Soil-water characteristic curves of peaty soils

Abstract

In Singapore, peaty soils are found in several locations at shallow depths between 3m and 5m. Peaty soils, having low strength and high compressibility, have always been regarded as a poor geomaterial. In construction where peaty soils are encountered, they are generally replaced with more competent soil. One important characteristic of peaty soils is its high water retention ability, a key to understanding the poor engineering properties of peaty soils. The water retention ability of the peaty soils can be studied using principles of unsaturated soil mechanics. The soil-water characteristic curves of peaty soils from two different sites were obtained in the laboratory using the pressure plate apparatus and the salt solution method. A study of the soil-water characteristic curves of the peaty soils and how they can be related to its engineering properties using principles of unsaturated soil mechanics are presented in the paper.