• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2018

PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to identify the road-subsidence mechanism in unsaturated sandy soils. METHODS : A series of soil chamber tests were conducted under various conditions. RESULTS : The cavity-expansion characteristics in unsaturated sandy soils due to seepage were affected by the outlet size, seepage intensity, relative density, and fine content. CONCLUSIONS : In unsaturated sandy soils, the cavity-expansion speed was affected by the outlet size, relative density, seepage intensity, and clay content; however, the cavity-expansion shape was very similar. As the outlet size and seepage intensity increased, the cavity-expansion speed increased. As the relative density increased, the cavity-expansion speed increased because of a sudden decrease in shear strength, resulting from the increased saturation (reduction of matric suction). The cavity expanded faster with the increasing clay content, up to a certain threshold. It expanded at a slower rate once it passed the threshold. Finally, it reached a stable state where the cavity did not expand due to seepage.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.247-258
• /
• 2020

The shear strength of unsaturated soils, a research hotspot in geotechnical engineering, has great guiding significance for geotechnical engineering design. Although kinds of calculation models for the shear strength of unsaturated soil have been put forward by predecessors, there is still need for new models to extensively consider the nonlinear variation of shear strength, particularly for the nonlinear effect of the net normal stress on the shear strength of unsaturated soil. Here, the shear strength of unsaturated soils is explored to study the nonlinear effects of net normal stress with the introduction of a general nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) strength criterion, and the relationship between the matric suction (or suction stress) and degree of saturation (DOS) constructed by the soil-water characteristics curve (SWCC) of van Genuchten is also applied for unsaturated soil. Then, two calculation models (i.e., an envelope shell model and an effective stress model) are established for the shear strength of unsaturated soils under the nonlinear strength theory. In these two models, the curve of the shear strength of unsaturated soils versus the net normal stress exhibits a tendency to gently. Moreover, the proposed formulas have flexibility and convenience with five parameters (for the effective stress model) or six parameters (for the envelope shell model), which are from the M-C strength parameters of the saturated soil and fitting parameters of SWCC of van Genuchten. Thereafter, by comparison with the classical theory of the shear strength of unsaturated soils from some actual cases, the rationality and accuracy of the present models were verified.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2010.03a
• /
• pp.599-606
• /
• 2010

It has been reported that many slope failures in unsaturated soils are mainly caused by downward infiltration due to rainfall. The rainfall characteristics could be an important factor, and more predictable slope failures can be achieved by considering more reasonable rainfall conditions. So, a need exists that these trends of infiltration in weathered soils, which is commonly found in Korea, are assessed by considering rainfall conditions based on phenomenological approach. In this paper, numerical analyses of unsaturated soil slope under rainfall conditions are presented based on the soil-water characteristic curve in the laboratory and huff method. Then the performance of unsaturated weathered soil slopes was evaluated under various conditions after applying the effect of overburden pressure on SWCCs and fines contents. The results demonstrated that the rainfall conditions using Huff method can be very effective and the proper application on analysis is very important to enhance the prediction on unsaturated slope stability.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.23 no.10
• /
• pp.57-64
• /
• 2007

Since matric suction of unsaturated soil was related to soil and ground water contaminations, it is very important to analyze its mechanism that was represented by shear characteristics. In three phases of soil, a little air makes the condition of unsaturated soil on contract or shrinkage surface between water and air. Capillarity and suction in pore of unsaturated soil cause surface tension and surface force so it makes negative pore water pressure and increases effective stress as a result. Therefore, negative pore water pressure in partially saturated soil affects the soil structure and degree of saturation and it is important to evaluate accurately unsaturate flow and behavior. In this study, the shear strength characteristics of the seven sandy soils were investigated using consolidated drained triaxial tests with special emphasis on the effects of the negative pore pressure and the matric suction. These tests involved shearing under either a constant net confining pressure and varying matric suction or under a constant matric suction and varying net normal stress.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.283-294
• /
• 2021

This paper presents a rigorous solution for spherical cavity expansion in unsaturated soils under constant suction condition. The hydraulic behavior that describes the saturation-suction relationship is modeled by a void ratio-dependent soil-water characteristic curve, which allows the hydraulic behavior to fully couple with the mechanical behavior that is described by an extended critical state soil model for unsaturated soil through the specific volume. Considering the boundary condition and introducing an auxiliary coordinate, the problem is formulated to a system of first-order differential equations with three principal stress components and suction as basic unknowns, which is solved as an initial value problem. Parameter analyses are conducted to investigate the effects of suction and the overconsolidation ratio on the overall expansion responses, including the pressure-expansion response, the distribution of the stress components around the cavity, and the stress path of the soil during cavity expansion. The results reveal that the expansion pressures and the distribution of the stress components in unsaturated soils are generally higher than those in saturated soils due to the existence of suction.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.28 no.12
• /
• pp.41-51
• /
• 2012

Soils are commonly unsaturated in the near surface. The stiffness of soils is affected by the amount of air and water. The objective of this study is to evaluate the porosity of the unsaturated soils by using the elastic waves including compressional and shear waves. The elastic waves are measured at different degrees of saturation by controlling the matric suction. Thus, the unsaturated soils are characterized at different levels of the matric suction. Shear and compressional waves are measured by using the bender elements and the piezo disk elements, respectively. Both transducers are installed on the walls of the rectangular cell. The unsaturated soils are prepared by using uniform size sands and silts. Test results show that both compressional and shear wave velocities change according to the matric suction. The elastic modulus, the shear modulus, and the Poisson's ratio are estimated based on the measured elastic wave velocities. In addition, the void ratio of the unsaturated soils estimated using elastic wave velocities matches well with the volume based void ratio. This study demonstrates that the elastic waves can be effectively used for the characterization of unsaturated soils.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
• /
• v.30 no.B
• /
• pp.3-10
• /
• 2010

The numerical study was conducted using the equation of Vanapalli et al.(1996) related shear strength of unsaturated soils. Angle of shearing resistance(${\Phi}^b$) and angle of internal friction(${\Phi}^{\prime}$) appear identically in lower suction range, but angle of shearing resistance(${\Phi}^b$) has non-linearity as suction increases. Nevertheless, the numerical study was conducted using angle of shearing resistance(${\Phi}^b$) in even lower suction range because of limit of program function. However, behavior of real ground on applying numerical study can be analysed wrong by it. Therefore in this paper numerical analysis on applying the equation of Vanapalli et al.(1996) and ${\Phi}^b$ has been compared about unsaturated slope considering continuous rainfall.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.51-57
• /
• 2006

This study was carried out to investigate the soil water characteristic curve and prediction of void ratio with net stress and matric suction using the linear elastic and volumetric deformation analysis method on unsaturated silty. The unsaturated soil tests were conducted using a modified oedometer cell and specimens were prepared at water content 2 times of liquid limit and required void ratio. The axis translation technique was used to create the desired matric suctions in the samples. It is shown that soil water characteristic curve and volumetric water content were affected significantly by preconsolidation pressure. As a matric suction increases, the reduction ratio of void ratio was shown to considerably small. Also, the predicted and measured void ratio for unsaturated soils using the linear elastic and volumetric deformation analysis showed good agreement as net stress and matric suction increases.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.109-122
• /
• 2024

Standard triaxial cells are commonly used to measure the mechanical behavior of saturated soils. However, this type of standard system is difficult to use for unsaturated soil specimens since it cannot measure the changes in the pore-air volume and pressure. This paper proposes to extend the measurement possibilities of the standard triaxial testing device in a simple way and to adapt it to partially saturated soils. The system is supplied by two hygrometers installed at each end of the cylindrical unsaturated specimen to measure local relative humidity, which allows the derivation of suction. The volumetric strain of the specimen is calculated by analyzing digital photos captured from the outside of the transparent cell wall. Specimens made of kaolin clay, having different hydraulic properties, were tested to verify the reliability of the measurements, and thus, the relevance of the proposed techniques to study the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2001.03a
• /
• pp.541-548
• /
• 2001

The interest in the dynamic properties of soils has increased strongly because of earthquake, heavy traffic, and foundations undergo high amplitude of vibrations. Most of soils in Korean peninsula are composed of granite soils, especially the decomposed mudstone soils are widely spread in Pohang areas, Kyong-buk province. Therefore, it Is very important to investigate the dynamic properties of these types of soils. The most important soil parameters under dynamic loadings are shear modulus and material dampings. Furthermore, few definitive data exist that can evaluate the behavior of unsaturated decomposed mudstone soils under dynamic loading conditions. The investigations described in this paper is designed to identify the shear modulus and damping ratio due to a surface tension for the unsaturated decomposed mudstone soils ulder low and high strain amplitude, For this purpose, the resonant column test and the cyclic triaxial test were performed. Test results and data have shown that the optimum degree of saturation under low and strain amplitude is 32 ∼ 37% which is higher than that of decomposed granite due to the amount of fine particles as well as the type and proportion of chief rock-forming minerals.