Elasto-plasticity of unsaturated soils : laboratory test results on a remoulded silt

Current models of the elasto-plastic behaviour of unsaturated soils contain important underlying assumptions that have not been tested due to a lack of adequate experimental data. To address this issue, the objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive set of experimental data. An extensive experimental program has been performed on a remoulded unsaturated silt. To characterise its elasto-plastic behaviour, samples were taken through various stress paths, including wetting, drying and compression. Experimental results were analysed to provide (1) evidence of suction-induced preconsolidation; (2) dependence of cohesion and shear strength at failure on suction; (3) stiffness in relation to suction and (4) uniqueness of the critical state line.

[1]  J. Biarez,et al.  VARIATIONS DE VOLUME DES SOLS ARGILEUX LORS DE CYCLE DE DRAINAGE-HUMIDIFICATION , 1987 .

[2]  David G. Toll,et al.  A framework for unsaturated soil behaviour , 1990 .

[3]  Yu-Jun Cui.  ETUDE DU COMPORTEMENT D'UN LIMON COMPACTE NON SATURE ET DE SA MODELISATION DANS UN CADRE ELASTO-PLASTIQUE , 1993 .

[4]  M. Zerhouni.  Rôle de la pression interstitielle négative dans le comportement des sols : application au calcul des routes , 1991 .

[5]  V. Escario,et al.  The shear strength of partly saturated soils , 1986 .

[6]  L. Laloui,et al.  Yielding of a remoulded sandy in saturated and unsaturated states , 1998 .

[7]  E. L. Matyas,et al.  Volume Change Characteristics of Partially Saturated Soils , 1968 .

[8]  J. D. Coleman,et al.  SOIL STRUCTURE IN RELATION TO SOIL SUCTION (pF) , 1954 .

[9]  L. Laloui,et al.  ADVANCES IN VOLUME MEASUREMENT IN UNSATURATED SOIL TRIAXIAL TESTS , 2006 .

[10]  Y. Cui,et al.  Yielding and plastic behaviour of an unsaturated compacted silt , 1996 .

[11]  D. Fredlund,et al.  The shear strength of unsaturated soils , 1978 .

[12]  Vinayagamoorthy Sivakumar,et al.  A critical state framework for unsaturated soil. , 1993 .

[13]  Lyesse Laloui,et al.  AN IMPROVED VOLUME MEASUREMENT FOR DETERMINING SOIL WATER RETENTION CURVES , 2007 .

[14]  D. Fredlund,et al.  Soil Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils , 1993 .

[15]  K. H. Head,et al.  Manual of soil laboratory testing , 1980 .

[16]  Said Taibi,et al.  Behavior of clayey soils on drying–wetting paths , 1993 .

[17]  Antonio Gens,et al.  A constitutive model for partially saturated soils , 1990 .

[18]  D. Fredlund,et al.  STRESS STATE VARIABLES FOR UNSATURATED SOILS , 1977 .

[19]  Serge Leroueil,et al.  YIELDING AND CRITICAL STATE OF A COLLAPSIBLE UNSATURATED SILTY SOIL , 1995 .

[20]  P. G. S. Trainor,et al.  Curve-fitting and laboratory data , 1982 .

[21]  The role of pore water in the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils , 2001 .

[22]  D. Fredlund,et al.  A Multistage Triaxial Test for Unsaturated Soils , 1982 .

[23]  Simon J. Wheeler,et al.  Inclusion of specific water volume within an elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soil , 1996 .

[24]  Simon J. Wheeler,et al.  An elasto-plastic critical state framework for unsaturated soil , 1995 .

[25]  R. E. Gibson,et al.  Influence of Duration of tests at Constant Rate of Strain on Measured “Drained” Strength , 1954 .

[26]  J. Graham,et al.  MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF UNSATURATED SOILS: UNDERSTANDING THE BEHAVIOUR OF UNSATURATED SOILS REQUIRES RELIABLE CONCEPTUAL MODELS , 1995 .

[27]  Lyesse Laloui,et al.  An introduction to the constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils , 2005 .

[28]  Tsuyoshi Miyazaki,et al.  THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF CONSTITUTIVE MODELLING FOR UNSATURATED SOILS , 1993 .