Abstract
The soil-water characteristic curve is an important relation of unsaturated soils, that expresses the variation of the amount of water retained in the soil as a function of its suction. In these soils, drying or wetting can have a great influence on their resistance parameters. This work presents and discusses the effects of increased suction on the tensile strength and unconfined compression of unsaturated soils. Suction was evaluated using the filter paper and the dew point technique, while the resistance parameters were obtained through the “Brazilian Test” and uniaxial compression. Three different soils from Rio de Janeiro were studied: two young residual soils, in which the influence of the soil structure was also verified through tests on undisturbed and reconstituted samples, and a colluvial soil. The results allowed to conclude that the increase of suction, in a first moment, generates an increase in the resistance parameters of these soils. With the continuation of the drying process, the mechanical behaviour of the soils varied, being able to maintain the resistance or showing a drop related to high suction values.
Highlights
Unsaturated soils, when exposed to alternation between dry and rainy periods, have wetting and drying cycles
The following specific objectives were established: - Check and analyze how suction affects the tensile strength and unconfined compression of two residual soils and a colluvium from Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the elastic modulus obtained from the stress vs. strain curves. - Evaluate and compare two techniques for measuring soil suction, namely: filter paper and the dew point technique. - Evaluate the influence of the structure of young residual soils by comparing the curves tensile strength vs. suction and unconfined compression resistance vs. suction, with undisturbed and reconstituted samples
The main objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of increased suction over two soil resistance parameters - tensile strength and unconfined compression strength
Summary
Unsaturated soils, when exposed to alternation between dry and rainy periods, have wetting and drying cycles This variation in their saturation generates major changes in behavior, especially in their resistance parameters. In this context, this work aims to conduct a research on the effect of suction and the structure of unsaturated soils in such parameters, through tests of diametrical compression and unconfined compression in undisturbed and reconstituted samples with different suction values imposed arbitrarily. - Evaluate the influence of the structure of young residual soils by comparing the curves tensile strength vs suction and unconfined compression resistance vs suction, with undisturbed and reconstituted samples. The proposed study is necessary because in Rio de Janeiro the physical environment consists of residual soils. Location and climatic peculiarities, such soils are typically unsaturated
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