A Flexible Model for Moisture-Suction Relationship for Unsaturated Soils and Its Application

作     者：Nadarajah Ravichandran Shada H. Krishnapillai 

作者机构：Civil Engineering Department Clemson University 

出 版 物：《International Journal of Geosciences》 (地球科学国际期刊（英文）)

年 卷 期：2011年第2卷第3期

页      面：204-213页

学科分类：08[工学] 0823[工学-交通运输工程] 

主　　题：Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Unsaturated Soils SWCC for Low Degree of Saturation Moisture-Suction Relationship Comparison of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves 

摘      要：The mathematical equation for the moisture-suction relationship also known as soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) is one of the constitutive relations necessary for the computational modeling of deformation and flow problems of unsaturated soil using the finite element method. In this paper, a new empirical equa-tion for the SWCC is developed that incorporates the actual airentry suction and the maximum possible suction of the soil as input parameters. The capability of the new model is investigated by fitting the experimental data for twelve different soils that includes sands, silts, and clays. The model fits the experimental data well including in high suction range which is one of the difficulties observed in other commonly used models such as the Brooks and Corey, van Genuchten, and Fredlund and Xing models. The numerical stability and the performance of the new model at low and high degrees of saturations in finite element simulation are investigated by simulating the dynamic response of a compacted embankment and the results are compared with similar predictions made using widely used SWCC models.