Teaching Unsaturated Soil

Mechanics as Part of the

Undergraduate Civil Engineering
Curriculum
Delwyn G. Fredlund,
Visiting Professor
Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
February 15, 2005
Introduction
z Soil mechanics textbooks do not address
the full scope of problems encountered in
geotechnical engineering
z Textbooks for undergraduate students
focus on the behavior of saturated soils
z Undergraduate students are generally
taught very little about unsaturated soil
behavior
 Personal Observation Upon
Graduation From University
• After graduation I realized I had been taught soil
mechanics courses related to saturated soil behavior
and then found myself faced with attempting to solve
many problems where the soil was unsaturated. After
2 years I observed that about 90% of the problems I
had addressed involved soils with negative pore-water
pressures. I began to feel that I had been taught soil
mechanics for saturated soils and then had to go out
and practice soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. I
was ill-equipped to face a world with unsaturated soil
mechanics problems
 Undergraduate Student Needs
z Undergraduate engineering students need:
– to be better-equipped to face a geotechnical
world with unsaturated soils problems
– to better understand the basic differences
between the behavior of saturated and
unsaturated soils
– to know the concepts and fundamentals
behind unsaturated soil behavior and learn to
“think the way the unsaturated soil
behaves”
 Is There a Need to Teach
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics?
z Many Civil Engineering problems involve the
interaction between the climate and the
unsaturated soil zone (i.e., flux boundary
conditions)
– Foundations of many structures are near
ground surface
– Expansive soils problems impose a large
financial burden on society in many countries
– Human Beings usually contaminates the
environment starting at the ground surface
 Teaching Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
at the Undergraduate Level
z To-date there has been little desire to teach
unsaturated soil mechanics at the
undergraduate level
z It may be easier to introduce the basic
concepts of unsaturated soil mechanics at the
undergraduate level than at the graduate level
z It is suggested that the basic concepts of
saturated-unsaturated soil mechanics be
taught using simple illustrative diagrams
Broad Categorization of Soil Mechanics Based on
Stress State Variables

Negative pore-water
pressures
Net normal stress Matric suction
(σ - ua) (ua - uw)

(σ - uw)
Effective stress

Sa Positive pore-water
s
tu r pressures i c
a te d S oil M e c h an
 The “Real World” has a Moisture
Flux Boundary Condition
z Saturated soil mechanics has largely ignored
ground surface moisture flux conditions

z Changes in negative pore-water pressure

(and consequently matric suction) in
unsaturated soils can be caused by:
– precipitation and infiltration
– evaporation
– transpiration
– covers
Visualization Evaporation Evapotranspiration Precipitation

of the Role
of the Surface Hydrostatic
Downward
flux
Flux Upward
flux Unsaturated
Boundary Negative pore-water Pore-air Soil
pressures pressures Total stress
Condition
Capillary fringe

Saturated Soil

Positive
pore-water
pressures
Long Term Response of the Water
Table to Arid Climatic Conditions

Negative pore-water
pressures

(Evaporation > Precipitation)

Arid regions

Sa Positive pore-water
s
tu r a pressures
i c
te d S oil M e c h an
 General Objectives of Teaching
Undergraduate Soil Mechanics
z To present the basic concepts and
fundamental principles of soil mechanics
based on the student’s background in
mechanics, physics and mathematics
z To provide background knowledge for a life-
time of learning geotechnical issues
z Teaching should integrate modern learning
principles, teaching techniques and use
learning aids (From several recent Soil Mechanics
Textbooks)
 More Specific Objectives of Teaching
Undergraduate Soil Mechanics
z Undergraduate engineering students should
learn:
– theories related to the physical and mechanical
properties of soils
– means whereby relevant measurements can be
made in the laboratory or in the field
– application of the theories and measurements to
the analysis of geotechnical problems
– procedures whereby the physical and mechanical
properties can be estimated or approximated
 Need for a New Paradigm for
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
z Implementation of Unsaturated Soil
Mechanics Generally Requires:
– the estimation of unsaturated soil property
functions, USPFs
– USPFs are estimated largely through use of
the soil-water characteristic curves, SWCC
– a new paradigm or mindset is required that
respects estimation and approximation
procedures for USPFs
 Determination of Unsaturated Soil Property Functions

Direct Measurement Soil-Water Characteristic Classification Tests Database Mining

Through Experiments Curve Measurement (Grain Size Distribution)

100

Percent passing (%)

Percent passing (%)
100
Fit Curve 80
80 Experimental Series 1
60 Series 2
60 Series 3
Series 4
Series 5
40 40 Series 6
20
20
0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 0
0.00010.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Particle size (mm)
Particle size (mm)
Soil
Soil
Similar Grain-size and
Estimation of Soil-Water Corresponding Soil-water
Characteristic Curve Characteristic Curves
50 50
Water content, w (%)

Present the 40

Water content, (%)

40 40
Water content (%)
Predicted from grain-size
Unsaturated 30 30 Experimental
Soil Property Functions 30 Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
20 20
Shear strength, t (kPa)

Series 4
20 Series 5
Series 6
300 10 10
10
0 0
200 Shear strength 1 10 100 1000 10000 1000000 0.1 1 10 100 1000 100000 1000000 0
envelope Soil suction (kPa) Soil suction (kPa) 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 1000000
100 Soil suction (kPa)

c’ Indirectly Compute the Indirectly Compute the Indirectly Compute the

0 100 200 300 400 500 Unsaturated Unsaturated Unsaturated
Matric suction, (ua - uw) (kPa) Soil Property Functions Soil Property Functions Soil Property Functions
 Fifteen bar Pressure
Plate equipment
manufactured by
GCTS, U.S.A.
z Wide range of applied
suctions
z Applies total stresses
z Measures water and total
volume change
z Measure diffused air
z Test individual specimens
z Null-type initial suction
z Drying and wetting modes
 What is an Unsaturated Soil?
z Definition:
– a soil that has water and air in the voids
separated by a contractile skin (air-water
inter-phase)
– a soil where the pore-water pressures are
negative relative to the pore-air pressures
Partly Saturated & Partially Saturated terms seldom used

z Note: the smallest amount of air renders a soil

unsaturated but it is the relative pressures
between air and water that is most important
Subdivision Unsaturated soil
of Soil
above Dry soil
the Water Two
Table based fluid phases
on Capillary fringe
Variation Legend
in Degree of - Solids
Saturation - Water
- Air

Saturated soil
 Categorization of Soil
Mechanics Based on the
Unsaturated soil
Nature of the Fluid Phase
Dry soil
-Discontinuous -Air filling most
water phase voids
Two fluid phases
-Continuous water phase -Continuous air phase
Capillary fringe
-Water filling most voids -Discontinuous air phase

Saturated soil
-Water filling -Air in a
the voids dissolved state
Categorization of Soil Mechanics
Based on Geological Origins

Lacustrine Is of Secondary
Importance!
Aeolian Alluvial
Natural
or remolded
(compacted states)
Others
(Fluvial, Glacial,
Residual etc.)

Bedrock
 Example Where ‘Soil Classification’
Pertains to Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
z Shrinkage curve:
– subdivides soils into states:
» the liquid state Subdivisions between
» the plastic state
“states” relate to
» the solid state
» the semi-solid state soil suction levels
– is the response of an initially slurried soil to
an increase in soil suction
– relates water contents to the SWCC
Relationship between Atterberg Limits and
the Shrinkage Curve for a Highly Plastic
Clay
3.0

2.5 Liquid limit

Residual water content

2.0
Void ratio, e

Shrinkage limit
1.5

1.0
Saturation line
0.5
Plastic limit Air entry value
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Water content (%)
 Example of the Relevance of the
‘Grain-Size Distribution’ to
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics?
z The grain-size distribution curve:
– provides a measure of the soil solids
distribution
– The inverse of the soil solids distribution
(i.e., distribution of the voids) forms the
basis for the estimation of the SWCC
– Require the use of the Capillary Theory
to calculate the SWCC
 Comparison between the Grain-Size
Distribution Curve and the Soil-Water
Characteristic Curves for Sand
100
40

Volumetric water content

Fit Curve
Percent passing, (%)

Predicted from grain-size

80 Experimental
30 Experimental
60
20
40

20 10

0 0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
Particle size (mm) Soil suction (kPa)

Grain-size distribution The soil-water characteristic curve

for sand for sand
(after Fredlund, 1987)
Topics of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
Covered in Classical Soils Mechanics
z Soil compaction and volume-mass
relationships
z Reveals that two volume-mass
constitutive relationships are necessary
to compute changes in soil properties
during any process
S e = w Gs
 0 0 2700

2500 Specific gravity, Gs= 2.70 Volume-

0.1 Dry density,ρd

0.2
2300 Constant total density lines, ρw
Density of water,ρw= 1000 (kg/m )
3
Mass
0.2
2100 Relations
0.4
for a Soil
Density, kg/m3
0.3 1900
Saturated Soil
Void ratio, e
Porosity, n

0.6 1700
0.4
0.8 1500
0.5 1.0
S=
100
%
Specific
S=
1.2
1300 S=
70
90%
% S=
Gravity =
1.4 80%
0.6 1100 S= S=
2.70
S= 1

1.6 60%
S= 0%

30 S=
S=

1.8 %
2.0 40
0%

20

900 % S= 5
%

0.7 2.3 0%
0.74 2.86 700
0 10 20 30 40 50
Water content, w (%)
 The Centrality of Stress State
Variables
z Undergraduate students are generally taught
about stress tensors in classes such as
strength of materials
z Stress state variables combine to form of two
independent stress tensors for unsaturated
soils
z A soil always behaves in response to the
stress state variables and changes in the
stress state variables
 (ua - uw) (σy - ua)
Stress State at a Point τyx τyz

above and below the τxz

(ua - uw)

Water Table (ua - uw)

τzx
(σx - ua)
τxy
τzy
(σz - ua)
ra te d S oil M e cha
s atu n ics
Un (σy - ua)

τyx τyz

τxz
Sa s
tu r n ic (σx - ua)
a ted S oil M e c h a
τzx τxy
τzy
(σz - ua)
Saturated Soil Mechanics as a Special
Case of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
z There is a smooth change from the
stress state for an unsaturated soil to
that of saturated soil:
– water pressure approaches to air pressure
– matric suction stress tensor drops out
– stress state reverts to the single effective
stress tensor
z Smooth transitions should also exist for
all constitutive relationships
What is the Primary Need and
Responsibility of the University
Professor of Geotechnical
Engineering?
z To teach all students the fundamental
concepts of saturated-unsaturated soil
behavior and thereby teach the
students to “think the way saturated-
unsaturated soil systems behave”!
Differences between Unsaturated and
Saturated Soil Mechanics
z Unsaturated soil properties are highly
nonlinear
z Constitutive relations for the classic
areas of soil mechanics need to be
extended to embrace unsaturated soils
z Formulations need to be extended
z Solutions need to be obtained through
numerical modeling using a computer
Constitutive Equations for the Classic
Areas of Soil Mechanics
Seepage
v = kw (-uw) ∂h/ ∂y
Shear Volume
strength Unsaturated change
τ = c’ + (σn - ua) tan φ’ Soil de = a1 d (σ - ua) +
+ (ua - uw) tan φ b a2 d (ua - uw)

τ = c’ + (σn - uw) tan φ’ Saturated de = av d (σ - uw)

Soil

v = kw ∂h/ ∂y
 Unsaturated Soil Visualization
Soil suction (kPa)
1,000,000
of the
100,000
Soil-water
characteristic Coefficient of
Dry soil curve
10,000
Residual water
Permeability
1000 Two content
kS
Permeability 100 fluid phases Function in
function Air entry value
10
Capillary fringe
the
1
10 -6 10 -7 10 -8 10 -9 10 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 Unsaturated
Coefficient of permeability
(m/s)
Water content
(%)
Soil Zone
Saturated Soil
 Illustration of Water SWCC Laboratory test
Air- entry value
Holding Capacity of a Soil 50

Water content (%)

40 Wetting curve (Adsorption)
Drying curve (Desorption)
30

Drying 20
(Capillary draining) Residual
10 water content

0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Soil suction (kPa)
Negative
Pore-water
pressures Pressure Plate
Wetting Apparatus
(Capillary rise)
Soil
0 10 20 30 40
Water content (%)
 Start of
desaturation for
a clayey silt Soil-water Relationship
Water content, w (%)
50
characteristic curve
40 Start of
desaturation 1
between
30 for a fine sand

20
mw2 Soil-Water
10 Characteristic
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 Curve and the
Matric suction, (ua -uw) (kPa)
Permeability
Coefficient of permeability,

10-5 Saturation coefficient of

permeability (fine sand)
10-6 for a
kw (m/s)

10-7 Saturation coefficient of

permeability (clayey silt)
Fine Sand
10-8
and a
10-9
Clayey Silt
10-10
0 100 200 300 400 500
Matric suction, (ua -uw) (kPa)
 Start of desaturation

Water content, w (%)

50
Clayey silt for a clayey silt
Start of
Typical
40
30
desaturation for a
fine sand Gardner
20
10
Fine sand Empirical
1 10 100 1000 Permeability
Matric suction, (ua -uw) (kPa)

10- 5
Fine sand Functions
Coefficient of permeability,

10- 6
nsand
Permeability function for a
10- 7
Fine Sand
kw (m/s)

Clayey silt

10- 8

10- 9
Gardner’s equation

kw =
ks
n clayey silt
and a
1 +a (ua- uw)n
10-10
1 10 100 1000
Clayey Silt
Matric suction, (ua -uw) (kPa)
 Steps Involved Implementing an
Engineered Solution Cover
 uw 
dY + ρ g Waste
w 
v = kw(−u w )dh= kw (−uw )
w dy dy
Liner
 u 
dY + ρ w 
w g
Formulation
v= kw dh= kw
dy dy Numerical model
“what if...” analyses

Seepage flow laws ∂ 2 h ∂ 2 hw ∂ k w ∂ hw ∂ k w ∂ hw

kw  2w + + +
∂ x ∂ y 2  ∂ x ∂ x ∂ y ∂ y =0
Constitutive Engineered solution
∂ 2h ∂ 2 hw
kw  2w + = to ‘real’ problem
∂ x ∂ y 2  0

Solution
Boundary conditions and formulation
 Modified Mohr-Coulomb Shear Strength
Envelopes

)
w
u
Shear strength, τ

a-

Shear strength, τ
(u
φb

φ’ φ’

Planar envelope
c’ Soil Mech c’
aturated ani
ns cs
Net normal stress, (σ - ua) U Net normal stress, (σ - ua)
Shear strength, τ

Sa ic s
tur
ated Soil Me c h a n

φ’

c’
Net normal stress, (σ - ua)
 Start of
desaturation for
a clayey silt
Water content, w (%) 50
Start of
Soil water Relationship
40 characteristic curves
30
desaturation for
a fine sand
Clayey silt
between
20
Fine sand
SWCC and
10
Shear Strength
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 for a Fine
Matric suction, (ua -uw) (kPa)
Sand and a
Shear strength, τ (kPa)

300
φ’ Claey silt Clayey Silt
200

φ’ Fine sand Shear strength

100
envelope
c’
0 100 200 300 400 500
Matric suction, (ua -uw) (kPa)
 Volume-Mass Changes for an
Unsaturated Soil
z Two three-dimensional plots are
required to visualize volume-
mass behavior

z Volume-mass change problems

involving unsaturated soils are
difficult to solve
 Water
content, w Void ratio, e

SWCC Loading with

bt
a)
bm
geotechnical
quipment at
am Void Ratio
and Water
al Matric suction
e
o r
t n ess
N str
m (ua - uw)
ma
l Matric suction Content
u a) r (ua - uw)
- no ss
(σ

aturated
Soil Mech
an
t
Ne stre a)
( σ -u
Constitutive
s ics
Un
Surfaces

Void ratio, e
av
Sa ic s
tur
ated Soil Me c h a n
e
c tiv
fe s
Ef tres )
s - uw
(σ
 Examples of Engineered Structures
Commonly Placed above the Water Table
Light structure

Flux boundary
Spread footing conditions
foundation

Roadway
Unsaturated Soil Retaining
wall

Saturated Soil
 Examples of Seepage Problems
Involving Unsaturated Soils
z Structures can suffer distressed from infiltration
of water into an expansive or collapsible soil
z Moisture flux at ground surface influences the
movement of contaminants
z Covers designs involve an analysis of the
transmission and storage of water
z Extended infiltration on the surface of an earth
dam may cause the instability
z Predictions related to “Closure” of mining
operation are controlled by the surface flux
Two-dimensional seepage analysis through an
earthfill dam with a clay core.

Optimized mesh for saturated-

unsaturated seepage analysis

Equipotential lines
Examples of the Movement of Water
through a Cover and Flow in the
Unsaturated Zone below a Liner
Flux boundary conditions
Evaporation Precipitation
Compacted
cover
Waste

Unsaturated Soil Compacted liner

Water movement

Groundwater table
Examples of the Control of Infiltration
through the use of Geomembrances
Anchor for membrance
Rainfall
Surface drain

Completely Residual soil

Plastic membrance weathered
Runoff Unsaturated Soil
Highly
Collection system weathered
for runoff
footings Groundwater table

Bedrock
Examples of Shear Strength Problems
z Natural slopes often fail following extended
levels of precipitation.
z Loosely compacted fills can collapse and
result in high velocity mass movement upon
wetting
z Cuts or trenches for laying pipelines can
collapse
z Some backfill materials used behind earth
retaining structures can change volume and
shear strength due to the intake of water
z Bearing capacity of shallow footings may
change significantly due to infiltration
Examples of Volume Change Problems
z Footings and slabs-on-ground should be
simulated using realistic moisture flux
conditions
z Shrinkage problems can occur due to drying
or vegetation
z Collapse of the soil structure can occur as a
result of a decrease in suction
z Predictions of the depth of cracking
z Volume change predictions of compacted
fills and covers needs to be analyzed
 Concluding Remarks
z Undergraduate engineering students
can be taught the concepts of
unsaturated soil mechanics at the
undergraduate level
z Once the concepts are taught, and
saturated soil systems can be shown
to be a special case, much of the
remaining time can be spent on
solving saturated soil mechanics
problems
 Group
Soils
Unsaturated

Delwyn G. Fredlund
Observations from the Elliptical
Geotechnical World
z Unsaturated Soils Mechanics:
– applies above the phreatic line
– soil has negative pore-water pressures
– pore-air pressure may or may not be atmospheric
– stress state variables are:
» net normal stress, (s - ua)
» matric suction (ua - uw)
z Saturated Soils Mechanics:
– applies below the phreatic line
– soil has positive pore-water pressures
– stress state variable is effective stress, (s - uw)
The Need to Quantify “Real-World”
Moisture Flux Boundary Condition

z Changes in matric suction causes serious

distress to the light engineered structures
z Climate influences the location of the
groundwater table and pore-water
pressures
z Climate “Drives” many geotechnical
engineering problems
 Long Term Response of the Water
Table to a Temperate, Humid Climate

Negative pore-water
pressures

Positive pore-water
pressures
(Evaporation ~ Precipitation)
Temperate, Humid regions
Sa s
tura i c
t ed Soil Mech an
 Teaching within the New Paradigm
z A new attitude and mindset must be adopted by the
geotechnical engineer when considering unsaturated soil
behavior. The estimation of unsaturated soil property
functions is done largely with the assistance of SWCCs.

z It can be said that geotechnical engineering for

unsaturated soils must operate in a new paradigm of
estimations and approximations

z The new protocols do not nullify the importance of

modeling unsaturated soils; rather, these estimations add
a new and improved understanding of the behavior of
saturated-unsaturated soil systems.
 Zones of Unsaturation
z There are three zones of unsaturation:
– occluded air bubbles in the capillary zone
– the zone where both air and water phases are
continuous
– the zone where the water phase become
discontinuous
z There can be continuity or discontinuity of
the air and water phases under various
levels of soil suction and this makes
unsaturated soil mechanics complex
Relationship of Seepage to the SWCC
z Coefficient of permeability (or hydraulic
conductivity) of the soil is:
– constant throughout the capillary zone
– decreases with increase in soil suction
– decreases logarithmically between the air
entry value and the residual condition
– various over several orders of magnitude
z Hydraulic flow continues until the
residual suction is reached
z Water flows only where there is water in
the soil!
 Relationship of Coefficient of
Permeability and the SWCC
z Coefficient of permeability responds
logarithmically to an arithmetic change in
water content
z Air Entry Value and Residual Conditions
become the most important parts of a
SWCC
z It is possible for a sand to have a lower
coefficient of permeability than a clay
Shear Strength of an Unsaturated Soil
z Shear strength envelope is three-dimensional
z Shear strength is linear over a limited soil
suction range
z Shear strength becomes nonlinear over a
wide range of soil suctions
z Shear strength increases in accordance with
the effective angle of internal friction below
the air entry value of the soil
z Shear strength remains constant after
residual condition
 Swelling = f (suction change, overburden)
Illustration
Unsaturated Soil
of the Soil suction, kPa Potential for swelling, %
Potential 6 5 4 3 2
10 10 10 10 10 10 10
1 0
0 5 10 15 20 25

for Swelling Dry soil

Versus

Depth
Two fluid
phase
Depth and Capillary fringe

Soil Suction
Saturated Soil