CLC number: TU42; P66; P67
On-line Access: 2024-08-27
Received: 2023-10-17
Revision Accepted: 2024-05-08
Crosschecked: 2020-03-25
Cited: 0
Clicked: 3511
Qian Zhai, Harianto Rahardjo, Alfrendo Satyanaga, Guo-liang Dai, Yan-jun Du. Effect of the uncertainty in soil-water characteristic curve on the estimated shear strength of unsaturated soil[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University Science A, 2020, 21(4): 317-330.
@article{title="Effect of the uncertainty in soil-water characteristic curve on the estimated shear strength of unsaturated soil",
author="Qian Zhai, Harianto Rahardjo, Alfrendo Satyanaga, Guo-liang Dai, Yan-jun Du",
journal="Journal of Zhejiang University Science A",
volume="21",
number="4",
pages="317-330",
year="2020",
publisher="Zhejiang University Press & Springer",
doi="10.1631/jzus.A1900589"
}
%0 Journal Article
%T Effect of the uncertainty in soil-water characteristic curve on the estimated shear strength of unsaturated soil
%A Qian Zhai
%A Harianto Rahardjo
%A Alfrendo Satyanaga
%A Guo-liang Dai
%A Yan-jun Du
%J Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A
%V 21
%N 4
%P 317-330
%@ 1673-565X
%D 2020
%I Zhejiang University Press & Springer
%DOI 10.1631/jzus.A1900589
TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of the uncertainty in soil-water characteristic curve on the estimated shear strength of unsaturated soil
A1 - Qian Zhai
A1 - Harianto Rahardjo
A1 - Alfrendo Satyanaga
A1 - Guo-liang Dai
A1 - Yan-jun Du
J0 - Journal of Zhejiang University Science A
VL - 21
IS - 4
SP - 317
EP - 330
%@ 1673-565X
Y1 - 2020
PB - Zhejiang University Press & Springer
ER -
DOI - 10.1631/jzus.A1900589
Abstract: Most failures or instabilities of geotechnical structures commonly result from shear failure in soil. In addition, many infrastructures are constructed within the unsaturated zone. Therefore, the determination of shear strength of unsaturated soil is crucial in geotechnical design. The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is commonly used to estimate the shear strength of unsaturated soil because the direct measurement is time-consuming and costly. However, the uncertainty associated with the determined SWCC is rarely considered in the estimation of the shear strength. In this paper, the uncertainties of SWCC resulted from different factors are reviewed and discussed. The variability of the estimated shear strength for the unsaturated soil due to the uncertainty of SWCC associated with the best fit process is quantified by using the upper and lower bounds of the determined SWCC. On the other hand, the uncertainties of the estimated shear strength due to different initial void ratios or different confining pressures are quantified by adopting different SWCCs. As a result, it is recommended that the measured SWCC from the conventional Tempe cell or pressure plate needs to be corrected by considering different stress levels in the estimation of the shear strength of unsaturated soil.
[1]Agus SS, Schanz T, 2007. Errors in total suction measurements. In: Schanz T (Ed.), Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany, p.59-70.
[2]Agus SS, Leong EC, Rahardjo H, 2001. Soil–water characteristic curves of Singapore residual soils. In: Toll DG (Ed.), Unsaturated Soil Concepts and Their Application in Geotechnical Practice. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, p.285-309.
[3]Birle E, Heyer D, Vogt N, et al., 2008. Influence of the initial water content and dry density on the soil–water retention curve and the shrinkage behavior of a compacted clay. Acta Geotechnica, 3(3):191-200.
[4]Cai GQ, Zhou AN, Sheng DC, 2014. Permeability function for unsaturated soils with different initial densities. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 51(12):1456-1467.
[5]Cai GQ, He XZ, Dong L, et al., 2020. The shear and tensile strength of unsaturated soils by a grain-scale investigation. Granular Matter, 22:1.
[6]Dastjerdi MHT, Habibagahi G, Nikooee E, 2014. Effect of confining stress on soil water retention curve and its impact on the shear strength of unsaturated soils. Vadose Zone Journal, 13(5).
[7]Fredlund DG, 1964. Comparison of Soil Suction and One-dimensional Consolidation Characteristics of a Highly Plastic Clay. National Research Council Technical Report No. 245, Division of Building Research, Ottawa, USA, p.193-201.
[8]Fredlund DG, 2006. Unsaturated soil mechanics in engineering practice. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 132(3):286-321.
[9]Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H, 1993. Soil Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils. Wiley, New York, USA.
[10]Fredlund DG, Xing AQ, 1994. Equations for the soil-water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 31(3):521-532.
[11]Fredlund DG, Houston SL, 2013. Interpretation of soil-water characteristic curves when volume change occurs as soil suction is changed. In: Caicedo R, Murillo C, Hoyos L (Eds.), Advances in Unsaturated Soils. CRC Press, London, UK.
[12]Fredlund DG, Morgenstern NR, Widger A, 1978. The shear strength of unsaturated soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 15(3):313-321.
[13]Fredlund DG, Xing AQ, Fredlund MD, et al., 1996. The relationship of the unsaturated soil shear strength to the soil-water characteristic curve. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 33(4):440-448.
[14]Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H, Fredlund MD, 2012. Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. Wiley, Hoboken, USA.
[15]Fu XL, Shao MA, Lu DQ, et al., 2011. Soil water characteristic curve measurement without bulk density changes and its implications in the estimation of soil hydraulic properties. Geoderma, 167-168:1-8.
[16]Gaharagheer FST, 2009. Estimating Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Compacted Cohesive Soils from Basic Geotechnical Soil Properties. PhD Thesis, The University of Toledo, Toledo, USA.
[17]Gao HB, Shao MA, 2015. Effects of temperature changes on soil hydraulic properties. Soil and Tillage Research, 153: 145-154.
[18]Gao Y, Sun DA, Zhu ZC, et al., 2019. Hydromechanical behavior of unsaturated soil with different initial densities over a wide suction range. Acta Geotechnica, 14(2):417-428.
[19]Goh GS, Rahardjo H, Choon LE, 2010. Shear strength equations for unsaturated soil under drying and wetting. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 136(4):594-606.
[20]Khalili N, Khabbaz MH, 1998. A unique relationship for χ for the determination of the shear strength of unsaturated soils. Géotechnique, 48(5):681-687.
[21]Lee IM, Sung SG, Cho GC, 2005. Effect of stress state on the unsaturated shear strength of a weathered granite. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 42(2):624-631.
[22]Leong EC, Wijaya M, 2015. Universal soil shrinkage curve equation. Geoderma, 237-238:78-87.
[23]Mendes JD, Toll DG, 2016. Influence of initial water content on the mechanical behavior of unsaturated sandy clay soil. International Journal of Geomechanics, 16(6):D4016005.
[24]Nam S, Gutierrez M, Diplas P, et al., 2010. Comparison of testing techniques and models for establishing the SWCC of riverbank soils. Engineering Geology, 110(1-2):1-10.
[25]Ng CWW, Pang YW, 2000. Influence of stress state on soil-water characteristics and slope stability. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 126(2):157-166.
[26]Patrick P, Olsen H, Higgins J, 2007. Comparison of chilled-mirror measurements and filter paper estimates of total soil suction. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 30(5):360-367.
[27]Phoon KK, Santoso A, Quek ST, 2010. Probabilistic analysis of soil-water characteristic curves. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 136(3):445-455.
[28]Rahardjo H, 1990. The Study of Undrained and Drained Behavior of Unsaturated Soils. PhD Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
[29]Rahardjo H, Heng OB, Choon LE, 2004. Shear strength of a compacted residual soil from consolidated drained and constant water content triaxial tests. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 41(3):421-436.
[30]Rahardjo H, Satyanaga A, Leong EC, et al., 2012. Variability of residual soil properties. Engineering Geology, 141-142: 124-140.
[31]Rahardjo H, Satyanaga A, Mohamed H, et al., 2019. Comparison of soil-water characteristic curves from conventional testing and combination of small-scale centrifuge and dew point methods. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 37(2):659-672.
[32]Romero E, Gens A, Lloret A, 2001. Temperature effects on the hydraulic behaviour of an unsaturated clay. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 19(3-4):311-332.
[33]Roshani P, Sedano JÁI, 2016. Incorporating temperature effects in soil-water characteristic curves. Indian Geotechnical Journal, 46(3):309-318.
[34]Roy S, Rajesh S, 2018. Influence of confining pressure on water retention characteristics of compacted soil. Indian Geotechnical Journal, 48(2):327-341.
[35]Satyanaga A, Rahardjo H, Koh ZH, et al., 2019. Measurement of a soil-water characteristic curve and unsaturated permeability using the evaporation method and the chilled-mirror method. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering), 20(5):368-374.
[36]Schnellmann R, Rahardjo H, Schneider HR, 2015. Controlling parameter for unsaturated soil property functions: validated on the unsaturated shear strength. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 52(3):374-381.
[37]Sheng DC, Fredlund DG, Gens A, 2008. A new modelling approach for unsaturated soils using independent stress variables. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 45(4):511-534.
[38]Sheng DC, Zhou AA, Fredlund DG, 2011. Shear strength criteria for unsaturated soils. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 29(2):145-159.
[39]Tang AM, Cui YJ, 2005. Controlling suction by the vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures and its application in determining the water retention properties of MX80 clay. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 42(1):287-296.
[40]Tarantino A, 2009. A water retention model for deformable soils. Géotechnique, 59(9):751-762.
[41]Terzaghi K, 1936. The shear strength of saturated soils. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, p.54-56.
[42]Thu TM, Rahardjo H, Leong EC, 2007. Critical state behavior of a compacted silt specimen. Soils and Foundations, 47(4):749-755.
[43]Toll DG, Ong BH, 2003. Critical-state parameters for an unsaturated residual sandy clay. Géotechnique, 53(1):93-103.
[44]van Genuchten MT, 1980. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44(2):892-898.
[45]Vanapalli SK, Fredlund DG, Pufahl DE, et al., 1996. Model for the prediction of shear strength with respect to soil suction. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 33(3):379-392.
[46]Wan M, Ye WM, Chen YG, et al., 2015. Influence of temperature on the water retention properties of compacted GMZ01 bentonite. Environmental Earth Sciences, 73(8):4053-4061.
[47]Wijaya M, Leong EC, 2017. Modelling the effect of density on the unimodal soil-water characteristic curve. Géotechnique, 67(7):637-645.
[48]Yaldo K, 1999. Impact of Soil Type and Compaction Conditions on Soil-water Characteristic Curves. PhD Thesis, Wayne State University, Detriot, Michigan, USA.
[49]Ye WM, Wan M, Chen B, et al., 2009. Effect of temperature on soil-water characteristics and hysteresis of compacted Gaomiaozi bentonite. Journal of Central South University of Technology, 16(5):821-826.
[50]Ye WM, Wan M, Chen B, et al., 2012. Temperature effects on the unsaturated permeability of the densely compacted GMZ01 bentonite under confined conditions. Engineering Geology, 126:1-7.
[51]Zapata CE, 1999. Uncertainty in Soil-water Characteristic Curve and Impacts on Unsaturated Shear Strength Predictions. PhD Thesis, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
[52]Zapata CE, Houston WN, Houston SL, et al., 2000. Soil-water characteristic curve variability. In: Shackelford CD, Houston SL, Chang NY (Eds.), Advances in Unsaturated Geotechnics. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, USA, p.84-124.
[53]Zhai Q, Rahardjo H, 2013. Quantification of uncertainties in soil-water characteristic curve associated with fitting parameters. Engineering Geology, 163:144-152.
[54]Zhai Q, Rahardjo H, Satyanaga A, 2016. Variability in unsaturated hydraulic properties of residual soil in Singapore. Engineering Geology, 209:21-29.
[55]Zhai Q, Rahardjo H, Satyanaga A, et al., 2019a. Estimation of unsaturated shear strength from soil-water characteristic curve. Acta Geotechnica, 14(6):1977-1990.
[56]Zhai Q, Rahardjo H, Satyanaga A, et al., 2019b. Role of the pore-size distribution function on water flow in unsaturated soil. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering), 20(1):10-20.
[57]Zhai Q, Zhang CF, Dai GL, et al., 2019c. Effect of segments of soil-water characteristic curves on the estimated permeability function using statistical methods. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering), 20(8):627-633.
[58]Zhou AN, Sheng D, Carter JP, 2012. Modelling the effect of initial density on soil-water characteristic curves. Géotechnique, 62(8):669-680.
[59]Zhou C, Ng CWW, 2014. A new and simple stress-dependent water retention model for unsaturated soil. Computers and Geotechnics, 62:216-222.
Open peer comments: Debate/Discuss/Question/Opinion
<1>