Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

These proceedings document the various papers delivered and partially presented at the International Conference “From experimental evidence towards numerical modeling of unsaturated soils,” which was held in Weimar (Germany) during 18-19 September 2003. The conference was organized under the auspices of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and the National German G- technical Society (DGGT). The need to understand the behavior of unsaturated soils is becoming exclusively - sential for the geotechnical engineers and designers. In the last three decades many - searchers have made significant contribution to the understanding of the unsaturated soil mechanics. Nevertheless, application of the subject to variety of new problems still - quires our attention. This International conference is a mere attempt to unite researchers and engineers in geotechnical engineering and to discuss about the problems associated with the unsaturated soils. Doing so the objectives of these lecture notes are as follows: - to promote unsaturated soil mechanics for practical application, - to exchange experiences in experimental unsaturated soil mechanics and numerical modeling, - to discuss application of unsaturated soil mechanics to variety of problems. In other words, we could also name these two volumes as “From theory to daily pr- tice”. I would like to extend my deep sense of appreciation as the editor and the Head of the organizing committee, to many persons who have contributed either directly or indirectly to organize the International conference and to finalize these proceedings.

Unsaturated soil mechanics is now increasingly recognized as an integral part of mainstream soil mechanics, and the importance and relevance of unsaturated soil mechanics for the broad field of geotechnical engineering no longer needs to be emphasized. The two volumes making up Unsaturated soils include papers from the 4th Asia Pacific Confere

These proceedings are a continuation of the series of International Conferences in Germany entitled "Mechanics of Unsaturated Soils." The objective is to discuss and understand unsaturated soil behaviour, so that engineered activities are improved in terms of judgement and quality. In addition to knowledge of classical concepts, it is a challenge to adapt convincing new concepts and present them in such a way that they can be used in engineering practices.

The field of experimental unsaturated soil mechanics has grown considerably over the last decade. In the laboratory and in the field, innovative techniques have been introduced into mechanical, hydraulic, and geo-environmental testing. Normally, this information is widely dispersed throughout journals and conference proceedings and it is often difficult to identify suitable equipment and instrumentation for research or professional purposes. In this volume, however, the authors bring together the latest research in laboratory and field testing techniques, and the equipment employed, and examine the current state-of-the-art in a forum devoted solely to experimental unsaturated soil mechanics. The papers published in the proceedings were peer-reviewed by internationally-recognized researchers. The topics tackled by the papers include suction measurement, suction control, mechanical and hydraulic laboratory testing, geo-environmental testing, and field-testing.

Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications contains 247 papers presented at 6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT2014, Sydney, Australia, 2-4 July 2014). The two volumes provide an overview of recent experimental and theoretical advances in a wide variety of topics related to unsaturated soil mechanics: - Unsaturated Soil Behavior - Experimentation - Modelling - Case Histories - Geotechnical Engineering Problems - Multidisciplinary and New Areas Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications presents a wealth of information, and is of interest to researchers and practising engineers in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. These proceedings are dedicated to Professor Geoffrey E. Blight (1934-2013), who passed in November 2013.

This volume presents the work of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers on unsaturated soil mechanincs. Topics covered include: innovative experimental techniques; new experimental data on compacted, collapsible and swelling soils; and advances in constitutive modelling.

This volume details recent global advances in laboratory and field testing of unsaturated soils. Coverage includes mechanical, hydraulic, and geo-environmental testing and applications of unsaturated soil monitoring to engineering behavior of geo-structures.

This publication is an assemblage of selected papers that have been authored or co-authored by D.G. Fredlund. The substance of these papers documents the milestones of both the science of unsaturated soil mechanincs and the career of the author during his tenure as a faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.