Dilatancy Characteristics and Constitutive Modelling of the Unsaturated Soil Based on Changes in the Mass Water Content

Abstract

Most soil mechanics theories are limited to strain hardening and shrinkage under high compressive stresses, and there are some shortcomings in the selection of suction or degree of saturation as the water content state varies in the constitutive models of unsaturated soil. Based on the triaxial shear tests of unsaturated compacted soil (a silt of high plasticity) with different water content and confining pressure (low-confining), a shear dilatancy model of unsaturated soil based on the mass water content is proposed in this paper. The influence of the water content on the shear deformation characteristics of the unsaturated soil is analysed. The stress–dilatancy relationship and the prediction equation of the minimum dilatancy rate of the unsaturated soil under different water content and different confining pressure are provided. Selecting the mass water content as the state variable, a constitutive model suitable for the dilatancy of unsaturated soil is established. The method of determining model parameters based on the mass water content is analysed. The applicability of the model is verified by comparisons between the predicted and experimental results.

Keywords

• soil mechanics
• unsaturated soil
• mass water content
• stress–dilatancy relationship
• minimum dilatancy rate
• constitutive modelling