A simplified approach to estimating the evolution of residual shear strength of unsaturated soils with suction

Abstract

Several researchers have investigated the effect of suction and partial saturation on the angle of residual shear strength. Most of these investigations involve the adoption and application of a method of controlling suction on the ring shear apparatus and performing ring shear tests on the same soil for various values of suction. Methods adopted include both the axis translation technique for control of suction over the range 50-1500 kPa and the saturated salt solutions method for control of suction in the range of several MPa. The general picture from these investigations is that the residual shear strength failure envelope remains linear but corresponding to higher values of the angle of residual shearing resistance for constant suction; this value increasing with increasing suction. The paper presents an attempt to normalise values of measured angle of residual shearing resistance for various suction values with the angle of residual shear strength of the corresponding fully saturated soil. This normalisation verified the linear increase of the ratio tanφres(s)/tanφres(s=0) with suction. This linear increase allows for estimation of the evolution of tanφres(s) with suction if φres(s) for one specific suction can be measured. This observation led to the measurement of tanφres(s) of clayey soils in conventional ring shear apparatus without suction control, simply by removing water from the shear box while shearing continues and measuring shear strength until its stabilisation, taking place after the specimen in the shear box came to equilibrium with prevailing laboratory atmospheric conditions. Using the chilled mirror hygrometer to measure equilibrium suction after ring shear completion indicated that equilibrium suction due to laboratory atmospheric conditions is practically constant over the time needed for a single test on one soil. This observation along with the previous observation on the linear increase of the ratio tanφres(s)/tanφres(s=0) with suction, makes valid the estimation of evolution of residual shear strength of unsaturated soils with suction using only a conventional ring shear apparatus and a chilled mirror hygrometer. The paper concludes by outlining the approach, presenting measurements and a relation obtained between tanφres(s)/tanφres(s=0), suction and liquid limit.