Increase Of Initial Water Content Research Articles

Strength and deformation characteristics of waste mud–solidified soil

The treatment, disposal, and resource utilization of waste mud are challenges for engineering construction. This study investigates the road performance of waste mud–solidified soil and explains how solidifying materials influence the strength and deformation characteristics of waste mud. Unconfined compressive strength tests, consolidated undrained triaxial shear tests, resonant column tests, and consolidation compression tests were conducted to evaluate the solidification effect. The test results show that with an increase in cement content from 5 to 9%, the unconfined compressive strength of the waste mud–solidified soil increased by over 100%, the curing time was extended from 3 to 28 days, and the unconfined compressive strength increased by approximately 70%. However, an increase in initial water content from 40 to 60% reduced the unconfined compressive strength by 50%. With the increase of cement content from 5 to 9%, the cohesion and friction angles increased by approximately 78% and 24%, respectively. The initial shear modulus under dynamic shear increased by approximately 38% and the shear strain corresponding to a damping ratio decay to 70% of the initial shear modulus decreased by nearly 11%. The compression coefficient decreased by approximately 55%. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction tests showed that a higher cement content led to the formation of more hydration reaction products, especially an increase in the content of AlPO4, which can effectively fill the pores between soil particles, enhance the bonding between soil particles, and form a skeleton with soil particles to improve compactness. Consequently, the strength of the waste mud–solidified soil increased significantly while its compressibility decreased. This study can provide data support for dynamic characteristics of waste mud solidified soil subgrade.

NMR-based pore water distribution characteristics of silty clay during the soil compaction, saturation, and drying processes

The pore water distribution (PWD) of soil provides key information about soil shear strength, hydraulic conductivity, and water-retention ability. The PWD characteristics of the soil depend on the specimen preparation conditions (i.e., the variations in initial water content or compaction degree) and drying-wetting processes, which were investigated by using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. The NMR T2 spectrum is mathematically transformed into the PWD curve to more accurately quantify the variations in pore water content stored with pores of different radii. The pore water in silty clay can be categorized into strongly bound water, intra-aggregate pore water, and inter-aggregate pore water, which are identified by the pore radius of <0.05 μm, 0.05-1.0 μm and >1.0 μm, respectively. The effects of compaction degree and initial water content on the PWD of the soil exhibit distinctions. For unsaturated compacted specimens, the PWDs remain unaffected by changes in compaction degree, while an increase in initial water content promotes the formation of clay aggregates, thereby increasing the maximum water-holding pore radius and the intra-aggregate pore water content. For saturated compacted specimens, the inter-aggregate and intra-aggregate pore water content increases with a decrease in the compaction degree, while the changes in the PWD shape from unimodal to bimodal with an increase in the initial water content. During the soil drying process, inter-aggregate pore water is rapidly drained, the intra-aggregate dominant pore water content increases first and then decreases, and the strongly bound water content remains constant. The relationship between the cumulative pore water distribution curve and the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) can be established through the Young-Laplace theory. The SWCC can be well predicted by using the envelope of the cumulative pore water distribution curves during soil drying.

Effect of initial pore water content and salinity on the resistivity of methane hydrate-bearing fine sediments

Methane hydrates are widely distributed in the soft silty-clayey soils of continental margin sediments. The resistivity method is generally used to detect their distribution state and monitor their kinetic reaction process. However, there are some major details to be elaborated on as to the occurrence state and the evolution of key characteristic parameters. Based on the kinetic reaction experiment under different lithological conditions (initial water content and pore water salinity), this research records the changing resistance of natural sand porous medium system during the cooling formation of hydrates by in-situ measurement. The Archie formula is further used to study the influencing factors of the resistance of hydrate-bearing sediments and how the resistance changes during hydrate formation. The results demonstrate that these two lithological parameters can significantly affect the resistivity of the hydrate-bearing natural sand porous media system. It is found that within a certain range, NaCl in pore water will inhibit the formation reaction of hydrates, while an increase of initial water content will enhance the hydrate production amount in the system. With the hydrate formation in the pores, the porosity and skeleton composition of the natural sand porous medium change as well, coupled with the salt-removing effect, which further changes the system resistivity. During hydrate formation, the system resistivity changes regularly in the cooling stage, hydrate nucleation stage, and hydrate formation stage. Our study systematically considers the influence of these geological parameters on resistivity characterization at different reaction stages during the formation of natural hydrates. Thus, it can serve as a technical reference for hydrate reservoir logging and other related issues.

Effect of water content on clogging of dredged slurry under vacuum preloading from PIV perspective

Vacuum preloading combined with prefabricated vertical drains is a widely used system for improving soft clay-dredged slurry deposits. However, the influence of the initial water content on clogging is not yet fully understood. In this study, laboratory model tests were conducted on slurry with initial water contents of 106%, 133%, and 159% during vacuum preloading. The process of vacuum preloading was monitored from the perspectives of discharged water volume, pore water pressure, as well as the displacement and strain profile of soil patches by using the novel particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The results showed that the clogging formation process could be divided into three stages based on the water discharge rate: rapid formation, transition, and slow formation. An increase in initial water content resulted in a larger horizontal displacement, leading to a thinner and denser clogging zone with lower permeability coefficients and a reduced rate of pore pressure dissipation. Empirical equations for the thickness of the clogging zone versus time were proposed using the PIV technique, providing a reference for theoretical consolidation calculations and making the calculations more practical by considering the variation of the clogging zone during vacuum preloading.

Isothermal drying characteristics and kinetic mechanism for tobacco with different water content

The effect of drying temperature on the drying characteristics of tobacco was investigated with different water content. The isothermal drying characteristics and kinetics of three kinds of tobacco on the production line of a tobacco factory in Hubei were studied by halogen water analyzer. The drying characteristics of tobacco with different water content under isothermal conditions were evaluated by water loss characteristics, water diffusion coefficient, and activation energy. The results showed that the drying time of cut tobacco was reduced by increasing the drying temperature within a certain range. The water diffusion coefficient of cut tobacco decreased with the increase of temperature from 70 to 100 °C, and increased with the increase of initial water content. The activation energy of cut tobacco was related to the production process. The activation energy in the experiment was as follows: CT-2 &gt; CT-3 &gt; CT-1. Five drying models were used for non-linear fitting of the drying behavior of tobacco. The fitting degree of the Midilli model was the highest, reaching 0.9944. This data will be useful in the design of tobacco drying equipment.

Quasi-Static and Dynamic Tensile Behavior of Water-Bearing Sandstone Subjected to Microwave Irradiation

Microwave irradiation on rocks before excavation is an effective method to reduce equipment wear and energy consumption during mechanical cutting. Rock mass excavation is usually carried out in a water-rich environment and exposed to dynamic loads, thus understanding the coupled effects of water content and loading rate on the mechanical behavior of rocks under microwave radiation is essential. In this study, sandstone samples with five levels of water content (from oven-dried to water-saturated) were exposed to microwave irradiation at a power of 700 W for 10 min. Brazilian disc tests were conducted on sandstone samples after microwave radiation under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Test results revealed that, with the increase of the initial water content, the microwave heating capacity of the rock is significantly improved. The surface temperature of the saturated samples is approximately 1.38 times higher than that of the dry ones. Moreover, weight, P-wave velocity, quasi-static and dynamic tensile strength of the rock decrease, while porosity and damage factor exhibit a similar growth law. Before microwave irradiation, the average value of the P-wave velocity and the quasi-static tensile strength of sandstone were about 2521.3 m·s−1 and 4.65 MPa. However, after microwave treatment, when the initial water content was 2%, 3%, 4% and 5.4%, the P-wave velocity decreased by 6.1%, 9.8%, 16.4% and 30.2%, while that quasi-static tensile strength reduced by 9.2%, 16.7%, 30.6% and 48.9%, respectively. For water-saturated samples under microwave irradiation, the porosity increases from 13.02% to 18.12% (showing an increase of 39.2%), and the damage value rises to 0.51. In addition, the dynamic tensile strength shows a significant loading rate dependence, and as the initial water content increases, also the dynamic increase factor (DIF) increases. At a given loading rate, the energy dissipation decreases with the increase of the initial water content, which indicates that the presence of water cause more significant damage to the rock when subjected to microwave radiation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicate that the internal damage of the rock after microwave radiation is dominated by intergranular cracks, and crack density increases with increasing initial water content of the samples. The underlying damage mechanisms of microwave radiation on water-bearing sandstone were interpreted with the theory of pore water pressure and structural thermal stresses.

The disintegration mechanism analysis of soft rock due to water intrusion based on discrete element method

Though many laboratory tests have been carried out on the effect of water content on the disintegration characteristics of soft rock, there are still relatively few numerical simulations that can well describe this kind of process. Based on the test results obtained by previous relevant research, the two-dimensional unconfined soft rock immersion test was numerically simulated by the discrete element method. The hydration expansion of clay particles is considered in the simulation. The breaking force and residual strength coefficient in MatDEM are selected to characterize the slaking durability of soft rock. Several groups of control sample models were set up, and the effects of crack, clay mineral content, and initial water content on the softening process of rock samples were discussed. The results show that the simulation in this paper is consistent with the process of infiltration and disintegration of soft rock after water immersion in relevant studies. The strength parameters show an exponential attenuation relationship with water content. The breaking force and residual strength coefficient of the complete sample change in a gradient from outside to inside with water content. In addition, the initial crack improves the permeability of soft rock samples and changes the distribution of water content, which has a significant effect on the slaking durability of soft rock. Soft rock samples with high clay mineral content are more prone to plastic softening. The slaking durability of soft rock decreases as the initial water content increases.

Analysis of mulched drip irrigation with brackish water in cotton fields using the HYDRUS-3D numerical model

This study combined continuous monitoring in the field using computer modeling to understand soil water movement and salt transport so as to design a suitable irrigation system for cotton using mulched drip irrigation with brackish water. A reasonable irrigation regime was determined and verified using thresholds of water and salinity stress in the various stages of cotton growth. In addition, some key factors, such as emitter discharge rate, emitter spacing, and initial water content, were screened for simulation, and irrigation uniformity and desalination rate were selected as the indicators for evaluation. The results showed that: ( i) The HYDRUS-3D model was a useful tool for designing suitable irrigation regimes, and the determined suitable irrigation quota was 5160 m3 hm−2 under mulched drip irrigation with brackish water during the growth period of cotton in 2019. ( ii) The irrigation uniformity and leaching rate decreased with an increase in the emitter discharge, and the linear relationship between uniformity, leaching rate, and emitter discharge could be identified. ( iii) The irrigation uniformity and leaching rate decreased with an increase in emitter spacing, and power functions might be used to calculate uniformity, leaching rate, and emitter spacing. ( iv) The irrigation uniformity and leaching rate increased with an increase in initial water content, and the relationship between the two indexes and initial water content was defined by a linear function and a power function, respectively. These results provided a valuable reference for the rational use of drip irrigation with brackish water.

Compression behavior and structure of undisturbed Q2 loess under wet-dry cycles

In the Loess Plateau of China, the undisturbed Q2 loess is in a state of wet-dry cycles due to seasonal rainfall and groundwater level fluctuations. The root cause of large deformation and poor stability of engineering foundation caused by wet-dry cycles or load compression lies in the distinctive structure of loess. In this paper, the effects of wet-dry cycles and initial water content on the compression deformation and compression coefficient of undisturbed Q2 loess were analyzed. Based on the structural parameter at the macro-level and the microscopic morphology and pore size distribution at the micro-level, the effects of wet-dry cycles and initial water content on the structure were analyzed from two aspects, and the influence mechanism was discussed. Meanwhile, based on the relationship between microstructure and unsaturation, the impact of wet-dry cycles on the soil–water characteristic curve was determined. The results show that the wet-dry cycles and initial water content were positively correlated with the compression deformation and compression coefficient of the undisturbed Q2 loess, but negatively correlated with the structural parameter and water retention. These parameters were stable under the 2 wet-dry cycles. With the increase in initial water content, the sensitivity of wet-dry cycles to the compression deformation, structural parameter, and water retention gradually decreased. The sensitivity of initial water content to the compression deformation, structural parameter, and water retention gradually reduced with the increasing wet-dry cycles. Moreover, the influence mechanism of wet-dry cycles and initial water content on the macro-parameters and structure was mainly weakening the particle cementation strength. With the increase in initial water content, the decreasing range of the inter-aggregate cementation strength and intra-aggregate cementation strength under the influence of wet-dry cycles decreased. With the increase in wet-dry cycles, the decreasing range of the inter-aggregate cementation strength and intra-aggregate cementation strength under the influence of initial water content decreased.

Strength criterion for frozen silty clay considering the effect of initial water content

The initial water content and confining pressure significantly affect the deformation and strength behaviors of frozen soils. To investigate the influence of the initial state of water on the mechanical properties of frozen silty clay (FSC), triaxial compression tests are conducted on artificial FSC with five initial water contents (12.5%, 14.0%, 16.0%, 18.0%, and 20.0%) at the temperature of −6 °C. The results show that when the initial water content is 12.5%, the frozen soil samples present strain softening and strain hardening successively with increasing confining pressure. As the initial water content increases, the degree of strain hardening under the same confining pressure gradually weakens. The frozen soil samples mainly present strain softening when the initial water content is more than or equal to 18%. According to the test results, when the initial water contents ranging from 12.5% to 20%, the relationship between the strength and mean stress has three forms: increases nonlinearly, increases first and then decreases, and maintains an approximately constant value. Linear and nonlinear strength envelope equations based on different types of strength envelopes are proposed. Additionally, the relationship between the initial water content and internal friction angle is analyzed. In the p-q plane, based on the nonlinear strength characteristics of FSC with initial water contents of 12.5%, 14.0%, and 16.0%, a modified mean stress expression p* is derived to represent the nonlinear strength criterion equation according to the modified Cam-Clay model. Furthermore, a shape function in the deviatoric plane is proposed by modifying the Lade–Duncan model, and a strength criterion is established by integrating the strength functions in the p-q and deviatoric planes. The proposed strength criterion can effectively represent the nonlinear strength behaviors of FSC, including the effects of the initial water content, ice melting, and crushing.

Investigation on rheological and strength characteristics of cement-treated dredged materials

Beneficial use of dredged materials (DMs) obtained using the hydraulic dredging technique is a challenge since they behave like slurry with very high-water content. This paper presents an experimental study on the impacts of initial water contents and cement content on flowability, viscosity, and strength characteristic of cement-treated DM samples at high-initial water contents. A series of flow, viscosity and unconfined compressive strength tests were conducted on cement-treated DM specimens with various initial water contents and cement contents. Tests results showed that the value of slump flow increases almost linearly with increasing initial water content. The effect of cement content on slump flow for specimens at various initial water contents follows the same decreasing trend. Fresh mixtures of cement-treated DM specimens behave like Bingham plastic. Dynamic viscosity reduces with the increase in initial water content and the decrease in cement content. Slump flow reduces with the increase in viscosity or yield stress following a power trend line. All cement-treated specimens curing for 28 days exhibit strain-softening behavior. Unconfined compressive strength reduces as the initial water content increases and cement content decreases. A quantitative equation was developed to estimate the compressive strength as a function of initial water content and cement content.

Effect of initial water content on undrained shear strength of K0 consolidated clay

This study investigates the effect of initial water content on the pore pressure response and undrained shear behavior of K0 consolidated reconstituted clay. A series of K0 consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests were conducted on reconstituted Lianyungang clay. Results were compared to those obtained by isotropic consolidated undrained triaxial tests. The testing results showed that the K0 consolidated undrained strength envelope of reconstituted soil content is a straight line passing through the origin regardless of the initial water content. The initial water content would affect the undrained strength of K0 consolidated clay as decreased normalized undrained shear strength was observed with clay at higher initial water content. The slope C of normalized pore pressure and stress ratio is affected by the consolidation method, where C is found to be a soil constant for K0 consolidated clay and the value would be higher with clay under K0 consolidation. The pore pressure increases with increasing initial water content at a certain axial strain under given consolidation pressure, and the difference in excess pore pressure increases with the increasing consolidation pressure. Pore pressure coefficient at failure (Af) increases as the initial water content increases, where a trendline can be well fitted between the pore coefficient at failure and the ratio of initial water content to the liquid limit of clay. The undrained strength indexes, i.e., effective cohesion and effective internal friction angle have decreasing tendency with increasing initial water content; however, changes in the total strength indexes of soil in this study are insignificant with varying initial water content.

Research on the factors affecting the development of shrinkage cracks of rammed earth buildings

Rammed earth (RE) buildings have existed all over the world for thousands of years, and have gained increasing attention because of its sustainable advantages, however, the shrinkage cracks reduce its bearing capacity and seriously affect its durability and applicability. In this study, the shrinkage cracks test was carried out to investigate the effects of initial water content, proportion of sand and gravel, compaction degree, thickness and the additives (polypropylene fiber, cement and sodium silicate) of shrinkage cracks in RE buildings, ten groups of RE samples were prepared and dried outdoors to crack. Four quantitative parameters of geometrical structure of crack patterns were used to evaluate the development of cracks. The results show that the specimens cracking behavior and the geometrical structure of crack patterns are significantly influenced by these considered factors. The formation of crack can be accelerated with the increase of initial water content and thickness of specimen, while restricted with the increase of the compaction degree and the proportion of sand and gravel. Moreover, the addition of 1% polypropylene fiber, 10% cement and 0.5 volume ratio sodium silicate can significantly restrain the form and development of cracks. In RE construction, these factors should be considered comprehensively to prevent the harm caused by shrinkage cracks. Further works should be carried out to obtain the optimum dosage of the additives, which can benefit the construction of RE buildings in future.

Experimental Study of Artificial Ground Freezing by Natural Cold Gas Injection

The application of conventional artificial ground freezing (AGF) has two disadvantages: low freezing rate and small frozen range. In this study, a new method with natural cold gas injection was proposed, whereby the shallow soils and water can be frozen rapidly due to the effect of the heat convection. Cold gas from −15 °C to −10 °C, in the winter of northeast China, was injected into the laboratory-scale sand pipe; evolution of the induced frozen front and water migration were studied, and then, the feasibility of the new method was analyzed. According to the evolution of the induced frozen front, the freezing process was divided into an initial cooling stage, phase transition stage, and subcooled stage. The results showed that the increase of initial water content at the beginning of the experiments had little effect on the time required for completing the initial cooling stage, while the time required for the phase transition would increase in nearly the same proportion. In addition, the increase of the cold gas flow rate could not only strengthen the cooling rate of the initial cooling stage but also shorten the phase transition time; thereby, the freezing rate was increased. The freezing rate could reach 0.18–0.61 cm/min in the direction of cold gas flow, and compared to the conventional AGF (months are required for approximately 1 m), the freezing efficiency was greatly improved.

Moisture tension in fine-grained reconstituted soils at high initial water contents

The reclamation of land filled with high water content dredged clays is an important geological and geo-environmental issue. When designing such reclaimed land, the yield behaviour during compression is of paramount importance because it conditions the compressibility of soil and thus the final ground settlement. Previous studies suggest a significant effect of initial state of soils on their compression behaviour; in particular, the remoulded yield stress (identified when compressing reconstituted samples at high initial water content) decreased with the increase in initial water content. This phenomenon has been attributed to the effect of moisture tension. In fact, for a reconstituted soil at high initial water content, non-destroyed aggregates may exist in microscopic level although the degree of saturation of soil reaches 100% in macroscopic level. These aggregates can give rise to the generation of negative water pressure inside the aggregates, namely moisture tension. This moisture tension can greatly affect the mechanical behaviour of soil in the macroscopic level. With the destruction of aggregates, the moisture tension decreases. In order to verify this surmise, a series of experiments were conducted with moisture tension measurement on reconstituted Jossigny silt at three different water contents (1.0, 1.2 and 1.5 times the liquid limit). Meanwhile, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests were conducted to analyse the macroscopic features. The test results proved the existence of moisture tension, and it decreased with increasing water content. When the aggregates are destructed completely, the moisture tension becomes zero. The non-intruded void ratio obtained from MIP tests was found to increase with decreasing water content, suggesting the destruction of aggregates by further hydration. Physically, the moisture tension corresponds to the water absorption potential of aggregates or the potential changes of aggregates from metastable state to true stable state. These observations provide experimental evidence supporting the existence of the remoulded yield stress identified for saturated reconstituted soils.

Experimental study on permeability and expansion characte-ristics of expansive soil

Expansive soil is used as a high-plastic clay, the bearing capacity is gradually attenuated due to the penetration of water, which greatly limits the application range of practical engineering. In this paper, the permeability and expansibility test of remolded soil and undisturbed soil in expansive soil were carried out. Ability coefficient of remolded soil and undisturbed soil under different overburden values was compared and analyzed. Overburden load, head height and water content were studied. The effect of the rate on the permeability coefficient of remolded soil and further analysis of the expansion and expansion forces at different initial moisture contents The results show that the permeability coefficient of remolded soil and undisturbed soil decreases with the increase of overlying load. As the water content increases, the permeability coefficient decreases first within a certain range. After reaching a certain level, the permeability coefficient gradually increases. As the initial water content increases, the amount of expansion progressive decreases and the expansion force progressive decreases.

Characteristics of the liquid and vapor migration of coarse-grained soil in an open-system under constant-temperature freezing

Liquid and vapor migration is the key factor in evaluating the frost heaving properties of coarse-grained soil (CGS) in the high-speed railway (HSR) subgrade in cold regions. A fluorescein tracer was applied to investigate the liquid and vapor migration characteristics of CGS during constant-temperature freezing tests. In addition, the effects of the initial water content on the liquid and vapor migration properties were studied in this paper. The results show that the vapor migration is the dominant factor that causes the water redistribution of CGS in the freezing process. The vapor migration exists both in the supply of the external water sources and internally in the CGS. Water mainly migrates upward in the form of vapor under the effect of a water content gradient and a temperature gradient. The amount of liquid and vapor coupling migration in CGS decreases with the increase in initial water content, followed by a lower amount of external water migration, particularly vapor migration, and a lower height of the upward migration of the liquid. Although the vapor migrates across the freezing front and continually moves upward, the degree of vapor migration will gradually decline with a certain impact time domain and zone.

Triaxial shear strength of undisturbed unsaturated loess

The strength of unsaturated loess was explored with triaxial instrument for unsaturated soils. The test covered 3 different water contents of unsaturated loess and the saturated loess at initial confining pressures of 100 kPa, 200kPa and 400 kPa. The matric suction and volume change were obtained during shearing procedure. Test results showed that the shear of saturated and unsaturated loess was strain-hardening with no obvious peak and contracted in volume. The matric suction during shearing was affected by both stress state and initial moisture content. The internal friction angle remained unchanged basically with variation of initial water content, and total cohesion decreases with an increase of initial water content, which can be expressed by an exponential expression.

Effects of Initial Water Content on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Lean Clay Soil Stabilized by Compound Calcium-Based Stabilizer

Initial water content significantly affects the efficiency of soil stabilization. In this study, the effects of initial water content on the compressibility, strength, microstructure, and composition of a lean clay soil stabilized by compound calcium-based stabilizer were investigated by static compaction test, unconfined compression test, optical microscope observations, environment scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results indicate that as the initial water content increases in the range studied, both the compaction energy and the maximum compaction force decrease linearly and there are less soil aggregates or agglomerations, and a smaller proportion of large pores in the compacted mixture structure. In addition, for specimens cured with or without external water supply and under different compaction degrees, the variation law of the unconfined compressive strength with initial water content is different and the highest strength value is obtained at various initial water contents. With the increase of initial water content, the percentage of the oxygen element tends to increase in the reaction products of the calcium-based stabilizer, whereas the primary mineral composition of the soil-stabilizer mixture did not change notably.

Triaxial Wetting Test on Rockfill Materials under Stress Combination Conditions of Spherical Stress p and Deviatoric Stress q

A GCTS medium-sized triaxial apparatus is used to conduct a single-line method wetting test on three kinds of rockfill materials of different mother rocks such as mixture of sandstone and slate, and dolomite and granite, and the test stress conditions is the combination of spherical stress p and deviatoric stress q. The test results show that (1) for wetting shear strain, the effects of spherical stress p and deviatoric stress q are equivalent, and wetting shear strain and deviatoric stress q show the power function relationship preferably. (2) For wetting volumetric strain, the effect of deviatoric stress q can be neglected because it is extremely insignificant, and spherical stress p is the main influencing factor and shows the power function relationship preferably. (3) The wetting strains decrease significantly with the increase in initial water content and sample density generally, but the excessively high dry density will increase the wetting deformation. Also, the wetting strains will decrease with the increase in the saturated uniaxial compressive strength and average softening coefficient of the mother rock. Based on the test results, a wetting strain model is proposed for rockfill materials. The verification results indicate that the model satisfactorily reflects the development law of wetting deformation.