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Framework to estimate the soil-water characteristic curve for soils with different void ratios

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Abstract

The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) contains information regarding the geometric pore space in a soil and is commonly used to estimate unsaturated soil properties, such as unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and unsaturated shear strength. Soil volume change can significantly affect the SWCC and the engineering properties of soil. Different SWCCs can be obtained if the soil specimens are prepared with different initial void ratios. The volumetric shrinkage curve (VSC) is commonly used to convert the SWCC in the form of gravimetric water content (w-SWCC) into a curve that is in the form of degree of saturation (S-SWCC). In this paper, a framework is developed in which different S-SWCCs are generated based on the measured w-SWCC of soil in a relatively loose condition and the VSC. The proposed framework is based on the concept of the pore size distribution function (PSDF). The estimated SWCCs corresponding to different initial void ratios from the proposed framework were verified by using experimental data from published studies.

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Funding

The first author would like to acknowledge the financial supports he received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51878160), the National Key Research and development program of China (No. 2017YFC00703408), and the Research Funding from China Huaneng Group Co. Ltd. (HNKJ19-H17).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for RC and PRC Structures of the Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

    Qian Zhai, Guoliang Dai & Yan Zhuang

  2. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Block N1, Nanyang Ave., Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Harianto Rahardjo & Alfrendo Satyanaga

Authors
  1. Qian Zhai
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  2. Harianto Rahardjo
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  3. Alfrendo Satyanaga
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  4. Guoliang Dai
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  5. Yan Zhuang
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Correspondence to Qian Zhai.

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Zhai, Q., Rahardjo, H., Satyanaga, A. et al. Framework to estimate the soil-water characteristic curve for soils with different void ratios. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79, 4399–4409 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01825-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01825-8

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