Development of Soil-Water Characteristic Curve for Flexible Base Materials Using the Methylene Blue Test

Abstract

AbstractThis study describes an experimental investigation of the methylene blue test to determine the methylene blue value (MBV) and quantitatively generate the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) for unbound aggregate material based on the predicted percent fines content (PFC). The traditional methylene blue test has been improved significantly in terms of time, sample size, and method for analyzing the results. These improvements enable the methylene blue test to be not only a laboratory test but also a field test. This improved methylene blue test methodology is used to generate the SWCC for unbound aggregate material. The relationship between the MBV and the PFC value is established. The principles of unsaturated soil mechanics are taken into account to develop regression models for determining the four fitting parameters in a previously developed SWCC equation by using the predicted PFC value, which are then used to generate the SWCC for the unbound aggregates. The proposed method is validated by...