal displacement boundary conditions were imposed
along the side of the basement wall to maintain pre-
swell conditions. The result was swelling induced
stresses that a rigid wall foundation would experience.
The free swell model results including a deformation
mesh (1x magnification) are shown in Figure 8 and the
resulting stresses are plotted in Figure 9. Horizontal
displacements as high as 0.24 m are shown in Figure 8
and the resulting swelling induced stresses range from
60–110 kPa which is greater that the theoretical passive
earth pressures (c = 5 kPa, φ = 15◦ ). In the long-
term, these high horizontal pressures could result in
damaging deformations to the house foundation.
20
15 .24 .18
-0 -0
12
-0.
Local Elevation (m)
5 CONCLUSIONS
Environmental factors play an important role in perfor-
mance of a foundation on swelling soil. In this paper,
the Swell Equilibrium Limit (SEL) was formulated
for Bentonite Sand Buffer and Lake Agassiz Clay in
a finite element modelling program. The calibration
and validation procedure showed the SEL was giv-
ing results as anticipated with increasing stiffness with
increasing mean stress and also represented the phys-
ical tests. The SEL was then used to model a house
foundation under two scenarios including construction
and surface ponding. The model predicted differen-
tial deformations and swelling induced stresses that
represent plausible field conditions.
This model shows the destructive deformations
and stresses that can result from environmental load-
ings and (relatively) low changes in suction. More
extreme changes in suction would increase the effects.
To prevent potential problems effort is required prior
to construction. Ideally, surface vegetation would be
removed and the surface covered with a vapour barrier
so the foundation soil could come into equilibrium

with the new hydraulic boundary conditions prior to

-0.06
construction.
10

REFERENCES
0
5
Dixon, D.A., Chandler, N.A. and Baumgartner, P. 2002.
The influence of groundwater salinity and influences on
the performance of potential backfill materials. In Pro-
ceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Design
0 and Construction of Final Repositories, Backfilling in
0 5 10 15 20
Radioactive Waste Disposal, Brussels, March 2002.
Distance (m)
ONDRAF/NIRAS. Transactions, Session IV, paper 9.
Chandler, N.A. 2000. Water inflow calculations for the
Figure 8. Horizontal deformations induced from surface isothermal buffer-rock-concrete plug interaction test.
ponding and a deformation mesh (1x magnification). Ontario Power Generation Report Number: 06819-REP-
01200-10046-R0, 40 pp.
Domaschuk, L. 1986. Is your house suffering? Cantext
15 Publications, 18 pp.
Geo-slope international Ltd. 2007. Stress Deformation Mod-
eling with SIGMA/W 2007, An Engineering Methodol-
ogy, 2nd Edition, 317 pp.
Local elevation (m)

Graham, J. and Houlsby, G.T. 1983. Anisotropic elasticity of

a natural clay. Geotechnique, 33(2): 165–180.
14 Siemens, G.A. and Blatz, J.A. 2008. Examination of
boundary condition influence on hydraulic-mechanical
behaviour of an unsaturated swelling soil. Submitted to
Canadian Geotechnical Journal. In review.
Horizontal total stress Siemens, G.A. 2006. The influence of boundary conditions
on the hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of an unsatu-
13 rated swelling soil. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Civil
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB.
Stress (kPa) Available for download at http://www. collectionscanada.
ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/MWU/TC-MWU-262.pdf
Figure 9. Horizontal swelling induced stress distribu-
tion and theoretical passive earth pressures plotted for
comparison.

860
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Meshfree modelling of two-dimensional contaminant transport through

unsaturated porous media

R. Praveen Kumar, G.R. Dodagoudar & B.N. Rao

Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a new numerical tool to model two-dimensional contaminant transport
through unsaturated porous media using a meshfree method, called the Element Free Galerkin Method (EFGM).
In the EFGM, an approximate solution is constructed entirely in terms of a set of nodes and no characterization
of the interrelationship of the nodes is needed. The advection-dispersion equation with sorption is considered
to illustrate the applicability of the EFGM. The Galerkin weak form of the governing equation is formulated
using 2D meshfree shape functions constructed using moving least square approximants, which are constructed
by using a weight function, a linear basis function and a set of non-constant coefficients. MATLAB code is
developed to obtain the numerical solution. Two numerical examples are presented and the results are compared
with those obtained from the finite element method.

1 INTRODUCTION (2000) is used in the meshfree analysis. The Lagrange

Interest in the unsaturated zone, which plays an inex-
tricable role in many aspects of hydrology, has dra-
matically increased in recent years because of growing
concern that the quality of the subsurface environment
is being adversely affected by the disposal of a wide
variety of domestic and industrial wastes on the sur-
face. Though significant progress has been made in
modelling contaminant transport through unsaturated
porous media, it is still a formidable task as the volu-
metric water content, the coefficient of hydrodynamic
dispersion, and the discharge velocity vary both in
space and time.
In recent years a group of new numerical methods
called Meshfree methods have been developed; whose
main aim is to eliminate the structure of the mesh and
construct the approximate solutions for the discrete
equation entirely in terms of a set of nodes. Numerical
models based on the meshfree methods are not being
extensively used for modelling the transport processes
in unsaturated porous media. Hence, there is a need to
understand the potential of meshfree methods properly
and to formulate a numerical model to represent the
migration of contaminants through unsaturated porous
media.
The objective of this paper is to propose a
methodology for modelling the two-dimensional
advection—dispersion—sorption—decay processes
through unsaturated porous media using the Element
Free Galerkin Method (EFGM). Student’s t distri-
bution weight function proposed by Rao & Rahman
multiplier method is used to enforce the essential
boundary conditions. A MATLAB program has been
developed to implement the procedure of the EFGM
for modelling the contaminant migration. The results
of the EFGM are compared with standard finite
element results.
2 ELEMENT FREE GALERKIN METHOD
The EFGM is a meshfree method because only a set of
nodes and a description of the model’s boundary are
required to generate the discrete equations. The EFGM
employs moving least-square (MLS) approximants
as formulated by Lancaster & Salkauskas (1981) to
approximate the function C(x) with C h (x) in which
the C(x) is the contaminant concentration at x, where
x is a position coordinate. More details of the EFGM
can be found elsewhere (e.g. Dolbow & Belytschko,
1998). According to the moving least squares (MLS)
proposed by Lancaster and Salkauskas (1981), the
approximation, C h (x) of C(x) is:
"
n
C(x) ∼
= C h (x) = I (x)CI = ΦC (1)
I =1
where n is numbers nodes in the domain.
MLS shape function: Φ = {1 , 2 , 3 , . . . , n } (2)

861
 The Student’s t distribution weight function is discharge (Darcy) velocity, C0 and g are the concentra-
written in terms of normalized radius r as tion of contaminant at the source and the concentration
⎧     ⎫ gradient at the exit boundary respectively, ns is a unit
(1 + β) (1 + β)
⎪ 2 2 −
⎨ (1 + β r ) 2 − (1 + β 2 )
− 2 ⎪
⎬ normal to the domain  and, S and E are the portions
−

(1 + β) r ≤ 1 of the boundary  where the source concentration and
w(r) = 1 − (1 + β 2 ) 2
⎪
⎩ ⎪
⎭ concentration gradient are prescribed.
0 r > 1 The hydrodynamic properties of the soil are
described by the functions of van Genuchten model
(3) (1980):
where β is the parameter controlling the shape of the
weight function and ⎧ 1
⎪
⎨ !1 − 1/χ if h ≤ 0
S= 1 + (α |h|)χ (7a)
x − xI  ⎪
x = [x, y] ; r= (4) ⎩
dmax zI 1 if h ≥ 0

in which xI is the sampling point, dmax is the scaling !2

factor and zI is the distance to the nearest node in K = Ks (S)0.5 1 − (1 − S (χ/χ−1) )(1−(1/χ))
the neighbourhood. As the shape functions of the for χ>1 (7b)
EFGM do not satisfy the Kronecker delta criterion,
the Lagrange multiplier technique (e.g. Dolbow &
Belytschko, 1998) is used to enforce the essential and
(Dirichlet) boundary conditions.
∂θ −α(θs − θr ) 1/
= S (1 − S 1/ )
3 DISCRETISATION OF GOVERNING ∂x 1−
EQUATIONS
where  = 1 − 1/χ (7c)
A two-dimensional form of the governing equa-
tion for contaminant migration through unsaturated where θr and θs are the residual and saturated vol-
porous media is expressed as: umetric water contents of the soil respectively, S is
    the degree of saturation of the soil, K and KS are the
∂ ∂ ∂C ∂ ∂C hydraulic conductivities of the soil at pressure head
(RθC) = θ DL + θ DT
∂t ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y h, and at saturation respectively and, α and χ are
∂ the empirical constants determining the shape of the
− (uC) − ηθC (5) function.
∂x The weak form of Equation (5) with boundary
ρd Kd conditions is expressed as
R=1+
θ
   
The initial and boundary conditions are: ∂ ∂C
δC T θDL d
∂x ∂x
C (x, y, 0) = Ci ∀ (x, y) ∈  (6a) 
   
∂ ∂C
C (x, y, 0) = C0 on s (Dirichlet boundary conditions) + δC T θDT d
∂x ∂x
(6b) 

∇ (C) · nS = g on E (Neumann boundary conditions) L   L

∂θ ∂C ∂
(6c) + δC T
DL dx − δC T (uC)dx
∂x ∂x ∂x
0 0
where (x, y) are the spatial coordinates, θ is the volu-  
∂
metric water content of the soil, ρd is the bulk density − δC T (RθC)d − δC T ηθC d
of the soil, η is the decay constant, Kd is the distribution ∂t
 
coefficient, C is the concentration of contaminant, Ci  
is the initial concentration of contaminant, DL and DT − δλT(C − C0 )d − λT δC d = 0 (8)
are the longitudinal and transverse dispersion coeffi-
cients respectively, R is the retardation factor, u is the S S

862
where λ is a Lagrangian multiplier for enforcing the The δC and δλ are arbitrary values and by
essential boundary conditions and is expressed by: using Equations (1) and (2) in the discretisation of
Equation (11), the following relationship is obtained
λ(x) = NK (κ)λI , x ∈ s (9a) [Equation (12)]:
! !
δλ(x) = NK (κ)δλI , x ∈ s (9b) K (1) {C} + K (2) {C},t + [G] {λ} = {Q}
!
G T {C} = {q} (12)
where NK (κ) is a Lagrange interpolant and κ is the
arc length along the boundary; the repeated indices where
designate summations. ⎡
T

⎤
By using the divergence theorem, Equation (8) is I ,x DL 0 I ,x
⎢ θ ⎥
written as: ⎢ J ,y 0 DT J ,y ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢
T

T
⎥
  ⎢
⎢ I I ,x I I ⎥
⎥
∂C ∂C  ⎢ +  u + η ⎥
δC T θ DL ns ds + δC T θ DT ns ds ⎢ J J ,x J J ⎥
∂x ∂y K IJ
(1)
= ⎢⎢
⎥ d
⎥
E E ⎢
T
⎥
 ⎢ I I ,x ⎥
⎢ + ⎥
  T L   ⎢ J J ,x ⎥
∂C ∂C T ∂θ ∂C ⎢
⎢ 
⎥
⎥
− δ θ DL d − δC DL dx ⎣  ⎦
∂x ∂x ∂x ∂x −α(θs − θr ) 1/
 0 D S (1 − S 1/ )
1−
  T L
∂C ∂C ∂ (13a)
− δ θDT d − δC T (uC) dx
∂x ∂y ∂x  
T


 
0
I I
∂ K (2)
IJ = θR d (13b)
J J
− δC ηθCd −
T
δC (Rθ C) d
T

∂t 
 
  G IK = I NK d (13c)
− δλT (C − C0 )d − λT δCd = 0 (10) s
S S 
QI = I Dgd (13d)
Equation (10) can be split into two parts: E

 
qK = NK C0 d (13e)
δC,xT θ DL C,x d + δC,yT θ DT C,y d
s
 
where I (x) is the MLS shape function.
L L Using the Crank-Nicholson method for time
+ δC T θ,x DL C,x dx + δC T uC,x dx approximation, Equation (12) can be written as
0 0  ∗
   
  K (1) + K (2) G Cn Rn
= (14)
+ δC T ηθC d + δC T Rθ C,t d G T
0 λ q
 
  where
+ λ δCd =
T
δC θ DL gx d
T
Rn = ([K (2) ] − (1 − ε)t[K (1) ]){C}n−1
S E
+ εt{Q}n + (1 − ε)t{Q}n−1 (15a)

+ δC θ DT gy d
T
(11a) ∗
K (1) = εt[K (1) ] (15b)
E
 in which ε is the constant varying between 0 and 1, C n
δλ (C − C0 ) d = 0
T
(11b) and C n−1 are the nodal concentrations at start and end
of the time increment and, Qn and Qn−1 are the nodal
S mass fluxes at start and end of the time increment.

863
4 NUMERICAL EXAMPLES: RESULTS methodology and they are: (1) Advection domi-
nant transport and (2) Advection-dispersion-sorption-
The analysis procedure of the EFGM is impleneted decay. The source of the contaminant is assumed to be
through MATLAB for modelling contaminant trans- continuous.
port through unsaturated homogenous porous media. In the analysis, a central finite difference scheme
Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the (ε = 0.5) is used for time integration. In the EFGM,
a linear basis function is used for constructing the
Table 1. Data used for advection dominant transport. shape functions. As the shape functions are linear, it is
required to take the shape parameter β = 2 in the
Parameter Value weight function. Based on the parametric study, it has
been found that dmax = 2.5 for the present analysis
Length of reach (cm) 40 and the same value is used in the EFGM.
Width of reach (cm) 1.0
Initial condition for flow (cm) −40
Boundary condition for flow at upper surface (cm) 0.0 4.1 Example 1: advection dominant transport
Boundary condition for flow at bottom surface (cm) −40
Saturated volumetric water content 0.368 This example presents the case of contaminant trans-
Residual volumetric water content 0.102 port for which advection is highly dominant [Peclet
Saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil (cm/hr) 0.332
α (cm−1 ) 0.033
χ 2.0
Longitudinal dispersivity (cm) 0.005
Transverse dispersivity (cm) 0.005
Total duration of simulation (hours) 24
Initial concentration (μg/cm3 ) 0.0
Concentration at source boundary (μg/cm3 ) 1.0

Figure 1. Sketch of the problem domain—example 1. Figure 2. Finite element mesh—example 1.

864
 FEM (VS2DTI) as shown in Figure 2. The centerline concentration
1.2
EFGM profiles obtained from both the FEM and EFGM are
1.0 shown in Figure 3. It is seen from the figure that
the results obtained from the present EFGM model
Normalised Concentration

0.8 for advection dominated problem are stable. Thus,

it ensures that the model is free from numerical
0.6
oscillations and insensitive to Peclet constraints.
0.4

0.2 4.2 Example 2: advection-dispersion-

sorption-decay
0.0
The parameters used for this example are given in
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Table 2. The problem domain is shown in Figure 4. The
Longitudinal Distance (cm) EFGM model has been divided into 41× 12 uniformly
spaced nodes and the problem domain is divided into
Figure 3. Normalised concentration profiles along the 440 cells. Nodes of the background mesh are chosen
centreline of the domain—example 1. such that they coincide with the meshfree nodes. In this
case, the simulation has been carried out for 365 days
with a time step of 14.6 days.
Table 2. Parameters considered in the advection-
A finite element package, HYDRUS–2D (Šimunek
dispersion-sorption-decay.
et al., 2006), has been used for solving this problem
Parameter Value and the results are compared with that of the EFGM
results. In the finite element analysis, the domain
Length of reach (m) 200 is discritised into 3-noded 560 triangular elements
Width of reach (m) 100
Initial condition for flow (cm) −200
Boundary condition for flow at upper 0
surface (cm)
Boundary condition for flow at bottom −200
surface (cm)
Saturated volumetric water content 0.3
Residual volumetric water content 0.0
Saturated hydraulic conductivity of 0.3
soil (m/day)
α(m−1 ) 0.05
χ 2.0
Decay constant (day−1 ) 0.01
Density of the soil (kg/m3 ) 1500
Distribution coefficient (m3 /kg) 0.0004
Longitudinal dispersivity (m) 1.0
Transverse dispersivity (m) 0.5
Concentration at source boundary
(0 ≤ width ≤ 50 m)(μg/cm3 ) 1.0

number (Pe ) = 50]. The parameters used in the analy-

sis are presented in Table 1 and the problem domain is
shown in Figure 1. The EFGM model has been divided
into 161 × 5 uniformly spaced nodes and the problem
domain is divided into 640 cells. Nodes of the back-
ground mesh are chosen such that they coincide with
the meshfree nodes. The simulation has been carried
out for 24 hours with a time step (t) of 2 hours.
A finite element package, VS2DTI (Paul et al.,
2000), has also been used for solving this example
problem and the results are compared with that of
the EFGM. In the finite element analysis, the domain
is discritised into 161 × 5 nodes with 640 elements Figure 4. Sketch of the problem domain—example 2.

865
 the problem of two-dimensional contaminant transport
through the unsaturated porous media.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The details of the Element free Galerkin method

and its numerical implementation for modelling the
two-dimensional contaminant transport through the
unsaturated porous media are presented. In the EFGM,
a structured mesh is not required and only a scattered
set of nodal points is needed in the domain of interest.
Shape functions based on 2D local support domains
are constructed using the moving least square approx-
imants. The implementation of the EFGM is very sim-
ple and straightforward, irrespective of the dimension
of the problem and shape of the domain. Numeri-
cal results obtained from the EFGM are compared
with finite element results. It is seen that the EFGM
generates excellent results in comparison with the
FEM thereby ensuring the correct formulation of the
EFGM. Further work is currently underway using
the EFGM for three-dimensional contaminant trans-
port modelling through the saturated and unsaturated
porous media.

REFERENCES
Figure 5. Finite element mesh—example 2.
Dolbow, J. & Belytschko, T. 1998. An introduction to pro-
gramming the meshless element-free Galerkin method.
0.6 Archives in Computational Methods in Engineering 5:
207–241.
0.5 x = 20 m Lancaster, P. & Salkauskas, K. 1981. Surfaces gener-
FEM (HYDRUS - 2D)
ated by moving least-squares methods. Mathematics of
Normalised Concentration

0.4
0.3
x = 40 m
0.2
0.1
0.0
0 73
Figure 6. Comparison of break through curves at x = 20,
40 and 80 m.
with 315 nodes as shown in Figure 5. A comparison
between the break through curves obtained from the
present model and the FEM for three cross-sections
along the longitudinal direction is shown in Figure 6.
From the figure it is noted that the results obtained
from the EFGM and FEM are agreeing well, thus
ensuring the correct formulation of the EFGM for
EFGM
Computation 37: 141–158.
Paul, A.H., William, W. & Healy, R.W. 2000. VS2DI—a
graphical software package for simulating fluid flow and
solute or energy transport in variably saturated porous
media. Water Resource Investigations Report 9, USGS,
Denver, USA.
x = 80 m Rao, B.N. & Rahman, S. 2000. An efficient meshless method
for fracture analysis of cracks. Computational Mechanics
26: 398–408.
146 219 292 365
Šimunek, J., van Genuchten, M. Th. & Sejna, M. 2006. The
Time (days)
HYDRUS software package for simulating the two—and
three-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multi-
ple solutes in variably-saturated media. Technical Manual,
Version 1.0, PC Progress, Prague, Czech Republic.
van Genuchten, M. Th. 1980. A closed—formed equation for
predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Science Society of America Journal 44: 892–898.

866
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Numerical modeling of hydraulic behavior of bioreactor landfills

M.V. Khire & M. Mukherjee

Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

ABSTRACT: A lab-scale physical model of a landfill consisting of a permeable blanket was developed. Waste
was simulated by coarse sand. The permeable blanket and the sandy soil below the blanket were instrumented
with sensors consisting of pressure transducers and Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)—based water content
sensors connected to a datalogger, to monitor the migration of injected liquid in the blanket and in the sand.
Liquid injection in the blanket was carried out at a fixed rate using a magnetic drive pump. This manuscript
presents the numerical modeling of the pressure heads and water contents measured in the physical model using
the finite element model HYDRUS-2D. The numerical model was able to simulate the pressure heads and water
contents relatively accurately when a steady state was reached. However, the model was not able to capture the
pressure heads and water contents before the steady state was reached.

1 INTRODUCTION
Bioreactor landfills are designed and operated to
accelerate the decomposition of organic constituents
of municipal solid waste (MSW) by re-circulating
leachate (or injecting other liquids) as a means to
enhance moisture levels within the landfill and cre-
ating an environment conducive to rapid degradation
of waste. Leachate recirculation or liquid injection
can be performed using multiple techniques, both
surface and subsurface. Subsurface application tech-
niques are: (1) vertical wells; (2) horizontal trenches;
and (3) permeable blankets. Haydar and Khire (2005),
Haydar and Khire (2007) and Khire and Mukherjee
(2007) have presented design guidelines for horizon-
tal trenches, permeable blankets and vertical wells,
respectively, through numerical studies using finite-
element numerical model HYDRUS-2D. However, it
has not been possible to verify the modeling results
because controlled field testing is almost impos-
sible to verify such numerical models commonly
used for modeling liquid flow in landfills. Hence,
there is a need to verify the numerical models that
are commonly used to design subsurface injection
systems.
A relatively large laboratory scale physical model
of landfill was developed to conduct controlled lab
tests to simulate hydraulics of liquid injection consist-
ing of a permeable blanket. The lab model has sensors
embedded in the sand simulating waste underlying the
blanket to understand the hydraulics of liquid flow
due to subsurface injection. While the ultimate objec-
tive of the research project is to estimate the real-time
hydraulic conductivity of the underlying waste using
the pressure and flow data from the sensors embed-
ded in the blanket, the landfill model developed for
this purpose can be used for validation of numerical
studies related to subsurface injection.
The objective of the study presented here is to
numerically simulate the pressure heads measured in
the permeable blanket and the water contents of the
underlying soil. This paper presents the design of
the landfill model, data collected from the model,
and numerical modeling results obtained from the
finite-element model HYDRUS-2D.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Physical model
Figure 1 presents a schematic of the landfill model
fabricated to simulate a horizontal permeable blanket.
The dimensions of the landfill model are presented in
Figure 1. All acrylic panels of the model were screwed
together with rubber seals in-between the panels to
provide a watertight box to contain the soils subjected
to injection of water. A silicone sealant was applied
at the seams to prevent potential leakage. A sepa-
rate acrylic panel was used to make the bottom of
the leachate collection system (LCS) raised to a slope
of 3%.
2.1.1 Sensing system
The sensing system used in the landfill model con-
sisted of these sensors: (1) pressure transducers with
built-in thermistors; (2) time domain reflectometry
(TDR) water content sensors; and (3) flow sensors.
All sensors were connected to a datalogger through

867

Figure 1. Schematic of fabricated lab-scale landfill model.
multiplexers to continuously monitor and log the data
at frequencies ranging from 5 s to 30 min.
The length and diameter of pressure transducer are
8.5 cm and 1.2 cm, respectively. The sensitivity of the
pressure transducers is ±1% and have a measurement
range of 0 to 92 cm of water head. Because the sensors
are vented, barometric pressure is not recorded by the
diaphragm. A thermistor is embedded within the pres-
sure transducer to record temperature. The signal drift
in the sensor performance resulted in pressure read-
ings with errors ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 cm during the
6 month testing period. In recognition of the concern
for zero drift and offsets, the accuracy of all sensors
was checked from time to time by ponding water and
checking the measured static heads during the course
of the experiments.
The pressure transducers were calibrated by adding
de-ionized (DI) water at depths ranging from 15 to
35 cm in a container. A linear relationship between
the depth of water and recorded pressure head readings
was observed. The accuracy of the pressure transducer
was within ±0.5 cm.
The mini-TDR water content sensors selected for
this study consisted of three pronged 0.15 cm diame-
ter stainless steel rods mounted into an encapsulated
plastic head. The probe rod length is 6 cm and spacing
between the probe rods is 0.6 cm. The TDR sensors
are connected to the datalogger via an electro-magnetic
pulse generator and multiplexer.
The TDR water content sensors were calibrated by
inserting vertically in a container filled with dry sand
and then water was gradually added in known steps
until the sand became saturated. Topp’s (Topp et al.
1980) empirically derived calibration equation is used
to convert the dielectric constant values obtained from
the water content sensors to actual volumetric water
content. A linear relationship between the volumetric
water content calculated from known addition of water
868
and the volumetric water content measured by the TDR
water content sensors was observed.
The flow sensor is capable of measuring relatively
low flow rates ranging from 8 to 165 cm3 /s. The
flow sensor incorporates a pelton-type turbine wheel
to measure the flow rate of water. Electrical pulses are
generated as the turbine wheel rotates in response to
the rate of flow. The sensor provides analog DC voltage
output proportional to the flow rate.
During calibration, a linear relationship was
observed between the flow rates recorded by the flow
sensor and the flow calculated from the levels mea-
sured by the pressure transducer. The accuracy of the
flow sensor was within ±0.5%.
2.1.2 Materials
Accurate hydraulic characterization of the system is
required in order to verify numerical models. Because
MSW is highly heterogeneous and anisotropic (Haydar
and Khire 2004) and measurement of representative
hydraulic properties (both saturated and unsaturated)
of waste is challenging, actual or surrogate waste
was not used. In order to allow relatively precise
hydraulic characterization, relatively homogeneous
and isotropic standard sand (Ottawa sand) was used
to simulate waste.
The selection of Ottawa sand to simulate waste
was based on preliminary numerical modeling which
indicated that the chosen hydraulic property of the
sand would generate pressure heads which would be
within the dimensions of the model and the pres-
sure heads would be large enough for measurement
using the sensors for various magnitudes of rates of
liquid injection. Besides, the saturated hydraulic con-
ductivity (Ks ) of Ottawa sand is consistent with the
typical values of hydraulic conductivities of MSW
published by Fungaroli and Steiner (1979), Korfiatis
et al. (1984) and Chen and Chynoweth (1995). Pea-
gravel was chosen as LCS drainage material because
it results in lower liquid heads in LCS (Khire et al.
2006). The saturated hydraulic conductivities (K) of
the Ottawa sand and pea gravel were measured in the
laboratory using a rigid wall permeameter (ASTM
D 2434-68) using a constant head setup. The satu-
rated hydraulic conductivities of the soils presented
in Table 1 are average values obtained from triplicate
tests.
The soil water retention characteristics were mea-
sured under static equilibrium by hanging column
method (ASTM D 6836). The experiments for
determining the sorption curves for the soils were
repeated twice. The soil water characteristic curves
are described in terms of the van Genuchten (1980)
fitting equation. Table 1 shows the hydraulic charac-
teristics of the soils used in the landfill model and the
fitting parameters.
Table 1. Properties of soils used in the landfill model.
Saturated and unsaturated hydraulic properties with VG fitted parameters
Soil type Simulated landfill unit Ks (cm/s)
Ottawa sand MSW 0.07
Pea gravel Blanket and LCS 2 0.43
Notes: θs = saturated volumetric water content [-]; θr = residual volumetric water content [-]; and α [1/L] and n are
van Genuchten’s fitting parameters (van Genuchten 1980).
Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was also mea-
sured using an instantaneous profile method on an
instrumented sand sample which was 30 cm high and
had 20 cm diameter.
2.1.3 Fabrication of landfill model
Figure 1 presents the schematic of the physical model.
A 4-cm thick LCS drainage layer made up of washed
pea gravel was constructed at the bottom of the plexi-
glass model. Two 1.5-cm diameter perforated pipes
discharging freely into the atmosphere were placed in
the LCS pea gravel layer. The perforated seepage pipes
for LCS had at least 10 times higher flow capacity than
the flows injected in the model to maintain the pressure
head in the LCS within its thickness of 4 cm. About
38-cm thick dry Ottawa sand having dry density
equal to 1.6 g/cm3 and porosity equal to 0.42 was
placed below the permeable blanket. In the sand layer,
two pressure transducers were embedded in verti-
cally upright position at 10-cm intervals (not shown
in Figure 1). A TDR water content sensor was placed
immediately next to the sensing tip of the pressure
sensors.
The permeable blanket for the recirculation system
was made up of the same pea gravel used in LCS.
The blanket was about 50 cm long and 30 cm wide.
The thickness of the blanket was 2.0 cm. The pres-
sure sensors were vertically placed in the sand below
the blanket such that the tips of the sensors were in the
blanket. TDR sensors were placed horizontally in the
blanket. In total six pressure transducers and a TDR
water content sensor were embedded in the blanket.
A 40-cm long perforated PVC pipe of 1 cm diameter
was placed at the center of the blanket in the direction
parallel to the width of the blanket where water was
injected under pressure.
One end of the injection pipe inside the blanket was
capped and the other end was connected to a pressure
transducer and a flow sensor to measure the injection
pressure and flow rate, respectively. The flow sensor
was connected to magnetic drive pump to pump water
from a storage tank into the blanket. The magnetic
drive pump was operated with a variable DC power
supply to obtain variable injection flow rates. This
869
θs θr α (1/cm) n
0.4 0.03 0.09 4.5
0.01 0.45 3
pump was chosen because of its ability to deliver a
pulseless flow.
A pressure transducer was also placed in the storage
tank to monitor the change in head of water in the
tank to monitor when and if a steady-state is reached.
A closed loop recirculation system was implemented.
The injected water after flowing through the soil and
discharging freely in the atmosphere from the seepage
pipes was collected in the storage tank. It was injected
back into the blanket as shown in Figure 1.
2.2 Numerical model
HYDRUS-2D is a numerical computer model that
simulates water, heat, and solute migration in unsat-
urated, partially saturated, or fully saturated porous
media (Simunek et al. 1999). The program numer-
ically solves the Richards’ Equation for saturated-
unsaturated water flow and uses van-Genuchten
function for soil-water characteristic curves and
van-Genuchten-Mualem model for predicting the
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function. This
model has been used for saturated/unsaturated liquid
and solute transport through porous media in sev-
eral studies (Haydar and Khire (2007); Khire and
Mukherjee (2007); Haydar and Khire (2005); Khire
and Haydar (2004); Scanlon et al. 2002; Henry et al.
2002; Pang et al. 2000; Rassam et al. 2002).
2.2.1 Boundary conditions and mass balance
Because the boundary conditions are the driving force,
specifying conditions on the boundaries is a key com-
ponent of numerical analysis. Figure 2 shows the
finite-element mesh generated in HYDRUS-2D and
the boundary conditions applied to the model.
All external boundaries were simulated as zero-flux
boundaries. The evaporation from the model was neg-
ligible compared to the amount water that was injected
in the model. The perforated injection pipe was sim-
ulated as a constant flux boundary because water was
injected at a constant rate to simulate steady state con-
tinuous injection. Leachate collection pipes embedded
in the LCS were simulated as seepage face bound-
aries. At seepage face boundaries, the model simulates
flow only when the pore water pressure becomes zero.

Figure 2. Mesh discretization and boundary conditions.
The minimum size of the finite-elements used for dis-
cretization of the problem domain, the time step, and
the error tolerances for pressure head and water con-
tent were selected such that cumulative water balance
error did not exceed 0.1%. We used an error tolerance
of 0.1% for the volumetric water content and 0.1 cm for
the matric suction. A minimum time step of 10−10 h
and a maximum time step of 0.1 h was input to the
model.
2.2.2 Initial conditions and other input
The initial conditions input to the numerical model
were consistent with those measured in the physical
model before the injection was begun. The initial con-
dition was entered in the form of volumetric water
contents, measured by the water content sensors.
The saturated and unsaturated properties tabulated
in Table 1 were input as material properties for all
landfill components. The total injected flow rate per
cm length of the injection pipe within the blanket was
input as the constant flux boundary for the injection
pipe. The locations of sensors were input as observa-
tion nodes in order to obtain simulated pressure heads
and water contents (Figure 2).
3 RESULTS
3.1 Pressure heads in blanket
In the landfill model, de-ionized water was injected
in the blanket at a constant rate of approximately
120 cm3 /s. The hydraulic conductivity of the perme-
able blanket being two orders of magnitude greater
than the underlying sand, the water traveled through
the blanket before infiltrating into the underlying sand.
As the injected water traveled through the blanket,
870
the hydraulic pressure heads (henceforth referred to
as pressure heads) in the blanket increased. All pres-
sure transducers in the blanket indicated an increase
in the pressure head in response to the liquid injec-
tion event. The pressure heads in the blanket increased
rapidly at the beginning of the infiltration event and
approached a steady-state value within about 60 hours.
The increase in the pressure head was earliest and
greatest for the sensors located closest to the injection
pipe. Responses of the pressure sensors embedded in
the blanket are presented in Figure 3 as scatter points.
The initial pressure heads developed in the blanket
are a function of hydraulic conductivity as well as the
initial degree of saturation of underlying sand. Hence,
at the beginning of the injection event, the pressure
heads were higher because the unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity of sand was low because the sand was
unsaturated. When the liquid injection started, the
average degree of saturation of the sand below the blan-
ket was about 70%. As the degree of saturation of the
sand increased due to continuous injection of water,
the pressure heads in the blanket decreased because of
increase in the hydraulic conductivity of the underly-
ing sand. In about 60 hours after the injection began,
the pressure heads reached a steady-state value.
A steady-state was assumed to have reached when
the injected flow in the blanket equated the outflow
from the LCS and the pressure heads in the blanket
did not show substantial upward or downward trend
for several hours after the flows became equal. Some
pressure sensors had shown increase in pressure heads
initially. As the degree of saturation of the underlying
sand increased and hydraulic conductivity of the sand
increased, the readings of those sensors dropped to
zero as shown in Figure 3.
Simulated pressure heads are also presented in
Figure 3. The pressure heads in the blanket simu-
lated by HYDRUS-2D were relatively close to the
Hydrus-2D simulated heads in blanket, hS (cm)
Experimental pressure heads in blanket, hm (cm)
6 6
Continuous injection, Q = 120 cm 3/s
5 h m and :hS 5
2.5 cm from
4 injection pipe (IP) 4
HYDRUS-2D
3 3
2 7.5 cm from IP 2
1 1
HYDRUS-2D
0 HYDRUS-2D 0
12.5 cm from IP
-1 Injection -1
started
-2 -2
-40 0 40 80 120 160
Time elapsed (hours)
Figure 3. Comparison of experimental and numerically
simulated pressure heads in the blanket.
measured pressure heads at steady-state. As observed
in the physical model, the simulated pressure heads
decreased as the distance from the injection pipe
increased. However, the numerical model was unable
to simulate the initial high pressure heads in the blan-
ket. The simulated pressure heads reached steady-state
immediately. It took many hours (>60 hrs) for the
heads to reach steady state in the physical model.
3.2 Degree of saturation
The water content sensors in the blanket showed
increase in water content. The water content sensors
embedded in the sand registered increase after the sen-
sors in the blanket did. Thus, the injected water filled
the blanket before substantial quantity of water started
infiltrating into the underlying sand.
The water content sensors were able to detect the
gradual progressive changes in the degree of satura-
tion of the underlying sand. The time when the pressure
heads reached steady state as shown in Figure 3 syn-
chronized with the water contents in the sand reaching
saturation.
However, HYDRUS-2D was not able to simu-
late the gradual increase in the water contents. The
modeling results indicated that the increase in water
content of the underlying sand was immediate as com-
pared to the measured water contents which increased
gradually and sequentially from top down.
3.3 Simulated versus observed results
The simulated and observed pressure heads in the blan-
ket and water contents in the sand due to injection
at steady state are relatively close. The initial high
heads and the gradual increase in water content were
not captured by HYDRUS-2D. A possible reason is
hypothesized which might have contributed to why
simulated results did not replicate the observed results
before the steady state was reached.
Air entrapment and compression of air that is
below the vertically downward moving infiltrating
front would result in an air pressure in the soil pores
that is greater than atmospheric pressure. The air could
not easily leave the system due the boundaries of the
model and due to partially saturated pores aided in
restricting the air escape under the sudden gush of
vertically downward moving water front.
The flow equations describing the flow of water in
unsaturated soil are usually written with the implicit
assumption that the air phase is continuous, is in
equilibrium with the atmosphere pressure, and can
move freely between the atmosphere and the unfilled
pores of the soil. It is also assumed that the density
and viscosity of air is negligible in comparison to
water. Hence, most of these numerical models like
HYDRUS-2D are designed to model only the single
871
phase flow of water, under the assumption that the air
phase is always at a constant atmospheric pressure and
is able to escape freely and does not impact the infil-
tration of water into soil. Hence, the model may not
have calculated the initial increase in the water pres-
sure heads measured in the blanket. The pressure heads
in the blanket observed in the physical model subsided
as the trapped air gradually escaped the sand.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Pressure heads in a lab-scale blanket due to liquid
injection were measured using an automated sens-
ing system consisting of pressure sensors. The degree
of saturation of the sand simulating waste below the
blanket was measured using water content sensors
and known porosity of the sand. HYDRUS-2D was
used to numerically simulate the flow processes
observed in the landfill model. The measured and
simulated pressure heads matched at steady state.
However, the numerical model was not able to sim-
ulate the measured initial high pressure heads and the
gradual increase in average degree of saturation of the
sand. Experiments and numerical simulations aimed
to prove the hypotheses to explain the discrepancy are
planned and other experiments using surrogate waste
to explore hydraulic parameters associated with liquid
injection systems are planned to be carried out in the
near future.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Financial support for this project has been provided
by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. CMS-
0510091) and Environmental Research and Education
Foundation (EREF). We also express sincere apprecia-
tion to Jason Ritter of Campbell Scientific for his help
related to datalogger programming and James Brenton
for his help with the fabrication of the landfill model.
The findings and opinions presented in this manuscript
are those of the authors.
REFERENCES
Chen, T. and Chynoweth, D.P. 1995. Hydraulic conductivity
of compacted municipal solid waste. Bioresour. Technol.,
51(2–3), 205–212.
Fungaroli, A. and Steiner, R. 1979. Investigation of sanitary
landfill behavior. Vol. 1, Final Report, U.S. EPA 600/2-
79-053a.
Haydar, M.M. and Khire, M.V. 2004. Numerical evaluation
of heterogeneity and anisotropy of waste properties on
leachate recirculation in bioreactor landfills. The Journal
of Solid Waste Management & Technology, Vol. 30(4):
233–243.
Haydar, M. and Khire, M. 2005. Leachate Recirculation
using Horizontal Trenches in Bioreactor Landfills. Jour-
nal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,
Vol. 131(7): 837–847.
Haydar, M. and Khire, M. 2007. Leachate Recirculation
using Permeable Blankets in Engineered Landfills. Jour-
nal of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Engineering,
Vol. 133(4): 360–371.
Henry, E.J., Smith, J.E. and Warrick, A.W. 2002. Two-
dimensional modeling of flow and transport in the vadose
zone with surfactant-induced flow. Water Resources
Research, Vol. 38(11): 331–3316.
Khire, M.V. and Haydar, M.M. 2003. Numerical Evaluation
of Granular Blankets for Leachate Recirculation in MSW
Landfills. Proceedings of the Ninth Sardinia Solid Waste
Conference, Cagliary, Italy, Oct.
Khire, M., Haydar, M. and Mukherjee, M. 2006. Liquid
head on landfill liners due to leachate recirculation. Pro-
ceedings of Geocongress 2006, Feb26–Mar1, Atlanta,
GA.
Khire, M. and Mukherjee, M. 2007. Leachate Injection
Using Vertical Wells in Bioreactor Landfills. Waste
Management, Vol. 27(9): 1233–1247.
Korfiatis, G., Demetracopoulos, A., Bourodimos, E. and
Nawy, E. 1984. Moisture transport in a Solid Waste Col-
umn. Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 110(4):
789–796.
872
Pang, L., Close, M. Watt, J. and Vincent, K. 2000. Simulation
of picloram, atrazine, and simazine leaching through two
New Zealand soils and into groundwater using HYDRUS-
2D. Journal of Contaminant Hydrol., Vol. 44(1): 19–46.
Rassam, D., and Cook, F. 2002. Numerical simulations of
water flow and solute transport applied to acid sulfate
soils. J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., Vol. 128(2): 107–115.
Scanlon, B., Christman, M. Reedy, R. Porro, I. Simunek, J.
and Flerchinger, G. 2002. Intercode comparisons for
simulating water balance of surficial sediments in semi-
arid regions. Water Resources Research, Vol. 38(12):
5901–5915.
Simunek, J., Sejna, M. and Van Genuchten, M. Th. 1999.
HYDRUS 2D, Simulating water flow, heat, and solute
transport in two-dimensional variably saturated media,
Version 2.0, US Salinity Laboratory, ARS/USDA, River-
side, California and International Ground Water Modeling
Center, IGWMC- TPS 53, Colorado School of Mines,
Golden, Colorado.
Topp, G.C., Davis, J.L. and Chinnick, J.H. 1980. Electro-
magnetic Determination of Soil Water Content: Measure-
ments in Co-axial Transmission Lines. Water Resources
Research, Vol. 16(3): 574–582.
van Genuchten, M. Th. 1980. A Closed-form Equation
for Predicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated
Soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 44:
892–898.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Finite element modelling of contaminant transport in unsaturated soil

A.A. Javadi
Computational Geomechanics Group, School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics,
University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

M.M. Al-Najjar
Department of Engineering, Higher College of Technology, Al-Khuwair, Muscat, Oman

ABSTRACT: The movement of contaminants through soils to the groundwater is a major cause of degradation
of water resources. In many cases, serious human and stock health implications are associated with this form of
pollution. This work presents the development and validation of a numerical model for simulation of contaminant
transport through unsaturated soils. The governing differential equations include two mass balance equations for
the water and air phases and another balance equation for contaminant transport in the two phases. The governing
equations are solved using a finite element method in the space domain and an implicit finite difference scheme
in the time domain. The mathematical framework and the numerical implementation of the model are presented.
The model has been validated and applied to a case study. A sensitivity analysis is performed to illustrate
the influence of several coefficients on contaminant transport. The merits and limitations of the model are
highlighted.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

In recent years, interest in understanding the mecha- There is a broad range of issues that are of inter-
nisms and prediction of contaminant transport through est in relation to transport of contaminant in soils.
soils has dramatically increased because of growing The problem becomes more complex when the soil is
evidence and public concern that the quality of the unsaturated. Unsaturated soil is a multiphase system,
subsurface environment is being adversely affected because at least two fluid phases are present: water and
by industrial, municipal and agricultural waste. In air. The governing equations that describe fluid flow
assessing the environmental impacts of waste dis- and contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone will
charges, engineers seek to predicate the impact of be presented in this section.
emission on contaminant concentration in nearby air
and water (Nazaroff and Alvarez-Cohen, 2001). The
high costs, large time scales and lack of control over the 2.1 Modelling of water and air flow
boundary conditions have prevented the development The governing differential equation for water flow is
of field scale experiments (Hellawell and Sawidou, based on the conservation of mass of the groundwater,
1994). In this paper, the main governing phenom- leading to (Javadi, et al. 2006):
ena of the miscible contaminant transport including
advection, mechanical dispersion, molecular diffusion ∂uw ∂ua
and adsorption are considered. The contaminant trans- cww + cwa = ∇[Kww ∇uw ]
port equation together with the balance equations for ∂t ∂t
flow of water and air are solved numerically using the + ∇[Kwa ∇ua ] + Jw (1)
finite element method, subject to prescribed initial and
boundary conditions. The model is used to analyse the where
transport of a petroleum-based contaminant in a site in
the south west of the UK. The results of the model pre- cww = cfw + cvw ; cwa = cfa + cva ;
diction are compared with those measured on the site.
It is shown that the developed model is capable of pre- cvw = nSa Kfw ; cva = nSa Kfa ;
dicting the variations of the contaminant concentration ∂Sw ∂Sw
with time and space with a very high accuracy. cfw = −n(ρw − ρv ) ; cfa = n(ρw − ρv ) ;
∂s ∂s

873
 ρw Kw
Kww = + Kvw ρw ; Kwa = ρv Ka + ρw Kva ; 2.2 Modelling of contaminant transport
γw
In porous media, contaminant transport occurs by
∂h ∂ψ ∂h ∂ψ various processes including advection, diffusion and
Kfa = ρ0 ∇ua ; Kfw = −ρ0 ∇uw ;
∂ψ ∂s ∂ψ ∂s mechanical dispersion. The mass balance equation of
Datms Vv n Datms Vv n contaminant transport can be written as:
Kvw = − Kfw ; Kva = − Kfa ;
ρw ρw ∂(Rθw cw )
+ ∇(vw cw ) − ∇(θw Dw ∇cw ) + λw θw cw = F w
Jw = ρw ∇(Kw ∇z) ∂t
(3)
in which n is the porosity of the soil, Kw is the con- where the four terms on the left hand side of the
ductivity of water, Ka is the conductivity of air, Sw is equation represent the variations of contaminant con-
the degree of saturation of water, Sa is the degree of centration with time, effect of advection, effect of
saturation of air, ρw is the density of water, ρv is the dispersion and diffusion and effect of chemical reac-
density of water vapour, ρ0 is the density of saturated tions respectively and F w represents the source/sink
soil vapour, s is the soil suction, Vv is the mass flow term for water. In this equation θw is the volumet-
factor, uw is the pore-water pressure, ua is the pore-air ric water content, vw groundwater velocity, Dw the
pressure, Datms is the molecular diffusivity of vapour coefficients of dispersivity tensor, λw is the reaction
through air, γw is the unit weight of water, ψ is the rate for water, cw is the contaminant concentration,
capillary potential, h is the relative humidity and ∇z R = [1 + θs ρs Kd /θw ] is the retardation coefficient, ρs
is the unit normal oriented downwards in the direction is the density of the solid phase, Kd is the distribution
of the force of gravity. coefficient and θs is the volumetric content of the solid
The governing differential equation for air flow is phase (McElwee, 1982).
based on the conservation of mass of the ground air,
leading to (Javadi, et al. 2006):
3 NUMERICAL SOLUTION
∂uw ∂ua
caw + caa = ∇ [Kaw ∇uw ] The nonlinear governing differential equations of fluid
∂t ∂t
flow and contaminant transport were solved using a
+ ∇(Kaa ∇ua ) + Ja (2) finite element method in the space domain and a finite
difference scheme in the time domain. The govern-
where ing equations describing transport of contaminants in
unsaturated soil include two sets of equations. The first
set describes the flow of water and air and the second
caw = caw1 + caw2 ; caa = caa1 + caa2 ; set describes the transport of a miscible contaminant
through the water and air phases. In this work, it is
∂Sw
caw1 = −nρda (Ha − 1) ; assumed that the flow processes do not depend on the
∂s transport processes while the transport processes are
∂Sw dependent on the flow fields as they rely on the way
caa1 = nρda (Ha − 1) ; in which each fluid phase transports the contaminant.
∂s
This allows the flow equations to be solved indepen-
caw2 = n(Sa + Ha Sw )cdaw ; dently of the transport equations. It would therefore
be logical to breakdown the solution procedure into
caa2 = n(Sa + Ha Sw )cdaa ;
two stages: in the first stage the flow equations for
Rv 1 Rv water and air are solved simultaneously and then in
cdaw = − Kfw ; cdaa = − Kfa ; the second stage, the calculated values of pore water
Rda Rda T Rda
and pore air pressures (from the first stage) are used to
Ha ρda solve the transport equation and to calculate the values
Kaw = Kw ; Kaa = Ka ∇uw ;
γw of contaminant concentration in the domain.
Ja = Ha ρda ∇(Kw ∇z)
3.1 Numerical solution of governing differential
equations for water and air flow
in which Ha is the Henry’s volumetric coefficient of
solubility, ρda is the density of dry air, Rda is the spe- The governing differential equations for water flow
cific gas constant for dry air and Rv is the specific gas and air flow (equations 1 and 2) as defined above, have
constant for water vapour. two variables uw and ua . These variables are primary

874
 n 
"
unknowns and can be approximated using the shape !
fw = ∇N T (Kw ρw ∇z) de
function approach as:
e=1 
e

n 
"
"
n
uw = ûw = Ns uws (4) − Nr {ρw v̂wn + ρw v̂vd + ρw v̂va }d e
1 e=1 e

"
n
ua = ûa = Ns uas (5) in which v̂wn is the approximated water velocity nor-
1 mal to the boundary surface, v̂vd is the approximated
diffusive vapour velocity normal to the boundary sur-
where, Ns is the shape function, uws and uas are the face, v̂va is the approximated pressure vapour velocity
nodal pore-water and pore-air pressures respectively, normal to the boundary surface and  e is the element
and n represents the number of nodes in each ele- boundary surface. Similarly, the spatial discretisation
ment. Replacing the primary unknowns with shape of governing differential equation for air flow leads to:
function approximations, equations (1) and (2) can be ∂uws ∂uas
written as: Caw + Caa + Kaw uws + Kaa uas = fa (9)
∂t ∂t
∂ ûw where,
∇[Kww ∇ ûw ] + ∇[Kwa ∇ ûa ] + Jw − Cww
∂t n 
" !
∂ ûa Caw = N T Caw N de ;
− Cwa = Rw (6)
∂t e=1 
e
& ' ∂ ûw n 
∇ Kaw ∇ ûw + ∇(Kaa ∇ ûa ) + Ja − Caw " !
∂t Caa = N T Caa N de ;
∂ ûa e=1 
− Caa = Ra (7) e

∂t n 
" !
Kaw = ∇N T (Kaw ∇N ) de ;
where, Rw and Ra are the residual errors introduced e=1 
e
by the approximation functions. A finite element
n 
"
scheme is applied to the spatial terms, employing the !
weighted residual approach, to minimise the residual Kaa = ∇N T (Kaa ∇N ) de ;
error represented by equations (6) and (7) and integrat- e=1 
e
ing the equations over the spatial domain (e ). Spatial n 
" !
discretisation of the governing differential equation for fa = ∇N T (Kw ρda Ha ∇z) de
water flow can be written as: e=1 
e
∂uws ∂uas n 
Cww + Cwa + Kww uws + Kwa uwa = fw (8) " $ %
∂t ∂t − N T ρ v̂fn + v̂an .d e
where, e=1 e

n 
" In the above equations v̂fn is the approximated
!
Cww = N T Cww N de ; velocity of free dry air and v̂an is the approximated
e=1 
e
velocity of dissolved dry air. Spatially discretised
equations for coupled flow of water and air, given
n 
" ! by the above equations, can be combined in a matrix
Cwa = N T Cwa N de ; form as:
e=1 
e

n 
" Kww Kwa uws C Cwa u̇ws f
! + ww − w =0
Kww = ∇N T (Kww N ) de ; Kaw Kaa uas Caw Caa u̇as fa
e=1 
e
(10)
n 
" !
Kwa = ∇N T (Kwa N ) de ; ∂uws ∂uas
e=1  where u̇ws = and u̇as = .
e ∂t ∂t

875
 A time discretisation of equation (10) is achieved where
here by application of a fully implicit mid interval
backward difference algorithm. Applying a finite dif- n 
"
b
θc
ference scheme (Stasa, 1985) to equation (10) will M= Aij ;
t
result in: 1 a

  n 
"
b
φ n+1 − φ n H= vcBij + DcEij + λcAij ;
A φ
n+1/2 n+1
+B n+1/2
+C n+1/2
=0
t 1 a
(11)  
" ∂c ∂c b
n
∂c ∂c
F= N 2 vc − D +λ  ;
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y a
where 1
 


∂N ∂N
Aij = NNdxdy; Bij = N N dxdy;
A=
Kww Kwa
; B = ww
C Cwa
; ∂x ∂y
Kaw Kaa Caw Caa 
∂N ∂N ∂N ∂N


Eij = dxdy
f u ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y
C = W ; φ = ws
fa uas
Applying a finite difference scheme (Stasa, 1985)
to equation (16) will result in:
and n, n+1 stand for time levels (tn and tn+1 = tn +t).
Equation (11) can be further simplified to give: (θ c)n+1 − (θ c)n !
M + H (1 − γ )cn + γ cn+1 + F n+1 = 0
t

−1 n+1/2 n

Bn+1/2 B φ (17)
φ n+1 = An+1/2 + − C n+1/2
t t
(12) where, t is the time step. The value of γ is usu-
ally taken as 0, 0.5 and 1.0 for the forward, central
and backward difference schemes respectively. The
3.2 Numerical solution of contaminant transport backward difference scheme (γ = 1) has been used
governing equation in the model as it is unconditionally stable for all val-
ues of t . The solution of equations (11) and (17)
In the absence of the source and sink terms, equation using the two-stage procedure described above, will
(3) will reduce to: give the distribution of the contaminant concentrations
∂(θ c) at various points within the soil and at different times,
+ ∇(vc) − ∇(D∇c) + λc = 0 (13)
∂t taking into account the interaction between the flow of
The primary unknown can be approximated using air and water and various mechanisms of contaminant
the shape function approach as: transport.

"
n
θ c = θ̂ ĉ = Ns θ c s (14) 4 NUMERICAL RESULTS
1

"
n 4.1 Case study
c = ĉ = Ns cs
1
where cs is the nodal contaminant concentration and n
is the number of nodes per element. In the present
work, eight-node quadratic element has been used
(n = 8). Replacing the primary unknowns with
shape function approximation in equation (13) and
employing the Galerkin weighted residual approach to
minimise the residual error represented by this approx-
imation; the discretised global finite element equation
for single component of contaminant takes the form:
dc
M + Hc + F = 0
dt
(15)
The developed finite element model has been validated
against a wide range of test cases from the literature.
In this paper, the application of the model to a case
study is presented which involves analysis of transport
of a petroleum-based contaminant at a site in south
west of England, in order to study the potential for
contamination from previous commercial use as a fuel
filling station and vehicle repair workshop.
4.1.1 Site description
The local geology comprises Yeovil Sand beds to 60 m
depth, with Jurassic limestone immediately to the
north. The surface geology of the site includes shallow,
(16) fine alluvial deposits containing organic matter, and

876

Figure 1. Plan of the site.
layers of coarse grained material, probably weathered
limestone with limestone fragments. The site is under-
lain by a major aquifer and is on the boundary of a
fluvial floodplain, having an annual flooding risk of
1%. The garage is adjacent to the junction of two minor
roads. It is surrounded by domestic dwellings, with a
watercourse approximately 10 m to the north and 2 m
below forecourt level, draining to the east. The plot is
approximately 20 m by 20 m and consists of a build-
ing formerly used as a shop and office, together with
two attached workshops with concrete floors, used for
repairs and storage (Fig. 1). Adjacent to the current
office entrance is a store containing two paraffin or
light oil tanks, each of 1300 litres capacity. The fore-
court is concrete surfaced above the fuel tanks, with
a tarmac and gravel access road to the rear. The fuel
filling area is directly adjacent to the public pavement
and consists of four diesel pumps. Five manhole covers
are nearby, two of which provide access to fuel storage
tanks, with two adjacent surface drains.
4.1.2 Site observation
Numerous inspection covers are present on the site,
providing access to fuel tank fillers, pipe manifolds,
water supply pipes and two surface drains, with two
further drains on the site periphery. Tests carried out
by a consulting engineering company, showed that one
drain adjacent to the fuel pumps discharges directly
into a receptor, which means that any spillages from
pump operation has a direct pathway to local surface
water. Water present beneath some inspection covers
has shown considerable contamination by heavy oils.
877
4.1.3 Sampling
Eight boreholes for monitoring groundwater have been
used for the survey as shown in Fig. 1. These were
all sampled at 0.3 m below groundwater surface to
provide a comprehensive sample containing possible
dispersed and dissolved fuel compounds. Such con-
taminates can be expected to show greatest mobility
and hence potential for migration off-site.
4.1.4 Water
Four monitoring boreholes had previously been
installed to three meters depth, adjacent to the storage
tanks and pump areas. For the tier in investigation, four
additional boreholes were installed by the consultant
in charge of the investigation as close as possible to the
site boundaries. The installation points were selected
to surround the site as far as practicable, with empha-
sis on the north and west boundaries, as observations
suggest that groundwater is likely to flow in this direc-
tion. The new boreholes, B5 –B8 , were of a similar
design to the original, slotted from 1 m below ground
level, and were installed to a depth of five metres.
Groundwater in the boreholes was allowed to equi-
librate and was sampled four days after installation.
Water samples were taken at 0.3 metres below ground-
water surface to exclude floating product, which may
be constrained on the site, and to detect dispersed and
dissolved fuel components which are more vulnera-
ble to migration with groundwater. The receptor was
also sampled upstream and downstream of the site,
adjacent to the site boundaries.
4.1.5 Soil
During installation of the boreholes, soil samples were
taken, where possible, at a depth just below first water
strike Fig. 6. A survey was initiated in January 2003 in
order to assess the extent of contamination throughout
the site and to assess general groundwater movement.
This survey found hydrocarbon contamination at all
sample points within the site and around the periphery
as shown in Table 1.
A section of the site, 40 m wide and 10 m deep
(Fig. 2) was analysed using the developed finite
element model. The section was divided into 400
Table 1. Analysis of contaminants in groundwater (Jan
2003).
Total Petroleum
Sample ID Hydrocarbons (TPH) Mg/l
B2 115034
B5 22000
B6 20100
B7 2462
 140000

Dm = 10 8

contaminant concentration (mg/l)

120000

100000 Dm = 10 6
Dm = 10 7

Dm = 10
80000 5

60000

40000

20000
Figure 2. A conceptual model of the site.
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
140000
B2 Measured data - Jan 2003 distance from concentration source (m)
FEM-Model - Feb 2003
120000 Source FEM-Model - Mar 2003
contaminant concentration (mg/l)

FEM-Model - Jun 2003 Figure 4. Distributions of contaminant concentration in

100000 FEM-Model - Sep 2004
Measured data - Sep 2004
Feb. 2003 for different values of diffusion coefficient.
80000

140000
60000
B6
k w = 10 7
contaminant concentration (mg/1)
120000
40000

20000
100000
kw = 10 5 kw = 10 6
80000
0
0510152025303540
kw = 10 4
60000
distance from concentration source (m)
40000

Figure 3. Comparison between measured data and finite

20000
element model predictions.
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

ditance from concentration source (m)

(40 by 10) eight-node quadratic rectangular elements.
The boundary conditions included hydrostatic water Figure 5. Distributions of contaminant concentration in
pressure distributions on the left and right boundaries Feb. 2003 for different values of effective permeability.
and fixed (zero) fluxes on the bottom boundary. The air
pressure was fixed at all nodes (saturated region). The
transport of the contaminant by advection, diffusion
and dispersion mechanisms was considered. In the of diffusivity and permeability as well as the simplifi-
model the water velocity vw was estimated (by taking cations adopted in numerical modelling. Considering
the hydraulic gradient as the gradient of the ground- the fact that a two dimensional model was used to
water surface) from the levels of water observed in simulate a complex problem; such small differences
boreholes B2 and B5 . in predictions are inevitable, expected and acceptable
Fig. 3 shows the distributions of contaminant con- for practical applications.
centration between January 2003 and September 2004.
It can be seen that the contaminant concentration 4.1.6 Sensitivity analysis
decreased gradually over this period of time from Sensitivity is a measure of the effect of change in one
an initial distribution of amplitude (c = 115034 mg/l) parameter on another parameter. The sensitivity of a
centred at (x = 17.5 m). The figure also compares model dependent variable to a model input parameter
the results of the model prediction with the mea- is the partial derivative of the dependent variable with
sured values of contaminant concentration recorded respect to that parameter (McElwee, 1987).
in September 2004. The values of diffusivity Dm and permeability kw
It is shown that the results of the developed model coefficients used in the above case study were deter-
are in good agreement with field measurements, both mined in the site investigation. A sensitivity analysis
in terms of magnitude and trend of variations. After 16 is performed to examine the sensitivity of the model
months, the concentration of contaminant in the soil to variations of these two major parameters. Figs. 4
reduced by 99.3% and the slight difference between and 5 show the effect of variations in the coefficients of
the measured and predicted concentrations could be diffusion Dm and effective permeability kw on concen-
attributed to the errors in determination of coefficients tration distribution. It can be seen that these parameters

878
play a significant role in transport of the contami-
nant and changes in concentrations with time. In both
cases, the contaminant concentration decreases con-
siderably with increasing the value of the coefficients
of diffusion Dm and effective permeability kw .
5 CONCLUSIONS
This paper presented a numerical model for predict-
ing contaminant transport through unsaturated soils.
The model is capable of simulating several phenom-
ena governing miscible contaminant transport in the
soils including advection, dispersion and diffusion,
adsorption and chemical reactions. A transient finite
element model was developed to solve the governing
equation of contaminant transport together with the
equations for air and water flow. After validation, the
numerical model was applied to a case study involv-
ing transport of a petroleum-based contaminant at a
site in south west of England. The model was used
to study the distribution of the contaminant with time
and to evaluate the potential and degree of contami-
nation of the site from previous commercial use as a
fuel filling station and vehicle repair workshop. The
numerical results illustrated the performance of the
879
presented model in simulating the transport of con-
taminants in soils in a real case study. The sensitivity
analysis illustrated the influence of a number of coef-
ficients on contaminant transport. The results show
that the developed numerical model is capable of pre-
dicting, with a good accuracy, the effects of various
mechanisms of contaminant transport through soils.
REFERENCES
Hellawell E.E. & Sawidou, C. 1994. A study of contaminant
transport involving density driven flow and hydrodynamic
clean up. Proc. Centrifuge Conference. University of
Cambridge, UK.
Javadi, A.A., AL-Najjar, M.M. & Elkassas, A.S.I. 2006.
Numerical modelling of contaminant transport in unsatu-
rated soil. Proc. 5th International Congress on Environ-
mental Geotechnics. Cardiff University, UK: 1177–1184.
McElwee, C.D. 1987. Sensitivity analysis of ground water
models. Advanced in Transport Phenomena in Porous
Media. NATO Advanced Study Institute Series. 751–817.
Nazaroff, W.W. & Alvarez-Cohen L. 2001. Environmental
Engineering Science. John Wiley & Sons Inc. USA.
Stasa, F.L. 1985. Applied Finite Element Analysis for Engi-
neers. Holt, Rinehart and Winstone, Inc., Orlando, USA.
Case studies
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Gulfs between theory and practice in unsaturated soil mechanics

G.E. Blight
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

ABSTRACT: It has often been observed that the adoption of new theories or practical innovations in
engineering practice is an exceedingly slow process. The time lapse between publication of a new idea and
its adoption as a commonly used article or procedure may be as long as 25 to 30 years. The paper suggests
that one of the main reasons for this tardy progress is that new theories and other innovations are published
prematurely, or in incomplete form. The potential client or user of an innovation is not given the complete story
from theory to practical application, to verification and validation by field testing. Thus a hiatus or gulf develops
and persists between potential advances of practice and the actual progress of their implementation. The paper
presents two examples of cases where it has been possible to go through this complete process and produce an
essentially complete concept, immediately available for wider use, and resulting in rapid progress.

1 INTRODUCTION Thus in each case, the listener was left wonder-

The motivation for this paper arose from listening
to three invited lectures delivered at a recent inter-
national conference on unsaturated soils. The first
lecture (Nelson et al., 2007) detailed the develop-
ment of semi-empirical methods for estimating the
heave of expansive clay profiles in Colorado and uplift
forces in foundation piers constructed to resist heave.
The second lecture (Alonso and Pineda, 2007) dealt
(amongst other topics) with field measurements of the
swelling generated within soft rocks by the crystal-
lization of soluble salts in the pore water. The third
lecture (Fredlund, 2007) set out protocols for the appli-
cation of unsaturated soil mechanics theory to practical
problems.
Similar methods to those set out in the Nelson lec-
ture have been developed in several parts of the world.
Being semi-empirical, each requires field testing to
establish its validity, and is not transferable to other
geological and climatic regions without re-evaluation
for the new conditions. This was not brought out in the
lecture, nor was satisfactory evidence of the proposal’s
validity in Colorado presented.
The Alonso lecture described the problem and dis-
cussed its causes, but made no suggestions as to how
to avoid or overcome it, except to resist the swelling
forces (in the case discussed) by providing a massively
reinforced concrete lining to a tunnel passing through
the potentially swelling rock.
The Fredlund lecture dealt almost entirely with the
prediction of the SWCC from a choice of one of 14
equations and gave the impression that once the SWCC
had been determined, all other required soil properties
could be satisfactorily predicted there from.
ing how to proceed, what solutions were possible, and
in the case of the suggested procedures, how appli-
cable, realistic, transferable and valid they were. In
each lecture a hiatus or gulf was left between theory
and implementation. Unless such gulfs can be bridged,
the prudent practising geotechnical engineer will
continue to use his present tried and trusted methods
and progress in the application of advances in the the-
ory of unsaturated soils to practice will continue to be
slow.
In an effort to show that gulfs like these can be
bridged, this paper will briefly recall two case histories
in which successful solutions were found, demon-
strated to be valid and applied to practical problems
caused by the effects of unsaturation. In the first
(Blight, 1984), the problem was caused by a water
table depressed by evapotranspiration from a euca-
lyptus plantation. In the second (Blight, 1976), the
cause of the problem was the upward. migration and
subsequent crystallization of salts in solution in the
pore water of crushed stone road bases. In an era
when basic soil phenomena and test techniques are
re-discovered at ten-yearly intervals, e. g. the recent
re-discovery of the principle of the pressure plate
(Buckingham, 1907, Sawangsuriya, et al., 2007), it
is probably not untimely for these two cases to be
recalled.
2 UPLIFT FORCES MEASURED IN PILES
IN EXPANSIVE CLAY
The site of the 3600 MW coal-fired power station at
Lethabo is underlain by soils residual from horizon-
tally bedded siltstone. The site is also crossed by a

883
Figure 1. Depression of water table by evapotranspiration from eucalyptus plantation.

meandering palaeochannel of the nearby Vaal river,

the palaeochannel being filled with river alluvium con-
sisting of desiccated, fissured and shattered claysands.
The residual siltstone occurs as a fissured and shat-
tered clayey silt. Prior to construction, the site was
partly covered by a plantation of closely spaced mature
eucalyptus trees, 20 m in height, the remainder being
farmland on which maize was grown as a summer crop.
During the site investigation it was established that
the water table under the cropped areas was 2 to 3 m
below surface. However, under the trees, the water
table had been depressed to depths of 18 to 22 m
below surface, as shown diagrammatically in Figure
1. Once the trees had been cleared, it was obvious
that the water table would eventually recover. The
desiccated state of the soils as well as the high mea-
sured swell indices would result in severe swelling
of the soil as the water table rose. The potential
extent of the water table recovery was unknown, but
because there is usually a lot of spillage and acci- Figure 2. Summary of strengths measured in small-scale
saturated drained triaxial tests and pulling tests on 1 m dia by
dental leakage of water on the site of an operating
2 m long plugs.
water-cooled thermal power station, it was reason-
able to assume that the final rest level of the water
table would match the 2 m below surface observed
in the cropped land (it eventually rose to 4 m below after saturating and consolidating the soil to the esti-
surface). mated final effective overburden stress. Because of
On this basis the amount of surface heave was cal- the fissured nature of the soil and the known scale
culated to vary from 85 mm on the eastern boundary of effect between small and large specimens, it was later
the power station to 120 mm on the western boundary. decided also to carry out a series of plug-pulling tests
It was therefore decided to found all structures, on concrete plugs approaching the size of the piles
and especially the level-sensitive turbo-alternator and that would be used. The plugs were 2 m in length and
boiler foundations on deep piles designed to resist were cast at the bottom of 1.050 m dia. augered holes,
uplift. drilled to various depths. A drain tube was provided
The shear strength of the soil was measured by to release suction from the base of each plug, and the
means of drained triaxial tests on undisturbed spec- plugs were cast on waxed cardboard void formers to
imens measuring 76 mm dia. by 150 mm long, prevent adhesion of the base to the soil. Two plugs,

884
 forces each amounted to 1500 kN. Thus the test mea-
surements were valid and design and installation of the
piles proceeded, based on the test results.
The completed power station has now operated for
over 20 years with no problems arising from the pile
foundations. Level measurements have confirmed the

Figure 3. Development of tension in test pile 2 with time

and comparison of measured and predicted depth-tension
relationships.

one in alluvium and one in siltstone were tested with

the soil at in situ water content. For the remainder the
soil was soaked for 3 to 4 weeks by flooding the hole
to a depth of 0.5 m above the plug and also filling the
drain tube with water.
Figure 2 summarises the results of the laboratory
and plug-pulling tests. On the basis of the plug tests, a
group of seven 1.050 m dia. by 33 m deep instrumented
piles was installed with a centre-to-centre spacing of
2.625 m. Three of the piles were instrumented to Figure 4. Shear stresses developed down length of pile and
measure pile tension and were arranged to give the comparison with measured shear strength-depth relationship.
equivalent of a corner, a side and an interior pile of a
pile group.
The soil surrounding the pile group was flooded
via a grid of sand-filled water injection holes, and
the development of the pile tensions was observed by
means of the built-in instruments. Figure 3 shows the
development of tension in one of the test piles with
time and compares the measurements with the design
tension based on the plug-pulling tests. Figure 4 pro-
vides a check on the overall validity of the test results.
It represents the differentiation with depth of the pile
tensions to give the distribution of shear stresses devel-
oped down the depth of each of the pile shafts. For
vertical force equilibrium of the pile, the area of the
shear stress diagram above the depth at which the
shear stress line crosses zero must equal that of the
shear stress diagram below, i.e., the measured uplift
and anchorage forces must be equal. For piles 1 and 2
(the corner and side piles), the areas of the uplift and
anchorage force diagrams were each 2000 kN, while Figure 5. Profiles of soluble salt content beneath (a) a dam-
for pile 3 (the interior pile) the uplift and anchorage aged asphalt surfacing and (b) an undamaged surfacing.

885
Figure 6. (a) White salt stains on a road surface after a light rain shower (b) Salt blisters on the surface of the road
shown in (a).

886
predicted heave movements of the soil surface sur-
rounding the power station. The foundations for the
next power station to be built on similar soils, that
at Majuba, were designed following a similar proce-
dure. Thus the process was complete, leaving no gulf
between theory and application.
3 DAMAGE TO PAVEMENT SURFACINGS
CAUSED BY UPWARD MIGRATION OF
SOLUBLE SALTS
Problems with soluble salts in road-making materials
have been reported from Australia, India, South Africa
and the United States (e.g. Netterberg, 1970).
In coastal areas, salts commonly consist of sodium
and magnesium chlorides derived from seawater.
Inland, sulphates of sodium, magnesium, iron and
calcium are common, and derive from oxidation by
natural weathering processes of metallic sulphides.
Mine waste rock, ash, clinker, slag, and other rock-
like industrial wastes frequently contain soluble salts.
If waste containing salts is used to construct road or
pavement layers, and especially in arid to semi-arid
climates, evaporation will cause the salts to migrate to
the surface in solution and may cause physical damage
to road or pavement surfacings when they crystallize
out at or just below the surface. Figure 5 shows pro-
files of soluble salt content (a) for a damaged asphalt
surfacing and (b) for an undamaged surfacing.
Typically, the first sign of damage to a road surface
is the appearance of white streaks and patches on the
surface after a light rain shower, as shown in Figure 6a.
The damage may progress to the formation of salt-
filled blisters in the surfacing, as shown (at the same
site) in Figure 6b. Depending on the size and intensity
of the blistering (individual blisters may be as large as
150 mm in dia. and 50 mm high), traffic may break up
the blistered surface and cause pot-holes to form.
Figure 5 gives two clues as to how to overcome the
problem of salt blistering:
a. For new construction, material containing more
than a defined maximum of soluble salts should
not be used.
b. It will be noted from Figure 5a that the damaged
surfacing is only about 10 mm thick, whereas
(Figure 5b) the undamaged one is 40 mm thick.
Moreover, the salt content of the damaged sur-
facing is higher than that of the material below it,
showing that salt has concentrated within the pores
of the asphalt. This indicates that the surfacing
is relatively permeable and has allowed salt-laden
pore water to move upwards and evaporate at the
surface, depositing the salt. In contrast, the salt
content of the undamaged surfacing is negligible,
showing that it is sufficiently impervious, not to
887
have allowed pore water to evaporate through it.
The migration of salt shown in Figure 5b must
have taken place before the surfacing was applied.
Thus an effective preventive measure would be to
use thicker surfacings, designed to be impervious.
c. As a third possible prophylactic measure, the sol-
ubility of the salts can be substantially reduced by
treating the aggregate with a high calcium slaked
lime. This converts the more soluble sodium,
magnesium and iron sulphates to calcium sul-
phate which has a much lower solubility of only
0.02 g/litre, and reduces the mobility of the salts.
Further investigation in several localities showed that
salt blistering did not occur, provided that the overall
salt content of the road aggregate was less than 0.2%
by dry mass. Also, if the ratio of the asphalt perme-
ability in mm/s to the surfacing thickness in mm was
les than 30 × 10−6 /s, no salt blistering was observed.
Of a), b) and c) above, a) is the most useful for new
construction. Sources of crushed rock, or other gran-
ular material are now routinely tested for soluble salt
content. If the salt content exceeds 0.2% by dry mass,
it is rejected for use as road or surfacing aggregate, or
it may be treated with lime.
For the repair of salt-damaged surfacings, an over-
lay of impervious asphalt is used in a thickness to
give a maximum ratio of permeability to thickness of
30 × 10−6 /s. The results of the completed investiga-
tion could be applied immediately, no hiatus existed
between theory and application, and progress was
made immediately.
4 CONCLUSION
If they are to contribute to progress in the applied prac-
tice of the geotechnics of unsaturated soils, potential
advances, such as new theories or techniques must
be demonstrated to be valuable and viable by field
application and testing, followed by a report or pub-
lication that details the complete progression from
theory, to testing, to design, to practical application
and evaluation.
Publication of parts of the progression have a value
as milestones toward progress, but will only result in
progress once all of the steps have been completed and
a comprehensive report has been made available.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E. and Pineda, J.A. 2007. Degradation of
argillaceous rocks: a challenge for unsaturated geome-
chanics. 3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
3–26, Nanjing, China: Science Press. (ISBN 7-03-
018739- 0/TU.535).
Blight, G.E. 1976. Migration of subgrade salts damages thin
pavements. Transportation Engineering Journal, ASCE,
Vol. 102, No. TE4, 779–791.
Blight, G.E. 1984. Uplift forces measured in piles in expan-
sive clay. 5th International Conference on Expansive Soils
363–367, Adelaide, Australia.
Buckingham, E. 1907. Studies of the movement of soil mois-
ture. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils,
Bull 10.
Fredlund, D.G. 2007. Engineering design protocols for
unsaturated soils. 3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated
Soils, 27–46, Nanjing, China: Science Press. (ISBN
7-03-018739-0/TU.535).
888
Nelson, J.D., Chao, K.-C. and Overton, D.D. 2007. Design of
pier foundations on expansive soils. 3rd Asian Conference
on Unsaturated Soils, 97–108, Nanjing, China: Science
Press (ISBN 7-03-018739-0/TU.535).
Netterberg, F. 1970. Occurrence and testing for deleteri-
ous salts in road construction materials with particular
reference to calcretes. Symposium on Soils and Earth
Structures in Arid Climates, 87–92, Adelaide, Australia.
Sawangsuriya, A., Edil, T.B., Benson, C.H. and Wang, X.
2007. A simple setup for inducing matrix suction.
3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils, 499–504,
Nanjing, China: Science Press (ISBN 7-03-018739-0/
TU.535).
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

The repeatability of soil water balances at the same site from year to year

G.E. Blight
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

ABSTRACT: The soil water balance has been shown to be a characteristic that is essential to establish for an
unsaturated soil site, if the subsequent engineering behaviour of the site is to be fully understood. Establishing
a soil water balance requires at least a year of observations and measurements. Even then there may be some
doubt if the water balance measurements are repeatable, let alone representative for future years. If it can be
shown that water balance measurements are repeatable and reliable, the effects of variation in annual rainfall
can be estimated with fair confidence, and the long term soil behaviour predicted more reliably.
It so happened that the annual rainfall for the site described in this paper was near-identical in the 2004/2005
and 2005/2006 wet seasons, both in total quantity and distribution with time. This has allowed a comparison to
be made, showing that water balance measurements for the two similar years were also similar. Unfortunately,
variability of soil water distribution and uncertainty in its measurement does not permit a more definite statement.
However, the similarity is close enough to strengthen the case for a water balance to be defined whenever an
important unsaturated soil site is to be characterized.

1 INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION 1.2 The experimental site

1.1 The soil water balance
To understand the interaction between local climate
and the soil water system, it is necessary to evaluate
the annual soil water balance, which can be written
symbolically as:
   
R− RO + S − E= RE + losses (1)
In which the summation is carried out over at least a full
year and where R = rainfall, RO = runoff and
therefore (R −RO) = infiltration at the soil surface,
S = water stored in the soil, E = evapotranspiration
at the soil surface and RE = recharge to water table.
‘‘Losses’’ represent inaccuracies in the measurements
or lack of definition of boundary conditions in the
water balance or soil system. For a complete evalua-
tion of equation (1) data must be available for each of
the terms in the equation. In the present case, mea-
surements are available for all of the terms on the left
hand side of the equation for the two years being con-
sidered, although those for E are a composite of
values measured over a period of several years, and
not specifically for the years under consideration.
The site under study is at Clarens, situated in the Free
State Province of South Africa at latitude 28◦ 31 South
and longitude 28◦ 26 East, at an elevation of 2000 m
above sea level. Clarens is in the foothills of the Maluti
mountain range and is ringed by mudstone and sand-
stone cliffs of the Clarens formation, which in turn are
capped by strata of basaltic Stormberg lavas. The test
site is situated on a gently sloping plain of colluvium
consisting of clayey silt deriving from the decompo-
sition of the sandstones, mudstones and lavas. The
soil is moderately expansive/shrinkable and contains
closely spaced slickensides and extensive microfis-
suring between slickensides. The sand, silt and clay
contents vary as follows:
Sand 20 to 25%
Silt 47 to 53%
Clay 22 to 33%
The soil profile varies in depth from 0.5 to 2 m
and is almost unchanged from surface down to the
underlying sandstone. The water table lies within the
sandstone at 5 to 7 m below surface. At the part of the
site which was investigated, the soil depth is a uniform

889
0.5 m and the profile changes abruptly from soil to
weathered sandstone.
The climate at the site is continental with warm
moist summers (daily temperatures between +10 and
+25◦ C) and cool dry winters (−10 to +15◦ C).
1.3 The experimental objectives
Although, with the aid of equation (1) and a set of
appropriate measurements for a year, the water bal-
ance for a site can be defined, the equation can seldom
be closed perfectly because of the unknown losses
and difficulties in accurately defining the recharge
term RE and the evapotranspiration E (e.g., Smethurst
et al., 2006).
As the main input to the equation is rainfall, and this
can vary widely from year to year and has an effect on
evapotranspiration, it is seldom possible to compare
the water balance for one year with that of another
having identical rainfall. Thus it is seldom possible
to confirm the accuracy of the process of defining a
water balance, by direct comparison of years with the
same rainfall.
It was noticed that the total rainfall for the periods
from 01 November 2004 to 31 October 2005, and 01
November 2005 to 31 October 2006 were very sim-
ilar, thus providing a rare opportunity for comparing
Figure 1. Comparison of cumulative rainfall recorded at Clarens for the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 wet seasons (The evapo-
transpiration (E) line has been built up from observations made over several years; it does not relate specifically to 2004,
2005 or 2006).
890
the water balances for two different years. The paper
will describe the comparison and show that although
the water balances are similar, measurements are not
sufficiently accurate to say they are identical. It is
believed that the main differences arise from difficul-
ties in accurately measuring in situ water content in
the highly fissured soil at Clarens.
2 THE RAINFALL AND
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION RECORDS
Figure 1 shows the cumulative rainfall for the two peri-
ods 01 November 2004 to 31 October 2005 (878 mm)
and 01 November 2005 to 31 October 2006 (855 mm,
97% of the previous year). Because antecedent rainfall
will have some effect on the following year, an over-
lap from 01 May to 31 October is shown in both cases.
Also, the cumulative rainfall for the antecedent year,
01 November 2003 to 31 October 2004 was 658 mm.
That is, the two year period of study was preceded by a
drier year in which the rainfall was 76% of that in the
two subsequent years, for which year 1 was slightly
wetter than year 2.
In both cases, the line representing E is a compos-
ite line, established by energy balance measurements
(e.g. Blight, 2006) over a period of several years.
The line applies specifically to a grass-covered sur-
face, unaffected by the presence of trees or shrubs.
In each case, the point at which the R line crosses
the E line represents the time at which the rainfall
starts to exceed the evapotranspiration and the soil
water goes from deficit to surplus. Note that in the
two May to October periods studied, this occurred in
late December.
2.1 Analyses of rainfall records
Figure 1 gives a visual impression of the similarity
of the cumulative rainfall records for the two peri-
ods under consideration, and this is supported by the
analyses that follow.
Figure 2a shows analyses of the annual rainfall by
24 hour events and Figure 2b by quantity of rainfall in
each 24 hour event. The analysis by 24 hour events
shows that the rainfall event distribution was very
similar for the two years, with small rainfall events
(<20 mm) being slightly less frequent in 2004/2005
than in 2005/2006 and bigger events (>20 mm)
slightly more frequent.
The analysis by quantity is a combination of the
records for the two one-year periods and shows that
74% of the annual rainfall quantity fell almost evenly
distributed in 24 hour events of between 5 and 40 mm
Figure 2. Analyses of 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 rainfall
distributions by (a) % of 24-hour events and (b) % of total
annual rainfall.
891
with only 15% of annual rain falling in 24 hour events
of more than 40 mm.
2.2 Runoff at this site
The rainfall analysis by 24 hour event has an impor-
tant bearing on the runoff term RO in equation (1).
In a set of artificial rainfall and runoff measurements,
made on a 10 m2 runoff plot, 80 mm of artificial
rainfall was applied by a sprinkler in 7 hours (i.e.,
according to Figure 2a, the equivalent of a rare and
intense 24 hour event). The cumulative runoff was only
0.7 mm, or 0.9% of rainfall, with 99% infiltrating, 4%
re-evaporating, 68% adding to storage and 27% exit-
ing the base of the soil profile as recharge. At this
site, the soil is clayey, but it is also intensely fissured,
and the fissuring controls the rate of infiltration. Thus,
runoff will be negligible for all likely rainfall intensi-
ties, and all rainfall can be assumed to infiltrate. Thus
equation (1) can be simplified to
  
R+S− E= RE + losses (1a)
3 A COMPARISON OF WATER CONTENT
PROFILES FOR THE TWO YEARS
Figure 3 compares two water content profiles at right
angles to a line of Populus nigra trees, measured by
means of a ‘‘Diviner’’ instrument in late September
2005 and 2006. (These are referred to as ‘‘tree pro-
files’’ in Figure 1. The ‘‘bush profiles’’ also referred
to in Figure 1 have not been shown for lack of space.)
In Figure 3, the numbers represent the measured
percentage of gravimetric water content, with the dec-
imal point marking the location of the measurement.
The Diviner instrument, which senses the in situ water
content of the soil by measuring its electrical capac-
itance, had been carefully calibrated for the Clarens
soil against gravimetric water contents measured on
hand-augered soil samples during 2005/2006 (Blight,
2007). Figure 4 shows the calibration line for Diviner
readings versus gravimetric measurements on auger
samples taken on the same grid as the Diviner mea-
surements. Figure 4 also shows the calibration line in
the laboratory using a compacted uniform fine sand.
In the end, 70 pairs of measurements were made to
establish the calibration between the Diviner reading
and the in situ soil gravimetric water content.
The calibration for in situ water content is not only
very different to that for the uniform soil, but also
has considerable scatter probably because of the dis-
continuous fissured nature of the soil. Even though
the correlation coefficient for the calibration data was
0.93, measurements by the Diviner were uncertain.
For example, a measurement for which the correlation
Figure 3. Comparison of water content contours adjacent to a line of Populus nigra trees measured in September 2005
and 2006.

line indicated a gravimetric water content of 30% was

actually 30% ± 7%. This uncertainty must be borne
in mind when considering the water content contours
in Figure 3. It is tempting to blame the uncertainty
entirely on short-comings of the Diviner instrument
which is obviously badly affected by fissuring of the
soil, but actual variability in the distribution of soil
water in the highly fissured soil, which may also be
more heterogeneous than it appears to be, may also be
an important source of the variability.
The biggest discrepancy between the 2005 and 2006
contours occurs at depths of 400 to 500 mm (Figure 3).
In this region, the largest discrepancy is 39.6 − 24.3 =
15.6% which is slightly larger than the total calibration
uncertainty of 14%. Apart from this, the contours bear
a visual resemblance to each other. In particular, the
water content depression caused by the trees is clearly
Figure 4. Laboratory and field calibrations of the Diviner. evident, and was similar in both years.

892
Figure 5. Comparison of water stored in soil profile adjacent (a) to a line of trees and (b) to a line of bushes, measured in
September 2005 and July 2006.
Figure 5a shows the water stored in the soil (S), cor-
responding to the water contents shown in Figure 3,
and Figure 5b for the line of bushes mentioned earlier.
For the trees, the 2005 storage quantities everywhere
exceed those for 2006, but the 2005 rainfall was
slightly higher than in 2006. The two profiles are
much closer in the drier region adjacent to the trees.
For the bushes, the stored water profiles are very much
closer, and almost coincide at distances of more than
5 m from the bushes. It is, however, necessary to
consider that because of the uncertainty of the water
content measurements, the profiles for the bushes may
actually be further apart than they appear to be, and
the water profiles for the trees, closer.
893
4 CONCLUSIONS
A water content measurement appears to be one of the
simplest and most fundamental that can be made in soil
mechanics. However, Figure 4 shows that it is far from
simple to make consistent and variation-free measure-
ments of in situ water content, particularly in fissured
soils. If an indirect method of water content measure-
ment is used, the method will be difficult to calibrate
in the field and the uncertainty in the calibration may
arise both from instrumental and soil characteristics.
If allowance is made for these difficulties, it is prob-
ably fair to say that in years that have rainfall with
similar distributions in quantity, time and intensity,
soil water distributions by water content and storage Blight, G.E. 2007. Experience with calibrating an instrument
will be similar. Hence the water balances for these for ascertaining the in situ water content of soil by measur-
years will be similar, and hence suitable to use for ing the soil electrical capacitance. In: UnSat-Asia 2007,
predicting soil water conditions in other years. Proceedings, 3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils,
451–456, Nanjing, China, Science Press.
Smethurst, J.A., Clarke, D. & Powrie, W. 2006. Seasonal
changes in pore water pressure in a grass-covered cut slope
REFERENCES in London clay. Geotechnique, 56(8), 523–537.

Blight, G.E. 2006. Measuring evaporation from grassed

surfaces and trees by energy balance. In G.A. Miller,
C.E. Zapata, S.L. Houston & D.G. Fredlund (eds), Unsat-
urated Soils 2006, Geotechnical Special Publication No.
147:1:293–303, Reston, VA, U.S.A., American Society of
Civil Engineers.

894
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Near-surface movement of water in unsaturated soil during

evapotranspiration

G.E. Blight
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

ABSTRACT: Although the overall thermodynamics of the process of evapotranspiration is reasonably well
understood, the way in which water moves up to a soil surface prior to being evapotranspired does not seem to
have been studied in detail. After examining the variation of evaporation potential throughout the day, by means
of measurements of solar surface energy, the paper examines diurnal and nocturnal near-surface moisture move-
ment. This is followed by a longer-term study of the depletion of near-surface soil water by evapotranspiration,
and its replenishment by upward water flow from deeper soil layers.

1 INTRODUCTION The measurements were made on the experimental site

A series of experiments designed to give information
on the mechanisms by which water migrates to the
surface of a soil and is lost to the atmosphere by evapo-
transpiration is described. The experimental area is
covered by a thick growth of a creeping grass, growing
in a colluvial silty sand for which the particle size
analysis is shown in Figure 1.
The daily quantity of evapotranspiration can be
measured quite simply by measuring the components
of the surface energy balance equation (e.g. Calder
1990, Schmugge & Andre 1991):
at the autumnal equinox.
LE in kJ/m2 can be used to calculate the quantity
of daily evapotranspiration by dividing the daily total
LE by the latent heat of vaporization λ in kJ/kg, i.e.
evapotranspiration = LE/λ in kg/m2 /day, the equiv-
alent of mm of water/day. For water, λ varies almost
linearly with temperature (e.g. Calder, 1990) from
2 477 kJ/kg at 10◦ C to 2 417 kJ/kg at 35◦ C, i.e. by
2.4 kJ/kg per ◦ C. In an unsaturated soil, evaporation

LE = Rn + W − (G + H + P) (1)

where LE is the latent heat consumed in evapotran-

spiration, Rn is the net incoming solar energy, W is
the wind energy, G is the energy expended on heating
the near-surface soil (the soil heat), H is the energy
consumed in heating the near-surface air (the sensible
heat), and P is the energy used in plant photo-synthesis
(usually less than 2% of Rn and therefore negligible).
In maritime climates W and H are linked because
the wind can move large volumes of warm or cold
air in from the sea or out from the land. However,
in continental climates, where these experiments were
per formed, both W and H are negligible (Blight 2002)
and equation (1) becomes

LE = Rn − G (1a)

Figure 2 shows measurements of the variation of Rn ,

the net solar power in W/m2 , Rn the integration with
time of Rn in kJ/m2 and (Rn − G), also in kJ/m2 . Figure 1. Particle size analysis for soil from test area.

895
Figure 2. Measurements of net solar power Rn (W/m2 ) and cumulative net solar energy Rn (kJ/m2 ) received by grassed
surface at experimental area. The inset shows near-surface soil temperature profiles at sunrise (06.00), noon and sunset (18.00).
could occur throughout the depth of heating of the soil
(see Figure 2). Hence it is probably fair to use a value
for λ that corresponds to the mean temperature in the
depth of heated soil.
Although an estimation of the daily quantum of
evapotranspiration can be made, the way in which the
water moves up to the surface and escapes as vapour is
obscure. It is known that evapotranspiration can draw
water to the surface from depths of more than 10 m
(e.g. Blight, 2006), thus the reservoir of water avail-
able for transpiration may be large. It will be seen
from Figure 2 that the solar power input is negligible
between sunset and sunrise, so that the major impetus
for upward water flow to the soil surface prevails only
during the daylight hours. One can envisage this as
happening in two stages:
1.1 During daylight hours, water will be evapotran-
spired from the soil surface, inducing increased
soil water suction in the near-surface layers. The
suction gradient will induce an upward wave of
water flow in the soil.
1.2 In general, upward flow of the available near-
surface water will not, by nightfall, have equili-
brated with the solar-induced increase in suction.
896
During the night, upward flow will continue,
but evapotranspiration from the surface will not
occur as available latent heat of evaporation will
be negligible. In addition, because of cooling
of the soil surface during the night (see the
temperature profiles in Figure 2) there will be
a slight upward flow induced by the tempera-
ture gradient. The water content of near-surface
soil will decrease during the day, but the suc-
tion and temperature equilibration processes will
cause a slight increase of water content during the
night.
2 MEASUREMENTS OF NEAR-SURFACE
SOIL WATER CONTENT
To check the correctness of the above concept, two
soil cores, each 100 mm diameter by 100 mm length
were cut from the test area about 1 m apart. They were
extracted by driving in a 1 mm wall thickness core-
cutter, carefully undercutting and loosening the core
cutter (plus grass-covered soil core) using a trowel with
a face curved to 100 mm diameter, and then extract-
ing the core cutter with its contained soil. Both cores

Figure 3. Results of water content sampling in ‘‘undis-
turbed’’ cores of soil.
(in their core cutters) were returned to their holes.
Core 1 was sampled at 18h00 (sunset) by removing it
from its hole, carefully extruding it upwards from its
core-cutter and then drilling sample holes in its sides,
by hand, on a vertical line, at depths of 15, 45 and
75 mm below the soil surface, using a 12.5 mm diam-
eter spade drill bit. The core was then pushed back
into the core-cutter and returned to its hole. The pro-
cess was repeated at 06h00 (sunrise) and 18h00 the
next day and 06h00 on the third day, each time sam-
pling on a line at 90◦ in plan to the previous sample
line. Sampling of core 2 was started at 18h00 on day
3 with sampling being completed at 06h00 on day 5.
The results of the water content sampling opera-
tion are shown in Figure 3. For core 1, the nocturnal
increases in water content, followed by the diurnal
decrease are clearly shown. By the end of day 3, core 2
had dried out considerably, and the nocturnal increases
are not very clear. Measurements at 75 mm depth
were abandoned on day 4 because the lower part of
the core was crumbling. Nevertheless, the experiment
showed that the two-stage process, described above,
does indeed occur.
3 LONGER TERM MEASUREMENTS USING
GYPSUM BLOCK AND GLASS FIBRE
WATER CONTENT SENSORS
The longer-term measurements were intended to study
near-surface changes in water content over periods of
two or more weeks, and hence destructive sampling
could not be used. The measurements were made by
897
means of gypsum block (Soil moisture) and glass fibre
mat (ELE) sensors. (See Figure 5) The sensors were
installed as follows. An undisturbed core of soil was
extracted as described above. The core, in the core-
cutter, was placed in a sealed plastic bag in the shade
while the sensors were installed in the sides of the core-
hole. The gypsum blocks were installed (one each)
at depths of 15, 45 and 75 mm below the surface (at
120◦ in plan) by hand-drilling a hole horizontally into
the soil using a spade bit slightly smaller in diameter
than the sensor. The three sensors were then pushed
into their holes in the side of the core hole and the
electrical leads taken up the side of the hole. The core
was then carefully extruded from the core-cutter and
returned to its hole. The glass fibre mats were installed
in a similar way, except that slots to fit the flat sensors
were gouged out using a knife blade.
The two instrumented holes were left for two
months to equilibrate and for the grass to re-grow,
before starting the measurements. In the meantime,
a third 100 mm × 100 mm core with grass growing
on its surface and with a gypsum block and a glass
fibre mat mounted in it on opposite sides at a depth
of 50 mm, was introduced into a Perspex cylinder of
100 mm diameter and height, with a closed base,
in order to calibrate the sensor readings against the
overall water content of the core. (See Figure 6).
The calibration core was kept under cover and
allowed to dry out very slowly from the surface by
allowing four hours of drying (06h00 to 10h00), fol-
lowed by 20 hours with the top surface sealed to allow
moisture equilibration, before reading the sensors. The
sensors installed in the experimental plot were mea-
sured over a period of 15 days in June (the winter
solstice) and 7 days in September (the spring equinox).
Space limitations allow only one set of detailed results
to be included in this paper, and those for June have
been chosen. Surface energy measurements (similar to
those in Figure 2) gave an estimate of the daily loss by
evapotranspiration at this time of year of 0.9 mm/day
(0.9 kg water/m2 /day).
The measurements were made at 06h00 each day,
when the sensors were most likely to be at equilib-
rium, and the results are shown in Figure 4. The graphs
show a slowing decline of water content that is sim-
ilar at depths of 15, 45 and 75 mm. For both sets of
sensors, the overall water content loss was about 15%
at all depths which is equivalent to 0.5 mm of water
per day. Surface energy measurements had indicated
a daily total loss of 0.9 mm/day and hence the daily
upflow from the soil below 75 mm depth was about
0.4 mm/day. It will be seen that the water contents in
Figure 3 are much lower than those shown in Figure 4.
This apparent discrepancy is because measurements in
Figure 4 are based on the dry mass of an undisturbed
soil core, riddled with grass roots and having a dry den-
sity of only 650 kg/m3 , whereas the measurements in
Figure 4. Decline of water content of near-surface soil as a result of evapotranspiration.

Figure 3 are based on samples of soil solids with about
twice the dry density of the core.
To confirm that the overall evapotranspiration was
partly drawn from soil below the depths of the sensors,
the soil in the vicinity of the two sets of sensors was
sampled for water content both before and after the
tests in September. The results of this sampling are
shown in Figure 7. For the observations in September,
surface energy measurements indicated a daily total
water loss of 1.9 mm/day. The sensor measurements
indicated a water loss from the top 75 mm of soil of
0.6 mm/day, and hence an upflow from deeper soil of

898
Figure 5. Gypsum block on the left and glass fibre sensor on the right (scale is centimetres).

Figure 6. Set-up for calibration of the sensor readings against the water content of the soil core.

899
Figure 7. Water content profiles before and after observations in September.
1.3 mm/day. The water content sampling confirmed
that an average of 0.6 mm of water per day was lost
from the surface down to 75 mm, and also showed that
an additional 0.5 mm/day was lost from 75 to 200 mm,
a total loss of 1.1 mm/day. This left 0.8 mm/day to be
drawn to the surface from below a depth of 200 mm.
(Measurements could not be extended below 200 mm
because of a dense gravel layer that occurs below
this depth.)
4 CONCLUSIONS
The measurements described here show the
following:
a. Because evapotranspiration from a soil surface
is driven by the availability of latent heat of
evaporation, as shown in Figure 2, almost all loss of
water from the soil surface must take place during
daylight hours.
b. Evapotranspiration from the surface depletes water
in the near-surface and deeper soil. The depletion
near the surface is partly offset by upward flow from
deeper soil during the hours of darkness, as shown
by Figure 3.
c. Over periods of several days, if there is no replen-
ishment of water by rain or irrigation at the surface,
the water content of the near-surface soil continu-
ally declines. Figure 4 shows that the decline occurs
more or less uniformly down to a depth of at least
900
75 mm, and possibly to greater depths than this. The
measurements in Figure 4, when compared with
surface energy measurements, show that water lost
from the surface is partly replaced by upflow from
deeper soil layers.
d. The changes in the water content profile, observed
during the September tests, and shown in Figure 7,
confirm that water lost from the soil by evapotran-
spiration is drawn partly from soil at shallow depths
and partly from deeper layers.
Thus the results of the experiments confirm the prin-
ciples of the process of water loss from soil by
evapotranspiration, as described in sections 1.1 and
1.2, as well as providing details of the process.
REFERENCES
Blight, G.E. 2002. Measuring evaporation from soil surfaces
for environmental and geotechnical purposes. Water S.A.
28(4), 381–394.
Blight, G.E. 2006. The infiltrate-stabilize-evapotranspire or
ISE landfill cover. In G.A. Miller, C.E. Zapata, S.L.
Houston & D.G. Fredlund (eds), Unsaturated Soils 2006,
Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147: 1: 753–764,
American Society of Civil Engineers.
Calder, I.R. 1990. Evaporation in the Uplands, Chichester,
U.K.: Wiley.
Schmugge, T.J. and Andre, J.-C. 1991. (Eds). Land Surface
Evaporation. Measurement and Parameterization, New
York, U.S.A.: Springer.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Studies of rainfall-induced landslides in Thailand and Singapore

A. Jotisankasa & B. Kulsawan

Department of Civil Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

D.G. Toll
School of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, UK
Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore

H. Rahardjo
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

ABSTRACT: The paper reports on field, laboratory and computational studies of the mechanisms of
rainfall-induced landslides carried out in Thailand and Singapore. Shallow landslides due to rainfall are common
in both countries, as well as other parts of South East Asia. In both countries, field studies have been performed
to monitor the changes in pore-water pressure resulting from rainfall infiltration. In Thailand, suctions have been
measured using a new miniature tensiometer developed by Kasetsart University. In Singapore, commercially
available ‘‘jet-fill’’ tensiometers were used. The observations include suction changes due to natural rainfall
events and also using rainfall simulators to impose precipitation with controlled intensity and duration. The
field data suggest the formation of a near-saturated zone along the slope surface (where most of the pore-water
pressure changes take place) explains why many failures are shallow in nature (1–2 m deep). Experience in
Thailand and Singapore shows many similarities between the mechanisms of failure and the paper highlights
this common experience.

1 INTRODUCTION of several failure modes, such as shallow movement,

Landslides are often triggered by rainfall, particularly
in tropical climatic regions such as South East Asia
where rain storms can be very intense. Major land-
slides occur all too often, but minor landslides occur
even more frequently (Figure 1). Although minor land-
slides may not lead to loss of human life, they still have
economic and social impact.
This paper draws parallels between research on
rainfall-induced landslides in Singapore and Thailand.
Field, laboratory and computational studies of the
mechanisms of rainfall-induced landslides have been
carried out in both countries. The common experi-
ences between the two countries can contribute to a
wider understanding of the landslide problem in South
East Asia.
2 LANDSLIDE STUDIES IN THAILAND
Rainfall-induced landslides have occurred frequently
in many hill slope areas of Thailand during the wet
seasons of the past several years. These slides were
deep-seated slide, and rock fall. The most destruc-
tive mode of landslide in Thailand is generally the
shallow mass movement of the soil with depths of
about 0.5–3 m. As shown in Figure 1b, where torren-
tial rain brought about numerous shallow soil slides in
the North of Thailand, which were mixed with flash
floods, and transformed into rapid debris flows with
considerably destructive force.
As pointed out by a number of pioneer researchers
(e.g. Crozier & Eyles, 1980, Lumb, 1975), landslide
occurrence can be correlated with rainfall pattern.
Rainfall patterns when major landslides occurred in
Thailand are plotted in Figure 2. Landslide events in
the figure involved 30–160 shallow slides with depths
of 0.5–3 m. These rain patterns provide a useful tool
for roughly indicating when major landslides are likely
to occur. Of course, rainfall is not sufficient in itself to
explain slope failures (evapo-transpiration and runoff
are also important components) but nevertheless rain-
fall provides an easily measured indicator.
In Thailand early warnings will be issued to com-
munities near hill slopes when the daily rainfall or
accumulated rainfall over a couple of days exceeds

901
 When the soil is unsaturated, suction or negative pore-
water pressure provides additional strength to the soil,
hence stabilizing the slope. This additional strength
disappears during an intense rainstorm when the soil
becomes saturated and pore-water pressure becomes
zero. The pore-water pressure can also become more
positive due to seepage forces or perturbation of the
soil slope, and the shear strength can be reduced even
further as effective stress decreases. The increases in
excess pore-water pressure and its threshold effect
in destabilizing the slope in tropical areas can be
explained by the reduction of permeability with depth
(Vaughan, 1985) or by changes in permeability with
suction or degree of saturation (Tsaparas and Toll,
2002).
In order to understand the infiltration process and
consequently the relations between rainfall, soil mois-
ture, and landslide occurrence, field infiltration tests
were carried out on 6 research slopes located in the
areas where landslides had occurred (Figure 3). Infil-
tration characteristics of four research slopes (OMK,
UD, TK, CB, and PP) were studied using artificial
rainfall for a period of about 2 days, while the slope
TD was monitored under natural climatic condition for
longer period. Only site CB is presented here. The CB
test area was a square plot of about 5 × 5 m2 , sloped at
Figure 1. Rainfall-induced landslides in a) NTU campus, about 18◦ and instrumented with tensiometers, runoff
Singapore (1995) and b) Uttaradit, Northern Thailand (2007). collector and rain gauge. The tensiometers used were
developed by Kasetsart University (KU), using a com-
mercially available MEMs pressure sensor, and are
500
described in Jotisankasa et al. (2007). The tensiome-
ters were installed at depths of 0.04, 0.15, 0.30, and
400 0.50 m. The depth to hard weathered granitic bedrock
1999 at CD
varied between 0.50 to 1.00 m within the test plot. The
300 (40slides) probable failure plane was considered to take place
within these depths. The materials found at the test
200 area are mainly low plasticity clayey sand, silty sand,
2006 at UD
and well-graded gravel at greater depth. They have
100
(160slides) liquid limit of 40–60%, plasticity index of 10–25%,
2001 at CD (46slides)
and typically contain 20–40% of silt and clay sized
2003 at Phuket
(30slides) particles. The saturated permeability varies between
0
10−5 m/s and 10−6 m/s. The rainfall intensity and
0 100 200 300 400 500
runoff collected during rainfall simulation are shown
in Figure 4. The variations of suction profile with time
Figure 2. Rainfall events leading to major landslide events are also shown in Figures 5 and 6.
in Thailand. The rainfall simulation was carried out in stages
over a period of about 45 hours. The first stage (Hours
0–16) involved installation of tensiometers and other
100, 200, and 300 mm for areas with medium, high, instruments, as well as equilibration of reading. Initial
and very high risk of landslide, respectively. Never- suctions were only around 1–4 kPa, indicating rela-
theless, the criterion of rain patterns used for issuing tively moist profiles before the test. During Hours
warnings is largely empirical and would be subjected 16–22, there was some slight rain falling naturally,
to a number of factors such as soil type, vegetation which was followed by rapid reduction of suction at
covers, slope gradient as well as geological structures. a depth of 0.04 m at Hour 22 (Figure 5). The first
Soil slopes in Thailand are normally unsaturated simulation of rainfall with an intensity of 174 mm/day
during the dry season and the groundwater is nor- (7.25 mm/hour) then started from Hour 22, until Hour
mally at depth of more than 10 m most of the year. 26 when suction became zero to a depth of 0.5 m.

902
 OMK, Chiangmai province -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
0 Time of
UD, Uttaradit province measurement, hr
0. 1
TK, Tak province 41.12

0. 2
TD, Nakorn-Nayok 41.33

province 0. 3
41.47

CB, Chantaburi province 0. 4

41.73

0. 5
PP, Nakorn-Sri- 41.9

-Thammarat province

Figure 3. Locations of research slopes in Thailand. Figure 6. Variation of pore-water pressure during rainfall
simulation (stage 2).

500
450 Rainfall 3
400
350
After the first artificial rainfall, the tensiometers
300
Rainfall 2 were left in the ground overnight during Hours 26–41.
250 The suctions at Hour 41 reached values of around
200 Rainfall 1
Run-off
1–3 kPa due to evaporation and redistribution of soil
150 moisture during Hours 26–41 (Figure 6). The second
100
Natural rain Run-off
stage of artificial rain was then imposed on the slope
50
0
at the intensity of 283 mm/day (11.8 mm/hour) for a
0 10 20 30 40 50 period of about 3 hours. The soil depth of 0.5 m became
nearly saturated when the 2nd simulation continued
for about 0.8 hour, equivalent to rainfall of 9.4 mm.
Figure 4. Rainfall and runoff for CB slope.
The difference between the total amount of rainfall
required to saturate the soil thickness during 1st and
2nd simulation (29 mm and 9.4 mm, respectively) is
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
caused by the difference in initial soil suction, as well
0 as the soil wetness.
Time of
measurement, hr The soil-water retention curves of the undisturbed
0.1 soil samples from the research slope were also deter-
20
mined using the Kasetsart University (KU) tensiome-
0.2 22 ter. Undisturbed samples with diameter of about
60 mm were collected from an open test pit using
0.3 23
miniature soil core at depths of 0.10, 0.50 and 1.0 m.
0.4
24 The suction of a soil sample as collected from the
25
ground was 4.5 kPa. The samples were gradually wet-
0.5 ted and dried and their suctions during each stage were
26 monitored incrementally. Figure 7 shows the retention
curve of sample from 0.1 m. The hysteresis of the
curve is evident during first wetting and first drying.
Figure 5. Variation of pore-water pressure during rainfall The difference in the soil moisture-suction relationship
simulation (stage 1). would also be an explanation for the aforementioned
difference in saturating rainfall for the 1st and 2nd sim-
ulations. In other words, the amount of water required
The total rainfall during Hours 22–26 was about to reduce the suction from say 1 kPa to 0.1 kPa would
29 mm. It can be seen that the suction at 0.5 m remained be much less if the sample was on the ‘‘first wetting’’
unchanged until the wetting front reached the depth of path than if it was on the ‘‘first drying’’ path.
0.5 m around Hours 24–25. The decreases in suctions These data thus show that during rainfall the pore-
at depths 0–0.5 m resulted from infiltration alone and water pressure increase would be most significant near
not from the ground water table rising. the slope surface, while the ground water table level is

903
 45
First wetting
40 initial state
First drying
Second wetting
35
30
25
20
0. 1 1 10
Figure 7. Soil-water retention curve of undisturbed sample
from 0.10 m depth.
expected to be affected at a later stage. The hysteresis
of the soil water retention curve and wetting-drying
history of the slope also play an important role in deter-
mining the amount of rainfall required to saturate the
soil slope.
3 LANDSLIDE STUDIES IN SINGAPORE
Minor, shallow landslides have occurred frequently on
the island of Singapore, particularly as urban devel-
opment has greatly increased since the 1970s (Tan
et al. 1987). However, very few major landslides have
occurred; where slides have occurred, the volumes of
material involved have generally not been large, and
serious damage has been uncommon (Brand, 1984;
Toll et al. 1999).
Tropical residual soils cover almost two-thirds of
Singapore Island. They are derived mainly from the
weathering of the sedimentary Jurong and granitic
Bukit Timah formations. The residual soils are typ-
ically medium plasticity clayey silt, sandy clay and
clayey to silty sand materials (Poh et al. 1985; Chang,
1988). They commonly contain 50–60% of silt and
clay sized particles with typical values of liquid limit
being 40–60% and plasticity index of 15–25%. The
saturated permeability can vary between 10−10 m/s
and 10−6 m/s (Agus et al. 2003).
It is clear that rainfall has been the dominant trigger-
ing event for landslides in Singapore (Ramaswamy &
Aziz, 1980; Toll, 2001). Studies of minor landslides
on the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and
National University of Singapore (NUS) campuses
show spates of landslides occurring after unusually
wet periods. It may not be a single rainfall event
that causes a landslide (Rahardjo et al. 2001). In
low permeability clayey soils (as is typical of the
residual soils of Singapore) the pore-water pres-
sures may build up over a number of days (due to
a series of rain storms) eventually culminating in
the final triggering rainfall event that precipitates a
failure.
Figure 8 shows rainfall data for a large number
of landslides in Singapore (Toll, 2001). It shows the
rainfall on the day of the landslide (triggering rain-
fall) plotted against the rainfall in the five day period
preceding it (antecedent rainfall).
Some minor landslides have occurred after heavy
1-day rainfalls with little antecedent rainfall. In
February 1984, the daily rainfall inducing failures
100 was almost 100 mm, whereas those in March 1984
were higher. However, it can also be seen that other
minor slides take place with low 1-day rainfall but
where the 5-day antecedent rainfall is significant. For
instance, there is the case of 28 Dec 1984 where a slide
occurred with only 18 mm of daily rainfall, but after
a 5-day antecedent rainfall of 85 mm. This suggests
that the conditions for failure are dictated by total rain-
fall, since either daily or antecedent rainfall can induce
failures. The diagonal line drawn in Figure 8, repre-
senting a total rainfall of 100 mm in a six day period,
appears to define the minimum rainfall conditions that
have led to minor failures.
Although these empirical observations on rainfall
patterns can be useful in identifying the minimum con-
ditions that are likely to precipitate a landslide, they
do not explain why the landslides occur. To prop-
erly understand such failures we need to apply an
understanding of unsaturated soil behaviour. In many
tropical regions, water tables exist at significant depth
(>10 m). This means that pore-water pressures can
be negative (suctions). Therefore, it is important to
understand the role of suction in supporting the slope
(increasing the strength of the soil) and how infil-
tration of rainwater causes changes in the pore-water
pressures (or suctions).
Four research sites in Singapore were instrumented
as part of a major study of rainfall-induced landslides
in Singapore (Rahardjo et al. 2000). Rainfall gauges
were installed on each slope to provide specific rainfall
data. Negative pore-water pressures were measured
using jet-fill tensiometers. These were installed at
depths of 0.5, 1.1, 1.4, 2.3 and 3.2 m on the NTU-
CSE site (the only site that will be discussed here). At
this site, piezometer data indicated that the groundwa-
ter table was 10 m below the ground surface (Rahardjo
et al, 2000).
The pore-water pressures within the NTU-CSE
slope were monitored from August 1999 until August
2000 (Tsaparas et al. 2003). Figure 9 shows the pore-
water pressures at the various measuring depths for
a row of tensiometers installed near the mid-point of
the slope (6 m down-slope from the crest). The daily
rainfall is also shown as a bar graph in Figure 9.
It can be seen from Figure 9 that the pore-water pres-
sures within the NTU-CSE slope were, for a large part
of the monitoring period, only slightly negative and at
904
 350
To t Minor landslide
al R
a in Major landslide
300 fa ll
= 320
mm
250
2 Mar 1984 (8 slides at NUS)
200 2 Mar 1984 (12 slides at NTU)
11 Jan 1987 (Pasir Panjang, 14
To t 26 Feb 1995 (20 slides at NTU) slides at NUS, 9 slides at NTU)
150 al R
a in 9 Jan 1986 (5 slides at NUS)
fa ll 11 Jan 1987 (Chong Pang -
= 15 0 20 Feb 1984 (3 slides at NUS)
To t m Admiralty Road, 5 slides)
100 al R m 28 Dec 1991 (Bukit Batok)
a in
fa ll
= 10 0 23 Jan 1984 (5 slides at NUS)
m m 26 Jan 1984 (2 slides at NUS)
50
1 Feb 1984 (2 slides at NUS) 19 Dec 1984 (3 slides at NUS)
28 Dec 1984 (1 slide at NUS)
0 2 Dec 1989 (Bukit Batok)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
2 Dec 1985 (2 slides at NUS)

Figure 8. Rainfall events leading to landslides in Singapore.

Figure 9. Pore-water pressure and rainfall measurements for an instrumented slope in Singapore.

3.2 m depth were generally positive. However, there December 1999 and March 2000 that are described in
were six periods during the year when pore-water pres- detail by Toll et al. (2001). These dates represent a ‘wet
sures reduced significantly following a drier period. period’ (with high initial pore-water pressures) and a
During March 2000, pore-water pressures dropped to ‘dry period’ (with low initial pore-water pressures).
as low as −70 kPa near the surface (0.5 m depth). The rainfall event in December 1999 was very
However, piezometer data shows that there was little large (86 mm) whereas that in March 2000 was
change in ground water table level. Therefore, these small (1 mm). However, it can be seen from
suction changes are the result of infiltration and evapo- Figure 10 that the small rainfall in March during
transpiration occurring at the surface, rather than being the dry period produces a significant change in
due to changes in water table. the pore-water pressure near the surface. After a
Figure 10 shows pore-water pressure profiles with- period of equalisation (24 hours after the rain) the
in the slope, during and after two rainfall events in pore-water pressure near the surface has dropped

905

Figure 10. Pore-water pressure profiles within the instru-
mented slope.
back and pore-water pressures at 1–1.5 m deep
have increased. This is due to the infiltrated water
draining down from the surface to lower depths.
However, it can be seen that at 2.5–3 m depth there has
been no significant change in pore-water pressure.
In contrast, the very large rain storm in December
1999 produced only a small change in pore-water pres-
sure near the surface, but the pore-water pressure did
approach a hydrostatic condition (defined by a pore-
water pressure of zero at the ground surface). Again,
after the storm, pore-water pressures dropped back
near the surface and increased slightly at depth.
In both cases, the field measurements suggest that
pore-water pressures do approach the hydrostatic con-
dition near the surface due to infiltration. However at
2.5–3 m depth there is little change in pore-water pres-
sure. The pore-water pressures remain significantly
below the hydrostatic line, even at the wettest time of
the year. Therefore, assuming that pore-water pres-
sures were hydrostatic throughout the slope (as would
often be assumed in a saturated soil analysis) would
be over-conservative.
A major factor in controlling the response is the
change in water permeability that occurs in an unsatu-
rated soil as a result of changes in degree of saturation
(Tsaparas and Toll, 2002). The change in permeability
can be 4–5 orders of magnitude. When water infil-
trates at the surface, a near-surface zone with a high
degree of saturation is produced. This produces a zone
of much higher permeability. Further down (2–3 m
below the ground surface) the unsaturated permeabil-
ity remains low, so water is not encouraged to flow
to greater depths, even though the hydraulic gradient
will be greater in that direction; instead flow tends to
take place down the slope within the near-saturated
surface zone.
These data shows that, for a scenario where the
water table is at significant depth (>10 m), most
pore-water pressure changes take place near the sur-
face (<2 m). This is consistent with the observation
that many minor landslides in Singapore are quite
906
shallow in nature (Toll et al. 1999). Failures tend to
occur within the near-surface zone where pore-water
pressures increase close to hydrostatic levels. Deep-
seated failures are also limited by increased cohesion
with depth as is common in such weathered profiles.
4 CONCLUSIONS
It is clear that rainfall has been the dominant triggering
event for landslides in Thailand and Singapore. Studies
show spates of landslides occurring after unusually wet
periods. Observations of past landslides in Singapore
suggest that a total rainfall of 100 mm within a six day
period is sufficient for minor landslides to take place in
Singapore. In Thailand, a total rainfall of 150–400 mm
would tend to trigger major landslides.
Measurements of pore-water pressures in slopes in
Singapore and Thailand show that rainfall infiltration
produces changes in pore-water pressure near to the
surface. However, at greater depths (around 3 m) the
pore-water pressures do not change significantly. This
is because water tends to flow down the slope within
the zone of higher saturation with higher permeability
that develops near the surface. As a result, failures
tend to occur within the near surface zone and are not
usually deep-seated.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledges the Thai-UK
CRN research grant by Commissions of Higher Edu-
cation, Thailand, for financial assistance for visiting
academic trips to UK and Singapore in 2007.
REFERENCES
Agus, S.S., Leong, E.C and Rahardjo, H. (2003). A flexi-
ble wall permeameter for measurements of water and air
coefficients of permeability of residual soils, Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 40, pp. 559–574.
Brand, E.W. (1984). Landslides in Southeast Asia: A State-
of-the-art Report, Proc. 4th International Symposium on
Landslides, Toronto, Vol. 1, pp. 17–59.
Chang, M.F. (1988) In-Situ Testing of Residual Soil in
Singapore, Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Geomechanics in
Tropical Soils, Singapore, Rotterdam: Balkema, Vol. 1,
pp. 97–108.
Crozier, M.J. and Eyles, R.J. 1980. Assessing the probabil-
ity of rapid mass movement. Proc. 3rd Aus. NZ Conf.
Geomech., Wellington. 2: 2.47–2.51.
Jotisankasa, A., Porlila, W., Soralump, S. and Mairiang, W.
(2007). Development of a low cost miniature tensiome-
ter and its applications. Proc. 3rd Asian Conference on
Unsaturated Soils (Unsat-Asia 2007), Nanjing, China,
pp. 475–480.
Lumb, P. 1975. Slope failures in Hong Kong. Quarterly
Journal of Engineering Geology. 8: 31–65.
Poh, K.B., Chuah, H.L. and Tan, S.B. (1985). Residual
Granite Soils of Singapore, Proc. 8th Southeast Asian
Geotechnical Conf., Kuala Lumpur, Vol. 1, pp. 3:1–3:9.
Rahardjo, H., Leong, E.C., Deutcher, M.S., Gasmo, J.M.
and Tang, S.K. (2000). Rainfall-induced Slope Failures,
Geotechnical Engineering Monograph No. 3, NTU-PWD
Geotechnical Research Centre, Singapore.
Rahardjo, H., Li, X.W., Toll, D.G. and Leong, E.C.
(2001). The Effect of Antecedent Rainfall on Slope Sta-
bility, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, Vol. 19,
No. 3–4, pp. 371–399.
Ramaswamy, S.D. and Aziz, M.A. (1980). Rain Induced
Landslides of Singapore, Proc. International Symposium
on Landslides, New Delhi, Vol. 1, pp. 403–306.
Tan, S.B., Tan, S.L., Lim, T.L. and Yang, K.S. (1987). Land-
slides Problems and their Control in Singapore, Proc.
9th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference, Bangkok,
pp. 1:25–1:36.
Toll, D.G. (2001). Rainfall-induced Landslides in
Singapore, Proc. Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotech-
nical Engineering, Vol. 149, No. 4, pp. 211–216.
907
Toll, D.G., Rahardjo, H. and Leong, E.C. (1999). Land-
slides in Singapore, Proc. 2nd International Conference
on Landslides, Slope Stability and the Safety of Infra-
Structures, Singapore, pp. 269–276.
Toll, D.G., Tsaparas, I. and Rahardjo, H. (2001). The
Influence of Rainfall Sequences on Negative Pore-water
Pressures within Slopes, Proc. 15th International Confer-
ence on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,
Istanbul, Rotterdam: Balkema, Vol. 2, pp. 1269–1272.
Tsaparas, I., Rahardjo, H., Toll, D. and Leong, E.C. (2003).
Infiltration Characteristics of Two Instrumented Resid-
ual Soil Slopes, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 40,
No. 5, pp. 1012–1032.
Tsaparas, I. and Toll, D.G. (2002). Numerical Analysis
of Infiltration into Unsaturated Residual Soil Slopes,
in Proc. 3rd International Conference on Unsaturated
Soils, Recife, Brazil, Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger, Vol. 2,
pp. 755–762.
Vaughan, P.R. (1985). Pore pressures due to infiltration into
partly saturated slopes. Proc. 1st International Confer-
ence on Geomechanics in Tropical Lateritic and Saprolitic
soils. Brazil, Vol. 2, pp. 61–71.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Field investigation on triggering mechanisms of fast landslides

in unsaturated pyroclastic soils

A. Evangelista, M.V. Nicotera, R. Papa & G. Urciuoli

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Geotecnica, Università Federico II, Napoli, Italy

ABSTRACT: This paper reports the main results of in situ experiment for an ongoing experimental research
project on mudflows in pyroclastic soils described in a companion paper presented at this conference. We
present the geological and stratigraphic aspects of the test site selected to monitor climatic conditions (affecting
infiltration), matric suction and water content in the subsoil. The planned in situ instrumentation consists of
tensiometers, TDR probes and wire vibrating piezometers. At the present time only tensiometers have been
partly set up. The monitoring data collected span about two years of observations and allow clear identification
of seasonal variation in matric suction.

1 INTRODUCTION consisting of chestnut woods and shrubland is rep-

Based on geological and geomorphological consider-
ations, a test site was selected to collect experimental
data from laboratory tests on undisturbed samples and
to monitor climatic conditions (affecting infiltration),
matric suction and water content in the subsoil. Mon-
itoring results and experimental data concerning the
hydraulic behaviour of the main soil layers identified
at the test site are presented in the paper, whilst some
of the experimental results regarding the mechanical
behaviour of the investigated soils are presented in
some detail in a companion paper (Papa et al. 2008).
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST SITE
The test site is situated on the west side of a limestone
relief called Monte Faggeto about 40 km northwest of
the volcano Somma-Vesuvius. Five recent flowslides
and a number of ancient accumulation zones were
recognized, demonstrating the area’s high landslide
susceptibility. The limestone massif has a pyroclastic
unsaturated soil cover several metres thick constituted
by the products of a series of eruptions of Somma-
Vesuvius. The whole investigated area has the same
exposure towards the eruption vent and is aligned
along the principal axis of dispersion of some of the
main plinian eruptions of Vesuvius (Di Crescenzo
et al. 2007). These geological features are quite sim-
ilar to those of other sites in Campania in which
some huge mudflows have occurred in the recent past
(e.g. Pizzo D’Alvano, Monti di Avella and Monte
Partenio). Furthermore, the vegetation at the site
resentative of the mountainous area of the Campania
region. From a morphological point of view the test site
is quite regular. The slope has an average slope angle
of 25◦ –30◦ but this angle is locally higher, reaching
35◦ –40◦ .
In situ experimentation focused on an area of about
14,500 m2 where the chestnut trees were previously
coppiced. The geological features of this area were
investigated by means of 5 boreholes (maximum depth
6.00 m) and 15 deep exploration trenches (maximum
depth 6.00 m). This investigation yielded a high res-
olution model of the subsurface. The positions of
boreholes and trenches and the traces of the inferred
geological sections are presented in Figure 1. Section
C-C is presented in Figure 2. Using the data collected
it was possible to evaluate the total thickness of the
soil cover quite accurately. In spite of the regularity
of the slope morphology the buried surface of the
limestone has quite an uneven pattern. In particular,
a hidden depression deeper than 10 m was identified
in the bedrock.
The stratigraphic succession can be described as a
series of soil layers essentially parallel to the ground
surface. Starting from the ground surface the sequence
consists of: topsoil (humified ashes including roots
and organic matter); a weathered and humified ashy
soil; three pumices layers of various colours and
grain size from the Avellino eruption (3.7 ky b.p.); a
palaeosoil consisting of weathered volcanic ashes; a
layer of yellowish pyroclastic sand resting on some
pumiceous strata from the Ottaviano eruption (8.0 ky
b.p.); a palaeosoil consisting of weathered volcanic
ashes; a volcanic sand from the Agnano eruption

909
 E deep trench (max 5 m)
D borheoles
instrumented area
F
A
SS
1 B
G 4
3
2
1 SS C
2
ancient C 7 6
5
4
3
2 1 SS
slides SS 5 3
B A 7 6 5
4
SS 6
D' B SS 0 10
A C
testingSITE
TESTING site

E'
C' F'
B' G' 0 10 20 30 40 m

A'

Figure 1. Map of the test site.

Figure 2. Section C-C .

(10.5 ky b.p.); two strata of highly weathered fine- TENSIOMETER

TDR
grained brownish ashy soils. PIEZOMETER
However, starting from the above sequence a sim- depth (m): section 1 7 section SS

plified profile was derived (Figure 3), based on the 1 & 2: topsoil & ashy soil 0.25
(0.00 ÷0.80 m)
experimental investigation of the geotechnical proper- 0.45
3: pumiceous deposits of
ties of the pyroclastic cover (Papa et al. 2008). Avellino eruption 3.7 ky b.p.
(0.80 ÷1.20 m)
By contrast, the continuity of the strata and their 4: palaeosoil 1.50
thickness were carefully considered in order to inves- (weathered volcanic ashes)
(1.20 ÷2.80 m)
1.60
1.70
tigate the interaction of the pyroclastic cover with both
5: pumiceous deposits of
the atmosphere and the limestone bedrock. As regards Ottaviano eruption 8.0 ky b.p.
(2.80 ÷3.50 m)
soil layer continuity, it is worth noting that accu- 6: palaeosoil
rate inspection of morphological and stratigraphical (weathered volcanic ashes)
(3.50÷4.40 m)
4.00

data showed that while the layers from the Ottaviano 7: volcanic sand
(4.40 ÷4.90 m)
8: highly weathered fine-grained
eruption are found throughout the investigated area ashy soil
(4.90 ÷5.50 m)
5.00
5.50
those from the Avellino eruption and the underly-
ing palaeosoil are absent in areas with slope angles
higher than 35◦ . These observations suggest that in Figure 3. Instrumentation design of the test site: vertical
those areas with a slope angle exceeding 35◦ these distribution of sensors.

910
layers were scoured as a consequence of some kind
of instability phenomenon. Hence it is argued that
slides may well have occurred along surfaces affecting
the palaeosoil interbedded between eruptive products
from Avellino and Ottaviano. We should also point
out that the collected data left some doubts about
the continuity of the two layers of highly weath-
ered fine-grained brownish ashy soils at the bottom
of the pyroclastic cover; hence some new boreholes
were programmed to investigate this stratigraphic
feature.
3 INSTRUMENTATION DESIGN
The field instrumentation was designed to measure
matric suction and water content in the pyroclastic
cover and the climatic conditions as well. An area of
about 230 m2 was chosen on the slope in question.
In this area 26 instrumented vertical sections were
realised. These vertical sections were distributed at the
vertex of a fairly regular rectangular grid formed by
14 square meshes 4 m × 4 m (see Figure 1). Four ten-
siometers and three TDR probes were arranged along
the vertical section inside the shallower soil layers
(see Figure 3). Installation in the deeper soil layers of
two more tensiometers and two more TDR probes was
planned (see Figure 3) along the vertical sections sit-
uated at the two ends of the instrumented area (points
SS in Figure 1). Furthermore, in each of these sections
a piezometer at the bottom of the pyroclastic cover
was set up to measure any positive pore water pres-
sure at the limestone upper surface (Figure 3). Finally,
a weather station was installed to monitor the climate
conditions affecting the pore water pressure field in the
soil cover (i.e. rainfall, solar net radiation, soil temper-
ature, air temperature, air pressure, air humidity, wind
speed, etc.).
Standard vacuum tensiometers were employed. In
particular, the shallower instruments consisted of a
transparent nylon water-filled tube with a high air
entry value porous ceramic tip and a silicon plug at the
top end. The measurements by means of these instru-
ments had to be carried out manually with an electronic
tensimeter equipped with a steel needle. The deeper
tensiometers were the jet-fill type equipped with
differential vacuum gauges. Previous experience in
measuring matric suction in similar unsaturated pyro-
clastic deposits (Evangelista et al. 2003) showed that in
such conditions vacuum tensiometers require weekly
maintenance (i.e. diffused air removal by means of
water flushing). Furthermore, in situ and lab equalisa-
tion tests (Nicotera & Tarantino 2004) demonstrated
that vacuum tensiometers installed in pyroclastic soils
have an equalization time varying from several hours
for suction values smaller than 50 kPa up to some
days for suction values of about 60–80 kPa. These
911
considerations suggested that manual readings be
preferred to automatic data collection in the present
study.
The occurrence in the pyroclastic cover of two
thick layers of coarse-grained soils (layers 3 and 5)
significantly conditioned the instrumentation design.
Both tensiometers and TDR probes were ineffec-
tive for measuring matric suction and water con-
tent inside these pumiceous strata. Furthermore, the
hydraulic properties (water retention curve and per-
meability function) of these coarse grained soils differ
immensely from those of the other soil layers. Hence
the sensor probes were arranged in order to investigate
the pore water pressure field: in the top part of the soil
profile (layers 1 & 2), the intermediate part (layer 4)
and the bottom part (layers 6, 7 and 8).
At the time this paper was prepared the instrumen-
tation was still being installed and only the shallower
tensiometers (in layers 1 & 2 and layer 4) had been set
up and had been working for about one year. Hence
below only these preliminary results of monitoring are
presented.
4 HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES
OF INVESTIGATED SOILS
The results of hydraulic tests performed on undis-
turbed samples recovered at the site are briefly pre-
sented below. Soil physical and mechanical properties
are reported in a companion paper (Papa et al. 2008).
Constant head tests were used to determine satu-
rated permeability while forced evaporation tests and
drying tests in a pressure plate apparatus allowed
both water retention curves and permeability func-
tions to be determined. The test procedures adopted
were quite innovative and are extensively described by
Papa (2007). The water retention curves and the per-
meability functions of the studied soils are reported
in Figure 4. All these curves were determined along
a drying process starting from totally saturated con-
ditions. As regards water retention properties, all the
investigated soils behave like coarse-grained materi-
als; they have an air entry value in the range from
6–8 kPa to 12 kPa. Starting from saturated condi-
tions, they become almost dry when the applied matric
suction reaches about 100 kPa. However, some differ-
ences can be recognised between the shallower and
intermediate layers (1 & 2 and 4) and the deeper ones
(6 and 8). Careful comparison of the water reten-
tion curves in Figure 5 reveals that layers 6 and 8
have a substantially higher air entry value than the
shallower strata. Furthermore, saturated water per-
meability (the experimental determinations are con-
ventionally reported in Figure 4 as isolated points
corresponding to a suction value of 0.1 kPa) clearly
decreases with soil layer depth. In particular, the
 0.8 1E-05
soil 1

hydraulic conductivity function (m/s)

0.7
soil 2
1E-06 2: mean function
0.6 (drying)
2: mean drying curve
0.5 1E-07

0.4
1E-08 2: mean function
0.3
(wetting)
0.2 2: mean wetting curve
1E-09
0.1

0 1E-10
0.1 1 10 100 1000 0.1 1 10 100 1000
matric suction (kPa) matric suction (kPa)

0.8 1E-05
soil 4

hydraulic conductivity function (m/s)

0.7
mean drying curve 1E-06
0.6
mean function
(drying)
0.5
1E-07
0.4

0.3 1E-08
mean wetting curve
mean function
0.2 (wetting)
1E-09
0.1

0 1E-10
0.1 1 10 100 1000 0.1 1 10 100 1000
matric suction (kPa) matric suction (kPa)

0.8 1E-05
soil 6
0.7
hydraulic conductivity function (m/s)

soil 8
1E-06
0.6

0.5
1E-07
0.4

0.3 1E-08

0.2
1E-09
0.1

0 1E-10
0.1 1 10 100 1000 0.1 1 10 100 1000

Figure 4. Water retention curves and permeability functions; permeability of saturated soils is indicated by mean points on
the hydraulic conductivity axis.

hydraulic conductivity of layer 8 is significantly lower
than that of all other soils along the whole investigated
suction range.
5 MONITORING RESULTS
Monitoring began in the autumn of 2005. Prior to
completion of tensiometer installation a portable
quick-draw tensiometer was initially used weekly to
measure matric suction up to 0.60 m depth inside the
instrumented area. These measurements proceeded
until summer 2006. In mid-autumn 2006, tensiome-
ters in layers 1 & 2 and in layer 4 were installed and
monitoring continued by means of these instruments.
In Figure 5 some of the monitoring results are
summarised. Figures 5a & b report daily rainfall
registered by two neighbouring rain-gauge stations

912
 2005 2006 2007
120
100 Avella's rain gauge a)
80
daily rainfall (mm)

60
40
20
0
120
100 Monteforte's rain gauge b)
80
60
40
20
0
100 c)
Total volume of tensiometers refilling (%)
75
50
25
0
80 depth (m) d)
TL1 0.20÷0.25
TL2 0.40÷0.45
matric suction (kPa)

60 TL3 1.30÷2.20
TL4 1.35÷2.30
QD1 0.30
QD2 0.60
40

20

0 autumn winter spring summer autumn winter spring summer autumn

10/10/2005 07/02/2006 07/06/2006 05/10/2006 02/02/2007 02/06/2007 30/09/2007

Figure 5. Main monitoring results: a) Avella rain gauge readings; b) Monteforte rain gauge readings; c) total volume of
tensiometer refilling; d) mean matric suction.

(Avella 198 m a.s.l. and Monteforte 502 m a.s.l.). of the tensiometer operation range (about 70 kPa) as
Figure 5d represents matric suction measurements: as testified by the abrupt increase in the refilling vol-
regards preliminary monitoring carried out using the ume reported in Figure 5c. On the other hand, only
portable tensiometer, the data collected are reported meticulous inspection of measurements reveals that in
as mean measurements taken at two different depths winter matric suction is much lower in shallower strata
(0.3 m and 0.6 m). Analogously, the mean measure- than in deeper ones, testifying to rain water infiltration
ments obtained with the tensiometers are presented into the soil.
as mean measurements carried out at similar depths. Interestingly, there are differences between mea-
Finally, in Figure 5c the total water volume used for surements in the shallower part of the soil cover (TL1
refilling the shallower tensiometers (TL1 and TL2) is and TL2) and those in the intermediate strata (TL3 and
reported as a percent of the total inner volume of the TL4). Tensiometers TL1 and TL2 seem to respond to
tensiometers. The data collected during preliminary singular rainfall events but the corresponding suction
monitoring with the portable tensiometer are in good variations are relatively small compared to the seasonal
accordance with subsequent measurements. trend. Conversely, tensiometers TL3 and TL4 follow
Data reported in Figure 5d clearly show the seasonal a trend unaffected by individual rainfall events. Fur-
trend in the measurements at different depths even thermore, it must be observed that the seasonal cycle
if the monitoring periods did not continuously cover in the intermediate part of the cover is quite delayed.
a complete seasonal cycle. Matric suction appears The total fluxes of water filtrating vertically into
almost constant in winter while increasing in spring the upper and the intermediate part of the soil cover
and summer; maximum suction values are measured were estimated on the basis of both monitoring and
by shallower tensiometers (TL1 and TL2) in summer; lab data (hydraulic conductivity). Concurrent readings
finally, matric suction progressively decreases as the of the tensiometers installed along the same vertical
wet season begins. section were used to estimate the hydraulic gradients
During the dry season, matric suction values in in each vertex of the instrumented grid at two differ-
the shallower part of the soil cover are significantly ent depths (i.e. between tensiometers TL1 and TL2
higher than those in the intermediate part. However, and between tensiometers TL3 and TL4). The mean
summer matric suction values in the shallower soil permeability functions experimentally determined in
layers reach and sometimes exceed the upper limit the laboratory were used to estimate the value of the

913

30
25
water flux (mm/day)
20
15
10
1500
cumulative water flux (mm)
1200
900
600
300
0 autumn
Figure 6. Water fluxes estimated on the basis of in situ suction measurements and lab determination of hydraulic
permeability along the main drying and the wetting curves: a) fluxes; b) total fluxes and cumulative rainfall.
hydraulic conductivity corresponding to each of the
aforementioned gradients. Finally, the fluxes calcu-
lated by applying Darcy’s law were integrated over the
whole instrumented area. The results of this analysis
are reviewed in Figure 6. In Figure 6a the mean cal-
culated fluxes (positive when directed downward) are
represented while in Figure 6b the cumulative fluxes
are plotted against cumulative rainfall registered at the
two rain-gauge stations.
The fluxes calculated testify to a fairly continuous
infiltration process occurring in both the upper and
intermediate part of the soil cover during autumn, win-
ter and early spring. By contrast, evaporation (negative
flux) took place during late spring and summer. How-
ever, the data lack continuity in this period and hence
outward fluxes are poorly estimated.
The trends of the cumulative fluxes into the two
investigated strata are in good mutual agreement and
are comparable with the general trends in cumula-
tive rainfall. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that
the cumulative fluxes estimated with the described
procedure are higher than the cumulative rainfall
measured at both rain-gauge stations. It must be
pointed out that the adopted relationships between
2006 2007
a)
TL1 - TL2: permeability along main drying curve
TL3 - TL4
TL1 - TL2: permeability along wetting curve
TL3 - TL4
b)
Monteforte's rain gauge
Avella's rain gauge
winter spring summer autumn
N D J F M A M J J A S O N
matric suction and hydraulic conductivity were deter-
mined by forced evaporation tests along the main
drying curves of each soil. On the other hand, exten-
sion of the hysteresis domain in the matric suction
versus water content relationship was evaluated by
comparing the water retention curve of Figure 4 with
a number of direct measurements of matric suction
within undisturbed samples. The main wetting curve
was considered as the bottom envelope of the above
measurements. The matric suction versus hydraulic
conductivity relation along the main wetting curve
was estimated by assuming the relation between vol-
umetric water content and hydraulic conductivity as
unique. Hence water fluxes in the field were revised
to allow for hydraulic conductivities along the wetting
curve (see Figure 6). This second estimation seems to
be more reasonable than the first; cumulative fluxes
are indeed lower than the cumulative rainfall. These
results show the need to allow for hydraulic hystere-
sis in analysing the interaction phenomena between
the atmosphere and the pyroclastic cover. Obviously
these considerations are significant for the shallower
and intermediate parts of the soil cover while hystere-
sis could be unimportant for filtration in the deeper
914
soil layers. These points will be thoroughly examined
in future research.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The monitoring results clearly show the seasonal
variation in matric suction at the test site. The soil cover
can be subdivided into three portions characterised by
different seasonal cycles of pore water pressure: matric
suction in the top part of the cover seems to be affected
by singular rainfall events but the corresponding suc-
tion variations are relatively small if compared to the
seasonal trend; conversely, the suction in the inter-
mediate part of the cover follows a trend unaffected
by individual rainfall events; finally, pore water pres-
sure in the bottom part of the cover has not yet been
investigated. However, there are several arguments
suggesting that suction variations in the intermediate
part of the cover should be more effective at triggering
landslide mechanisms (Papa et al. 2008).
REFERENCES
Di Crescenzo, G., Rotella, M. & Santo, A. 2007. Il con-
tributo della geologia per lo studio dei meccanismi di
innesco di colate rapide di fango al campo sperimentale di
915
Monteforte Irpino (AV). In C. Nunziata (ed.) Piattaforme
Evolute di Telecomunicazioni e di Information Technol-
ogy per l’Offerta di Servizi al settore Ambiente Petit-Osa:
263–272. Rome: Aracne.
Evangelista, A., Nicotera, M.V. & Scotto di Santolo, A. 2003.
Experimental and Theoretical validation of matric suc-
tion measurements in pyroclastic soils. Proc. of Int. Conf.
on Fast Slope Movements prediction and prevention for
risk mitigation, Naples, Italy, 173–177. Bologna: Pàtron
Editore.
Nicotera, M.V. & Tarantino, A. 2004. Laboratory measure-
ment of matric suction in pyroclastic soil using vacuum
and high-suction tensiometers. Proc. of Int. Conf.: From
Experimental Evidences Towards Numerical modelling of
Unsaturated Soils, Weimar, Germany, 193–208, Berlin:
Springer.
Papa, R., Evangelista, A., Nicotera, M.V. & Urciuoli, G.
2008. Mechanical properties of unsaturated pyroclastic
soils affected by fast landslide phenomena. E-UNSAT
2008.
Papa, R. 2007. Indagine sperimentale di una copertura
piroclastica di un versante della Campania. PhD thesis,
Università di Napoli Federico II.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Mechanical properties of unsaturated pyroclastic soils affected by fast

landslide phenomena

R. Papa, A. Evangelista, M.V. Nicotera & G. Urciuoli

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Geotecnica, Università Federico II, Napoli, Italy

ABSTRACT: The paper describes some results of an ongoing experimental research project on mudflows
in pyroclastic soils in the southern Italian region of Campania. Based on geological and geomorphological
considerations a test site was selected in order to collect experimental data from laboratory tests on undisturbed
samples, as well as monitor climatic conditions (affecting infiltration), matric suction and water content in the
subsoil. Eight different soil layers were identified at the test site. The results of suction-controlled triaxial and
direct shear tests on undisturbed unsaturated specimens from one of the soil layers are presented and tentatively
interpreted. It emerges that matric suction is not suitable, as an independent stress variable, to describe the shear
strength of this unsaturated pyroclastic soil. By contrast, a satisfactory interpretation is achieved by taking into
account both matric suction and saturation degree, representing the data in terms of Bishop stress.

1 INTRODUCTION Based on geological and geomorphological consid-

In the last ten years a series of catastrophic mud-
flows, involving pyroclastic unsaturated soils, has
caused severe damage and a number of fatalities in
the region of Campania (Italy). Both geological and
geotechnical scientific communities have made con-
siderable research efforts to clarify triggering mecha-
nisms and kinematic aspects of such phenomena (e.g.
Bilotta et al. 2005; Calcaterra et al. 2003), but a
substantial lack of experimental data regarding the
mechanical behaviour of soils and field conditions still
persists.
Mudflows affect the pyroclastic cover resting on
the limestone massif in the region. Rainwater infiltra-
tion is the likely mechanism that leads or predisposes
to slope failures by reducing matric suction in unsat-
urated soils, thereby reducing the shear strength.
Moreover, there are other hypotheses on triggering
mechanisms for cases in which the subsoil water
regime can play a major role due to local strati-
graphic and hydro-geologic conditions (local factors).
Although local factors could be responsible for land-
slides, it is the general condition of potential instabil-
ity, produced by rain infiltration from ground surface,
which predisposes the subsoil to failure.
This paper will describe the results of an ongoing
experimental research project on mudflows in pyro-
clastic soils in Campania, involving a wide-ranging
group of researchers, with abilities in various topics
(geology, geomorphology, soil mechanics, hydraulics,
agronomy).
erations, a test site was selected to collect experimental
data from laboratory tests on undisturbed samples,
monitoring climatic conditions (affecting infiltration),
matric suction and water content in the subsoil.
The laboratory results are presented in the paper,
whilst the morphological and geological features of the
test site are described in some detail in a companion
paper (Evangelista et al. 2008).
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
At the test site the stratigraphic succession can be
described as a series of soil layers essentially parallel
to the ground surface. Starting from the ground sur-
face the sequence consists of: 1) topsoil; 2) weathered
and humified ashy soil; 3) pumices from the Avel-
lino eruption (3.7 ky b. p.); 4) palaeosoil consisting of
weathered volcanic ashes; 5) pumices from the Otta-
viano eruption (8.0 ky b. p.); 6) palaeosoil consisting of
weathered volcanic ashes; 7) volcanic sand; 8) highly
weathered fine-grained ashy soil. Accurate inspection
of morphological and stratigraphical data showed that
layers 4 and 3 are absent in the area characterised by
a slope angle higher than 35◦ (Di Crescenzo et al.
2007). Importantly, layer 3 is an air-fall pyroclastic
deposit produced by Somma-Vesuvius plinian activ-
ity; the whole investigated area has the same exposure
towards the eruption vent. Moreover, layer 3 con-
sists of coarse-grained material sandy gravel with a
critical friction angle significantly higher than 35◦ .

917
 silt sand gravel silt sand gravel
100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70

Percent finer
60 2 (N=9) 60
50 1 (N=12) 50 4 (N=12)
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 a) 10 b)
0 0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Particle diameter: mm Particle diameter: mm
silt sand gravel silt sand gravel
100 100
90 90
80 80
70
6 8 70

Percent finer
60 60
50 50 5 3
40 40
30 30 7
20 20
10 c) 10 d)
0 0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Figure 1. Grain size distributions of soils constituting the cover on the limestone substratum, in the trial field at Monteforte
Irpino.

These observations suggest that in those areas with
a slope angle higher than 35◦ , layer 3 was whipped
out as a consequence of some kind of instability phe-
nomenon. Hence it has been argued that layer 4,
due to both its position in the stratigraphic sequence
and its mechanical properties, played a significant
role in such instability. Therefore, even if the main
goal of the experimental program was the mechanical
and hydraulic characterisation of all the pyroclastic
soils covering the limestone massif, the investigation
primarily focused on soil 4.
In all, 158 undisturbed samples were recovered at
the site by means of a thin wall sampler either in
drill holes or in deep trenches. However, recovery
of undisturbed samples from coarse-grained soil was
excluded a priori. Hence the mechanical behaviour
of strata 3 and 5 was not investigated and will be
disregarded below.
Grain-size distributions of the eight layers are
reported in Figure 1. The grain-size envelopes of
investigated soils exhibit limited scatter, demonstrat-
ing the uniformity of the deposits. Shallower layers
(1 & 2) have quite similar grain-size distribution: the
two envelopes are partially superimposed (light grey
area in Figure 1a) even if layer 1 is rather finer (dark
grey area in Figure 1a). Soil 4 (Fig. 1b) is well-graded,
ranging from sand to silt with a small clay fraction.
Layers 6 and 8 (Fig. 1c) are significantly finer than the
others. Soils 3, 5 and 7 (Fig. 1d) should be described
as quite uniform coarse-grained materials: soil 7 is a
medium silty sand, soil 5 is a coarse sand and soil 3 is
a gravel.
Mean values of the main soil physical properties
are reported in Table 1. All soils are extremely porous.
This feature is evident in Figure 2 where the probabil-
ity density functions of the porosity n as estimated on
the basis of laboratory data are reported: the porosity
of layers 1, 2 and 4 present bell-shaped distributions
with a clearly defined mode; slight left stretching of the
bell left tail is likely due to sampling disturbance. By
contrast, density functions of deeper layers (not repre-
sented in the figure) are less clear, probably owing to
both spatial variability and sampling disturbance.
All layers are partially saturated but deeper lay-
ers have higher values of the saturation degree (see
Table 1). However, the saturation condition varies on
a seasonal basis.
Mechanical and hydraulic behaviours of the pyro-
clastic material were investigated in both unsatu-
rated and saturated conditions. As regards hydraulic

918
Table 1. Mean soil physical properties. 200
7 fcv' = 40.3
γd γ
2 fcv' = 36.2
Soil Gs (kN/m3 ) (kN/m3 ) n Sr
150
1 2.65 8.06 11.91 0.69 0.57
2 2.66 7.77 12.49 0.70 0.69
4 2.57 7.11 12.11 0.71 0.71
6 2.57 7.13 12.51 0.72 0.77 100 1 M = 1.50; f’ = 36.9˚ N. 11
7 2.47 7.71 11.93 0.69 0.64 2 M = 1.47; f’ = 36.2˚ N. 9
8 2.49 10.64 15.49 0.58 0.87
4 M = 1.50; f’ = 36.9˚ N. 12
50 6 M = 1.62; f’ = 39.8˚ N. 4
7 M = 1.65; f’ = 40.3˚ N. 7
(n) 8 M = 1.51; f’ = 37.0˚ N. 5
0
25 25
2 0 50 100 150 200
20 20
4
1 Figure 3. Results of triaxial compression tests on saturated
15 15
samples.
10 10
4: 0.723
1 & 2: 0.713

5 5
0 0
0.60 0.65 0.70
Figure 2. Probability density function of the porosity of
investigated superficial soils.
properties, constant head tests were used to determine
saturated permeability while forced evaporation tests
and drying tests in a pressure plate apparatus allowed
both water retention curves and permeability functions
to be determined. Hydraulic test results are presented
in a companion paper (Evangelista et al. 2008) while
experimental techniques are extensively described by
Papa (2007). Conversely, some of the results regarding
the mechanical behaviour of the investigated soils are
presented below.
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
In all, 48 stress-path controlled triaxial compres-
sion tests were performed on undisturbed specimens
previously saturated in the triaxial cell. These tests
were carried out on all the studied soils. By con-
trast, 9 suction-controlled tests on naturally unsatu-
rated undisturbed specimens were executed only on
soil 4. By means of triaxial tests, shear strength
of soil 4 at high and intermediate stress levels was
obtained. Moreover, 12 conventional and 19 suction-
controlled direct shear tests were employed to inves-
tigate the shear strength of the same soil at very low
stress.
3.1 Triaxial tests on saturated specimens
0.75 0.80 Triaxial tests on saturated specimens consisted of
the following phases: saturation under minimal
effective confining stress (≈2 kPa) by means of back-
pressurising and upward flushing with de-aired water;
isotropic compression; shearing. The shearing phases
were performed either in drained or undrained con-
ditions at constant mean stress ( p or p equal to 30,
50 and 70 kPa) or at constant confining stress (σr )
or σr equal to 30, 50 and 70 kPa). Stress levels were
selected to be analogous to in situ stress states. How-
ever, it was not possible to carry out tests at stress
levels as low as those acting in the shallower lay-
ers. The isotropic compressions were completed at a
loading rate of 5 kPa/hour. The shearing phases were
performed in strain-controlled conditions at a strain
rate of 0.1 % hour.
Soils 1, 2 and 4 showed a highly contractive and
ductile behaviour in all the tests. By contrast, soil 6
behaved as brittle and rather dilative in tests executed
under a mean effective stress equal to 30 kPa and as
ductile and contractive in tests performed at higher
stress levels. Finally, soils 7 and 8 behaved brittly in
the entire stress range.
Some of the experimental results are summarised
in Figure 3: for each test deviatoric stress q = (σa −
σr ) at ‘‘near’’ critical state is reported as a function
of mean effective stress p [= 1/3(σ1 + 2σ3 ) − uw ].
Experimental points lay in quite a narrow area bounded
by the critical strength envelopes of soil 2 and 7; it is
worth noting that the estimated critical friction angles
range from 36.2◦ to 40.3◦ .
Although from the mechanical lab tests soil 2
appears to be the weakest of the stratigraphic series,

919
morphological evidence indicates that soil 4 is the
most prone to landslides. This can be justified by the
presence of roots inside soil 2, which reinforce it.
3.2 Suction-controlled triaxial tests
Triaxial tests on natural unsaturated specimens of
soil 4 were carried out by means of a stress-path
and suction-controlled triaxial apparatus (Aversa &
Nicotera 2002).
Each test consisted of the following phases: mea-
surement of the initial suction by means of the axis
translation technique; equalisation to an assigned suc-
tion value; isotropic compression at constant suction;
shearing at constant suction (6 kPa, 12 kPa and 20 kPa)
and constant mean net stress (30 kPa, 50 kPa and
70 kPa). Suction measurements lasted about 48 hours
while equalisation phases took from 48 to 96 h. The
isotropic compressions were completed at a loading
rate of 5 kPa/hour. The shearing phases were per-
formed in strain-controlled conditions at a strain rate
of 0.1%/hour.
As regards water retention properties, soil 4 actu-
ally behaves like coarse-grained material; it has an air
entry value of about 6–8 kPa and starting from satu-
rated conditions becomes almost dry when the applied
matric suction reaches about 100 kPa. Suction values
for the triaxial tests were selected in order to study the
mechanical behaviour during the transition between
fully saturated and partially saturated conditions.
The results of the suction-controlled triaxial tests
are reported in Figure 4 in terms of deviatoric stress
q and volumetric strain εv as functions of shear strain
εs [= 2/3 · (εa − εr )]. In Figure 4 the stress strain
curve corresponding to the same mean net stress
pnet [= 1/3(σ1 + 2σ3 ) − ua ] but to different values
of the matric suction s(= ua − uw ) can be compared
between them as well to three triaxial tests on a sat-
urated specimen carried out at equivalent values of
effective mean stress p . The maximum deviatoric
stress reached in each constant suction test is much
higher than that recorded in the corresponding test
on the saturated specimen. However, the trend of the
dependence of maximum deviatoric stress on the value
of matric suction is not clearly recognizable: for the
constant mean net stress of 30 kPa, there is an increase
in the maximum deviatoric stress with the increase in
applied suction. With an increase in constant mean net
stress, this trend fails to become evident. It appears that
matric suction is not suitable, as an independent stress
variable, to describe the shear strength of a partially
saturated soil.
The comparison between the volumetric strain
recorded in suction-controlled triaxial tests and triaxial
tests on saturated specimens is reported in Figure 4b.
It is evident that the unsaturated specimens behave
as more contractive than the saturated one at a similar
920
stress state. Nevertheless, it must be observed (Fig. 4b)
that at the end of the tests corresponding to a shear
strain value of about 15% the volumetric strain of the
unsaturated specimens was still rising while that of the
saturated specimens was almost ‘‘stationary’’. Hence
the deviatoric stress recorded at the end of the suction-
controlled test may well be slightly smaller than the
corresponding critical one.
In Figure 5a the final value of the deviatoric stress
recorded in each test is reported as a function of
mean net stress and compared to the critical state line
inferred for the saturated material. The experimen-
tal points corresponding to suction-controlled triaxial
tests lie well above the saturated critical state line,
indicating the matric suction effect on critical shear
strength. Nevertheless, the shear strength increment
cannot be justified by a linear dependence on matric
suction as proposed by a number of authors (e.g.
Fredlund & Morgenstern 1977). On the contrary, a
better interpretation can be achieved by representing
the data in terms of mean Bishop stress ( p ):
1
p = · (σ1 + 2 · σ3 ) + Sr · s (1)
3
as originally proposed by Jennings (1960) and subse-
quently adopted by others (Jommi 2000; Gallipoli et al.
2003). This representation is proposed in Figure 5b:
the experimental data seem to be arranged along a sin-
gle envelope; moreover, this envelope is well described
by the same line adopted for representing the critical
state of the saturated soil. This result confirms that
the stress state acting in unsaturated soils can be accu-
rately represented only if the adopted stress variables
take into account both matric suction and degree of
saturation (e.g. Nuth & Laloui 2007). However, selec-
tion of the best variables is still a matter for debate
(e.g. Nuth & Laloui 2007) and even in the present
case some attempts to improve the data interpretation
by means of different stress variables have been made
(Papa 2007). Furthermore, the coincidence in the p ,
q plane of the critical state line for the unsaturated
soil with the critical state line for the saturated soil
indicates that the so-called ‘‘bonding effect’’ due to
water menisci (Gallipoli et al. 2003) has a negligible
effect on critical shear strength. Similar considerations
have already been proposed by some authors though
for quite different soils and stress levels (Tarantino &
Tombolato 2005, Tarantino 2007).
Indeed, careful inspection of Figure 5b reveals that
a number of experimental points lie just below the
critical state line, according to the observation that
in unsaturated soil triaxial tests, critical state has not
been attained at the ultimate strain. Therefore more
accurate estimates of the slope of the critical state
line in the p , q plane were performed by extrap-
olating the experimental data using a well-defined
 05101520
150
0 p' = 30 kPa
p' = 50 kPa
p' = 70 kPa
1
p-ua = 70 kPa
p' = 70 kPa p-ua = 30 kPa

volumetric strain, e v:%

100 2
p-ua = 50 kPa

3
p' = 50 kPa p-ua = 50 kPa
p-ua = 70 kPa
p-ua = 30 kPa 4 p-ua = 70 kPa
50 p' = 30 kPa p-ua = 50 kPa
5 p-ua = 50 kPa
6 6
suction : kPa 12 12 suction : kPa
20 6 20 p-ua = 70 kPa
a) Sr = 1 Sr = 1 b)
0 7
0 5 10 15 20

Figure 4. Mechanical behaviour of soil 4 in unsaturated triaxial compression tests: a) deviator versus shear strain,
b) volumetric strain versus shear strain.

250 250

200 200
f cv' = 36.9 f cv' = 36.9
deviatoric stress, q: kPa

deviatoric stress, q: kPa

saturated saturated
CSL CSL
150 150

100 100

suction: kPa suction: kPa

50 6 6
50
12 12
20
a) b) 20
0 0
0 50 100 150 0 50 100 150

Figure 5. Critical shear strength of soil 4 from suction-controlled triaxial tests: a) net stress interpretation; b) Bishop’s stress
interpretation.

stress-dilatancy relationship (Papa 2007). However, wider stress range. Each test consisted of the fol-
discussion of these points would go beyond the scope lowing phases: measurement of the initial suction by
of the present paper. means of the axis translation technique; equalisation
to an assigned suction value; vertical compression at
constant suction; shearing at constant suction (6 kPa,
12 kPa and 20 kPa) and constant normal net stress
3.3 Suction-controlled direct shear tests
(3–12–24–36–75–150 and 250 kPa). Suction mea-
In all, 19 direct shear tests on unsaturated undisturbed surements lasted about 24 hours while equalisation
specimens were performed by means of a suction con- phases took from 48 to 72 h. The vertical compres-
trolled direct shear apparatus (Evangelista et al. 2004). sions were completed at a loading rate of 5 kPa/hour.
These tests were carried out at very low values of nor- The shearing phases were performed in displacement-
mal net stress ranging from 3 kPa to 250 kPa. The controlled conditions at a rate of 0.1 mm/hour. The
experimental program was conceived to assess the lin- shearing rate was selected by scaling down the opti-
earity of the shear strength envelope. However, some mal displacement rate determined for saturated tests
more tests at higher value of net normal stress were on the basis of a trial and error procedure (Papa
performed to depict the shape of the envelope in a 2007).

921
 250
saturated
200
shear stress, t : kPa
f cv' = 36.9
150
100
50
a)
0 0
0 50 100 150 200
Figure 6. Shear strength of soil 4 from suction-controlled direct shear tests: a) net stress interpretation; b) Bishop’s stress
interpretation.
Data representations similar to those proposed in
Figure 5a, b for triaxial shear strength data are reported
in Figure 6a, b for data from suction controlled
direct shear tests. Figure 6a shows that shear strength
of unsaturated specimens in direct suction-controlled
tests is significantly higher than the critical ones esti-
mated on the basis of the triaxial saturated envelope.
The same data drawn in terms of normal Bishop’s stress
σ  = σnet + Sr · s) seem to agree quite well with
the same envelope. However, in this case some of the
experimental data are just above the triaxial critical
envelope. This result could be ascribed to the follow-
ing factors: the effect of the deformation path (almost
2D in the direct shear apparatus); the higher strain lev-
els reached in the direct shear tests (the shear strength
was recorded at about 10 mm); the actual saturation
degree inside the shear band being higher than the
mean value employed to determine σnet (by contrast,
no strain localisation was observed in triaxial tests).
4 CONCLUDING REMARKS
By performing triaxial tests on the undisturbed speci-
mens recovered in the soil layers identified at the Mon-
teforte Irpino test site the saturated shear strength of
the pyroclastic cover resting on the limestone bedrock
was defined with good accuracy. Although, from the
mechanical lab tests, soil 2 appeared the weakest in the
stratigraphic series, morphological evidence indicated
that soil 4 was the most prone to landslides.
Soil 4 lies in between two pumiceous layers and
is extremely porous. This soil behaved in a highly
ductile and contractive fashion in both saturated and
suction-controlled triaxial tests. Matric suction effects
250
saturated
CSL 200 CSL
shear stress, t : kPa
f cv' = 36.9
150
100
suction: kPa suction: kPa
0:6 0:6
6 50 6
12 12
20 b) 20
250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
on critical shear strength of soil 4 could not be inter-
preted by a simple model such as the classical one
proposed by Fredlund & Morgenstern (1977). The
trend of the dependence of maximum deviatoric stress
on the value of matric suction was not clearly recog-
nizable. Hence it was concluded that matric suction
was not suitable, as an independent stress variable, to
describe the shear strength of this unsaturated pyro-
clastic soil. However, a satisfactory interpretation was
achieved by taking account of both matric suction and
saturation degree, representing the data in terms of
Bishop’s stress. Furthermore the results from suction-
controlled direct shear tests performed in a lower stress
range confirmed these observations.
REFERENCES
Aversa, S. & Nicotera, M.V. 2002. A triaxial and oedome-
ter apparatus for testing unsaturated soils. Geotechnical
Testing Journal, GTJODJ, 25(1): 3–15.
Bilotta, E., Cascini, L., Foresta V. & Sorbino G. 2005.
Geotechnical characterisation of pyroclastic soils involved
in huge flowslides. Geotechnical and geological engineer-
ing, 23: 365–402.
Calcaterra, D., de Riso, R., Evangelista, A., Nicotera, M.V.,
Santo, A. & Scotto di Santolo, A. 2003. Slope instabili-
ties in the pyroclastic deposits of the Phlegraean district
and the carbonate Apennine (Campania, Italy). In L.
Picarelli (ed.) Occurrence and Mechanisms of Flows in
Natural Slopes and Earthfills, Proc. of Intern. Workshop,
Sorrento, 14–16 May 2003: 61–76. Bologna: Pàtron.
Di Crescenzo, G., Rotella, M. & Santo. A, 2007. Il con-
tributo della geologia per lo studio dei meccanismi di
innesco di colate rapide di fango al campo sperimentale di
Monteforte Irpino (AV). In C. Nunziata (ed.) Piattaforme
922
 Evolute di Telecomunicazioni e di Information Technol-
ogy per l’Offerta di Servizi al settore Ambiente Petit-Osa:
263–272. Rome: Aracne.
Evangelista, A., Nicotera, M.V. & Aversa, S. 2004.
Un’apparecchiatura di taglio a suzione controllata per lo
studio delle condizioni di innesco dei fenomeni franosi
nelle coltri piroclastiche. Proceedings of the XXII Con-
vegno Nazionale di Geotecnica, Palermo: 81–88. Patron,
Bologna.
Evangelista, A., Nicotera, M.V., Papa, R. & Urciuoli G.
2008. Field investigation on triggering mechanisms of
fast landslides in unsaturated pyroclastic soils. E-UNSAT
2008.
Fredlund, D.G. & Morgenstern, N.R. 1977. Stress
state variables for unsaturated soils. Journal of the
Geotechnical Engineering Division (ASCE), 103 (GT5):
447–466.
Gallipoli, D., Gens, A., Sharma, R. & Vaunat, J. 2003. An
elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil incorporating the
effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical
behaviour. Geotechnique 53(1): 123–136.
923
Jommi, C. 2000. Remarks on the constitutive modelling
of unsaturated soils. In A. Tarantino & C. Mancuso
(eds.) Experimental evidence and theoretical approaches
in unsaturated soils: 139–153. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Jennings, L.E. 1960. A revised effective stress law for use in
the prediction of the behaviour of unsaturated soils. Pore
Pressure and Suction in Soils. London: Butterworths.
Nutn, M. & Laloui, L. 2007. Effective stress concept in
unsaturated soils: Clarification and validation of a unified
framework. Intern. Journal for Numerical and Analyt-
ical Methods in Geomechanics. Pub. online in Wiley
InterScience.
Papa, R. 2007. Indagine sperimentale di una copertura
piroclastica di un versante della Campania. PhD thesis,
Università di Napoli Federico II.
Tarantino, A. & Tombolato, S. 2005. Coupling of hydraulic
and mechanical behaviour in unsaturated compacted clay.
Geotechnique 55(4): 307–317.
Tarantino, A. 2007. A possible critical state framework
for unsaturated compacted soils. Geotechnique 57(4):
385–389.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Stability of a tailings dam considering the hydro-mechanical behaviour

of tailings and climate factors

M.T. Zandarín & L. Oldecop

Instituto de Investigaciones Antisísmicas ‘‘Ing. Aldo Bruschi’’, Facultad de Ingeniería,
Universidad Nacional de San Juan, San Juan, Argentina

R.R. Pacheco
Departamento de Química. Facultad de Ciencias. Universitat de Girona. Campus Montilvi, Girona, Spain

ABSTRACT: Tailings storage facilities are complex geotechnical structures. The present paper focuses on
the study of a case-history, a tailing dam from the nickel industry from Cuba, with the objective of gaining
knowledge about the geotechnical behaviour of such structures. The dam was modelled by means of a coupled
hydro-mechanical finite element formulation. Due to the low permeability of tailings, the phreatic levels in the
deposit remain high during and after its construction. Steady-state flow regime would be reached only after
several decades after closure. Moreover, capillary rise causes the degree of saturation to stay high in the whole
storage. Under the action of rain storms, phreatic levels rise quickly due to the presence of capillary water. At
the end of the storm, phreatic levels fall slowly because of the low hydraulic conductivity. The results of the
analysis show that the stability of the dam strongly depends on its hydraulic operation.

1 INTRODUCTION 100 years (Moya, 1998). Two extraordinary rainstorms

Tailings storage facilities are complex geotechnical
structures. They are commonly built by the discharge
of slurry within an impoundment. Tailings are fine-
grained non-plastic materials. Their permeability is
low and unsaturated phenomena play a significant role
in their behaviour. A number of factors may influ-
ence the stability of tailings dams, such as the pluvial
regime, evaporation, capillary rise, construction rate,
drainage, consolidation and rain storms. The present
paper focuses on the study of a case-history, with the
aim of identifying which of those factors are relevant
for the structural safety of tailings dams.
The tailings dam studied is one of the facilities at
Pedro Sotto Alba nickel mine, located in the province
of Moa, in the southeast of Cuba. The impound-
ment is located on a low lying flood plain in the
south bank of Moa River (Figure 1a). It is founded
on alluvial sediments of quaternary age, underlain
by stiff clays and cretaceous ultramafic serpentine
(Figure 1b). (Chalkley et al. 2002; Greenaway et al.
2002).
The climate at the site is tropical. Temperatures vary
between 23◦ C and 27◦ C and the annual average rainfall
is 2830 mm. The rainfall intensity can reach between
2 and 3 mm per minute, for rainfall events with 5 to
20 minutes duration, having a period of recurrence of
occurred in 1996 and 1998 (Chalkley et al. 2002). The
first lasted 48 h with a total rain volume of 722 mm and
a maximum intensity of 190 mm in 90 minutes. The
second lasted 12 h with a 690 mm total precipitation.
The annual average evaporation is 2296 mm.
Figure 2 shows the monthly average rainfall and
evaporation at the site.
The operation of the facility began in 1970. Tail-
ings were discharged in slurry form behind a laterite
embankment built in stages, applying the upstream
construction method. The mean rise rate of the
impoundment was about a half metre per year until
1987. The facility had a system of decant pipelines to
allow the drainage of the excess water accumulated in
the decant pond.
The section 1-1 shown in Figure 1b experienced a
number of episodes of slope instability. Such episodes
involved the release of important amounts of tailings
covering the flood plain of the Moa River and Los
Lirios Creek. Tailing relicts can be found even in the
opposite bank (north) of Moa River, indicating that at
some time the slurry flow was large enough to cross the
main channel of the river. During the 1990 s a number
of works were undertaken in order to rehabilitate the
facility (Chalkley et al. 2002, Greenaway et al. 2002).
In the present work, section 1-1 was modelled with
the objective of gaining knowledge about the influence

925
 a) stress and suction (Olivella et al. 1994). For the present
analysis, only coupled flow and deformation problems
were considered.
1

Original
3 MODELLED SECTION
r

Embankment
ve

1 Drainage
Ri

Supernatant Pipelines
oa
M

Slurry Pond The complete construction history of the tailings

Pipeines deposit was simulated, including the influence of rain-
Slurry Discharge
Point fall and evaporation. The discretized section geometry
Los Lirios
is shown in Figure 3. The section has a total length
0 200 400m Creek of 550 m, ranging from the north-eastern side of the
Scale impoundment up to the supernatant pond (centre of
the tailing beach). The clay bed beneath the alluvial
b) sand layer was assumed to be a lower impermeable
ELEVATION (m)

20
Original Embankment boundary of the problem. Three different materials
10 Moa River
0 were considered: alluvial soil (sand and silt), embank-
-10
-20 ment (compacted laterite) and tailings. The section
-30
LEGEND: 0 50meters modelled has a total height of 12.5 m on the embank-
Scale
ment side, and 10 m adjacent to the decant pond. The
Tailings Organic Clay and Silt
Embankment Fill-Compacted Laterite Marine Clay and Silt embankment is 8 m high, with a slope of 1H:1V and the
Alluvial Sand and Silt Highly Weathered Serpentine alluvial layer is 4.5 m thick. The tailings beach slopes
down 0.5% in the upstream direction. The phreatic
Figure 1. (a) Tailings dam planimetry. (b) Cross section 1-1 level downstream the embankment is determined by
through the tailings facility (after Chalkley et al. 2002).
the water level in Moa River.
The impoundment construction was simulated in
400 5 layers (Figure 3). Each layer was built in 1000
350 Rainfall days, approaching the mean rising rate of the dam
300
(Rodriguez, 2002). The layers were subdivided into
Average Rainfall and

Evaporation
Evaporation [mm]

250
200
10 zones in order to take into account the variation of
150 material properties within the dam. Due to hydraulic
100 particle sorting during the flow of slurries along the
50 tailing beach, grain size reduces with increasing dis-
0
tance from the slurry discharge point (Blight, 1994).
January

Marz

June
April

August

October

December
September
July
February

May

November

During each stage of dam filling the presence of the

supernatant water pond was assumed over the 9, 10
Months
and 11th zones.
Figure 2. Average rainfall and evaporation registered at
Moa site. (Rodriguez, 2002).
4 CONSTITUTIVE MODELS
of the hydro-mechanical properties of tailings, the cli- The viscoplastic formulation of the Barcelona Basic
mate conditions and the operation procedures, in the Model (BBM) (Alonso et al. 1990) was adopted
stability of the dam. Sensitivity of the results to the to describe the mechanical behaviour of tailings,
different factors considered was studied. embankment and foundation materials.
Mechanical model parameters for tailings were
determined on the basis of oedometer, triaxial and
2 FINITE ELEMENT CODE brazilian tensile tests performed by Rodriguez (2002).
The mechanical parameters for the embankment mate-
The hydro-mechanical behaviour of the tailings dam rial were assumed to be identical to tailings parameters,
was studied with the finite element code CODE because of the same geological origin of both. How-
BRIGHT, developed at the Department of Geotech- ever, a slight preconsolidation stress (0.1 MPa) was
nical Engineering of the Technical University of assigned to the embankment material, since a moder-
Catalunya, Spain. The code solves simultaneously, the ate compaction was applied during construction lifts.
balance equations for heat transfer, water flow, air flow The parameters for the foundation soils were esti-
and the mechanical equilibrium equations. It is formu- mated on the basis of the soil classification (SM) and
lated in terms of two independent stress variables: net index properties measured by Greenaway et al. (2002).

926
 Supernatant pond Tailings
10 Embankment
3 2 1
5 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Foundation
0
550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0m

Figure 3. Tailings dam geometry for model calculation (vertical scale magnified by a factor of 2).

Table 1. Mechanical parameters.

Definition of parameter Symbol Units Tailings Embankment Foundation

Elastic behaviour
Elastic modulus E MPa 50 50 50
Poisson’s ratio n – 0.35 0.35 0.35
Plastic behaviour
Virgin compressibility for saturated (l(0) − k) – 0.084 0.084 0.077
conditions
Parameter that establishes the min- r – 0.2 0.2 0.2
imum value of the compressibil-
ity coefficient for high values of
suction
Parameter that controls the rate of b MPa−1 2 2 2
increase in stiffness with suction
Reference stress pc MPa 0.0033 0.0033 0.0033
Slope of critical state strength line M – 1.44 1.44 1.33
Parameter that controls the increase in ks – 0.246 0.246 0
cohesion with suction
Parameter that defines the non- a – 0.3 0.3 0.3
associativeness of plastic potential
Initial state for tailing dam model
Initial yield mean net stress p∗o MPa 0.003 0.1 0.03
Initial porosity Fo – 0.66 0.6 0.4

Mechanical parameters for each material are shown in
Table 1.
Darcy’s law is used to describe the water flow
behaviour. Saturated water conductivity decreases
from the dam to the centre of the impoundment, due
to the decrease in grain size. Permeability of samples
taken in the outer zone of the deposit (zone 2) was
measured by Rodriguez (2002). Tests have also shown
that tailings permeability is significantly influenced
by desiccation cracking (Rodriguez, 2006). A value of
Kx = Ky = 1×10−6 m/s was used. The hydraulic con-
ductivities for the rest of tailings zones were estimated
by means of scaling, on the basis of the Hazen for-
mula, decreasing proportionally to the square of D10 .
Variation of permeability with changes in the material
porosity during the consolidation process is described
by means of the Kozeny model. Relative permeabil-
ity (unsaturated) was described by means of the Van
Genuchten model (Olivella, 1994).
The horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the alluvial
soil was estimated as Kx = 2 × 10−6 m/s on the basis
of pumping test data (Rodriguez, 2002). A ratio of 10
was adopted between horizontal and vertical perme-
ability for taking into account the effect of anisotropy.
Horizontal permeability of the embankment material
was taken as identical to the outer tailings zone and
vertical permeability was assumed to be 1/5 due to
anisotropy (Ky = 2 × 10−7 m/s).
Retention curves were fitted with the Van
Genutchen model. The retention curve of a sample
from the outer zone of the deposit was obtained by
Rodriguez (2002), under different void ratios (e =
1.5, 1.75 and 2). According to the experimental data,
the value of parameter l of the Van Genutchen equa-
tion, was taken constant (= 0.38). On the other hand,
the air entry value, P0 , is assumed to vary exponen-
tially with the change in porosity (Olivella, 1994). A
value of P0 = 0.079 MPa was computed from the
experimental data for the outer tailings zone, at a ref-
erence porosity of 0.66. For the rest of tailings zones,
P0 was scaled, increasing inversely proportionally to
D10 .
5 HYDRAULIC BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Rainfall and evaporation influence the water content
of the tailings deposit through its whole life. Their

927
long-term effect was included in the model by means 0
Porosity at 26m
of mean rates of infiltration and evaporation. 2 Porosity at 120m
Run-off water has no effect on the deposit water Porosity at 420m
balance since the excess water accumulated in the 4

Depth [m]
supernatant pond is eliminated through decant pip- 6
ing. The run-off/infiltration ratio was estimated for the
monthly rainfall record shown in Figure 2, by means 8 At the end of construction
of the SCS hydrological model (SCS, 1957). Parame- 10
At 50 years after impoundment
construction
ter CN (Curve number) in SCS model was estimated
as 91, on the basis of the material permeability and the 12
bare condition of the deposit surface. 0,59 0,61 0,63 0,65 0,67
porosity
Drying of soils due to evaporation generally occurs
in three stages (Gowing et al., 2006): 1) the evap-
oration front coinciding with soil surface, hence the Figure 4. Variation of porosity with impoundment depth at
three vertical sections located at 26 m, 120 m and 420 m from
evaporation rate is controlled by the available energy the edge of the dam.
(coming from sun radiation and wind) for latent vapour
heat consumption; 2) evaporation rate is controlled by
the rate of capillary rise of water from the phreatic S = 0.85
level to the evaporation front; 3) evaporation rate is S = 0.90
S = 0.95
controlled by molecular diffusion of vapour from the
evaporation front to soil surface. S = 1.0
Considering the climate factors at the site and
the tailings hydraulic properties, it was numerically
checked for the case study that, even in the harshest Figure 5. Degree of saturation at the end of construction
evaporative condition, drying would always occur in period.
the first stage.
Hence, the mean evaporation rate can be estimated a) At end of impoundment construction.
from pan measurements shown in Figure 2. A pan
coefficient Kpan = 0.8 was selected (Smajstrla et al.,
2000), on the basis of the mean RH (85%) and the b) 50 years after end of impoundment construction.
average wind speed (2 m/s).
The annual balance between infiltration-evaporation
yields a positive value of 91 mm/year (net infiltration).
This boundary condition was permanently applied to
the model during the whole analysis time.
Figure 6. (a) Phreatic level after impoundment construc-
tion (6000 days) (b) Phreatic level after 50 years from
impoundment construction.
6 BASE CASE

Sixteen years of continuous filling of the impound-
ment were simulated with the model. The effect of
consolidation of tailings under the self-weight loads
and the hydraulic boundary conditions imposed is
shown in Figure 4. Porosity variation with depth is
plotted at three vertical sections located at 26 m, 120 m
and 420 m from the edge of the deposit (dam). A 50
year period after the end of construction was also ana-
lyzed, keeping active all boundary conditions except
the tailings discharge. It may be observed that poros-
ity decreases with depth, faster in the perimeter of
the deposit than in the centre zone. This is due to
the favourable drainage conditions in the vicinity of
the dam, larger permeability and lower phreatic levels
leading to higher effective stresses.
The degree of saturation of tailings at the end of
construction is high in the whole deposit, is shown in
Figure 5. Most of the tailings volume remains satu-
rated, while in the dam crest Sr reaches a minimum
value of 85%. This is due to the presence of capil-
lary water above the phreatic level and the continuous
addition of water with the slurry discharge. Figure 6
displays the position of phreatic surfaces at the end
of construction and after 50 years. The later analysis
shows that the steady-state flow regime is reached 20
years after end of construction.
7 EFFECT OF RAINSTORMS
An extreme rainfall event recorded at the site, as
described by Greenaway et al. (2002), was applied to
the model at the end of construction period. The storm
comprised 722 mm rainfall in 48 hours, with a peak of

928
 (a) a) At the end of construction.
100

80
b) Atthe end of rain storm (48h.)
Rainfall [mm]

60
c) 11 days after end of rain storm.
40

20
0 case).
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47
Time [hours]
b) At10 h after storm initiation.
c)At the end of storm (48h)
d) 10 days after theend of the storm.
Figure 7. a. Rainfall storm. 7 b, c and d. Model results:
variation of the position of phreatic surface.
140 mm in 90 minutes (Figure 7a). Figure 7b shows
the model results at different times after storm initi-
ation. The phreatic surface rises fast during rainfall,
the highest position being reached at the end of the
storm. On the contrary, phreatic drawdown is a slow
process. Ten days after rainfall ends, the phreatic level
is still in a higher position than the initial situation
at the beginning of the storm (Figure 7c). Moreover,
phreatic water intersects the slope face of the dam 2 m
above the base.
If the same amount of rainfall is applied over a
longer time span (4 days), the rise of the phreatic sur-
face is somewhat more pronounced. This due to lower
runoff/infiltration ratios associated with lower rainfall
rates. In this case, the highest position of the phreatic
surface at the dam slope face is 2.4 m above its base
and it is reached 4 days after the end of the storm.
Figure 8. Variation of the position of phreatic surface (wet
The results of the sensitivity analysis show a
strong influence of the assumed long-term infiltra-
tion/evaporation boundary condition, on the behaviour
of the deposit under the action of the rain storm.
Figure 8 depicts the rise of the phreatic surface for the
wet case under the action of the storm of Figure 7. a.
Phreatic water approaches the outer face of the deposit
much faster than in the base case. Eleven days after the
end of the storm, the phreatic surface reaches its max-
imum elevation intersecting the dam slope at 3.5 m
above the base. This is a consequence of the presence
of a larger volume of capillary water in the unsatu-
rated zone, above the phreatic surface, reducing the
available water storing capacity of tailings.
9 STABILITY ANALYSIS
Stability analysis of the deposit was performed by
means of the limit equilibrium method. The analysis
domain covered the zone of variation of the phreatic
level. A summary of the strength parameters of the
materials involved are presented in Table 2. Apparent
cohesion due to matric suction was taken into account
in the computed parameters.
Stability analyses were carried out for the base and
wet cases. The critical sliding surfaces obtained are
shown in Figure 9 and 10 respectively. The values of
computed safety factors are summarized in Table 3. In
the base case, the storm causes a considerable decrease
Table 2. Mohr-Coulomb parameters.

Material C (KPa) F
8 SENSITIVITY TO INFILTRATION –
EVAPORATION BOUNDARY CONDITIONS Saturated tailings 35.6◦∗
Unsaturated tailings (above 28.59∗ 35.6◦∗
Additional cases were run to study the influence phreatic level)
Saturated compacted laterite 11.00 31◦
of the infiltration-evaporation boundary condition Unsaturated compacted laterite 45.40 31◦
on the impoundment surface. In the ‘‘wet case’’ Foundation soil 33◦∗∗
infiltration/evaporation model parameters were set to
CN = 90 and Kpan = 0.75, resulting in a 367 mm/year ∗ Obtained from triaxial tests (Rodriguez, 2002).
net infiltration. ∗∗ Estimated from index properties.

929
of the safety factor in relation to the pre-storm values, could be larger than the suggested by Figure 10 if static
although sliding is not triggered. The minimum safety liquefaction of tailings is triggered as a consequence
factor is reached at the end of the storm. of sliding.
In the wet case, the deposit becomes unstable by
the end of the storm. Moreover, it remains unstable 11
days after the storm. The amount of material released 10 CONCLUSIONS

The numerical model developed is able to consider the

a) FS=2.54 influence of the variability of hydraulic properties of
phreatic level tailings, the presence of the supernatant pond, consol-
idation of tailings under self-weight loads, continuous
addition of water with the tailings discharge rain and
evaporation.
b) The low hydraulic conductivities of tailings cause
phreatic level the phreatic levels to remain high during the impound-
FS=1.13
ment construction and a long time after. Hence a large
area of the impoundment remains saturated during the
whole life of the facility.
The steady-state flow regime is reached approxi-
c) mately 20 years after the end of construction. There-
phreatic level FS=1.30
fore, it seems that the steady-state flow regime is not
a suitable hypothesis for the design of these type of
structures, as previously noted by Alonso and Gens
(2006).
At the end of the construction process of the
Figure 9. Sliding surfaces for base case, a. At the end of impoundment, 94% of the stored tailings are beneath
construction, b. At the end of storm c. 4 days after storm end.
the phreatic surface, whereas the rest have degrees of
saturation varying from 86% to 100%. High degrees of
a) saturation are a consequence of capillary rise and the
phreatic level FS=1.55 continuous addition of water with the slurry discharge
and rainfall.
As a consequence of the large volume of water
stored in the tailings pores, the phreatic surface rises
very fast during rainstorms. On the other hand, draw-
b) down of the phreatic surface at the end of the storm
phreatic level FS=0.88
occurs in a slow manner (several days). Due to this
FS=1.04 feature, closely repeated rainfall events could have
seriously adverse effects on the dam stability.
Higher phreatic levels are obtained for moder-
ate rainfall intensities with larger duration due to
c)
FS=0.97 higher infiltration/runoff ratios. The highest position
phreatic level
FS=1.02 of the phreatic surface occurs between the end of
the storm and few days after (up to 11 days). Then,
the critical condition for the impoundment stability is
attained.
The long-term infiltration-evaporation boundary
Figure 10. Sliding surfaces for Wet Case a. At the end
of construction, b. At the end of storm c. 11 days after
conditions, imposed by climate factors, strongly
storm ends. affects the hydraulic response of the deposit to extraor-
dinary rainfall events. Moreover, the final results of
Table 3. Factors of safety. stability analysis are also strongly dependent on this
analysis feature. Hence, accurate calibration of the
Base case Wet case infiltration-evaporation condition to reproduce real
Situation (FS) (FS) conditions becomes critical in the analysis procedure,
if meaningful results are expected.
At the end of construction 2.54 1.55 Finally, the results of this work confirm that the
At the end of rainfall 1.13 0.88 stability of tailings dams strongly depends on their
After 4/11 days rainfall end 1.30 0.97
hydraulic operation. They also suggest that routine

930
measurement of capillary water (not detected by com-
mon piezometric monitoring) could be relevant for the
assessment of the impoundment stability conditions
and its overall safety.
REFERENCES
Alonso, E.E., Gens A. & y Josa, A. 1990. A constitutive
model for partially saturated soils. Géotechnique 40, No.
3, 405–430.
Alonso, E. & Gens, A., 2006. Aznalcóllar dam failure. Part 2:
Stability conditions and failure mechanism. Géotechnique
56, No. 3, 185–201.
Blight, G.E., 1994. The master profile for hydraulic fill
tailing beaches . Proc. Instn. Civ. Engng., 107, 27–40.
Chalkley, M., Kerr, T., Parfitt, M. & Greenaway, G., 2002.
Rehabilitation of the acid leach tailings facility at Moa
Nickel in Cuba. CDA 2002 Annual Conference, Victoria,
BC, Canada.
Fourie, A.B., Blight, G.E. & Papageorgiou, G., 2001. Static
liquefaction as a possible explanation for the Merriespruit
tailings dam failure. Can. Geotech. J, 38, 707–719.
Gowing, J.W., Konukcu, F. & Rose, D.A.2006, Evapora-
tive flux from a shallow watertable: The influence of a
vapour—liquid phase transition. Journal of Hydrology
321 77–89.
931
Greenaway, G.R., Parfitt, M.R. & Kerr, T.F., 2002. Seismic
stability assessment of the Moa nickel tailings facility.
Canadian Dam Association 2002 Annual, Conference,
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Olivella, S. 1994. Code_Bright User’s Guide. Departa-
mento de Ingeniería del Terreno. Universitat Politécnica
de Catalunya.
Rodriguez, R. 2002. Estudio experimental de flujo y trans-
porte de cromo, níquel y manganeso en residuos de la zona
minera de Moa (Cuba): influencia del comportamiento
hidromecánico. Tesis Doctoral, Universitat Politécnica de
Catalunya, Barcelona.
Rodriguez, R. 2006. Hydrogeotechnical characterization of
a metallurgicalwaste. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 43,
1042–1060.
SCS 1957. Hydrology National Engineering Handbook.
USDA Soil Conservation Service.
Smajstrla A.G., Zazueta F.S., Clark G.A. & Pitts D.J. 2000.
Irrigation Scheduling with Evaporation Pans. Bulletin 254
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering,
Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food
and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.
Staple, W.J. 1974. Modified Penman Equation to Provide
the Upper Boundary Condition in Computing Evapora-
tion from Soil. Science Society of America Proceedings.
Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 837–839.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

A simplified model for the evaluation of the degree of saturation in slope

stability analysis of shallow soils

L. Montrasio & R. Valentino

University of Parma, Italy

ABSTRACT: It is well known that the degree of saturation of a soil is time-varying in consequence of
atmospheric conditions. Experimental data of matric suction at a site in Pilastro, Parma, Emilia Romagna
Region, Northern Italy, have been used to compare against a simplified model, which is able to directly correlate
the degree of saturation of a clayey-silt soil with rainfall events. The paper deals with the in-situ measurements
of matric suction, the procedure to obtain the degree of saturation on the basis of assumed soil-water retention
curves and comparison against the simplified model. This model, in turn, has been introduced in a simplified
physically based stability method, recently set up by the authors to describe the most important factors influencing
the rainfall-triggered mechanism of shallow landslides.

1 INTRODUCTION belonging to a restricted range. To make the method

It is known that rainfall-triggered shallow landslides
are becoming an ever frequent problem all over the
world. Many researchers have recently developed dif-
ferent approaches to describe the main features of the
trigger mechanism of such phenomena, in order to
evaluate the probability of their occurrence, both at
local and regional scale (Cascini et al. 2005).
A simplified physically based stability method has
been set up by the authors (Montrasio 2000, Montra-
sio et al. 2002, Montrasio & Valentino 2003, 2007),
in order to directly evaluate the safety factor of a
slope on the basis of rainfall amount. This method
considers that the soil of the shallow layers on steep
hills or mountains, firstly unsaturated, becomes satu-
rated in consequence of a certain amount of rainfall,
which is strictly related to the initial soil water content.
The time-varying safety factor of a slope is defined
on the basis of the limit equilibrium method applied
to an infinite slope, which takes into account the
mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of the soil,
the geometrical configuration of the slope and rainfall
events.
Experimental evidence shows that the stability equi-
librium is guaranteed by the apparent cohesion, com-
ing from the partial saturation of the matrix. So the
method states that the shear strength of the unsatu-
rated soil layer depends both on the effective cohesion
and on the apparent cohesion, which represents the
effect of partial saturation and can be expressed as a
function of the degree of saturation (Sr ), which, as
independent variable, unlike suction, assumes values
more efficient, it is useful to correlate directly the
degree of saturation of the soil with rainfall amounts.
In this paper a simplified model of such correlation
is shown and compared with another method for Sr
prediction, which in turn is based on experimental
soil suction measurements. The goal of the study is
the validation of the conceptual modeling of field pro-
cess by comparing simulated field site conditions with
a long-term time-series of field measurements in the
unsaturated zone.
2 EXPERIMENTAL DATA
Experimental values of soil suction for a specified site
and for a certain period are the basis for obtaining cor-
responding values of the soil degree of saturation. The
first step has been the acquisition, from the scientific
literature, of experimental soil suction data coming
from field measurements.
Although the aim of a previous work was to analyze
data belonging to different latitudes of the Italian terri-
tory (Quintavalla 2006), in the present work only data
regarding the site of Pilastro (Parma) in the Emilia
Romagna Region (Northern Italy) will be shown.
Moreover, to find a certain correlation between the
time-varying degree of saturation and rainfall inten-
sities, for certain soil characteristics, it was also
necessary to acquire data regarding time-varying rain-
falls, belonging to the same site and for a long period.
This condition was easily obtainable for the ‘‘Pilas-
tro’’ field site, which is a 6500 m2 level ground area,

933
located on the side of the Po plain, near the hilly 30 Temp. Rainfall 200
margin, close to the top of the alluvial fan of the Parma 24 160
stream, at about 166 meters above sea level, where the

Rainfall [mm]
Temp. [˚C]
water table typically ranges from 10 m to 30 m below 18 120
the ground level. 12 80
From a pedological point of view, the soil at the field
site could be considered as an ‘‘Udic Haplusteps loamy 6 40
skeletal, mesic’’ (Mantovi et al. 2005); from a geotech- 0 0

01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06
nical point of view it is classified as a clayey-silt. The
shallow soil, which contains altered gravels near the
surface, is not calcareous, while the substratum, which
is more calcareous, presents a gravelly-sandy texture,
with non altered cobbles, starting from 1.20 m below
the ground level. From field measurements of the infil- Figure 1. Temperature and rainfall depth for the ‘‘Pilastro’’
tration rate, the soil permeability was found to be very site during the monitoring period.
high. At a depth of 10 meters from the ground level,
the presence of a thick clay layer that obstructed the
vertical water flow was found. It could be supposed 100
that the ground water, for the most part of the year, 80

Suction [kPa]
gathers and flows on the clay layer, so determining the
60 0.3 m
presence of a relatively shallow water table (Mantovi
et al. 2005). 40 0.6 m
Field measurements of matric suction and rainfalls 20
0.9 m
refer to a 3-year period under standard local agronomic
practices: tomatoes, maize (corn), rye-grass. All the 0
soil suction measurements had been acquired by com- 100
mon ‘‘Skye’’ automatic electronic tensiometers. For 80
Suction [kPa]

the aims of the work, particularly significant are data

belonging to soil depth ranging from 0 m to 1.80 m, 60 1.2 m
where the soil water content mainly depends on rain- 40 1.5 m
fall and air temperature. Tensiometers were installed 1.8 m
20
at different depths from the ground level: 0.3 m, 0.6 m,
0.9 m, 1.2 m, 1.5 m, 1.8 m. 0
01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

Moreover, a well and a piezometer allowed the
measurement of the position of the ground water
level (Mantovi el al. 2005). It must be remembered
that a common tensiometer allows measurements of
matric suction limited in the field of gravity water
and capillary water, to typically less than 80 kPa.
The tensiometers were left in situ and connected to
a datalogger for continuous recording of soil mois-
ture measurements. Each tensiometer was fitted with
a low pressure transducer, stabilised for temperature
and linearity. The output was ratiometric for excita-
tion voltage, and calibrated at 5 volts. The transducer
behaved like a ‘‘bridge’’ type sensor and was suitable
for connection to a logger with differential voltage
inputs (Mantovi et al. 2006).
Figure 1 shows the trend of both temperature and
rainfall versus time for the monitoring period: tem-
peratures ranged between a maximum of 37.5◦ C and a
minimum of −10.5◦ C. Average atmospheric measured
temperature was 13.4◦ C and cumulated total rainfalls,
in nearly three years, were 2859.6 mm.
Figure 2 shows soil suction measurements versus
time, related to different depths from the ground level,
and can be related to Figure 1 thanks to the coincidence
22/11/06
Figure 2. Field measurements of soil suction at different
depths from the ground level for the ‘‘Pilastro’’ site, during
the monitoring period (CRPA—Reggio Emilia).
of the abscissa (time). It can be seen that in shallow
soil layers, the range of the matric suction was nearly
always between 0 kPa and 15 kPa, except some short
periods during the summer, between May and Septem-
ber, when the soil seemed to get dry in consequence of
both high temperature and drought. On the contrary, in
soil layers at a depth higher than 1.5 m, matric suction
kept constantly near to 20 kPa even during summer.
It is worth noting that suction measurements
acquired by common tensiometers can be consid-
ered reliable for the aim of this work, even if the
composition of the soil, that contains not a negligi-
ble percentage of cobbles, and the structure of the
instrument, that utilizes a porous cup, leave some

934
doubts about the real hydraulic continuous connection where ES is the effective saturation, s is the suction,
between soil matrix and pressure sensor. For the same α, n and m are empirical coefficients that determine
reason, it could be supposed that during summer soil the shape and the slope of the curve.
matric suction was also higher than 90 kPa, which was ES, in turn, is defined as the following:
the maximum value measurable by the tensiometers
in use. θ − θr
ES = (2)
θs − θr
where θ is the volumetric water content, θr is the
3 FROM MATRIC SUCTION TO THE DEGREE residual water content, which represents the adsorbed
OF SATURATION water, while θs is the saturation water content, which
represents the maximum volumetric water content and
Most rainfall-induced shallow landslides occur on is usually 5–10% smaller than porosity, because of
slightly steeper slopes and involve unsaturated soil. the presence of trapped or dissolved pore air (Ungaro
To model the trigger mechanism of these phenom- et al. 2005). For these reasons θr and θs are usually
ena in a simplified manner, it was considered that the considered as empirical constants in the definition of
soil shear strength depends on the apparent cohesion, the soil retention curve (Van Genuchten and Nielsen
which represents the effect of partial saturation and can 1985). Then from (1) and (2) the volumetric water
be expressed as a function of the degree of saturation content could be expressed as
(Sr ). In particular, when net normal stresses are kept
constant, that is the condition of a shallow soil layer,  −m
a soil suction variation provokes changes in soil water θ = θr + (θs − θr ) 1 + (α · s)n (3)
content. The link between water content and suction
is expressed by the soil moisture retention curve. Once the value of θ is determined, by using Equation
It is known that the amount of retained water for a (3) as a function of the suction (s), Sr can be evaluated
relatively low value of suction firstly depends on the by using the following equation:
capillary effect and on the distribution of pore dimen-
sions: it is then deeply influenced by soil structure.
On the other hand, the higher the value of soil suction θ θr + (θr − θs ) [1 + (α · s)n ]m
Sr = = (4)
the more water retention depends on adsorption and is θs θs
influenced by soil texture and by grain specific surface
more than by soil structure. Soil moisture retention In the present work, since the experimental data have
curve is also influenced by the presence of air bub- been acquired by previous works (Mantovi et al. 2006,
bles and changes in soil structure that are determined Merafina 2003), parameters for the Van Genuchten
both by rapid moistening or prolonged saturation pro- curve have been obtained by using Vereecken ped-
cesses. It is known, moreover, that each soil retention ofunctions (Vereecken et al. 1989), as these are
curve, which is specific for each kind of soil, presents considered by Merafina (2003) the most suitable to
an hysteretic behaviour. represent the water retention behaviour of soils that
Although many theoretical treatments allow hys- are present in the Emilia Romagna Region. As input
teresis modeling (Parlange 1976, Mualem 1984), their values, these pedofunctions need the apparent volume
relatively high complexity, the difficulty in determin- mass (AVM) and the percentage of organic carbon
ing some necessary experimental parameters, associ- (Org. C), sand and clay.
ated with the specific aim of the present work, that is For the field site of Pilastro, the data have been
the evaluation of the safety factor of slopes in a wide obtained by laboratory experimental analyses on soil
area (Montrasio 2000) led us consider, for simplifica- samples taken at different depths from the ground level
tion, as biunique the link between suction and water (Merafina 2003) and are shown in Table 1.
content. For the same reason, soil structure and fab-
ric were assumed constant in time and the degree of
saturation was assumed as a variable representing the
Table 1. Composition of the soil of Pilastro site.
water content, by using a common model to describe
the soil retention curve. An analytical model, among Depth [m] Sand [%] Clay [%] Org. C [%] AVM
those that in the course of time showed a strong appli-
cability in different conditions, is expressed by the Van 0–0.25 18 30 1.51 1.5
Genuchten equation, that is: 0.25–0.40 15 34 1.04 1.5
0.40–0.65 30 31 0.58 1.5
1 0.65–1.05 35 29 0.46 1.5
ES = (1) 1.05–1.25 59 23 0.46 1.5
[1 + (α · s)n ]m

935
Vereecken pedofunctions used are given in the 180 Sr calculated from suction d = 0.9m 1.2
following: 150 1.0

Rainfall [mm]
120 0.8
ϑr = 0.015 + 0.005 · Clay + 0.014 · Org.C 90 0.6

Sr
Rainfall Sr calculated from rainfall
ϑs = 0.81 − 0.283 · AVM + 0.001 · Clay 60 0.4
α = e(−2.486+0.025·Sand−0.351·Org.C−2.617·AVM−0.023·Clay) 30 0.2
∧ 0 0.0
n = e(−0.053−0.009·Sand−0.013·Clay+0.00015·Sand 2)

01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06
m=1

It is worth noting that these parameters strongly

depend on soil composition. Figure 6. Sr vs. time at 0.9 m below the ground level.

160 Suction 0.3 m Sr 1.2 180 Sr calculated from suction d = 1.2m 1.2
1.0 150 1.0

Rainfall [mm]
120
Suction [kPa]

0.8 120 0.8

90 Sr calculated from rainfall 0.6

Sr
80 0.6
Sr

Rainfall
0.4 60 0.4
40 30 0.2
0.2
0 0.0
0 0.0 01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06
01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06

Figure 7. Sr vs. time at 1.2 m below the ground level.

Figure 3. Experimental soil suction and relative calculated
Sr vs. time for the Pilastro site at a depth of 0.3 m below the
180 Sr calculated from suction d = 1.5m 1.2
ground level.
150 1.0
Rainfall [mm]

d = 0.3m 120 0.8

180 Sr calculated from suction 1.2
Sr calculated from rainfall 0.6

Sr
150 1.0 90
Rainfall
Rainfall [mm]

120 0.8 60 0.4

30 0.2
Sr

90 0.6
Rainfall Sr calculated from rainfall
60 0.4 0 0.0
01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06
30 0.2
0 0.0
01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06

Figure 8. Sr vs. time at 1.5 m below the ground level.

Figure 4. Sr vs. time at 0.3 m below the ground level.

180 Sr calculated from suction d = 0.6m 1.2

On the basis of the soil suction data, the trend of the
150 1.0
degree of saturation has been obtained for each depth
Rainfall [mm]

120 0.8 of the site-sample. In Figure 3 only the trend at a depth

90 S r calculated from rainfall 0.6
Sr

Rainfall of 0.3 m is shown. It could be pointed out that the

60 0.4 degree of saturation assumes a typical seasonal trend,
30 0.2 becoming nearly fixed around the value 0.8 during
0 0.0 summer and the value 0.98 during winter, as regards
01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06

the most shallow soil layer. The calculated degree of

saturation for different depths reported in Figures 4–9
reveal how Sr could be considered substantially con-
stant in time for soil layers that are positioned more
Figure 5. Sr vs. time at 0.6 m below the ground level. than 1.5 m below ground level.

936
 180 Sr calculated from rainfall d = 1.8m 1.2 Table 2. Values of parameters assumed for the model.
150 1.0
Depth (d)
Rainfall [mm]

120 0.8
Sr calculated from suction
[m] S0 z β∗ n

Sr
90 0.6
Rainfall
60 0.4 0.3 0.970 0.9940 0.3 0.6
30 0.2 0.6 0.970 0.9975 0.3 0.6
0 0.0 0.9 0.950 0.9983 0.3 0.6
1.2 0.947 0.9988 0.3 0.6
01/01/04

25/06/04

18/12/04

12/06/05

05/12/05

30/05/06

22/11/06
1.5 0.947 0.9990 0.3 0.6
1.8 0.920 0.9992 0.3 0.6

Figure 9. Sr vs. time at 1.8 m below the ground level.

the thickness of the potentially instable shallow soil
layer, V can be replaced by H and Equation (8) can be
4 A CORRELATION BETWEEN RAINFALL written as:
AND THE DEGREE OF SATURATION
β∗h
We must remember that it is rather interesting to cor- Sr = S0 + (9)
nH
relate directly the degree of saturation of a kind of soil
with rainfall events, in order to assess the safety factor If Sr is calculated by considering a time interval
of a slope that could be subjected to rainfall-induced equal to one day, h is the daily cumulated rainfall depth
shallow landslides. That’s why a simplified model has and S0 is the degree of saturation of the soil on the day
been set up. before.
It is well known that the unit weight of a repre- It must be considered that during a day the degree
sentative element volume (REV) of soil in normal of saturation of the soil undergoes some changes,
conditions can be expressed through Equation (5): determined by weather conditions, and generally, in
Ws + Ww absence of rainfalls, slowly it tends to reduce. This
γ = = γd + γw nS0 (5) aspect can be expressed through a reduction coeffi-
V
cient (z < 1), which is very close to one and allows to
where Ws is the solid weight, Ww is the water weight, take into account the percentage of water that evapo-
V is the total volume, γd is the dry soil unit weight, rates, undergoing a daily drying process. Equation (9)
γw is the water unit weight, n is the porosity and S0 is then becomes:
the initial degree of saturation. Our interest is to eval-
uate the unit weight of the same REV after a rainfall β∗h
event, that can be described in terms of rainfall depth Sr = S0 z + (10)
nH
(h). Obviously the total rainfall amount does not com-
pletely infiltrate the soil: only a portion of the rainfall, Equation (10) for Sr allows then a rapid and simple
which is expressed by a reduction coefficient (β ∗ ), evaluation of the degree of saturation as a function of
works in raising the degree of saturation of the soil. the rainfall depth (h), and results particularly capable
After a rainfall event, the new unit weight (γ ∗ ) of of being implemented in the simplified method for the
the soil can be then expressed by Equation (6): assessment of the safety factor of slopes subjected to
Ws + Ww + β ∗ hγw shallow landslides.
γ∗ = (6) The model has been applied to the Pilastro field site,
V in order to compare the results with those obtained
Moreover, disregarding volume deformations and through the method explained in Section 3. Table 2
changes of the soil porosity, γ ∗ can also be expressed summarizes the values of parameters assumed for the
through Equation (7): model applied to the Pilastro site.
γ ∗ = γd + γw nSr (7) Parameters z and β ∗ , in particular, have been deter-
mined through a procedure of adjustment so as to get
where Sr is the new degree of saturation of the soil. By to the best fitting between the values of Sr calculated
using Equations (5), (6) and (7) Sr can be expressed as: from suction by using Equation (4) and those calcu-
 
γ ∗ − γd 1 β∗h lated from rainfall by using Equation (10). Figures
Sr = = S0 nγw + γw (8) 4–9 show the trend of the values of Sr , calculated
nγw nγw V
through the two methods at different depths (d) from
By considering a REV having a unit horizontal section the ground level. It is worth noting that notwith-
area and a height H , which is also comparable with standing a fair number of assumptions are involved

937
in the evaluation of Sr in both methods, the agreement
between the two predictions appears not bad on the
whole.
5 APPLICATION OF THE MODEL TO A CASE
HISTORY
Recently, a simplified physically based stability model
has been set up by Montrasio & Valentino (2003, 2007)
to describe the most important factors influencing the
rainfall-triggered mechanism of shallow landslides.
The method has been drawn up as a means of sim-
plified analysis: it considers an infinite slope, made
by a thin soil layer, whose permeability is greater
than that of the bedrock. The phenomenon is triggered
following the loss of shear strength: the soil, firstly
unsaturated, becomes saturated in consequence of a
certain amount of rainfall, which is strictly related to
the initial water content of the soil.
The safety factor, calculated on the basis of the
limit equilibrium method, deeply depends on slope
geometry (slope angle, thickness of the layer), soil
properties (specific gravity, porosity, degree of satu-
ration), shear strength parameters (effective cohesion,
friction angle), drainage capability of the soil and
rainfall depth. In particular, the shear strength is
evaluated through an equation similar to Peterson’s
relationship (1988), reported by Fredlund et al. (1996)
(Montrasio & Valentino 2007).
The method has been applied to the case history of
‘‘Ca’Bernini’’ (Neviano, Parma), a site that was a few
kilometers far from the Pilastro field site and that had
been subjected to a shallow rainfall triggered landslide
on the 5th of October 2005.
On the basis of geotechnical and rainfall data at that
site, the method allows the trend of the safety factor
versus time to be obtained, highlighting the instability
condition (FS = 1) in correspondence to the time of
the real event. In this case, cumulated daily rainfall
depth, related to a period of 12 months in the neigh-
bourhood of the real event date, has been assumed as
input data. Moreover, as regards the evaluation of Sr ,
the following parameters have been assumed for Equa-
tion (10): β ∗ = 0.3, n = 0.4, H = 1.8 m, z = 0.999.
Figure 10 shows that the model catches well the safety
factor dropping to one in correspondence of the rainy
event occurred on the 5th of October 2005.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The paper deals with in-situ measurements of matric
suction in the field site of Pilastro (Parma, Italy) over
a long period and the procedure to estimate the degree
of saturation of the soil on the basis of an analytical
938
4 0.15
Daily rainfall [m]
3
0.10
2
Fs
0.05
1
0 0.00
01/01/05
02/03/05
01/05/05
30/06/05
29/08/05
28/10/05
27/12/05
Figure 10. Trend of the safety factor versus time for the
‘‘Ca’ Bernini’’ site in the neighbourhood of the 5th of October
2005.
soil-water retention curve. The values of Sr calcu-
lated from field soil suction measurements have been
compared with those calculated by using a simplified
model, which is able to directly correlate Sr with rain-
fall events. The model, in turn, has been introduced in a
simplified physically based stability method, recently
set up by the authors, and has been applied to a case
history, in order to catch, with a satisfactory result, the
trigger instant of a rainfall-induced shallow landslide.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Experimental data of soil suction were provided
by C.R.P.A. S.p.A. (Centro Ricerche Produzioni
Animali—Reggio Emilia) and the authors would like
to express their gratitude to Dr Paolo Mantovi and
to Dr Letizia Fumagalli for their cooperation.
REFERENCES
Cascini, L., Cuomo, S., Sorbino, G. 2005. Flow-like mass
movements in pyroclastic soils: remarks on the modeling
of triggering mechanism, Italian Geotech. J. 4: 11–31.
Fredlund, D.G., Anqing Xing, Fredlund, M.D., Barbour,
S.L. 1996. The relationship of the unsaturated soil
shear strength to the soil-water characteristic curve, Can.
Geotech. J. 33 (3): 440–448.
Mantovi, P., Ligabue, M., Dall’Olio, N. 2005. Rilascio di
nitrati da un suolo vulnerabile, Estimo e Territorio 9:
56–64.
Mantovi, P., Fumagalli, L., Beretta, G.P., Guermandi, M.
2006. Nitrate leaching through the unsaturated zone fol-
lowing pig slurry applications, Journal of Hydrology 316:
195–212.
Merafina, P. 2003. Monitoraggio della dinamica dei nitrati
nel mezzo insaturo in un’area vulnerabile della Provin-
cia di Parma e applicazione del modello di simulazione
CropSyst, Degree Thesis, Faculty of Science, University
of Parma.
Montrasio, L. 2000. Stability analysis of soil slip, Proc. Int.
Conf. Risk 2000. Southampton: Wit Press.
Montrasio, L., Re, F., Valentino, R. 2002. An approach to
measure soil slip risk, Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. On Comp.
Simulation in Risk Analysis and Hazard Mitigation.
Southampton: Wit Press.
Montrasio, L., Valentino, R. 2003. Experimental analysis
on factors triggering soil slip. In Luciano Picarelli (ed.),
Fast slope movements prediction and prevention for risk
mitigation; Proc. Int. Conf., Napoli, 11–13 May 2003.
Bologna: Patron Ed.
Montrasio, L., Valentino, R. 2007. Experimental analysis
and modelling of shallow landslides. Landslides 4 (3):
291–296. Springer-Verlag.
Mualem, Y. 1984. Prediction of the soil boundary wetting
curve. Soil Science 137: 379–389.
Parlange, J.Y. 1976. Capillary hysteresis and the relationship
between drying and wetting curves. Water Resour. Res.
12: 224–228.
939
Quintavalla, C. 2006. Valutazione del grado di saturazione
in terreni superficiali per l’analisi di stabilità di pendii in
terra, Degree Thesis in Engineering, University of Parma.
Ungaro, F., Calzolari, C., Busoni, E. 2005. Development
of pedotransfer functions using a group method of data
handling for the soil of the Pianura Padano-Veneta region
of North Italy: water retention properties. Geoderma 124:
293–317.
Van Genuchten, M.T., Nielsen, D.R. 1985. On describing and
predicting the hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils.
Ann. geophysicae 3 (5): 615–627. Paris: Gauthier-Villars.
Vereecken, H., Maes, J., Feyen, J., Darius, P. 1989. Estimat-
ing the soil moisture retention characteristic from texture,
bulk density and carbon content. Soil Science 148 (6):
389–403.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

Predicting the variation of stability with time for a slope in Switzerland

A. Thielen & S.M. Springman

Institute for Geotechnical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: The variation of stability with time due to suction changes was calculated for an instrumented
slope in Switzerland using the software Slope/W. The motivation for this study was a heavy rainfall event in
the area of this slope, which caused a great number of slope failures. The aim was to find the periods of lowest
slope stability, which represent the most unfavourable initial condition for a subsequent rainfall event. The pore
water pressure distributions used for the stability analysis came from precedent hydraulic calculations using the
software Vadose/W. Field and laboratory experiments provided the data for the configuration, the calibration
and the validation of the model. It is well known that the saturation of the soil has a significant influence on
slope stability and that periods of high saturation are most unfavourable in terms of risk of failure, and this was
quantified herein.

1 INTRODUCTION The results of the field and the laboratory experi-

During recent years, the topic of natural hazards
gained more and more national and global signifi-
cance. Extreme meteorological events are attributed
to climatic change, and are accompanied by instabil-
ities, whereby the most endangered slopes are those
that are too steep for the existing soil conditions and
are stabilized temporarily by suctions. A series of
42 landslides occurred, for example, in May 2002
in North Switzerland near the river Rhine after an
extreme event, in which 100 mm rain fell in 40 min-
utes (Fischer et al. 2003). Figure 1 shows one of the
failures that endangered the stability of a house.
ments have been introduced into a numerical analysis
of the water balance and the stability of the slope using
the software products Vadose/W and Slope/W from
Geoslope International Ltd. Vadose/W is a Finite Ele-
ment Software for the calculation of water-, vapour-
and heat flow in saturated and unsaturated soil zones.
The effects of rainfall infiltration, runoff, evapo-
transpiration, frost and snow melt can be taken into
account and also the effect of vegetation is considered.
As a result, the time dependent pore water pressure

2 INVESTIGATION METHODS

A field experiment lasting two years was performed

on a test slope in the vicinity of the above mentioned
failures. After a detailed site investigation (Thielen
et al. 2005, Friedel et al. 2005), the grass covered
field (Fig. 2) was equipped with a large number of
measuring devices for the meteorological survey and
the observation of the volumetric water contents, suc-
tions and soil temperatures at different depths up to
150 cm. A detailed description of the experimen-
tal design and a selection of results can be found in
Thielen & Springman (2005 & 2006).
Undisturbed and disturbed soil samples taken from
the field have been analysed in the laboratory in order
to determine the water retention curve, the saturated
and unsaturated permeability and the saturated and Figure 1. Slope failure after an extreme rainfall event in
unsaturated shear resistance. North Switzerland in May 2002.

941
 0.50

organic top layer 0.40

clayey sand
20
silty sand 0.30

θ [-]
z [m]

10 0.20

0.10 silty sand

0 clayey sand

sandstone 0.00
-10 0 10 20 30 0.1 1 10 100 1000
x [m]
suction [kPa]

Figure 2. Geometry, layering and spatial discretisation of

Figure 3. Water retention curves of the different soil types.
the two-dimensional slope model.

3.3 Material parameters

distribution in the slope can be determined. With
Slope/W the factor of safety against failure can be cal-
culated using the limit equilibrium method. Pore water
pressure distributions from Vadose/W calculations can
be introduced into this analysis and the influence of
suction on the shear strength formulation is taken into
account.
3 MODEL DESCRIPTION
3.1 Geometry and layering
Figure 2 shows the geometry and the soil layering that
has been assumed based on the site investigation for
the two-dimensional model of a vertical cut through
the middle of the slope. The grass covered site is char-
acterised by an average slope angle of 27◦ in the lower
part and 17◦ in the upper part. An organic top layer of
30 cm thickness covers a layer of clayey sand that is
up to 1.5 m thick. The underlying silty sand layer cov-
ering the sandstone basement is about 20 cm thick in
the lower part of the field and becomes significantly
thicker in the upper part, where it is also separated
from the sandstone by a thin layer of clayey sand.
Material parameters have to be defined for the dif-
ferent soil regions. These include the water retention
curve, suction dependent permeability, thermal con-
ductivity, specific heat capacity, soil unit weight and
shear resistance.
3.3.1 Water retention curve
The water retention curve for the clayey and the silty
soil was determined in the laboratory on undisturbed
soil samples. The results have been modelled using the
following equation by van Genuchten (1980):
(θs − θr )
θ = θr +    n m (1)
ψ
1+
a
θis the volumetric water content, θs is the volumetric
water content under saturated conditions and θr at the
residual state. ψ is the suction in kPa and a, m and n
are fitting parameters.
The water retention curves for the silty and the
clayey sand are plotted in Figure 3 and the chosen
fitting parameters can be taken from Table 1.

3.3.2 Permeability
3.2 Discretisation Also the determination of the suction dependent
Spatial and temporal discretisation of the model have permeability is based on laboratory investigations
been chosen with respect to calculation accuracy and on undisturbed soil samples. The results have
calculation time. A structured Finite Element mesh been modelled using the following equation by van
of 934 nodes and 869 quadrangular elements was Genuchten (1980):
constructed for the spatial discretisation (Fig. 2).
The elements of the sandstone basement are ‘‘zero 

2
1 − aψ (n−1) 1 + (aψ n )−m
elements’’ which means that they are not taken into k(ψ) = ks m (2)
account for the calculations. Concerning the temporal
discretisation, time steps of 24 hours have been chosen. ((1 + aψ) )
n 2

942
Table 1. Material parameters. 3.3.4 Soil unit weight
The soil unit weight is varying dependent on the
Organic Clayey Silty volumetric water content of the soil. Table 1 shows
Parameter soil sand sand the maximum and minimum values for each soil layer.
Permeability and WRC
a [−] 8.37 8.37 5.60 3.3.5 Shear resistance
m [−] 0.18 0.18 0.29 Shear resistance for saturated and unsaturated soil con-
n [−] 1.22 1.22 1.40 ditions is calculated using the following equation from
ks [cm/s] 7.5 ∗ 10−7 7.5 ∗ 10−7 3 ∗ 10−4 Fredlund et al. (1978):
θs [−] 0.45 0.45 0.42
Thermal conductivity τ = c + (σ − ua ) tan φ  + (ua − uw ) tan φ b (3)
kt [kJ/(day m ◦ C) ] 35 155 155
with τ as the shear resistance of the soil, c as the
Specific heat capacity
effective cohesion, (σ − ua ) as the effective normal
cs [kJ/(kg ◦ C) ] 1.67 0.71 0.71
stress, φ  as the angle of internal friction, (ua − uw ) as
Soil unit weight matric suction and φ b as an additional friction angle
γmax [kN/m3 ] 16.07 17.29 15.78 depending on soil suction. The parameters c , φ  and
γmin [kN/m3 ] 18.07 18.78 18.30 φ b of Equation 3 have been determined in the labo-
Shear parameters
ratory with the help of suction dependent direct shear
ϕ [◦ ] 31 31 37.5 tests and can also be taken from Table 1.
c [kPa] 15 0 0
ϕb [◦ ] 28 28 28 3.3.6 Summary of material parameters
The above mentioned material parameters for the
different soil types are summarised in Table 1.

1.E-03 3.4 Influence of vegetation

1.E-04 The influence of vegetation shows up in two ways. On
1.E-05
the one hand it augments the evapo-transpiration rate
compared to a bare soil surface. On the other hand, it
k(s) [cm/s]

1.E-06 influences the shear resistance of the organic top layer

1.E-07 in form of a cohesion due to root reinforcement. This
1000 cohesion has been assessed to be represented by 15 kPa
1.E-08
for grass (see Table 1). This empirical value has been
1.E-09 proposed by Cazzuffi & Crippa (2005).
clayey sand
1.E-10
silty sand
1.E-11
4 HYDRAULIC MODELLING
1 10 100
suction [kPa]
4.1 Initial conditions
Figure 4. Permeability curves of the different soil types. For the calculations with Vadose/W, thermal and
hydraulic initial conditions had to be defined. 1st
January of 2005 has been chosen as the starting point
for the calculations. Based on the soil temperature
k is the permeability, ks is the permeability under measurements from the field, an initial temperature
saturated conditions and ψ is the suction in kPa. a, m distribution has been defined, which is plotted in
and n are the same fitting parameters as for the water Figure 5.
retention curve. The permeability curves for the silty Concerning the initial pore water pressure distribu-
and the clayey sand are plotted in Figure 4. tion, an overall suction of 4 kPa was applied, based on
suction measurements at this date which varied around
this value at all depths up to 150 cm.
3.3.3 Thermal conductivity and specific
heat capacity
4.2 Boundary conditions
Values for thermal conductivity and specific heat
capacity have been estimated based on values from Boundary conditions had to be defined on the soil
the literature and can be taken from Table 1. surface, at the interface between the silty/clayey sand

943
 25 40
35 150 cm (c)
150 cm (m)

soil temperature [˚C]

4˚ C 30 90 cm (c)
8˚ C
12˚ C6˚ C 90 cm (m)
15 1 25 45 cm (c)
20 45 cm (m)
z [m]

15
5 10
5
0
1 51 101 151 201 251 301 351
-5 day of the year 2005
-15 -5 5 15 25 35
x [m]
Figure 6. Comparison of the calculated (c) and measured
Figure 5. Initial temperature distribution on 1st January (m) soil temperature at different depths for the year 2005.
2005.
0

PWP [kPa]
-20
layer and the sandstone basement (‘‘zero elements’’) -40
and at the right and the left boundary of the model. Cli- -60
-80 15 cm (c)
mate boundary conditions on the soil surface, in the -100 15 cm (m)
-120
form of daily data from field measurements, have been
applied, including maximum and minimum air temper- PWP [kPa] 0
-20
ature, maximum and minimum value of air humidity, -40
mean values of wind speed and net radiation and rain- -60 95 cm (c)
-80
fall amount. It should be mentioned here that data -100
90 (m)
for net radiation was estimated for most of the time
steps because of a lack of field data. The soil-bedrock 0
PWP [kPa]

-20
interface is considered as an impermeable hydraulic -40
boundary condition. At the right and the left bound- -60 122 cm (c)
-80 120 (m)
ary of the model, the water is free to flow in and out. -100
A heat flux has been applied between soil layers and 1 51 101 151 201 251 301 351
bedrock to represent the thermal boundary conditions. day of the year 2005

Figure 7. Comparison of the calculated (c) and measured

4.3 Calibration of the model
The calibration of the hydraulic model has been per-
formed in comparison with the field data of the year
2005. Permeability of the different soil types and net
radiation assumptions have been the key factors varied
in order to represent the measured data with the model.
Net radiation is influencing the evapo-transpiration
rate associated with the development of soil tempera-
ture. The development of soil suctions is, on the one
hand, influenced by the evapo-transpiration rate, but
also by the permeability of the soil. Consequently, the
calibration procedure was chosen as follows: first of
all, assumed net radiation values have been adapted
until the model was able to represent the measured
soil temperature development in a correct manner.
Figure 6 shows the calculated soil temperatures in three
different depths in the middle of the field over the year
2005, in comparison to the measured values.
The remaining difference between measured and
calculated data can be explained by the applied values
of air temperature. In the field, temperature measure-
ments have been carried out in the blazing sun so that
the values are overestimated in summer, resulting in
overestimated soil temperatures.
(m) soil suction at different depths for the year 2005.
When this first calibration step was finished, per-
meabilities of the different soil types have been
adapted until the model was also capable of repre-
senting the measured suction development over the
year 2005 for different depths. Figure 7 shows the cal-
culated values at three different depths over the year
2005, in comparison with the measured values.
It can be seen that the model is able to represent the
field data effectively. The short time variation of suc-
tion in the shallow soil layers are well defined and also
the seasonal variation in greater depths correspond
to the field data. To attain this degree of agreement,
the permeability of the clayey soil had to be signif-
icantly augmented (500 times). This was expected,
because soil samples on which permeability determi-
nation in the laboratory are performed are in general
too small to take into account the effect of preferential
flow. Studies of other authors confirm these observa-
tions (e.g. Gasmo et al., 2000, Rahardjo et al., 2000,
Kawamoto et al., 2004). After Kawamoto et al. (2004),
it is realistic that the permeability in the field is up to

944
 0 4
PWP [kPa]

-20
-40

factor of safety
-60 3
-80 15 cm (c)
-100 15 cm (m) 2
-120

0 1
PWP [kPa]

-20
-40 0
-60 95 cm (c) 1 51 101 151 201 251 301 351
-80 90 cm (m) day of the year 2005
-100

0 Figure 9. Development of the factor of safety for the

PWP [kPa]

-20 year 2005.

-40
-60 122 cm (c)
-80 120 cm (m)
-100
1 51 101 151 201 251 301 351
day of the year 2006

Figure 8. Comparison of the calculated (c) and measured

(m) soil pore water pressure (PWP) at different depths for the
year 2006.

1000 times higher than the permeability determined in

the laboratory.

4.4 Validation of the model Figure 10. Slip circle corresponding to the smallest factor
of safety during the year 2005.
The validation of the hydraulic model has been per-
formed in comparison to the field data of the year
2006 and the results confirm the good quality of the
chosen model (Fig. 8).

5 STABILITY ANALYSIS

For every first day of the month for the year 2005, the
calculated pore water pressures have been introduced
into a stability analysis with Slope/W and the most
probable slip circles with the corresponding factors of
safety have been determined.
Figure 8 shows the development of the factor of
safety for the year 2005.
Figure 9 shows the slip circle corresponding to the Figure 11. Slip circle corresponding to the highest factor
smallest factor of safety calculated for the 1st February of safety during the year 2005.
2005.
It can be seen in Figure 8 that the stability of the
slope was guaranteed all over the year 2005. If the 6 CONCLUSIONS
seasonal development of the factor of safety (Fig. 9)
is compared to the seasonal development of suctions This study has made a contribution to extending the
(Fig. 6), the correlation shows up very clearly. The understanding about the behaviour of unsaturated soils
stability is highest when also suctions are highest. It in slopes. The computer aided modelling of water
could also be observed that the highest factors of safety balance and stability based on results from field and
correspond to the smallest slip circles with the highest laboratory experiments can be judged as an appropri-
ratio of depth over length (see Figure 10 in comparison ate engineering method in a correct manner, because
to Figure 11). it was possible to represent the slope behaviour, and

945
especially the suction development, due to climate
influences.
The saturation of the soil and the corresponding
suctions showed a significant influence on the stabil-
ity of the test slope and, as a consequence, also on
the stability of other slopes with similar soil struc-
ture. Even though the observed slope was stable all
over the calculated period, the stability analyses have
shown that in times of high saturation, the factor of
safety becomes significantly smaller. Smallest factors
of safety show up between January and June, which is
interesting since the heavy rainfall event, which caused
many failures in the vicinity of the test slope occurred
in May. Many natural slopes have a greater inclination
than this slope and, during their hydrological history,
they were perhaps never fully saturated. Because of the
climate change and the accumulation of extreme rain-
fall events, it is possible that these slopes may reach
their critical saturation degree and will fail.
REFERENCES
Cazzuffi, D. & Crippa, E. (2005). Shear strength behaviour
of cohesive soils reinforced with vegetation. Proceedings
of the 16th International Conference on Soil Mechanics
and Geotechnical Engineering, Osaka, Japan. Millpress,
Rotterdam. pp. 2493–2498.
Fischer, C., López, J. & Springman, S.M. 2003. Remediation
of an eroded steep slope in weathered sandstone after a
major rainstorm. Proceedings of the International Con-
ference on Landslides, Hong Kong, 8–10. Dec. 2003:
878–883.
946
Fredlund, D.G., Morgenstern, N.R. & Widger, R.A.
1978. The shear strength of unsaturated soils. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 15(3): 313–321.
Friedel, S., Thielen, A. & Springman, S.M. 2006. Investiga-
tion of a slope endangered by rainfall-induced landslides
using 3D resistivity tomography and geotechnical testing.
Journal of Applied Geophysics, 60(2): 100–114.
Gasmo, J.M., Rahardjo, H. & Leong, E.C. 2000. Infiltration
effects on stability of a residual soil slope. Computers and
Geotechnics, 26: 145–165.
Kawamoto, K., Kawamura, T., Kobayashi, K. & Oda, M.
2004. Soil Water Dynamics in a Forested Soil at a Land-
slide Site under Natural Precipitation. Report. Faculty of
Engineering, Saitama University.
Rahardjo, H., Leong, E.C., Deutscher, M.S., Gasmo,
J.M. & Tang, S.K. 2000. Rainfall-induced slope failures.
NTU-PWD Geotechnical Research Centre of Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore.
Thielen, A., Friedel, S., Plötze, M. & Springman, S.M. 2005.
Combined approach for site investigation in terms of the
analysis of rainfall induced landslides. Proceedings of
the 16th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, Osaka, Japan.
Thielen, A. & Springman, S.M. 2005. First results of a moni-
toring experiment for the analysis of rainfall induced land-
slides. Proceedings of the International Symposium on
Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics—
EXPERUS 2005, Trento, Italy.
Thielen, A. & Springman, S.M. 2006. Monitoring field
experiment in an unsaturated sandy soil slope in Switzer-
land. Proceedings of the The Fourth International
Conference on Unsaturated Soils—UNSAT06, Phoenix,
Arizona.
van Genuchten, M.T. 1980. A closed-form equation for pre-
dicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44: 892–898.
 Unsaturated Soils: Advances in Geo-Engineering – Toll et al. (eds)
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47692-8

In situ field experiment to apply variable high water levels to a river levee

P.A. Mayor & S.M. Springman

ETH Zurich, Institute for Geotechnical Engineering, Zurich, Switzerland

P. Teysseire
Teysseire & Candolfi Ltd, Visp, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: A section of flood protection levee along the river Rhone in the canton of Valais has been
identified as the site for a field experiment to investigate response due to extensive and repeated river floods.
This section has been isolated and within a sheet pile box and a range of instruments have been installed for
measuring degree of saturation and suction. The river side will be flooded in order to represent expected critical
floods and thereafter cyclic water loading will occur in spring 2007. It is planned that breaching will also occur.
This paper will report first results from this in situ experiment.

1 INTRODUCTION be carried out will focus upon strengthening old and

weakened levees and broadening the riverbed where
Management of flooding risks in the upper Rhone necessary and possible. First priority measures have
valley between Lake Geneva and Brig has developed been already planned and partially executed.
over the past two centuries. The first general and An analysis of the levees from Visp to Martigny in
systematic correction project was initiated after the 1999 had revealed that, for a length of 118.8 km about
Rhone valley had suffered from severe floods in 1860. 59 km of the levee were in extreme danger, about 24 km
The first Rhone correction has been achieved between in medium danger and 23 km in low danger. 12.8 km
1863 and 1893. were not protected by a levee.
This defined the path of the river, restraining it from These cannot be improved to acceptable risk
meandering across the valley and freeing up land for levels immediately and the critical meteorological-
subsequent agricultural use. The river was constrained hydrological conditions expected over the next
between two parallel levees combined with inclined century have become more challenging (high river
spurs every 30 m. The function of the spurs was to levels, closer frequency of extreme storms, warmer
guide the river into the centre of the riverbed to assure
a sufficient water speed to transport the sediments
brought by the numerous feeder torrents.
In spite of these measures, the level of the river
bed rose gradually so that it became necessary to pro-
tect the neighbouring land by raising the height of the
protection levees to reduce the likelihood of flooding.
The second correction of the Rhone River took place
between 1930 and 1960 (Service fédéral des routes et
des digues, 1964).
Recent floods, particularly the event in October
2000 (Federal Office for Water and Geology, 2002),
in which thousands of hectares were flooded, caus-
ing damage of about 479 million Swiss Francs for the
Valais only, concentrated the authorities on the essen-
tial nature of the third Rhone correction. The general
objectives and the guiding principles of the project
were approved and the ‘‘projet Rhône’’ started offi-
cially in November 2002. In principle, the work to Figure 1. Geographical location of the test cell.

947
summers that may dry out the levees (Schär et al.
2004). Furthermore, the construction period will be
30 years, so the stability must be investigated in more
detail to aid optimal decision making on the sequence
of remediation.
The cost is estimated at 1 billion Swiss Francs, paid
mainly by the Federal Government through the Office
for Environmental Protection (BAFU), with additional
financial support from the cantons of Valais and Vaud.
The Institute for Geotechnical Engineering at ETH
(IGT) was involved following the 2nd Rhone correc- Figure 2. Geological section of the levee and the under-
tion as advisory geotechnical experts to the cantonal ground.
authorities. A system of classification of the levees has
been developed using history files, results of field tests • examination of the effect of the initial state of the
like SPT, CPT and logs of boreholes (Teysseire et al. levee (c.f. saturation degree) immediately prior to
1999). Most of the levees are built of sand and silt and an extreme event.
these two materials control the behaviour of the levees.
A classification system was developed by dividing the This test is expected to enhance the basic understand-
levees into 5 different risk scenarios. The studies came ing of the response to environmental perturbations, to
to the conclusion that the most dangerous scenario was aid evaluation of the state of existing levees and for the
that of hydraulic fracture mechanism caused by piping design and construction of the newly planned ones.
from an aquifer beneath a shallow fine grained layer
below the levee. This rough but robust classification
2 GEOMETRY OF LEVEE & GROUND
system allowed a first estimation of the amount of lev-
MODEL
ees needing remediation works and has proved very
useful for the first phase of the project.
The levee at the test site is 3.3 m high and has two
In a second step, the degree of risk of particular
different zones. The lower part (about 1.5 m) slopes at
existing levees had to be evaluated more precisely.
an average of 22◦ whereas the upper 1.8 m is steeper,
Critical levee cross sections in various locations along
at about 40◦ .
the Rhone were instrumented and data obtained during
Three boreholes were drilled, two through the exist-
past extreme events contributed towards the prepara-
ing levee on either side of the crown to a maximum
tion of the documents for the 3rd Rhone Correction.
depth of 15.5 m and one beyond the cell into the lower
Three levee cross sections have been instrumented
Rhone gravel and sand, down to a depth of 13.0 m.
in the neighbourhood of Visp in 1999. They pro-
Undisturbed samples were taken. Figure 2 shows the
vided an insight into the response of the levee and the
results of the field investigations. The upper part of
underlying soil layers to high river levels. The instru-
the levee is divided into two layers. The first 90 cm
mentation was concentrated in the saturated zone of the
consists of fine silty gravel with some stones, the
levee and the underlying layers. They consisted mainly
remaining 90 cm being formed by a silty sand with
of piezometers to measure the water pressure at differ-
gravel and organic components. Stones were encoun-
ent depths and the river level. No measurements were
tered in both boreholes at the border between the
made in the unsaturated zone of the levee.
upper and the lower part of the levee. The lower part
In order to improve the understanding of the behav-
itself consists mainly of uniform sand (SP), with some
ior of the levee under the influence of river level
rounded boulders.
variation and changing weather conditions, a test on an
The levee is built on a layer of upper fluvial deposits,
existing levee was planned with the following goals:
whose classification ranges between GP and SP. A
layer of upper Rhone gravel follows under the first
• improved understanding of levee response under
layer. A thin layer of organic material was encoun-
consideration of saturated and unsaturated state of
tered in the first two boreholes, on top of the lower
the embankment and underlying soil layers,
fluvial deposit layer, which is classified as SW-SM.
• impact of river level variations and weather condi-
The lower Rhone gravel and sand lies below, whose
tions,
classification varies from GW to SP.
• scrutiny of the response of the nominally unsatu-
rated zones in the levee due to repeated cycles of
saturation and desaturation, 3 INSTRUMENTED TEST CELL
• investigation of extreme scenarios such as long
lasting high water levels, both with and without An area of 35 m by 12.5 m, more or less centrally
significant (sometimes artificial) rainfall, located across a section of levee near to a former test

948
Figure 3. Air view of the (shortened) test cell (Photography:
P. Mayor).
cross section, was isolated from water flows above
ground level by piling around it to a depth of about
5 m from the river bed to create a test cell. Larssen
25 pile sections of 11 m length were used. While this
would not prevent flow out of or into the base strata
from river levels higher or lower than in the test cell,
the instrumentation provided was planned to enable
back analysis of this state (Figure 3).
Along the walls, the cell was made as waterproof as
necessary by means of Compactonit pellets and fitted
with a pump and a control system to be able to provide
a specially defined temporal series of water heights on
the river side of the levee.
While the existing measurement sections only con-
centrated on the saturated zone, the test cell was
planned in order to investigate the behaviour of the
levee in unsaturated as well as in saturated states.
Therefore, in addition to measuring the pore water
pressure, the water content in the soil as well as the
suction has to be determined. Three different types
of sensor were installed close to each other at four
different spots.
The volumetric water content is being measured by
means of time domain reflectometers (TDR) and Envi-
roSmart gauges (ESM), the suction being measured
by means of tensiometers (TSM). The four zones are
shown in Figure 3. In three supplementary locations,
TDRs and tensiometers were installed pair wise at
the same depth (with lengths of 90 and 150 cm). A
combination of some of these instruments has already
been tested successfully in different research projects
at IGT (Teysseire et al. 2000, Thielen & Springman
2006).
Four EnviroSmart tubes, containing 6 water con-
tent gauges each, were installed on both sides of the
levee (Figure 4). The EnviroSmart soil water content
profile probes are mounted in a PVC access-tube with
949
Figure 4. Overview of the instrumentation.
a diameter of 56.5 mm and driven into the soil. The
access tube prevents the direct contact of the probes
with the soil and the bottom stopper and the top cap
prevents moisture and dirt from entering the tube.
The access tube is equipped with a cutting ring and
driven into the soil with a hammer during instal-
lation, while the soil entering the tube is removed
with an auger. This method prevents the formation
of cavities along the tube and causes minimum dis-
turbance to the surrounding soil. The location of the
gauges in the PVC tube can be adapted to suit the
subsoil encountered. The minimal distance between
two gauges is 20 cm, otherwise the repartition of the
gauges in the tube can be fixed without any other
restrictions.
The sensor measuring principle is based on high fre-
quency capacitance. The sensor output is a dimension-
less frequency, which is converted via a normalization
equation and then a calibration equation into volumet-
ric soil water content (Sentek 2001). Water content
measurements using the default calibration considered
in this paper range from 0 to 70%. The sphere of influ-
ence of the sensor is situated to 99% within a 10 cm
radius from the outside of the access tube. A labora-
tory characterization of this sensor has been published
recently (Schwank et al. 2006).
The tensiometers are equipped with electronic
pressure transducers connected to the data logger.
The instrumentation was completed by piezome-
ters (vented vibrating wire and pressure transducer
types) located in and outside the test cell at different
depths.
A meteorological station measuring air tempera-
ture, air humidity and air pressure, precipitation, wind
force and direction and radiation has been installed on
the valley side of the cell.
Data are collected, usually every 10 min, and stored
by means of a data logger. Measurements can then be
downloaded as necessary to the office by phone.
4 PRELIMINARY TEST RESULTS
The variation of the water level during the first phase
of the field tests is given in Figure 5 together with
the response of the 2nd EnviroSmart tube, TDR 4 and
Tensiometer 2 located on the river side of the levee.
The depths of the sensors shown are given in Table 1.
All sensors are located not far from the surface in
vertical or in horizontal directions. This explains the
quick response of all the sensors including the TDR
and tensiometer.
After lowering the water level, the sensors near the
surface registered a rapid decrease in water content.
Deeper seated sensors reacted more slowly and the
water content was still higher at the end than at the
beginning of the test.
The TDR measurements on the river side are shown
in Figure 6. TDR 1 situated at a depth of 0.9 m reacts
very quickly to changes in water level and shows the
drying out of the levee after lowering the water level
in the cell. The three other TDRs are located at a depth
of 1.5 m and show less pronounced reactions, whereas
TDR 4, which is the nearest to the centre of the levee,
exhibits the slowest reaction and the highest water con-
tent at the end of the test. TDR 3 located closest to the
slope shows a peak due to a rain event (16 mm in
3 hrs) after 68 days.
There was no visible sensor response to the rising
water level on the ‘air’ side of the levee. The 4 deeper
seated EnviroSmart gauges and the TDR also showed
no reaction during the entire test duration of about 80
days. The increase in water content measured from
the 2 EnviroSmart gauges near the surface was caused
by a rain storm (64 mm in 23 hours), as shown in
Figure 7.
The assessment of the slope stability of the levees
is crucial for the whole project. The suction history of
the soil must be taken into account for a reliable pre-
diction of the safety factor. This has been confirmed in
the field tests carried out in the forefield of the Gruben
glacier by IGT, concerning instabilities on moraine
slopes induced by loss of suction (Springman et al.
2003).
The instrumentation enables the evolutio