Laboratory And Field Testing Of Unsaturated Soils

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.

The testing of unsaturated soils requires greater care and effort than that of saturated soils. Although unsaturated soil mechanics has been embraced by geotechnical engineering, engineering practice has not yet caught up as the characterization of unsaturated soils is difficult and time-consuming, and made harder still by a lack of standards. Laboratory Tests for Unsaturated Soils collates test procedures to cover all laboratory tests for characterising unsaturated soils. It covers the background, theory, test procedures, and interpretation of test results. Each test procedure is broken down into simple stages and described in detail. The pitfalls of each test and the interpretation of the test results are explained. Test data and calculation methods are given, along with many numerical examples to illustrate the methods of interpretation and to offer the presentation of typical results. The book is especially useful for students and researchers who are new to the field and provides a practical handbook for engineering applications.

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.

Analytical and comprehensive, this state-of-the-art book, examines the mechanics and engineering of unsaturated soils, as well as explaining the laboratory and field testing and research that are the logical basis of this modern approach to safe construction in these hazardous geomaterials; putting them into a logical framework for civil engineering and design. The book: illustrates the importance of state-dependent soil-water characteristic curves highlights modern soil testing of unsaturated soil behaviour, including accurate measurement of total volume changes and the measurement of anisotropic soil stiffness at very small strains introduces an advanced state-dependent elasto-plastic constitutive model for both saturated and unsaturated soil demonstrates the power of numerical analysis which is at the heart of modern soil mechanics studies and simulates the behaviour of loose fills from unsaturated to saturated states; explains the difference between strain-softening and static liquefaction, and describes real applications in unsaturated soil slope engineering includes purpose-designed field trials to capture the effects of two independent stress variables, and reports comprehensive measurements of soil suction, water contents, stress changes and ground deformations in both bare and grassed slopes introduces a new conjunctive surface and subsurface transient flow model for realistically analysing rainfall infiltration in unsaturated soil slopes, and illustrates the importance of the flow model in slope engineering. Including constitutive and numerical modelling, this volume will interest students and professionals studying or working in the areas of geotechnical engineering and the built environment.

This is the first book to systematically collate the various laboratory tests for unsaturated soils. It covers general background and theory along with test procedures and the interpretation of test results. It serves for students and researchers who are new to the field as well as for established professionals.

In this spirit, the ATMSS International Workshop “Advances in Laboratory Testing & Modelling of Soils and Shales” (Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland; 18-20 January 2017) has been organized to promote the exchange of ideas, experience and state of the art among major experts active in the field of experimental testing and modelling of soils and shales. The Workshop has been organized under the auspices of the Technical Committees TC-101 “Laboratory Testing”, TC-106 “Unsaturated Soils” and TC-308 “Energy Geotechnics” of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. This volume contains the invited keynote and feature lectures, as well as the papers that have been presented at the Workshop. The topics of the lectures and papers cover a wide range of theoretical and experimental research, including unsaturated behaviour of soils and shales, multiphysical testing of geomaterials, hydro–mechanical behaviour of shales and stiff clays, the geomechanical behaviour of the Opalinus Clay shale, advanced laboratory testing for site characterization and in–situ applications, and soil – structure interactions.

A step-by-step text on the basic tests performed in soil mechanics, Introduction to Soil Mechanics Laboratory Testing provides procedural aids and elucidates industry standards. It also covers how to properly present data and document results. Containing numerical examples and figures, the information presented is based on American Society f