Geotechnical Engineering Commons^™

Experimental Study On Shear Strength Of Unsaturated Soil Over A Wide Suction Range And Its Prediction, Geng Niu, Xiao-Feng Zhu, Jun-Xing Li, Meng-Yuan Lü, Li-Qi An, Zi-Han Chen

Rock and Soil Mechanics

In this paper, the experimental studies on the water retention and strength properties of unsaturated weakly expansive soil in a wide suction range were carried out, and a strength model of unsaturated soil over a wide suction range was proposed. The results show that in the wide suction range, the stress‒strain curve increases with the increase of suction. The strain hardening occurs in the low suction range, while the strain softening appears in the high suction range. In the low suction range, the sample presents shear contraction, while in the high suction range, the sample begins to show a shear …