DETERMINATION OF EXPANSIVE SOIL STRENGTH USING A FRACTAL MODEL

The micropore surface fractal model for expansive soils is proposed in this paper. Based on the results of the mercury intrusion tests, it is found that the micropore surface fractal dimension is 2.40 for the soil sample with the dry density of 1.50 g/cm 3 , and is 2.47 for the soil sample with the dry density of 1.60 g/cm 3 . By using the micropore surface fractal model, the shear strength formula for expansive soils is obtained. All the parameters in the proposed shear strength formula are constant, and are independent of matric suction. The validation of the proposed shear strength formula is proven by the results of the triaxial compression tests on an expansive soil taken from Ningxia, China.