Abstract
Unsaturated soil mechanics has become the solution to many geotechnical challenges, including slope stability and tree stability. Compared to saturated soil, the additional cohesion from the matric suction strengthens the unsaturated soil. Slope stability problems could be analyzed using two-dimensional software such as GeoStudio by assuming soil under plane strain or plane stress condition. However, two-dimensional modelling may not be appropriate for complex analyses such as tree stability problems that involve soil-structure interaction. Such assumptions may lead to model inaccuracy since structural behaviour is three-dimensional. Unfortunately, software for three-dimensional analyses that could handle unsaturated soils is not readily available. In this study, a method for three-dimensional seepage and deformation analyses in unsaturated soils was done using ANSYS, incorporating the unsaturated soil shear strength, the permeability and the elastic modulus as functions of the net normal stress and the matric function. The results from two-dimensional GeoStudio and ANSYS analyses were compared to validate the method.
Published Version
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