Recent developments in the techniques of controlling and measuring suction in unsaturated soils

Abstract

The difficulty of measuring and controlling suction in unsaturated soils is one of the reasons why the development of the mechanics of unsaturated soils has not been as advanced as that of saturated soils. However, significant developments have been carried out in the last decade in this regard. In this paper, a re-view of some developments carried out in the techniques of controlling suction by using the axis translation, the osmotic method and the vapour control technique is presented. The paper also deals with some recent de-velopments in the direct measurement of suction by using high capacity tensiometers and in the measurement of high suction by using high range psychrometers. The recent progresses made in these techniques have been significant and will certainly help further experimental investigation of the hydromechanical behaviour of un-saturated soils.