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1005

Influence of suction on the strength and stiffness

of compacted sand–bentonite
J.A. Blatz, J. Graham, and N.A. Chandler
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Abstract: This paper examines the constitutive behaviour of unsaturated mixtures of compacted sand–bentonite mate-
rial. Two different techniques have been used to modify soil suction in laboratory specimens to examine the influence
of suction on the behaviour of compacted materials. The two methods generated inherent differences in material fabric
and therefore in stress–strain behaviour. The difference in microstructure generated by these two preparation techniques
created different properties for the two series of specimens. This paper compares the behaviour of the two series of
specimens and relates the observed mechanical behaviour to the initial soil fabric created by the two different prepara-
tion techniques. Specimens of similar compacted material were taken from two full-scale in-ground experiments con-
ducted at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Underground Research Laboratory at Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba and
sheared using the same triaxial equipment. The results are compared to the results of shearing laboratory compacted
specimens. The research program demonstrates the need to understand the initial volume and suction states of plastic
clays in order to predict the change in mechanical behaviour following a change in water content.
Key words: constitutive relationships, unsaturation, laboratory tests, expansive soils, clays, shear strength.
Résumé : Cet article examine la loi de comportement de mélanges non saturés d’un matériau formé de sable–bentonite.
Deux techniques différentes ont été utilisées pour modifier la succion du sol dans des spécimens en laboratoire afin
d’examiner l’influence de la succion sur le comportement des matériaux compactés. Les deux méthodes ont généré des
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différences inhérentes dans la fabrique du matériau, et en conséquence, dans le comportement contrainte–déformation. La

différence dans la microstructure générée par ces deux techniques de préparation ont créé de façon inhérente des proprié-
tés différentes pour les deux séries de spécimens. Cet article compare le comportement des deux séries de spécimens et
met en relation le comportement mécanique observé avec la fabrique initiale du sol créée par les deux différentes tech-
niques de préparation. Des spécimens de matériaux compactés similaires ont été prélevés de deux expériences à grande
échelle réalisées sur le terrain au laboratoire de recherche souterraine de l’AECL, et ont été cisaillés au moyen du
même équipement triaxial. Les résultats sont comparés à ceux obtenus sur des spécimens compactés et cisaillés en la-
boratoire. Les résultats du programme de recherche démontrent le besoin de comprendre les états initiaux de volume et
de contraintes dans les argiles plastiques pour prédire le changement dans le comportement mécanique à la suite d’un
changement dans la teneur en eau.
Mots clés : lois de comportement, non saturation, essais en laboratoire, sols gonflants, argiles, résistance au cisaillement.

[Traduit par la Rédaction] Blatz et al. 1015

Introduction cluding high temperature, changing groundwater conditions,

Unsaturated soils have gained increased attention in past
years as many countries move towards evaluating engineered
clay barriers for containment of spent nuclear fuel. Many of
the proposed disposal facilities utilize emplacement of con-
tainers in underground rock formations. Access tunnels and
disposal vaults will have to be backfilled and sealed with
low-permeability material. A number of engineered barrier
materials have been proposed, including bentonite clays and
bentonite–sand mixtures. Engineered barriers will be sub-
jected to a number of nontypical environmental stresses in-
changing groundwater chemistry, and varying stresses.
Wiebe et al. (1998) showed how the strength and stiffness
of a compacted sand–bentonite material varies with cell
pressure, suction, and temperature. Their tests were done un-
der “constant mass” conditions meaning no drainage of air
or water was allowed during any stage of testing. The tests
were termed quick undrained tests (UUU), where each U
represented undrained conditions during the application of
cell pressure, temperature, and deviator stress, respectively.
The tests produced shear strength envelopes over a range of
suction from 0 to 10 MPa and confining pressures from 0 to

Received 26 February 2001. Accepted 2 April 2002. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at http://cgj.nrc.ca on
6 September 2002.
J.A. Blatz1 and J. Graham. 342 Engineering Building, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,
MB R3T 5V6, Canada.
N.A. Chandler. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Pinawa, MB R0E 1L0, Canada.
1
Corresponding author (e-mail: blatzja@cc.umanitoba.ca).

Can. Geotech. J. 39: 1005–1015 (2002) DOI: 10.1139/T02-056 © 2002 NRC Canada

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1006
3 MPa. Suctions in the specimens tested by Wiebe et al.
(1998) were established by altering the molding water con-
tent during preparation and then compacting specimens to a
constant target dry density. This method of generating initial
suction worked well, but it is not representative of in situ
conditions for most engineering applications. For example,
in an underground repository, sand–bentonite material
(known commonly as “buffer”) will be compacted and
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placed at a specified density and water content. Suctions in
the buffer are expected to change through gain or loss of
moisture generated by the in situ groundwater environment
in the material surrounding the engineered clay barrier, or
through the response of pore water to temperature gradients.
The changes in suction will, in general, be accompanied by
changes in volume and changes in dry density. These condi-
tions were not modeled in the tests reported by Wiebe et al.
(1998).
In response, further research has been undertaken to mea-
sure undrained shear strengths under conditions similar to
those that can be expected in the unique environment of an
underground disposal vault. Specimens of compacted sand–
bentonite with various levels of suction were prepared using
a drying technique that is inherently different from the way
in which Wiebe et al. (1998) prepared their specimens. Both
programs used the same test materials, that is, 50% sand (by
dry weight) and 50% sodium–bentonite mixed with the re-
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quired amount of water (Dixon and Gray 1985). This mate-
rial has been selected in Canada as a potential sealing
material to separate containers from the host rock. Apart
from developing suctions in the specimens by two quite dif-
ferent techniques, the experiments used identical testing
equipment and procedures.
This paper compares results obtained by Wiebe et al.
(1998) with new results obtained from specimens that were
initially compacted to a common dry density, water content,
and saturation, but were then dried to a series of selected
suctions. The paper also includes comparisons of laboratory
compacted specimens with results from sand–bentonite sam-
ples taken from two lengthy large-scale, in situ tests at the
Underground Research Laboratory (URL) at Lac du Bonnet,
Manitoba (Dixon et al. 2002).
Material and equipment
Material properties
The material used in the tests was a 50:50 mixture by dry
mass of sand and bentonite clay. The sand was a crushed,
medium, sub-angular, well-graded silica sand. The clay was
a sodium-rich bentonite with a liquid limit (wL) of 230–
250% and a plasticity index (IP) of 200. The clay mineralogy
of the bentonite is dominated by montmorillonite and illite
(Quigley 1984). The cation exchange capacity of the benton-
ite is about 95 mequiv. /100g, with Na+ (47 mequiv. /100g)
and Ca2+ (40 mequiv. /100g) as the dominant cations (Wan
1996). The mixture was formed by combining equal dry
masses of silica sand and sodium bentonite with a specified
amount of de-aired water to achieve a target water content.
Static compaction was used to achieve the desired initial dry
density (1.67 Mg/m3) at the water content (19.4%) defined
by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) for the refer-
ence buffer material (RBM) (Dixon and Gray 1985). This
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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 39, 2002
gives a degree of saturation of approximately 85% and an
initial total suction (matric and osmotic) of 3.5–4.0 MPa
(Tang et al. 1997). The RBM buffer has been shown to have
a limiting shrinkage of about 8–10% by volume and a swell-
ing pressure in the range of 1.5–1.8 MPa (Graham et al.
1997).
Specimen preparation and compaction
Laboratory buffer specimens
De-aired distilled water was added to measured dry
masses of sand and bentonite followed by hand mixing at
4°C in a cool environmental chamber. After mixing, the ma-
terial was placed in a sealed container and allowed to
equilibrate for a 48-hour period as specified by Graham et
al. (1997). Water content measurements were taken 48 h af-
ter mixing to evaluate the actual water content of the sample.
This measured water content was then used to determine the
wet soil mass required for compaction to the target density.
Compaction generally followed procedures outlined by
Lingnau et al. (1996). Specimens were compacted in a one-
dimensional static compaction mold in five equal lifts of
20 mm to a nominal height of 100 mm and diameter of
50 mm (Yarechewski 1993; Wiebe 1996). This “constant-
lift” (or constant-strain) criterion has been examined by Cui
and Delage (1996) who showed that a stress-based compac-
tion criterion gives a better understanding of compaction
stresses and therefore of yield behaviour. They also indi-
cated that the stress-based compaction criterion is more con-
sistent with field conditions where a constant compactive
effort is applied regardless of strains that are induced. The
constant strain criterion was adopted in this work for consis-
tency with previous research and to permit comparison of re-
sults from earlier programs. The authors acknowledge the
benefit of the stress-based approach for understanding the
yield stress generated during static compaction.
Isothermal test specimens
In addition to the tests on laboratory-compacted speci-
mens, seven quick undrained (UU) triaxial tests were per-
formed on core samples taken during decommissioning of
AECL’s isothermal test at the URL (Dixon et al. 2002). The
isothermal experiment was carried out to examine water up-
take by the buffer under constant thermal conditions. The
full name of the experiment is the isothermal buffer-rock-
concrete plug interaction test, although the experiment is
commonly referred to simply as the isothermal test. Installa-
tion of the test was completed in November 1992 after
which the test was run for 6.5 years until being decommis-
sioned in May 1999.
The isothermal test involved placement of 2 m of buffer in
the base of a 5 m deep, 1.24 m diameter borehole. The bore-
hole was drilled into intact granite at a depth of 240 m in the
URL. At this depth, the natural pore-water pressure in the
rock is approximately 2.1 MPa. However, moisture move-
ment through the rock is slow and only 35 mL per day of
water flowed into the empty borehole. The buffer in the iso-
thermal test was compacted to a density of 1.73 Mg/m3 in
50 mm lifts using a hydraulic impact hammer. Sensors were
installed in the buffer to monitor moisture change, swelling
pressure, and temperature. A 1.25 m thick concrete plug was
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Blatz et al.
placed on top of the buffer to act as a restraint against up-
ward expansion of the buffer due to swelling caused by
moisture uptake. Operation of the experiment consisted en-
tirely of monitoring instrumentation over the 78-month dura-
tion of the test. At the end of the test, approximately 1500
samples of buffer were taken to determine the end-of-test
moisture content and density as well as to assess any
changes in the physical and chemical properties. Based on
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measurements, it was determined that approximately 80 L of
water had entered the buffer over the course of the experi-
ment (Dixon et al. 2002). A “skin” of low-permeability satu-
rated buffer material had been created near the walls and
floor of the borehole, with the central core of the isothermal
test remaining close to its as-placed moisture content of
17.5%. Samples from the in situ isothermal test were trans-
ferred to The University of Manitoba Geotechnical Labora-
tory for triaxial (UU) testing.
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited also conducted another
in situ test, the so-called buffer–container experiment, this
time with an electrical heater embedded in the buffer to sim-
ulate heating from a container (Dixon et al. 2002). The
buffer–container experiment was operated by AECL during
the early- to mid-1990’s. The experiment was a full-scale
simulation of one of the proposed emplacement options. In
this option, RBM was compacted into a 1.2 m diameter
borehole drilled into the floor of a tunnel in the granitic rock
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mass of the URL. The heater produced temperature gradi-
ents in the buffer that acted as a driving mechanism for
moisture movement. At the same time, temperature changes
in the rock influenced near-field pore-water pressures.
Wiebe (1996) performed triaxial tests on specimens from the
buffer–container experiment.
Triaxial testing equipment
Figure 1a shows a schematic of the triaxial cell used for
the quick undrained tests, while Fig. 1b is a photograph of a
typical specimen following installation. The apparatus in-
cluded a Brainerd-Kilman (B-K) triaxial cell mounted in a
2500 kN Wykeham-Farrance stepless load frame. The B-K
cell was used to shear all specimens from cell pressures of
0.2 to 3.0 MPa at ambient room temperature. The B-K cell
had two drainage leads from the pedestal to the cell base,
both of which had shut-off valves with pressure transducers
mounted on them. The load cell and axial linear voltage dif-
ferential transformer (LVDT) were mounted externally.
Specimens were separated from the cell fluid by two sili-
con membranes manufactured at The University of Mani-
toba. The membranes were held in place using four viton O-
rings, two at the top loading cap and two at the pedestal
base. Lucite discs were placed between the specimen and the
pedestal base, and between the top of the specimen and the
load cap to ensure constant mass (undrained) conditions dur-
ing all stages of testing.
Axial loads were measured using an externally mounted
load cell with 500 kN capacity attached to the load frame
(Fig. 1a). Cell pressures and back pressures were monitored
using typical pressure transducers, while axial displacement
was measured externally using an LVDT (Fig. 1a). Measure-
ments of cell pressure, back pressure, load, and axial dis-
placement were monitored using a PC-based data acquisition
system.
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Specimen installation and testing procedure
Following compaction to the RBM parameters, specimens
were placed in sealed desiccators above solutions with
known concentrations of potassium chloride or sulfuric acid
(depending on the target suction level). The solutions were
used to establish known partial vapour pressures in the des-
iccator headspace. Partial vapour pressure alters the suction
in specimens through moisture transfer between the soil and
the atmosphere. Specimens were allowed to equilibrate to
the target suction in the sealed environment for not less than
thirty days (Tang et al. 2002).
Following equilibration, specimens were removed from
the sealed containers and their water contents and dimen-
sions were measured. The known suction in the desiccator
and the measured water content after equilibration allowed
the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) for the material
to be established (Fig. 2).
After specimens were removed from the desiccator and
their properties measured, they were quickly installed in the
triaxial apparatus. Following installation, a confining pres-
sure was immediately applied in the cell and shearing was
initiated. A strain rate of 0.2%/min was used to shear speci-
mens to approximately 15% axial strain. As mentioned pre-
viously, no mass transfer was allowed during either the
application of the confining pressure or during shear. After
shearing, specimens were removed from the cell for visual
inspection of the failure mode and measurement of the final
mass and dimensions. Standardized testing procedures were
followed so that results could be reliably compared with the
earlier results of Wiebe et al. (1998).
Results
Buffer soil-water characteristic curves
Figure 2 shows SWCCs for buffer material prepared using
three different techniques. The first curve (Tang 1999) shows
the SWCC for material compacted at a “saturated” condition
(Sr = 98%) with an initial water content wi = 22%, and then
subsequently dried to lower water contents and higher
suctions. The second curve (Blatz 2000) shows a SWCC for
material compacted to standardized RBM parameters (γ dry =
1.67 Mg/m3, wi = 19.4%, Sr = 85%) and then subsequently
dried. The third curve (Wiebe 1996) represents specimens of
buffer compacted to a standardized dry density, γ dry =
1.67 Mg/m3 but with different initial water contents and de-
grees of saturation to generate different initial suctions. Suc-
tions in these specimens were measured after compaction
using the filter paper technique (Tang 1999).
The first two SWCCs in Fig. 2 (Tang 1999; Blatz 2000)
represent specimens compacted at consistent target water
contents (although a different initial water content for each
curve) and then subsequently dried to increase their suction
levels. The curves are similar in shape though slightly differ-
ent in detail. The difference between the two curves indi-
cates the effects of variation in microstructure due to
differences in the initial molding water content (Tang et al.
1997; Delage and Graham 1995). The third curve, corre-
sponding to specimens with initial suctions modified by al-
tering the initial water content, represents a series of
different microstructures affected by the variation in initial
molding water content. By definition, this third curve is not
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1008 Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 39, 2002

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of the B-K triaxial cell used for quick undrained tests. (b) Photograph during specimen installation for undrained
testing.
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a SWCC. Each data point (or group of points at the same
compaction condition) represents points on separate SWCCs
that correspond to the initial water content and its resulting
microstructure.
The results in Fig. 2 verify that SWCCs are not unique
for sand–bentonite materials but are intimately related to
the microstructures that are formed as a result of the sur-
face activity of the clay fraction. The microstructure is in
turn affected by the initial water content at the time of
compaction (Wan 1996; Tang et al. 2002). This paper uses
the curve for specimens compacted to RBM parameters and
then subsequently dried (Fig. 2, Blatz 2000) to infer
suctions from measured water contents at the beginning of
shearing.

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Fig. 2. Soil-water characteristic curve comparison.
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Fig. 3. Strain components following suction equilibrium. ε volume,
ε axial, and ε radial are volumetric, axial, and radial strains, respec-
tively.
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Volume change behaviour
Figure 3 shows the variation of volumetric, axial, and ra-
dial strains for specimens subjected to increased suction en-
vironments following compaction. The values of strain were
calculated from micrometer measurements of the diameter
and length taken after compaction (the initial condition) and
again after equilibration in a series of constant-suction envi-
ronments. A limiting shrinkage in the range of 9–10% volu-
metric strain was determined for specimens compacted at
RBM parameters, which is consistent with previous research
programs (Graham et al. 1997).
Figure 3 shows that the volumetric strains are close to iso-
tropic, with axial and radial strains that are approximately
equal. This is consistent with an understanding that suction
is an isotropic stress that acts independently of direction
(Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993; Tang 1999) but is unexpected
considering the anisotropic stress history imposed on speci-
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1009
Fig. 4. Effect of suction on buffer density.
mens in the one-dimensional compaction process. It has
been postulated that shrinkage due to increasing suctions
may be dominated by microstructural volume changes in the
peds (or clay aggregations, Tang et al. 1997). Even though
the macrostructure of the material may be anisotropic in na-
ture due to the mechanical compaction stresses, the shrink-
age may be dominated by the mineralogical properties that
are less affected in the compaction process (Tessier et al.
1992).
Figure 4 shows corresponding changes in density as a
function of total suction. The measurements show that dry
density increases nonlinearly with increasing suction to a
maximum value of approximately 1.8 Mg/m3 at a suction of
approximately 30 MPa. At higher suctions, the dry density is
approximately constant (or only slightly increasing). The
early increase in dry density at suction levels less than
30 MPa indicate rapid shrinkage and tighter packing of the
soil particles. This is consistent with Fig. 3, which indicates
that the limit of volumetric shrinkage is reached at suctions
of 30–40 MPa.
While the dry density is increasing in Fig. 4, the bulk den-
sity stays approximately constant at about 2.0 Mg/m3 up to
near 30 MPa suction. After that point, bulk density begins to
decrease with further increases in suction. The constant
value of bulk density below 30 MPa is due to losses in water
that are counteracted by gains in dry density during initial
volumetric shrinkage. Once the material reaches the volu-
metric shrinkage limit (Fig. 3) the bulk density begins to de-
crease as water continues to be taken from the specimen
with very little further shrinkage in the soil skeleton. The
curves for bulk and dry density in Fig. 4 will converge at a
maximum suction value where all “free” water has been re-
moved from the specimens by the applied suction. At that
bounding condition, the bulk density and dry density are
equal.
This raises the question of how to separate the effects of
suction change and density change on the behaviour of unsat-
urated clays, since both are dependent variables. Specimens
compacted to identical RBM parameters and subsequently
dried to different suction levels have different densities and
are therefore at different volume states. Isolating the influence
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1010
Fig. 5. Stress–strain curves for buffer specimens at (a) 0.5 MPa cell pressure; (b) 1.0 MPa cell pressure; (c) 2.0 MPa cell pressure;
and (d) 3.0 MPa cell pressure.
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of density on strength and stiffness from the contribution due
to increased suction requires an advanced constitutive frame-
work. This question is best addressed using an elastic-plastic
framework that couples the stress, suction, and volume
change states (see for example, Blatz and Graham 2000; Blatz
and Graham2; Tang and Graham 2002). Data from Figs. 2–4
demonstrate how changes in suction from 0 to 100 MPa pro-
duce significant corresponding changes in density. These
can be expected to affect the engineering behaviour of the
specimens. It is important, therefore, to recognize the varia-
tion in density of these test specimens when interpreting the
shear strength results in the following section.
Quick undrained triaxial testing
Laboratory-compacted buffer specimens
Figures 5a–5d show deviator stress versus axial strain for
2
J.A. Blatz and J. Graham. Elastic–plastic modeling of unsaturated soil using a new triaxial test with controlled suction. In preparation.
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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 39, 2002
specimens at various initial total suctions and cell pressures
(0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 MPa), respectively. Results indicate
that at low cell pressure, specimens subjected to shear load-
ing become stronger but also more brittle with increasing
suction. Brittleness is characterized by high peak strengths at
approximately 2–4% axial strain, followed by softening to
lower values of large-strain (or post-peak) strength. This was
confirmed by physical inspection that identified well-
developed failure planes in strain-softening (brittle) speci-
mens (Fig. 6a). Inspection of the failure planes in brittle
specimens revealed shiny glass-like striations and grooves
that clearly indicated the direction of the failure displace-
ments. Specimens tested at the lowest confining pressure of
0.5 MPa show brittle behaviour most clearly. At higher con-
fining pressures, specimens were generally ductile and were
barrel-shaped after shearing (Fig. 6b).
Plotting peak strengths (qpeak) versus mean stress at failure
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Blatz et al. 1011

Fig. 6. Typical failure modes for sheared specimens. Fig. 7. Peak strength envelopes for specimens at varying
suctions.
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Fig. 8. Large-strain strengths for buffer specimens at varying

suctions.
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(pf) for various initial suctions (Fig. 7) gives a series of

strength envelopes that represent a three-dimensional failure
surface. The values of initial suction (averages from multiple
specimens) vary from 5 to 42.4 MPa. In relative terms, suc-
tion has a greater influence on strength than does confining
pressure over the ranges of suction and pressure examined in
this program. At the lowest suction, 5 MPa, the strength en-
velope appears almost flat, a “φu = 0” result (where φu is the
angle of shearing resistance with respect to total pressure)
that is more typical of saturated (zero suction) materials.
This observation will be discussed again later.
Effect of suction on large-strain strength
Using the same approach, large-strain strengths (at approxi-
mately 12–18% axial strain) can be plotted as a function of
mean stress (Fig. 8). Here, the “large-strain” strengths have
been taken to be similar to “critical state” strengths, although
formally, measurements to confirm that critical state had been
achieved were not taken. Initially, strengths increase with in-
creasing suction and confining pressure up to a threshold suc-
tion of about 30 MPa, beyond which there is apparently little
increase in large-strain strength. This value of 30 MPa is sim-
ilar to the suction level at which dry density became constant
in Fig. 4. This indicates that high suctions contribute little to
large-strain shear strength. They appear to have a stronger in-
fluence on peak strengths.
Buffer stiffness
Results from Wiebe et al. (1998) show highly nonlinear
stiffness relationships (with strain) for both brittle and duc-
tile specimens. Two definitions for stiffness modulus have
been used in this program. They are (i) the secant modulus
E1% measured from the beginning of shearing to 1% strain
and (ii) the secant modulus E50 measured from the beginning
of shearing to the strain at 50% of the peak deviator stress
q50. The stiffness values were interpreted from externally
measured displacements that were averaged over the speci-
men length. Generally it is now considered that measure-
ment of soil stiffness is difficult (Jardine et al. 1984) and
requires sensors that are mounted inside the cell on the spec-
imen membrane. At the high cell pressure levels (and tem-
peratures) in this program, it was not possible at the time to
incorporate sensors mounted directly on the specimens.
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1012 Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 39, 2002

Fig. 9. Small-strain stiffness of buffer specimens for varying Fig. 10. Comparison of interpreted modulus values.
cells pressures.
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Figure 9 shows E1% versus initial suction for specimens at Fig. 11. Stress–strain plots for the isothermal specimens.
different cell pressures. The relationship is nonlinear but is
largely independent of confining pressure at all suction lev-
els. Increasing suction appears to have a significant influ-
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ence on the initial stiffness of the material. The suction at

which the stiffness becomes approximately constant is again
approximately 30–40 MPa, corresponding to the suction
value at the limit of volumetric shrinkage.
The relationship for E50 appears less nonlinear (Fig. 10)
but the results are more scattered than the corresponding val-
ues for E1%. The values of E50 are lower than E1% in the suc-
tion range (5–30 MPa) but tend to converge at the highest
suction (approximately 40 MPa) level.
Although the absolute stiffness values in Figs. 9 and 10
may not be fully accurate due to the measurement system
employed, the relative changes in the measured stiffness val-
ues are nevertheless valuable. They indicate that increases in
dry density associated with shrinkage under increased suc-
tion had a greater impact on stiffness than the confining
pressures. This is especially true for lower suction values,
where the rate of shrinkage is the greatest.

Specimens from the in situ isothermal test

Figure 11 shows deviator stress versus axial strain for un-
drained (UU) tests on seven specimens (IS1 to IS7) taken
from AECL’s isothermal experiment at the time of decom-
missioning. The tests were done with cell pressures ranging
from 0.2 to 3.0 MPa. The stress–strain behaviour of these
specimens appears consistent, with six of the specimens ex-
hibiting ductile failure and only one specimen (IS5) showing
slight strain-softening at low confining pressure. Over the
range of cell pressures used in the tests, peak strengths ap-
pear largely independent of mean stress. This indicates that
the specimens may have become saturated after the confin-
ing pressure was applied prior to shearing. (The purpose of
the isothermal experiment was to observe how initially un-
saturated buffer gained water from the surrounding rock.)
The essentially constant strength results in Fig. 11 are con-
sistent with the results presented by Wiebe et al. (1998)
which produced “φu = 0” undrained failure envelopes for
specimens with initial degrees of saturation above 85%.
Figure 12 shows the initial and final degrees of satura-
tion Sr for isothermal specimens sheared to failure. Values
of Sr were evaluated using dimensions (measured with cali-
pers) and mass measurements taken before and after
triaxial shearing. Most of the specimens show increases in
degree of saturation to approximately 100% saturation at
the end of testing and after unloading. Values for the de-
gree of saturation are usually difficult to measure precisely
due to the deformed shape of sheared specimens, hence the
consistency of the data in Fig. 12 is considered good. It
confirms that specimens were most likely saturated by the
compressions accompanying application of the confining
pressure, producing the constant-strength failure envelope
implied by Fig. 11.

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Blatz et al.
Fig. 12. Change in degree of saturation during testing for the
specimens from the isothermal test.
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Fig. 13. Comparison of strength envelopes.
For personal use only.
Interpretation and modeling
The database for quick undrained triaxial tests on buffer
specimens is now quite extensive. It includes work by Wiebe
(1996), Tang (1999), and Blatz (2000). Specimens have also
been tested from two of AECL’s large-scale in situ experi-
ments, the buffer–container experiment and the isothermal
test. These latter results provide valuable comparisons of the
performance of field-scale and laboratory-scale specimens.
Figure 13 compares the results of Blatz (2000) with the
earlier results from Wiebe et al. (1998), which used a differ-
ent method of preparing specimens. At suctions in the range
of 4–5 MPa, differences in microstructure generated by dif-
ferent preparation techniques can be expected to be small
since the variation in molding water content is small. Peak
strengths measured from the two programs in this suction
range are approximately the same. At higher suctions, where
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1013
Fig. 14. Comparison of lab specimens to specimens from in situ
experiments.
the initial molding water contents in the two programs devi-
ate further, there are larger differences in microstructure and
therefore specimen strength.
Figure 14 compares the results from specimens taken
from the buffer–container (BCE) and isothermal (IS) experi-
ments with results from Blatz (2000). The results of all three
sets of experiments agree reasonably well, with peak
strengths increasing as water content decreases, that is, as
suction increases. In each case, variations in peak strength
with mean stress can be approximated by slightly nonlinear
curves. The slopes of the failure envelopes in Fig. 14 in-
crease with increasing suction. This is consistent with
Fredlund and Rahardjo (1993) and Wiebe (1996).
Using the peak strengths measured in the triaxial tests, a
best-fit three-dimensional surface can be created that illus-
trates the distribution of peak shear strength as a function of
mean stress and suction (Fig. 15). This surface can provide a
simple empirical predictive equation to estimate the un-
drained strength of buffer material at various suction levels
under isothermal conditions. The surface in Fig. 15 is an em-
pirical fit that is constrained by the test conditions in this
program. Its apparent shape is somewhat misleading, specifi-
cally regarding the shape of the q versus p relationships. The
generators of the surface in Fig. 15 were obtained as a statis-
tical fit of the q, p, S-data and do not correspond to constant
S-planes or constant p- planes. Using the same form of
three-dimensional surface (but with constant S-planes and
constant p-planes), Wiebe et al. (1998) showed that the ef-
fects of temperature in this type of test are quite small. Al-
though they provide insight into the characteristics of buffer
behaviour, they are not based directly on the physics of soil
behaviour.
The statistical relationship that led to Fig. 15 has been
used to produce predictions for the strength of specimens
taken from AECL’s buffer–container experiment (reported in
Wiebe (1996)) and the isothermal experiment. Results are
shown in Table 1. Since the measured strengths from the two
large in-ground experiments were not included in the data
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1014 Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 39, 2002

Fig. 15. Three-dimensional empirical model for peak strength.

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For personal use only.

Table 1. Prediction versus performance for buffer specimens. buffer has been examined using a series of quick undrained
triaxial tests. Each method provides complementary insights
Predicted peak Measured peak Difference
into the behaviour of unsaturated buffer.
Sample strength (MPa) strength (MPa) (%)
Results show that the strength and the stiffness of the
BCE – J035 2.23 2.04 +9.2
buffer both increase nonlinearly with increasing suction. The
BCE – K035 2.77 2.39 +15.7 rates of these increases correlate well with the shrinkage
BCE – G064 2.05 1.84 +11.4 curves associated with increasing suctions. This suggests
BCE – K014 1.56 1.47 +5.8 that the gains in strength and stiffness may be associated
IS1 1.14 1.06 +7.1 with corresponding increases in density more so than the di-
IS7 1.03 0.95 +7.8 rect contribution of shear resistance due to the suction
Note: BCE, buffer–container experiment; IS, isothermal experiment. forces. This is especially the case in brittle materials where
the failure occurs as a well defined shearing plane. This may
used to form the model, the predicted strengths in Table 1
be accentuated in this testing program due to the high strain
represent class B predictions. Overall, the predicted results
rates employed to ensure undrained conditions. The results
are acceptable (generally within 10%). They reinforce earlier
statements that laboratory testing can be an appropriate indicate that once failure has occurred after the peak
method of developing information to allow predictions of strength, the continued shearing along a preferential failure
the behaviour of compacted clay materials in field applica- surface is no longer influenced by the suction forces. This is
tions. The best-fit surface provides an illustrative depiction indicated where the specimens at approximately the same
of the impact of suction on peak strength. density (at suctions higher than the shrinkage limit) show the
same large-strain strengths at various confining pressures.
Further testing is required to independently assess the contri-
Discussion and conclusions butions of these two factors in unsaturated materials.
Preceding sections presented the results of undrained The results of undrained shearing of broadly similar mate-
shearing at high suctions and high pressures of laboratory- rial extracted from two full-scale in situ experiments have
compacted sand–bentonite (buffer) specimens. Two different also been presented and compared with laboratory results.
methods of controlling initial suctions have been discussed: The results show that the complex behaviour of the buffer
(i) altering the target molding water content at the time of material can be understood using reliable and consistent test-
mixing, and (ii) drying after compaction at a constant target ing methods on laboratory-prepared specimens. A simple
water content. In each case, the undrained behaviour of the empirical (statistical) model presented in this paper has been
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Blatz et al.
applied over a limited range of suction and confining pres-
sure and shown to predict undrained shear strengths reason-
ably well for specific levels of confining pressure and
suction.
The new contribution in this paper involves specimens of
sand–bentonite buffer that were compacted at standard (“ref-
erence”) values of water content, dry density, and hence, de-
gree of saturation. They were subsequently dried to higher
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values of suction. The strengths and stiffness values must be
interpreted carefully. Because of the high activity of the ben-
tonite and the high density of the specimens, the suction and
pressure ranges are above the values that are commonly seen
in the literature. The strengths and stiffness values of the
specimens depend not only on the initial suction in the spec-
imen after compaction but are also affected by increases in
dry density associated with shrinkage during drying. Work is
currently being undertaken in the authors’ laboratory to de-
velop an elastic-plastic model that will clarify the influence
of pressure level, suction, and density (volume) change on
the strength and stiffness of the material. A model of this
type will allow the influence of the two coupled effects to be
separated and understood within the physical framework of
the tests. Advanced testing methods will need to be em-
ployed to measure the stress and volume states along gener-
alized stress paths to develop behavioral relationships in this
more complex framework.
For personal use only.
Acknowledgements
Support was provided by Atomic Energy of Canada
Limited, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada, Petro-Canada Resources, and the Faculty
of Graduate Studies at The University of Manitoba. The au-
thors thank David Dixon, Gary Tang, Narong Piamsalee, and
Kerry Lynch for their valuable technical input. The authors
would also like to acknowledge the thorough and thoughtful
evaluations provided by the reviewers.
References
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List of symbols
E1% secant modulus measured at 1% axial strain
E50 secant modulus measured at strain corresponding to q50
IP plasticity index
p total mean stress
q50 deviator stress value equal to 50% of the peak deviator
stress
q deviator stress
S total suction
Sr degree of saturation (%)
wi initial water content
wL water content at the liquid limit
γb bulk density (Mg/m3)
γd dry density (Mg/m3)
φu undrained shear strength
© 2002 NRC Canada
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