In this chapter, the probabilistic porous-solid model is used to simulate the
tensile strength of unsaturated soils tested at different water contents. The strength of
unsaturated soils can be split in two parts: one related to the net stress and the other to
suction. The strength generated by suction has its origin on the additional contact
stresses induced to solid particles by water meniscus. This additional contact stress is
called matric suction stress. In that sense, the tensile strength of soils represents the
matric suction stress of the material at that particular water content. The numerical and
experimental comparisons of the tensile strength of unsaturated soils tested at different
water contents show that the probabilistic porous-solid model can simulate this
phenomenon with sufficient accuracy.
Keywords: Additional contact stress, Cohesion, Direct tensile test, Effective
stress, Homogenous material, Matric suction stress, Net stress, Probabilistic
porous-solid model, Retention curves, Suction, Tensile strength, Tensile stress,
Water menisci.
