Abstract
The soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) of soils can be derived from the measured pore size distribution (PSD) data by applying capillary models. This method is limited for clayey soils due to the PSD changes during SWCC testing. In this study, a suction-dependent multimodal PSD model based on probability theory is developed and used to derive SWCC. The model is validated by simulating the drying branches of SWCCs of four compacted Lias Clay samples with different initial states. A good consistency between the measured and predicted SWCC is shown.
Highlights
Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) describes the relationship between matric suction and the degree of saturation of a soil, which plays a key role in unsaturated soil mechanics [1]
The soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) is measured at the entire suction range, whereas the pore size distribution (PSD) is usually determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) at a specific state after the sample is prepared and freezedried
The pore size distribution of the soil is variable during SWCC testing and constant for MIP tests
Summary
Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) describes the relationship between matric suction and the degree of saturation of a soil, which plays a key role in unsaturated soil mechanics [1]. The PSD of a soil can be transformed to its SWCC based on the capillary law [2]. This simple method possibly oversimplifies the transformation of PSD to SWCC due to the heterogeneity of the soil structure, especially for clayey soils [3,4]. The inaccurate prediction of SWCC based on the capillary law is mainly caused by ignoring the changes in pore structure during SWCC testing. The SWCC is measured at the entire suction range, whereas the PSD is usually determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) at a specific state after the sample is prepared and freezedried. The pore size distribution of the soil is variable during SWCC testing and constant for MIP tests
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