Abstract
This research develops a framework for determining cyclic and transient volume changes in unsaturated expansive clays using suction-based modeling. A governing equation along with a coefficient of swell-shrink was developed with soil suction as the driving state variable. This soil property function was determined from laboratory tests using new sigmoidal formulations for the e-based water retention curve and the S-shaped swell-shrink curve along with the hydraulic conductivity curve. The model comprises of two components (soil-atmosphere and volume change) and couples material properties with climate data. Daily suction values were applied at the top boundary whereas transient swell-shrink, hydraulic conductivity curve, and time-dependent suction difference were used to obtain the velocity of an automatically refined moving mesh. Vertical deformations due to variation in soil suction were obtained from the governing equation using the coefficient of swell-shrink. Results indicated that the model adequately captures seasonal weather variations with respect to time and corroborates well with field monitoring data. This means that the model is useful in estimating total, cyclic, and transient heave and settlement in expansive clays.
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