Model for predicting tensile strength of unsaturated cohesionless soils

Abstract

The influence of tensile strength on the behaviour of cohesionless soils is typically ignored in geotechnical engineering practice. However, the tensile cracking and subsequent failure characteristics of earth structures, such as dams, slopes and embankments, are significantly influenced by the tensile strength. For this reason, a semi-empirical model is proposed for predicting the variation of the tensile strength of unsaturated cohesionless soils with the degree of saturation, using the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) as a tool. The proposed model is capable of predicting the tensile strength arising from matric suction and surface tension, which are related to saturated pores and to the air–water interface associated with water bridges around interparticle contacts in unsaturated pores, respectively. Information about (i) the matric suction (ua– uw), the capillary degree of saturation (Sc), and the residual degree of saturation (Sr) derived from the SWCC; (ii) the mean particle size (d50) and the coefficient of uniformity (Cu) from the grain-size distribution curve; (iii) the void ratio (e); and (iv) the friction angle ([Formula: see text]) at low normal stress level is required to employ this model. The proposed model is validated by comparing the prediction results with measured tensile strength of 10 different unsaturated cohesionless soils (including five sandy soils and five silty soils). The proposed model is promising for use in engineering practice applications as it only requires conventional soil properties, alleviating the need for cumbersome experimental studies for the determination of tensile strength of unsaturated cohesionless soils.