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ASCE Expansive Soils Presentation

This document provides an overview of unsaturated soil mechanics, including key concepts like effective stress, saturated vs unsaturated soils, and shear strength of unsaturated soils. It discusses testing methods like triaxial and direct shear tests for unsaturated soils. Applications covered include bearing capacity of footings, slope stability, excavation support systems, and shear strength at unsaturated interfaces. The document emphasizes the importance of accounting for matric suction in unsaturated soils and how it can significantly increase shear strength compared to saturated soils.

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Sallam Mohammed
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144 views

ASCE Expansive Soils Presentation

This document provides an overview of unsaturated soil mechanics, including key concepts like effective stress, saturated vs unsaturated soils, and shear strength of unsaturated soils. It discusses testing methods like triaxial and direct shear tests for unsaturated soils. Applications covered include bearing capacity of footings, slope stability, excavation support systems, and shear strength at unsaturated interfaces. The document emphasizes the importance of accounting for matric suction in unsaturated soils and how it can significantly increase shear strength compared to saturated soils.

Uploaded by

Sallam Mohammed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNSATURATED SOIL MECHANICS INTRODUCTION & APPLICATION

BY
Tariq B. Hamid

December 2006

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
Effective Stress Principle
Saturated Soils vs. Unsaturated Soils
Shear Strength of Unsaturated Soils
Unsaturated Soil Testing
Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

TERZAGHIS EFFECTIVE
STRESS PRINCIPLE
Changes in volume and shearing strength of a
soil are due to changes in effective stress.
The effective stress is defined as the excess of
the total applied stress over the pore pressure

( u w ).

GENERALIZED WORLD OF SOIL


MECHANICS
Negative pore-water
pressure
Net normal stress
Matric suction

( ua )

(ua u w )

Effective stress

( u w )

Positive pore-water
pressure

SOIL COLLAPSE

SATURATED VS.
UNSATURATED SOIL
SOIL
CONDITION

PORE
MEDIUM

uw

WATER

( u w )

AIR &
WATER

<0

( ua )
(ua u w )

SATURATED
WATER

STRESS
VARIABLES

SOLID

UNSATURATED
AIR
WATER
SOLID

CHATEGORIZATION BASED
ON GEOLOGIC ORIGINS
Each soil type can be unsaturated in its natural or its compacted condition.

Lacustrine
Aeoline

Natural or
remolded
states
Residual
Others

Alluvial

Unsaturated soil behavior does not favor a particular geologic genesis.

NEED FOR UNSATURATED SOIL


MECHANICS
In the USA alone Each year, shrinking and
swelling soils inflict at least $2.3 billion in
damages to houses , buildings, roads, and
pipelines-more than twice the damage from
floods,
hurricanes,
tornadoes,
and
earthquakes!
(Jones and Holtz,1973)

NEED FOR UNSATURATED SOIL


MECHANICS
Krohn and Slosson (1980)
$7 billion are spent every year in the USA
as a result of damage to all type of
structures built on expansive soils.
Snethen (1986):
Expansive
soils
hidden
disaster:
economically, one of the USA costliest
natural hazards.
More than one fifth of
American families live on such soils.

Near Ground Surface Structures

Spread footing foundation

(ua-uw)>0

Sr <100%

Retaining Wall

Unsaturated soil
Saturated soil
(ua-uw)= 0

Sr = 100%

Roadway

EFFECT OF MATRIC SUCTION (ua-uw)

Meniscus

Nc

Interparticle force

Unstable

Stable

due to capillarity

(after Burland and Ridley 1996)

(after Burland and Ridley 1996)

SOIL WATER CHARACTERISTIC


CURVE
It defines the relationship between the
amount of water in the soil and the
suction.
Secondary

Boundary
effect zone
Primary
transition
zone

Vanapalli et al. 1996

transition

Residual

zone

zone of unsaturation

SOIL WATER CHARACTERISTIC


CURVE & SHEAR STRENGTH

SHEAR STRENGTH
SATURATED
SOIL

UNSATURATED
SOIL

ff = c'+( f uw ) tan' = c'+( n ua ) tan '+(ua u w ) tan

EXTENDED MOHR-COULOMB
FAILURE ENVELOPE FOR
UNSATURATED SOIL

ua-uw

'

c
ua

INCREASE IN SHEAR
STRENGTH WITH SUCTION

Gan et al. (1988)

NULL TEST RESULTS


Shearing Phase

Equalization Phase
first null test,
increase ,ua, uw

16.0

(a)
120.0
100.0

15.6

(kPa)

w (%)

16.4

Null Test Data


for DH/D=0-.101: =195, ua=91, uw=41 (kPa)
for DH/D>0.101: =216, ua=112, uw=62 (kPa)
Comparison Test Data
for all DH/D: =175, ua=71, uw=21 (kPa)

equalization complete

15.2

80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
-0.002

v/H0

12.30

0.000
0.002

12.35

0.004

12.40

0.006

12.45

500

1000
Time (min.)

1500

2000

w (%)

v/H0(%)

12.25

(b)

16.0
15.8
15.6
15.4
15.2
15.0
14.8
14.6

0.00

(Hamid, 2005)

0.04

0.08

0.12

H/D (mm/mm)

0.16

UNSATURATED SOIL TESTING


STRENGTH & COMPRESSIBILITY TESTS
TRIAXIAL TEST
DIRECT SHEAR TEST
OEDOMETER TEST

UNSATURATED SOIL TESTING


MEASUREMENT OF MATRIC
SUCTION
TENSIOMETER
FILTER PAPER METHOD
PRESSURE PLATE
AXIS TRANSLATION TECHNIQUE

BEARING CAPACITY
Footings are placed well above the
groundwater table
Water table may rise due to excessive
watering of the vegetation surrounding the
building
Measurement of in-situ suction may be
valuable

BEARING CAPACITY
Extension of Saturated Soil Mechanics

q u = cN c + D f N q + 0.5BN
Where:
c = c'+(ua u w ) tan b

BEARING CAPACITY OF A STRIP


FOOTING FOR VARIOUS MATRIC
SUCTION VALUES
Ultimate Bearing Pressure (kPa)

2000

' = 20
b

0
0

= 15
c' = 5 kPa

1600

= 18 kN/m
Df = 0.5 m

1200

m
0.5
B=

800
400
0
0

50

100

150

200

Matric Suction (kPa)

(Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1998)

250

300

EXCAVATION SUPPORT SYSTEM IN


UNSATURATED SOIL

Unsaturated Retained Soil

Bottom of
Excavation

Unsaturated
Retained Soil

Depth of
penetration

EXCAVATION SUPPORT SYSTEM IN


UNSATURATED SOIL
Penetration Depth, D, (m)

12.00
10.00
8.00

6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0

100

200
300
400
Matric Suction, ua-uw, (kPa)

500

600

=5
b
0
= 10
b
0
= 15
b
0
= 20
b
0
= 25

5
10
15
20
25

Variation in Depth of Penetration (D) With Matric Suction


(Hamid & Tawfik 2005)

NATURAL UNSATURATED SOILSLOPE STABILITY


Shear strength equation for unsaturated soil
conveniently separates environmental
boundary conditions from stress related
loading.
Major problem - determine the reduction in
suction and positive pore pressure increase
as a function of precipitation history.

TEMPORARY EXCAVATION
Anchor for membrane

Surface drain

Plastic membrane
Runoff

Residual soil

Collection system for runoff

sa
n
U
Footing

te
a
r
tu

oil
s
d

te
a
r
tu
a
S

oi
s
d

Bedrock

SEASONAL DEPENDANCE OF
IN-SITU TEST PARAMETERS

Lehane et al. 2004

EXAMPLES OF UNSATURATED
INTERFACES
PILES EMBEDDED IN
UNSATURATED SOIL
RETAINING WALLS WITH
UNSAT. SOIL BACK FILL
BURIED PIPE

EXTENDED MOHR-COULOMB
FAILURE CRITERION
INTERFACE STRENGTH IN UNSATURATED SOIL:
'
s = ca

+ ( n ua ) tan + (ua uw ) tan


'

LABORATORY TESTING FOR INTERFACE


STRENGTH PARAMETERS ca, , b

UNSATURATED INTERFACE DIRECT SHEAR APPARATUS


Air Pressure
Control Panel

Vertical LVDT

Vertical Load Cell

Air Chamber

Air Pressure Line


Diffused Air
Volume Indicator

Horizontal
Load Cell

Computer
Pore Water
Pressure And
Volume Controller

(Miller & Hamid, 2007)

Horizontal LVDT

Pressure Transducer

Direst Shear
Device Base

INCREASE IN INTERFACE
SHEAR STRENGTH WITH SUCTION
ua-uw=20 kPa
ua-uw=50 kPa
ua-uw=100 kpa

250

(kPa)

200
150
100
50

v/H0

0
-0.015
-0.010
-0.005
0.000
0.005
0.010
0.015

Vw / V0

0.000
-0.005
-0.010
-0.015
-0.020

u (mm)

10

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