Anchor conditions for estimated unsaturated shear strength functions

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s, several empirical unsaturated shear strength equations have been proposed for use in geotechnical engineering practice. Most of the equations have been based on information associated with the measured drying soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) in combination with the effective shear strength parameters of the saturated soil. There have been few studies, however, undertaken on verifying and comparing the suitability of the proposed unsaturated shear strength equations. This study involves consideration of a wide range of possible drying SWCCs plotted as a relationship between the degree of saturation and suction (saturation soil-water characteristic curve ( S-SWCC)). The study forms the basis for comparing five methodologies that have been proposed for the estimation of the shear strength of unsaturated soils. The SWCCs are defined by the fitting parameters for the Fredlund and Xing (1994) sigmoidal equation. This study supports the use of unsaturated soil shear strength empirical estimation methods using the S-SWCC anchor points of air-entry value and residual suction of the soil.